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Thought for the Week 11 July – 6th Sunday after Trinity
The Homily this week comes from Jane Williams, respected author and
columnist. [Jane has taught Doctrine
at Trinity College Bristol, and is the wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury –
check her out on Google.] Does God actually make things too
easy for us? Do we keep looking around for the catch, trying to work out what
we are missing, when really the truth is as simple as can be? Our human
religious instincts tend to go in for a lot of ritual, membership
requirements, secrecy and hierarchy, and churches don't always look very
different. But all three of today's readings seem to suggest that God's
requirements are devastatingly simple. Return to God,
Deuteronomy says, simply, 'turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and
with all your soul' (30.10). No interpreters are needed to show how this is
to be done; God is not far away. As they turn back to him, they will find
already in themselves the knowledge of his commandments. Their part is one simple
movement: turning to face God. The lawyer who
comes to Jesus wants a complicated answer to this question of how to choose
God. He knows the simple answer, and he quotes it off pat. But surely that
can't be all? There must be more to it than that? He had hoped to come out of
the encounter looking clever, but instead he is made to look stupid and,
worse than stupid, unfaithful. If
choosing God is that easy, what excuse has anyone got for not doing it? So he
asks the question, wanting, we are told, 'to justify himself. He hopes Jesus
will produce a long and elaborate formula, with lots of boxes to tick. The
lawyer is quietly confident that there will be ticks in most of his boxes
already, but he would like this to be public knowledge. In particular, he wants
Jesus to know how good he is, and say, in an admiring voice, 'Well
done. Why can't everyone be like you?' Instead, Jesus' answer is a story
whose point is terrifyingly clear. Choosing God means choosing
people. Choosing God means choosing anyone who needs you. No excuses. The
lawyer does not pretend to misunderstand, but we never hear the end of his
story. Writing the end of it is our part. Deuteronomy and
the good Samaritan make it all sound so very, very simple. But unfortunately
we know it isn't. We are all of us like the lawyer, looking for complicated
ways to let ourselves off the hook, or like the people in Deuteronomy, who
would like to say 'It's all too difficult, we need someone from heaven, or at
least abroad, to explain it to us. It's not our fault that we don't know what
to do.' The temptation when faced with this blazing clarity is either to
embroider beautiful and elaborate robes to cover it up, so we can't see it
too clearly, or just to give up in despair. Luckily, we have
the witness of many generations of people that making the choice is the vital
thing. Choosing God, over and over again, however many times our other
choices get in the way, is the best we can do. In Colossians, Paul writes
with great warmth and generosity and trust to this community of imperfect
people who have, despite their imperfections, chosen God. It must have been
enormously encouraging for the Colossians to read that Paul knows about their
care for each other, and that they are seen as a community where the gospel
is alive and well and bearing fruit. It can't always have felt like that on
the inside. But Paul is a
very artful church planter. He knows the value of encouragement, but he isn't going
to let the Colossians get complacent, or think that their success is their
own doing. First, he reminds them that they are part of a wider Christian
community - Paul's own prayers are part of what has kept them going, just as
our prayers keep others going, and their prayers sustain us. The prayer that
Paul has for the Colossians is utterly comprehensive, and it is also the key
for Luke's lawyer and Deuteronomy's bewildered people. We do not have to do
this by ourselves. The strength that enables us to live rightly comes from
God. God swings into action at the end of today's reading, like Superman to
the rescue. What a relief! God rescues
us from the darkness, God chooses us, as we are, useless and sinful. This
great choice that we thought we had to make, reaching out in our own strength,
turning round with great effort to face him, is nothing of the kind. There is
no journey to be made - he is here. There is no huge decision to take - we
are already part of the kingdom of the Son. All we have to do is say 'Thank
you'. It really is that simple. Amen. To return to main Thought for the Week page, click X at top right to close this window. |