21 August 2013 - trees a crowd

21 August 2013 - trees a crowd

We often try to appoint our own kings, in a sense, just as ancient Israel does.  Rather than consulting with God, we use our own criteria to determine what should hold sway in our lives and in our nation.  Kings can be anything from political figures all the way down to guiding ideas in our world view.  Those that are halfway qualified to be leaders don't want the job.  They know better, realizing that is at odds with their true purpose.

But the olive tree answered them, ‘Must I give up my rich oil,
whereby men and gods are honored,
and go to wave over the trees?’

Ideas that we try to make absolute without reference to God won't bear the weight even though they might contain some truth.  For instance, if we try to build a society that bases itself on creating the maximum happiness for its citizens in this world but not acknowledging God we will quickly find it devouring them.  The buckthorn tree in the parable was never meant to be the king of trees.  In that position it quickly becomes a tyrant.

Then all the trees said to the buckthorn, ‘Come; you reign over us!’
But the buckthorn replied to the trees,
‘If you wish to anoint me king over you in good faith,
come and take refuge in my shadow.
Otherwise, let fire come from the buckthorn
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’”

The only way is for reference to God to be our first principle, our absolute and non-negotiable core belief.  How drastically different the results, when we put him first:

Great is his glory in your victory;
majesty and splendor you conferred upon him.
You made him a blessing forever,
you gladdened him with the joy of your face.

He is a blessing forever.  Putting God first, we find the only true in lasting fulfillment in this world as well.

Jesus warns us an instance of making making the wrong idea our first principle.   His parable warns against making fairness our unquestionable absolute.  When we do, we narrow our view such that we lose concern for peoples and their needs for the sake of a principle that is supposed to promote exactly that.  The land owner pays a wage that is fair.

 ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’

It is not fair because of some abstract proportionality.  It is fair because it provides the worker with what they need, not what they earn on their own merit.  But with fairness as absolute we are unable to see this.

Jesus displays this even more perfectly when he forgives the thief on the cross.  The thief he literally no time or resources to earn the Kingdom.  All he does is ask for it.  The fairness is God is more generous than the fairness of men.  The thief therefore hears the words "this day you will be with me in paradise" (cf. Luk 23:43).  Without reference to God we will never understand grace and generosity so broad and wide as this.  We will got stuck in the muck and mire of merely human ideas.

Are you envious because I am generous?’

Let us not be envious, but instead give thanks that we have such a generous king.  Let us be glad in his strength rather than our own.