Exodus 19:2-8a
Proper 6 (11) - Year A
In the middle of a wilderness it is comforting to receive word that, of all the possible people, G*D has chosen you.
Whether in the wilderness of racism (overt or subtle) or sexism or homophobia or poverty or abuse or whatever, it is important to hear a word of specialness.
A temptation is to turn specialness into a proprietary holiness which separates rather than helps us all toward interdependence.
What happens if we turn this into a generic story? Whether one is from a Native People in the Americas or a woman in Afghanistan or gay in a straight legal system or poor in a land of special interests or a child clobbered from any number of directions or whatever—you are special—you are a priest and a prophet between G*D and others who have been wounded by one or more of the 7 Deadly Sins times 70 Other Sins.
What does it mean to be a “holy” nation brought to G*D on eagles’ wings? Do we not help G*D hear other cries, as ours were heard? Do we not help those who are crying by honoring both their tears and their value as we fly them to G*D or fly G*D to them? Do we not structure our common life in such a way that our experience of captivity is redressed and offered as hope for others?
Generosity in the wilderness! Generosity in your wilderness! Count on it. With the whole earth to choose from, G*D chooses you in the midst of your wilderness and also chooses those whom you have placed into wilderness settings through your inattention to their pain. Together we are chosen. How generous!
As found in Wrestling Year A: Connecting Sunday Readings with Lived Experience
In the middle of a wilderness it is comforting to receive word that, of all the possible people, G*D has chosen you.
Whether in the wilderness of racism (overt or subtle) or sexism or homophobia or poverty or abuse or whatever, it is important to hear a word of specialness.
The temptation is to turn that specialness into a proprietary holiness which separates rather than helps us all toward interdependence.
What happens if we turn this into a generic story? Whether one is from the Native People in the America's or a woman in a patriarchal society or gay in a straight legal system or poor in a land of special interests or a child clobbered from any number of directions or whatever - you are special - you are a priest and a prophet between G*D and others who have been wounded by one or more of [the Seven Deadly Sins times Seventy Other Sins].
What does it mean to be a holy nation brought to G*D on eagles' wings? Do we not help G*D hear other cries, as ours were heard? Do we not help those who are crying by honoring both their tears and their value as we fly them to G*D or fly G*D to them? Do we not structure our common life in such a way that our experience of captivity is redressed and offered as hope for others?
Generosity in the wilderness! Generosity in your wilderness! Count on it. With the whole earth to choose from, G*D chooses you in the midst of your wilderness and also chooses those whom you have placed into wilderness settings through your inattention to their pain. Together we are chosen. How generous!
http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2002/june2002.html
Of the stories of responses to G*D -- Sarah's laughter and the unitary response of acquiescence of "the people", I'll take Sarah's every time. Sarah knew impossibility when she heard it. She enjoyed it as she went along. It didn't destroy the arc of her life. Whether a child came or didn't come had ceased to be the issue. Just being real was what a hundred years had taught.
Better to be embarrassed from laughing at the impossible than being so serious in affirming your willingness to do the impossible only to shortly and embarrassingly demonstrate how disingenuous you had been in promising to not be real -- note Golden Calf.
We have all too many folks who are serious in their promising to be a particular way before actually being in the situation where a test was being applied for real. Their earnestness clutters the communication channels and is a frustration to both G*D and themselves.
We have all too few who are able to simply be, able to laugh in such a way that the way ahead is cleared. Their lightness illumines a focus upon G*D's doing rather than ours. Their laughter finally brings G*D to put up or shut up about serial promises with no action.