God Does Not Play By Our Rules

Preparing for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: One Day before Sunday (Year C)

Scripture (semicontinuous)

Psalter: Psalm 81:1, 10-16

Old Testament: Jeremiah 2:1-3, 14-22

Gospel: Matthew 20:20-28

Scripture (complementary)

Psalter: Psalm 112

Old Testament: Proverbs 21:1-4, 24-26

Gospel: Matthew 20:20-28

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Prayer

Move us to praise your gracious will, for in Christ Jesus you have saved us from the deeds of death and opened for us the hidden ways of your love. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Reflection

Jesus understood that God does not play by our rules. His God is a generous God, who not only allows the sun to shine on both the just and the unjust, but also gives us the ability to live into what should be rather than what is. The parables help us with their lessons about generosity: sharing joy, providing for others, recognizing the potential of small investments. His God wants us to be better than we are, because we have the potential to be. We are made but a little lower than the divine (Ps. 8.6; see Heb. 2.7); we should start acting in a more heavenly matter. Those who pray, “Your kingdom come,” might want to take some responsibility in the process, and so work in partnership with God. We too are to seek the lost and make every effort to find them. Indeed, we are not only to seek; we are to take notice of who might be lost, even when immediately present. The rich man ignores Lazarus at his gate, and the father of the prodigal ignored the elder son in the field. For the former, it is too late; for the latter, whether it is too late or not we do not know. But we learn from their stories. Don’t wait. Look now. Look hard. Count.—Amy Jill-Levine, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi

PRAYER: Holy One, hear our prayers and make us faithful stewards of the fragile bounty of this earth so that we may be entrusted with the riches of heaven. Amen.

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