A reflection on the lectionary readings for the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost.
The world is a mess, Y’all. I wrote a piece this past week for my facebook page using Paul’s words from Galatians “do not grow weary of doing what is right” because I wanted to encourage others to not give up doing good even when we feel like we have little to no impact.
And then I saw that in today’s readings we get the same message from Paul. So, apparently, we really need to hear this! In his second letter to the church in Thessaloniki Paul is responding to reports he’s gotten that there are those who are leading disordered lives, lives no longer aligned with the teachings of Jesus. Scholars have speculated several possible reasons. Some may have the attitude that since Jesus is coming back soon why bother with do much or that some were serving the Roman elites even if what they were asked to do went against the teachings of Jesus.
Whatever their reasoning, Paul’s correction is clear. Jesus shows us in flesh and blood how to live the ordered life of God’s Kingdom-on-earth-as-in-heaven. What we are able to do we are to do for good of all.
But this doesn’t mean that we are licensed to dictate to others how they should serve. This is the only place in all of scripture that the greek word (periergazomai) translated as ‘busybodies’ is used. Strongs Concordance says it is “used apparently of a person officiously inquisitive about others affairs.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary says the Greek renders “some who are not busied in their own business, but are overbusied in that of others.”
I read in this a two-fold correction by Paul. We are to live well-ordered lives patterned after Jesus so that we work together to build up the body of Christ. And also that we don’t get so caught up in finding what we think others are doing wrong that we forget to do our own work. We are to build each other up, offer constructive correction when we see others are out of order with Jesus’ teachings, and our main focus of correction is to be ourselves.
And all of this flows from the Gospel lesson for today as Jesus offers us words of understanding and encouragement. Life is hard and the world is a scary place. When humans decided they knew better than God how to define right and wrong, good and evil and decided to build their own kingdoms, the beautiful and good world that God created was damaged. And the human harm continues to this day.
Jesus tells us to stand firm in the faith that God will set things right in God’s timing. Justice will prevail and God’s goodness will fill the new heaven and new earth. Until then, life will be hard at times and we cannot let fear take control of us. And as we hold tight to the hope of God’s promises we can’t lose sight of the Kingdom-on-earth-as-in-heaven. We stand brave and strong in the path of Jesus and keep doing what is right, keep living The Way of Love. Some will try to distract us from the here and now and attempt to control us with fear. Others will turn against us. Jesus tells us to remember that God is with us and the life we are choosing to live is the life we are really made for, even as many in this world have lost sight of God’s Kingdom.
This isn’t blind optimism or toxic positivity. It is faith in God and standing strong because of who and Whose we are. We don’t pretend life isn’t hard difficult at times, we just know that God is good and his promises prevail. We remember God and sing praises and give thanks for all God has made and all God does to love us. And we do what is ours to do to show others what God’s Kingdom looks like.
God’s Kingdom looks like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, showing hospitality to strangers, holding those who cause harm accountable, being willing to acknowledge our own wrongdoings, and wanting for our neighbors what we want for ourselves. This is how we show that we love God and how we invite others into this Kingdom.
A well ordered Kingdom-on-earth-as-in-heaven life doesn’t mean that we have to do everything or work our fingers to the bone. It means we do what is ours to do, what is within our ability and means. It means that we use what we have to help others. It means we do the hard internal work of letting the work of the Holy Spirit shape our hearts to be like Jesus’ heart.
Paul wrote his letter to the earliest of churches some 2000+ years ago. The people he wrote to were trying to figure out what it is to follow a risen savior who was no longer physically present with them. Many of them had never heard Jesus teach first hand and had come to know Jesus through Paul’s teaching. They didn’t have it all figured out. Paul didn’t have it all figured out. The disciples who lived with Jesus day in and day out for three years didn’t have it all figured out. And things haven’t changed much in 2000 years. We are still, as every generation before us and all that will come after, trying to figure out what it is to follow a risen savior in our day and time. God doesn’t expect anything else from us. We don’t have to be perfect, just willing to do our best with God’s help.
And the best resource we have for developing and deepening our understanding of who God is is our holy scriptures. These are the stories of our faith ancestors and how they, since creation, have lived into their trust in God. These are the stories of how they got it right and how they got it wrong. The stories of when they chose God’s Way and when they chose their own and the consequences of each choice. And through it all God continues to love and forgive and seek us out. Our scriptures are the grand and eternal story of God coming to us, to show us love, to show us who we really are and invite us to walk with God, to live on earth as in heaven. Let these stories shape and guide who we are always becoming. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them so that we hold fast to the hope of the life we are made for.
Don’t be afraid even when the world seems so scary around us. Know what Jesus teaches. Keep following Jesus. Know who and Whose you are. Remember that everyone is made in God’s image, even if it seems impossible to see it in some. Together and with God’s help we continue to build each other up, to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is who we are created and called to be. Amen.
Mother Nancy's Coffee Thoughts 