Unconfinable God: December 24, 2023

 Year B, Advent 4                       2 Samuel, 7:1-11, 17 & Luke 1:26-38, 46-55

                Being a prophet has got to be a horrible job.  In our Old Testament reading, we hear from the prophet Nathan for the first time.  It’s already clear that he has a rough road ahead of him.  The new king, chosen by God, mentioned to Nathan what seemed like a reasonable idea—the ark of God needed a real home.  King David had this lovely house of cedar (which was very opulent at the time) and the ark of God was sitting in a tent.  I mean, that’s just embarrassing.  Nathan affirmed the idea by saying, “the Lord is with you.”  Don’t forget, God had chosen King David. He had pulled him out of obscurity.  Why wouldn’t Nathan affirm his idea? 

Alas, that was a mistake. On the same day as that conversation with David, the Lord came to Nathan and told him in no uncertain terms that he didn’t want a temple.  The Lord never asked for a temple.  He liked to move among the people.  He didn’t want to be confined.  But then God added later (and this boggles my mind) that while he didn’t want King David to build him one, perhaps the King’s unborn son would build him a temple after King David died.

            Nathan had the rather unfortunate task of telling King David that God didn’t want David building him a house.  Now you might think, well that shouldn’t upset David too much.  It would have been a difficult task with a high price tag.  Why undertake that kind of project if God was happy with his tent?  There might have been some self-interested reasons for King David’s building project.  Building a temple was a sign of great piety and also a way to gain political capital.  Building a fancy temple made the new king appear powerful.  Not only that but the temple guaranteed God’s presence.  And if God was with them, then all things were possible.  The future was limitless.  But…that is not what God wanted.

            That must have been an uncomfortable conversation for Nathan to have with the with the new king.  Fortunately, God provided some good news that would hopefully soften the blow.  God said, don’t worry about making me a house---"the Lord will make you a house.  Your house and your kingdom shall be made forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.”  Not only does that display an incredible love for David and his future family, it also shows that God’s house isn’t a place---it’s a family…it’s the people of God. 

            But it’s almost Christmas…why is the priest talking about King David and Nathan when she could be talking about the Angel Gabriel and the Magnificat? Why? Because these stories are all connected.  King David’s son built an incredible temple.  It lasted for over 400 years before it was destroyed by the Babylonians.  After the Babylonians, they built another, less impressive temple, that was still in place when Jesus was alive.  But that was not the home that God chose. 

The Gospel of Luke tells the story of God’s newest home.  This one wasn’t in the Davidic Dynasty (although Joseph was part of the house of David), but this home was in the womb of a young woman.  She didn’t come from royalty.  She had no special status.  In fact, we know almost nothing of Mary…except the most important thing, she was chosen by God. She was considered highly favored---which can also be translated to full of grace.  God chose a young woman, a girl really, to be the newest temple—the newest house of God. 

            Much has been made of the fact that she was young, unwed, and someone who had little money or status.  This choice should not surprise us as it is totally characteristic of God.  When God chose David to be king, he was a shepherd.  God chose him not only to be king, but to be the head of the household of God.  God has always refused to be confined by our expectations.  God defies our expectations. 

Of course Mary’s body was only the home of God for 9 months. After that, Jesus found homes with all kinds of people.  He worshipped in the temple---the official house of God.  He was a regular attendee of the temple.  But he spent most of his time wandering from place to place.  In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  This was not said as a lament.  It was in response to someone who wanted to follow him.  He was saying that the person was welcome to follow him, but there would be no permanent home. Jesus would not be confined.

            Despite the fact that the God we read about in the Old Testament and Jesus refused to be confined, it’s amazing how desperate we are to confine our God. Sometimes it’s to a place, but more often, it’s to our expectations or narrow definitions.  Voltaire once said, “In the beginning God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since.”  To some extent that’s a natural thing to do.  Most people have limited imaginations and we assumes that others---even the divine---think and work like us.

Fortunately, that’s not true.  The person who did have an imagination was Mary.  In the Magnificat she proclaimed, “He has shown the strength of his arm, he scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich he has sent away empty.”  Actually, for Mary, it wasn’t so much imagination, it was faith.  She had read the Holy Scriptures.  She knew that God was a God of justice and mercy.  We heard it in our reading from Isaiah last week.  But unlike so many others, she had not relinquished hope.  That was what made her different.  Many people knew the character and love of God, but she understood what that meant for her and her people. 

Often at this time of year, we focus on sweet baby Jesus in the manger.  We talk about the miracle, the angels and the star.  All of those images are important.  But our readings for this morning reminds us to look beyond those more sentimental images and remember that the God we worship is a God who refuses to be confined and who wants to see beyond our limited imaginations.  To dream like the prophets and to read the glorious Magnificat, and wonder what it means for us today. We, the people of God, are called to bring our unconfinable God beyond the church walls, into all parts of our community and world—to be not just a light that shines down on us in this holy day and night, but a light that shines on all, that reaches all people

Dreams, Nostalgia and Joy: Dec 17, 2023

 Year B, Advent 3                            Psalm 126                                                   

    Today is unofficially known as Gaudete Sunday---which is Latin for Joy—Joy Sunday. Upon hearing the readings, you probably noticed a shift in tone from the last several weeks.  We also light the pink candle to signify this movement toward joy and I get to wear my pink stole which my last church gave me because I kept threatening to turn everything pink on the 3^rd Sunday of Advent.  I wasn’t actually going to do that, but I liked to see the panic that flickered across their faces before I admitted I was kidding.  Plus, I just really like pink.

The readings are definitely more joyful this week.  Not a single person gets sent into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Nothing is consumed in fire and it doesn’t appear that anyone is even yelling.  But these texts aren’t coming from a Hallmark Christmas movie, the references to joy are a little more nuanced.  While Psalm 126 uses the word joy 3 times and certainly carries elements of hope, that hope is wrapped in lament.

“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."  Notice the use of the past tense. Then…then were we like those who dream…then was our mouth filled with laughter. It sounds almost nostalgic.  But it’s clearly more than that.

The church has always been great at talking about the past.  The first church I served at was 100 years old.  They talked just as much about the past as the 413 year old church I just came from.  And of all the wonderful stories that could have been told…do you know what era I heard the most about—the 1960s.  This is partly because many of the members still remembered the 1960’s.  But also because that was when the churches (all churches) were bursting at the seams. During the 1950s, church membership grew at a faster rate than the population itself.  It was a rate of growth that was unprecedented and never seen again.  But for those who had been around during that time, that was the gold standard and the question was always—how do we get back to that?

Nostalgia is not bad in and of itself.  In fact, while nostalgia can often be associated with sadness or loneliness, nostalgia also acts as a defense against unhappiness.  It can bring relief to a negative mood.[1]  Yet sometimes, especially in churches, I fear that nostalgia can hold us back.  It’s a safe place, but our faith is supposed to challenge us…not merely comfort us.

There are examples in the Bible of nostalgia holding people back.  After Moses led the people out of slavery, they were in the wilderness and there was a lot of complaining and even reminiscing about how great life was when they were enslaved. In the Book of Numbers they said, “‘If only we had meat to eat!  We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.’” There were times when they would have returned if Moses has been willing.  Nostalgia confines us to what we know.  There is no room for dreaming with nostalgia.

That’s why I don’t think this Psalm is about nostalgia.  It’s about hope. “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.” They were dreamers.  They were remembering a time when they could dream, when their mouths were filled with laughter.  They weren’t remembering when they all had nice houses and good food.  They weren’t remembering when their places of worship were beautiful and full. 

The joy that the psalmist speaks of is a joy remembered and a joy anticipated.[2] It’s a joy that doesn’t come from human action, but God’s action.  They know that joy will return because God is faithful.  This psalm portrays the expanse of human experiences. Yes, there are tears, but some of those tears will reap joy. 

It’s more than just the idea, “Well sure, you are sad now, but you will get over it.”  No, it means that the tears we shed can water the dry and parched ground that surrounds us.  Then joy will grow from the tear saturated ground.  “Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.”  This Psalm isn’t intending to minimalize the grief and pain people experience and imply that every heart ache and pain will bring new joy.  We know that is not true.  But with God, we are on holy ground.  That holy ground is littered with seeds of hope.

That’s why we can’t go backwards.  We honor the past.  We learn from it, but it can’t nourish us. We have seeds that need tending now.  We have dreams that we have forgotten. They hover on the cusp of our consciousness just waiting to come out. 

I know that you at Christ Church had a long transition. So many people have mentioned that to me.  That liminal place can be very challenging.  Some of you are still grieving the loss of beloved clergy and some may still be wondering if I am the person who can lead you.  I believe I am that person---the person who can help you till this ground because God has called me to be with you, and you, the people of Christ Church have called me as well.  God wants us all to dream again.  We need to help one another because it’s really easy to get stuck in the weeds and forget that there is something beautiful and holy beyond the weeds.

 It’s challenging to dream and believe that things can be different, even better. Fortunately we are in a place that has a history of dreaming and defying the status quo.  We are on holy ground.  May the joy of Gaudete Sunday nourish us and the ground we tread.  

 

---

[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/03/nostalgia-defense-unhappiness-happy-memories/673320/

[2] James Mays. p. 399

What's Wrong with Holy? December 10, 2023

 Year B, Advent 2                                                                                     2 Peter 3:8-15a                                                                                                   

            This year, I have been eager to get the house decorated as soon as possible.  Typically I drag my feet as I have all this ambivalence about decorating during Advent.  Advent is supposed to be a season in and of itself.  That’s why we don’t sing most Christmas carols during Advent or decorate the church until the 4^th Sunday of Advent.  Then again, I really like Christmas decorations, especially the lights during this time of year when our days are short and the darkness sets in far too early. 

The best picture I could find of our Advent wreath.

This year, I’ve been almost panicked about decorating.  As I was tearing apart boxes in the basement because I had to find our Advent wreath in time for the first week in Advent (even though I had never done that in a timely manner before), I found myself wondering---why the rush? It wasn’t just a rush, I actually felt a little panicked, like if I didn’t find this Advent wreath—baby Jesus would not be born. Then I realized what my panic was really about, I wanted our new house to feel like a home, and what better way to make it feel like a home than Christmas decorations and an Advent wreath?   

            You know what Christians in the 1^st century were feeling a little panicked about?  Maybe panic isn’t the right word.  They were anxious about the fact that Jesus hadn’t returned.   Early Christians believed that Jesus would return in their lifetime.  Before Jesus left, he spoke to them of his return and it would have been natural for them to assume that his return would be imminent.  It would be like a good friend leaving and saying, “See you next time” and then never returning.   By the time 2^nd Peter was written 50-60 years after Jesus was resurrected and ascended, most of his followers had died and people were starting to wonder--- if he hadn’t come back yet, was he ever going to come back?

Before our reading for today, the author refers to the “scoffers”—those who were critical of early Christians—who were questioning the legitimacy of the Christian faith because Jesus had not returned.   That was a real critique at that time and a difficult one to defend against.  The author of Peter was trying to help those who were dealing with that critique.  

I have heard a lot of criticisms of the Christian faith, but none are based in the fact that Jesus has not yet returned.  Christians are worried about a lot of things, but I haven’t met a single one who is worried about Jesus’ return date. That is understandable, because it’s been 2000 years.   We have stopped expecting that Jesus will return in our lifetime.

            While I am glad that is no longer a major concern, I worry that we have lost our sense of urgency.  We have lost the fire. One of the things that motivated early Christians to be good and holy was the idea that Christ was returning to judge the living and the dead.  While we still talk about that final judgment, I doubt it’s a motivating factor in our lives right now.  How many of you, when you are faced with a moral dilemma, factor in God’s imminent return?  Anyone? I know I don’t.

            After Peter writes of the 2^nd coming and refers to everything dissolving into fire, he writes, “Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?”  Forget the fire and everything dissolving for a minute.  Those images, while evocative can distract from the bigger point.  Instead focus on the question: “what sort of person ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness?”  What sort of people are we supposed to be?

When people talk to me about what kind of person they strive to be, they typically use words like good and kind.  Sometimes, someone will use the word spiritual.  But very very rarely (in fact, I am not sure it’s ever happened) has someone told me that they want to live a holy and godly life.   I am not sure I have ever said that about myself and I am a priest.   When we think of holy, we think of objects and sometimes people like Jesus, or the pope.  However, typically when someone is using the word holy to describe a person it comes with a modifier---holier than thou, or a holy roller.  It’s rarely a compliment. Why don’t we want to be holy anymore?

            The literal translation of holy in Greek is to be set apart by or for God.  That’s a problematic description.  Over the years people have taken holy things and holy people and set them apart from the common people.  People thought that holiness needed to be protected, untainted. Therefore, your average person could not possibly be close to that which was holy, let alone be holy.  We stopped striving for that. Sure, we could be in a holy place, but we stopped thinking we could be a holy space ourselves.

            But consider the most holy person of all, Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ was born to a human woman so that he could bring holiness to the people of the earth.  The most holy being of all dwelled in a woman’s uterus.  At the time, child birth was considered unclean by Jewish purity laws.  Women were considered unclean after they gave birth.  For the most holy being of all to enter this world through an unclean process was revolutionary.  It was unimaginable.  That was how important it was to God that people see holy not as a separate thing or person but as deeply connected to every part of our lives.

            Holiness is not being separate, it’s living in a way that we feel at home with God.  That means that wherever we are, whether we are in church, at home, at work, in public transportation, we can feel at home because we know God is present with us. 

            I was so stressed about having our new house look like a home for Advent, that I missed the big picture.  It’s not about how we get our homes ready.  It’s not about how we are doing on our Christmas shopping list. It’s about whether we are ready to be at home with God.  Is there space in our hearts and minds for God’s presence?  If you are feeling frantic (as I am) about being ready, I want to encourage you to take some time to consider how holiness is fitting into your life.  Where is the space for God in your soul? 

If you think you can’t be holy, that you have too much sin, too much baggage…then embrace the confession and the absolution we offer at the beginning of every Advent service.  Read it every day.  Remind yourself that you are holy.  You are a temple and a sacred place.  But it is up to you to embrace the holiness and allow others to witness that holiness in your.  It’s ok to feel panic and stress, but don’t think you can only enjoy this season and time if everything is ready and perfect.   It never will be.  That’s the things about holiness.  It doesn’t depend on our own perfection, it depends on the space we create for God’s holiness (which means we have to let go of our own need for perfection). We were each created to be holy, to be a home for the divine.  I truly believe that if we can embrace ourselves as holy beings, then we will always be ready for the holy one.

When the Gospel Gets Risky: Nov 19, 2023

 Year A, Pentecost 25                                  Matthew 25:14-30                                                                                         

If you were so inclined, you could read 10 different commentaries about this gospel reading and discover 10 different theories about what this text means.  I am not going to pretend to have the definitive answer on what this should mean for you.  But here is what I keep coming back to.  Risk. This is a story about risk and what or who enables us to take risks. 

In our parable for today, we hear about a man who entrusted three slaves with an incredible amount of money. He gave one slave 5 talents, another 2 and another 1.  A talent was a unit of measure and one would have been worth about 20 years wages for an average day laborer.  That’s a significant amount of money to leave a servant or a slave, or really anyone for that matter.  It would seem that this man had a lot of confidence in these three slaves.  This man didn’t provide them much direction. He didn’t tell them what to do with the property or even how long he would be gone.  It just says that he entrusted his property to them. If it were me, I would have wanted a lot more information and direction.

The slave who received 5 talents traded with them and doubled his money.  The slave who was given 2 talents also doubled his money.  Not bad.  The 3^rd slave dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.  When the master returned, he rewarded the slaves who were able to double the money they were entrusted with and the third was punished for…for what? That’s what I am not clear on.  It would be easy to assume that the third slave was punished for not making money, but given that this was Jesus talking, it’s has to be more than that. 

In order to figure out why he was being punished, I kept looking at what the master said to the third slave before he cast him into outer darkness.  However, the answer might be more easily discovered not in the reprimand of the third slave but in the accolade for the first two slaves.  To the first two the master said, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” They were not commended for the money that they made.  They were commended for being trustworthy in what they were given. They had taken what they were given and they had used those things well.

The other clue is in how the 3^rd slave addressed the master. The others met the master by simply saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents, but I have made 5 more talents.”  The 3^rd slave told the man on his return, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.”

            He was afraid of his master.  He perceived him as a harsh man with questionable business practices.   But it would appear from the way the two others addressed the master (and maybe even by the way that they acted in his absence) that they didn’t fear the master.  If they had feared him, they probably would have not had the confidence to take the risks that they did.

Was the master as bad as the slave described him?  It would seem that the master affirmed what the 3^rd slave said, but not necessarily.  The master did not say, “You are right, I am all of those things you said I am.”  No he said, “You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?” It was a question, almost a challenge.   He was challenging the way the slave perceived him. You see, I don’t think the issue was his trust of the slave, as much as the slave’s trust of the master.

The slave was anticipating a harsh and unfair man, and that was what he got.  Because that was what he was anticipating…because that was the master he knew, he didn’t have freedom to actually use what the master gave him.  No, instead he buried it.  He had no desire to serve the master…he simply wanted to keep what had been given secure.  That provided not only security for the talent, but security for him.  His main priority was protecting himself.

            I confess I struggled with the language of slave and master.  But remember, parables were meant to be understood by the people who were hearing them at the time. This would have been familiar language to people in the first century.  Jesus was constantly trying to teach people another way of seeing things.  At the time, many people perceived God as a harsh master who punished without good reason.  But Jesus wanted people to know that God wanted more out of God’s relationship with humanity.  Yes, there is judgment.  The text right after this is the story of God judging those who did not care for the poor and the suffering. 

However, God’s relationship with humanity is more than judgement and punishment.  It’s a relationship that involves trust in God and in ourselves.  God has given us each gifts.  We can look at it more broadly and consider that God has given us the gift of life or love.  Or we can look at it as the unique gifts that we each carry.  I am not sure it matters. The point is that these gifts are meant to be used---sometimes…in ways that challenge us and others.

I am a risk adverse person. I hate taking risks. I definitely don’t do it as much as I should.  If we never take risks, then we are saying that we have no confidence in God’s call to us.  It’s saying that we don’t believe that we can actually be God’s hands and feet on this earth.  It’s saying that we care more about how other people perceive us, then how God judges us.  I am definitely guilty of that. 

You know when I was first working on this sermon, the thing that kept nagging at me was not why this 3^rd slave got punished, but I really wanted to know, what would have happened if he had trusted his master and then lost the money.  That is the question that haunted me.  Do you know why that question was bothering me? Because I just really wanted an excuse not to take a risk. I kept thinking, well of course these other two were rewarded, because they succeeded. And this other was reprimanded because he refused to risk.  But what about the one who took the risk and failed.  What happens to them?  Where are they in this story?

They fail. And then they try again.  I wonder how long the master was gone. I wonder how much money the slaves lost before they gained anything?  Ultimately this is a story about the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ-- when Jesus comes back.  This isn’t a few months we are talking about.  This is a lifetime.  We have a lifetime of opportunities to use the gifts that God has given us, to take risks, to fail, to fail again and maybe eventually to get it right. The only real failure is when we stop trying.  I am talking about us as individuals, but also as a church. If we aren’t taking risks.  If we aren’t failing a little.  We aren’t living the Gospel.

 

 

What God Thinks of Our Worship: Nov. 12 2023

 Year A, Pentecost 24                             Amos 5:18-24                                                                                       

God is awfully grouchy today…at least in our Old Testament reading. None of the readings are warm and fuzzy, but today I want to talk about the most grouchy of them all, Amos.  Not much is known of the prophet Amos.  He lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus and seemed intent on calling out the Hebrew people on hypocrisy and exploitation of the poor.  He was preaching in a period of relative calm which might have led people to be a little more complacent than they should have been. Apparently this period of calm enabled some people to do quite well for themselves….which created more space in the chasm between the very poor and the very rich

            He starts by talking about the day of the Lord.  By itself, “the day of the Lord” can mean a lot of different things.  Here, it probably means the final judgment.  Amos talked a lot about judgment which few Episcopalians like to hear.   Yet God’s role as a judge is all over the scriptures. Most people have a lot of negative associations about judgment.  I think if we were to drill down into our negative feelings about, we will find most of the negative associations come from people judging one another, often unfairly. That was and is not the kind of judging God does.  God’s judgment is fair and merciful.

Amos said that day of the Lord was not a time to be anticipating with joy.  It was a day of darkness.  Why? Because the people Amos was talking to were not following God’s commandments.  According to other parts of Book of Amos, the rights of the poor and marginalized were being trampled. There were human judges who were accepting bribes, which meant the ones who were judged harshly were not those who were the bad operators but those who had no resources.  It would seem that the people who were participating and enabling this corrupt system were supposed to be the followers of the one true God.  They should have known better.  Amos wasn’t the first prophet to tell them they had veered way off course. But they had gotten far too comfortable.

            Then Amos provided a list of the things God detests--their festivals, their solemn assemblies, their animal sacrifices, their feasts, and even their music.  Everything, God was hating every form of worship that they were providing.  Now, I get it that God was angry, but why take it out on worship? It’s not like they were worshipping a golden calf or erecting altars to false gods. This was all the kind of worship that God had asked for.  These were traditions they had been following for years.   It would be like God coming down and saying: I hate Christmas and Easter. I detest your candles and your bells. I really loathe those little hosts you call bread.  And the preaching…please just stop.  I think a few of us would take that personally.  Of all the things to complain about, why would God complain about worship?

            The problem wasn’t the worship itself.  I am sure God didn’t have a problem with harp music.  It seemed that participating in worship and seeking holy places had become and end unto itself.  Earlier is the chapter God said, “Seek me and live, but do not seek Bethel, and do not cross Gilgal or cross over to Beer-sheba.”  It had become too much about the place and the presentation and not enough about just being in God’s presence.  People were isolating their worship to a certain time and place, rather than a state of being.  

Amos was talking to the Hebrew people, but I am sure that Christians have been accused of the same thing.  We occasionally use Sunday worship as a box to check off rather than a place to encounter the holy.  And we’ve seen politicians over the years use their church attendance as proof that they are good and moral, even when their behavior is anything but Christian.  And most of us, have our moments of hypocrisy.  It’s important to acknowledge that. Because if we can acknowledge that and be honest about our own failures, then we can move past them and even improve.  Some people have told me that they are uncomfortable in worship because they are not sure how much they believe and isn’t that hypocrisy? No.  Hypocrisy is when we use worship as a cover or an excuse rather than an attempt to connect with God’s presence. It’s not the same as doubt.

            So fine, God wants more than worship.  What is it?  The very last line is one of the most famous verses of the Bible because it was often quoted by Martin Luther King.  “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.”  I have heard that so often and you know, I have never really thought about what it means.  Why the analogy to water?  Consider the symbol we use for justice in America.  It’s a blindfolded woman holding a set of balances.  It is supposed to indicate impartiality and fairness.  It’s a static symbol.  But the image that Amos depicts is a powerful and cleansing stream.[1]  Water brings life. It also cleanses us. It’s chaotic at times, but when channeled it can do so much good.  God didn’t want justice to be confined to places like courts that administer justice.  God wants us all to be conduits for this life giving water. 

            What about righteousness? That is part of this too.  It’s another word we don’t like because we associate it with self-righteousness.  In the Bible righteousness is more about the relationship between the person and God, or the person and others.  It’s right relationship.  And that makes sense, we can’t be conduits of God’s mercy, love and justice if we aren’t in right relationship with one another, and with ourselves.

            That brings me back to worship.  It’s true that worship should not be the end goal.  We can’t just build and maintain lovely buildings and let God worry about the rest.  Worship is an opportunity to build ourselves up, to be fed and nourished with all we need to face what the world is throwing at us.  I feel like so much of what happens in the world sucks us dry.  It leaves us withered and exhausted.  Yet when I hear the bells, the organ, your beautiful singing.  When I drink from the cup and share the bread with you all, I feel like my parched soul is getting the water it needs.  How can we be conduits for justice and righteousness if we don’t have the water ourselves? The church is also the place where we form relationships, often with people who are different from us.  And maybe each one of us only has a few drops of water to spare….but together we can form that ever flowing stream that Amos prophesied thousands of years ago and the world desperately needs today.   

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[1] Interpretation Commentary: Hosea-Micah. Limburg. Pp. 105-109

Did Jesus have a platform?: October 22, 2023

 Year A, 20 Pentecost                                               Matthew 22:15-22                                                        

At some point in 9^th or 10^th grade, I became obsessed with politics.  I think it was the presidential election that got me interested and living in Northern Virginia, which was so close to Washington DC. I remained obsessed all the way through high school and majored in political science. My honors thesis senior year was on religion and politics. For a long time I have been fascinated by the intersection of religion and politics. One of the things that drew me to the Episcopal Church is the way that it’s governed.  The structure of the Episcopal Church was created at the same time as the structure of the United States government.  It was even created by the same people in the same city---this city. While they were creating that government, they worshipped at this church.        

Despite all of that, I have always been wary of getting too close to politics in the pulpit.  I try to preach the Bible and how it applies to our lives.  Sometimes there is overlap with politics, but I will never tell you how to vote or what I think of our current tax structure. Jesus was willing to confront the political and religious leadership of the day.  He had the right to do that as he had absolute moral authority.  He deserved that right. Well at least that is what we believe now. At the time, very few people thought he had that right.  And you know what’s kind of interesting…when a lot of people hear Jesus’ words today, they perceive them as political. Funny how that is…

This Gospel reading is a familiar one. People like to depict it as Jesus’ definitive stance on the separation of church and state—as if Jesus had a political platform and this was part of it.  “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  The popular interpretation is that Jesus was telling people that there are two spheres with a clear wall in-between them--religion and the government. 

            There are a few problems with this interpretation.  First of all, we cannot compare the political environment of Jesus’ day to ours today…and thank goodness for that.  We live in a democracy, an imperfect democracy, but a democracy none the less.  Jesus was a Jew living in an occupied territory.  Israel was under the control of the Roman Empire. Because they were a people in an occupied territory, they had no rights.  They didn’t get a vote on who their leader was.  Even the Roman citizens didn’t get to choose their leader. They had an emperor—not an elected official. To complicate matters further, the Roman emperor considered himself a god and demanded the devotion of a god. There was no separation of religion and government.  That is impossible when the leader of the government portrays himself as a god. This put the Jews in a very difficult situation because the first commandment is to worship no other god but the one true God. 

            The Romans, while not known for their overall sensitivity, were fairly tolerant of other religions. They knew that the Jewish people would never worship another god.  The Jews would revolt before they did that.  The Romans were able to keep some modicum of peace by not forcing the Jews to worship the emperor.  But they did make them pay taxes…lots of taxes.  Those taxes were controversial because they actually supported the Roman occupation of Israel. The Jewish people were paying to be subjugated.  

In our story for today, there were two groups who came together to challenge Jesus.  We don’t know much about the Herodians.  There is only one other reference to them in the Bible.  People assume they were supporters of Herod who represented the Roman leadership. If that was the case, it was odd that they were teaming up with the Pharisees in trying to trap Jesus.  The Pharisees didn’t usually associate with Herod’s people. It just goes to show how threatening Jesus was to every power structure that existed at the time. 

            They thought that they had the perfect question to trap Jesus. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor?” If Jesus answered the question in a way that indicated that he supported the tax, he would alienate his Jewish followers.  If he said that they shouldn’t pay the tax, he could be accused of rebelling against Rome.  Instead of answering whether it was lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, he asked for the coin…the coin that would be used to pay this particular tax.  He did not have the coin.  The people asking the question did.  That is an important detail to note.

            They brought him a denarius.  It had a picture of the emperor with the inscription: “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus Pontifex Maximus.”  Augustus was a smart man and a very effective emperor.  When he took power, he made himself not only political leader, but a religious one as well.  When he died, he was a declared a god, making his son, the son of god.  It was his son’s picture on the coin.  Even possessing this coin was considered idolatry in the Jewish faith.  It broke the first commandment. The Pharisees should not have even had the coin, but they did.  When Jesus asked for the coin, he was proving that he was not the pawn of the Roman government, they were…especially if they were allying themselves with the Herodians.  Even if they were not pawns, they were certainly complicit.  It was a brilliant way to point out their hypocrisy.

            Jesus’ answer to the question wasn’t clear.  I am not sure he meant it to be.  “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God, the things that are God’s.”  Jesus paid his taxes.  We know that from chapter 17 of Matthew.  We also know it because otherwise he would have been arrested a lot earlier.  It would have been impossible to remain in a land occupied by Rome and not pay taxes.  That doesn’t mean Jesus respected the emperor or agreed with the tax. He just knew that was what he had to do.  The more important part of this response from Jesus is the 2^nd half, the half people don’t quote nearly as often.  “Give  to God, the things that are God’s.” We know (in theory) that everything is God’s.  Everything in creation is God’s.  This isn’t Jesus demarcating a separation between God and the government.  Everything is God’s.  Caesar can have his coins, but that’s because God is allowing it.  God doesn’t want part of our love and commitment.  He wants all of it—not just the change in our pockets.

            One commentator summed it up like this, “Live with the emperor but live for God.”[1]  We live with and within the government.  We might ally ourselves with a political party or a certain leader, but that is not our identity---that is not the heart of who we are.  Our heart is with Jesus. We can never stop living for God, because then we lose ourselves. 

When we say that God doesn’t have a place in our government or that our faith and our politics can never touch, then I fear that we are missing the bigger picture.  God has no interest in a portion of our loyalty.  He wants all of it and he wants all of us.  Politics is occupying a large part of our attention these days.  Can you imagine if we spent as much time worshipping and serving God as we do complaining about politics or really anything for that matter? Try it. Just for a day.  Then maybe we will understand what it means to “Live with the emperor but live for God.”

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[1] http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?m=4377&post=5458

What it means to be chosen: Oct. 15, 2023

 Year A, Pentecost 20                                               Matthew 22:1-14                                                          

The news from Israel and Gaza has been devastating and overwhelming.  It has resonated with Americans given our close ties with the region over the years. We also feel a connection as Christians.  When we read the Gospels, we are reading about the same places that we see in the news.  We, along with two other faith traditions, consider this holy land. And while it is heart breaking and overwhelming, it is not new.  I often hear Christians remark that they are not particularly fond of the Old Testament because of the violence.  Yet we see violence in the stories that Jesus tells as well.  We don’t like the violence.  We can even try to ignore it, but it’s there---just like it’s in our world.

Last week we had violence in our parable, but it seemed a bit more one sided. If you recall, the violence came from the tenants of the land and the other side (the landowner) didn’t respond with violence.  In fact, the landowner responded in what seemed like a foolish way, he sent his son.  Today’s reading is different.  The king is throwing a wedding banquet for his son.  And he is not pleased with the negative responses to his summons.

In Jesus’s day, wedding invitations were a little different than they are today, especially royal wedding invitations. They would send the invitations out ahead of time without a specific time mentioned. Then when the day came, the servants of the king would go out to the invited guests and summon them when the feast was ready.  Yet in this instance, when the servants of the king went to the guests, they refused to come.   Not only did they refuse the invitation, some beat and killed some of the servants.  As you can imagine the king was upset. He was insulted as a person, but especially as a king. 

But unlike the owner of the vineyard last week who merely sent out more servants to be beaten and killed, the king in this story sent out troops to kill the murderers and burn the city.  This seems a little harsh, on both the part of the guests who beat the servants and the king who burned the city.  On the one hand, it’s understandable that the king would be upset.  But why burn the whole city? 

You know what scary part is, those kinds of reactions happen all the time.  Someone gets offended and they respond in a totally disproportionate manner.  Jesus liked to tell stories that people would identify with, and sadly, the audience would have identified with this volatile reaction.  Even today, while it seems harsh, it feels familiar.

But here is where Jesus throws in the surprise twist…the part that would seem completely strange to the people listening at that time.  After the intended guests turned him down, the king decided to invite everyone and anyone.  This is held up as an example of God’s hospitality and even a model of how we can welcome people today.  For those of us hearing this story now, those of us who have heard of the abundant love of God, the story starts to make sense.  Maybe, just maybe, this parable can be redeemed.

Alas no. Jesus throws in another twist.  Someone had the audacity to join the feast without the fancy wedding robe. The king questioned him and the when the guest remained speechless, the king threw him into the outer darkness where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  That sounds like an overreaction. 

Didn’t this king just bring people in from off the street? How could he expect them to have a wedding garment at such short notice, especially if they didn’t have the means? This is when we have to remember, that parables were not events that actually happened.  They were stories Jesus used to explain a deeper truth and challenge the status quo.

This story isn’t about wedding attire.  If it was, then no one would have had the proper attire.  All were summoned at the last minute from off the street.  This man could not have been the only one who had not come prepared.  Some commentators point out that in a circumstance like this, the host would provide the wedding garment for all guests.  This would mean that this person who was not wearing one had chosen not to put on what the host provided.  This would explain why he was singled out.  He had accepted the invitation, but then refused the gift of a new garment. 

The last line of this parable is one that makes us cringe, because it doesn’t sound like the Jesus we know and love.  He said, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  If you think this sounds wrong, I would agree.  Perhaps a better interpretation would be, “Many are invited, but few choose to stay.”  Being called is the invitation that God provides to all of us.  We are all invited to the banquet.  We are all invited to be children of God.  Yet it is our choice whether we accept that invitation.  The man in this story was willing to come to the table, but he wasn’t willing to change.  In Galatians, Paul says that we are clothed in Christ.  That sounds lovely.  Unfortunately, it’s much harder than simply changing our clothes. God wants us to change our heart and our actions.  God is looking for a transformation.

One of my favorite quotes (and no one knows who first said it) is, “God loves us just the way we are, but God loves us too much to let us stay that way.” It’s true that God’s love for us is abundant and all encompassing.  But God also has expectations for what we do with that love.  If we accept God’s love, we must then love others…not just in word, but in action.  If we accept God’s love, we cannot simply witness violence and say, “Well that’s just the way it is.” And we can’t accept our own faults and refuse to change, because then we just end up wearing our guilt and shame like chains. 

While we are wrapped in the chains that we have refused to loose, God holds the lightest most beautiful garment we could possibly imagine. My theory is that this wedding guest wasn’t ready to let go of his own guilt and shame.  Maybe he didn’t feel like he was good enough to wear this beautiful wedding robe.  Maybe he felt like he couldn’t possibly deserve what he had been given.  So he refused to even try it on. 

We are all worthy to embody the love of God.  We are all worthy, no matter what has happened in the past, even if the past is this morning.  We are all worthy. The question is, can we believe that? Can we act in a way that shows we have accepted God’s love? 

We can. I know we can.  Yet it’s not as easy as simply changing our clothes. It’s slow process…more like releasing chains than changing clothes.  Sometimes we even put the chains back on because their heaviness protects us in some way, protects us from the freedom and love that both draws us in and terrifies us. That’s one of the reasons we have the confession every Sunday. Because we need weekly (maybe hourly) reminders that God’s forgiveness is ours if only we ask.  Redemption is ours if only we seek. It’s a journey.  It’s an arduous journey.  But it’s not one we take alone.  We make that journey with one another and with God. 

What we cannot do is give up.  We remove one chain at a time, and when they pile up again, we ask someone else for help.  You are worthy of God’s love. Israel and Palestine are worthy of God’s love.  All are worthy of God’s love.  Can we act in a way that shows we believe that?  Can we? We can— with God’s help, we can.