Exhortation, Fifth Sunday After Easter

In our sermon text, Jesus repeatedly evaluates “this generation.” “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign,” He says in response to the scribes and Pharisees. The men of Nineveh will rise in judgment against this generation, along with the Queen of the South, the Queen of Sheba, to condemn this generation. He tells a story about a demon being expelled from a man and then returning, and says it is the story of “this generation.”

Jesus evaluates individuals, but not just individuals; He judges nations and groups. Jesus evaluates and judges generations, and each must stand or fall of its own. Generations may be evil and adulterous, or faithful and good.

Jesus forces us to ask how our generation is doing, and how we are doing in it. Are we stirring our generation to greater faithfulness? Are we dragging our generation down with our laziness and indulgence? Are the church and the world likely to be better when we leave than when we arrived?

These questions are complicated by the fact generations, for good and evil, pass something to the next generation. We pass on our adulteries and evils, as well as our achievements. So, we need to ask, what kind of inheritance are we giving?

And this is further complicated too by the fact that the each generation must receive the inheritance of previous generations, and must receive that inheritance without having to gain it themselves. A monetary inheritance can be corrupting. But a spiritual inheritance can be equally corrupting, if the next generation receives it thoughtlessly. Nothing is more common than for gratitude to dissipate, as children repeat by rote truths that their parents bled for.

So, we must not only examine whether we have responded rightly to the challenges of our generation, but we must also ask whether we have accumulated something to pass on. And, especially for you who are younger, you must examine how you’ve received what you’ve received. Don’t take it for granted, and remember that, if the kingdom is going to grow, every generation must bleed.