LIVING GOD’S WILL (30)
Scripture: Luke 12:47-56
This content is part of a series.
Living God’s Will (30)
Series: Lectionary, Year C, Proper 15
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 12:47-56
Following the dictates of society, a community, an institution, a culture, or a tradition can feel like living God’s will. We inherit all sorts of expectations. They are passed down by family, school, church, media, books, and entertainment. We may expect them to be in keeping with what God wills, yet they may not be. It’s easy enough to find religious traditions giving competing definitions of God’s will. Do we evaluate the definitions we use? Are we fulfilling God’s will or that of another?
My college Greek professor taught a class entitled ‘‘The Hard Sayings of Jesus.’’ If this was not one of those passages he dealt with, it could have been. The first portion is pretty clear and direct. The standard rules of interpretation apply. What is clear is clear. What gets repeated over and over in other passages, leaves little room to question our interpretation. Essentially, Jesus just says, ‘‘Live as though you expect to be called to account at any moment for your actions, character, attitudes, and interactions. If I am ready and doing as I should, I have no need to be concerned about when I might be called to account for myself. If I know what I should be doing, I just need to do it.
It calls to mind recent concerns over the IRS hiring 87,000 new agents. If I am file my taxes as I should, why should I have worry over the government having more agents to investigate tax fraud? If I am living my life before God according to the gospel of Christ Jesus, why should I have any concern over when the world might end, when the Second Coming will happen, or what we like to call ‘‘the signs of the times’’? How often must Jesus, Paul, and John tells us to simply get on with serving God such that we are ready whenever we are called to give an accounting of ourselves?
The second thing Jesus mentions is a little less attested, but it is still pretty clear. If I don’t kno ...
Series: Lectionary, Year C, Proper 15
Christopher B. Harbin
Luke 12:47-56
Following the dictates of society, a community, an institution, a culture, or a tradition can feel like living God’s will. We inherit all sorts of expectations. They are passed down by family, school, church, media, books, and entertainment. We may expect them to be in keeping with what God wills, yet they may not be. It’s easy enough to find religious traditions giving competing definitions of God’s will. Do we evaluate the definitions we use? Are we fulfilling God’s will or that of another?
My college Greek professor taught a class entitled ‘‘The Hard Sayings of Jesus.’’ If this was not one of those passages he dealt with, it could have been. The first portion is pretty clear and direct. The standard rules of interpretation apply. What is clear is clear. What gets repeated over and over in other passages, leaves little room to question our interpretation. Essentially, Jesus just says, ‘‘Live as though you expect to be called to account at any moment for your actions, character, attitudes, and interactions. If I am ready and doing as I should, I have no need to be concerned about when I might be called to account for myself. If I know what I should be doing, I just need to do it.
It calls to mind recent concerns over the IRS hiring 87,000 new agents. If I am file my taxes as I should, why should I have worry over the government having more agents to investigate tax fraud? If I am living my life before God according to the gospel of Christ Jesus, why should I have any concern over when the world might end, when the Second Coming will happen, or what we like to call ‘‘the signs of the times’’? How often must Jesus, Paul, and John tells us to simply get on with serving God such that we are ready whenever we are called to give an accounting of ourselves?
The second thing Jesus mentions is a little less attested, but it is still pretty clear. If I don’t kno ...
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