Reading Ramblings – July 26, 2020

Date: Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, July 26, 2020

Texts: Deuteronomy 7:6-9; Psalm 125; Romans 8:28-39; Matthew 13:44-52

Context: See what kind of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are. (1 John 3:1) John’s words capture so beautifully the immense love of God for his creation, and his steadfast faithfulness to bring us back to him! The readings for this week all emphasize this theme. What we need to do is be cautious, particularly as we read Romans 8, to not insert what Paul does not. Paul emphasizes those God has called, foreknew, predestined. What Paul does not say – but which many insert – is that there must therefore be those God did not foreknow, did not call, did not predestine. The existence of the former does not necessitate the existence of the latter, and a broader reading of Scripture makes this clear.

Deuteronomy 7:6-9 – Deuteronomy is Moses’ farewell address to the people of Israel, the group he has shepherded for over 40 years since leading them out of Egypt by the power of God the Father. It has been a tumultuous relationship, to say the least. Yet the fact remains in spite of their grumblings and grousings and disobedience, God has chosen them to be his people. He is faithful to them in spite of their faithlessness, as He is working on a much grander scale, fulfilling promises that go back to their ancestors. The scandal of particularity is that God works through specific peoples and individuals. He is not democratic in how He works his plan of salvation, but the effects of that plan are extended to all people in ways we have no idea how to even begin imagining. To any who worry or are brought to knowledge of their sin, God’s work for us through the specifics of human history – culminating in the incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth – is extended to all who will receive it in faith and trust and repentance. God’s goodness to us is incredible in its tenacity – a sure and certain rock to cling to in the midst of our shifting and uncertain world!

Psalm 125 – How should we respond to God’s promises and steadfast faithfulness? In faith and trust as expressed in this psalm. Anchoring our trust and hope in him gives us a confidence we can’t find anywhere else in this world, or in any other person. We can trust that even when things are hard and difficult for a time, that time will pass. God acts constantly on behalf of his faithful who have only to wait and see what their Lord will do, trusting ultimately that even should they not be delivered from the present predicament at hand, they are assured God the Father’s eternal peace and joy. It is not always within our power to ensure that righteousness prevails, or to bring evil to account. But God is not so limited, and all things will be restored and set right in his perfect timing.

Romans 8:28-39 – Do we suffer now? We certainly do – and we are keenly aware of this during another round of strict restrictions associated with COVID-19. Faith in Christ is not an immunity to the struggles and difficulties of this world. But faith in Christ allows us to see these struggles and difficulties from another perspective. As part of the greater struggle of evil against the righteous rule of God, it should not be surprising that we suffer here and now. But that suffering is only for a time. Evil has been defeated in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. So now we can be certain that whatever Satan works for our evil, God is capable of working into good on our behalf. Who has God called? Everyone (John 3:16). Who did God foreknow? Everyone (Genesis 1-2; John 1:1-5). Who has God predestined according to his good will for eternal life? Everyone (Ezekiel 33:10-11). There is nobody God has predetermined to eternal separation from him. So the call of God the Holy Spirit goes out to everyone that they might receive justification through God the Son for the eternal glory of God the Father first and foremost, but themselves as well in a lesser, fitting degree. So we are confident of God’s goodness to us – that it is both more than adequate and eternally faithful. We cling in hope to the promises of God eternally and look for his salvation as well here and now in the short term. We know that whatever we suffer now cannot cause God to lose his grip on our lives!

Matthew 13:44-52 – Often these verses are interpreted as though we are the man or the merchant, but really the verses make more sense if we see Jesus as the man and the merchant. We are the treasure buried in sin that Jesus uncovers and offers himself in exchange for. We are the pearl sought by the merchant who willingly lays down his life that he might possess this pearl of greatest price eternally. Certainly these verses speak far better to the faithfulness of God than to our own shallow, self-centered faith! Who among us can claim to have sacrificed everything for Christ? The claim seems ridiculous, though perhaps those who suffer and are martyred for the faith might come closest to deserving this interpretation.

That God should pursue us so zealously makes rejection of his grace all the more terrible. While all things are possible with God and we should always hope and pray for the salvation of all those who here and now deny his love and goodness and insist they have no need for it, we must take seriously the eternal ramifications of such rebellion.