May Those Who Sow in Tears Reap With Songs of Joy

Today I'm finally getting to writing about the lectionary passages for this week.

The last time I wrote, I talked about how much I wished we could have a discourse with respect, and how disappointed I was that so little of what I heard on the days around the hearings for Brett Kavanagh had even the smallest amount of respect in it. I wanted civility. I wanted us to somehow to come together.

Later I read this quote,

“Miss me with any take that worries more about “division” and “polarization” than the issues we are divided and polarized about. If you are in  opposition to my humanity, I will not be meeting you halfway on that.”

jay smooth @jsmooth995

I’m humbled by these words. Jay Smooth speaks the truth.

The desire for civility can NOT be higher than the issues we are discussing.

The humanity of those who are not being treated as human...the protection of that humanity is more important than civility. Civility can’t mean a lack of boundaries, or a refusal to speak hard truths.

So come to these passages with the emphasis on truth, in its fullness.

The lectionary this week includes passages from Joel, Psalms, I Timothy, and Matthew.

Joel 2:21-27 speaks of restoring the land after years of locust infestations.

The hard times are over, and God’s blessing is resting on the people.

Psalm 126 is incredibly beautiful.

The writer remembers how good God has been to Zion in the past, and then, so delicately, moves into the hope that soon the days of tears will be over and joy will return as it has in the past.

1 Timothy 2:1-7 affirms that we should pray for everyone, including our political leaders. Why? Because God desires that all come to the knowledge of truth. Because Jesus gave up his life because that desire for people to come to truth was so important. Because we wish to leave quiet and peaceable lives.

And finally, the gospel reading is from Matthew 6:25-33. Don’t worry about what you should wear, or eat, or drink, but seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added.

The Timothy passage affirms that God desires that all come to the knowledge of truth. Jesus gave his life that this might happen. Jesus gave his life speaking truth to the powerful, affirming the humanity of those who were pushed down, and offering respect to those who had become accustomed to not receiving respect.

The lectionary passages offer hope...hope in a God who longs for truth enough to die for it. Hope in a God who has intervened before and who can again. Hope in Jesus who showed by his life that the powerless WERE and ARE important, and that truth must be spoken to the powerful.

AND, that while we are seeking that kind of a kingdom, we should not worry about what we should eat or drink or wear, because God knows we need those things and God will provide. We will take heart from the lilies, and from the sparrows, and let the kingdom values be our primary concern.

Yesterday, in my garden, a daylily bloomed. We will be having frost this weekend and I don’t remember daylilies blooming this late in the past. It catches at me, this lily blooming at the same time when I need a reminder that the lilies have lessons for us.

This afternoon, in a couple of hours, I’ll be attending a weekend training called Anti-Racism Analysis Training. I expect that I will be gaining truth from this training. I also expect to find ways to be seeking first God’s kingdom with respect to the inequality we live in. I hope to also find hope.

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