Good Morning Friends,
I was listening to Here and Now on the radio and the commentator seemed to be blaming the Bible for the problems of a merit system in the United States. But she must have been illiterate of the Bible or only parsing segments of it or most likely just raised by those who falsely preached a merit system for getting into heaven. But the thing is merit, though it has its flaws is not all bad and may be better than a system that does not reward talent, hard work and good character. Regardless, the truth is that America is not a pure meritocracy. Oh, it is capitalistic but with winners and losers not always playing by the same rules. The American Dream may be alive and well in the sleeping heads of dreamers, but it is something almost unachievable for those in the waking world. It frames America as a diamond in the rough. But some people are not cut out for the job they are engaged in for it is not their calling. They do not succeed because investing bravery, skill, and hard work do not always bring dividends. People need more to succeed. They need an education. They need character. But they also need a break, they need grace and love, because our society is not really egalitarian. Of course, there are exceptions on a case by case basis of the American Dream succeeding, and some achieve upward mobility, but few if any do it on their own regardless of their social position. People helping people is the only way it works. Sounds Biblical to me. The thing is that capitalistic societies function best with a strong work ethic even at the cost of respect of a person’s hard work. Unfortunately, the divide between those with monetary wealth and those without is becoming wider. Soup lines are full, and many do not even have a job. The Bible supports a strong work ethic too, but it is balanced with dignity and a desire to be fair. Think of the parable of the Laborers in the Field that were paid a day’s wages whether they worked a full day or part of it. And so, we ask, What Is Wrong With The World When Hard Work Does Not Pay Off?
Scripture: remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Ephesians 2:12-22 (NRSV)
“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
Luke 12:35-38 (NRSV)
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:1–16 (NRSV)
Message: The last couple of days we have been considering the nature of evil and tangentially the nature of money in relationship to our experience of life. Hopefully we will be living into God’s engraving on our lives and not so much the imprinting of the images on money. Certainly, money can help us to self-actualize, but its worship can have the opposite result for the love of money is the root of all evil. It can for some be a symbol of our desired control over life… even our desire to be God and control nature. In this regard there is a law in nature that nothing takes more than it needs and if it does death follows. Sadly, the earth has a growing cancer that believes it has the right to keep more than it can ever use. People in positions of power are corrupt. All the while technology keeps increasing but somehow does not provide what we so desperately need. We are depressed and too many are over medicated in the face of growing violence and the lack of respect. Part of the challenge is that there are simply limitations to what we can and cannot achieve on our own. Hard work or not. The myth that we can achieve anything we want if we just work hard enough, then, is just that – a myth. We need Jesus and yes, the Body of Christ. Here the hard work is accepting that everyone and everything, but God has limitations. And finding ways to accept limitations are just part of being human and are not necessarily signs of failure. Sure, failure can be due to laziness or a lack of effort on that person’s part but sometimes a structural barrier needs to be removed. And that is what living in the power of the Holy Spirit is all about. And here friends, love…the love of God and that love in us becomes the greatest weapon we can weld. Everything Jesus did, said, and thought was a pure expression of God’s love for humanity to be released and made available to us. It is not about what is wrong with the world and us but what is right with Christ. Christ opened the way for us to receive His divine life that we might become the reproduction of Christ, bringing delight to God’s heart by fulfilling the most important purpose of all. Friends, maybe we are the problem. But this morning I would like to believe that with Christ we are also part of the solution. Our goal should be to bring people together—people who do not naturally come together. Our only hope is diversity. If a church functions as a social club, it is easy for those who are “in” to be a closed group. When we are in a group that is large enough to meet our needs, and small enough to be comfortable, we might not feel a need to make the group larger. Even if we want to include other people in our circle, we are naturally drawn to people like us, or maybe a little more attractive than us, because they can raise the status of our group. It sounds a little like middle school, but it is human nature to value people who have something to offer. But the church of Jesus Christ is not a social club for our economic benefit. Early Christians understood that God brought people into the church whom they would not have included otherwise. Philip went to the half-breed Samaritans, and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter had a vision of going to unclean gentile “dogs,” and he not only went to Cornelius’ house, but he preached the gospel, and stayed at his house. Jews ate with gentiles, and rich people let dinner get cold until slaves got off work, so they could eat together. Yes, there is evil in the world but just because a person does not look like us, it does not mean that they are bad.
And So, as we reflect on today’s question even as we look into the spiritual mirror of scripture.
G. K. Chesterton may have been right when he answered a variation of today’s question years ago by simply writing a two-word response. “I am.” But what if he was wrong and Christ the “I am” in us is the solution to the madness of this world. Maybe the path does not end in our broken hearts and destruction and a greater divide between the haves and the have nots but begins in our changed minds and hearts. Truly scripture and tradition tell us far more of restoration and redemption than of original sin and our inability to deal with it on our own. No matter how great the number of sins committed, grace was ever greater in the stories of the Bible. In the story of Noah, for example, the rainbow becomes a sign of God’s promise of restoration. Still, for the most part, humans are not all that they were meant to be, even though fearfully and wonderfully made, we seem to have all the ingredients for happiness, but something seems to rob us of joy. Unhappiness and evil in the world are definite problems. Solutions are so elusive. And so, we persevere even as we again ponder the origins of evil in a world created by God who is infinitely good. And then we discover that answering what is wrong with the world is of little help. It is like embracing the pain of all the laws that become overwhelming burdens. So, we must seek an answer to how we can become right. And here the answer to the problem of evil is for God’s love to be revealed in redemption of the cross and the freedom of a new opportunity for God to be in us. And here friends, love…the love of God and that love in us becomes the greatest weapon we can weld. Real love and kindness is contagious. Our hearts were made for God and they will know no rest until they rest in God’s peace…of God’s love.
Pray we become more inclusive in the way we love. Pray we do not give up even though some days it is hard to believe even with all we have seen as evidence of God at work in the world. Pray we realize that Jesus exchanged the perfect harmony of heaven for the turmoil of life on earth, with its pressures and pains, trials and tensions, conflicts and crises so we might become right with God and each other. Pray we believe that the one by whom all things were created and who owned every square inch of the Earth had no place to lay his head and even though he had formed every molecule of water still had to ask someone to give him a drink. Pray we realize that Christ’s humiliation was without parallel while at the same moment the splendor of God’s glory is so wonderful that even angels cover their faces in Christ’s presence. Pray we realize that the Incarnation of the Son of God unites earth to heaven so that what was wrong might become right. Pray for redemption and a new creation. Pray our hope is not in vain. Pray we are part of the solution through our love of Christ shared all to the glory of God. Pray that whatever we do we do with all our heart, working for God and not human masters. Pray we believe we can do all things if strengthen by God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 