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Donate| November 9, 2008 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Proper 27 Commentary by Bruce G. Epperly |
See also: [2005] |
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-15
Psalm 78:1-7
I Thessalonians
4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
In the Awakened Heart, psychiatrist and spiritual guide Gerald May asserts that spiritual growth is grounded in the synergy of pausing, noticing, opening, offering, stretching and yielding, and ultimately responding to God’s presence in our experiences, both ordinary and dramatic.
Today’s scriptures suggest that a similar spiritual mindfulness is at the heart of Christian faith. Awakening to God’s presence involves staying awake and being prepared, knowing where you are, and knowing what time it is. In the spiritual synergy of these practices, we may discover a vision of God appropriate to where we are and what lies ahead of us. Old visions of God, and long traditions of ritual and theology, may have to be reformed or even jettisoned in light of new experiences of the divine and new understandings of our life situation.
Staying Awake. The parable of the “ten bridesmaids” (Matthew 25:1-13) concludes with the counsel, “Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” At first glance, the parable conjures up images of apocalyptic judgment. Jesus is coming again, and we better be ready to welcome him!
The parable is straightforward, again, at first reading. But there is more! Though the bridegroom’s coming is anticipated, some of the bridesmaids prepare for his eventual arrival, while others fail to bring adequate supplies for their long wait. When word arrives that the bridegroom is on the horizon, there is just enough oil to keep five lamps lit; sharing at this moment would be disastrous for the wedding celebration. Those who are prepared are invited to join the wedding feast, while those who run out of supplies are banned from the festivities. The quality of our spiritual preparation and mindfulness can have serious consequences, for good or for ill, not only for others but for us.
“Stay awake” for God may come to you at any moment. One of my most memorable theological conversations with my father, Everett Epperly, an evangelical American Baptist minister, involved the “second coming of Jesus.” Much to my surprise, my father noted that God comes to us many times throughout our lives, not just once. His words of over thirty years ago still provide a theological alternative to the dualisms of time and eternity, and this world and the next, characteristic of many popular theological positions. If God is present in every situation, then each moment can be a tipping point, a life-changing moment of decision.
Process theology affirms God’s moment by moment call to humankind. In every moment, God presents us with visions of possibilities, luring us toward beauty and wholeness. Our openness to God’s call strengthens or weakens God’s presence in our lives. God’s aim, as Whitehead notes, is always “the best for that impasse” or life situation, but the realm of possibility available to us varies according to our responsiveness. Every decision leaves an imprint on our future. We create our futures one moment at a time; each momentary decision may bring us closer or take us further away from God’s visions for our lives.
The good news is that God never gives up on us. Unlike the bridegroom for whom there is only one chance to get it right, God welcomes us to the celebration, regardless of our past decisions. The door is open but we must learn to say “yes” step by step and moment by moment. Though the pathway may be slow and arduous, God patiently lures us forward to God’s realm.
This parable may also raise the question of sharing. While a discussion of communal care is not the main point of the parable, the wise bridesmaids’ choice not to share leads us to a reflection on “lifeboat ethics” in our communities and in the church. One reading of the parable begs the questions: How do we deal with issues of scarcity in our community? With growing economic instability reflected in bank failures, home foreclosures, and uncertainty, choosing to the hold on to our own largesse is a natural response, but is it Christian? What would have happen if the bridesmaids had pooled their resources? Would they all have been excluded from the party or rewarded for their quest to be generous?
Yes, we should prepare and be awake as we look toward the future, but how do we balance our preparedness with the needs of vulnerable persons in our congregations? What would happen if the pastor suggested that the congregation commit itself to sacrificial giving in order to support persons in the congregation who lose their jobs or are threatened with foreclosure? Would we see ourselves as a band of unrelated individuals or the interdependent body of Christ?
Knowing Where You Are. Joshua challenges the Israelites to know where they are and what living in the new land requires of them. A new land requires new commitments in order to face new challenges, most especially involving the people’s response to the gods of the new land. God’s faithful companionship calls the people to faithful obedience. Will the people serve the God of Israel, the God of freedom and deliverance, a god whose presence and care has no boundaries, or the foreign gods of Canaan?
Joshua’s challenge to the people is reminiscent of Paul Tillich’s concept of ultimate concern. We can either serve finite gods who can neither heal nor save, or the God who is faithful in life and death. In light of today’s passages, process theology challenges us to leave behind the limitations of traditional images of God, especially those which glorify unilateral power, vindictiveness, and violence, in order to embrace healthy visions of God in terms of relationship, creativity, and freedom.
Process theology also challenges us to read Joshua critically, especially in terms of its image of God as vindictive and violent toward those who worship the gods of the new land. We must say both “yes” and “no” to insights of this scripture. Joshua’s image of God’s holiness is ambiguous; God cures and kills, depending on our response to God. According to the passage, the holy God is a “jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after doing you good.” God’s boundaries are absolute and God’s punishments are certain for those cross the line by following foreign gods.
The Joshua passage challenges us to reflect on the limits of God’s love. Is God the source of suffering and evil, or is the destruction we experience the result of consequences of turning away from God and thus limiting God’s ability to shape our lives for the good? In light of the recent economic crisis, we can easily identify the cause and effect nature of communal life. Human greed, dishonesty, and lust, and not divine punishment, is the source of the USA’s current economic predicament. Rampant consumerism, hedonism, and materialism, not divine jealousy, have led to global warming.
God is in the mix, working within our decisions and actions, but often as counterforce to evil and the destructive consequences of our behavior. God constantly seeks beauty and wholeness, but our actions and their negative consequences, may inspire divine limit-setting and sustenance rather than creative forward movement. As Alfred North Whitehead notes, God’s aim is the “best for that impasse,” but the best may be “bad” insofar as God may have to seek possibilities appropriate for the first small steps toward transformation within horrific situations caused by our own or our nation’s actions.
Knowing What Time It Is. The Thessalonians passage is popularly identified with visions of the Second Coming of Jesus and the end of the world. As a teenager, growing up during the San Francisco Bay area’s “Summer of Love,” I once accidentally came upon a Jesus Love-In in Golden Gate Park. During the course of the concert, we were asked to raise our hands and shout “Maranatha” as a form of “rapture practice.” With enough practice, it was asserted that we would be ready to meet Jesus, when he comes again, this time “from the clouds.”
Thessalonians places our lives in the context of God’s time, embracing both chronos and kairos, measurable time and everlasting life. We can face our grief, allowing ourselves to feel a whole range of emotions, because our beginnings and endings are in God’s care. No doubt, the author of Thessalonians is comforting a troubled community of faith, in which many members have died as a result of persecution, while others fear for their lives. There is no denial of their – or our – precarious situation. Loss is real and heart-wrenching. In fact, grief is the only authentic response to our experiences of loss, whether our losses involve the death of loved ones, the aging process, or our sense of hopelessness as we look at the future of our nation and the planet.
Yes, grieve, the scriptures counsel us, but remember that God is with us and God’s ongoing presence in our lives and our communities gives hope that we can find healing in the context of God’s faithfulness in the future. Grief is not passive, according to Thessalonians, but inspires practices of wholeness and expectation. As we face our grief, we may also experience God’s call to heal the planet, to live each day adventurously, and to love more fully. With the Psalmist, we can remember our experiences of suffering and transformation as we “set our hope in God” and remember “the works of God.” (Psalm 78:7, paraphrase)
Bruce Epperly is professor of practical theology and director of continuing education at Lancaster Theological Seminary and co-pastor of Disciples United Community Church in Lancaster, PA. He is the author of fifteen books, including Holy Adventure: Forty-one Days of Audacious Living (Upper Room), his recently-released response to the Purpose Driven Life. His books are availabe at Flux Books.
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