Reworked?

Scripture to be heard on the upcoming weekend has to do with God’s reworking the community ethic–and your own–as the craftsman would continue to improve this work until it’s perfected. There’s a long way to go. But God is persistent; God hangs in to re-perfect our lives (together and individually), hoping that THIS time the humans in God’s image might have fewer flaws… How long, O Lord, will you have patience?

We begin with the famous story by JEREMIAH (18:1-11) about the potter who keeps crafting the clay until it turns out just right. So God’s Creation is in the process? Does our human activity influence God’s immediate plans? I worry (and so do you) that the painful things in life are a consequence of our own imperfection. Where do we see God reshaping who we are into an ethical stance more in tune with the Covenant? The central message of Jeremiah is to change our corporate behavior before we get reworked!

Paul’s pastoral letter to PHILEMON (“Phil” is the prefix for “brotherly love”) is a guilt-heavy intercession for one Onesimus, a scarpered slave. Here Paul asks no more of Philemon than Christ asks of ALL believers: to forgive, to restore, even to go against what the rest of The System follows. E. Elizabeth Johnson says that “Paul is convinced that God is indeed overturning social structures.” (FEASTING on the WORD, C 4:42) This really reworks the prevailing attitude of punishment and perhaps death…

In the Gospel, LUKE 14:25-33, Jesus is exhorting his disciples to rework their traditions of family loyalty in favor of prioritizing his ethic over “Theirs”. (“Hate” is much too strong a translation. What is meant here is giving over to God the traditions which would tie us to earthly responsibilities.) Jesus is telling disciples then and now to get on with it, to give over to God what they value and what might keep them from complete service. Talk about overturning social structures!

When I was in college and considering seminary/the ministry, my parents were non-plussed. They had raised their only son to be a Musician, not a pulpit-pounder! Yet when I actually enrolled in Seminary and took on a student parish, they were among my strongest supporters! I hope that since that far-away day my life has been continuously reworked and that my ethic has gradually moved toward that of Jesus. Yours too….

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Every Tuesday we explore the scriptures assigned to be read on the upcoming weekend; come join us at horacebrownking.com