A Fair Deal - Ordinary Time - September 21

Jonah 3:10 – 4:11

Psalm 145

Philippians 1:21-30

Matthew 20:1-16

         “That’s not fair!” The complaint plagues parents, educators, referees – anyone who makes decisions. Sometimes it comes from a perceived difference in treatment. Sometimes it comes from the perception of equal treatment. Everyone defines fair to their benefit; the decision-makers cannot win. Imagine God’s decision making process: “Jonah or Nineveh? Us or them? First century Christians or twenty-first century Christians? Who’s going to have a bad day?”

         As far as Jonah is concerned, I wonder if God could have given him a good day. Upon being released from the great fish, he probably pined for the coziness of the close quarters inside. God gave him a mission, but because of his view of himself and his view of the recipients of that mission, he acted contrary to his charge. Unlike the spies who hear the “should you choose to accept this assignment” qualification to their direction, prophets only hear, “your assignment….” Jonah still hoped God would have a change of mind. God did. God pardoned Nineveh – which Jonah knew would happen. He returned to pouting and hoped God would decide to smite them anyway.

         A first reading of the Gospel lets one ask, “what does God owe me?” The answer is pretty good: I get the same thing every Christian gets! A deeper reading though flips the question, “what do I owe God?” The answer is pretty rough: I owe God the same thing every Christian does. Suddenly, I do not see Jonah as the whiner; he has some good points. “They” are wicked: “I” am holy. “They” did not keep your commandments: “I” live according to your will…except for that one thing…and yes, that other….

         I am them. They are me.

         Since Easter Sunday I have been on a self-imposed hiatus. Honestly, it has been a self-imposed avoidance of anything religious. Through Lent and Holy Week I found myself responding to the texts with degrees of physical anger. How could the “Church” keep getting it so wrong? The Gospel I read left no doubt about Jesus’s message of inclusion yet dictate after dictate issued by various denominations established conditions of exclusion. I found myself fantasizing Nineveh² consequences on them.

         I was Jonah.

         Instead of reflecting on Scripture and other writings, I took up the gavel and pronounced judgment.

         Exactly the thing that in others led to such physical distress in me.

         I was them and it was killing me.

         It’s not fair! I had to embrace those who make me uncomfortable and “they” do not. Like Jonah, I fled.

         Last week, I heard the sermon one of my Tweeps (people I follow on Twitter) delivered. The message was simple but powerful: Don’t Judge. Exchanging the gavel for my collection of colored pens I use to notate the Scriptures I am studying removed the stress and anger that plagued me in the weeks leading up to Easter.

         What do I owe God? To do his will for me and not do his job (judge).

         What does God owe me? Only that which has been promised – the strength to do his will.

         That’s fair – whether I like it or not.

Second Sunday in Lent

Genesis 12:1-4

Psalm 121

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Matthew 17:1-9

Timing is everything. Timing is rarely what we want it to be. We have our ideas about when crucial events should play out in our lives and how it is all going to work, but rarely do our plans match those of God. In one passage today, God tells Abram, “now,” and in another Jesus tells some of the Apostles, “wait.” Neither command was particularly convenient for those receiving the directive (especially Peter), but they were right for God’s purposes.

In Genesis, God tells a 75-year-old Abram to pack up, leave the land he had settled with his father and move to a land he will be shown. The Lord promised the heretofore childless Abram that for following his directions he would make him the father of a nation and a blessing to all on the earth. The history does not give any account of whether Abram thought about it, only that he packed up all belongings and set off as directed. What prior interactions God and Abram had were not recorded as this passage marks the call of Abram into service with God.

At 75, Abram was a middle-aged man (his father lived to 205), apparently prosperous as a herder and settled into the land. This sounds like middle-age in our time: progressing in a career and settled down with family. Packing up everything and everyone and moving to a yet unseen location (on a “trust me, it’s going to be good”) would give most of us pause before accepting or rejecting the idea. Centuries later the writer of Romans cites Abram for his faith. God asked; Abram did. Neither Abram nor his immediate descendants saw the completion of the promise, yet God fulfilled the promise.

In Matthew, Jesus takes three of the Apostles with him on a private hike up a high mountain. Upon arriving, Jesus’s “God side” showed itself. His face and clothes shone. Just as suddenly as there was the change in Jesus, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Ever impulsive, Peter jumps in with the suggestion that he build tents so they can all stay there together. God jumps in, stopping Peter, and for the second time identifying Jesus as his son and giving the command that they listen to him.

When God spoke, the Apostles fell down in fear. When Jesus told them not to be afraid, they discovered that Jesus was back to normal and Moses and Elijah were gone. As they were leaving, Jesus directed them to tell no one of this encounter until after his resurrection (one of many times he mentioned that it would happen). I know that if I had been one of the Apostles with him, I would have been much like Peter, “This is the greatest thing ever, We’ve got to tell everyone!” But Jesus, knowing the plans for his earthly ministry, knew it was not time for him to be proclaimed as the Son of God. The time would come, but there was more left to do.

At 75, many would consider Abram to be past the time when God would begin to use him. The zeal of the Apostles at experiencing a transfigured Jesus, the historical figures Moses and Elijah, and the voice of God would seem to be the perfect time for Jesus to turn them loose and let them start spreading his gospel. In God’s time, it was time for Abram to begin his work. In God’s time, it was not time for the Apostles to reveal the encounter and identity of Jesus. We too, must be attuned to God’s time in our lives. When his direction comes, it will be exactly when needed.