Rector’s Update: taking questions from the crowd
Dear Restoration,
I hope you join us on Tuesday, May 10 for Pints and Perspectives. RSVP here.
Do you remember that story, when Jesus is in a crowd, and someone yells out, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!’ (Luke 12:13)
Have you ever been that desperate to get something resolved or to get an answer to your inquiry? This person just knows Jesus from a distance- a teacher! He is literally walking along and just shouts, “Can you make this right??”
Jesus replies in the way you might expect, if you know nothing about a situation and nothing about the person who is asking… ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’ (Luke 12:14) It’s a fair point. Jesus can do nothing, legally. He has no authority to divide inheritances. It’s the wrong question.
But Jesus doesn’t stop. He looks at the crowd, who must be wondering, ‘What can you do, Jesus? What are you thinking about this situation?’
Jesus says, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’ (Luke 12:15) Then he tells a scathing parable, which you can read, here, verses 16-21.
In my opinion, this interaction is Jesus at his rhetorical best. He receives the question, refuses to get bogged down in a discussion about inheritance rights that will go nowhere, and then takes the opportunity to say what the man, the crowd, and me(!) need to hear most: “Take care and take a look at your heart. Your sense of identity and worth and justice may be misplaced. Take a hard look and be on your guard against all covetousness.”
There is a lot going on in the world today that might be exposing our ‘covetousness’, our greed, our inordinate worry about attaining wealth. There is a lot that is out of our control.
Take care. Be on your guard.
Bring your questions…
Pints and Perspectives
I wish I was as good at taking questions from the crowd as Jesus. (Not even close.) But, I pray for the Holy Spirit to fill me, to give me wisdom, to help me hear the question behind the question and truly see the person who is asking. Just like Jesus.
On Tuesday, May 11, Scott Buckhout and I will host another edition of Pints and Perspectives, which we offer in partnership with Navigators 20s DC a couple times a year. We do it because we so deeply value the questions of those who come. They sincerely want to be closer to God, to understand what He is doing in the world, to make sense of what doesn’t make sense, to take care and to be on guard. I love our back and forth conversations and I usually sweat through my shirt and jacket because I want to meet the people there, so clearly, with the answers God wants them to hear.
Are you coming? The crowd tends towards people in their 20s and 30s, but everyone has questions and this is a good place to ask them. Let us know you are coming so that we can get enough food. Also, give us your questions ahead of time- you can put them on this registration form or you can reply to this email. We will let the conversation go wherever you want, but it helps to know what’s on your mind ahead of time.
I am grateful that we are a church that seeks truth, that seeks the Kingdom of God. I am grateful that we invite people to bring their curiosity and concern- to ask what is sincerely on their mind- and to experience clarity and conviction as we lean in to be closer and more like Jesus.
May He answer your questions and speak to your heart.
-David
