Writing from my sister's house in New Jersey, where the skies are gray, but the day is sunny because I am with my sister and my daughter is coming here as well!
This morning's Lectionary reading from the prophecy of Jeremiah complemented the reading from Pilgrim Road so well, I am wondering if the author of PR was using the lectionary to guide his writings. Jeremiah says:
"The the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and played the whore there? And I thought "After she has done all this she will return to me"; but she did not return, and her false sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce; yet her sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. Because she took her whoredom so lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her false sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense, says the Lord.
"Then the Lord said to me: "Faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false Judah. Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: Return faithless Israel, says the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, says the Lord. I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the Lord your God, and scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree, and have not obeyed my voice, says the Lord. Return, O faithless children, says the Lord, for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord." It shall not come to mind or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another one be made. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no longer stubbornly follow their own evil will. In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your ancestors for a heritage."
The PR reading talked about the little sins, the daily little things we let ourselves get away with because hey, we don't do the big ones, so God surely will not mind the little gray ones skittering about our lives. The little neglectfulnesses or the little obsessions that we allow to creep across our paths build up into a stubborn willfulness: we do it our own way, because God won't really mind, we think.
Jeremiah says that God watched Israel and Judah do the same kinds of things. They wandered about adding little digressions to their lives, wandered off the path a little here and there. But God thought they would get tired of their wandering and return to God.
Maybe it is time we got tired of wandering.
God's path isn't really all that bad. There are a lot of beautiful stops along the way, a lot of "scenic overlooks" where we can see a panorama of the beauty God intends for us. Maybe it's time to stop "faking it til we're making it" and time to start paying attention for real to what God is calling us to be and to do.
It's way too easy to do half a job, to do something adequately, but not give it our best. Staying our best is tiring at least and often frustrating. But as I clean and find myself not stretching all the way under the radiator, or as I read and skim my way through the boring parts of Scripture, or as I listen half-heartedly to a lecture, I realize that I am being adequate, but not good at it. And if everything we do ultimately is done to the glory of the Living God, then adequate isn't really going to cut it.
The author of the Lenten journey book talks about an overzealous abbott who was not well loved because of his perfectionism, laughing a bit at what the other monks must have felt as he tried to force them into a rigid discipline. I don't think God had rigidity in mind. Jesus constantly talked about abundant life and joy and blessing. Paul reminds us to rejoice in the Lord always.
As we walk along, let's take a moment or two to stand at the scenic outlooks and see what God has provided for us. Let's look away from the glamour of the world, and look to the glory of God. It's easier and way more interesting than it sounds!
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