Okay, I know. It’s not Politically Correct. But the tune has been an ear-worm all morning; many of us happily sang it in Vacation Bible School. We’ll be talking diversity, this weekend–and how to claim Community from broken dreams. The dilemma of history is this: how can we honor the past without being condemned to live in it? All generations tend to wax nostalgic about The Good Old Days, which is OK as long as we don’t delude ourselves into trying to go back… Like it or not, that was Then, this is Now. Where is the connect?
The ragged remnant of Israelites who straggled back from Exile had been immersed in Babylonian life for 70 years. Their identity had become unraveled. They had heard old tales about “the Law”; but few if any knew much about it or the Holy People it defined. In Nehemiah 8 we hear how Ezra the priest read from the Mosaic Law (probably the Book of Deuteronomy), and how shocked his hearers were that God gave instruction about how to live in a covenant community. Ezra audaciously told them that they COULD begin again: “do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (v.10)
The Twelfth Chapter of Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthian congregations makes lengthy comparison of the Body of Christ–the Church–with the human body. Each part has a different function, yet all function together spontaneously. A body doesn’t work well when even a single cell takes leave. This isn’t only to make the absent souls feel guilty, but also affirms the worth and divinely planned position of even the smallest. “I am the Church, you are the Church, we are the Church together!”
St. Luke remembers (4:14ff) when Jesus came to his hometown synagogue at Nazareth, and read from the prophet Isaiah. Everyone nodded self-righteously at the familiar words about bringing good news to the poor, releasing the captives and letting the oppressed go free; but then Jesus said, “TODAY this scripture has been fulfilled.”
We’re OK with lofty ideals of yesterday, but don’t make us actually activate them today! After all, our community is about what once was…but once out the door, it’s survival at any cost to our ethic.
This weekend’s preacher will probably announce to her daydreaming flock that there really is a connection between our holy-history and how we’re expected to function with our peers, both within and without the sanctuary walls. Twenty-first Century America loves to pledge allegiance, even though “liberty and justice for all” are empty words. We lustily wish God to bless America, although many do not know the real blessings of a divine Presence. Our coins proclaim, “In God We Trust”, knowing full well that loud talk, bullying and fences are our projected security… “And who is my neighbor?” asked the scribe of Jesus. God still forms community beyond broken dreams.
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
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