Friday, July 24, 2020                (today’s lectionary)
Beauty in the storm
We have moved from little church to big church, and back again. When we lived in Waynesville our pastor Gary Johnson told us that in every church there were people who were truly Christ-followers, not just Christians in name only. I believed him, and in my life at least, his words have proven to be completely true.
I will take you, one from a city,
Two from a clan,
And bring you all to Zion
Listen to the rhythms of Jesus!
Margaret’s favorite song on Sunday nights during all the years of our prayer and praise meetings at Danville Correctional Center was “Let’s All Go Up to Zion.” Without a doubt there were Christ-followers in that big room they called a chapel at the prison.
In this place all nations will be gathered together
They will honor the name of the Lord
And they will no longer walk in their hardhearted wickedness.
In a sermon he gave to an empty Washington National Cathedral on July 5, journalist and author David Brooks looked through his own Jewish lens at Jesus, who was “bold and aggressive in a Jerusalem where everything was loud, everything was pressure-packed, where words and hatreds clashed by day and night.” Sounds like the city David Brooks lives in every day.
Jesus stands through the conflict and the hate. He stands up for us.
The Lord scattered Israel
But now the Lord gathers us again
And guards us as a shepherd guards his flock
The shepherd guards us with his life. Jesus gives his life for us.
“And there is beauty in this storm, “ Brooks said. “At a moment of elite polarization, Jesus brought access to the Kingdom directly to the poor.”
All shall come streaming in to the Lord’s blessing
The virgins will make merry and dance!
Looking through this “Jerusalem lens,” the Beatitudes are more beautiful than ever.
Lord you have turned our mourning into joy
And your consolation replaces all our bitterness and sorrow.
When we turn toward you, Jesus, we can breathe again. We find both rest and dancing here. Nothing to be afraid now. These are Christ-followers, and we are too.
Blessed are they who keep the word
With a generous heart
There is more to Mr. Brooks’ sermon. He is a national commentator, after all. His words and thoughts are important to many who read his thoughts every week.
“If we don’t breathe the spirit of the nation, if we don’t have a fierce sense of belonging to each other, we are NOT going to sacrifice for the common good.”
In Jerusalem and every church, we consist of several soils. Each receives the seed of God’s offer of the Kingdom. And yes, it is true that the hard path, rocks and thorns make up much of our spiritual geography. Sacrifice and suffering are blood brothers. Hearing truth and carrying it to the marketplace involves ridicule, resentment and rejection. Our good old boys and girls network easily collapses. We turn away from difficulty. Many will say, “No way.” Netflix beckons.
Don’t get sarcastic, David.
“We are confronted with a succession of wicked problems and it turns out we’re not even capable of putting on a friggin’ mask.”
You either, David Brooks. Listen to me.
There is a remnant, Yahweh told Elijah.
There are Christ-followers in every church, Gary Johnson told us.
There is healthy topsoil in every field alongside the hardened path and rocks and thorns.
And the seed sown on rich soil
Is the one who hears the word and bears it
And she and he indeed bear fruit
Mr. Brooks concluded his sermon. “Be not afraid,” he said.
Now, he also said, in the curiosity that replaces fear, look around you. Expect to find the beauty in this storm. Your eyes will be sharper, not more dull. Your ears will be tuned in, not tuned out. God’s lightning crashes into the darkness and lights up everything. This is not the darkness of the damned. It is the darkness before the dawn.
Thunder claps its loud hurrah. God is right here with us. Damn the torpedoes! Be NOT afraid.
(Jeremiah 3, Jeremiah 31, Luke 8, Matthew 13)
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