I'm one of those
people that reads the fine print. Especially before I'm signing on to
something, I tend to ask: What's the catch?
The reason for this
is I *hate* those moments where something unexpected - though likely
preventable - blindsides me. Those moments of "Wait, WHAT?!" are not
fun for me.
And yet,
that's exactly what our scriptures are full of today. Those moments where
there's some unexpected condition, some shocking reality, that our people
should have known about, and yet were surprised by.
Let's start with
Moses: at this point in his story he's enjoying the quiet, simple life of being
a happily married shepherd in a delightfully welcoming community.
And then there's a
bush. Burning, but not being consumed.
Wait,
WHAT?
Now, Moses has 2 options:
one is to pretend that this isn't happening, that he doesn't see it, or that
he's just going to reject what his senses are telling him, and walk away. That
lost sheep must be in the opposite direction.
But instead, he
chooses to move toward this anomaly - a good choice, as God will not be
avoided, and I can almost guarantee that God would have found countless other
bushes to enflame until Moses paid attention. God's like that.
So - Moses does as
he's told, full of respect and amazement and trust, in the presence of God,
removes his sandals and averts his eyes. And God conveys the desire to be as
close to Moses as is possible on earth; so that he can touch the very dirt that
God has created, and through which God created all life.
And
then comes the call to ministry. The overwhelming, terrifying,
full-of-fine-print call to ministry.
And,
God bless him, Moses - our friend Moses, our biblical hero, says:
"Wait, WHAT?"
Well,
actually what he says is a whole series of excuses why he shouldn't have to
sign on the dotted line. And God is patient with him, but firm.
This
isn't just about YOU, God says. It's about all my people. And you're going to
be part of the solution to our current problem of injustice and pain and
violence.
That's
quite the fine print.
But
what's also in the fine print, as always, is that as Moses focuses on God's
divine mission, he will not be alone in his earthly ministry. God promises him
a companion for the immediate journey, and the assurance of heavenly
accompaniment even in this realm.
That's
the fine print we all want.
That
message is continued in our reading of Paul's letter to the church in Rome.
He's highlighting for them how easy it is to get caught up in the earthly
day-to-day stuff that can bring us down, and distract us from our call to be
God's people. And Paul could be writing to any church at any time, couldn't he?
We all make judgments and decisions based on what is easy or popular, rather
than what is faithful and right.
Paul
articulates how we as Christ followers ought to act, rather than how we
often do act. And he challenges us all to do better, to re-focus our
hearts and minds on the holy, because it's the right thing to do.
It's
this invitation that can have some people saying "Wait, WHAT?"
because we get comfortable. We enjoy our earthly creature
comforts. We like having our stuff, and justifying keeping it all to ourselves.
We don't want to have to share - why should we?
Ah, fine print again. What a reminder that Paul offers to force
us to recall that as Christ followers, it's not about us as individuals; but
that it's about us with shared responsibility for the spiritual, emotional, and
physical well-being of the whole community.
And, as
the fine print always shares - God is with us in that living out of God's mission.
God is with us when we faithfully exercise our ministry.
Our Gospel
passage repeats this. Peter is having one of his delightfully delusional
moments - I love Peter's humanness! - where he thinks that everything is going
to be just hunky-dory and rainbows and butterflies. And Jesus reminds him of
the fine print.
Jesus says - not for the first time - that he will suffer and
die. And, as though that isn't horrible enough, he tells his disciples that if
they really want to be his followers, that they too will have to suffer for the
sake of the Good News of God.
Take up
YOUR cross, he says, not just helping me to carry mine.
Wait, WHAT?
At this
point Peter's kinda wondering if this was really what he signed up for... if
he's heard this correctly... this was NOT what he had intended when he left his
business and started the grand adventure with his friend.
So Jesus reminds him
of the fine print. Being his follower means sacrifice. It can mean suffering It
means facing burdens and challenges.
It
means that the focus needs to change away from the comforts of this life and
losing the earthly trap, in order to gain a perspective on the coming of the
Kingdom. And beyond that: it means sharing that perspective with people who may
not really want to hear it or embrace it.
And: more fine print:
that we're in this journey together. All Christ-followers, those who truly wish
to embrace the reality of being Christians, will journey side by side, offering
assistance to one another as we together carry our many crosses. It's time for
Peter to decide if he's in or out, in this passage. And we delight in knowing
the way that he chose.
There's lots to think about from our
scriptures today, isn't there? A lot of meaning and nuance and - if you will -
fine print. Our lessons today are quite substantial; a very clear reminder of what
we are meant to do as a response to the world.
But sometimes - like
our scriptural examples - we can miss the point. We don't fully engage with
what it actually means when we agree to this.
When we 'sign on' to
be Christians, we are not making a one-day agreement. This is not something we
do when we feel like it and ignore when we don't. Christianity is an every-day
and life-long commitment - and one that will have bad days - that will challenge
us - that will force us beyond our comfort zones. It's one that insists that we
are changed by the experience, and by extension that we change the world around
us. For the love of God, we are called to change the world.
For the love of God,
we agreed to do just that.
And by the grace of
God, we are equipped with all that we need in order to do that.
So let us do just
that - let's use the readings today to be reminded of our call to ministry; the
directive to keep our eyes (and ears, and hearts, and actions) focused on
eternal divine things, not caught up on temporary earthly things. Let us live
out Christian life and witness fully, entirely, and intentionally; let our
lives reflect our informed commitment to this lifestyle, demonstrating our
trust in God's fine print of journeying with us always.
No comments:
Post a Comment