Some Ways Things May Be

Lessons for the upcoming weekend are intended to remind the Christian to Hope. They include stories of weariness in waiting for God’s Kingdom to unfold, stories of impatience and a promise that things won’t be easy for the practicing Disciple. This is good for me to remember, because I’m often cynical about the corruption in government and the misuse of power. Will things eventually get better? Someday…

Third ISAIAH 61: 17-25 dreams of the restoration of the Jewish people with the instruction, “Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am doing”, says the Lord. Even in our bleak hours, even with a people who have generally ignored God, the Prophet can speak of a Divine Wholeness. In this new creation the tawdry have been capsized and a whole new fabric of life has been woven. Our sinfulness has been overturned by a loving, hopeful God.

It’s much too easy to read an ethic of hard work into II THESSALONIANS 3:6-13. This passage doesn’t negate the commandment to care for those down-and-out, but it does exhort everyone to do what they do best. The concluding verse is the best: “Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.” What is “right”? The imitation of Jesus and the fulfillment of the Gospel. WWJD? The exhortation is not just about individual exercise, but calls the whole community, the whole church into activity. I know that I feel more a part of things when I’m given something to do…

The Gospel, LUKE 21:15-19, is Jesus’ warning to his followers that the End hasn’t come, but they themselves will find the going tough. There’re always wars and earthquakes, famines and plagues; those who read the heavens will announce that the End is Near…but the followers of Christ will have their own crises and betrayals.

So I guess that the message is that you and I need to keep on doing what we do best. I do get discouraged watching MSNBC, and ask God what’s next. But disciples in every age and generation have had their involvement informed by Hope… As we look to the future Kingdom, we wait patiently(?) for God to direct history. God Will Take Care of You.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Come join us each Tuesday as we struggle with the scriptural presentations of the Revised Common Lectionary; at horacebrownking.com