A Better Future

Matthew 22:44 – “The LORD said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand while I put your enemies at your feet.”

The first lord refers to YHVH. It is written in all caps in English translations to distinguish it from the other word for God in the Hebrew Bible, El. The ‘my lord’ originally referred to the king, David, and was seen as the pronunciation of a prophet. Jesus reinterprets ‘my lord’ to refer to the coming messiah rather than King David. This new way of seeing the passage would have astonished the Pharisees and the audience.

In this reinterpretation, the passage moves from a memory of the past glory of King David to the promise of a future glory. The Israelites may have been holding on to past glories as a survival strategy during an oppressive occupation. Jesus called them to look to their future glory instead. “The Kingdom of Heaven is here.” He called them to a new vision of community; a future that they could co-create with Jesus.

Here in the United States, we’re in a similar situation. Our democratic systems and ideals have been hijacked to serve the purposes of corrupt, old, ‘white’ men. We were not perfect before the election, but progress was being made. This administration has done its best to get rid of that progress. It is tempting to live in the past, when times were a little better. However, the messiahship of Jesus calls us, as it called the Israelites, to look toward a new vision of community; to continue to work with the Spirit toward a better, more equitable society; to work toward a future where we take care of our citizens rather than threaten them with deportation if they step out of line.

How is Jesus calling you to participate in co-creating this new future?