When I took typing, back in the last century, I found that my favorite spot on the keyboard was the key that said MarRel — the Margin Release. Long before digital wonders that justify the edge of our printed messages, this key was necessary to jump the fence. That is, when the typist reached the end of the line and needed just one or two more letters, a click of the MarRel key would allow the right-hand margin limit to be exceeded! Now I could explore beyond the frontier, could march off the map with impunity! (Impunity never knows when to stay home)
Weekly scriptures are good at pressing the limits, squeezing the envelope. Jeremiah reminisces about his boyhood call to Prophesy, to release the margin. “But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, I am only a boy; for you shall go to all whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you….Now I have put my words in your mouth…'” (Jeremiah 1:7-9) Jeremiah spent a long and controversial life troubling the complacency of Israel, probably perishing with the Babylonian conquest, about 610 BC.
I Corinthians 13, the infamous Love Chapter. Widely overused at weddings, this really isn’t about hearts ‘n’ lace and sloppy kisses. What Paul has in mind here is a discussion of how the Church can show compassion and charity within the community which surrounds them/us. If we Corinthians are really serious about Releasing the Marginal, there are opportunities all around to care for the homeless, the hungry and the hurting. Even illegal immigrants. Or ex-cons. Or those battling depression or addiction.
Remember last week? Jesus has returned to his hometown synagogue and has identified himself as the vehicle in which God’s Kingdom is revealed. “TODAY this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21) But then he hits the MarRel key: Elijah fed a Gentile woman, Elisha healed a Gentile leper. Uh-Oh. Even worse, he implied that these Children of Abraham at Nazareth could use some feeding and healing themselves! That did it: they hustled him off to a nearby cliff and threatened to throw him off; but it wasn’t his time. He had lots more frontier to expand.
Beyond the Margins is where vaccines against children’s diseases, computer chips & symphonies are found. We who hear the Gospel are to follow Jesus to the brink of the cliff, to the frontiers of Holiness, Justice and Mercy. And note this: the God who sustained Jeremiah and Jesus as they marched off the map will sustain YOU, as well!
God Bless Us, Every One. H B King
My Blog 
Leave a comment