God’s Words

33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time; Luke 21:5-19

By patient endurance you will save your lives.

Recently, we went to the movie theatre and saw the movie “Sara’s Oil.” Set in 1913 Oklahoma, Sarah’s Oil follows the extraordinary true story of young Sarah Rector, an African American born in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. After being allotted a seemingly barren piece of land, Sarah becomes convinced that oil lies beneath it. When her belief proves true and her land yields a lucrative oil strike, greedy oil speculators and opportunists attempt to seize control of her newfound wealth.

The film portrays Sarah’s fight to protect her claim, relying on the support of her family, loyal friends, and a couple daring Texas wildcatters. Sarah not only defends her rights but also becomes one of the nation’s first African American female millionaires, all before reaching her teenage years.

While I’m not trying to spoil the movie for you, (too late??) there is a scene where Sara has to appear before a judge. Now, remember this is 1913, and Jim Crow is firm control. And, of course, the judge is white. Sara asks her mother, “what should I say to the judge?” Her mother responds, “God will give you the words.”

In this Gospel, Jesus tells his followers the exact same thing: “for I will give you the words, and a wisdom that none of your adversaries can take exception to or contradict.” {Luke 21:15} Jesus was letting his friends know that no matter what happens or who wants to hurt them, God will provide the means to defend themselves and to be able to give a good account of themselves.

This would not have been an idle thought or theoretical situation. Jesus and his disciples knew well that trouble would come their way. Whether it was the Jewish leaders or the Roman occupation, for a simple Galilean, there were not many places to find safety. If that wasn’t bad enough, Jesus had just told them to expect to be arrested and thrown in jail.

Throughout time, people have been obsessed with the “end times.” Whether it is this reading or another Gospel or the Book of Revelation, some folks use scripture to say that the world is coming to an end. And they are always wrong.

The turmoil and trouble that we are experiencing in the word today is bad. But there have been wars, starvation, abuse, discrimination of all sorts, violence, greed, and meanness since the beginning of humankind. It seems to be worse today, I think, because of the 24-hour newscasts and social media. We hear about every worldwide tragedy, hurricane, earthquake and fire just as soon as it happens. We worry that if we don’t say the right things or vote a certain way, someone will come knocking down our door and carry us away. And then what would we do?

What would I do? I pray that I’ll ask God to give the words to defend myself in a way “that none of [my] adversaries can take exception to or contradict.” I truly believe that God does not want me to live in fear. I am a child of God made in God’s image and likeness. And “nothing can ever separate [me] from God's love.” {Romans 8:38}

I am not oblivious to the suffering in this world, but I am not ruled by it either. I do what I can when presented with an opportunity to help. I support worthy causes and offer my ideas, gifts and means as I am able. I will not be silent when I see injustice, and I will be involved in finding solutions to problems in my community. With a prayerful and positive heart, and with God giving me the words, I will be an agent of love, mercy, and change as I live the life that is before me.

Every Day.