Even before I hung up my coat on Sunday, I heard Sean warming up at the piano with CWM RHONDA. I’m not sure which text he was envisioning, but what sprang to my mind was the verse which prays, “Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore…” I suppose that this was my subconscious pinching me to remember that it’s not lost yet! I confess: I’m tired of speaking about ethics into a me-first culture. Evidently Isaiah of Babylon, St. Paul & John the Baptizer also felt as if they were pushing string through a keyhole: this weekend’s lections bear their witness.
“But I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.'” (Isaiah 49:4) And God responds that raising up Jacob & Israel is only the beginning! “I will give you as a light to the NATIONS, that my salvation may reach TO THE END OF THE EARTH!” (v.6a) The Servant has been equipped with both authority and state-of-the-art tools–sharp sword and polished arrows–to convince all nations of God’s steadfast and compassionate justice. The exiles to whom Isaiah spoke are us, who wonder how to be in relationship with a diverse world without losing our own distinctive reality.
The Church in Corinth can be our model: wide-open, raunchy and unburdened of moral constraint, Corinth could be Mission Impossible for the message of Jesus. Yet Paul reminds believers there “…for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind…so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 1:5-7) Here as much as anywhere, Grace has been effective in the strangest of places. Maybe this is my reminder to Stay Real? (Read the rest of the Corinthian letters to fully appreciate Paul’s lover’s quarrel with these strange people.)
The Gospel of John recounts how some who sought Reality were pointed to Jesus. (1:29-42) Philip & Andrew had been following John the Baptizer: he was a moral and fiery proclaimer of ethical justice. And as Jesus came near, John told them, “Look! Here is the Lamb of God!”, knowing that they wanted the very best. Could this be the Anointed One? Here? Even in the backwaters of the Roman Empire, the Real Thing passes nearby…
Harry Emerson Fosdick writes, Lo! the hosts of evil round us scorn thy Christ, assail his ways! Fears and doubts too long have bound us; free our hearts to work and praise. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the living of these days.
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
My thoughts about scripture readings for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com
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