Presumption and Giants
Friday, June 20, 2008 -- Week of Proper 6
Today's Reading for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 971)
Psalms 88 (morning) 91, 92 (evening)
Numbers 13:1-3, 21-30
Romans 2:25 - 3:8
Matthew 18:21-35
Presumption and Giants
There are two things that strike me today. They may not be related, but let's see.
First there is Paul's argument about circumcision. Circumcision is the mark of the insiders -- God's people. (Historically, he is speaking to Jews.) Paul warns the insiders not to presume upon God simply because they are Jews and have been ritually circumcised. The inclination of the heart toward God supersedes any ritual or tribal identity. Outsiders who live morally upright lives put to shame the Insiders who do not live up to their promises.
Then Paul revisits an important theme of his. It is pretty obvious, the Jews have failed to live up to the divine law. (Elsewhere Paul will speak of the futility of even trying to live up to the law.) Nevertheless, in God's mysterious mercy, the Jews' failure has opened up a new way of relationship with God for non-Jews. Everyone is in. So, he warns the insiders, do not judge.
These words apply with equal strength to the Church as "insiders." Yes we have a certain advantage, that we have been entrusted with the Gospel of God. But just like the original insiders, we too have failed to live up to our promises. Yet God is faithful. It's really all about God and only secondarily about us. God continues to look upon the heart and to draw the whole world into the divine life. The essence of our relationship with God is God's gift of grace to us. And not just to us, but to all.
We can hear Paul's words chastising the presumption of Christians, especially when we claim that we are the "found" and those outsiders are the "lost." In God's eyes we insiders are also unfaithful, liars, and unjust, yet God's grace abounds, for us and for all. "What if some (insiders) were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true... But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? ...But if through my falsehood God's truthfulness abounds to his glory..."
God's mercy and love is abundant and universal, transcending the failures and limitations of those who identify themselves as God's chosen.
What else can we do in response but live in that same Spirit? We are to love others as God has loved us. (For God already loves them completely.) And we are to show mercy as God shows mercy. Peter speaks for all of us about this daunting charge. "How often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Peter has underestimated. "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." (or seventy times seven is the alternative translation; i.e. without limit)
Then Matthew emphasizes the point with the story of the slave who is forgiven a great debt only to imprison a fellow slave because of a small debt. Let your love and mercy be as generous as God's, for God has already been infinitely loving and merciful to you.
Now, what about the giants? In the narrative from Numbers, the Hebrew spies go into the land and discover that it is a land blessed by God, fertile and flowing with milk and honey. But there are giants there. "The people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there." (In verse 33 some from the mission will describe the Anakites as Nephilim, a semi-divine, mythological race of giants.)
What do you do about giants? Caleb says boldly, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." (He met some resistance.)
What do you do about giants? What do you do about forgiving seventy times seven? What do you do about the charge to love your neighbor as yourself, to love as God has loved?
Be bold. And trust God. These giants look bigger than our capabilities. But nothing is impossible with God. Be bold. ...but not presumptuous. Remember that our failure only magnifies God's opportunities for grace.
Lowell
_____________________________________________
Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts
About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.
Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html
The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.
Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org
Our Rule of Life
Lowell Grisham, Rector
Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts
About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.
Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html
The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.
Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org
Our Rule of Life
We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.
Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
posted by Lowell @ 8:04 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Today's readings are a good example of how we can gain insight from piecing together disconnected Bible passages despite the inherent dangers of such an approach.
Jesus warns us not to be like the harsh slave in the parable, while Paul reminds us that we are all sinners, leaving me with the uncomfortable feeling that we sinners need to keep our mouths shut when we see something "wrong."
"What do you do about giants," you ask? Excellent question. When the giants are the powers in control of the Church, what do you do? Let me start by saying that the wrong thing to do is to "dehumanize" them for this leads to the dangers of ethnic cleansing and "final solutions." Do you attack them and drive them out of the promised land as the Hebrews did? That approach seems to just lead to a never ending cycle of conflict. Do you make peace with the giants by accepting their religion, lifestyle, culture? Or do you try to maintain your heritage, and your beliefs setting up a nation within a nation. Or do you shake the dust from your feet, pack up the caravan and keep looking for the promised land?
What do you do then when the unrepentant sinner is dishing out the communion wafer? Paul points out that all are sinners. Therefore, we will always be getting the sacraments from the hands of sinners. I am afraid in our rush to accept the sinfulness of our leaders, that we have lowered our expectations of them.
"What do you do about forgiving seventy times seven, you ask?" What do you do when that person is not asking for forgiveness, but rather is asking for "acceptance" because they deny the sin? Paul again straightens us out and reminds us that no one of us is above sin. I take that in mind when ever someone denies the sinfulness of their favorite human behavior.
"What do you do about the charge to love your neighbor as yourself, to love as God has loved," you ask? I have to humble myself and beg forgiveness as I acknowledge my sins. I pray that true repentance will follow and my life will change. I have to pray that the Lord will forgive seventy times seven for I am lowly and born to sin, and as such will probably use up every one of those seventy times seven.
Those are some great questions, UP.
Some of my most uncomfortable times have been when I have worked under the authority of those whose opinions and leadership were so disappointing it seemed more than I could stand.
I remember a priest who helped me with a distinction. God always accepts us as God's own; God doesn't always accept our behavior.
I can (try to) accept every person as one created in the image of God even while disagreeing with some of their actions.
And the part is never the whole. Those I may see as enemy are someone else's beloved.
Thanks for the great questions and thoughts.
Lowell
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