+Z’ev

Today’s assigned readings:

Baruch 3:24-37; James 5:13-18; Luke 12:22-31

Do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Luke 12:29-31

In one way this can be read as a repeat of yesterday’s command that we obey God, “Lest we parish”. That’s the stick version, here’s the carrot… “obey God and all kinds of good things will come to you.

That’s one way of reading “strive for his Kingdom…”

But the kingdom of God is not about meat and drink. It’s not about rules at all… Again, as we learned yesterday, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Or as the prophet Micah said, “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.”

And to strive for the kingdom means to work for that care for orphans, to do justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly with God - avoiding the pretty illusions that distract us (”world” = Kosmos meaning “make up” or “ornamentation”). And I’ve noticed when charity is flowing out of me the other things tend to show up all by themselves. It’s not a doctrinal statement - “striving for the kingdom” caries no implication at all of evangelism or doctrinal purity. It’s doing justice, loving mercy. It’s walking humbly with God. It is, however, vaguely new age. “Do what you love and the money will follow” says the mantra. It’s true, provided that you love the real deal: the image of God present in every person.

Those times in my life that were the hardest for me - straining to take care of a house on one income, reaching out to share what little I had with those around me, or acting even in overly secular ways, political things, etc, that I felt were God pleasing: God took care of me. There was always enough money, enough food, enough room for guests. Standing in front of City Hall in NYC in an all night vigil for justice (in 1984? 85?), we were greeted at 7AM with Coffee and Bagels from the Greek Deli across the street: why? Cuz. I had no doubt in my mind that if they were asked, point blank on camera, if they supported us, the answer would be no. We had many counter protesters that night, including some of the deli owner’s clergy.

But God takes care of us. Is this the same God who we claim sends earthquakes and Muslim armies to punish us? Yes. And yet… and yet… not by raining manna on us from heaven, not by earthquakes that swallow up our enemies: God takes care of them too.

Forgive the humour, this one has been rattling around in my head since 8th grade:

God causes the rain to fall
on the just and unjust fella
but mostly on the just
for the unjust steals the just’s umbrella.

But the point - on the just and the unjust - is true. God makes no difference in bestowing his blessing. Because he does it by the hands of his loving servants.

Jesus is, of course, not telling the poor to hush up their complaining. He’s telling the rich to share.

For every devout Christian in America sending a care package to her son’s unit in Iraq, a devout Iraqi mom is doing the same. The hands of God are sending blessings. Do not worry about these things… we fail in charity when we have more than enough and fail to give it to those who have not. And we fail in charity when we worry about what is “enough”.