The Compelling Love of God
(Free Version)- Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost- Jeremiah 18:1-11; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33
Find this week’s readings here. This week, in our “Deep Dive,” we include an illustration from the world of parenting and formation of children; we include quotes from Eugene Peterson; Esau McCaulley; and N.T. Wright. We also look at Alan and Deb Hirsch’s work on the idolatry of the nuclear family in Western culture.
There are a few things I would hope for my congregation to hear from this week’s readings…
First, your life is the creative work of God (Jeremiah 18:1-11). This is perhaps especially true when life feels difficult or ordinary. My prayer is for us to seek God in those times. It is easier to trust God when we can see his work, but the potter is doing his shaping work especially in times when things are not obvious. This is a dynamic relationship. God is not dependent on us in order to work, but he compels us to participate in his shaping.
Second, God does not give up on you in the mess ups. In the places where we break apart, where we fight against God’s formation, God keeps working, continuing to shape us. It is possible to reject God’s action, but God is always wooing us towards who he is creating us to be.
This was true in the case of Philemon (Philemon 1-21), a man who was known for his love and hospitality, and yet was a slaveholder. Paul’s compelling of Philemon reflects God’s compelling of us as we are infected by sin. Paul’s love for both Onesimus and Philemon is cross-shaped love, taking on Onesimus as his spiritual son, willing to even take on the consequences of his actions, while simultaneously reaching out to Philemon, inviting him to join in his kingdom work by being reconciled to his brother in Christ.
Third, you have a new identity. You are no longer defined by your cultural position. For Onesimus it was going from being known in status as a slave, to being a son. You are not defined by your past, what your parents, friends, or culture say about you. You are not defined by your earning potential or your public persona. You are part of the family of God. We now find ourselves siblings with people who we’d otherwise never interact. In this case, those whose relationship was previously defined as slave and master, are now brothers.
In fact, it is this new identity into which Jesus calls his disciples (Luke 14:25). This new identity, this creative work will challenge us to lay down our idols, the ways which we previously identified ourselves.
This appeal towards a new identity is not just for us individually. Fourth, It changes how we think about the systems of our world. We are compelled by the love of God. When we think about the complicated and broken structures of our world: racial injustice, the conflict and challenges related to immigration, homelessness, poverty, wealth inequality, we do so as a people of a new identity. We look at a broken world and we say, to paraphrase Paul, “We compel you to change. And we trust that you will.”
I love that, in a verse that is not included in our section, Paul says to Philemon, “And go ahead and set a room for me because I hope to visit you soon (vs. 22).” There are hints here of the God who will one day return to us in the midst of our broken systems, knowing our partnership is effective in bringing about every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.
May we trust the one who forms us and shapes us. May we know who we are and live in God’s hands.