Context

The impact of the ongoing tragedy of fires in the Amazon and the Arctic may be to disable hope and commitment, nonetheless, visible and strategic commitment and action by Christians encourages both them and dispirited bystanders. It is the illusion of the constraining responsibilities that belong to power which hamstring Christian witness.

 

 Reflection

It must have occurred at least to some disciples that they were socially out of their depth. The hangers-on of a flash-in-the-pan celebrity, scoring strategic invitations from those who stood to benefit from conspicuous hospitality. What were the disciples there for? What is 'the community we are called to be?' Especially in our response to matters which seem to be so far outside our capability to intervene that we might just as well creep obediently back into some hole, and leave the stage clear for those more 'distinguished' or 'honourable'. (Verse 8).

The context of climate crisis, when others despair at the relevance of Christianity, ironically liberates us from the shackles of those who are too great, grand or good, to think, do, or say, what is needful.

Now, whilst there’s evidence that tagging along with Jesus sometimes went to disciples’ head, (cf Luke 9.54), the focus reading is consistent with Jesus’ encouragements to streetwise (if ethical) manipulation of the unjust and unequal society that he - and we - encounter. 

Like Jesus himself, we can’t achieve (climate) justice simply by demanding it. To step into the public space is to be vulnerable to humiliation, and perhaps worse, to risk waste of energy and motivation we might have derived from association with the church. 

Jesus, who sent his friends out ‘like sheep amongst wolves’(Matt 10.16) primed them to be not only as harmless as doves, but as proverbially devious as snakes. My encounters with environmentally committed congregations show how counter-cultural it has become to hold together these strands. Having “played well the dove”, how to 'be more snake!' To grasp the Hebrew virtue (think of the story of Jacob/Israel) of getting away with it, without the exercise of military or financial clout

Despite the rumour that churches are already pariahs, there are many opportunities which we might, in good disciple-conscience, exploit. Invitations to send someone along to such a ‘reception’ as Jesus graced by his presence are part of the life of faith communities. And there is never such a thing as a free lunch. Indeed, involvement in school governorship, parish councils and community committees of one sort or another will have benefits all round. Though when it’s your first time, you can be sure you will be 'closely watched' (v.1). Don’t be naïve about this, but consider what your mission priorities might be, and like Jesus, be prepared to play along.

The choice of 'honour' (v.8, v.10) in English translation might distract readers from the game being played. The result of aiming humbly low prompts the obligation on the Pharisee host to highlight your presence. The currency of the prize, is not vain ‘honour’ but, in Greek, δόξα (doxa) - the New Testament word for ‘glory’: the generous radiance that blesses all who encounter it.

Only after his staff-training does Jesus turn to the (superficially) generous host; both acknowledging his aim of self-aggrandisement, and subverting it, whilst reinforcing the point with the Pharisaic folklore of the ‘resurrection of the righteous’. The maximum benefit -if that’s really what your hospitality is about - accrues in the maximum challenge to inequality and injustice.

 

Prayer

As a reflective prayer of penitence and affirmation

Dear God,
deep in the depths of our most neglected drawer,
- looking for something else we lost -
we’ve just found that surprising invitation
with our name on it.

And the due date:
alarmingly close!

'Distinguished and honoured'
(- that’s the way it was phrased!)

So we expected it to be for someone else
because that was the easy way out;
though with all the trees that go up in flames,
('all the trees' - from which Christ said we should learn),
our supply of excuses is running low.

And as every sparrow falls,
migration cycles go haywire,
neighbours’ homelands flood
you look on with longin
to see what comes of the RSVP.

We aren’t up to the task.
And yet you have taken our hand
and bumped us up to first class,
not abandoning us to privilege,
but showing a new way to rule:
by service, through friendship
to the Earth.

Your will and plan is that
- from our point of view -
the future’s open.
And your thoughts are not constrained
by our blind spots.

With your body, you have honoured us
who cannot repay; nor was such calculation
grounds for your hospitality;
Rather, only love, which seeks not payment,
Love open, by your grace, to response.

Dear God, as our eyes are forced open
to the signs of this time of climate crisis,
of injustice, and of ever more unevenly carried burdens,
set us free from the intimidating duty of 'saving the world'
even as you empower us to find our part in a New Heaven and New Earth.

Bless us in the things we really can do.
Sustain our hope,
with the glory of small possibilities.
Hallelujah anyway!
Amen.

 

 Questions

• Has the phrase 'When I am weak, then I am strong' (2 Corinthians 21.10) ever felt like more than a trite compensation for our own insignificance? Discuss!
• Who (in the very widest sense) benefits from projects like a church nature garden, a bug-hotel on church grounds? Do your answers delight, embarrass, reassure, or concern you?
• 'The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.' (Archbishop William Temple). Why, if at all should there be any distinction made, and what if the members of a church include those in greatest need? Are our fellow creatures 'members of the church?' Are the members of the church 'fellow creatures?'

 

All-age activity: ‘Musical chairs’

Set out a game of ‘Musical Chairs’, with a referee, to make sure that the person who does not find a chair when the music stops is given the chair of the first one to sit down. See how this affects the behaviour of the participants.

Alternatively or in addition, use the video clip 'Musical Pews' to introduce the theme.

 

 Young people

As the international Climate Strike and other action from 20th September onwards approaches, explore the pros and cons of taking part in such events. This could include considerations of how much it would encourage, challenge, or discourage the participants themselves. How might you make it clear that Christianity affirms environmental action, both locally and globally?

Find out whether or not your congregation is part of EcoChurch (England & Wales) or EcoCongregation (Scotland & Ireland). How do you feel about this?

 

Rev David Coleman is Eco-Chaplain with Eco-Congregation Scotland, seconded full-time as a special category ministry from the URC. He is a digital artist and writer, often providing visual material for the Iona Community, of which he is also a member.

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