Foolish Notions

This Sunday's Scripture lessons contain some of the ways human beings can get off track with God and each other. The Psalm (14) begins with the words, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God" It is this kind of thinking that summoned the prophet Jeremiah to speak out against the people of Judah. Doubtless some of them had lost their faith in God, thinking that they could do as they pleased. Some found new gods, including selfishness. Others may have thought that they were good enough in their observance of the law, failing to realize that the observance of the laws was a means for God to get into their hearts, not a checklist to gain God's favor.

Such foolish notions, continue even today. Somehow humans continue to repeat the same patterns and get lost along the way. Much like in the reading from First Timothy describes how Paul was consumed with his own zeal and then got blinded to what God was doing through the Incarnation. A Damascus road experience helped change his ignorance and selfishness so that he could offer true service for God.

The Gospel reading from Luke offers two (of a total of three) images of God seeking out the lost, as God has always be known to do in the Bible. From Genesis forward, God perseveres and calls humanity back into faithful relationship and Covenant. In their zeal to observe all of the law, the Pharisees have lost the heart to care for those who fall short. They upbraid Jesus for his association with tax collectors and sinners and Jesus reminds them that God cares for lost and by extension that includes even the Pharisees.

I ran across this Jewish parable in a commentary on these Sunday Lections. In his reflections on the gospel of Luke in The New Interpreter’s Bible (1995), R. Alan Culpepper tells a Jewish story centered on the good fortune of a hardworking farmer. The Lord appeared to this farmer and granted him three wishes, but the catch was that whatever the Lord did for the farmer would be given double to his neighbor. The farmer was thrilled, and wished for a hundred cattle. Immediately the wish was granted, and the farmer was ecstatic until he saw that his neighbor had 200. So he wished for a hundred acres of land, and again he was overjoyed until he saw that his neighbor had 200. Rather than celebrating God’s goodness, the farmer could not escape feeling jealous and cheated because his neighbor had received more than he had. Finally, he stated his third wish: that God would strike him blind in one eye. And God wept.

Luke 15 reminds us that God aways seeks out the lost. Like the Good Shepherd he finds us and gathers us up. Like a woman with the lost coin, God is relentless in his pursuit. Like a loving father, we find warmth and embrace. The Pharisees in the Gospel and the Farmer in the story are blind to this reality. They believe that God's grace is finate and reserved for only those who match a set criteria. Like the farmer, they are jealous and resent others receiving what they believes belongs to them.

The Church must set aside these foolish notions. We must remember that the Church exists to help the lost be found. Each of us has been lost at some time. We have found our way to this place and found Grace. But we cannot be like Farmer and the Pharisees and begrudge the blessings that God gives to others. The way to stave off such foolish notions is to keep it simple: remember that we all have strayed like sheep at some point or another.

I recently ran across a independant music group called The Colbalt Season. I don't know much about them, but I do enjoy their music and lyrics. In surfing the web, I found out that they are associated with a Church in San Francisco called SEVEN. Their website offers a mantra which is the basis of their common life in Christ--seven guiding covenants:

SEVEN Mantra
To Creator, obedience
To creation, service
To each other, community

In all things, love
In all things, love

For life, prayer
With possessions, simplicity
In our world, creativity

In all things, love
In all things, love

That's the law that the Pharisees and Farmer forgot: the Law of Love. Four little words that are the next step in keeping all foolish notions at bay: In all things, love. In all things, love.