You would think we would have learned–but the world is yet full of the abused and vulnerable, the Strangers and Aliens, the widows and orphans. Folks who sit in the pews and hear these scriptures CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE as they go about living within the System! Lessons to be heard this upcoming weekend should speak to the heart of the Church about Godly living and not throwing our lot in with the ones who make a big buck by bleeding the unfortunate.
RUTH (3:1-5, 4:13-17) was an immigrant from Moab. We don’t know if she pushed drugs or ate the neighbors’ cats & dogs. But we do know that she was a faithful caregiver to Naomi, offering all she had–herself–to her mother-in-law and her new community. We could see it as an analogy: God takes care of the poor widows without questioning their background. Martin B. Copenhaver quips, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained the great-grandmother of a king!” (FEASTING on the WORD, B 4:270) Thank goodness there was no beefed-up security on the border…
Please try to think within the Jewish tradition as you read HEBREWS 9:24-28. We’re still comparing the earthly priest with the eternal priesthood of Christ. Heavenly living isn’t a matter of sinning again and again, knowing that the Day of Atonement will come again this year. There’s no term of renewal for our license to live in God’s Kingdom. Christ has “appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin.”
How many times have I heard some well-meaning member say, “Pastor, I just give the widow’s mite”? I was always glad to commend them, cuz the widow in the story gave all that she had! (MARK 12:38-44) What about the earlier-mentioned scribes who wear long robes, get the best seats, and say long prayers full of empty words? I understand that even some of by fellow clergy carry signs that say, “Clergy, Official Business” which they use to park in handicapped or no-parking spots… Depends, I suppose, on whether we like the status quo. (watch out for those Moabites and Mexicans; they don’t deserve grace. Ah, Those Were the Days.) The widow herself was nameless, and probably no one but Jesus noticed. Thank God he did!
These lessons should hit us hard, especially as we consider the events of Voting Week. Are we supposed to go back to the ’50s when we played Cowboys & Indians, when the seat of power resided in white males? Do we tear down the Statue of Liberty which invites “Give me your tired, your poor, your humble masses yearning to breathe free?” God continues to give a call to the People to welcome all Creation.
In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King
Please join us every Tuesday as we’re confronted by texts to be read during worship on the upcoming weekend; at horacebrownking.com
Please join us every Tuesday as we’re confronted by texts to be read during worship on the upcoming weekend; at horacebrownking.com
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