A New Adventure!

A lot of folks don’t like change.  Many of us mourn the death of the familiar–especially when things have been going pretty well for us.  The present American political “campaign” bears this out:  major candidates are intent upon leading us back to The Good Old Days, and voters who’re angry and scared are egging them on.  Of course, there are those who WELCOME change, because things have gotta improve…  Myself, I’m glad for new medical procedures and digitalization, smart cars and medical coverage for all…

Scriptures which you’ll hear read this weekend present God’s doings as a work in progress.  We begin by hearing about the Israelites  finally camping in the plain of Jericho after their 40-year trek to the Promised Land.  (Joshua 5:9-`12)  How did they  know that something new was afoot?  “…The Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.”  What a change THAT was!  What did the Back to Egypt Committee say?

St.Paul reminds the Corinthian congregations of the changed vision which comes as Christ is known and embraced. (II 5:16-21)  “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:  everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”  Lent is our journey from Old to New, an affirmation that God is still shuffling the deck.  Paul himself had become an allegory of change:  Bad Ol’ Saul had been zapped into Good Ol’ Paul!  The congregations are to become a “ferment of hope…letting God’s future break into the world.”  (Dirk G. Lange, in FEASTING on the WORD, C 2:115)

The Gospel is the well-beloved story of the Prodigal Son, actually the Prodigal Father, in the 15th Chapter of Luke’s remembrance.  You recall how the Second Child asked for his share of the family farm and went far away to seek his fortune.  Things didn’t go very well; and at bottom, he decided to tuck his tail between his legs and go home to his Father’s mercy.  O Frabjous Day!  Dad had kept the door unlocked and the porch light on, and ran to welcome him back!  Disgusted, the drab Number One Son said, “Isn’t that just like the old man!  He’s gonna take back my dumb brother!”  Can people change?   Seems to me like one of the main tenets of the Church.

So every day is a New Adventure in God’s Grace!  What’ll happen next?  “In the community of the church, we look at our pilgrim companions as new creations….The challenge posed to each and every community is discovering the presence of God already active, already acting in the lives of each member.” (Lange, ibid. p.113)

ER physician:  “How’s that kid who swallowed the dollar bill?”    Nurse: “There’s no change yet.”

God Bless Us, Every One                Horace Brown King

My musings upon lectionary passages for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com.