Assembly 2002
Morning Liturgy - July 20
Judy Brunell, OP
"Behold, I am planning against this race an evil from which you shall not withdraw your necks; nor shall you walk with head high for it will be a time of evil" Micah 2:3
"The bruised reed God will not crush; the smoldering wick God will not quench..." Matt. 12:20.
Taken together, my first response to today's readings was "Will the real God please stand up?" "Are You an exacting, punishing God? Or are you tender and compassionate with us in our weakness?"
Reading on in Micah, I discovered the reason God had the necks of the chosen people on the chopping block, so to speak. It was because they (presumably the leaders, those with wealth and power) were exacting harsh sentences on the poor, the women, and the children, denying them of both their material security and their dignity as part of God's chosen people. But God's motivation was not punitive, though, indeed punishment was deserved. No, God's motive was to restore the community, to open the eyes of the oppressors so that they could recognize themselves in the very ones they oppressed. The Chapter concludes, " I will gather you, O Jacob, each and every one. I will assemble all the remnant of Israel; I will group them like a flock in the fold, like a herd in the midst of its corral; they shall not be thrown into a panic...but with a leader to break the path they shall burst open the gate and go out through it...with God be at their head." Sometimes, God loves us with the truth of our own sinfulness. It may not feel so cuddly but it is nevertheless an invitation to return to God's embrace. So as harsh as this passage at first appeared to me, upon further reflection, it certainly speaks of God's love, tough love, maybe,... but love, nonetheless.
Today's Gospel passage also starts out with a group of leaders, the Pharisees, who have hardened their hearts to such an extent that they are plotting to destroy Jesus. But rather than focus on that, the Gospel writer takes the opportunity to identify Jesus as the Suffering servant described by the prophet Isaiah. As such, Matthew portrays Jesus as the reflection of a God who is so compassionate and gentle that even the bruised reed and the smoldering wick are handled with tenderness. Matthew makes the simple observation that "many followed Jesus and he cured them all." There are two sides to this statement. Namely, there is no disease, no suffering, no brokenness, or sinfulness that Jesus refused to heal or was unable to enter into with healing power. From the opposite perspective, there was no follower who was not in some way afflicted and, therefore, in need of a cure or healing. And again, there is an echo of God gathering a people into a community - this time an even more inclusive community than the Chosen Israel, for now we are told that in the name of Jesus, even the Gentiles will find hope.
In considering what these readings might have to say to us, as we are" corralled" to Esopus from the corners of the earth for our annual assembly, it strikes me that these assemblies are truly our birthplace as Hope, and that our journeys to these gatherings are really homecomings. And, in particular at this time, as we become more acutely aware that our Centers of Hope are indeed temporary places, the pilgrimage that we need to make is to the circle of our Community of Hope, confident that regardless of how we come: weary or rested, eager or reluctant, content or disgruntled, afire or lukewarm, focused or distracted by other concerns, however and wherever we find ourselves, here, with one another, as with our God, we are home. Here, we come to hear the prophets among us, sometimes to deal with some difficult truths about our world and ourselves. Here, we come to rekindle our smoldering wicks, and to shore up our bruised reeds. Here, we come home to each other to remember our naming and our call, and to be re-created as Hope. May the God who sometimes loves us with the hard truth enable us to hear the prophetic voices among us this weekend. May the God who is also all- compassionate enable us to be gentle with one another as we continue our journey together.