The 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision"-- a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands-- 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. (Ephesians 2:11-22 NRSV)
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 NRSV)
“(W)HOL(L)Y CITIZENS”
I remember my report card from first grade. Well, I only remember one part of it. It said: “Tim is a good classroom citizen.” I liked that; it meant I was a good part of our little classroom. Last week, following the reading from the Letter to the Ephesians, we talked about God adopting us into God’s family. This week we hear something similar, only it is not being a member of God’s family, it is being a citizen of the Kingdom of God. “Citizen” calls to mind the freedom we celebrated earlier this month. It also reminds us of this very political year. What does it mean to be a citizen? In the Wisconsin state capitol there is a copy of the constitution of the state of Wisconsin on display. It is probably not the original, but it might be from around that time. The name “Wisconsin” is in red ink, probably to be fancy, but the problem with red ink is that it fades faster than black. So it says, “We the people of the State of _____.” It looks kinda funny. It looks generic, like we don’t belong to a particular place. That is not true of citizens. They belong somewhere, either by birth or by naturalization.
It means that one belongs to the nation or state or town and has rights. It means that one belongs to something greater than the individual. That is a source of strength in times of trouble. It is where we get our identity, our sense of who we are. We are Americans or Minnesotans or people from Chatfield or Utica or Lewiston. And it is also that we are obligated to seek the welfare of the whole. To love our country means not only that we love the things that it does, that it stands for. It is not only nostalgia for its past. It is also that we care about its present and future and that we want to make it a better place. It is that we will work to make it a better place.
With our rights come responsibilities. The nation does not exist only to take care of us; there are others. To be a citizen means we participate. That is like some young persons in the news recently: Some Boy Scouts saw a robbery take place on a trail and called the police, then they got on their bikes and found the victim’s cell phone which the perpetrator discarded in the woods. When asked about why they did it, they said that they couldn’t just stand by.
As we think of our country, we know that it is facing tremendous challenges. The world is changing rapidly and presents us with dangers and opportunities we would have never dreamt of years ago. Sixty years ago we were part of a worldwide effort to restore peace to our time. We were united in that effort. Now it seems like we are anything but united. We are facing issues of economy, and the environment, terrorism and fairness. One hundred fifty years ago the country was torn apart. Out of that time came a new understanding of what it means to be one people, one nation. There was a new understanding of what it meant to be a citizen. When the nation faced WWII, there was a commission for a musical piece to help support us, a patriotic piece to help us appreciate anew what we were fighting for. Aaron Copland wrote “A Lincoln Portrait”, looking back to the earlier crisis. It has musical sections and narrated passages, taken from Lincoln’s own words. A couple of them are:
“Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history.”
That is what he said. That is what Abraham Lincoln said.
“Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility.”
He said: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.”
He said: “That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.
It has been performed many times and one of those times is worth noting. When Leonard Bernstein conducted the New York Philharmonic years ago the narrator was the great black baritone William Warfield. After the concert performance he was visited by descendants of former slaves who heard Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address. It is a reminder of what Lincoln’s words were really about.
The writer to the church in Ephesus reminds them that once they did not know Christ. Now they do and so belong to God’s people. Now they share in the covenant and the peace that Christ has made with God. Now the dividing wall is broken down and they see what they share with others. There are not two groups, but one, and the goal is none other than being a dwelling place for God.
The Kingdom of God, of which we are citizens, is bigger than a political party or movement, or even a nation. We can forget that and get tied up in smaller things. The Civil War started out as about states’ rights, but became about something bigger, higher. It became about who we are and the meaning of freedom. It became about equality, not just in the words of our constitution, but in our daily lives. It became about whether we were going to continue to be one nation and a nation that tolerated slavery. It became about who we are and who our fellow human beings are. In our country, it usually comes back to that idea of freedom. Is our freedom only for ourselves? Is it only so I can do what I want? For it to be freedom is must be about something greater. Our understanding of what citizenship means gives us an answer to that.
A pastor in Texas, Scott Walker, found this meaning to freedom when in college his freshman year he was causal about attending class or studying. This led to a trip to the dean’s office and academic probation. He defines freedom differently now. “Through experience, I learned that freedom and discipline must always walk hand in hand.” What we choose each day, will determine whether our freedom is a great strength or a great weakness.
Believers in Christ are citizens of where they live, but they become something else. Wherever they live, they also belong to another people. They are citizens not only of where they live on earth, but also a heavenly kingdom. There are rights we have as citizens, but to live in a place also means accepting the responsibilities. That is the price of freedom. And another cost is to know that we cannot be free when others are not, that we are a part of a whole. To be free has a greater meaning than getting what you want. That is why each people and generation must find it for itself, see it for itself, and choose it for itself. We cannot stand by. That is what being a citizen is, from the classroom to the world.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
The 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14 NRSV)
Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you." 21 But he said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:19-21 NRSV)
“TAKING FOR ONE’S OWN”
Adoption is a wonderful way of making a contribution to the world. There are adoptions that remain hidden from public view. One was that of a young man in the youth group in Iowa I used to help with years ago. I thought that this young man looked just like his father and then one day was very surprised when he told me he was adopted. There are other adoptions that, well, can’t be hidden, as the friends who adopted a child from Korea. Adoption is a way that people can provide children with what they need. Many of them are saved from awful conditions. In many cases, adoption saves lives. Adoption brings happiness both to someone who needs it and to the family as there is more to share. Some adoptions are obvious, some are not.
In adoption, the family takes you and makes you part of them. They take you for their own. The word has that meaning for other uses such as when we adopt rules or policies we make them our own, we say that they do or actually make them apply to us. Or we can adopt a new attitude or way of life. That changes how we live and what we do. That is especially true of when we add new members to our families, when we reach out to the world in love, to care for others in this special way.
Adoption is a powerful thing and so it is not surprising to hear it used in Scripture. In the Letter to the Ephesians we hear one of the many reasons why God is praised. It is because God had a plan to bring us into God’s family. That plan existed from the beginning of time. It is based in Christ and leads to those chosen by God to be blessed with every spiritual blessing. It is so that we will live holy and blameless lives in love. All this was so that we would be adopted into the family of God. All this is God’s gift to us. All this was so that the riches of God’s grace would be shared with us and that we would, like all family members, share in the inheritance. We become members of God’s family, as we hear in the Gospel reading, though faith and hearing the word of God. Through faith, we hear of God’s redemption of the world through Christ and through faith we believe that we are a part of this. Through faith, a living faith, we make it our own, not something we heard once and then have forgotten.
Faith leads us to believe that this is not only true; it is true for us as individuals. Faith makes it come alive in us, for us. Robert Fulghum, who is a bit of a character, talks about an event in his life. He wrote: “Good friends finally put their resources together and made themselves a child. Me, I’m the godfather in the deal. I take my job seriously.” He understands his mission as introducing the child to the good things in life—chocolate, cigars, Beethoven. He gave him a set of crayons. Each week he would put a crayon in his hand and showed him how to make a mark. Mostly the child just stared at the crayon. Then one week after he made the mark something went off in his head and he started on his own and he puts it, “There is no stopping him.” By faith we hear the truth and know what it applies to us, that we can be a part of what God is doing in the world. By faith we hear of God’s love and when we come to know that in our lives, we begin to live it.
Adoption is the means God uses to continue God’s work. The story is this. God created the world and that world turned away from God. But God was not done. God sent the Son into the world to make it possible that we would belong to God again. We belong again. What this does, what adoption does, is make us part of something larger than ourselves. It does that both if we adopt and if we are adopted. We make someone else’s life and needs a part of our own. Adoption means not only that we become the sons and daughters of God but also that we have sisters and brothers. Adoption means we can share the love. We become part of a greater whole.
Of the stories that came out of Japan after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, this is one from "The Week". Yuta Saga, age 21, heard the sirens and screams of “Tsunami!” He took his mother to the junior high school for safety but the stairs to the roof were blocked with older people who seemed to have difficulty. The younger residents started to force their way amid the older folks, pushing them aside. When the water began to rush into the building, one older resident was saved by a human chain that lifted her up. One woman handed him an infant. He took it and ran up the stairs.
It turns out we are all adopted, whether we look like it or not. God made us part of God’s family, through Christ, through God’s gift, through faith. Just as people complete their families through adoption, so God’s plan was that God’s family would not be complete until we became a part of it. And just like adoption, we find a place where we belong, out of the kindness of another. This is the good news that causes us to give glory to God as the riches of God’s grace come to us. Blessed be God, who takes us for God’s own.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14 NRSV)
Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you." 21 But he said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:19-21 NRSV)
“TAKING FOR ONE’S OWN”
Adoption is a wonderful way of making a contribution to the world. There are adoptions that remain hidden from public view. One was that of a young man in the youth group in Iowa I used to help with years ago. I thought that this young man looked just like his father and then one day was very surprised when he told me he was adopted. There are other adoptions that, well, can’t be hidden, as the friends who adopted a child from Korea. Adoption is a way that people can provide children with what they need. Many of them are saved from awful conditions. In many cases, adoption saves lives. Adoption brings happiness both to someone who needs it and to the family as there is more to share. Some adoptions are obvious, some are not.
In adoption, the family takes you and makes you part of them. They take you for their own. The word has that meaning for other uses such as when we adopt rules or policies we make them our own, we say that they do or actually make them apply to us. Or we can adopt a new attitude or way of life. That changes how we live and what we do. That is especially true of when we add new members to our families, when we reach out to the world in love, to care for others in this special way.
Adoption is a powerful thing and so it is not surprising to hear it used in Scripture. In the Letter to the Ephesians we hear one of the many reasons why God is praised. It is because God had a plan to bring us into God’s family. That plan existed from the beginning of time. It is based in Christ and leads to those chosen by God to be blessed with every spiritual blessing. It is so that we will live holy and blameless lives in love. All this was so that we would be adopted into the family of God. All this is God’s gift to us. All this was so that the riches of God’s grace would be shared with us and that we would, like all family members, share in the inheritance. We become members of God’s family, as we hear in the Gospel reading, though faith and hearing the word of God. Through faith, we hear of God’s redemption of the world through Christ and through faith we believe that we are a part of this. Through faith, a living faith, we make it our own, not something we heard once and then have forgotten.
Faith leads us to believe that this is not only true; it is true for us as individuals. Faith makes it come alive in us, for us. Robert Fulghum, who is a bit of a character, talks about an event in his life. He wrote: “Good friends finally put their resources together and made themselves a child. Me, I’m the godfather in the deal. I take my job seriously.” He understands his mission as introducing the child to the good things in life—chocolate, cigars, Beethoven. He gave him a set of crayons. Each week he would put a crayon in his hand and showed him how to make a mark. Mostly the child just stared at the crayon. Then one week after he made the mark something went off in his head and he started on his own and he puts it, “There is no stopping him.” By faith we hear the truth and know what it applies to us, that we can be a part of what God is doing in the world. By faith we hear of God’s love and when we come to know that in our lives, we begin to live it.
Adoption is the means God uses to continue God’s work. The story is this. God created the world and that world turned away from God. But God was not done. God sent the Son into the world to make it possible that we would belong to God again. We belong again. What this does, what adoption does, is make us part of something larger than ourselves. It does that both if we adopt and if we are adopted. We make someone else’s life and needs a part of our own. Adoption means not only that we become the sons and daughters of God but also that we have sisters and brothers. Adoption means we can share the love. We become part of a greater whole.
Of the stories that came out of Japan after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, this is one from "The Week". Yuta Saga, age 21, heard the sirens and screams of “Tsunami!” He took his mother to the junior high school for safety but the stairs to the roof were blocked with older people who seemed to have difficulty. The younger residents started to force their way amid the older folks, pushing them aside. When the water began to rush into the building, one older resident was saved by a human chain that lifted her up. One woman handed him an infant. He took it and ran up the stairs.
It turns out we are all adopted, whether we look like it or not. God made us part of God’s family, through Christ, through God’s gift, through faith. Just as people complete their families through adoption, so God’s plan was that God’s family would not be complete until we became a part of it. And just like adoption, we find a place where we belong, out of the kindness of another. This is the good news that causes us to give glory to God as the riches of God’s grace come to us. Blessed be God, who takes us for God’s own.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Getting Mad at Jesus
The 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, "Look, we are your bone and flesh. 2 For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The LORD said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel." 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. 6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, "You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back"-- thinking, "David cannot come in here." 7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. 8 David had said on that day, "Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates." Therefore it is said, "The blind and the lame shall not come into the house." 9 David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward. 10 And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him. (2 Samuel 5:1-10 NRSV)
He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. 4 Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10 He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." 12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:1-13 NRSV)
“GETTING MAD AT JESUS”
We picture Jesus in different ways. You might have the Holman Hunt painting in mind with Jesus knocking at the doors of our souls. You might have the Good Shepherd rescuing the sheep or Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Perhaps it is of the feeding of the multitudes or of the baby Jesus in the manger. When I was in seminary, the assignment from one of the professors for a class was to find a picture of Jesus we liked. Most of the class liked one that was popular a few years ago, the laughing Jesus. No one had a picture of Jesus making people angry. And very few of our pictures of Jesus are that of the kid next door.
That is the picture in the Gospel reading this morning. Jesus went to his hometown with the disciples following him. He began to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The people were astounded. But then the questions arise. Isn’t he from around here? Isn’t his family our neighbors? How did he get this way? What starts out as amazement and admiration ends up as being offended by him. Or, perhaps to put it another way, “This is just the kid next door, how did he get to be so great?”
Jesus replies with a proverb: “Prophets have honor, except in their hometowns and with their family.” Jesus was teaching, acting as prophets do, telling the people what God is saying to them. There is something about being one of them, though, that they can’t get past so as to see that Jesus knows more than they do. It is like the consultant who comes into a church and says the same things that the leaders have been telling the people for years. But suddenly they listen to the consultant. Jesus is telling them the truth, but he is from there. They can’t see past that, and so miss what he is saying.
There are times in life when we can’t see what we have and take that for granted as Gina Bridgeman talks about a time when they visited Phoenix’s WaterWorks at Arizona Falls on a hot, hot Saturday and enjoyed the spray from the artificial water falls. Then she recalled how they had just been at San Diego, staying near the ocean and on some of the days did not even go into the water. She was amazed at how easy it is to take God’s gifts for granted. Blessed are those who get the second chance. The people in Nazareth missed the chance to hear Jesus. It wasn’t that the crowd was too large for them to hear him or that they were not there on the right day, it was that they rejected him and what he said.
The other part of the Gospel reading is that Jesus sent out the disciples to proclaim the good news. They offered authority over unclean spirits and directed people to turn from their ways and repent. There is something interesting in the directions he gives. What they were to take along on the journey was to be simple and when they entered a house they were to stay until they left. And if the people do not welcome them they were to simply leave. The instructions are not to argue or bully people into agreement with them, but if they refuse to hear, to leave them alone. But even in this there is something surprising. It is that some of the people who hear the proclamation will reject it. It will not be welcome. It will not be good news to them. If the Kingdom of God comes to them, they will not want to have a part in it. And it makes a little bit of sense if you think your life is just fine and doesn’t need anything else. To accept the good news means that some part of what you had was not good. To accept the good news means that you are going to live differently. Some people won’t take the better thing that is offered, even though it is better; that is the part that doesn’t make sense. Some people can’t take that kind of challenge to their thinking or new way of life.
Some leaders are popular, just like King David in the Old Testament reading. He has been successful and the people proclaim him king. We like winners. Sometimes we don’t bother to look very deeply at them. It is an odd part of human behavior. The scariest part of all are the studies that say that people like to hear good things, even when they know it is a lie. They want people to tell them what they want to hear. That is the opposite of a prophet. A prophet is to speak for God. A prophet is to tell the truth, even if unpleasant. We have to learn to hear the truth even when it isn’t what we want to hear, wherever it comes from, even the kid next door.
We need to hear Jesus again, not as someone so familiar to us that we stop listening to him. We need to embrace the good news of the gospel, not just only the parts we like. Only then will we hear the good news, only then can we respond in genuine faith. It is always good when good news finds us and can lead us into doing something better.
The Gospel is truthful when it points out that even in Jesus’ day there were those who did not listen to him, who were angry with him and ignored him. And when his message went out, there were those who did not listen to it. Jesus compares himself to a prophet and that is what he is. He has a bigger purpose than to tell people what they want to hear. A prophet tells people the truth of God. Sometimes it is the news that things are not right. Other times it is the good news that God has a better way than how we are living now. Either way, let us hear it, let us believe it, let us welcome it, let us live by it.
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Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, "Look, we are your bone and flesh. 2 For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The LORD said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel." 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. 6 The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, "You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back"-- thinking, "David cannot come in here." 7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David. 8 David had said on that day, "Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates." Therefore it is said, "The blind and the lame shall not come into the house." 9 David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward. 10 And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him. (2 Samuel 5:1-10 NRSV)
He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. 4 Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10 He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." 12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:1-13 NRSV)
“GETTING MAD AT JESUS”
We picture Jesus in different ways. You might have the Holman Hunt painting in mind with Jesus knocking at the doors of our souls. You might have the Good Shepherd rescuing the sheep or Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Perhaps it is of the feeding of the multitudes or of the baby Jesus in the manger. When I was in seminary, the assignment from one of the professors for a class was to find a picture of Jesus we liked. Most of the class liked one that was popular a few years ago, the laughing Jesus. No one had a picture of Jesus making people angry. And very few of our pictures of Jesus are that of the kid next door.
That is the picture in the Gospel reading this morning. Jesus went to his hometown with the disciples following him. He began to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The people were astounded. But then the questions arise. Isn’t he from around here? Isn’t his family our neighbors? How did he get this way? What starts out as amazement and admiration ends up as being offended by him. Or, perhaps to put it another way, “This is just the kid next door, how did he get to be so great?”
Jesus replies with a proverb: “Prophets have honor, except in their hometowns and with their family.” Jesus was teaching, acting as prophets do, telling the people what God is saying to them. There is something about being one of them, though, that they can’t get past so as to see that Jesus knows more than they do. It is like the consultant who comes into a church and says the same things that the leaders have been telling the people for years. But suddenly they listen to the consultant. Jesus is telling them the truth, but he is from there. They can’t see past that, and so miss what he is saying.
There are times in life when we can’t see what we have and take that for granted as Gina Bridgeman talks about a time when they visited Phoenix’s WaterWorks at Arizona Falls on a hot, hot Saturday and enjoyed the spray from the artificial water falls. Then she recalled how they had just been at San Diego, staying near the ocean and on some of the days did not even go into the water. She was amazed at how easy it is to take God’s gifts for granted. Blessed are those who get the second chance. The people in Nazareth missed the chance to hear Jesus. It wasn’t that the crowd was too large for them to hear him or that they were not there on the right day, it was that they rejected him and what he said.
The other part of the Gospel reading is that Jesus sent out the disciples to proclaim the good news. They offered authority over unclean spirits and directed people to turn from their ways and repent. There is something interesting in the directions he gives. What they were to take along on the journey was to be simple and when they entered a house they were to stay until they left. And if the people do not welcome them they were to simply leave. The instructions are not to argue or bully people into agreement with them, but if they refuse to hear, to leave them alone. But even in this there is something surprising. It is that some of the people who hear the proclamation will reject it. It will not be welcome. It will not be good news to them. If the Kingdom of God comes to them, they will not want to have a part in it. And it makes a little bit of sense if you think your life is just fine and doesn’t need anything else. To accept the good news means that some part of what you had was not good. To accept the good news means that you are going to live differently. Some people won’t take the better thing that is offered, even though it is better; that is the part that doesn’t make sense. Some people can’t take that kind of challenge to their thinking or new way of life.
Some leaders are popular, just like King David in the Old Testament reading. He has been successful and the people proclaim him king. We like winners. Sometimes we don’t bother to look very deeply at them. It is an odd part of human behavior. The scariest part of all are the studies that say that people like to hear good things, even when they know it is a lie. They want people to tell them what they want to hear. That is the opposite of a prophet. A prophet is to speak for God. A prophet is to tell the truth, even if unpleasant. We have to learn to hear the truth even when it isn’t what we want to hear, wherever it comes from, even the kid next door.
We need to hear Jesus again, not as someone so familiar to us that we stop listening to him. We need to embrace the good news of the gospel, not just only the parts we like. Only then will we hear the good news, only then can we respond in genuine faith. It is always good when good news finds us and can lead us into doing something better.
The Gospel is truthful when it points out that even in Jesus’ day there were those who did not listen to him, who were angry with him and ignored him. And when his message went out, there were those who did not listen to it. Jesus compares himself to a prophet and that is what he is. He has a bigger purpose than to tell people what they want to hear. A prophet tells people the truth of God. Sometimes it is the news that things are not right. Other times it is the good news that God has a better way than how we are living now. Either way, let us hear it, let us believe it, let us welcome it, let us live by it.
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Thursday, December 13, 2012
Losing Your Best Friend
The 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.
17 David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 (He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said: 19 Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places! How the mighty have fallen! 20 Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon; or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. 21 You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor bounteous fields! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more. 22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, nor the sword of Saul return empty. 23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. 24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you with crimson, in luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25 How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. 26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. 27 How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished! (2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 NRSV)
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. 8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. (Psalm 130 NRSV)
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." 24 So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say,'Who touched me?'" 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." 35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." 40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. (Mark 5:21-43 NRSV)
“LOSING YOUR BEST FRIEND”
At the end of my first year of college I had a Physics final exam. I didn’t like the class. It was required and not well taught, by Dr. Goldberger. The only bright spot was that my best friend, Doug, was in it. I wasn’t doing that well in the class. So, it came down to this—one of the questions on the exam saved me. If you could drill a hole through the earth, through the axis, and drop a bowling ball into the hole, what would happen? Well, assuming that there is no air in the hole and that the interior of the earth is not made up of molten rock and metal, the ball would get to the end, then be drawn back by gravity, get to the other end and be drawn back, and so on, and so on. When I turned in the exam, the lack of confidence was showing on my face, and Dr. Goldberger said that I looked like I just lost my best friend. Well, in a way I was. It was the end of the school year. We all were leaving. Doug and some of his friends were going to take a year off to travel the country. They did. Something I valued greatly was being taken away from me. When he came back, things had changed, we were in different circles.
The reading from 2 Samuel this morning is David’s song of mourning over Saul, who was king, and Saul’s son, Jonathan, who was David’s best friend. He pours out his heart in this song. He said that Israel’s glory died with them, and told them not to speak about it or the Philistines would hear it and rejoice over it. There should be no life-giving dew or rain on the mountains. The fields where they fell should not yield produce. Their weapons are now idle and their power is now only a memory. So David tells them to weep and he is greatly distressed. This is something he must let out.
This type of poem or song is present in the Bible, but rare in our lives. It is called lament, the outpouring of feelings and thoughts of sadness. We like happy endings and want to forget that there is much of life that does not have a happy ending. Often we do not make time to be sad for our losses or let others be sad for theirs. Most rarely of all is when we are sad for the losses of others. We are like Linda Loman in Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman. When Willy is having a life crisis all she offers is an aspirin. “Don’t feel the pain,” it says. In lament, you take the time to know and feel and express grief. It might be elegant like David’s or simple and direct. It helps when those around you, in a supportive way, can let you grieve as you grieve and not push you to where they want you to be. It is not always easy to hear someone’s pain.
Bill Tammeus is a Presbyterian elder who has recently written about the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, certainly a major event of our times, when his own nephew was among those killed. The changes in his life in the following ten years include his nephew’s son being born, never knowing his father, and the remarriage of the widow, the mourning of his sister and her husband for the loss of their son and comforting the daughters and grandchildren. He reflects on what has not changed in those ten years. The evening news still declares disaster and violence. We have not lost our need for comfort, he says, and we still want to know that God is a loving God. He writes that churches can be the space for people to grieve. The danger is when we are too superficial to allow this. When we are with people in grief, we become the church for them. He writes: “Maybe what 10 years of living with 9/11 should teach us is that we are, finally, our brother’s keeper, our sister’s shoulder to cry on. And that’s a high calling, indeed.”
We cannot control the events of our world, or the losses that come into our lives, but there is something else. That is the message of the Gospel, that there is more than what we have here. The Gospel reading is the story of Jesus in our world. As he was traveling, a crowd gathered around him. A leader of the synagogue stopped him and begged him to heal his little daughter. On the way, a woman who had been suffering for twelve years was healed. When Jesus and Jairus approach his home they find that his daughter has died. Jesus raised her from the dead. Sometimes people focus on the supernatural event in the miracle, but I think it is better to ask what the miracle does for the people who receive it. This miracle is a taste of the resurrection. It points ahead to a day when all will be raised from the dead. It also points us to God who can give meaning to our sorrows. We do not always see that when we are in the middle of them. God is with us in our difficulties. With God, we find not only strength but meaning. Because of this hope we can keep moving with purpose in life. It is a reminder that losses are not forever.
We live in a world in which we are not free from losses. Some can be small and others, well, they are like losing your best friend. David poured out his heart in song about it. We might not be able to do that but we can find a community that can hear what is in our hearts, or be that community for others. We can find hope in unlikely places, hope in the midst of loss, which reminds us that we are not alone. That might be what we gain in loss. The journey of life moves on here. For everyone that journey involves some loss. That is why we need to know what we can take on that journey.
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After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.
17 David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 (He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said: 19 Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places! How the mighty have fallen! 20 Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon; or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. 21 You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor bounteous fields! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more. 22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, nor the sword of Saul return empty. 23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. 24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you with crimson, in luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25 How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. 26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. 27 How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished! (2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 NRSV)
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. 8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. (Psalm 130 NRSV)
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." 24 So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say,'Who touched me?'" 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." 35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." 40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. (Mark 5:21-43 NRSV)
“LOSING YOUR BEST FRIEND”
At the end of my first year of college I had a Physics final exam. I didn’t like the class. It was required and not well taught, by Dr. Goldberger. The only bright spot was that my best friend, Doug, was in it. I wasn’t doing that well in the class. So, it came down to this—one of the questions on the exam saved me. If you could drill a hole through the earth, through the axis, and drop a bowling ball into the hole, what would happen? Well, assuming that there is no air in the hole and that the interior of the earth is not made up of molten rock and metal, the ball would get to the end, then be drawn back by gravity, get to the other end and be drawn back, and so on, and so on. When I turned in the exam, the lack of confidence was showing on my face, and Dr. Goldberger said that I looked like I just lost my best friend. Well, in a way I was. It was the end of the school year. We all were leaving. Doug and some of his friends were going to take a year off to travel the country. They did. Something I valued greatly was being taken away from me. When he came back, things had changed, we were in different circles.
The reading from 2 Samuel this morning is David’s song of mourning over Saul, who was king, and Saul’s son, Jonathan, who was David’s best friend. He pours out his heart in this song. He said that Israel’s glory died with them, and told them not to speak about it or the Philistines would hear it and rejoice over it. There should be no life-giving dew or rain on the mountains. The fields where they fell should not yield produce. Their weapons are now idle and their power is now only a memory. So David tells them to weep and he is greatly distressed. This is something he must let out.
This type of poem or song is present in the Bible, but rare in our lives. It is called lament, the outpouring of feelings and thoughts of sadness. We like happy endings and want to forget that there is much of life that does not have a happy ending. Often we do not make time to be sad for our losses or let others be sad for theirs. Most rarely of all is when we are sad for the losses of others. We are like Linda Loman in Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman. When Willy is having a life crisis all she offers is an aspirin. “Don’t feel the pain,” it says. In lament, you take the time to know and feel and express grief. It might be elegant like David’s or simple and direct. It helps when those around you, in a supportive way, can let you grieve as you grieve and not push you to where they want you to be. It is not always easy to hear someone’s pain.
Bill Tammeus is a Presbyterian elder who has recently written about the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, certainly a major event of our times, when his own nephew was among those killed. The changes in his life in the following ten years include his nephew’s son being born, never knowing his father, and the remarriage of the widow, the mourning of his sister and her husband for the loss of their son and comforting the daughters and grandchildren. He reflects on what has not changed in those ten years. The evening news still declares disaster and violence. We have not lost our need for comfort, he says, and we still want to know that God is a loving God. He writes that churches can be the space for people to grieve. The danger is when we are too superficial to allow this. When we are with people in grief, we become the church for them. He writes: “Maybe what 10 years of living with 9/11 should teach us is that we are, finally, our brother’s keeper, our sister’s shoulder to cry on. And that’s a high calling, indeed.”
We cannot control the events of our world, or the losses that come into our lives, but there is something else. That is the message of the Gospel, that there is more than what we have here. The Gospel reading is the story of Jesus in our world. As he was traveling, a crowd gathered around him. A leader of the synagogue stopped him and begged him to heal his little daughter. On the way, a woman who had been suffering for twelve years was healed. When Jesus and Jairus approach his home they find that his daughter has died. Jesus raised her from the dead. Sometimes people focus on the supernatural event in the miracle, but I think it is better to ask what the miracle does for the people who receive it. This miracle is a taste of the resurrection. It points ahead to a day when all will be raised from the dead. It also points us to God who can give meaning to our sorrows. We do not always see that when we are in the middle of them. God is with us in our difficulties. With God, we find not only strength but meaning. Because of this hope we can keep moving with purpose in life. It is a reminder that losses are not forever.
We live in a world in which we are not free from losses. Some can be small and others, well, they are like losing your best friend. David poured out his heart in song about it. We might not be able to do that but we can find a community that can hear what is in our hearts, or be that community for others. We can find hope in unlikely places, hope in the midst of loss, which reminds us that we are not alone. That might be what we gain in loss. The journey of life moves on here. For everyone that journey involves some loss. That is why we need to know what we can take on that journey.
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Thursday, December 6, 2012
Davey and Goliath
The 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle;
4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us." 10 And the Philistine said, "Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together." 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
32 David said to Saul, "Let no one's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." 33 Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 David said, "The LORD, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you!" 38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them." So David removed them. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field." 45 But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's and he will give you into our hand." 48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. (1 Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49a NRSV)
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:35 NRSV)
“DAVEY AND GOLIATH”
One of my first introductions, growing up Catholic, to the Protestant faith was through a TV show, a cartoon called, “Davey and Goliath”. It started in the 1960s and the theme music was based on the great Lutheran hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. They presented simple lessons in faith and morality to children. It was done in stop-motion animation and told stories about the Hansen family, especially Davey and his dog, Goliath. Goliath is no ordinary dog, but one who talks, although only Davey hears him. Well, sort of hears him. Many of the stories involve something that Davey wants to do and adults or Goliath gently advise him not to, “I don’t know, Davey.” When the situation goes wrong for him or for others, Goliath and others come to the rescue and there is a review of the lesson learned, “Oh, Davey.” The lesson is often about doing the right thing or asking for help. Some of the adventures were when Davey went into an abandoned silver mine or skated on thin ice, was stranded on an island, or trapped on a train. One was: “To the Rescue”: At Roaring River Camp, Davey, Goliath, and friends find that chores spoil their fun, and refuse to cooperate when their counselors plan a canoe trip. It takes a forest fire and a plane crash to teach them that people have to work together to protect the land and help each other.
This morning’s reading is a story with David and Goliath that is a lot scarier than any cartoon. Well, it isn’t if you know the ending and rush to the end. But if we read it slowly, with attention, we might see and feel what is happening as the story unfolds. We will see again what this passage has to tell us. The Philistines gathered for battle and they had a champion, a man ten feet tall, with armor weighing 150 pounds. He would call out to the Israelites and challenge them to send a warrior to fight him. A lot would be riding on the fight. They would be representatives of the groups and the losing champion’s group would serve the winning champion’s group. Everyone who heard this was afraid. Not only would he be fighting a giant, if he lost, they would become slaves of the Philistines. No one from the Israelite side came forth until David went to the front to bring provisions to his brothers. There he saw and heard the challenge. And he wanted to be the one to face him. He is not being young and reckless; he has faced big opponents like lions and bears and won. And he sees one more thing. Goliath challenges the God of the Israelites and God will help David defeat him. They put Saul’s armor on David and it does not fit, so he will not use them. He takes his weapon, five smooth stones from the brook and his sling. No huge sword. Goliath sees that he is facing a boy, and mocks them all the more. And David points out that he has one more weapon, he comes in the name of the Lord. He used the sling, struck the giant in the forehead and he went down. Boom. The boy defeated the giant.
We all face things in life that are bigger than we are. There are two kinds of things, though. One kind is the one where we are afraid of something big, something that we could do, should do. They can be such things as repairing a relationship, getting a better job, serving others in a new way, bringing fairness to a situation. All these can require us to act in new ways, to face something that frightens us. Those situations call us to be more courageous, like David was. We can do them in that same way, facing them with courage rather than fear, with confidence from the way God has led us in the past, with faith in God’s power. God made David’s arm and skill and made those five little stones. And one last thing. We must look at the enemy. It is big. It is armored. It is frightening. But if we use wisdom we will aim our weapons at where it is not armored. There is at least one spot, like Goliath’s forehead, where it is vulnerable. Too often, when we face the foe, we do not look. We shoot at it and do not aim. Then our stones go pinging off the helmet and the giant laughs. We face situations and direct our anger and our effort at everything but that one spot on the enemy that can change it. We need to aim at that spot. Otherwise we do things that do not address the situation. And then we do not win over it. There are times we need to face the challenge ahead of us.
A storm is greater than a giant warrior. The Gospel reading talks about this second type of big thing. The disciples went into the boat to cross the lake. Then came a storm. This is nothing new, there are storms all the time, but out on the lake they can be dangerous. The waves came into the boat. They woke Jesus up and asked him if he cared. He did, but to be asleep during the storm is the sign that he was not frightened like they were. He rebuked the wind and it obeyed and he asked about their faith. They, in turn, asked each other who Jesus was that he could even command the storm. He is greater than any storm and was with them. And he can be with us in ours.
There are no giants walking around challenging our armies these days. But in another way we still have giants, there are things which challenge our faith and courage and lives. There is a lesson here. Even a boy can bring down a giant, if he does it with faith, and courage, and the right small stone in the right place. If he faces it well. And we are not lost in the storms of life, those things that are above us, beyond us, around us, if we remember who is beside us. And so, knowing this, Martin Luther wrote this almost five hundred years ago:
Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus it is He,
Lord Sabaoth His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
This is what we must know when we find ourselves in life at the front of a struggle. This is what gives us faith and courage to sling our stones or wake Jesus up. This is how we win the battle.
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Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle;
4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us." 10 And the Philistine said, "Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together." 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
32 David said to Saul, "Let no one's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." 33 Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 David said, "The LORD, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you!" 38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them." So David removed them. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field." 45 But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's and he will give you into our hand." 48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. (1 Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49a NRSV)
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:35 NRSV)
“DAVEY AND GOLIATH”
One of my first introductions, growing up Catholic, to the Protestant faith was through a TV show, a cartoon called, “Davey and Goliath”. It started in the 1960s and the theme music was based on the great Lutheran hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. They presented simple lessons in faith and morality to children. It was done in stop-motion animation and told stories about the Hansen family, especially Davey and his dog, Goliath. Goliath is no ordinary dog, but one who talks, although only Davey hears him. Well, sort of hears him. Many of the stories involve something that Davey wants to do and adults or Goliath gently advise him not to, “I don’t know, Davey.” When the situation goes wrong for him or for others, Goliath and others come to the rescue and there is a review of the lesson learned, “Oh, Davey.” The lesson is often about doing the right thing or asking for help. Some of the adventures were when Davey went into an abandoned silver mine or skated on thin ice, was stranded on an island, or trapped on a train. One was: “To the Rescue”: At Roaring River Camp, Davey, Goliath, and friends find that chores spoil their fun, and refuse to cooperate when their counselors plan a canoe trip. It takes a forest fire and a plane crash to teach them that people have to work together to protect the land and help each other.
This morning’s reading is a story with David and Goliath that is a lot scarier than any cartoon. Well, it isn’t if you know the ending and rush to the end. But if we read it slowly, with attention, we might see and feel what is happening as the story unfolds. We will see again what this passage has to tell us. The Philistines gathered for battle and they had a champion, a man ten feet tall, with armor weighing 150 pounds. He would call out to the Israelites and challenge them to send a warrior to fight him. A lot would be riding on the fight. They would be representatives of the groups and the losing champion’s group would serve the winning champion’s group. Everyone who heard this was afraid. Not only would he be fighting a giant, if he lost, they would become slaves of the Philistines. No one from the Israelite side came forth until David went to the front to bring provisions to his brothers. There he saw and heard the challenge. And he wanted to be the one to face him. He is not being young and reckless; he has faced big opponents like lions and bears and won. And he sees one more thing. Goliath challenges the God of the Israelites and God will help David defeat him. They put Saul’s armor on David and it does not fit, so he will not use them. He takes his weapon, five smooth stones from the brook and his sling. No huge sword. Goliath sees that he is facing a boy, and mocks them all the more. And David points out that he has one more weapon, he comes in the name of the Lord. He used the sling, struck the giant in the forehead and he went down. Boom. The boy defeated the giant.
We all face things in life that are bigger than we are. There are two kinds of things, though. One kind is the one where we are afraid of something big, something that we could do, should do. They can be such things as repairing a relationship, getting a better job, serving others in a new way, bringing fairness to a situation. All these can require us to act in new ways, to face something that frightens us. Those situations call us to be more courageous, like David was. We can do them in that same way, facing them with courage rather than fear, with confidence from the way God has led us in the past, with faith in God’s power. God made David’s arm and skill and made those five little stones. And one last thing. We must look at the enemy. It is big. It is armored. It is frightening. But if we use wisdom we will aim our weapons at where it is not armored. There is at least one spot, like Goliath’s forehead, where it is vulnerable. Too often, when we face the foe, we do not look. We shoot at it and do not aim. Then our stones go pinging off the helmet and the giant laughs. We face situations and direct our anger and our effort at everything but that one spot on the enemy that can change it. We need to aim at that spot. Otherwise we do things that do not address the situation. And then we do not win over it. There are times we need to face the challenge ahead of us.
A storm is greater than a giant warrior. The Gospel reading talks about this second type of big thing. The disciples went into the boat to cross the lake. Then came a storm. This is nothing new, there are storms all the time, but out on the lake they can be dangerous. The waves came into the boat. They woke Jesus up and asked him if he cared. He did, but to be asleep during the storm is the sign that he was not frightened like they were. He rebuked the wind and it obeyed and he asked about their faith. They, in turn, asked each other who Jesus was that he could even command the storm. He is greater than any storm and was with them. And he can be with us in ours.
There are no giants walking around challenging our armies these days. But in another way we still have giants, there are things which challenge our faith and courage and lives. There is a lesson here. Even a boy can bring down a giant, if he does it with faith, and courage, and the right small stone in the right place. If he faces it well. And we are not lost in the storms of life, those things that are above us, beyond us, around us, if we remember who is beside us. And so, knowing this, Martin Luther wrote this almost five hundred years ago:
Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus it is He,
Lord Sabaoth His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
This is what we must know when we find ourselves in life at the front of a struggle. This is what gives us faith and courage to sling our stones or wake Jesus up. This is how we win the battle.
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Rich and Poor
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? 8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (James 2:1-17 NRSV)
From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." 28 But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-- the demon has left your daughter." 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." (Mark 7:24-37 NRSV)
The 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
“REDISTRIBUTING WEALTH”
I had perfect attendance in grade school. It wasn’t that I never got sick; I just only got sick on weekends and holidays. I was very careful about it. One year it was the day before Christmas break. I felt fine in the morning and the teacher gave us each a Mounds candy bar. A whole Mounds bar! I started to feel ill. I finished the school day out. On the way home I started to feel really ill. By the time I got home I was in horrible shape. It was obvious to everyone. One of my brothers said, “You still want your candy bar?” Redistributing wealth is on our minds a lot. Statistics are saying that those with wealth are getting wealthier at a rate never heard of before in our history. Inequality is becoming greater. That is very clear.
Let’s talk about wealth for a minute. In organic chemistry there is a rule, called Markovnikov’s Rule. “The rule states that, with the addition of a protic acid HX to an alkene, the acid hydrogen (H) becomes attached to the carbon with fewer alkyl substituents, and the halide (X) group becomes attached to the carbon with more alkyl substituents.. Or, as my college textbook stated, “Those that have, gets.” In life as well, those who have, have the means to make or have more. Those who don’t have, have little with which to make more. I believe we have become confused that wealth is some kind of virtue. We are getting the idea that those who have money are somehow better people. At least in many cases, they are treated better. There are even those who are hinting that wealth is a sign of special favor from God. Wealth is not virtue, it is using common sense, using opportunities. Virtue is what you do with the wealth you have.
The passage from James has to do with inequality. He says that favoritism shows that their faith is not genuine. How one treats people is based on faith, to James. It seems that the wealthy came into the gathering, into church, and got treated well, treated specially. A person of lower economic means comes in and is treated differently, not as well as the wealthy. James tells them that this is not to be so. This is an example of how the Early Church had the idea of equality in a society which was very unequal, ranging from the Emperor all the way down to slaves. It threatens to ruin this equality when people start treating others based on their social status. James reminds them something: God has chosen the poor also. Their riches are of a different kind. They can be the riches of faith. And one last thing, James points out how the rich treat them in the marketplace, in daily life. So why are they so eager to curry favor with them?
An example of faith is found in the Gospel reading. It is the story of a woman, not a Jewish woman, but a gentile, who came to Jesus seeking healing for her daughter from an unclean spirit. She had heard about him. When she begged for this, his answer was that favor was to be given to the people of Israel. They were the special people. She responded to this challenge with the idea that there is so much favor from God that it can even come to those who are not the chosen people. Her faith was demonstrated in her confidence in God’s goodness.
The reality is that wealth, while it appears to give comfort, can be dangerous. It is that when we make money, gain our wealth, we can lose the other things. There are things in life that are greater than financial gain. One is peace of mind. I had a friend in Iowa City whose anxiety level went up and down daily based on the stock market. Money changes our lives. Henry David Thoreau, raised the question, as did others, of whether we own our possessions or our possessions own us. Wealth can make us see people as objects to be used in some way. When getting money is the only object, people can forget how it is gained. It matters how. Wealth has an addictive quality. In a survey they asked people how much money felt like enough. The answer was over 7 million dollars. Wealth can make us think we are self-made people and forget all that we were given by others to make what we have possible. The problem with having some is that there can always be more to have. Money can also cause us to forget at times it doesn’t solve life’s problems. They require something else—character, or patience, or kindness. Wealth isolates people. When we depend on others less, we stop thinking about them, their lives, their needs. Money typically turns us inward. We talk about the American Dream as if it is only making money. That is only part of the American Dream. The American Dream starting out was for a classless society, one based on the equal dignity of persons from one which was very unequal, kings and peasants. Is the American Dream about making money or about living in a society which values all persons?
The reality of wealth is that it does make some of life easier. Health care, but not health; living arrangements, but not life; enjoyable activities, but not joy, all depend on money. So it is not nonsense why people would want more. There are things you can do with money. Those things can be good things or not so good things. Money by itself is not a virtue. The danger is that we forget that money is only a means. People forget that and money becomes the goal of life. The Bible never says that money is all bad. Our society says, nowadays, that there is nothing bad about it. The reality, both in life and in the wisdom of God, is that it is something which can be used well. But can also be a destructive force. It can use us.
Real virtue is not the same as wealth. The real wealth is something other than money. There are things that money, by itself, cannot provide. The Week recently reported that former Army medic Augie Angerame began to visit a fellow resident in the nursing home. Because of illness they can’t communicate. His son John found that the men had both served in the same unit in the Korean War—and that his father had cared for the other when he was wounded. “‘Sixty years later,’ said John, his dad is ‘still checking on his guys.’” There can be honor and commitment, valuable things in life, that have nothing to do with financial success.
The pursuit of wealth and status is part of human life. Many think it is an unquestionable good. The Gospels and the Early Church remind us that it is not. Scripture gives us a larger vision of life. In a world which increasingly confused over the meaning of life, we have some ideas. Pick character over money. Pick love over wealth. Those, and other things, like fellowship, are closer to the meaning of life than riches. James tells the church not to forget that. If they do, the character of the church will be destroyed. The question before we rush off in pursuit of gain is, “What will we lose?” We would do well to remember this prayer:
God, make us wise to see
What’s passing, what’s for eternity.
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From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." 28 But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-- the demon has left your daughter." 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." (Mark 7:24-37 NRSV)
The 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
“REDISTRIBUTING WEALTH”
I had perfect attendance in grade school. It wasn’t that I never got sick; I just only got sick on weekends and holidays. I was very careful about it. One year it was the day before Christmas break. I felt fine in the morning and the teacher gave us each a Mounds candy bar. A whole Mounds bar! I started to feel ill. I finished the school day out. On the way home I started to feel really ill. By the time I got home I was in horrible shape. It was obvious to everyone. One of my brothers said, “You still want your candy bar?” Redistributing wealth is on our minds a lot. Statistics are saying that those with wealth are getting wealthier at a rate never heard of before in our history. Inequality is becoming greater. That is very clear.
Let’s talk about wealth for a minute. In organic chemistry there is a rule, called Markovnikov’s Rule. “The rule states that, with the addition of a protic acid HX to an alkene, the acid hydrogen (H) becomes attached to the carbon with fewer alkyl substituents, and the halide (X) group becomes attached to the carbon with more alkyl substituents.. Or, as my college textbook stated, “Those that have, gets.” In life as well, those who have, have the means to make or have more. Those who don’t have, have little with which to make more. I believe we have become confused that wealth is some kind of virtue. We are getting the idea that those who have money are somehow better people. At least in many cases, they are treated better. There are even those who are hinting that wealth is a sign of special favor from God. Wealth is not virtue, it is using common sense, using opportunities. Virtue is what you do with the wealth you have.
The passage from James has to do with inequality. He says that favoritism shows that their faith is not genuine. How one treats people is based on faith, to James. It seems that the wealthy came into the gathering, into church, and got treated well, treated specially. A person of lower economic means comes in and is treated differently, not as well as the wealthy. James tells them that this is not to be so. This is an example of how the Early Church had the idea of equality in a society which was very unequal, ranging from the Emperor all the way down to slaves. It threatens to ruin this equality when people start treating others based on their social status. James reminds them something: God has chosen the poor also. Their riches are of a different kind. They can be the riches of faith. And one last thing, James points out how the rich treat them in the marketplace, in daily life. So why are they so eager to curry favor with them?
An example of faith is found in the Gospel reading. It is the story of a woman, not a Jewish woman, but a gentile, who came to Jesus seeking healing for her daughter from an unclean spirit. She had heard about him. When she begged for this, his answer was that favor was to be given to the people of Israel. They were the special people. She responded to this challenge with the idea that there is so much favor from God that it can even come to those who are not the chosen people. Her faith was demonstrated in her confidence in God’s goodness.
The reality is that wealth, while it appears to give comfort, can be dangerous. It is that when we make money, gain our wealth, we can lose the other things. There are things in life that are greater than financial gain. One is peace of mind. I had a friend in Iowa City whose anxiety level went up and down daily based on the stock market. Money changes our lives. Henry David Thoreau, raised the question, as did others, of whether we own our possessions or our possessions own us. Wealth can make us see people as objects to be used in some way. When getting money is the only object, people can forget how it is gained. It matters how. Wealth has an addictive quality. In a survey they asked people how much money felt like enough. The answer was over 7 million dollars. Wealth can make us think we are self-made people and forget all that we were given by others to make what we have possible. The problem with having some is that there can always be more to have. Money can also cause us to forget at times it doesn’t solve life’s problems. They require something else—character, or patience, or kindness. Wealth isolates people. When we depend on others less, we stop thinking about them, their lives, their needs. Money typically turns us inward. We talk about the American Dream as if it is only making money. That is only part of the American Dream. The American Dream starting out was for a classless society, one based on the equal dignity of persons from one which was very unequal, kings and peasants. Is the American Dream about making money or about living in a society which values all persons?
The reality of wealth is that it does make some of life easier. Health care, but not health; living arrangements, but not life; enjoyable activities, but not joy, all depend on money. So it is not nonsense why people would want more. There are things you can do with money. Those things can be good things or not so good things. Money by itself is not a virtue. The danger is that we forget that money is only a means. People forget that and money becomes the goal of life. The Bible never says that money is all bad. Our society says, nowadays, that there is nothing bad about it. The reality, both in life and in the wisdom of God, is that it is something which can be used well. But can also be a destructive force. It can use us.
Real virtue is not the same as wealth. The real wealth is something other than money. There are things that money, by itself, cannot provide. The Week recently reported that former Army medic Augie Angerame began to visit a fellow resident in the nursing home. Because of illness they can’t communicate. His son John found that the men had both served in the same unit in the Korean War—and that his father had cared for the other when he was wounded. “‘Sixty years later,’ said John, his dad is ‘still checking on his guys.’” There can be honor and commitment, valuable things in life, that have nothing to do with financial success.
The pursuit of wealth and status is part of human life. Many think it is an unquestionable good. The Gospels and the Early Church remind us that it is not. Scripture gives us a larger vision of life. In a world which increasingly confused over the meaning of life, we have some ideas. Pick character over money. Pick love over wealth. Those, and other things, like fellowship, are closer to the meaning of life than riches. James tells the church not to forget that. If they do, the character of the church will be destroyed. The question before we rush off in pursuit of gain is, “What will we lose?” We would do well to remember this prayer:
God, make us wise to see
What’s passing, what’s for eternity.
+++++
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Do Not Worry
Do not fear, O soil; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things! 22 Do not fear, you animals of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and vine give their full yield. 23 O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the LORD your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before. 24 The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (Joel 2:21-27 NRSV)
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you -- you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:25-33 NRSV)
The 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
“WHAT CAN YOU ADD?”
Worry is a part of life. We all have concerns, but some people take it really far. Take, for example, part of the song by Randy Newman which was the theme song for the TV show, “Monk”:
People think I'm crazy, ’cause I worry all the time
If you paid attention, you’d be worried too
You better pay attention
Or this world we love so much might just kill you
I could be wrong now, but I don’t think so!
’Cause there’s a jungle out there.
It’s a jungle out there.
Maybe we know people like this, or even have been like this ourselves. Perhaps we can laugh a bit at this outlook, but there are many things in a day that can cause us to worry, from the news of the world to our own personal circumstances.
Jesus had some things to say about worry and that, by itself, is a bit surprising. Of all the great topics of faith and life, he talks about this. But it can consume us and so is dangerous, ironically as dangerous as all the things we worry about. Worry is an attitude towards life. In the extreme, it can rob us of joy and peace and make us fearful of the future and of others. So it is something significant in our spiritual lives. It matters in how we live.
Jesus’ words challenge the way many live their lives. Few would put worry on the lists of the great sins, but there it is. Don’t worry about your lives, Jesus says. Of course what he is not telling us is to be careless. This is no excuse for stupidity or laziness or bad behavior toward others. We are to exercise responsibility for our lives and choices, not neglecting the opportunities we have. Jesus did not say that life would be trouble-free, just to let today’s troubles belong to today and tomorrow’s belong to tomorrow. We worry sometimes just to avoid doing what we need to be doing today. The nature of worry is to be preoccupied with things, the future, threats—real and possible—and that is what we are to avoid.
So Jesus points out some things. The first is that worry can be about unimportant things. It often forgets what is essential and what is not. Worry changes our perspective and we forget that the birds go about finding what food God provides, they do not sit there and worry about it. They do not pass over God’s gifts because they are not the biggest or most stylish. Jesus reminds us of God’s care. Worry focuses us on us, even when things are not about us. Will it rain tomorrow? That can be an important question. But whether it does or not, we still have to face tomorrow, whatever there is in it. Or as in the old proverb, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes.”
Speaking about the weather, worry often focuses on things that are beyond our control, acting as if somehow being concerned about it will change it. Now, caution is always important, but what does worry do to the weather? What does it do about other things? Does worry make you grow taller? The ancient philosopher Epictetus said, “Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.” The ability to know what you can do and what you must simply endure is one of the most important life skills.
Worry gets ahead of itself. We imagine things and spend our time on things that do not come to pass. Worry can leave reality behind. My internship supervisor’s young son, Dale, would run up to him all bothered by something and I would hear Mark say, “Wait until you have something to worry about before you worry.”
Worry changes our picture of God. God gets forgotten in the cares of life. We forget God’s generosity. God not only provides, but it is like the lilies, so stunning in beauty, abundant in goodness. God gives us the gift of this day, among many other blessings. We are reminded of this when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This meal we come back to month after month, throughout our lives, shows us that God is with us and continually gives us what we need, whether it is food or forgiveness or fellowship. And today we particularly recognize that we share it with millions around the world. The reading from Joel reminds us again of the great care God takes of the creatures and people of the earth. What we are not to forget is that God cares about us, cares for us.
When we worry we are not at our best. Worry unsettles our minds and that can’t help spill over into how we behave toward others. That usually robs us of their companionship and help, if we drive them away.
Worry cheats us because it robs us of today. Yes, we need to plan for the future, but when we spend all our time and energy facing it, we forget today. Today has enough challenges. Worry might motivate us a little, but it really can’t add anything to the day we have. Can it make our lives longer? Can it add a minute to the day? No, in fact, you would almost be subtracting time, that is, time lost to worrying. No, we can’t make it longer, but what we do with the day can add value to it.
Elsie Larson tells this story about what worry does to life’s priorities. She was teaching her oldest grandson, Richard, some art lessons and he only drew lines. So she changed the lesson and wanted him to draw a tiger. She wanted him to start, not with lines, but with the imagination and placing patches of tiger-like color on the piece of paper. Then once the shaped was done, could he add the eyes, nose, mouth and stripes. After seeing the picture, she realized that life is her canvas. She wants to draw in the details of her life before she has the basic design.
What if we looked at today, not like something to be rushed through on our way to tomorrow or ignored because of all the concerns that fill our minds, but the way a creator would look at it? It is a place for the birds of the air to feed and for the lilies to display their splendor. What if we looked at today as a gift from the One who cares for us? What if we looked at today not to be wasted in fretting, but to be used to accomplish and enjoy great things? What if we looked at today like an artist—like the block of stone, or blank canvas, or a lump of clay and rather than waste it, asked what we are going to create out of it? That is what we can add to the day.
+++++
Timothy J. Gerarden
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you -- you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:25-33 NRSV)
The 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
“WHAT CAN YOU ADD?”
Worry is a part of life. We all have concerns, but some people take it really far. Take, for example, part of the song by Randy Newman which was the theme song for the TV show, “Monk”:
People think I'm crazy, ’cause I worry all the time
If you paid attention, you’d be worried too
You better pay attention
Or this world we love so much might just kill you
I could be wrong now, but I don’t think so!
’Cause there’s a jungle out there.
It’s a jungle out there.
Maybe we know people like this, or even have been like this ourselves. Perhaps we can laugh a bit at this outlook, but there are many things in a day that can cause us to worry, from the news of the world to our own personal circumstances.
Jesus had some things to say about worry and that, by itself, is a bit surprising. Of all the great topics of faith and life, he talks about this. But it can consume us and so is dangerous, ironically as dangerous as all the things we worry about. Worry is an attitude towards life. In the extreme, it can rob us of joy and peace and make us fearful of the future and of others. So it is something significant in our spiritual lives. It matters in how we live.
Jesus’ words challenge the way many live their lives. Few would put worry on the lists of the great sins, but there it is. Don’t worry about your lives, Jesus says. Of course what he is not telling us is to be careless. This is no excuse for stupidity or laziness or bad behavior toward others. We are to exercise responsibility for our lives and choices, not neglecting the opportunities we have. Jesus did not say that life would be trouble-free, just to let today’s troubles belong to today and tomorrow’s belong to tomorrow. We worry sometimes just to avoid doing what we need to be doing today. The nature of worry is to be preoccupied with things, the future, threats—real and possible—and that is what we are to avoid.
So Jesus points out some things. The first is that worry can be about unimportant things. It often forgets what is essential and what is not. Worry changes our perspective and we forget that the birds go about finding what food God provides, they do not sit there and worry about it. They do not pass over God’s gifts because they are not the biggest or most stylish. Jesus reminds us of God’s care. Worry focuses us on us, even when things are not about us. Will it rain tomorrow? That can be an important question. But whether it does or not, we still have to face tomorrow, whatever there is in it. Or as in the old proverb, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes.”
Speaking about the weather, worry often focuses on things that are beyond our control, acting as if somehow being concerned about it will change it. Now, caution is always important, but what does worry do to the weather? What does it do about other things? Does worry make you grow taller? The ancient philosopher Epictetus said, “Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.” The ability to know what you can do and what you must simply endure is one of the most important life skills.
Worry gets ahead of itself. We imagine things and spend our time on things that do not come to pass. Worry can leave reality behind. My internship supervisor’s young son, Dale, would run up to him all bothered by something and I would hear Mark say, “Wait until you have something to worry about before you worry.”
Worry changes our picture of God. God gets forgotten in the cares of life. We forget God’s generosity. God not only provides, but it is like the lilies, so stunning in beauty, abundant in goodness. God gives us the gift of this day, among many other blessings. We are reminded of this when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This meal we come back to month after month, throughout our lives, shows us that God is with us and continually gives us what we need, whether it is food or forgiveness or fellowship. And today we particularly recognize that we share it with millions around the world. The reading from Joel reminds us again of the great care God takes of the creatures and people of the earth. What we are not to forget is that God cares about us, cares for us.
When we worry we are not at our best. Worry unsettles our minds and that can’t help spill over into how we behave toward others. That usually robs us of their companionship and help, if we drive them away.
Worry cheats us because it robs us of today. Yes, we need to plan for the future, but when we spend all our time and energy facing it, we forget today. Today has enough challenges. Worry might motivate us a little, but it really can’t add anything to the day we have. Can it make our lives longer? Can it add a minute to the day? No, in fact, you would almost be subtracting time, that is, time lost to worrying. No, we can’t make it longer, but what we do with the day can add value to it.
Elsie Larson tells this story about what worry does to life’s priorities. She was teaching her oldest grandson, Richard, some art lessons and he only drew lines. So she changed the lesson and wanted him to draw a tiger. She wanted him to start, not with lines, but with the imagination and placing patches of tiger-like color on the piece of paper. Then once the shaped was done, could he add the eyes, nose, mouth and stripes. After seeing the picture, she realized that life is her canvas. She wants to draw in the details of her life before she has the basic design.
What if we looked at today, not like something to be rushed through on our way to tomorrow or ignored because of all the concerns that fill our minds, but the way a creator would look at it? It is a place for the birds of the air to feed and for the lilies to display their splendor. What if we looked at today as a gift from the One who cares for us? What if we looked at today not to be wasted in fretting, but to be used to accomplish and enjoy great things? What if we looked at today like an artist—like the block of stone, or blank canvas, or a lump of clay and rather than waste it, asked what we are going to create out of it? That is what we can add to the day.
+++++
Timothy J. Gerarden
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