Can We Flourish In The Tension Between Authority and Vulnerability?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we consider the manner and method of the love made manifest in the lives of the vulnerable. Today we consider the truth, even though it is hard to comprehend, what exists at the intersection of grace and the cross, at the convergence of life, love and the law, and in the relationship of the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. It is here that we are amazed to discover we are children of God. It is here we act as we seek to answer today’s question in the affirmative. Can We Flourish In The Tension Between Authority and Vulnerability?
Scripture: See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
1 John 3:1-3 (NRSV)
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Luke 10:19 (ESV)
A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.
Mark 1:40-45 (NRSV)
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:25-37 (NRSV)
Message: At Bible study yesterday we were considering some of the scripture presented above. We really should not casually rush by the words. The ideas…. the grandeur of these themes is not trivial. Stop and ponder the truth being shared for it proclaims that which was manifested in Christ. For Christ was willing to risk what was surely prophetic but also taboo. The touching of a leper for a Jew was unthinkable and so distasteful as to not be mentioned. It should leave us amazed that it happened. It should be felt in our gut and draw out our emotions. We are to feel the tension in our bowels. The experience is to be palpable. This same kind of challenge is seen in the story of the Good Samaritan. Here we see the uncommon love on the road to Jericho. In both, the love appears to us like a mustard seed, tiny and seemingly vulnerable. And friends, know that this is the same love that is the key to the power of the universe. For it grows and flourishes in surprising ways. And here we might just see that the only cultural good we bring as Christians are those things in which we take a risk and act upon it in faith. Here we help to create a culture of love made manifest not just in the lives of lepers and the wounded but in our neighbors and especially the lives of children….where children of privilege and children of striving both become children of grace. It is here in this tension a leper is healed by a Jew…It is here a Samaritan helps a neighbor in need. It is here we all hopefully begin to understand the privilege of being in a Community of Children of God. Friends, in pity but first a little indignation Jesus heals the leper. Perhaps so too for the Good Samaritan. But in both there is finally pity and compassion and a touch that puts love above the law. And so too today we are called as the Body of Christ to be deeply moved, for Jesus has come to us… people damaged by sin that like leprosy eats away at us and causes us to lose our feeling toward what is right and good. Like leprosy we are confronted each day with something we cannot get rid of by ourselves, something that will ultimately destroy us… We all are wounded. That is until He comes, and looks at our insides, comes to us offering to turn us into thankful Christians. And when he comes to us we are to accept His touch, and when we see others in need, He asks we follow Him and directs us to obey. Here we too face the truth that Jesus needs the Good Samaritan in you. He needs the Good Samaritan in me. When this Body of Believers is freed through our faith and love we flourish despite the tension between authority and vulnerability but also perhaps because of it.
Pray we have the faith to believe in Jesus. Pray we accept his healing so we might too become a means of healing for others. Pray we begin to feel again the compassion in our gut…those butterflies of metamorphous. Pray we risk when others turn away. Pray we realize that it takes reason and faith, but the reward is a life transformed…eternal life. Pray we realize that we can flourish in the tension between authority and vulnerability. Pray we realize that being in the tension is often the place Christians really glorify God. Pray we are shaped in the pain and puzzlement of the world so that the crucified love of God in Christ may be brought to bear healing upon us. Pray we are willing to see grace at work in the lives of others. Pray we have a holy respect for the power of love and a willingness to share it alongside the powerless. Pray our Christian identity influences us live in eternal love in the tension of life. Pray we are born again as Children of God. Pray we are kingdom announcers that model the themes of our birthright as followers of Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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