The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 26C), Oct. 31, 2004
Isaiah 1:10-20; Psalm 32 or 32:1-8; 2 Thess. 1:1-5(6-10)11-12; Luke 19:1-10
As a result of our fallen nature, most of us go through life as though the world existed for our own benefit. We focus on seeing that our needs are met, and when people in our lives let us down on that score we simply dump them. We concentrate on fulfilling our desires, and anyone who stands in the way is readily expendable. We aim to ensure our own comfort and security, even if we have to take advantage of others to do it. We deserve to be happy, after all. That’s what life is all about.
If we think too much about it, though, our headlong pursuit of selfishness can cause us occasional pangs of guilt. That’s because, unless we’re total sociopaths, there’s some degree to which God’s law is written in our hearts. That is, we have a conscience. In our rush toward relationships which meet our needs and fulfill our desires, we end up leaving figurative widows and orphans in our wake. In our lust to gain the things of this world as cheaply as possible, we lay waste to the earth and condemn many Third World people to a life of near slavery.
What do we do at those times when we rightfully feel guilty about our actions? Usually we engage in little rituals in an effort to make ourselves feel better. We tell ourselves that we don’t have any choice in the way we live -- but we know deep inside that all of our actions spring from choices. We try to convince ourselves that the needy and the hurting of the world aren’t really our responsibility -- that somehow they deserve their fate. But that hardly rings true. Or we cross ourselves during the absolution at the Sunday Eucharist, and hope that therein it no longer matters to God. But it does.
Today’s readings make it clear that the only way to deal with a guilty conscience is through true repentance. And, no, it isn’t a mental exercise or the mere participation in some ritual. It means changing our decisions and our lives. Isaiah calls us to “learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” Our Lord, in the gospel, calls us to share what we have with the poor, and to pay back with usurious interest all that we have gained through oppressing others. It is only when we radically change our lives in these ways that our guilt miraculously disappears. For in so doing, God fulfills in us “every good resolve and work of faith,” and the Lord Jesus is glorified in our actions.
Look It Up
What, according to James, is the proper relationship between Christian faith and the works of mercy? (James 2:18-20).
Think About It
How might both our personal and our collective lives be better if we embraced this Sunday’s reading’s call to true repentance?
Next Sunday
The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 27C), Nov. 7, 2004
Job 19:23-27a; Psalm 17 or 17:1-8: 2 Thess. 2:13-3:5 Luke 20:27(28-33)34-38
