Thursday 5 November 2009

Willimon again brings a curious look at this whole notion of damned and saved.

Confidence is not necessarily untroubling certainty. After all, the more closely we grow toward Christ, and the more we know of Christ (and by implication the more we know of ourselves) usually the more convinced we become of how far we are from Christ, how little we know of Christ, and how poorly we fulfill his will. Sometimes to be close to Jesus increases our uneasiness with Jesus. We know not only the one who is able to say "depart from me into the eternal fire...into eternal punishment" (Matthew 25:41-46) and, "I never knew you (Matt. 7:23). We also know the one who gave himself as a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:1-6), the one who promised that he would "draw all people to [him]self" (John 12:32). We know that in Adam all have sinned, but now we know that the grace of Christ takes precedence over the sin of Adam (Romans 5:12-21). Or, as Barth preached so eloquently, "God has imprisoned all in disobedience, so that he may be merciful to all" (Rom. 11:32). All.

Yesterday as I was preparing for the weekly bible study that features a video with John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg, I realized that the journey with Jesus within the Reign of God never stops unfolding and presenting new ways of seeing and understanding alongside that which was already seen. Right now, it is all living together quite well. And yet, I know that I have been moved to a new place. I know less now about this Reign of God and the mercy that weaves its way into our hearts to turn us into a merciful people who reflect the glory of this Reign even as we go about the things at hand. To be quite frank, I look out at the divisions within the ELCA in regard to human sexuality (though some will say it is about Scripture - which I too can buy), and I wonder about the outrageous "all" that is to ring like a bell to remind us all to come and eat and drink and walk within the ways of God's Reign that turns over the powers of the world. I really do think we have lost some of the dynamic vision of Christ, Jesus - vision that is also about the day-in and day-out life of all God's people....not some...not only within certain conditions...but all. Yes, we are all standing in the room together with the Judge taking in all of us with a mercy that we cannot "get." So in the meantime, we all attempt to send some to a life of less...because that is the way broken people live within the world of power and empires and sin. Rather than opening our doors and standing together and dreaming about what God will do with us all...we too often never let that scene open.

Connection: What image of God will win the day for you and those around you.

Within the wide reach of your mercy, O God, you begin the day for us. Remind us again of your presence and your rule. Amen.