Mind the Gap
Free Version- Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost- Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31
Find this week’s readings here. This week, in our “Deep Dive,” we include more detail on the background of Jeremiah reading, including quotes from Eugene Peterson, Walter Brueggemann and Lesslie Newbigin. We explore the pastoral implications of the Timothy reading regarding contentment, looking at the Marie Kondo phenomenon and a story about the NBA’s Kevin Durant. We also engage the work of Robert Farrar Capon on the gospel reading.
I’ve been told that, in England, when you get on a train or on a subway, you might hear an audible warning over the speakers: “Mind the Gap.” It is a particularly British phrase. In the United States, where I live, we do not often tell people to “mind” things. In New York City, the equivalent phrase on the subway is “Stand clear of the closing doors please.”
But I like “Mind the gap.” It is a way of saying, “Be careful. There is a chasm right in front of you. If you are not careful, you will trip on it, or in some cases, perhaps fall into it.
One of the great challenges of the Christian life is to recognize that there is a HUGE gap between the kind of life Christians are called to pursue and what our culture chases and calls “the good life.”
In our readings this week, we are invited to “Mind the Gap” between the expectations, hopes, and trusts of this world, and the reality of the kingdom of God.
In the midst of the incoming invasion of the promised land by the Babylonians, Yahweh instructs the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15) to buy a field. The field is not a good investment by the world’s standards. It would be occupied territory in a matter of time. God uses this economic transaction, this land deal, as a symbolic action: he has not given up on them. One day, his people will return. They will once again plant vineyards and build houses. When everything else is stacked against it, Jeremiah invests in a deeper hope: God will be faithful.
Our epistle reading reminds the church of the importance of trusting God rather than riches (1 Timothy 6:6-19). Christian hope is different. Wealth, the approval of people, fame, and influence are not to be our final pursuit. Contentment arises from trusting in God. The best way to take away the power of money as an idol is to give it away. Wealth is uncertain, but good deeds will last into God’s new world.
Our gospel reading (Luke 16:19-31) illustrates the importance of acknowledging and living into our dependence on God. The rich man had built his life upon his riches and, even while in Hades, was trying to send Lazarus to do his bidding. Both men have died and there is a deep chasm between them. Lazarus has acknowledged his death and it leads to the hope of resurrection. The rich man is still trying to save his own life.
What are we chasing? What is the primary pursuit of those in our congregation? Are we chasing wealth, fame, and influence? Or are yielding to the slow and steady work of the kingdom in our lives?
What are we trusting? Do we trust the voices around us that tell us that we are only valuable because of our bank balance, our attractiveness, or who approves of our image? Or are we trusting that God has always been faithful and will always be faithful? In what ways might God be calling us to practice gratitude and allow that to shape contentment in our lives?
Where is our hope? Do we allow our final hope to be placed in the economy? In our abilities or in the fortunes of the next political leader or party? Or do we trust in the God who is making all things new? The former will come and go. The latter is sure and true.