Thursday March 16 Lent 3
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Psalm 83
We are under terrible attack. God, act quickly and utterly defeat them. We can say the same: that our world is under attack from forces of greed and exploitation, and we desperately need to be rescued. We can interpret the almost violent images in this psalm, as an expression of our deep determination that nothing will overcome the work of justice, inclusion and dignity for all. If our culture felt that strongly about dignity of all, what a wonderful world we would live in!
Jeremiah 10: 11-24 What’s Jeremiah about?
It can seem as if Jeremiah has an unending stream of criticisms. But remember that he is critiquing the king and his wealthy advisors—this is a courageous, determined, and dangerous stance against grinding the poor into the ground to increase the rulers’ wealth. Jeremiah is saying that the gods—the priorities—of the rulers are not real and will be utterly destroyed by the real God of justice who creates the universe and is powerful beyond human comprehension. The consequences of abandoning God’s inclusive justice will be terrible and would not be survivable if God did not intervene at the last moment.
John 8: 21-32 What’s John about?
Jesus continues his critique that people do not know who he is because they do not know who God is. He is accused of planning to kill himself, i.e. that he deliberately arranged his crucifixion to become famous. Jesus responds with imagery about them not being able to find him or know who he is because his accusers don’t know God. But when Jesus is lifted up—crucified, on display, glorified—then people will experience what God’s love is really like and will experience freedom from the abusive forces of this world.
The same is true today: Jesus only makes sense when we experience God’s utter self-giving love in his death and resurrection. Otherwise he remains an impossible figure from the ancient past to whom we cannot connect.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ gives the water of eternal life,
may we always thirst for you,
the spring of life and source of goodness;
through him who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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