Today's readings begin with praise, but move quickly to judgment in Amos and in Thessalonians. We celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, but we know he is destined to bring judgment as soon as he is old enough to sass his parents.
Thessalonians is interesting. I remember the passage being read often in the church that raised me. My childhood memory (which, perhaps, isn't totally accurate) is that the promise of eternal destruction of our enemies was quite joyful. We were the good guys; they, the bad guys. God seems to promise in this passage that the bad guys will get theirs someday.
I always thought that was a bit weird. First, it didn't gel with the passages in which God expresses love for the whole world and promises to draw all things to Godself. Second, I understood why my unchurched friends really didn't want to come to church. They had already been placed in that eternal damnation…then told that that same God who promised to destroy them really loved them and wanted them to love him back. Didn't make sense to them. Me either.
I do understand the context of writing a letter to those suffering for the sake of the gospel and encouraging them by assuring them of God's ultimate victory over evil. I love the last sentence of this passage, the author "pray[ing] for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." I also remember that as a child. We all wanted to be made worthy.
The understanding of my early faith tradition was that you lived in certain ways that would make you worthy. Reading the Bible, attending church, giving money, not swearing or drinking, these were part of the list. The understanding of my Presbyterian faith tradition is that our "worthiness" has been accomplished by Jesus Christ, and as we live "in him," his worthiness becomes ours. The list (not my childhood list) becomes a way to live as God intends--summarized with "the love God, love neighbor as yourself" command.
And, finally, the point. When I had young children, we occasionally encountered biters. All the children in one family were biters. When my kids bit me as infants (accidentally) I hollered and made it clear it hurt (which it did!). As they grew up, they knew biting was a terrible, terrible thing. We loved this family, but when their children bit, the mom would hold them close, smile, hug, and say in a soft voice, "Honey, please don't bite. It's just not nice." I felt a little guilty for "hollering," but my kids got the point.
To succeed at any human endeavor, it takes honest judgment and work through pain. My preaching professor in seminary told a story about a colleague who never critiqued baby-preacher sermons, they just talked about what was good. It was too difficult, she explained, people's feelings got hurt. I have heard some of those baby-preachers as they preach in their churches. They needed a few hurt feelings to effectively proclaim the gospel!
We don't like to hear stories of God punishing God's people. Amos makes me mightily uncomfortable. So does being called a brood of vipers, which is the pet name John the Baptist gives to the church people of his time. But do we hear the "invitation" to participate? Do we respond to the command?
Sometimes, perhaps, we do. But honestly, I think most of us need a little hollering' to get the job done. And let me be clear--this is God's prerogative to holler, not ours. We don't get to decide who's in and who's out. None of us deserve the grace in which we live. Everyone deserves the grace in which we live.
That's the gospel truth...
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