THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK 26 SEPTEMBER 2021
On behalf of Sacredise – By John van de Laar
We love to make faith about who is “in” and who is
“out”. We love to believe that we know how God
works, and that we can easily discern when something
is “of God” or not. We like to feel that we are
in God’s inner circle, and that we are beloved by
God while others are not. We may say out loud that
we know that God loves everyone, but in our hearts
we easily start to feel like we, and those in our
group, are God’s favourites.
But this week, the Lectionary challenges these exclusive
views of God’s work. Just when it looks like
we have God all worked out, God does something
completely unexpected. If we don’t keep our
hearts and minds open to this surprising work of
God, we may just find ourselves missing out on what
God is doing. In the Old Testament, the story of Esther
reveals how God can use serendipitous events
and unexpected people to save those who are
being oppressed and persecuted. In the Gospels,
the disciples tell Jesus that they found someone
casting out demons in his name, and they told him
to stop. But Jesus tells them not to stop him because
“anyone who is not against us is for us.” Certainly
God seems to be less worried about credentials
and the right connections than we are!
This week, why not try to open yourself a little more
to the surprising work of God in your life and your
world?