Meddling On The Margins

Leviticus 19:1-18

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Matthew 6:19-24

A theme that runs through each of our passages today is the economics of God. In Leviticus God charges the Hebrew people to consider the needs of the poor. “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:9-10). Despite profit margins being what they are God says that we are not entitled to everything our own fields produce. Is this really fair?

Paul says, “And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15). As we seek to invigorate the lazy we are also to show them patience and love, and respond to their actions with goodness and not evil. Is this really fair?

In the gospel Jesus says, "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24). In other words, if we devote our lives to financial security we will not be as attentive to God’s will. We must be willing to forego the wealth in order to follow God. Is this really fair?

Our culture assumes that we will harvest right up to the very edges (and then some, if we can get away with it). Our culture expects those who are lazy to go without. Our culture says that wealth is a mark of blessing and may be pursued with all diligence, even at the expense of our spiritual health. But God’s will is about justice and truth, about compassion and mutual regard. It is about letting others go first and stepping back so that more may pass. It is about leaving 99 healthy sheep to search out the one that is lost, about raining manna on an ungrateful people, about creating a world of blessing and turning it over to us as its stewards.

God meddles in human affairs. How will we respond?

Prayer: Lord, help us to care for one another and to share more freely from what we have been given. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

No Fair!

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

I said it as a kid. Something wouldn’t go my way, like a game of Chinese checkers or of hide and seek, and I’d say, “That’s not fair.” It was almost a reflex action: lose a game; yell, “No fair!” Well. apparently the people of Israel had the same tendency. “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is unfair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?” (Ezekiel 18:25). The issue at hand was whether a wicked person should be able to turn from the ways of evil and receive God’s forgiveness. Shouldn’t such a person be punished for their transgressions? The same questions fill our lives as well. We find the world working a certain way; we see certain people getting ahead or doing well; we notice those whom we believe to be undeserving who are actually better off in one way or another than we are. How can God let this sort of thing happen? How can this possible be fair?

God’s answer is good news for all who have ears to hear. Those who renounce their wickedness, says the Lord, will find life. In other words, God’s grace abounds and though it may not seem fair to us, there’s no denying the mercy and love of God. God takes no pleasure in death; God seeks abundant life for all people. Is God fair? No, not in purely human terms. But let’s give thanks for if God were “fair” we’d certainly be without hope.

Prayer: Thanks be to you, O God, for your mercy and grace. Without them we surely would fall into the snares of our own wrongdoing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

NOTE: Beginning tomorrow, I will be including blog posts each Saturday written by "guest bloggers" who will offer their insights on the readings for that particular day. I deeply appreciate the willingness of these folks to share their time and talents with us. Be sure to stop by on upcoming Saturdays to see what they have to say.