Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
Our God loves us in a dangerous way; the Lord is always giving opportunities for us to change our mind, to convert, to make a new path toward righteousness. I suspect God knows what we cannot bring ourselves to believe, which is that most of our decisions are at least partially clouded by misplaced priorities, sinful or selfish desires. We all need a lot of chances to turn around and change for the better. Perhaps this is why Jesus tells a story about a person who immediately rejects his father’s order, but then later does the right thing.
As SØren Kierkegaard said, “The World is inclined- even eager- to make promises, for a promise appears very fine at the moment- it inspires! Yet for this reason the eternal is suspicious of promises.” Remember Jesus commanded, ‘Simply let your “yes” mean yes, and your “no” mean no.’ After all, most people want to be good. They want to do the right thing. But there is something else, something that we put outside of ourselves, outside of our control, which stops us from being righteous and doing the right thing. So we are perhaps too quick to say yes to God, before considering what it will really mean. Kiekegaard rightly noticed that a premature yes can lead to deception; particularly self-deception. If we know ourselves, or at least know the world well enough, we only say Yes to God when we are willing to live the law of love no matter what the cost. Before that, we are be like the first son, saying “no.”
What happens when we say ‘no’ to God directly and honestly? The Spirit starts working on us, of course. We consider rationally that saying no to divinity is as foolish as anything Jonah ever did. We consider in our heart that God’s love has always been and always will be enough. Like the first son, after a while, we come around.
Do I want to continue to be a citizen of the rebellious, tyrannical, polluted city that Zephaniah condemns? Or do I want to be a member of the holy remnant? Before deciding, I better consider what being a holy remnant will cost me. Saying ‘no’ may be the first step toward hearing God’s voice and accepting correction. Obviously I’m not here to encourage anyone to say no to the Spirit. But let’s not just say the ‘right’ answer, unless we mean it. Instead, may we consider that following Christ is a commitment which transforms or costs or subordinates everything. If that's too high a price, may we be honest with God about it, and wait for Christ’s coming, with hearts and minds as open as we can possibly make them. Amen.
—Chris Nieport