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.

Questions to Percolate on...

Here are a few questions that have been sparked by my reading of chapters 9-12 in Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps.

As future leaders in the church, how do we attempt to engage our congregation members in face-to-face communication and highlight the importance of community in a world that is quickly becoming more and more individualistic and is immersed in virtual communication (chapter 10)?

Conflict has such bad connotations in our world today.  How do we help the church accept conflict and "acknowledge together that conflict is a normal part of our life in the church" (127)?

"How we disagree matters more than what we disagree about" (130).  Do you agree or disagree with this statement?  Why or why not?

A Rough Outline

So here is what I am thinking, so far...

• Sin
• Woman
• Simon
  
• Us
• Hospitality
  
• Woman
• Simon
• Us
  
• Forgiveness
  
• Woman
• Simon
  
• Us
• Response

I want to draw a correlation between a sinful woman who knows she needs forgiveness and Simon who doesn't seem to acknowledge his sin or need for forgiveness.  Who am I in this story?  Do I know my sin and my need for forgiveness or am I just like Simon who is oblivious?

A Byte of Humor

Check out this comic strip related to Luke 7:36-8:3 at Agnusday.com.

Some Bytes on Luke 7:36-8:3

These are the points that stick out for me after checking out one of my favorite on-line sources Crossmarks.

• Women
• Forgiveness of Debts
• Forgiveness of Sins
• Love = Forgiveness = More Love
  
• Anointing of Jesus
• Hospitality
• A Hymn (ELW 814) "Take, oh, take me as I am; summon out what I shall be."

Luke 7:36-8:3

The text I am preparing a sermon for is Luke 7:36-8:30.  This will (hopefully) be preached on June 13, 2010, which is the Third Sunday after Pentecost.  The additional texts for that Sunday are: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15; Psalm 32; and Galatians 2:15-21.

Here is the Gospel lesson from Luke...

 

³⁶One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. ³⁷And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. ³⁸She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him — that she is a sinner." ⁴⁰Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "speak." ⁴¹A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?" ⁴³Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." ⁴⁴Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ⁴⁵You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." ⁴⁸Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." ⁴⁹But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" ⁵⁰And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

1Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, ²as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

Some Reflections on Flickering Pixels

We are currently reading "Flickering Pixels: How technology shapes your faith" by Shane Hipps for my Preaching and Technology class.  Here are a few of my reflections on chapters 5-8.

So what is the point of technology?  Information.  We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded by information, some true and others not so true.  Much of this information is biased or presented with a certain agenda.  For instance, I just spent the holiday break with my family.  My 20-year-old brother loves to watch Fox News.  So, every time we went back to the hotel the television was turned to Fox News.  This news channel is a source of information.  It is also a source that I would say has a more conservative agenda.  My problem is that news channels, like this one, constantly loop the same information and I never feel like I hear anything new after the first half an hour.  Yet, my brother loves it!  Now don't get me wrong, I like the news...but after awhile it can get boring.  This is when it becomes important to find meaning and understanding for the information we are receiving.  Hipps claims, "Information alone is strength without coordination.  We become a danger mostly to ourselves when we have it.  Understanding is the ability to coordinate that raw information in meaningful ways" (71).  With this in mind, I do not think it does any good to watch hour upon hour of television without taking some time to process and understand the information received.  Maybe for every half hour of Fox News watching everyone should take a few moments to blog about what they have heard.  Then again, maybe this would just result in a lot of blogs with information only and not a lot of understanding.

So why are we lured in by television and other images?  We can use words to describe things.  Radio broadcasters do it all the time.  Who even listens to the radio anymore, though?  We can also use images to show things.  This is what happens on televisions, cameras, YouTube, etc.  I could tell you about my recent trip to New York City or I could show you the photos.  If you actually have time to sit down and have a face-to-face conversation with me (which most people don't) or the opportunity to creep on my facebook you will probably choose to see the pictures.  This is because the pictures do a better job at showing you what I actually saw.  Hipps claims that this is because "Images initially make us feel rather than think" (76).  So, maybe the over-used cliche is true and an image is really worth a thousand words.

So how does all this technology and information relate to our theology?  I think it relates in many ways.  We, as people of faith, can try our hardest to not be of this world.  However, it is difficult to do.  In today's new age of technology a majority of our country's population is texting, blogging, tweeting, facebooking, emailing, and surfing.  We would be lying to ourselves if we were to say that the media and technology that we are surrounded by do not affect our faith.  Instead, the opposite is true.  "The point is that our theology and practice are deeply informed and shaped by our media and technology" (84).  Let's take for instance the recent ELCA 2009 Churchwide Assembly that received a lot of press time.  You can't tell me that the theology of people watching that on the news headlines were not being shaped, one way or another, by what they were seeing and hearing.  I know some people in my home area had not heard much about the statement on human sexuality, because the pastors did not think it was applicable for their context and then they saw it on the news.  Talk about a shock to the system!

Until next time...percolate on this!

I have a blog!

Welcome to my blog...Preaching Bytes!  This blog has been created for my Preaching and Technology class at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.  Look out blogging world...here I come!

Question: Is technology value neutral?

Answer: The article How the Internet Shapes Religious Life, or the Medium Is Itself the Message claims, "So, too, the Church thinks technology is value neutral, in and of itself neither good nor evil" (J.M. van der Laan, 276).  I would wholeheartedly disagree with this statement.  Technology is not value neutral.  Technology has the ability to function positively or negatively, as do most things in our world today.  The church is not exempt from this positive and negative functioning of technology.  I have witnessed technology being used in congregations in a very positive way and I have also witnessed it fail miserably.  Therefore, churches and church leaders must strive to carefully evaluate their use of technology.  We, as a church, would be naive to think that technology in the church is value neutral.  All we have to do is turn on the television, surf the internet, or check our email to find that technology impacts us in many ways, both positively and negatively.  The same is true for technology in the church.  So, please proceed with caution.  We must not use technology in the church simply for the sake of using technology.  Technology in the church must have a purpose and we, as church leaders, must attempt to use it in a positive way for the sake of God's people.