“Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)
Oh boy. That’s quite a story the Revised Common
Lectionary has for us from the Hebrew Scriptures on Pentecost 14 this year
(Exodus32:7-14). God’s really pissed off with the Chosen People. And when God’s
pissed off—look out!
The story takes place on Mt. Sinai. Mosses
has gone up the mountain for a little face time with the Lord. While he’s gone,
the Children of Israel start freaking out because their leader isn’t around.
What do they do? They make an idol for themselves to worship—a Golden Calf.
Now, you can pretty much figure out that both gold and livestock are sources of
wealth. This means that the folks are worshiping their own financial resources
and forgetting about the God who just rescued their sorry butts from slavery in
Egypt.
Does this remind you of us in any way? Are
we in the Church so in love with our resources—buildings, endowment funds,
memorials, and such—that we forget who called us into fellowship in the first
place? Are we relying on our bank accounts for our security rather than on the
Lord of Hosts? Have we forgotten our commission to preach to those left out of
the loop because we think it might be too expensive? Are we content to let the
lost stay lost for the sake of a buck?
I’m just asking.
But back to the story: God sees the apostasy
of his people, and he tells Moses that the folks are “stiff-necked.” That is, he
thinks they’re too stubborn to get their act together and start behaving like people
of faith. So he makes Moses a pretty wild offer:
“Now let me alone, so that my wrath may
burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great
nation.” (v. 10)
Did you catch that? “…of you I will make a
great nation.” God’s basically saying here that he’s going to wipe out these
fickle, sissy, treacherous Hebrews and give Moses a new nation to lead. If you’re
Moses, wouldn’t you be tempted to
accept this offer?
Come on. Be honest. Aren’t there people
you know who just don’t get it? They
can’t see things the way they are. They’re self-involved, arrogant, self-destructive,
intolerant—just essentially your basic stiff-necked people. They just can’t—or won’t—get their act together, and you’re
sick and frickin’ tired of cleaning up their mess. Would it be okay with you if
God just took out these anal sphincters and put someone new into your life who
was going to be supportive and respectful and not a constant source of
irritation?
For example. There’s this guy who keeps
hanging around my church whom I’ll call “Andy.” He’s been pan-handling for
years now. He keeps showing up with some cock-eyed story about why he needs a
few bucks. It’s like he thinks Faith Lutheran is his personal ATM machine. I
have no idea why this guy can’t get his life together, and it’s really starting
to irritate me. So much so, that, should I see this dude again I’m going to
give him a piece of cardboard box and a Sharpie and point him to the nearest freeway
onramp. If he’s going to be a beggar, he might as well go pro and use the tools
of the trade.
So what if God were to come to me and say,
“Pastor Owen, I’ve seen what an unrepentant pain in the butt Andy is. I will
strike him dead and send you a new church member with a decent job who will put
boo-coo money in the collection plate instead of constantly asking for
handouts.” Would I take God up on the offer?
I don’t think so. I like to think I’d be
more like Moses in the story. Moses begs God to reconsider. True, it’s not God’s
nature to protect us from the consequences of our own stupidity. Our sin comes
at a cost; nevertheless, Moses is willing to be an instrument of grace and try
one more time to get the people to shape up. It’s not an easy or a fun job, but
it’s what he’s signed on for. And God approves of this. It seems to me that the
Lord is less interested in visiting retribution on the unfaithful than he is in
teaching the faithful about mercy.
In the Gospel reading (Luke 15:1-10) Jesus
isn't preaching to the "sinners." He’s talking to the Pharisees, the ones who think
they’re so almighty holy. He’s trying to teach the pious people that their
piety is worth nothing without mercy. I’ll be the first to admit that mercy
doesn’t always speak to hardened hearts. But that’s not my concern. I, as a
Christian, am given the commission from God to teach, demonstrate, and be merciful. It will be up to those upon
whom mercy is bestowed how they respond to it.
I’ll admit, mercy won’t always be
successful. But when it is, the angels in Heaven will rejoice.
Thanks for reading, my friend. I’ll catch
you next time!
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