Live Impossibly?

03Nov
Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen.
-Matthew 13: 40-43

You are to be praised, O God in Zion; 
to you shall vows be performed in Jerusalem.
To you that hear prayer shall all flesh come, 
Because of their transgressions
Our sins are stronger than we are,
but you will blot them out……

You make fast the mountains by your power;
they are girded about with might.
You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of the waves,
and the clamor of the peoples.
Those who dwell at the ends of the Earth will tremble at your 
marvelous signs;
You make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy.

-Psalm 65. Te decet hymnus 1-3 and 6-8


 My father was a hospital chaplain. He retired in his 70’s and lived to be 99. One of the things I remember him saying about sin was that “sin is trying to live impossibly”. We might also say that sin is choosing to live in a way that renders our efforts futile. The Greeks were on the right track when they pictured an underworld where Sisyphus spent his time rolling a boulder up a hill only to have to perform that task again and again, endlessly. In Matthew’s gospel above, sin certainly seems to be a big theme. As Jesus explains the parable of the weeds of the field to his disciples (Actually, he does not give us an answer, just more images to ponder), he paints a vivid picture of the fate of the weeds or the evil doers. No doubt we want to avoid being thrown into that fiery furnace. I think it is helpful though to consider the part about weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is what connects with trying to live impossibly. When we make choices that we later regret it can involve weeping and gnashing of teeth. It may even feel as if we have been tossed in a fiery furnace. We would definitely like a failsafe formula for avoiding such decisions, but we should not expect to discover one given our limited human nature. As the psalmist states above, “Our sins are stronger than we are”.  


 Thankfully, we need not be overwhelmed by this reality, and the psalmist reminds us of this in the very next breath, “But you will blot them out”. Where can we find evidence of God’s faithfulness and his power to blot out our sins, to open the doors of possibility? The psalmist reminds us of God’s unlimited power. People at the ends of the Earth will tremble at his marvelous deeds. At that time, the people of the Middle East could imagine God’s power extending to lands and people they knew nothing about. Today we can see much further into the vastness of creation with the Webb telescope. There are marvelous things indeed in this Universe that seems infinite. Yet God cherishes each one of us insignificant as we might seem in this unlimited creation. Closer to home, I love the verse about making the dawn and the dusk to sing with joy. These are the times of day I love to look at the beauty of the light reflecting off clouds, foliage and flowers. It is a wonderful reminder that even as we may at times try to live impossibly, with God all things are possible.


Musical Reflection - Christ is the World's True Light - Stanton. Hall Grove Choristers


Christ Jesus, remind us this day that you will light the way of infinite possibility. Amen.

Kingdom of GodPentecost

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