Ordinary people, extraordinary expectations

Advent is a time of the unexpected.  For one thing we have God’s choice of partners in the procreation of his own son.  Jesus could have been set down fully grown anywhere in the world.  But God knew that in order to understand people and to reach out to them, Jesus needed to grow up among them and to really be one of them.  God could have chosen royalty, or a wealthy family to bear and raise his son, one where he would never want or struggle.  God could have chosen a palace and an important city for the dwelling place of his son.

But God chose Nazareth – a small out-of-the-way place – unimportant – a place where Jesus could grow unencumbered by the wealth and attention he might receive in other places.  God chose a place where Jesus could live among the common folk and learn about them first hand; a place where he could touch, feel and understand the trials and struggles of everyday people.  In this area of Galilee, there was a large gentile population nearby so he would grow up knowing not only the Jewish people, but also how they interacted with people of other faiths and nationalities.

This is a perfect example of how God works within the context of ordinary life and through ordinary people.    Mary was not any kind of super hero  -  (no Angelina Jolie, no Queen Elizabeth – not even a Mother Theresa) – just a simple village girl who had recently come of age.  Mary lived an ordinary life in the small village of Nazareth.  She helped her mother take care of the house and younger children.  She made a daily trip down to the well, to draw water for use at the house.  She cooked and cleaned just like any Jewish girl.  I  picture her singing as she goes about her work, a sweet disposition and spirit about her.

She dreamed of one day having a home of her own to take care of.  She was betrothed to Joseph, a local carpenter – a tradesman.  The life that laid before them was a simple life – one of love and shared experiences – of small children running around and growing up, much as they had.  Most often, when a young couple became betrothed, the husband began work on a place to live – often a room added onto his father’s house.  When that was completed, then he came to collect his bride and everyone was invited to the celebration.

This was the plan – this was what they expected.  But before Joseph came to collect his bride, she had a visitor - an angel from God - and Mary was found to be with child front the Holy Spirit.  This left Joseph in a difficult position.  He loved Mary, but tradition and law said that he should divorce her and even have her stoned.  But as he pondered what to do in this situation, an angel appeared to him in a dream encouraging him to take Mary as his wife.

Joseph was a righteous man and he believed the angel and took Mary to be his wife.  He pledged himself to take care of Mary and her child as if the child were his own.  He would protect the mother and child until the child was old enough to take his place in society.

And so, like Mary and Joseph, we wait.  We wait in expectation – in anticipation – of what God will do in our midst – how he will work out his promises – using the ordinary to do extraordinary things.   If we just have the kind of faith exhibited by a young peasant girl and her faithful craftsman husband in a backwater town 2000 years ago – we too may see miracles and experience the great love of our God in new and wonderful ways.

Amen
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Questions and Expectations

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Did you hear about the little old lady that would go out on her porch everyday and lift her voice up to heaven and thank God for everything he gave her?  There was an old man who lived next door and everyday he'd yell back, "Shut up, old lady.  There's no such thing as God."  When times were hard, she'd go out and pray for food or other needs for herself.  One day when she had been praying for food, a bag of food appeared on her front porch.  She began to pray loudly, "Thank you, Lord, for the food I needed so badly."  The old man yelled back, "Ha!  God didn't get you that food, I did.  There is no God."  She lifted up her voice, "Hallelujah! The Lord provided me with food and made the devil pay for it."  The woman's expectation of God was fulfilled.

Today's lessons, especially the gospel, seem to be full of questions, and doubts and unfulfilled expectations.  John questions, "Are you the one to come, or should we look for another?  And Jesus asks, "What did you go out in the desert to see?"

John had spent a lot of time preaching in the wilderness.  People had flocked out to hear him and to be baptized by him.  He filled them with hope, "The kingdom of God is at hand.  Prepare the way."  And John did - he prepared the way, filled with hope and expectation...  "One is coming with power and glory, whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."  His vision of power and glory might be the expectation, but the reality was not so vivid, and so he asks Jesus, "Are you the one to come?"

John is saying: “Jesus, if you are the one to come, why am I here in prison.  Why haven't you freed me?  Where is the power and the glory?  Where is the army of believers who will follow you into victory?  This can't be the kingdom of God because it doesn't meet my expectations.”

John's expectation does not coincide with the reality.  Jesus has gained followers, he has appointed 12 generals, but they are not gathering for war, and they are not building an army and they are not overturning the Romans.  What kind of Messiah, was this anyway?

I think we sometimes have the same problem that John has here.  Like John the Baptizer, we are often in doubt about Jesus because we do not always see the difference he in making in our lives or in the world around us.  We look around and we wonder, "If God is in control, then why are things in such a mess?"  We want to say, God if you are really in control - why don't you make it obvious; why is there war, why is there pain and suffering, why is there illness and dis-ease?  Why is there such unrest in the world and in our nation?

Sometimes doubt is a good thing, sometimes it keeps us out of trouble by making us think twice before acting.  We don't always have the right answer in this life - and believe me that's hard for most ministers.  Most of us would love to have all the definitive answers - to be able to reassure and explain what is going on, and what is the best action to take in any given situation.  But more often than not, all we really have is more questions.

Several years back there was a TV show called Joan of Arcadia.  It had a lot of good things to say, about life, about the nature of God, and about our relationship with God...  One episode called, "The book of questions."  made the point on several different levels that it was not about the answers, it's about asking the right questions.  If you ask the wrong question, then the answer you get probably won't make much sense.

Jesus asks, "what did you go out into the desert to see?"  You don't look for learned, sophisticated, cultured people out in the wilderness.  The people had unanswered questions so they went into the wilderness to ask the questions that burned in their hearts.  The people went out to see a prophet, one they hoped had answers.  His answer was that there was another to come - John's claim was from Isaiah, "the voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord'."  All four gospels report this.  After preaching hope to the masses, now John is in prison and his own hope is wavering - "Could I be wrong?  Could I have misunderstood what God was telling me?"

John didn't misunderstand that Jesus was "the one to come."  What John misunderstood was what that meant.  What it meant to be "Messiah."  John may have been called by God, but he was also a product of his time - he thought the Messiah was going to be a military victor - drive out the oppressor - set up the new Israel.  John really hasn't asked the right question.  The right question for the time was, "What does it mean to be Messiah?"  That is the question Jesus answered.

John defined himself in terms of Isaiah, "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness..."  So Jesus also defines himself in terms of Isaiah.  "Go and tell John what you hear and see.  The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor hear good news."

One of the worse arguments I had with a really good friend came about because of a different understanding of a single word.  We were using the same term, but we had defined it differently.  It took a couple of days for us to sort that out.  That's the same problem Jesus and John where having.  They were both talking about the term "Messiah" - they had just defined it differently.  John's expectation, dependent on his definition, was not being met in Jesus.  John's expectation included death and destruction to the enemy.  Jesus' reality was health and life and hope for all people.

It makes us think about our own expectations of Jesus - of God.  What is it we expect from God, from Jesus?  Jesus tells us, "Look around you, what do you see?  What is the Lord doing in your midst?"

Advent is all about the coming of Christmas - and the story that is told.  The story is about a baby, born in a stable in a backwater town in an obscure area of the world.  Even here he overturns our expectations.  Not a rich, powerful ruler in a palace of gold, but a kind and gentle teacher in a dusty stable along a dusty road.

This beginning alone should give us a clue into the nature of Jesus and thereby into the nature of God.  We can't begin to understand God or to know his mind.  God is spirit and beyond knowing.  That is why the coming of Jesus is so important.  It is through Jesus that we begin to get a glimpse into the nature of God.  Put in human terms it is an incomplete picture to be sure - but still it is more than we had before.  Jesus doesn't come as a victor.  Jesus doesn't come as a warrior.  He comes as a little baby - to overturn our expectations.

Jesus is about the unmerited love of a God who cares enough about his creation that he enters into it. It is about having a personal relationship with the one who created us.  Jesus is also about transformation - transforming ourselves and the world - forming ourselves after Christ and reaching out to the world around us just as Jesus did.  Christ did not turn people away - he accepted them wherever they were in their journey - and if they didn't want to follow him, he let them go. You are free to believe what you want to believe.

Our tendency is to ask, "Why is there so much suffering in the world?"  Maybe that's not the right question. Maybe we should be asking, "Why is there so much good in the world."

From people who serve in soup kitchens, to a little boy who wanted to give a socks to homeless, to the girls who are auctioning off their hatchimals to raise money for fire victims.  There are many people out there emulating Jesus, his compassion out there in the world today.  As scary as our news often sounds today, there are those little tidbits of wonder tucked between all the violence and hatred.  It is those small things that people do to help others that reflect Jesus in today's world.

Look around at what God is doing in your life, and in the world around you.  And if you find that God isn't meeting your expectations, take a look at the questions you are asking.  Are you asking the right questions?  And are you listening to the answers that God gives?

Prepare the way for Jesus

We are in the season of Advent – a season when we are called to prepare the way for the Lord.  We are called to make a straight path for the Lord.

John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness – to the southeast of Jerusalem – near the region of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.  There is a high probability that John was a member of the Essenes – another religious sect of Judaism.  From the description in the Bible, I want to say that he was a crusty old character – but he wasn’t old – he was the same age as Jesus.  Since they were cousins, they may have spent time together as children.  We know he had spent time in the desert because the Bible tells us that he appeared in the wilderness and he wore animal skins and survived on locust and wild honey.

Now think about today – if you heard about someone outside of town who wore strange clothes and was yelling and carrying on about the wrath of God, would you feel compelled to go see this strange phenomenon?  We’d probably be more prone to say, that’s just a crazy out there – a moon-struck lunatic – maybe a Jesus freak.  Sure, he might get press on the TV or maybe a short article in the Chronicle – most definitely a number of you-tube videos, fifteen minutes of fame and then he’s gone.  If you actually went out to see him, it was probably out of curiosity.

But this people – these Jews who were waiting for a promised messiah – they needed hope, and they went out to the wilderness seeking hope.  John fit the description of Elijah – and he said things that rang true to their Jewish ears.  They wondered if he might be the promised messiah.

“Prepare the way of the Lord – make straight his paths.”  This means to go out and make the road smooth; get rid of the potholes and the rocks.  Straighten out the curves.  This is what you did when you knew the king was coming.

How do you get ready for a visitor?  If they are coming for dinner, then you might spend the day cooking and baking for the meal, polishing the silver and setting the table.  If they are overnight guests then you might clean out the spare bedroom and make room for extra people to sleep.  John is calling us to prepare for the coming of Jesus.

John is using this phrase "Prepare the way" metaphorically – the path that the Lord wants cleared is the road to your heart.  The ministry of John was a bridge that gap between the Old Testament prophetic word and Jesus, the incarnate Word.  The Word of God, once uttered by prophets, now lived in human form.  John’s call to repentance precedes Jesus’ call to new life.  It’s about getting rid of those things in our life that separate us – that draw us away from God.

Think about what it is like after a hurricane or flood, a fire or even destruction like the twin towers -  piles of debris in driveways and roadways – tree branches, parts of houses, lawn furniture, scattered over the ground.  That is quite often what the road to our heart looks like – littered with the debris of our life.

That debris might be the stings and arrows that have assaulted us – abandonment and betrayal are two of the big ones – being so hurt that it affects our whole life.  And then there are the rocks and potholes that have caused us to stumble and fall – the addictions and temptations we have given in to.  The human condition – self-centeredness – is being so involved in ourselves and our own problems that we fail to reach out or even to notice the struggles of those around us.    

Look at the last verse of our Gospel lesson today.  Where John speaks of Jesus saying, “His winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear the threshing floor and will gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”  Too many people have a simplistic view of this and see judgment, either you are wheat (good) and get into heaven, or you are chaff (bad) and you burn in hell.  But I don’t think this is at all what John is alluding to.  If you look at the elements of this story you will find evidence that John means something different.

It starts by understanding that wheat and chaff are both part of the same plant.  Wheat refers to the small grain, the fruit of the plant, and the chaff is the light covering that covers the grain.  The chaff is stripped off the grain by beating it or tramping on it, leaving both lying together on the threshing floor – most often the open ground.  This winnowing fork has been translated by various versions of the Bible as a fork, or a shovel, or a fan.  It is an instrument used to toss the mixture of grain and chaff into the air allowing the wind (or a fan) to blow away the light chaff leaving the heavier grain to be gathered for storing until it is used for making bread.

The Message is a modern day translation of the Bible and it says of Jesus, ”He's going to clean house — make a clean sweep of your lives. He'll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he'll put out with the trash to be burned."

Now all of a sudden this makes perfect sense.  If the chaff and the wheat are part of the same plant then they represent two parts that make up every person.  The wheat represents that which is good, that part of us that is holy and godly, that connects us to God.  And the chaff represents that which is less than holy, that which separates us from God.  It is that debris in our life that needs to be purged from the pathway to our hearts.

That which is not of God cannot exist in the presence of God – There is something good in every person – but in all people, that good exists alongside that which is not of God.  Jesus has come to ignite a fire within us that will help us cast off that part of us that cannot exist in the presence of God.  It will be blown away like chaff from the wheat.  Removing the chaff from our life is necessary for us to be able to stand before God.

We are in the season of Advent – it is a season when we are preparing our hearts to receive Jesus.  So I ask you to consider today, “What are the things that God wants to purge from your life?”  What are the things that you need to let go of, in order for your heart to be ready to receive Jesus when he comes?

Christ, the image of God

Today is the last Sunday of the church year.  It seems strange this time of year to read this lesson of Jesus being mocked and crucified; very much out of season.  After all, this Thursday is Thanksgiving and next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent, which begins a new church year.  Our church year always begins its celebration with the expectant birth of a baby, and concludes with the celebration of his reign as King of Kings.  And for today's reading, it is not so much the cruelty we focus on, but the sign hanging over his head.

Although we worship the God of the Jews, our focus as Christians is his son Jesus Christ.  Jesus is hung on a tree like a common criminal, but over his head is a designation, "King of the Jews."  Some protested at the proclamation.  Those who knew Jesus simply thought it was ironic if they noticed it at all.  But those who took offense thought it made a mockery of all they believed, and if it were true, -- then that meant they were very, very wrong.

This view of Jesus is not a view of power and authority.  It is a view of submission and of obedience.  Maybe this view helps us understand that what we see, the way things appear, may not in fact be true.  When we feel most powerless may be when God is working in us most strongly.

When I read only one interpretation of events or circumstances, that is most often when I misinterpret what is happening.  And when I get angry, and am filled with (what in my view is) righteous indignation – that is when I most likely will do something stupid like back my car into a tree.  Because I get caught up in my own perception of right and wrong, or worse yet, my sense of entitlement to some particular thing; when I try to be too assertive and take control of a situation, that’s when God so graciously brings me back down to earth.

During the time of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, the church is being persecuted.  And even in the face of pain and suffering, people of faith could say that Jesus Christ was the image of the invisible God.  In the Greek language, Jesus is "the icon" of God.  He is the God who suffers with us, the one who cares for us, the one who cries with us.

Paul tells us - "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created. . .  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, in heaven and on earth. . ."   Colossians 1

In Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God is with us now, in this present day and age.  We don’t have to wait until some glorious future.  We have to look behind the power and glamour. God is here with us in the nitty-gritty of everyday life. All through the gospels Jesus reminds us of the great reversals – the paradoxes of our faith:  the first shall be last; the master shall be servant; - - a king who is born in a stable.

In this day and age, especially in our current political climate, we can look at the political and professional mess of our leaders and remember that there is another kingdom where things are done differently.  When there is so little we can do to change the world, we can proclaim that God is sovereign and holds the world in his outstretched arms.

When we look around and see pain and suffering, from people hit by earthquakes in the Oklahoma around the world, from people who are held prisoner, indentured slaves right here in America to those who are living in refugee camps, from those who find themselves ravaged by cancer to those who find themselves without jobs or means of support, we can know that Christ understands and carries us during our deepest need.  In Christ we can seek comfort and strength when we lose someone we love, and we can look forward to seeing them again.

With this wonderful view of Christ on the cross – who, even through his suffering, reaches out to another – the thief who cries out, “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.”  (There was no hesitance, no “If you are who you say you are…”;  no “If you are a king…”; and no expectation for this life.)

And the wonderful assurance Jesus gives him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”  It was a little late for this guy to turn his life around or to make amends…  but Jesus still accepts him – as is.  This is an assurance that there is no one who can go so far that they are outside the reach of his saving embrace.  There is no piece of our human experience which cannot be redeemed.

In Christ we find a god who views the world from a different perspective.  In Christ we can live in the middle of a world that measures everything by power and popularity, and the lives of the rich and famous – and we can see a God who judges by a different measure.  His love is all encompassing – reaching out to those in need, who have no power, no authority, those who are not beautiful or popular.

With this coming season of Advent, I think the greatest gift we can give ourselves is the gift of not having to always be in control, not always having to be on top.  If we sit back and allow God room to work, we have more freedom to be ourselves and to live into his plan for our lives.  (The last few days, I have been overwhelmed by everything I saw that needed doing, so I'm in need of this message as much as everyone.  I had gotten the feeling that it was all up to me and leaving God out in the equation.)

During Advent, I invite you to ponder a god who comes to us, not as a powerful king, but as a little child.  Advent allows us to give Jesus "gestation time" - time to grow in us - before being born anew in our hearts. During Advent, ponder that this little child will grow and take on the cares of the world.  This little child will one day offer himself up to be a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.  And that one day, he will come again - in glory - to rule the world in perfect peace.  This is a victory he has already won – that glorious day many years ago on a hill called Calvary.   Amen.

Creating all things new

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We live in a changing world.  Nationally a new president will soon take office.  Locally, Grace church will soon begin the process of searching for a new rector.  As much as we would like to hold on to the familiar, we have to acknowledge that things change.  Jesus addresses this same idea of a changing world in today's gospel.

The thing that reached out and grabbed me was the statement, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”  It just seemed to cry out to me.  The things of man, of this world -- these things that we have made; they are all passing away.

The things that people make today are all eventually being torn down and new things built in their place.  I think of old hotels and large department stores that have been imploded to make way for new buildings, new projects – not one stone left on top of stone. Even the twin towers of the World Trade Center that were brought down by two airplanes - and not one stone left on stone.

I ran across a picture of the old church the other day - the one that Tommy and I grew up in.  The only things left from that church are the window above us here, and the altar in the children's chapel.

Things made in this day and age seem to be easy to get rid of.  Many of the ancients built things to last – I'm awed by things like the pyramids, Stonehenge, and Easter Island - the huge stones that have lasted for centuries..   Even the old western wall of Herod’s temple – if you take the tour down underneath the Western Wall, you will see these massive stones, still one on top of another – not complete by any means, but you wonder how people of old could have moved stones as massive as these stones are.  They were as long as this building and almost as tall.  No wonder the disciples were impressed.

For the Jews, this temple was considered to be God’s dwelling place on earth.  That is where you would go to be near God’s presence - to make sacrifices to him.  The synagogues were where you went to learn about God and to worship him.  But his presence was at the temple in Jerusalem according to the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Now Jesus uses this discussion of the temple adornments as a springboard to launch into an eschatological discussion – that is a discussion about the end times.  And the disciples take off with it, wanting to know when these things were going to take place.

They missed the point - the point that things do not stay the same.  Everything is subject to change.  They wanted to be able to pinpoint it so that they could have some modicum of control or at least inside knowledge – so that they can be prepared.  And Jesus lets them know that it’s not going to be tomorrow – not anytime in the near future.

There’s danger in thinking that Jesus is coming back tomorrow.  Some of the people of Thessalonica were convinced that Jesus was coming back within days.  So they quit living for the future – they quit working and started meddling in other people’s business and living off the handouts of the others in the community. They are reminded in today’s lesson that Paul set them an example while he was among them – working and earning his keep and he encourages them to do the same.  We can't just give up because change is coming.  We have to stay engaged.

Our Old Testament lesson from Isaiah starts off telling us that God is about to do a new thing – create new heavens and a new earth – and the former things shall not be remembered.  Maybe each generation needs to have something to look forward to.  Isaiah is writing this after the Babylonian exile.  The people are coming back to Jerusalem and looking at the ruins of the former glory.  They are lamenting the ruin and rubble of the destroyed temple.

And they wonder if it will ever be the same.  God tells them “no” it won’t be the same – God will recreate in a different way, and so should they.  He encourages them to build a better world – and gives them an image of the perfect world – where all live together peacefully.

And so they began to build - and the new temple is the same one that Jesus and the disciples are looking at in our gospel lesson - the very one that Jesus says is going to be torn down.  (And it is only seventy years later, when the temple is torn down.)

These scriptures carry a message for us today.  Not only as a nation, but for us here at Grace.  We are in transition, just as the Israelites were as they returned from Babylon.  Each person is expected to do their part in preparing a place for your new rector.  Paul tells us that we are not to be idle and let others do the work if we want to succeed.  Everyone has a part to play to make this church a success.

You can’t say, I’m too old and feeble.  Moses was 80 when he was asked to bring the people out of Egypt and he spent 40 years doing just that.  Don’t say I’m just a kid – what can I do?  The Bible tells us very plainly that a little child shall lead them.  Don’t say I’m not smart enough. . .

There is a story told about a young man named Johnny with downs syndrome.  He worked as a sacker at a neighborhood grocery store.  One day the vice president gave a speech about how each employee could make a difference at the store.  Johnny thought and thought how he could make a difference.  He finally happened on an idea of finding a “thought of the day.”  He and his dad searched for a thought and when they found one, his dad helped him set it up on the computer and they printed out multiple copies and cut them into individual cards.  Johnny would put a card in the grocery bag of each customer and tell them to “have a good day” and “thanks for shopping with us.”

The number of customers grew as people found themselves drawn back to the store even when they only had a few items to get.  There came a day when the store manager noticed a long line at one check out stand – the one where Johnny was.  The manager had employees open up other counters, but the people would not move to the other counters. They wanted to get Johnny’s thought for the day.

Other employees, inspired by Johnny, began to find ways to make a difference also.  Each of you can make a difference, too.  I invite you to use your imagination to find your contribution.  The success of Grace is the responsibility of each member working together with every other member.

Those of you who are Daughters of the King are familiar with the motto:
I am but one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do.
What I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.
Lord, what will you have me do?

No one person can do everything.  But each person has something they can contribute.  I invite you to entertain this idea – take the bulletin home, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the scriptures for the day – and pray for the future of the church.  Plan what you can do – what God calls you to do.  Where is it that God is calling you to make a difference today?

All the Saints

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Today we come together to celebrate All Saints Day.  Our gospel reading today is a funny little story about heaven.  The Sadducees come to Jesus with a hypothetical question about resurrection and heaven.  Now you have to understand that the Sadducees don't believe in the resurrection, so their question is outrageous in order to demonstrate how absolutely ridiculous the idea of resurrection is.  Jesus just tells them that they don't understand what resurrection is or what heaven is going to be like.

But he also makes a statement that we need to remember; one that should affirm our belief in resurrection.  Jesus said, "Moses speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

Today, we turn our focus on those who have gone on before us, from this life on to the greater life that awaits all of us someday.  Today we remember, not only those special Saints that have been canonized by the church, but also those saints (little "s") who have touched our own lives in very tangible ways.  One of my favorite songs growing up in the church was the one we opened with this morning, "I sing a song of the saints of God" . . .   This song reminds us that we all go in to make up the body of Christ -  we are all saints of God.

We are all sorts of people, we are all different.  One congregation described themselves to be "demanding, intelligent, eccentric, crazy, sad, muddled, confused and sometimes part of the holy people of God - but never boring."  Paul called all followers of Christ - Saints.  It was the term that he used to identify those who had accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Those of us who try to live according to the teachings of Jesus - we are the saints of God.

The saints of God are people just like you and me.  Many of them have gone on to be with Christ in heaven.  And those who have had a positive impact on our life, we miss them greatly and we remember them fondly.  We are still left here.  It is part of the life circle that we all are born, we live, and we die.  But those of us who have accepted our Lord Jesus Christ  have something more to look forward to.  I see God as giving us two promises:  In life, God will be with us - and in death, we will be with God.

In this life, we are not promised happiness, riches, health, love, or any other thing that many people desire in this life.  The promise we have from God is that regardless of what happens to us, regardless of what state we find ourselves in – God will be there with us!  God will be with us – to encourage us, to strengthen us, to comfort us, to fill us, and to love us.  That is his promise for our life here on earth.  When we are going through tough times – when we are in pain, when we are alone, when we grieve, God is there with us.  He is there with us in both the good times and the bad times.  He laughs with us, he cries with us, he rejoices with us, he grieves with us.  He is there to share with us.  We don’t see him, but we can feel his presence.  We are never alone.

That’s the first promise and the second is like it… in death, we will be with him.  Jesus tells the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise."  A lifelong follower or a last minute conversion, "today you will be with me in paradise."  In the first letter of John we hear, “we will be like him – for we will see him as he is.”  Even Genesis says that we are made in his image – and that means we will see ourselves as we are – the spirit of God that lives within us.  This is the pledge of our inheritance as the family of God - Life everlasting - to be with God in heaven - Saints now and forever.

So today we honor all those who have gone before, all those Saints, who for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ have left their mark on the world.  And we know that one day, we will join them in that place "where there is no mourning or crying or pain, for God himself will be with us and he will wipe away every tear from our eyes."   Amen.

Little Man, Generous Heart

Listen to the sermon.

In today's lesson Jesus is traveling.  He is making a purposeful move from the area of Galilee to Jerusalem.  He has a date with destiny.  He has come down the Jordan river valley – a wide valley with cliffs on the western side.  Our text says he entered Jericho and was passing through.  The way it is written indicates that Jesus was not intending to stop in Jericho.

The entourage that followed him was greatly enlarged as the town folk wrestled for an opportunity to see this miracle worker.  You may have noticed that healings do not play a prominent role in the lessons we’ve had the past couple of months.  The focus here is on his teaching.  Jesus is trying to leave his disciples with a firm foundation, for the time is quickly approaching when they will no longer have him with them.  And a lot of his teaching is done by example.  Today is one of those days.  

During his trip, there have been two things that have been prominent in his teachings – wealth and relationship.  The point Jesus has been making about wealth is not that the rich are condemned, but that what you do with what you have is more important than how much you have.  He is concerned about having a right attitude toward both your money and your possessions – not holding on with a closed fist, but ready to use it where and when it is needed.

And the point about relationship is that there are things more important than who you are and what position you hold.  What he offers to Zacchaeus – in way of example to his disciples – is a no-strings attached relationship.  One of the things that Jesus says is that he was sent to the lost sheep of Israel – and Zacchaeus is one of those lost sheep.  Zacchaeus is a big man if we count his worth in riches, power and position – but he is small in stature, and he is small in the eyes of his fellow Jews.

What is so unusual in this story is that when Zacchaeus could over the crowd, he “ran ahead and climbed a tree” in order to see Jesus.  Those are two things that no self-respecting male would do in that society.  This tells us how very important it was to Zacchaeus that he be able to see Jesus – to step out of character so far.

It would be wonderful if each one of us could be that desperate to see Jesus as he draws near to our lives.  One of the things that I fully believe is that God will draw us to that place or event where we can see Jesus.  He will draw us to the place we need to be in order to receive God’s word or his healing.

I remember back in the mid-eighties there was going to be a spiritual formation workshop at Camp Allen.  It was during the summer and Fr. Fred encouraged me to go, but I didn’t really feel like I could leave my family for a whole week during the summer to attend.

But each time I passed the poster on the church bulletin board it called out to me.  One of the two presenters was a Sister Barbara – a former Roman Catholic nun turned Episcopalian – and every time I saw her name, I felt a deep, deep longing.  It was a pulling of the Holy Spirit – to put me in a place where I could receive healing.

I finally couldn’t stand it any longer – I signed up to go.  And that week brought, not only a deepening spirituality, but also the beginning of a healing process for me.  Another thing that happened that week was a vision (one that I refused to openly acknowledge until 15 years later) - of me, at an altar, celebrating the Eucharist.

I think that Zacchaeus must have had an experience not unlike mine – a deep longing, not even sure why or what it was for – but knowing that this was something he had to do – to see Jesus.  It was an urging of the Holy Spirit.  And Jesus sees him in the tree – and Jesus knows in an instant that he will be making another stop on his journey. “Zacchaeus, come down – I want to go to your house.”

That provided instant elevation for Zacchaeus – made him someone special – because this Jesus not only knew his name, but wanted to go to his house.  Jesus doesn’t use any of the formulas that he has used in the past – “Your sins are forgiven,” or “Go and sell all your possessions,” or “Go and sin no more…”  No, he simply says, “I want to stay with you.”  -  I want to be in relationship with you.  I will be your friend, no strings attached.

And Jesus says that same thing to each one of us.  He wants to stay with us.  He wants to be in relationship with us.  No strings attached - even if we do nothing, the relationship is there for our pleasure, for our benefit.  We can live into it or not.

Perfect love will eventually bring about perfect response.  When Zacchaeus heard his neighbors grumbling – he voluntarily offered to give up half his possessions.  It was not something he was coerced into doing.  It was not a requirement to relationship.  It was a gift freely offered – in response to the pure love of God through Jesus Christ.  And with it, not only did Zacchaeus received vindication, but his whole household with him.

We don’t know what kind of healing Zacchaeus might have received from this experience – but we do know his response to it.  He did not give away everything he had – he did not sell all his possessions – but he exemplified a right attitude toward all he had amassed.  And in response, Jesus declares that he had received salvation and that he, too, was restored as a son of Abraham.

We are all children of God, regardless of who we are or what we believe.  Being made in his image, all people can claim that relationship.  But many people don’t – God calls, we respond.  Zacchaeus didn’t have to come down and take Jesus home, but he answered the call of God.  We are all called in the same way – and Jesus wants to come be a guest in our house.  He wants to come live, not only in our house, but in our whole life, and he calls, "Come down for I want to stay with you."

It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you have done – Jesus calls out – come down, I must come to your house.  No one is so far above his call that they don’t need Jesus.  No one is so far below his call that they cannot receive him.

When we answer his call, there is a response that we have to make to Jesus.  Just as Zacchaeus turned his life around, we often have to make adjustments in our own lives.  Jesus will be our guide.  Consider this as you fill out your pledge card, if you haven't already done so.  Think about what Jesus would have you do in response to your relationship with him.  If he is going to live in you, how do you go about living in him?


Let us pray:  Lord, when you send your son, Jesus, to live in our hearts and minds, -  guide us, we pray, to understand the response you would have us make to honor that relationship.  Make us faithful stewards of time, talent and treasure in all we do or undertake.  Amen.

Finding Our Own Path

Listen to the sermon.

A number of years ago a science fiction movie came out called "2001," based on a novel of the same name by Arthur Clarke.  In this movie there is a computer whose name is Hal.  Hal talks and reasons and eventually decided to take over from his human operator.  Even before that book, Robert Heinlein wrote a novel called “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.”  In this novel a super computer was put together to connect all the colonies of the moon.

Parts and links had been added until the computer finally grew intricate enough to become self aware – and it developed a sense of humor.  As a joke it printed a check to pay a worker his normal salary plus 10 million dollars.  This meant the technician (Manny) had to come fix the computer.  Fixing the computer in this case meant sitting down and talking to it - reasoning with it.  Max, the computer, was trying to learn what made a joke funny and the difference between when a joke was funny always and when it would only be funny once.

You see, I’m still convinced that Jesus is telling jokes – you know, two cowboys walked into a bar,.. Two people died and went to heaven…  Two men went into the temple to pray…. And every time, he attacks the current value system with his punch line.  What makes a joke funny?  It’s turning the table upside down.  It's the unexpected that makes a joke funny.  I also am convinced that we don't really know what's going on until we understand something about the culture during the time of Jesus.  So, with that in mind – let’s look at this joke – sorry - parable.

Two men went to the temple to pray – a Pharisee and a tax collector.  Unfortunately, we have been preconditioned to see the Pharisee as the evil person and the tax collector as the good person.  But that is not the way a Jew in Jesus' time would have understood this.

We have to understand – both men are Jews – only Jews were allowed inside the temple.  The Pharisee and the tax collector are about as far apart on the social ladder as you can get in the Jewish world.

The Pharisee is the leader who is looked up to – the perfect example of what it means to revere and follow their God whom they call Adonai.  They are the teachers of religion and the law.  They spend their whole life studying the scriptures and discussing the things of God.  They pray, they tithe, they fast – and they did this so as to cover the sins of the ordinary people - so that the Jewish people (as a whole) would be found acceptable before their God.  The Pharisees, along with the priests and Sadducees were the ones who stood in the gap to mediate between God and man – they were the heroes of the faith.

The tax collector on the other hand is seen as a traitor – the lowest of the low.  The tax collector had to be rich enough to buy his position.  They have consorted with the occupying forces and have gone over to the enemy.  They collect the taxes from their own people for the Romans, and most of them collected more than is owed to the governors.  If they could collect more, they got to keep the difference.  Some of them got even richer that way, and they were all despised by their fellow Jews.

So the listening crowd would be thinking “yea Pharisees!” - “boo tax collectors!”  And the Pharisee stands up and prays a typical formula prayer.  “God, I thank you that I am not like other people; thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”  Yep, he’s saying, “Hey God, look at me - I’m better than all these low-lifes."

Then he recites a list of all the things that he does – he fasts twice a week – that’s more often than is required by the law or tradition.  He gives a tithe of all his income, not just the required portions. In other words, he goes the extra mile – he does more than he is required to do.  This is no more than is expected by the people hearing the story, but he is also boastful, prideful and to make sure God understands, he compares himself to someone he considers less worthy.

Then we see the tax collector – he doesn’t even approach God closely…  He stands apart – far off – and he doesn’t really know how to pray.  He doesn’t dare to lift his eyes to heaven, but beats his breast as he prays.  This prayer is a simple plea for God to have mercy on him – and Jesus says, “and he went home justified rather than the other.”  This was a man who knew his sin, and who was humble before God.

How much of this is human nature – this need to compare ourselves to others?  People do it all the time.  It seems to bear out of our need to have something visible to measure ourselves against – so that we can know how well we are doing.  This is something that we learn early because it’s fostered by our school system.

There is a particular mark that is considered good enough – and if you don’t attain that mark, then you have to repeat that grade until you do.

The minute we attach grades to our learning process and reward those who make better grades, we foster a competitive nature in children.  When we evaluate schools and grade the school according to how well their students do on standardized tests, then we foster competition between institutions – just as if it were a football game.

I have a friend, call her June, who has come to me for counsel from time to time. She was estranged from her spouse and they were rather at odds with each other about any number of things.  She did not respect him because his behavior did not inspire respect.  She would say things like, ‘well, at least I don’t do so-in-so like Jim does.’ and various other statements along the same vein.  My question to her was why are you comparing yourself to someone you don’t respect?

That’s exactly what the Pharisee was doing.  Do people do that (compare themselves to others) because they are insecure and it is the only way they can feel good about themselves?  Most often it doesn’t work – it gives a false sense or illusion about who and what we are.  It is born out of pride – and from any angle – positive or negative - pride is destructive.

One preacher said don’t go out of here glad you aren’t like the Pharisee, because if you do, you’ve just become the Pharisee.  And don’t go out glad you are like the tax collector – same problem, you’ve just compared yourself to someone else – and that is borne out of pride - a desire to be better than someone else.

Each and every one of us has a path to follow – one designed by God.  And each path is as individual as we are – no two are alike.  Our path is tailored for us by God.  We can choose to walk in our own path, or we can try other paths - but other paths will never fit as well.

When I started my journey with the Lord, I had no idea where he would take me.  But I walked out in faith and I told God that I would step through any door he opened.  The flip side of that is – if the door doesn’t open, I can’t force it, and I can't regret it; it is not intended for me.  I am simply called to move on to find the door God does want me to take.  No comparisons – just walking out in faith, to do the job He wants me to do and to be the person He wants me to be.

I would encourage each of you to take a look at the path that God has placed before you and without regret or gloating to fulfill that responsibility.  And without comparing yourself to others, past, present or future, just step out in faith, to be the best person you can be.  That is all God asks of any of us.  Where is God leading you today?

Pray with me:  Lord, increase my faith.  Open my eyes to see the road before me and to walk the path you have chosen for me.  Keep me mindful that I am unique in your eyes and you have created me for your delight.  Remind me that I never have to live up to someone else's idea of who I should be, and I do not have to comparing myself to anyone else.  You alone, Lord, know what it is that you have planned - help me to walk into that your plan for my life.

Amen.

Persistence in prayer

Our lesson from 2 Timothy says, "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful . . .."   Now our lesson from Jeremiah and the Psalm are a part of the sacred writings that Paul was talking about; but the gospels and letters had not been canonized at the time.  Paul says that all scripture is inspired by God and is useful… useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training… And the goal is clearly stated, -- so that everyone who belongs to God may be equipped for every good work.  The problem is figuring out what the good work is that we are to be equipped for.  That's one of the purposes of prayer.

What is life all about?  What are we all about as Christians?  We should be about loving Christ, God, and our neighbor.  About living our life to the best of our ability – about keeping Christ as the focus – the lens through which we see the world.  We are to live out the Christian principles in our everyday lives.

We obviously can’t all do and be the same thing.  We have our different paths – we can’t all be teachers, or cooks, or lawyers, or policemen or farmers or doctors…  We need all these things and more in today’s world.  Individually we can’t be all things to all people, but we can keep Christ at the center of our lives so that we can reach out where we find need; so that we can offer hope (or at least God's presence) in situations that seem hopeless.

Our gospel story encourages us to pray always and to not lose heart - Luke states that is the purpose of this parable.  If at first we don't get what we want, pray and pray again.  But I'm not sure that this is always a good concept to hang on to, because it can so easily make us believe that we can manipulate God.  And what happens if God doesn't answer in the affirmative?  God will listen to our cry - but God sees an overall picture that we don't see, and sometimes the answer to our petition is "no."

(I'm going to insert a personal note here, my personal philosophy about prayer is that when anything happens, you pray first - always pray first - then get busy doing the things that need to be done.  And during periods of waiting, or when you don't know what to pray for - or are afraid to pray for what you want, if you have a string of prayer beads to hang on to, then you can hang on for dear life and trust God to do the rest.)

In our gospel story, even though we want to identify with the persistent widow – the truth is that more often we resemble the judge – the judge who does not see the widow, has no regard for her – she doesn’t even come up on his radar screen, until she badgers him.  We generally view God as judge and ourselves as the poor widow who is in need of justice - but maybe not.  One preacher, Bruce McLeod from the United Church of Canada, contends that we are the judge and God is the widow…

Now that’s a reversal from the normal concept.  He contends that when we view ourselves as the widow and God as the judge, then God can only be seen as needing to be worn down when we assume to know how our prayers should be answered.  Or we view God’s reluctance to do what we want as an obstacle to be overcome.

If we reverse that and view ourselves as the one who pays no attention to the widow – be that God in heaven, or God in the person beside us, then maybe we can get a new perspective on this story.  There are times when I can get so wrapped up in what I am doing that I forget to notice things right before my eyes that need my attention – and maybe I neglect to notice what God is placing right in front of me.  And if we view God as the widow who keeps coming to us, to get our attention, then we probably have a closer idea of what is actually going on in us.

We are the ones who need to be constantly reminded, who need to be brought back into focus of what is important in life.  His great love and persistence can indeed wear us down – for only divine love is capable of that much persistence.

Seen this way, maybe prayer is not about getting God to do what we want him to do, but more about being present to God; more about listening to God than speaking to him; more about learning what God wants in our lives and in today’s world.

One of the things we are doing on Wednesday evening is practicing listening to God.  We listen to a small part of God’s word, and then we try to be still and let God be god in us.  Prayer should always be a two-way street – telling God what’s on our hearts and our minds, but then listening to what God is telling us to do about it.

Faith has its work to do in fervent prayer. A part of the Christian obligation is to hold the world in  prayer, or at least some hurting or bruised part of it.  We pray for peace in Jerusalem, but we don’t tell God how to accomplish it.  When we pray for healing in our friend, maybe we shouldn't try to tell God how to do it.  Whether we are the judge or the widow, the result is the same, we meet God continually in prayer.

One example might be... When we moved to Houston, we needed cat food, but just didn’t have time to stop at the store.  In the mail that day we found a package of cat food from Kroger’s, – the same brand we buy – a God send that tied us over until we had time to go shopping.

A friend of mine wrote a setting for a song called, “Faith begins by letting go…” - - -   Faith begins by letting go - letting go of control and allowing God to be God in our life - - - and to allow Him to break through our resistance – with his persistence. Amen.

Giving thanks

In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus is on a journey – a purposeful movement toward Jerusalem and his appointment with the cross.  Luke, writing for a mixed audience, both Jew and Gentile, makes a point all through his gospel of telling stories about inclusiveness.  He is the only one who tells the parable of the Prodigal Son, Lazarus and the Rich Man, the Good Samaritan.  He is the only one who reminds the people of God's past inclusiveness using the story of the healing of Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army and the Sidon widow whose son was raised by Elijah.   He is the only one who tells of Jesus healing the ten lepers.

There is an interesting dynamic at work here that I don’t think we, as Gentile Christians, quite understand.  We have been  raised in an age where our parents took great stock in proper manners and most of us are taught at a very early age to say those magic words… “Please” and “Thank you.”  And so with that lens in mind, we listen to the story and we see people who don't appear to be grateful for what God has done for them.  And that might not be true at all.

The key is the fact that it is a Samaritan who comes back, and Jesus makes a point of saying "Was none found to return and praise God except this foreigner?  This is important to the story -   it implies that the other nine were Jews.  So let’s look at the scene.  Ten lepers approach, but keeping their distance they call out, “Have mercy on us!”  Lepers are not allowed to come near well people.  What does it mean to have mercy?  What does mercy look like?  Did they expect healing, food, money, clothing, a place to live?

And how does Jesus respond?  “Hocus pocus, you are well…”  Jesus seldom made a big todo or a splashy healing.  It was always very simple.  And here he says nothing of healing.  Simply, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”  Notice they aren’t healed immediately – it is only when they are obedient – when they leave to do his bidding - that they are healed.

And for the nine Jews, even when they discover that they are healed, they still can’t come near people until they have been pronounced clean by a priest.  So they are doing exactly what Jesus told them to do – they are obeying the law - going to the temple or the local synagogue to be pronounced clean by the priest.  It is only the Samaritan, who is not so strictly bound by the purity and cleanliness laws, who comes back to give thanks.

A number of years ago, I read a wonderful little book called “The Way of the Wolf:" subtitled "The Gospel in New Images” by Episcopal priest, Martin Bell.  One of the stories was called, “Where are the nine?”  In story form, Bell chronicles each of the nine and their reasons for not going back.  They ranged from not wanting the healing, to the man who was so overjoyed, he couldn’t wait to go home and hold his children for the first time in years.

I want you to also be aware that just because the nine didn’t come back, their healing was not taken away from them.  It was their obedience that provided their physical healing.  For the Samaritan, he was already healed, but Jesus tells him that his faith has made him well.  The same word that is translated "healed" or "well" can also be translated "saved."

Jews did not consider Samaritans to be part of the “saved” race, so Jesus is accepting him into the family – so to speak.  In other words, he has opened up a new relationship with this Samaritan.  The outcast has now become part of the family.  There is now a new relationship between the outcast and the elect.

The Samaritan reacted differently to the healing than the Jews because of his different world view, his different understanding, his different upbringing.  I think we must all remember that we are not the same.  We don’t all approach the gospel from the same viewpoint.

In this current story, Luke is showing that even the Samaritan is included in the healing.  That healing is for all who believe, not just for the chosen – the insiders.  The idea is that God’s grace spills out on everyone who is around.

From our Jeremiah reading  -  We learn that like the lepers, we can't always control the circumstances around us, but we can control our reaction and response to those circumstances.  We've all heard that saying, "WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?"  My standard reaction is, "Jesus wouldn't be in this situation because he wouldn't do the stupid things I did to get me here...". So, a better question here is," what would God have me do under these circumstances/conditions?"  I find it interesting that God's answer to Jeremiah is to go ahead and live your lives as you normally would.  Even in exile, they were to be productive members of their society and to flourish in that place.   This tells us that we, too, are called to work and succeed where ever we find ourselves.

Our collect says, “May your grace always precede and follow us that we may be given to good works…”  God’s grace pours out and overflows on all people.  We can accept it and go on our way, just as the nine lepers did; or we can rejoice and praise God with the Samaritan – but the grace is there whether we acknowledged or not.  It’s really important that we acknowledge and welcome the outsider into our midst - the visitors to our congregation.  Jesus indicated this over and over - each and every time a Gentile or Samaritan is included in lessons.    We are to be conduits of God’s grace where ever we go.  We receive and pass on God's grace, through obedience and through faith.  Amen.

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Increasing Faith

In our first lesson, Habakkuk is not satisfied with his life or the world around him - and he doesn't hesitate to let God know about it.  It sounds a little strange to our ears because he argues with God and he questions God.  And if you have been raised like me, it was considered poor taste to question God in prayer. But Habakkuk just goes right ahead and says, “O Lord, how long...". Now let me ask you, if you were praying this prayer, how would you finish this question to God?  What is it that you would ask of God, “O Lord, how long…”  This can be a faithful expression of prayer to God.  If we are being honest with God and with ourselves, then this prayer can be the beginning of an honest conversation with God about the things that really matter to us.

Example,  You might pray, “O Lord, how long is it going to be until I find the job that I need…”  You might pray, “O Lord, how long must my friend suffer from this terrible disease…”  “O Lord, how long must I put up with this coworker who is driving me nuts…”   “O Lord, how long until my son comes to his senses and quits doing the things that are destroying his life…”

God wants honest conversation with each and every one of us.  He wants that line of communication open so that he can get all the way into our heart.  But we need to remember that conversation is two-way and we have to listen to what God has to say to us.  That’s what the second half of this lesson is about – listening for an answer. Habakkuk stands on the rampart at his watchpost to see what God is going to say.  God encourages him in the waiting, “If it tarries, wait for it.”  The idea of waiting in Biblical times is not a passive or forgetful thing.  Waiting is active, it’s eager, yearning, engaged.

I have experienced a number of periods of waiting in my life.  Sometimes we are just waiting for God to prepare the next thing he has for us.  Right now I am active in ministry here - but for a number of months previous to my coming to Grace, I was in a holding pattern.  My hours at Good Shepherd had been reduced and I was waiting for what it was that God was preparing for me.  I kept busy by supplying for a number of churches in the area and led several workshops until he called me here.   For me it is mostly a question of what area of ministry God wants me active in at a particular time.   I see my ministry now as being "seasonal," not according to the calendar, but according to the needs that are made known in the body of Christ.

God tells Habakkuk, “If it seems to terry, wait for it, it will surely come –“  (one of the things I have had to learn in ministry is patience.)   And the passage ends with God saying, “The righteous live by their faith.”   Faith seems to be the theme of the lessons for today.

In our Gospel lesson, the disciples demand, “Increase our faith.”  This seems to simply come out of the blue, and I forgot for a moment when reading that opening sentence, that everything has a context.  Our lesson starts five verses into the chapter – and so to find out what is going on here, we go back to the beginning of Chapter 17.  Jesus is telling the disciples what is expected of them.  He tells them that they are going to stumble – but don’t be the one who causes someone else to stumble.  He tells them that if someone else sins against them and repents, that they must forgive that person.  Even if the same person does the same thing 7 times a day, they still must forgive.  And that’s when they say, “Oh Lord, give us strength ---  faith.”

And Jesus’ answer is interesting.  We have a tendency to think in ‘degrees of faith’, but Jesus says that the amount of faith doesn’t matter.  Even the smallest amount of faith is enough.  Do you remember the story of the man who says to Jesus, “Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.”  I believe that it’s that doubt that begins to creep in when things don’t go the way we think they should.  It’s the doubt that eats away at us.  It undermines our faith, and makes it hard for us to tap our reserve of faith.

But Paul’s letter to Timothy can help us. Paul writes: “I am reminded of your sincere faith. . . “Rekindle the gift of God that is within you.”  I just want to point out, it’s great to come from parents and grandparents of faith – but each of us has to develop our own faith apart from that of our parents.

The gift that God gives us is faith.  But when faith wanes, we find a spirit of cowardice coming to take over.  That spirit can take various forms, but they all serve to draw us even further from God and God’s purpose for our lives.  Fear and doubt can be devastating but Paul suggests three ways to fan that flame of faith and to rekindle that fire.

God has given us a spirit of power to keep our faith from dying.  Through prayer we ask God's Spirit to keep our faith alive. We need the fresh breath of God's Spirit to be the oxygen to keep the fire going. We don’t have to sequester ourselves apart from the world.  Maybe we just need to take small moments throughout the day to remind ourselves of God’s love for us. Remember when you bathe/shower that the water of baptism brought you forgiveness and made you a child of God.  At mealtime remember that God created all things and gives us good things to eat.   At sunrise or sunset, remember that God gives us the sun to warm the earth and let the sight of a flower or bird or butterfly remind you of the beauty with which God surrounds us.

God has given us a spirit of love.  That is the spirit that keeps us outside of ourselves.  That spirit of love is compassionate and seeks to bolster those we care for; that spirit that leads us to reach out to others.  That is the spirit that operates on both a corporate and an individual level to help those who are less fortunate – or who just need to hear about the love of God.

God has given us a spirit of self-discipline.  The self-discipline of tending to our faith daily and stirring its flames with careful and thoughtful Bible study. Tending the fire of our faith in such a way will help us to become more Christ-like as the days go by.  German theologian Dietrich Bonheoffer claims that we should always read scripture as if it has something utterly personal to say to us.
 
We know that faith is indeed the clue to living and surviving day by day. But our sense is that our faith is too fragile, too frail. Each of us is striving to live courageously while anxieties about job, family, finances, health, and personal self-worth crowd in upon us. So this is good to know - Faith is not simply “believing that God exists.”  According to Brother David Vryhof from the Society of St. John the Evangelist, "Faith is not believing that certain claims or statements about God are true. Genuine faith presumes a relationship with God."   Faith is believing that God will be God and do the things that God said he would do.  Brother David goes on to say, "It implies a radical trust in God, faithfulness in one’s relationship with God, and a way of seeing the world as life-giving and nourishing rather than as hostile and threatening."

 When we have faith in God, it isn't a question of how big our faith is, it is a question of how powerful our God is, and with God all things are possible!  It is God's faithfulness to love us and to always have our best interests at heart.

Let us pray:  Father, we don't ask you to give us more faith. We simply ask that you help us to use the faith that we have and trust you to do the rest. Amen.

Seeing the Unseen

Listen to the sermon.

In today's gospel, Jesus is telling a parable.  As I read these parables I see more and more that Jesus uses humor in his stories to get the attention of the people he is talking to.  This is one of those stories that functions like a joke.     And when we read these parables, we nod our heads and make noises like, “Oh yes, that’s so true – or – I understand…”  What we so often don’t get is how outrageous his stories were.  We only think they make sense – that they made sense in his own time.  We are too familiar with them and we need to understand better, just how outlandish his stories are.  They had an impact on the people who heard them because they turned the current day values upside down.

I'm sure you know in first century Palestine – rich, well dressed, feasting means this man is obviously blessed by God – see how God has given him all good things…

“This is very true – he is favored by God and has therefore been given good things.  The problem is that along with great gifts comes great responsibility.  The responsibility is to share with those who do not have good things…  The responsibility is to reach out and help those who are less fortunate.

Lazarus on the other hand is a poor man, who has no money, or power or means of support, AND he is also ill.  He has sores that the dogs come and lick.  Lazarus is at the rich man’s door for a reason.  According to the Torah, the wealthy have a charge to help those less fortunate.  But this rich man doesn’t pay Lazarus any mind – he might even come and go through another entrance so he doesn’t have to look at him – and when he’s forced to go through that entrance, he steps over Lazarus and pretends he isn’t there.

This rich man is not evil.  He doesn’t go out of his way to hurt Lazarus or even to get rid of him.  He just ignores him – sees right through him as if he were not there.

There is a big gap between these two men – a gap that is not easily bridged.  Now I want you to pay attention to something else – this poor man has a name – Lazarus – but the rich man – Jesus never tells us his name.  Again, Jesus is telling a story – and in this story, both of these men die.  You know the kind of story – two men died and went to heaven…  except one of them didn’t.

One man went to heaven – and everyone knew that it was the rich man – except it wasn’t.  There was a great chasm that separated the two men – Lazarus in heaven and the rich man in Hades.  The rich man looks up to heaven and sees Lazarus and he calls out to Abraham – “send Lazarus to cool my tongue – send Lazarus to wait on me, to serve me, to do my bidding…”   He doesn’t quite get the point – he still thinks of Lazarus as being below him, and worthy only to be a servant.

Abraham tells him, there’s a gulf between us – no one can cross over, even if they want to…  There is no bridge – and I think, that had there been any kind of relationship between Lazarus and the rich man, then a bridge might have been possible.  But there was no relationship to build on.

We lived in Houston for four years and there is a corner where street people beg.  Benny usually manned one corner and Diana sat on the other corner.  I had been talking to Benny for four years.  Diana was a new comer – she’d only been out there for about 6 months.  Occasionally I would give them something (a little money, or left over food), but regardless of whether or not I had anything to give them, I at least talked to them when I went by.  But if I catch the light green and drove on through, they made a point to wave at me because they knew my car.  I tried to build bridges while I was there – to see those less fortunate as human beings, created in the image of God and who deserve to be treated as such.

God has created us and as our compassionate creator, he pronounced us "good" and he wants us to succeed at life.  He is our teacher, (the Bible is your textbook) and he is our cheerleader - cheering us on to success.  When we are sad, God cries with us and when we are happy, he rejoices with us.  But this compassionate Father will not protect us from the consequences of our own actions.  We make decisions about our life, and God honors those decisions - he doesn't necessarily come running to bail us out of trouble.  He allows us to make mistakes - and live with the consequences.

Remember the image of Jesus standing at the door and knocking - He does not barge in and order our life - he waits to be invited in.  That's what being baptized and confirmed is all about -- inviting God into our lives.  And then God will guide us and direct us - and one of the ways he does that is through the use of parables.

I believe there are two things that we need to learn from this parable.
1)  Death is not an end - it is a transition to another place.
2)  What we do (or don't do) here on earth, and what we believe, has eternal significance - yes, eternal - even past the grave

As a people, we have a tendency to get so caught up in the living of our lives, that we sometimes forget to look around us.   The rich man (remember, he doesn't have a name) most-likely believed in a compassionate God - and he was probably grateful for all God had given him.  But he may have just gotten to caught up - so involved in the living of his life, that he forgot to look around and didn't notice Lazarus on his doorstep.  Lazarus was part of the landscape - melted into the background - invisible.

God is calling us to notice those in distress - like Lazarus, like those kittens.  God is calling us to have compassion on those who are less fortunate.  A few years ago a new song became popular called, "Open the eyes of my heart, Lord."  It goes:
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.
Open the eyes of my heart,
I want to see you, I want to see you.   -

We are being encouraged to see Jesus in the midst of this parable - in the outcast and the lonely.  We are being encouraged to look past our own lives and to see the world around us.  On Wednesday, I spent time at "The Gathering Place" - an area outreach ministry to Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers.  These are people who are really easy to overlook in this life.

I remember Judy in Huntsville who would ask me every Sunday, "Oh, are you going to be able to stay a while?"  And I remember Mishka at Redeemer who carried her copy of Dr. Zhivago everywhere she went, but couldn't communicate because she only remembered her native Polish language.

On Wednesday, at the Gathering Place, there was a woman, Maria, who didn't connect with anything we were doing until we started singing, "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do,  I'm half crazy all for the love of you."  Her smile broke out and she sang beautifully - knowing every single word of each song we sang.  The joy was unmistakable.  These are ones who matter deeply to God - the Lazarus's of this world.

In Matthew 19:23 when Jesus tells the disciples how hard it is for a rich man to enter heaven, they are astonished and ask, “well, then who can be saved?”  Now we have to remember that it is not in being rich that we are condemned for money is only a tool.  But it is what we do with what we have, that is called into question.  It might be money, or time or talent - God wants us to be aware of how we use those resources.

The lesson from First Timothy re-enforces this idea.  He said, “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share.”

There is a reason these lessons have been chosen for this time of year.  They remind us of God's call on our own life.  Grace is beginning its stewardship campaign.  So remember that this parable speaks to stewardship - just like last week's parable called us to be good managers of our resources, so this parable reminds us not to ignore those needs around us.

As Grace enters the search process, you are also building a foundation that will be the basis for calling a new rector.  Are we good stewards of what God has given us?  Money is only one tool that God gives us to further his kingdom on earth.  The other tools are time and talent.  We are all called to pay attention to how we use those gifts also.  I ask God to bless each of you richly, so that you may be a blessing to others.

Amen.

Creative Accounting 101

You may have heard the story about the time the multi-millionaire, Henry Ford, made a donation to a charity hospital. The hospital trustees begged Ford for a donation, so he sent off a check for five thousand dollars.

The next day one of the trustees telephoned Ford and apologized profusely. He said there had been a terrible mistake. The local newspaper had printed a huge page one article. The headline read HENRY FORD DONATES FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.

The trustee offered to make things right. He would demand a retraction. The retraction would read that Henry Ford, the world’s richest man, had donated just five thousand, not fifty thousand dollars to their hospital.  Grumbling, Ford wrote out a check for the remaining forty-five thousand dollars and sent it off, with one provision. The trustees had to erect a marble arch in front of the hospital. It was to read, "I came among you, and you took me in."

Now, what does that have to do with today's gospel?  The hospital trustee was very shrewd.  He found a way to turn $5000 into $50,000.   Today's gospel lesson is a strange little story for the Bible - one that makes you want to scratch your head and say, "Huh?"  It doesn't seem to make any sense when compared to the many other stories that Jesus told.  It makes you wonder what lens we should use to understand it.  It's not really about money - it's not really about honesty - it's not really about fairness - it's not really about any of the qualities we consider to be "God-like."   But this manager is ultimately commended for his shrewdness - some of us might even call it his dishonesty.

There are too many variables in this story that we don't have a clue about.  Jesus is being somewhat cryptic.

First:  The manager is squandering the rich man's property:  maybe it's left up to us to decide what that means - being wasteful in some way?  skimming some off the top?  paying too much for items bought?  overcharging for items sold?  Maybe he's running some kind of "ponzie" scheme.

Second: He's called in to give an accounting. . . you can no longer be my manager...  Well, obviously he's being fired, but not just yet.  Is the accounting like a trial, or maybe like a senate hearing? or just a showing of the books?  The owner may not be asking for an accounting of the financial records. He may referring to an accounting of his relationships with the clients - his reputation.

Third: And even though the manager is being fired, he has the time and freedom to call in the master's debtors and change the amounts that they owe.  There's just a lot going on here that we don't necessarily understand.

But here's something we do understand - it's scary to lose a job.  How many people do we know that have lost their jobs in recent years? - not because they were being unethical in any way, but because in our economy - layoffs and company closings have been all too abundant.  So maybe it would be easier for us to tie into what's going on in the mind of the manager who is losing his job.

We can definitely understand his anxiety in how he is going to provide for himself and his family.  He knows that he is not suited for hard labor.  Getting up in years myself, I can relate to this. I know that there are definitely things that I could do years ago, that I am no longer physically able to do.

And I sure don't see myself out begging on the street corner.  While I was rector of Church of the Redeemer in Houston, I had ample opportunity to get to know street people.  They lead a hard life, and they can be there by choice or by chance.  Some will go on to get back on their feet and become productive members of society, but others never will.  I can understand the manager's reluctance to beg.

So he turns from the idea of "What can I DO to make money to survive" --  and begins to look at the idea of "How can I BUILD RELATIONSHIPS that will help me to survive."  In other words, he becomes creative and begins to think outside the box.  All of his life he has been self-sufficient, doing whatever he needed to do to get ahead.  And now he finds himself on the outside, without recourse to his usual resources.

The manager’s intentions in his scheme were clearly selfish, but the results where that both he, and the rich man, were seen as generous, and that appearance of generosity helped to build relationships.  And he begins to understand that we are NOT alone, and sometimes to survive, we need the presence and the help of others.

Money and financial means will come and go as many people have found out as the economy turns topsy-turvy and stock markets crash and burn.  Something you have saved for all your life can be gone in a flash.  And what is left when the money is gone?  I will tell you that the only thing which will live on forever, even after death, are the relationships that you build here on earth.

Houses can be destroyed by fire, flood, tornado or earthquake - but the relationships you build within those houses (and outside those houses) will last forever.  Money may buy you lots of things and surface friends, but hackers and stock markets and con artists can drain you dry faster than you can say "Jack Robinson."

Therefore the relationships that you build, even using that money, have the ability of lasting forever.  For example, if you buy an important person a fancy lunch to win their favor for whatever reason, when your money is gone, they may not even remember your name.  But if you use that same money to buy a poor man a pair of shoes when he's trying to get on his feet, chances are he will remember you when you are trying to get on your feet.

As the annual stewardship season kicks off, one of the things we learn in this lesson is that it all belongs to God - the money, the relationships, even our very lives.  We are only stewards in this life.  One day we will all be lifted up to Him, and we will give an accounting of how we have used the resources He has provided for us - the money, the relationships, even our very lives.   You've heard it before, "store up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not consume, where robbers do not break in and steal."  Instead, build your relationships on earth and they will live on, both here and in heaven.

Amen

Let's Find the Lost - September 11

Our second lesson holds the key to today's scriptures.  Paul writes to Timothy saying, "I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief... but... in me, Jesus Christ displayed the upmost patience, making me an example... to others."  If we look at our lessons as a whole, they give us a glimpse into the heart of God - they vividly illustrate God's concern for those who lack the ability to recognize God in their life.

From our first lesson, we find God ready to destroy the Israelites in the desert, because they got worried and made a golden calf to worship - they had no patience to wait for Moses to come back down the mountain.  The people acted ignorantly in unbelief...  And Moses presumes to argue with God - to tell God he is wrong - and "God repented of the evil which he was about to do to his people."

When I was a lay vicar in Rockdale and was talking about prayer, I had a parishioner named Penny who said, "Why should I pray.  God's not going to change his mind about anything.". This scripture tells us that he does change his mind.  Do you remember in last week's lesson from Jeremiah when God said, I will change my mind about the disaster I intend to bring?  Or when Jonah preached to the Ninevites and they repented and God forgave them?  Even the Old Testament tells us that our God is a God of forgiveness.

Today gospel lesson starts off with the Pharisees and Scribes complaining because Jesus is consorting with sinners and tax collectors.  These two parables that Jesus tells actually reinforces that our God is a compassionate God and it explains why Jesus is allowing sinners and tax collectors to follow him.

These two parables - familiar parables - are about the lost sheep and the lost coin.  But if we were to read on in Luke's gospel, we would find a third parable in this sequence - that of the Prodigal Son.  It's interesting that the lectionary divides this unit into parts. You heard part of it on the fourth Sunday in Lent - that part about the Prodigal Son.  The three parables taken together provide a real insight into one nature of God.

If we set the scene, Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem. - everywhere he goes people gather - the crowd that is following Jesus is a rag-tag b\and - fishermen, zealots, tax collectors, sinners, - not the kind of people that most ordinary folk would invite to their homes for dinner.  And as Jesus talks, these tax collectors and sinners keep edging to the front of the crowd.  Jesus doesn't condemn the tax collectors, he doesn't tell them (in most cases) to quit their job - he simply tells them not to cheat anyone - to collect no more than they are supposed to collect.  Jesus doesn't condemn the sinners - he tells them to "go and sin no more."

The Pharisees may have thought that Jesus was one of them.  After all he preached resurrection which was a Pharisaic belief.  And they may have been testing Jesus to see if his beliefs and teachings were orthodox enough for him to be considered a Pharisee...  This group may have come from Jerusalem at the request of the local synagogue for the express purpose of examining Jesus teachings and to pass judgment on him.

Here's the thing - Pharisees are the righteous - they are living their lives for God, they are doing the best they can to be acceptable to God.  They don't associate with sinners because they don't want to become tainted.  (How many of you encourage your children to hang out with good kids rather than the bad kids who are going to get them in trouble?)

The problem with the Pharisees is not that they are wrong about the people who they consider to be sinners...  The Pharisees are wrong about the nature of God.  And they don't understand God's desire for communion with all people.  They underestimate his compassion for all people.  As our psalmist says -- Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness.)

So these stories are about loss.  A lost sheep, a lost coin, and if we read the third parable, a lost son.  There are many different ways for something (or someone) to become lost.  Ever misplaced your keys?

I want to tell you a story about my daughter.  One summer, Sam's sister-in-law decided that she wanted to take Cyndy to spend a few days with her in the big city (Houston).  They did lots of fun things - and one of the things they did was to go up to the top of one of the tall buildings downtown.  On the way up in the elevator, the elevator stopped at one floor and the door opened and somehow Cyndy stepped out and was on the wrong side of the doors when they closed and to Jane’s horror the elevator started up again with Jane on the inside and Cyndy left behind in the hallway.

Jane had always been a praying woman and she prayed and went up and came back down - stopping at the same floor - and there was Cyndy - even at 6 years old, standing there waiting to be found, Cyndy got lost not because she was defiant, or because she wanted to - she just sort of ended up on the wrong side of the door and it was purely an accident.

In our gospel lesson, Jesus talks about people being lost -- ... - he often referred to "the lost sheep of Israel" -- he said, "They are like sheep without a shepherd."  If we look at these three parables - they address the issues of how people get lost -- and how God responds to them.

 People get lost like the sheep in the first parable - not from viciousness or deliberate choice - but from weakness or heedlessness -- from not knowing any better – wandering off to look for greener grass, or chasing a butterfly, (or as one of my favorite stories goes, to play with a frog.)

2)  People get lost like the coin in the second parable - not from one's own guilt, but from another's fault or the mischances of life -- the circumstances of the time.  I had a cat named Gracie - Gracie loved to climb up on a chair and look over a table, especially when I was working a jigsaw puzzle.  She would reach out with a paw and find a piece and pull it off the table.  Or a coin, or a pencil, anything you left on the table within reach would eventually end up on the floor.

3)  And people get lost like the prodigal son - through calculated self-will - a desire to have things one's own way – a desire to be one’s own god even - regardless of the cost.

We can see all kinds of reasons how or why one might be "lost".  And Jesus addresses God's reaction - he doesn't tell the people that this is a parable - and he doesn't use the common formula, "The kingdom of heaven is like...."  He simply starts out saying, "Which of you...."

Have you ever noticed how Jesus' parables are about ordinary everyday things for people of that time?  The idea of a shepherd is very familiar - and the lost sheep is something else that happens not infrequently...  But then Jesus puts a twist on this story...  which of you would not leave the ninety-nine and go search for the one lost...   Well, the truth is that not very many of them would... I mean think about it... you have one hundred sheep - ninety-nine are where you can see them, but one has gotten lost, you have no idea where or when this sheep wandered off.

A lot of the places where sheep graze you can see quite a distance and you might go looking – but always staying where you can see the sheep you’ve left.  But you're not going to leave ninety-nine sheep unattended on an open hillside while you go look for one -- when you come back you're most likely going to be missing a bunch more...

One minister did some research and found that the average price of a sheep today was $250 - so you're going to leave $25,000 worth of sheep to their own devices without protection (in an unfenced pasture where wild animals roam) while you go away and look for $250 worth of sheep.  So if we're perfectly honest, in the world of Jesus, one sheep would probably be considered an acceptable loss.

The the world economy 1% is an acceptable loss for most us in this day and age also.  That really is obvious in this digital day and age - If you have a smart phone or tablet, you know that when you go to the App Store - or if you buy a song for your iPod, the cost is 99 cents.  1% is an acceptable loss.

But not for our God - God never gives up on us - regardless of why or how we got lost, God never gives up - he continually reaches out to us inviting us to come in - in more ways than we can imagine.  It is God's desire that no one feel left out of a relationship with God.  Whether or not we know or understand this, God keeps searching for ways to bring us in, never giving up.

This is why Jesus had come to earth - to seek out the lost and provide them an avenue to return to the Lord; the redemption for the sinner who has lost his way.  Like the shepherd and the woman in our parables, God seeks us out and doesn't give up until he finds us.

God is always willing to listen to a plea from us, just as he listened to Moses' plea for the Israelite children.  God is always ready to give us that second chance when we stray.  Can we do any less with the people around us?  Shouldn't we be willing to give others a second chance?  Shouldn't we be willing to listen to a plea on behalf of another?  Shouldn't we be willing to seek out a relationship with people from whom we've drifted apart?

God never cuts us off - He never washes his hands of us -- God never turns his back on us.  And God is always ready to gather us in and take us home when we have been found.  Shouldn’t we be willing to do the same for others?  Shouldn't we give them the same kind of chance that God gives us?

Amen.