“As far back as we can trace their ancient scriptures, the Jewish people had believed that their story was going somewhere, that it had a goal in mind. Despite many setbacks and disappointments, their God would make sure they reached the goal at last. This is the story within which many Jews of Jesus’ day believed, passionately, that they themselves were living. They were, themselves, actors within its ongoing drama. It is, I think, hard for people today to imagine what it’s like to live within a long story in this way. The closest we come, perhaps, is the widespread assumption that ever since the rise of the modern Western world we are acting out a story of “progress.” History is the story of movements of progressive freedom, and we must go forward and make the next one happen, and the next one after that. People today still believe this myth of progress… “Now that we live in the twenty-first century…” Those phrases signal the presence of some kind of “progressive” agenda”. (“The Jewish Storm”, Simply Jesus,  N. T. Wright, p. 31) 

I think it is hard for modern Americans to understand the kind of prolonged, cultural story that the Jewish people who telling, and retelling, and had been for thousands of years. Our own country is barely 250 years old – and we are in a crisis today of trying to understand what our story actually is. While the Jews were well established after 500 years of slavery in Egypt, and on a prolonged journey by the time of Moses, the story they tell of a promised land and their chosen-ness by G-d has been the same story since. In America, we cannot even agree on why we fought the Civil War, just 155 years ago. While the Jews are able to focus on past promises, and the eventual fulfillment of those promises, American’s have no idea who we are as a people anymore.

And if we cannot agree on who we are as American’s, we surely better agree on who we are as Christians. And as Christians, we believe that G-d created us, Jesus redeems us, and the Holy Spirit sustains us. Of course, it is more than that. To be Christians, we need to learn to step outside of ourselves and serve our neighbors. As many have said to me lately, if we are to serve the needy, we have to also serve the greedy. In other words, we offer people unconditional grace, love and ministry – and let G-d work out the details.

Pastor Dave