March 13, 2016 ~ Day 33
My 2016 Lenten Journey: Exploring the
Gospels to discover what following Jesus and becoming more like him would look
like? ‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people
to myself” (John
12:32 NRSV).
Matthew 9:35-38 ~ “My house is full, but my field is empty.” So went the lyrics of one of our favorite songs when I sang with “The Disciples Quartet”. It was a paraphrase of this passage of Scripture. When Jesus made the comment, it was not, as it may seem, an indictment of the ineffectiveness of the leaders of his faith; nor even of their hypocrisy.
Indictment is the interpretation that has been preached for generations, but with counterproductive results. The call of Jesus is, “Follow me and I will make you to become…” The general tone of preaching this theme has been more or less browbeating: “You’re not doing enough! Shame on you!”
NOTE: Jesus made this statement to his disciples, not to the public, nor even to the leaders of his faith. It appears to me that it was not said in a tirade of browbeating, but rather as an observation of how extensive the needs are. He didn’t dump a guilt trip on them; indeed, he asked them to pray to the “Lord of the harvest” to send workers into his harvest.
To follow Jesus is to engage in a work that exceeds human resources. To be faithful to Jesus we will need help from the “Lord of the harvest;” and praying for that help apparently will be an ongoing part of following Jesus.
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9 NRSV)
‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32 NRSV).
That's the way it looks through the flawed glass
that is my world view.
Together in the Walk,
Jim
