Kingdom of Grace and Peace

John 18:33-37

Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

As of a few days ago we have officially entered the holiday season. For the next month and a bit our already busy lives will become busier, and the amount of stress that we are all carrying will most likely increase. The holiday season is one that we all tend to both look forward to and dread at the same time. We look forward to the good times, the happiness, the joy of Christmas morning, the joy of a new year. Yet we also dread things. How will we ever use up all the leftover turkey? How will we deal with those extra holiday pounds that always seem to show up? There seems to always be something that we need to watch out for. As we get older we tend to be better and better in anticipating those potential headaches; it’s either that or we simply don’t care as much.

One of the things that we all have come to understand is that there are certain traditions, certain things that you have to do, and avoid doing at all costs. I’ve noticed that many of them involve the kitchen, or at least mealtime. This last week when we celebrated Thanksgiving, we had to have a roast in addition to a turkey because that’s part of the tradition (my mother-in-law doesn’t consider it a holiday meal without a roast.) I was also reminded that I was now the unofficial, official carver of the meat – which meant that there was absolutely no way any of the slices were the same thickness or size, or stayed the same thickness from the top of the slice to the bottom. Every family has its traditions, has its own unique way of doing things.

One of the hurdles that every couple that gets married, or gets serious has to overcome is learning the rules of the new extended family. The better one learns and masters the rules the happier the holidays and family get-togethers will be. You can always tell the new ones at the family functions, they are the ones who are being a little too helpful in the kitchen, the ones setting uncle Bob and cousin Jim near each other. They are the ones who put the potatoes in grandma’s special bowl. You must learn the ways of the family. We all have things to learn about life and this world.

How often have we observed a child making a mistake in a social situation and commented, “They need to learn the ways of the world.” We go to a mechanic to get our car repaired, and know that they will most likely try to get us to repair something that really doesn’t need to be repaired, because, “that’s the way the world works.” We see businesses and individuals achieving success and notoriety on the backs and hard work of others, and accept it because, ‘that’s the way the world works.” We all have our own memories and experiences when we learned how the world works; when we became hardened to the world around us. I think it’s funny how we sometimes speak of children not yet being jaded by the world, how they have not yet learned the ways of the world. And then we have Jesus’ comment about his kingdom and how it operates. Maybe there is even more to Jesus’ comment about children and the entering the kingdom than we thought.

Today we celebrate Christ the King Sunday. It’s the last day of the church year; next Sunday we begin Advent with its yearly time of introspection and preparation for the Christmas celebration. In recent years, many churches have renamed Christ the King Sunday, and are calling it The Reign of Christ. Most of these have done so because of the term ‘king’. Let’s face it, we’ve all lived in a democracy for so long that our understanding of a king is based on stories and movies. That’s one of the reasons. For others, the term ‘king’ is problematic because of other reasons having to do with the unfortunate misuse of power exerted by men in this world. I grew up celebrating Christ the King, it’s the way I think of this day; but, there is something to opening ourselves to thinking of it as The Reign of Christ.

When we focus on Christ the King, we focus on an event, a person. When we focus on the Reign of Christ we focus on a way of existence, an ongoing process of which we are a part, and can play a part. One way, we focus on the person, in the other we focus on the effects of his reign. A reign, a way of ruling, a kingdom that Jesus said is not of this world; that does not function the way the world thinks things should be. The world has lots to tell us about how we are supposed to treat a king. How we are supposed to quiver in fear at their feet. How we are supposed to avert our eyes not look at them, lest they become angry.

Jesus said to his disciples, “follow me”, not obey me, not worship me, not submit to me. To follow someone is dramatically different than those things. So often in the church we worship the Christ, rather than following Jesus. Jesus said his kingdom is not from this world, not of this world. The people Jesus was speaking to understood kingdom, understood empire in terms of the Roman Empire. The way Rome did things was the way they understood empire. Jesus said that his way was different. Power was not about how many legions of soldiers you had, or the number of people who cowered in fear and submission. Power was found in service and servanthood.

In Jesus’ kingdom, in his empire, the poor were not put aside as riff-raff, as those that you walked past on the street. The poor were seen as fellow people on the journey, as opportunities to prove that Jesus’ kingdom was truly present in word and deed. In Jesus’ kingdom children were embraced and welcomed as the gifts they were. In Jesus’ kingdom, the stranger and foreigner was welcomed as friends we have not yet met. The sick were cared for. The sinner was not shunned but welcomed into a community of love. In Jesus’ kingdom our belonging, our membership, our citizenship isn’t so much based on our declaration of, “Jesus is Lord”, as much as it is in following.

In the first century, declaring someone as Lord was dangerous. Caesar was, according to Roman Law, the only person to have the title of Lord. To declare someone else as Lord was to break the law, was to invite the punishment of the Roman Empire down upon your head, was to declare that you were part of something other than Rome; and in an Empire that sought for uniformity and obedience, it was a crime punishable by death if one did not recant. Nowadays, things have changed greatly. In this country, we can freely say Jesus is Lord without truly thinking about it. We can stand on the street corner and announce Jesus is Lord to passersby; we can go door to door in our neighborhoods telling people that Jesus is Lord and get little more than a chuckle or a door slammed in our face. The police would most likely not be called; you probably wouldn’t end up in prison. You may even be admired by many and get an article in the paper praising you for your great faith. Certainly you wouldn’t face crucifixion.

Things have changed. So the question we must ask is if Jesus’ kingdom is still not of this world? Something’s definitely different. Is it the world? Or is it the way we have allowed the world to infect the kingdom? Without a doubt there are some ways in which the kingdom has impacted our world. We speak more openly about freedom and equality. We speak more openly about the ways we are called to support one another, and care for one another. But, have we lost our edge? Is the church still a voice that declares that there is a different way of doing things? How different is the way of the world from the way things are within the church? There was a time when to declare oneself as Christian was to set yourself against the world, to place yourself in the minority. When was the last time the church was the voice that rang out against the world?

I just finished reading The Underground Church by Robin Meyers. I whole heartedly recommend it; I am sure it will open your eyes and challenge you as it did me. In the book Rev. Meyers speaks about the church’s need to reclaim its voice of opposition to the world. This rebirth of the church is what he calls the Underground Church. I want to close with a reading from the close of one of his chapters. When he speaks of radical, think in terms of not according to the ways of the world.

“In the Underground Church, not every action needs to be newsworthy to be radical. Visiting a nursing home is one of the most countercultural things a human being can do. All it takes is mindful noncompliance with the forces of death and division. All it takes is a refusal to accept the status quo when the status quo is immoral. If our good news is not bad news to those who steal the future, then what right do we have to sing our hymns about the “sweet by and by”? We should not make promises about things that we refuse to help deliver.

Gandhi once provided a list of seven social sins, which ought to animate the Underground Church, uniting both liberals and conservatives around principles worth fighting for. He said we must resist politics without principle, wealth without work, commerce without morality, pleasure without conscience, education without character, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.

Instead of offering up more tired arguments about theological and doctrinal “purity,” let us claim a future that we are simultaneously involved in creating. Christian eschatology is not escapism, not fear mongering, not the anticipation of the ultimate cosmic revenge. It is, as the great New Testament scholar and poet Amos Niven Wilder points out, the basis for Christian ethics. We behave justly in anticipation of a just future.

What could be more radical than that?” (The Underground Church, by Robin Meyers, p. 218)  Can we challenge ourselves to live our lives in the world, not seeking to escape from it, but instead seeking to live according to a different way? We are all in the world; but are we of it? Maybe we’ve learned the rules of the world a little too well. Lord, may thy kingdom come. Amen.

The Threshing Floor

Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 27

November 11, 2012

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do." She said to her, "All that you tell me I will do."

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him." Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

When I was in high school I took part in the musical The Fiddler on the Roof.  Probably the most famous song from that musical is Matchmaker, which makes sense because the musical is all about how Tevya has three daughters all in need of husbands.  We see time after time how the women in the story go their own way, often at Tevya’s own pain and disappointment.  Another musical/movie that has those themes within it is the Disney movie Mulan; in it we see Mulan’s family worrying and wondering when she is going to stop running around like a child, settle down and find a man.  It’s amazing how the stories of women having others (parents, aunts, grandmothers) seeking the proper man in their lives is such a popular storyline.  Perhaps we like it because in some ways it seems so much simpler than the hoops, and dates, the wining and dining that seems to be required now in order to woo someone into a relationship or marriage.

But then, maybe it just seems easier.  Where I grew up in New Guinea arranged marriages were still the norm.  Families would bicker and barter back and forth about who was the best spouse for their child, eventually reaching a decision and setting on an agreed price for the bride.  Women in that culture weren’t just seen as property (which is bad enough), they were treated as property being bought and sold for livestock and cash.  Families would sometimes get into huge arguments about the monetary value of their child, and what was to be expected if the match was agreed to.  Imagine how the couples felt, since many times they only met each other on the day of their marriage.  Personally, I would rather have the practice of dating and falling in love with someone rather than what was is still so often the practice in many cultures around the world.

Regardless of the culture, one of the basic building blocks of society is the practice of people coming together in a marriage or covenant relationship.  People come together for love, but in many places it’s about security and being able to ensure your own survival and way of life.

Ruth and Naomi have returned to Bethlehem.  They are doing the best they can to survive.  Thankfully one of the traditions of Judaism at that time was the way in which they harvested the grain in the fields.  “Jewish custom provided for the poor by protecting their rights to gather grain in a field after the hired workers had passed through.  The edges of the field were to be left for the poor to reap (Leviticus 19:9-10; 23:22). Widows who were alone could survive only by gleaning or begging.  Gleaning is the practice of gathering what has been dropped in the fields or left on the vines after a harvest.  In addition, gleaners were also allowed to harvest what was left standing in the corners of the field.  Hebrew law also said that landowners could not clean up their own fields, vineyards, or orchards so that widows, orphans, and resident aliens would be able to find enough to eat.”[1]

Ruth being the younger and presumably more physically able of the two goes to glean the barley fields.  By chance she ends up working in the fields of one of Naomi’s kinsmen – Wait a second, didn’t we just hear last week in our lesson that Naomi didn’t have any kinsmen?  Hmmm.  Maybe she just didn’t like him or something.  Anyway, Ruth goes to the fields, Boaz sees her and likes what he sees.  But, being an older and more mature man, he does the decent thing – nothing (other than doting on her and treating her in a preferred way).  Boaz reaches out to her, making sure that she is safe and has plenty to eat and take home to Naomi – I’m positive not all the gleaners went home with the equivalent of 5 gallons of barley from their work.  But, for the most part, he keeps his distance.

Namoi though, is losing her patience and launches into her matchmaker mode.  She goes about figuring out the best plan for getting Ruth and Boaz together.   She basically tells Ruth to get as pretty as she can, and find a way to get Boaz alone someplace, and there convince him that she is the woman he needs in his life.  Ruth, ever devoted to Naomi, responds, “All that you tell me I will do."  And by the end of the story, not only have Ruth and Boaz gotten together, but Naomi has become the nursemaid to their son who by chance is also the grandfather of the boy who would grow up to be King David.  That’s how you spell success as a matchmaker, not only do you get the couple together, you get to be a part of the family, and hold the fruits of your efforts.

So, we know the story, but the real issue we need to wrestle with is what we are to learn from Naomi, Ruth and Boaz today.  At the center of the story of Ruth is decision and separation.  Ruth decides to follow Naomi, even if it means separating herself from the country, traditions, and god that she grew up with.  Ruth goes to the fields looking for food, and must separate the good grain that was left in the field from the leftovers that were without value.  Then, she goes to Boaz on the threshing floor, the very place where the grain was separated from its shell.  The finale of our story happens on the threshing floor, and I believe it is there we can find some meaning for today.

It is the threshing floor where we separate the desired from the undesired, the beneficial from the detrimental.  A threshing floor only works, only functions when all that is good, all that is bad, everything is brought and dealt with.  If you bring only what appears to be good, you miss out on a lot of grain that might not look so good on the outside, but is of great worth once the chaff is stripped away.  When it comes to the fruit of the threshing floor the saying, “garbage in, garbage out” does not apply.  You cannot know what the fruit of the threshing will be based on what goes in.

Where are the threshing floors in our lives?  Where are the places we go to examine our lives to separate the chaff from the seed?  Where do we go when we wish to separate the chaff from the grain in the lives of people we meet?   The threshing floor is and must be a place of nurture and character development and discernment; it must also be a place where we find acceptance, well-being and life.  For some the threshing floor may be within their family, or in a close friendship or other relationship.  For others the threshing floor might be in school or a therapist’s office.  But for many people, the threshing floor in their life is the church.

Within the confines of the church we are formed and reshaped, the chaff of our lives is stripped off and the good is given the freedom to shine.  The church, as the place where the message of Jesus’ love and grace is taught, learned and experienced must also be a place of transformation.  The church is not a place first and foremost for the holy – just as the threshing floor is not a place for the finished grain.  The church is a place where we come to be transformed, to make that journey from sinner to saint, from chaff to grain.  The church fails to be true to one of its purposes, one of its callings, unless it is a force for transformation in the world, doing all it can in seeking to transform both the people and this world into the Kingdom of God.  The church is not, and cannot be, true to itself, unless it is a church that lives out its faith by actively working to realize the Kingdom of God here in its words and actions.  God desires us to live in community with one another, a community of love and service, a community that lives out its thankfulness to God by working toward the goal of a just and loving world.

In our Gospel lesson this morning we heard the account of the poor widow putting in her two coins, and those who had much making a show of their giving.  I heard a story once about a young boy, years ago in a big city, who sold newspapers in order to survive.  One Sunday morning the weather was terrible and he escaped into a church during worship to escape from the cold outside.  He sat quietly in the back pew of the church as the service progressed.  Toward the end of the service, the time came for the offering.

The young boy watched as the ushers walked around the church passing the plates through the congregation, working their way back slowly toward him.  When they reached him, they held the offering plate out in front of the small boy.  He looked at it with wide eyes, then asked the usher to put it down on the floor in front of him.  Then, he carefully stepped into the plate.  The usher was shocked to say the least, and more than a little angry.  “What did you do that for?”  he angrily accused the boy.  In a small quiet voice, with tears running down his cheeks the boy replied, “Mister, I don’t have any money; I haven’t sold a single newspaper today, but if Jesus did everything that preacher said he did just for me, I will gladly give my life to Him.”

            When we come to the threshing floor, God wants us to bring everything we have and are.  It’s about putting all our good things and all our not so good things into God’s hands.  It’s about allowing God to take us and make us into the people we were created to be.  It’s about sacrificing all we are because God has already sacrificed his only son that we might live.  Is everything we have, everything we are, everything we could ever be, too much to ask, or not enough?  Amen.

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[1] http://liberallectionaryresources.com/Proper%2027%20Year%20B.html

What do I have to do?

Mark 10:17-31

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." 

Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."  

I doubt many of us would consider ourselves wealthy; perhaps comfortable, but wealthy?  But, if you have a bank account with even a few dollars in it, you are among the wealthiest people in the world.   But, what does it mean to be wealthy?  Well, that depends on how you think about wealth.  Does it mean how much money you make, how much property you own?  Is it your ability to provide for all your needs and still have stuff left over?

I found a list online[1]  of the average yearly income of individuals around the world broken down by countries.  Of  the 214 countries listed, the countries from 183 down have an average yearly income of less than $350, that’s 31 countries.  From 152 to 182, 30 countries, the average is less than $2000.  From 114 to 152, the average is less than $5000.  So, 100 countries have an average yearly income of less than $5000.  From 83 to 114 the average is less than $10000.  The average income of the top 50 countries finally brings you in above $20000.  The top 10 countries average in near or above $50000.   If you add up the average of the top 10 countries ($580,600) it’s the equivalent of the bottom 114 countries.  In case you are curious, the United States falls in at number 10 with an average per capita yearly income of $48,800.

As all of us are far too aware, it’s an election year.  Time after time, it seems as if the primary question politicians ask us has to do with our wealth.  Are you better off now than you were four years ago?  There are so many things that the government can focus on, that they could be concerned with.  And yet, so much of the time the focus is on money.  The politicians like to look into your eye, grab you by your greedy little boots and make you think first and foremost about yourself.  Perhaps, in the light of this morning’s text and the teachings of Jesus the better question would be, “Is your neighbor better off than they were four years ago, and what have you done to better their situations?”

The text we heard is common, we've all heard it before, and it’s one of those texts that make us squirm in our seats.  Individually, when we compare ourselves to our neighbors we might think of ourselves as being better or worse off, but in comparison with just about every country around the world the poor here are among the richest, which makes all of us here among the wealthiest in the world.  And we all remember what Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."  No wonder the disciples exclaimed, “then who can be saved?”

In ancient times (and in our time) financial blessings were seen as being a confirmation of the blessings from the divine.  We heard from Job this morning, at the beginning of his trials, at the end, after all the death and disease, poverty and exclusion we read, “The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. ”  There it is, right there in the Bible, we see material and financial comfort being synonymous with God’s blessings.  No wonder the rich young man didn't consider his wealth as that which was holding him back; no wonder the disciples were so surprised by Jesus’ words.  His wealth was a sign of God’s blessings, at least it was in his eyes.

He had lived a blessed life.  He was without a doubt a person of great faith.  He had lived his life in a way that was in accordance with the law of Moses.  He had done everything in his power to ensure his place in paradise, everything in his power to inherit eternal life.  Yet, even though he had done so much, he still felt unsure of his final destination.  So, he comes with his question.  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  It’s a question that I’m sure many of us have uttered, or something very close to something we have felt.  Really, it’s not a question that you ask unless you have faith of some kind.  That’s why Jesus looked at him and loved him.  In fact, this is the only person in Mark’s gospel that Jesus loved.  The young man’s faith is deep, he’s made sacrifices in the way he lives his life, seeking to follow the way of God, his faith is his guide.  Jesus loves him.  And based on the way he addressed Jesus, and came seeking his wisdom and guidance, the man loved Jesus as well.

Yet, there is something missing, and he can sense it.  Jesus answers his question, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."  Based on the young man’s response, that probably wasn’t the answer he was looking for.  We could even ask if he really wanted an answer, maybe he just wanted to hear confirmation from Jesus about how he had succeeded all expectations and had inherited eternal life.  Regardless, the young man hears Jesus’ answer and walks away grieving.  Was he grieving because he knew he could never do what Jesus asked?  Was he grieving because he was going to do what Jesus asked and he was overwrought with emotion?  Had Jesus’ answer closed in like a heat-seeking missile on how it was the young man defined himself?

How do we define ourselves?  Is it our possessions?  Our relationships?  Our job?  How did the young man in our text define himself?  - his possessions?  Is Jesus challenging him and us to release ourselves from the ways in which we define ourselves?  That those things don’t really matter, and that clinging to those definitions limits our ability to allow God in and transform us into the person we were created to be?  For the young man, it appears he defined himself by the things he had accomplished, the things he had done, the possessions he had, the land he owned, the amount of money in his bank account.  Jesus looks at him, loves him, and challenges him to redefine himself – it’s not about what he has, or what he has done.  Gaining eternal life is never about anything that we can do, faith and its rewards are never about anything we do.

Jesus tells the young man to let go, don’t cling to the things you think are important, don’t trust in the things you have done,  don’t focus on what you do.  If we focus on our actions, on what we do, entering the Kingdom of God is impossible (a camel through the eye of a needle) but if we focus on God’s grace, and God’s actions then anything is possible.  Entering the Kingdom isn’t about us doing, it’s about God having done. 

What must we do to inherit eternal life? We must let go of all that we have and all that we do that gets in the way of seeing that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Even then, letting go of it all is beyond our capacity. The hardest news Jesus has is the best news we could get -- our salvation is impossible for us to work out "But not for God; for God all things are possible."

Discipleship, following Jesus, isn’t like getting into a pool step by step, inch by inch, until you are finally in the water (on your terms), it’s about letting go completely and jumping in, committing totally to getting wet, rather than trying to keep your hair dry.  Following Jesus isn’t about trying to make the needle bigger, or the camel smaller so that things get easier.  It’s about trusting in God to make the impossible possible.  It’s about focusing less on ourselves and more on our neighbors.  It’s about remembering that God is God, and we are not.  It’s not about the size of our bank account, the number of successes we have, the ‘blessings’ we have received.  It’s about not focusing on what we think we can do to get into the Kingdom of Heaven, it’s about doing all we can to transform the world we live in into the Kingdom of God.  It’s not about us doing anything to earn or receive eternal life, it’s about giving everything up to God.  And, giving things up completely to God is what grace is all about.  Amen.

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GNI_(PPP)_per_capital

Love the sinner, hate the sin

It’s a phrase that you hear a lot in the church, especially in regard to those who are attracted to individuals of the same gender, those the public refers to as homosexuals.  It’s thrown out without a whole lot of thought, and I wonder if people really think about it.  Is it a phrase that can be used within a faith community, especially a Christian one, and remain true?  Is it biblical?

First, I think it’s important to note that the phrase never occurs in the Bible.  There are similar verses that can be teased out and interpreted in such a way that they potentially have that understanding.  However, the phrase itself comes from Gandhi’s 1929 autobiography.  I find it fascinating that so many Christians have adopted the words of a Hindu as biblical truth – truly the Spirit moves in amazing ways!

Many people over the years have attempted to address this phrase, and I do not know if adding to the wise and learned words of others will do anything other than muddy the waters; but after hearing the phrase again over the weekend, I feel I need to respond.

What does it mean to love?  In ancient Greek there are four forms of love, each with their own distinct meanings:  Eros – that’s romantic love.  Philia – that’s the love friends have for one another.  Storge – that’s the love that exists within a family: parent to child, sibling to sibling, etc.  Agape – unconditional love (God’s love).  Whenever we speak about love (or its opposite) we must be aware of the type of love we are speaking of.  Obviously when I say to my best friend, “I love you, man”  it means something different than when I say, “I love you” to my spouse.

The Bible has lots of things to say about love.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deut 6:5)  “He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.” (Psalm 33:5)  “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;” (Lament. 3:22)  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Cor. 13:1)  “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 Jn 4:7,8)

The Bible also has some things to say about hate.  “Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?  I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.” (Psalm 139: 21,22)  “You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”  (Matt 5:43,44)  “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.”  (Luke 14:26)

So, what is hate?  Hate is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “a: Intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury; b : extreme dislike or antipathy”  That’s a rather basic definition, which is the way most dictionaries define words.  But, we all know that there are lots of variations when it comes to hate.  The hate we announce as children for brussel sprouts, the hate we claim for paying taxes, the hate we have for those who abuse children are all similar but not identical.  The hate the Bible speaks of when hating enemies and hating our parents cannot be the same, can it?

Here’s the thing.  Hebrew (and many ancient languages) does not have within itself the ability to express “more than” or “less than”.  So, when presenting two or more things that are in opposition to one another it must do so in complete opposition rather than in a gradient.  So, in English you can say, “I like the Vikings more than the Cowboys”, but in Hebrew you would have to say, “I love the Vikings, I hate the Cowboys.”  Wow, what a difference!  So, in that context when Jesus is talking about hating parents and siblings, he’s really saying that you can’t put following Jesus as being less important than our other relationships – not that we have to hate our parents in order to follow him.   I mean, how would we understand Jesus’ words on the cross to John, “Here is your mother” if that were the case?

So, love the sinner, hate the sin.  How would we understand that phrase differently if we were to understand from a Hebraic perspective (recognizing of course that it was not spoken in Hebrew)?  Love the sinner more than you love their sin.  All of a sudden in that context it comes to have this feeling that our love is supposed to be greater than any sin of the other.  Love > Sin.

And isn’t that the message of the Bible?

Stumbling Blocks

Mark 9:38-50

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

"If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

"For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

It’s pretty much a daily experience in my house, and I’m sure all of you have experienced it as well. I’ll be walking through the living room not truly paying attention to what I am doing when I stumble over something. One of the girls left something on the floor, a toy. Maybe it’s a pair of shoes, maybe something else just put down rather than put away; maybe it was the dog. I stumble, and after regaining my balance I snap. Most often I usually snap out at what I stumbled over; yelling at an inanimate object that can’t understand and can’t do anything about it. Then, after I realize what I stumbled over I’ll yell out to whoever I think is at fault for just leaving something lying there in the middle of the room. The tough thing to admit is how often it’s actually my fault, or largely my fault that it was there. That doesn’t change me wanting to snap though, find fault in someone else for my stumbles.

None of us like to stumble or trip. The feeling of complete helplessness as your body pitches forward is unsettling; waiting for your body to hit the ground is not enjoyable no matter how you look at it. Most of the time when we worry about stumbling or tripping, we do so worrying about ourselves; seeking to protect ourselves from bumps and bruises. We walk through a dark room carefully, feeling forward with our hands or our toes, wary of any potential dangers lurking ahead of us. But for some people, their concerns about stumbling are not with their own steps but another’s.

In the last year, the beautiful golden lab that calls my in-laws mom and dad has gone progressively blind due to diabetes. It’s heart-breaking to watch a dog that used to trot around the yard happily seeking out a rabbit, chasing a squirrel, barking at another dog walking down the sidewalk become an animal that no longer does those things. Rudy has become almost completely blind, we think he might be able t still see light and dark; but that would be about it. Outside Rudy is cautious, he’s fallen down the steps too many times going from the porch to the yard, run into too many gardening tools left outside. He shuffles forward scared of what will jump into him out of the darkness. Inside he’s much more confident. My in-laws tend not to move their furniture around, so Rudy has a detailed map in his mind of where everything is. He can walk from room to room with little difficulty. But, as soon as something isn’t where it normally is, as soon as someone puts down a laundry basket in the middle of a normally empty path, he runs into it. And then, for the next day or so he very cautiously walks through that area of the room – maybe it’s still there. The humans in the house do all they can to make sure the furniture remains in their normal positions, that boxes, baskets and other obstacles are kept out of the way as much as possible. They work hard to make sure that Rudy doesn’t have any stumbling blocks.

The experience is similar to that of people who have a human member of their family who is blind. I visited the home once of a man who was completely blind. He walked from room to room in his apartment, he went into his kitchen and got things out of the cupboard. He was confident in his motions – he knew his house plan, he knew where everything was. He did everything in his power to keep from stumbling. Of course, if someone came into his house and moved things around, he was going to have some accidents.

This is a text about stumbling blocks. The disciples are the ones who seem to have a good idea where everything is, or at least where they think it should be. They come to Jesus with a complaint about someone who was casting out demons, bringing relief and comfort to individuals and families in Jesus’ name, who wasn’t part of their little group. That was wrong, that was something that didn’t fit in their carefully constructed world. They were the disciples, they were the chosen few; they were the ones who had the answers – not these people who they didn’t even know. What right did they have to do these things?

Jesus is having none of it. He responds rather harshly and doesn’t hold back. “Anyone who does a good deed in my name will not easily be able to say anything bad about me. Remember, whoever isn’t against us is for us.” We don’t really know what Jesus was getting at. Was he trying to tell his disciples to relax, not to worry so much about these others who were doing good – instead focus on the good that was being done? Was he telling them that one day they themselves might be dependent on the generosity of others outside of their “little click”? Was he telling them something specific about drawing lines between themselves and others? Perhaps.

What we do know is that we in the church are very prone to draw lines between those who are in and those who are out. Sometimes we do it by gender. Many Christian traditions still restrict ordained leadership to men. Sometimes we do it by ordination. In many traditions anyone can proclaim the Word of God in the sermon but only those who are ordained can read words off a page to celebrate Holy Communion? Sometimes we do it by age, smiling kindly at the words of a child but not truly hearing the spirit and wisdom of God active in their words. Nowadays it seems like the issue in the church that most people are drawing lines around is homosexuality. Regardless of the issue, the reality is that we in the church are really good at drawing lines.

I'm reminded of something that Duane Priebe, my favorite professor at Wartburg Seminary, said that has stayed with me ever since: "every time you draw a line between who's in and who's out, you'll find Jesus on the other side." Every time we make some sort of a distinction between one group of people and another, between who we think is “on the Lord’s side” we are creating a stumbling block that others, but primarily ourselves, can be tripped by; because, let’s face it, if Jesus is on the other side and we want to be with Jesus, we are the ones who are going to be tripped rather than those who are with Jesus.

The word we translate as stumbling block is skandalon, the root of the word scandal, and that’s actually closer to how the passage should be heard and understood. So much of the time when I hear about a scandal, it’s really just some little thing that has been blown way out of proportion. Oh my goodness, the princess was caught sunbathing without a top on, and someone took some pictures from a thousand feet away – the scandal! The starlet was caught buying coffee in sweatpants and in unstyled hair – the scandal! Did you hear, the presidential candidate only paid 14% taxes – the scandal! We run into “scandals” so often we’ve forgotten that a scandal is something that stops you cold, makes you turn around, puts you in a different direction.

Don’t put scandals in front of those who are doing my will, in my name – even if they aren’t “in.” Don’t say or do something that will make them stop and turn around. Whoever isn’t against us, is for us. Or perhaps, whoever isn’t against us is one of us.

In our gospel this morning the disciples were fully empowered by their closeness to Jesus, by what they saw as their calling. They felt they had the answers, they had the unique perspectives, they had the special connection with God. Anyone else doing the things they did were stepping on their toes. All of which makes me wonder: is our zeal for the gospel – or perhaps, more honestly, our fear of those who are different from us – placing a stumbling block before persons that makes it harder for them to see and feel the love of God in Christ? Jesus has some pretty hard words about when the very things we hold dear and believe lead to abundant life become instead obstacles to "the little ones,": it leads to a death of unquenchable fire.

If we really want to talk about scandal, then let’s talk about the scandal that Paul saw; the scandal of the cross. The scandal of the cross helps us understand how God works to accomplish his redemptive purposes in the world. As God declares through the prophet, Isaiah, “My thoughts are completely different from yours…And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine” (Isaiah 55:8).

The cross reveals that God’s upside down kingdom is often downright offensive to us. God uses that which the world considers despicable and weak to manifest his power. What does that say about our desiring strength as the world counts strength; or our attempts to downplay or soften the offense of the cross?

The scandal of the cross reveals who God takes sides with. By allowing himself to be “counted among those who were sinners” (Isaiah 53:12), crucified between two despicable criminals, God casts his lot with the poor, the powerless, the wretched, the oppressed, the shunned, the dispossessed of the earth. Liberation theologians speak of God’s “preferential option for the poor.” What is seen throughout scripture–God’s concern for the helpless, the outcast, the widow, the orphan, the fatherless and the oppressed–is impossible to miss when the Son of God hangs on a cross between two thieves.

What would happen if we today, following in the footsteps of Jesus, submitted to the implications of the scandal of the cross, regardless of what it means in our day and time? What would happen if, in following in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus, we would recover, both in our understanding and practice, the scandal of stumbling blocks? What are the stumbling blocks that we have had placed in our path? What are the stumbling blocks we have placed in the path of others? What are the lines you have drawn? Is it possible to erase those lines, to remove those stumbling blocks? Can we, as Jesus said, be at peace with one another?

Fruit Trees

Today, I'm going to remain with the same text from yesterday, but with a different perspective.

This is a wonderful passage that speaks to the diversity present among those that are part of God's family.  Sometimes there is a tendency in the church to lump all people of faith together, to try and make them all the same.  Have you ever been to a church where there seemed to be an unofficial dress code?  What about an unofficial requirement of income?  All too often, the folks that gather together to worship and praise God together all look and act remarkably the same.  Which makes those places more than a little uncomfortable for a visitor or searcher who wanders in and looks, acts, or comes from a different place than the "norm."

I love how this passage declares that the righteous grow like a palm tree or a cedar.  These are not the same.  They are different.  There is few things of similarity other than they are trees.  Yet, they are both used to describe the righteous.  Do we need to look and act the same to be righteous?

What I think is even more interesting is how the Psalmist declares that the righteous bear fruit.  Last I checked a cedar tree doesn't bear fruit, at least not in the way we might normally think of fruit.  And perhaps that's the lesson that we need to learn today.

God doesn't have one vision or desire for what the "righteous" should look like.  They are just to grow.  Perhaps they grow tall and strong, perhaps shorter and fuller.  Perhaps they are quiet and solid in their faith, perhaps they are loud and boisterous, perhaps their faith is private.  Regardless, they are growing.  And the fruit is being produced, each in his own way.  The fruit from the palm tree and cedar are very different from the fruit of the apple or peach tree.  Each tree bears it's own fruit according to its tree.  An apple tree cannot produce peaches no matter how hard it tries to make itself.

In the church maybe we need to focus less on trying to get us all to be the same; to have the same views and theologies, the same "faith", producing the same fruit, and instead celebrate the many ways that God grows us, and the many ways that we produce fruit for the glory of God.

God has no unrighteousness

Psalm 92:1-4,12-15

It is good to give thanks to God,   to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,   and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,   to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O God, have made me glad by your work;   at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
The righteous flourish like the palm tree,   and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of God;   they flourish in the courts of our God.
In old age they still produce fruit;    they are always green and full of sap,showing that God is upright; 
God is my rock, and has no unrighteousness.

Righteousness in scripture is very closely related to justice.  In many places they are interchangeable - the one who is just is righteous, and the one who is righteous is just.  Does this passage change at all when you replace the word righteous with just or justice?  "Those who are just (concerned and focused on justice) flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon...they flourish in the courts of our God."  In God there is no injustice.

In our culture, when we think of justice we tend to think of the court system.  The pervasiveness of crime and law dramas on television have caused us to form our vocabulary and understandings in that realm.  But, there is more to justice than determining between right and wrong, making sure that those who are "wrong" receive their due punishment, that justice is delivered.  Justice is also about making sure that all are given the respect they deserve.  In the court of law, the ideal is that the rich defendant and the impoverished plaintiff both get equal treatment.  That's the ideal, how well that actually works out is another conversation.

In God, they get equal treatment.  In God's eyes there is nothing to make one person receive better treatment or respect, or whatever, than anyone else - except justice.  How you think of and treat those around you.  God's grace extends to all in equal measure.  God's love is available to all.

Is your love extended to all?  Are justice and equality an important part of your life and faith?  Is there any injustice in you?  Are you flourishing in the courts of our God?  Are you loving (and seeking the justice for) your neighbor in the same ways (and with as much energy)as you are fighting for your own justice?

I know I can do better.  Thanks be to God that our God is not only full of love, but also patience and grace.  Each day is a new one, and in each day may we seek to live our lives in the ways of God, seeking to follow in the steps and ways of Jesus.  May the Reign of God, the reign of justice and peace, the reign of love and servanthood, be not only our place of residence but the focus of our life and actions.