3rd Sunday after Pentecost, 2016

3rd Sunday after Pentecost, year C, (proper 5), preached 6/5/16

first reading:  1 Kings 17:17-24

Psalm 30

second reading:  Galatians 1:11-24

gospel reading:  Luke 7:11-17

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Today we continue hearing from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians – as we did last week, and will for the next four weeks to come.

Last week we read his very angry, person introduction, in which he let the churches in Galatia know, in no uncertain terms, that they were headed down a WRONG path.  Today we pick up exactly where we left off, even overlapping verses 11-12.

In our verses today Paul is reminding the Galatians of his “earlier life,” and the life he is leading in their present tense. And he makes a point of saying that only God could bring about such a transition.  It’s a very stark “before and after.”

Some people come to faith because they reach a rock bottom and they have nowhere else to turn.  This wasn’t the case at all for Paul.  He was doing well.  He was respected.  He was successful and had “advanced… beyond many… of the same age…”  He LOVED his Jewish faith, and saw the upstart Christians as WRONG.  And he would use his respected position to protect the faith which he loved.  He writes, “I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it.”

But in the midst of this success, his life is rudely interrupted – changed forever.  The before and after couldn’t be any more different.  It all starts in vs. 15-16:  “But when God… was pleased to reveal his Son to me…”  Without warning, without any desire or effort on his part, his life and purpose were changed forever.

From a worldly perspective it became exponentially harder, filled with persecution from within and without.  Within, there were those who challenged his authority – from without, those who saw faith in Jesus as a threat like he once did.  The gospel did not make his life better on the outside, it made it worse.  He went from powerful to struggling, from persecutor to persecuted.

This is the main argument he gives for the gospel he’s preaching not being of human origin.  It must be God’s work, because it makes no earthly sense at all.

The other way Paul makes the argument that his “conversion” is not of human origin, is the enormity of the grace he has received.  To be the persecutor, to be the one violently trying to destroy the gospel – then to become its chief evangelist is a sign of mercy that can come only from God.

All the pain Paul caused those early Christians, even perhaps sending some of our earliest martyrs to their deaths – and God says, “I forgive you, and I will use you.”  WOW.  Think about it.

If God can forgive Paul and then use him to spread the gospel – if Jesus died and rose for Paul – then there’s nothing that could possibly stand in OUR way of receiving God’s mercy and love.

God took a hateful religious zealot bent on revenge and destruction – and turned him into a missionary for love and forgiveness – gave him the call to reach out to EVERYONE even to the Gentiles!  God called Paul, the Jewish zealot, to spend most of his mission reaching out to those who were the “other” to him in his previous life.  God called Paul, the Jewish zealot, to proclaim to the Gentiles that Jesus loved them too, and that God’s love and grace was just as much for them as for the original followers.

This is a living testimony to the POWER of God to wipe OUR slates clean and give US new beginnings. It’s hard to imagine a modern day equivalent.  Perhaps God converting and calling a member of the Westboro Baptist group to become an evangelist proclaiming God’s love for the LGBT community…

If God can extend grace and new life to THIS extreme, imagine what God can do for you and me.

Is there something that you’ve been holding onto?  Something you did (or WAS) years ago?  Some embarrassing or hurtful event you were a part of that still eats at you?  Do you ever have the feeling that you’re just not good enough? That God couldn’t possibly forgive this “thing” you feel hanging over you?

Even people sitting in churches, even pastors, sometimes have events and feelings either come back to them, or “stuff” they haven’t been able to let go of.  But that’s on US, not on God.  God isn’t holding onto it, WE are.

KNOW THIS – from Paul’s example – if Jesus forgave Paul, including the destruction he wrought in his life before God “was pleased to reveal his Son to [him],” then God certainly forgives you and me and all the awful things we have done and things that still weigh us down.

Let them go.  Because through Jesus they’re already gone.

There’s nothing we have to do – praise God for that.  Nothing required for us to do, because Jesus has done it already. As Paul will make clear throughout this letter, in Jesus we’re FREE.  Free from having to pay for our sins.  Free from all our past mistakes.  Free from having to try to be perfect.  Free from having to do “a” or “b” to “get” God to love or forgive us.

This is what GRACE is.  This is MERCY.  An undeserved outpouring of God’s love.  It means each day we get a new beginning, a new life.  Each time we call our for forgiveness it is there for us because we have been baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Because of this freedom in Christ, we are free to be bold in faith.  To try and even fail in serving God, just like Paul.

Our mistakes do NOT define us.  Our past does NOT define us.  Even our successes do NOT define us.  GOD’S GRACE DEFINES US.

And that, Paul says, is not of human origin, or from a human source – THAT power is from God alone. Praise be to God.

AMEN.

Fourth Sunday in Lent, 2016

Fourth Sunday in Lent, year C, 2016 (preached 3/6/16)

First reading:  Joshua 5:9-12

Psalm 32

Second Reading:  2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Gospel Reading:  Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

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This is one of the best loved of all the parables of Jesus.  Even non-Christians have heard of the story of the Prodigal Son.

It seems like a simple story, but it’s really SO much deeper.  None of these three characters are ideal. We’ve got a son who won’t grow up, an angry son who grumbles all day, and a father who wouldn’t know tough love if it hit him in the face.

Jesus tells this story because the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling about the lowlife with whom he was associating.  They don’t think Jesus should be eating with “sinners.”  In response, Jesus tells them parables about being lost, then found, and the rejoicing that comes with the finding.

Makes sense when put simply – but it’s really NOT that simple.

I’ll be honest with you.  I identify with the elder son.  And I think Jesus meant for the Pharisees and scribes to do so as well, because the comparison is very clear.  They didn’t think Jesus should be eating with those who clearly didn’t deserve him.  So Jesus tells a story about a father who throws a FEAST for a child who clearly didn’t deserve HIM.

Jesus eating with sinners.  The father feasting with an undeserving son.

Rembrandt, 1662-1669

Again, back to describing these characters:  one is selfish, immature and wasteful; one is rigid, unforgiving, angry and bitter; and one loves with no boundaries or discipline.  WE are the children, and God is the father.

Jesus is telling us that THIS is how God operates with us – God loves recklessly and forgives foolishly. THIS is the love of God.  It knows no bounds.  It doesn’t abide by human rules of what is proper or “good.”

God’s love accepts those of us who try our best and those of us who don’t try at all.  God’s love embraces those of us who sweat for the Church and those who have abused the Church.  God’s love prepares a feast for the lifelong faithful and for deathbed confessors.  God’s love makes no earthly sense.

It IS reckless and foolish.  There is no sense of fairness or right and wrong.  And thank God for that!

The father’s only actions in this parable are to forgive, show mercy and REJOICE.

And while we, (or at least “I”), grumble at the unfairness of it all like the elder son, God is forgiving US of THAT sin – the sin of wanting to be judge – thinking we can tell God who is “deserving” of God’s love and rejoicing.  How arrogant and presumptuous!

Most of us look at this parable and see the CLEAR obvious sin of the younger son, but because most of us identify with the elder son, we fail to see HIS sin.

Sure, the elder son did all the right things, but he was angry and bitter, even lashing out at his father at the unfairness of it all.  He refuses to attend the feast and greet his brother – and he rebukes his own father.  He does all the right things, but his attitude is rigid and unforgiving.  And he is more than a little jealous.  “Why didn’t you let me have a party?”

The father forgives them both.

The father could’ve said to the elder son, “Look, I’m in charge and if I want to throw your brother a party then I’ll throw him a party.  Now get in there!”

Instead he says, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.  But we HAD to celebrate and rejoice…”

The father even tries to repair the relationship between the brothers.  When the elder son refers to the younger son as “this son of yours,” the father changes it to “this brother of YOURS.”  The father wants them all to be reconciled – a theme in our second reading where St. Paul calls us to a “ministry of reconciliation” – not only to God, but to one another.¹

From a human perspective we get jealous and think that somehow love is a finite thing and that a loved one giving another love will somehow mean less for us.  And you know, sometimes with human beings that happens because of sin.  But it is not so with God.

God loves me more intensely, more personally, than I’ll ever know.  Yet God loves all of you the SAME way.  God’s love for me doesn’t mean there’s any less for you; God’s love for you doesn’t mean there’s any less for me.

And that love is with us no matter how well we’ve done, or how far we’ve fallen.  This may not seem fair, but it’s a glorious thing.  Because each one of us has times in our lives when we fall, when we fail – when we KNOW we have done wrong.  We feel small, humiliated, weak.  Each one of us has had times when WE are the younger son.

And we have been like the elder son – rigid, perhaps even jaded by events in our lives, only looking at the world with eyes of judgment instead of love and grace.

And in BOTH these times thank God that we are welcomed back by God with arms that embrace instead of reject us.

The world can be cruel, but God is not.  God is love.

Heaven rejoices whenever we, as we sing in our Lenten gospel verse “return to the your God”² again and again and again.  Every time we confess, every time we petition for God’s mercy, there is rejoicing in heaven.

Thank you Lord, for loving us foolishly and recklessly, when it makes no “earthly” sense to do so; thank you that there’s enough of your love to go around for us all; and thank you for loving us SO much that you rejoice whenever we return to you.  Please teach US to rejoice in your gifts of love and mercy, and in the gift you give us of each other.

AMEN.

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¹Matthew 5:24, plus many other texts that speak of our need to forgive one another as God has forgiven us.

²Joel 2:13 – each week our congregation sings a verse from the Bible to introduce the gospel reading.  In Lent, we sing this verse.

 

15th Sunday after Pentecost, 2015

15th Sunday after Pentecost, year B, 2015 (preached 9/6/2015)

first reading:  Isaiah 35:4-7a

Psalm 146

second reading:  James 2:1-17

gospel reading:  Mark 7:24-37

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For vacation this year I spent two weeks traveling around the western area of our country.  I saw some amazing sights – marvels of God, the power of water, the genius of the Native people in living with their environment.

But I also witnessed evil genius.  I also witnessed the power of self-destruction.  I also witnessed greed and egotism on one of the grandest scales I’ve ever seen.

My family experienced the Grand Canyon, Arches, Mesa Verde, and Bryce Canyon National Parks among many other places – and our journey ended in Las Vegas.

I could go on and on about feeling God’s power and majesty in creation – but my thoughts after pondering the readings for this morning are more with Las Vegas.  And those thoughts aren’t near as nice or clean or beautiful.

What we have in our readings this morning are hypocrisy, beggars, and not listening to what Jesus says.  That seems to sum up Las Vegas pretty well.  Except it’s not that easy.

The nickname most of us know for Vegas is “Sin City.”  But after being there a mere two days I came to see it more as “SAD City.”  There were people, including me, who walked past homeless folks on the streets.  There were people bent on self-destruction.  Activities that given the right frame of mind and context are fun and life-giving, but are taken to such extremes that one can only wonder why more people don’t DIE there.

At first I wondered why the pool was only four feet deep and closed at 8pm, then I saw how people were behaving at the pool at 6pm and I knew.  The casinos are open 24 hours.  I only saw them by 9am, but even at that hour they were filled with people staring at their machines with desperation as their cigarettes burned in their fingers.

All in all I felt an overwhelming sadness for these folks, and ANGER too – at the “higher ups” who were benefiting from people’s addictions and desperation.  Evil geniuses that profit from our greed and compulsion to stake it all for the chance to win big.  Anger at the old women who were trying to push “baseball cards” of young “girls for hire” into my husband’s hand as the two of us walked past.

But I only saw there on a grand scale what I see around me in my daily life on a regular basis.

James, in our second reading, calls out our hypocrisy.  Our tendency to play to the money crowd, our accumulation of things, our hoarding of stuff, while we see our neighbors suffering around us.  Jesus himself acknowledges our baser instincts, our attraction to exclusion, our need to think of ourselves as better than others, when he calls the Syrophoenician woman a “dog.”

And we, like the crowds in Jesus’ time, are just as incapable of listening to his words.  To them he said, “don’t tell anyone,” but they couldn’t contain themselves and told EVERYONE.  To us he gives the new commandment to “love one another,” and the mission to “teach all nations,” and what do we do?  We keep it to ourselves, happier to share the latest gossip than our faith, insulted by the instruction of the Church to give of ourselves, our time, and our possessions.

What are we to do when confronted with our sin?  What are we to do when we realize what a mess the world is – and OUR part in making it and keeping it that way?  What are we to do?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

We’re stuck.  We are in bondage to sin and we cannot free ourselves.

WE ARE THE SYROPHOENICIAN WOMAN – unworthy of anything, even the smallest crumb that falls from the table – from THAT table [pointing to the altar] especially.

Depressing isn’t it.  In our “do it yourself” culture, none of us want to hear that we “can’t.”  But there it is, like it or not.

Well, as much as I might not “like” it, I’m also eternally grateful that I’m not left to work out the mess of my life, or anyone else’s, on my own.  I’m grateful I don’t have to rely on my own strength of character or righteousness to get on God’s good side.

Jesus has done all that and more on the cross.

He didn’t give his life for us because we’re good or noble.  He went to the cross for us precisely because we’re NOT. We don’t deserve a place at his table, we don’t even deserve the crumbs from it – yet he invites us, every one of us, to feast on his love and forgiveness.

We are beggars – yet he lifts us up and gives us a place of honor.  We are beggars – yet he carries us through our deepest pains.  We are beggars – yet he gives us hope beyond this life.  We are beggars – yet he gives us strength to meet the day ahead.

We may not be able to do anything to save ourselves, thank God.  But now that we ARE saved, we beggars have a LOT of work to do.  Sure we screw it up.  We fail.  Sometimes we make a real mess of things.  But it doesn’t keep us from working – because we are FREED from the bondage of all our mistakes.  Jesus sees us fall, picks us up, and sends us out again.

That freedom is tremendous, indescribable.  Jesus may have healed the woman’s daughter, he may have healed the deaf man – but how much MORE has he healed and given to you and me?

We go to the casino empty handed.  Not one coin to put in the slot, and yet the owner himself comes up to us and says, “You’ve broken the bank.  You get it all.”  What would we do?  Jump for joy!  Hug everyone around us!  Drinks for everyone!

Jesus does so much more than that.  We get MORE than money – we get our LIVES.  We get LOVE.  We get to SHARE that love without losing any for ourselves.  We get HEAVEN.

HOW can we keep that to ourselves?

Let’s not.

AMEN.

 

2nd Sunday after Pentecost, 2015

2nd Sunday after Pentecost (year B), 2015 (preached 6/7/15)

first reading:  Genesis 3:8-15

Psalm 130

second reading:  2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

gospel reading:  Mark 3:20-35

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There’s an old saying that I’m sure most of us have heard before – “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Our world has changed remarkably in the past one hundred years.  There have been amazing life-changing advancements – we’ve gone from riding on horses to speeding in cars and flying in planes, to sending people into space.

We have cures for diseases that used to threaten and kill.  Technology allows us to see our insides without a doctor having to make a single cut.  Encyclopedias and dictionaries are just about obsolete – if you want to know about something, just google it.

The world is indeed a different place, a changed place, from where it was just a hundred years ago.  And it is most certainly different than it was in the time when Jesus taught the crowds in parables.  And it is almost a completely different world than the one in which Adam and Eve lived.

But – “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Raffaello (1483-1520)

It is true that our outer lives, the stuff that surrounds us, differs dramatically from the time of the first people, but INSIDE, we see in our reading from Genesis, that since the beginning of the world itself, we have NOT changed very much.

All the technology and comforts that surround us have not been able to fix our human, instinctive desire to shirk from responsibility for our bad behavior.

Those of us who are parents, or who have cared for children, know this.  We “catch” children in a “wrong” activity, and one child says, “It’s not my fault, SHE made me do it!”  And the other says, “No, HE made me do it!”  Sound familiar?  Sounds an awful lot like Adam and Eve.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

What do most adults in our day and age do when they are confronted with a fault within themselves, or something they shouldn’t have done?  We try to shift the blame off of ourselves, to move the responsibility for our bad behavior onto another person, or create some reason to excuse ourselves.

Adam – had the ultimate audacity.  He not only pointed the finger at Eve, he point his finger at GOD.

He didn’t just say, “The woman made me do it.”  He said, “The woman, whom YOU gave to be with me made me do it.”  In other words, “If you hadn’t given her to me Lord, I wouldn’t be in this trouble – so it’s really YOUR fault.” Sounds an awful lot like my son!  He also tries to make it MY fault when he does something wrong.

Eve doesn’t do much better.  She may not blame God for her mistake, but she also tries to point the blame elsewhere. “The serpent tricked me.”  “Don’t look at me Lord.  It’s not my fault.  It’s the serpent’s fault.”  Adam and Eve point the finger of blame at everyone but themselves.

But does it work?  Does God excuse Adam because Eve “made” him eat of the tree?  Does God excuse Eve because the serpent tricked her into eating from the tree?  Nope.  God holds all of them, even the serpent, responsible for their behavior, and the role they played in acting out the first sin:  disobedience – going against the direct command of God.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Human nature has changed very little over these thousands of years.  We still do the same, in our society, and even with God – even though we don’t have to.

Why are we so prone to running from our sins, trying to hide them, deny them even to ourselves and to God – when we have a God that is ready and wanting to forgive us?

None of us are without sin, without thoughts and actions we regret, things we wish we hadn’t done.  We confess this every Sunday at the beginning of worship.  “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us,” taken from the first letter of John.

But do we allow the deep meaning of those words to enter our hearts?  Do we use those words to confront ourselves, to humble ourselves before one another and before the Lord?  Or do we say those words and try not to think about it too much, or run from them altogether?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Adam and Eve learned the hard way that we can’t hide from God, and it’s impossible to run from ourselves.  I wonder why, age after age, we have to remind ourselves of this? Why do we run and hide, when through Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of ALL our sins and the gift of eternal life?

As we heard in our second reading, “we know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus.” And, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

What wonderful words.  What wonderful promises.

They should make us unafraid to say, “Yes, I made this mistake.  I was WRONG.  I’m sorry.  Please forgive me.”

But just because the promises should make us unafraid, doesn’t mean they do.  Because – the more things change, the more they stay the same.

When most of us think of the story of The Fall, we think of disobedience – the first sin – but perhaps a large part of it is also DENIAL.

Not the kind of denial that is the deep psychological inability to see something – the denial that is the cover up of what we know is wrong.

Political careers, stardom, and even everyday relationships are killed by that kind of denial – it’s been happening since Adam and Eve.

And it’s a shame, because it doesn’t have to be.

For just as “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” is true of our fallen nature – the more things stay the same is also true of God’s nature – forgiveness, given to us through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

 

forgiveness vs. getting away with

When I was doing my C.P.E. (Clinical Pastoral Education) as a hospital chaplain while in seminary, I was called to see a woman who was described by the nurses on her unit as “depressed.”  She requested a visit from a chaplain, and so I was called.  All I knew about the woman when I walked into her room was that she had been in a terrible automobile accident and had been a patient for about a month.

After introducing myself and exchanging some social niceties I asked her why she wanted to see a chaplain.  She proceeded to tell me the story of her accident.  She had been drunk and had caused the accident which brought her to the hospital.  She had extensive injuries and some setbacks as she was trying to recover and she was convinced that God was punishing her for drinking and driving.  She was desperate to get back “right” with God, and would I help her with that?

I’ve been thinking about this woman a lot the last few days since the “Duggar situation” has exploded. Why? Because the pastoral/theological counsel I gave to her is exactly the same as my reaction to those who say that we should just move on from this – that Josh Duggar confessed, asked forgiveness, received forgiveness from those he abused (although I seriously have doubts about forgiveness granted so quickly by minors and family members!), and has been forgiven by God.

In some ways the situations are polar opposites – this woman being convinced God was punishing her, and those who advocate for Josh Duggar who say that he’s forgiven so we should just move on as if nothing happened (after all, it happened so long ago).  But the statement I gave to this woman, and how we “unpacked” it, and the statement I would put forth to those who advocate for Josh Duggar are the same:  there is a difference between divine forgiveness and getting away with something.  God’s forgiveness often runs a completely different path than earthly consequences.

I assured the woman in that hospital bed that God was NOT judging or punishing her.  She made a bad decision by drinking and driving and paid earthly consequences for her actions – she got in an accident, and had legal ramifications for breaking the law that were still forthcoming.  But God’s love for her was constant throughout, and God loved her even in that moment.  Indeed God grieved for her suffering.  She knew she made a mistake, she confessed the mistake (repeatedly), and I reassured her God’s forgiveness was real and that God wanted her healthy again, not languishing in judgment and physical pain.

I would say to Josh Duggar and those quick to move on that he too has been forgiven.  God was deeply grieved and angered by his actions of abuse, but Jesus died for him just as Jesus died for me.  His slate in heaven is clean. HOWEVER, just as with the woman above – there are earthly consequences for his actions.  The statute of limitations ran out so that legal ramifications were no longer possible (although one wonders if that would have been the case if his father and church leaders had gone to authorities in a TIMELY manner instead of waiting so long!) – so instead the ramifications seem to be a loss of reputation in a VERY public way.  And since he saw fit to be a public personality, loss of reputation in a public way is a logical consequence, the price for putting his life on television.

As for his parents?  They too are paying an earthly consequence for their cover-up.  Their salvation is not in question. Perhaps if they had dealt with their son’s actions, again, in a timely manner, and if they had gotten the victims (some of whom were their own daughters!) and their son REAL counseling – instead of punishing Josh with “hard labor” and a “stern talking to” and expecting the girls to “forgive,” this situation wouldn’t have exploded like it has.  They too have lost credibility and now have lost their show.   For them it is the earthly consequence for their “mishandling” and what boils down to a cover-up.

Some of the exploding has to do with the sick and twisted theology to which this family adheres.  The self-righteousness and purity culture, the patriarchy and the subjugation of women are a ripe breeding ground for sexual and physical abuse.  Men get free reign and women are expected to “take it” because the men are truly in charge. Women are discouraged from working outside the home and even from going to college.  They have no positions in church leadership.  They are expected to tolerate physical abuse from their husbands, and for them there is no such thing as spousal rape.  But all this is a topic for another post which I’m not sure I have the stomach to write…

What I wanted to do here was explain that, yes, Josh Duggar can receive God’s forgiveness for his actions – but that doesn’t mean there won’t be earthly consequences for his illegal behavior.  His parents may be forgiven for their “inaction” but are also paying an earthly price.

There is a difference between divine forgiveness and getting away with something.  Josh and his parents have been forgiven, but they have also gotten away with something for more than ten years – so perhaps the uproar is just the interest on their earthly debt….

3rd Sunday of Easter, 2015

3rd Sunday of Easter, year B, 2015 (preached 4/19/15)

first reading:  Acts 3:12-19

Psalm 4

second reading:  1 John 3:1-7

gospel reading:  Luke 24:36b-48

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The days after Easter must have been chaotic and troubling for Jesus’ followers.  We have several accounts like last week’s and today’s readings, where the presence of the resurrected Jesus among the disciples cause fear and doubt and confusion.

We can only imagine how they must have felt.  How would YOU feel if someone you loved and believed dead suddenly appeared before you?

Some of us might be convinced that we had gone MAD – others that we must have eaten or smoked something funny, other, that we must be dreaming, and other might believe we were seeing an angel or a ghost.

We’ve had movies and tv shows with these kinds of storylines – remember “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” “Touched by an Angel,” “Ghost,” and “Highway to Heaven?”

But this was no angel, no apparition.  This was a dead man come back to life, and we read the disciples were “startled” and “terrified.”  Jesus understood that he needed to show his followers he wasn’t a ghost or an angel.  He needed to show them that he was real flesh and blood.  And how did he do this? He ATE.

The One who had shared the Passover with his disciples as a farewell meal, was now joining them in everyday food!

But Jesus intended more than simply proving that he was a real LIVE person.  He began to tell them again the purpose of him being human in the first place.  And the end of his work on earth, Jesus was now bringing the disciples to the place where they would begin their work.

We read in verses 45-47:  “Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.'”

In this statement, Jesus highlights three important things.

• First, that he IS the Messiah, and that his death and resurrection are not only real, but also the way God is bringing healing and reconciliation to the earth.

Jesus was a real man, died a real death for you and me, and was resurrected.  Through his sacrifice we are made part of God’s family – as we read in the first letter of John today – we are God’s children, and brothers and sisters of one another.

• The second point Jesus makes is that repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be proclaimed.

This would be a new twist on an old theme.  The disciples knew the Jewish practice of calling for repentance.  We have good examples of this all through the Old Testament prophets through John the Baptist.  But Jesus had the authority to do more than just preach repentance – he proclaimed FORGIVENESS.

Now that Jesus is risen, repentance and forgiveness will always go together, and God’s forgiveness becomes the pivotal piece of a disciple’s proclamation.

• Thirdly, Jesus tells us that this word, HIS word, is to go to all nations.

The word of repentance and forgiveness, Jesus’ act on the cross, does not belong only to the Hebrew nation, even if it begins there.  There is no birthright involved or at stake.  The word about Jesus, and what God has done for us through Jesus goes out to all people – of every race and nationality, every age, every economic and social class.  The message of the gospel is for EVERYONE.

Jesus proclaimed the gospel of God’s love – of repentance and forgiveness, throughout his earthly ministry. The distinction that is made after the resurrection, is that the Word Jesus brought, the Word Jesus IS, and its proclamation, now belongs to his followers – YOU and ME.

At first it was Jesus’ work, but after his resurrection and ascension, he passed on that work to all of us who follow him. Jesus became human like us, died and rose for us, so that the Word of God could be proclaimed IN, AMONG, and FROM the people of God.

Jesus wants us not only to love him, but also to love each other.  God wants people not only to repent, but to know that they’re forgiven.

Now, I would bet that the average Christian doesn’t necessarily think of him or herself as a proclaimer.  But Jesus makes it clear in this passage that the work of proclaiming belongs to all those who follow him.  We have the gift of salvation, not to hoard it or keep it to ourselves, but so that we may share it with others.  And we are made proclaimers through gift of Holy Baptism.

But what does it mean to be a proclaimer?

Many people think, “Sunday sermon,” or “pastor’s job.”  And that’s true, but that’s only one kind of proclaiming.  You and I proclaim God in countless ways everyday.

When a neighbor is helped – in a soup kitchen or food pantry, by a nail hammered in home repair, a ride to the doctor, a kind word for a young mom or dad struggling with a toddler at the grocery store, standing with someone being bullied, praying for the sick, giving a much needed hug – the list goes on and on.

This is proclaiming Jesus’ love through our actions.  A saying attributed to St. Francis goes something like: “Proclaim the gospel, when necessary use words.”

But there are also words – when we share how much God has done for us, how much Jesus’ love impacts our lives – you don’t need a fancy theological degree to do that!

In this Easter season, may we all be moved by Jesus’ love for us, and also moved by his words to us today:  “that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations…”

AMEN.

 

I’m sorry

It was a snowy Saturday afternoon and the streets had not yet been plowed.  At around 5pm my teenager asked me if I could drive her to her boyfriend’s house.  I looked at her incredulously.  “Don’t you know it’s snowing out?  The roads haven’t even been plowed.  Plus it’s getting dark and it’s only getting colder.  I’m sorry honey, but not tonight.”

My teenager is an awesome person.  She is so caring, so kind, always looking out for the marginalized, always rooting for the underdog.  She is often wise beyond her years.  But then she does something that reminds me she is still only a teenager, with normal wild teenage hormones and developmentally appropriate selfishness.  Problem is, I still haven’t figured out when I will welcome the one and have to brace myself for the other!

Suddenly I was being attacked.  I was unreasonable, unfair.  She hadn’t seen her boyfriend all week and couldn’t I understand?  Didn’t I care?  I kept my cool, repeated myself and told her I honestly felt bad about it but our minivan isn’t great in the snow and the driving would only get worse – I was sure the roads would be better tomorrow and I would happily drive her to visit him then.  But for some reason, my comments only exacerbated the situation and she became even more worked up.  Now, I was being told (loudly!) that I never did anything for her, and she stormed away from me, went to her bedroom and slammed the door.  I had been hit with the developmentally appropriate selfish monster.  wow.

My parenting style is quite different from the one I grew up with.  I wasn’t allowed to express anger towards my parents, what they said was law and that was the end of it.  I wanted my children to have something different.  I didn’t want them to be afraid to be angry – at anyone.  So, once in a while in our house things will get loud – and I’m ok with that.  We DO have certain rules of respect – ways we can talk (and NOT talk) to each other – but as long as we stay within those parameters my husband and I generally let things play out.  The other behavior we try to model for our children is confession and forgiveness.  Our children know we are not perfect.  I’ve been saying I’m sorry to my kids about stuff since they were babies.  In my sermon on Ash Wednesday last week I challenged the popular phrase, “love means never having to say you’re sorry,” with the truth, which is, “love means having to say you’re sorry A LOT.”  If we love someone, and we’ve hurt them in some way, even if we couldn’t avoid it, it’s important to acknowledge it, and ask for forgiveness if called for, or have compassion for their feelings if we stand by our actions.  Of course, since we’re religious folks, we’re also modelling a good faith practice – you know, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us….

• Sometimes I’m sorry is an offering of confession and request for forgiveness. “I know I did something wrong and I hope you forgive me.”
• Sometimes I’m sorry is an offering of compassion and consolation.  “I know you’re hurt or angry about what I did/said, and although I stand by it, I do care for you and feel badly, and want to be here for you,” or simply “I’m sorry for your loss.”

In this case, there was nothing I could do for my daughter.  The I’m sorry I said to her at the beginning of this story fell into the second category.  I really did feel badly that I couldn’t take her, but I would not be changing my mind and driving on dangerous roads.  I made a decision that caused her hurt, and I couldn’t change the situation.   I offered her compassion but she got angry with me and lashed out.

About a half hour later my daughter came into my bedroom quietly, looked me in the eye and said, “I’m sorry I got angry with you before.”  THIS was an example of the first I’m sorry – confession and forgiveness.  Internally I was cheering for her bravery and maturity, and at having a part in the raising of this amazing young woman – YES!  Externally I remained calm and replied, “Thank you.  I really do feel badly you can’t see him tonight, and I WILL take you tomorrow.”  I accepted her confession, she accepted my compassion, and we were reconciled.  (And she DID see her boyfriend the next day!)

For the record, the first kind of I’m sorry is MUCH harder to do!  It takes courage to admit when we’re wrong.  It takes trust to acknowledge to another person that we have done/said/acted in a way that hurt them.  It takes humility to place ourselves before another and ask for pardon.  It’s risky!  What if they say no?  What if they take our confession and toss it back in our face?  What if they don’t believe our sincerity?  What if they hurt me in return? In the second instance the one who causes the hurt still has control and power – but in the first instance, in confession, we relinquish power and control.

When we confess, we make ourselves vulnerable.

Certainly I’m sorry is a hope for reconciliation with the other, but it begins with our desire to take responsibility.  So, even if the other person isn’t ready to forgive, we have taken the first step (acknowledgment of wrong) and opened up the possibility of dialog and restoration.  In our walk of faith there may indeed be times when our confession is rejected by the other.  It’s not a good feeling, but in that instance we need to focus on our confession and willingness to repent instead of the person’s reaction.  We need to pray for them in their journey of healing, because forgiveness is important to both parties – the one who commits the offense and the one who is hurt.  If there is reparation to be done in order for reconciliation to happen, then we do it.

Above all, we need to remember that while forgiveness in human relationships may be risky and imperfect, divine forgiveness is NOT.  There may be earthly consequences for our actions.  This is part of making amends.  There may be times we’ve hurt people and the relationship cannot be saved.  But our relationship with God is one of eternal love.  God certainly isn’t happy with us when we sin, especially when that sin causes harm to our neighbor.  But God is always present to hear and accept our confession, and to grant us absolution.  The human party may not be ready to grant forgiveness, but God always is.  And unlike human relationships that may be permanently broken, our relationship with God is forever, through no doing of our own.

One of disciplines of Lent is repentance (remorse or contrition for past conduct or sin).  As we practice this discipline in our lives, I hope we take special notice of all the I’m sorrys we hear – the ones we speak, and the ones spoken to us.  It really is an amazing thing – I’m sorry – it holds so much power to reconcile and restore – both in our human relationships and in our relationship with God.

Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made, and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent.  Create in us new and honest hearts, so that, truly repenting of our sins, we may receive from you, the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen. (prayer for Ash Wednesday)

2nd Sunday of Advent, 2014

2nd Sunday of Advent, year B, 2014 (preached December 7, 2014)

first reading:  Isaiah 40:1-11

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

second reading:  2 Peter 3:8-15a

gospel reading:  Mark 1:1-8

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In our gospel reading this morning we hear, “I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way.”  St. Mark tells us that this messenger is John the Baptizer.

Through his preaching and baptizing, he made people ready to receive the One who would come after him, about whom he says, “I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.”  John is the baptizer, the announcer, the preparer – sent by God to make the way for Jesus the Christ.

The word “Advent” means arrival.  This reading tells us about Advent in the past tense – how John prepared the people for the arrival and ministry of Jesus.  But how can this reading apply to Advent in the present?

What does it say to us, who in this season of meditation and anticipation, are trying to find new ways of inviting the Lord into our life today?

Scholar Reginald Fuller states, “The Church must allow John the Baptist to perform his distinctive ministry of forerunner in its midst today.  How is he to do this?  By the preaching of repentance.  Unless people are first convicted of sin, they cannot know the need for a Savior.” (Preaching the Lectionary, 2006. p. 208)

Have we been convicted of our sin?  Have we come to the realization that we are far from perfect creatures, and NOT the Creator?

As Christians we need to be constantly aware of our sinfulness and brokenness.  That was the calling of John the Baptist.  He held up a mirror for each person to look at to see their true selves – the kind of mirror that strips away all the makeup, all the images we put on to make ourselves look better on the outside.

And what needed to be done 2,000 years ago still needs to be done today.

In some churches there is little talk of sin.  But how can God’s grace mean anything to us unless we recognize how much we are utterly dependent upon that grace?

Confronting our sin is not popular, it doesn’t make us feel good.  It strips us of all “holier than thou” pretenses, all notions that we’re better than anyone else.

This is so necessary for a life of faith, this is why confession is SO important, to strip ourselves bare before God, who sees us naked anyway, so that we can experience the freedom that comes with forgiveness.

Because we’re called to repentance, not so God can lord it over us, hold our sins against us and keep us down.  John the Baptist called the people to repentance for the FORGIVENESS OF SINS.

We need to confront and confess our sinfulness, come to repentance, so that we can experience in a profound way, the love and forgiveness that God offers to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

This is the good news – not our sinfulness, but God’s boundless, all-encompassing love for you and me.

In our Old Testament reading we have a wonderful image of God – and the last two verses are quite meaningful.  Isaiah gives us an image of God’s awesome power and how it’s used.

“See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”  God sounds like a real tough guy.  Watch out for this God – he means business.

But that’s not the end.  In the very next verse Isaiah explains how God uses this power – the power of his arm.  We read, “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.”

God has the power to crush us – but loves us in spite of all the mistakes we have made and will make in the future.  God is loving, forgiving, merciful, kind and gentle to all the sheep.  This can give us comfort and strength as we examine ourselves, as we realize our sin and how much we need the grace of God.

I’d probably be negligent if I didn’t mention the unrest and protests that have occurred across the country in light of the events in Missouri and New York.  Hard to look at God’s model of power and NOT think of it.

God uses God’s power, not to crush, but to bring love – this is the ultimate example of the use of power for us – whether we are in law enforcement, involved in protest, or watching and wondering how to respond.

I think if all sides could come together and acknowledge their mutual sinfulness, both institutional and individual – if WE could each examine OUR hearts and how we treat one another – it would go a long way toward bringing real peace and justice to all our communities.

When John the Baptist says, “The One who is more powerful than I is coming,” he means the One who uses his power for love.

When John the Baptist says, “I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals,” he is talking about the One who stooped down and untied the disciples’ sandals, and even washed their feet.  God’s love for you and me knows no bounds, it goes the extra mile and beyond our greatest expectations – and this isn’t just good news, it’s the best news of all.

But how will people know this best of all news?  How will the ministry of John the Baptist be carried out today?  How can people come to confession and repentance so that they can know how far God has gone to love them?

Through you and me.  WE are the Church.  WE have the mission to carry on where John left off.

But not to talk about sin so that we can beat people down.  Not to talk about sin so that we can pass judgement.

But to talk about sin, to acknowledge it, so that we can experience the awesome forgiveness of God that is waiting for each one of us, to make us free.

AMEN.

All Saints’ Sunday, 2014

All Saints’ Sunday, year A, 2014 (preached on November 2, 2014)

first reading:  Revelation 7:9-17

Psalm 34:1-10, 22

second reading:  1 John 3:1-3

gospel reading:  Matthew 5:1-12

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water and the Word

In our adult forum this morning, we continued our discussion about the sacrament of Holy Baptism.  We reviewed what is taught in our catechism regarding this most precious gift of Christ – that through it we receive 1)forgiveness of sins, 2)deliverance from death and the devil, and 3)eternal salvation, as the Word and promise of God declare.

We are taught that it signifies that the “Old Adam in us… should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance and be put to death, and that the new man should come forth daily and rise up, cleansed and righteous, to live forever in God’s presence.”

Baptism is that THING, the promise, that we return to again and again throughout our lives – that though it happens only once, is drawn upon continuously.  Every time we are bold enough to ask God to forgive us, we are doing nothing less than returning to and remembering the promise God made to us in Holy Baptism.

One of my favorite passages from Luther is found in his Large Catechism in the section on Baptism:  “To appreciate and use Baptism aright, we must draw strength and comfort from it when our sins or conscience oppress us, and we must retort, ‘But I am baptized!  And if I am baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life….  No greater jewel, therefore, can adorn our body and soul than Baptism…”

You may be asking yourself, “Why all this quoting Luther, when Reformation Sunday was LAST week?”  “Why all this talk about Baptism on All Saints’ Sunday?”  “Why talk about the happy occasion of Baptism on what many consider to be the very somber day of All Saints’?”

Well, we need to start by remembering the true meaning of these things.  I stated a few moments ago that the gifts of Holy Baptism are forgiveness, deliverance from death, and eternal salvation.  Baptism into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is our only key to the gate of heaven.  The feast of All Saints, while somber in remembering those we have lost for now, is really a celebration of their passing through that gate of heaven.

We may approach this feast with grief, but it is grief mingled with hope and comfort.  The hope and comfort written in Revelation, when there is no more hunger or thirst, and when God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.  The hope of the psalm that the Lord delivers us, and that we will lack for nothing that is good, and not be punished.  The hope written in the first letter of John, that we ARE God’s children, and we will be like him.  The hope we receive from Jesus himself in the beatitudes – receiving comfort, mercy, blessings and the kingdom of heaven.

The feast of All Saints is also a day NOT just to remember the blessed dead, but the saints of here and now – celebrating the life you and I and all the baptized live in faith.  And we live that life beginning with our baptism.

We remember all those we loved who have gone before us, and it is good and proper to do.  But to completely observe the feast we also need to hold up a mirror and see ourselves – for we too are saints.  Saints who still sin, but saints nonetheless.  We are made saints through the water and the Word – in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

For this reason, All Saints’ Sunday is one of the principle baptismal feast days of the church’s liturgical calendar – along with the Vigil of Easter, Pentecost and the baptism of our Lord – it is a time the Church says is especially good to bring people into the kingdom through the sacrament.

The gift of baptism we receive through Christ unites us with St. Peter, St. Lucia, St. Hildegard of Bingen, St. Martin Luther, St. Henry Muhlenberg, St. Anna Obernier (my great-grandmother), St. Aaron (my father-in-law), and St. Harold – our brother in Christ who entered the Church Triumphant in February.

Our baptism unites us to all these saints of the past, and unites us as believers in the here and now, as we gather together to worship, learn, and serve God and one another.

All Saints’ Sunday reminds us that we are part of this great communion of saints that we confess in the creeds.  It also reminds us that our faith is more than a one-on-one relationship with Jesus, but that our baptism also connects each of us to the other.

Our baptism intimately unites the past with the present AND the present with the future.

What tremendous gifts Jesus has given us, to forgive and free us, and to promise us a place with him forever – to reunite us with those who have gone before, so that as St. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians, even though we may grieve, we do so with HOPE.

Today, we remember those who have died in the Lord, not with despair, but with a sadness mixed with joy.  Today, we look at our own lives and are strengthened by knowing that even though we still sin and fall short, we are part of a forgiven people, each one of us saints in the here and now.

And we are made saints through the sacrament of Holy Baptism.  For in this great gift God binds God’s self to us, and we are bound to one another as brothers and sisters – now and forever.

As we sing in today’s great hymn:  “Oh blest communion, fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine.  Yet all are one within your great design.  Alleluia!  Alleluia!”

AMEN.

15th Sunday after Pentecost, 2014

15th Sunday after Pentecost, year A, 2014 (preached Sept. 21, 2014)

first reading:  Jonah 3:10-4:11

Psalm 145:1-8

second reading:  Philippians 1:21-30

gospel reading:  Matthew 20:1-16

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I gave birth to three people and have lived with them for almost 15, 11 and 8 years now.  I have lived with my husband for almost 20 years, and I’ve been alive for almost 49.  So I have a LOT of experience with whining, sulking and grumbling.  I have a LOT of experience with classic temper tantrums.

And I have found that most of the sulking, whining, grumbling and tantrums start with the feeling of being wronged.  Something’s not right with the expected order.  Something is not fair.

As a parent, there are times when I’ve watched a tantrum play out and feel real sympathy for my children as they struggle to learn one of life’s painful lessons.  Other times as I watch a tantrum play out I think, “Get over it already.  You can’t always get what you want.”

But when it’s you having the tantrum, when it’s you sulking and grumbling about fairness, it’s hard to tell if those around you should be sympathetic or annoyed.  We’re almost always convinced of the rightness of our cause and don’t want to be told we’re wrong or to “get over it.”

But today we have two examples of God telling us precisely that – “Get over it.”

Why God chose Jonah to be a prophet I’ll never understand.  He didn’t want to preach to the people of Ninevah.  God had to swallow him up and spit him out before he would go.  Then afterwards, when the people repented and God forgave them, Jonah had a classic temper tantrum.  Not the kicking and screaming toddler kind, but the ranting and raving, sulking and pouting, “just let me die” drama queen kind.

When those happen in my house I have very little patience.  When I’m the one having that kind of tantrum, it’s hard to see reason.

Truth be told, sometimes in life, we can’t see reason.  Sometimes decisions and events are just the prerogative of folks higher up.  Sometimes those decisions can affect us in very traumatic ways – but other times those decisions don’t affect us at all, they just offend our sense of fairness.

THIS is the kind of tantrum Jonah has, and God has little patience with it.  This is also the kind of tantrum the laborers in our gospel reading have.  And again, God has little patience with it.

God decides to forgive the people of Ninevah.  The landowner decides to give ALL the workers the same wage.

Neither of these decisions has any negative consequence for anyone.  Nothing bad will happen to Jonah as a result of Ninevah being spared.  Nothing bad will happen to the workers who labored all day in the field – they’ll get paid what they were promised, which is a GOOD thing.

Yet the people bitterly complain and throw their adult-type temper tantrums because it’s not FAIR.

They’re angry because people they don’t like or don’t think deserve anything earthly or heavenly are getting rewarded.  Jonah feels like he’s better than the Ninevites, the all-day workers think they’re better than the late-comers.  God basically says, “Enough!  It’s none of your business!”

Have you ever said or heard the statement, “My house, my rules?”  God says to Jonah, “My city, my rules.  If you can be concerned about a BUSH, why can’t I be concerned about THOUSANDS of people?”  Jesus has the landowner say, “My vineyard, my rules.  It’s my money, I’ve paid you what I promised, why should you be angry because I’m generous?”

We often get angry when we perceive an inconsistency in the rules of fairness.  But God’s fairness, God’s math if you will, isn’t about:  “Good deeds – bad deeds = the possibility of salvation.” God’s math is “Sin + grace = salvation.”

Ninevah was a bad place with bad people and when they repented God wiped that slate clean.  The landowner’s agreement was for the workers to be paid a full wage at the end of the day, no matter when they started.  No matter when we come to faith, whether at 5 or 95 – our reward, our GIFT of heaven is the same.

When we really think about it, thank GOD.  Really, thank God that God doesn’t play by our human rules of fairness.

Thanks be to God for generosity, for grace, for mercy, for loving us when we don’t deserve it, for forgiving us when we don’t deserve it.  Thanks be to God for wiping OUR slate clean through Holy Baptism and giving us a new start each day, and an eternal new start when our time on earth is done.  Thanks be to God for the self-sacrificing, most unfair act of all in the gift of Jesus, who offered himself for our sinful selves.

When I have snapped at my husband, or yelled at my children, when I’ve disappointed someone here at church, when I haven’t stepped up to the plate at my kids’ schools, when I haven’t called my mother in a week – – I am SO thankful God doesn’t play by our rules.  When I cut someone off in traffic, when I’m short with the customer service representative on the phone, when I envy those who appear more successful, wealthy or powerful than me – I am so thankful that God doesn’t play by our rules.

In truth, when we tantrum over unfairness, it’s usually because we perceive OTHERS, those people, them, as having received special treatment – like the Ninevites or the late-coming laborers in the vineyard.

What we often FAIL to see is that WE are the Ninevites, WE are the late-comers.  We are the ones receiving the special treatment.  WE are THEM.

In every moment, you and I are in need of God’s UNFAIRNESS.  Every moment you and I are in need of God’s cleansing grace and mercy.

Thank you God for putting up with our temper tantrums,  and for being so unfair – with the Ninevites, the late-comers, and with us.

AMEN.