How Much Do You Love Me?

Again, scripture to be read on the upcoming weekend is a mixed bag. Persons in the pew may be there to be comforted–but these will present more of a theological challenge. Please remember that these were written/spoken in a context not necessarily our own, and that the cutting edge of the lesson (ever so valid) may well be seen in an expression of historical morality.

We begin with some verses from JOB, 1:1 and 2:1-10. These may be some of the earliest segments of what we consider sacred, and address the universal Problem of Evil. You should understand “Satan” to be the opposite of YHWH; the Tempter, more than Old Horns ‘n’ Pitchfork. Satan tells YHWH that Job can’t POSSIBLY love him when the going gets tough. Satan also tells us that YHWH can’t love us, or why do these bad things happen?

The writer of HEBREWS deals with the same conundrum: in 1:1-4 and 2:5-12, he or she presents a suffering savior, “the pioneer of [our] salvation”, called on to “suffer” with the rest of humanity. All the picture of Christ takes its shape in the momentary incarnation of Jesus as a person. The question is reframed: how can a holy Creator allow his own perfection to be trampled so? And does a Loving God really care for me despite the earthly sufferings that seem to come along?

MARK 10:2-16 isn’t about divorce. The hearer should be reminded that in much of the “pagan” culture–Rome, Greece, perhaps Persia–marriage was a matter of convenience, not commitment. Even good Jews understood that divorce was a matter of patriarchal privilege, that a woman was property which could be put away when she became a hindrance. Jesus is here saying that Marriage is a bonding, not just a here-today sort of arrangement. Mistakes can be made, of course; are there reasons why a marriage can sour?

In “Fiddler on the Roof”, Tevye suddenly confronts the idea of Love rather than Convenience as the basis of marriage. He asks his wife, the long-suffering Gilda, if she really loves him. The answer comes in traditional style: She does his laundry fixes his meals, raises his kids… She MUST love him! Does God love us? “To the Moon and back!”

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Tell your friends! –that Scripture to be read on the upcoming weekend slaps us here first; please join us every Tuesday to be examined in its light…