No wonder my psyche is scattered: there are too many things out there clamoring to claim my allegiance. Down-sizing one’s heart is a tricky business. At this stage of my life, there’s increasing pressure to get ’em all in before it’s too late. As the bumper sticker reads, “So many pedestrians, so little time”. My intuition is that most church-goers this weekend will be carrying a backpack of household gods, griping a bit about the weight, yet reluctant to dispose of any. Scripture readings of the day acknowledge the dilemma, which is evidently nothing new…
St. Paul, strolling around Athens, marveled that its citizenry had erected an altar to An Unknown God–just in case they’d missed any. (Acts 17:22-31) Paul was listening to the culture, how folks were arranging their spirit-lives, and here he found an opening for the Gospel. John S. McClure opines, “It is one thing simply to lambaste all idolatry, and another to think carefully about what a particular form of idolatry represents in terms of human aspiration.” (FEASTING on the WORD, A 2:475) Our idols embody our hopes and our fears; Paul’s point is that these may be discarded as we learn more about the “unknown” God.
Those congregations to whom the First Letter ascribed to Peter was written were evidently caught in the Culture War; namely, how to practice Christianity while overshadowed by The Empire. Same old same old, isn’t it? The writer exhorts, “But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what THEY fear, and do not be intimidated…” (3:14) What do y’suppose “they” feared? I’m guessing the usual suspects: civic insecurity, job loss, changing values, persons from other cultures… Easy to SAY “don’t be intimidated”, yet of course we are: in any crisis, Ethics usually takes the back seat.
John’s long account of Jesus’ final message to his peeps includes this: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate [paraclete], to be with you forever.” (14:15-16) Over against the Imperial control by intimidation, this demonstration of love re-orders our lives and relationships. Not an idle dream (groan), the “hopes and fears of all the years” are met in Jesus! And thanks be for the Advocate (paracletus: one who stands beside) on which I heavily lean!
Idols seem to grow more complex, as society “advances” and the world shrinks. Alarming events across the globe pour over us by Information Technology, and we begin to feel waterboarded as we gasp for peace. Although it sounds good, once in a while, I’d not make a good hermit. I need the world, even though it often annoys me. These readings offer an alternative to despair as the Believer is immersed in daily choices.
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
My ruminations upon scripture readings for the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook, or at horacebrownking.com
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