Cleaning House!

March 11, 2012

John 2: 13-22

13The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

-o0o-

Grace, Mercy, and Peace be yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…amen.

Jesus loves to do the unexpected. His entire ministry consisted of him turning things upside down. He broke Jewish law by healing on the Sabbath, he ate with prostitutes and tax collectors, he disagreed with the religious scholars of his day, and told us that the meek, rather than the powerful will inherit the earth. We certainly don't see the meek side of Jesus this morning in the Temple. Here we find not a hypothetical example of his teaching, but a literal one. Jesus, enraged, strides among the money-changers literally turning their tables upside down. No meekness here, no turning the other cheek, no ‘love thy neighbor’. Jesus is overcome with rage at what he sees as a desecration of his Father's house. Jesus was himself a faithful Jew. In keeping with the Law, people were required at Passover to make animal sacrifices at the Temple. In this way they might atone for their sins. Thus, it wouldn’t be unusual to find cattle, sheep, lambs, and doves within the Temple courtyard. And, these animals for sacrifice needed to be purchased. And only coins from the region of Tyre were deemed appropriate for these transactions. The Temple was in Jerusalem, and the faithful made their pilgrimage from throughout the Middle East. They brought with them the currencies from their native lands. As when we travel today, only local money is accepted. We exchange our dollars for whatever the local denomination is, be it Pounds or Pesos. In the same way, the foreign Jew traded-in their drachma, for example for shekels. So far so good. Animals for the sacrifice are being purchased and those purchases are being made in the appropriate local currency. So what prompted Jesus to react the way he did? This is really the only time we read that Jesus seems to lose control. Why now, why this place, why this circumstance? Why was he so overcome with anger? Let’s paraphrase these few verses of John's Gospel as though it were the script for a movie or play:

Act 1: Scene 1 of: ‘Jesus cleanses the temple’. Enter Jesus of Nazareth. Striding through the walls of the Temple courtyard Jesus, enraged at what he sees, takes off his belt fashions it into a whip complete with knots, and begins to scatter the crowds. He screams at the top of his lungs, people and animals scurrying to get out of his way.

One after the other he overturns the money-changers’ tables, their coins scattering to the floor. As Jesus strides past them we see the money-changers on their hands and knees trying to scoop up their spilled money. He is hollering "Get out all of you, leave my father's house. This is a disgrace; this is the house of God, not a shopping mall, not an ATM."                         Exit Jesus.

Christ wasn't regaling against the practice of making sacrifices to God. It was the corruption of the practice that brought about his anger. A dove purchased inside the courtyard walls sold for as much as 15 times what you could buy one for in the marketplace. The moneychangers charged a fee to exchange foreign coins. The Roman officials allowed the marketplace to exist, and they made a tidy profit from it. The Temple priests also had the piece of the action. Jesus was incensed that so many were making a profit from, and interfering with people who were attempting to achieve a right relationship with God.

So in a very real sense Jesus was prompted to ‘clean house’. He saw the need for a thorough housecleaning in God's Temple. In the opening scene of the movie "Full Metal Jacket" we see the drill instructor berating each recruit in turn, pointing out the smallest flaws in each of them. If you will, form a picture in your mind of a battle-hardened Marine Corps drill Sergeant. Now picture him as a stocky Irish woman in a flowered dress. Imagine that she is just as tough as he is, except that she's barking orders with a thick Irish accent… this would be my grandmother. She lived in Ireland when I was a kid but she would stay with my family for a few months each year, usually beginning in the spring. When she was very young growing up in Ireland she was what was called a "charwoman". She cleaned other people's homes to help provide for her family. Believe me, this woman knew how to clean house. Like it or not spring cleaning in my house was a family affair; my grandmother supervised my mom, my two sisters, my dad and me.

The thing I most remember is that she would, without fail, follow along behind us inspecting our work. She was rarely happy with the results. She said we were all "surface cleaners". She would forever catch us dusting a table without moving a bowl or a vase out of the way first. Or failing to get some little bit of grime in the corner of a window. My grandmother despised ‘surface cleaners’.

In this season of Lent we are called upon to examine our relationship with God. Lent itself comes from an old English word meaning spring. It's rather appropriate, since springtime is a season of renewal, when the world emerges from its dark, cold winter into a time of growth and rebirth. We are called to a thorough ‘spring cleaning’ of our hearts, minds, and spirits. We can't be ‘surface cleaners’; we have to dig deep inside looking for every speck we can find. We need to recognize our sinful nature, repent of it and become acutely aware of our need for God's grace. We need to perform a thorough ‘Lenten-cleaning’ of ourselves. But this would prove problematical, and inevitably impossible to do. All the cleansing of our hearts and minds that we could possibly attempt could never be enough for us to achieve righteousness with God. God knows this.

Jesus’ cleansing of the temple was symbolic of his earthly ministry. He told his detractors that even if this great Temple were to be torn down stone by stone, he would rebuild it in three days. Jesus himself is the substitute for the Temple. God is no longer relegated to an ark hidden deeply in the confines of a single building. God walks among us in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the sacrificial lamb. Even as Jesus was driving the money-changers from the Temple he was foretelling the reason for his ministry on earth. People would no longer have to make animal sacrifices to God so that the sheep or dove might be the substitute for their sin. The son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, was to turn the world upside down yet again. He was to be the sacrificial lamb, the one who would atone for the sins of the world, once and for all. Our Lord and Savior has completed the ultimate cleansing, the final "spring cleaning", through his death and resurrection.

In a moment we will approach the Lord's Table where we will take the bread and wine. We are told to do this "in remembrance of Him". As we do so let us remember what it is we are celebrating. Jesus has scrubbed us clean; we are made bright, shiny, and new again through him. We have permission to stand before our God, made righteous in spite of our brokenness and sin.

Will you pray with me? ...'Lord Jesus we give you thanks for cleansing the temple. We thank you for sweeping away our unkind words, for cleansing our sinful thoughts, and for tidying up the mess we make by our actions. Through you we have been washed clean. And as we boldly step into the world help us to be ever mindful that no matter how soiled we become, that through you, we will be made spotless again'.

Amen.

Thy Kingdom Come

July 24, 2011

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

“Thy Kingdom come”.  Christians recite this prayer every Sunday as part of worship. In a moment we will do the same. Three words…four syllables. A simple request…an incomparable gift. Have we really considered what this prayer means? Jesus said to his disciples "have you understood all this?". Matthew tells us they answered simply, "yes." Really? Ya think? I'm certainly in no position to second-guess the disciples, but I'm not convinced that they really understood all of what Jesus told them concerning the kingdom of heaven. Let's be honest, it's a pretty difficult concept to grasp. If it were in fact easy to understand, Jesus probably wouldn’t have had to use so many parables to explain it.

Over the last several Sundays we’ve read parables about seeds and sowers, treasures in fields, yeast, priceless pearls, and good and bad fish caught in the same net. There have been countless commentaries written, attempting to explain and expand the meaning of these parables, and innumerable sermons have been preached trying to do the same. Perhaps so many parables were needed because one single analogy isn't sufficient to define the kingdom of heaven. After all we're told it's like a mustard seed, so small that it can hardly be seen. And it's like a treasure in a field hidden from view. That the kingdom is like a single priceless pearl. Then Jesus continues and explains that the seed grows to become a mighty tree, the hidden treasure is discovered, and the pearl is worth everything the merchant owned.

The meaning of the individual parable notwithstanding, suffice it to say there’s a common thread running throughout these stories. We’re told that God’s kingdom is ‘like…’ something else. I suppose we need parables, metaphors, and allegory to help us understand this concept that nothing else compares to. The old standby ‘tastes like chicken’ just isn’t going to cut it. It’s like trying to explain the color blue to a blind person, who has never seen it. So all we really have are comparisons.

But do those first-century agricultural references succeed in describing for us the kingdom of heaven? How about a 21st-century parable; "the kingdom of heaven is like a viral video that someone uploads to the Internet. It starts out as a short film and within hours is seen by millions of people around the world”. Or; "the kingdom of heaven is like pressing ‘send’ without proofreading or spell-checking an email. It’s too late to stop it and there is no way to ‘unsend’ it”. The underlying concept is basically the same; something starts out quite small and expands into something else, quite unexpected and of exponentially greater impact. Back in the 60’s a scientist coined the term "butterfly effect". This theory holds that if a butterfly in China flaps its wings, that it’s likely to affect the path of a tornado thousands of miles away in the American midwest. Again something rather inconsequential leads to a monumental result.

Back to "thy kingdom come". There's quite a bit going on in these three words. It’s a statement of belief: the kingdom of heaven will someday come. A prayer of petition: we ask that the kingdom of heaven will be revealed. And an acknowledgment of reality: the kingdom of heaven has come and is here and now. The connecting theme in today's readings seems to be one of insight; more specifically spiritual insight. In the first reading Solomon asks God for an understanding mind. The psalmist states that the Lord’s word gives light and understanding. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes with deeply reassuring insight as to the nature of God's relationship with his people. He writes; nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

It’s been said that the kingdom of heaven exists wherever God reigns. What conclusion can we draw from this insight? I recall an example from a logic class in college. “All cats chase mice. Whiskers is a cat. Therefore, Whiskers chases mice”. If we extend this logic we can conclude that; “the kingdom of heaven exists wherever God reigns. God reigns everywhere. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven exists everywhere". So "thy kingdom come" is a reality for us in the present. So where does that leave us? We have all of these wonderfully descriptive parables depicting for us the wonders of God's kingdom. And, we acknowledge that we are present within it. All that remains is deciding how we intend to live lives that demonstrate recognition and gratitude for this wondrous gift of God's grace. There are of course the big things we know we have to do. There are Ten Commandments after all. These describe obvious actions, or in some cases, inactions. Within God's law there are "thou shalt not’s” as well as the "thou shalt’s".

Nothing earth-shattering here and I daresay for the most part we probably do an okay job at keeping the majority of the Commandments. But perhaps our understanding of lives within the kingdom of heaven parallels the descriptions Jesus gives us. Again, rather small things resulting in enormous consequences. Our everyday thoughts, words, and deeds are like that mustard seed or the buried treasure. It's those things that we think, say, and do without much concern for the outcome that may have dramatic results; for good or bad. Our lives are mustard seeds growing within the kingdom of heaven. But if we’re not rooted in good, nourishing soil, if we don't carefully tend our actions, if we don't bask in the light of God's love our lives might easily germinate not into useful, beautiful, flowering plants. We could just as easily turn out to be weeds.

Helen Keller wrote that if it weren't for her teacher Anne Sullivan constantly encouraging her that she would not have accomplished all she did. Anne never gave up on Helen; she believed that in spite of Helen’s disabilities, that if nurtured, she was capable of great things. On the negative end of the spectrum we have the tragic story of Phoebe Prince. You may recall that this high school student from South Hadley found herself facing constant disparagement and ridicule. After months of what Phoebe herself described as "intolerable" verbal abuse she finally put a stop to it…by taking her own life. Jesus tells us what the kingdom of heaven is like, this wondrous and awesome gift from God. The kingdom is here for us, and we assume our role within it. We are called to be gardeners, treasure seekers, and pearl merchants. We can nurture tender seedlings, recognize treasure that others don't see, and to do all we can to support that single cherished gem. And while we might never purposely do anything to cause damage in God's kingdom, we must be ever vigilant that some small word or action doesn't do just that. We have to be careful not to inadvertently step on a struggling plant. We need to see not just a barren field, but discern whether there is a treasure buried deeply in it, or maybe concealed just below the surface. We have to remember that a priceless pearl must be properly cared for; the slightest mistreatment may cause damage.

So, let us go forth from this place as workers in the kingdom of heaven. In the coming week let us strive to nurture and encourage seeds of faith to grow and bloom. Let us recognize the treasure of goodness in otherwise obscure, barren places. Let's be certain that we care for the priceless gems that have been entrusted to us. Within this kingdom of heaven very small actions result in momentous outcomes. May this realization be ever in our hearts and minds when we pray …"thy kingdom come".

Amen.

"As We are One"

June 5, 2011

John 17:1-11

Grace, Peace, and Mercy to you from God the father and our Lord Jesus Christ…amen. This morning's gospel continues what is known collectively as Jesus’ "farewell discourse". Over several chapters in John’s gospel, Jesus gives his final teaching to his disciples, reassures them, encourages them, and as we read today, he prays for them. A great deal of ground is covered in John 13 through 17, this so-called "farewell discourse" of Jesus. John recounts that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, gave them the new commandment to "love one another", and promised them that he would send the Holy Spirit to reassure, guide, and help them. In the first few verses of today's lesson, in Jesus’ prayer to the Father he asks that God would glorify the Son, so that Jesus might glorify God. He speaks of eternal life and the finishing of the work he was sent to do. He speaks this prayer out loud and within the hearing of the disciples. It’s obvious that he does this so that they might learn something of the relationship between Jesus and God the Father. Christ speaks of the glory he shared with God before time began. This relationship that he alludes to seems to me to be the salient point of this portion of Jesus’ prayer. It speaks to oneness, unity, and fellowship. Jesus walked the earth as a human being. He experienced all those things that define a person's humanity. All of the emotions, passion, and physical manifestations that determine "humanity". More than most, Christ experienced anguish and suffering, both emotional and physical. From being reviled and rejected, to being scourged and hung on a tree. Jesus as a divine being knows through his incarnation what is to be human. He is all too aware of the suffering that people endure, having borne all of the torment, anguish, and misery that define the human condition. It is with this knowledge and understanding that Jesus prays to the Father "I am asking on their behalf". "Protect them". "They are in the world". He knows what they will have to endure because of their faith in him. He is aware of how "the world" will respond to them and how they will be treated. He knows this because he assumed human form and trod this world just as they did; just as we do.


This prayer was not just for the disciples but for all who followed. It is intended for us because little has changed in the way people live their lives. I daresay that things may have gotten worse. While it’s highly unlikely that any of us will be martyred for our faith, the dangers inherent in the modern world seem to be more varied and infinitely more imaginative. This brings us to the heart of this morning’s gospel… unity. Jesus knows that he may trust that the Father will grant his prayer, and that God will protect the disciples just as he asks. But he prays that God will take it a step further. He asks that the disciples might be granted protection by God and that they might continue Christ's work guarded and acting as one. Jesus asks that they may be one, as Father and Son are one. He prays that the disciples may find a unity with one another in the same way that God and Jesus share a oneness.
When I was nine or ten years old my best friend was Jimmy Maxwell. In order to seal our friendship we decided to become "blood brothers". Some of you may remember this time-honored practice. This ritual consisted of piercing our index fingers with a pin and rubbing them together to co-mingle our blood. In today's time of frightening diseases and an almost fanatic desire for avoiding germs this ceremony would most certainly be frowned upon. But way back then in the fourth grade being "blood brothers" was the ultimate way to show unity and to cement a friendship. Besides when you’re nine years old it's a "wicked manly" thing to do. The sad part is that about a year later we ended up going to different schools, and I haven't seen nor heard from my "blood brother" since then. So much for unity and “becoming one”.
Worldly rituals are just that, "worldly", temporal, and transitory. In another biblical translation Jesus’ prayer for unity among the disciples is paraphrased: "so they can be one heart and mind as we are one heart and mind". The operative term here is "we". As "we" are one heart and mind. As "we" are one. This seems to me to be a pretty tall order. Jesus is asking that the disciples, and by extension we be granted a unity with one another in the same way that He and the Father share a oneness. Perhaps, and more likely Jesus is requesting from God a similarity to this oneness; for He and the Father share unity that is unique. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, while being separate. We cannot hope to participate in anything that even comes close to that type of oneness. We’re talking the Holy Trinity here for goodness’ sake!
Nevertheless He asks that his followers share in an abundant unity; a unity of purpose, belief, and intention. A sort of single-mindedness. This abounding unity is intended to reach far beyond a pair of "blood brothers". Jesus wasn’t asking that Peter and John might find common ground and a singleness of purpose as they sought to bring Christ's message of salvation to the Jews, and beyond to the Gentiles. He wasn’t speaking of a unity between Paul and Timothy as they travelled together even farther afield spreading the gospel message. This oneness being requested encompasses the entire community of faith; the body of Christ. Jesus didn't ask God to meet the individual needs of the disciples. He wasn't asking that their singular needs be met, but that they be "as one" with regard to their mission. Christ spoke of corporate unity, communal needs. Jesus’ prayer asking that his people be one with each other as He is one with the Father centers not on the glory the Father and Son share, nor their divinity, nor even their unique relationship. But it is the love that the Father and Son have individually and collectively for humanity that Christ prays for the disciples to share with one another. God's love for his children is boundless. God so loved the world that he gave his only son, Jesus Christ to die for us. Jesus told his followers to "love one another as I have loved you". To prove that love he willingly went to the cross. Thus Jesus and the Father have exemplified their unity of purpose with respect to creation. They are unified in their desire for humanity to treat one another as they treat us.
As the disciples prepared to go forth Jesus knew that in order for them to be successful in their mission that they must be unified in their focus and intent. He was preparing them to counter a world of suffering, injustice, and hopelessness. In order to do this they have to be united; they must share a common cause. They must adopt a Christ-like, God-like love for others even to the detriment of themselves. In order to meet the world head-on and to spread the gospel message it was necessary that the disciples abandoned any sense of their own self-importance. It was essential that they approach "the nations", (all mankind) with the same unified sense of love for others-before-self that is so central to the gospel. The good news of God in Christ Jesus most certainly hinges upon salvation, forgiveness, renewal, and everlasting life. These are the results brought about through the unified love that Father and Son have for the people. We are saved, forgiven, renewed, and we live in the promise of life without end because God loves us.
It’s estimated that there are as many as 38,000 distinct Christian denominations in the world. So much for unity. This number encompasses every group from Roman Catholicism through the mainline Protestant denominations, as well as those with adherents in the single digits. It’s safe to say that there is some disagreement among them. Actually many denominations are very close in their beliefs as evidenced by the full communion the Lutheran Church has with a number of other denominations. On the other hand, many self-described "Christian" bodies espouse wildly divergent doctrine; so much so that one might not recognize their belief systems as Christian at all. How then do we attempt to bring unity to such a group of broadly dissimilar factions? We don't! We can't possibly do this. But, we have to start somewhere. We begin right where Jesus tells us to, with one another. He said "Love each other as I have loved you". This command from Jesus is direct and explicit; love as I love. Love as God loves. Place the needs of others before your own. Thus are we unified with Christ by acting toward others as He did, as He does.
We will likely never be called to lay down our life to save another, and in spite of the current economic climate we are blessed to live in the most prosperous country on earth. So any sacrifice we make to serve others will probably be rather minor. But if we do serve one another with love as we are commanded, if we do perform acts of kindness, if we do show mercy, we are sowing the seeds of unity with God. And if enough people live this way as individuals, before we know it we might start to behave this way in small groups. Then maybe as congregations, and synods, and even denominations. And who knows, Jesus’ prayer for an all-encompassing Christian unity, based on love, like the relationship He shares with God the Father, might just come to pass.
Amen.

YOU SAY 'POTAYTO', I SAY 'POTAHTO'...

…LET’S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF? THIS LRYIC IS FROM THE 1937 GERSHWIN FILM ‘SHALL WE DANCE’ AND WAS PERFORMED BY FRED ASTAIRE AND GINGER ROGERS. IT SPEAKS TO THE MANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO CHARACTERS AND MAKES THE SUGGESTION THAT BASED ON THESE DIFFERENCES THEY SHOULD JUST WALK AWAY FROM THEIR RELATIONSHIP. HOWEVER, THE PAIR END UP MARRIED IN THE MOVIE. A DIFFERENCE IN THE SIMPLE PRONUNCIATION OF WORDS IS HARDLY REASON ENOUGH TO CAUSE A PARTING OF THE WAYS BETWEEN A COUPLE WHO OTHERWISE HAVE MUCH IN COMMON.


THE LECTIONARY FOR TODAY COMES FROM PAUL’S LETTER TO THE CHURCH IN GALATIA, CHAPTER 5, VERSE 13. “FOR THE WHOLE LAW IS SUMMED UP IN A SINGLE COMMANDMENT, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF’”. MOST FOLKS KNOW THIS STATEMENT AS ‘THE GOLDEN RULE’. IT APPEARS IN THE HEBREW BIBLE AND MORE THAN ONCE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. BUT BEFORE ANY OF US CLAIMS SINGULAR RIGHTS TO THE PHRASE LET’S INVESTIGATE SOME OF THE OTHER PLACES THIS ‘ETHIC OF RECIPROCITY’ IS FOUND.

‘NOT ONE OF YOU IS A BELIEVER UNTIL HE LOVES FOR HIS BROTHER WHAT HE LOVES FOR HIMSELF’. Islam.

‘TRY YOUR BEST TO TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WOULD WISH TO BE TREATED YOURSELF, AND YOU WILL FIND THAT THIS IS THE SHORTEST WAY TO BENEVOLENCE’. Confucianism.

ONE SHOULD NOT BEHAVE TOWARDS OTHERS IN A WAY WHICH IS DISAGREEABLE TO ONESELF. THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF MORALITY. Hinduism.

THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE:

‘ONE GOING TO TAKE A POINTED STICK TO PINCH A BABY BIRD SHOULD FIRST TRY IT ON HIMSELF TO FEEL HOW IT HURTS’. Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria).

THIS ‘ETHIC’ APPEARS IN MANY OTHER TRADITIONS AS WELL; JAINISIM, BUDDHISM, MANY AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS. IS THE APHORISM LESS TRUE BECAUSE THE WORDS DIFFER? DOES THE YORUBA-SPEAKING NIGERIAN REALLY INTERPRET THE ‘GOLDEN RULE’ DIFFERENTLY FROM THE CHRISTIAN, THE JEW, THE BHUDDIST, THE MUSLIM? YOU SAY ‘TOMAYTO, I SAY ‘TOMAHTO’…LET’S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF? REALLY, SHOULD WE ‘CALL IT OFF’ AND JUST CONCENTRATE ON OUR DIFFERENCES? OR SHOULD WE, MUST WE INSTEAD CELEBRATE OUR SAMENESS?


EARLIER IN HIS LETTER TO THE GALATIANS PAUL WRITES ‘THERE IS NO LONGER JEW OR GREEK…NO LONGER MALE AND FEMALE’. SO HERE THE WRITER STATES THAT THERE ARE NO LONGER ANY DIFFERENCES AMONG US, AND LATER HE REMINDS US OF JESUS’ ADMONITION TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR.

IN THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN THE EXPERT IN JEWISH LAW ASKED JESUS ‘WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?’ OVER THE CENTURIES MANY OTHERS HAVE ALSO ASKED, ‘WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?’ DO WE STILL ASK TODAY? IS THE NEIGHBOR THE ONE WHO SITS NEXT TO US AT WORSHIP, THE ONE WHO THINKS AND BELIEVES EXACTLY AS WE DO? THE CASUAL ACQUAINTANCE WHO WE TOLERATE, BUT ISN’T EXACTLY OUR ‘BFF’? OR…DARE WE ADMIT THIS TO OURSELVES; IS OUR ‘NEIGHBOR’ THE ONE WHO IS DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO US AND OUR DEEPLY HELD BELIEFS IN EVERY WAY? ACCORDING TO JESUS THAT’S EXACTLY WHO OUR NEIGHBOR IS!

IN HIS TELLING OF THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN CHRIST MAKES HIS POINT IN DIRECT, STARK, AND UNCOMFORTABLE TERMS. THIS DISCOMFORT WAS FELT VISCERALLY BY THE HEARERS OF THE PARABLE. TO BE BLUNT, JESUS PICKED AS HIS PROTAGONIST THE MOST UN-NEIGHBORLY PERSON THE PEOPLE COULD IMAGINE. NOT TO PUT TOO FINE A POINT ON IT…THE JEWS DESPISED THE PEOPLE OF SAMARIA. ALTHOUGH THE TWO GROUPS WERE CLOSELY RELATED THEY HATED ONE ANOTHER, CHIEFLY BECAUSE EACH BELIEVED THEY POSSESSED SINGULAR CLAIM TO THE ORIGINAL TWELVE TRIBES. IN JESUS’ TIME THE JEWS WERE FORBIDDEN BY THE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES FROM HAVING ANY CONTACT WITH THE PEOPLE OF SAMARIA, EVEN THOUGH GEOGRAPHICALLY AND HISTORICALLY THEY WERE CLOSE ‘NEIGHBORS’. IN THE PARABLE A PRIEST AND A LAWYER DELIBERATELY WALK PAST THE INJURED MAN, PRESUMABLY A FELLOW JEW WITH WHOM EACH HAD MUCH IN COMMON. TO DRIVE HOME HIS POINT JESUS TELLS US THAT THE ONE TO RENDER AID WAS A SAMARITAN; ONE OF ‘THEM’, NOT ‘US’, AN OUTSIDER, ONE WHO WAS TO BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS.

THE LAWYER’S REPLY TO JESUS’ QUESTION, ‘WHO WAS THE INJURED MAN’S NEIGHBOR?’ WAS ‘HE WHO SHOWED HIM MERCY’. NOW HERE’S THE KICKER. JESUS TELLS HIM TO ‘GO AND DO LIKEWISE’. WE MUST ALSO ‘GO AND DO LIKEWISE’. SHOW MERCY TO THOSE WE WOULD LEAST LIKELY CONSIDER OUR NEIGHBORS. TREAT THEM AS WE WOULD HOPE THEY WOULD TREAT US. LOOK PAST THE DIFFERENCES AND REJOICE IN THE THINGS HELD IN COMMON. ‘TOMAYTO-TOMAHTO, POTAYTO-POTAHTO’; OUR WORLD IS MUCH TOO SMALL FOR US TO TRIFLE OVER DIFFERENCES OF OPINION, FAITH, POLITICS. WE CAN’T AFFORD TO ‘CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF’. AT ALL COSTS WE MUST STRIVE TO ‘LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR’, NO MATTER OUR DIFFERENCES. TO DO OTHERWISE IS TO VIOLATE THE MOST BASIC ETHICAL RULE OF SOCIETY, WHETHER CHRISTIAN, JEW, BHUDDIST, MUSLIM, OR HUMANIST. BESIDES, WE MIGHT FIND WE’RE REALLY NOT THAT DIFFERENT AFTER ALL.

AMEN.

How much will it cost?

                                           Scripture lesson: Luke 14:25-33 (Speaking to one of the parishioners) Good morning Rob, wanna go to France? No, really, I have an opportunity to go to Paris and I thought you might want to go with me. So, do you wanna go? (He asks: ‘How much will it cost?’) How much will it cost? Let me get back to you. …. Rather obvious question, no? I mean would anyone agree to a trip to Europe without knowing the cost of airfare, hotel, and meals? What about the date the trip departs, how long we would be out of the country, and most importantly how do we convince our wives to let us go? No rational person would agree to participate in anything as important as an overseas trip without first inquiring as to the cost. Even if Captain Kirk secures for us the lowest possible rate through Priceline, we would still be compelled to know the total price tag before we would agree to go.

Luke tells us this morning that ‘large crowds’ were travelling with Jesus. By this time in his ministry Christ had become something of the ‘latest novelty’. People were following him throughout Galilee, and they were eager to hear what He had to say, they wanted to see Him perform miracles, and like many people today, they wanted to be part of the ‘in crowd’. Kind of like groupies following rock stars around from concert to concert. But if any of them were considering becoming a genuine follower of Jesus, a disciple like the twelve, He wanted them to be fully aware of what that choice would cost. He knows it’s time to thin out the crowd. Jesus tells them they must ‘hate’ father, mother, wife, and children. At first glance this seems pretty harsh. After all Jesus repeatedly tells us we must honor our parents, love our spouses, and to suffer the little children to come to Him. The word translated here as ‘hate’ is a Hebrew expression referring to comparison. Its ancient meaning was to ‘love less’. It’s like saying ‘Suzie hates cookies, but loves ice cream’. She obviously does like cookies, but they come in second when ice cream is involved. A big dish of Rocky Road ice cream is preferred over a few chocolate chip cookies. The message is that if the decision is made to follow Christ, EVERYTHING else becomes secondary, even the life of the believer. The would-be followers are told they must ‘carry the cross.’ This doesn’t refer to each person’s individual burdens, but is in reference to the Roman policy of requiring the condemned to carry the beam of their cross to the crucifixion site. Christ is telling the crowd they must be willing to share in His suffering, to be willing to follow Him unto death. He wants to be sure that potential followers know they must be willing to see their discipleship through ‘to the end’. In essence Jesus is quoting for the people ‘the cost of discipleship’. Christ tells these first century Judeans that they must fulfill all these requirements…and, ‘give up all their possessions’. As incredible as that must have sounded to those ancient people, consider what we would have to surrender today. Most of them lived hand to mouth and had nearly nothing in the way of ‘possessions’. What then are we asked to relinquish if we are to answer the call to true discipleship? No one can answer that for us; each of us must resolve this matter for ourselves. Yet I submit that very few, if any of us will ever abandon our family, take up the cross and give up all our possessions. However, each of us must, at some point in our faith journey determine just what the cost of our discipleship is, and how much we are willing to pay.

In 1937, at the beginning of the rise of Nazism Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the dissident German Lutheran pastor coined the term ‘cheap grace’. He described this as ‘Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing.’ ‘Cheap grace’. In forgiving his children God paid the price with the life of His only son. In His obedience to the Father Jesus suffered and died on the cross. Bonhoeffer wrote that since God the father and God the son have already paid the price for our salvation, we then are left to decide how to respond to this forgiveness. Do we recognize the enormous value of the gift we have been given and strive to live lives of discipleship or do we tell ourselves that the price has been paid and there is no cost to us? ‘Cheap grace’?

So we have a dichotomy; we live in tension between cheap grace and costly discipleship. But we’re not the first to struggle with this quandary. Paul wrote of the conflict between ‘faith and works’ in his letter to the Galatians within 20 years of the resurrection, wherein he stated we are justified by faith not the works of the law. Luther reiterated Paul in 1517, going so far as to nail his commentary to the church door. Bottom line, we really don’t have to do anything to pay for our salvation. But because we are aware of the cost to God and Jesus, and because we recognize the immeasurable value of what we have been given, we will want to respond with those actions that show our thanks for Christ’s love.

We are compelled to do those things which we know are needed in the world; give to the poor, feed the hungry, aid the oppressed. Care for the sick, visit the lonely, show compassion for the disenfranchised. These are not the marks of ‘cheap grace’; they are the deeds of those who practice costly discipleship. And when we get down to it, how much do these acts really cost? It’s not a matter of expense, but an understanding of, and a rising to, the need. We really are fully aware of the cost of following Christ. It’s not abandoning family, hating relatives, and selling all we own. Unlike the crowds of the curious following Jesus we are well aware of the cost; we just have to decide whether we are willing to pay it. It’s really nothing more than being fully committed to living our lives with God at the center. Just as Jesus did. His entire time on earth was spent in obedience to God’s will. If we affirm that we are truly committed to following Christ then the cost of our discipleship is a willingness to emulate His obedience to the Father. The cost of our discipleship is a total devotion to following Jesus.

In doing this there was a genuine risk to first century Christians. They were expelled from the synagogue, persecuted, and often martyred for their faith. The cost of discipleship today remains very dear indeed, in most Middle Eastern countries, China, India, and many African nations. Christ’s admonition to ‘take up the cross’ has keen meaning for Christians living out their faith in these places. Yet these followers of Christ are fully aware of the cost and are willing to pay it in order to fulfill their obligation to live a God-centered life. They gather to worship in secret places, using smuggled bibles and hymnals. Many fear for their lives.

Their cost is indeed high; what is ours? Simply this; to live as God commands. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with our heart, soul, and mind; then to love our neighbor as ourselves. On these two He said, hang all the law. In Jesus’ admonition to the crowds in Luke, in rather stark terms He laid out for them what was expected if they chose to follow Him. In essence they were told to ‘look before they leap’. To measure the cost and accept the consequences. As confessing Christians we have done this. We know what we are expected to do, how we are to live, and how we are called to serve. Piece of cake, right? Maybe not. Out in the world is where our discipleship is measured. In a moment we will come to the Lord’s table. I dare say each of us will be fully committed to our discipleship as we partake of the bread and wine. But a lot can transpire between the altar and the door. Life happens, and the burdens of our day to day existence can very easily cause us to forget that we made a commitment to place Jesus above all else. We may be tempted to pay a lower cost of discipleship, to look for a 20% off sale, to hope for a bargain-basement price. There is that ‘cheap grace’ again.

Jesus knew it wouldn’t be easy for His first followers, and He surely knows it’s not easy for us. He asks only that we strive to make the payments when we can, not to fall too far behind on our obligations to serve others. He knows we will stumble and fall. We will be selfish and place our possessions above our love for Him. Even Peter, Jesus’ number one guy had his share or doubt and faithlessness. But the truly amazing part of our relationship with God is that even when we fail, He doesn’t. We might be willing on any given day to fork over only a small percentage of the cost of our discipleship, as evidenced by how we treat out fellow man. But God’s willingness to bestow His grace on us is unlimited. He simply calls on us to try to meet our obligations as best we can, in spite of our brokenness.

Soon we leave the altar for the door. Let our lives and actions reflect our willingness to be counted among those who have ‘taken up the cross’. Let us be seen as people who are willing each day to try to pay the cost of our discipleship through our service to others.

Amen.

Bread of Life

Scripture lesson-John 6:22-59

I’M SURE WE’VE ALL WATCHED TV SHOWS WHERE, JUST BEFORE THE EPISODE BEGINS THE NARRATOR REVIEWS WHAT HAPPENED THE PRIOR WEEK. THIS USUALLY TAKES THE FORM OF HIM SAYING; PREVIOUSLY ON ‘LOST’ OR LAST WEEK ON ‘DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES’. THIS IS DONE SO THE VIEWER IS BROUGHT UP TO DATE WITH WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED BEFORE; SO VIEWERS CAN MAKE SENSE OUT OF WHAT IS TO COME NEXT. THIS IS NOT A BAD APPROACH TO TAKE WHEN EXAMINING SCRIPTURE, SINCE MOST BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS ARE PART OF A LARGER STORY.  SO, LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT’S HAPPENED ‘PREVIOUSLY IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN’. JUST THE DAY BEFORE A CROWD OF 5,000 FOLLOWED JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES TO THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN WHERE HE WAS TO TEACH. JESUS SAW THAT THE PEOPLE WERE HUNGRY AND ASKED PHILLIP; ‘HOW ARE WE TO BUY FOOD FOR ALL THESE?’ A YOUNG BOY IN THE CROWD HAD FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH. JESUS BLESSED THE BREAD AND FED THE 5,000 WITH THE FIVE LOAVES, AND EVEN HAD 12 BASKETFULS LEFT OVER. THAT EVENING THE DISCIPLES LEFT THE SHORE OF THE SEA OF GALILEE IN A SMALL BOAT, ROWING TOWARD CAPERNAUM. JESUS ‘MISSED THE BOAT’ SO TO SPEAK, SO HE WALKED ON THE WATER FOR THREE OR FOUR MILES IN ORDER TO CATCH UP WITH THEM.

NOW HERE WE ARE THE NEXT MORNING, AT CAPERNAUM AND JESUS IS ASKED BY THE CROWD ‘WHAT SIGN ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE US SO THAT WE BELIEVE IN YOU?’ JOHN TELLS US THAT THIS CROWD IS MORE OR LESS THE SAME GROUP OF 5,000 THAT WERE FED THE PREVIOUS DAY. JESUS HAD ALREADY PERFORMED TWO RATHER IMPRESSIVE MIRACLES. MOST OF THE ASSEMBLED CROWD HAS WITNESSED THEM, AND YET THEY ASK ‘WHAT SIGN WILL YOU GIVE?’ CAN’T YOU JUST IMAGINE WHAT JESUS MUST BE THINKING TO HIMSELF? I’VE FED ALL 5,000 OF YOU WITH A COUPLE OF BARLEY LOAVES, THEN I WALKED ON WATER; HELLO! …DID I MENTION I WALKED ON WATER, AND STILL YOU ASK ME FOR A SIGN? BUT CHRIST KNOWS THAT THE TEACHING HE GIVES THIS DAY IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, SO HE DECIDES FIRST ON THE SUBTLE APPROACH. HE REMAINS PATIENT WITH THE PEOPLE BECAUSE IT’S ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND PRECISELY WHAT IT IS THAT JESUS IS BRINGING TO THEM.

EVERY VERSE IN JOHN’S GOSPEL SO FAR IS LEADING UP TO THIS POINT, AND CULMINATES IN THE NEXT FEW LINES JESUS SPEAKS. IN THE FIRST FIFTY OR SO VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER, THE WORDS ‘BREAD’ OR ‘LOAVES’ APPEAR NINETEEN TIMES…NINETEEN! AS A METAPHOR FOR HIS MESSAGE JESUS USES THE MOST BASIC FOOD IN THE PEOPLES’ DIET; COMMON, ORDINARY BREAD. INITIALLY, HE TELLS THEM THEY MUST COME TO HIM AND THEY WILL NEVER BE HUNGRY. NEXT THEY NEED TO BELIEVE IN HIM, AND THEN FINALLY, EAT OF THE BREAD OF HEAVEN. THE MULTITUDE STILL DOESN’T GET IT; SO HE ABANDONS ALL PRETENSE OF SUBTLETY AND TELLS THEM THEY MUST EAT OF HIS FLESH AND DRINK HIS BLOOD TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. THE GREEK WORD USED BY JOHN IN THE EARLIER VERSES FOR ‘EAT’ IS ‘ESTHIO’, AND SIMPLY REFERS TO THE ACT OF EATING A MEAL. NOW THE WORD USED IS ‘TROGO’. THIS VERB IS USUALLY USED TO DESCRIBE THE WAY AN ANIMAL FEEDS, AND MEANS ‘TO MUNCH’ OR ‘GNAW’. IT CONVEYS A SENSE OF RAW HUNGER, URGENCY AND NECESSITY. CHRIST IS TELLING THE PEOPLE THAT IT’S CRUCIAL THAT THEY PARTAKE OF THIS ‘HEAVENLY BREAD’. HE WANTS THEM TO KNOW THAT EATING THIS BREAD OF HEAVEN; THAT BELIEVING JESUS IS THE WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE, IS EATING AS THOUGH LIFE DEPENDS ON IT…BECAUSE IT DOES!

IT’S NO COINCIDENCE THAT JOHN QUOTES JESUS TELLING THE PEOPLE THAT THEY MUST EAT THE FLESH OF THE SON OF MAN. LET’S GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE FIRST CHAPTER IN JOHN, WHERE IT’S WRITTEN THAT ‘THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND LIVED AMONG US’. BELIEF IN CHRIST, REPRESENTED BY THE EATING OF THE BREAD OF HEAVEN, THE ‘TAKING IN’ OF JESUS’ VERY BEING, IS THE MEANS NECESSARY FOR GAINING A LIFE WHICH NEVER ENDS. THOSE WHO EAT ONLY WORDLY BREAD, THE STUFF OF GRAIN, YEAST AND WATER, WILL BE SUSTAINED FOR THE DAY, BUT THEY WILL ULTIMATELY DIE. BUT THOSE WHO PARTAKE OF THE BREAD OF HEAVEN, OF THE VERY FLESH OF CHRIST HIMSELF, WILL OBTAIN THE LIFE-GIVING FOOD WHICH LEADS TO EVERLASTING LIFE. JESUS TELLS THEM THAT IF THEY DO PARTAKE OF HIS FLESH (AND BLOOD) HE WILL ABIDE IN THEM AND THEY IN HIM. THAT’S WHY HE WAS SO URGENT IN HIS MESSAGE, SO INSISTENT THAT THE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND COME TO BELIEVE. BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT ONCE THEY ACCEPT THE TRUTH OF WHO HE IS THEIR VERY LIVES WILL BE SAVED. THE PEOPLE MUST FEED ON THE BREAD OF HEAVEN, THE VERY BREAD OF LIFE WHICH COMES FROM THE FATHER FOR THE SALVATION OF THE WORLD.

THOSE SAME TELEVISION SHOWS WHICH REVIEW PREVIOUS EPISODES ALSO GENERALLY OFFER A GLIMPSE OF WHAT WILL BE SHOWN THE FOLLOWING WEEK. IF WE DO THE SAME WE MIGHT DISCOVER THAT MUCH HAS CHANGED YET MUCH REMAINS THE SAME. IT’S BEEN TWO THOUSAND YEARS SINCE JESUS TAUGHT THE CROWDS IN PERSON, YET WE TODAY ARE BLESSED WITH THE ABILITY TO READ AND STUDY THOSE VERY SAME LESSONS. PEOPLE STILL NEED TO EAT WORDLY BREAD, EVEN IF IT TAKES THE FORM OF McNUGGETS AND FRENCH FRIES. AND WE MODERN FOLKS STILL NEED THE BREAD FROM HEAVEN; WE MIGHT EVEN SAY THAT WE NEED IT EVEN MORE THAN OUR FOREBEARS. OUR WORLD TODAY IS A COMPLEX, COMPLICATED PLACE. BUT THERE IS SIMPLE TRUTH IN ORDINARY THINGS. BREAD MAY BE UNCOMPLICATED, YET THE CONSTANT NEED FOR IT TO SATISFY US CONTINUES UNABATED. BUT HOW MUCH MORE ARE WE IN NEED OF THE BREAD OF HEAVEN? TO HAVE JESUS ABIDE WITH US, TO ENJOY A RIGHTEOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THE FATHER, FACILITATED THROUGH BELIEF IN CHRIST THE SON? TO NAVIGATE OUR DEMANDING WORLD, TO REMAIN TRUE TO OURSELVES AND FAITHFUL TO OUR GOD, WE MUST CONTINUALLY PARTAKE OF THE GIFT THAT HE PROVIDES. PERHAPS WHEN JESUS RESPONDED TO THE DISCIPLES’ REQUEST TO TEACH THEM TO PRAY, HE HAD THIS IN MIND. WHEN THE LORD TELLS US TO ASK GOD TO GIVE US EACH DAY ‘OUR DAILY BREAD’, MAYBE HE WAS THINKING ABOUT BOTH KINDS, WORDLY AND HEAVENLY.



WHILE EARTHLY BREAD MAY GO STALE OR BE UNFIT TO EAT BECAUSE OF MOLD, THE BREAD FROM HEAVEN, THE ABIDING SPIRIT OF CHRIST WITHIN US WILL NEVER SPOIL, WILL ALWAYS BE FRESH. IT WILL SUSTAIN US BODY AND SOUL THROUGHOUT ETERNITY.
SO, WE FIND OURSELVES AS DAILY RECIPIENTS OF GOD’S GRACE, PROVIDED THROUGH THE HEAVENLY BREAD WHICH IS CHRIST JESUS. HE ASSURES US THAT HE ABIDES WITHIN US ALWAYS. SO WHENEVER WE LOOK INWARD WE SHOULD BE WATCHFUL FOR SIGNS OF HOW CHRIST’S SPIRIT IS MANIFESTED IN HOW WE ACT. MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHEN WE CAST OUR GAZE OUTWARD, TOWARDS THE OTHERS WE ENCOUNTER IN OUR LIVES, WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT THE HEAVENLY BREAD IS WITHIN THEM AS WELL.

AS WE GO FORTH INTO THE WORLD, LET’S REMIND OURSELVES TO LOOK FOR THE BREAD OF HEAVEN THAT ABIDES IN THOSE WE MEET. HOPEFULLY THEN, WE WILL ACT COMPASSIONATELY TOWARD THE HOMELESS VETERAN ON THE CORNER HOLDING A ‘WILL WORK FOR FOOD’ SIGN. OR THE AGED WOMAN HOLDING UP THE CHECKOUT LINE AT THE STORE AS SHE SEARCHES HER PURSE FOR THE COINS NEEDED TO PAY FOR A FEW SMALL ITEMS. OR EVEN THE PERSON WHO CUTS US OFF ON THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT SIGNALLING. IF WE PAUSE A MOMENT TO LOOK INTO THEIR EYES, WE JUST MIGHT FIND THAT THE BREAD OF HEAVEN IN THE FORM OF CHRIST JESUS, IS LOOKING BACK AT US.

 AMEN.