A Broken Relationship with God

Lectionary reflections for Lent 5 (C)

by John Bryson Chane

Readings for Lent 5, Year C, Mar. 28, 2004

Isaiah 43:16-21

Philippians 3:8-14

Luke 20:9-19

We live in a time of great division, cynicism, negativity and violence. The global community becomes ever more interwoven. What geographically seemed so distant to us just a few short years ago is as proximate as an email or a satellite news report. Different cultures, religions, customs, economies confront our once insular American worldview and cause many to wonder about the future. The clash of values challenges the very stability of the world and our American way of life.

. . .the great gulf that separates the U.S. from much of the world. . . should force us to draw back from the usual pieties of Lent, and cause us to ask God to forgive us, individually and collectively, for our indifference and our unresponsiveness.

The harsh realities of more than two billion people living on less than US$2.00 a day – with half of those surviving on less than $1.00 per day – are painful reminders of the great gulf that separates the U.S. from much of the world. Such inequalities should force us to draw back from the usual pieties of Lent, and cause us to ask God to forgive us, individually and collectively, for our indifference and our unresponsiveness.

HIV/AIDS and related diseases continue to claim the lives of more than 6,000 Africans every day . Monumental debt, with no significant relief or forgiveness continues to perpetuate abject poverty, illiteracy and governmental instability in many countries within the developing world. Global terrorism visits the front pages of our newspapers on a daily basis and a troubling Pax Americana is viewed as both de-stabilizing and humiliating by many in the Middle East.

In this turbulent context, the Lections for the last Sunday in Lent call Christians to deal with the challenging paradox of judgment and forgiveness. The Parable of the Vineyard in Luke's Gospel (20:9-19) is a reminder of what happens when, as stewards, we become more concerned about what we can take for ourselves rather than what we can give back to others. The Gospel reminds us that God both judges and forgives.

Given the current shape of our world, we are already living into a broken relationship with God that surely must make the Creator weep. And yet these readings remind us that there is hopefulness and forgiveness if only we open ourselves to the liberating Good News of Jesus. Easter's arrival is a reminder of the unrelenting and extravagant love that God has for us that must be shared with others if the Lenten journey is to be completed and Easter is to be received as the resurrection of new beginnings.

The Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane is the Episcopal Bishop of Washington (DC), and also serves as dean of the Washington National Cathedral .