Who Are You? (Reflections on Pentecost 7)

A weird thing has been happening with this blog lately. It seems that a post I wrote back in January called “Fishing Sucks” has gone—well, if not exactly viral—at least somewhat bacterial in Ukraine. The post was a reflection on the gospel for Epiphany 2 in which Jesus encounters the fishermen Peter and Andrew and James and John and calls them to leave their nets and follow him. The story challenges us to ponder just what it is about Jesus which inspires such a radical change of heart that fishermen are willing to be transformed into “fishers of men.” I guess that the change of identity resonates with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters as recent events in that country have forced them into something of an identity crisis. Are they Ukrainians or Russians or what? Whatever they may be, they are certainly standing in the need of our prayers, so please don't forget them.

BUT: The gospel in the Revised Common Lectionary for Pentecost 7 (Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52) is also, I think, a challenge to our identity. It's asking us, “Who are you?” I mean, if you were suddenly to lose your nationality, or your job, or if you could no longer indulge your hobby and hang with your friends, if you lost all possessions and social standing, or if your family situation changed so that you were no longer a husband or wife or mother or father or child or sibling, if it came to pass that you weren't even a Lutheran any longer, who would you be?

Wouldn't you still belong to Jesus? Wouldn't you still be God's child? Isn't that who we are at our very core?

He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’ (Matt. 13:31-33)

Our relationship with Jesus may seem like a tiny portion of our busy and multi-faceted lives; however, that one relationship changes and informs everything we do and everything we are—just as the little seed grows into a huge shrub or the pinch of yeast causes the whole loaf to rise. It's the knowledge and conviction that once a man loved us so much he was willing to be tortured to death on a cross for our sake. It's the resurrection faith that tells us we are heirs of eternity. It is the inspiration which constantly calls us to live lives of loving service in grateful response to God's goodness and mercy, giving us a sense of purpose and meaning.

‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (vv. 44-46)

In the 1991 comedy City Slickers (Okay. I apologize for using movie illustrations two posts in a row, but I really like this flick!), an old cowboy tells a younger city dude that the secret of life is one thing.

“You get that right,” the old-timer says, “and the rest don't mean sh--.”

The younger man asks him, “But what's the one thing?”

“That's what you have to find out,” the cowboy says.

But we don't have to find anything. God has found us. For Christians, the one thing, the treasure, the pearl of great value, is Jesus. If Jesus, who walks with us in all of our pain, who promises us eternal life, and who shows us forgiveness, compassion, and healing, is at the center of our identity, everything else in our complicated lives will fall into place.

How cool is that?