Preachers following the lectionary will find an unnerving
Gospel text for next Sunday. Toward the
end of Luke 12, Jesus unloads a scathing critique against the crowds who
casually follow him, but really do not want to endure what full decision for him entails. “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of
earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” (v.
56)
In the
Mediterranean world of the first century as it is in the twenty-first century,
we find it easier to discuss the weather than the urgent spiritual realities of
our time. Where do we place our ultimate
concern? What garners our closest
attention? Answers to these questions
give a clue to what we worship, perhaps where our idolatry lies.
Citizens of
the United States are living through a most baffling political season; however,
the machinations of candidates and those who back them are nothing new. Flawed and sinful humans are always trying to
secure their fleeting grasp on power, and sometimes any means to that end will
suffice.
As people
of faith, it is challenging to sort out religious and civic
responsibilities. We really do have our
feet in two worlds, and the separation of church and state continues to evoke
contested perspectives. Actually, even
the language of “church and state” needs modification if our land was to be
truly inclusive of multiple religious traditions. As Christians we know that our hope is
grounded in God’s ultimate reign rather than any temporal system of government.
Another
lectionary reading for August 14 recounts the hardships people of the covenant
underwent by faith. The author of
Hebrews recounts the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho, the lions’ den, severe
torture and death, and other grievous experiences, suffered by the faithful.
The writer
sums this up with these startling words: “Yet all these, though they were
commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised . . . (Hebrews 11:
39). Any glib words about “just in time”
deliverance (deus ex machina) will
fail to capture the real anguish of human living.
Thankfully,
the writer continues: “ . . . since God has provided something better so that
they would not, apart from us, be made perfect” (11:40). The next chapter
begins with the beloved reference to “the great cloud of witnesses,” presumably
the suffering ones who have gone before.
The import of this text seems to be
that while God does not micro-manage all the details of this earthly life,
there is a larger plan at work to bring all to consummation through the work of
Jesus Christ. The “pioneer and
perfecter of our faith” is none other than one who lived through the same kind
of suffering all humans endure—even more—and has triumphed. Christ is the key to interpreting the
present, yet unfinished, time.
Molly T. Marshall
Central equips learners to lead creatively.
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