Second Sunday of Lent
Mark Twain said that people could be categorized into 3 groups: commonplace, remarkable and lunatics. I do not know about you, but I can think of a few people that indeed belong in all of those 3 groups.
Saint Paul on the other hand says that there are only two kinds of people—citizens of the world and citizens of heaven.
Does that mean that citizens of heaven are superior to citizens of the world? I don’t think so. Paul acknowledges that citizens of heaven hold dual citizenship. We are still in this world even when heaven is in our hearts. We still stumble and sometimes fall. But at least we have the advantage of knowing that there is something better.
It brings to mind the film “Field of Dreams.” It’s a beautiful story about a young farmer who hears a voice in his cornfield. The voice says to him, “If you build it, he will come.” The farmer wonders who will come? Build what? He wants to know Shoeless Joe Jackson, the great star of the Chicago White Sox. So the farmer plows down his corn and builds a ball diamond. It seems like a foolish exercise. A cornfield is real. It is of this world, you can touch it, you can enjoy it here and now. But a ball field and a ballplayer long gone from the scene seem like an absurd dream.
But sure enough, Shoeless Jackson walks out of the cornfield and begins to play ball. So do seven other White Sox players, and then some old New York Giants. It is indeed a wonderful story and may sound crazy if you have not seen the movie but it gives people who watch it a spirit of life.
As Christians, we are both people who are citizens of this world but also live in a world of dreams. On this Second Sunday of Lent, we are assured that the one who created us will take us unto himself. That is the advantage that we have as people of faith knowing that a life of discipline and devotion, of faith and faithfulness, of conscience and commitment, will one day be rewarded. And please know that even though we are far from being perfect people, we know that the One who created us will accept us just as we are without one plea and will take us unto Himself.