03-05-2023 Sequence Matters

Thomas J Parlette
“Sequence Maters”
Romans 4: 1-5, 13-17
3/5/23

           I am a child of the suburbs. Most of my childhood was spent moving around to various middle class neighborhoods within 20-30 minutes of whatever General Electric Plant my dad was working at. It wasn’t until I was called to my first church as a solo pastor that I lived in a predominantly rural area.

          It’s kinda’ hard to think of the Hamptons as a rural area. After all, it’s only about 90 minutes into New York city and it’s famous around the world as a vacation spot for the wealthy. All that is true. But the people who have spent their lives there, generation after generation, still think of it as farmland. Most of the members of the Congregation I served in Bridgehampton, Long Island, were too far removed from farming and agriculture. Many still actively worked the land, selling their produce from farm stands or concentrating on horticulture or vineyards or fruit orchards. So while I was a pastor in that community, I learned a lot.

          For instance, I learned the difference between soil and dirt. Dirt was basically dead. You couldn’t grow anything in dirt. But soil is alive. It is full of nutrients. So you grow things in soil, not dirt. That had never occurred to me growing up in suburban USA.

          I also learned some economics lessons as well. Like whatever the estimate for a project is – double it for the actual cost.

          And then, I’ll never forget one particular lesson I learned when I sat in on a meeting with our Trustees – who functioned like our building and grounds committee. A local farm equipment salesman had been particularly aggressive in wanting to sell us a new mower. He kept calling wanting to set up an appointment and I finally referred him to our Trustees. The elder statesman of the group, an older farmer named John, hemmed and hawed a bit, but finally agreed to talk to the salesman. The Trustees were notified, our custodian Harry was invited, and a date was set.

          We gathered at the church and listened to the sales presentation, passed around the brochures, the glossy fact sheets and the pricing guide. After an hour, the salesman asked for any questions. The room was silent. Finally, John spoke up, “We’ll get back to you.” It was clear the meeting was over. They thanked the salesman, everybody shook hands and he left. The Trustees sat down again. After a bit of silence, John asked Harry, “How’s your mower?”

          “It’s fine.”

          “It’s working ok?”

          “Sure is.”

          They sat around in their jeans and Carhart jackets for another minute, until John broke the silence. “Well, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

          And that was that.

          If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Paul was dealing with that same kind of logic back in his day. That’s what a lot of folks were saying about good works back in the first century. Within the Jewish faith, there was a long tradition of people being justified by works. They would study the laws of the Bible, including the Ten Commandments, and then do their best to follow the law by remembering the Sabbath, honoring their father and mother, and refraining from murder, adultery and stealing. When they did these good works, they would be justified – meaning that they would be put back into a right relationship with God and their neighbors.

          The model for being justified was Abraham, a righteous man who was the father of every Jew. He was held up as the symbol of Jewish righteousness. Those who followed Abraham saw him as the finest example of being justified by works. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

          But then Paul came along and saw something that needed to be fixed.

          Paul made an important discovery when he studied the story of Abraham. He realized that it was simply not true that Abraham was justified by his works. “What does the scripture say? He asked in his letter to the Romans. “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

          Yes, Abraham was made righteous by believing God, not by following the law. He was made righteous by his faith, not by his good works.

          That was a radical innovation. That we are put right with God through grace, not good deeds. Frederick Buechner writes, “Grace is something you can never get but only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.”

          “A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?”

          “A crucial eccentricity of the Christian faith is the assertion that people are saved by grace. There’s nothing you have to do. There’s nothing you have to do. There’s nothing you have to do.”

          “The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe. I love you.”

          “There’s only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you’ll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.”(1)

          And that’s what Abraham did. He reached out and seized God’s grace. He believed and then did what God told him to do. He believed in “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” He believed in the same God who raised Jesus from death to new life, and who calls into existence what may seem to be impossible. In Abraham’s life, that meant he trusted God to give him a child, even though his body was as good as dead. He believed in the promises of God and was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what God had promised.”

          Abraham had faith in the God who gives life to the dead. He trusted God. He believed in the promises of God and that God had the power to fulfill those promises. And because of that faith, he was credited as righteous.

          According to Paul in this passage, sequence matters. Just ask any elementary school teaching kids to read. Ask anyone involved in the construction industry. Or in my case, I could ask any of three members of my family who teach kids to swim. They would all agree – sequence matters. For Paul it starts with belief. Abraham believed in God. Then Abraham acted on God’s instructions. Then good things happened. And Abraham became known as righteous. The sequence matters.

          Next in the sequence is trust. Trust God. Trust that God will do what has been promised. This passage from Romans makes it clear that the best thing Abraham ever did was to trust God. Abraham was righteous by trusting God, not trusted by God because he was righteous.

          Finally, we can rest assured that grace is guaranteed. Grace is not earned like wages and cannot be lost like squandered wages. Abraham didn’t receive God’s grace for being a good person, or even for trusting God. He received God’s grace as we all do – as a gift. He received grace because God is God – and that’s what God does. God’s economy does not resemble a market economy, where earnings and expenditures come as a result of effort. Grace, God’s currency distributed with abundance, does not follow predictable human rules, which it means it can’t be fully understood – and usually comes as a surprise.

          Anne LaMotte tells a story about a time she was surprised by grace. In the days after the war in Iraq broke out, she was particularly agonized to see the results of war – especially as it effected the children of Iraq. She prayed constantly for the war to end – but she became frustrated that it just dragged on and on. As she writes, “The problem with God – or at any rate, one of the top five most annoying things about God – is that God rarely answers right away. It can days, weeks. Some people seem to understand that life and change take time. I, on the other hand, am an instant-message type.” But she continued to pray – simply, God, help me.

          On her 49th birthday, she drove to the store to buy herself a birthday dinner. She says, “I flirted with everyone in the store, especially the old people, and I lightened up. When the checker finished ringing up my items, she looked at my receipt and cried, “Hey, you won a ham!”

          “I felt blind-sided by the news. I had asked God for help – not a ham. This was very disturbing. What on earth was I going to do with ten pounds of salty, pink eraser? I rarely eat ham – it makes you bloat.”

          “Wow,” I said. The checker was so excited about giving it to me that I pretended I was, too.”

          “A bagger was dispatched to the back of the store to fetch my ham. I stood waiting anxiously. I just wanted to go home. I almost suggested that the checker award the ham to the next family who paid by food stamps. But for some reason I don’t understand, I waited. If God was going to give me a ham, I’d be crazy not to receive it. Maybe it was the ham of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”

          I waited ten minutes, and finally the bag boy handed me a parcel the size of a cat. I put it with feigned cheer into my grocery cart and walked to the car, trying to figure out who might need it. I thought about chucking the ham out the window near a field. I was so distracted that I crashed smack into a slow moving car in the parking lot.”

          “I started to apologize, when I noticed that the car was a rusty wreck, and that an old friend was at the wheel. We had gotten sober together a long time ago, and each of us had a son at the same time.”

          “She opened her window. “Hey,” I said. “How are you – it’s my birthday!”

          “Happy Birthday,” she said, and started crying. After a moment, she pointed to her gas gauge. “I don’t have any money for gas or food. I’ve never asked for help from a friend since I got sober, but I’m asking you to help me.”

          “I’ve got money,” I said.

          “No, no, I just need gas. I’ve never asked someone for a handout.”

          “It’s not a handout,” I said. “It’s my birthday present. I thrust a bunch of money into her hand. Then I reached into my shopping cart and held out the ham to her like a clown offering flowers. “Hey,” I said. “Do you and your kids like ham?”

          “We love it,” she said.

          She put it in the seat beside her, firmly, lovingly, as if she were about to strap it in. And then she cried some more and we kissed good-bye through her window.”(2)

          Sometimes grace comes like that – unexpected as winning a ham you don’t want and running into an old friend in the parking lot who really needs it.

          Paul reminds us today that sequence matters. First believe. Then obey. And God’s grace is guaranteed.

          May God be praised for that. Amen.

References:

1.    Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking, HarperSanFrancisco, 1993, p 38-39.
2.    Anne LaMotte, Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace, Riverhead Books. 2014, p 255-257.

02-26-2023 The One About the Apple

Thomas J Parlette
“The One About the Apple”
Gen. 2:15-17; 3:1-7
2/26/23

          Dear Adam,
          Eve here.
          Well here it is, Lent, again. Folks are going to read a story about us from the Book of Genesis. You know the one – the one about the apple. That story, like some of other ones about us, really get under my skin. Most of them make you and all the other guys at your end of the gene pool look pretty good. But not so much for the women. And let’s not even get started with what it’s done to the reputation of snakes all over the world. But I have a hard time empathizing with snakes – so I’ll let that go.
          I know it’s been awhile, and we kind of drifted apart after God kicked us out of the Garden and we had all that trouble with the boys. But I wanted to write to you to set the record straight. I know I haven’t written in ages. But life has worn me pretty thin. Still, I’ve had a couple of nice jobs along the way. Maybe you’ve seen me around – Mother Earth, Lady Wisdom, Dame Fortune. Maybe you saw me in that series of commercials for margarine back in the 1970’s – “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” That was fun.
          Well, enough about me. Let’s get down to it. There are a lot of things about that apple story that I think people overlook or misinterpret.
          First of all, let’s start with why you, and then I, were put in the Garden in the first place. It’s right there in verse 15, the very beginning of the story people read on this Sunday. We were put there “to till and keep” the garden. In that other creation story, the one about the six days of creation and on the seventh, God rested, it says that God gave us “dominion” over creation, that we were to bring it under control and that we were in charge. Since that story comes first in the Bible, that’s the one people tend to remember. And they come away thinking, “The earth is here for us to use as we see fit. Creation serves us.” But in our story, we are put in creation “to till it and keep it.” Our story makes it clear that we are here to serve and care for the world. Our first job is to care for God’s creation. I think people forget that sometimes.
          Next, most people forget, that my conversation with the snake is actually the first theological conversation recorded in the Bible.(1) The snake asked me, “Did God say, “you shall not eat from any tree in the Garden?” I told the snake “No – we are allowed to eat from the trees, just not the one in the middle of the Garden.”
          Then, I became the first biblical interpreter when I added, “God said you shall not eat of it, or even touch it, or you shall die.”(2) That touching part was all me. I mean, when you think about it, how are you going eat from the tree unless you touch the fruit. It would be too hard to jump and take a bite, and I don’t ever remember any fruit falling on the ground, so you’d have to touch it. Pretty smart, huh. That’s biblical interpretation right there. But nobody remembers that about this story.
          So let’s get to the big one – the point everybody remembers and talks about even today. Original Sin.
          I’m really kind of fed up with taking all the blame for what happened in the Garden. First of all, I wasn’t alone. I think people have a picture in their head about this story and they see only the snake talking to me. As if I’m there all by myself. But if you remember Adam, you were there with me. You didn’t say anything – but you were there. In case you forgot, it says so right there in verse 6, “…she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.” And yet somehow, I take all the blame. The way the story gets spun, I end up taking the fall – or causing The Fall, I should say. I’m the Temptress, the Weaker Sex who gives in to temptation, bested by the snake, the Little Woman. All those images I think find their way back to this story about the apple.
          Let’s take a closer look at what the snake was doing in that conversation with us – yes, as I said, you were there, you heard the same things I did, you just didn’t say anything.
          What that snake did was to cause us to question God. He made us suspicious of God’s intentions. He made us wonder “Why weren’t we allowed to know the difference between Good and Evil?” Why would God do that? And then that wriggly serpent planted an idea in our head that we could be “like God.”
          I admit, that’s what got me. To be like God. Who wouldn’t want that. It occurred to me that the snake might have a point. After all:
          1.    The fruit was good for food.
          2.    It was nice to look at.
          3.    And it offered wisdom, the knowledge of Good and Evil.
          I remember shooting you a look at this point, a look that meant “What do you think?” But you just shrugged and didn’t say anything. So I handed you a piece of fruit and we ate. And that how I came to be responsible for sin coming into the world, as some people think. Like I said, I got all the blame.
     One more thing I’d like to clear up. People often ask me about why we didn’t die. God said quite explicitly, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” But then we ate the fruit and we didn’t die. What happened.
     Well, true. God did say that and we didn’t die. True.
But not entirely true. Some things in us did die after we ate that  apple.
          1.    Our innocence died. We ate that apple and realized we were naked. We realized we were different. We were no longer two care-free beings living in the garden, taking care of the plants and happily enjoying our time in God’s presence.
          2.    Our child-like trust in God also died. We depended on God for everything and we didn’t even realize it – till after we ate that apple. We never used to worry about a thing. Everything was provided for us. Suddenly we were more suspicious, less trusting, we asked more questions, considered more possibilities, both and bad and started to worry about the future for the first time ever.
          3.    And then our humility died. We no longer thought of God as something beyond us. We thought we could put ourselves on equal footing with God. If we had the knowledge of good and evil, we would be like God – that’s what the snake told us. And we – that’s right we – fell for it hook, line and sinker.
          So, we didn’t die physically, but some of our attributes and ways of approaching life did die. And suddenly we were farther from God than we had ever been. And God sent us out of the Garden.
          I’m sure you remember the hard times that came after that – I sure do. The hard work to get the land to yield any food at all. And of course the pain of childbirth – I don’t even want to talk about that. But the biggest heartbreak of all was what became of our boys, Cain and Abel. You just don’t recover from one son killing the other.
          I wonder if two daughters would have been different?
          We’ll never know.
          These days, I take some solace in the fact that the same God that sent us out of the Garden, sent his own Son, Jesus, to provide a way back in to God’s good graces. I was amazed that Jesus faced temptations even greater than ours – but he was able to resist.
          I don’t know if you’ve read any of the writings of the one they call Paul, but he wrote to a Christian church in Rome and he nicely reframed our story about the apple. He said:
          “Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned… So then, as the one sin condemned all humankind, in the same way the one righteous act sets all humankind free and gives them life. And just as all people were made sinners as a result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way they will all be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man.”
          Don’t know if you caught that Adam – but Paul didn’t mention me once, only you. Just saying. Oh, and he mentions you by name three times. Uh Huh.
          Well , thank you for letting me straighten some things out about our infamous apple story. I do wish you well. And I’ll try not to let too much time go by before I write again.
          Peace be with you, Eve.
 

1.    David G. Garber Jr., Connections, Westminster John Knox Press, 2019, p 25.
2.    Ibid… p 25.

02-19-2023 Mountains Left Unclimbed

Thomas J Parlette
“Mountains Left Unclimbed”
Matthew 17: 1-9
2/19/23

          There is an old joke that circulates among preachers. It is the description of the ideal sermon model as “Three points and a poem.” It’s a model that was employed in an earlier generation of preachers – but you can still see it today. I’ve done it myself. Three points and a poem may be a little old-fashioned – but it can still be effective.
          But today we’re going to change things up. Today we’re going to start with a poem, not end with one. This poem, called “The Mountain”, is by Robert Frost and it was published in 1915 in his book of poetry North of Boston. It tells of a chance encounter between Frost and an old New England farmer. It’s a little long, but I think it’s worth hearing on this Transfiguration Sunday.

(Read Poem)

          The heart of that poem is an ordinary conversation between two people that somehow manages to traffic in the profound: “It doesn’t seem so much to climb a mountain you’ve worked around the foot of all your life.
          There’s something a little sad about this farmer who has spent his whole life staring up at the mountain’s looming form, but never once venturing to the summit. All he knows about it – and about the mysterious spring near the top – he learned secondhand. There it has been, all along. He could have set out upon the climb and discover for himself what was up there – but somehow he never did. Life got in the way.
          Is that how it is for us when it comes to the most essential and enduring feature of our lives – our knowledge and experience of God? Does all we know of God depend on secondhand accounts from someone else who has ventured up the mountain? Or do we have an experience of the Divine that we can call our own? If someone were to ask you “What’s it like to have a mountaintop experience? – what would you say.
          That’s a question that Peter, James and John might have had a hard time – until that day they followed Jesus up the side of a mountain and witnessed him being transfigured.
          All in all, it was a fleeting experience. It didn’t last long – just long enough for Peter to offer to build three dwellings just before they heard the voice of God. But the experience sure left an impression. Peter talks about it in our other reading for today, saying “We were eyewitnesses… We heard this voice from heaven, while we were with Jesus on the holy mountain.” Peter was left with no doubt about who Jesus was, I’m sure James and John probably felt the same way.
          No one can say for sure what exactly happened on that mountain, but it certainly was some kind of vision. Peter, as he usually does, stands in for us all in these stories as he says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Like so many of us, Peter is overworking, over-functioning, barely taking a second to stop, catch his breath and behold the wonder unfolding before him.
          Novelist E.M. Forster once wrote, “Ecstasy doesn’t last. But it cuts a channel for something lasting.”(1) Some moments are simply meant to be savored for what they are, not preserved for posterity. Some moments just cut a channel for something lasting.
          Have you ever visited a popular tourist sight like Mount Rushmore or the Grand Canyon and all the people around you are consumed with taking pictures and selfies, and videos with their smartphones? They’re so desperate to preserve what they’re seeing that they barely even see it, not firsthand anyway. Standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon, but only seeing it through that tiny screen – what a shame. If Peter, James and John had had cell phones, they probably would have been doing the same thing as those tourists. Come on, Peter, forget the lean-to shelters. Stop doing, for once. Just concentrate on being, on gratefully receiving the wonder that’s before your eyes!
          So where are the mountaintops in our lives? Where do we go to have a better than average chance of encountering the living God?
          No one, of course, can dictate where or when God is going to show up. It’s not something you can schedule. The “Spirit-wind blows where it chooses” as Jesus taught Nicodemus. And while that is true, there are certain things we can do to position ourselves in the right place at the right time. Today – here on the threshold of Lent – is a good time to remind ourselves about what we might do to position ourselves for a mountaintop experience.
          To begin with, we can pray. This is more than the hurried grace we say before dinner, the sleepy-eyed bedtime prayer, or the swift request called up to God in a moment of panic. The only way to truly ascend to the mountaintop in prayer is to practice a patient, contemplative kind of prayer. Such prayer is more watchful waiting than conscious thought, more silence than speech. And yes, it takes a block of time. That is what can be scheduled, carved out of our frantic lives.
          Another way of ascending the mountain is to read the Bible. This too, we take a chunk of time to read and let the words sink in. But it will pay dividends as you look for experience of the Divine.
          And still another way of opening ourselves to God’s presence is by simply attending worship regularly. Sounds obvious coming from the preacher, but coming to church to pray and sing and hear the Word of God is the best way to position yourself for a mountaintop experience.
          Take the experience of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. He was a priest in the Church of England, who thought his spiritual life was just fine until he accepted an invitation to attend a worship service. In Wesley’s own words:
          “I went very unwilling to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while the leader was describing the change God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”(2)
          John Wesley had a mountaintop experience there at Aldersgate because he had positioned himself at the right time and place.
          Through prayer, study and worship – the spiritual disciplines we are called to practice during Lent – we, too, can ascend the mountain. We can open ourselves up to whatever God is ready to do with us. You can’t make yourself have a spiritual experience. Only God can see to that. Yet, as the old lottery slogan used to say – “You can’t win if you don’t play.”
          It’s always a sad thing when a mountain is left unclimbed. Like the farmer in Robert Frosts poem, the mountain is always there, looming familiar and serene, but it’s summit is never attempted. Is there a spring at the top, is there life-giving water up there? Will the Lord appear, shining brightly as the sun – or must the waiting continue?
          Who can know? But one thing is for sure. If you never begin to climb, you’ll never know the glories of the summit.
         That is what we are called to do in the season of Lent that is just three days away.
May God be praised. Amen.

1.    Homileticsonline, retrieved Jan. 15th, 2023.
2.    Ibid…

02-12-2023 The Commencement Address of Moses

Thomas J Parlette
“The Commencement Address of Moses”
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20
2/12/23
 

          On June 4th, 1977, Dr. Seuss gave the commencement address to the graduating class of Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois. It was titled, “My Uncle Terwilliger on the Art of Eating Popovers” And of course, it was written in Dr. Seuss’s signature style:

          “My uncle ordered popovers
          From the restaurant’s bill of fare,
          And, when they were served, he regarded them
          With a penetrating stare…
          Then he spoke great Words of Wisdom
          As he sat there on that chair:
          “To eat these things,” said my uncle,
          “You must exercise great care.
          You may swallow down what’s solid…
          BUT… you must spit out the air!”
          And… as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,
          That’s darned good advice to follow.
          Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.
          And be careful what you swallow.”(1)
 

         That’s great advice for those graduates as they left the world of academia to find their place in the real world.

         You know, whenever one of our sons leaves the security and safety of our house to go out into the world to school, or work, or swim practice or whatever it is, I say one of two things to them:
         “Have fun… storming the castle,” from The Princess Bride.
         Or, “Make good choices,” from the movie Pitch Perfect.

          But Dr. Seuss’s, “Spit out the hot air, and be careful what you swallow” just might make the rotation now.
Good commencement addresses usually share some characteristics.
First, they spend some time recalling the great events and achievements of the graduates lives, congratulating them on reaching this milestone.
 Second, they review some of the great life lessons learned, either in the process of their own education or the lessons learned by the speaker as they pursued their careers.
And then commencement speeches remind the new graduates not to forget the important lessons they have learned as they venture forth into the real world.
Recall. Review. Remind. All the great commencement speeches do that somehow.
And that’s exactly what Moses does here in this passage from Deuteronomy. This text reads like a commencement address as Moses prepares for his coming death and sends the Israelites into the Promised land without him.
Indeed, the whole book of Deuteronomy is organized as a collection of speeches and addresses that Moses gives as the people wandered in the desert for 40 years. Throughout its 34 chapters, Moses recalls the great events of their desert adventure and appeals to the people to remember how God has led them through the wilderness.
Moses also reviews the important things they have learned. He reviews the Ten Commandments, especially the importance of the First commandment, “Worship no other God but me.” He also reviews one of the key verses in the book, the Shema, as it is known in Hebrew – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Then Moses reminds the people of the meaning of God’s covenant with them. Basically – I will be your God and you will be my people. Obey my commandments.
So, in our passage for today, Moses lays out two choices for God’s people. In his opinion, it’s not complicated. Obey God. Keep God’s laws. Turn your hearts to God. You know it, you can quote it, so now obey it.
I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand. Or death and adversity on the other. That’s the choice. One or the other. Life or death. I urge you – choose life.
That phrase “Choose Life” can mean different things to different people, depending on your age. For movie buffs, they probably recall “Choose life” from the 1996 movie Trainspotting, in which the main character rather sarcastically uses it as launching point for a long monologue about the societal pressure to choose various products in a culture dominated by consumerism.
For me, having grown up with the music from the 80’s, “Choose Life” brings to mind the joyous music video that went along with Wham’s hit song “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” The words had been printed in block letters on T-shirts in 1983 by a fashion designer named Katharine Hamnett to preach against suicide as well as drugs. She, in turn, had been inspired by Buddhist thinking, exemplified by nuclear disarmament advocate Daisaku Ikeda in his “choose life” dialogues with British historian Arnold Toynbee in the 1970’s.(2) Then along came Wham!, with that infectious tune and in the video they were all wearing “Choose Life” T-shirts. I like them so much, I went out and bought one. That challenge, that call to action can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. For Moses, it clearly means choose to obey the Lord and follow God’s commandments – that is the way to life.
Moses commencement address reminds us that we still have this choice to make today as well. The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “We are our choices.” The Headmaster of Hogwarts would agree. Dumbledore once famously said to Harry Potter, “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Choosing life can take many forms. Loving God with all your heart, mind and strength can be done in many different ways.
Learn things you have told yourself you would never learn.
Enjoy simple things. Play with children. Learn a new game.
Laugh often, long and loud. Cry when it is time to cry.
Be patient with your own imperfections as well as the imperfections of others.
Surround yourself with what you love – whether it is family, friends, pets, music, nature, or silence.
This is choosing life.
Walk around the block. Turn off the television Read a book of poetry. Quit doing what is not worth your t time. Do something so someone else won’t have to do it. Be the first to stop arguing.
Apologize, even if it was mostly their fault.
Forgive someone, even if they don’t deserve it.
Believe that God loves you. See Christ in the people around you.
Open your heart to the Spirit. Search for something beyond your own comfort.(3)
Find the wonderful in today. It is then that you have “Chosen Life”.

Many of you probably remember the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It’s the story of an adventurous archeologist, who goes on a search for the Holy Grail with his father. The Holy Grail is the cup that Christ drank from during the Last Supper, and people have been searching for it for centuries, but it remains a mystery. The Grail was rumored to have supernatural powers so that a person could live forever if they drank from it.
Toward the end of the movie, Indiana Jones finds a secret chamber, guarded by an ancient knight, containing a variety of chalices and cups – some made of gold and precious jewels, and some rather less impressive. The ancient knight offers Indiana a choice. If he chooses the correct chalice, he will live and he can use it to heal his father who was dying just outside the chamber. But if he chose the wrong cup, he, and his father, would die. It was literally a choice between life and death.
Indy weighs his options – and makes his choice. He chooses an ordinary wooden cup, because it looks like a cup that would belong to a carpenter. And the ancient knight guarding the grail says, “You have chosen…. Wisely.”
I think I see a glimmer of Moses reflected in that ancient knight’s face. Both presented a choice between life and death. You must choose. Moses himself is waiting and praying for the people of God, then and now, to choose wisely. Choose life.
May God be praised. Amen.

1.    Dr. Seuss, “My Uncle Terwilliger On the Art of Eating Popovers”, Hold Fast Your Dreams, edited by Carrie Boyko and Kimberly Colen, Scholastic Inc. 1996, p199.
2.    Patricia K. Tull, Connections, Westminster John Knox Press, 2019, p242.
3.    Brett Younger, Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p343.

02-05-2023 For Those Who Love God

Jay Rowland

“For Those Who Love God”

1 Corinthians 2:1-12

Whenever we encounter the Apostle Paul it’s helpful to first determine the specific situation Paul is addressing. In all of his writings and letters, Paul covers a variety of issues depending upon where he is and the situation there..

In 1 Corinthians Paul is addressing a community of “newbies” -- beginners in the faith -- people learning how to be a faith community, what it means, how it’s different from other communities.

Most communities have some natural amount of diversity--a diversity of personalities certainly, but also socio-economic, ethnic, racial, gender and other identifiers which naturally exist among any community in almost any era.

It’s safe to say that this community of Christians, the church planted by the Apostle Paul in Corinth, bears some of these characteristics. But what makes it fascinating is that this is a community that is new to faith---faith in God, faith in Jesus--and what it means to live together as a community of faith. Perhaps this is why Paul’s letters remain so instructive and applicable today. And now, given the significant societal and cultural shifts impacting faith communities in this generation, sweeping changes are making all churches newbies again.

Now we know from experience that there are wonderful benefits that come from belonging to a community, and there are challenges. Faith communities are no different in that regard. But what makes faith communities unique is that the main “reason” for involvement is … GOD! And a person’s relationship with God. And so whatever people may love or loathe about their church is secondary to the calling of the Lord, right?

What makes church unique is that its existence and survival depend upon God. But God also depends upon God’s people to care for and tend to this community. That ongoing tension plays out in every church and faith community ever since Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt. Every faith community must continually learn and evolve in how to live out their relationship with God, together with their community with its diverse range of human commitment, faith, conviction, experience, knowledge and … problems!

Back to those early Christians in Corinth: one of the thornier problems was that some members of the community considered themselves wiser and more spiritually gifted and knowledgeable than all of the others. So, naturally, these folks decided they were supposed to drive the life of the community. Every community has to be organized in order to make decisions and attend to the natural issues and needs of that community. But in Corinth, the folks who self-identified as the most spiritually gifted assumed their role as authority figures in this new community.

But the thing is, that’s a worldly way of determining organization. And so Paul’s response, as it often is in his letters is, “not so fast!” Paul said that for Christians and Jews, at least, wisdom and leadership aren’t about knowledge—not even “special” spiritual knowledge—it’s about love.

It’s not about self-appointed leaders who say or think they know all the answers. On the contrary, Paul says, for Christian communities, it’s all about being open to the wisdom of God as it manifests among God’s people. It’s not about knowing the answers, it’s more about the shared struggle and about the questions unique to the time and place. The wisdom God gives is not about establishing worldly certainty or political mechanisms. What makes Christian community different from other organizations is (or is supposed to be) an alternative understanding of human authority. How do we decide who “we” are? Who gets to decide? It’s a shared, organic process unlike all other worldly models and hierarchies and political machinations driven by prejudice, competition, and judgment.

But this is also what makes Christian community incredibly complex and difficult. It’s so much simpler and quicker and predictable to simply do as the world does and follow the conventional methods of authority. But faith communities are not faith communities if they derive their authority from government and business models. So perhaps that’s what Paul means when he says that God’s wisdom can seem hidden … even secret! It isn’t as obvious as we might all prefer it to be.

Because: how are faith communities supposed to benefit from God’s wisdom if it’s … hidden? Secret?!

Paul’s answer, his message to the newbies in Corinth and to you and I today has to do with identity. From where do we derive our identity? With whom do we identify? Where do we as Christians look for wisdom and authority?

Paul declares that for Christians—individuals and communities—identity must be found in Jesus Christ, specifically in “Christ crucified”.

And that’s a deal-breaker for many – even entire Christian communities and churches.

Oh I’m not saying it’s explicit. No church worth its mettle would explicitly distance itself from Christ crucified. I mean, we all get it; we all certainly know about Christ crucified. But Paul says it’s not enough to know about Christ crucified, it’s more about love. It’s all about moving toward Christ crucified, entering into the mystery of the crucified Christ such that it becomes the formative, foundational identity of communal life. Not in a way that obsesses about certain aspects of it. It’s not about the macabre details of Jesus’ physical death. It’s not about embracing a victim-mentality or messiah-complex. It’s not about strict dogmatism that God “sent Jesus to die” … no no no no!

NO! not that, but this:

The deep and profound LOVE of Jesus Christ, God-with-us, God-IN-US, God-for-us … the LOVE OF CHRIST that willingly entered in to our experience. Even death--a public torture, humiliating death. I guess in God’s wisdom, nothing else out there compares to a love that would go that far to show us the limitless depth of God’s LOVE

“The ordinary route to wisdom is through knowledge, Paul insists the point of entry for us is LOVE.” 1

The wisdom God gives is not so much for those who KNOW God, or say they know God, but for those who quietly LOVE God ... and struggle to love and live in a world with so much suffering.

Perhaps that’s what Paul means when he describes God’s “wisdom” as something that almost everyone misses.

Look, the resurrection of Jesus is clearly foundational to our faith. But Paul implies that we all seem to tolerate the crucified Christ as we rush to embrace his resurrection. We all love resolution. We all love a happy ending. But in the meantime, there’s … life. Crucifixion. The distinction is critical to understanding Paul’s message.

Paul suggests that our authenticity as Christians, our resilience as a people of faith, our daily existence in the midst of human violence and war, the outrageous tolerance of gun violence, the ongoing murder of African Americans by police departments, and now even the survival of Creation itself, is all critically connected to our willingness to commune with the crucified Christ. Or in the very least an understanding of God’s wisdom revealed in the crucified Christ.

“When Paul summarizes the content (meaning) of the gospel as “Christ crucified,” he is identifying Jesus Christ as the one whose identity remains stamped by the cross. The cross has not been canceled out by the resurrection; rather, to know even the risen Jesus is to know him precisely as the crucified one. Any other account of Jesus’ identity is not the gospel.” 2

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you like I was an expert in speech or wisdom. I made up my mind not to think about anything while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and to preach him as crucified. … My message and my preaching weren’t presented with convincing wise words but … I did this so that your faith might not depend on the wisdom of people but on the power of God.

Notice Paul does not bring up blood atonement or dogmatic requirements about how to be saved. “Rather, the cross marks God’s intervention”3, God’s protest (as TJ said last week), and I would say, God’s rejection of normative human practices and assumptions of community, justice, law, and authority.

Because remember: God entered into the human condition in Jesus Christ. And when Jesus was confronted by the most influential power-centers of human life--religion & government--Jesus was unflinchingly rejected. Arrested. Interrogated. Beaten. Tried. Assassinated. Crucified.

All of this is critically important for faith communities as we navigate this vastly changing world. Following in the Way of Christ feels inadequate. Following Christ crucified collides with the gravitational pull of the predominant way(s) of the world. But Paul is adamant: following the crucified Christ is the key to growing in wisdom--wisdom which advances the “kin’dom of God” on earth as it is in heaven.

“Comprehending what God reveals through the Spirit (and Christ) involves a distinctive form of discourse, a kind of spiritual grammar, a language that makes sense only in the world of faith.” 4

Paul’s emphasis on the crucified Christ is not a comforting or cheerful message. But it is 100% REALITY. Maybe it’s too real for most people. Clearly it’s not “the opiate of the masses” Marx once suggested. The crucified Christ “takes into account the full measure of human depravity in order to meditate deeply and focus our attention of the radical character of God’s solution.” 5

This is not about personal philosophy. It’s not about being an optimist vs a pessimist. It’s about hearing God’s still, small voice of wisdom amid the daily barrage of noise and subterfuge and deception being mass-communicated every waking hour of our lives and spouted by once-trusted institutions and elected leaders.

The crucified Christ cuts through all that other noise as nothing else can.

In an age of continual public-relations hype, ego-inflation and self-aggrandizment dressed up as leadership in the public and political arena, the cross stands over it all, silent, unheeded, un-noticed. Rejected as readily as the one who was nailed to it.

But when life and people disappoint us and when life drives us to our knees, no other can meet us in that place of darkness as intimately as Christ crucified.

As individuals, as families, as communities who endure suffering, we all deep down long to face the truth together about our desperate situation and our common hope–a loving God who stops at nothing to show how much LOVE can do. We can keep our ties to our nation, our tribe, our ethnicity, and our culture—all important facets of our identity until they divide us. When “religion” fails to unite amid diversity, when religion abandons the uniting love of God in Christ crucified, it becomes just another shout clamoring for attention and allegiance among all the other noise and subterfuge and deception and calls for action.

Because only when the desperation of our situation is recognized and accepted can the depth of God’s grace, and the power of God’s LOVE be fully accepted and shared in the world that God made and loves, by those who love God.

Notes/Sources:

1 Carl R. Holladay. Preaching through the Christian Year. Year A. Craddock et. al. p.106

2 Richard B. Hays. First Corinthians - Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. p.35

3 Hays, p.36

4 Holladay, p.106

5. Hays, p37

1 Corinthians 2:1-12

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you like I was an expert in speech or wisdom. 2 I had made up my mind not to think about anything while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and to preach him as crucified. 3 I stood in front of you with weakness, fear, and a lot of shaking. 4 My message and my preaching weren’t presented with convincing wise words but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. 5 I did this so that your faith might not depend on the wisdom of people but on the power of God.

6 What we say is wisdom to people who are mature. It isn’t a wisdom that comes from the present day or from today’s leaders who are being reduced to nothing. 7 We talk about God’s wisdom, which has been hidden as a secret. God determined this wisdom in advance, before time began, for our glory. 8 It is a wisdom that none of the present-day rulers have understood, because if they did understand it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory! 9 But this is precisely what is written:

God has prepared things for those who love him

that no eye has seen, or ear has heard,

or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being.[a]

10 God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, including the depths of God. 11 Who knows a person’s depths except their own spirit that lives in them? In the same way, no one has known the depths of God except God’s Spirit. 12 We haven’t received the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit so that we can know the things given to us by God.

 [a] Isa. 64:4

01-29-2023 A Cross-Shaped Life

Thomas J Parlette

“A Cross-Shaped Life”

1st Cor. 1:18-31

1/29/23

          Some say that we are living in a golden age of protest.

Case in point. Between 202-2022, polls have estimated that between 15 million and 26 million people have participated at some point in demonstrations in the U.S., making that the largest protests in United States history. It’s also estimated that 93% of those protests were “peaceful and non-destructive.”(1)

That’s probably a higher percentage of the population than the number of people who protested the war in Vietnam. Since 2017, protests have occurred in all 50 states, including many places where marches and rallies have rarely been seen before.

But I wonder, will these protests do anything? Will all this protesting and demonstrating and marching actually have an impact?

Only time will tell, I suppose.

What we do know is a number of protest movements have changed history. For instance:

Martin Luther’s 95 Theses nailed to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, began the protest movement known as the Reformation, of which the Presbyterian Church is a part.

The protests against the Stamp Act of 1765, eventually led to the creation of the United States.

In the 1930’s, thousands of Muslim women and men formed an “army of peace” to protest England’s oppressive occupation of what is now Pakistan.

Rosa Park’s refusal to move to the back of a segregated bus in 1955 Alabama ignited the civil rights movement.

And even The Beatles were known for some protest. In 1964, the rock stars refused to play for segregated audiences in Jacksonville, Florida. “We never play to segregated audiences and we aren’t going to start now,” said John Lennon. The struggle for racial equality in America inspired Paul McCartney to write the song, “Blackbird.”(2)

I could go on. Matches, rallies, vigils, protests – they can have an impact. They can change the world.

In a similar manner, the cross of Christ is a protest of sorts. The Cross is a protest against those who demand signs and wisdom.

In this morning’s passage from 1st Corinthians, Paul writes to the church in Corinth that “the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Protesting the necessity of signs and wisdom as some sort of proof of God’s divine power is part of what it means to live a cross-shaped life.

When you think about, signs are not always what they seem. For instance, there were once two guys who got into a really bad car accident. Both of their cars were totaled, but fortunately no one was hurt.

After they crawled out of their cars and called the police, one guy  said, “Wow, just look at our cars! They’re destroyed, but we aren’t hurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends for the rest of our lives.”

The other guy said, “I agree with you completely. This has to be a sign from God!”

The first guy continued, “And look at this, here’s another miracle… My car is completely totaled but this bottle of wine I bought didn’t break. It’s a sign that God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune.”

The other guy agreed, opened the bottle, and drank half the bottle and handed it back. The first guy put the cork back in and handed it back.

“Aren’t you having any?

“No, I think I’ll just wait for the police.”(3)

Sometimes signs are not all they are cracked up to be. Sometimes signs don’t mean what we think they mean.

But why is Paul so upset about signs and wisdom? Is wisdom such a bad thing? To set the stage a bit, Paul is writing to the people of the powerful and wealthy Greek city of Corinth. He is addressing men and women who know quite a bit about the “the wisdom of the world.” Paul is well aware that in this educated and sophisticated society, “Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom.” Signs and wonders are part of their religious culture, and at first glance they don’t seem to be such bad things. After all, God has shown great signs over the years, and wisdom is a quality that is praised throughout the Bible.

Signs and wisdom don’t seem to be deserving of marches, rallies, vigils and protests.

But here’s the thing: Paulo has discovered that “the world did not know God through wisdom.” Yes, it would be nice if Greeks came to know God through wisdom. And it would be great if the Jews of his day entered into a relationship with God through powerful signs from above. But they didn’t.

Signs and wisdom are not enough, says Paul, himself, a “Hebrew of the Hebrews,” and a Roman citizen with a Greek education. Paul realizes that something is needed – the Cross. Paul believes that the surprising and shameful death of Jesus on a cross is what enables people to finally know God.

Why? Because that shameful and surprising death on the cross is a message writ large of love and forgiveness. That is, after all, the message of the cross – grace, love, mercy and forgiveness.

The Cross is God’s protest movement. And it changes the world forever.

We need to be part of this movement even today, because many us still demand signs and wisdom. Many Christians will ask God to give them a sign that tells them what to do, what kind of work they should do, or what kind of personal relationships they should pursue. Some even pray for something as simple as a parking space, and then when one appears, they’ll say, “It’s a sign!”

For instance, in Germany, a driver was going almost twice the speed limit and was caught on camera. But he was spared the fine of nearly $120 because a white bird obscured his face when the picture was taken. The police couldn’t prove for certain that he was the driver.

So the police issued a rather light-hearted statement. “We have understood the sign and leave the speeder in peace.”(4)

Nice thought – But I’m not sure God works that way.

God is not a cosmic GPS, working to move us quickly and painlessly from Point A to Point B. “God is more interested in developing a loving relationship with us,” says author Vanessa Pizzuto. Discovering God’s plans for our lives “is a natural result of a vibrant relationship with God, not it’s substitute. Otherwise, Christianity becomes a superstitious and shallow practice.”(5)

In place of signs from above, God gives us the message of the cross. Loud and clear, the cross tells us that Jesus loves us so much that he would sacrifice himself to us forgiveness and new life. The cross sends the message that, as John puts it, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”

God give us the cross because God wants to have a relationship with us – one that is based on a loving sacrifice from below, not a powerful sign from above. The cross is a mighty act of protest, one that turns the world upside down.

When we live a life shaped by the cross and its message, we join this protest movement. We love as Jesus did, reaching out with compassion to the poor, the sick and the strangers in our midst. We sacrifice as Jesus did, giving of our time, talents and treasures in support of God’s mission in the world. We serve others as Jesus did, remembering that “the Son if Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” We show grace and mercy and forgiveness as Jesus did when he said from the cross, “Forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”

Such a life is a protest against a world in which people usually act out of their own self-interest. A decision to put the needs of others first is as radical as The Beatles’ decision to say no to the money being offered by segregated venues, and to bring their music only to places where blacks and whites could be together.

The message about the cross is a kind of foolishness to those who are perishing, says Paul. “But to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” In the upside down world of God’s protest movement, “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” Christians who have faith in a crucified and risen Lord know that there is nothing wiser than the teachings of Jesus, and nothing stronger than the Lord who sacrificed himself for us.

If we find these words surprising today, imagine how shocking they were to the Greeks of Corinth. After all, these men and women were part of a culture that valued the insights of the great philosophers, much as we still do today. They spent their lives searching for wisdom, and then Paul came along and said, “We proclaim Christ crucified.” This was foolishness to them, completely different from their expectations.

But Paul challenged them to look at the world through the lens of God’s protest movement. “God decided,” says Paul, “through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. Suddenly a person didn’t have to be wise to be saved. You didn’t have to be a scribe and a skilled debater. All you had to do was believe.

Of course there’s more to being a follower of Christ than just belief. But, for Paul at this point in his conversation with the church at Corinth, that’s a sermon for another day. After all, these people ae not too far along in the faith. Paul is starting them out with food they can handle, as he describes later in the letter. They aren’t ready for the meaty stuff just yet – that’ll come in the future.

The Greeks received this as good news – and so should we. Like the people of Corinth, not many of us are as wise Plato, or Socrates, or Aristotle. Most of us weren’t born into power or privilege like royalty or something. But that doesn’t mean that we cannot enjoy the rich and full life that God desires for us. In the Lord’s protest movement, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.”

As Jacques Ellul has written in The Meaning of the City, “Christians were never meant to be normal. We’ve always been holy troublemakers, we’ve always been creators of uncertainty, agents of the dimension that’s incompatible with the status quo; we do not accept the world as it is, but we insist on the world becoming the way God wants it to be. And the Kingdom of God is different from the patterns of the world.”(6)

Yes, we live in a golden age of protest, but no modern rally can achieve what God accomplished through the cross. God is “the source of your life in Christ Jesus,” says Paul, “who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. All of these benefits are connected to Jesus, and are results of God’s mighty protest movement. They are at the center of a cross-shaped life. This cross that stands behind me, is a symbol of what we might call “foolish wisdom” which, if we embody it by living a cross-shaped life, God can change the world through us.

May God be praised. Amen.

1.    Retrieved from Wikipedia.com, January 15th, 2023.

2.    Homileticsonline, retrieved Jan 5th, 2023.

3.    Ibid…

4.    Ibid…

5.    Ibid…

6.    Ibid…

01-22-2023 Words for a Tired People

Thomas J Parlette

“Words for a Tired People”

Isaiah 9: 1-4

1/22/23

          Once upon a time, there was a multi-millionaire who built a new home and filled it with only the best. Fine antique furniture, the newest and best appliances, smart technology everywhere. He even bought a $200,000 grand piano. One day, his brother came to visit and brought his 3 year- old daughter with him. And when this little girl saw the brand new, shiny people – her eyes lit up and she did what most children with a piano. She started banging away on the keys. Needless to say, her father and he millionaire uncle quickly put an end to her musical expression. Only a master should play such a precious instrument, right?

          Or consider the friend of mine who recently inherited a 250 year-old grandfather clock, handcrafted in England. Unfortunately, every once in awhile, it stops ticking. Well, what do you do when a priceless heirloom is broken? Do you call the local handyman and hope for the best? Do you channel your inner Arthur Fonzarelli from “Happy Days,” slap the side of the clock and hope it starts ticking again? Probably not. No, you call the best clock repair shop you can find and bring in the experts.

          Or, let’s suppose your spouse is ill. He or she needs a delicate open-heart surgery. Maybe you made “A’s” all the way through high school biology, you successfully dissected a frog, and you’ve keep up on all the latest advances watching reruns of ER and Grey’s Anatomy. Do you go ahead and try to do the operation yourself. No- of course not. You come to the World Famous Mayo Clinic and see a specialist. You’d only take your loved one to the best.

          Now, how about us? How about you? When something goes wrong with our lives, where do we go for help? Do we seek out a professional, a specialist. Maybe. But how often do you call a friend, or stop by a neighbor’s place for advice. How often do you look up old Dear Abby columns, or turn on Dr. Phil or just start Googling. Maybe too often.

          But remember what Jesus said, “Come to me.” Come to me all you who labor and are heavily burdened – I will give you rest. When we depend on an organization, we get what an organization can do. When we depend on psychiatrists and doctors, we get the best medicine can do. When we depend on government, we get the best the government can do – which sometimes isn’t much. But when we come to Jesus – well, we get the best that God can do!

          You know, every so often people stop by my office to talk about some problem they have or some situation they are facing. Sometimes they’re a member of the church – I know them and they know me. But sometimes people stop by who aren’t members and who have little or no religious affiliation at all. One of the big tip-offs is when they call or ring the doorbell and ask to talk to the Father. Only two people would call me that, and they usually just say Dad. One of the things that I hear very often is where they’ve already been for help. “I’ve talked to my mother. I’ve listened to my friends. I’ve been to the Salvation Army. I’ve tried Family Services. I’ve seen a therapist.” It seems that God gets put on the list as kind of a last resort. “Nothing else has worked – I guess it’s time to try God.”

          But Jesus says, “Come to me.” Maybe he means “Start with Me.” When your life is broken, when you are weary and run down, when you are hurting or in need of repair – come to Jesus. He is not called the Divine Healer for nothing. You could also think of Jesus as our Spiritual Manufacturer’s Rep – the one who is licensed to fix you. Jesus can look at your life, diagnose the problem and put it right. “Come to me,” says Jesus. Not as a last resort, start with me. Those are the words that a tired people need to hear. And I think all of us feel tired – body and soul – now and again.

          There was once a German tourist who was asked, “What impresses you most about the United States.” He answered, “I wouldn’t say impressed, but I am struck by the fact that you are a tired people. Clerks, wives, husbands, friends, teachers, young people, leaders, institutions – you are all so tired!” Could it be that he was right? Is America tired? Have we worked and toiled to win a badge of deep mental, physical and spiritual fatigue? May be.

          Just look at our homes – count the divorced or separated people you know. In many cases, their relationships just wore them out. How many parents are too tired to really raise their children. How many homes are more like a laundry, hotel and diner. We are a tired nation. We could all do with some rest. Did you know that it takes about 18 million sleeping pills to put America to sleep each night?

          Even our institutions are tired. Churches are lukewarm. Our government is facing crisis after crisis and nobody trusts anybody anymore. It feels like we may have more than one military crisis on our hands with Russia, Ukraine and maybe now China as well. The law is tired and seemingly lax and nobody is happy with Congress. Even our money is tired – for we all know that a dollar doesn’t buy what it used to.

          A more affluent society has never before existed. A healthier people has never lived. And yet there has never been a more worn out people.

          Could we really be that tired? Maybe. If so, Jesus invites you, “Come to me all who are tired and heavy lade. I will give you rest.”

          You know, the Greek word for rest is actually best translated as “relief.” I will give you relief. The Christian life is not a rest from any and all struggle, work, engagement or involvement. It is a gift, a relief, so one may devote their energies constructively.

          In our passage for today, Isaiah was speaking to a tired people. Just two verses before, in Chapter 8, v.21 and 22, we hear that people were discouraged, hungry and angry. They were worn out and tired. Yet Isaiah brings hopeful words. Words that we believe speak about Jesus. “You have given the tired, hungry nations great joy, Lord. You have broken the yoke that burdened them and defeated their oppression.”

          Yes, America does seem tired. We all seem worn out. We are a tired people. We fit very well into Isaiah’s description I think. And that’s why Jesus’ words are so relevant. But Jesus isn’t for everyone. Jesus doesn’t call everyone to follow him. He calls people like James and John and the other fishermen. Jesus calls the tired and the heavy laden. Jesus doesn’t call for the self-sufficient, for those who can “take care of myself, thanks very much.” Jesus only calls to those who feel a need. Those like James and John, who feel they need something more. “Come to me all who are tired and heavy laden,” he says, “and I will give you relief.”

          Jesus also says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

          Notice that Jesus gives two commands and a promise. The commands – “Come to me” – and- “Take my Yoke” – are what make the promise “I will give you rest and relief” come true.

          Also notice that Jesus says that we must be saved from something- to something. This should not surprise us. God saved Israel from Egypt -to the promised land. God saves us from the flesh – to the spirit. Jesus says we need to be saved from our weariness – to his yoke.

          Now when Jesus spoke of his yoke, he was speaking from the perspective of a skilled tradesman. He was flashing back to his boyhood days. You remember, Jesus was a carpenter for 20 years or so before he turned into a preacher. His father Joseph taught him the trade. Together they ran a little shop in Nazareth. I imagine it may have been located in the poor side of town, down some inconspicuous, dusty little street. But it was a pleasant shop, well-kept and nestled beneath the shade of some olive trees. I imagine you could hear frequent laughing, maybe some whistling or singing mixed in with the sounds of hammering and sawing. The smell of freshly cut lumber would fill your nostrils as you entered the shop. And out front, legend has it, there was sign which read, “Our Yokes Fit Well.”

          According to tradition, Joseph and Jesus, and probably at least some of his brothers, made the best oxen yokes money could buy. People would come from all over the region to have their yokes made by Joseph and Sons. Jesus would take very detailed measurements, select the finest pieces of wood, cut it, shape it and sand it down until the yoke fit each animal like a second skin. Every yoke made by Joseph and Sons fit perfectly.

          And now, some years later, Jesus no longer makes yokes for oxen. Now he makes yokes for people. And these yokes fit just as well. They are smooth, light-weight and tailor-made. God gives us each a tailor-made yoke, so to speak. God has a plan for everybody’s life. God has a job for you to do. And better than anyone else, you are qualified to do it.

          So what is your yoke in life? What is your calling? What is your ministry? Ask God. If you really want to know God’s will, then the Lord will find a way to show it to you. Seek the advice of the best, seek out the specialist, and you will get an answer.

          I wonder how many of you have heard the story about the puppy who was spinning around and around in circles? An old dog sauntered up to watch, and after a few minutes he asked, “What are doing?”

          “I’m chasing my tail,” panted the puppy. “You see happiness is in my tail. When it wags, I’m happy. When it droops, I’m sad. Happiness is in my tail. So, if I can catch it, I will always be happy.”

          After he had his breath, the puppy went back to spinning around and around, trying to catch his tail. Finally, he dropped to the ground, all out of breath, worn out and tired. The old dog, still watching all this, said wisely, “You know, I used to chase my tail. But one day I found that if I just went about my business, happiness followed along right behind.”

          Today, Jesus’ invitation goes out to any of you who’ve been chasing your tails, searching for happiness and are just as worn out and tired as the people Isaiah was speaking to you way back when. The word for you is come to Jesus. He will give you rest. He will save you from your sins and give you a well-fitted yoke, whatever that may be. And when you go about the Lord’s business, happiness is sure to follow right behind.

          May God be praised. Amen.

01-15-2023 What's in a Greeting!

Thomas J Parlette
“What’s in a Greeting?”
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
1/15/23
 

          When I was in college, way back in the mid-80’s, I had a fraternity brother named Dale who had a particularly annoying habit. Our house had about 20 guys living there, so the mailman would just bring in a big box with all our mail in it. Sometimes it would be bundled with a rubber band – but not always. Sometimes we had to rummage around in the box and find what belonged to us on our own.
          Well, Dale thought that meant that he was entitled to read whatever mail he came across. If it looked interesting, Dale would help himself. Magazines were his favorite. Sometimes I got to read my Sports Illustrated two weeks late when I dug it out of Dale’s room. If there was a post card in the mail – well, forget about it, Dale would read it. A shoebox with cookies from home was of course half-eaten by the time I got back from class. Just part of living in a fraternity house I guess.
          Well, it’s been said that whenever we read one of Paul’s letters, we too are reading somebody else’s mail (1).
          Paul always wrote to particular churches with particular problems and unique situations. And it seems the church in Corinth had quite a few problems they were wrestling with.
          Evidently there were some in the church who were feeling pretty full of themselves, as Paul warns against boasting. There were social and economic divisions within the church as well, as some members were of an upper-middle class background and were quite wealthy, while others were former slaves who were struggling to get a foothold in the bustling Corinthian economy.
          There were questions coming up about marriage, sex, lawsuits between church members, whether they could take part in the city’s festivals and even what kind of hairstyles were appropriate for church. Let’s be honest – the Corinthians had a lot of questions.
          They also had a lot of money. The church in Corinth had ample resources. They had some members in the church with some pretty deep pockets. And that fact was not lost on Paul. He needed to give the young Corinthian church some answers, maybe some answers they didn’t really want to hear. He needed to remind them that they were part of the larger Christian movement – but he needed to do so tactfully, because frankly – Paul needed their financial support.
          It’s tempting to skip over the first part of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. It would be easy to sum these verses up as quick “Hello. How are you. Good to hear from you,” and move on to the meat of Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians.
          But let’s not move past Paul’s greeting too quickly. For right here at the beginning of his letter, Paul is laying the groundwork for everything he is going to say later. In these words of greeting, Paul is introducing the concept of being “called.”
          He reminds the Corinthians that he himself has been “called” by God to be an apostle. And the church at Corinth are a community – also “called” by God for special service.
          So, as we go about opening someone else’s mail this morning, we can learn some things from Paul’s greeting to the Corinthians…
-         We are called to be part of the story of God’s redemptive work in creation.
-         We are called to be in fellowship with each other, as the church, for that is how God’s work gets done.
-         And, we are called to be thankful for each other and for the church, for although we are imperfect – the church is God’s vehicle for the salvation of this world.
First, we are called to be a part of God’s story. We are not just observers, sitting here passively watching as the world rolls by. We are participants, called to actors in God’s redemptive drama.
         Woody Allen once made a movie called “The Purple Rose of Cairo.” The story follows an unhappy waitress named Celia who finds an escape from her abusive husband in her local movie theater. She has seen one particular movie, “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” so many times that she knows every line by heart. One day though, something unusual happens – her favorite character in the movie looks directly at her sitting in the audience and says, “You must really like this movie…”, then he steps off the screen and persuades a stunned Celia to show him around her world.
         After a few very odd days, he returns the favor and invites Celia to join him in the movie onscreen – and the two of them step into the world of “The Purple Rose of Cairo.” Celia becomes a participant in the story she knows so well. She is no longer sitting in a dark theater, all be herself, munching her popcorn and mouthing the words. Now she is involved. She is part of the action. She is part of the story.
         God calls us to do the same thing. Get out of our seats and step into the action. “Called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” says Paul. We are called to be a part of God’s story.
         We are also called to fellowship. We are not meant to pursue this life of Christian faith on our own. God’s church, as we know it through Jesus Christ, is not set up for Lone Rangers. We are meant to be in this together. We are meant to be part of a team.
         For instance, Jenny Thompson is the most decorated American woman in Olympic swimming history. If you count World Championships – Katie Ledecky takes the crown, but for Olympic swimming, it’s still Jenny Thompson. Over the course of four different Olympics, Jenny Thompson won 8 gold medals – but interestingly, she won only one medal, a bronze, in an individual event. All of her medals came as a part of a relay team. Her greatest success came as part of a team.
         That’s how the church works too. Our greatest success occurs when we participate as part of a fellowship, as part of a team. God wants us to be in fellowship with each other, for that is how God’s work gets done.
         We are called to be part of the story, we are called to be in fellowship with each other, and we are called to be thankful for each other, thankful for the church – for although we are imperfect, the church is God’s vehicle for the salvation of the world.
         Two decades ago now, Jesse Ventura was the Governor of Minnesota – remember him? I remember when He made national headlines when he said something to the effect of “Religion is for the weak. Religion is a crutch.” It’s not a new idea – people have been saying that for years. I have always liked the answer William Sloane Coffin gave when he said, “Some say religion is a crutch. Well, of course it’s a crutch. What makes you think you don’t limp?”(2)
         Sure, everything the critics say about churches is true to some extent. Our pews are filled with people who say one thing and do another. We have our share of hypocrites, we often fall short of what Jesus taught us to be. We are weak, we do fight, we squabble and we disagree. We are often guilty of having small minds and closed hearts. All of that is sometimes true – but only sometimes.
         Not all the time – and not for every one of us. And that’s the important thing. We don’t ALL fall short at the same time. Whatever our problems might be in the church, Paul is right to point out that the church is the work of God in this world. God has called the church to do specific work – not to be a perfect community. And that is reason enough to be thankful. We don’t have to be perfect. We just have to be faithful. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his book, “Life Together” –
         “If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even when there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.”
         “What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God… the more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more sure and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases.”
         “The Christian community is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.”(3)
         So, as we sit here this morning, reading someone else’s mail – what can we find in this greeting from Paul?
         Well, we find nothing less than a blueprint for the life to which we have been called.
         We are called to be part of the story of God’s redemptive work in creation.
         We are called to be in fellowship with each other as the church, for that is how God’s work gets done.
         And we are called to be thankful – for although the church is imperfect, the church is God’s vehicle for bringing about the salvation of this world.
         May God be praised. Amen.

1.    Homileticsonline, retrieved Dec. 27th, 2022.
2.    Ibid…
3.    Ibid…
 

01-08-2023 Jesus, John & Baptism

Jesus, John and Baptism

Rev. Jay Rowland

Matthew 3:13-17

January 8, 2023

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved,[a] with whom I am well pleased.”                   

[a] Or my beloved Son

For many people, including John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus is … puzzling.  

In spite of what we know about Jesus it’s not obvious why Jesus chooses to be baptized.

On the surface, it seems sort of redundant.  Even the expert on baptism, John the Baptist asks Jesus, “Why have you come to me? It is I who should be baptized by you.”  

Jesus’ response to John is somewhat vague—basically: “because it’s the right thing to do.” And apparently that’s a good enough reply for John to set aside his immediate hesitation and baptize Jesus. 

But ever since Jesus came up from the water of the Jordan, Christians have continued to wonder, why?    Why does Jesus get himself baptized? 

Given that John asks the question first, let’s start with him.

To summarize: John the Baptist burst onto the religious scene calling all Believers to repent and be baptized--essentially declaring everyone ritually unclean according to Jewish Law. Translation: everyone who can hear my voice is an enemy of God. But God wants you back! Come on: Confess. Be baptized. Come back over to God’s side of the river.”  

The basic idea of religious, ritual cleansing with water is nothing new to Judaism but what was unprecedented was John’s direct and very public confrontation with human sin and his particular method of reconciliation.  

We are so familiar with this story and the setting that we don’t blink at the fact that John’s method of reconciliation takes place outdoors and in a river—the River Jordan to be precise. We don’t realize that according to the Jewish religious authorities & tradition of the time, any religious rite or practice happening outside of the Temple building was unthinkable. Religious ceremony NEVER occurred outside the Temple—let alone literally outdoors.  The mere idea of any religious ceremony being conducted outdoors would be considered at best improper, inappropriate & perhaps worst of all: unimportant.

So: everything about John’s repent and be baptized campaign was unconventional & unorthodox--like John himself.

But equally suspect is the main element in this ritual—the water is seriously objectionable. The water John employs isn’t formally consecrated--blessed—a common element set apart for God’s divine purpose. Aside from that, understand that this water is not even contained—literally not in any kind of container or fancy water holder! What’s more, the water in John’s baptism doesn’t simply come from a river—it IS the river--the Jordan river itself. 

But wait, that’s merely the beginning of the objectionable view. Let’s now consider the main action of this baptismal rite: the one being baptized is entirely submerged—their entire body—into the current beneath the surface of the Jordan river; submerged by the baptizer, unable to breathe underwater until raised up out of the water by the baptizer.   

Modern baptism is so different. Baptism has lost its original, untamed, raw energy and power which was and is designed to give each person an experience of God’s powerfully saving power and presence. I don’t mean to throw shade upon any current baptismal practices.  It has to be the way it is now, more or less.  We cannot simply pause our worship service every time there’s a baptism so that we can hike down to the nearest entry into the Zumbro for baptisms. Even if we decided to start doing so, well, on a day like today—a typical January day in Minnesota—most bodies of water are frozen solid. But even in warmer weather, who would consent to such a disruptive act? It’s clearly impractical for us to baptize the way it was first instituted by John and vigorously practiced in the ancient church—and in some denominations still today.   

But I lament this acquiescence to convenience. Divorced from its original setting and vision, baptism does not as fully resonate or register God’s powerful saving promise. Let’s explore why I make this claim. Imagine any river: see how it is constantly moving, flowing, alive. Understand that a river is literally a source of life.  Also sense how symbolically rich it is: how life and death are literally as well as symbolically contained in the current of every river and body of water—biologically, microscopically and macroscopically. Now imagine yourself standing beside a river, preparing to wade out into it.  Feel the movement of the current wherever it contacts your body.  Imagine you are standing there with another person and are preparing to be dropped by that person underneath the water, supported but also held there by those arms under the flowing river’s current, unable to breathe until you are lifted back up into the oxygenated air and the sunlit surroundings of a river. 

We’ve lost any sense of the life-giving power of God’s love played out in the rite of baptism as it was introduced into the organized religion of his and Jesus’ time. The religious authorities and “influencers” would have been arguably justified had they run John out of town. And this might very well have happened had John not been the son of Temple Priest Zechariah, and descended from a long generational line of temple priests. 

I myself forgot all about John the Baptist’s priestly pedigree. I would never have remembered this on my own—I was reminded of this by Father Richard Rohr, catholic mystic, theologian, preacher & teacher who gets all credit. It’s easy to forget this about John because he is introduced to us & described as an unusual person. In the verses preceding this baptismal scene, Matthew informs us that John lives in the wilderness (unheard of), and relies upon God and creation for food, clothing, shelter, etc. (see also Luke 1:80).    

But John isn’t some deranged vagrant who suddenly appears for the first time. We first meet John when he leaps in Elizabeth’s womb, remember? We forget John’s father, Zechariah is a Temple Priest, who is struck mute because he doubted he and Elizabeth would conceive at their advanced age. And so John’s priestly pedigree is what makes everything about what he’s doing even more striking. John has effectively created a new religious ritual, located outdoors, outside the Temple, standing in a river, no less.  Anyone without his royal priestly lineage would have been quickly silenced and discredited. Perhaps at first the other religious authorities were so shocked by what John was doing down by the river, and by the crowds he was drawing that they didn’t know what to do with him.

But we know there was one important figure who immediately recognized a kindred spirit in John and unquestioned legitimacy.   

Jesus is intuitively drawn to John and his unprecedented and urgent methods. Like John, however, perhaps our expectation is that Jesus should be doing the baptizing.  Jesus quickly reassures John because Jesus will also spend great amounts of time outside of the Temple, revealing that God is not and cannot be housed or contained in one single place in time, or according to human volition. God is more like the wild, untamed river. So shall Jesus be after he emerges from the Jordan. And just as we know how water naturally flows to the lowest point, we know from everything in the Gospels that Jesus too shall continually move and flow to the lowest of the low, pouring out his God-essence which God first pours into Jesus.   

Back to John: in John’s eyes, everyone is captive to sin and able to benefit from repentance. Thus John makes no distinction between the devout and the righteous (e.g., Pharisees, Priests, etc.) on the one hand, and so-called riffraff on the other.  Jesus comes to be baptized by John even though he (Jesus) is without sin and has nothing to repent. In doing this, Jesus chooses to stand with all of humanity, in all of its sinful, lost, broken, belligerent, unredeemable messiness. 

Jesus stands with peasants, pagans, losers, rejects; with tax collectors and lepers; with the suffering, the diseased, the oppressed; with the self- or other-condemned: drunks, punks, derelicts and prostitutes; the dazed and confused, the addicted, and with any and every disreputable sinner of every class, race, religion, tribe, etc.   

And so when Jesus is plunged backward, submerged in the Jordan, Jesus is not merely an example for people to follow, this is not a gimmick or a publicity stunt (John suspects that’s what motivates the Pharisees and Temple Priests & other religious leaders who are coming to be baptized which he sternly condemns as a brood of vipers and hypocrites).

Jesus isn’t pretending to be “like us”, he’s not role-playing, he’s not “slumming it” and he’s not corrupting the divine nature either.  When Jesus goes under that water, he meets you and me in the depths of whatever form and guise of death which life runs through us.  There, under the water, Jesus reveals God’s unity with each one of us.  Jesus is baptized among and alongside the lowest and most common of human beings—just as he was also crucified; permitting no distinction between himself and anyone else.  His baptism is “right” because it reveals Jesus’ (God’s) choice to reside with broken humanity.  In the water, under the water, Jesus meets us most powerfully--down down down, at the lowest point of our human brokenness. 

So, yes, Jesus gets himself baptized just like you and me.  But that’s not the end of the matter, it’s merely the beginning.  From there Jesus continually goes forth with us and for us, continually invites us back from our broken-ness and sin-induced self-destructive tendencies and our life in a broken world, continually invited by him to break bread with him, to dine with him, to drink with him who transforms any table into God’s table, the only one willing and able to continually reserve a seat for you and for me at the Kingdom Table.  

Even though modern baptism has become somewhat tame it is rooted in a radical action: God rescuing us from death. This is the emergency situation that is presented in every baptism which has ever happened.  And so we are invited every time we attend a baptism to see ourselves being plunged beneath the waters of the Jordan, buried, then raised up through no effort of our own, in the arms of Another, the One who alone is able to restore our life and breath at the last possible moment—after we have breathed our last. 

And so let us revisit this emergency scene whenever bad things happen, whenever doubt creeps in and tries to convince us we have no place in God’s heart, to say nothing of God’s table. Because life in this world continually brings us to our knees, stealing God’s goodness and the reality of the God-with-us-savior Jesus of Nazareth.  Jesus’ baptism boldly declares and reveals Jesus willingly giving up his own seat at the Kingdom Table for you and for me ... for anyone and everyone. No exceptions. 

But if we happen to forget or forsake any of that, no matter. One day, we shall discover there are no conditions or limits to the powerful Grace of God’s Love.   

The one in whom God is well-pleased comes up from the waters of baptism immediately shining God’s message into our eyes, “this is my beloved … YOU are my beloved child”

And so remember Jesus’ baptism. 

Remember your baptism. 

And if you haven’t been baptized, what are you waiting for?

Because every time we celebrate baptism here in this place, and whenever any baptism is celebrated in any place, at that moment our true identity is revealed, and we are again confronted by the Spirit of God through which the very Body of Christ is grafted onto you and me, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked as Christ’s own forever.   

And so you and I we are now, already were, and forever shall be

God’s beloved in whom God is well pleased.

 No exceptions.   

 Forever.

12/11/22 The Gap Between Our Expectations and Reality

Matthew 11: 2-11, Third Advent

12/11/22 

          When was the last time you had to show some proof of your identity? Maybe you used your library card to check out books from the library. Maybe you used your student ID to get discounted tickets to a basketball game. Maybe you showed your driver’s license to proof you were 21 years old. Most adults have some form of ID to proof that we are who we say we are. But if you don’t have any physical proof – how can you convince people of your identity? 

          I once read a story about Johnny Weissmuller, the 5- time Olympic gold medalist who starred in 38 movies and TV series from 1929 to 1976. He is best known as the original Tarzan. He starred in 12 Tarzan movies from 1932 – 1946. He’s the one who came up with that famous move where he beats his fists on his chest and shouts this loud cross between a yodel and a shriek. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do it. I think you’d be better off looking it up on You Tube. In one interview, he was quoted as saying, “Tarzan was right up my alley. It was like stealing money… How can a guy climb trees, say “Me Tarzan, You Jane” and make a million dollars?” 

          Many years ago, Weissmuller’s son, Johnny Jr., wrote a book about his father’s time in Hollywood titled Tarzan, My Father. In it, he tells the story of his father’s visit to Cuba in 1958. Weissmuller was very popular in Cuba, and he and his friends went there for a golf vacation. This was during the time of the Cuban Revolution, when Fidel Castro and his revolutionary army was trying to take over the government of the country. 

          One day, Weissmuller and his buddies were driving through Havana when they were surrounded by a group of Castro’s soldiers. The soldiers thought these wealthy Americans were supporters of the current government, so they intended to kidnap them and hold them for ransom. Weissmuller and his friends couldn’t convince the soldiers that they were just tourists on vacation. Until, that is, Weissmuller proved his identity by doing his famous Tarzan move – he beat his fists on his chest and let out his ear-piercing Tarzan shriek. The soldiers instantly recognized it, and let him and his friends go free. (1) 

          That’s some pretty quick thinking when you’re facing armed kidnappers in a foreign country. Fortunately, Tarzan’s signature yell was known everywhere that American movies were shown. It was proof of his identity. 

          Today’s passage once again features our friend John the Baptist, the man chosen by God to announce the coming of Jesus’ coming. Like Tarzan’s yell, John the Baptist was proof of Jesus’ identity. Last week, we looked at how John’s ministry fulfilled the promise made 400 years earlier that God would send a messenger to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. But while John was typically bold and passionate about his mission, it appears some questions had developed in his mind. Even John was starting to wonder, is Jesus the Messiah? He wasn’t fulfilling all of John’s expectations of what a Messiah would be like. In fact, Jesus didn’t fulfill anyone’s expectations completely. And John was wondering. Some doubt was creeping in. He wanted some proof, some reassurance that Jesus really was the Messiah. 

          In this season of joy, it’s hard to admit our doubts and questions about God. It’s hard to admit that God sometimes does act according to our expectations. Psychologist Edith Eva Eger writes, “When we’re angry, it’s often because there’s a gap between our expectations and reality.” (2) That’s where John the Baptist is at this point in Matthew’s gospel. Maybe that’s where you are right now. And that is a painful and isolating experience. 

          In 1789, a Scottish explorer, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, a relative of our own Ron Mackenzie, who passed away recently, led an expedition across Canada with the goal of finding a water route to the Pacific Ocean. Over the span of three months, Mackenzie and his men followed this winding river over 3,000 through the Canadian wilderness. It was dangerous, but the men were sure the end goal would be worth it. Imagine how they felt when they discovered that the river they were following led to the Arctic Ocean instead. Mackenzie’s hopes were crushed. In his diary, he referred to this great expedition as the “River of Disappointment.” (3) 

          Maybe that’s what John the Baptist feared. His expectations of the Messiah and the reality of Jesus didn’t match up. Matthew doesn’t indicate that John was angry about it. But he was surely struggling with some doubts. As part of John’s prophetic ministry of preparing people for the coming Messiah, he preached a bold message of judgement and repentance. He even went so far as to preach this message to Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, who had divorced his wife so he could marry his brother’s wife. That’s how John ended up in prison. Maybe he knew he wasn’t going to make it out of that prison alive – so he had to know. If this was the end, he had to know whether the purpose he had committed his life to – declaring that Jesus is the Messiah sent from God – was true or not. Is Jesus really who he says he is, who I say he is? 

          So John sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus directly, “Are you the one, or should we expect someone else?” 

          So what was John looking for in the Messiah? They were looking for someone who would be a great political and military leader who would restore the kingdom and government of Israel and rebuild the Temple.

          Notice here that Jesus doesn’t condemn John for asking the question. Instead he answers, “Go back and tell John what you hear and what you see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” What does Jesus want John, and us, to know? Well for one thing, God isn’t just restoring the kingdom of Israel. Much more than that, In Jesus, God is establishing God’s kingdom for all people. Jesus is showing John what the world will look like when God is the Ruler over every corner of creation. There will be no sickness, no death, no injustice, and no inequality. If those are the deeds of the Messiah, the One sent from God, then what does that tell us about God? 

          Rev, Eric Ritz tells a story about Florence Nightingale, the British nurse who revolutionized nursing practices and saved thousands of soldiers lives during the Crimean War. In 1853, Great Britain and its allies went to war with Russia. The British field hospitals were filthy and poorly run, and more soldiers were dying of disease and infection than from war wounds. The British Secretary of War hired Florence Nightingale to mobilize and train nurses to improve the field hospitals in Turkey, a primary focus of the war. Nightingale worked night and day to improve the hospital’s operations, and her work reduced the death rate by two thirds. 

          She was also known for her compassion for the injured soldiers, which earned her the nickname “the Angel of Crimea.” There is an old story that one soldier, while watching her make her rounds, shouted out to her, “You look like the grace of God!” (4) 

          That’s just what Jesus looks like as well. Jesus didn’t look like a great military hero, or a political leader – he looked like the grace of God. Where John the Baptist was looking for deeds of power; Jesus pointed to his deeds of compassion. In Jesus, God isn’t just restoring the kingdom of Israel; God is establishing God’s kingdom for all people.

          Here’s another thing John needed to know about Jesus; In Christ, God is restoring our broken relationship with God. For thousands of years, the faithful prophets had tried to turn the people of God back to their covenant relationship with God. But like us, they were seduced by other priorities, by lesser gods. We are all guilty of that to one extent or another. God came in the flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ, to accept the penalty for our sins and to show us how much God loves us. By his life and death, Jesus restored our relationship with God. 

          In 2006, Dr. Samuel Weinstein, the Chief of pediatric cardio-thoracic surgery for a major hospital in New York, traveled to El Salvador to perform life-saving operations on children with severe heart problems. One of his many patients was an eight-year old boy named Francisco. During his surgery, Francisco lost too much blood. He required an immediate transfusion. But Francisco’s blood type was B-negative – a blood type shared by only 2% of the population. His chances of survival were slim.

          Until Dr. Weinstein began rolling up his own sleeve. He shared the same rare blood type as Francisco. So, Dr. Weinstein laid down his surgical tools, scrubbed his arm and let a nurse draw a pint of his own blood. When he re-started the surgery on Francisco, it was his own blood that flowed through the little boy’s veins and likely saved his life. (5) 

          That’s what God did on our behalf. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas. When our lives were at stake, when nothing else could save us, God laid down the Divine majesty and authority to come in the form of a helpless baby born to a poor family living under the control of an oppressive government. Jesus lived the life of a traveling rabbi and died a humiliating and agonizing death to save us from our sins. He gave up everything to ensure that we could live in God’s presence forever. Could there be any greater proof of God’s love for us? 

          It’s tempting to wish that this conversation between Jesus and John’s disciples had turned out differently. It’s tempting to want to hear Jesus answer the question directly. “Are you the One who is to come…? “Yes… It’s me, I am the Messiah.” That’s what we’d like to hear. Or maybe have Jesus perform some jaw dropping miracle or send an angel to bust John out of prison. But instead, Jesus pointed to God’s presence and compassion among the sick, the disabled and the poor. He gave John a glimpse of the coming kingdom of God. Even better, Jesus gave John a glimpse of God’s heart. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Can you trust that God is working all things for good, even when God doesn’t meet your expectations/” That’s a good question to ponder this Advent season. 

          Kate Bowler is a divinity professor, author and podcaster. She once closed one of her podcasts with a blessing that she says is for “when there is hope for someday, but someday is not now.” I’ve adapted it a bit, but this is the essence of what she says: 

          “Blessed are you in this terrible, wonderful now…

Blessed are you for whom prayer feels hopeless, disappointing and futile.

Blessed are you in your radical honesty, in the ways you speak of your grief…

Blessed are you as you learn to trust, trust a God who hears, who listens, who hasn’t left your side, who prays on your behalf, interpreting those deep groans you can’t put into syllables or sounds.

Blessed are you, as you settle into acceptance.

And Blessed are we who live here in the someday, but not now.”(6) 

That’s a great blessing for this Advent season.

May God be praised. Amen.

1.    Dynamic Preaching, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 3, p 66.

2.    Ibid… p 66.

3.    Ibid… p 66-67.

4.    Ibid… p 67.

5.    Ibid… p 68.

6.    Ibid… p 68.

12/4/22 A Small Center of Sanity

Matthew 3: 1-12

12/4/22, 2nd Advent

          What brings you hope this Advent season? Perhaps it’s a new job, a new phase of life, and addition to the family. I pray that you’ll find this place to be a community of hope that celebrates the presence and the love of God in every season of the year. 

          Our bible passage for today is the familiar story of John the Baptist. Although it is usually read as a message of judgement, what with the axe at the foot of the tree and the chaff being burned, I think it is also a message of hope. 

          This week I stumbled upon an amusing quote from the autobiography of Robert McAfee Brown, who was a preacher and religion professor at Stanford University. Brown included in his autobiography as old family photo taken at Christmas time. He writes, “There we all are gathered around the crèche on Christmas Eve, putting animals and the wise men and the shepherds around the baby Jesus, who is a small center of sanity in a large and crazy world.” (1) 

          I think that’s a great description of Jesus in these advent days – “a small center of sanity in a large and crazy world.” That’s’ a good thought to keep in mind when things get hectic this time of year. 

          I once read about a young woman named Elizabeth who had spent many years struggling with a drug addiction. During those years, she was desperate for some words of encouragement, some signs of hope. When she got into recovery and created a new life for herself, she wanted to help others who were trapped by hopelessness. So, she started writing little notes of encouragement and sticking them on the windshields of cars around her city and posting them on telephone poles in local parks. She ended one note with the words, “Much love. Hope sent.” (2) 

          Much love. Hope sent. That’s what we celebrate during Advent and anticipate at Christmas – that Jesus, that small center of sanity – embodied the message of much love, hope sent. It’s a message of hope that God has been preparing for thousands of years. It’s been foretold by numerous prophets. And what God promised through the prophets has now been fulfilled in a person – the person of Jesus Christ. 

          In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” 

          I know, you wish all our sermons were as short as John the Baptist’s – but we need a few more words that he used. The word used here for repent means “to think differently” or to change the inner person.” So John was saying “Jesus has brought the kingdom of heaven to you. And you can receive his message when you think differently, when you change your inner person.” 

          That certainly sounds like a message of hope to me. But repentance is just the first step to receiving the kingdom of heaven. The next step is baptism, first with water, and then with the Holy Spirit. Each of those steps leads to receiving new life as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. 

          Rabbi Ari Lamm once gave a great explanation of repentance when he was interviewed on the Jane and Jesus podcast. Rabbi Lamm said that in the Jewish tradition, repentance is an example of time travel. He says that the Bible shows us that true repentance changes both your future and your past. Let that sink in – repentance changes both your future and your past. 

          Rabbi Lamm says, “If you repent properly, what God promises is that God will change who you are. It’s a question of identity.” To paraphrase, he says that in Judaism, what God promises to those who sincerely repent is the opportunity to say, “I am no longer that person who sinned… I am a fundamentally different person. It’s as if I am a newborn child, and I have a new path in life.” (3) 

          That’s the promise and the hope of Christmas. At Christmas, the kingdom of heaven came near in the person of Jesus Christ. And through Jesus, we have a new King, a new life, and a new purpose – all promised to us when we receive the kingdom of heaven. 

          The first promise and hope of Christmas is that in Jesus, we have a new King. The history of humanity has been shaped by sometimes sinful and unworthy leaders. We could easily name a whole list of kings, emperors and politicians who have been greedy, power-hungry and violent. And their moral failings have been responsible for unimaginable suffering all over the world. 

          But when God wanted to show us God’s love, purposes and power in action, God came in the person of Jesus Christ. In the Advent season, we realize more than ever that the priorities of this world – greed, power and violence – are empty and contrary to God’s kingdom. That’s why Jesus came, not as a powerful military leader, but as a helpless baby born to a poor family. That’s why he didn’t seek status with the religious or political leaders of his day. He rejected wealth, power status and success. He rejected others’ attempts to make him a religious celebrity or a king. He rejected all the things we so desperately chase after because his mind was fixed on God’s will, on bringing in God’s kingdom. We can put our hope and trust fully in Jesus because he embodies the use of power in the service of love. 

          During World War II, German pastor Helmut Thielicke visited a prominent church that had been bombed by the Nazis. Thielicke understood the suffering and hopelessness the people were feeling in the midst of war. He stood in the rubble of this devastated church, and he preached these words of hope: “Where Christ is King, everything is changed. Eyes see differently and the heart no longer beats the same. And in every hard and difficult place the comforting voice is there, and the hand that will not let us go upholds us.” (4) 

          Where Christ is King, everything is changed. That’s the hope we are promised at Christmas. In Jesus, we have a new King. 

          The second promise and hope of Christmas is that in Jesus, we have new life. Notice that John baptized people in the Jordan River. The Jordan was significant to the people of Israel. In the book of Deuteronomy, we are told about the Israelites wandering in the desert for forty years. The elders who had escaped slavery in Egypt had mostly died off. And God planned to lead the people into Canaan, into the Promised Land. But before God did that, God challenged the people to choose between death and life. The people of Israel chose life and followed God. When they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, they crossed over into freedom and new life. It’s no accident that John baptized people in the Jordan. Our baptism represents our crossing over from death to new life in Jesus Christ. 

          Pastor Ben Helmer tells of a man in his congregation who, after attending a short while, approached him and asked, “What do I have to do to be baptized? This man was 57 years old. He’d spent his professional life as a counselor. But he reported that it was only in his baptism that he found the wholeness he had been seeking in life. He had always felt that something was missing – but in his baptism, he found the new life God made him for. 

          This man became a regular volunteer at the church food pantry. The following Christmas, he joined the team that cooked and served Christmas dinner at a local health clinic. His baptism marked the start of a new life of service in Jesus’ name. (5) 

          John Chrysostom was a leader of the early church in the Middle East about 1,600 years ago and the bishop of Constantinople. He once taught his church members that the best way to share their faith was through their actions. He wrote, “Let us astound them by our way of life. This is the unanswerable argument. Though we give 10,000 precepts in words, if we do not exhibit a far better life, we gain nothing. It is not what is said that draws their attention, but what we do. Let us win them therefore by our life.” (6)

          Let us astound them by our way of life. Let’s show the world what it looks like for Jesus to live through our actions, our words and our priorities. Let’s show them by our actions what it means to go from death to new life. 

          And finally, the promise and hope of Christmas is that in Jesus, we have a new purpose. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus teaches us to “seek first the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.” When we have been baptized into new life with Jesus, our new purpose is to prioritize the kingdom of heaven above all else. The kingdom of heaven is the rule of God in this world. It is the what the world looks like when Jesus is living in us, and we are pursuing the priorities that Jesus sets. 

          Let me tell you about one young woman whose faith gave her a new purpose in life. When she was 28, Gertrude Dyck moved to the United Arab Emirates to serve as a medical missionary at the first hospital in Abu Dhabi. Her flight to the UAE was only the second time she had ever flown. She quickly learned the language and adopted the customs of the local people. Her compassion earned her the nickname Doctura Latifa, or Doctor of Mercy. (7) 

          When Dyck started at the hospital as a nurse and midwife, infant mortality rates were at 50% and maternal mortality rates of 35%. Half of all newborns died in childbirth or soon after, and soon after, and so did 1/3 of mothers. The staff of the new hospital were determined to change this heart-breaking reality. 

          Over the course of her nursing career, she delivered tens of thousands of babies, including the children of the Royal family. She and her colleagues introduced new medical practices that significantly reduced patient mortality rates. She served 38 years as a nurse at the hospital in Abu Dhabi – when she retired, infant and maternal mortality rates were below one percent. (8) 

          So, where do you find hope in this Advent season? Is your hope that you’ll get everything done in time for the holidays? Is your hope that next year will be better than this one? Or is your hope in knowing that the pressures and priorities of this world no longer hold you down. You follow a different King, you are living a new life, and you have found a new purpose because you have received Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with us. So I encourage you to welcome Jesus, that small center of sanity, into your hectic holiday season.

          May God be praised. Amen.

1.    Dynamic Preaching, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 3, p62.

2.    Ibid… p62.

3.    Ibid… p62-63.

4.    Ibid… p63.

5.    Ibid… p63.

6.    Ibid… p64.

7.    Ibid… p64.

8.    Ibid… p64.

11-27-2022 Advent and Hope

Jay Rowland

Advent and Hope

Isaiah 2:1-5

November 27, 2022 Advent 1A

It feels like only a week ago we had just enjoyed another “Trunk or Treat” Halloween event here in our church parking lot on a beautiful warm and sunny late autumn afternoon. But it’s like I looked down for a moment to check my phone or something and when I looked up again it was Thanksgiving and now here we are on the First Sunday of Advent.

Sometimes Advent begins in November which feels “early” and sometimes it begins in December which feels more on time. Either way, this year I find myself thinking about how the month of November provides a gateway or threshold into Advent. November has some unique happenings and dates which prepare us for the unusual ritual of time known as Advent.

November begins with All Saints Day (Sunday) when we remember and honor the people in this congregation who died in the past year. As part of this ritual and liturgy, we cherish each of them by name, lighting a candle to the sound of bells.

And as it happens by the time of All Saints a celestial rite of passage has been playing out above us for many weeks as the Earth in its orbit around the sun gradually & silently changes our perception of daylight which mysteriously recedes to the encroaching darkness of the winter months.

Something about these altered patterns of daylight and darkness coming in the wake of All Saints finds purchase deep in our spirit probably beneath our conscious awareness. Meanwhile, the ever-unfolding saga of the world around us combines with our own personal lives in orbit around it all; which can bring about a shift in consciousness as Advent returns.

This shift in consciousness shows up for me in the laying bare of our basic human vulnerability … the intricate, delicate, complex interplay of life in the midst of death, and light in the midst of encroaching darkness. All of this, it seems to me is the spiritual threshold and gateway known as Advent which comes to us in four movements: Hope, Love, Joy, Peace. And begins today with hope.

The brief poem before us today from the prophet Isaiah begins with an image of a high mountain, representing the house of the Lord, rising above all other landmarks. This image echoes later in the imagery of all Creation laying down--leveling off--in anticipation of the coming Savior. Vitally connected with this imagery is human movement toward that lofty place; our ascending, going up. Which is a poetic way of saying that much our life and our faith resemble a steady uphill climb.

Especially lately. Recent years have made it fairly clear that life in this complicated world isn’t getting any easier. Significant problems cast a pall over our days. Some days are better than others, of course, but sometimes it seems like we are engaged in a steady uphill climb that is becoming steeper and downright wearying.

And so it is good that Advent begins with the movement of hope. Because hope is as indispensable today as it’s ever been for God’s people.

With the dawn of Advent here in the fading light of 2022, the enveloping darkness of late autumn and winter signals to us that God is once again drawing near. A vision from God is shared with us through the poetry of the prophet Isaiah. Woven into the images of this poem is a promise emanating from the heart and the mind of God—rising before us like a mountain:

In days to come

the mountain of the Lord’s house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

… above the hills ...

All nations will river toward it,

people from all over set out for it.

They’ll say, “Come,

let’s climb God’s Mountain,

… to the House of God …

so we can live the way we’re made.” (The Message Bible)

This whispered promise God is shouting through the prophet Isaiah is given to break through the imposing darkness surrounding God’s people.

Isaiah’s poetic voice is declaring that a time is approaching when the nations shall stream together “to learn the ways of God” and when they do God shall bring about a settlement of all disputes, resolve even the most ancient of ethnic, creedal, tribal differences among nations and families; and this shall capture the attention of all people.

What’s truly engaging about this vision is who it is that takes the decisive action toward peace (turning war equipment into farming tools). This passage is just familiar enough to remind us that we’ve heard it before, and so perhaps we don’t notice some of the words or their significance, or we’ve always heard this passage in Isaiah according to a sort of default attention which presumes that God always performs the decisive action. But look again … listen again … from verse four:

they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.

Notice the pronouns, “they” and “their”. That’s what makes this prophetic promise so intriguing: this bold, hope-filled transformation is not something God inflicts upon the nations independent of their/our actions or inclinations, but is rather a human response to the reality of God.[1] The people are not passive recipients but active participants, deciding and striving to work together to live God’s ways for the good of all--all nations, all people, all creatures all that lives and breathes and relies upon God’s Creation for sustenance--from human to mammal to animal to the most microscopic form of life.

Now this may or may not strike some of us as obvious good news. Because before this is to happen, there is much work to be done by God’s people. In other words, again, the mountain of God is an uphill climb. How could it not be?--given where we are as a people and a planet, where we all long to be and all that God longs to provide.

Herein lies a critical detail in all of this: We cannot do any of this without God, and God will not do any of this without us. But that is what makes this hope something more than a mere wish or a pithy sentiment. This vision of hope involves everyone; excludes no one. For God’s vision and peace to become reality depends upon humanity rising to the opportunity. Peace has always been much more complicated and harder work than conflict. Thus the uphill climb. But we do not embark upon the climb alone or isolated, left to our own wits or resources, but rather we do so with (and because) God who is faithful, has always been faithful, and has always shown us that God will see us to it and through it

I realize so many of us feel as if the world is in greater peril now than it’s ever been. The world certainly is in peril. But sometimes I wonder how prior generations dealt with their own perilous circumstances. Threats to human existence and to the earth itself have happened before. One example is the plague which must have appeared to everyone at the time to be the end of the world. More recently, the rise of fascism and Nazism and all the perils of WW2 clearly changed the scope of destruction to include, ultimately, total annihilation. My point is that prior generations have all faced what they thought was The End of the World. The only difference is that their experiences all reside in the past and were resolved. Whereas our experience of this threat is immediate and global but with no resolution. And so this fully captivates our attention and threatens to steal our hope.

The prophets and the Psalms wisely advise us to be leery of our human leaders no matter how dangerous or promising they may appear to be. History and the Bible show us that Israel and Judah had both disastrous and divine leader-kings, neither of which guaranteed that either good or evil would prevail. And even the destruction of Jerusalem, which was akin to the “end of the world” to the Jewish people didn’t bring about the end of God’s presence or God’s people.

And so this Advent, whether or not you’re convinced the world is spiraling toward annihilation, today’s vision from God in Isaiah reminds us of the hope that can and shall transform all of life: the hope God has in God’s people: The nations shall stream to the mountain of God.

The prophet Isaiah presents an alternative vision for the world, a vision boldly declaring God’s expectation that we learn to live in peace. A reminder that God has created this world—Creation itself for peace. And so peace shall come one day, but not without us, not without our participation, because that would be something other than a lasting peace. God’s promised peace depends upon us doing our part to keep that expectation and hope of God’s promise alive in our generation.

Eugene Peterson puts it this way:

“The impressive art of Isaiah involves taking the stuff of our ordinary and often disappointing human experience and showing us how it is the stuff that God uses to create and save and give hope. As this vast panorama opens up before us, it turns out that nothing is unusable by God. [God] uses everything and everybody as material for [God’s] work which is remaking the mess that we have made of our lives” and the world. (Eugene Peterson, “Introduction to Isaiah,” The Message Bible)

A contemporary poet/prophet, Danna Faulds[2] expresses this hope another way,

Take all the fear in the world and bring it here.

Throw it in a heap.

Now find Insecurity and Doubt

Locate Shame and Anger

Hatred and Depravity

Add them to the pile.

Find every obstacle to love.

If the whole world’s suffering can’t asphyxiate the love in you,

Then there’s hope for us.

Hold your love aloft in the gathering darkness

And watch peace spread wide it’s brightening wings

If you could keep your love alive

Then war and madness won’t have the last word.

Look

Even now the dove is flying.

Advent’s return turns us toward the hope that has always sustained God’s people in times of darkness. And so, dear friends,

come, let us walk

in the light of the Lord

Notes

[1] This idea has likely been published or expressed elsewhere. The work of Otto Kaiser in Isaiah 1-12, The Old Testament Library Series (Second Edition. pp.54-56, et al.), may even suggest as much but certainly influenced my interpretation as I express it in this sermon.

[2] read by Tara Brach during “Three Practices for Nurturing Wise Hope”, podcast 11/3/2022, https://www.tarabrach.com/three-practices-nurturing-wise-hope/

Isaiah 2:1-5

1 The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 In days to come

the mountain of the Lord’s house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and shall be raised above the hills;

all the nations shall stream to it.

3 Many peoples shall come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

to the house of the God of Jacob;

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,

and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4 [The Lord] shall judge between the nations,

and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war any more.

5 O house of Jacob,

come, let us walk

in the light of the LORD!

11-13-2022 By Your Endurance

Thomas J Parlette
“By Your Endurance”
Luke 21: 5-19
11/13/22
 

          When was the last time you settled into a good disaster movie? I know it sometimes seems like watching cable news is as good as watching a disaster movie – but I mean a more traditional one like Armageddon or The Towering Inferno?
          Disaster movies tend to do pretty well at the box office, whether they feature frightened people battling floods, or volcanos, or Godzilla, or even zombies invading major cities.
          Speaking of zombies, there is a company in London called Vollebak that manufactures what they call an “Apocalypse Jacket.” The word Apocalypse generally refers to the ultimate disaster drama – the complete final destruction of the world, something like what is described in the Book of Revelation. The Apocalypse Jacket is meant to protect its wearer from such things as extreme heat and chemical attacks. They advertise it with the tagline, “Zombies will hate it” – assuming you run into any Zombies.
          The Apocalypse Jacket uses a special fiber created by NASA that is incredibly strong and has no melting point. This fiber is then blended with the cloth fibers used in “ballistic-rated body armor.” It may be the sturdiest piece of clothing on earth, nearly indestructible. It can withstand exposure to black lava from volcanoes and sulfuric acid. These jackets have 23 pockets with hidden zippers all throughout the interior jacket, so you can carry everything needed for escaping a natural disaster or even a zombie apocalypse. (1) A good Apocalypse Jacket might be just what we need after hearing this passage for today with it’s note of impending threats.
          There is something thrilling about facing down an impending threat, isn’t there? I think that’s why disaster movies do so well at the box office. We like to sit on the edge of our seat and feel our hearts pound as the hero or heroine overcome nearly impossible odds to save the world.
          The highest-grossing disaster movie in the U.S. so far is Independence Day, the movie about a worldwide alien invasion. Roland Emmerich, the director of Independence Day, claims that disaster movies are cathartic. They allow the audience to release tension over their fears of the future. As he says, “You see all this destruction and everything, but at the end, the right people save the day.”
          Wheeler Winston Dixon is the chair of the Film Studies Program at the University of Nebraska. In his book Disaster and Memory, he writes, “People go to disaster movies to prove to the themselves that they can go through the worst possible experience, but somehow they’re going to come out the other side.” (2)
          That may be the perfect summary for today’s passage from Luke 21 – people go through the worst possible experience, but somehow they’re going to be ok. And if we can really believe that – that should somehow change the way we live in these disturbing times.
          Our scripture lesson opens with Jesus and his disciples standing in the Temple in Jerusalem, admiring its strength and beauty. The Temple wasn’t just a building – the Temple courts sat on 36 acres of land. The giant stones that made up the Temple were dazzling, blinding pinkish-white marble, and over some of the stones was gold plating that reflected the sunlight. From a distance, the whole complex looked like a glowing jewel. Up close, it was one of the most impressive buildings in the Roman Empire. (3)
          And Jesus had the unenviable task of telling his disciples that one day this beautiful Temple would be destroyed – which it was in 70 AD. To make matters worse, Jesus said, “False prophets will preach in my name and turn people away from the truth. Then there will be wars and famine, earthquakes and pestilence.” And before the worst of this can happen, Jesus’ followers will be arrested, put in prison, betrayed by loved ones, and some will even be put to death. And yet, in the face of all this – all this that sounds disturbingly current in our time – Jesus promises that there is still reason to have hope.
          So, the first thing we can say in the light of this passage is that vision without hope is a dangerous thing, but with hope, all things are possible. When we envision a hopeless future, we become fearful, angry, and anxious. And these are just the opposite of the fruits of the Spirit we receive according to Paul in Galatians – the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
          Paul shares a vision of hope in his letter to the church at Ephesus. He writes, God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ – which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Jesus Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.” In other words, someday everything in creation will be under the authority of Jesus Christ. If we understand and believe that promise – we will view the future with hope.
          Jeff Immelt became the CEO of General Electric on September 10th, 2001. The next day, Sept. 11th, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, sending our nation reeling and causing a worldwide meltdown of financial markets. To make matters even more challenging, the World Trade Center Towers were insured by one of General Electric’s subsidiaries, GE Capital. The company experienced tremendous financial losses over the next few weeks and months. There could not have been a worse time for a new leader to take the helm of a  company.
          Looking back on his leadership during this time, Immelt said, “I think what you learn in a crisis is that good leaders absorb fear. They are not accelerators of fear – they know how to manage a sense of calm while still being really clear about the challenges ahead… You learn to hold two truths. You learn to say, “Things can always get worse, but here’s a dream that I have for the future, and I’m not going to give up on that.” (4)
          In this passage from Luke, Jesus is teaching his disciples to hold to these same two truths: Things can always get worse, but here’s a dream I have for the future, and I’m not going to give up on that dream. And so, in spite of these fearful events, Jesus can say to us, even in our own time and place – Beware that you are not led astray. Do not go after the false prophets and promises. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed by parents and brothers, by relative and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance – you will gain your souls.”
          Vision without hope is a dangerous thing, but with hope all things are possible. Another thing we can say here is that we can have hope if we make up our minds beforehand to see the future through Jesus’ eyes. Instead of dwelling solely on the problems and challenges before us, keeping our focus on God’s promises and God’s love lets us view the future with hope and courage.
          When Gwenyth Todebush’s 5 year old son, Clark, was anxious at starting kindergarten, Gwenyth taught her son to calm his nerves with daily affirmations, encouraging words to prepare him to face the day with positivity and courage. One morning on their drive to school, Gwenyth mentioned to her son that she was nervous about a meeting that day. Clark, all of 5 years old said, Mom, I’m nervous all the time, but I know what to do.”
          He said, “You gotta say your affirmations in your mouth and your heart. You say, “I am brave. I am loved and I smell good today! And you can say it three or four times – maybe even ten, until you believe.”
          But Clark wasn’t done. Clark was a big fan of Dolly Parton and Dinosaurs, so he said, “Mom, you gotta walk big. You gotta mean it. Like Dolly on a dinosaur, because you got it.” (5)
          That’s what it’s like to prepare yourself beforehand to not be afraid. Clark had hope and courage because he viewed his future through his mom’s eyes. You and I can conquer fear if we practice looking at the future through Christ’s eyes.
          Adoniram and Anne Judson sailed to Burma in 1812 to serve as missionaries there. Adoniram spent long, tiresome years translating the Bible into the Burmese language. They served in Burma for 6 years before seeing their first convert. In 1824, Adoniram was accused of spying for the British government. He was thrown into prison where he suffered frequent torture for 20 months. Shortly after his release from prison, his beloved wife Anne died. Then he contracted a lung disease that sapped what little energy he had left. He served in Burma for 37 years until his death. His dedication and joy in spite of his suffering inspired many other people to enter the mission field. He was well known for one particular saying. “The future is as bright as the promises of God.” (6)
          When we see the future through Jesus’ eyes, we can say with confidence, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.”
          Jesus also tells us that we can have hope in difficult times if we make up our minds beforehand to view hardship as an opportunity to tell about the truth of God. A faith that has been tested is a faith that can be trusted. Hard times and challenges to our faith both serve as testing grounds to dig into what we really believe, whether we truly base our hope on the character and promises of God, and whether we put we put our faith into action even when it costs us something. If our faith is not a source of hope, peace and strength in difficult times, then others have good reason to question whether Jesus is real.
          In the country of Yemen, it is a crime to convert from Islam to another religion. So when a man named Ibrahim became a follower of Jesus, he studied his Bible in secret and didn’t tell his family about his newfound faith for four years. Then one day during his prayer time, Ibrahim decided that if Jesus really was God in the flesh, then it didn’t make sense to live in fear any longer. He said, “I was tired of fear, and I asked myself a question: If I believe in Jesus and this is true and He grants me eternity – who should I fear? So if they come to kill me, I am ready to say, ‘Welcome.’”
          Ibrahim was baptized in 2002 and shared his faith with his wife and extended family. The family disowned him, Ibrahim’s wife demanded a divorce. But when she saw how Ibrahim’ behavior had become much more respectful of her, she retracted her demand.
          Ibrahim established a church in Yemen and led many others to become followers of Jesus. But when local authorities made false accusations against him, he and his family fled Yemen and settled in a  neighboring country. There they set up an outreach to Yemeni refugees and they continue to share their faith. (7)
          Ibrahim is someone who has made up his mind to use his hardships and trials as an opportunity to tell about the truth of God.
          There was once a pastor sitting at the bedside of an elderly parishioner who was dying. The man said, For 87 years, I have been feasting on the promises of God, but this morning, I woke up, and I couldn’t remember a single one of them.”
          And the Pastor said, “Don’t worry my friend, God has not forgotten.”
          In times of fear and hardship, it is easy to forget the promises of God. When our faith is shaken, when we see news reports of impending or ongoing war, or financial collapse or environmental disasters, it is easy to react with fear, anger and anxiety.
          But God has not forgotten God’s promises.
          God has not abandoned the Divine purposes.
          And God will not forsake God’s people.
          Don’t wait until difficult times come to figure out what you believe or how to respond.
          Make up your mind beforehand to view trials and hardships as an opportunity to tell about the truth of God.
          As Jesus said, “By your endurance – you will gain your souls.”
          May God be praised. Amen.

1.    Dynamic Preaching, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 3, p 47.
2.    Ibid… p 47.
3.    Ibid… p 47.
4.    Ibid… p 48.
5.    Ibid… p 48-49.
6.    Ibid… p 49.
7.    Ibid… p 49.

11-06-2022 Children of the Resurrection

Thomas J Parlette
“Children of the Resurrection”
Luke 20: 27-38
11/06/22, All Saints

          In any civilized society, there are laws that cover almost every facet of human life. And sometimes those laws can be overreaching or burdensome. That’s the price we pay for living as part of a community instead of as a bunch of disorganized loners. But at least most of our laws make sense, they do serve a purpose and for the most part they are well-intentioned. But not all laws make sense. For example, how about a law against dying?
          That sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it, to create a law against dying? So, your very last action in life is to break the law – really? How do you even punish something like that. I don’t know. But throughout history, there have actually been governments that have tried to outlaw dying.
          For example, over 2500 years ago, the Greek island of Delos tried to ban being born or dying on that island. You see, Delos was considered to be the birthplace of the mythical gods Apollo and Artemis. Local authorities considered the island to be sacred. Consequently, they didn’t want anyone to claim inheritance rights to the land of Delos through being born there or having an ancestor buried there. So, the authorities decreed that that all graves on the island were to be dug up and the bodies buried elsewhere, and ordinances were passed forbidding any more births or deaths were to occur on that island. So, by decree, it became illegal to die on Delos.
          Kind of ridiculous, right? That’s not something you can really control. But it’s not an isolated incident. Something similar happened on a Japanese island which was considered sacred to the Japanese Shinto religion. And at least five small towns in Europe have outlawed dying within their town limits as a way to force their town council to approve permits for more cemetery space.
          For example, a mayor of a small village in Southern Italy who is also a pediatrician, became concerned that his elderly constituents weren’t visiting their doctors enough and weren’t maintaining their health. So he passed ordinances trying to make it more difficult for citizens to get ill or to die in his town. His concern was that the residents needed to protect their health, or they would all die off. He said, “Those who don’t take care of themselves, or who take on habits that are against their health, will be punished with more taxes.” The Mayor’s ploy worked. Within weeks of passing the ordinances, 100 residents of the village signed up for regular health checks.
          And then there’s the mayor in a small town in France, who passed a similar ordinance when the local cemetery became too full. He applied to the local town government to build a cemetery on an unused plot of land. His proposal was turned down. So he passed an ordinance forbidding any of the town’s residents from dying. This was obviously a publicity stunt – but it worked. The story of the town that banned dying got picked up by media outlets all over Europe. Within three months of passing the ordinance, the mayor received approval from the local town government to build a cemetery (1)
          On the surface, our passage for today is about death and the afterlife, which is appropriate on this first Sunday of November as we remember the saints of our own church who passed on to join the great crowd of witnesses in heaven. But in reality, this passage is more about the limits we place on God. As our passage goes, “Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question”
          I like to think that as Luke told this story, he began “Some of the Sadducees”…. Long pause, as Luke lowered his glasses and looked out over his listeners…. “who say there is no resurrection,” – he let that hang in the air for a moment and continued – came to Jesus with a question.”
          “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s wife dies and leaves a wife with no children, the man must marry the widow and raise the children for his brother. Now, what if there are seven brothers. The first one married a woman a died childless. The second and then the third brother married her, and in the same way, all seven brothers died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too. Now then, (another long pause, this time from the Sadducees)– “at the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven brothers were married to her?”
          Now there are some things you need to know about the Sadducees. These men were a Jewish religious sect representing the high priests. They dominated the Temple and the priesthood, at least until the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The Sadducees believed that all God’s laws and divine revelation were contained in the Books of Moses – the Torah – which includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books were the basis of their religious practices. This also meant that the Sadducees rejected the idea of the immortality of the soul, the afterlife, the resurrection of the dead, and the existence of angels. (2)
          So the Sadducees asked this question of Jesus even though they didn’t really care about the answer. They were simply trying to start an argument to make Jesus look foolish. They thought they could trip him up or trivialize his teachings. They are mocking Jesus here. They hoped to dilute his power and popularity with the people. But what they saw as a challenge – Jesus saw as an opportunity. Jesus, just days away from his arrest, crucifixion and death – couldn’t care less right now about an argument. In this moment, all Jesus cares about is showing us the truth of God’s character and purposes.
          A major part of Jesus’ ministry involved challenging our limited view of God. That’s one of the reasons Jesus so often answered a question with a question, or with a story. Rather than giving us a set of rules to live by, Jesus gives us an enlarged view of God. So often, our arguments and questions and doubts about religion stem from asking the wrong question. And one of the toughest questions is often, “Why do people die?” “Why this way? Why now?”
         Good questions – important questions. But what if we started with a question like “What is God like?” How does God see death? Once we understand what God is like, then we can use that as the foundation of understanding every other question, doubt or argument we might have. So let’s see how Jesus answered the religious leaders.
          Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the world to come and in the resurrection from the dead – will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They ae God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.”
         “They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection… But in the account of the burning bush,” he continued, “even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to God all are alive.” How does God view death? There is no death for God – to God, all are alive.
          God’s ultimate purpose for us is revealed right there in verse 36 – “They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.” Through Jesus, we have been adopted into God’s family. We have been adopted into all the fullness of God’s love and care.
          There is a woman named Lori Wood, who was working as an ICU nurse at Piedmont Newnan Hospital in Newnan, Georgia. In 2018, she met a patient named Jonathan Pinkard. Jonathan was 26 years old, autistic, and was in heart failure. He needed a heart transplant. His grandmother had been his guardian until her death. Now Jonathan was a ward of the state. Because donor organs are so rare and precious, they are only granted to people who have the ability or the support system to follow a strict health regimen to ensure the organ recipient lives as long as possible. With no family to help him and a disability that made it difficult for Jonathan to care for himself, he was taken off the transplant list. Doctors at Piedmont Newnan did not expect him to live much longer. Without a parent to care for him, Jonathan couldn’t receive a new heart – and without that new heart, he would die. Lori Wood was haunted by one question – “What if he were one of my children?”
          So, to put yourself in the story – what would you do to save your child’s life. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Whatever I have to.” Verse 36 of this passage calls us God’s children, children of the resurrection. So, God will do whatever has to be done. We are assured of resurrection.
          So, Lori applied to be Jonathan’s temporary legal guardian. He moved in with Lori and her youngest son, Austin, who willingly gave up his room so Jonathan could have a room of his own. On August 19th, 2019, they got the call that a heart had been found for Jonathan. He came through the surgery just fine – and with Lori and Austin’s help, he learned to follow the strict health regimen necessary to keep his new heart healthy. After a few months, he was even able to live on his own. As Lori wrote in Guideposts magazine, “God orchestrated everything to heal Jonathan, beyond anything I could have asked for.” (3)
          Jonathan is alive today because of the love Lori and her family had for him. We can be assured of eternal life for one reason alone: We are loved by God, just like that. Jesus is proof that there is no limit to God’s love for us.
         Genesis 1 and 2, the creation stories, tell us two essential pieces of information about God and God’s purposes:
1.    We were made in God’s image.
2.    God breathed God’s own life into us.
All the other living creatures were either spoken into existence or formed by God. But humans are unique. It was only for humans that God breathed life force into us. And if God is eternal, and we were made alive by the very breath or spirit of God, then God made us to be eternal as well.
          Some of you are familiar with the origin story of the classic gospel hymn that we will sing in a few minutes, “Precious Lord, Take my Hand.” It was written by Thomas Dorsey, who was born in 1899 in rural Georgia. He grew into a prolific songwriter and an excellent gospel and blues musician. As a young man, Dorsey moved to Chicago and found work as a piano player in the churches as well as in clubs and playing in theatres. Struggling to support his family, Dorsey divided his time between paying in the clubs and playing in church. After some turbulent times, Dorsey began to devote his artistry exclusively to the church.
          In August of 1932, Dorsey left his pregnant wife in Chicago and traveled to be the featured soloist at a large revival meeting in St. Louis. After the first night, Dorsey received a telegram that said – “Your wife just died.” Dorsey raced home and learned that his wife had given birth to a son before dying in childbirth. The next day, his son died as well. Dorsey buried his wife and son in the same casket and withdrew in sorrow and agony from the world. He was despondent. He refused to compose or play any music at all for quite some time.
          While still in the midst of despair, Dorsey said that as he sat in front of a piano one day, a feeling of peace washed through him. He heard a melody in his head that he had never heard before and began to play it on the piano. That night, Dorsey recorded his classic:
         “Precious Lord, take my hand,
         Lead me on, let me stand:
          I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
          Lead me on to the light;
          Take my hand, precious Lord,
          Lead me home.”(4)
          Thomas Dorsey understood that God’s purpose for us was not to leave us in death, but to lead us back home. We don’t need a law against dying. Christ has already taken care of that matter on our behalf. When we leave this earthly realm, we too will be led home to join the great cloud of witnesses who stand in the presence of God – because we are, children of the resurrection.
          May God be praised. Amen.

1.    Dynamic Preaching, Vol. XXXVIII, No.3, p 43.
2.    Ibid… p 44.
3.    Ibid… p 45.
4.    Nancy Lynne Westfield, Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p 312.

10-23-2022 Waiting

Jay Rowland

“Waiting”

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22

October 23, 2022

This sermon features the ideas and quotes from Walter Brueggemann, Exile & Homecoming—A Commentary on Jeremiah, Erdmans; pp.134-141

Waiting

I feel like I owe you an apology for choosing this passage from the available lectionary choices for today. Because--just in case you hadn’t noticed--it’s harsh. There’s very little if any material that’s explicitly inspiring or uplifting. And I admit I prefer scripture choices that are explicitly inspiring and uplifting. Especially in the past 2-3 years, when it comes to selecting one of the four lectionary choices to preach on, I find myself looking for one that is capable of propelling me into the world with a big, bright light of hope and a fearless trust in God.

But Jeremiah 14 is not one of those scriptures.

Sorry about that.

I blame Walter Brueggemann. I’ve been spending lots of time with him lately. You may have heard me refer to him in the past. Full disclosure: Brueggemann is, in my opinion, his generation’s most important and gifted scholar of the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament) in general, and the prophets and Jeremiah in particular.

One of the reasons among many that I hold this opinion is that Brueggemann taught me that the struggles of the time in which Jeremiah lived and preached profoundly mirror the struggles of our own time.

So as I blame Brueggemann for my decision to land on Jeremiah 14, I lean upon his knowledge and interpretive insights of Jeremiah to help me make sense of the struggles confronting the world today.

This past week, I made the mistake of watching the daily headlines with my first cup of coffee. I did this for three days in a row and I don’t recommend it--it’s demoralizing. There is no new information or insight to be gained. It’s merely the daily repetition of a discouraging and continuing narrative—including the slaughter of the innocents in Ukraine and in US schools and cities from gun violence; doom and gloom economic trends; dissonance from politicians, influencers and candidates posturing for midterm elections; evidence of our critically ill planet in the form of hurricanes, forest fires, drought and flood; injustice tormenting communities of color, gender and other people cast to the margins of society

Given this daily backdrop of profoundly demoralizing and discouraging realities bombarding us every day this passage from Jeremiah is strangely appropriate. Jeremiah refuses to put any “spin” on reality for the Hebrew people of Judah and Israel. Jeremiah does not waste any words or attention on pithy slogans or on rants identifying easy scapegoats.

This is significant because, as Brueggemann points out, Jeremiah was competing with other “credible and recognized voices” clamoring for the attention of his people—voices presenting a different view of reality, one that is whitewashed and simplistic so it can be carefully managed, packaged and manipulated.

Just like right here in 2022.

So yeah, bring on Jeremiah.

But first let’s set the context. The situation being lamented in Jeremiah 14 is a prolonged drought that has brought widespread suffering and death to the people. A drought so severe it no longer discriminates between the nobility and the peasant, or between plants and crops, animals, and humans; all are suffering and slowly dying.

Brueggemann calls it the waning or the reversal of creation.

Whatever you call it, the people of Israel are crying out to God to save them. In the midst of the widespread suffering and death, the people of Israel and Judah are moved to humility, something which, up until the drought had been mostly non-existent.

Up until the drought, the dominant voices and citizens of Israel and Judah were so busy wandering away from God, they didn’t notice when they crossed the line into an outright rejection of God and the covenant.

Until the drought brought creation itself to a screeching halt. That got everybody’s attention.

Brueggemann’s curious description of the drought as the reversal of creation leads me to interpret it as not so much punishment from God, but rather a natural consequence of the people’s long-running determination to live apart from God. And so, from God’s perspective, after being ignored and insulted by the people, God decides, “ok. Have it your way.” And so God steps aside so that the people can live the full experience of creation without the life-giving care and presence of the Creator.

But thus confronted by Creation without a Creator the people plead with God for forgiveness and restoration, pleading to the same God they previously ignored and insulted ...

7 Although our iniquities testify against us,

act, O Lord, for your name’s sake

This is a savvy prayer. The people openly admit that they have provoked God and that they deserve God’s punishment. And so they plead for mercy by intentionally appealing to God’s character and God’s covenant promise. Their sincerity is in question. Between the lines, for the people’s expectation is that of course God will show God’s characteristic mercy and uphold God’s covenant with the people.

And so what is unique about this interaction between God and God’s people in Jeremiah 14 is God’s response. Properly understood, it is disturbing. It was certainly disturbing to those who pleaded for God’s mercy in Jeremiah. But it remains disturbing to us as we read and hear it from our vantage point today:

10 [Thus says the Lord] concerning this people:

Truly they have loved to wander;

they have not restrained their feet;

therefore the Lord does not accept them;

now he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.

Brueggemann acknowledges this is a harsh word but clarifies that God is not being vindictive or reactive. Rather, God through Jeremiah is establishing boundaries that God expects God’s people to respect, “limits beyond which [God] will not be pushed.”

This is unique among the prophets. It is unexpected. The expected response, which shows up repeatedly throughout scripture is that God will remember their sin no more. But here in Jeremiah 14:10 God’s response to the people’s plea for mercy is a rejection of their plea. And it’s Jeremiah’s unenviable calling to articulate God’s rejection to God’s people against the widespread assumption that God would never do that (p.136).

Brueggemann points out that there were “other credible prophetic voices in the community (who) perceived reality very differently.” (see Jer. 14:13-14). I can’t help but think of all the “other credible prophetic voices” in our time--voices in government, politics and even religion--all of which perceive reality very differently. Credible voices who inflate their own importance by blaming the complex problems of our time upon scapegoats and subterfuge. Credible voices constantly working to distract and confuse, destabilize and provoke, rather than doing the hard, disturbing, uncomfortable work required to truly move toward common good and common ground.

This is the exact sort of dis-orientation toward humanity, the world and God that the leaders and people of Israel fell into at the expense of their God-orientation. A rejection of the God of Creation who lives and moves in creation and in humanity through diversity and who moves and works through consensus and cooperation

Brueggemann sums up the situation in Jeremiah 14, “The prayer asking God to remember the covenant is a dangerous prayer because it has already been asserted (verse 10) what God will remember. … One memory leads to death. The other memory yields continued life and possibility. This poem (Jeremiah 14) gives no hint of which (memory will prevail)... The poet (Jeremiah) hopes that God will remember (the covenant rather than the sin), but the poet does not dare prescribe the memory for God.”

To clarify: Jeremiah chapter 14 ends with the people waiting on God’s mercy.

And that is also where we find ourselves today it seems to me.

Krista Tippett from the public radio broadcast/podcast On Being describes something she is doing and recommends to her listeners as a way to process the uncommon difficulties of our age. I share it here because it is an invitation to cultivate spiritual wisdom and guidance as we wait upon God’s mercy.

Tippett acknowledges that the profound problems of our time are “vast, aching, questions for which no answers are forthcoming anytime soon.” As an antidote to despair, Tippett shares a spiritual practice inspired by the poet Rainer-Maria Rilke. She calls it Living The Questions an intentional leaning into the troubling questions of our time (rather than ignoring or avoiding these troubling questions). I’ll include the link in my sermon manuscript online.

To learn more: https://onbeing.org/on-being-foundations/

It’s a simple practice designed to help us to reframe our encounter with (or retreat from) the profound problems of our time. It caught my attention because, being inspired by the poet Rilke connects with Brueggemann’s reminder that Jeremiah (and all the prophets) were also poets. The prophets created poems and poetry to help God’s people process the profoundly difficult reality of their own time.

Tippett embraces this practice by noting that our changing world requires us to ask new and different questions. And wisely declares that the questions we’ve become most accustomed and conditioned to asking are not suited to the pressing need of our times to move toward God’s re-creation of our broken world.

Brueggemann sees this happening all around us now. A new world is emerging from the broken world that is passing away before our very eyes. Brueggemann emphatically declares and interprets and recognizes this same situation in the core of the prophetic witness of Jeremiah and all the Hebrew prophets.

Like our Hebrew ancestors, we are living in a time of vast change and chaos. The harsh word from God through Jeremiah to the people of Israel and Judah reflects that chaos and change. Jeremiah chapter 14 ends without any clear resolution. Of course we know what they could not see in that moment: that God continued to love the Hebrew people and lead them forward.

But the way forward brought the people into unthinkable disruption and disorientation.

Perhaps like our ancestors, we are not ready or willing to see the new world that is emerging. Perhaps unlike our ancestors, we can allow our hearts to be broken open in order to see the new reality God will reveal. In the meantime, it’s up to us how we choose to abide with God in the midst of our own profound waiting.

**********************

Rainer Maria Rilke, from Letters to a Young Poet:

“Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart

and try to love the questions themselves

as if they are locked rooms

or books written in a foreign language

“Don’t search for the answers

which could not be given to you now

bc you would not be able to live them,

“But rather live everything;

live the questions now,

perhaps then someday far into the future

you will gradually without even noticing it

live your way into the answer.

**********************

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22

7 Although our iniquities testify against us,

act, O Lord, for your name’s sake;

our rebellions indeed are many,

and we have sinned against you.

8 O hope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler turning aside for the night?

9 Why should you be like someone confused,

like a mighty warrior who cannot give help?

Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,

and we are called by your name;

do not forsake us!

10 Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

Truly they have loved to wander;

they have not restrained their feet;

therefore the Lord does not accept them;

now he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.

19 Have you completely rejected Judah?

Does your heart loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

so that there is no healing for us?

We look for peace but find no good,

for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.

20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

the iniquity of our ancestors,

for we have sinned against you.

21 Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

remember and do not break your covenant with us.

22 Can any idols of the nations bring rain,

or can the heavens give showers?

Is it not you, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on you,

for it is you who do all this.

10-09-2022 Where People Meet Jesus

Thomas J Parlette
“Where to Meet Jesus”
Luke 17: 11-19
10/9/22
 

          I love trivia. I subscribe to more than a few daily emails that bring me all sorts of trivia questions on travel, other countries, inspiring quotes from well-known people and obscure figures you’ve never heard of. So I was intrigued by a recent piece of trivia asking “how loud is too loud?”
          For most people, anything over 100 decibels is probably going to be too loud. To give you some context -  a quiet rom would register around 10-20 decibels. Raindrops falling outside would come up to 40 decibels. A normal conversation would run about 60 decibels. Your average restaurant usually checks in at 70-80 decibels. A vacuum cleaner and city traffic would come in around 85 decibels. And here’s where it starts to get uncomfortable. A hair dryer or a lawnmower would generate around 90 decibels. A helicopter or your average rock concert would run around 105. If you’re working with a chainsaw, that’s about 110 decibels, that’s why you should wear ear coverings. By the time you get to 130 decibels, that’s the threshold of pain – anything above that and you’re running the risk of damage to your hearing.
          If you are interested, there is actually an app you can download called Sound Print that lets you measure the decibel level anywhere you are. In fact, Sound Print actually has measured certain places, including restaurants, so you can find a suitably quiet place if that’s what you’re looking for.
          So, just out of curiosity, I looked up restaurants in Rochester, Minnesota. The quietest restaurant in Rochester was a bit of surprise to me – it was Applebee’s, at about 32 decibels. Sorry, it didn’t specify which one. Others were not so surprising – India Garden, Lord Essex Steakhouse and Chez Bojji were all ranked among the quietest in town. But I was surprised that the Tap House, Outback Steakhouse and Fiesta were also ranked in the quiet category.
          Coming in at the Moderate level – between 70 and 75 decibels – were Victorias, Terza and Hollandberry.
          Moving up into the Loud category of over 75 decibels was Five West, Cameo and The Purple Goat.
          But the loudest restaurant in Rochester according to Sound Print came in at 82 decibels – and I wouldn’t have guessed this. The loudest restaurant in Rochester is The Canadian Honker. Who knew!
          You might wonder why I dove down this rabbit hole of decibels and loud restaurants. Well, throughout much of his ministry - especially on this travel narrative section of Luke – Jesus is surrounded by large crowds. I have no idea what the decibel level was, but I bet it was loud. If you’ve ever tried to shush a large crowd of people, you know how difficult that could be. I also notice how many times people in the Bible yell for Jesus’ attention. That’s what happened with the group of lepers in our passage for today, they shout out to get Jesus’ attention.
          In the NRSV translation of the story, it starts out, “On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.” That first sentence is very important to story. The people hearing this story would have been taken aback to hear that Jesus took this particular route. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, which was around Galilee. That was familiar territory for him, that was his home, his comfort zone. You might say that Galilee was Jesus “stomping ground.”
          Most of Jesus’ ministry took place in the region of Galilee. But sometimes, Jesus went rogue, at least in the eyes of the religious establishment. The animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans can be traced back to at least 700 years before Jesus’ birth, when the Assyrians conquered the Jewish city of Samaria. Marriages between the pagan Assyrians and the Samaritan Jews led to changes in the way that Samaritans practiced their faith. Samaritans were considered impure, heretics, sinners to be avoided at all costs. In Jesus’ day, devout Jews avoided Samaria. They deliberately planned their travel routes to go around that area, not through it.
          Dr. Courts Redford, a pastor and former President of a Baptist university, once wrote about visiting a poor, run-down neighborhood in St. Louis. As he walked the streets, Dr. Redford met a dejected looking man standing on a street corner. He struck up a conversation with the man and began telling him about the peace and hope he found in following Jesus.
          The man responded, “Mister, nobody with peace and hope ever comes down here. I guess even Jesus wouldn’t come here.”(1)
          But Jesus did go there. He went exactly to the people and the places that everyone else avoided – because Jesus loves those whom the world rejects. Jesus loves those who are at the margins of society. Jesus’ first public sermon in his hometown synagogue came from the writings of the prophet Isaiah – “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
          From the beginning, Jesus never hid his agenda. He couldn’t have cared less what the religious establishment said, or what would make him popular with the crowds. He cared about bringing God’s love to everyone. And he didn’t wait for anyone to come to him. No, Jesus went outside his home turf and into the “bad neighborhoods” to find people who needed to see that love in the flesh.
          Singer and songwriter Rich Mullins could have made a lot of money and gained a lot of fame in the Christian music industry. He wrote best-selling songs for some of the top Christian singers in the 70’s, 80’s and into the early 90’s. He could have had a comfortable life as a Christian celebrity. But instead of seeking fame and attention, Mullins gave away most of his money, shunned the spotlight, and dedicated the last years of his life to teaching music to children on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico. Tragically, Rich died in a car accident in 1997 at the age of 42.
          In 1996, while performing at a Christian music festival in Kentucky, a fan asked Mullins if God had called him to the Navajo reservation to share his faith and convert the Native Americans. And Mullins said, “No. I think I just got tired of a White, Evangelical, middle-class perspective on God, and I thought I would have more luck finding Christ among the Navajo.(2) I think all those from our church who have visited B’decan and the Pine Ridge reservation would agree.
          Mullins also said in another interview, “If we want to meet Jesus, it won’t likely be at church, although I’m a big believer in going to church. I think when we meet Jesus, it will be somewhere outside our camp. It will be where people have been marginalized, people who have been literally imprisoned. We will meet God where we least expect to.”(3)
          If we want to meet Jesus, it will be somewhere outside our camp. Jesus, who revealed to us the very heart of God, loves those whom the world rejects. The folks standing at the margins of society – the sick, the invisible, the “sinners”, the rejects. Jesus didn’t just see them. He went looking for them. Which tells me that those ten men with leprosy didn’t have to shout out to Jesus. We never need to shout. Jesus already knows our need.
          Our story continues, “As Jesus entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean.”
          That brings us to another insight we get in this passage – Jesus, God in the flesh, loves to show mercy to those who are hurting. That word “mercy”, also means “compassion”, or sometimes “pity.” There are seven instances in the Gospels – in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – in which people come to Jesus asking for mercy. And in every instance, all 7, Jesus responded. He never turned them away. That’s the whole reason he was walking along the border between Galilee and Samaria – because he knew someone there needed some mercy, some compassion, and Jesus, the Healer, the One known as Creator Sets Free, goes to where the hurting are.
          The play Green Pastures won the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was ground-breaking in many ways, but most notably because it featured the first all-Black cast for a Broadway play.
          There is a scene in the play where God disguises himself as a poor country preacher and walks among God’s people on earth. God meets a man who begins telling him about how he worships the Lord God of Hosea. Hosea, you might recall, was an Old Testament prophet who preached a message of mercy and sacrificial love. God called Hosea to marry Gomer, an unfaithful woman who left Hosea and ended up being sold into servitude in the local marketplace. God commands Hosea to buy her out of servitude and restore her as his wife. In this way, Hosea serves as a witness to the mercy, sacrificial love and restoration of God.
          So God, in disguise, asks this man,” What kind of God is He, this God of Hosea?”
          “Well, He is a God of mercy.”
          “Where did Hosea learn that?”
          And the man answers, “Why the same way anyone ever learns it – through suffering.”(4)
          Until you have suffered, until you have been cut off from the life and hope you used to know, you cannot fully appreciate the mercy of God. There are only two instances in the Gospels where people hesitated to approach Jesus – the woman who was hemorrhaging blood who reached out to touch Jesus’ robe, and Zacchaeus, the tax collector who was despised by the Jews. In the first case, Jesus saw the woman, spoke to her, and, of course, healed her. In the second instance, Jesus approached Zacchaeus and invited himself over for lunch. In both cases, Jesus approached them and offered mercy. Even when they didn’t ask for it. Even when they didn’t know they needed it. Jesus, God in the flesh, also known as Creator Sets Free, loves to show mercy to those who are hurting.
          So, where do you go to meet Jesus?
          Go to the borders, go to the margins, go outside your camp. If you want to meet Jesus it won’t likely be at church. You will meet God where we least expect it, because God loves those who are cast aside and marginalized.
          And when we do meet Jesus, rest assured that the One also known as Creator Sets Free, will live up to that name, and free us with abundant mercy and compassion.
          May God, also known as the Great Spirit, be praised. Amen.
 

1.    Dynamic Preaching, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 3, p 25.
2.    Ibid… p 25.
3.    Ibid… p25.
4.    Ibid… p 26.

10-02-2022 Dutiful Faith

Thomas J Parlette
“Dutiful Faith”
Luke 17: 5-10
10/2/22

          After much scholarly consideration, I have come to believe that Jesus’s favorite condiment was mustard. What kind of mustard, I don’t know. Could be traditional yellow, or maybe it’s spicy brown, or it could even be grey poupon, I suppose. But ketchup and mayonnaise are not mentioned in the scriptures as far as I am aware.
          But mustard is mentioned many times, or at least mustard seeds. Luke 17 is one of five places in the gospels where Jesus makes a comment about a mustard seed. Three of those references are essentially the same as three of the gospel writers record of Jesus telling how the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. One of the other references to a mustard seed is when Jesus explains to the disciples why they were unable to cure a demon-possessed boy. The final mustard seed citation is in our text when Jesus responds to the apostles’ request that he increase their faith.
          The word used here in Greek for “increase our faith” is prostithemi. You can probably hear that is the same word from which we get prosthetic, as in a prosthetic arm or leg. A prosthetic is not a natural appendage. A prosthetic is a manufactured piece added to the body to replace a natural limb that was lost. So, essentially, the disciples are asking for Jesus to give them a crutch.(1) They are saying “We can’t do this on our own. This life you call us to is too hard. You need to give us something to help us out, some special supernatural power or something. Increase our faith.”
          Because of how small mustard seeds are, we tend to hear this repeated metaphor as a comment on the quantity of faith one possesses. Yet, it’s unlikely that’s the intended meaning in any of these usages, and it’s especially not the case here where Jesus responds to the apostles’ request for more faith. In this setting, where the comment appears right before Jesus’ parable of the dutiful servant, the point seems to be that the apostles need is not for more faith, but for re-directing what faith they have toward dutiful service to God rather than grand exploits.
          That said, we also have to acknowledge that this is probably not anybody’s favorite parable. It includes no heroic figure, like the Good Samaritan. It’s as heart-warming as the Prodigal Son. There is no dramatic and satisfying turning of the tables like in the Rich Man and Lazarus. No, this parable is more prosaic; it has to do with “your servant” who labors long hours in the field and then is expected to fix dinner for his master before having any food for himself.
          If Jesus were telling this parable today, he’d probably substitute “your employee” for “your servant,” but the point would be the same: Does your servant or employee deserve thanks for doing what is expected? Does your employee deserve thanks for giving you eight hours of work? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘we are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”
          The “unworthy” word, or as the NRSV says, “worthless”, really bites, for it implies that no matter how much we do in service to God, we are only doing what is expected and that it is impossible to do more than what’s expected of us. We can never put God in our debt. We will never be able to say to God, you owe me big time. In fact, when it comes to serving God, Jesus is, in effect, telling us to forget the old idea of having “stars in our crown” – special recognition or reward in heaven. Although Jesus does mention in Matthew that those who endure persecution or do charitable works in secret will have rewards in heaven, so there are some exceptions.
          The famous biblical scholar William Barclay points out that some of the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament do not have that word that’s translated as “unworthy” or “worthless.” Instead, those manuscripts just say “We are servants.” But Barclay says that that is enough in his opinion. The point of the parable is that in relationship to God, we are always servants.(2) In the biblical paraphrase The Message, Eugene Peterson makes that same point plainly without using “unworthy” or “worthless”, or any similar term. Peterson translates the verse; “Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.”
          On the face of it, I know that sounds kind of joyless. We did what we were told to do. We did our duty and should expect no special credit. But there are two things we can say about that.
          First, while the parable tells us not to expect divine thanks for serving God, there are human thanks that come to us nonetheless. It may not happen often, and we’ve all had occasions when those we help appear to be ungrateful – enough so that we know the bitterness behind the saying, “No good deed goes unpunished.” But there are still times when someone says “Thank you” in such a way that really warms our hearts. When we see someone lifted from trouble because of something we did, or when someone tells us that something we said helped them make a good decision, we are understandably uplifted and encouraged. In fact, it’s unlikely that we can be faithful in our Christian duty without receiving at least occasional expressions of appreciation. Jesus’ parable, however stresses that we should serve God because it’s the right thing to do, no because we’re chasing a divine reward.
          Second, doing the right thing without being praised or rewarded brings a kind of satisfaction of it’s own. I have a friend who tells about the early days of his marriage when there was some friction between he and his wife. He was quite happy to let her do all the housework and go to work as well. She, of course, would get upset with him for not helping out around the house. After several heated discussions on the topic, he finally realized he was being unreasonable, so he decided to pitch in. He started in the kitchen – he did all the dishes, wiped down the counters and even ran a swifter broom over the floor. Then he sat down in family room to watch some TV and wait for his wife to come home – and lavish him with praise.
          When his wife got home, she came in through the kitchen, walked through the family room and went right upstairs to the bedroom. Never said a word. She had to have noticed the clean kitchen, but she said nothing. Finally, my friend couldn’t take it any more. He went up to the bedroom and blurted out, “Did you see I cleaned up the kitchen?”
          “Yes,” she said.
          He waited…. But his wife had nothing more to say. So he blurted out again, “Well, don’t you appreciate it?”
          “Well, I’m glad you’ve done the work,” she said, “but we both live in this house and keeping it clean is just part of our responsibilities. I’ve never been thanked for all the housework I’ve done, and I don’t expect to be. Why should either of us be thanked for doing what’s necessary to live decently.”
          It took some time for that to sink in – but my friend got the point, and his attitude changed. And yes – they’re still married and he still does his share of the housework. Even though he has never enjoyed cleaning, he has come to take pride in keeping the house reasonably tidy. Likewise, there can be a certain satisfaction in serving God, even when no “Thank you’s” seem to be forthcoming.
          This parable invites us to see ourselves in relation to God as servants – in our work, in our church life, in our leisure, in the unexpected things that come to us and require a response. However, servant is not the only biblical image for the divine-human relationship. Another comes from Paul when he describes that relationship as being a family member. Each image serves a teaching function, and this one from Jesus steers us away from the notion of entitlement and reminds us that we don’t earn our way into the kingdom of God but are granted entrance because of God’s graciousness to us.
          It also reminds us that it’s not the quantity of our faith that matters, but putting what faith we have into service.
          There’s an old story about a man seeking entrance to heaven based on his good works. He gets to the Pearly Gates and asks Saint Peter for admission.
          “On what basis” says Peter.
          “Well,” said the man, “I worked most recently in the world of financial management, and I worked hard to make even that realm a place where God’s will was done.”
          “Yes,” replied Peter, “but of course, we expected that.”
          “Uh, well, sure… earlier I worked several years making almost nothing in the mission field. I tackled the causes of poverty and injustice in the Third World. I worked directly with children, families, and their communities. I even helped some people escape from human traffickers.”
          “We know… but that needed to be done.”
          “But look here… I’ve worked hard to be faithful ever since God called me. I’ve kept my hand on the plow, so to speak, and I never looked back.”
          “And your point is…?”
          The man was clearly disconcerted, and stammered, “That’s all I’ve got! There’s nothing more but the grace of God!”
          Exactly,” said Saint Peter, opening the gate. “Come on in.”(3)
          As we gather at the Lord’s table on this World Communion Sunday, remember we are here by God’s own invitation, not because we’ve earned a place at the Table. What God expects is that we do our duty, nothing more and nothing less. God is pleased when we live our lives with dutiful faith.
          May God be praised. Amen.
 

1.    Dynamic Preaching, Vol XXXVIII, No. 3, p20.
2.    Homileticsonline, retrieved Sept. 15th, 2022.
3.    Ibid…

09-25-2022 The Good Fight

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

1 Timothy 6 (selected verses)

Jay Rowland

The Good Fight 

In the fall of 1976 I entered 7th grade at Susan B. Anthony Junior High School in South Minneapolis. … I was 12 years old.

 What I remember most about those two years of junior high is the energy I spent avoiding bullies.

 For someone as little and as lightweight as I was, avoiding bullies was Survival 101

But it was also a fool’s errand.

Because you gotta go to class, you gotta take the bus, you gotta do what you gotta do.

And they do too.

All my life, guys were always bigger and stronger, tougher and meaner than me. And in junior high some felt compelled to remind me of this (in case I forgot?)

… between classes

… or during lunch recess

… or at my morning bus stop. 

You might perceive that 7th and 8th grade were not my favorite years; too many knuckle-heads determined to humiliate pip-squeaks like me.

I remember wishing, if only I was bigger,

or at least a scrappy little fighter with a mean streak and a reputation

and a sneaky left hook.

But that just wasn’t me.

So I had to summon the courage to walk out my front door every morning because one of those bigger, stronger, meaner dudes rode the same bus as me and waited at the same bus stop as me.

I remember starting most of my days feeling a lump in my throat and a sinking feeling in the pit of my gut as I walked to my bus stop each morning.

If I ever thought about Jesus back then it didn’t last long. I was too preoccupied by my daily predicament. I didn’t think Jesus could help me if He even cared to.

But I never gave Him the chance.

I didn’t realize back then Jesus could have become a vital lifeline.

It didn’t occur to me then. But I know it now.

And I remember this every time I drive past or walk into a middle school.

And I remember what it was like for me.

What I didn’t know then is that Jesus faced bullies too.

On a regular basis.

He faced real bullies, in real-time, without any script. Real bullies with real power. And allies.

And armies too.

Jesus faced them all

armed only with the love of God,

twelve friends

and a multitude of followers comprised of the rejected and the despised,

the wounded and the weak,

and the lost.

Today I understand that God values

and blesses

and expects us to value human dignity and decency and kindness

wherever it is found.  Just as I naturally did as a 12-year-old, just as we all naturally do.

What I know now but didn’t know then

is that God stands with the vulnerable and the weak

all who are preyed upon by the strong and the arrogant.

I offered a different translation for Psalm 91, and changed some of the verses from the Timothy passage assigned in the lectionary in order to highlight God’s expectations articulated and proclaimed throughout Psalm 91 and affirmed in Paul’s letter to Timothy.

 My experiences as a 12-year-old in 7th grade sensitized me to other situations where the strong prey upon the weak. And for that I’m grateful today; even though at the time I was not.

I got older and wiser and realized that bullies are not limited to middle school, or any school, or any one place; bullies are out there. Everywhere. They always have been. They’re never hard to find.

They continue roaming the hallways and highways of our lives.

Some rising to the heights of the World Stage

bullying their way and their view of world.

I can’t help but grieve how unnecessary that is, to have strength and power

but use it to oppress others, inflicting damage and torment upon the innocent.

Rather than uphold the wounded and the suffering.

Hard as it is to accept, it reveals the beauty of the Gospel and the power of Jesus Christ

spiritually enabling us and empowering us to face life on life’s terms.

Paul passed on to Timothy what he learned first-hand

that bullies are not only “out there” they’re in the church too.

 Paul invited people from diverse backgrounds and faiths and cultures;

a volatile mixture of myths and heresies.  That was the church. And it still is.

 As the Timothy passage reveals, Paul was continually refuting false teachings and interpretations of the power of Jesus Christ in the church.

Some were adept at attaching personal and cultural preferences and expectations, teachings that intentionally distorted the truth God reveals to the world in the person and life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 These distortions were circulating in the very congregations and people that Paul invited into the Gospel community, the early churches he founded:

3 Some people will teach what is false and will not agree with the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here Paul is describing for Timothy what he (Paul) is facing from people inside the church communities he founded, people intentionally creating confusion and division in these new and vulnerable church communities:

They will not accept the teaching that produces a life of devotion to God. 4They are proud of what they know, but they understand nothing. They are sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. And that brings jealousy, quarrels, insults, and evil mistrust. 5They are always making trouble, because they are people whose thinking has been confused. They have lost their understanding of the truth. They think that devotion to God is a way to get rich.     (1Timothy6:3-5 ERV)

If I hadn’t known this came from the Bible I might have thought it came from a recent Op/Ed piece. Remarkable—two-thousand years later, these words still resonate.

This passage bears witness to what we know all too well today

but perhaps don’t realize about the earliest faith communities,

how even there, the strong couldn’t resist the impulse to bully and torment the weak.

But the good news is that God,

our God,

is all about rescuing everyday people from the traps and snares of bullies and their strong-armed tactics. And the sneaky ways some people twist and manipulate the truth for their own purposes leaving God’s people confused and divided.

If we ever doubt or forget that God stands with the vulnerable and the lost and the weak, with all who are oppressed and tormented by the proud and the arrogant and the strong in any community but especially in the community of faith, Psalm 91 is a powerful reminder.

So I am going to repeat these verses, yes! Again!

When these words pass through the air, I pray that the power of God expressed in this Psalm may rest deep in your soul and deep in your heart … and that it may speak to you wherever you are right now. And give you courage to face life right now on life’s terms:

3 God will save you from hidden dangers

    and from deadly diseases.

4 You can go to him for protection.

    He will cover you like a bird spreading its wings over its babies.

    You can trust him to surround and protect you like a shield.

5 You will have nothing to fear at night

    and no need to be afraid of enemy arrows during the day.

6 You will have no fear of diseases that come in the dark

    or terrible suffering that comes at noon.

My 12-year-old self would not have been impressed.

 Because God isn’t promising to remove any bullies or enemies from our midst.

The pain they inflict still happens and it still hurts.

Deeply.

Way down deep in the spirit and soul.

Believing in God does not change any of that.

But I’ve learned over time how God’s presence changes ME.

 And how it changes God’s people.

Changing our impulse to fight power with power, to meet violence with violence, to oppose force with force, and to instead lean deeper into Jesus

who empowers and resides most meaningfully in community,

who reveals the power that comes when we realize

that we don’t face the bullies of life and grief alone.

God spoke through this Psalm long ago; God speaks through it still.

Reminding us that however bleak our present moments may seem,

God holds our future in God’s Heart.

God speaks words of life to us each day,

when we feel on top of the mountain where life is good,

and when we are suffering alone in anguish, reeling from illness or regret or grief.

God’s words of Life call out

again and again and again.

For God comes to guide us and to help us make our way

through this at-times harrowing and wonder-filled life.

God comes alongside us to help us fight the good fight:

14 The Lord says, “If someone trusts me, I will save them.

    I will protect my followers who call to me for help.

15 When my followers call to me, I will answer them.

    I will be with them when they are in trouble.

    I will rescue them and honor them.

16 I will give my followers a long life

    and show them my power to save.

Long life is ordinary life affirmed by the power of God

alive in communities of faith

and wherever we are held when we’re falling or lost or empty or grieving.

Long life is a place within and a place held

by community. A place where people return day after day, week after week, year after year, generation after generation.

 A place where we are met by the God who saves.

The God who loves.

Show us, O Lord, your power to Save.

Speak your life-affirming words again. Speak Lord. We are listening.

 Speak to us and empower us O God

to live

in the name

and in the Love of Jesus Christ. 

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16    Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

You can go to God Most High to hide.

    You can go to God All-Powerful for protection.

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety, my fortress.

    My God, I trust in you.”

3 God will save you from hidden dangers

    and from deadly diseases.

4 You can go to him for protection.

    He will cover you like a bird spreading its wings over its babies.

    You can trust him to surround and protect you like a shield.

5 You will have nothing to fear at night

    and no need to be afraid of enemy arrows during the day.

6 You will have no fear of diseases that come in the dark

    or terrible suffering that comes at noon.

14 The Lord says, “If someone trusts me, I will save them.

    I will protect my followers who call to me for help.

15 When my followers call to me, I will answer them.

    I will be with them when they are in trouble.

    I will rescue them and honor them.

16 I will give my followers a long life

    and show them my power to save.

1 Timothy 6 selected verses (3-5, 11-16) (ERV)

3 Some people will teach what is false and will not agree with the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. They will not accept the teaching that produces a life of devotion to God.

4 They are proud of what they know, but they understand nothing. They are sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. And that brings jealousy, quarrels, insults, and evil mistrust.

5 They are always making trouble, because they are people whose thinking has been confused. They have lost their understanding of the truth. They think that devotion to God is a way to get rich.

11 But you belong to God. So ... stay away from all those things. Always try to do what is right, to be devoted to God, and to have faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

12 We have to fight to keep our faith. Try as hard as you can to win that fight. Take hold of eternal life. It is the life you were chosen to have when you confessed your faith in Jesus—that wonderful truth that you spoke so openly and that so many people heard.

13 Before God and Christ Jesus I give you a command. Jesus is the one who confessed that same wonderful truth when he stood before Pontius Pilate. And God is the one who gives life to everything. Now I tell you this:

14 Do what you were [born] to do without fault or blame until the time when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

15 God will make that happen at the right time. God is the blessed and only Ruler. … the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.

16 God is the only one who never dies. [God] lives in light so bright that people cannot go near it. No one has ever seen [God]; no one is able to see [God]. All honor and power belong to [God] forever. Amen.

09-04-2022 A High Price

Thomas J Parlette
“A High Price”
Luke 14: 25-33
9/4/22

          One of the most important, but overlooked characters in the Gospel of Luke is the crowd. Starting in Chapter 4, more and more people began flocking to Jesus as he healed the sick and preached in the local synagogues. He was very popular at first. The crowds couldn’t wait to see what he would do next. They saw Jesus heal people who were paralyzed or had withered limbs. They saw him raise two people from the dead, chase away demonic spirits and even feed 5,000 people.
          But then after the Transfiguration, Jesus begins to teach some hard lessons to the crowds traveling with him. Scholars call this section of Luke’s gospel the “travel narrative” – because everything for the next few chapters happens while Jesus is traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem.
          Our passage for today is right in the middle of Jesus’ road trip. Verse 25 tells us that large crowds were traveling with Jesus, when Jesus stopped abruptly and delivered some pretty harsh words
          “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.”
          This is another one of those times that Jesus’ words make us stop and say “Wait – did I hear that right. That can’t be. Jesus is telling us we have to hate our loved ones? I thought Jesus was all about family values? What’s he talking about?
          We get a lot of these hard sayings during this travel narrative section of Luke. This impromptu speech while on a road trip is meant to underscore the cost of discipleship – and it’s a high price indeed.
          Jesus uses two quick stories to illustrate the need to count the cost before you set out on the path of discipleship. If you are going to follow me – count the cost, are you prepared to go all in, because that’s what it takes.
          First, there’s the story about the man building a tower. Don’t you sit down and estimate the total cost first? Otherwise, you might run out of money before it’s done – and everyone will ridicule you for not counting the cost ahead of time.
          On a hillside above the picturesque seaside town of Oban, Scotland, sits a brooding, gray granite structure known as McCaig’s Tower. It also has an alternate name – McCaig’s Folly. Passengers waiting to board the ferry to the sacred Isle of Iona can look back over their shoulders and see this circular stone wall looming over them. It vaguely resembles the ancient Colosseum, but through it’s gaping windows you can see nothing but sky. It’s nothing but a shell.
          This massive stone monument was never finished. John Stuart McCaig, a wealthy banker was the man who conceived the project. You do have to say this on Old man McCaig’s behalf – he did count the cost before the first stone was laid. The tower was supposed to cost 5,000 pounds sterling. Taking inflation and currency-exchange rates into account, that’s nearly 1$ million on today’s money.
          Work began in 1897 and continued until 1902, when McCaig died of a heart attack. Part of his purpose had been to give off-season work to local stonemasons. The project surely fulfilled that purpose for as long as it lasted. But – even though McCaig had made provision in his will for the tower to be completed – his heirs didn’t like the project. They saw it as a costly waste of money that would hang as an albatross around their necks for years to come with all the maintenance and upkeep.
          So they went to court and successfully challenged the old man’s will. Work ground to a halt, and to this day, McCaig’s Folly stands as a monument to a dream never realized.
          Mr. McCaig had grand visions for his tower. Conceived as a lasting monument to his family, it was to include a museum and art gallery; a real showplace for the little town of Oban. A central tower would display heroic statues of McCaig himself, his siblings and their parents.
          But that’s not how people remember it today. They don’t remember the dream – only the disappointing reality. When tourists ask what’s that up on the hillside, the locals gesture at the gaping windows and lack of a roof. They sigh, and reply, “That’s McCaig’s Folly.”(1)
          You always have to count the cost – and not just the money, but the desire and support from your heirs as well. Don’t let that happen to you, says Jesus.
          Then Jesus tells the story of a King going out to wage war against another King. The first thing to do is consider how many soldiers you have. And if the other King has twice as many, well, the smart thing to do is negotiate a peace treaty instead of losing the battle. In each of these illustrations, discipleship is compared to a different task that is better left undone than attempted and failed. Thus Jesus makes it clear that following him is not a recommended option for the faint of heart.
          Commenting on this passage in his book “Luke for Everyone”, N.T. Wright poses the hypothetical situation of a politician making a stump speech. This hopeful office-seeker calls to the crowd, “Vote for me, and you’ll lose your homes and families. You’ll be voting for higher taxes and lower wages. You’ll give up everything for me.”
          How does that sound to you? Not very good. How would that candidate get even a single vote?
          But try changing the scenario, Wright says. What if the speaker is not a politician drumming up votes, but the leader of a mountain climbing expedition asking for volunteers? The task before this team of climbers is a risky trek to an isolated village, bringing food to the starving inhabitants. “The dangers are real,” warns the leader. “We may not make it back alive. But people are starving, so somebody has to do it. So, who’s with me?”
          Wright says it pays to read harsh-sounding words of Jesus more like the second scenario. Jesus isn’t looking for fans here. He’s recruiting disciples to do important and necessary work. There’s a huge difference.(2)
          As Amy-Jill Levine says in her book “The Difficult Words of Jesus” – “To understand the Gospel – indeed to follow Jesus – should not be a continuing effort of making the teachings less demanding. Jesus never said being a disciple would be easy; to the contrary. But he did assure his followers that being a disciple would be worth their while.”(3)
          To wrap up his impromptu lecture on the cost of discipleship, Jesus utters perhaps the hardest words of the passage:
          “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
          A high price indeed. But the cost of discipleship is…. Everything. Giving up our attachment to everything.
          As the Christian philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once put it:
          “It is well known that Christ consistently used the expression “follower.” He never asks for admirers, worshippers, or even adherents. No – he calls disciples. It is not adherents of a teaching but followers of a life Christ is looking for…”
          “Christ came into the world with the purpose of saving, not instructing it. At the same time – as is implied in his saving work- he came to be the pattern, to leave footprints for the person who would join him, who would become a follower.”
          “What then, is the difference between an admirer and a follower? A follower strives to be what he (or she, or they) admires. An admirer, however, keeps themselves personally detached. They fail to see that what is admired involves a claim on their life, and thus they fail to be or strive to be what they admire.”
          “If you have any knowledge at all of human nature, who can doubt that Judas was an admirer of Christ! And we know that Christ at the beginning of his ministry had many admirers. Judas was precisely such an admirer and thus later became a traitor…”
          “The admirer never makes any true sacrifices. They always play it safe. Though in words, phrases, songs, they are inexhaustible about how highly they prize Christ, they renounce nothing, will not reconstruct their life, and will not let their life express what it is they supposedly admire. Not so for the follower. The follower aspires with all their strength to be what they admire.”(4)
          Does discipleship come at a high price? Yes.
          As T.S. Eliot once said about our spiritual journey it is “a condition of complete simplicity (costing not less than everything).”(5)
          But Jesus assures us that the high price will be worth it in the end.
          May God be praised. Amen.

 1.    Retrieved from homileticsonline.com, Aug. 2022.
2.    Ibid…
3.    Amy-Jill Levine, The Difficult Words of Jesus Abingdon Press, 2021, p35, 42, 43.
4.    Retrieved from homileticsonline.com, Aug. 2022.
5.    Ibid…

08-28-2022 A Hebrews Solution

Jay Rowland

A Hebrews Solution

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

August 28, 2022

Here we are on the cusp of summer’s end and autumn’s approach. This time of year my mind is pre-occupied with thoughts about our Sunday morning and weekday programs which run from September through May.

This year the anticipation feels different than the past two covid summers. The danger and the burden of covid appears less volatile these days. Of course, it can always surge again--and if that happens we know what to do. Unless I’m deceiving myself, it seems like things are a bit more stable lately.

And yet I find myself just as perplexed as ever--but also more excited and hopeful about the future. Perplexed because two-plus years of covid disruptions and interruptions have altered levels of participation which complicates planning. Our Sunday morning and weekday programs are still in recovery mode. That’s what two-plus years of a pandemic will do amid ongoing societal and cultural shifts.

In the months ahead we’ll have numerous opportunities to pray and ponder, discuss and discern together how God may be calling us to respond with compassionate wisdom and creativity during this unique time. The congregational survey you all completed will help drive and navigate that process.

I am so energized and excited. Even with the ongoing uncertainty we’ve all been learning to live with. I have to say uncertainty feels especially strange here amid the familiar trappings of church routines and schedules and presumptions. But it’s also exciting because the pandemic allows us more opportunity than usual to experiment with new forms and structures for learning together, gathering, worshiping, and mission-ing together in this time and place.

I’m excited about the opportunities we now have to revitalize our mission, to rediscover our purpose and to renew our faith community together. I trust that God is doing something new and will faithfully guide us as we ask the hard questions and do the hard work necessary to discern what God is calling us to do and to be in this time and place.

All of this is on my mind as I engage with the Hebrews passage before us today. I asked the Lord the Holy Spirit to reveal something in this passage to help us engage the perplexity and the opportunity before us as a congregation.

I leaned on Rev. Tom Long, Presbyterian minister and scholar, and his Interpetation commentary on Hebrews.* I will borrow liberally from his skilled insights to help us in this task (page references will be noted in parentheses)

Long identifies several characteristics which distinguish Hebrews from all other books of the New Testament and the bible. Among those characteristics, Long shows how Hebrews is actually a sermon rather than a letter; a sermon preached to a particular faith community. And while the identity of the preacher preaching this sermon is uncertain, the congregational problem being addressed in Hebrews is very clear to Long.

Any guesses what that “congregational problem” could be?

Good guesses would be “conflict” or “theological differences” or “personality clashes” etc. But the congregational problem being addressed by the Preacher of Hebrews is identified by Long to be

EXHAUSTION

The congregation is exhausted.

I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that.

I don’t recall ever encountering that word in any commentary before and would never expect to.

And yet as we may have noticed, “exhaustion” is one of the terms often used to assess life after two-plus years of the covid pandemic—life in general and congregational life in particular. Listen to Long’s description of the situation in Hebrews:

“They are tired—tired of serving …, tired of worship, tired of Christian Education, tired of being peculiar and whispered about in society, tired of the spiritual struggle, tired of trying to keep their prayer life going, tired even of JESUS. Their hands droop and their knees are weak (12:12), attendance is down (10:25), and they are losing confidence … (congregational morale is dangerously low).” (Long, p.3)

I’ve had this commentary on my shelf since the late 90’s but this quote sounds like something that would be written today. All the more astounding is that Long is describing one of the earliest Christian “congregations”.

Having said that I find it fascinating that the Hebrews Preacher does not explore the “why” question… nor what it means or how to change it. What the Hebrews preacher concentrates on first and foremost is the nature and meaning of Jesus Christ (aka “Christology”).

Long comments that this approach is so counter-intuitive that “it probably should be seen as refreshing and maybe even revolutionary”.

As we tread the waters of congregational discernment using the best contemporary resources and tools available, how might we use our imaginations and prayers to let the nature and meaning of Jesus Christ be our foundation … our guiding principle?

As we begin to discern and untangle where we are now in order to discern where God might be calling us to be it would seem that the nature and meaning of Jesus Christ is an excellent starting gate in which to gather. But that’s such a vague phrase—so let’s see what other insights we can glean from Long’s scholarship.

In chapter 13, the nature and meaning of Jesus Christ is fleshed out in some of the common areas of church life--specifically hospitality, visitation and stewardship. Interestingly Long calls this section a “minute for mission” (ancient style). Here’s a quick “tour” (Long, p.142-146) :

Hospitality. The Hebrews preacher shows concern lest the mission of hospitality be tainted by expectations or aspirations about increased church membership or church attendance. Hospitality is in service to offering people an experience of “mutual love” (v.1) For example: Long clarifies what we’ve long known: church suppers are about more than food and eating. Church suppers and the other simple ways of gathering/fellowship and building community is a reflection of the ongoing “gathering and worshiping in the heavenly city where there are innumerable angels ready for the feast (12:22).”

At any particular time the faces in our church building or YouTube screens may be familiar or unfamiliar but, Long notes, “when they enter our community of faith, they bring the presence of God with them.”

Think about that for one second. Hospitality creates opportunities for the presence of God enter our community through all who come—known or unknown to you or me.

Long comments: Mutual love must not be so ingrown that it does not set a place at the table for the stranger, “for by doing so some have entertained angels without anyone knowing it.” The preacher’s wording here alludes to several OT stories but especially the story of Abraham, Sarah and the three strangers at Mamre (see Gen. 18:1-15) and ultimately to Mount Zion, that symbolic place known to all Hebrew people where all find welcome in God’s house.

The next so-called common area of congregational life in this minute for mission is visitation or prison ministry or as Long defines it visitation with the wounded, which includes all of us, Long comments:

“The church is not to engage in condescending charity but to provide a ministry of empathy as though you yourselves are in prison too … as though you yourselves are experiencing torture too. We do not do this because we are naturally compassionate, but as an imitation of Jesus who entered … fully into the human situation.”

Long thus links the curious phrase about remembering your leaders to Jesus, noting, “Jesus, after all, is the first and quintessential leader who spoke the word to us.” And so as the Hebrews preacher says, to consider the outcome of (Jesus’) way of life and to imitate his faith means potentially facing the same abuse Jesus faced and making our own unique sacrifices.

“We do not, of course, make the same sacrifice that Jesus offered,” Long writes. “His was ‘once for all’ (10:10). Our sacrifices are to be about praising God, confessing God’s name in public, doing works of mercy, and sharing what we have with others.”

The term sacrifice is carefully and intentionally chosen by the Hebrews preacher. And so in this context let us be bold to proclaim that we are called to sacrifice exhaustion and discouragement upon the altar of the past, following Jesus Christ into the current perplexities of the unknown. For this is the nature and meaning of Jesus Christ among us… this is the way we can become the church the Lord longs to create with us and for us.

And “while there is plenty for us to fear,” Barbara Brown Taylor adds, “there is also plenty for us to hope. Our God who does not break promises can be trusted to go on creating the world out of darkness and chaos, putting breath into our dust and dry bones, turning our lives and deaths inside out in order to set us free.”

Let us imagine this church--First Presbyterian Church of Rochester MN--becoming a place where people learn they can be set free from all that leaves them depleted and exhausted. For such is the saving work of Jesus Christ in every time and place. Particularly this time and this place.

* Long, Thomas G. Hebrews Interpretation Commentary. John Knox Press. 1997

Hebrews 1-8, 15-16 NRSV

Let mutual affection continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them, those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. 4 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” 6 So we can say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper;

I will not be afraid.

What can anyone do to me?”

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.