Hermily for 5.22.25

girl-preaching for the rest of us

The readings are here.

Have any of you ever been called to Jury Duty? I’ve been called several times in my adult life; and every time I’ve been kind of excited about it—a day away from work, I could bring a book and people-watch, etc. But besides the selfish reasons, I also am excited to do my part, to do my duty as an engaged citizen to ensure that the justice system is just, to take part in democracy in a real way.

Some of the times, I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve been called into the courtroom and have found myself only a few numbers away from being seated. And a couple of times, I’ve even been called to stand before the judge to be asked questions by the lawyers.

And of course, each time I’ve gotten another step closer to actually being called on to do that duty for which I claim to be excited… I start to panic. Because in theory, doing my part in democracy is beautiful and right, but in practice, it’s kind of scary. Is my judgement of suspects going to be correct? Should the decision of whether someone is guilty or innocent be up to me? The responsibility of having an effect on someone’s fate is… sobering.

In our New Testament reading from Acts today we hear our ancestors in faith wrestling with this idea. The [members of the] church in Jerusalem… are debating whether Gentile Christians [should] convert to Judaism before worshiping the Messiah promised to the Jews] and Paul and Barnabas are sent to help resolve the issue…
Ultimately Peter agrees with Paul and Barnabas… [that the new believers should not be expected to convert and to follow all the Jewish laws around purity.]¹

Peter says that God has made it clear that there is no inborn difference between the Gentiles and the Jewish Christ-followers, who have been cleared by Jesus to live unburdened by these laws. In fact, he describes the traditional laws as a yoke that none of them— or even their ancestors— have ever been able to follow perfectly.

Ultimately they decide that there is no need to take God’s job and judge those who want to join their community; they resolve that God’s grace-filled invitation to the new believers is God’s decision, and not something that they need to re-litigate.

Now, most times that I’ve been called for Jury Duty, it’s been cancelled before the day even arrives. And as much as I think I want to serve, I am always relieved. I really do want justice to happen, but I’m always happy that it won’t, at least that day, depend on me. In a similar way, it's a relief and a freedom that we gain by letting go of the urge to judge, to make judgments on others about which of the rules they should be following, about whether others’ behaviors are right or wrong, or about who a person is, where they come from, what they believe, how they express themselves or who they love. The apostles are teaching us that we can let go of the urge to judge others, and leave that judging to God (who, ultimately, may even agree with our judgment but either way, knows better than we do, about everything).

Now, don’t think that I’m trying to talk anyone out of serving on a jury— while it’s a sobering responsibility, the fact of the matter is that no judging in any case relies only on the personal judgement of one jury member. In our democracy, our personal judgement is ultimately just one voice in a system that is much larger and wiser than we. So don’t skip jury duty…

But back to the scriptures. Jesus, in today’s Gospel, affirms what the apostles decide, which is not to decide the fate of new believers, whoever they might be, and not to impose impossible-to-follow laws in order to force people to earn their place in the faith community; and today Jesus reminds us, too, that our job is to live our lives the way that pleases God, and to leave the judging to Him.

"Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.” As clear as that; you do you. Leave the judging to me, God says, and concentrate on the job I’ve given you- which is only—only—to love.

When we can do that, when we can let go of the urge to try to judge others’ acceptability, it’s a relief. It’s a freedom. It’s a gift. Jesus says that when we do that, "our joy can be complete."

So, in the next few moments of silence, let’s look back, to see if we’ve been trying to take God’s job as judge; to apologize to God if we have been, and to ask God’s help in doing better— so that our joy may be complete.

1. https://www.bibleref.com/Acts/15/Acts-15-7.html

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I’d heart you to heart this post! And your comments are more than welcome. And hey, if this one held together for you, I invite you to share it with a friend (or enemy, that’s your business). Thanks!!