Monday, October 4, 2010
Sermon for Proper 22
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Psalm 37:1-9
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10
Attoway-Kimberlin Lutheran
Proper 22
19th Sunday After Pentecost
October 3rd, 2010
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
“Increase our faith.” Increase my faith. For many Christians, myself included, this has been a prayer and request for a long time. Surrounded by the many and great sins of the world, tempted every day by the devil and the other evil that lurks around us, pulled away from God, we beg God “Increase our faith, increase my faith.”
So what is faith? Why do we want to increase it? It is interesting that each of the four gospel writers use the word “faith” differently. Our modern day understanding of the word “faith,” according to Webster Dictionary, is a “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” Luke and Mr. Webster are about on the same page. Luke did not see faith as a possession--not something you can hold in your hands. Rather, Luke views faith as a “disposition: Faith leads to a faithful behavior; lack of faith leads to anxiety and fear.” Faith is a lifestyle that builds us up even among fear and anxiety.
But living in anxiety and fear? It is true that the disciples live in and anxiety and fear. Even broader, the people who followed Jesus lived in fear. The original audience reading this letter lived in fear. Some of us reading this gospel some 2000 years later still live in fear.
For 2000 years, the people of God have lived in fear unjustly. Jesus knows this. He knows the people are hurting from the oppression of unattainable laws and rituals. Jesus knows the people are hurting from all of the taxes they must pay. He knows the people are starving while the rulers of Rome live in the lap of luxury. The people live in fear of God because they have be told they are being punished for not keeping the law—for not being good enough. The people are crying out, “GIVE US FAITH” because they have nothing else left to hold onto. They are swimming in a great ocean of despair and they didn’t bring a boat. But then Jesus comes along. He heals the sick and dying, he goes to poor, and the outcasts. He brings a new message about God and the people ask, “Give us faith” and Jesus responds with, “You only need a drop of faith to have faith.
A drop of faith means that any of us can say to a Mulberry Tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey. But hold on there for second. Now I tried to do this the other day with an Oak Tree and it did not work. Does this mean I do not have any faith?
To answer this question, we need to look at the big picture Luke is painting. Throughout the gospel narrative, Jesus has never said we have to do anything to receive our faith. Faith simply happens. Our faith is our identity. It is who we are. Our faith is a gift given to us and we live out faith each day not as something we earn but as something live by.
In the explanation to the Third Article of the creed in the Small Catechism, Martin Luther writes:
“I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with the Spirit’s gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as the Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith...”
Martin Luther says it best here. We do not accept Jesus but Jesus accepts us. We do not call out to God but God calls out to us. We do nothing here because God is in control.
Jesus is not criticizing those who doubt and feel unworthy. He is criticizing the Pharisees who are holding back the people of God from God because the Pharisees think the people are not worthy enough to receive God. (and I might add that the Pharisees Jesus is referring to here is a radical group. The Pharisees are the ones who do care for the people but like with any religious groups, there are radicals and then there are the normal ones). In this parable, we do not earn our faith but we receive it out of Grace.
The Pharisees argue that the law is where we find God. Specifically, by following the law we receive God. But what if can’t do it? What if we can’t keep the law? What if the people could not give to the temple and to Rome and still be able to feed a family? What if I eat shell fish or pork? Does this mean I cannot receive God? Or the question that many of us ask ourselves. What if I doubt and cannot say, truthfully, “I accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour?” Should those who ask this question be denied God then?
When our faith is not sufficient, Jesus makes up for it. Our faith is smaller than a mustard seed because we all have much learning to do. Faith is lifestyle, and therefore needs to be learned. It is the same for our careers. Pastors go on internships because they need to learn what it means to serve a parish. Carpenters go on apprenticeships so that they learn how to properly build a house. A farmer learns to farm. A businessman learns a business. A nurse learns to be a nurse. We all learn and grow into our careers over time just as our faith grows within us.
Joel B. Green writes, “Jesus remains open to the possibility that the Pharisees will hear the word and respond in obedience, but is aware equally that the disciples, if they are to be his disciples, remain in need of formation.” We do not just wake up one day and say, “I GOT IT.” Rather, we wake up desiring to know more about our faith.
My worship professor, Dr. Mark Oldenburg, told me about two of his fellow classmates from seminary. They were both put into a parish where confirmands were quizzed before the congregation. Both pastors did not like the tradition and neither did their students. Both pastors appealed to the council for some help. The first pastor went to the council and they said he had to quiz them—it was a tradition and the church needs to keep doing it. So the pastor went back to the confirmation class and told them all to raise their left hand high after he asked a question but to only hold up their right hand in front of their chest if they knew the answer. The other pastor was also told no by the council and given roughly the same answer. So he told the council that the quizzing would go down as such. For every question I ask the confirmands, you all must also answer a question because confirmation and developing our faith does not end when we are confirmed but should continue long after confirmation.
We are no different from the disciples. The disciples’ faith did not stop growing after Jesus’s Ascension. But it continued to blossom and grow. We do not stop growing our faith after our baptism or confirmation. Our faith is not perfect and we do not always need to have the right answer but, rather, open to new possibilities God is doing with our faith. Our faith is a wonderful gift. Frustrating, yes but yet still amazing and wonderful. It is a gift given to us and we live it out each day by living as Jesus lived. It is not an easy life to live but we know there is forgiveness for when we stray. There is forgiveness when we cannot say, “Yes, Lord, I believe.” It is okay when we don’t have answer. It is okay to cry out, “Give me faith, give us faith” because when our faith is weak, Jesus will make up the rest.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Proper 21 Sermon
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
“Only the dogs would come and lick his sores.” If this line gives us any kind of a inclination into the life Lazarus is living, then we know Lazarus was a man yearning for something more than a dog’s tongue. He was yearning to eat even the scraps of bread used to clean the grease off of the rich man’s hands, yearning to have a small place at the table, yearning for the care of another human for but only finds the care a few dogs (and I wouldn’t exactly want a dog caring for me).
But what about this rich man? Is he more of a man than Lazarus? I think it is interesting that he has all the money and food he could ever want or need but yet he remains nameless. The guy who, most likely, has power in the community, has so much money that he is able throw bread onto the floor, the guy who walked by Lazarus, the man who walked by the great disparity of Lazarus, a man most likely dressed in purple (only rich and/or roman leaders could even wear purple) while Lazarus wore rags, a man who walked by Lazarus every day and did nothing for him, this rich man, does not have a name. You think a man with this social caliber would have a name but Jesus omits it from the parable.
This makes me scratch my head. Names are important. They identify our familial roots. They hold a history (just look at all the great Matthew’s of history). They hold a personal meaning. Why would Jesus omit such a detail? One commentary suggests that Jesus wants the audience to fill their names and therefore wants us to take a closer at our actions towards the poor. But can it be that simple? The simple truth is never simple. Maybe Jesus uses this as an opportunity to talk about the real measure of a person.
What creates our identity? What makes us identify with each other? Is it our wealth, our house, our cars, our children? Is it something more? Why do we cringe every time we hear about a victim of a shooting? What makes us feel remorse when we hear of a tragedy happen to someone we have never met? What makes us feel sorrow for Lazarus? What makes some of us feel no remorse for the rich man suffering in agony?
It is so easy for some of us to feel little to no remorse for the rich man. He did live in the lap of luxury for his entire life. He did walked by Lazarus every time he left his house and did nothing for him. Now is in agony while Lazarus stands next to Abraham. We even hear the rich man’s smugness when he asks Abraham to send Lazarus down him and serve him some water. The rich man does not get it. It is so easy to think, “Turn the flames up Abraham because I don’t think he gets it.” But is that how God operates?
God does not sit on a throne and casts punishment on those who do not follow God’s ways. God is about grace and love. The kind of judgement God does cast on us is simply the judgement of being God’s own—a child of God. God is not some angry monster set out on a path of war and violence. God loves us because we are God’s own. Even this rich man, as horrible as he was, is still a child of God. He is not being punished for being rich but he is being punished because of his indifference to the whole situation--for ignoring Lazarus and hoarding the gifts God gave him to share.
What is at the heart of this parable is the call to “remember.” Abraham says, “‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things...’” When we zoom out and look at the bigger picture Luke is painting, we see “remember” is used a number of times. An example of this can be found at the cross when the Criminal said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” There is also the scene at the tomb when a man in dazzling white clothes asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words...”
The reason the rich man is suffering is not because he is rich but because he did not remember Lazarus during life and all that the prophets have preached about the care of the poor. Brian Stroffgren writes:
“The great chasm between the rich man and Lazarus existed long before their deaths. It would seem that during their lives, the rich man couldn't bridge the "chasm" between his house (and his wealth) and the poor man outside his gate. He couldn't reach across it to give starving Lazarus a bite to eat or medicine for his sores or shelter from the weather.”
Whether we care to admit it or not, we have all created deep chasms between with others. Sometimes it is done on purpose while at other times we do not even realize the great chasms we have created with one another. Whenever we cast judgment on another individual, we create a chasm and we become like this rich man. Whether we judge someone because of their wealth, their house, their family, their skin color, their ethnicity, their religion we create a chasm. These chasms separate us from one another simply because someone is different. Our identity is not found in our earthly possession or our appearance. Our identity is found in God. We are created in God’s image and therefore we are claimed as God’s own. That is how we have already been judged.
What if God acted like this rich man? What if God turned God’s back on us? God should have just walked away from us but that is not how our God operates. Our God likes to build bridges. We have Jesus Christ who comes into the great chasm of our sin and lives with us. He suffered on the cross, died, and was buried. But on that third day, the thing that Moses and the prophets foretold came to fruition. Jesus finished the bridge. Christ Jesus built the bridge to connect us back to God and, being set free, we now can begin to build bridges for the other chasms we have created.
We are convinced of God’s love for us because we see Jesus Christ crucified and risen. Everything Moses and prophets foretold makes sense, and only makes sense, because of Jesus and the cross. The prophets called for the people to live a new lifestyle—to care for the poor Lazarus’s in this world just as Jesus cared for the outcasts. We are called to not act like the rich man but to act like Jesus. We are called to love someone simply because we all need love. We are called to remember what has been taught for centuries--to care for the abused, beaten, hungry, tortured people.
It is not fair that Lazarus lived his life in agony and only felt relief in death especially when it could have been prevented. Yes, one day we will all see God face to face. All of our pain and our burdens will be relieved in the resurrection but until then, we have many Lazarus(es) in our world and in our community who need more than a dog’s tongue.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
“Only the dogs would come and lick his sores.” If this line gives us any kind of a inclination into the life Lazarus is living, then we know Lazarus was a man yearning for something more than a dog’s tongue. He was yearning to eat even the scraps of bread used to clean the grease off of the rich man’s hands, yearning to have a small place at the table, yearning for the care of another human for but only finds the care a few dogs (and I wouldn’t exactly want a dog caring for me).
But what about this rich man? Is he more of a man than Lazarus? I think it is interesting that he has all the money and food he could ever want or need but yet he remains nameless. The guy who, most likely, has power in the community, has so much money that he is able throw bread onto the floor, the guy who walked by Lazarus, the man who walked by the great disparity of Lazarus, a man most likely dressed in purple (only rich and/or roman leaders could even wear purple) while Lazarus wore rags, a man who walked by Lazarus every day and did nothing for him, this rich man, does not have a name. You think a man with this social caliber would have a name but Jesus omits it from the parable.
This makes me scratch my head. Names are important. They identify our familial roots. They hold a history (just look at all the great Matthew’s of history). They hold a personal meaning. Why would Jesus omit such a detail? One commentary suggests that Jesus wants the audience to fill their names and therefore wants us to take a closer at our actions towards the poor. But can it be that simple? The simple truth is never simple. Maybe Jesus uses this as an opportunity to talk about the real measure of a person.
What creates our identity? What makes us identify with each other? Is it our wealth, our house, our cars, our children? Is it something more? Why do we cringe every time we hear about a victim of a shooting? What makes us feel remorse when we hear of a tragedy happen to someone we have never met? What makes us feel sorrow for Lazarus? What makes some of us feel no remorse for the rich man suffering in agony?
It is so easy for some of us to feel little to no remorse for the rich man. He did live in the lap of luxury for his entire life. He did walked by Lazarus every time he left his house and did nothing for him. Now is in agony while Lazarus stands next to Abraham. We even hear the rich man’s smugness when he asks Abraham to send Lazarus down him and serve him some water. The rich man does not get it. It is so easy to think, “Turn the flames up Abraham because I don’t think he gets it.” But is that how God operates?
God does not sit on a throne and casts punishment on those who do not follow God’s ways. God is about grace and love. The kind of judgement God does cast on us is simply the judgement of being God’s own—a child of God. God is not some angry monster set out on a path of war and violence. God loves us because we are God’s own. Even this rich man, as horrible as he was, is still a child of God. He is not being punished for being rich but he is being punished because of his indifference to the whole situation--for ignoring Lazarus and hoarding the gifts God gave him to share.
What is at the heart of this parable is the call to “remember.” Abraham says, “‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things...’” When we zoom out and look at the bigger picture Luke is painting, we see “remember” is used a number of times. An example of this can be found at the cross when the Criminal said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” There is also the scene at the tomb when a man in dazzling white clothes asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words...”
The reason the rich man is suffering is not because he is rich but because he did not remember Lazarus during life and all that the prophets have preached about the care of the poor. Brian Stroffgren writes:
“The great chasm between the rich man and Lazarus existed long before their deaths. It would seem that during their lives, the rich man couldn't bridge the "chasm" between his house (and his wealth) and the poor man outside his gate. He couldn't reach across it to give starving Lazarus a bite to eat or medicine for his sores or shelter from the weather.”
Whether we care to admit it or not, we have all created deep chasms between with others. Sometimes it is done on purpose while at other times we do not even realize the great chasms we have created with one another. Whenever we cast judgment on another individual, we create a chasm and we become like this rich man. Whether we judge someone because of their wealth, their house, their family, their skin color, their ethnicity, their religion we create a chasm. These chasms separate us from one another simply because someone is different. Our identity is not found in our earthly possession or our appearance. Our identity is found in God. We are created in God’s image and therefore we are claimed as God’s own. That is how we have already been judged.
What if God acted like this rich man? What if God turned God’s back on us? God should have just walked away from us but that is not how our God operates. Our God likes to build bridges. We have Jesus Christ who comes into the great chasm of our sin and lives with us. He suffered on the cross, died, and was buried. But on that third day, the thing that Moses and the prophets foretold came to fruition. Jesus finished the bridge. Christ Jesus built the bridge to connect us back to God and, being set free, we now can begin to build bridges for the other chasms we have created.
We are convinced of God’s love for us because we see Jesus Christ crucified and risen. Everything Moses and prophets foretold makes sense, and only makes sense, because of Jesus and the cross. The prophets called for the people to live a new lifestyle—to care for the poor Lazarus’s in this world just as Jesus cared for the outcasts. We are called to not act like the rich man but to act like Jesus. We are called to love someone simply because we all need love. We are called to remember what has been taught for centuries--to care for the abused, beaten, hungry, tortured people.
It is not fair that Lazarus lived his life in agony and only felt relief in death especially when it could have been prevented. Yes, one day we will all see God face to face. All of our pain and our burdens will be relieved in the resurrection but until then, we have many Lazarus(es) in our world and in our community who need more than a dog’s tongue.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Proper 19 Sermon
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
There is a speech that I had to memorize in middle school. It was written by a famous Civil Rights activist, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His legacy has touched the lives of many Americans and his witness has opened the door for many Americans oppressed simply because of the color of their skin. Listen to part of speech:
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
...
This is our hope...1”
This is our hope. It is our hope that one day, that one day, our social distinctions and classifications will not matter. It is our hope that our “children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” It is our hope that one’s identity will not be found in the human things of this world but in the love for one another.
But right now it is only hope and not reality. For thousands upon thousands of years humanity has oppressed a group (or groups of people) simply because of a human classification. These classifications range from cultural identity, money, race, sinner...
Sinner. Now that is a strange classification. What is even stranger is to think about oppressing Sinners. It doesn’t make much sense in our Christian mindset when we think about it today (because our concept of a sinner is that we all sin and therefore we are all sinners by its definition) but what did it mean to oppress a sinner in Jesus’ day?
Throughout the scriptures we hear about this dualism of Righteous and Unrighteous/Sinner. A biblical definition of Righteous is someone who fears and loves God; who follows God’s commands; who places God above all things. We know there were “righteous people” or so called “righteous people.” However, it is still unclear how righteous an individual had to be in order to be consider righteous. Did someone only need a drop of righteousness to make he or she righteous or was there more too it? Did one drop of sin make someone a sinner?
How one determined their status of righteousness was through the law. An individual was deemed righteous by obeying all the laws. A truly righteous person kept the law of God and an unrighteous person, a sinner, was someone who did not keep the law (whether was on purpose or not on purpose). The law does guide us into God’s will but it also shows us that we cannot follow it all the time. We have a bondage to the ways of sin and not the way of God. The overall intent of the law is to assist us in following God but it gives us ammunition to oppress those who are not following the law--who are not one us. In Jesus’ day, if the law was misinterpreted, it can forbid God’s grace to be shown because only a strict adherence to the law was acceptable.
This is the situation Jesus has been placed in. He was eating a meal with sinners (tax collectors, prostitutes, the poor, the sick, the blind, the lame) instead of with the great leaders of the synagogue and temple--not with the elite of the community. Sound familiar? “Mommy, Jesus isn’t playing with me. He is playing with THOSE people.” It sounds very childish but this was (and maybe even remains) the mindset of us all. These leaders felt as they were more privileged than the sinners--than the outcasts of the society.
The leaders described in this passage felt as though they deserved God more than the sinners. The leaders believed they were the only ones privileged to God’s love. If Jesus was the messiah, than they should have their needs cared for first because they were the best. But Jesus does not do this. Jesus does not go to the leaders but to the people forgotten by the world and cares for them.
This makes no sense to the Pharisees and even to us today. Why would the Messiah, the anointed one, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the one foretold by prophets for centuries would choose to eat not with the elite--not with the ones who have power to convince the masses--but with the sinners? Why would God care about the sinners? Why not go to powerful and proclaim “Ta da I’m here?”
But God has always cared about the sinners. God has always cared more about God’s people, particularly the outcasts--the last, lost, lost, least, lifeless--than about laws. Actually, the law of God was originally intended to ensure the well being of all God’s people--not just the elite and powerful.
The parables Jesus told to the crowd reminds us that God is the one who would leave behind the large group of sheep to go out and find the one sheep who went a strayed. That God is the one who throw a party after God finds a single coin--a party that cost more than what the coin was ever worth. These parables reveal that God has always done the unthinkable. God always goes after the one lost soul, God always throws the biggest parties. God choose to die on a cross so that we might live.
The elite feel that they deserve God more than the rest of the world but Jesus says no. Robert Jensen, retired professor at LTSG writes, “Whenever you want to draw a line to mark who is outside the kingdom and who is inside, always remember: Jesus is on the other side of the line. Jesus is always with the outsiders." This particular group of Pharisees questioning Jesus’ actions were denying the kingdom of God to a group of people simply because they could not obey the law. They wanted to deny God’s kingdom, God’s love, to a group of people because they are not good enough, because they are not rich enough, because they are not the right color. But Jesus came to reveal what God has always been about--grace and love for all people. Jesus came to reveal the great joy God still has and has always had for us.
What does it mean to have a sinner repent and all of heaven rejoice but the rest of world stays silent? Will we be able to look past someone’s status and simply love them as God loves that person? Will we be able love simply out of love with no strings attached as God loves us? Will we be able to rejoice when just one repents? Will we be able to look past someone’s skin color, religion, economic status, job status, someone’s social identity and see them for who they really are? When we follow in Jesus’ example and love one another, yes even those who are not like us, we will experience this great joy God has over one sinner who repents. Maybe when we let this happen, “when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, [black and white], Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics,” (Muslims and Christians, Northern and Southern, rich and poor, Democrats and Republicans, Europeans and Americans, the entire world, all of us) “we will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old [African American] spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”2
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Endnotes
1 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
2 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
There is a speech that I had to memorize in middle school. It was written by a famous Civil Rights activist, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His legacy has touched the lives of many Americans and his witness has opened the door for many Americans oppressed simply because of the color of their skin. Listen to part of speech:
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
...
This is our hope...1”
This is our hope. It is our hope that one day, that one day, our social distinctions and classifications will not matter. It is our hope that our “children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” It is our hope that one’s identity will not be found in the human things of this world but in the love for one another.
But right now it is only hope and not reality. For thousands upon thousands of years humanity has oppressed a group (or groups of people) simply because of a human classification. These classifications range from cultural identity, money, race, sinner...
Sinner. Now that is a strange classification. What is even stranger is to think about oppressing Sinners. It doesn’t make much sense in our Christian mindset when we think about it today (because our concept of a sinner is that we all sin and therefore we are all sinners by its definition) but what did it mean to oppress a sinner in Jesus’ day?
Throughout the scriptures we hear about this dualism of Righteous and Unrighteous/Sinner. A biblical definition of Righteous is someone who fears and loves God; who follows God’s commands; who places God above all things. We know there were “righteous people” or so called “righteous people.” However, it is still unclear how righteous an individual had to be in order to be consider righteous. Did someone only need a drop of righteousness to make he or she righteous or was there more too it? Did one drop of sin make someone a sinner?
How one determined their status of righteousness was through the law. An individual was deemed righteous by obeying all the laws. A truly righteous person kept the law of God and an unrighteous person, a sinner, was someone who did not keep the law (whether was on purpose or not on purpose). The law does guide us into God’s will but it also shows us that we cannot follow it all the time. We have a bondage to the ways of sin and not the way of God. The overall intent of the law is to assist us in following God but it gives us ammunition to oppress those who are not following the law--who are not one us. In Jesus’ day, if the law was misinterpreted, it can forbid God’s grace to be shown because only a strict adherence to the law was acceptable.
This is the situation Jesus has been placed in. He was eating a meal with sinners (tax collectors, prostitutes, the poor, the sick, the blind, the lame) instead of with the great leaders of the synagogue and temple--not with the elite of the community. Sound familiar? “Mommy, Jesus isn’t playing with me. He is playing with THOSE people.” It sounds very childish but this was (and maybe even remains) the mindset of us all. These leaders felt as they were more privileged than the sinners--than the outcasts of the society.
The leaders described in this passage felt as though they deserved God more than the sinners. The leaders believed they were the only ones privileged to God’s love. If Jesus was the messiah, than they should have their needs cared for first because they were the best. But Jesus does not do this. Jesus does not go to the leaders but to the people forgotten by the world and cares for them.
This makes no sense to the Pharisees and even to us today. Why would the Messiah, the anointed one, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the one foretold by prophets for centuries would choose to eat not with the elite--not with the ones who have power to convince the masses--but with the sinners? Why would God care about the sinners? Why not go to powerful and proclaim “Ta da I’m here?”
But God has always cared about the sinners. God has always cared more about God’s people, particularly the outcasts--the last, lost, lost, least, lifeless--than about laws. Actually, the law of God was originally intended to ensure the well being of all God’s people--not just the elite and powerful.
The parables Jesus told to the crowd reminds us that God is the one who would leave behind the large group of sheep to go out and find the one sheep who went a strayed. That God is the one who throw a party after God finds a single coin--a party that cost more than what the coin was ever worth. These parables reveal that God has always done the unthinkable. God always goes after the one lost soul, God always throws the biggest parties. God choose to die on a cross so that we might live.
The elite feel that they deserve God more than the rest of the world but Jesus says no. Robert Jensen, retired professor at LTSG writes, “Whenever you want to draw a line to mark who is outside the kingdom and who is inside, always remember: Jesus is on the other side of the line. Jesus is always with the outsiders." This particular group of Pharisees questioning Jesus’ actions were denying the kingdom of God to a group of people simply because they could not obey the law. They wanted to deny God’s kingdom, God’s love, to a group of people because they are not good enough, because they are not rich enough, because they are not the right color. But Jesus came to reveal what God has always been about--grace and love for all people. Jesus came to reveal the great joy God still has and has always had for us.
What does it mean to have a sinner repent and all of heaven rejoice but the rest of world stays silent? Will we be able to look past someone’s status and simply love them as God loves that person? Will we be able love simply out of love with no strings attached as God loves us? Will we be able to rejoice when just one repents? Will we be able to look past someone’s skin color, religion, economic status, job status, someone’s social identity and see them for who they really are? When we follow in Jesus’ example and love one another, yes even those who are not like us, we will experience this great joy God has over one sinner who repents. Maybe when we let this happen, “when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, [black and white], Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics,” (Muslims and Christians, Northern and Southern, rich and poor, Democrats and Republicans, Europeans and Americans, the entire world, all of us) “we will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old [African American] spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”2
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Endnotes
1 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
2 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Sermon for Proper 18
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
Amazing Grace is a favorite hymn of mine to both play and sing. I love the message it carries--of God’s amazing grace looking past all my faults, all of my failures, and hearing God still loves me. The words are very touching and speak well of our faith but how the song was written is just as equally touching. The song was written by man named John Newton. He was the captain of a slave ship in England. One night his ship was caught in a horrible storm. Many of the men on his ship were killed. As the waves were crashing over the ship, Newton knelt down and prayed for help. Newton made it through the night and his ship safely arrived in port. After this experience, Newton promised to changed his life. He eventually left the slave trade industry to pursue the life of an ordained pastor. He later teamed up William Wilberforce, who was a member of the British Parliament and who lead the fight to end slavery in Great Britain. Newton experienced the Grace of God first hand. Newton felt the strong and comforting touch of God’s grace. In a way, we saw the light and left the safety of the darkness to find something better--God’s love.
Now If we were keeping score it would be God:Infinity and humanity:negative infinity. It is quiet a large debt we owe God. Newton, who sold God’s creation--God’s own children--into slavery felt forgiveness. Newton felt grace. Newton had a debt he could never repay, just as we all have a debt we cannot pay, but that did not stop God from turning leaving Newton behind.
We don’t always have a perfect storm experience like Newton felt in order to feel God’s grace. We all have felt God’s grace in one form or another. For most of us. We experience God’s grace every time we hold out our hands and receive the bread at communion or when we open our mouths to receive the wine. You see that is grace. In the words, “The body of Christ, given for you” or the “the blood of Christ shed for your sins” we hear how unworthy we are to receive Christ Jesus. But yet, we still receive him. We are still able to hold out our hands or open our mouth and have them filled. That, my friends, is grace. It is because of God’s Grace alone we are able to reap the rewards of God’s love. Nothing else but simply God’s grace.
It is this grace that Paul is reminding Philemon about today. Philemon is an interesting fellow. We do not know to much about him. He is not mentioned anywhere else in scripture. According to the letter, Paul and Philemon are friends--close friends. It is probably safe to assume that Paul convert Philemon to Christianity. What we do know comes from a sociological study of the letter. We know Philemon owned a house--a house big enough to hold a church. Owning a house conveys a certain economic level--the bigger the house the better off you are. Owning slaves also conveys an even high economic level and we know he did own at least one slave name Onesimus.
Here in lies the problem. Onesimus is a slave of Philemon. More importantly, Onesimus is a runaway slave of Philemon. This is a problem. For Philemon, it is like his car ran away. Roman cultural saw a slave as property--not a person. Not the flesh and blood that Onesimus was. Onesimus set off running for freedom only to find Paul--A friend of his former owner. And you thought you had bad luck.
Onesimus becomes a convert of Christianity all while Paul is in prison. But then Paul tells Onesimus he has to go back to Philemon. Imagine the look on his face. I call it, “What ya talking about Willis?” It is crazy for a runaway slave to go back to his master but Paul tells Oneismus to trust him because Paul has a unique
In the introduction of Paul’s Letter, Paul reminds Philemon of their relationship. Particularly, the Christian Relationship they have. Paul and Philemon are on the same level not because both are wealthy (and Paul was not wealthy. Remember, he sold tents for a living and moved from city to city. That is how Paul was able to turn down financial support from the congregations he served). Rather Paul and Philemon are equal because they are both Christian.
It all goes back to baptism. Baptism is how we become a part of the community. In Baptism, we are literally clothed with Christ so that we are all the same. When we look in the mirror we do not see different faces or different races or different size bank accounts but rather, we see simply Christ.
Oneismus was changed in his baptism the same way we were all changed in our baptism. We are literally clothed, change with Christ--Change by Christ out of love.
This is what Paul is appealing to. Paul knows Philemon is mad with Oneismus but Paul appeals to Philemon out of love. It is this Agape love, the sacrificial love that all Christians share with each other, that Paul is appealing to Philemon with. Philemon had the law on his side. Onesimus is a runaway slave, property of Philemon, and therefore could be killed for running away. But Paul is appealing to Philemon to forget the law of Rome and find the law of God. Onesimus is now a Christian, one of us, and therefore equal to Philemon just as Paul and Philemon are equals. “I am appealing to you for my Child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment” I appeal to you, Philemon, out of love for my son--your brother. Love him as I have loved him and as I have loved you. Paul is appealing on the bases of the relationship he has established with Onesimus. Paul calls Onesimus a son.
Essentially, he raises Onesimus status. Peter T. O’Brien writes,”this was the first news Philemon had of his slave since he ran away and he might be expected to react negatively to the mention of his name. So with delicate tact, Paul first establishes the central fact that Onesimus has become a Christian, converted during Paul’s imprisonment.” Paul is making his appeal out of love and not out of law. Verse 16 tells it all. Oneismus is “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, as a dear brother. He is especially so to me, and even more so to you now, both humanly speaking and in the Lord. (Phm 1:16 NET)” Think about what Paul is doing. He is challenging “a Christian slave owner to defy the conventions: to forgive and receive back into the household a runaway slave’ to refuse financial reparation when it is offered, mindful of what one owe to christ as proclaimed by Paul’ to go father in generosity by freeing the servant’ and most important of all from a theological view point to recognize in Onesimus a beloved brother and thus acknowledge his Christian transformation.” Paul is not looking to impose his will or ideas onto Philemon but is looking for Philemon to do the right thing.
Paul is asking him to receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul--as a dear brother (FAMILY).By saying charge everything to him, Paul cancels out Onesimus’ debts to Philemon because Philemon owes Paul his life. We all have a debt that can never be paid. We all owe God more than we can ever afford. But Jesus paid this debt and revealed to us God’s love and grace for the world. The cross revealed to us God’s grace and God’s love for the world--the same love that Philemon has shared with his congregation. This love changed the people of Philemon’s church. This love continues to change us. It changed a slave owner so that a runaway slave could return home and not suffer the consequences. It changed a Slave Ship Captain and Abolitionists to see how wrong slavery was. Love changes people because in Love we see God’s grace. Go, therefore, and share it.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
Amazing Grace is a favorite hymn of mine to both play and sing. I love the message it carries--of God’s amazing grace looking past all my faults, all of my failures, and hearing God still loves me. The words are very touching and speak well of our faith but how the song was written is just as equally touching. The song was written by man named John Newton. He was the captain of a slave ship in England. One night his ship was caught in a horrible storm. Many of the men on his ship were killed. As the waves were crashing over the ship, Newton knelt down and prayed for help. Newton made it through the night and his ship safely arrived in port. After this experience, Newton promised to changed his life. He eventually left the slave trade industry to pursue the life of an ordained pastor. He later teamed up William Wilberforce, who was a member of the British Parliament and who lead the fight to end slavery in Great Britain. Newton experienced the Grace of God first hand. Newton felt the strong and comforting touch of God’s grace. In a way, we saw the light and left the safety of the darkness to find something better--God’s love.
Now If we were keeping score it would be God:Infinity and humanity:negative infinity. It is quiet a large debt we owe God. Newton, who sold God’s creation--God’s own children--into slavery felt forgiveness. Newton felt grace. Newton had a debt he could never repay, just as we all have a debt we cannot pay, but that did not stop God from turning leaving Newton behind.
We don’t always have a perfect storm experience like Newton felt in order to feel God’s grace. We all have felt God’s grace in one form or another. For most of us. We experience God’s grace every time we hold out our hands and receive the bread at communion or when we open our mouths to receive the wine. You see that is grace. In the words, “The body of Christ, given for you” or the “the blood of Christ shed for your sins” we hear how unworthy we are to receive Christ Jesus. But yet, we still receive him. We are still able to hold out our hands or open our mouth and have them filled. That, my friends, is grace. It is because of God’s Grace alone we are able to reap the rewards of God’s love. Nothing else but simply God’s grace.
It is this grace that Paul is reminding Philemon about today. Philemon is an interesting fellow. We do not know to much about him. He is not mentioned anywhere else in scripture. According to the letter, Paul and Philemon are friends--close friends. It is probably safe to assume that Paul convert Philemon to Christianity. What we do know comes from a sociological study of the letter. We know Philemon owned a house--a house big enough to hold a church. Owning a house conveys a certain economic level--the bigger the house the better off you are. Owning slaves also conveys an even high economic level and we know he did own at least one slave name Onesimus.
Here in lies the problem. Onesimus is a slave of Philemon. More importantly, Onesimus is a runaway slave of Philemon. This is a problem. For Philemon, it is like his car ran away. Roman cultural saw a slave as property--not a person. Not the flesh and blood that Onesimus was. Onesimus set off running for freedom only to find Paul--A friend of his former owner. And you thought you had bad luck.
Onesimus becomes a convert of Christianity all while Paul is in prison. But then Paul tells Onesimus he has to go back to Philemon. Imagine the look on his face. I call it, “What ya talking about Willis?” It is crazy for a runaway slave to go back to his master but Paul tells Oneismus to trust him because Paul has a unique
In the introduction of Paul’s Letter, Paul reminds Philemon of their relationship. Particularly, the Christian Relationship they have. Paul and Philemon are on the same level not because both are wealthy (and Paul was not wealthy. Remember, he sold tents for a living and moved from city to city. That is how Paul was able to turn down financial support from the congregations he served). Rather Paul and Philemon are equal because they are both Christian.
It all goes back to baptism. Baptism is how we become a part of the community. In Baptism, we are literally clothed with Christ so that we are all the same. When we look in the mirror we do not see different faces or different races or different size bank accounts but rather, we see simply Christ.
Oneismus was changed in his baptism the same way we were all changed in our baptism. We are literally clothed, change with Christ--Change by Christ out of love.
This is what Paul is appealing to. Paul knows Philemon is mad with Oneismus but Paul appeals to Philemon out of love. It is this Agape love, the sacrificial love that all Christians share with each other, that Paul is appealing to Philemon with. Philemon had the law on his side. Onesimus is a runaway slave, property of Philemon, and therefore could be killed for running away. But Paul is appealing to Philemon to forget the law of Rome and find the law of God. Onesimus is now a Christian, one of us, and therefore equal to Philemon just as Paul and Philemon are equals. “I am appealing to you for my Child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment” I appeal to you, Philemon, out of love for my son--your brother. Love him as I have loved him and as I have loved you. Paul is appealing on the bases of the relationship he has established with Onesimus. Paul calls Onesimus a son.
Essentially, he raises Onesimus status. Peter T. O’Brien writes,”this was the first news Philemon had of his slave since he ran away and he might be expected to react negatively to the mention of his name. So with delicate tact, Paul first establishes the central fact that Onesimus has become a Christian, converted during Paul’s imprisonment.” Paul is making his appeal out of love and not out of law. Verse 16 tells it all. Oneismus is “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, as a dear brother. He is especially so to me, and even more so to you now, both humanly speaking and in the Lord. (Phm 1:16 NET)” Think about what Paul is doing. He is challenging “a Christian slave owner to defy the conventions: to forgive and receive back into the household a runaway slave’ to refuse financial reparation when it is offered, mindful of what one owe to christ as proclaimed by Paul’ to go father in generosity by freeing the servant’ and most important of all from a theological view point to recognize in Onesimus a beloved brother and thus acknowledge his Christian transformation.” Paul is not looking to impose his will or ideas onto Philemon but is looking for Philemon to do the right thing.
Paul is asking him to receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul--as a dear brother (FAMILY).By saying charge everything to him, Paul cancels out Onesimus’ debts to Philemon because Philemon owes Paul his life. We all have a debt that can never be paid. We all owe God more than we can ever afford. But Jesus paid this debt and revealed to us God’s love and grace for the world. The cross revealed to us God’s grace and God’s love for the world--the same love that Philemon has shared with his congregation. This love changed the people of Philemon’s church. This love continues to change us. It changed a slave owner so that a runaway slave could return home and not suffer the consequences. It changed a Slave Ship Captain and Abolitionists to see how wrong slavery was. Love changes people because in Love we see God’s grace. Go, therefore, and share it.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Proper 16
I welcome your comments. I know I preached entirely too fast but I got a little excited over my message. A sociologist will always get excited for a text about loving others and ignore laws that oppress.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
Why Jesus? Why? I mean tell me, why do you always have to pick a fight? You know the leaders do not like it when you do work on the Sabbath. I mean come on Jesus. You do this all the time. You are going to get the leaders angry and the people riled up. Then Rome is going to get involved and probably kill us all or threatens to tear down our temple. Our temple Jesus. You know the one that has been built, destroyed, built, destroyed, and finally built again by Herod. We got protection now Jesus. Why do you have to always throw a wrench into it? Just sit there and be quiet. Things aren’t that bad.
Well maybe things are that bad. Maybe Jesus did need to heal the woman that very instant. We know Jesus was not in the business of just sitting around idly by while some injustice was happening. But at the same time, I know some of you, well maybe it’s just me, might be wondering, “Why did Jesus always have to make a scene?” As I sat at my desk pondering this question, I found myself going back to an even larger question--“Why was Jesus given to us?”
This question has remained a mystery for the church for centuries. Thousands of Christians, theologians, pastors, priests, and even Popes have tried to answer the age old question--“Why was Jesus given to us?” While we have some suspicions and theories we cannot nail down an exact answer as to why Jesus came to be with. I worry about those Christians who say with surety, “I know why Jesus came” because every time we come up with a theory, it just opens the door to another question. Those that say Jesus came to die can never get pass the next question why did Jesus have to die. Doesn’t God love us? Why couldn’t God just forgive us? You see, it creates a snow ball effect. One answer leads to another question which leads to another answer and then another question. We do not need to know why Jesus came but we do need to respond to his teachings, commands, life and actions. Particularly the action today’s reading—ensuring the wellbeing of all no matter the circumstances. Unfortunately, that tends to upset people.
In almost every story, Jesus upsets another person by telling them they are wrong and there old way of doing things is not good anymore. Jesus never holds back but calls out individuals who are no longer following Gods word or they are not open to a new way of understanding God’s word. Jesus does not let injustices go unnoticed. Jesus will even call out his own friends when they are wrong. Just look at Peter. It does not matter who you are or where you come from, Jesus has a message and the world will hear it.
What Jesus is preaching is not all that unheard of. It has been preached for thousands of years before by prophets and angels--Love one another just as God has always loved you. It is the message that the prophet Isaiah is preaching:
Isaiah 58: 10-12
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
Every time I hear a text like this on, I give myself a little bop on the head. It is a “duh” moment. Maybe Jesus did have a point in this situation. Maybe Jesus was not doing something radical here. Maybe Jesus is not doing the wrong thing. Maybe what Jesus is doing is following the will of God. MAYBE WE ARE WRONG AND JESUS IS RIGHT. (I know it’s a crazy idea but Jesus knows a things or two.)
So why was the synagogue leader wrong? Brian Stoffregen writes:
"It is the synagogue leader who calls Jesus' actions "healing" (therapeuo in v. 14 twice) -- and thus a "work".
But misses the boat.
“He doesn't see it as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy of releasing from bondage -- or a re-enactment of the Exodus journey from slavery to freedom."
He misses the grace of God. He doesn’t open his mind to the big of God’s love and God’s grace. How many times have we missed the big picture? How many times have we made a bad call all in the name of keeping the law or keeping the word of God? Humans will always be tied down the legalities of a situation and forget look at the big picture because of sin.
This sin condemn us. It reminds us of how we just cannot make the cut. But the cross changed that. God took an instrument of torture and death to show us that love can exist anywhere-That God can even love us broken and sinful. That is what the cross shows us and the same message is being said in our gospel text today. Yes, God does care about laws but God cares more about us and that is made visible in the cross.
The welfare of God’s creation always come first. It is foolish to think that this woman who had been bent over 18 years, crippled and a social outcast for 18 years, could not receive healing by Jesus on the Sabbath. Even a donkey is given water by his master. It makes no sense that a poor, crippled woman is not able to receive nourishment far beyond what simple water could ever do for her but an animal is. This was not just a healing of her aliment but also a restoration of her status--and status meant everything to the people in this day. Robert Capon writes, “if Jesus had waited until sundown, his wonderful miracle would have supported the people's expectations of a victorious and immortal messiah -- one ‘who is coming to punch the enemies of the Lord in the nose.’” Jesus was not an immortal messiah who came in with guns blazing. Jesus came and taught that we need to start caring more about people and less about tradition or laws.
We all have some kind of aliment that cripples us. We all have something that has kept us bent over, unable to stand up straight. We are not perfect and we are not immune from being an outcast. Simply by confessing our Christian Faith we create ourselves as an outcast because we believe there is something more to this world than status and wealth. What the world tells us is of great wealth we respond with the cross--a symbol of shame, death, pain, torture. The cross represents everything the world tells us to avoid but we, as Christians, cling to it. The cross is where we find salvation and love. The cross is where we find the true wealth of the world. The cross is where we see a man--who told us to love one another, who told us to think differently about who God is, who stood up to leaders that denied the poor life, who stood up for a woman bent over for 18 years and released her from her bondage, who broke the law to save the lives over—-the cross is where we saw a good man crucified. The cross is where we see the innocent killed but brought back to us on the third day. Jesus stood up for those who could not stand up for themselves. We all have an aliment and maybe, just maybe, we should take Jesus’ advice and begin to care for each other--ignore what the world tells us to do and just care for each other just as Jesus cared for this woman.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
Why Jesus? Why? I mean tell me, why do you always have to pick a fight? You know the leaders do not like it when you do work on the Sabbath. I mean come on Jesus. You do this all the time. You are going to get the leaders angry and the people riled up. Then Rome is going to get involved and probably kill us all or threatens to tear down our temple. Our temple Jesus. You know the one that has been built, destroyed, built, destroyed, and finally built again by Herod. We got protection now Jesus. Why do you have to always throw a wrench into it? Just sit there and be quiet. Things aren’t that bad.
Well maybe things are that bad. Maybe Jesus did need to heal the woman that very instant. We know Jesus was not in the business of just sitting around idly by while some injustice was happening. But at the same time, I know some of you, well maybe it’s just me, might be wondering, “Why did Jesus always have to make a scene?” As I sat at my desk pondering this question, I found myself going back to an even larger question--“Why was Jesus given to us?”
This question has remained a mystery for the church for centuries. Thousands of Christians, theologians, pastors, priests, and even Popes have tried to answer the age old question--“Why was Jesus given to us?” While we have some suspicions and theories we cannot nail down an exact answer as to why Jesus came to be with. I worry about those Christians who say with surety, “I know why Jesus came” because every time we come up with a theory, it just opens the door to another question. Those that say Jesus came to die can never get pass the next question why did Jesus have to die. Doesn’t God love us? Why couldn’t God just forgive us? You see, it creates a snow ball effect. One answer leads to another question which leads to another answer and then another question. We do not need to know why Jesus came but we do need to respond to his teachings, commands, life and actions. Particularly the action today’s reading—ensuring the wellbeing of all no matter the circumstances. Unfortunately, that tends to upset people.
In almost every story, Jesus upsets another person by telling them they are wrong and there old way of doing things is not good anymore. Jesus never holds back but calls out individuals who are no longer following Gods word or they are not open to a new way of understanding God’s word. Jesus does not let injustices go unnoticed. Jesus will even call out his own friends when they are wrong. Just look at Peter. It does not matter who you are or where you come from, Jesus has a message and the world will hear it.
What Jesus is preaching is not all that unheard of. It has been preached for thousands of years before by prophets and angels--Love one another just as God has always loved you. It is the message that the prophet Isaiah is preaching:
Isaiah 58: 10-12
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
Every time I hear a text like this on, I give myself a little bop on the head. It is a “duh” moment. Maybe Jesus did have a point in this situation. Maybe Jesus was not doing something radical here. Maybe Jesus is not doing the wrong thing. Maybe what Jesus is doing is following the will of God. MAYBE WE ARE WRONG AND JESUS IS RIGHT. (I know it’s a crazy idea but Jesus knows a things or two.)
So why was the synagogue leader wrong? Brian Stoffregen writes:
"It is the synagogue leader who calls Jesus' actions "healing" (therapeuo in v. 14 twice) -- and thus a "work".
But misses the boat.
“He doesn't see it as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy of releasing from bondage -- or a re-enactment of the Exodus journey from slavery to freedom."
He misses the grace of God. He doesn’t open his mind to the big of God’s love and God’s grace. How many times have we missed the big picture? How many times have we made a bad call all in the name of keeping the law or keeping the word of God? Humans will always be tied down the legalities of a situation and forget look at the big picture because of sin.
This sin condemn us. It reminds us of how we just cannot make the cut. But the cross changed that. God took an instrument of torture and death to show us that love can exist anywhere-That God can even love us broken and sinful. That is what the cross shows us and the same message is being said in our gospel text today. Yes, God does care about laws but God cares more about us and that is made visible in the cross.
The welfare of God’s creation always come first. It is foolish to think that this woman who had been bent over 18 years, crippled and a social outcast for 18 years, could not receive healing by Jesus on the Sabbath. Even a donkey is given water by his master. It makes no sense that a poor, crippled woman is not able to receive nourishment far beyond what simple water could ever do for her but an animal is. This was not just a healing of her aliment but also a restoration of her status--and status meant everything to the people in this day. Robert Capon writes, “if Jesus had waited until sundown, his wonderful miracle would have supported the people's expectations of a victorious and immortal messiah -- one ‘who is coming to punch the enemies of the Lord in the nose.’” Jesus was not an immortal messiah who came in with guns blazing. Jesus came and taught that we need to start caring more about people and less about tradition or laws.
We all have some kind of aliment that cripples us. We all have something that has kept us bent over, unable to stand up straight. We are not perfect and we are not immune from being an outcast. Simply by confessing our Christian Faith we create ourselves as an outcast because we believe there is something more to this world than status and wealth. What the world tells us is of great wealth we respond with the cross--a symbol of shame, death, pain, torture. The cross represents everything the world tells us to avoid but we, as Christians, cling to it. The cross is where we find salvation and love. The cross is where we find the true wealth of the world. The cross is where we see a man--who told us to love one another, who told us to think differently about who God is, who stood up to leaders that denied the poor life, who stood up for a woman bent over for 18 years and released her from her bondage, who broke the law to save the lives over—-the cross is where we saw a good man crucified. The cross is where we see the innocent killed but brought back to us on the third day. Jesus stood up for those who could not stand up for themselves. We all have an aliment and maybe, just maybe, we should take Jesus’ advice and begin to care for each other--ignore what the world tells us to do and just care for each other just as Jesus cared for this woman.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Sermon from Proper 14
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
It is not uncommon for many urbanites to feel a sense of fear every night before they fall sleep. “What if my house is broken into?” I still have that fear living here in Rural Retreat, VA. This fear for many urbanites, like myself, is all too real: My family’s house was broken into a couple of time, my bike was stolen off the front porch, and to top it all off the church was even broken into a number of times. Thieves--a thief in the night--is a never a metaphor I want to use to describe Jesus. But Luke does.
So the question is why a thief and what is this treasure Jesus is talking about? First let’s talk about the metaphor thief. What Godly qualities do thieves have? What good are they to the world or to God for that matter? But then it hit me. Thieves teach us. Whenever we were robbed we changed something. We bought new locks, installed an alarm system, and learned something. Every attack, every robbery, taught us something about ourselves and made us change our ways. In a way, our fears brought us safety because we knew how to prepare ourselves for the next thief.
So how do we prepare for our “Godly thief” named Jesus? It is hard to know how to prepare for Jesus when Luke changes the meaning of metaphors constantly in his Gospel account. Luke loves to bounce back and forth on metaphors such as knocking on the door or a thief. For example, In Luke 11, we are the ones knocking on the door but in this story Jesus is knocking on our doors. I think I am beginning to see why the disciples never had a clue what was going on. “Did Jesus just say WE are the ones knocking on the door? I thought he said were the ones who were supposed to knock.”
This is why we always need to look at the big picture that Luke is working with. We can’t get bogged down with the details and intricacies of the text. Preparing for a Godly Thief is not as important as knowing what this text, this story, this Gospel say about the Kingdom of God. You see, parables are not simply little metaphors or allegories where we are to put Jesus or ourselves into the characters of the parables. Parables are so much deeper than that. I mean, they did come from Jesus. So how is this parable showing us the Kingdom of God? Is the Kingdom of God like a thief or the Kingdom of God like something we could never imagine?
I was recently reading a synopsis on an old classic--Count of Monte Cristo. The author of the synopsis writes:
“Over a century ago, Alexander Dumas created one of the really fascinating characters in literature the count of Monte Cristo. Dumas introduces Edmond Dantes, a young sailor who is about to become captain of his own ship and marry the girl of his dreams. Then he unfolds the story of a double-cross, a false accusation and 14 years in the dungeon of the Chateau D'If. After licing in fourteen years of darkness, Dantes’ brightest hope was the old priest, Abee Faria, who told him of a great treasure buried on the Isle of Monte Cristo. Escaping through the sea, Dantes travels with smugglers on the Mediterranean Coast until finally he is alone at the mouth of the treasure cave. The closer Dantes came to that treasure the more terrified he felt. His terror was not that the treasure was a fiction, but that it really was there. Dumas observes that it is one of the strange phenomena of human nature that we feel. We dread of the daylight more than the darkness. Why? In the light we can be seen, watched, observed.”
In the light, we see what we truly are—we see our sin and this sin is terrifying because it creates fear; What if my sin is too great for even Christ to love me.
It is this kind of fear that Jesus has in mind in today's gospel when he tells his disciples, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Fear not. Fear is what holds us back. We have all been freed from sin by Jesus but it is our fear of the future that paralyzes us. Do not be afraid. We fear what we do not know. We fear what we cannot see. We worry about tomorrow and if we will have enough money, enough clothes, enough of ourselves because we cannot see what the future holds. That is our greatest fear--the fear of the unknown and the loss of control because in the end we need to trust in God and not ourselves.
Imagine doing what Jesus tells us to do. Sell everything we own, what the world considers treasures, and give it away. Imagine the fear we would have of not knowing where our next meal would come from or where we would lay down our heads. We like to be in control. We like being in a routine but God has no routine. God simply loves us. In a way, that is God’s routine--God constantly showing us God’s love. God’s love encompasses everyone and God always has the welfare of God’s creation in mind. There is never anyone left behind.
Now we know we are never going to be forgotten by God but we are still left wondering how we are to live in a world where we are constantly afraid of the unknown? Jesus does not offer a simple answer of how to overcome this fear but simply offers us a lifestyle. We are left with a practice of daily stewardship where we put first the things that matter most to us--what the real treasure of the world is:
-God
-The Church
-Our Spouse
-Our Children
-Our Grand Children
-Our Great-Grand-Children
-Those things we would run into a burning house for.
It is because of verse 34 (For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also) that we need to begin to consider what is important to us and not what the world tells us is important to us. We need to covenant the real treasures of our world—God’s treasures.
Personal valuables and material goods do not have any significance or relevance because in the end, a thief could come and take them away. Jesus, the people hearing this parable, and we the readers all know how fragile life is. Jesus is reminding us of this well-known fact. This fact, unfortunately, stands the test of time. Instantly, lives can be changed and Nobody is immune from tragedies but we all can place the real treasures of our lives first. This is what Jesus is calling us to do. Our gospel text this day is calling us all to forget about the material goods and place the real treasure of our world first--God’s children. That is what the real treasure of God is—it is the people of God. It does not lie somewhere in a bank or in a far away land. God’s treasure is every one of us sitting in this room, in Rural Retreat, in Virginia, in the ELCA, in USA, in Christendom, in the world. Now while we all may look different, we must always remember that have been created in God’s image. That is the great gift of God’s treasure. Though we may be different, we are all valuable to God. May God give us the strength to see the real treasure of the world does not lie with money, fame, or fortune but is the welfare of all God’s children.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
It is not uncommon for many urbanites to feel a sense of fear every night before they fall sleep. “What if my house is broken into?” I still have that fear living here in Rural Retreat, VA. This fear for many urbanites, like myself, is all too real: My family’s house was broken into a couple of time, my bike was stolen off the front porch, and to top it all off the church was even broken into a number of times. Thieves--a thief in the night--is a never a metaphor I want to use to describe Jesus. But Luke does.
So the question is why a thief and what is this treasure Jesus is talking about? First let’s talk about the metaphor thief. What Godly qualities do thieves have? What good are they to the world or to God for that matter? But then it hit me. Thieves teach us. Whenever we were robbed we changed something. We bought new locks, installed an alarm system, and learned something. Every attack, every robbery, taught us something about ourselves and made us change our ways. In a way, our fears brought us safety because we knew how to prepare ourselves for the next thief.
So how do we prepare for our “Godly thief” named Jesus? It is hard to know how to prepare for Jesus when Luke changes the meaning of metaphors constantly in his Gospel account. Luke loves to bounce back and forth on metaphors such as knocking on the door or a thief. For example, In Luke 11, we are the ones knocking on the door but in this story Jesus is knocking on our doors. I think I am beginning to see why the disciples never had a clue what was going on. “Did Jesus just say WE are the ones knocking on the door? I thought he said were the ones who were supposed to knock.”
This is why we always need to look at the big picture that Luke is working with. We can’t get bogged down with the details and intricacies of the text. Preparing for a Godly Thief is not as important as knowing what this text, this story, this Gospel say about the Kingdom of God. You see, parables are not simply little metaphors or allegories where we are to put Jesus or ourselves into the characters of the parables. Parables are so much deeper than that. I mean, they did come from Jesus. So how is this parable showing us the Kingdom of God? Is the Kingdom of God like a thief or the Kingdom of God like something we could never imagine?
I was recently reading a synopsis on an old classic--Count of Monte Cristo. The author of the synopsis writes:
“Over a century ago, Alexander Dumas created one of the really fascinating characters in literature the count of Monte Cristo. Dumas introduces Edmond Dantes, a young sailor who is about to become captain of his own ship and marry the girl of his dreams. Then he unfolds the story of a double-cross, a false accusation and 14 years in the dungeon of the Chateau D'If. After licing in fourteen years of darkness, Dantes’ brightest hope was the old priest, Abee Faria, who told him of a great treasure buried on the Isle of Monte Cristo. Escaping through the sea, Dantes travels with smugglers on the Mediterranean Coast until finally he is alone at the mouth of the treasure cave. The closer Dantes came to that treasure the more terrified he felt. His terror was not that the treasure was a fiction, but that it really was there. Dumas observes that it is one of the strange phenomena of human nature that we feel. We dread of the daylight more than the darkness. Why? In the light we can be seen, watched, observed.”
In the light, we see what we truly are—we see our sin and this sin is terrifying because it creates fear; What if my sin is too great for even Christ to love me.
It is this kind of fear that Jesus has in mind in today's gospel when he tells his disciples, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Fear not. Fear is what holds us back. We have all been freed from sin by Jesus but it is our fear of the future that paralyzes us. Do not be afraid. We fear what we do not know. We fear what we cannot see. We worry about tomorrow and if we will have enough money, enough clothes, enough of ourselves because we cannot see what the future holds. That is our greatest fear--the fear of the unknown and the loss of control because in the end we need to trust in God and not ourselves.
Imagine doing what Jesus tells us to do. Sell everything we own, what the world considers treasures, and give it away. Imagine the fear we would have of not knowing where our next meal would come from or where we would lay down our heads. We like to be in control. We like being in a routine but God has no routine. God simply loves us. In a way, that is God’s routine--God constantly showing us God’s love. God’s love encompasses everyone and God always has the welfare of God’s creation in mind. There is never anyone left behind.
Now we know we are never going to be forgotten by God but we are still left wondering how we are to live in a world where we are constantly afraid of the unknown? Jesus does not offer a simple answer of how to overcome this fear but simply offers us a lifestyle. We are left with a practice of daily stewardship where we put first the things that matter most to us--what the real treasure of the world is:
-God
-The Church
-Our Spouse
-Our Children
-Our Grand Children
-Our Great-Grand-Children
-Those things we would run into a burning house for.
It is because of verse 34 (For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also) that we need to begin to consider what is important to us and not what the world tells us is important to us. We need to covenant the real treasures of our world—God’s treasures.
Personal valuables and material goods do not have any significance or relevance because in the end, a thief could come and take them away. Jesus, the people hearing this parable, and we the readers all know how fragile life is. Jesus is reminding us of this well-known fact. This fact, unfortunately, stands the test of time. Instantly, lives can be changed and Nobody is immune from tragedies but we all can place the real treasures of our lives first. This is what Jesus is calling us to do. Our gospel text this day is calling us all to forget about the material goods and place the real treasure of our world first--God’s children. That is what the real treasure of God is—it is the people of God. It does not lie somewhere in a bank or in a far away land. God’s treasure is every one of us sitting in this room, in Rural Retreat, in Virginia, in the ELCA, in USA, in Christendom, in the world. Now while we all may look different, we must always remember that have been created in God’s image. That is the great gift of God’s treasure. Though we may be different, we are all valuable to God. May God give us the strength to see the real treasure of the world does not lie with money, fame, or fortune but is the welfare of all God’s children.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
NBC, for a number of years now, has been running a program called “the Apprentice.” It’s theme song title is “Money, money, money, money.” Donald Trump is the host and the prize is a job in his company. Teammates live in the lap of luxury till they are voted off, FIRED, by the Trump himself.
Computer programmers turned billionaires like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have turned a simple “toy” into a powerful machine. Computers have transformed industries from health care to higher education. And the driving force behind all these ventures is money.
Money. It rules our lives, our nations, our world, and even the church. Without it, we could not function (or so we think anyway). It has invaded our lives and causes us only to desire more of it. It is an addiction. If you don’t believe me, take a trip out to Las Vegas or Atlantic City and watch how every individual’s eyes light up when they see a slot machine or a sign that says, “WIN A MILLION DOLLARS!!!!” Money is all we ever think about but yet it is such a taboo subject in the church. I cannot think of a single pastor, other than maybe a bishop or supply preacher, who says, “SURE, I WOULD LOVE TO PREACH A SERMON ON MONEY. THEY ARE MY FAVORITE!” It is not an enjoyable topic but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Lutherans love to talk about Justification by Faith, Love, God’s grace. We even enjoy talking about things not found in the bible like Martin Luther. How quickly we move towards theological ideas like these that may only appear in scriptures 10 or 15 times (some not at all) but yet avoid preaching and teaching about one of the most talked about subject in the entire bible--MONEY and ECONOMICS!
It is for good reason that money and economics talked is mentioned a lot in the bible. We all have this notion that Hebraic Law is very complicated (frankly, any law system is complicated though) but there is one main theme throughout Hebraic Law--TAKE CARE OF THE POOR. Every law could be ignored as long as the poor were taken care of. God does not practice survival of the fittest. It is never okay to leave someone behind because they are too weak, too poor, too much like an outcast. The decision to leave someone behind, an act still forbidden by God, should never be determined by any kind of human classification but especially because of an individual’s economic status.
Money and economics has always been a main topic of scripture but our way of thinking about economics is slightly different from biblical economics. We think more globally but the early prophets and writers did not have such a global mindset. The world was a much smaller place 2000-3000 years ago in their understanding. But there are still similarities between the ancient civilizations and us today. Mainly, humanity has always been concerned with the short term. This short term focus is what biblical scholars call Human economics. In human economics, we ask, “How do I make the most money the fastest? It is all me, me, me. We are never thinking about the long term--not just 15-20 years long term but rather generations down the road. That is the divine economy. God’s economy looks at the whole picture. We look through a telescope but God looks at the entire sphere--God looks at the past, present and future--to create a plan. We want instant gratification but God wants sustainable gratification.
Well okay preacher, sustainable gratification. I can deal with that. So preacher, tell me, how is storing up grain in a barn or storing up money in a bank account not sustainable gratification? To answer that question, I need to tell a story my father told me once.
There was a man who was dying. The night before he died he summoned his wife. He told his wife to put everything he had in a box, all his money and gold, and place it in the window upstairs. Once he died, he would take the chest up to heaven with him. His wife did as he asked and later that evening, the man died. The next morning, his wife went upstairs, found the chest in the same spot she left it and still full of all the man’s riches. The wife said, “Shucks, I knew I should have put this chest in the basement.
The moral of both the biblical parable and this parable is that it doesn’t matter how much you have on earth. Once you die, it means absolutely nothing to you or God. The men in both of these parables, the one Jesus told and the one my father told, were both fools. Joel B. Green, NT scholar defines a fool, in biblical terms, as someone who denies God through their actions. Storing up an abundance rather than trusting in God’s promised of sustainable gratification--sustainable abundance--is foolish. Now this word abundance needs to be defined more clearly. If you look at the text very closely, it says he filled up his first barn. I believe, this text is saying he has enough to make it through winter. He is able to get through till the next harvest. Once his barn is full, he is left with an over abundance of crops. Instead of using the abundance to help those who do not have an abundance, he hoards it for himself. The poor are not able to reap the bounty, the hungry go away empty, but the rich fool sits on top of his “extra-large barn” and says, “relax, eat, drink, be merry.” The text never says it is bad to save what is needed to live rather it is bad to hoard what is not needed.
In Jesus’ day, one did not get wealthy by simply working harder. One got wealthy by hurting, trampling, and stealing from the their family, friends, and community. What is even more startling is the people Jesus is speaking to know this all too well. One commentary writes:
“Greed was widely regarded as a form of depravity, both in Jewish literature and in the larger Greco-Roman world.”
Greed was essentially seen as stealing--taking candy from a baby. This man was wealthy because he withheld God’s abundance from the community. He is wealthy because he saw his abundance as his own and not God’s own abundance. Think about what is going on here economically. By holding back his abundance, he is able to increase the market price of his goods and sell them at a high cost. Supply and demand. Low supply means high demand. High demand means high prices. Higher prices means a larger profit. Instead of helping his community, he only cripples them even more. He secures his economic status by being the “big dog on campus.” He doesn’t trust in God to secure his future but tries to do it himself. If recent news has shown us anything, the only one worth trusting in anymore is God. Banks can fail, governments can fail, and computers can fail (unless you buy a Mac but they can even fail).
My friends, this text is not all about money. This text is about faith. That is what Stewardship is about. It is about our faith in GOD providing for us. How do we trust in God? Do we do it by hoarding or do we share it confident God will provide for us in the future just as God has provided for us in the past? We commit our abundance, rather God’s abundance, to the community and ensure a better community for everyone. It does not mean depriving ourselves our own basic needs but sharing what we do not need. We do this by spreading the gospel, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, caring for the widows and orphans, the abused, the neglected. This is God’s divine economy. We need to think long-term and not short term. Yes, there is God’s grace if we mess up and yes, maybe God’s divine economy is just a utopia and unattainable but that doesn’t mean we abuse God’s grace and abundance by hoarding it all for ourselves. It doesn’t mean we do not try. We have been graced with abundance and we trust that God will continue to bless us with the same abundance in the future--we are not to be or act like a fool. If you forget everything I have said today, remember this; God was not cheap with us--God sacrificed God’s Son so that we might see the revelation of God’s love. God was not cheap with us, why then should we be cheap with God’s grace and abundance? Amen.
In the name Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)