Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22
7 1So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled." 3Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me--that is my petition--and the lives of my people--that is my request. 4For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king." 5Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?" 6Esther said, "A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!" Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
9Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, "Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman's house, fifty cubits high." And the king said, "Hang him on that." 10So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.
9:20 Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, 22as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.
This is the first week in which we take up the Reconciliation offering, which goes to support Reconciliation/Anti-racism efforts in our region and in the General Church. All over the country these funds help our church become less racist, less separated from itself along racial lines. One day we hope that the Reconciliation/Anti-racism effort will no longer be necessary in or out of church, that genocide based on racial differences will end, and that we won’t hear the kinds of accusations that we’ve been hearing tossed around in our nation’s politics recently.
On this Reconciliation Sunday I’ve chosen the passage from Esther which describes the hanging of a man who was about to perpetrate genocide and the resulting celebration by a people delivered from death. This reading is more appropriate than it might look at first. Not in a “What a perfect scripture passage” way but in a “This is exactly NOT the way we are supposed to be!” kind of way.
First – the most disturbing part of the story is skipped over. So Haman is hanged because he was an evil man and a festival is proclaimed. Yay! Evil is punished. But the committee that chooses the lectionary readings skipped about one and a half chapters in between those two events. Here’s the gist of the skipped bits.
9:1 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, when the king's command and edict were about to be executed, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power over them, but which had been changed to a day when the Jews would gain power over their foes, 2the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who had sought their ruin; and no one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples. 3All the officials of the provinces, the satraps and the governors, and the royal officials were supporting the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. 4For Mordecai was powerful in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful. 5So the Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering, and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. 6In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred people.
9: 16 Now the other Jews who were in the king's provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and gained relief from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they laid no hands on the plunder. 17This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.
The Jews, saved from death, turned on everyone who was prejudiced against them and killed them all – 75,500 of them. And no punishment from the king – he approved, or at least, didn’t disapprove. He wasn’t a very compassionate or merciful sort of guy.
The very short version of this story which a lot of us would have learned in Sunday School is that the king had his first Queen executed because one time she didn’t come when he called so he could show her off to all the guests at one of his banquets after they’d all become drunk. Esther became queen after a competition of sorts between all the beautiful young women of the nation by following the advice of her uncle Mordecai. His advice included not telling anyone she was a Jew or that Mordecai was her uncle. She gained the king’s trust when she passed on to him news that two of his advisors were plotting to have him assassinated, which she’d learned from Mordecai. One day the king’s highest advisor noticed that Mordecai refused to bow to him as though he was king, and he was so angry about this lack of respect that he decided to have Mordecai killed. And not just Mordecai, but all those pesky Jewish captives in Babylon. And the king agreed. But Esther made a feast for the king which pleased him so much that he offered her anything she wanted, and that’s when she revealed that she, too, was one of the captive people and begged for their deliverance. And we know how the story ends. Haman is hanged, her people slaughtered everyone who was prejudiced against them and a festival was declared which continues down to this day.
A word about racism. In Esther’s day there was no such thing as racism as we understand it. Prejudice and bigotry over nationalism, cultural differences, and religion existed, but race wasn’t an issue until many centuries later when it was used to help justify European colonization of the rest of the world.
No, the problem here wasn’t racially motivated, or even religiously motivated. It was an issue of nationalism. Esther’s people didn’t assimilate into the Babylonian empire as they had been expected to. They always kept themselves separate and continued to pray that one day they would be able to return to Judah. This alone would have upset any king’s advisor. And then for Mordecai to refuse to lay flat on his face when Haman went past – well, that was that as far as Haman was concerned.
Second – where is God in this story?? If you read the book of Esther, you will find that God isn’t mentioned even once in the entire book! Not one time! So they can’t claim “God told us to kill 75,500 people.” This was something the Jews did all on their own with no heavenly direction and no one to blame. They were simply getting revenge on their enemies with the king’s approval. And although it doesn’t say I suspect they were taking out four generations of frustration at their exile on their captives as well. No reconciliation there. No forgiveness. No restraint.
God does not direct us to revenge. Not as individuals or as nations. “Vengeance s mine, says the Lord.” Rather than revenge, God directs us to reconcile with our enemies, with those who disagree with us, with those who are different from us in any way.
Reconciliation means “to cause to exist in harmony” and “to bring into balance”. We use the word reconciliation in our denomination almost as a synonym for anti-racism, but it is so much more than just not acting out on racial prejudice. It means living in harmony with each other. Just as a song has different parts, different tunes that all go together to make a beautiful sounding whole, so harmony among people must have differences as well. To be reconciled to one another doesn’t mean that we need to be all alike. It doesn’t even mean existing in total agreement with each other. To be reconciled to one another means living according to God’s direction. To forgive each other as we are forgiven by God. To love one another as we are loved by God.
It is in order that we all be reconciled to one another and to God that Jesus was sent to teach us, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Before we knew Christ, before we understood his teachings, the Word of God, we could seek revenge. We could hate. But now that we are in Christ, we can’t do that any more. We can’t even hate those who hate us, but must find a way to reconcile, to live in harmony with even our enemies.
On this Reconciliation Sunday let us give not just our money, but also our hearts to the effort of reconciling ourselves to each other and especially to God. Let us make an example to all the world by living in harmony with our brothers and sisters, regardless of the differences or disagreements between us. Let us live in such a way that a slaughter like the one that took place in Babylon in Esther’s day can’t ever happen again. Let us live in the way Jesus taught us, that all the hatred and prejudice and feelings of superiority of one over another may be erased, that all the nations of the world may be reconciled and healed, in God’s name.
For the Healing of the nations 668
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Performance Anxiety
I know that the title I've used is typically used in a completely different setting, but lately that's how I've been feeling about blogging and even tweeting. I mean, when you happen to mention Thich Nhat Hanh in a retweet from @Disciplesworld and then get a follower with 25,000 followers who says "look forward to reading your tweets" - Y'know??
And it's not just my newest follower, although I must admit I knew right away that the Thich Nhat Hanh retweet is what drew that particular person to my profile. What if people from my church read my tweets or my Facebook status updates? I'm pretty safe with what I say on my blog which gets very few hits and even fewer comments. But then I re-post that every where...
I feel inadequate. Somehow I feel that those 140 characters now have to be fraught with meaning. Is a tweet saying "I'm sitting on the patio petting the bunny and talking to God" sufficiently existential or mindful or spiritual? Can I even think about tweeting something totally banal when I'm trying to live up to some standard or ideal I've made up for myself?
I think it always comes down to the same question for most people. Am I good enough? We state it differently for different situations. Will I get to keep my job or am I on the lay-off list? Will the cute boy in my class like me? Will I win the contest? Are my prayers sincere enough, strong enough, beautifully worded enough for God to pay attention? Am I working hard enough to bring new people into the church and take care of the ones who are already there? And is this what life is all about anyway? Performance? Size? Frequency of Success? Getting to the finish line?
The one thing I do know, when I stop to really consider it, is that I am good enough for God. I don't always remember to stop and consider. But when I do, I know. God loves me no matter what. God doesn't care whether my tweets and updates and blog entries are well written, meaningful and perfectly spiritual in nature. God just cares that I do the best I can with what I have.
So I guess I'll just write what I am called to write at any given moment. I won't worry so much about my audience, because my real audience has already approved what I say. I'll just write and post what I write, and if it pleases you that's a bonus.
And it's not just my newest follower, although I must admit I knew right away that the Thich Nhat Hanh retweet is what drew that particular person to my profile. What if people from my church read my tweets or my Facebook status updates? I'm pretty safe with what I say on my blog which gets very few hits and even fewer comments. But then I re-post that every where...
I feel inadequate. Somehow I feel that those 140 characters now have to be fraught with meaning. Is a tweet saying "I'm sitting on the patio petting the bunny and talking to God" sufficiently existential or mindful or spiritual? Can I even think about tweeting something totally banal when I'm trying to live up to some standard or ideal I've made up for myself?
I think it always comes down to the same question for most people. Am I good enough? We state it differently for different situations. Will I get to keep my job or am I on the lay-off list? Will the cute boy in my class like me? Will I win the contest? Are my prayers sincere enough, strong enough, beautifully worded enough for God to pay attention? Am I working hard enough to bring new people into the church and take care of the ones who are already there? And is this what life is all about anyway? Performance? Size? Frequency of Success? Getting to the finish line?
The one thing I do know, when I stop to really consider it, is that I am good enough for God. I don't always remember to stop and consider. But when I do, I know. God loves me no matter what. God doesn't care whether my tweets and updates and blog entries are well written, meaningful and perfectly spiritual in nature. God just cares that I do the best I can with what I have.
So I guess I'll just write what I am called to write at any given moment. I won't worry so much about my audience, because my real audience has already approved what I say. I'll just write and post what I write, and if it pleases you that's a bonus.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Hero or Sidekick?
Proverbs 31:10-31 NRSV
A capable wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant,
she brings her food from far away.
She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her household
and tasks for her servant-girls.
She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength,
and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor,
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid for her household when it snows,
for all her household are clothed in crimson.
She makes herself coverings;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the city gates,
taking his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them;
she supplies the merchant with sashes.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household,
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her happy;
her husband too, and he praises her:
‘Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.’
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her a share in the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the city gates.
Today and for the next couple of months we will be looking at stories from the Hebrew Bible. These are the stories that Jesus grew up on, that he learned from his parents and from the rabbis. Stories that formed the way he would later teach his disciples, who in turn teach us. Today we look at the passage about the capable woman from Proverbs. It’s no Accident that Proverbs opens and closes with a woman who personifies Wisdom. First Lady Wisdom who calls out from the busiest street corner chastising those who don’t seek her and blessing those who do, reminding everyone that the beginning of wisdom is fear of God. And here, the capable woman.
This is passage we often use in funerals to memorialize a beloved wife and mother, and hardly ever at any other time. Here is the woman who serves everyone else first. She’s the first one up and the last to bed. She cares for her family and her employees. She’s good at everything! She cooks and cleans and weaves and sews and grows crops and sells goods and provides for her household and everyone loves her! Seemingly the perfect woman And she makes us feel inadequate. No way can we ever live up to this ideal.
Perfectionism may be the worst curse we can live with. Trying to live up to the ideals of our society is bad enough – you can never be too rich or too thin or too fit, apparently. But then to have the Bible lift up this woman as “capable.” It’s too much to expect of anyone. It was comforting to me to learn that in Hebrew the word translated here as capable means something like a warrior, strong and worthy. Like a cross between Zena and Gabrielle or maybe Wonder Woman. And that she isn’t really an ideal that we’re expected to live up to. She is the embodiment of all that comes before, the one who has learned all the lessons in Proverbs and puts them to use. Oh, so we just take all these lessons and do our best to live by them. Got it. We can do that. That’s the point of Proverbs, after all. It is the collected wisdom of Israel, what the children were taught as the grew up and sayings they repeated among themselves when the wisdom of the ages was required. We still do that with Proverbs, as we are supposed to.
I’ve been watching a lot of Disney lately. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still watching the news and my favorite crime shows – CSI, Law and Order, Bones. But the world just seems so rude and ugly that I’m also watching Disney to escape from some of the ugliness out there. On Disney programs Good always wins at the end and Bad is always punished. There’s usually someone who seems to have it all, wants more, and is on their way to get fame and fortune, but the one who works selflessly to take care of the less fortunate always gets the great reward at the end. It’s nice, and it’s so not the way the world really is. It’s the opposite of the reality shows that pit people against each other, expecting them to lie, cheat or whatever in order to gain the prize. There’s just something wrong with lifting up manipulation and scheming as the way to win. But it seems to be the model these days. That’s why it is a such a big deal when we see people stepping out and selflessly giving of themselves for someone else.
One Disney movie I’ve enjoyed is Sky High, the story of goings on at a high school for the children of Super-Heroes. It’s mostly about the coming of age of the son of the two greatest super heroes in the world, but it’s also a story about refusing to bow to the status quo. Layla, who has the power to make plants do pretty much whatever she wants, refuses to take part in the very public sorting out of students as Hero or Sidekick. She has super powers but won’t be part of what is essentially public humiliation for the less gifted. During the climactic showdown between good and evil she finally uses her powers in self-defense only to hear the villain whine “I thought you were a sidekick.” She proudly states “I am.” She wouldn’t use her super powers to gain status or preferential treatment, but only to help others. She stood against the system because it denigrated and oppressed one class of people. Layla is a real hero, if you ask me.
But that’s Disney. And Disney isn’t reality. Luckily, we know that real people stand against the status quo and wrong doing all the time.
It was all over the news and the internet all week that at the MTV awards singer Kanye West interrupted a young Country singer’s acceptance speech because he thought Beyonce should have gotten the award. A lot of fuss was made about his bad behavior during the week. And in the normal course of things Beyonce and the young singer Taylor would have the spent the week touring the talk shows complaining about him and all that. But that didn’t happen this time. Instead, in response to Kanye West’s bad behavior, which just echoed the kind of rude and uncaring behavior we have seen way too much of lately – Beyonce reached out with love and care, giving up HER moment of glory to a young woman who had never stood in that place before. Taylor was able to thank those who helped her get the award, and Beyonce got a hug. She acted with grace, with the kind of love Christians are supposed to show for each other. She just quietly did the right thing without saying anything about the reason for her action. She gave up her time in the spotlight even though our society might think that’s slightly nuts, and then refused to capitalize on it. Beyonce is a hero, a Christian woman who acted with wisdom and love.
On the news Thursday night I saw a story about a group of young women from Compton who had all won a particular award that would give them each a scholarship and an opportunity to go to DC to meet the President. At the last moment the organization presenting the awards learned that one of the award recipients was Hispanic, not African American, and they denied her the scholarship. Upon hearing this, her five African American classmates who also received these scholarships turned them down. Most people would have said, “Aw, that’s a bummer. We’ll get you a souvenir in DC. See you when we get back.” But these girls would not accept an award that discriminated against their friend and classmate because of her race. All six girls worked really hard to win the award and they weren’t going to leave out their friend. And this becomes even a bigger deal when you realize that most of the violence where they live is between black gangs and Hispanic gangs. Most of the violence and hatred where they live falls along racial lines. Their solidarity crosses those very same racial lines. These girls are absolutely heroes. These are Christian girls who behaved in the way they have been taught to behave in church – standing up for what is right, what is true, what is loving, regardless of what the consequences may be for them personally.
Mark 9:33 Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" 9:34 But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. 9:35 He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."
Those disciples did get themselves in trouble pretty regularly, didn’t they? To be fair to them, they only knew the way of the world. They may have learned Proverbs, but very few people actually lived them. The whole point of the Capable Woman passage is to show people what it would look like if they lived in Wisdom. So it was only normal that the disciples would fight over who was going to sit at Jesus’ right hand when he came into his kingdom, or who would be his deputy, his most valued assistant. And frankly, it’s really hard for anyone to get “the first must be last.” That’s really the point of the capable woman. Here is someone who is last in society’s eyes – a woman – being lifted up as ideal. The perfect partner, which makes us understand that her ideal mate will be her match in all things as well. Honest, upright and wise, one who is known in the city gates, a giver of justice and a leader. One who selflessly serves his community as she does. One who is lifted up because of his service to God’s people, as she is. Their various enterprises prosper, not because they are manipulative and scheming, but because they are honest and forthright in all things. Helping the needy is at the top of their list of things to do because it is the right thing to do, neither an afterthought nor a means of gaining fame among their peers. They don’t seek recognition but they receive it. These are those who will become first, because they are servants to all. Not doormats – but that’s a discussion for another day.
Jesus teaches that we are to do the opposite of what the world expects, to put ourselves in a position to help, to lead without asking for notice. The way Disney’s Layla and the music world’s Beyonce and Compton’s five young award recipients did. And the way of the capable woman from Proverbs. As Christians we are expected to stand up against the status quo, to stand with to oppressed and marginalized. As Christians we are not to be part of the system. We are not to be part of the problem. We are to bring the solution, and that solution will always come from a position of love. The solution will always come from a position of service. As Christians we don’t ask what’s in it for me. Rather we want to know what we can do for you.
In the words of the hymn “The world behind me, the cross before me.” The world is the greed, the manipulation, the scheming, the political posturing, the fears and worries, it’s all the sins that hold us back, that keep us from living up to what God desires for us. The cross is resurrection and new life, walking forward into God’s kingdom on earth, into a way of life different from any other. A life of service and love to and for all of God’s children, all of God’s creation. A life of wisdom, which begins with love of God, like that of the capable woman. A life in which we are heroes, like those we have heard about today. A life modeled on the life of Jesus Christ, who taught us everything we know about God and about living. My brothers and sisters, together let us sing out our decision to follow Jesus.
A capable wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant,
she brings her food from far away.
She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her household
and tasks for her servant-girls.
She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength,
and makes her arms strong.
She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor,
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid for her household when it snows,
for all her household are clothed in crimson.
She makes herself coverings;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the city gates,
taking his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them;
she supplies the merchant with sashes.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household,
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her happy;
her husband too, and he praises her:
‘Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.’
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her a share in the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the city gates.
Today and for the next couple of months we will be looking at stories from the Hebrew Bible. These are the stories that Jesus grew up on, that he learned from his parents and from the rabbis. Stories that formed the way he would later teach his disciples, who in turn teach us. Today we look at the passage about the capable woman from Proverbs. It’s no Accident that Proverbs opens and closes with a woman who personifies Wisdom. First Lady Wisdom who calls out from the busiest street corner chastising those who don’t seek her and blessing those who do, reminding everyone that the beginning of wisdom is fear of God. And here, the capable woman.
This is passage we often use in funerals to memorialize a beloved wife and mother, and hardly ever at any other time. Here is the woman who serves everyone else first. She’s the first one up and the last to bed. She cares for her family and her employees. She’s good at everything! She cooks and cleans and weaves and sews and grows crops and sells goods and provides for her household and everyone loves her! Seemingly the perfect woman And she makes us feel inadequate. No way can we ever live up to this ideal.
Perfectionism may be the worst curse we can live with. Trying to live up to the ideals of our society is bad enough – you can never be too rich or too thin or too fit, apparently. But then to have the Bible lift up this woman as “capable.” It’s too much to expect of anyone. It was comforting to me to learn that in Hebrew the word translated here as capable means something like a warrior, strong and worthy. Like a cross between Zena and Gabrielle or maybe Wonder Woman. And that she isn’t really an ideal that we’re expected to live up to. She is the embodiment of all that comes before, the one who has learned all the lessons in Proverbs and puts them to use. Oh, so we just take all these lessons and do our best to live by them. Got it. We can do that. That’s the point of Proverbs, after all. It is the collected wisdom of Israel, what the children were taught as the grew up and sayings they repeated among themselves when the wisdom of the ages was required. We still do that with Proverbs, as we are supposed to.
I’ve been watching a lot of Disney lately. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still watching the news and my favorite crime shows – CSI, Law and Order, Bones. But the world just seems so rude and ugly that I’m also watching Disney to escape from some of the ugliness out there. On Disney programs Good always wins at the end and Bad is always punished. There’s usually someone who seems to have it all, wants more, and is on their way to get fame and fortune, but the one who works selflessly to take care of the less fortunate always gets the great reward at the end. It’s nice, and it’s so not the way the world really is. It’s the opposite of the reality shows that pit people against each other, expecting them to lie, cheat or whatever in order to gain the prize. There’s just something wrong with lifting up manipulation and scheming as the way to win. But it seems to be the model these days. That’s why it is a such a big deal when we see people stepping out and selflessly giving of themselves for someone else.
One Disney movie I’ve enjoyed is Sky High, the story of goings on at a high school for the children of Super-Heroes. It’s mostly about the coming of age of the son of the two greatest super heroes in the world, but it’s also a story about refusing to bow to the status quo. Layla, who has the power to make plants do pretty much whatever she wants, refuses to take part in the very public sorting out of students as Hero or Sidekick. She has super powers but won’t be part of what is essentially public humiliation for the less gifted. During the climactic showdown between good and evil she finally uses her powers in self-defense only to hear the villain whine “I thought you were a sidekick.” She proudly states “I am.” She wouldn’t use her super powers to gain status or preferential treatment, but only to help others. She stood against the system because it denigrated and oppressed one class of people. Layla is a real hero, if you ask me.
But that’s Disney. And Disney isn’t reality. Luckily, we know that real people stand against the status quo and wrong doing all the time.
It was all over the news and the internet all week that at the MTV awards singer Kanye West interrupted a young Country singer’s acceptance speech because he thought Beyonce should have gotten the award. A lot of fuss was made about his bad behavior during the week. And in the normal course of things Beyonce and the young singer Taylor would have the spent the week touring the talk shows complaining about him and all that. But that didn’t happen this time. Instead, in response to Kanye West’s bad behavior, which just echoed the kind of rude and uncaring behavior we have seen way too much of lately – Beyonce reached out with love and care, giving up HER moment of glory to a young woman who had never stood in that place before. Taylor was able to thank those who helped her get the award, and Beyonce got a hug. She acted with grace, with the kind of love Christians are supposed to show for each other. She just quietly did the right thing without saying anything about the reason for her action. She gave up her time in the spotlight even though our society might think that’s slightly nuts, and then refused to capitalize on it. Beyonce is a hero, a Christian woman who acted with wisdom and love.
On the news Thursday night I saw a story about a group of young women from Compton who had all won a particular award that would give them each a scholarship and an opportunity to go to DC to meet the President. At the last moment the organization presenting the awards learned that one of the award recipients was Hispanic, not African American, and they denied her the scholarship. Upon hearing this, her five African American classmates who also received these scholarships turned them down. Most people would have said, “Aw, that’s a bummer. We’ll get you a souvenir in DC. See you when we get back.” But these girls would not accept an award that discriminated against their friend and classmate because of her race. All six girls worked really hard to win the award and they weren’t going to leave out their friend. And this becomes even a bigger deal when you realize that most of the violence where they live is between black gangs and Hispanic gangs. Most of the violence and hatred where they live falls along racial lines. Their solidarity crosses those very same racial lines. These girls are absolutely heroes. These are Christian girls who behaved in the way they have been taught to behave in church – standing up for what is right, what is true, what is loving, regardless of what the consequences may be for them personally.
Mark 9:33 Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" 9:34 But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. 9:35 He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."
Those disciples did get themselves in trouble pretty regularly, didn’t they? To be fair to them, they only knew the way of the world. They may have learned Proverbs, but very few people actually lived them. The whole point of the Capable Woman passage is to show people what it would look like if they lived in Wisdom. So it was only normal that the disciples would fight over who was going to sit at Jesus’ right hand when he came into his kingdom, or who would be his deputy, his most valued assistant. And frankly, it’s really hard for anyone to get “the first must be last.” That’s really the point of the capable woman. Here is someone who is last in society’s eyes – a woman – being lifted up as ideal. The perfect partner, which makes us understand that her ideal mate will be her match in all things as well. Honest, upright and wise, one who is known in the city gates, a giver of justice and a leader. One who selflessly serves his community as she does. One who is lifted up because of his service to God’s people, as she is. Their various enterprises prosper, not because they are manipulative and scheming, but because they are honest and forthright in all things. Helping the needy is at the top of their list of things to do because it is the right thing to do, neither an afterthought nor a means of gaining fame among their peers. They don’t seek recognition but they receive it. These are those who will become first, because they are servants to all. Not doormats – but that’s a discussion for another day.
Jesus teaches that we are to do the opposite of what the world expects, to put ourselves in a position to help, to lead without asking for notice. The way Disney’s Layla and the music world’s Beyonce and Compton’s five young award recipients did. And the way of the capable woman from Proverbs. As Christians we are expected to stand up against the status quo, to stand with to oppressed and marginalized. As Christians we are not to be part of the system. We are not to be part of the problem. We are to bring the solution, and that solution will always come from a position of love. The solution will always come from a position of service. As Christians we don’t ask what’s in it for me. Rather we want to know what we can do for you.
In the words of the hymn “The world behind me, the cross before me.” The world is the greed, the manipulation, the scheming, the political posturing, the fears and worries, it’s all the sins that hold us back, that keep us from living up to what God desires for us. The cross is resurrection and new life, walking forward into God’s kingdom on earth, into a way of life different from any other. A life of service and love to and for all of God’s children, all of God’s creation. A life of wisdom, which begins with love of God, like that of the capable woman. A life in which we are heroes, like those we have heard about today. A life modeled on the life of Jesus Christ, who taught us everything we know about God and about living. My brothers and sisters, together let us sing out our decision to follow Jesus.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Is anyone listening?
Proverbs 1:20-33 (The Message)
20-21 Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
At the town center she makes her speech.
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.
At the busiest corner she calls out:
22-24 "Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you;
I'm ready to tell you all I know.
As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear;
I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.
25-28 "Since you laugh at my counsel
and make a joke of my advice,
How can I take you seriously?
I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
What if the roof falls in,
and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing
to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect
an answer.
No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.
29-33 "Because you hated Knowledge
and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn't take my advice
and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it;
you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?
Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?
Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
First pay attention to me, and then relax.
Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands."
A few weeks ago I sat down with a colleague to plan our worship services and select the scriptures I would preach on from now through Christmas. As I read the lectionary selections for this part of the year I realized that the Old Testament readings all came from my favorite books – Proverbs, Ruth, Esther, and Job. These are stories that Jesus would have learned, that informed his knowledge of how we are to live, that shaped the way he told the stories that have come down to us. They are stories that we very often do not hear or study. So I have chosen to preach on the passages from these books over the next few months, beginning with proverbs.
The Book of Proverbs is a collection of sayings and poetry. It is the collective wisdom of the people of Israel, put together and written down during or possibly right after the exile in Babylon and attributed to Solomon because of his fabled wisdom. The first few lines describe what will be found within, proverbs for learning about wisdom and instruction, and states clearly that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs begins with the words of Lady Wisdom and ends with a celebration of the capable woman, who has taken the words of Lady Wisdom and lived them perfectly, an example to all who read this book.
Wisdom is a difficult thing to attain. We know about education and we know about intelligence. We even know how to measure those things with grades and degrees and IQ tests. But Wisdom is none of those things. We have all heard way too many stories about ivory tower professors who don’t know the first thing about life outside the university, geniuses who don’t pay attention to the real world enough to wear matching socks. We’ve probably had experiences with folks, like a fresh out of seminary pastor or a very young doctor, who has a brand new degree and knows everything that they were given to learn from books, but who still have much to learn when it comes to serving the people they have been given to serve. With time and a willingness to learn, wisdom can come.
According to the dictionary Wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. It is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of such experience, knowledge and good judgment. Wisdom comes after thinking, considering, using common sense and knowledge of the community instead of leaping to conclusions or making decisions without sufficient evidence. I heard a lot about evidence at jury duty. Wisdom comes after prayer,. Wisdom is what we receive from reading and hearing the word of God here and in the teachings of the Christ.
You may wonder why Wisdom is represented as a woman. You are in good company. Scholars have been asking that question for literally thousands of years. One of the more popular theories is that Lady Wisdom may be modeled after the real roles of teacher, counselor and household planner played by women in their homes and communities. Women were not generally educated as men were but did possess wisdom on dealing with life as it was taught to them by their mothers and learned through experience. Many of us learned how to deal with other people and the kinds of situations that come up daily from wisdom we received from our own mothers. In novels I’m reading about life on the Arapaho reservation, wisdom comes from the grandmothers.
Wisdom is not restricted to women, of course. I was on jury duty this week. At the beginning of the selection process the judge told all the prospective jurors that it was important to have a variety of people on every jury, each one bringing their own brand of wisdom, their own life experience and understanding.
20-21 Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
At the town center she makes her speech.
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.
At the busiest corner she calls out:
22-24 "Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
The marketplace is filled with voices. From the telephone, tv, radio, and computer screen we hear voices and see images that grab for our attention. My days are filled with blogs and tweets and Facebook updates, with calls on my cell phone and house phone and office phone. All of those voices vying for my attention, many trying to convince me of one thing or another, trying to sell me a product or an idea. And amid all the voices, all the noise, all the distractions, Wisdom is trying to get my attention . No wonder she has to stand on the corner shouting. It’s the only way she can make herself heard over all things that go on every day keeping us from hearing.
And it seems that people simply are not hearing her. We’ve seen way too much of not-wisdom lately, the results of people just not thinking and listening to the voice of reason. The Health Care Reform argument, all the screaming and rudeness during town hall meetings, and then on Wednesday evening, a Congressman interrupting the President’s speech and calling him a liar in public. That California Assemblyman bragging about his sexual conduct in front of a microphone – and not knowing it was turned on is no excuse. The furor over whether an Olympic caliber runner may have been born with the sexual organs of both genders and whether that disqualifies her from competition as a woman. And on September 11th, CNN reporting, without any verification, that the Coast Guard had a terrorist boat in their sights and had fired on it when all that was happening was a routine training exercise in the Potomac. These are none them wise moves. None of these are decisions made with wisdom and understanding.
And so She calls out, like a street vender, trying to get our attention, to make us understand.
About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you;
I'm ready to tell you all I know.
As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear;
I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.
Over and over again, God has tried to get our attention, like Lady Wisdom in the marketplace. Over and over God has sent prophets and judges, preachers and teachers. And yet, we don’t listen. Like children who refuse to believe their parents know anything, we run off on our own will, chasing our desires. Seeking power and wealth instead of serving God’s children. For way too many it seems like the driving force is “what’s in it for me?” , “what do I stand to gain or lose from this situation?” instead of “how will this serve God?” This was the attitude of the leaders of Judah, and their attitude and behavior sent the people into exile in Babylon. With belated understanding, they wrote down these words of Wisdom:
25-28 "Since you laugh at my counsel
and make a joke of my advice,
How can I take you seriously?
I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
What if the roof falls in,
and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing
to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect
an answer.
No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.
29-33 "Because you hated Knowledge
and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn't take my advice
and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it;
you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?
Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?
Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
The threat here came true for Judah, as it did for Israel before that. Their countries were defeated, the people led away in chains to servitude under the enemy. They had refused to believe God’s word spoken by the prophets. They had stopped following God’s direction to care for the poor and downtrodden. They never did seem to get the point that God didn’t want sacrifices of gold and animals and incense. God didn’t care about regular attendance at the temple. The nation of Israel was torn apart and destroyed twice because the leaders didn’t get the point that Lady Wisdom makes here. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed twice because the leaders didn’t get the point that Lady Wisdom makes here. The sacrifice God wants from us is our love and obedience. God demands our presence not at church every Sunday, but in his kingdom every day. Making decisions of every kind with wisdom, following the directions we find here and in the Gospels. Reaching out without judgment or prejudice to care for those in need of our help.
The most important thing that we know is that God didn’t just turn away from Israel. When they repented, when they turned back to God, when they began praying and offering their lives to God again, God welcomed them back. God forgave all their transgressions, all the many years they had ignored the teachings, rejected God’s love. This is what Jesus grew up knowing, what he learned at his mother’s feet and from Proverbs and the prophets, and this is what he made sure to teach us. That no matter what we do, no matter how serious our sins, no matter how long we turned away from God, we are loved and we are forgiven. For hear the words of Lady Wisdom.
First pay attention to me, and then relax.
Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands."
Let our lives be made new each day through the Wisdom God has given to us in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, bringer of Holy Wisdom.
20-21 Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
At the town center she makes her speech.
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.
At the busiest corner she calls out:
22-24 "Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you;
I'm ready to tell you all I know.
As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear;
I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.
25-28 "Since you laugh at my counsel
and make a joke of my advice,
How can I take you seriously?
I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
What if the roof falls in,
and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing
to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect
an answer.
No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.
29-33 "Because you hated Knowledge
and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn't take my advice
and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it;
you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?
Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?
Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
First pay attention to me, and then relax.
Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands."
A few weeks ago I sat down with a colleague to plan our worship services and select the scriptures I would preach on from now through Christmas. As I read the lectionary selections for this part of the year I realized that the Old Testament readings all came from my favorite books – Proverbs, Ruth, Esther, and Job. These are stories that Jesus would have learned, that informed his knowledge of how we are to live, that shaped the way he told the stories that have come down to us. They are stories that we very often do not hear or study. So I have chosen to preach on the passages from these books over the next few months, beginning with proverbs.
The Book of Proverbs is a collection of sayings and poetry. It is the collective wisdom of the people of Israel, put together and written down during or possibly right after the exile in Babylon and attributed to Solomon because of his fabled wisdom. The first few lines describe what will be found within, proverbs for learning about wisdom and instruction, and states clearly that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs begins with the words of Lady Wisdom and ends with a celebration of the capable woman, who has taken the words of Lady Wisdom and lived them perfectly, an example to all who read this book.
Wisdom is a difficult thing to attain. We know about education and we know about intelligence. We even know how to measure those things with grades and degrees and IQ tests. But Wisdom is none of those things. We have all heard way too many stories about ivory tower professors who don’t know the first thing about life outside the university, geniuses who don’t pay attention to the real world enough to wear matching socks. We’ve probably had experiences with folks, like a fresh out of seminary pastor or a very young doctor, who has a brand new degree and knows everything that they were given to learn from books, but who still have much to learn when it comes to serving the people they have been given to serve. With time and a willingness to learn, wisdom can come.
According to the dictionary Wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. It is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of such experience, knowledge and good judgment. Wisdom comes after thinking, considering, using common sense and knowledge of the community instead of leaping to conclusions or making decisions without sufficient evidence. I heard a lot about evidence at jury duty. Wisdom comes after prayer,. Wisdom is what we receive from reading and hearing the word of God here and in the teachings of the Christ.
You may wonder why Wisdom is represented as a woman. You are in good company. Scholars have been asking that question for literally thousands of years. One of the more popular theories is that Lady Wisdom may be modeled after the real roles of teacher, counselor and household planner played by women in their homes and communities. Women were not generally educated as men were but did possess wisdom on dealing with life as it was taught to them by their mothers and learned through experience. Many of us learned how to deal with other people and the kinds of situations that come up daily from wisdom we received from our own mothers. In novels I’m reading about life on the Arapaho reservation, wisdom comes from the grandmothers.
Wisdom is not restricted to women, of course. I was on jury duty this week. At the beginning of the selection process the judge told all the prospective jurors that it was important to have a variety of people on every jury, each one bringing their own brand of wisdom, their own life experience and understanding.
20-21 Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
At the town center she makes her speech.
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.
At the busiest corner she calls out:
22-24 "Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
The marketplace is filled with voices. From the telephone, tv, radio, and computer screen we hear voices and see images that grab for our attention. My days are filled with blogs and tweets and Facebook updates, with calls on my cell phone and house phone and office phone. All of those voices vying for my attention, many trying to convince me of one thing or another, trying to sell me a product or an idea. And amid all the voices, all the noise, all the distractions, Wisdom is trying to get my attention . No wonder she has to stand on the corner shouting. It’s the only way she can make herself heard over all things that go on every day keeping us from hearing.
And it seems that people simply are not hearing her. We’ve seen way too much of not-wisdom lately, the results of people just not thinking and listening to the voice of reason. The Health Care Reform argument, all the screaming and rudeness during town hall meetings, and then on Wednesday evening, a Congressman interrupting the President’s speech and calling him a liar in public. That California Assemblyman bragging about his sexual conduct in front of a microphone – and not knowing it was turned on is no excuse. The furor over whether an Olympic caliber runner may have been born with the sexual organs of both genders and whether that disqualifies her from competition as a woman. And on September 11th, CNN reporting, without any verification, that the Coast Guard had a terrorist boat in their sights and had fired on it when all that was happening was a routine training exercise in the Potomac. These are none them wise moves. None of these are decisions made with wisdom and understanding.
And so She calls out, like a street vender, trying to get our attention, to make us understand.
About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you;
I'm ready to tell you all I know.
As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear;
I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.
Over and over again, God has tried to get our attention, like Lady Wisdom in the marketplace. Over and over God has sent prophets and judges, preachers and teachers. And yet, we don’t listen. Like children who refuse to believe their parents know anything, we run off on our own will, chasing our desires. Seeking power and wealth instead of serving God’s children. For way too many it seems like the driving force is “what’s in it for me?” , “what do I stand to gain or lose from this situation?” instead of “how will this serve God?” This was the attitude of the leaders of Judah, and their attitude and behavior sent the people into exile in Babylon. With belated understanding, they wrote down these words of Wisdom:
25-28 "Since you laugh at my counsel
and make a joke of my advice,
How can I take you seriously?
I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
What if the roof falls in,
and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing
to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect
an answer.
No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.
29-33 "Because you hated Knowledge
and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn't take my advice
and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it;
you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?
Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?
Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
The threat here came true for Judah, as it did for Israel before that. Their countries were defeated, the people led away in chains to servitude under the enemy. They had refused to believe God’s word spoken by the prophets. They had stopped following God’s direction to care for the poor and downtrodden. They never did seem to get the point that God didn’t want sacrifices of gold and animals and incense. God didn’t care about regular attendance at the temple. The nation of Israel was torn apart and destroyed twice because the leaders didn’t get the point that Lady Wisdom makes here. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed twice because the leaders didn’t get the point that Lady Wisdom makes here. The sacrifice God wants from us is our love and obedience. God demands our presence not at church every Sunday, but in his kingdom every day. Making decisions of every kind with wisdom, following the directions we find here and in the Gospels. Reaching out without judgment or prejudice to care for those in need of our help.
The most important thing that we know is that God didn’t just turn away from Israel. When they repented, when they turned back to God, when they began praying and offering their lives to God again, God welcomed them back. God forgave all their transgressions, all the many years they had ignored the teachings, rejected God’s love. This is what Jesus grew up knowing, what he learned at his mother’s feet and from Proverbs and the prophets, and this is what he made sure to teach us. That no matter what we do, no matter how serious our sins, no matter how long we turned away from God, we are loved and we are forgiven. For hear the words of Lady Wisdom.
First pay attention to me, and then relax.
Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands."
Let our lives be made new each day through the Wisdom God has given to us in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, bringer of Holy Wisdom.
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