Sitz im Leben

I was in Oklahoma 15 years ago today. It was on this day in 1995 that Timothy McVeigh made a bomb out of a rental truck and had it go off in front of the federal building in Oklahoma City. This morning's news announcement about that terrible event caused me to remember my personal "Sitz im Leben" on that morning.

Sitz im Leben is a German phrase roughly meaning "situation in life". To put it simply, the phrase is used by bible interpreters to describe the situation that gave occasion for the biblical text. It is helpful to understand the biblical text if you understand its "Sitz im Leben."

What I remember about my situation in life that morning as a young pastor at my first church in Shattuck, Oklahoma was my immediate reaction to the news. I had walked, as I did every day, to the Post Office about three blocks from the church to pick up the mail. While there, on this day, fifteen years ago, just a little before noon, someone said to me, "Brother Phil, did you hear, Oklahoma City blew up this morning?!" My immediate reaction was to look up and to the east for smoke. OKC is about 150 miles away from where we were in western Oklahoma. Of course, I didn't see any smoke, but it was my reaction, at that moment, I remember most vividly about that day.

I have a similar reaction if I happen to be outside and something causes me to think about the return of Jesus. I look up, and I look east. My current Sitz im Leben causes me to think He could come at any moment. So, because I can, I look. I anticipate. I get ready to rejoice.

If your Sitz im Leben is not where you can look up to the sky ready to rejoice, perhaps you ought to interpret how you relate to God right now.