Reflection for 29th August 2010

Year C Proper 17 29 August 2010
Jeremiah 2: 4-13 Psalm 81: 1, 10-16 Hebrews 13: 1-8, 15-16 Luke 14: 1, 7-14
Once again our Gospel takes us to a Sabbath in Israel. Jesus is being carefully watched to see if he will heal and break the Sabbath again. But this scene doesn’t take place in the Temple or some other public place, but at the house of a prominent Pharisee. Was it a set up? Or were they simply discerning the situation?

Whatever the purpose of the dinner, Jesus would have been wise to keep a low profile.... smile sweetly at the nice Pharisee... But no... Jesus speaks out yet again challenging his listeners, and us. He tells them to take the seating of the lowest position and also to invite people who can not pay you back. Not seemingly so important as to create a scene by speaking out at all.... what would you have done?

It is the age old question, should we speak out or not? There is a popular Dixie Chicks song which deals with this issue to some extent. The lyrics tell us the advice given to the feisty Dixie Chicks: “you say ‘can’t you just get over it’”. The song is “I’m not ready to make nice”, and I guess that gives us the idea of the song. This singer decided that she wasn’t going to back down. Obviously Jesus was looking more deeply at the situation and saw that it was important for the Pharisees sake and ours.... otherwise St. Luke wouldn’t have included it in his Gospel.

The Ancient Israelites, like all of us, lived with the same pressure to bow down to societal ways of life, rather than live God’s way. Should they remain true to their God or should they follow the customs of the nations around them with whom they traded, lived and intermarried. In fact it was a great deal like our modern life with its increasingly global outlook. It isn’t that a global outlook is bad, but within this very exciting life, there certainly is a very real danger of us losing our identity, our uniqueness, our culture and our beliefs.

Jeremiah speaks to these Ancient Israelites and asks them about their fathers: Jeremiah 2:5a “5 This is what the LORD says: "What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me?”
In other words, God was acknowledging that it was the fathers whose lives and decisions shaped the current situation.

Following on from my reflection last week about how we have been reprogrammed in our understanding of right and wrong, is it possible that we are shaping the future generations, setting them up to turn away from God?

Many years ago I was concerned about the religious education in the catholic schools. There had been a shift to teach about other faiths with respect. Education in these other faiths is certainly not a bad thing, but when the person teaching it doesn’t know why Christianity is truly the “Gospel”, what happens is that impressionable students, whose parents are expecting the school to pass on the faith to their children gain a respect and admiration for the religion they undertake a crash course into, and view their own Christian faith with diminished respect. It becomes a kind of case where familiarity breeds contempt!

Would God say the same to us, “What fault did you find in me, that you strayed so far from me?”
It isn’t just in the school situation, but in our families. We may have accepted society’s attitudes to issues and aspects of life that is completely at odds with the Gospel message. Even just in our attitude toward church being a priority there are signs of society’s attitudes evident in our congregations.... or lack thereof. There are many who have found it just too hard to get to church. Really, if we looked hard and honestly we might find that we are holding something against God..... Some how in our subconscious we are saying, “God, you are not as important as .... my family, my job, my pleasure.... etc..”

Hurt often keeps us from being in a healthy relationship with God. We become immobilised in our pain and the great and kind people around us don’t actually help. Sometimes we want so badly to be supportive, caring and understanding – and so we affirm, “it is understandable that you do not go to Church, or that you are not following in the path God wants for you – or not feeling connected to God – give yourself time.” Indeed it is understandable! BUT it isn’t helping people heal to remain this way.

My niece is doing her religion assignment and had to interview people. She asked me about how my faith regards the death of someone in the family. I told her that it gives hope, and the belief in heaven gives a connection to the person, and I don’t know how someone without faith could cope... the loss would be too devastating.

I have discovered that no matter how many times you tell yourself that death is a natural part of life, somehow when you actually have to deal with it you realize that it is impossible to comprehend. Somehow, we hold things like this against God. Past hurts of all kinds.... we say, “God why couldn’t you have prevented that?” And honestly, I have struggled with God about this too. I have no doubt that my experience is not unique.

Ancient Israelites lived in harsh times of common death and disaster. Did they blame God? Was it easier to become bitter and turn away from the law of God?
Psalm 81 tells us: “10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”

Our God has done many good things for us, but as humans, we tend to dwell on the things that have gone wrong rather than things which have gone right. It is no wonder that Hebrews 13 uses the word “sacrifice” to describe the praise we give God. Sometimes it is a sacrifice to break through out bitterness and hurt in order to see the good that God has done for us. Hebrews 13:15 “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

“The fruit of lips that confess his name.” Do our lips confess the name of God? Are we a witness to him in this world, helping to shape the world into his kingdom on earth?
Hebrews 13:7 also exhorts us: “7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”
Some of those leaders were put to death for their faith. We are to imitate the faith that they had. No doubt this will mean speaking out and witnessing to the truth of Jesus Christ, to those who will be antagonistic towards us for the message we bring.

The readings this week are about holding firm to our faith and passing on the faith, but there are promises from God in this. Promises to supply our needs and that he will always be with us.
Although I’ve spoken about bravely standing up for our faith, and it may sound like an aggressive stance, our faith is actually one that requires us to truly love. In love we do not think of ourselves more highly than we ought, but consider the needs of others. Sometimes the needs of others will be food and shelter, care and support. Sometimes we will be called to show love by visiting or calling to see how someone is coping. Sometimes we will need to show our love by speaking the truth, which is what Jesus did when spoke to the Pharisees. He told the Pharisees how they could practically show love and respect for others by taking the less important seats.

Jesus was speaking of something deeper. Jesus was the most important guest to planet Earth, but the Pharisees didn’t recognise him. The Pharisees did not know the extent of Jesus identity, and in their ministries they felt that they were way more important than Jesus. In a way, Jesus was trying to open their eyes to allow a place for his ministry, and that of others who were to carry out his will.

In our jobs, and in our church, are we grasping to a “high” position – holding on to our “area” of importance- and in doing so not allowing for the one that God has ordained? Are we overlooking the gifts of someone because they sit in a low position? Is it possible that there is one who God has appointed, who feels like Jeremiah, just a child?

On the flip side, I hope that we also don’t invest in the “tall poppy” syndrome and try to undermine those that God has set in places of authority over us.

The message of Jesus was and is, to regard each other with respect and care, but we must respectfully refuse to bow down to the idols of football, children’s sports, ambition, self-pity and pleasure – because these in perspective are gifts, they can become very tempting idols indeed!
There is an appropriate saying: “He who whittles himself away to suit everyone else soon finds there is nothing left!” Hold firm to the truth and remember that it is in by the witness of our love that people will know we are Christians.