Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The End of Life As We Know It (and bonus song commentary!)

Scripture passage that caught my attention today: Genesis 45:4-5 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.

Observation: The world changed before their very eyes and they would never be the same.

Application: I’m at a pastor’s retreat and the place where the internet is free is the lobby where there is also music coming rather loudly through the speakers. A few minutes ago the song was “the End of the World as we know it.” It occurs to me that today’s readings very much reflect that sentiment, not for bad, but for good.

Joseph’s brothers, faced with the reality that the brother they sold as a slave years ago was now a person of power, discovered the irony that he would in affect be their earthly savior—at least from famine. In today’s reading from Luke 18, the blind man’s world suddenly changed when Jesus restored his sight. And Peter and his companions, who left everything to follow Jesus, were told that they would get much more in return. It was the end of life as they knew it.

Ah, but the song now playing “you’re just a little in love,” seems reflective of the human nature reflected in the Scriptures and in our lives as well. We are often just “a little” in love. We want the benefits of the relationship with God without the sacrifice and commitment that go along with it. Or, to refer back to the earlier song I referenced, we don’t want the end of our self-serving/focused life as we know it.

I think part of the reason for this short-sighted approach is that we focus more on destination than journey, more on end result rather than the process along the way. It’s hard to grow past a constant reapplication of the childhood question “are we THERE yet?”

Now that I’m not too terribly far away from the half-century mark, it would be tempting to think of all the things I wish that I would have accomplished by this stage in my life.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with a little self-examination now and then. Nor are there any reasons not to look ahead and re-evaluate one’s focus. But it is the ability to live, as in really LIVE, in the present grace of God that marks a true trust and even thanksgiving for the opportunity that comes with the end of life as we know it. At that point perhaps we can even chime in with the refrain of the song that is playing even now—“simply irresistible!”

Prayer: Lord, whether it’s the end of life as we know it or whether we’re just a little in love with you or whether we find you simply irresistible or not, let us always give thanks that in you we find promise and promises that can most certainly be trusted. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Reading today included: Genesis 44-46 and Luke 18)

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