Show Notes
In this seventeenth week of “Ordinary” (or “Normal”) time, Case reflects on the Christian’s responsibility to work towards biblical social change, while trusting, and resting, in God’s sovereignty over ever aspect of society.
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Episode Transcript
We continue in ordinary time. What a joy it is to rest in God’s warmth and growth.
A reading from Numbers 21, verses 4 through 9:
Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them. They bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us. So Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, Make a snake and put it up on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live. So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
C.S. Lewis writes in his book, Letters to Malcolm, “People are merely amusing themselves by asking for the patience which a famine or persecution would call for. If, in the meantime, the weather and every other inconvenience sets them grumbling, one must learn to walk before one can run.”
So here we, or at least I, should not be able to adore God on the highest occasions if we have learned no habit of doing so on the lowest. At best, our faith and reason will tell us that He is adorable, but we shall not have found Him so. No have tasted and seen.
Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun, which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are patches of God’s light in the woods of our experience.
Psalm 98, verses 1 through 5:
Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made His salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered His love and his faithfulness to Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song and music. Make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp in the sound of singing.
From a Christian perspective, impatience with social change can be a complex issue. Blending a righteous desire for justice with the need for spiritual patience and trust in God’s timing.
As Christ followers, we are called to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. This includes advocating for social change that aligns with biblical principles of justice, equality, and compassion. This can take a while, decades, centuries. Impatience arises when desired changes do not happen swiftly or when faced with resistance and setbacks.
This impatience, while understandable, must be tempered with a recognition of God’s sovereignty and the belief that His purposes are worked out in His perfect timing. The Bible offers numerous examples of patience in the face of injustice, such as the perseverance of the prophets, the endurance of the early church under persecution, and the ultimate patience of Christ Himself.
As Christ followers, we are encouraged to “not grow weary in doing good” (in Galatians 6:9), and to trust in our efforts, even when they seem slow or fruitless. They’re part of God’s greater plan. Impatience can lead to frustration and burnout, potentially causing one to lose sight of the ultimate goal of glorifying God through steadfast and faithful service. Social change involves prayerful reflection, seeking God’s guidance, and cultivating a spirit of hope and perseverance. It also involves engaging in active, tangible efforts to bring about change while trusting in God’s timing and remaining anchored in the assurance that His justice will ultimately prevail by balancing a fervent desire for social transformation with a patient and trusting heart.
You and I can effectively contribute to meaningful change that honors God and serves His purposes.
A reading from the gospel of John chapter three, verses 13 through 17.
Jesus said, no one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the son of man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
