I heard a quote a while back that I have been mulling over. Gloria Steinem said, “Hope is a form of planning.” It stuck with me because hope sounds so passive. “Are you going to have enough candy for the trick-or-treaters?” “I hope so!” “Are you going to be warm enough on our trip to the store?” “I hope so!” “Do you have enough oil for your lamp, gas for your car, charge on your cell phone?” “I hope so!” There are a lot of cases where a little planning can increase the chance that the outcome you have in mind will turn out the way you hoped. When we hope for the Kingdom of God, we aren’t just sitting around. We can be part of the planning for it.
The Bridesmaids in the Gospel reading are an example of what
happens when you plan and when you don’t.
Some were ready and went to the party.
Some were not ready and they missed the party.
Our reading from Amos calls for
planning. We would prefer to plan for
our favorite activities: parties, pity parties, sacrifices, music, and
singing. Those things are a lot easier
to plan for than the Kingdom of God, and also they keep us comfortable because
nothing has to change. But what God is
asking us to prepare for is the Kingdom of God, to let justice roll down like
waters in abundance, that righteousness would be like a raging river! These are harder to plan for because we’re
reluctant to change what is working for us but not for other people and because
we lack the faith and vision to see that this is really the plan that God is
bringing to us and our world. God’s plan
for our world is very different from the way we’re running things. God is asking us to prepare for quite a shock
and a lot of resistance, even our own resistance. God is asking us, inviting us to expand our
hope beyond a few little changes, to a whole new way of life, a whole new
focus.
The reading from Thessalonians is about
planning when we are grieving. Plan for
Jesus to show up. Plan for the day when
your loved ones will be in God’s loving arms.
Plan for the day when the trumpet will blast and God will call you
home. We can continue to grieve those
who have died, but we have hope, we have plans to see each other again someday
and be united in Christ. We have the
promise that we will be surrounded by the love and peace and brightness of God,
and planning for that can make these difficult days tolerable.
The Gospel reading comes across very
harsh. Those who are prepared get to go
to the party, get to be in the presence of God. Those who didn’t, don’t. The door is shut. Whatever happened to “Nothing shall separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”?
And why didn’t the Bridesmaids with lamps share either oil or
light? Couldn’t there have been 2
bridesmaids to one lamp?
I like to be prepared ahead of time,
when I can. I’ve learned that from the times
I was not prepared. Times I forgot to
bring a jacket have taught me to bring a jacket. Times when I didn’t have enough snacks have
taught me to be double prepared with food.
Times when I didn’t have something to give to a person in need, have
taught me to have something on hand to give to people who ask. The fact that my parents didn’t go to college
and had 4 kids, left them fewer choices in life. I learned from them that I wanted to follow a
different path. Because I am a person
with means, I also have a privilege other people don’t have to be able to
provide my family with the things we need and even the extra things beyond
that. I have access to warm clothes and a
good diet, which I can’t take credit for—part of it is because of where I live
and the color of my skin, what opportunities are open to me
It is good and helpful to plan but it is important to note that
we can’t always be prepared. Even with
all the life lessons I’ve learned, I still find myself unprepared at times. I was at the park this summer and had moved
the sunscreen to the other car. I was
without. A woman at the park offered to
share hers. I have an earthquake bag in
my car in case I am away from home when disaster strikes. It will last me about 2 days. Then I will be unprepared. The experts say to have 2 weeks of supplies
on hand. Life is full of surprises, some
good and others less so. You can only be so prepared, but that shouldn’t stop
you from preparing at all.
Is Jesus saying that we have only one chance to respond to him
or the door is shut forever? I doubt
it. Coming up on Christ the King Sunday
in a couple of weeks, we will hear the part of the Sermon on the Mount where
Jesus says that what you do to the least of these you do to Jesus. People will ask, “Where did we see you hungry
or imprisoned or naked or thirsty or sick?”
Jesus shows up every single day, over and over again. The bridegroom comes again and again. He’s going to surprise us because he isn’t
going to be dressed in his wedding finery.
He’s dressed in rags. He’s
shivering and cold. He may not have
bathed. He may be incoherent. He may be a child, have tattoos, speak in
Spanish. Each time we meet him, that is
an opportunity. We can prepare for when
we meet him so that we don’t miss a chance to interact with Jesus, and to
provide for Jesus’ needs.
Some of us have been knitting and crocheting hats for people in
need. Rachel, one of our longtime
visitors carries them around in her patrol car and hands them out to people in
need that she encounters. She is
prepared, because she has seen Jesus suffering in the cold. Our foodbank is a major way our church
prepares to meet Jesus. We never know
what form he will take, what we can learn about how to be prepared for the next
time we meet him. I have been taking
some diversity training. I am learning
to be prepared to stand next to and check in with someone I see is on the
receiving end of angry words or intimidation.
I am making scripts for times I encounter stereotypes or inappropriate
jokes. And I am also prepared to keep learning.
I have to take down my defensive shield to open myself to what I can do
better next time. Each encounter
prepares me for the next by teaching me about my own biases and my own blind
spots.
Those of us who are religious probably think we are the wise
bridesmaids. We are ready. We are keeping watch. But when Jesus told this story, he was trying
to make the religious establishment wake up and see they were missing the
boat. At another point, he says to the
religious leaders, “The tax collectors and sinners are going in to the Kingdom
ahead of you.” Maybe they are more
prepared with compassion. Maybe they are
less distracted by wealth and feeling important.
And maybe we are both the wise and foolish bridesmaids. Maybe the part of us that responsive and open
and ready goes in to celebrate the marriage feast with Jesus and the part that
resists and is not ready stays behind.
That fits with our notion that we are simultaneously saint and sinner. We are both wise and foolish. We are both planning and unprepared. We are both free and slave.
Jesus has done the preparing for all of us. He is the light of the world. His light shines through us. There is enough of his light for all of
us. The Lord is our shepherd, has
prepared our field, our water, our safety, our climb. He has prepared to go look for us when we get
lost to bring us home. He has prepared a
place for us so that where he is, we may be also. And he has a plan to transform our world into
one of justice and righteousness, where we feed hungry people, release the
prisoners, welcome the refugees, and comfort those who grieve.
No comments:
Post a Comment