Fourth of July is a fine time to ask the perennial questions about how the Church of Christ has impacted our human societies and structures. Many of us who would be prophetic bemoan the current callous and bullying rhetoric of Our Nation. In 1998, Tom Brokaw’s book, THE GREATEST GENERATION, was released: a paen to how wonderful and life-changing World War II was, and how those involved were the best ever! As nostalgic as we may be, today, about the mythic Good Old Days–remember Archie Bunker?–Scriptural words need to be heard to bolster the faithful few who yet see the Greater Picture.
Why not begin with Zechariah, taking him from being an accessory to Palm Sunday to a more exalted post-Exilic role? To Zion, center of the faith-world, he announces, “Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he….he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to [shining] sea….Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.” (9:9-12) Here’s a strange model of power: can one be “triumphant and victorious” while humbly riding on a donkey? Can we still be The Greatest while commanding peace?
St. Paul admits that he twists and turns: “I do not understand my own actions.” (Romans 7:15) Can we really will ourselves to be good? Or is there some external vaccuum pulling us into an ethical black hole? Whether we’re “under Law” or not, each of us has created a code of moral living from snippets of poorly remembered Scripture and anecdotes of our peers, liberally salted with admonitions about “Nice boys/girls” from our grandmas. When our good intentions and our actual deeds conflict, can we save ourselves by trying harder? “Paul views sin not as the breaking of a rule but, rather, as the distortion of a relationship.” (Harold E. Masback III, FEASTING on the WORD, A 3:209) “If Paul’s bad news is that the self is trapped and cannot rescue itself, Paul’s good news is that God intervenes to rescue the self through Jesus.” (ibid. p 211) This refreshes me as a member of the not-so-Great Generation…
And Jesus is frustrated: “To what will I compare this generation?” (Matthew 11:16) Whadd’ya want, already? John the Baptizer was too sober, Jesus too outgoing; John ate desert survival fare, Jesus went to dinner-parties. How does this generation understand reasons for dancing and reasons for mourning? God’s Presence is criticized for being both too traditional and too progressive! How are succeeding generations engaged with those who mourn AND those who dance?
Sister Joan Chittister writes, “Hope is not a matter of waiting for things outside us to get better. It is about getting better inside…” (Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope, p.110) Where is hope for THIS generation? It may begin by taking off our foam fingers that say, “We’re Number One!” and acknowledging that the US is ‘way down the list in education & healthcare. We have the strongest military budget, so we can defend The American Way of Life, which is sub-titled “liberty and justice to whites”. Many lack food & shelter, although my TV shows are sponsored by over-priced vehicles… Our selfish materialism isn’t unique to this generation–but I AM. Perhaps Independence Day would be better celebrated as a moment to be free from hate and fear? How will our generation compare??
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
My musings on Scripture readings assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com
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