Every once in a while, the listed readings for Sunday seem as though they’ve been written just last week! There’s so much substance in each of these readings that the preacher is overwhelmed by an embarassment of riches. Whatever the preacher in your congregation lifts up for you, be sure to hear ALL the readings: they’re loaded!
We begin with the young Jeremiah (2:4-13), evidently no longer cowed with his youth: “Thus says the Lord: what wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?” The prevailing culture is the poster-child of those who have chased “worthless” things: winning at all cost (A-Rod, Joe Paterno); finance (Bernie Madoff & Enron); military strength (Petraeus & Lockheed Martin); and your own household gods…. No surprise, then, that life is cheap and that a “few” gassed/mutilated civilians are considered “collateral”! How worthless have we become? “For my people have committed two evils: (1) they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, AND (2) dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.” Lord, have mercy….
What then shall we do? The reading of the Epistle to the Hebrews becomes a list of how to graciously live as a counter-cultural community (13:1-8, 15-16). One of my favorite verses says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Marie’s Grandma Neal lived this, even with raising 6 boys without running water, indoor plumbing or other modern necessities. If a “knight of the road” stopped to beg a meal, she would always see the divinity in him, and treat him well. Empathize with the imprisoned and tortured, honor marriage, see the value of what you have…. “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Luke’s Gospel speaks of table-manners — not of using your napkin instead of your sleeve, but Who to Invite, and Where to Sit. (14:7-14) Worthy as we are to sit at the head of the table, there just may be someone else more distinguished than we! It’s better to “sit low” and be elevated by the Host than to claim the best and then have to relinquish it. Also, our own guest-lists should recognize the worth of the poor, crippled, lame & blind. Having them in for a bite becomes a REAL blessing!
The Good News is that we ourselves have been created with great worth, despite our efforts to wrap the gold with tinfoil. May these readings remind you of the amazing value God has put on YOU — and all these other mortals with whom you intersect.
God Bless Us, Every One H B King
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