There is a popular saying in Missouri that if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes and it will change. This is especially true in March which famously enters like a lion and exits like a lamb. Just because it is pleasant today with blue skies above and a warm breeze blowing from the south doesn’t mean the chilly cold is done with us. Any seasoned Midwesterner knows March is the last month of winter much more than the first month of spring. If you want certainty with the weather, you will have to move to San Diego. If you want certainty with the political, economic, or social situation in our world, you’re plain out of luck.
Our world is currently more volatile than the 10-day forecast, and I know the fear, uncertainty, and anger it produces; I feel it too. This isn’t a message about the weather but about whether we will put our trust in the powers of the world or place our hope in the One who created, redeemed, and sustains creation. When I was younger, preachers used the Bible to reinforce a personal code of ethics. I remember a lot of “Thou Shall Nots…” I know there is value in this, but this is not Holy Scripture’s overarching message. As I age, I see the Bible as the most subversive text ever written. From the earliest parts of Genesis to the conclusion of Revelation, the Bible informs us God is not interested in reinforcing the status quo. God wants transformation, not just of the individual, but of every system that harms the poor, fosters prejudice, and attacks the marginalized.
The Bible tells of countless divine reversals. Esau could have killed his swindling heel of a brother, Jacob. Instead of drawing his sword, he opens his arms to embrace the one who hurt him (Genesis 33.) Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, but he didn’t turn them away when they were hungry. He tells his family, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today” (Genesis 50:20, NRSV.) There are multiple stories like this in scripture including Ruth, Esther, and Jesus; resurrection from the dead is the ultimate divine reversal. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will be done on earth as well as heaven. May we all take this to heart as we enter March, begin our Lenten journey, and make our way to the cross. I guarantee it will provide strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, no matter what fair or foul weather is on the horizon.
In Hope and Confidence,
Pastor Dave
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