Fulfillment
THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
Isaiah 58:1-12 • Psalm 112:1-10 • 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 • Matthew 5:13-20
All the experiences I’ve had—all the thoughts, ideas, relationships, discoveries, and more—all these are like threads that make up the magnificent tapestry of all my stories, my life. This image came to fruition for me when I wrote my spiritual autobiography for my discernment and seminary applications over a decade ago. When I had to pay attention to how the Holy Spirit was working in my life, it became like this golden thread, luminous yet delicate, weaving throughout all my experiences, spiraling brightly around and through those times when I believed God was speaking loudly and I trusted enough to follow faithfully.
Sometimes we need hindsight to see how God is working in, through, and around us, to let the light catch the glimmer just right. This week I came across the name Delores Williams. In The Christian Century, Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, a friend and colleague of Williams, shared a loving tribute following the funeral of the womanist theologian and author of Sisters in the Wilderness. According to Gilkes, Williams
“famously grounded her womanist work in the experience of an African American woman shopping for a beautiful dress at a fine store. The dress was a size 6 and our shopper, a size 18, admired it but observed that the dress simply did not have enough material in it to make it ever fit her. Neither did White feminism—but the womanist idea contained more material to fit the challenges of African American women as they sought survival and liberation.” [1]
There wasn’t enough material before, but Delores Williams gathered up enough to mend a gap, to repair a breach. Gilkes attests that “Williams pioneered the use of the womanist idea in theology, ethics, and a range of religious studies,” and in doing so she wove together threads of experience, thought, and faith pulled from her genuine love of God to make room for who she was and for who others are, particularly as Black women. Living fully into who she was, Williams enriched and continues to broaden the fabric of our theology, how we understand and relate to and with God.
We who are bound together in Christ, who have—as Paul writes—the mind of Christ, share in our spiritual lives the work of discipleship, of continuing to follow the way of Christ. For the apostles, they literally followed Christ; for the rest of us, we figure out what is our work to do and do our best to represent Christ in the world, sharing God’s love and promise with others. Whether we come to church on Sundays out of habit or to be energized to flip some tables, wherever we are right now in our lives, I hope we hear the comfort and assurance of Jesus’s words: “You are the salt of the earth.” “You are the light of the world.” In these simple words, Jesus affirms who we are and tells us we have purpose. Salt can bring out the flavors of other ingredients, and light shines to reveal what is present. However vague it may be, the words speak to us directly at the individual and collective levels. My great delight will be learning, discerning, and growing with you as we figure out how we can enrich the lives of one another and glorify God at all levels. Ideally, our good works benefit the whole and reveal the glory of God.
I learned in the Enneagram workshop yesterday that my type naturally has a positive outlook. It’s easier for me, perhaps, to focus on the optimism of what Jesus says. If, however, the words are still ringing in your ears about salt losing its saltiness or the logistics behind hiding a lamp under a bushel, that’s okay. Just because we know something, even if we know it is right, it doesn’t mean we do what is best for ourselves or others all the time. Jesus knows all of us—at our best and worst—and offers another reminder: he has not come not to abolish but to fulfill the law.
The Gospel according to Matthew is keen to focus on fulfillment of the scripture. I understood this to mean that all that was prophesied was to come to fruition in Jesus Christ. It can mean that Christ exemplified all that was foretold, but to be fulfilled can also mean to be brought to life, filled out, incarnate. We have a full and fully embodied theology. It’s almost like being in a covenantal relationship with the God of our ancestors wasn’t enough for us to really get it. We needed (and still do!) to be able to taste and see for ourselves that God is good, and Jesus is telling us that we already have the salt and light we need for God’s promises to be fulfilled. We have all we need; now, we do what we’re given to do.
The words of Isaiah still call us to “Look!” as if in a mirror, to examine closely our reality, our motives, and our sincerity. Is our worship empty? For ourselves or for appearance only? Do we pray and worship regularly, expecting to be able to cash in our faithfulness for blessings? Through Isaiah, God calls out the transactional expectations, highlighting the spiritual immaturity with a redirection toward what is expected.
And what is expected? Lora focused last week on what the LORD requires of us, according to Micah. “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly” came to mind for me this week, too. I feel my heart swell or maybe it’s my blood pressure increasing when I imagine God speaking: “Is not this the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice…” and to go on about liberation and life and revelation of the presence of God among us. Yes! This is what we want because it’s what God wants for us, for everyone. We want it not because it means that we’ll get rewarded but because we already are.
We are already salty enough and bright enough to do what we need to do here and now to manifest God’s dream for us. First, we have to believe: believe that we are so loved, so created, so gifted, so forgiven, so graced. That can be a lot to take in at once. We can work on one aspect and take all the time we need. God has already given us all we need to make sure there is space and time enough for all.
If we make it so far as to believe in God and all that God provides, do we trust it? Does what we think we know about God have enough material to include us? Do I trust that I am enough—salty enough, bright enough, spiritual enough? “Look!” calls out Isaiah from the past: take a reality check and remember what God really asks of us. “You are salt and light,” Jesus reminds us, the one who shows us the way toward life, toward true fulfillment. If we look closely with the mind of Christ, we can find the threads of God’s will weaving throughout our lives, providing enough, bringing together what is needed to make us stronger, and revealing the beauty that is God’s love and liberation for us all.
[1] https://www.christiancentury.org/article/features/delores-williams-s-voice-wilderness
© 2023 The Rev. Sara Milford
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – Fayetteville, Arkansas