Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
October 15, 2021
Invitatory
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be always acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end.
Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's Name be praised.
Reading: Matthew 11:1-6
Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities. When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Meditation – Peter Vanderveen
Years ago, Robert Adair, a professor at Yale, wrote a small book titled The Physics of Baseball, in which he explained such things as why a curve ball curves, how many times a ball spins after the pitcher releases it, and the maximum distance a ball can be hit. It opened up for me a whole new way of watching what happens on the field and gave me a greater appreciation of the skills of those who play at a professional level.
In my excitement about the book, I once made the mistake of taking it with me to a game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves. I had a seat with a friend along the third base line; we were surrounded by a crowd of boisterous fans. All was well until the third inning, when I slipped the book out of my backpack and started to analyze the play accordingly. This infuriated those around me.
For them, this was a tribal contest. The only thing that mattered was the outcome of the game, and the only responsibility of the fans was to wildly root for the home team. Any departure from this was a form of heresy: it was getting everything wrong, which emptied the game of its value. I was informed by a chorus of loud voices that musing about why a line drive along the baseline tends to bend into foul territory was an offense. And I quickly realized that I watched the game with different eyes and a very different interest.
I often feel the same disjuncture when reading Biblical texts.
It can seem perfectly reasonable to read today’s appointed text as if Jesus meant his words to be taken literally. There’s a long tradition of thinking of Jesus as a healer. The blind see. The lame walk. Miracles occur. It affords Jesus a clear authority and power, and it legitimates the faith of those who look to Jesus for help. In somewhat crude terms, Jesus is the one who wins, so we follow.
But this might not be the gist of the encounter. For it would be challenging to take literally what Jesus said about the dead being raised. For where does this place the resurrection? Maybe he meant this to be understood differently. And why did he refer to the poor after speaking about the dead? Doesn’t this seem a bit anticlimactic? An afterthought? And why would people be offended by such acts? Unless what Jesus said was intended to make a different point.
There’s a certain exuberance to each of Jesus’ statements. He wanted John to know that everything is coming to fruition. And thus, his specific examples may have more meaning if they’re taken figuratively, as gestures that would point toward an indomitable hope and joy. And while we might naturally project this hope for the dead (as we always do); it’s even more startling and beautiful to imagine that those in poverty would be able to find this same message transformative too (and not just talk). It’s Jesus’ tone that’s most important here, reflecting a goodness that has no bounds.
And isn’t this exactly what’s difficult for us to accept, especially in our time now. How can we not be opposed, in anger, standing apart from some others. For us, everything is being reduced to what is essentially tribal.
Unless, maybe, Jesus’ last line was meant to redirect us -- to see in him a promise that is greater than what we ourselves “desire and pray for.”
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
