1 It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; 2 for they said, "Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people."
3 While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. 4 But some were there who said to one another in anger, "Why was the ointment wasted in this way? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her."
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
We have been spending Sundays in Lent following the Gospel of Mark through Holy Week, using a book titled The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan as our guide along the journey. This week we are looking at the events of Wednesday.
The chief priests were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. They knew they couldn’t do it during the Passover festival or the people would riot, because Jesus was extremely popular. Everywhere he went the crowds gathered – when he entered the city crowds laid palms at his feet. When he turned over the moneychangers tables in the temple on Monday the crowd was there to admire him. Tuesdays crowd was very pleased by his confounding of the priests and Pharisees and scribes and Sadducees, they were spellbound by his teachings. So they couldn’t take the chance of arresting him while the crowds were present or they might riot, and if they rioted the Romans would retaliate, people would be injured and killed, the Temple leadership could lose their positions or even their lives. I know we have learned to think of the crowds of Jews as being opposed to Jesus when Pilate is asking what to do with him, but right here, in this passage, it is clear that the crowds were with Jesus and against the Temple leadership. And the Temple leaders give up. Unless they can find some way to arrest and try Jesus in secret, they can’t move against him.
Meanwhile, Jesus is frustrated with his disciples. Throughout his gospel Mark keeps telling us about ways the disciples are just not getting it at all. Jesus has now prophesied his own death three times, first in Chapter 8, then in Chapter 9 and finally in Chapter 10. In each case he refers to himself as the Son of Man, speaks of his betrayal and death and of his resurrection three days after he is killed. But the disciples don’t understand what he means. Even after three prophesies he catches them arguing over who will be closest to him when he comes to power. I can just imagine Jesus shaking his head over his disciples’ lack of understanding.
As they sit at the table a woman comes in and anoints him with very rare and expensive ointment, pouring it out onto his head. We don’t know who she is. She isn’t named or described in any way. And it is really important that we not confuse her with the Mary of John’s gospel or the sinful woman of Luke’s gospel. It’s important that we see her just as Mark portrays her here – an unnamed woman who is part of the company who follow Jesus. Jesus lifts her up and claims she will be remembered and celebrated where ever believers gather together.
And why is this? Because she, not the disciples, is the first believer. She is the first one to realize what his prophecies mean and so she pours out upon his head this costly ointment – preparing his body for the grave. For Mark, she is the first Christian. Even before Easter, before Jesus’ appearances to the disciples after his resurrection, this woman believed.
Not only was she the first who believed, the first of his many followers on the way who really got what he was trying to tell them. She was also the first to model the kind of leadership he was trying to teach them. She led the others in belief and also in service. We’re going to come back to the woman in a minute.
Judas went to the priests. Mark doesn’t tell us why Judas decides to betray Jesus. Historians have lots of theories and other gospels talk about Judas’ motive. But Mark doesn’t. Mark is sort of a “just the facts” gospel. It was both the first gospel written and the shortest. The stories are fairly brief and unembellished. What we know from Mark is simply that Judas, one of the Twelve, decided to betray Jesus. He went to the Temple leadership and offered to find a way for them to arrest Jesus without the crowds knowing about it, and they offered to pay him. They were, of course, delighted to have an insider willing to betray his rabbi. Judas’ action will fulfill the prophecy of betrayal and arrest.
I wouldn’t have noticed this contrast between Judas and the woman without Borg and Crossan pointing it out. I mean, I’ve always loved this woman’s story, but I’ve always focused on how it foreshadowed the crucifixion, or how we are to understand that statement “the poor will always be with you.” It never occurred to me to look at this woman alongside of Judas, one of the Twelve. But that’s what Mark intended for us to do – to look at the woman in the context of discipleship and belief and leadership. She understands what Jesus is teaching better than any of the Twelve, who still don’t understand Jesus’ prophecies or the idea that leaders must first be servants. She does. She is the perfect disciple in contrast with Judas who is the worst possible disciple.
This unnamed woman, this perfect disciple, models for us what it means to be a leader. Her faith led her to follow Jesus’ teachings far better than those of Jesus’ followers whose names we do know. At Delhaven we understand that one of the many ways we can follow Jesus is to serve the poor, to feed the hungry, to make education available for those who have little or nothing to spend on education. A number of us will be walking in the Church World Service CROP walk later today and the money we raise will help care for the poor and dispossessed around the world. Serving others is how we serve God. It is how we show our love for our brothers and sisters as we have been commanded to do.
And how special is it that this passage be the one we read on Girl Scout Sunday? We all know that Girl Scouting teaches girls to lead through service. One way that we experience their leadership is in their dedication to keeping Delhaven’s food pantry supplied so that we may serve our neighbors. Girl Scouts earn badges and other awards for so many different forms of service and caring for others that listing them all would take way too long. Former Girl Scouts lead their grateful nation in every conceivable occupation; soldiers and astronauts and teachers and religious leaders, even our Secretary of State was a Girl Scout.
Today we have celebrated five young women whose faith has led them to serve others. Each one has spend the better part of the last year working toward the religious award she received today, an award designed by her own faith tradition to help her grow in her faith through serving. (The girls will each say something about their religious award project and how it serves the community.)
Like the woman who anointed Jesus, each one of these young women knows that it is through serving others that we best serve God and our community. Each one knows that the very best leaders are those who are dedicated first to serving, like Jesus.
When we go from this place today, let us keep this unnamed woman in our hearts. Let us seek to be like her, the perfect disciple, faithful and willing to serve without waiting to be asked.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Tuesday of Holy Week II Mark 12:28-13:37
All day long on this very busy Tuesday Jesus is engaged in confrontation. The priests, Pharisees, and scribes and even the Sadducees have been bombarding Jesus with theological questions in both hypothetical situations and very real, politically charged situations. All day long Jesus has been confounding them, telling parables that point out their failings and cleverly evading their attempts to discredit him. And somewhere in the middle of the day a scribe, an educated man employed by the priests or Pharisees, asks a question and agrees with Jesus’ answer. There is no confrontation, no test, no effort to make Jesus look bad or to incriminate himself. This is the only such situation all day.
Even though I know the story, just as you all know this story, this really is something I hadn’t noticed until Borg and Crossan pointed it out. Probably because I usually look at manageable pieces of the Gospel – a chapter or a short passage selected by the lectionary committee for preachers. I usually don’t look at the entire day the way Borg and Crossan do in their book The Last Week. But when we do look at the entire day we see something way bigger and much more radical than the juxtaposition of two passages into the commandments that Christians quote in every possible situation; Deuteronomy 6:5-6 “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength: and Leviticus 19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And look – the scribe not only agrees with Jesus but adds another statement that sounds like what we’ve heard from prophets like Micah. He says “You are right teacher . . this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” This educated man who served the Temple stood in front of the Temple and said love of God and neighbor is more important than the Temple and what happens inside it.
What does all this mean, exactly? That is, what does that mean when we look at it in relation to the confrontations and teachings of the entire day?
For one thing it means that not all the Jewish scholars and leaders agreed theologically or politically. I know, we tend to believe that all the priests and Pharisees and scribes and nobles were opposed to Jesus. That would be because not much attention is given to folks who agreed with Jesus, only to those who disagreed. Just as in John’s Gospel, where he often speaks against “the Jews” but is actually only referring to those who opposed and persecuted the Christ followers some 60 years later when that Gospel was being written. This probably shouldn’t surprise us, really. How many times have we heard people say all Christians believe this or act that way or whatever and we get frustrated because we don’t believe that or act like that or whatever. Just as not all Christians have agreed from the beginning of the movement, so too not all Jews agreed in Jesus’ time – or now or any other time for that matter. This passage serves to remind us to avoid stereotyping folks, for here is one example of a member of the ruling elite who agrees with Jesus’ teachings.
But Jesus’ long day doesn’t stop there. Even though no one dares question him any further, he goes on to attack some of the most dearly held traditions of the time. He wants to know why the scribes teach that the Messiah is the son of David when David spoke of the Messiah as Lord? You usually don’t call your son Lord, he said, but David calls the Messiah in the psalms. Jesus rejects the tradition that the Messiah would be a military and political leader like David. He goes on to attack the practice of some scribes of foreclosing on loans made to widows, leaving them homeless and destitute with no one to stand up for them or care for them, even though treatment of the widow is the primary test of whether or not justice is being practiced in the land. He follows this with the story of the widow putting everything she has into the temple treasury, encouraged by the religious leaders to give her all to the service God while those who have much more just give a small portion of their wealth.
And when his disciples admire the great stone buildings of the temple, he predicts their destruction. It is a fact that the destruction of the Temple would have been pretty easy for almost anyone living at the time to predict. Rebellion was in the air in Judah. Bands of rebels and bandits lived in the hills waiting for the right time to strike against Rome. Fear of a large rebellion that would trigger Roman retaliation was one of the primary reasons the leadership in Jerusalem were so afraid of Jesus’ popularity. And we must keep in mind that this gospel was written after the great rebellion of 66 ce took place, after the Roman retaliation and conquest of Judah, after the Roman troops had offered a sacrifice to Caesar in the Temple in just the same way that Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes had some two centuries earlier and then, torn the Temple down. After, in fact, most of the things predicted here took place. Jesus tells his followers that when these things happen they must not let themselves be drawn into the war, not even in defense of home or family. They must not be part of the violence, for to do so would make them part of the problem instead of part of the kingdom. And after all those things, then would come the end of days with the arrival of the Son of Man.
Mark, Matthew, Paul and other early Christian leaders believed that Jesus would return soon – next month, a year from now, in their lifetimes for sure. It didn’t happen, at least it didn’t happen in the way they way expected. But it is certain that Jesus came into the world, his message scattered to the four corners of the earth even as the Jews themselves were scattered after the Roman conquest of their land. It is certain that what was begun in Jesus will triumph, that one day God’s justice, compassion and mercy will rule the world in the place of the greed and power hungry machinations of the powers and principalities. It is what all Christians are called to teach and to do – to love each other as we love ourselves. We are the ones left in charge while our Lord is on a journey – we are the ones who are supposed to spread the Word and the love throughout the world.
Jesus said to the scribe, “you are not far from the kingdom of God.” He was close because he believed what he was saying, that love of God and neighbor was more important than Temple practice. But he wasn’t quite there because he wasn’t living what he believed.
What does it mean to live what we believe? What does it mean to love God? It means always putting God first. Giving God what belongs to God, ourselves. We belong to God and not to Caesar. This is really radical, because if God is Lord then the other lords - the Caesars and Emperors and Presidents and Queens and Kings - are not. They may have power over our bodies. They may have power over our money, or over where we can live or work. But we don’t belong to those powers. We belong to God. We answer to God first.
And what does it mean to love the neighbor? To love one’s neighbor as we love ourselves means that all the differences society would place between us really don’t exist – there is no Greek or Jew, no male or female, no slave or free, no rich or poor, no straight or gay, no righteous or sinner, no friend or enemy. There are just people, all our neighbors, all beloved children of God, equally valued in the eyes of God. Let us go and love one another. Let everyone know we are Christian by our love.
Even though I know the story, just as you all know this story, this really is something I hadn’t noticed until Borg and Crossan pointed it out. Probably because I usually look at manageable pieces of the Gospel – a chapter or a short passage selected by the lectionary committee for preachers. I usually don’t look at the entire day the way Borg and Crossan do in their book The Last Week. But when we do look at the entire day we see something way bigger and much more radical than the juxtaposition of two passages into the commandments that Christians quote in every possible situation; Deuteronomy 6:5-6 “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength: and Leviticus 19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And look – the scribe not only agrees with Jesus but adds another statement that sounds like what we’ve heard from prophets like Micah. He says “You are right teacher . . this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” This educated man who served the Temple stood in front of the Temple and said love of God and neighbor is more important than the Temple and what happens inside it.
What does all this mean, exactly? That is, what does that mean when we look at it in relation to the confrontations and teachings of the entire day?
For one thing it means that not all the Jewish scholars and leaders agreed theologically or politically. I know, we tend to believe that all the priests and Pharisees and scribes and nobles were opposed to Jesus. That would be because not much attention is given to folks who agreed with Jesus, only to those who disagreed. Just as in John’s Gospel, where he often speaks against “the Jews” but is actually only referring to those who opposed and persecuted the Christ followers some 60 years later when that Gospel was being written. This probably shouldn’t surprise us, really. How many times have we heard people say all Christians believe this or act that way or whatever and we get frustrated because we don’t believe that or act like that or whatever. Just as not all Christians have agreed from the beginning of the movement, so too not all Jews agreed in Jesus’ time – or now or any other time for that matter. This passage serves to remind us to avoid stereotyping folks, for here is one example of a member of the ruling elite who agrees with Jesus’ teachings.
But Jesus’ long day doesn’t stop there. Even though no one dares question him any further, he goes on to attack some of the most dearly held traditions of the time. He wants to know why the scribes teach that the Messiah is the son of David when David spoke of the Messiah as Lord? You usually don’t call your son Lord, he said, but David calls the Messiah in the psalms. Jesus rejects the tradition that the Messiah would be a military and political leader like David. He goes on to attack the practice of some scribes of foreclosing on loans made to widows, leaving them homeless and destitute with no one to stand up for them or care for them, even though treatment of the widow is the primary test of whether or not justice is being practiced in the land. He follows this with the story of the widow putting everything she has into the temple treasury, encouraged by the religious leaders to give her all to the service God while those who have much more just give a small portion of their wealth.
And when his disciples admire the great stone buildings of the temple, he predicts their destruction. It is a fact that the destruction of the Temple would have been pretty easy for almost anyone living at the time to predict. Rebellion was in the air in Judah. Bands of rebels and bandits lived in the hills waiting for the right time to strike against Rome. Fear of a large rebellion that would trigger Roman retaliation was one of the primary reasons the leadership in Jerusalem were so afraid of Jesus’ popularity. And we must keep in mind that this gospel was written after the great rebellion of 66 ce took place, after the Roman retaliation and conquest of Judah, after the Roman troops had offered a sacrifice to Caesar in the Temple in just the same way that Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes had some two centuries earlier and then, torn the Temple down. After, in fact, most of the things predicted here took place. Jesus tells his followers that when these things happen they must not let themselves be drawn into the war, not even in defense of home or family. They must not be part of the violence, for to do so would make them part of the problem instead of part of the kingdom. And after all those things, then would come the end of days with the arrival of the Son of Man.
Mark, Matthew, Paul and other early Christian leaders believed that Jesus would return soon – next month, a year from now, in their lifetimes for sure. It didn’t happen, at least it didn’t happen in the way they way expected. But it is certain that Jesus came into the world, his message scattered to the four corners of the earth even as the Jews themselves were scattered after the Roman conquest of their land. It is certain that what was begun in Jesus will triumph, that one day God’s justice, compassion and mercy will rule the world in the place of the greed and power hungry machinations of the powers and principalities. It is what all Christians are called to teach and to do – to love each other as we love ourselves. We are the ones left in charge while our Lord is on a journey – we are the ones who are supposed to spread the Word and the love throughout the world.
Jesus said to the scribe, “you are not far from the kingdom of God.” He was close because he believed what he was saying, that love of God and neighbor was more important than Temple practice. But he wasn’t quite there because he wasn’t living what he believed.
What does it mean to live what we believe? What does it mean to love God? It means always putting God first. Giving God what belongs to God, ourselves. We belong to God and not to Caesar. This is really radical, because if God is Lord then the other lords - the Caesars and Emperors and Presidents and Queens and Kings - are not. They may have power over our bodies. They may have power over our money, or over where we can live or work. But we don’t belong to those powers. We belong to God. We answer to God first.
And what does it mean to love the neighbor? To love one’s neighbor as we love ourselves means that all the differences society would place between us really don’t exist – there is no Greek or Jew, no male or female, no slave or free, no rich or poor, no straight or gay, no righteous or sinner, no friend or enemy. There are just people, all our neighbors, all beloved children of God, equally valued in the eyes of God. Let us go and love one another. Let everyone know we are Christian by our love.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
How do I Love Thee?
Matthew 22:34-40 (New Revised Standard Version)
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 37 He said to him, " "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
It’s St. Valentine’s Day. Television and radio and the internet are all encouraging us to spend lots of money on gifts that prove our love. Have you seen the drugstore commercial that shows two men charging around the store trying to out-buy each other? On the other hand children’s programming yesterday morning focused on teaching that it’s the thought that counts when giving a gift, not how much you spent.
Meanwhile, I’ve been bombarded from all directions with suggestions on what to preach today. California Faith for Equality wants me to preach on Marriage Equality. Faithful Reform in Health Care suggests I use my sermon to promote a universal heath care program. Sojourners magazine has a list of possibilities for me to consider including immigration reform and economic injustice, as does the Courage Campaign, a California Movement for Progressive Reform. Interfaith Power and Light has called for a Preach In on Global Warming. As you know I chose to participate in the Global Warming Preach In. Gwen has sign up sheets so you can get more information about Global Warming and there are inserts in the bulletins, as well as postcards to mail to our Senators asking them to love the earth by supporting certain legislation. And surely, the very beginnings of our history with God make it clear that caring for creation is a necessary and important part of our relationship with God. But there a came in sermon preparation that I realized preaching any one of these causes would not be sufficient if I were to focus on Love today. Perhaps that moment came when I read these words in the first chapter of Genesis.
Genesis 1:27-31 (The Message)
27 God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. 28 God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth." 29 Then God said, "I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth And every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. 30 To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food." And there it was. 31 God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning - Day Six.
God saw that it was all good - every thing that God created was so very good. And we are to love them all because God does, and because God told the first people to take care of the earth. We are to love and care for them all in response to God’s love for us, in response to the incredible bounty that is showered upon us daily. All those valentines and boxes of chocolate and roses and diamond necklaces that prove our love to our earthly lovers – all of those cards our children give to their classmates, even the ones they don’t like – they are as nothing compared to the gifts we receive from our God. And in response to all of this, we love God. Jesus tells us that the first and greatest commandment is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
Wait. What’s wrong with this picture? I mean, people love where ever they love. It isn’t something we can control or do on command. We don’t love someone just because they give us presents, nor do we always love the ones that we “should” love – the ones that make sense for us to love. If we did there would no great tragic tales of star crossed lovers or even romantic comedies involving the wrong people being in love.
Ah – I know. What’s wrong is our idea of what love is. We get confused between Being In Love and Loving someone. We know when we are in love – our heart races when we think of the other, we can’t stop talking about them, we count the minutes until we can be together again. And then, a few years later when we’re just comfortable with each other maybe we think we aren’t in love any more. We are less likely to overlook those little faults that didn’t seem important in the first flush of romance. Some of us may not understand that it takes hard work to remain in a loving relationship with another person. That we have to continue giving and receiving, and accepting the other for who they are. That confusion between love and in love too often leads couples to believe the relationship is over, that love is gone when it’s just the initial being in love part that may have faded a bit. And some of us realize that, while being In Love is both wonderful and terrible, the deeper love that grows with years of being together is even better. Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote one of the world’s most famous love poems to her husband about ten years into their relationship.
How Do I Love Thee? Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
This is how we love with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind. To me this poem sounds like a restatement of that commandment, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
When you love someone you do everything you can to please them and to bring them joy. You strive to make their life pleasant to the best of your ability. You give them whatever you believe will be pleasing to them. Instead of the chocolate and roses and diamonds and stuffed animals and cards we give our earthly lovers, we give God our lives, our actions, our choices in matters of love and justice. We will not all make the same choices. And that’s a good thing, because there are more than enough causes out there to become passionate about and no one of us can possibly even be aware of all of them.
You know all of those causes that asked me to preach about them today, the ones I’ve mentioned here and all of those others that show up in my Facebook page or my email or in mail and phone calls at the church office and at home? I know you hear from them too. And you know that all of them want us be aware of the importance of their cause, and tell others, and oh yes, send money. All of them need money so they can continue their work. They need money to buy supplies or support programs or change legislation to make the lives of the poor and oppressed better. And we will select the ones dearest to our hearts to receive our money and our effort. We choose the gifts that we will give to God and present them the best way we can.
As a congregation we are dedicated to feeding our neighbors and educating their children and providing a place where they can improve their lives in a variety of ways. As a congregation we make information on several social justice issues available to everyone who uses our buildings. As individuals we are passionate about so many different things, way more than we could possibly put on our awareness table, and we each devote time and energy to those passions. We do these things not because God loves us and we’re trying to deserve that love, but because we. love. God. Not the way we love a benefactor or a mentor or even a parent, but passionately, with the whole of our being, as Elizabeth Barrett loved Robert Browning, in the same way that Jesus reminds us we are to love our God.
God doesn’t want diamonds and roses and stuffed animals and chocolate. God doesn’t want burnt offerings or incense. God wants our hearts. God wants our love, which we can demonstrate in part through our treatment of the neighbor, for the second commandment is like the first, that you love the neighbor as you love yourself. God wants our lives, dedicated to caring for the world and all the creatures in it, animal, vegetable and mineral. Let us turn to the prayer called “Caring for the Earth” and pray together.
Caring for the Earth CH 694
we have faith
in One God, one Source of all life
One Ground of the whole earth, with all its creatures.
And thus we believe
in the goodness of earth’s life
in the innate worth of all its dependents
in human partnership in the life of nature
And thus we believe
that in Christ we have been shown
the special role of the human race
to bear God’s likeness
in working and caring for the earth,
in seeking to understand its mysteries and powers,
in gently working with those powers
for the wellbeing of all children of the earth
And thus we believe
that God’s Spirit will lead us
to sensitive closeness with earth’s life,
to that meek, unselfish, compassionate life-style
by which the earth is inherited in peace,
by which its life is transformed
for all creatures to share justly in its bounty
So be it. Amen.
And let us sing of the Beauty of the Earth.
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 37 He said to him, " "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
It’s St. Valentine’s Day. Television and radio and the internet are all encouraging us to spend lots of money on gifts that prove our love. Have you seen the drugstore commercial that shows two men charging around the store trying to out-buy each other? On the other hand children’s programming yesterday morning focused on teaching that it’s the thought that counts when giving a gift, not how much you spent.
Meanwhile, I’ve been bombarded from all directions with suggestions on what to preach today. California Faith for Equality wants me to preach on Marriage Equality. Faithful Reform in Health Care suggests I use my sermon to promote a universal heath care program. Sojourners magazine has a list of possibilities for me to consider including immigration reform and economic injustice, as does the Courage Campaign, a California Movement for Progressive Reform. Interfaith Power and Light has called for a Preach In on Global Warming. As you know I chose to participate in the Global Warming Preach In. Gwen has sign up sheets so you can get more information about Global Warming and there are inserts in the bulletins, as well as postcards to mail to our Senators asking them to love the earth by supporting certain legislation. And surely, the very beginnings of our history with God make it clear that caring for creation is a necessary and important part of our relationship with God. But there a came in sermon preparation that I realized preaching any one of these causes would not be sufficient if I were to focus on Love today. Perhaps that moment came when I read these words in the first chapter of Genesis.
Genesis 1:27-31 (The Message)
27 God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. 28 God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth." 29 Then God said, "I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth And every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. 30 To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food." And there it was. 31 God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning - Day Six.
God saw that it was all good - every thing that God created was so very good. And we are to love them all because God does, and because God told the first people to take care of the earth. We are to love and care for them all in response to God’s love for us, in response to the incredible bounty that is showered upon us daily. All those valentines and boxes of chocolate and roses and diamond necklaces that prove our love to our earthly lovers – all of those cards our children give to their classmates, even the ones they don’t like – they are as nothing compared to the gifts we receive from our God. And in response to all of this, we love God. Jesus tells us that the first and greatest commandment is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
Wait. What’s wrong with this picture? I mean, people love where ever they love. It isn’t something we can control or do on command. We don’t love someone just because they give us presents, nor do we always love the ones that we “should” love – the ones that make sense for us to love. If we did there would no great tragic tales of star crossed lovers or even romantic comedies involving the wrong people being in love.
Ah – I know. What’s wrong is our idea of what love is. We get confused between Being In Love and Loving someone. We know when we are in love – our heart races when we think of the other, we can’t stop talking about them, we count the minutes until we can be together again. And then, a few years later when we’re just comfortable with each other maybe we think we aren’t in love any more. We are less likely to overlook those little faults that didn’t seem important in the first flush of romance. Some of us may not understand that it takes hard work to remain in a loving relationship with another person. That we have to continue giving and receiving, and accepting the other for who they are. That confusion between love and in love too often leads couples to believe the relationship is over, that love is gone when it’s just the initial being in love part that may have faded a bit. And some of us realize that, while being In Love is both wonderful and terrible, the deeper love that grows with years of being together is even better. Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote one of the world’s most famous love poems to her husband about ten years into their relationship.
How Do I Love Thee? Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
This is how we love with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind. To me this poem sounds like a restatement of that commandment, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
When you love someone you do everything you can to please them and to bring them joy. You strive to make their life pleasant to the best of your ability. You give them whatever you believe will be pleasing to them. Instead of the chocolate and roses and diamonds and stuffed animals and cards we give our earthly lovers, we give God our lives, our actions, our choices in matters of love and justice. We will not all make the same choices. And that’s a good thing, because there are more than enough causes out there to become passionate about and no one of us can possibly even be aware of all of them.
You know all of those causes that asked me to preach about them today, the ones I’ve mentioned here and all of those others that show up in my Facebook page or my email or in mail and phone calls at the church office and at home? I know you hear from them too. And you know that all of them want us be aware of the importance of their cause, and tell others, and oh yes, send money. All of them need money so they can continue their work. They need money to buy supplies or support programs or change legislation to make the lives of the poor and oppressed better. And we will select the ones dearest to our hearts to receive our money and our effort. We choose the gifts that we will give to God and present them the best way we can.
As a congregation we are dedicated to feeding our neighbors and educating their children and providing a place where they can improve their lives in a variety of ways. As a congregation we make information on several social justice issues available to everyone who uses our buildings. As individuals we are passionate about so many different things, way more than we could possibly put on our awareness table, and we each devote time and energy to those passions. We do these things not because God loves us and we’re trying to deserve that love, but because we. love. God. Not the way we love a benefactor or a mentor or even a parent, but passionately, with the whole of our being, as Elizabeth Barrett loved Robert Browning, in the same way that Jesus reminds us we are to love our God.
God doesn’t want diamonds and roses and stuffed animals and chocolate. God doesn’t want burnt offerings or incense. God wants our hearts. God wants our love, which we can demonstrate in part through our treatment of the neighbor, for the second commandment is like the first, that you love the neighbor as you love yourself. God wants our lives, dedicated to caring for the world and all the creatures in it, animal, vegetable and mineral. Let us turn to the prayer called “Caring for the Earth” and pray together.
Caring for the Earth CH 694
we have faith
in One God, one Source of all life
One Ground of the whole earth, with all its creatures.
And thus we believe
in the goodness of earth’s life
in the innate worth of all its dependents
in human partnership in the life of nature
And thus we believe
that in Christ we have been shown
the special role of the human race
to bear God’s likeness
in working and caring for the earth,
in seeking to understand its mysteries and powers,
in gently working with those powers
for the wellbeing of all children of the earth
And thus we believe
that God’s Spirit will lead us
to sensitive closeness with earth’s life,
to that meek, unselfish, compassionate life-style
by which the earth is inherited in peace,
by which its life is transformed
for all creatures to share justly in its bounty
So be it. Amen.
And let us sing of the Beauty of the Earth.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Come with me
Luke 5:1-11 New Revised Standard Version
1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
SKIT (slightly revised from a book of skits titled “Jesus and Peter”)
Jesus Peter . . .
Peter yes Jesus?
Jesus come with me
Peter where are you going?
Jesus I’m not telling you
Peter Do you not know?
Jesus Oh yes. I have a fair idea
Peter Then . . why won’t you tell me?
Jesus You might not like it
Peter Well, thanks for your consideration Jesus
a pause
Jesus Peter . . .
Peter Yes, Jesus?
Jesus Come with me
Peter Can I bring somebody else?
Jesus Just bring yourself
Peter Will there be only the two of us?
Jesus Oh no. There’ll be plenty of others
Peter Will I know some of them?
what about my cousin? Will he be there?
Is there any chance of my sister coming if she’s still crushing on you?
And what about my grandmother?
Oh Jesus, I’d love to bring my grandmother.
Can I?
Jesus Peter . . . just bring yourself.
Peter But . . .but . . you said there would be others.
Jesus That’s right.
Peter Who are they?
Jesus I’m not telling you
Peter Why not?
Jesus You might not like them.
Peter Aw, thanks a bunch Jesus.
a pause
Jesus Peter . . .
Peter yes, Jesus???
Jesus Come with me.
Peter Jesus, I’ve got better things to do than to go on a mystery tour.
But I’ll think about it.
Just tell me what I’ll need
Jesus What do you mean?
Peter Well, if I’m going somewhere I don’t know
with people you refuse to tell me about,
there are some things that might come in handy.
Jesus Like what?
Peter Like something I can read in case I get bored . . .
Like something to sing in case I get sad . . .
Like a new pair of jeans in case there’s a party
Jesus Peter, you’ll not need anything.
Just bring yourself.
That’s enough to contend with.
Peter Jesus . . . do you want me to end up like you?
Jesus Peter . . .
I’m going. . .
Are you coming with me?
I had a couple of pretty heavy conversations about Christianity this week. One was with a fairly new acquaintance who doesn’t like Christians much because he believes everything the media says about what Christians believe and stand for and didn’t even know there was such a thing as Progressive Christianity. The other was with a Christian friend who is pretty much my polar opposite politically and theologically and wanted to know what Progressive Christianity thought about the Gay Agenda. Meanwhile I’ve been reading articles in journals and magazines about what it means to be Progressive and committed to ecumenism and interfaith cooperation. I’ve read every point of view from “all paths to God are equally true” to “you can only get to the Father through the Son and everyone else is going to hell.” And I read this skit several times.
I wish I could just say to all of them “Jesus said come with me. Don’t bring anything. Not a book, not new jeans, not your cousin, not any preconceived notions about where we’re going or what we might be doing. Just bring yourself.”
Do you have any idea how hard it is to just bring yourself? Can any of us really do that? Many of you know that I left the church I was raised in when I was 18 and old enough to leave home. For the next 25 years I tried lots of alternative paths to God. I tried New Age spirituality, which for me was pretty much following whatever practices looked cool to me at the time. You know, listening to sitar music while burning incense and doing yoga and meditating on crystals. But it was pretty self focused. There was no direction no instruction to care for others, although there was an adaptation of the Wiccan command to “do as you will as long as you harm no one. For me, it got kind of boring pretty quickly. It felt like a way just to feel good about myself and the world and at one with the universe. And that’s nice, but something was missing. It was solitary, there was no worshipping community. There was no one to address my prayers, my joys, my sorrows to. They just sort of went up . . .
I tried Buddhism for a while. I really liked the Eight Fold Path, the directions on how to live in such a way that you enhance the world around you while doing no harm to anyone. I liked the emphasis on peace and allowing others to make their own mistakes. I really liked reincarnation, getting to do life over and over until you get it right. But I had a hard time with the basic tenet that life is suffering because of our attachment to things – including food, family, the idea of an eternal soul, even life itself. God looked at the world and all the creatures and said “It is good.” How can the life God created be suffering? Jesus said, love one another. How can you do that and be detached at the same time? As you can see, I kept bringing my preconceived notions of what religion should be with me.
For a number of years I was Spiritual but not Religious. I was happy to talk about my Higher Power or the God of my understanding and I would cheerfully do that for hours. But I really didn’t want to hear about any particular religious beliefs. During those Spiritual but not Religious years I learned that God loves all of us and forgives any who come asking forgiveness. I learned how to pray and listen for God’s direction and how to work at changing myself to become a person whose life would be more pleasing to God – things I hadn’t learned in my church or in those other places I had looked.
As you know, eventually I realized that I was going to have to find a church to become part of. It seems that a long time ago, when I wasn’t even really paying attention, Jesus said “Maria will you come with me?” While I was trying all of those other paths to God, Jesus was always right there waiting for me to make up my mind. All those years I was away from church I kept reading the Bible, the Old Testament for entertainment and the Gospels for advice on how to live. I kept reading Jesus’ words to love everyone. I kept reading about how he protected the weak, healed the sick, loved the unlovable. I kept reading that he didn’t come for the righteous, but for those who needed him. And I realized I needed him. I needed him so that I could see the face of God. So that I could stop seeing the punishing, angry, judgmental God I was raised with and see God as God truly is through the words and actions of his Son.
This passage may underline more than any other Jesus’ mission to come for those who need him. He didn’t go to the temple looking for disciples among the wise and well educated. He didn’t seek out the most faithful and respectable of the Jewish people to proclaim the Good News to them. He went to the lakeshore. He sought out tired, hardworking people at the end of their work day. He asked them to follow without any clue where they would go, what they would find there, what might lie ahead. And they did, without question or pause – at least, Luke says “When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.”
Jesus is still coming to tired, hardworking people at the end of their work day and asking them to follow, with no clue what lies ahead. With no goal or plan or map. We’re in that position right now as a congregation. In fact, our whole denomination is in that position right now. In an interview in DisciplesWorld magazine, General Minister and President Sharon Watkins says that we Disciples are “on a journey without a map”. Scary, but no more so than what those fishermen faced.
Jesus has come again to the lakeshore. He has come to us, to tired, hardworking people who have already put in a life time of work and wonder what there is to show for it. He knows we are not wealthy or powerful in the way the world recognizes wealth or power. But we are rich in faith. Let us also be rich in willingness to follow when Jesus says “Come with me.”
1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
SKIT (slightly revised from a book of skits titled “Jesus and Peter”)
Jesus Peter . . .
Peter yes Jesus?
Jesus come with me
Peter where are you going?
Jesus I’m not telling you
Peter Do you not know?
Jesus Oh yes. I have a fair idea
Peter Then . . why won’t you tell me?
Jesus You might not like it
Peter Well, thanks for your consideration Jesus
a pause
Jesus Peter . . .
Peter Yes, Jesus?
Jesus Come with me
Peter Can I bring somebody else?
Jesus Just bring yourself
Peter Will there be only the two of us?
Jesus Oh no. There’ll be plenty of others
Peter Will I know some of them?
what about my cousin? Will he be there?
Is there any chance of my sister coming if she’s still crushing on you?
And what about my grandmother?
Oh Jesus, I’d love to bring my grandmother.
Can I?
Jesus Peter . . . just bring yourself.
Peter But . . .but . . you said there would be others.
Jesus That’s right.
Peter Who are they?
Jesus I’m not telling you
Peter Why not?
Jesus You might not like them.
Peter Aw, thanks a bunch Jesus.
a pause
Jesus Peter . . .
Peter yes, Jesus???
Jesus Come with me.
Peter Jesus, I’ve got better things to do than to go on a mystery tour.
But I’ll think about it.
Just tell me what I’ll need
Jesus What do you mean?
Peter Well, if I’m going somewhere I don’t know
with people you refuse to tell me about,
there are some things that might come in handy.
Jesus Like what?
Peter Like something I can read in case I get bored . . .
Like something to sing in case I get sad . . .
Like a new pair of jeans in case there’s a party
Jesus Peter, you’ll not need anything.
Just bring yourself.
That’s enough to contend with.
Peter Jesus . . . do you want me to end up like you?
Jesus Peter . . .
I’m going. . .
Are you coming with me?
I had a couple of pretty heavy conversations about Christianity this week. One was with a fairly new acquaintance who doesn’t like Christians much because he believes everything the media says about what Christians believe and stand for and didn’t even know there was such a thing as Progressive Christianity. The other was with a Christian friend who is pretty much my polar opposite politically and theologically and wanted to know what Progressive Christianity thought about the Gay Agenda. Meanwhile I’ve been reading articles in journals and magazines about what it means to be Progressive and committed to ecumenism and interfaith cooperation. I’ve read every point of view from “all paths to God are equally true” to “you can only get to the Father through the Son and everyone else is going to hell.” And I read this skit several times.
I wish I could just say to all of them “Jesus said come with me. Don’t bring anything. Not a book, not new jeans, not your cousin, not any preconceived notions about where we’re going or what we might be doing. Just bring yourself.”
Do you have any idea how hard it is to just bring yourself? Can any of us really do that? Many of you know that I left the church I was raised in when I was 18 and old enough to leave home. For the next 25 years I tried lots of alternative paths to God. I tried New Age spirituality, which for me was pretty much following whatever practices looked cool to me at the time. You know, listening to sitar music while burning incense and doing yoga and meditating on crystals. But it was pretty self focused. There was no direction no instruction to care for others, although there was an adaptation of the Wiccan command to “do as you will as long as you harm no one. For me, it got kind of boring pretty quickly. It felt like a way just to feel good about myself and the world and at one with the universe. And that’s nice, but something was missing. It was solitary, there was no worshipping community. There was no one to address my prayers, my joys, my sorrows to. They just sort of went up . . .
I tried Buddhism for a while. I really liked the Eight Fold Path, the directions on how to live in such a way that you enhance the world around you while doing no harm to anyone. I liked the emphasis on peace and allowing others to make their own mistakes. I really liked reincarnation, getting to do life over and over until you get it right. But I had a hard time with the basic tenet that life is suffering because of our attachment to things – including food, family, the idea of an eternal soul, even life itself. God looked at the world and all the creatures and said “It is good.” How can the life God created be suffering? Jesus said, love one another. How can you do that and be detached at the same time? As you can see, I kept bringing my preconceived notions of what religion should be with me.
For a number of years I was Spiritual but not Religious. I was happy to talk about my Higher Power or the God of my understanding and I would cheerfully do that for hours. But I really didn’t want to hear about any particular religious beliefs. During those Spiritual but not Religious years I learned that God loves all of us and forgives any who come asking forgiveness. I learned how to pray and listen for God’s direction and how to work at changing myself to become a person whose life would be more pleasing to God – things I hadn’t learned in my church or in those other places I had looked.
As you know, eventually I realized that I was going to have to find a church to become part of. It seems that a long time ago, when I wasn’t even really paying attention, Jesus said “Maria will you come with me?” While I was trying all of those other paths to God, Jesus was always right there waiting for me to make up my mind. All those years I was away from church I kept reading the Bible, the Old Testament for entertainment and the Gospels for advice on how to live. I kept reading Jesus’ words to love everyone. I kept reading about how he protected the weak, healed the sick, loved the unlovable. I kept reading that he didn’t come for the righteous, but for those who needed him. And I realized I needed him. I needed him so that I could see the face of God. So that I could stop seeing the punishing, angry, judgmental God I was raised with and see God as God truly is through the words and actions of his Son.
This passage may underline more than any other Jesus’ mission to come for those who need him. He didn’t go to the temple looking for disciples among the wise and well educated. He didn’t seek out the most faithful and respectable of the Jewish people to proclaim the Good News to them. He went to the lakeshore. He sought out tired, hardworking people at the end of their work day. He asked them to follow without any clue where they would go, what they would find there, what might lie ahead. And they did, without question or pause – at least, Luke says “When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.”
Jesus is still coming to tired, hardworking people at the end of their work day and asking them to follow, with no clue what lies ahead. With no goal or plan or map. We’re in that position right now as a congregation. In fact, our whole denomination is in that position right now. In an interview in DisciplesWorld magazine, General Minister and President Sharon Watkins says that we Disciples are “on a journey without a map”. Scary, but no more so than what those fishermen faced.
Jesus has come again to the lakeshore. He has come to us, to tired, hardworking people who have already put in a life time of work and wonder what there is to show for it. He knows we are not wealthy or powerful in the way the world recognizes wealth or power. But we are rich in faith. Let us also be rich in willingness to follow when Jesus says “Come with me.”
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Serving in Unity
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
The church in Corinth was undergoing some fairly significant dissension. Because we don’t have any of the letters and reports that Paul received we don’t know exactly what was going on there, but from the responses in Paul’s letter to them we can see that some of the folks were lording it over the others. Perhaps those who had a bit more money were expecting different treatment than their poor brothers and sisters. Or perhaps folks who could speak in tongues thought they were more spiritually blessed than those who taught scripture to the newest converts. Whatever the argument was about Paul used the church as body metaphor to help them understand that each of them was important. That, in fact, the church couldn’t survive without all of them.
Paul isn’t the first person in the ancient world to use the body as a metaphor for the interconnectedness of a society. He is, however, the first to speak of the weaker and less respectable as being most important. Writers before him had used the image of the community as the body to keep the weaker and less respectable in their places, telling them the head was clearly the most important and the rest existed to serve the head - the nobility and priests and military. People like the peasants of Galilee, carpenters and farmer workers and fishermen, existed solely to support those who were above them in social ranking. Even today we still tend to think of society and communities that way – the obvious leaders are more important so they get more perks, more recognition, the best chair, the highest salaries.
There’s a story told in some leadership training sessions. It seems some junior executives in a large corporation were busy giving the janitor a hard time. He had inconvenienced them somehow and they were making it very clear just how far they outranked him and how much trouble he was in for annoying them. The CEO was passing by about that time, leaned in the door and said “I’ll take care of this.” He took the janitor out of the room, told him to take 2 weeks paid vacation beginning immediately, and assured him the juniors would never disrespect him again. Within a couple of days the juniors were frantic – their trash cans were overflowing, the bathrooms were dirty, the employee lounge was filled with garbage. The place was a real mess. When they started to complain the CEO pointed out that the company could function very well without them, and it could even function just fine for a while without him. But without a janitor the whole place fell apart in just a few days.
22On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
We are accustomed to hearing this upside-down picture of the world. It is the basis for most of what Jesus taught. The last shall be first. If you would lead you must be servant to all. We’re used to hearing these very counter cultural statements. But for the folks in Corinth, the idea that the homeless guy sitting by the door was as important as the rich guy in the front row, or that the person visiting for the first time was at least as valuable to their congregation as the deacon presiding at the table, or that the church elder was in no way superior to the lady who helped hand out food to the hungry – this was radical.
Equality was a new idea for people of the time. Their culture was very rigidly hierarchical. The king or emperor was at the top and slaves were at the bottom. Everyone had a particular place in society from the moment that was theirs from the moment they were brought into the world. There were some exceptions but people rarely moved from one class to another. This passage, of course, goes a bit beyond equality. Paul says the least respectable member of the body is the most honored, the weaker is the most indispensable. We cover the less honorable parts with clothing – not out of shame but to give those parts greater honor. The people of Corinth never heard anything like this before. And we, although hearing it regularly, tend to forget it.
It’s hard to really wrap one’s mind around Paul’s metaphor. The least honorable member of the body receives the greatest honor. The weakest is indispensable. Bigger is not necessarily better.
People ask me all the time “how big is your church?” I tell them what our average Sunday attendance is and I watch their facial expression say “oh, a little church. A dying church.” And then I tell them about what all goes on here during any given week. I talk about our food ministry and the Treasure Box and two preschools and all the Girl Scouts and 12 Step groups and 3 other churches and the groups of developmentally challenged folks who get training here. I tell them about Fiesta Educativa and other support groups having meetings and parties here and being a polling place and providing health screening. I tell them that many of these things bring little or no money into the church, but are ways in which we serve our community. And I watch that facial expression change. “Wow. You do a lot.” Yes. Yes we do.
I know, and you know, that we cannot survive financially as a congregation if we get much smaller. Or if our expenses get much higher. And I know, as you should, that if Delhaven disappears this community will lose much more than we will. We can find another church. But where will the neighborhood find those other things we provide?
I know, as you do, that the primary purpose of Church is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Not just by preaching the words in the Bible, but by living the Word. By reaching out to care for the people around us the way the folks in the early churches did. The primary purpose of Christianity is to change the world, to bring justice to every corner, to every person. It is to change the mindset of a society. No more “he is more important because he is wealthy” rather “she is more important because she is sick and hungry.” Our primary purpose is to teach by example that there is a different way than the way of the world, a better way.
When I tell people about the vandalism we suffered here, many of them respond immediately with questions about whether the vandal was caught and punished. I try to explain that Christians are expected to do things a little differently. Repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation are supposed to take the place of accusation and punishment. It is what we expect in our relationship with God. It is how we are expected to treat our neighbors. If someone hurts us we are called upon to forgive and become reconciled with that person, just as God forgives us. We are supposed to live differently, in a way that is not the same as the society around us. It’s funny, most of the people who asked about punishment are Christian. It simply hadn’t occurred to them that Christians are supposed to treat people differently.
Yet everything that Jesus taught us and these words from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth remind us that God’s way is not our way. And we’re expected to learn to do things God’s way. The weakest is the most indispensable. The least honored are to be seated at the head of the table. The leader must be servant to all. Forgive as you are forgiven. Love one another.
These are not suggestions. These are guidelines, even rules, by which we are expected to live. They are the opposite of what the world teaches us. When we talk about gaining a new life in Christ we’re not talking about where we will spend eternity. We’re talking about living differently here and now. When in baptism we say that we repent our sins, it doesn’t mean we have suddenly become perfect. It means that from that day forward we will diligently seek to root out our defects and replace them with love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness. We will seek forgiveness for hurting another and grant forgiveness to those who hurt us. It means being different than we were before.
Just as we are made new in Christ, so too is the church. As Disciples we identify ourselves as a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. Let us go from this place keeping in mind that Christ calls upon us to change ourselves and the world, so that God may truly reign on earth as in heaven. Let us go from this place today ready to renew our lives. Ready to renew our church.
12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
The church in Corinth was undergoing some fairly significant dissension. Because we don’t have any of the letters and reports that Paul received we don’t know exactly what was going on there, but from the responses in Paul’s letter to them we can see that some of the folks were lording it over the others. Perhaps those who had a bit more money were expecting different treatment than their poor brothers and sisters. Or perhaps folks who could speak in tongues thought they were more spiritually blessed than those who taught scripture to the newest converts. Whatever the argument was about Paul used the church as body metaphor to help them understand that each of them was important. That, in fact, the church couldn’t survive without all of them.
Paul isn’t the first person in the ancient world to use the body as a metaphor for the interconnectedness of a society. He is, however, the first to speak of the weaker and less respectable as being most important. Writers before him had used the image of the community as the body to keep the weaker and less respectable in their places, telling them the head was clearly the most important and the rest existed to serve the head - the nobility and priests and military. People like the peasants of Galilee, carpenters and farmer workers and fishermen, existed solely to support those who were above them in social ranking. Even today we still tend to think of society and communities that way – the obvious leaders are more important so they get more perks, more recognition, the best chair, the highest salaries.
There’s a story told in some leadership training sessions. It seems some junior executives in a large corporation were busy giving the janitor a hard time. He had inconvenienced them somehow and they were making it very clear just how far they outranked him and how much trouble he was in for annoying them. The CEO was passing by about that time, leaned in the door and said “I’ll take care of this.” He took the janitor out of the room, told him to take 2 weeks paid vacation beginning immediately, and assured him the juniors would never disrespect him again. Within a couple of days the juniors were frantic – their trash cans were overflowing, the bathrooms were dirty, the employee lounge was filled with garbage. The place was a real mess. When they started to complain the CEO pointed out that the company could function very well without them, and it could even function just fine for a while without him. But without a janitor the whole place fell apart in just a few days.
22On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
We are accustomed to hearing this upside-down picture of the world. It is the basis for most of what Jesus taught. The last shall be first. If you would lead you must be servant to all. We’re used to hearing these very counter cultural statements. But for the folks in Corinth, the idea that the homeless guy sitting by the door was as important as the rich guy in the front row, or that the person visiting for the first time was at least as valuable to their congregation as the deacon presiding at the table, or that the church elder was in no way superior to the lady who helped hand out food to the hungry – this was radical.
Equality was a new idea for people of the time. Their culture was very rigidly hierarchical. The king or emperor was at the top and slaves were at the bottom. Everyone had a particular place in society from the moment that was theirs from the moment they were brought into the world. There were some exceptions but people rarely moved from one class to another. This passage, of course, goes a bit beyond equality. Paul says the least respectable member of the body is the most honored, the weaker is the most indispensable. We cover the less honorable parts with clothing – not out of shame but to give those parts greater honor. The people of Corinth never heard anything like this before. And we, although hearing it regularly, tend to forget it.
It’s hard to really wrap one’s mind around Paul’s metaphor. The least honorable member of the body receives the greatest honor. The weakest is indispensable. Bigger is not necessarily better.
People ask me all the time “how big is your church?” I tell them what our average Sunday attendance is and I watch their facial expression say “oh, a little church. A dying church.” And then I tell them about what all goes on here during any given week. I talk about our food ministry and the Treasure Box and two preschools and all the Girl Scouts and 12 Step groups and 3 other churches and the groups of developmentally challenged folks who get training here. I tell them about Fiesta Educativa and other support groups having meetings and parties here and being a polling place and providing health screening. I tell them that many of these things bring little or no money into the church, but are ways in which we serve our community. And I watch that facial expression change. “Wow. You do a lot.” Yes. Yes we do.
I know, and you know, that we cannot survive financially as a congregation if we get much smaller. Or if our expenses get much higher. And I know, as you should, that if Delhaven disappears this community will lose much more than we will. We can find another church. But where will the neighborhood find those other things we provide?
I know, as you do, that the primary purpose of Church is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Not just by preaching the words in the Bible, but by living the Word. By reaching out to care for the people around us the way the folks in the early churches did. The primary purpose of Christianity is to change the world, to bring justice to every corner, to every person. It is to change the mindset of a society. No more “he is more important because he is wealthy” rather “she is more important because she is sick and hungry.” Our primary purpose is to teach by example that there is a different way than the way of the world, a better way.
When I tell people about the vandalism we suffered here, many of them respond immediately with questions about whether the vandal was caught and punished. I try to explain that Christians are expected to do things a little differently. Repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation are supposed to take the place of accusation and punishment. It is what we expect in our relationship with God. It is how we are expected to treat our neighbors. If someone hurts us we are called upon to forgive and become reconciled with that person, just as God forgives us. We are supposed to live differently, in a way that is not the same as the society around us. It’s funny, most of the people who asked about punishment are Christian. It simply hadn’t occurred to them that Christians are supposed to treat people differently.
Yet everything that Jesus taught us and these words from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth remind us that God’s way is not our way. And we’re expected to learn to do things God’s way. The weakest is the most indispensable. The least honored are to be seated at the head of the table. The leader must be servant to all. Forgive as you are forgiven. Love one another.
These are not suggestions. These are guidelines, even rules, by which we are expected to live. They are the opposite of what the world teaches us. When we talk about gaining a new life in Christ we’re not talking about where we will spend eternity. We’re talking about living differently here and now. When in baptism we say that we repent our sins, it doesn’t mean we have suddenly become perfect. It means that from that day forward we will diligently seek to root out our defects and replace them with love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness. We will seek forgiveness for hurting another and grant forgiveness to those who hurt us. It means being different than we were before.
Just as we are made new in Christ, so too is the church. As Disciples we identify ourselves as a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. Let us go from this place keeping in mind that Christ calls upon us to change ourselves and the world, so that God may truly reign on earth as in heaven. Let us go from this place today ready to renew our lives. Ready to renew our church.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Light of Joy
John 2:1-11 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
I’ve never really understood this particular miracle. Oh, I get the mechanics of it ok. And I get that Jesus was, or at least seemed, a bit miffed that his mother wanted him to show his power before he was ready. And I get that it wasn’t a public miracle, but a fairly private one – only his mother and selected followers were aware of it.
There is plenty of speculation in print about why Jesus was behaving like a responsible person at this wedding. Maybe it was the wedding of a younger sister and as oldest son he was the head of household. Maybe it was his wedding – although no one really seems to believe that one. At any rate, there must have been some reason why Mary thought he needed to resolve the whole “ran out of wine” situation. But – why? Not why was Jesus responsible, but why even do it? Why change water into wine? Why not just send a kid to the wine vender to buy more? And even if you are going to change it, why change it into the best vintage? Since the guests have already had plenty to drink, why not just provide box wine? The traditional theological answer is that this miracle is intended to show the extravagant love God has for us.
It’s a little hard to see extravagant love right now. Five days ago an earthquake struck Haiti, the poorest nation in our half of the world, located only a short boat ride from our shores. The news has been filled with images of tragedy and images of Americans leaping forward to help in any way we can. Once again we see our impulse towards love is moving us, individually and as a nation, to reach out even from our own places of financial difficulty to help those who have nothing. Someone on one of the news programs said that giving for this tragedy may even exceed that which followed Katrina and the tsunami. And we’re in the middle of a recession. I don’t know if it’s an American thing or a Christian thing, but it is what we do time after time. No matter how bad things might be for us, when we hear of a tragedy striking our first impulse is to say “How can I help?”
Most of us respond that way. I’m sure you have all heard that the Reverend Pat Robertson claims the Haitians brought this on themselves by entering into a pact with the devil back in the 1700s. And that Rush Limbaugh claims that this situation is tailor made for President Obama to regain credibility with the light and dark skinned blacks in this country. Some people will believe what they say. Some people will give in to prejudice and hatred instead of answering the impulse toward love that God has given each of us.
Maria Cuca Perez, who was here just a few weeks ago, shared her thoughts on love in an email shortly after the news of the quake. “I used to say that God protected me from this and that. But, when events like this earthquake happen, I wonder where was God's protection for so many unfortunate people in Haiti and all over the world. I have learned that we have to be God's hands, to protect and to assist those less fortunate. When you pray for the people of a disaster, do not look to God for answers, God already gave them to you. We already have the tools to God's will, be generous and give your time, donations, money and most of all your love. Peace.”
Many of us are hoping that justice will come to Haiti out of this incredible devastation. One of the first agencies to come forward with funds for emergency aid was the World Bank. Sadly, this was less altruism than protecting their investment. Like too many other small, poverty stricken nations, Haiti owes the World Bank a lot of money, much more than they could ever hope to repay. And this is the way it has always been for Haiti. Ever since the 1700s when the slaves of Haiti gained their freedom from France and from the plantation owners, Haiti has struggled to support herself. France blockaded her waters until Haiti agreed to pay damages for the plantation owners’ property loss – including the lives of the slaves who freed themselves - in an amount far exceeding their gross national product. The devil they made a deal with was France. And ever since then, European and American banks have continued to loan her huge sums for building projects that are unreasonable for a country at such a low level of development. It is a way of keeping whole nations enslaved without breaking the anti-slavery laws. I pray that the World Bank and other financial institutions will forgive at least the interest on all those loans – that they will proclaim Jubilee for Haiti.
But before that, there is so much to do. So much death and destruction. And so much to wrap our minds around. We have seen photos and videos, but let me read you something I received from a clergywoman I know online. It is from her mother who is in Leogane (pronounced LAY oh Gone) not Port-au-Prince, actually closer to the epicenter and as of yesterday no aid has arrived in their town.
Friends,
I’m Using someone’s computer without using a bright screen, so I cannot tell about my mistakes. I will send one msg to all, so some information will not mean anything to you.
Hopital Ste. Croix is standing. John and I are fine. The administration collapsed under the guesthouse, and our apartment collapsed under the story above. We have nothing we brought with us to Haiti, but since we have done a lot of cleaning in the guesthouse and hospital, we can find what we really need. Someone who was here gave me some shoes, and I found another pair or reading glasses that will work, so I have what I need. John was caught under the wreckage for about 4 hours, the roof above was supported by the lintel of the sliding glass door, which held up the second floor, so he was uninjured except for a small cut on the top of his head.
At night we sleep in the yard behind the hospital where the bandstand was. It has fallen, as has the Episcopal school. There are 2-300 people who sleep in that field at night. Thy singh ymns until almost midnight, and we wake up to a church service, with hymns, a
morning prayer, and the apostle’s creed. The evening sky is glorious. In the field there is a real sense of community.
Of course, we are the only blancs there. A group from FondWa arrived in Leogane today and will sleep there tonight. Janine the head cook brought John and me spaghetti from her home in Darbonne 8 miles away. We shared with the group from FondWa. They have some money so they went out and bought rice, etc, and we will eat tonight.
People have shared with us and we are getting a chance to feel how the Haitians really live.
The injuries we have seen at the hospital are enormous, skulls exposed, one woman died in the yard. Another women’s leg was cut vertically to the bone, with muscles showing. Doctors worked and saw over 300 people with cuts, fractures, etc. Today they are not, but worked hard every day since the quake. (with no gloves, anesthesia, antibiotics – all supplies were either destroyed or used up quickly)
I have never understood joy in the midst of suffering, but now I do. The caring I have seen, the help we have received from the Haitians, the evening songs and prayers. Are wonderful.
The people will survive, though many will die. Please pray for us. And pray that we and the hospital can be of help to the people here. Suzi
I was pretty amazed on the first night that Katie Couric was there reporting on the devastation, because you could hear in the background children singing songs of praise to God. But did you hear what Suzi said in this letter? 200-300 people singing hymns every night, singing praise, lifting up to God the joy of just being alive. Holding worship service every morning as soon as they wake up. The Light of Joy – Joy in the midst of suffering.
In a world where there is NO clean water – let alone wine – we wonder, where is the extravagance of God? In a world where desperate parents must say to their children ‘There is no food” why has the hour of justice and redemption not yet come? We want to tug at Jesus’ sleeve and say “They have no wine!”
And yet in Haiti, where there isn’t even water, they are singing hymns of praise to God. Because they are alive, because they have hope for tomorrow, because they have the Christ.
Mary said – they have no wine.
Jesus said “ and that’s my problem why?”
Mary said to the servants “do what he tells you to do”
Jesus said “fill the jars with water”
Mary said “Do what he tells you.”
He took the water in the jugs and he turned that water into wine. He took what we need to sustain life and turned it into that which makes life a celebration.
We are the water.
Christ is the wine.
Christ is the extravagant love that God has for us, for all God’s children.
When he was asked for wine, he gave the best.
When we do what he tells us we are the best, we have the power to change lives, to heal the world, to provide wine where there is no water.
Do what he tells you.
I’ve never really understood this particular miracle. Oh, I get the mechanics of it ok. And I get that Jesus was, or at least seemed, a bit miffed that his mother wanted him to show his power before he was ready. And I get that it wasn’t a public miracle, but a fairly private one – only his mother and selected followers were aware of it.
There is plenty of speculation in print about why Jesus was behaving like a responsible person at this wedding. Maybe it was the wedding of a younger sister and as oldest son he was the head of household. Maybe it was his wedding – although no one really seems to believe that one. At any rate, there must have been some reason why Mary thought he needed to resolve the whole “ran out of wine” situation. But – why? Not why was Jesus responsible, but why even do it? Why change water into wine? Why not just send a kid to the wine vender to buy more? And even if you are going to change it, why change it into the best vintage? Since the guests have already had plenty to drink, why not just provide box wine? The traditional theological answer is that this miracle is intended to show the extravagant love God has for us.
It’s a little hard to see extravagant love right now. Five days ago an earthquake struck Haiti, the poorest nation in our half of the world, located only a short boat ride from our shores. The news has been filled with images of tragedy and images of Americans leaping forward to help in any way we can. Once again we see our impulse towards love is moving us, individually and as a nation, to reach out even from our own places of financial difficulty to help those who have nothing. Someone on one of the news programs said that giving for this tragedy may even exceed that which followed Katrina and the tsunami. And we’re in the middle of a recession. I don’t know if it’s an American thing or a Christian thing, but it is what we do time after time. No matter how bad things might be for us, when we hear of a tragedy striking our first impulse is to say “How can I help?”
Most of us respond that way. I’m sure you have all heard that the Reverend Pat Robertson claims the Haitians brought this on themselves by entering into a pact with the devil back in the 1700s. And that Rush Limbaugh claims that this situation is tailor made for President Obama to regain credibility with the light and dark skinned blacks in this country. Some people will believe what they say. Some people will give in to prejudice and hatred instead of answering the impulse toward love that God has given each of us.
Maria Cuca Perez, who was here just a few weeks ago, shared her thoughts on love in an email shortly after the news of the quake. “I used to say that God protected me from this and that. But, when events like this earthquake happen, I wonder where was God's protection for so many unfortunate people in Haiti and all over the world. I have learned that we have to be God's hands, to protect and to assist those less fortunate. When you pray for the people of a disaster, do not look to God for answers, God already gave them to you. We already have the tools to God's will, be generous and give your time, donations, money and most of all your love. Peace.”
Many of us are hoping that justice will come to Haiti out of this incredible devastation. One of the first agencies to come forward with funds for emergency aid was the World Bank. Sadly, this was less altruism than protecting their investment. Like too many other small, poverty stricken nations, Haiti owes the World Bank a lot of money, much more than they could ever hope to repay. And this is the way it has always been for Haiti. Ever since the 1700s when the slaves of Haiti gained their freedom from France and from the plantation owners, Haiti has struggled to support herself. France blockaded her waters until Haiti agreed to pay damages for the plantation owners’ property loss – including the lives of the slaves who freed themselves - in an amount far exceeding their gross national product. The devil they made a deal with was France. And ever since then, European and American banks have continued to loan her huge sums for building projects that are unreasonable for a country at such a low level of development. It is a way of keeping whole nations enslaved without breaking the anti-slavery laws. I pray that the World Bank and other financial institutions will forgive at least the interest on all those loans – that they will proclaim Jubilee for Haiti.
But before that, there is so much to do. So much death and destruction. And so much to wrap our minds around. We have seen photos and videos, but let me read you something I received from a clergywoman I know online. It is from her mother who is in Leogane (pronounced LAY oh Gone) not Port-au-Prince, actually closer to the epicenter and as of yesterday no aid has arrived in their town.
Friends,
I’m Using someone’s computer without using a bright screen, so I cannot tell about my mistakes. I will send one msg to all, so some information will not mean anything to you.
Hopital Ste. Croix is standing. John and I are fine. The administration collapsed under the guesthouse, and our apartment collapsed under the story above. We have nothing we brought with us to Haiti, but since we have done a lot of cleaning in the guesthouse and hospital, we can find what we really need. Someone who was here gave me some shoes, and I found another pair or reading glasses that will work, so I have what I need. John was caught under the wreckage for about 4 hours, the roof above was supported by the lintel of the sliding glass door, which held up the second floor, so he was uninjured except for a small cut on the top of his head.
At night we sleep in the yard behind the hospital where the bandstand was. It has fallen, as has the Episcopal school. There are 2-300 people who sleep in that field at night. Thy singh ymns until almost midnight, and we wake up to a church service, with hymns, a
morning prayer, and the apostle’s creed. The evening sky is glorious. In the field there is a real sense of community.
Of course, we are the only blancs there. A group from FondWa arrived in Leogane today and will sleep there tonight. Janine the head cook brought John and me spaghetti from her home in Darbonne 8 miles away. We shared with the group from FondWa. They have some money so they went out and bought rice, etc, and we will eat tonight.
People have shared with us and we are getting a chance to feel how the Haitians really live.
The injuries we have seen at the hospital are enormous, skulls exposed, one woman died in the yard. Another women’s leg was cut vertically to the bone, with muscles showing. Doctors worked and saw over 300 people with cuts, fractures, etc. Today they are not, but worked hard every day since the quake. (with no gloves, anesthesia, antibiotics – all supplies were either destroyed or used up quickly)
I have never understood joy in the midst of suffering, but now I do. The caring I have seen, the help we have received from the Haitians, the evening songs and prayers. Are wonderful.
The people will survive, though many will die. Please pray for us. And pray that we and the hospital can be of help to the people here. Suzi
I was pretty amazed on the first night that Katie Couric was there reporting on the devastation, because you could hear in the background children singing songs of praise to God. But did you hear what Suzi said in this letter? 200-300 people singing hymns every night, singing praise, lifting up to God the joy of just being alive. Holding worship service every morning as soon as they wake up. The Light of Joy – Joy in the midst of suffering.
In a world where there is NO clean water – let alone wine – we wonder, where is the extravagance of God? In a world where desperate parents must say to their children ‘There is no food” why has the hour of justice and redemption not yet come? We want to tug at Jesus’ sleeve and say “They have no wine!”
And yet in Haiti, where there isn’t even water, they are singing hymns of praise to God. Because they are alive, because they have hope for tomorrow, because they have the Christ.
Mary said – they have no wine.
Jesus said “ and that’s my problem why?”
Mary said to the servants “do what he tells you to do”
Jesus said “fill the jars with water”
Mary said “Do what he tells you.”
He took the water in the jugs and he turned that water into wine. He took what we need to sustain life and turned it into that which makes life a celebration.
We are the water.
Christ is the wine.
Christ is the extravagant love that God has for us, for all God’s children.
When he was asked for wine, he gave the best.
When we do what he tells us we are the best, we have the power to change lives, to heal the world, to provide wine where there is no water.
Do what he tells you.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
What Child is This?
Sirach 24:1-24:34
24Wisdom praises herself,
and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.
2In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,
and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:
3‘I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
and covered the earth like a mist.
4I dwelt in the highest heavens,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5Alone I compassed the vault of heaven
and traversed the depths of the abyss.
6Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,
and over every people and nation I have held sway.
7Among all these I sought a resting-place;
in whose territory should I abide?
8‘Then the Creator of all things gave me a command,
and my Creator chose the place for my tent.
He said, “Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel receive your inheritance.”
9Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me,
and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.
10In the holy tent I ministered before him,
and so I was established in Zion.
11Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting-place,
and in Jerusalem was my domain.
12I took root in an honored people,
in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.
Every year, in the week or two between Christmas and Epiphany, we concentrate on the humanity of Jesus. The baby, helpless in his mother’s arms, brought into the world in blood and pain just like all other babies. The young boy who asked the teachers in the Temple such amazing questions that they marveled at his understanding. Gospel stories tantalize us with stories that compare Jesus to Moses - the slaughter of all the babies in Bethlehem so much like the slaughter of all baby boys in Egypt, the family’s running to Egypt away from an angry king so much like Moses’ running away from Egypt’s angry king. All too soon – next week – it will be time to leave his childhood behind and celebrate his baptism, the beginning of his ministry.
It’s kind of hard, these couple of weeks after Christmas, to focus on big questions. We spend the four weeks of Advent preparing for the birth and for the return of the Christ. Meanwhile, outside of the church doors, we are preparing for the biggest holiday season of the year. Schools are closed, stores are open crazy hours, traffic is light on the freeways and insane around the malls. We spend all our energy getting to Christmas and once it’s over, well, it’s over. We are physically and emotionally worn out and thinking very hard about anything is more than we want to deal with right now.
But this is precisely when we look at one of the hardest of all questions. Who was the child of Bethlehem and why should we care?
The reading we heard this morning came from the Book of Sirach. I’m not entirely sure why it appeared in one of my Lectionary Commentaries for this week. It’s not part of the canonical Bible. Many of you won’t even be able to find it in your Bibles unless you have a study Bible or a Catholic Bible. It’s part of what is called the Apocrypha, or the Deuterocanonical books of the Bible. These are books of scripture that inform our beliefs and traditions but that weren’t considered quite as important as some other books when the Bible was put together back around the year 400. This particular book is one of my favorites to read. It is a wisdom book, like proverbs. And if you have been in the hospital, you may have heard me read the bit from Sirach that deals with why you should do what the doctor says.
This particular reading talks about Wisdom – how Wisdom has been in the world since the beginning. How Wisdom came forth from God’s mouth to cover the earth, present from the beginning and part of God and creation. And how God gave the people of Jacob to Wisdom to live with and be part of.
If we look at this passage next to John 1 we see amazing similarities.
John 1:1-5, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.
Aside from the difference in pronoun, the Word and Wisdom are described in exactly the same way – together with God, part of God, and necessary to creation.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses, grace and truth come through Jesus Christ.
And Wisdom was given to live in the tents of Jacob – the same people to whom Jesus, the Word, was sent. Wisdom came to the people of Israel through Moses and the law, and also through Jesus, the Word made flesh.
But unlike Moses and the law, Jesus was sent to all people. “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it.”
Here is what I believe about that light and the coming of the Christ into the world. Over and over again God told his people how to live. The law of Moses was filled with instructions on how to care for the poor and the helpless. Even with how to redistribute possessions in Jubilee years so that everyone could start off on equal footing again. Over and over Israel would forget, so judges and prophets were sent to remind Israel that God’s desire is for all people to take care of each other, to love each other the way God loves us. To be merciful and compassionate. To turn their backs on those oh so tempting false gods of greed and lust for power. And Israel forgot again.
So a child was born, and that child grew in stature and wisdom, like all the prophets and judges before him. And into that child God poured Wisdom, the Word. For the first time, the Word that was present at the beginning became flesh and did not just speak to the people, but lived what God had trying to get through to us all along. That child grew into a man who would stand between the adulteress and her accusers and remind the accusers to be compassionate toward other sinners. A man who sat down to eat with the very dregs of society. A man who did not consider himself better than anyone else but reached out his hands in love to everyone equally. A man who even forgave the people who put him to death, and asked God to do the same.
This man, the child of Bethlehem, the Word made flesh, came for the salvation of the world. We all know that. But we may not all mean the same thing when we say “salvation.” For some that means “if I believe in Jesus the way the church tells me I’m supposed to believe then I will go to heaven after I die.”
I’ve heard this a lot lately. As you know, I’ve been in Texas for my brother’s funeral. And I heard way too many people say things like “he’s so much better off than we are right now.” Or “now his real life can begin, his life with Christ.”
I don’t believe either of those things. Yes, I take comfort in knowing that my brother is no longer suffering the way he was. I believe that he is with God and that I will be reunited with him some day. I believe that his work here is done and now he gets to rest. But I don’t believe that real life begins at death any more than I believe my work will begin when I retire. I believe that our real life is here and now and that what God wants us to do is leave the world a better place because we were in it. I believe God wants us to remember that we are all created equally, all loved equally, all valued equally, and that we’re supposed to treat each other equally. I believe that Christ, the Word made flesh, came to save the world from itself – to heal us of our sinful ways and to teach us how to bring God’s kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. I believe that if we allow Jesus to touch our hearts, if we take his example seriously and don’t let statements like “well, he was perfect. We’re can’t be expected to be like him” keep us from doing our best, then we can change the world.
We’re not going to do things perfectly. But that just means we still have a lot to learn, as the boy in the Temple we heard about last week was still learning. Like him, we are children. But we can grow, as Kate reminded us. As Jesus grew, in knowledge and understanding.
I believe we make a mistake when we pack away the nativity scenes – when we put the Baby Jesus in a box for the rest of the year. I believe we need to remember that Wisdom, the Word made flesh, our Lord and Savior, was not always an adult. I believe we need to remember that he began his life as a child, helpless and weak, so that we will know that we too, can grow into adulthood in God’s sight. I believe we need to come back from time to time during the year, and ask again “What Child is This.”
24Wisdom praises herself,
and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.
2In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,
and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:
3‘I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
and covered the earth like a mist.
4I dwelt in the highest heavens,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5Alone I compassed the vault of heaven
and traversed the depths of the abyss.
6Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,
and over every people and nation I have held sway.
7Among all these I sought a resting-place;
in whose territory should I abide?
8‘Then the Creator of all things gave me a command,
and my Creator chose the place for my tent.
He said, “Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel receive your inheritance.”
9Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me,
and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.
10In the holy tent I ministered before him,
and so I was established in Zion.
11Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting-place,
and in Jerusalem was my domain.
12I took root in an honored people,
in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.
Every year, in the week or two between Christmas and Epiphany, we concentrate on the humanity of Jesus. The baby, helpless in his mother’s arms, brought into the world in blood and pain just like all other babies. The young boy who asked the teachers in the Temple such amazing questions that they marveled at his understanding. Gospel stories tantalize us with stories that compare Jesus to Moses - the slaughter of all the babies in Bethlehem so much like the slaughter of all baby boys in Egypt, the family’s running to Egypt away from an angry king so much like Moses’ running away from Egypt’s angry king. All too soon – next week – it will be time to leave his childhood behind and celebrate his baptism, the beginning of his ministry.
It’s kind of hard, these couple of weeks after Christmas, to focus on big questions. We spend the four weeks of Advent preparing for the birth and for the return of the Christ. Meanwhile, outside of the church doors, we are preparing for the biggest holiday season of the year. Schools are closed, stores are open crazy hours, traffic is light on the freeways and insane around the malls. We spend all our energy getting to Christmas and once it’s over, well, it’s over. We are physically and emotionally worn out and thinking very hard about anything is more than we want to deal with right now.
But this is precisely when we look at one of the hardest of all questions. Who was the child of Bethlehem and why should we care?
The reading we heard this morning came from the Book of Sirach. I’m not entirely sure why it appeared in one of my Lectionary Commentaries for this week. It’s not part of the canonical Bible. Many of you won’t even be able to find it in your Bibles unless you have a study Bible or a Catholic Bible. It’s part of what is called the Apocrypha, or the Deuterocanonical books of the Bible. These are books of scripture that inform our beliefs and traditions but that weren’t considered quite as important as some other books when the Bible was put together back around the year 400. This particular book is one of my favorites to read. It is a wisdom book, like proverbs. And if you have been in the hospital, you may have heard me read the bit from Sirach that deals with why you should do what the doctor says.
This particular reading talks about Wisdom – how Wisdom has been in the world since the beginning. How Wisdom came forth from God’s mouth to cover the earth, present from the beginning and part of God and creation. And how God gave the people of Jacob to Wisdom to live with and be part of.
If we look at this passage next to John 1 we see amazing similarities.
John 1:1-5, In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.
Aside from the difference in pronoun, the Word and Wisdom are described in exactly the same way – together with God, part of God, and necessary to creation.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses, grace and truth come through Jesus Christ.
And Wisdom was given to live in the tents of Jacob – the same people to whom Jesus, the Word, was sent. Wisdom came to the people of Israel through Moses and the law, and also through Jesus, the Word made flesh.
But unlike Moses and the law, Jesus was sent to all people. “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it.”
Here is what I believe about that light and the coming of the Christ into the world. Over and over again God told his people how to live. The law of Moses was filled with instructions on how to care for the poor and the helpless. Even with how to redistribute possessions in Jubilee years so that everyone could start off on equal footing again. Over and over Israel would forget, so judges and prophets were sent to remind Israel that God’s desire is for all people to take care of each other, to love each other the way God loves us. To be merciful and compassionate. To turn their backs on those oh so tempting false gods of greed and lust for power. And Israel forgot again.
So a child was born, and that child grew in stature and wisdom, like all the prophets and judges before him. And into that child God poured Wisdom, the Word. For the first time, the Word that was present at the beginning became flesh and did not just speak to the people, but lived what God had trying to get through to us all along. That child grew into a man who would stand between the adulteress and her accusers and remind the accusers to be compassionate toward other sinners. A man who sat down to eat with the very dregs of society. A man who did not consider himself better than anyone else but reached out his hands in love to everyone equally. A man who even forgave the people who put him to death, and asked God to do the same.
This man, the child of Bethlehem, the Word made flesh, came for the salvation of the world. We all know that. But we may not all mean the same thing when we say “salvation.” For some that means “if I believe in Jesus the way the church tells me I’m supposed to believe then I will go to heaven after I die.”
I’ve heard this a lot lately. As you know, I’ve been in Texas for my brother’s funeral. And I heard way too many people say things like “he’s so much better off than we are right now.” Or “now his real life can begin, his life with Christ.”
I don’t believe either of those things. Yes, I take comfort in knowing that my brother is no longer suffering the way he was. I believe that he is with God and that I will be reunited with him some day. I believe that his work here is done and now he gets to rest. But I don’t believe that real life begins at death any more than I believe my work will begin when I retire. I believe that our real life is here and now and that what God wants us to do is leave the world a better place because we were in it. I believe God wants us to remember that we are all created equally, all loved equally, all valued equally, and that we’re supposed to treat each other equally. I believe that Christ, the Word made flesh, came to save the world from itself – to heal us of our sinful ways and to teach us how to bring God’s kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. I believe that if we allow Jesus to touch our hearts, if we take his example seriously and don’t let statements like “well, he was perfect. We’re can’t be expected to be like him” keep us from doing our best, then we can change the world.
We’re not going to do things perfectly. But that just means we still have a lot to learn, as the boy in the Temple we heard about last week was still learning. Like him, we are children. But we can grow, as Kate reminded us. As Jesus grew, in knowledge and understanding.
I believe we make a mistake when we pack away the nativity scenes – when we put the Baby Jesus in a box for the rest of the year. I believe we need to remember that Wisdom, the Word made flesh, our Lord and Savior, was not always an adult. I believe we need to remember that he began his life as a child, helpless and weak, so that we will know that we too, can grow into adulthood in God’s sight. I believe we need to come back from time to time during the year, and ask again “What Child is This.”
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Rejoice!
Zephaniah 3:14-20 (Contemporary English Version)
14Everyone in Jerusalem and Judah,
celebrate and shout
with all your heart!
15Zion, your punishment is over.
The LORD has forced your enemies
to turn and retreat.
Your LORD is King of Israel
and stands at your side;
you don't have to worry
about any more troubles.
16Jerusalem, the time is coming,
when it will be said to you:
"Don't be discouraged
or grow weak from fear!
17The LORD your God
wins victory after victory
and is always with you.
He celebrates and sings
because of you,
and he will refresh your life
with his love."
18The LORD has promised:
Your sorrow has ended,
and you can celebrate.
19I will punish those
who mistreat you.
I will bring together the lame
and the outcasts,
then they will be praised,
instead of despised,
in every country on earth.
20I will lead you home,
and with your own eyes
you will see me bless you
with all you once owned.
Then you will be famous
everywhere on this earth.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
Zephaniah was a prophet in Jerusalem some 30-50 years before Judah’s defeat and exile to Babylon. Unlike some of the prophets, not much is known about him. He may have been a student of Isaiah of Jerusalem because he uses similar language. There is very good reason to believe that he was of Ethiopian descent. His name means “the Lord protects.”
In this very short book he prophesies destruction for all the people of the land. And not just the people. In the opening verses he says everything will be swept away – people and animals and birds and fish! For Zephaniah sees evil in the land. He sees corruption among the priesthood. He sees the wealthy oppressing the poor. He sees people turning away from God and sacrificing to foreign gods, setting up idols on the high places. He sees, in fact, all of the same things the other prophets have warned of. He warns all the people, but especially the leaders, that God will not tolerate this behavior. He says – God says “I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind; because they have sinned against the Lord.” And in fact King Josiah does hear him and does make changes – but it will be too little, too late. Josiah’s reign will not be long enough to bring about a change of heart for the leaders. The road to destruction for Judah is a steep downward slope and Josiah’s reforms will be disregarded by his successors. Judah will be defeated, Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed. Those people who survive the coming battle will be enslaved and sent into exile and will suffer bitterly the loss of their home.
But at the end of his prophecies he tells of a time when God will change the people of all the nations so that their words and worship will be pure. When all sins will be forgiven, and when all will leave behind their fears and pride. Zephaniah isn’t talking about some wonderful afterlife – he is talking about God’s kingdom on earth. The Jews of that time didn’t have an understanding of life after death, of heaven and hell, the way we do today.
I heard something disturbing recently – the idea that this world and what happens in it is not as important as our life with Jesus in heaven after we die. I know that this theology has been used to “help” the oppressed deal with the reality of their oppression. “You are suffering here, but your real life will begin in heaven with Jesus.” Indeed, this kind of preaching has been used to justify all kinds of evil in the world. We don’t have to change the world – we don’t have to help the suffering or lift oppression from our brothers and sisters, because everything will be made alright when they die and they are with Jesus.
That’s not what the Bible tells us. The prophets –all of them – tell the people ‘repent! For if you don’t you will suffer consequences and you will not like it.” John the Baptist said the same thing. And Jesus gave us directions on how to change, how to put away greed and fear and hatred, and how to love one another as God would have us do so that we can indeed enjoy life on earth as it is in heaven.
Zephaniah calls Judah to religious renewal in the here and now. Renewal that brings about God’s vision of a world without violence, injustice and oppression, where even God will sing in response to human singing, “He will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival”. At the end of his rather horrific prophecies, he calls on Judah to rejoice because there will a come a day when the world will be as God intended for it to be. Rejoice and sing, for one day all that is wrong will be made right. He calls upon Judah to rejoice in the midst of their grief – in the depths of their suffering – for God will forgive all their sins. He will not abandon them or leave them to suffer for too long. So he calls upon them to rejoice now for what will come about in the future. He calls upon them to rejoice in the midst of their fear and grief.
Rejoicing in the midst of grief. It is what we do, isn’t it? Yesterday we celebrated the life of one dear to all of us here. We lifted up all the blessings that we have received because June lived among us and we were joyful, even as we grieve her loss. We shared a meal and fellowship and laughter even as we wiped away the tears that those lovely old hymns brought to our eyes.
During Advent we live with grief. We live in the days just before the birth of the Christ child. Days of oppression and darkness. Days of sin and grief. We look at the world around us and wonder how everything got so dark, and so frightening. There are wars all over the world. My new next door neighbor just got back from Cosivo, which we don’t even hear about anymore because Iraq and Afghanistan are making the headlines. I worry that my nephew’s National Guard unit will be called up. Civil wars, genocide and famine are killing thousands daily around the world. In this country, the numbers of homeless are rising, thousands of children go to bed hungry, people are dying unnecessarily because they can’t afford to see a doctor or to get a prescription. My sister-in-law is beginning to realize what people without health insurance deal with. She questioned the pharmacist about the cost of one of my brother’s cancer medications. Most of their prescriptions are $10 or $20 so she thought $40 was a bit much. She learned that without insurance that little bottle would cost $600. Every day we hear that more teachers are being laid off, schools are being closed, funds are being cut and tuitions raised for education – for our future. Everywhere we turn we see evidence of God’s children who some might consider “unimportant”, the least of Jesus’ brothers ad sisters being ignored, cast out, and oppressed. We see greed, the desire for power and manipulation rewarded. And we wonder why we should be rejoicing.
And yet we are. We are looking ahead to the birth of the child. We are impatient for him to come. We want to sing the joyful songs. We want to see his power and his glory reflected and magnified around us. We want to lift up our voices and our hearts and hear God respond, exulting over us with loud singing as on the day of a festival! We know that the message of peace and love and joy and hope that comes in this season has to be repeated over and over, so that we can remember why we feel such joy at his coming. People are really good at forgetting these things, you know. Israel and Judah kept forgetting to do what God commanded – to care for the poor, the elderly, the widows, the orphans and the strangers – the helpless and hopeless. The prophets would remind them, and sometimes a good king like Josiah or Hezekiah would institute reforms. But once that king was gone everything went back the way it had been. The powerful and wealthy, the nobles and the priesthood turned their backs on God, looking only to themselves for guidance. And look what happened to them. Defeat and exile, poverty and oppression.
And so the prophets reminded them even in the middle of horrific oracles, that God would never abandon them. That no matter what they could and should rejoice that their pain would be healed, their fears relieved, their shame turned to praise. Not in some cosmic paradise, but in this world. For God would change their hearts so their sins would no longer be attractive to them, and they would do with gladness all the things that they were commanded to do.
That change of heart for us comes in the form of a child. A tiny, fragile vessel who holds all the hope of the world. Who brings with him the message of God’s eternal love for us, no matter how far we may wander. Who brings the Good News of God’s forgiveness, and warm welcome when we are ready to turn our lives over to him. Who brings to each one of us that change that will allow us to change the world. Who will be our Lord, our King, ruler of our hearts and our lives and make God’s kingdom into reality.. Christians All, Your Lord is Coming! Rejoice!
14Everyone in Jerusalem and Judah,
celebrate and shout
with all your heart!
15Zion, your punishment is over.
The LORD has forced your enemies
to turn and retreat.
Your LORD is King of Israel
and stands at your side;
you don't have to worry
about any more troubles.
16Jerusalem, the time is coming,
when it will be said to you:
"Don't be discouraged
or grow weak from fear!
17The LORD your God
wins victory after victory
and is always with you.
He celebrates and sings
because of you,
and he will refresh your life
with his love."
18The LORD has promised:
Your sorrow has ended,
and you can celebrate.
19I will punish those
who mistreat you.
I will bring together the lame
and the outcasts,
then they will be praised,
instead of despised,
in every country on earth.
20I will lead you home,
and with your own eyes
you will see me bless you
with all you once owned.
Then you will be famous
everywhere on this earth.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
Zephaniah was a prophet in Jerusalem some 30-50 years before Judah’s defeat and exile to Babylon. Unlike some of the prophets, not much is known about him. He may have been a student of Isaiah of Jerusalem because he uses similar language. There is very good reason to believe that he was of Ethiopian descent. His name means “the Lord protects.”
In this very short book he prophesies destruction for all the people of the land. And not just the people. In the opening verses he says everything will be swept away – people and animals and birds and fish! For Zephaniah sees evil in the land. He sees corruption among the priesthood. He sees the wealthy oppressing the poor. He sees people turning away from God and sacrificing to foreign gods, setting up idols on the high places. He sees, in fact, all of the same things the other prophets have warned of. He warns all the people, but especially the leaders, that God will not tolerate this behavior. He says – God says “I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind; because they have sinned against the Lord.” And in fact King Josiah does hear him and does make changes – but it will be too little, too late. Josiah’s reign will not be long enough to bring about a change of heart for the leaders. The road to destruction for Judah is a steep downward slope and Josiah’s reforms will be disregarded by his successors. Judah will be defeated, Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed. Those people who survive the coming battle will be enslaved and sent into exile and will suffer bitterly the loss of their home.
But at the end of his prophecies he tells of a time when God will change the people of all the nations so that their words and worship will be pure. When all sins will be forgiven, and when all will leave behind their fears and pride. Zephaniah isn’t talking about some wonderful afterlife – he is talking about God’s kingdom on earth. The Jews of that time didn’t have an understanding of life after death, of heaven and hell, the way we do today.
I heard something disturbing recently – the idea that this world and what happens in it is not as important as our life with Jesus in heaven after we die. I know that this theology has been used to “help” the oppressed deal with the reality of their oppression. “You are suffering here, but your real life will begin in heaven with Jesus.” Indeed, this kind of preaching has been used to justify all kinds of evil in the world. We don’t have to change the world – we don’t have to help the suffering or lift oppression from our brothers and sisters, because everything will be made alright when they die and they are with Jesus.
That’s not what the Bible tells us. The prophets –all of them – tell the people ‘repent! For if you don’t you will suffer consequences and you will not like it.” John the Baptist said the same thing. And Jesus gave us directions on how to change, how to put away greed and fear and hatred, and how to love one another as God would have us do so that we can indeed enjoy life on earth as it is in heaven.
Zephaniah calls Judah to religious renewal in the here and now. Renewal that brings about God’s vision of a world without violence, injustice and oppression, where even God will sing in response to human singing, “He will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival”. At the end of his rather horrific prophecies, he calls on Judah to rejoice because there will a come a day when the world will be as God intended for it to be. Rejoice and sing, for one day all that is wrong will be made right. He calls upon Judah to rejoice in the midst of their grief – in the depths of their suffering – for God will forgive all their sins. He will not abandon them or leave them to suffer for too long. So he calls upon them to rejoice now for what will come about in the future. He calls upon them to rejoice in the midst of their fear and grief.
Rejoicing in the midst of grief. It is what we do, isn’t it? Yesterday we celebrated the life of one dear to all of us here. We lifted up all the blessings that we have received because June lived among us and we were joyful, even as we grieve her loss. We shared a meal and fellowship and laughter even as we wiped away the tears that those lovely old hymns brought to our eyes.
During Advent we live with grief. We live in the days just before the birth of the Christ child. Days of oppression and darkness. Days of sin and grief. We look at the world around us and wonder how everything got so dark, and so frightening. There are wars all over the world. My new next door neighbor just got back from Cosivo, which we don’t even hear about anymore because Iraq and Afghanistan are making the headlines. I worry that my nephew’s National Guard unit will be called up. Civil wars, genocide and famine are killing thousands daily around the world. In this country, the numbers of homeless are rising, thousands of children go to bed hungry, people are dying unnecessarily because they can’t afford to see a doctor or to get a prescription. My sister-in-law is beginning to realize what people without health insurance deal with. She questioned the pharmacist about the cost of one of my brother’s cancer medications. Most of their prescriptions are $10 or $20 so she thought $40 was a bit much. She learned that without insurance that little bottle would cost $600. Every day we hear that more teachers are being laid off, schools are being closed, funds are being cut and tuitions raised for education – for our future. Everywhere we turn we see evidence of God’s children who some might consider “unimportant”, the least of Jesus’ brothers ad sisters being ignored, cast out, and oppressed. We see greed, the desire for power and manipulation rewarded. And we wonder why we should be rejoicing.
And yet we are. We are looking ahead to the birth of the child. We are impatient for him to come. We want to sing the joyful songs. We want to see his power and his glory reflected and magnified around us. We want to lift up our voices and our hearts and hear God respond, exulting over us with loud singing as on the day of a festival! We know that the message of peace and love and joy and hope that comes in this season has to be repeated over and over, so that we can remember why we feel such joy at his coming. People are really good at forgetting these things, you know. Israel and Judah kept forgetting to do what God commanded – to care for the poor, the elderly, the widows, the orphans and the strangers – the helpless and hopeless. The prophets would remind them, and sometimes a good king like Josiah or Hezekiah would institute reforms. But once that king was gone everything went back the way it had been. The powerful and wealthy, the nobles and the priesthood turned their backs on God, looking only to themselves for guidance. And look what happened to them. Defeat and exile, poverty and oppression.
And so the prophets reminded them even in the middle of horrific oracles, that God would never abandon them. That no matter what they could and should rejoice that their pain would be healed, their fears relieved, their shame turned to praise. Not in some cosmic paradise, but in this world. For God would change their hearts so their sins would no longer be attractive to them, and they would do with gladness all the things that they were commanded to do.
That change of heart for us comes in the form of a child. A tiny, fragile vessel who holds all the hope of the world. Who brings with him the message of God’s eternal love for us, no matter how far we may wander. Who brings the Good News of God’s forgiveness, and warm welcome when we are ready to turn our lives over to him. Who brings to each one of us that change that will allow us to change the world. Who will be our Lord, our King, ruler of our hearts and our lives and make God’s kingdom into reality.. Christians All, Your Lord is Coming! Rejoice!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sacrifice 1 Samuel 1:4-20
1 Samuel 1:4-20
4On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; 5but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. 6Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”
9After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. 11She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.” 12As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” 15But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” 17Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” 18And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.
19They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”
I love Hannah’s story. It’s another of those Biblical stories in which the least likely person, a person held in low esteem by others, becomes the instrument through which God brings huge blessings on God’s people, and I think we all love stories where the underdog wins.
But as much as I love this story, it’s kind of a challenge to decide how to preach it. I don’t really want to preach on Faith Rewarded because that can lead to bad theology. You know, the idea that if I am faithful I will get all the good things I want in life and that nothing bad will happen to me. But that doesn’t work. We just read Job and we know it doesn’t work.
And then there’s the whole making a deal with God thing. Hannah says, “If you give me a son, I will dedicate his life to you.” Are we supposed to think that works? I mean, it does seem to work in this case, but is that what we’re supposed to come away from this story believing – that God will make deals with us? I don’t think so. At least, I’ve always been told that I shouldn’t try to make deals like this with God.
As the week progressed and I continued to consider Hannah’s story I found myself focusing more on the outcome of the story than the piece we have here to consider. I found an opening hymn that sounds like Hannah’s song, which doesn’t appear until later in the story. I considered the great things her son would do for Israel by anointing both Saul and David as king over the nation. But I kept coming back to Hannah’s prayer.
We don’t know – the story doesn’t tell us – if Hannah had ever gone into the sanctuary to pray before, to “present herself before the Lord.” There are a few things we do know, however.
We know that a sacrifice had just been presented. It was probably part of the annual tithe Elkanah gave to the priests according to the law – the best 10% of everything he owned. This annual tithe and sacrifice was for gratitude for all the bounty God provided throughout the year. An animal without blemish had been brought to the sanctuary and sacrificed by the priest Eli. A portion of the cooked animal would have been dinner for Eli and his family, a portion would have been given to the poor of the neighborhood, and the remaining portion would provide a feast for Elkanah and his family. We know that the women of the family would not have been present, would have had no part in presentation of the sacrifice. Women didn’t, because they didn’t own anything to sacrifice.
So Hannah doesn’t bring the sacrifice for the family, her husband does. She owns nothing. She has nothing of her own that she can give to God to show her gratitude for all the blessings she has received so far. We are accustomed to thinking that Hannah’s sacrifice is her son – the dedication of his life to serve God. I think perhaps that’s not it. That is her bargain with God – that she will sacrifice the pleasure of seeing her son grow to manhood in her home by giving him to God as a child. But I think that right now, in this story, her prayer is her sacrifice. She comes into the house of the Lord and prays. Like the New Testament widow putting her mite into the offering box at the Temple, Hannah gives to God the only thing she has.
I am always concerned about whether I pray “well enough”. I have heard some of you say the same thing about yourselves. In seminary I always let someone else pray to open and close groups and bless our meals. Some of my classmates just seemed to have this wonderful gift for public prayer. I have all these books to help me learn about prayer. Some of them teach what prayer is, some teach how to pray personally, some are journals so I can write down what I’m supposed to pray for, some are textbooks on how to write prayers for public worship services, some are filled with prayers others have written that we can use, some are about how a congregation can improve it’s corporate prayer life.
Even after finishing seminary and spending the last 6+ years praying here with you, at the prayer day with our Regional Minister this week we took turns praying for each other and I found myself comparing myself to the other ministers present, thinking my prayer didn’t stack up very well. But then I thought of Hannah, and how she prayed simply and from the heart. How she opened herself to God, weeping and telling God exactly how she felt. She wasn’t concerned about being judged by anyone else, she wasn’t hurt when Eli accused her of being drunk. She “had been pouring her soul out before the Lord.” She had been making of her prayer and her heart a sacrifice to God.
I have all these books on prayer, yet I don’t remember reading about prayer as sacrifice in any of these. The idea of prayer as sacrifice is kind of a new idea for me but it makes sense. Prayer is personal, it is something that is ours and ours alone. Even if we think we aren’t very good at it, we are giving God the best we can. Certainly Hannah was not a professional pray-er, but the intensity and sincerity of her prayer was such that Eli thought she was drunk – he was just not accustomed to seeing anyone get so involved in their conversation with God. He was used to formulaic prayer – prayer that followed a certain pattern or that was written down to be repeated the same way every time. He was used to hearing the kind of prayer many of us were taught growing up. Those prayers rarely touch our souls – although they do sometimes, like when we sing the Lord’s Prayer here each Sunday. So he surely wasn’t prepared for Hannah’s emotional outpouring.
Prayer is a conversation. In any conversation both parties have to participate, otherwise it’s a monologue. There’s a video about a guy sitting in a coffee shop with Jesus, asking Jesus to intercede in his life and in other people’s lives and situations. He rattles off this long list of names and situations with about as much emotion as if he was reading the phone book. He talks and talks and talks and finally says amen. Jesus leans forward to respond and just as he is about to speak, the guy gets up, says “See ya,” and leaves. I’m afraid that is the way many of us pray.
I have found that the more I am willing to make my prayer a conversation, the more likely I am to get a response. Hannah’s response came from Eli, who assured her the Lord would grant her prayer. Our response might come from anywhere. God’s response could come to us through a remark made by another person, a billboard or book that we read, a series of events leading us in a particular direction or - whatever. Our UCC brothers and sisters remind us that “God is still speaking” and so we have to keep listening, as part of our prayer, for whatever God says however God chooses to say it.
As a congregation we have chosen to make prayer a priority during this year. We have instituted some prayer practices that we hope will bring the community into prayer with us. We have dedicated space in Charles Hall for prayer requests and give community prayer a prominent place in our worship service. I would like to suggest that we once again start a prayer group. A group who can gather to pray regularly every week, and even study together on how to pray more effectively as a congregation. I suggest this because I know how hard it is, in our very busy lives, to remember to take time to talk to God. And because we have said that prayer is a priority in our lives as a congregation it seems that we should take time as a congregation to gather for prayer.
I would further suggest that those who cannot come here to participate set aside the same time at home to pray in solidarity with those who are gathered here.
This may be a hardship. It will certainly interfere with TV watching and Facebook game playing. But I believe it is something that I, at least, must do. Because prayer is a sacrifice. It is how we tell God what is in our hearts, and it is how we listen for God’s response. It is how we give God the most private and valuable part of our selves to make room in our hearts for God’s loving care. It is how we bring the holy into our daily lives. Let us go out from here, my brothers and sisters, ready to sacrifice our hearts to God, prepared and willing to take time to be holy.
4On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; 5but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. 6Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”
9After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. 11She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.” 12As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” 15But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” 17Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” 18And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.
19They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”
I love Hannah’s story. It’s another of those Biblical stories in which the least likely person, a person held in low esteem by others, becomes the instrument through which God brings huge blessings on God’s people, and I think we all love stories where the underdog wins.
But as much as I love this story, it’s kind of a challenge to decide how to preach it. I don’t really want to preach on Faith Rewarded because that can lead to bad theology. You know, the idea that if I am faithful I will get all the good things I want in life and that nothing bad will happen to me. But that doesn’t work. We just read Job and we know it doesn’t work.
And then there’s the whole making a deal with God thing. Hannah says, “If you give me a son, I will dedicate his life to you.” Are we supposed to think that works? I mean, it does seem to work in this case, but is that what we’re supposed to come away from this story believing – that God will make deals with us? I don’t think so. At least, I’ve always been told that I shouldn’t try to make deals like this with God.
As the week progressed and I continued to consider Hannah’s story I found myself focusing more on the outcome of the story than the piece we have here to consider. I found an opening hymn that sounds like Hannah’s song, which doesn’t appear until later in the story. I considered the great things her son would do for Israel by anointing both Saul and David as king over the nation. But I kept coming back to Hannah’s prayer.
We don’t know – the story doesn’t tell us – if Hannah had ever gone into the sanctuary to pray before, to “present herself before the Lord.” There are a few things we do know, however.
We know that a sacrifice had just been presented. It was probably part of the annual tithe Elkanah gave to the priests according to the law – the best 10% of everything he owned. This annual tithe and sacrifice was for gratitude for all the bounty God provided throughout the year. An animal without blemish had been brought to the sanctuary and sacrificed by the priest Eli. A portion of the cooked animal would have been dinner for Eli and his family, a portion would have been given to the poor of the neighborhood, and the remaining portion would provide a feast for Elkanah and his family. We know that the women of the family would not have been present, would have had no part in presentation of the sacrifice. Women didn’t, because they didn’t own anything to sacrifice.
So Hannah doesn’t bring the sacrifice for the family, her husband does. She owns nothing. She has nothing of her own that she can give to God to show her gratitude for all the blessings she has received so far. We are accustomed to thinking that Hannah’s sacrifice is her son – the dedication of his life to serve God. I think perhaps that’s not it. That is her bargain with God – that she will sacrifice the pleasure of seeing her son grow to manhood in her home by giving him to God as a child. But I think that right now, in this story, her prayer is her sacrifice. She comes into the house of the Lord and prays. Like the New Testament widow putting her mite into the offering box at the Temple, Hannah gives to God the only thing she has.
I am always concerned about whether I pray “well enough”. I have heard some of you say the same thing about yourselves. In seminary I always let someone else pray to open and close groups and bless our meals. Some of my classmates just seemed to have this wonderful gift for public prayer. I have all these books to help me learn about prayer. Some of them teach what prayer is, some teach how to pray personally, some are journals so I can write down what I’m supposed to pray for, some are textbooks on how to write prayers for public worship services, some are filled with prayers others have written that we can use, some are about how a congregation can improve it’s corporate prayer life.
Even after finishing seminary and spending the last 6+ years praying here with you, at the prayer day with our Regional Minister this week we took turns praying for each other and I found myself comparing myself to the other ministers present, thinking my prayer didn’t stack up very well. But then I thought of Hannah, and how she prayed simply and from the heart. How she opened herself to God, weeping and telling God exactly how she felt. She wasn’t concerned about being judged by anyone else, she wasn’t hurt when Eli accused her of being drunk. She “had been pouring her soul out before the Lord.” She had been making of her prayer and her heart a sacrifice to God.
I have all these books on prayer, yet I don’t remember reading about prayer as sacrifice in any of these. The idea of prayer as sacrifice is kind of a new idea for me but it makes sense. Prayer is personal, it is something that is ours and ours alone. Even if we think we aren’t very good at it, we are giving God the best we can. Certainly Hannah was not a professional pray-er, but the intensity and sincerity of her prayer was such that Eli thought she was drunk – he was just not accustomed to seeing anyone get so involved in their conversation with God. He was used to formulaic prayer – prayer that followed a certain pattern or that was written down to be repeated the same way every time. He was used to hearing the kind of prayer many of us were taught growing up. Those prayers rarely touch our souls – although they do sometimes, like when we sing the Lord’s Prayer here each Sunday. So he surely wasn’t prepared for Hannah’s emotional outpouring.
Prayer is a conversation. In any conversation both parties have to participate, otherwise it’s a monologue. There’s a video about a guy sitting in a coffee shop with Jesus, asking Jesus to intercede in his life and in other people’s lives and situations. He rattles off this long list of names and situations with about as much emotion as if he was reading the phone book. He talks and talks and talks and finally says amen. Jesus leans forward to respond and just as he is about to speak, the guy gets up, says “See ya,” and leaves. I’m afraid that is the way many of us pray.
I have found that the more I am willing to make my prayer a conversation, the more likely I am to get a response. Hannah’s response came from Eli, who assured her the Lord would grant her prayer. Our response might come from anywhere. God’s response could come to us through a remark made by another person, a billboard or book that we read, a series of events leading us in a particular direction or - whatever. Our UCC brothers and sisters remind us that “God is still speaking” and so we have to keep listening, as part of our prayer, for whatever God says however God chooses to say it.
As a congregation we have chosen to make prayer a priority during this year. We have instituted some prayer practices that we hope will bring the community into prayer with us. We have dedicated space in Charles Hall for prayer requests and give community prayer a prominent place in our worship service. I would like to suggest that we once again start a prayer group. A group who can gather to pray regularly every week, and even study together on how to pray more effectively as a congregation. I suggest this because I know how hard it is, in our very busy lives, to remember to take time to talk to God. And because we have said that prayer is a priority in our lives as a congregation it seems that we should take time as a congregation to gather for prayer.
I would further suggest that those who cannot come here to participate set aside the same time at home to pray in solidarity with those who are gathered here.
This may be a hardship. It will certainly interfere with TV watching and Facebook game playing. But I believe it is something that I, at least, must do. Because prayer is a sacrifice. It is how we tell God what is in our hearts, and it is how we listen for God’s response. It is how we give God the most private and valuable part of our selves to make room in our hearts for God’s loving care. It is how we bring the holy into our daily lives. Let us go out from here, my brothers and sisters, ready to sacrifice our hearts to God, prepared and willing to take time to be holy.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Where is God? Part 2
Job 38:1-7, 34-41
1From out of a storm,
the LORD said to Job:
2Why do you talk so much
when you know so little?
3Now get ready to face me!
Can you answer
the questions I ask?
4How did I lay the foundation
for the earth?
Were you there?
5Doubtless you know who decided
its length and width.
6What supports the foundation?
Who placed the cornerstone,
7while morning stars sang,
and angels rejoiced?
34Can you order the clouds
to send a downpour,
35or will lightning flash
at your command?
36Did you teach birds to know
that rain or floods
are on their way?
37Can you count the clouds
or pour out their water
38on the dry, lumpy soil?
39When lions are hungry,
do you help them hunt?
40Do you send an animal
into their den?
41And when starving young ravens
cry out to me for food,
do you satisfy their hunger?
I always find this part of the story disturbing. I mean, Job is suffering, through no fault of his own, and he just wants to ask God face to face, why? I’m faithful. I’ve done everything you’ve asked. I have not lost my faith, indeed, I am even more certain that you will judge me fairly when you see the truth of the situation. I’m being punished unjustly and you are a just God. Job stands there secure in his knowledge of God’s power and grace and mercy and waits for God.
And God turned on him! God says “Where were you when I created all this? And where are you even now when the creatures of the world need food, or when rain has to be sent over a drought area? Are you helping me do my work? Or are you just caring for yourself?”
What have you done to help?
We look around and see so few people here. What are we doing wrong?
I mean, we’re doing this whole Job thing lately
so we just have to ask
What have we done to deserve this?
Are we totally innocent and faithful like Job and just being tested by the devil?
what have we done to help God?
I can go on here talking about the things we have done in the past
It is what I usually do at this time of the year, after all
the time of year when we talk about our heritage as Disciples
the things we are proud of as Delhaven.
I can point to the back wall and talk about awards we have won
about all the things we have participated in
I can talk about the past glories and honors
about the community center
and all the ways we have reached out to help our neighborhood
all the social action that we have done
And I can talk about the programs that we support today
Girl scouting and the preschool and the new preschool
ways that we are helping the future of children
ways we are helping lift our neighbors out of poverty
out of illiteracy and out of hopelessness
how we feed the hungry with our food ministry and with the Treasure Box program
I can say all those things that make us feel better about ourselves
even as we look around at these empty seats
I can point out how Uy and I were part of yesterday’s Regional worship service
How Hank serves our Region with the golf committee,
Doug with Global ministries and me with communications
and how Linda serves with general church boards and committees
and Kate teaches classes to ministers seeking to be licensed.
I can talk about all the work that we do for the Church
But I don’t think those things really help us feel better about ourselves,
especially when we look at all the empty pews. And still,
maybe even more so, we want to ask God – why? Why are we not growing?
June asked me that yesterday. She said she was so worried about the church,
about how we keep getting smaller and so many of those who are here are older
and not as able to do things as we once were. And these are legitimate concerns.
If the point of church was to be an organization that raised money to help the poor,
if it was supposed to be just like any other charity organization,
then we would be in pretty sad shape.
But the point of the church is to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ into the world.
The point of coming together for worship is to share God’s love with each other,
to learn from and be challenged by the Word of God,
to be changed by that Word, and then
to go out into the world and change it.
The business of Church is to be the center from which change comes about.
Delhaven is at the center of a lot of change. We may not be seeing growth,
but I am seeing so many wonderful things happening around us these days, with us as the center. Things that are happening because we are here.
Maurice can tell you that he has to fill the baptistery fairly often because one of the Spanish speaking congregations we share the building with have someone to baptize.
My friend Pastor Mary Hollifield of the West Covina UMC will be baptizing an adult member of her congregation, who wants to be immersed, here on November 1st.
There is a new Disciples Church in town, Iglesia Ven a Jesus. The congregation is almost all people who have never been part of any church, and have never been baptized. They meet in Alvara Regalado’s living room. He is also a new Disciple and learning to be a Disciples minister. They are being guided toward baptism by Martin Garcia, a Disciples pastor. And when they are ready, they will come here to be baptized.
And we have Abigail Conway, coming forward today to be baptized. A young girl who loves Jesus and wants to give her life to God. She has spent quite a bit of thought lately on how she can serve the church, what she can do for Delhaven. Right now it’s mostly about lighting candles.
When we think about it, isn’t bringing light exactly what Christians are supposed to do? Isn’t that the way we are able to help God, today, here and now? Isn’t our job to bring light into the darkness, to bring knowledge of God’s love, manifest in Jesus Christ, to all the world? Abigail’s lighting the candles symbolizes perfectly what it is we are to do as Church. A few years ago we said we wanted to be the light on the corner that shines into the neighborhood. A couple of years later we drew circles of community with Delhaven at the center. My sisters and brothers, I suggest to you that this is exactly what we are today. We are the light at the center of many intersecting circles of community. All come together here, and though we may not see the difference, I know that we are making a difference. We are, in fact, helping in God’s work, reaching out in love in so many different ways, showing the light of Christ to many who may not have seen it without us.
Let’s prepare for the baptism of this little light among us by singing the Disciples Affirmation of Faith, ‘We Your People, God, Confessing.”
1From out of a storm,
the LORD said to Job:
2Why do you talk so much
when you know so little?
3Now get ready to face me!
Can you answer
the questions I ask?
4How did I lay the foundation
for the earth?
Were you there?
5Doubtless you know who decided
its length and width.
6What supports the foundation?
Who placed the cornerstone,
7while morning stars sang,
and angels rejoiced?
34Can you order the clouds
to send a downpour,
35or will lightning flash
at your command?
36Did you teach birds to know
that rain or floods
are on their way?
37Can you count the clouds
or pour out their water
38on the dry, lumpy soil?
39When lions are hungry,
do you help them hunt?
40Do you send an animal
into their den?
41And when starving young ravens
cry out to me for food,
do you satisfy their hunger?
I always find this part of the story disturbing. I mean, Job is suffering, through no fault of his own, and he just wants to ask God face to face, why? I’m faithful. I’ve done everything you’ve asked. I have not lost my faith, indeed, I am even more certain that you will judge me fairly when you see the truth of the situation. I’m being punished unjustly and you are a just God. Job stands there secure in his knowledge of God’s power and grace and mercy and waits for God.
And God turned on him! God says “Where were you when I created all this? And where are you even now when the creatures of the world need food, or when rain has to be sent over a drought area? Are you helping me do my work? Or are you just caring for yourself?”
What have you done to help?
We look around and see so few people here. What are we doing wrong?
I mean, we’re doing this whole Job thing lately
so we just have to ask
What have we done to deserve this?
Are we totally innocent and faithful like Job and just being tested by the devil?
what have we done to help God?
I can go on here talking about the things we have done in the past
It is what I usually do at this time of the year, after all
the time of year when we talk about our heritage as Disciples
the things we are proud of as Delhaven.
I can point to the back wall and talk about awards we have won
about all the things we have participated in
I can talk about the past glories and honors
about the community center
and all the ways we have reached out to help our neighborhood
all the social action that we have done
And I can talk about the programs that we support today
Girl scouting and the preschool and the new preschool
ways that we are helping the future of children
ways we are helping lift our neighbors out of poverty
out of illiteracy and out of hopelessness
how we feed the hungry with our food ministry and with the Treasure Box program
I can say all those things that make us feel better about ourselves
even as we look around at these empty seats
I can point out how Uy and I were part of yesterday’s Regional worship service
How Hank serves our Region with the golf committee,
Doug with Global ministries and me with communications
and how Linda serves with general church boards and committees
and Kate teaches classes to ministers seeking to be licensed.
I can talk about all the work that we do for the Church
But I don’t think those things really help us feel better about ourselves,
especially when we look at all the empty pews. And still,
maybe even more so, we want to ask God – why? Why are we not growing?
June asked me that yesterday. She said she was so worried about the church,
about how we keep getting smaller and so many of those who are here are older
and not as able to do things as we once were. And these are legitimate concerns.
If the point of church was to be an organization that raised money to help the poor,
if it was supposed to be just like any other charity organization,
then we would be in pretty sad shape.
But the point of the church is to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ into the world.
The point of coming together for worship is to share God’s love with each other,
to learn from and be challenged by the Word of God,
to be changed by that Word, and then
to go out into the world and change it.
The business of Church is to be the center from which change comes about.
Delhaven is at the center of a lot of change. We may not be seeing growth,
but I am seeing so many wonderful things happening around us these days, with us as the center. Things that are happening because we are here.
Maurice can tell you that he has to fill the baptistery fairly often because one of the Spanish speaking congregations we share the building with have someone to baptize.
My friend Pastor Mary Hollifield of the West Covina UMC will be baptizing an adult member of her congregation, who wants to be immersed, here on November 1st.
There is a new Disciples Church in town, Iglesia Ven a Jesus. The congregation is almost all people who have never been part of any church, and have never been baptized. They meet in Alvara Regalado’s living room. He is also a new Disciple and learning to be a Disciples minister. They are being guided toward baptism by Martin Garcia, a Disciples pastor. And when they are ready, they will come here to be baptized.
And we have Abigail Conway, coming forward today to be baptized. A young girl who loves Jesus and wants to give her life to God. She has spent quite a bit of thought lately on how she can serve the church, what she can do for Delhaven. Right now it’s mostly about lighting candles.
When we think about it, isn’t bringing light exactly what Christians are supposed to do? Isn’t that the way we are able to help God, today, here and now? Isn’t our job to bring light into the darkness, to bring knowledge of God’s love, manifest in Jesus Christ, to all the world? Abigail’s lighting the candles symbolizes perfectly what it is we are to do as Church. A few years ago we said we wanted to be the light on the corner that shines into the neighborhood. A couple of years later we drew circles of community with Delhaven at the center. My sisters and brothers, I suggest to you that this is exactly what we are today. We are the light at the center of many intersecting circles of community. All come together here, and though we may not see the difference, I know that we are making a difference. We are, in fact, helping in God’s work, reaching out in love in so many different ways, showing the light of Christ to many who may not have seen it without us.
Let’s prepare for the baptism of this little light among us by singing the Disciples Affirmation of Faith, ‘We Your People, God, Confessing.”
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Where is God? Part 2
Job 23:1-9, 16-17
Then Job answered: ‘Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning. O that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling! I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; but he would give heed to me. There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted for ever by my judge.
‘If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him. God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; If only I could vanish in darkness, and thick darkness would cover my face!
Job is not a happy man. He has been afflicted with the loss of everything – wealth, property, health and even the loss of all of his children. His friends have been somewhat less than helpful in their advice and suggestions to him.
In case you haven’t read the entire story from where we left off last Sunday, the Reader’s Digest version is this. Job’s three best friends, hearing of his suffering, have come to comfort him and give him counsel. They tell him that all of these bad things prove that he has sinned against God. They don’t know what he has done, but it must have been terrible for such dreadful evils to fall upon him. They tell him he must confess his sin, repent of it and then, he must endure his punishment without complaint.
Job continues to proclaim his innocence. He points out that very often the wicked seem to prosper, so why can’t it be possible that the innocent sometimes suffer? His friends don’t buy that. He proclaims God’s power and goodness. He cries out to heaven that he would happily accept any punishment God felt he deserved for wrongdoing, but he just does not understand what he has done to deserve this.
His friends tell him – if you refuse to accept God’s punishment, if you refuse to confess that it is entirely your fault that all this bad stuff is happening to you, then you are speaking against the teachings of your religion. Everyone knows that good is rewarded and evil is punished. For you to say innocents can be punished for no reason you are speaking against God! Clearly, you are guilty and must be punished!
We’ve heard all that before, haven’t we? We’ve heard it from TV preachers and from live pulpits. We’ve heard it in folk wisdom. We hear people say “everything happens for a reason” and “this is what was meant to be,” and “whatever happens is God’s will and we just have to accept it.” We hear people say “If you do what we tell you to do, your life will get better.” We hear TV preachers telling us if we are faithful we are sure to prosper, our illnesses will be cured, and all our financial affairs will be successful but that if we are unfaithful, well . . we’ll lose it all. They would be right there with Job’s friends, refusing to believe that these bad things could possibly happen to anyone who hadn’t done something really terrible.
And Job is saying “Hey, what is going on? I AM faithful, even now. And everything is going wrong. Why, God, Why? Why was I even born if you are going to do this to me?” Job hasn’t lost his faith. He still believes God to be all powerful, fair and just. He goes on for verse after verse, proclaiming God’s greatness. He tells his friends “I know that my redeemer lives!” He knows that in the end times he will see his God and be judged with compassion and mercy. He just wants to see him now! He says, “I know if I could just present my case to you that you would relent and end this torment. Where are you??”
You all can surely tell by now why this passage doesn’t get preached often. We do not preach about a God we can’t find. Pastors do not tell their flocks about a God who seems to disappear in the hardest times. We tell you, “open your hearts. God is there, you just aren’t connecting.” We might even imply that if you would just try harder you would be able to hear God. That God’s apparent lack of response is somehow your fault for not listening hard enough. We’ll say things like “We can hear the voice of God in other people.” Well, Job was hearing a lot from other people and none of them were speaking with the voice of God. All of them were just repeating conventional wisdom – if he was faithful and blameless these things wouldn’t be happening to him. And that just plain wasn’t true!
And really, who would tune in to a TV preacher who preached on this, on the despair that Job is going through in this passage? There is no light at the end of the tunnel here. There is no good reason for what is happening to him. There isn’t even the example we usually get to use of other people being touched and changed by Job’s suffering, like the upsurge in volunteerism that follows a disaster. There’s nothing but pain and despair and a request for God to come and judge his righteousness.
We might be asking the same question when we look around here and see that only 10% of the seats are taken. Or when we see needed repairs that we’ve had to put off year after year because there simply aren’t enough funds coming in to pay for a new roof or whatever. And we wonder why. We are faithful. Even when we can barely make the bills we still give to mission and we work hard to care for our neighbors. We reach out to feed the hungry, teach the children, help the hopeless and give hope to the helpless. We’ve even started new programs to help our neighbors, stepping out boldly in faith that God will provide what’s needed for us to go forward. We take stands on issues that may make us unpopular but that we believe are faithful to Jesus’ commandment to love one another. We are faithful and we are generous and we are loving and welcoming and we just don’t understand. Where is God? Why is God letting us fade away like this? If we could just talk to God, face to face, and justify our presence here, explain what we are doing, we know that God would see we deserve better than this.
Pop wisdom tells us that if we want to be revived we have to change the way we worship. We have to use new music and technology. Going door to door doesn’t work. We have to enter people’s homes through their computers. We have to market ourselves, like Starbucks. We have to create a brand name presence, so that when we say “Delhaven Christian Church” people know exactly what church we are talking about. The experts and pundits tell us that we have to change and conform to society’s desires for an entertainment factor in everything, that we have to cater to the short attention span that MTV and UTube have created. Conventional wisdom tells us we are doing something wrong and until we confess what we are doing wrong and go forward atoning for our past sins we are doomed to failure.
Maybe. I had lunch with a group of ministers this week. Most of us come from small churches. Most of us were engaged in the Church Extension transformation process. One was pleased to report his church is growing. We talked about what the church might look like in 10 years and what evangelism tools work best. We talked about how studying certain books as a congregation is guaranteed to bring new life and energy into the church. Some lifted up computerized social networking and coffee shop worship as the wave of the present and possibly the future, others maintained that when those fads have ended the traditional church will be waiting for those folks to return. During the week I read probably a dozen articles on the future of the church, some proclaiming we have been worshipping in roughly the same way for close to 2,000 years and that tradition of worship will continue on until the end of time and others saying the days of the church meeting in an actual building are numbered.
And underlying all the conversations and the articles is this sense that we are all crying out with Job, “God, where are you? Come talk with us, face to face, so we can justify our existence and our actions to you.” Through it all is this undercurrent of “God, where are you? Please come and tell us what to do. Let us know what we are doing wrong and we’ll change it. But please, come, and talk to us.”
So, what’s the Good News in this passage? I want you to know that in every preaching class I took, and probably every preaching class ever given, the instructor is sure to say that there always has to be good news, there always has to be hope, there always has to be a word that the people can take and hold on to in the coming week.
We could jump ahead to the end of the book and see that Job gets everything back and more. But I think that would be unfaithful to the lesson in this passage. I think doing that would be unfaithful to the whole point of Job’s tribulations – that sometimes bad stuff happens even to the faithful, through no fault of their own. It’s Good News, but it may not be the right Good News for this day.
I believe the Good News here is that it’s ok to sometimes feel like God isn’t listening. That it’s ok to lift up our heartfelt pain and complain about the way the world is treating us. It’s ok to say “God, why are you forsaking me? Where are you?” It doesn’t make you a bad person or an unfaithful person. After all, the psalmist and Job and even Jesus asked those questions.
And it doesn’t mean that God isn’t there. It doesn’t mean that God isn’t listening. It may just be that it’s not time for an answer yet. It may be that God is waiting for us to get past the anger and the fear and the rushing around trying to make things work and just settle down so that we can listen.
One thing I know for sure. In the end things will work out. They may not always work out the way I want them to. They may not work out the way I expected them to. They will almost certainly not work out when I want them to work out – which for me is usually right now. But they will work out if we are willing to slow down and listen, and wait for the answer. God will not leave us out in the cold and dark of pain and despair forever. Eventually God will answer and the darkness will lift. Eventually the barriers will be gone, the path ahead will be clear. Eventually, and in God’s own time, God will make a way, somehow.
Then Job answered: ‘Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning. O that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling! I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; but he would give heed to me. There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted for ever by my judge.
‘If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him. God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; If only I could vanish in darkness, and thick darkness would cover my face!
Job is not a happy man. He has been afflicted with the loss of everything – wealth, property, health and even the loss of all of his children. His friends have been somewhat less than helpful in their advice and suggestions to him.
In case you haven’t read the entire story from where we left off last Sunday, the Reader’s Digest version is this. Job’s three best friends, hearing of his suffering, have come to comfort him and give him counsel. They tell him that all of these bad things prove that he has sinned against God. They don’t know what he has done, but it must have been terrible for such dreadful evils to fall upon him. They tell him he must confess his sin, repent of it and then, he must endure his punishment without complaint.
Job continues to proclaim his innocence. He points out that very often the wicked seem to prosper, so why can’t it be possible that the innocent sometimes suffer? His friends don’t buy that. He proclaims God’s power and goodness. He cries out to heaven that he would happily accept any punishment God felt he deserved for wrongdoing, but he just does not understand what he has done to deserve this.
His friends tell him – if you refuse to accept God’s punishment, if you refuse to confess that it is entirely your fault that all this bad stuff is happening to you, then you are speaking against the teachings of your religion. Everyone knows that good is rewarded and evil is punished. For you to say innocents can be punished for no reason you are speaking against God! Clearly, you are guilty and must be punished!
We’ve heard all that before, haven’t we? We’ve heard it from TV preachers and from live pulpits. We’ve heard it in folk wisdom. We hear people say “everything happens for a reason” and “this is what was meant to be,” and “whatever happens is God’s will and we just have to accept it.” We hear people say “If you do what we tell you to do, your life will get better.” We hear TV preachers telling us if we are faithful we are sure to prosper, our illnesses will be cured, and all our financial affairs will be successful but that if we are unfaithful, well . . we’ll lose it all. They would be right there with Job’s friends, refusing to believe that these bad things could possibly happen to anyone who hadn’t done something really terrible.
And Job is saying “Hey, what is going on? I AM faithful, even now. And everything is going wrong. Why, God, Why? Why was I even born if you are going to do this to me?” Job hasn’t lost his faith. He still believes God to be all powerful, fair and just. He goes on for verse after verse, proclaiming God’s greatness. He tells his friends “I know that my redeemer lives!” He knows that in the end times he will see his God and be judged with compassion and mercy. He just wants to see him now! He says, “I know if I could just present my case to you that you would relent and end this torment. Where are you??”
You all can surely tell by now why this passage doesn’t get preached often. We do not preach about a God we can’t find. Pastors do not tell their flocks about a God who seems to disappear in the hardest times. We tell you, “open your hearts. God is there, you just aren’t connecting.” We might even imply that if you would just try harder you would be able to hear God. That God’s apparent lack of response is somehow your fault for not listening hard enough. We’ll say things like “We can hear the voice of God in other people.” Well, Job was hearing a lot from other people and none of them were speaking with the voice of God. All of them were just repeating conventional wisdom – if he was faithful and blameless these things wouldn’t be happening to him. And that just plain wasn’t true!
And really, who would tune in to a TV preacher who preached on this, on the despair that Job is going through in this passage? There is no light at the end of the tunnel here. There is no good reason for what is happening to him. There isn’t even the example we usually get to use of other people being touched and changed by Job’s suffering, like the upsurge in volunteerism that follows a disaster. There’s nothing but pain and despair and a request for God to come and judge his righteousness.
We might be asking the same question when we look around here and see that only 10% of the seats are taken. Or when we see needed repairs that we’ve had to put off year after year because there simply aren’t enough funds coming in to pay for a new roof or whatever. And we wonder why. We are faithful. Even when we can barely make the bills we still give to mission and we work hard to care for our neighbors. We reach out to feed the hungry, teach the children, help the hopeless and give hope to the helpless. We’ve even started new programs to help our neighbors, stepping out boldly in faith that God will provide what’s needed for us to go forward. We take stands on issues that may make us unpopular but that we believe are faithful to Jesus’ commandment to love one another. We are faithful and we are generous and we are loving and welcoming and we just don’t understand. Where is God? Why is God letting us fade away like this? If we could just talk to God, face to face, and justify our presence here, explain what we are doing, we know that God would see we deserve better than this.
Pop wisdom tells us that if we want to be revived we have to change the way we worship. We have to use new music and technology. Going door to door doesn’t work. We have to enter people’s homes through their computers. We have to market ourselves, like Starbucks. We have to create a brand name presence, so that when we say “Delhaven Christian Church” people know exactly what church we are talking about. The experts and pundits tell us that we have to change and conform to society’s desires for an entertainment factor in everything, that we have to cater to the short attention span that MTV and UTube have created. Conventional wisdom tells us we are doing something wrong and until we confess what we are doing wrong and go forward atoning for our past sins we are doomed to failure.
Maybe. I had lunch with a group of ministers this week. Most of us come from small churches. Most of us were engaged in the Church Extension transformation process. One was pleased to report his church is growing. We talked about what the church might look like in 10 years and what evangelism tools work best. We talked about how studying certain books as a congregation is guaranteed to bring new life and energy into the church. Some lifted up computerized social networking and coffee shop worship as the wave of the present and possibly the future, others maintained that when those fads have ended the traditional church will be waiting for those folks to return. During the week I read probably a dozen articles on the future of the church, some proclaiming we have been worshipping in roughly the same way for close to 2,000 years and that tradition of worship will continue on until the end of time and others saying the days of the church meeting in an actual building are numbered.
And underlying all the conversations and the articles is this sense that we are all crying out with Job, “God, where are you? Come talk with us, face to face, so we can justify our existence and our actions to you.” Through it all is this undercurrent of “God, where are you? Please come and tell us what to do. Let us know what we are doing wrong and we’ll change it. But please, come, and talk to us.”
So, what’s the Good News in this passage? I want you to know that in every preaching class I took, and probably every preaching class ever given, the instructor is sure to say that there always has to be good news, there always has to be hope, there always has to be a word that the people can take and hold on to in the coming week.
We could jump ahead to the end of the book and see that Job gets everything back and more. But I think that would be unfaithful to the lesson in this passage. I think doing that would be unfaithful to the whole point of Job’s tribulations – that sometimes bad stuff happens even to the faithful, through no fault of their own. It’s Good News, but it may not be the right Good News for this day.
I believe the Good News here is that it’s ok to sometimes feel like God isn’t listening. That it’s ok to lift up our heartfelt pain and complain about the way the world is treating us. It’s ok to say “God, why are you forsaking me? Where are you?” It doesn’t make you a bad person or an unfaithful person. After all, the psalmist and Job and even Jesus asked those questions.
And it doesn’t mean that God isn’t there. It doesn’t mean that God isn’t listening. It may just be that it’s not time for an answer yet. It may be that God is waiting for us to get past the anger and the fear and the rushing around trying to make things work and just settle down so that we can listen.
One thing I know for sure. In the end things will work out. They may not always work out the way I want them to. They may not work out the way I expected them to. They will almost certainly not work out when I want them to work out – which for me is usually right now. But they will work out if we are willing to slow down and listen, and wait for the answer. God will not leave us out in the cold and dark of pain and despair forever. Eventually God will answer and the darkness will lift. Eventually the barriers will be gone, the path ahead will be clear. Eventually, and in God’s own time, God will make a way, somehow.
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