The 9th Sunday after Pentecost - Listening to God and Standing Our Ground

Two weeks ago we heard Jesus instruct the seventy people [or seventy-two] he sent out to preach and heal in the cities where he was planning to go to say this:  "The kingdom of God has come near to you."   Another version of the Bible translates his instruction this way: "God's kingdom has come upon you."  As chapter 10 of Luke's gospel continues, Luke gives us glimpses of how God's reign will appear.  The theological concept of "already, not yet"--as in "already seen, but not yet fully realized"--should be used to interpret many of Jesus' parables and teaching vignettes.

Today's story of a crisis in hospitality at the home of Martha and Mary offers such a vignette.  Although Martha and Mary have become iconic figures in Christian thought, this is the only time they appear in Luke's writing.  They don't appear in either Matthew or Mark.  In John's gospel they do appear in the story of Jesus' raising Lazarus and speak forcefully to Jesus about their grief.  John's narrative shows Martha as the one with theological insight.  Martha says that she believes Jesus is the "Messiah, the Son of God, who has come into the world." She also affirms her confidence in the resurrection of the dead "on the last day"--in other words when God's reign is fully realized.  John describes Mary as having anointed Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair--a story which appears in the seventh chapter of Luke's gospel. John also states that Jesus loves Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

Assuming that both Luke and John are talking about the same people, Jesus knew these sisters well and was comfortable interacting with them in the same way he did with his male disciples--as a teacher.  But in her eagerness and haste to prepare for a highly honored guest, Martha acts out the traditional role of hospitable host.  In the Genesis reading we heard this morning we saw Abraham ordering his wife and servants to prepare a feast for three highly honored guests--whom he believes are messengers from God.  Abraham's hospitality could not be faulted!

But, despite the tradition and despite the affection and apparent respect that the sisters have for Jesus and he for them, Jesus addresses what's missing in this frantic hospitality.  Jesus calls it "the better part" that "will not be taken away."  What is this better part?  And why does Jesus insist that it not be denied Mary?

Sometimes this narrative has been interpreted as Jesus placing the contemplative life above the active life.  Sometimes folks have suggested that Jesus wants to make the point that works do not save a person.  But I see this narrative as Jesus' affirming the importance of listening to his teaching and including women in the group of people he hopes will receive his message.

We know the gospels were written long after the events occurred--some 40 to 60 years, in fact. John's account offers proof that indeed women, including Martha and Mary, were important recipients of the gospel message. In Luke's account we heard how that might have taken place on at least one occasion--in the home of beloved friends.  This intimate, domestic scene offers a contrast to the crowd scenes where Jesus has to flee to a boat or up a mountain to get away from being mobbed after he teaches and heals. We see Jesus in a setting where we might be able to imagine ourselves listening to him and preparing to eat a meal with him.

Already, not yet--in many ways our lives are very different from the people who lived at the time of Jesus, but in one way we are in exactly the same place. We believe that God became fully human to initiate God's reign in which creation will be restored to the fullness God intended, but we have no idea when God will complete this work of drawing the whole world to God's self.

For centuries, each time we have said the "Our Father," we have prayed for God's kingdom to come and God's will be done on earth.  And for centuries, we have--in the words of Eucharistic Prayer C--"turned against [God], and betrayed [God's] trust; and we turned against one another."

This week in Wilmington a five year old girl, Jazmine, was shot in the leg as she went outside after dinner to retrieve her scooter.  Her wound was so bad that eventually she was sent to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for surgery.  How far we are from a peaceful and just society!  How far we are from God's reign!

Carolyn Gillette, the co-pastor of Limestone Presbyterian Church, writes hymn texts to familiar hymn tunes, some of which offer theological commentary on events in the news.   Through her Facebook page I found a new hymn Carolyn has written, and I want to share it with you this morning.  It speaks to the problem of violence on our streets, especially as it injures or kills those who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.  It also speaks about the nature of God’s reign. [I read it at the end the sermon.]

We Pray for Youth We Dearly Love

Solo:

"If I should die before I wake,
I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take....
And if I die on violent streets,
I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep."

Congregation:

We pray for youth we dearly love
Who still await each bedtime hug,
Yet — when they hear of violence — cry
And ask, "Will I be next to die?"

O Lord, forgive our nation's sin:
We judge the one with different skin.
We turn from those we should embrace;
We count on guns instead of grace.

Forgive our blindness to the way
Some live in fear from day to day.
Forgive us when we cannot see
That all are bound till all are free.

God bless the youth who live in fear,
And may we seek your kingdom here.
May love be where we stand our ground
Till justice, peace and joy abound.

Tune: Traditional English melody - LM
Text: Copyright © 2013 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.

The 7th Sunday after Pentecost - Lambs in the Midst of Wolves?

"See," said Jesus, "I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves."  One wonders after a statement like that why seventy people were still willing to go out and proclaim the reign of God.  Did they think Jesus was using a rather exaggerated figure of speech?  Perhaps it's like the expression I've heard folks use when they're trying to accomplish something difficult, and it's not going well--"I'm up to my ears in alligators."

But I think that in his statement about lambs and wolves Jesus emphasized the nature of the lambs and also how ministry feels.  One word comes to mind: vulnerable.  Yes, vulnerable--but with a strategy.  And that strategy is  "travel light," trust in God, and don't be deterred by rejection.  If a person can follow the example of there seventy disciples, then his or her vulnerability becomes an asset, because it leaves room for God to act.

We can see that's the case when we find the seventy have come back expressing joy at what was accomplished.  But how hard this lesson is for us!  When we want a project to succeed, we invest so much of ourselves in getting the outcome we want.  We may call it "taking personal responsibility." But it also can become an obsession when the needs and feelings of those around us fade into the background.  It can become a perfectionist attitude, and the thought of criticism from others becomes unbearable.

And this sort of perfectionism can be found in really wonderful people.  When I was a teenager, a young minister, who related so well to young people, came to our church.  I was a Methodist then, and I used to tease him and call him Father Ellis (Methodist pastors were NEVER called "Father").  As I look back, I think I did this because he treated me like a loving father would--with appreciation and respect.  When I was in college, he was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer. Now we know that such problems have a medical cause, but back then it was attributed only to diet and stress.

When I spoke with his wife, she made a statement I have always remembered: "It's not what he was eating, but what's eating him."  I believe she felt that, in the terms of today's gospel, he had not been able to accept his vulnerability and detach from the politics of pastoring an important church in a small town--despite his popularity with the congregation.  The outcome of this was good, though.  He survived and went on to pastor a larger church in the Pike Creek area.  Living in a more urban area gave him and his family some respite from the small town fishbowl existence.  When we met again, many years later, I found someone who had made peace with the demands of his vocation.

In the passage we heard from Galatians, St. Paul addressed the need for a Christian community in which there is both accountability and compassion.   When both of these are at work in the members of that community, then the temptation of placing success or the exercise of power above healthy community can be resisted.

Paul framed his teaching to the Galatians in the context of a "transgression" of someone in the community and the need to "fulfill the law of Christ"--which is, of course, to love your neighbor as yourself.  Paul described the compassion piece as restoring "such a one [who had transgressed] in the spirit of gentleness" and as bearing one another's burdens.  A person's difficulty in following Jesus (transgression) isn't an occasion for feeling superior or expressing condescension.  Rather it will be a time for each member of the community to engage in self-examination, or as St Paul said, "All must test their own work."  That's what he meant when he described the accountability piece as, "For all must carry their own loads."  It's interesting that Paul put the compassion piece before the accountability piece of self–examination in his letter.  Could he be making the same point when he said, "So then, whenever we have an opportunity let us work for the good of all . . .?”

"To work for the good of all" meant that St. Paul did not need to boast about what he had accomplished.  He said, "May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world."  That's the detachment Jesus asked those he sent out to proclaim the reign of God to maintain.  As lambs we don't have a position of power or status to maintain.  But if we know we will be traveling light, trusting God, and not concerned about rejection, even as lambs in the midst of wolves, we can proclaim boldly how Jesus has made everything, including us, "a new creation."

St. Teresa of Avila began a reformed branch of the Carmelite monastic order in 16th century Spain with the Inquisition raging around her.  As a woman who had mystical experiences and who wrote about them, she more than once fell under suspicion.  She was indeed a lamb in the midst of  wolves!  The code by which she lived--and required her nuns to live by as well--could be described as traveling light, trusting in God, and not worrying about the outcome.  She said that three things were important: detachment—as in the sense of not being emotionally needy for the good opinion of others, humility, and caritas/self-giving love. And these were undergirded by many hours of contemplative prayer in which she and her nuns were LISTENING to what God might say to them.  In their real vulnerability, but also in their deep trust in God, they could not only proclaim God's reign, but also show the world what living God's reign really meant.

Isn't that what we should be about today?  As a Christian community I believe we should not reject vulnerability, but we should recognize that God can act in the space of our vulnerability.  It isn't our how clever or perfect or powerful we are, but how lightly we can travel with a humble attitude and with self-giving love. And especially how detached we can be from clinging to one outcome or another as the only right one, because of what we hear from others!

As Luke reported Jesus saying, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you [that’s how the seventy had measured their success] but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."  Let us, fellow lambs, rejoice today knowing that God's grace will surround us, forgiving us our shortcomings and even our failures.  Yes, rejoice that God will indeed have taken down our names and, knowing each of us, will draw us to the divine light in life eternal.

The 6th Sunday after Pentecost - Keeping Your Hand on the Plow and Your Priorities Straight

         Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

         What do we plow with these days? A tractor? A rototiller?  Certainly anyone who starts running either one of those pieces of equipment and doesn't look straight ahead will quickly get into trouble.  So putting our hand to the plow and not looking back can be understood as a way of saying something like "Keep looking ahead . . . don't lose your focus . . . make sure your priorities are correct."

         In the gospel reading Luke shows us what Jesus' priorities are.  Jesus rebuked James and John for suggesting that the Samaritans who refused to show Jesus hospitality needed to be destroyed.  He didn't want to use power to make his point that God's reign had begun with his ministry.  He also said that following him and being part of the reign of God must come first in his would-be followers lives.  Keep looking ahead . . . don't lose your focus . . . keep your priorities straight.

         Jesus sounded a bit cranky, because he knew the journey ahead for his followers would be difficult and require real commitment.  We know that even the disciples closest to him failed the test of keeping their hand on the plow and not looking back.  After he was arrested, they either denied knowing him or ran away.  Until the Holy Spirit came upon them and gave them the spiritual power they needed, they were fearful and unable to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, the long awaited Savior.

         When you begin a family and bring a child into the world, you start on a challenging journey.  No one is truly prepared for this commitment.  We have put our hand to the plow to use the image Jesus did.  To not look back, but to look ahead and plan how you want to nurture your child--this is critical!  How important it becomes to not lose your focus on what seems best to do!  And, yes, you must figure out what's most important for your child and set that as your priority.

         Today B-- and K-- have chosen for D-- to become part of the Christian community here at St. Nicholas.  She's too young to understand the promises they are making on her behalf.  But K-- and B-- do understand them and are making a commitment to teach her what they mean.  "Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?  Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love? Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord?"  These are the questions I will ask.  The parents and godparents, speaking for D--, will answer, "I do."  She will learn about God's love in Jesus through her family's teaching and example.  When they bring her to St. Nicholas, she will also learn about God's love in Jesus from us as well.  This must be a priority for D--'s family and for us.

​         I want to share a story with you about how this happened for one child and one congregation.  It comes from a book called Godparenting: Nurturing the Next Generation by Nancy Ann McLaughlin and Tracey Herzer.  The story was told by an Episcopal priest named Debra Kissinger:  “When I was the vicar of a small church in Connecticut, there was a three-year-old boy, Jeffrey, who came to the altar rail week after week with his mother . . . Jeffrey’s mother was reluctant to allow him to receive the sacrament ‘until he was old enough to understand.’  Week after week, the little boy would extend his hands to receive, and week after week his mother would pull his hands back to his chest with a thump.  But one Sunday Jeffrey was not to be denied.  He extended his hands.  His mother pulled them back. Not once but three times . . . And then it happened:  Jeffrey yelled at the top of his lungs, ‘Jesus, Jesus! I want Jesus, too!  Give me Jesus!’ and thrust his hands forward again to receive the host.

​         You could have heard a pin drop.  The [Holy] Spirit silently danced through the church.  I looked at Jeffrey’s mom, both our eyes brimming with tears.  She nodded her consent.  I barely choked out the words: ‘The Body of Christ’ as Jeffrey took Jesus into his hands and pronounced a loud ‘Amen!’ for all to hear . . . Jeffrey knelt in awe before Jesus that day, and we were each filled with awe as we searched our own hearts and shared his experience.”

         From this story we see how important a community can be to helping a child to get his or her priorities right. Let us be faithful in our following Jesus, so D-- can see the light of Jesus Christ in each of us. In doing this we are keeping our hand on the plow and our eyes securely on Jesus.