The Goodness of God

The normal order of things goes: 1. Plan the battle. 2. Fight the battle. 3. Declare victory in the battle. At the root of Christ's triumphal entry is a novel ordering of a battle. 1. (Before the beginning of time) Plan the battle. 2. Declare victory in the battle by triumphally entering Jerusalem. 3. Fight the battle by going to the cross. From a human perspective, the result of the battle is in doubt. What does it mean that Jesus dies? What does it mean that Christ hasn't returned? However, time and time again, Scripture seeks to remind us that when God decides to take the field, the battle is already over.

Mary anoints Jesus with incredibly expensive perfume, and Judas pipes up inquiring if it was better meant for the poor. To many of us, this probably seems cut and dry, and a rare point for Judas. Jesus rules in favor of Mary. Why? How? It all boils down to the squishy mix of motivate, passion, and timing. The right thing isn't always the right thing, and the obliviously wrong isn't always that either.

God has tremendous love and joy for a wanderer of who finds their way back home. We deeply love this aspect of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and it's absolutely true, deeply, and truly hopeful. When we wander, we can always come home and be welcomed with open arms. However, the other question that the parable asks, that we like to glance over, is whether, we, would have found our way home, are as excited for and welcoming of the new wanderers as God is? The older brother doesn't share the father's excited. Does the church look like that sometimes?

Humanity longs for more than mere existence, but we are not always great at finding that meaning in good and healthy places. That missing spot in our souls is meant to filled by the presence and power of God. That is the thing that will never leave us emptier than when we started.

What matters the most in life? What helps us overcome our existential fears? When all our physical needs are met, and we can finally appear out to deeper concerns, where do we turn? These are humans most profound and enduring questions, and we've come up with a whole hosts - including lean into decadence and excess. Paul uses his call to Christian unity to the Philippians to posit another answer. Our citizenship resides in Heaven rather than being ruled by more imminent concerns.

After 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus gets tempted by Satan. In the exchange, Satan quotes scripture at Jesus, and Jesus counters with quotes from scripture. Jesus's temptations may look way different from ours. Satan can only tempt with doing the wrong good thing. We may have baser temptations, but we are not left alone to deal with them. God pours out strength if we will take the time and create the space for us to receive it and intentionally prepare to resist temptation.

Peter and James and John get a powerful window into the true nature of this semi-homeless, traveling rabbi, son of a carpenter. Turns out, he's God, and at the Transfiguration, he gets wardrobe and company worthy of that. It's a cosmic tip of the hand to the deeper reality of our reality. Things may seem perpetually mundane, but God is in the world. So, our actual actuality has much deeper dimensions and deeper hope.

Our world feels utterly ripped apart, and it can appear impossible for the chasm to mend. When massive harm happens, forgiveness and healing seems unreachably far away. Joseph's brother did an extreme degree of harm to Joseph. The tried to kill him, chose to sell him into slavery instead, and robbed him of home, comfort, and love. For years, his life was a desperate struggle for survival. Yet, when he ended up in a position of great power and had the opportunity to rightly punish his family, he chose to forgive and love. So, we know that with God, that level of healing is at least possible.

We can all too easily over spiritualize this whole religion. We can imagine a God that cares for souls, and thus, we should be in the caring for souls business. We trust in Heaven and serve no earthly good. God does care for souls, but God cares holistically - for the immaterial and the profoundly material. The Sermon of the Mount points to the soul. The Sermon of the Plain grounds us in reality. God has a special place in God's heart for the poor and downtrodden, and woe to us if we don't do the same.