28 Sep 2015
“The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his
glory.” Of course, we all have our own
ideas of what “glory” is, just like the first disciples. We have our ideas of what the Kingdom of God
should look like, just like the first disciples. But we disciples of Christ don’t always get
it right; and Jesus knows that.
And so, he reminds us from time to time of the importance of
everyday, “ordinary” events of life as being little glimpses of the real “glory
of God.” Jesus put a child in front of
his disciples and, in effect, said, “Here, love this one. Love your neighbor who nobody else has time
for; who nobody else cares about. Show
some kindness to that one.”
And then sometimes the “glory of God” is seen in cooperation,
in harmony, among people. The disciples
complained to Jesus: “Lord, we told those other people to stop because they’re
not in union with us.” And, in effect,
Jesus responded: “Don’t stop them. As
long as they’re in union with me, don’t
worry about them. Stop fighting and
cooperate with one another in my name.”
To really love others who need to be loved, and to work with
others who seem like the enemy is
messy business. But out of that
messiness comes the “glory of God.” Out
of a pile of manure and dirt sprouts . . . a little plant, a sign of the glory
of God. And Jesus asks us to “play in
the dirt,” so to speak; to get into the messiness of our everyday relationships
with others and let the glory of God come out of that.
And the more we “play in the dirt,” the more the glory of God
will appear: the heavenly Jerusalem, a place where “boys and girls will play in
the streets” and the old and wise will sit in harmony with one another. And over them all will be God, who is “intensely
jealous” and protective in his love for them.
But that “glory of God” starts here on earth, in the ordinary
(and messy) events of life. And so, what
else would Jesus say, except: “Come on, let’s play in the dirt! That’s where the glory is! In the dirt . . . in the messiness of life.”
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