the 5th sunday after pentecost
the PRAYER. . .
You are great, O God, and greatly to be praised. You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Grant that we may believe in you, call upon you, know you, and serve you, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
the READING. . .
[Jesus spoke to the crowd saying:] “To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;/ we wailed, and you did not mourn.'”
the DEVOTION. . .
Every summer, life was – pretty much – the same. We’d sit there. Together. My friends and I. Under the shady tree. For hours. Too hot. Too tired. To do much of anything. Anything requiring effort. Energy. “What do you want to do?” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” The ‘discussion’ would go back-and-forth, round-and-round. We’d end up doing nothing. Just sit there. Together. My friends and I. Under the shady tree. For hours.
It’s the same in this week’s gospel. “This generation,” Jesus says, “is like children!” Sprawled out under the shady tree! Asking each other what they want to do! Never able to answer the question! “We played the flute, but you didn’t dance! Wailed, and you didn’t mourn!” It’s a perfect description of what it looks like to be captive, bound. By boredom. By apathy. By uncertainty. Fear. Life. We just don’t know! What to do! Where to turn. So, we just sit. And watch. And wait.
Good news! God doesn’t wait! Kicking back. Twiddling thumbs. Killing time. Till we, finally, make a decision! God does what we don’t. What we can’t. What we won’t. God comes! Doing, exactly, what needs done!
Bob Barndt, pastor