Who Will You Follow? A Lectionary Reflection
Who Will You Follow?
Politics is in the air. The primary season is nearing its close, and
general elections are in the offing. Much is to be lost or gained by the different
parties involved. It’s easy to get
caught up in the hoopla, letting the partisan bombast define our identity.
I do believe in being engaged in public life, as a Christian and as houses of
worship, and I’m engaged politically, but where do we place our ultimate allegiance?
Who will we follow? When we look
at the world in which we live, what defines our sense of being? Do we let
loyalty to party or ideology define our purpose or is it God who defines who we
are? What determines our focus in
life? When we engage in public life, as
we should (in my opinion), what guides our engagement?
Each of these lectionary texts designated
for this week have their own identity, but each does speak to how we define our
identity as people of God. If you’re a preacher, you have to walk gently
with these particular texts, especially the readings from the Hebrew Bible and
the Gospel. Both require careful and
patient interpretation. At first glance
the reading from 1 Samuel might appear to be a proof text for the Tea Party
platform, but does it really provide solace for small government advocates? And then in Mark 3, Jesus upsets our sense of
family values. I expect that many
preachers will join me in taking refuge in Paul’s more comforting text, but
even it should prove challenging to the way we envision the world.
As we read this passage from 1
Samuel, it raises all manner of questions about the world and how we live in
it. How does God rule and what is the
role of government? The people demand a
king – like everyone else – who will watch over them, protect them, and guide
them. The writers of 1 Samuel interpret
this request not as a rejection of Samuel’s leadership, but of God’s. Evidently they don’t trust God to do the
right thing, and want what everyone else has.
Hierarchy has its benefits.
Whether in church or government, many people take comfort in letting
someone else make the decisions. But, as
the text shows, God tells Samuel to remind the people that they will give up much
freedom in exchange for the “protection” provided by a monarchy. Now if you’re a religiously-inclined small
government advocate this will seem like a good text to pull out, but be careful
about what you ask for.
First, it’s important to recognize
that this is not a call for the reign of individualism; it is a call for divine
rule that has been exercised through the leadership of a prophet/judge rather
than a monarchy. What they are rejecting
is the reign of God, the reign of the one who had brought them up out of Egypt
and had watched over them to that very moment.
In requesting a king, they were declaring their belief that God’s reign
is insufficient. In demanding a king,
like the other nations, they were in essence walking into the arms of foreign
gods. After all, monarchs often took on
the aura of divinity, demanding homage as if they were divine beings. And such would be the case going
forward. How would this homage be
paid? Well, Samuel delivers the message
– the monarch will conscript your sons to fill his army. He will take your servants – both male and
female – for his own service. He will
demand and receive your flocks. And in
the end, you will become the slaves of this monarch. That’s just the way things work. So you have a choice – God’s reign or the
monarch’s. They choose the monarch, and so
Samuel installs Saul as king at Gilgal.
They feign loyalty to God’s rule by offering sacrifices, but clearly
they have put their trust on Saul’s broad shoulders, rather than on the justice
and love of God.
Trust in God – that’s the message
here. You can read a critique of
government here if you like, but it’s really a pox on all your houses – those
who like a big military and those who want to “soak the rich.” Rather
than focus on the style of government, the word here is simple -- give your
allegiance to God! Notice, though that
God permits the government, and Samuel blesses it, but it comes second to our
allegiance to God.
In this reading from 2 Corinthians, Paul
speaks of our proper focus in life. It
is God who deserves our allegiance and loyalty.
It is God who will direct our lives and give them a sense of
purpose. Paul can speak boldly the
message of the gospel, because of his faith, knowing as he does that the “one
who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us with Jesus and he will bring us into
his presence along with you” (2 Cor. 4:14 CEB).
If God has raised Jesus from the dead, then there is no reason to
fear. The blessing here is that through
God’s grace the benefits of God’s reign spread further to more and more people,
and this brings glory to God.
In this second Corinthian letter
Paul consistently has to defend his ministry, and he does this in part by
demonstrating the singularity of his devotion, no matter what may come his way.
He can face the realities of persecution
and resistance, because he knows that while the body my break down on the
outside, the inner person continues to strong as he walks in the ways of Jesus. He writes:
“The temporary minor problems (persecution in this case) are producing
an eternal stockpile of glory for us that is beyond all comparison” (vs.
17). This isn’t an argument for
becoming doormats. It doesn’t mean that
wives should allow their husbands to beat them for the glory of God (in the hope
that submission will convert them). It
is a recognition however that facing life with boldness leads to maturity and
growth internally (spiritually). Therefore,
Paul believes that what he is experiencing here and now is nothing compared
with what is in store for him.
Of course, some read a passage like this and see it as
promising pie in the sky, heavenly sunshine that denies the value of this
life. We can fall into the trap of
reading this in Gnostic terms as a denial of the body, but Paul has a strong
theology of resurrection that counters such a view. He’s not contrasting body and soul, with the
body as a prison to be cast off. Still,
we need to recognize the truth that Marx discerned -- religion can be the
opiate of the people – promise them heaven, then they’ll be compliant on
earth. Marx didn’t opine this without
evidence. Down through history the
church has been complicit in promising heaven in exchange for obedience to the
powers that be. But, Paul isn’t advocating such a view. He trusts that heaven awaits in all its
glory, but it is a promise that gives confidence. If one does not fear death, then one is more
able to hear and embrace the calling to serve God’s realm.
If Samuel bemoans the people’s
rejection of God’s real and Paul speaks of the empowerment that is derived from
the hope of the resurrection, Jesus redefines the nature of our relationships
with each other. There is a lot of talk
these days, especially on the religious right of so-called “family values,”
which are in essence the defense of the rather modern idea of the priority of
the nuclear family (mom/dad/2 kids/dog/cat).
Who is my mother and who are my brothers and sisters? That’s the question Jesus raises after his
own family comes to take him home, believing he is insane. The legal authorities seem to concur,
declaring that he must be demon possessed.
On the charge of demon-possession,
Jesus pleads not guilty. How can he be
the tool of Satan and at the same time cast out demons? To Jesus this makes no sense, for a “kingdom
involved in a civil war will collapse” (vs. 23). That seems like a rather common sense analysis. From there he goes on to a discussion of what
is often called the “unpardonable sin,” the sin of blasphemy. What is blasphemy? Well, here at least it seems that this
involves attributing to the Holy Spirit the work of Satan. You can’t keep on attributing to Satan that
which is the work of God – that will not end well.
But, back to the families. What should we do with Jesus’ words about families? Here it seems that the family of Jesus
rejects his ministry – even his mother seems to be drawn into the fray. But, the reality is, down through history,
families have been divided by faith.
Persons have converted, and have found themselves exiled from their
families. So, what happens to such
persons? Are the orphans? Or, do they become part of a new family? Are we part of a larger family, the family of
Christ, joint heirs with Jesus, Paul would say?
Who shall we follow? Jesus’ own family thought he was crazy to be
doing God’s business? To follow in the
ways of God isn’t easy. There will be
resistance. There will also be temptation
to follow a different path. But,
according to Paul, the hope of the resurrection gives us boldness to walk in
the ways of God. May it be so!
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