The lectionary gospel texts for September are about choices. The ones that we make, the ones perhaps others make as a response to us. They are about the things that set us apart from the world, or, perhaps more helpfully, the empire. I commend Amy-Jill Levine’s book, The Difficult Words of Jesus, as a resource for understanding the 1st-century Jewish context of these words. Jesus’ first hearers knew, as part of their daily routine as peasants in an occupied land, what it was to be hated. But how to hear this about our families? It’s the constant evaluation we make of what is more or less valuable than the pursuit of God’s realm.
Jesus’ parables about the lost and the found are told as a response to criticism that he eats with sinners. Have you ever wondered what your critics could or do say about you? Is it for something that Jesus would say “Amen” to?
A shrewd (dishonest?) manager knows to make friends and cut deals so that when he doesn’t have a job, he might have a friend’s couch to fall back on. Is this simply survival skills for people who are used to getting the raw end of a deal? What does it mean to be clever with the things of the world – to let them matter less? Or more?
The story of Lazarus and the poor man carried to Abraham’s bosom is one to play up. Seen from the perspective of the first hearers, who knew what it was to be expected to serve their masters even from a sickbed (think Downton Abbey) or a deathbed, the story is rich in detail and presumption.
All of these stories are about the choices we make, which lead to the company we keep. In one way, they are about how to survive as a person of little means in an empire that is run by people who take no notice of you. In another way, they are about the daily decisions we make to keep the gospel our true North Star. That choice will cause other choices to come our way. This might be why Jesus reminded us that there is a cross to take up.
Rev. Claire Clyburn
Corridor District Superintendent