Proper12/Pentecost10B, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Moses
Lake by Annette Fricke
Sara Miles is the author of these
sentences, “There’s always someone inappropriate at Jesus’ table. Sometimes it’s you and me.” Although these two sentences have the flavor
of the sacrament of the Eucharist and most certainly to the behavior of Judas
whose reputation as a follower of Jesus was definitely considered by most to be
below the standard of the other disciples, at the same time, we ought to
consider our observations of ourselves and others at most any gathering. We also are among the guilty of inappropriate
behavior. One of the most inappropriate
of our behaviors is when we attribute whatever happens to us as “good” is
because we were the ones who accomplished it.
We could, in fact, properly be described as sometimes Christians and
sometimes even atheistic. We all have
our virtues as well as our vices. But we
sometimes forget that these virtuous actions performed by us are gifts of God
and are in fact performed by God. It begs
the question, doesn’t it, as to how we measure our lives?
Most of us look at accomplishments
and achievements as our yardstick. Our lives are full of them from the very
beginning of childhood. Our mothers kept
track of our first words, our first steps, our first time at feeding ourselves
and tying our shoes. This of course, was
before Velcro came along. But most
important of all, mothers concentrate on when we become potty-trained because
this is a sure sign of independence. A few years back, there was a local TV
special on all high achievers of the local high school seniors. If you followed the questioning of the
interviewer and each student’s responses, your conclusion might easily be that
we are rewarded in life for our accomplishments and our achievements. But at the end of the interview, there was
one more question, “How many of you have had a job?” Out of a group of around twenty, only two
raised their hands. My co-worker at the
time remarked that she really disliked the whole interview about the success of
what she saw as the elite intellectuals.
In her mind, the only reason, or at least the main reason that these
students were such high achievers academically is because their parents had the
money and resources to make it happen.
She was truly jealous of what she saw as young people who have it better
in life and she, by contrast, is stuck with the “short stick.” In the experience of interviews, many know
that the interviewer has the power to ask particular questions and can shape
any conclusions made, sometimes by challenging the responses. Few people, with the opportunity for an interview
will argue with the interviewer knowing it is being shot live.
But the bottom line is, our education
system, as well as different work settings throughout life is based on
competition and performance. Not only
does it perpetuate the feeling of “I did it” but it also separates the poor
from the wealthy. Many of us have worked
under the principle that if you work hard, you will go far in life. Yet, “life lived under the performance
principle makes us slaves to insecurity and anxiety, constantly comparing
ourselves to others, struggling to reach a level of achievement which always eludes us. Life seen as “gift,”
as grace, can set us free. Once you know
you are loved unconditionally by God, there is such freedom (Br. Geoffrey
Tristam).”
One of the thoughts someone is bound
to think as a result of this story of the feeding of the 5,000 is a parent
loudly proclaiming, “That’s my boy! Isn’t
he smart? I taught him that. That’s my
boy.” My boy is the one who had the loaves and fish and he shared them with
everyone! Isn’t that great? The rationale is that the parents know best
and try to instill those values in their children. But, eventually, the children will find out
that there are other ideas in the world.
If the truth be told, we constantly live in the midst of cultural values
and what the voice of Christianity tells us.
And then we are bombarded by a number of interpretations of various
passages in the Bible, hoping to glean from them some semblance, some shred of
meaning for our existence. We are
children of God as taught from the very beginning of creation and yet we
continue to struggle with just what that means in our daily lives.
Some have surmised that life is like
a Monopoly game. It does have some
strategy, such as buying up as much property as possible in the beginning of
the game. But, it also is a game of pure
luck. The perception that it is so much
like life itself is likely the reason that as a game, it has lasted so long. There are times when we simply can’t achieve
all we desire and life ends up not what we hoped.
Oftentimes, our eyes are open so much
to what goes on around us that we fail to see God’s hand in any of it. We attribute everything to ours or someone
else’s effort even though we sense that there are other factors involved. For those of us who have ever struggled with
occupations and providing for a family, we know that feeling of fear and
insecurity. We see the tornadoes, fires,
and earthquakes and realize that even what seems the most secure around us can
disappear so quickly. Our lives are
truly dependent on God. God is our
source as well as our sustenance. It is
God who brings us what we need from heaven.
God is the one who is able to calm our anxieties and fears in a way that
simply clinging to the false securities of this world cannot.
The reason that Jesus was so popular
is because people attributed to him what they were unable to do
themselves. He had many followers
because this is one who put them at ease, who calmed their fears and anxieties
about life. And yet, there is evidence
in this gospel text that Jesus was not who the people thought he should
be. They wanted them to be their king. Yet in God’s wisdom, that was a temporary
fix. God surpasses the temporary, the
fleeting moments of life, by continuing to give us what we need and satisfies
our deepest desires. In addition to calming our fears and anxieties, we want
and need unconditional love and that is the overall abiding function of God in
our lives. It is this love that is able to transform us into sharing that love
with everyone.
