Celebration and Solemnity

Matthew 25:1 – “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids taking their lamps and going out to greet the groom.”

“Then.” I had never noticed this innocent word sitting here before, but it does a lot of work. We’ve been talking about how we don’t know when Christ, the master, will return. We’ve been discussing what to do while we wait for that day. The first word in this verse announces that the time has come. Then, when the master comes back, when Jesus returns.

When the master returns, the kin-dom of heaven will be like ten joyful bridesmaids taking their lamps to light the bridegroom’s way to the house of the bride. It’s a celebration, but underneath is a serious undertaking. Marriage is not a commitment to be made lightly. Both my mom and I have wedding pictures showing us thinking about that seriousness. Even in this age of easy divorce, marriage is serious business. I think the older the bride and groom are the more difficult. Someone who has been on their own and used to their own space, like me, may find it difficult to adjust, or have a spouse who may not recognize the need to adjust. Adjusting isn’t always easy. Things definitely change when we make that commitment. Our life centers around our spouse in a new way; different from friends, different from boy/girlfriends, way different from dating.

Communication becomes important, decisions are no longer as simple as whether we want to do something, finances become fraught, balancing time together with time apart or time with friends, who’s gonna cook dinner tonight. Even the laundry needs to be discussed occasionally. When we get married, the work begins. Everything changes, everything becomes more intimate, which is why in the Old Testament and here in Matthew, marriage is a symbol of our relationship with God – Jesus. God wants to be that intimate with us, which again requires our participation. 

When we give our lives to Christ, everything changes. Communication, decisions, finances, time, food, laundry, and even sex are seen in new ways. Remember John 21:5 – See, I am making all things new. All things become changed, infused with the sacred. And following Christ requires our work and our participation as well. Just as marriage complicates our lives in a good way, so following Christ complicates our lives in a good way. Giving our lives to Christ is not a decision to make lightly.

Then, when the master returns, all things will be celebration and solemnity combined, just as in a marriage feast.

While we wait, let’s prepare for the celebration as well as the solemnity.

B

Chains Shall He Break

Isaiah 61:1-3a
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
    to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and release to the prisoners;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³ to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.

Oh Holy Night verse 3
 
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is Peace
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother
And in His name, all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us Praise His Holy name

While we celebrate with friends and family, let us remember why Jesus showed up in the first place. Let us remember those who are in chains, surrounded by chain-link fences with no room to sit, or those whose chains are not visible. As we celebrate, let us not forget those who cannot celebrate.

Whose chains will you help to break?
B

Unnecessary Violence

Matthew 24:48-51 – “But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with the drunken, the master of that servant will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour he does not know, and he will punish him and put him with the hypocrites; there people will be wailing and gnashing their teeth.”

Okay, necessary disclaimer. Jesus is not talking about hell here. Punishment of both servants and slaves in those days included whipping, withholding of food, and other awful things. The wailing and gnashing of teeth is to express the distress and pain of the punishment. Or, the consequence. If we displease our bosses, there are consequences. Not only will we probably not get a raise or promotion, we might be fired. But the consequences don’t stop at these punishments. These actions can cascade in our lives and bleed into other areas. That’s true even if others around us or our own minds don’t give us a hard time about our screw up.

These consequences are another example of policy violence. There is no moral imperative to whip a slave for disobedience, just as there is no moral imperative to fire an employee for bad behavior. These are policies. Just so we’re clear, I’m speaking against this type of consequence. Jesus was not; he was merely describing a factual situation of his day in order to underscore the importance of being aware of how we’re serving God/Jesus in Jesus’ absence. Consequences do not need to be violent to change a person’s behavior. In fact, it’s less likely they’ll change if the consequence is violent. This administration’s border policy of separating children from their parents without keeping track of where they get detained is not stopping people from seeking asylum. That’s because what they face in their home country is worse. We do not have to be violent toward these people. Our president and his enablers choose this violence, just as they choose to lie about its necessity.

So, how can we deal with these issues in a non-violent manner? Well, that is the question of the ages. However, it begins with us, with our hearts. If we react in anger to 45’s policies or to the actions of others, we are exhibiting violence. Violence begets violence. Nancy Pelosi struck the right chord during the impeachment vote; especially when she stopped Democrats from celebrating, which would have been a violent act. Not getting violent when someone attacks is difficult, and to be honest, some situations may require a violent response. Yet, for so many of us, violence in the form of ad hominem attacks, creative nicknames, and laughing at people for things they can’t change (like 45’s mind slowly deteriorating) is our first reaction. It makes us feel temporarily good and maybe even powerful.

I have spent the last three years praying for the president; that he have happiness, no suffering, connection with the joy God gives, and peace. I pray this for others too, but in these three years I have really begun to see how unhappy, depressed, and angry Republicans in leadership and elsewhere tend to be. There are exceptions. I’ve had conversations with Republicans who are not rabid about 45. Republican leaders are deeply unhappy and angry. I don’t think it’s just about the world changing in favor of people who aren’t white and male, although that’s part of it. It seems to me to go much deeper. Whoever they’re angry at hurt them. I continue to believe that hurt people hurt people. They know they’re lying about all of it; they know the truth. Their performative anger during the investigation and final vote was all pretend, but their anger and hurt are real. Like Rev. Barber, I feel sorry for them. 

For their victims, too, of course, first and foremost, but we can fight against policy violence and still recognize the humanity of the person behind it. It is not easy, and I don’t claim to have it down. But I think that is something Jesus would want us to do.

B

The Next Right Thing

Matthew 24:46-7 – “Blessed is the servant whom his master, on returning, finds fulfilling his duties. Truly, I tell you that he will put him over all his possessions.”

This passage reminds of the story of Joseph, and how the Pharaoh, seeing that he was gifted and trustworthy, put him over all of Egypt. It reminds me of Jesus saying in Luke (16:10), “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.”  In other words, broadly speaking, actions have consequences. Not rewards, not punishments, just natural consequences. If I poke myself in the eye, it will hurt. Consequences.

To be clear, however, I am not saying that all the bad things that happen to us, or the good things either, are a direct result of our actions. Sometimes bad things just happen. The world is not just or fair.

I’m thinking here about verse 46 through the lens of verse 47. When the master returns and finds everyone going about their duties and all in order, he’ll be happy, and those workers will be praised, promoted, whatever. As long as we include the caveat that we’re talking about a good master. Matthew’s point is that, as workers in God’s kin-dom, we should always be about our master’s, God’s, business; the business God has given us.

For me, unless I’m doing the work in front of me, I feel tension all over my body. This tension began way back when I returned to church after a long absence. I felt a pull I can’t explain. I knew it was where I needed to be. If I chose not to go, I would be super tense until the church hour was over. When I went, I felt better; even when I came late and left early. It was the same when I felt called to ministry. Life was uncomfortable until I gave in. All through seminary, the jobs I’ve had, the volunteer positions, relationships, self-care, you name it. If I’m not attending to the work God has in any given moment, I am tense and irritable. I don’t do them to feel better, however, I do them because they’re the right thing to do in that moment. It reminds me of Socrates explaining during his trial that his god was guiding him. He explained that he would do something until he sensed it was not god’s work. Anyway, this is my consequence. Of course, it is not a universal phenomenon.

The truth is that I feel better about myself and the state of the world after writing these short pieces and putting them out there. I feel better about myself and the world when I join a protest calling for impeachment, closing the detention camps, stopping family separation, or denouncing cheating to win elections, jurors promising they’ll be partial, homelessness, poverty, policy violence. I feel better about the world when I edit the articles for the local homeless newspaper. I feel better about the world when I contribute to local work helping to make churches aware of our local homeless situation. I feel better about the world when I rest, make a doctor appointment, eat well, and take time to renew and refresh. I feel better about the world when I clean my house, do dishes, do laundry, talk to friends. These are how I’ve chosen to resist the hate and anger and cruelty of this administration and its enablers. That’s my blessing. I don’t expect any promotion, but doing the right thing, that thing that presents itself in any given moment, always feels better. 

However, it make take a while to feel better. Sometimes the right thing is the difficult thing. Say, admitting I screwed up or speaking up on behalf of myself or someone else. While not always easy, for me, doing the right thing is life-giving. 

So, today, I’m going to focus on doing what is presented in every moment, whether that’s resting or working.

Join me. Maybe it works that way for you tool.

B