March 10, 2022 – “Stuck In Our Ways”

 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! ²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean. ²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. ²⁸ So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous…” Matthew 23:23-29

In my efforts to try to come up with topics for devotions that not only are interesting to read, but might challenge us in our daily conversations, I am going to take the month of December to focus on this phrase “OK, BOOMER”, and perhaps find some talking points that might make us all stop and pause – before shouting back “You Millennials, get off my lawn.”

As I said in a previous devotion, the phrase “Boomer” has become a catchall phrase for someone who was not necessarily born into the “baby boomer” generation – they just have to be seen as representing the characteristics of someone born to that generation – like they are generally “out of touch”. In the 50’s and 60’s, many college students and teenagers believed their parents were “square” – were too “old fashioned” – too “stuck in their ways.” Timothy Leary famously told the children of that age never to trust anyone over the age of 30. In the 1990s and 2000s, those same people, the boomers we are talking about, were taking a lot of flights, driving a lot of miles, and looking at progress as the end all to many of their activities. What the current generation sees as the result of these activities is the decline of the health of the planet — climate change warnings that they believe are being denied by the members of the boomer-era. What the current generation wants boomers to hear the most is they believe the leaders of today need both the courage to change yet the informed judgment to pick up on warning signs that change is necessary. To ensure we don’t remain “out of touch”, we need to continue to look toward caring for our resources, and a clear plan that takes into consideration the effects of our actions. In other words, we all are evolving, and so should our attitudes and concerns.  

This was the warning Jesus had for the Pharisees and the Scribes. He called them “hypocrites” – people who said one thing but did the opposite. He believed they were people who cared more about how they looked then whether their actions honored their reputations. In other words, the Pharisees and the Scribes were out of touch with a true faith – their actions betrayed their words. As each new generation is born, the previous one needs to try to see the world through their eyes. The more we keep our “resistant to change perspectacles” on, the greater the chasm will be with the generations to come.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, it is so easy to get stuck – stuck in our faith, in our actions, in our decisions. Help us to stay open to your love, your teachings, and to see how both can lead us into the new every day. Amen.

Pastor Dave