Jesus calls us to live the gospel of God, a life in which joy and sorrow come together.
We are people living on the edge of time (1 Cor. 7). We live in this world as though we were not. We should seek God and the things of God, including God’s values. Augustine: Let us build a house in our heart and make a place where Jesus may come and teach us. That is, a house to take the place of the one to the care of which the unbelievers devote themselves. Like those first followers, we should be common folk on an uncommon mission. They left their father of the flesh to follow the Father of the spirit. They did not leave a father; they found a Father (Jerome).
The time we live, the time between the times, before the final time, the end, is nearer than ever before. Therefore, hold onto everything lightly. There is a mingling of joy and sorrow in life: The joy of faith makes up for whatever bitterness may accompany repentance (Jerome): “The hope of gain makes pleasant the perils of the sea” as we have seen this past week, in the loss of life on the grounded Italian cruise ship. News reports have pointed out how relatively safe “cruising” compared to flying, since there are fewer shipwrecks than airline crashes. So people undertake the joy of a cruise at sea, understanding the danger to be manageable.
Living for the gospel ought to be like that, more joy than sorrow. But, even if this were the case, the majority of those who hear the good news of God turn away, rather than turning towards God. Why do you think they refuse to follow Jesus?
Many (most) refuse to believe and live the gospel of God.
Many of us live as though we will never die and the world will never end. This is not a good choice! In mainline protestant churches most of all, we tend to fall into this wrong worldview, with the result that we over-identify with the world and become wrongly involved in it. Our possessions own us. We decide that just the right politician will bring us freedom or even salvation.
We decide, basically, that we want to build a heaven on earth to take the place of God’s promised heaven. Many of us spend our lives searching for God and for meaning. Now, Jesus has come, he is calling, and the tables have been turned. We are no longer searching for God, we are not on a spiritual journey or pilgrimage, our role now is to stop looking beyond God and to surrender to God who is here and now, always among us in Christ and in his Spirit.
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