|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Jeremiah 23:1–6
|
Psalm
46:1–6
|
Colossians 1:11–20 |
Luke
23:33–43
|
The lessons and collect for this last Sunday before Advent, revolve around the theme of God’s constant presence in the swirl and undertow of history. Despite the turmoil that afflicts the world, there is the affirmation that God will save and restore humanity.
Jeremiah calls them shepherds, but he is really referring to the corrupt leaders of Israel, both political and religious. Those who think the Bible never has anything to say about politics need to pay more attention to the message of the great prophets. Make no mistake about it; Jeremiah condemned both social injustice and religious manipulation and abuse. Jeremiah then uses the image of a new reign of a righteous king. Our democratic society is quite uncomfortable with such images of royalty. History informs us that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Yet often our indignation and smug impatience with the Biblical writers who use imperial imagery, betrays an element of our own cultural self-righteousness. More than most of contemporary critics, Jeremiah knew first hand the venality of despots, the heel of cruel oppression and the unrelenting violence against the poor. Yet Jeremiah encapsulated a timeless vision of a society at peace, of a society with compassion, justice, and morality. The monarchy was merely the shell that held the vision, for a strong central authority was the only way any sort of peace and safety ever occurred in the world at that time.
The Gospel for today leaves us with the image of Jesus hanging on the Cross. It is late in the day; the two thieves and Jesus are exhausted and near death. One thief gasps, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” It was probably the last thing he said. Jesus turns and says, “today you will be with me in God’s kingdom”: Even today you will know that God is working to restore humanity, today signs of God’s plan of reconciliation will be shown to you.
People of faith are called to be more than critics of society, but must be flame spotters, those who search, who rejoice in, who proclaim the manifestations of God’s kingdom today. In 1927, some of the first research on worker motivation took place. In a manufacturing plant after consulting with workers, management installed considerably more light for the workers on the production line, and with that, output dramatically increased. Then after talking with the workers some more, management lowered the lighting a bit, and the output again increased. Researchers finally realized that the increased output had nothing to do with the lighting, but that when management paid attention to employees, production went up. That is what Jesus is saying to us from the cross. Pay attention! Today, the potential of God’s grace is among us.
We all know the sales pitch: “there is no better time than now to buy a car, or there is no better time to purchase a HD wide screen TV." Well, in regard to being witnesses of the resurrection and ambassadors of the Gospel, it’s true. God is available and willing to work with us right now. Pay attention to the signs of love, unselfishness, honesty, hope, charity, patience, forgiveness and faith. The good news that we learn from the Gospel record is that God invites and enlists people the world considers failures or who the world casts by the side of the road. The story of Jesus’ disciples is not the story of heroes who when they were ready and when they felt the time was right, were then commissioned to be witnesses of the Gospel in the world. Rather, Jesus turned to them and said, today, God’s process of healing begins in you. God wants you to know of the forgiveness of sins, to live with the comfort and power of knowing that death does not have the last word. Go now and likewise show kindness, proclaim hope, and tell people that God’s redemption is near.
In these weeks we are being asked to financially support the mission entrusted to St. John’s, In part we will be answering for ourselves, what does Jesus Christ mean for us. We will give thanks for what God has given us, and we have the opportunity to accept God’s invitation to live as disciples of a new age, to be citizens of a new type of world commonwealth, to be inhabitants of a different type of city. Look at the world around us! There is no better time than now to support God’s mission! There is no better season for us than today.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
