We are a stubborn bunch. We want the best God has to offer – we call ourselves faithful for all the right reasons – but still, there is than nagging habit of assuming the worst, both of ourselves and especially of God.

We have had more that enough practice with the challenging parts of the Bible. We’ve formed ideas and opinions about the prophets. We know the stories of judgement through the early books of the Bible – Noah’s survival – Abraham & Lot and the troubling tale of Sodom & Gomohrah. Hagar and Ishmael abandoned – Isaac nearly sacrificed – Joseph sold into slavery. All signs that the behaviour of humans rarely aligns with the expectations of faithfulness.

From these stories (and many others) comes the idea that God has set a standard that we are struggling to meet – and the further suggestion that if we don’t ‘do better,’ our fate is sealed.

We make God into some sort of tyrant – when nothing could be further from the truth.

Over and over again – this morning’s reading is an excellent example – we are introduced to a different aspect of faithfulness – the prophets and the Gospel message tells us something much more hopeful and wonderful about the state of things between God and humanity.

Sure, the prophet offers a list of our failures. People, being people, don’t have any problem making mistakes. And true, the prophet suggests that the consequences of that failure (or our lust for power or our ignorance of mercy) will be severe. But in every case, the prophet then declares that while God is not happy, God does not lash out in anger. God is frustrated, but God is compassionate. God is not like us. God does not seek revenge. God wants renewal.

An angry God suits us better (believe it or not!)

An angry God helps us justify our own actions. An angry God gives us an excuse to lash out ‘in God’s name.’ But that is not what a life of faithfulness is all about.

The author of Colossians would play on our fears – suggesting that the ‘wrath of God’ is something that should motivate us to change. But what if that ‘wrath’ is nothing more than divine inaction? What if, by simply standing by and letting us make our own mess, we also generate our own punishment. Actions have consequences – in Scripture too – and the behaviours we are told to avoid (or change) are things that carry with them the seeds of our self-destruction.

God is not waiting patiently for a chance to strike us down. God is waiting patiently for us to change our direction.

Renewal is at the heart of ever Scriptural story – even the worst of them. God is always waiting and urging and longing for humanity to see the problem and step away from it. The promised renewal can’t begin until the misery stops, and we have been given that power – the power to say ‘enough.’ The power to change our minds. The power to make different choices or find equitable solutions.

Jesus helped people find that power “go and sin no more” was most often his parting words with those who sought healing. He didn’t ask what they believed or how often they attended services. He asked if they wanted their misery to end – if they wanted a better life. He reminded them of their choices and assured them of God’s love. No appeal to the right way of believing, just a gentle push in the direction of a different (and perhaps ‘better’) way of living. No matter your race, religion or creed. “There are no distinctions” says the author of Colossians – there are only choices.

The choice to seek grace, mercy and peace, or the choice to divide and conquer. The ‘wrath of God’ is a convenient myth for keeping people in line. With it, religious authorities can control behaviour and imagine they are creating a faithful society. But selfishness comes in many forms, and humanity suffers when selfishness demands that we all think alike. The claim of Colossians is not that we are all the same, but that we are all guided by the example of Christ – to seek justice and healing and offer grace and peace – across cultural, religious and tribal boundaries.

This only matters because we are (still) seeing and experiencing the wrath that comes with our selfish decisions. As individuals and as nations, we continue to punish one another – and ourselves – by demanding obedience to ideas that require winners and losers. We created societal systems – economic systems – religious systems – political systems – that depend on aggression and which thrive on competition. Aggression is a natural response to fear, and a little competition never hurt anyone, but we have turned these things into weapons, and when the consequences overwhelm us, the faithful cry out to God for relief.

And God waits – having never left the scene – for us to come to our senses.

God waits for us to ‘repent’ (that is to change our minds – to choose a new direction) and discover the good that has been waiting for us all along. The good that follows our decision to care for one another. The good that comes when mercy and justice – grace and peace – are our motivation.

Renewal is always an option. Redemption is always on the cards. The promise kingdom (Jesus has said) is very near to us…not because God is withholding it but because we have turned a blind eye to it.

May we open our eyes to our responsibilities. May we soon discover the renewal and redemption that is ours in faith.