Process & Faith: November 6 2005

Lectionary Commentary

See also: [2008]

Amos 5:18-24
Psalm 70
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13

Much like the lections of the last few weeks, today’s readings point toward the final judgment at the end of time. Together with the next two Sundays’ readings, it forms the first part of a triad that counsels preparedness, accountability, and the triumphant judgment and sovereignty of God. One would think that process-oriented preachers would find little in these lessons upon which to preach. How does a “world without end” theology respond to texts that proclaim the “end of the world”? These passages invite the preacher to reframe their seeming incompatibilities with process thought and to interpret them in a larger, more harmonious light.

Amos 5:18-24
In this oracle from the “dresser of sycamores,” Amos grieves at the death of the Northern Kingdom . He has already pronounced Israel dead – it was a terminally ill society that could not survive. With the mournful cry “Alas,” he bitterly addresses those whose insular, complacent faith allowed them to assume God’s favor and protection, regardless of their actions.

Amos derides the self-righteous people of YHWH for welcoming “the day of the Lord” as if it were a time when they would be rewarded and the rest of the world would suffer. “You people are really in the dark on this one” he says. “It is not at all what you expect.” Their smugness and self-satisfaction will turn around and bite them. Like those today who assume that their agenda is God’s agenda, they are oblivious to the disconnect between their professed faith and the actions of their daily lives.

Speaking as God, Amos points out that a worshiping community that takes no thought or actions for justice and righteousness is an odious society, repugnant to the divine. It is not the worship that upsets God; it is the worshipers. The power of God that evokes worship is the power that leads us to strive for justice and peace, thus creating a healthy society. A community whose worship does not lead to transformation is a community that worships an impotent god.

Psalm 70
Much like last week’s psalm, this, too, is an individual lament. But it is a lament with a difference. Here there is no patient waiting for the Lord. Instead, the psalmist describes an urgency requiring an immediate response. Help is needed quickly, as evidenced by the psalmist’s demands: “hasten . . . hurry . . .hasten. . . do not delay.” He seeks an encounter with the living God, and he seeks it now.

This psalm is most typically used during Holy Week, undoubtedly because of the mocking “Aha” in verse 3. Read in light of today’s lection, however, it seems to reflect the same impatience that we detect in the Thessalonians who seek the parousia and in the unprepared bridesmaids who can’t imagine the bridegroom’s delay. Parishioners will understand this lack of quiet confidence – we, too, pray out of need, and we, too, are always needy. We, too, want immediate results.

Understanding God as the source of speedy rescue has led more than one disappointed soul to lose faith. The preacher who uses this text in a sermon can examine the assumptions underlying such a theology. Although it may be human nature to expect intervention, is it divine nature to intervene? How, then, does God act in the world? What do we misunderstand about the nature of God and God's power when we engage in magical thinking? If redemption isn’t imposed, how does it happen?

I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Paul’s letter to the people of Thessalonica continues in today’s reading and concludes in the reading next week. Like the 8th century BCE audience in Amos’s day, the Thessalonians welcome the “day of the Lord,” which to them is the second coming of Christ. More than welcoming, they are impatient and aggrieved. They are impatient that the return is taking so long, and they are aggrieved that some of their number have already died and will thus miss the parousia.

Paul consoles the Thessalonians with an assurance that the time is even nearer now than it was when they first believed. Further, he says, the dead are not lost. Rather, God will bring to the second coming those who have preceded them in death. Certain of the imminence of Christ’s return, and describing it in terms of military triumph, Paul asserts that he will be among those living at the time.

It won’t do the preacher any good to ignore Paul’s faulty timetable. A frank acknowledgment of Paul’s understanding of cosmic redemption can then lead to a discussion of our own interpretations. Even though some would laugh at Paul’s naiveté, others today follow similar statements made on the End Times Channel of cable TV with fear and trembling. Without either dismissing the delayed parousia with something like “God’s time is not like ours,” or reading apocalyptic meaning into current events, the preacher can make this text relevant to today’s church.

One way to deal with cosmic redemption is to take it out of its temporal frame. That judgment and redemption are present in every moment, rather than being put on hold for some final roundup, should relieve us from both complacency and terror. An understanding that the dead (and all that perishes) is taken into the consequent nature of God opens for us the possibility of immediate transformation. Choices made now make a difference now, and they make a difference forever. No one, and no thing, is lost. The hope of redemption is no longer a future hope but a clear and present reality.

Matthew 25:1-13
Today’s gospel, the so-called parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids, is often filed under the heading of “That’s not fair!” Especially in a culture that values both equality and generosity, the “wise” bridesmaids come off as elitist and selfish. The preacher’s first hurdle, then, is to get beyond the specifics of who has enough oil and who does not. Looking at the parable contextually will help.

As with last week’s Matthean text, today’s lesson is located within the “judgment discourse” (Matthew 23:1-25:46) that forms the fifth and last discourse within the gospel. Immediately preceding the passion and resurrection narratives, this last discourse provides the final teachings of Jesus, and, for the most part, is addressed specifically to his followers. The discourse incorporates much of Mark’s “little apocalypse”; it adds this Markan quote to the end of the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids: “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mark 13:33, Matthew 25:13)

Perhaps because it parallels the Markan material, and certainly due in large part to the last quote, this parable is frequently interpreted to be a cautionary tale about alertness (“keep awake” or “watch”). The text would seem to argue against such an interpretation. Both the wise and the foolish bridesmaids “became drowsy and slept,” so sleeping cannot be the problem. Some scholars contend that a better translation of the Markan quote in the context of the Matthean material would be “Be prepared therefore, . . .”

Preparedness, not watchfulness, is supported by the rest of the parable. Only the wise bridesmaids planned for a possible delay in the groom’s arrival. They had enough oil whenever he showed up. Obviously the lamps could hold that much oil; why were the foolish bridesmaids under-supplied? Were they just shortsighted, overly optimistic, or guilty of arrogance? Did they derive their timetable from their own narrow view of possibilities? Whatever choices they made, and for whatever reasons, they made foolish choices with disastrous consequences.

With this in mind, the preacher might well ask what it means to be prepared today. How does one get ready for the Kingdom of God in the context of daily life? Although some parishioners may be preoccupied with “getting into Heaven” or “escaping the judgment to come,” most are more interested in what confronts them in the here and now. For these people, the preacher can bring into the conversation the God who not only calls us into the fullness of a future kingdom but also calls us into the richness of the moment. Mindfulness of the presence of God in every instance opens us to a creative abundance that no longer needs to be postponed.

A vision of a just and healthy society, a community that expects – demands! – the transformative power of God in every moment, and a way of life that requires full involvement in the creative enterprise can be found in today’s lectionary texts. They offer a springboard from which the church can explore its readiness to participate in the Kingdom of God and to examine its preparedness to respond as co-creator. The church that dares to look at itself in the light of these texts moves itself even closer to the Kingdom Come.

The Rev. Gretchen Weller is the rector of St. Bartholomew Church, Mayfield Village, Ohio. She may be reached at: rector@saintbartohio.com

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