Thought for Today
Genesis 2:7 then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.
Psalm 8:4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? 5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
Luke 10:27 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--
The word ‘irony’ does not appear in the Bible. “William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the Magi", "The Duplicity of Hargraves", and "The Ransom of Red Chief", as well as the novel Cabbages and Kings. Porter's stories are known for their naturalist observations, witty narration, and surprise endings.” (en.wikipedia.org)
I was introduced to O. Henry’s works in junior high school and was taught that he was a master of irony. I vividly recall reading “The Gift of the Magi” and explaining the watering in my eyes as hay fever. I still find the story the most poignant, moving fictional love story I have ever read. Having been married now for many years to the love of my life, I understand that story and that irony from a totally different, expanded viewpoint.
But O. Henry’s fiction and Mary Shelley’s story of Frankenstein pale in comparison to the irony we find in the Bible. And the Bible pales in comparison to some of the ironies Christians find in the world around us.
There is incredible irony in the story of the Tower of Babel. Those whom God created as “a little lower than God” attempt to build a tower reaching up into the heavens. All they achieve is fracturing mankind into different tribes speaking different languages.
When humankind finally realizes that we have made such a mess of things that the only possible solution is for God to enter into Creation to straighten everything out, what happens? We fail to recognize God and ultimately crucify him. We destroy what we ourselves recognize as our only possible salvation.
Even salvation itself is a lesson in irony. We who are given life through God’s own breath, we who are created “a little lower than God,” who have tamed the atom can only achieve restoration of our relationship with God through our powerlessness.
Despite all our science and technology, despite AI and everything else we think we know about everything, we can only attain our place in eternity by accepting the gift God has always wanted to freely give us.
We have accomplished incredible advances in our knowledge over the last 2 centuries. Yet, despite the alphabet soup of generations into which we try to separate ourselves (Greatest, Boomers, X, Y, Z), none of us have been able to come up with a better understanding of Creation or the Creator than our most distant ancestors-in-the-faith.
There is great irony in the Bible. Not just in the Tower of Babel; not just in the Patriarchal narratives, but also in the New Testament. The entire gospel message is a story of irony. God promised a Messiah, a Kinsman Redeemer. That Messiah would be a lineal descendant of Israel’s greatest warrior king, David. That Messiah would restore God’s Chosen People to their rightful position.
Following a long, historical series of military defeats, foreign occupations and oppressions, God sent the Messiah. Israel was occupied by the military of one of the mightiest empires in human history when God sent Jesus. And, what was the message Jesus brought? How were God’s people to triumph? “Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Maybe power through exercise of love is not as ironic as it seems. Rome is no more. Millions of people have that faith of which Paul wrote. Love enables power through powerlessness.
Stay safe, relish God’s irony, trust God,
Pastor Ray