There’s a marvelous song in PAINT YOUR WAGON: “Where’re ya going?” “I don’t know” “When will you get there?” “I ain’t certain–all that I know is I am on my way.” Scriptures read this weekend celebrate that we’re always in a Divine Process, that we’re never parked for any period as long as God has Creation to do. We also note that we constantly stand in a tension between the Good and Not So Good; not just an ethical behavior, but an acknowledgment that we believe that God is really leading us to a Holy Place.
In GENESIS 12:1-4a we read about the sending of Abram from the city of Haran in Mesopotamia to an unknown place. There he was to illuminate YHWH and call the people there into a God-formed community. “Haran” could be translated as “the crossroad” from whence Abram was sent–and isn’t this an allegory for our lives as well? We’re at an important intersection where we have no map except going forth in faith that God has an idea for us. So Abram hitched up his ox-cart, and put a bumper sticker on the back: “Don’t follow me, I’m lost too!” The call of God always leads us to a more perfect idea of who we are, and what is already unfolding.
St. Paul talks about the human side of the law in ROMANS 4:15,, 13-17, “For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” Please note that Abraham’s blessing of inheritance wasn’t conditioned by his living right, but only because God saw in him a receptive vessel that could hold rivers of unmerited grace! Abraham’s faith, not the law, was the catalyst for demonstrating God’s Love and attendant blessing.
The Gospel reading is one we know well–or do we? JOHN 3:1-17 is used ad nauseum to bludgeon the non-Christian into conformity with Creation. It’s the conversation of Jesus with Nicodemus, who came and left in the dark, not yet understanding the mystery of the Light. But Nicodemus himself admitted that he was at a crossroads too, and realized (Abram-like) that salvation was a matter of accepting God as God was! Nor did Nicodemus have a map for the journey, as we watch his Christ-life unfold later. Are there those around us who’re fearful of coming out of the shadows? “To be born from above by water and the Spirit, to believe in Jesus, is to leave darkness and to come into the light.”–George W. Stroup, in FEASTING on the WORD
I find that there are always interesting cross-streets to lure me into more comfortable places. Will I stay the course all the way to the place God has promised?
In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King
Every Tuesday we explore Holy Places through the scripture lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend. Come join us at horacebrownking.com
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