The Lord’s Day
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| Once in childhood I had a sore foot. I remember my mother—I was very small—rolling my sock down from the top so that it was inside out. I was intrigued by it. It seemed magical—there the sock lay, but the other way round. Later, much later, I gained a degree in philosophy and then studied theology. But the notion of something being turned inside out never stopped intriguing me. It seems to me that Jesus did this all the time, with people and with the hostile questions he was asked. He avoided the trap in “Who is my neighbor?” by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is easy to concentrate on the fact that the Samaritan was an outsider and the person least expected to come out “good.” The real punch line, it seems to me, comes at the end. Jesus said, “Who then was neighbor to the person who was set upon by the thieves?” Forget about the obvious answer (the Samaritan) and notice that Jesus very deftly pulled the sock inside out. He reversed the position of power and patronage assumed by his questioner—“To whom shall I be gracious today?”—by asking who it was who appeared to be neighbor from the perspective of the person who was in trouble. I see that as the heart of the parable and as still being at the heart of Christian mission today.
Two years ago, I received many letters of congratulation when I became the sixth president of Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS). Many emphasized the responsibilities that now lay on my shoulders. The most moving took a different perspective. It came from the dean of a small college in a developing country. Somehow, through the providence of God and the wisdom of my predecessor, ten faculty members of that school had studied at Princeton. The dean told me of their successes and the new initiatives they had to offer. She said, “All of this is possible because PTS cared enough about a small seminary in a third-world country.” That sentence turned the sock inside out. It showed me what Christian mission is about. It showed me the vision that I must try to continue. —Dr. Iain R. Torrance, president, Princeton Theological Seminary |
 Job 38:1–7 (34–41) When the Morning Stars Together PH 486 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee PH 464, HB 21 Ps. 104:1–9, 24, 35c Bless the Lord, My Soul and Being PH 224 Heb. 5:1–10 Lord, You Give the Great Commission PH 429 Master, No Offering Costly and Sweet HB 299 Mark 10:35–45 Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service PH 427 O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee PH 357, HB 304 |
 Most gracious God, who chose not to be displayed in the faces of the powerful, but is revealed in the form of a child and a person who was mocked, we pray you constantly encourage us to reach out. May we remember that you are the Lord who only comes close to heal and to restore. May that be our mission as we seek to be your disciples. Amen. |
