Long before Jonathan Edwards scared the bejeebers out of us with “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in the 1600’s, earthlings have tried to bribe God with their CORRECTNESS to defer God’s supposed grumpiness and to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. We’ve tried all sorts of spiritual acrobatics: windy prayers, correct posture, sacrifices & high holy days, obligatory worship… The concept of God being untouchable and disdainful of Incarnation yields two results: either we move the earth to reveal The Secret Code (gnosticism); or we merely give up, saying “God can’t possibly love the likes of ME!” Scripture texts this weekend will possibly dispel the rumor that God doesn’t like us, and hopefully will allow us to live in more freedom.
The people of Isaiah’s time “feared” the Lord, and this lesson (1:10-20) could support that fear: is the prophet speaking to all people, or those outside the community, as allegorized by “Sodom & Gomorrah”? I think this is God’s indignation to everyone– “I have HAD ENOUGH of burnt offerings…I do NOT delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats…..Who asked THIS?” And besides, stop trampling my yard! But here’s an alternative, some real signs of devotion: “cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” If we’re willing and obedient, we’ll “eat the good of the land”.
Hebrews 11 affirms our hope in the first three verses: “the conviction of things not seen”. We believe that God’s Kingdom is really here, despite the evils around us. It’s hard to maintain hope in the shadow of White Supremacy, hate crimes, and the abuse of immigrants. We shout in pain as Big Interests savage our environment for their own profit. Yet this reminds us to keep our belief in that which is not yet seen! We believe that God is still in charge, and that this God is not rejoicing in our despair but delighting in giving us holy things. The long list of the saints reminds us that none of these could say for sure where they were going–but if God says so, it’s gotta be good!
The Gospel, Luke 12:32-40, tells us to override our fears, “for it is your Father’s GOOD PLEASURE to GIVE you the Kingdom”. It goes on to encourage us to give away our stuff, for we already have “treasure in heaven”. Stay awake and ready, ’cause you just never know when the Master comes in. Not just in the Final Coming, but Today (Tomorrow at the latest). David J. Shlafer, writing in FEASTING on the WORD: “What Jesus enjoins, rather, is an orientation toward the whole of life as abundant gift from a generous God–a gift that can, therefore, be given away with abandon.” (C 3:337)
Isaiah’s contemporaries were surprised when God gave them an alternative to fear. The saintly sojourners listed in Hebrews were surprised when God called them beyond the horizon to new environs of promise. Jesus’ hearers were surprised that he spoke of his Abba as a generous parent. Walter Brueggemann writes in SOJOURNERS That “Hope is the refusal to let our lives be defined by that present world arrangement.” (July ’19, p.36) Fear is the watchword of Today; join me in doing something Hopeful?
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
My encounter with Bible passages to be read at services on the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com
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HB, Thanks for your worship! I was up