The Presence of God

Matthew 2:13-23

There are so many wonderful stories in the Christmas saga. We know the story about the sheep and the shepherds and the angels above them, singing “Glory to God in the highest.” We know the story of the shepherds going to the stable and the manger and visiting the baby Jesus who is lying in a manger. We love the story of the wise men with their gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are wonderful Christmas stories. But then the story turns ugly. It turns ugly fast. Today our gospel confronts us with the death of innocent children at the hands of Herod. We are reminded today that the birth of Christ does not remove the power of evil from our world. Just as quickly as Christ enters the world, the silent night is jolted back to reality by the power of Herod.

I love Christmas and my guess is that many of you love it as well. So, the jolt of reality that appears in our text today is difficult to swallow. Here we are still in the Christmas spirit, with our decorations still up and maybe some holiday celebrations still on the horizon, hearing that Herod ordered all the children in Bethlehem under the age of two to be killed. Since the first time I read this text a few weeks ago, I have been asking myself if I think this massacre really happened. Did Herod actually kill approximately 20 infants in the 1,000 person village of Bethlehem, in an effort to kill the newly born babe, Savior of the nations, the Messiah? To tell you the truth, I really wish I would have stumbled upon an answer. What I can tell you is that scholars really disagree about it. Some think that Herod, who was not a very nice king, did in fact kill these children and others argue that it did not actually happen. Regardless of whether or not Herod, in a fit of anger, killed the innocent children of Bethlehem, we are still met with this text in our lectionary for today. This text is still a part of Matthew’s Gospel and we are still called to try and make sense of it in our world today, on this First Sunday of Christmas.

O God, we hear the crying for little ones of yours;
For many still are dying in conflicts and in wars --
In every troubled nation, on every violent street,
How great the lamentation when fear and anger meet!

Our text today is the story of the first martyrs of the church – the first people killed for Jesus Christ. Albeit, I don’t think they died knowing the full purpose of their death. I still think that they died for the faith – because of Jesus Christ. Throughout history many innocent people have been killed. Over 150 were killed in the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota. Millions were killed in the Holocaust. Over one hundred thousand were killed in Hiroshima. Almost 3,000 died on 9/11. And thousands have been killed in Iraq.

More recently, the midnight Christmas Mass was canceled in Baghdad as a consequence of the never-ending assassinations of Christians and the attack against Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral on October 31^st, which killed 57 people. For security reasons, churches will not be decorated. Masses will be somber and held during the day. All of the parish churches have security guards, but when worshipers step outside the church and into the street, they become an easy target. In Iraq, Christmas is a time of hope and joy as well as pain and martyrdom.

We could easily read this as only a doom and gloom text. One could suggest that there is no good news to be found in this gospel lesson. However, I think there is good news to be found in this text from Matthew. The good news is that God is always with us.

God was present in the massacre of the innocents and in the massacres that continue to happen throughout the world. For Joseph, God was present in the form of an angel. God was present on 9/11; we have evidence in the Ground Zero cross made of steel beams that was found amidst the debris. God is present in the kind words spoken to us in times of grief. God is present in the small acts of kindness done by friends during times of tragedy. Emmanuel, God with us, is with us when we are in Bethlehem, scared for the lives of those we love, and when we are in Egypt, fleeing from our homes. God is present when we reach an age or a point in our health that we have to move from the place we have called home for so long. God is with us when our jobs cause us to relocate. God is present when we are called to move to another country, another state, or another house. God is with us when times are favorable and when they are unfavorable.

Mary and Joseph feared Herod's order;
Soldiers were coming! They had to flee.
Taking young Jesus, they crossed the border;
So was our Lord a young refugee.

Some heard the promise — God's hand would bless them!
Some fled from hunger, famine and pain.
Some left a place where others oppressed them;
All trusted God and started again.

Mary, Joseph, and the babe born in Bethlehem knew what it was like to be forced to leave behind friends, family, and security. Because of the angel’s message they knew that God was present in Bethlehem, but they also knew that God would be with them in Egypt. Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus knew what it was like to be refugees. They knew what it was like to flee their homeland.

Our world is filled with refugees. Throughout the world there are many people fleeing their homelands, seeking refuge and safety. By the end of 2009, there were an estimated 10.4 million refugees under the United Nations Refugee Agency’s responsibility.

Often we hear about people that are trying to get into the United States by fleeing Mexico. In August of 2004, US Border Patrol agents in Texas, found a life-sized crucifix, minus the cross, on a sandbar in the middle of the river Rio Grande. When no one claimed it, they donated it to the local Catholic Church. Many call this crucifix “Jesus Christ of the Undocumented.” It has become a symbol of the struggles of undocumented immigrants trying to reach the Promised Land – The United States. It is a symbol for refugees who are seeking safety in a country of freedom and opportunity. It is a symbol of Christ being with them.

In Bethlehem, the birth place of the Messiah, there is a 30 foot wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem. Bethlehem residents find themselves cut off from relatives, unable to worship at religious sites in Jerusalem, and limited in their opportunities for higher education and employment. The concrete wall not only separates the West Bank from Israel, it cuts through Palestinian land, separating farmers from fields and effectively annexing their land. Many Palestinians who have the means have left the Holy Land in search of a better life elsewhere. The Christian population of Bethlehem has declined from a majority several decades ago to about fifteen percent today. There are people fleeing the land where baby Jesus was born seeking refuge, safety, and better opportunities.

Whenever one is weeping, the whole world suffers, too.
Yet, Jesus, as we serve them, we're also serving you.
So may we not ignore them, nor turn our eyes away,
But help us labor for them to bring a better day.

O Prince of Peace, you lead us in ways of truth and grace.
May we be brave to practice your peace in every place --
To love each fear-filled nation, to serve each troubled street.
How great the celebration when peace and justice meet!

After we have been cheered by the Christmas season and made wishes for peace on earth around our Christmas trees, these texts wrench us back to reality like a winter wind, taking our breath away. We do not live in a peaceful snow globe; we live in a world where children die and mothers grieve—not just occasionally, but every day, not just in hospitals but on city streets and in mud huts. We live in a world where the oppressed suffer and the oppressors get away, literally, with murder.

On Christmas we were met with quite a story. Bethlehem. Sheep. Shepherds. Stars. The sky full of angels singing “Glory to God in the highest.” The stable, the manger, the baby Jesus, a cow, a donkey, the wise men, the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. It was such a perfect night. It was so beautiful. It was so wonderful. And in a short time, it turned real ugly. That is the way life is sometimes. So, this is part of the Christmas story, but it’s not the end of the Christmas story. The story of Christmas does not end with a massacre of innocent children in Bethlehem. The story cannot end, because Jesus fled from his homeland and was not killed by the anger of Herod. The story cannot end here because there is good news in this story. The good news is that God is always with us: God was present, God is present, and God will continue to be present in and through our lives. That is good news! The good news of Christmas. Amen.

Unexpected Promise

Matthew 24:36-44

This week the Christmas music began on the radio station I listen to at night as
I fall asleep.  Just as I was thinking that they could have held off a few more
days with the Christmas music, at least until after Thanksgiving, inspiration
struck.  The song “Christmas Shoes” came on.  Maybe you have heard the song,
read the book, or seen the movie that is based on this song.  The chorus goes
like this:

“Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight.”

In essence this song is about a little boy that is preparing for his mother
to die at an unexpected hour.

            A lot of unexpected things happen in our lives.  The traffic can
make us unexpectedly late for a child’s school event.  There can be unexpected
delays on the Metro, quite often on the red line, which make us late for work.
There can be increased airport security that can make us unexpectedly late for a
flight.  Now these sorts of unexpected things can make us very upset, but
chances are they really are not that big of a deal in the larger scheme of life.

The other unexpected thing that happens to many of us is the sudden death of a loved one. I saw this happen to several families while I was doing my summer unit of chaplaincy at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The unexpected situation that I encountered one night was a 17-year-old patient who had recently undergone open-heart surgery at another hospital. While he was in that hospital he developed MRSA, which is an antibiotic resistant staph infection. As his condition continued to worsen the family decided to have him transferred to Mayo for a second opinion. I met the patient and his family at 11pm on a Thursday night. He was awake and alert. He was asking many questions of the medical staff. Throughout the night his condition worsened and at 4am I was called to come back to be with his parents. They were a Roman Catholic family with deep faith. They had seven children and had lost a set of twins at birth. The patient was the third oldest of his siblings. He was an athlete and was going to be a senior in high school. As his parents and I walked the hallway together praying the rosary I kept thinking about the life of this teenage boy. He was sick. He was suffering. His once normal earthly life had gone awry. Then he died on Saturday afternoon after several surgeries on his heart and a few episodes of cardiac arrest. His family was heartbroken. They had faced an unexpected hour.

In today’s Gospel text we hear an unexpected promise. We are told that no one knows when the Son of Man is coming and we are not talking about December 25^th. While December 25^th is the day we remember and celebrate Christ’s first coming into the world, the Gospel today teaches us that no one knows when the Son of Man is coming again. We only know that he is coming again, just as He promised He would. Yet, we are instructed that we must be ready, for Christ will come at an unexpected hour. We’re to "be awake" - not just for what is to come, but to be in continuous preparedness for what is already taking place in our midst. Each day should be lived in the promise of the Lord's nearness, because Christ is indeed near us all the time.

Our text today tells us that Jesus’ coming will be as unexpected as the flood, which caught a careless and unprepared generation off guard. Before Noah entered the ark, the people were eating and drinking. They were getting married and attending weddings. Of course there is nothing wrong with eating and drinking or even with having weddings. But we must always remember that there is something more important than feasts and weddings, the Son of Man could come. God often shows up without an appointment. God arrives unexpectedly. What would we say if God showed up unexpectedly? "Go away, I'm busy getting this meal ready. We've got guests coming tonight." “Don't bother me now; it's my wedding day. I've got a million details to take care of." We are called through this text to open our eyes, and recognize that God is coming to us in the eating and drinking and in the joys of weddings.

What if the Son of Man comes while you are working – while you are in the field or grinding meal. Work is important, but there is something more important than your work, the Son of Man could come. God often shows up without an appointment. God arrives unexpectedly. What would we say if we were busy at work when God showed up? "Don't bother me now, I've got work to do. Come back during my break, then we can visit. Make an appointment with my secretary." We are called to open our eyes, even when we are at work, and recognize that God is in our midst.

We don't know when a thief might break into our house, so we prepare for him at all times. We lock our doors and windows. We invest in home security systems. We leave a light on when we’re gone. We insure our possessions. We have our eyes open and awake at all times, looking for things that may be awry or out of place or suspicious. We do things now because a thief could come at some unknown time. He surely won't make an appointment.

I remember a skit that we used to do when I worked at Bible camp. It was called “Jesus is coming to dinner.” A visitor comes and knocks on the host’s door and asks for food. The host turns the visitor away without any food, explaining that she is too busy preparing for an important guest to arrive to bother with this unexpected visitor. Another visitor comes and knocks on the host’s door and asks to use the bathroom. The host says “no, I am too busy preparing for Jesus to come to dinner” and shuts the door. The next visitor to knock on the door asks to use the phone. But the host again closes the door providing no help to the visitor. The host was too busy preparing for Jesus to come to dinner, to assist the visitors with their needs. Lo and behold, Jesus never comes, or at least Jesus doesn’t come in the form that the host was expecting. Actually, it had been Jesus that had come asking for food, a bathroom, and to use the phone. Jesus had come, but the host was too busy preparing for Jesus’ arrival to even take time to extend hospitality to the one at the door. The host’s eyes weren’t open; her senses weren’t awake to Christ-incarnate, showing up, unexpectedly, three times.

Barbara Brown Taylor says this, "Every morning when you wake up, decide to live the life God has given you to live right now. Refuse to live yesterday over and over again. Resist the temptation to save your best self for tomorrow. Live a caught-up life, not a put-off life, so that wherever you are….you are ready for God.”

This Advent season we are preparing for Christmas and the coming of Jesus as a small baby in a manger in Bethlehem. We are trimming our trees, putting lights on our houses, making Christmas goodies, wrapping presents, and sending cards to our friends and families. Yet, there is something more important than all of this, the Son of Man is coming in the midst of it all, in little and big ways. The reality is that God always shows up. God is always there, but God is not always announced, nor does God make an appointment.

I encourage us, this Advent season, to prepare for Christ in the here and now. I encourage us to care for the poor in our community. I encourage us to find time for prayer in our busy lives. I encourage us to spend time in community with other people. I encourage us to think about our “presence” and not just about the “presents” under the tree. In and through these activities, Christ is coming to us. God is showing up, even when we least expect it.

This Advent season, we are called to prepare for the second coming of Christ – not just the babe born in Bethlehem. We are called to be ready for this unexpected promise. We are called to stay awake for the unexpected hour. We are called to purchase those Christmas Shoes, because while we cannot be sure of the day or the hour when we will meet Jesus at his second coming, we can be certain that He is in our midst always, often unannounced and unexpected. Amen.

Freed From -- Freed For

John 8:31-36

Today we celebrate the Reformation. We celebrate the work of Martin Luther as he on this day in 1517 posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church. Today we celebrate the past, the present, and the future. We celebrate where we have been, where we are now, and where we hope to go.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the meaning for Reformation is, “a 16th century religious movement marked ultimately by rejection or modification of some Roman Catholic doctrine and practice and establishment of the Protestant churches.” The Reformation is over. This word in its capitalized form refers to the 16th century movement. Under the leadership of many influential reformers, several doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church were rejected. As a result, Protestant churches were established. So, in this sense the Reformation is over.

However, I do not think that reformation is over. The definition for reform is to amend, change, or improve. As we work towards ecumenical agreements, ordain women, and look at the sexuality statement, we cannot deny that we are a church that is ever changing and continuing to make amendments. If the reformation were over we would continue to be a denomination that looked exactly like it looked in the 16th century. That is not the case. We, as Protestants, have not become stagnant. We, as Lutherans, are part of a church that continues to reform.

Luther knew the truth and the truth set him free. The Son made him free and he was free, indeed. So, he acted. He acted for freedom. He acted for reform. In Luther’s work titled “Freedom of a Christian,” he explained the doctrine of justification. He said, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” Let me repeat that, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” This doctrine of justification is two-fold. In this, Christians are given the ability to live in freedom and servanthood.

Jesus sets us free from, and Jesus sets us free for. Jesus sets us free from “sin, death and the power of the devil,” to quote Martin Luther. Jesus defeats all those things that would separate us from God.
Jesus also sets us free for – for a life that reflects his life and strives for the positive impact on people’s lives that Jesus achieved in his life. The incredible gift given to us by our Lord is that we are freed from having to try to earn God’s favor; we have that as a gift. We can now steward that freedom through a life dedicated to praising God and serving those people with whom we travel on our journey through life. We don’t have to count the cost of being a servant to those around us. We can simply serve them because our place in God’s household has been secured.

A steward is, by definition, one who cares for that which belongs to another. Our freedom is not our own, it comes from God. What a joy to have the gift of freedom. What a privilege to live a life in which we care for that freedom through caring for others.

Another way that we can think about this two-fold freedom is to think about the beams of the cross: vertical and horizontal. The vertical beam refers to God’s relationship with us. We are freed from. We are the slaves. We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. Jesus paid the price of freeing us from our bondage to our sin. Jesus paid the price with his own life by standing in humanity’s place, enduring the judgment that we deserved for sin. Jesus gave his life as a ransom for humanity. In response to that ransom we are redeemed for good works. We are freed for good works, not because we must, but because we are able.

The horizontal beam refers to our relationship with each other. We are freed for service. We are called to shine the light of Christ into the dark places of our world. We are called to live in justice, love, kindness, and service to all people. Often this servant way of life calls us to make personal sacrifices, sacrifices of our finances, our time, and our talents. We are called to live in relationship with the rest of the world, which is not always easy. Despite the difficulty we might face, we are called to mission, God’s mission.

This year as Pastor Omholt and I began teaching the confirmation class, we started with Martin Luther. As we talked about Luther’s 95 Theses and the Reformation, I asked the class how the church has been reformed in their lifetime. Now, I ask that same question of you: How has the Lutheran church been reformed in your lifetime?

Maybe you remember the Lutheran church prior to the formation of the ELCA, back in the day of the ALC, the LCA, and the AELC, prior to 1988. Or maybe you can recall a time when churches were divided by race. Some of you can likely recall a time when women were not permitted to be pastors and when women were not allowed to be acolytes, crucifers, and other worship assistants. Maybe you can recall a time in the church when communion was not typically offered weekly. Most of us can recall a time when homosexuals did not feel welcome in the church and were not allowed to be ordained. These are all products of a reforming church. These are all products of a free church.

The next question I asked the class was how would they like to see the church reformed in the future. Again, I will pose the same question to you: How would you like to see the Lutheran church be reformed in the future? Maybe there needs to be more biblical education. Maybe we need to increase our evangelism efforts. Maybe we need to be more involved in inter-faith dialog. I am not certain how the church needs to be reformed in the future, but I am certain that we need to continue to be a church body that is open and willing to be reformed.

We know the truth. The truth has made us free. The Son has made us free. We are free, indeed. May we live as people who have been freed from sin and freed for service to our neighbors. May we walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther, who has showed us how to reform the church. May we, together, be the reformers of the church in the years to come. Amen.

Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and Mustard Seeds

Luke 17:5-10

This week I celebrated an anniversary – my baptismal anniversary. When I decided to go to seminary I had to put the date of my baptism on the forms I submitted. I never quite knew what the date was, so I had to research it a bit. This year, for the first time, I remembered that date when it arrived. I think it was partially due to the fact that we celebrated a baptism last Sunday. That baptism aided me in remembering my own baptismal anniversary. As I went about my day on Tuesday, my baptismal anniversary, I thought about grace. I thought about the waters of grace that were poured on my head when I was just over two months old. At that age I had no idea what baptism would mean for my life or why it was even happening. Now I know that it was happening because I am an unworthy sinner. I am a worthless slave. I am undeserving. In the act of baptism I was given the gift of God’s grace and God’s unconditional love. In baptism I was given faith – the same faith that the disciples in our text today asked Jesus to increase.

In the four verses that precede this text Jesus sets a standard for discipleship and servant hood. Jesus tells the disciples to repeatedly confront and forgive those who sin. The disciples are not sure that they are up for this challenge. They demand, “Increase our faith!” I don’t think Jesus responds the way the disciples were hoping. Jesus says, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed…”

When we hear “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,” it is easy to think “of course I don’t have that much faith.” In Greek, this sentence has a different emphasis—the gist of this sentence is: "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed (and you do) ..." or “Since you have faith the size of a mustard seed…” Luke is affirming that they have the faith to do what is expected of them. No increase in faith is necessary – they already have ample faith. If they would believe and act on the faith that they already have, then they would be able to rebuke and repent and forgive within the community. In essence, he seems to imply that they don't need more faith, but to make use of the faith that they already have.

While the faith I have today is similar to the faith given to me at my baptism, it is also different. I think that our growth in faith is nearly always a movement from faith to faith, rather than from unbelief to faith. Similarly, who I am today is both the same and different than who I was as an infant. My essence – my DNA is exactly the same, but my knowledge, physical size, abilities, etcetera have changed considerably since birth.

The same is true of the disciples in our text today. They have faith. They have DNA. Their essence has not changed. However, their life circumstances have. When the disciples were each called to follow Jesus I bet their faith leaped to a new lily pad in the pond. When they witnessed Jesus doing miracles I would imagine they hopped to another. And in today’s text they are challenged to adopt the attitude of servants whose actions are responses to their identity rather than works seeking reward.

The same is true for all of us. We have the faith that was given to us at baptism. We have a DNA that is exactly the same as it was the day we were born. Our essence has not changed. Yet, our life circumstances have. Maybe your faith was altered when you traveled to Nicaragua or Zambia. Maybe your faith leaped to a different lily pad when your first child was born. Maybe it was when you helped with the food pantry or participated in the walkathon for the homeless shelter. Maybe it was when someone you loved died. The beauty of being individuals is that our faith is not identical. Faith cannot be shaped by a cookie cutter or a Jell-O mold. For this reason we cannot measure our faith by its quantity, nor can we compare our faith the person sitting next to us. Faith is ever-changing for all of us, yet different for each one of us.

We are each disciples. We are each called to servant hood. We are each called to adopt the attitude of servants whose actions are responses to our identity, rather than works seeking reward. We are called to live in a manner that proclaims “For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith—and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” It is not about living a life of servant hood “if” we have faith. It is about living a life of servant hood “since” we have faith.

I spent Friday and Saturday at the Bolger Center with the church council and the chairs of the ministry committees. We spent our time together strategizing how to live out the new vision statement for St. Paul’s: “SAVED by God's grace and nourished through Word and Sacrament, we, the community of believers at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, are SENT by the Holy Spirit to SHARE the Good News and to SERVE our neighbors following the example of Jesus Christ.” We prayerfully considered what this church and its members are being called to do in the years ahead “since” we have faith. We don’t need God to increase our faith. Since we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we are called to be active in the way we live as servants who already have faith.

May we be filled with faith so that we can live lives of servant hood in response to our identity as God’s children redeemed and forgiven by Jesus’ gift of grace. As we work together in the kingdom, may we remember that we do not need Jesus to increase our faith, because Jesus has already given us all the faith we need. May we have the courage to live out the reality that we already have faith the size of a mustard seed and can therefore do whatever it is God is calling us to do.

Let us pray. O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Lesson About Dinner Parties

Luke 14:1, 7-14

I want to invite you to take a moment to think about the tables you have sat at throughout your life. The one from your childhood. The one in your current home. The one in your friend’s home. The one at your favorite restaurant. The one at the biggest dinner party you have ever been to. The one you sit at for holiday meals. I remember going to my grandma’s house for holiday meals. Our family was too big to fit around her dining room table, so we ended up using several tables. Of course the adults got to sit at the dining room table and the kids ended up at the kid’s table. Well, most of the time I am still considered a kid there, because we still don’t all fit around the dining room table. Sitting at the dining room table is a place of honor, a place for the eldest in the family. Until there is room at the dining room table the “kids” still sit at the other tables waiting for the day when they will be invited to move up to the table of honor.

Oh, the wisdom shared around the table! Throughout Jesus’ ministry, we see again and again how in much the same way that he never passes up an opportunity to share a meal with others, he rarely misses the chance to use a table as an occasion to teach. Whether it’s welcoming a woman who anoints him to the table, or using the table as a way to talk about the kingdom of God, or employing the elements of a meal to describe who he himself is: the table, for Jesus, is always about right relationship, about how we are to live in community and communion with one another.

As we read the gospels, it becomes clear that Jesus had no “proper” standards at all about whom he ate with. His utterly indiscriminate table fellowship, in a society with strict rules of precedence and protocol for dining, caused plenty of critical comment. People noticed and complained that he ate with sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes – all sorts of unsuitable people! Luke's Jesus always has a very open table for his dining. Everyone is welcome at Jesus' table – rich and poor, men and women, all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations. In today’s gospel Jesus appears to be eating with suitable people, but are they really suitable?!

At this dinner party the guests each stroll in thinking they are the greatest, smartest, richest, most important person at this dinner party. They are each vying for the best seat in the house. When Jesus sees how these so-called suitable dinner guests are acting he decides to tell them a parable. Jesus often uses parables to teach listeners a life lesson. Usually this lesson is a bit cryptic, but today his teaching is very real. He doesn’t say, “When a person is invited…” He says, “When YOU are invited…” This life lesson is really about the here and now. This life lesson is for the guests and host of this dinner party.

Jesus directs his attention to the gathering guests, jockeying for the best seat at the table. Jesus warns them to be humble and to not assume a higher place so that they might be lifted up. In that day they did not have place cards at the table. There was a mad rush to get to the best seats. Their seats were a bit different than the chairs we think of today. They typically reclined at the table. So, at a table there were three places to recline on each side. On one side there would be seats one, two, and three. Seat two would be the seat of honor. On another side there would be seats four, five, and six. Seat five would be the seat of honor. The other two sides of the table would be numbered in similar fashion. So, there would be a total of twelve seats and four seats of honor. When the cook said, “Soup’s on,” there was a mad dash of guests trying to land their seat of honor.

Jesus does not think this is an appropriate way to act. Instead, when we receive an invitation to share in the table of another, Jesus says we should come with no expectations, no intent to grasp at a seat of honor—from which, Jesus says, we might be ejected. When approaching the table, Jesus says, our stance, is to be one of humility, a posture that leaves room for surprise and for grace. The teaching point of Jesus’ parable today is, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Being humble is about being content under God’s grace and not thinking you are bigger and better than you really are. Humility is about keeping yourself grounded, close to the humus of the earth. Humility is not boasting in your status and success. This can be very difficult in our society that finds status and success to be very important. We want to have a bigger home, a better job, a faster car, the newest technology, and the nicest clothes. As soon as the bigger, better, faster, newer, and nicest things are released we think we need to have them, too. This is not a new problem. The guests at the dinner party in our text struggled with this, too. They wanted to flaunt their status and success. They wanted to have the best seat in the house.

At the table that Luke tells of in this Sunday’s gospel lesson, Jesus turns his attention not only to the kind of guests we ought to be, but also to the kind of hosts we are to be – inviting those who owe us nothing. Turning to the host of the dinner party Jesus encourages him to not throw a party in hopes of getting something in return. Share your banquet of abundance with those who are living in scarcity. Don’t invite your successful neighbors, relatives, and friends, because they could repay you by inviting you to their house for another party. Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Invite those who cannot invite you to another dinner party.

Now I invite you to take a moment to think about this table. The one that we receive the bread and wine, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, from on this day. At God’s table all are welcome. The guest list is very diverse. The young and old. The rich and poor. Women and men. All ages. All ethnicities. All races. All religions. All gender orientations. God's heavenly banquet is open to all and if we attend and expect that everyone at this banquet will look like us, we will be very disappointed. If we come expecting a seat of honor, we will likely be sent to a lower seat. Come in humility and you will be exalted. Invite those on the margins of our society to come to your dinner party and you will be blessed. All are welcome for the table is ready. Amen.

Revolution and Revolutionaries

August 15, 2010

Luke 1:46-55

What do you think of when you hear the word “revolution?” The French Revolution. The Civil War. The Industrial Revolution. The 95 Theses. The Digital Revolution.

Who do you think of when you hear the word “revolutionary?” Nelson Mandela. Martin Luther King, Jr. George Washington. Martin Luther.

As I wrestled with this text from Luke over the past week, I couldn’t help but think of the words revolution and revolutionary. The song Mary sings, the Magnificat, is God’s fundamental principles of the Christian revolution. God has given Mary a mission and a purpose. Mary is the bearer of the revolutionary, the one who will turn things upside down. Jesus will be the one who moves those who are the top to the bottom and those who are on the bottom to the top. Jesus will put people back where they actually belong. Jesus will create a revolution. Mary’s response to this revolution is to sing, because she believes that “nothing will be impossible with God.”

Mary is one of the least powerful people in her society. She is young, perhaps as young as thirteen. It is shameful for her to give birth at this age. She is female in a world that is dominated by men. She is poor in a stratified economy. She is living in Nazareth in Galilee. Nazareth has a population of about 1,600 to 2,000, which makes it significantly less important than a city, like Jerusalem. She is engaged to Joseph, a carpenter, who is also of relatively low social status. Regardless of Mary’s situation in life, God chooses her to bear the Savior of the world. God chooses her to bear the revolutionary, Jesus.

Mary’s response to her pregnancy and the pregnancy of her relative Elizabeth, who was said to be barren, is to sing. She says, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” When has your soul magnified the Lord? When have you felt blessed? When has your spirit rejoiced? My spirit rejoiced when I safely arrived in Washington, DC after traveling for over 1,400 miles to begin my mission as the Vicar of St. Paul’s. My soul magnified the Lord as I walked into the parsonage to find flowers and a cupboard full of food. I have felt blessed from the moment I arrived here and I am certain that I will continue to feel blessed throughout the rest of this year. Along with Mary, I can confidently say, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Throughout my life there have been many occasions when I have met others whose souls magnify the Lord. Let me introduce some of them to you.

His name is Gene. He lives in poverty near New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina he had very little and after the hurricane he had even less. He lost all his photos and personal mementos in the hurricane. When I, along with some other college students, helped him with his house (a house none of us would ever find livable), he gave us each a rose from his rose bush. It was the only thing he had to give. His mission was to give back to those who had given so much to him. Gene’s soul magnifies the Lord, and his spirit rejoices in God his Savior.
Her name is Sandra. She lives in a township in South Africa. She lives with her father, mother, and two brothers in a house that is the size of most master bedrooms in our country. She is in high school, but she still has a mission. Someday she would like to go to college and become a doctor so she could help others, but her family cannot afford a college education for her. Yet, she will not stop dreaming of her future. Sandra’s soul magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior.
His name is Eduardo. He lives with his family at the bottom of a canyon in Guadalajara, Mexico. Everyday he walks up the steep canyon to go to school and then back down the canyon to go home. It is a very long walk, but at twelve years old his mission is to become educated. He speaks Spanish and I speak English, but we can still communicate. A smile is universal. Eduardo’s soul magnifies the Lord, and his spirit rejoices in God his Savior.
Her name is Angie. She is in her mid-forties. She is a schoolteacher in Nicaragua. Angie and her family lived in a very small house with minimal electricity. Every day she strives to fulfill her mission by providing the best life possible for her three daughters. Yet, when I visited, Angie gave up her bed and prepared wonderful food for me, while her and her daughters shared a small room and ate very little food. Angie’s soul magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior.

God had a mission and purpose for Mary. She was to bear the revolutionary. She was to bear Jesus. God has a mission for Gene, Sandra, Eduardo, and Angie. God has a mission for me and I know that God has a mission for each of you as well. In addition, I believe that God has a mission and purpose for this congregation. Our mission is to bring down the powerful from their thrones and lift up the lowly. Our mission is to fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away empty. Our mission is to be radical revolutionaries in this city and in our world. This mission is not possible without us and this mission is certainly not possible without God.

Our response to the mission we are given through Jesus Christ should be to celebrate, to sing. Our response should be to let our souls magnify the Lord and our spirits rejoice in God our Savior. Today we are celebrating. Today we are celebrating the work of Christmas, which would not be possible without Mary, the Mother of our Lord. Today we are celebrating the revolution that Jesus, the revolutionary, began many years ago. Today we are celebrating the revolution of Christianity that still exists today. Today we are celebrating our mission to be like Jesus, to be revolutionaries.

In the words of theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman,

“When the song of the angel is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The Work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers and sisters,
To make music in the heart.
Then indeed we shall be blessed!”

Then indeed our souls shall magnify the Lord and our spirits shall rejoice in God our Savior. Amen.

Day 10

"I was drawn to the strong old women in the congregation. Their well-worn Bibles said to me, "There is more here than you know." And made me take more seriously the religion that had caused my grandmother Totten's Bible to be so well used that its spine broke. I also began, slowly, to make sense of our gathering together on Sunday morning, recognizing, however dimly, that church is to be participated in and not consumed. The point is not what one gets out of it, but the worship of God; the service takes place both because of and despite the needs, strengths, and frailties of the people present."
--Kathleen Norris

Day 1 - Ash Wednesday

"The great commandment, to love God with all your heart and soul, and your neighbor as yourself, seemed more subtle than ever. I began to see the three elements as a kind of trinity, always in motion, and the three loves as interdependent. It would be impossible to love God without loving others; impossible to love others unless one were grounded in a healthy self-respect; and, maybe, impossible to truly love at all in a totally secular way, without participating in the holy."
--Kathleen Norris

Lenten Discipline

Many people give up something for Lent. I have never quite understood this tradition, but have tried it several years. I typically try to add something to my routine, too. This year I decided to just add something--something that will draw me closer to God. It really seems to make more sense. So, I decided to read/study the devotional book "40 Day Journey with Kathleen Norris." As I have time I will post the devotion for the day or my reflections on the text.

A Video Byte

This is a recording of me preaching the sermon that can be found below in text form for my Preaching and Technology course. My apologies that I did make a mistake in this video. Towards the beginning I claimed that Jesus was the inhospitable host. What I meant to say was that Simon was the inhospitable host. Sorry.

Jesus is Coming to Dinner

This is a sermon on Luke 7:36-8:3 for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C.

I remember a skit that we used to do when I worked at Bible camp.  It was called “Jesus is coming to dinner.”  A visitor comes and knocks on the host’s door and asks for food.  The host turns the visitor away without any food.  Another visitor comes and knocks on the host’s door and asks to use the bathroom.  The host says no and shuts the door.  The next visitor to knock on the door asks to use the phone.  But the host again closes the door providing no help to the visitor.  The host was too busy preparing for Jesus to come to dinner, to assist the visitors with their needs.  Lo and behold, Jesus never comes, or at least Jesus doesn’t come in the form that the host was expecting.  Actually it had been Jesus that had come asking for food, a bathroom, and to use the phone.  Jesus had come, but the host was too busy preparing for Jesus’ arrival to even take time to extend hospitality to the one at the door.

In today’s text, Simon is hosting a dinner party and Jesus has been invited.  You can about imagine what the other guests are thinking, “Jesus is coming to dinner!”  Jesus arrives and dinner begins.  And then in walks a woman—a sinful woman.  I am sure the mood of the guests took a nosedive.  Who does this sinful woman think she is that she can just waltz into our dinner party, uninvited?  And then the woman begins washing Jesus’ feet with her tears and drying them off with her hair.  She kisses his feet and anoints them with ointment.  Who does that?  Surely Simon didn’t do that when Jesus arrived.

In fact, Simon was not a very good host at this dinner party.  It was custom at the time for the host to provide a basin of water for the guests to wash their feet when they arrived at the host’s house.  After all, Jesus had just come from walking the dusty roads in sandals or maybe with no shoes at all.  His feet were dirty and tired.  They could probably have used a good soak in some warm water.  Simon must have been too busy preparing for Jesus to come to dinner to take the time to extend a hand of hospitality to him when he arrived.  So here we have it—Simon the inhospitable host.

The hospitable one in this story is actually the uninvited sinful woman.  She takes it upon herself to welcome Jesus properly.  She does the unthinkable by using her tears to wash Jesus’ feet and using her hair to dry them off.  She kisses his feet and anoints them.  Simon thinks this is absolutely inappropriate.  He wonders why Jesus is allowing such a woman, a sinful woman, to wash his feet.  After all, as Jesus allows this sinful and unclean woman to wash his feet, he is becoming unclean in the process.  Simon thinks this is crazy, but we know that this is not new for Jesus.  Jesus often spends his time with the outcasts, poor, the unclean, and sinners.  In fact, Jesus appreciates this sinful woman’s hospitality.

Jesus takes this opportunity to prove a point to Simon by telling a parable about two debtors.  Their debts are of differing amounts, but both of the debts are canceled.  Now I would love it if Jesus were really talking about canceling debt.  I know I have a large amount of educational debt that I would love to be canceled.  But, Jesus is talking about another type of debt here.  This debt is sin—the same sin that we are in bondage to, as well.  The debtors are meant to resemble Simon and the sinful woman.  The one who has the greater debt loves more.  The sinful woman in this story shows more love to Jesus.  She is hospitable.  She does this because she knows she is sinful and knows that she is in need of forgiveness.  Simon on the other hand is also sinful.  In fact, we are all sinful.  But Simon seems unaware of his sin.  He does not seem to know that he needs forgiveness.  Those who are forgiven much, love much.  Those who are forgiven little, love little.  Their debts are canceled.  Their sins are forgiven. 

As a result of the forgiveness granted, the other guests at the dinner party begin to question the identity of this person that is granting forgiveness.  I imagine we might have done the same thing if we were guests at Simon’s house that day.  They wonder if this person may be a prophet.  In fact, this person is more than just a prophet.  This person is Jesus.  This person is God’s Son.  This person is God.  This person is the one who has the ability to forgive the sins of the sinful woman, of Simon, and of us.

So who am I in this story?  Who are you in this story?  Sometimes we might be like the sinful woman.  We might know that we are sinful and are in need of forgiveness.  This happens when we are able to honestly look inward at our own sinful nature.  At other times, we might be like Simon.  We might be completely oblivious to our sin and therefore unaware of our need for forgiveness.  Most often this happens when our eyes are so focused outward on the sins and shortcomings of others that we are unable to recognize our own sin.  Regardless, our debts are canceled.  Our sins are forgiven. 

Do we receive forgiveness for our sins because we have already shown love?  Or are we forgiven of our sins so that we may begin to show love.  On one hand, love is a response to forgiveness.  On the other hand, the ability to love can be related to the ability to receive forgiveness.  I can best visualize this by using a mathematical equation.  Love + forgiveness = more love.  It is kind of like a² + b² = c².  The equation is not complete without all of the parts.

Now I don’t want it to seem like I am telling you that you must do x, y, and z in order to be forgiven.  We know that is not true.  We know that our forgiveness was secured through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  However, we are not just off the hook and free to do whatever we please, knowing that we will just automatically be forgiven.  We, as Christians, are called to act in response to the forgiveness we have been given.  We are called to be hospitable to the stranger—the one in our midst.  In doing this we are also being hospitable to Jesus.  We are showing love to God and the stranger.

Now I know that we don’t get many strangers in these parts, but just imagine what you would do if someone showed up.  What if you got to church and someone was already sitting in your pew—you know the one that has your imprint on it?  Maybe you would just go and sit somewhere else and ignore the stranger in your pew.  Maybe you would sit next to the stranger and still ignore them.  Maybe you would sit next to the stranger and actually welcome them.  If their feet were tired and dirty would you be willing to use your tears and hair to wash their feet?  What if this person was Jesus?  May we, who continue to be forgiven much, continue to love much, because we never know when Jesus might actually show up for dinner.  Amen.