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Well, this is awkward–Scripture readings for the coming weekend remind me that I just may be too rich!  Folks in developing nations often have to walk some distance for water; they have limited electricity and their homes are filled with smoke from the cooking fire.  Closer to home, elderly and handicapped live in appalling situations.  I sadly shake my head and drive on by…  Was I more aware of God when I myself lived on honey and saltines, and drove an old beater with the floorboards rusting out?

Jeremiah, always at odds with the Establishment, spoke his message from house-arrest in Jerusalem during Nebuchadnezzer’s siege.  Despite the hopelessness of the outlook, he exercised his right to buy a field from his cousin.  32:1-15 tells in detail how all the “normal” customs were observed in the transaction, and how the deeds were tucked away in an earthen pot to survive the impending destruction.  Jeremiah has redeemed a portion of the land in the ultimate hope that “houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.”  Riches and values evidently were ultimately considered to be in the hand of YHWH.

I appreciate the words written to Timothy  (I 6:6-119), often ascribed to St. Paul:  he speaks of godliness combined with contentment.  Be OK with what you’ve got and do not covet, for “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”.   Yet it’s the third part of the pericope which may be cutting-edge for you in North America–“As for those who in the present age ARE rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.”

Which brings us to the story of Lazarus (Eliazar) who couldn’t get any help from the rich guy at whose gates he lay (Luke 16:19-31).  Ah, but when they were both dead, THEN the rich fella knew Lazarus’ name and wanted him to relieve his torture.  Too late, you had your chance!  The tales of Luke and lucre appear now and then as reversals, see Mary’s song of The Magnificat (Luke 1:46ff), then again in Acts 5. The rich man wasn’t evil; his sin was one of omission–he looked the other way.  Father Abraham suggests that “stepping out of one’s privilege is perhaps one of the most difficult journeys of trans-formation.  Two chapters ahead, Jesus will compare it to getting a camel through the Eye of the Needle.”  (G. Penny Nixon, in FEASTING on the WORD, C 4:121)

OK, so I send my useless clothes to the Clothing Center, and support Shepherd’s Supper…I”m a bit of a fanatic about my weekly envelope to the church, and I give to UMCOR…  Heifer International, FINCA, and many local charities receive my semi-annual contributions…  I guess (in addition) I need an attitude adjustment.  Shall I move into a neglected third-floor apartment downtown?  Perhaps start doing my laundry in a laundromat?  I suspect that what that fellow Lazarus who hangs out at the Library really needs is my friendship and conversation…  Do I care more for my purse or my principles?

God Bless Us, Every One                                 Horace Brown King

My understanding of scripture assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

Every age has its systems of political government, of economic value and of social mores.  There are certain standards of behavior which meet public approval; or which place an offender in isolation.  The scriptures we look at this weekend recognize that the People of God don’t always fit in with the greater surroundings–we seem to be always at odds with the prevailing Good of our country or our pocketbooks.  Is it better to “go along to get along?”  Or do we cling to our perceived high-ground even if it means poverty and/or death?  Here are some instances of going against the popular grain…

Jeremiah has been called “the weeping prophet”, and our lesson (8:18-9:1) is a good example of this.  His “heart is sick” with the images/idols Zion worships.  The People trust in YHWH, to be sure; so much so that they think YHWH doesn’t care WHAT they do.  An insider of the Temple and all its corruption, Jeremiah bears his own awkwardness in being part of this People of limited integrity.  Jeremiah takes God’s ethic seriously, so much that he’s eventually put to death for standing up for the unpopular system of God.

Paul urges the Christian movement through Timothy (I 2:1-7) to include EVERYONE in their prayers and concerns:  the high and the lowly, us and them.  As God is One, so then is the Creation, diverse as we are.  This of course goes against the idea that We’re Number One, and that the rest of the passengers on the bus are somehow inferior.  So can we pray for Republicans and immigrants in the same breath?  Can we affirm oil-drillers as well as tree-huggers?  Are we stretched beyond our comfort-zones to recognize terrorists and rapists as children of God?  I have a lot of anxiety about this unpopular system…

The Gospel, Luke 16:1-13, depicts Jesus at his snarky and ironic side:  his parable is about a crooked manager who tries to ingratiate himself by reducing his friends’ bills.  Since he’s about to be fired anyway, he figures that at least THESE guys will take him in.  And Jesus concludes that this is the way the world turns, and if you want to play the system right you should be as corrupt as the rest!  Guess what?  He’s really not advocating this, but he is commenting on How Things Are.  His famous words here are, “You cannot serve [both] God and wealth”.

Alas!  Most of us would opt for “normalcy” over unpopularity.  And so the world turns on, groaning in imbalance like a washing machine with all the towels on one side.  To be scripturally sound, we’ve gotta acknowledge that God’s System is unpopular, and that it’s very difficult to follow Biblical ethics.  Preachers, wear your armor!

God Bless Us, Every One                        Horace Brown King

My encounter with Bible passages assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com

So whaddya  think?  Does God always have forgiving grace, or does Divine patience sometimes grow thin?  We humans put our own attributes on God and try to mold God in our own image.  Worse, we claim to know best about how the world should turn–and advertise our ignorance widely abroad.  Scriptures this weekend should provoke lively discourses either in classes or around the dinner table!  Is there a limit on our brokenness?  Can we always presume upon God’s loving nature?

Jeremiah imaged God as at the end of God’ s rope in Chapter 4, vv.11-12, 22-28.  “Now it is I who speak in judgment against them….They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good.”  The prophet pictures God as ready to let the forces of Chaos undo Creation.  The desert wind of judgment is the destructive counter to the holy Wind of God which blew Creation to birth.  YHWH has grown discouraged in that the people are foolish and do not know righteousness.  This anthropomorphic God is ready to pull the plug.

Paul marvels (I Timothy 1:12-17) that Christ judged him faithful, even after being “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.”  (read all about it in Acts 8)  Here’s a chance for the preacher or class-leader to out themselves–with caution–about their own imperfections.  “Sin” needs to be seen as BROKENNESS more than specific evils.  Paul dwells often (!) on his former opposition to Christ, in order to emphasize a greater contrast with the wholeness now bestowed upon him.  Despite his intentional disconnect, God keeps breaking in to re-weave the fabric of his life.

Luke 15 has three rich stories, and this week we’ll look at the first two, vv 1-10.  The first is the story of  the Lost Sheep:  the Good Shepherd, not content with “almost all”, went out on a major search in order to make his sheepfold whole.  The woman of the second story isn’t OK with only her remaining coins, but turns the house upside-down until the set–her dowry?– is whole again.  “Just so,” says Jesus, “I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  If the shepherd and the woman are so meticulous in their human desire to re-create Wholeness, how much more is the Creator obsessed with those who coulda fallen through the cracks?

“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;                                                                   I fled Him, down the arches of the years;                                                                                 I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways  Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears    I hid from Him, and under running laughter,                                                                     Up vistaed hopes I sped; and shot, precipitated,                                                                  Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears,                                                                             From those strong Feet that followed, followed after….

“Of all man’s clotted clay the dingiest clot?  Alack, thou knowest not                          How little worthy of any love thou art!                                                                              Whom will thou find to love ignoble thee  Save Me, save only Me?”                                          — from Francis Thompson’s THE HOUND OF HEAVEN

God Bless Us, Every One                       Horace Brown King

My exploration of Scripture lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this spot on Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com