Friends for the Journey

We all need friends to help us read the map of our Faith journey.

This sermon was preached on October 31, 2018 during the transferred Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude. The readings that inspired the sermon were the following:

Deuteronomy 32:1-4

Ephesians 2:13-22

John 15:17-27

Psalm 119:89-96

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.” These words ended today’s Gospel lesson. In the Episcopal Church we do not often speak of testifying or that dirty word “evangelizing.” And yet, Christ foretells not just for his disciples, but for all his people that we are to share His Good News, even to the ends of the earth. So, how do we do this? I’ll tell you how… WITH FRIENDS! More on these friends in just a moment.

As a kid, I often heard stories at home and at Camp Winnataska about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. I loved these stories of bravery, perseverance, chivalry, and seeking Christ—and His Holy Grail. You know, the Grail is the chalice that Jesus and His disciples drank from at the Last Supper? Legend tells us that Joseph of Arimathea caught some of Jesus’ blood in that cup and it became forever sanctified. Allegedly it even helped Joseph survive for decades in prison even without food. At some point the Chalice was lost and King Arthur sent his Knights on a quest to find the Grail. This is where the going with friends comes into play.

Two of my favorite characters in the Arthurian Legend are Sir Bors and Sir Percival. They were the best of friends—they fought together, prayed together, and sought the Grail together. Even when Percival died, Bors struggled to continue and it was only the search of Christ’s Cup that spurred him to keep going. Hearing of their sort of Christ-focused friendship inspired me as a youth to seek that sort of friendship in my own life. And, as an adult I have found other examples of Christian friendship, like in our saints for today.

Saints Simon and Jude were disciples of Our Lord. Upon Christ’s death they were terrified, but through the power of the Resurrection and the imparting of God’s Spirit they shared Jesus’ Good News all the way to Persia (over 1,000 miles away). They supposedly did this work together. They preached together. They traveled together. They even died together as martyrs in the young Church. Throughout the New Testament Scriptures describing the Early Church we hear of saints like Paul and Timothy as well as Peter and John working together for Christ. And, these ones would not have been emboldened to do God’s work of sharing the grace of Christ with others without each other. Yes, this was true then, but it is also true now.

Today more than ever we need one another. In a book called Christians Among the Virtues Stanley Hauerwas and Charles Pinches speak of the friendship required for our life-long journey. For us to grow to trust God more fully we need friends who will walk with us, friends who have walked before us, and friends who will walk after us. This is to say that in this journey with Jesus we need companions and contemporaries who will be the Simon to our Jude. We also need those who have journeyed before us and who know how to read the map so to speak. Finally we need to pass along our wisdom with those who will walk the journey with Jesus after us. So how do we find these fellow travelers?

Well, you who are sitting here in Church are already surrounded by some fellow wanderers. Still there are more ways to find other pilgrims. One way to sprout new spiritual friendships is through the Cursillo Movement—can you tell I just came off that mountaintop experience myself? I’d love to talk more with you about that. Or, about Spiritual Direction if you want another perspective on reading the map for your journey of faith. Another way to make new spiritual friendships is by coming to Bible Studies, Sunday School classes, or other Christian Formation opportunities here at St. John’s. There are retreats at Camp McDowell, in Sewanee, and in Cullman. Also, you might want to share wisdom you have with others by teaching a class—Harry Moore would love more Christian Formation volunteers. Or, you could serve with our Children’s or Youth Ministries or at Banks-Caddell. The ways to be friends with saints around us is innumerable.

We all need a Bors to our Percival, a Jude to our Simon. Each of us needs spiritual friends that connect us both to older and younger generations. We all need companions for our lives of faith. Who are your friends for the journey with Jesus?

What Is Keeping You From Following?

This sermon was preached on the 21^st Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23B) at St. John’s Church. The readings for this Sunday were the following:

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Psalm 22:1-15
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31

A man approached Jesus. He was well dressed and well kempt. The type of man whom others admired. Surprisingly he forced his way through the crowds to get to Jesus—halting the teacher and his disciples from leaving on a journey in the process. Once the man had Jesus’ attention he knelt there in front of the one people were calling the Messiah. Then, came the question.

“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” On the surface the question seemed innocuous enough. The query had no barbs, at least on the outside, but something underneath his words felt uncomfortable, hiding in plain sight, or sound. Inherit. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Not, “What must I do to enter eternal life?” nor “What must I do to have eternal life?” nor even “What must I do to earn eternal life?” This successful man, this man who had kept the commandments since his childhood, this rich man wanted something else added to his portfolio. “So, what’s it going to cost me?” he might as well have said.

Jesus’ initial response to the man had everything to do with throwing him off, or at least making sure he was more than just someone who looked polished. Jesus wanted to know his soul. He said, “You know the commandments.” The teacher probed this new pupil. “You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and mother.” Six of the ten big ones.

Over half of the Ten Commandments. Nothing about the Sabbath was mentioned, nor did Jesus bother with the others directly having to do with God—there is only One God and you shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain. Perhaps idol worship was on the horizon, but Jesus did not broach the topic, not now. Instead, he allowed for the rich man to respond. “I have kept all these since my youth.” Kept, like one might keep a bond certificate? Or guard one’s fine china. Jesus did not take the bait though, instead he did something odd.

Throughout the entire story that Mark told Jesus showed examples of God’s transforming love to rich and poor, old and young, Jew and Gentile. But, only here with this rich man did Mark say that Jesus actually loved someone. Jesus agaped him. He unconditionally loved this man who had almost everything and followed the rules precisely. Jesus loved him, then he challenged him.

To use poker language, Jesus had let the man call and raise his way to this point, such that all the chips were at the center of the table, but now Jesus was going to call the man’s bluff. “You lack one thing,” Jesus said piercing through the man’s defenses with his tough and limitless love, “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” That was it. The man folded. He walked away, grieving like he had lost his mother. But why?

Did he not want to give up his pleasures? Was it that he did not want to let go of the things that made him feel important? Could he not let go of material stuff? Whatever it was, he was too attached to, to enamored by, and to invested in something to walk with Jesus at that moment. Maybe the man was shocked and heartbroken because he could not invest his way into inheriting the Kingdom. “You can’t buy your way in here. The only way in,” Jesus seemed to say, “is to sell it all.” What about us?

Life eternal awaits us. Yes, life everlasting is there for us to enjoy, but those things that we possess—whether they be material goods, social status, honorary positions, or even our friend’s praise and our family’s adoration—these things wrap onto us. Do we hold onto them?

Think about what happens when we hold onto something. As our hands grasp onto money, power, or prestige our clinched fingers do not allow us to be open to taking hold of anything else. It has been said, “The things we possess, they possess us too.” Said another way it’s hard to follow the crowd and to follow Jesus too. Or, as Jesus himself put it, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62), and more provocatively, “Let the dead bury the dead” (Luke 9:60). In this season when we discern our commitment to God, it takes courage to truly address those things that we hold onto that prevent us from holding onto God. So, I wonder for myself and for us, what happens when the thing we are doing is the thing that is keeping us from following Jesus? What happens when the thing you are doing is the thing that is keeping you from following Jesus?

For the rich man long ago the thing that he was doing was trying to buy his way into inheriting eternal life. Even when he had eternal life right there in front of him asking him to follow, he wanted to do it his way instead. He wanted to control his forever future. He wanted to be entitled to eternity even with God Incarnate inviting him to live into life everlasting right then and there. This sort of controlling though does not only derive from the love of riches.

Denying Christ’s invitation to follow could result from the love of anything that we put over and above the transforming love of God. Even when we love good things or great things over and above God, we find ourselves living a limited life. With God though, all things are possible, even relinquishing the control, even letting go of the thing that is keeping us from following Jesus. So again, I ask, what happens when the thing we are doing is the thing that is keeping us from following after Jesus? What happens when the thing you are doing is the thing that is keeping you from following Jesus?

Let me end with a parable by Paulo Coelho about how we so easily complicate the invitation from Christ to let go of all else, so that we can come and follow Christ:

There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village.

As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite [a] few big fish.

The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?”

The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”

“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished.

“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.

The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”

The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”

The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman.

“I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”

The fisherman continues, “And after that?”

The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”

The fisherman asks, “And after that?”

The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”

The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”[1]

Christ Jesus is asking you right now to follow him into eternal life. You cannot buy your way into inheriting this life. You can’t earn it. You can’t think or achieve your way in. The only way to eternity, the only way to oneness with God is to release all other attachments that are not God. The way in is to let go of the thing you have been trying to do, let go of it all, and simply be with Christ on the journey. It is scary. It is bold. It takes courage and insight. But, it is your inherited invitation as God’s child. So come, let everything else go, and follow Jesus.

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[1] “The Fisherman and the Businessman,” Paulo Coelho. Written September 4, 2015. Accessed October 12, 2018. http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2015/09/04/the-fisherman-and-the-businessman/.

The Power of Prayer

This sermon was preached on the Feast Day of Vida Dutton Scudder at St. John’s Church. The readings for this day were the following: 

Isaiah 11:1–10

Psalm 25:1–14
John 6:37–51

The Dean and President of the Seminary of the Southwest (SSW) when I attended school there was a priest named Doug Travis. To my class he was a monumental figure. He almost felt like a folk hero with a hallmark deep, booming voice. He hailed from out in West Texas in a little town called Tulia. Anytime he presided at Holy Eucharist he—how do I put this?—glistened. Once when he was having a coughing fit during the Eucharistic Prayer he even drank some of the unconsecrated wine just to keep going with the service. But, his legend did not only have to do with humorous liturgical moments in the middle of the service.

Dean Travis had helped SSW through some of its darkest days. During the aftermath that followed the 2008 financial crisis, he made some very difficult decisions that allowed for the seminary to keep going. When he had to fire some longtime employees he did so with such grace and care that people still talked about it when I arrived a couple years later. He never talked about these difficulties, rather he chose to point to what he truly believed was the goal of seminary education: forming mature, Christian leaders.

Almost every sermon that Dean Travis gave had to do with this theme of developing influential people to step up in the 21st Century Church. My friends started to think that he was like a toy with a drawstring that once pulled released one of a handful of catchphrases. Sure, “Mature Christian Leadership,” was one of them, but he also almost always said, “The older and older I get, the more and more convinced I am of…” (fill in the blank). One such sermon still resonates to this day.

While talking about some research that showed that people are more spiritual than they have ever been, but at the same time less religious, Dean Travis pointed to something one of his daughters said. She was more convicted of the power of the Church than ever. Dean Travis on the other hand insisted that the older and older he got the more and more convinced he was not of the power of the Church, but of the power of God. Though the Church is flawed, God is not. Even if the Church fails, God won’t. Hearing these words from the leader of a seminary were both powerful and challenging. He then charged us to be part of leading people to Christ in the Church—not for self-promotion, but for sustenance, life, and transformation. Dean Travis’ words continue to challenge me to wonder why is it that I do what I do, why do we do what we do? We stumbled upon our answer today.

In this afternoon’s first lesson we heard of the perfect vision—not for the Church, but for all of Creation. Isaiah described that in God’s perfect reign even the nature of wild animals changes such that all dwell in peace. Wolf and lamb, leopard and kid, calf and lion, child and snake all living in harmony with one another. These images are so profound that they often overshadow the very first words about this peaceable kingdom. “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse.” These words that prophesized Christ Jesus’ ministry also provide an image for us in the modern Church.

Think about this, a stump is something that is dead or dying. When we see stumps in our yards we want them removed. I watched during construction as a landscaping company sawed down some stumps and used machinery to dig up their roots. A stump then is an eyesore, a nuisance, or at best a place to sit for a moment. But, it is from that place of death and dying that God brings about the salvation of all people. We can take heart in this.

In our own lives, in the world, and even in the Church we might see things that are not life-giving. What are the stumps of your life? A once vibrant relationship now dormant? A long ago brilliant hope in our government now decaying? A closely held belief, now dying, that you might finally pursue your true calling in life? Whatever the stump God wants to raise a shoot out of it. God yearns to bring new life and God’s reign of peace from it—especially in the Church! So how does this happen?

The saint we celebrate today had an answer for this question. Vida Dutton Scudder was born driven! She was the child of Congregationalist missionaries in India in the mid-19th Century. After excelling in school and college Scudder founded several religious organizations devoted to community living and intercessory prayer. It is in this latter area of ministry that Scudder provided for us a way to bring new shoots out of stumps where resurrection is needed.

Scudder’s example and writings about having an active and vibrant prayer life give us a most helpful pathway. On this journey we are invited to access God’s deep desires to bring new life to us. Scudder wrote, “If prayer is the deep secret creative force that Jesus tells us it is, we should be very busy with it,” adding that there exists a surefire way “of directly helping on the Kingdom of God. That way is prayer. Social intercession may be the mightiest force in the world.”[1] If you are seeking something, pray for it. If you are yearning for new life, speak to God about it. If you want a shoot to grow out of a stump, give it to God in prayer. And not just like we are writing a letter to some cosmic Santa Claus.

When we pray we open our hearts to God. We speak and we listen. We pass along our deepest desires and we hear God’s deepest longings for us. To paraphrase Dean Travis, the older and older I get the more and more convinced I am that when we take the broken stumps in our lives to God in prayer God raises new shoots in us such that we become mature Christian leaders for this day. Pray always for God’s reign to come!

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[1] Lesser Feasts and Fasts (2006). “Vida Dutton Scudder.” 410.

An Embarrassment of Riches

Who doesn't love lists of 10 things? Here are 10 sermon topics for this coming Sunday!

This blog focuses upon the Gospel lesson for the 21^st Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23B) Mark 10:17-31.

This Sunday’s Gospel lesson in which Jesus and a man have a conversation about the love of money getting in the way of eternal life is an embarrassment of riches. No, this is not just my attempt to make a bad priest/dad joke. I mean something more by this comment. For those of us who will preach on the 21^st Sunday after Pentecost on Mark 10:17-31 there is so much to choose from that it’s an embarrassment of riches, while talking about someone who was embarrassed by his riches. Here are ten options—yes that’s right ten of them!!!—that might be worth pursuing this coming Sunday:

1.The Opening Words

Mark sets the stage for this text by pointing out that Jesus is about to begin a journey. Where is Our Messiah going? What is he going to do on this journey? Why does he stop to listen to this rich man? There could be an entire sermon preached on the faith journey that we live with Christ and what obstacles get in the way of us even starting to follow Jesus on the way. 

2.God Alone is Good

We might find Jesus’ words shocking when he said, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” It makes me think about a common greeting, at least here in the Southeastern United States. Someone asks, “How are you doing?” Often people respond, “I’m good.” And, when they do I want to say to that response, “You are good only by the grace of God.” However, I only respond that way in my head because I don’t want everyone I meet to think I’m a psycho-priest. So a second sermon idea might focus upon goodness. If Jesus did not call himself good, then how can we? Spoiler alert: Only by the grace of God!

3. The Commandments Are Not Enough

This man who approached Jesus is either a liar or an admirable person. Some scholars like to point out that the only way to get rich in those days was to do something dishonest (i.e. disobey the commandments). I’m not sure that is universally true, as it is not true in our current context. Still, Jesus makes it clear that blindly following the rules is not enough. This sermon could connect with #5 below as the preacher explores how many things, even good things like rules keep us from following Jesus.

4. Jesus’ Loving Glance

Love did not get thrown around in the New Testament a whole lot. In fact, in Mark this is it for Jesus loving someone. Strange, I know! This man who had money, who followed the rules, and who sought a very good thing in eternal life might be compared to a person in a position of power in this day (white, educated, rich, and male). And yet, Jesus lovingly looked at that person too. Maybe love is included here because those examples of Jesus tending to the outcasts were obvious instances of love. As a friend once said to me, “Rich people need Jesus just like poor people do.” Another sermon might explore Christ’s loving look at all of us.

5. Possessions Obstruct Us from Following Jesus or Riches in God’s Reign

As previously stated, even following the commandments blindly is not enough. A powerful sermon might explore how many things distract us from following Jesus. To build up riches in God’s reign, to build up treasure in heaven we must let go of our love of things in this life.

6. Salvation Comes From God Alone

Hidden in the background of this text is a powerful truth about God’s grace. When the disciples were puzzled with what Jesus said they wondered who it was that could save the rich. God is the obvious answer, but behind this statement is a truth about what that salvation looks like. There are two parts to it. First, the desire to turn away from a love of worldly things. Second, the turning towards God’s grace as one experiences the fullness of eternal life now and always. One sermon could focus on the double nature of God’s grace (shout out to all my Calvinist friends!).

7. For God All Things Are Possible

In this unique moment in human history what problems need addressing? Political division? Climate change? Addiction? Poverty? Violence? There is a list that goes on and on, and it is chock-full of overwhelming dilemmas that we cannot solve on our own. Perhaps at the root of all the problems though lies a misconception that we ought to love things and use people instead of the other way around. This could be a powerful sermon that addresses how we have prioritized wealth over the wellbeing of ourselves and our neighbors.

8. Humble Bragging Discipleship

Everything was going so well, and then Peter just had to open his mouth (shake my head). Actually, we are all like Peter. At times, all of us throw out a subtle compliment, like “I’m so tired from my workout this morning,” (alright we know you worked out today!) or “My schedule is so busy” (okay, you’re so important I get it). Peter humblebrags by pointing to his own and the disciples’ own dedication to Jesus, such that they left everything else. While Jesus answers this comment pointing to the reward of good discipleship, one sermon might address how we are called to examine our motives for following Jesus. This leads into another sermon idea.

9. The Rewards of Following Jesus

Why do you follow after Jesus? For rewards? What kind of rewards? Are you looking for a certain feeling? Do you crave some sort of accolade that someone will give you for being a good Christian? Are you following Jesus simply for consolation? How is it that you can focus instead on the journey itself? How might you choose to follow Jesus solely because you want to walk with Christ? This could be a good and challenging sermon examining why we want to be Jesus’ disciples.

10. The Last Will Be First and the First Will Be Last

God’s Kingdom is a mixed up kind of place. However, this saying of the first being the last and vice versa often gets frozen in time like a photograph. A tenth sermon idea could examine how God’s economy, community, and life calls us to dynamically move with this often used tagline of God’s way. The first are last, but then they become first, which means that they are last, and again they become first. It’s fluid when God rules. How is God calling us to move to be a part of the Kingdom together?

Which sermon idea seems most appealing to you? There are countless other ways to approach this text. In what direction is God calling you to go?

Softhearted

This sermon was preached on the 20^th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22B) at St. John’s Church. The readings for this Sunday were the following:

Job 1:1; 2:1-10

Psalm 26 

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Mark 10:2-16

During Youth Confirmation class a couple of years ago, we had a session dedicated entirely to liturgy. On that day we spent time talking about the word worship and what it means. Our youth learned that worship and worth come from the same root word. In worship we give worth to something that we admire, respect, and love. Worship is how we show what we value. 

Although we are all different, I imagine that many of us will hold up similar things that we truly love. Family, friends, and meaningful work all come to mind. Serving in our community, volunteering with outreach partners, and tending to our lovely community garden and grounds. Eating well, traveling to far off places, and of course our beloved college football. In our lives, we give worth to these and many other things that we love. And then, there is what we do here together.

The worship that we experience on Sunday mornings never fails to amaze me. No matter how I come into this place I always walk out of those red doors being transformed. As we sing powerful hymns, pray beautiful words, experience the forgiveness of sins, and share in the Body and the Blood of Christ we point to what we value: glorifying our God who is Father, Son, and Spirit.

At this time of year we sometimes ask people to look at how they spend their time, talent, and treasure as a way to see what it is that they value. But, today I want to do something else. I want to wonder together, “What was it that Jesus valued?” To what did he give worth?

This morning we heard about a confrontation between Jesus and some Pharisees. Their conflict centered on a difference in values. This is to say that Jesus and the Pharisees differed in what they gave worth to. But, to understand this better we have to step inside the worldview of someone from back then. 

What was it like to be a Jewish person in First Century Palestine? As today’s confrontation centered upon dismissing a wife, how did people back then administer divorce? To understand this we must first talk about women in Jesus’ day.

Society in that age gave men all the power. Women had very little value. Virtually the only worth women had was in bearing and raising children, as they ran the household. The few counter examples we hear in Holy Scripture appear to stick out as examples of pioneering women who were so revolutionary that their stories just had to be included in the biblical narrative. But, make no mistake almost universally women then were seen as property and a source for progeny.

What about divorce? Well, marriage was not about love back then. It was a social contract that typically was made to help families consolidate resources—so romantic, I know! Women had no say in who they married. And, they had no say in divorce. While a man had to go through the appearance of a trial, once he handed his wife a written piece of paper dismissing her, the relationship was over. Unless he had falsely accused a woman of infidelity or he had seduced a virgin, the woman would be divorced. I’m not making this stuff up. Regardless of the reason, a man was the only one who could go forward with a divorce. A woman had no power to do so. Jesus, saw this as a problem—he had a different value system.

Even after the Pharisees pointed to Moses’ divorce procedure in Deuteronomy, Jesus could not believe that these religious leaders would be so blind to the plight of the vulnerable. Later when the all-male disciples asked Jesus about it, he doubled down on his statement going so far as to compare divorce to adultery. Now, Jesus meant any type of divorce and remarriage, but remember women couldn’t divorce men. This would have stuck out to those in the early Church who heard it. And, it should stick out to us. But, why would he say all this? Why would Jesus get so frustrated about divorce? It goes back to what Jesus valued.

Throughout his ministry Jesus fought for the most vulnerable: the poor, the sick, the lame, the blind, the deaf, the needy, the hungry, the homeless, and yes women! He challenged others to see the vulnerable as valuable. Perhaps this is why he was so frustrated when men wanted to get his blessing for dismissing their wives. Like widows and orphans these divorced women wouldn’t have had access to fulfilling even their basic needs. Of course, Jesus wanted couples to be faithful and stick it out during the tough times, but in this moment, he also pointed to the brokenness of a system that left dismissed women abandoned. 20 centuries later we have it all figured out…

We may think that in comparison to long ago women today have it so great, but actually they don’t. Yes, they can divorce their husbands (not advocating for this, just simply stated the truth), but what about other areas of life? Women still do not make as much money as their male counterparts for doing the same job. Women are far more often the victims of abuse. And, these survivors of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse regularly get blamed for bringing that harassment upon themselves. Women are seen as objects far more consistently than men are. I know it is not always easy for someone like me who is white, middle-class, highly educated, Protestant, and male to understand the struggles of someone whom society values less, but if Jesus saw from the perspective of the vulnerable, then I am called and we are called to do the same. So, what do we do? How do we respond?

Jesus gave us the answer in his rebuttal to the Pharisees. Those religious leader (who just happened to be male) had let their hearts grow hard. The remedy for not understanding from another’s viewpoint is a soft heart. On Thursday at Theology on Tap I asked, “How do you keep your heart from hardening?” People responded saying: spouses, friends, prayers for grace, music, and our liturgy. All of these are helpful answers, but Jesus showed his disciples and us the way to keeping a soft heart at the end of today’s Gospel lesson.

Bringing children into the disciples’ midst, Jesus helped them to see that the only way to keep our hearts truly soft is by receiving God’s Kingdom like a child. Children see the world with eyes of innocence, they don’t judge, they haven’t been scarred, and they don’t carry around baggage or prejudice. But, we do. So how do we get back to that softhearted way of living? One more answer that someone gave on Thursday night shows us a way back to recovering a childlike perspective.

Sometimes to have a soft heart, we must let our hearts break. There are times when to be like a child we must cry when our hearts are hurting. We must let our hearts break when we see someone else hurting. Just like there will be times when we can’t help but laugh and smile wholeheartedly with others. Brother Curtis Almquist, a monk in the Society for St. John the Evangelist, spoke to my seminary about when our hearts break. A young monastic had asked him why the Old Testament talks of the Word of God being written on our hearts and not in our hearts. Almquist responded by saying that those words were written on the outside because when our hearts break then the words can fall inside to keep our hearts from growing hard.

To what do you give worth? What do you worship? Is it what God values? Do we value the vulnerable as Christ Jesus showed us? God’s word calls us to care for those who are poor, lowly, lost, hungry, and vulnerable. To do this we must have soft hearts. And, when our hearts start hardening may God instead break them, so that the living Word gives us strength to see the world like a child.

Be Great, Beloved

A church is great not simply because of what it has done, but chiefly because God loves it and God loves us. (Photo credit: Ann Stewart)

This sermon was preached on the 18^th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20B) at St. John’s Church. The readings for this Sunday were the following: 

Proverbs 31:10-31

Psalm 1

James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Mark 9:30-37

What a night we had on Wednesday! It was great! Wasn’t it? Our new Parish Hall was adorned in splendor—elegant table clothes, splendid flower arrangements, beautiful place settings! Our newly expanded space was nearly filled to capacity. We shared in a fantastic meal and watched a slideshow of the construction’s progress. Then, our church’s leaders including our bishop commended us on a job well done! Finally, we walked around as Bishop Kee spritzed our spaces with holy water using a sprig of asparagus fern to douse and bless the renovations and us too. Wednesday’s celebration was great! But, that’s not all that was/is great.

We too are great! Actually that doesn’t take it far enough. St. John’s is so great it might just be the greatest church in this diocese. Yeah, that’s not far enough either. This may be the best church in the entire Episcopal Church. Hold on that isn’t taking it far enough! Even among other denominations I would argue we are the paramount... the greatest church! Yes, I will gladly argue with others that we are the best!

Jesus said, “What’re you arguing about on the way?” Uh oh. I feel a little embarrassed, Jesus. I feel a sheepish silence coming over me. Yep, I just fell into the same trap that ensnared the disciples. Do not get me wrong, the faithfulness, the discipleship, and the generosity of this church is overwhelming, inspiring, and to be commended; however, arguing over who is the greatest—even when it’s regarding a church, especially when it’s regarding a church—arguing over who is the greatest does not lead us any closer to God. But why is that?

Christ Jesus never said, “Seek greatness!” He implored us to love God and to love our neighbors. He urged us to take up our cross and follow him. And, today he lets us know that if we want to be first we must be last and if we want to be great we must serve. But, he never said, “Be great by trying to prove it to others!” So why is it that we do this? Why do we keep reverting back to this argumentative behavior? How come we are striving for greatness instead of striving to follow Jesus? The answer lies in a powerful disconnect that we struggle with as individuals and as an entire species.

Somewhere along the way we have mixed up being great with being loved. Somewhere lodged deep within the entire human population lies a profound brokenness. This wrecked nature leads us to having a blurred vision of who God is and what our relationship with the Divine looks like. This misconception exists right alongside a desire to return to our original state of blessedness. We yearn to remember that we are made in God’s image. And, Christ Jesus came so that we would know the way back into that state; however, we continue to mix up God’s message to us. We continually seek to be great instead of to be loved. 

As individuals, this striving towards greatness comes in many shapes. It will not necessarily look like proving that we are better than others. Rather, each of us in our own way seeks to earn God’s love. All of us struggle to prove that we are worthy of God’s affection. This is not unlike our trying to please a reluctant parent or a reclusive spouse. We may strive for God’s love by trying to be right, to be kind, or to be victorious. We might seek God’s love by being unique, being smart, or being part of a group. We may attempt to achieve God’s love through being the funniest, the strongest, or the most enlightened. Still all of these attempts are for naught. This is not because these strivings are without value, but rather because the thing for which we strive—God’s love—cannot ever be earned. There’s no way to achieve it and no way to lose it.

So that’s it, right? We just sit back and let God’s love roll over us. Well, yes! So why do we continue to revert back into the same brokenness? How is it that we keep falling back into proving our greatness, our worthiness, and our deservedness? What’s our solution?

When the disciples were arguing over their own greatness along the way Jesus called them out. We do not hear the exact words Peter used to say how much more wonderful he was than John, nor do we hear John claim his superiority over his brother James in such plain terms, but make no mistake the disciples were just like us. One might have subtly made innuendos to how much better his kids were. Another could have used the fullness of his calendar to prove his greatness. And, still another may have stated that Jesus like him the best because he was the funniest. As the disciples fought over who was the greatest Jesus laid out a different path.

In a moment of stress and transition the disciples argued over greatness. When Jesus told of his betrayal, death, and resurrection the bickering arose. Jesus though gave another way. Jesus’ alternative path may simply look like servant leadership. However, if we are not careful out-serving one another can lead to just another way for us to prove how great we are. Jesus was not trying to provide another way of competing. Rather, he was laying out a completely different way of living—simply, living by following him.

When we live this way we live in the assurance that God loves us unconditionally, limitlessly, and eternally. So, what changes? If our starting point is not in deficiency, but in total fulfillment through Christ how is our life different? Jesus’ way of servanthood was not so much a leadership tactic as it was a way of completely changing the world. If each and every one of us is living as a servant, then we are not worrying about who is better than the other. If you and I are not trying to prove our greatness, but rather seek to honor and attend to one another’s needs doesn’t that change things? But what does this look like? Jesus pointed to caring for a child as the answer.

Have you ever held a newborn in your arms? When you cared for that baby did you ever think, “This brat is trying to get one over on me!”? Of course not! This is why Jesus pulled that child into their midst. We project all sorts of evil intentions upon one another, which prevents us from really helping each another. Instead of assuming that someone has ulterior motives what if you went above and beyond to care for her needs knowing full well that what matters is that God already loves you both more fully than you’ll ever know? What if you look at all people—even those ones whom you have always tried to best—what if you looked at everyone like you looked at a little child? This is the way of love that Jesus gives us to walk.

This church is great not simply because of what it has done, but chiefly because God loves it and God loves us. God loves you! As you grow in grace may you realize that nothing you do earns you any more love from God. You are already so, so loved. Christ came to show you and us this way. When we realize that we are already loved completely we no longer have to worry about proving our greatness. Instead we realize that we are only great by being loved and sharing that love. So be great, beloved.

The Quality of Mercy

This sermon was preached on the transferred feast of St. Matthew at St. John’s Church. The readings which inspired the sermon were the following:

Proverbs 3:1-6

2 Timothy 3:14-17

Matthew 9:9-13

Psalm 119:33-40

“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13)

Today we celebrate not a saint, but a sinner—a tax collector even. Nobody—then or now—likes a tax collector. We’ll bend over backwards to elect a politician who is utterly scum if their opponent has run on the platform of raising taxes. And, those who figuratively come to take our hard earned cash. Well, we do not like anybody coming in and taking something away from us. So it is surprising that today we remember a greedy good-for-nothing.

Today is the transferred feast day of Saint Matthew. And, somehow it feels fitting to be celebrating a despised tax collector just two days after quarterly taxes were due to the Alabama Department of Revenue and the IRS. In his day Matthew was near the top of Israel’s Most Hated list—if there were such a thing. Sure some of the hatred towards tax collectors gets passed down to us, but back then it was even more intense.

In Jesus’ day a tax collector did not have a starting salary or an hourly wage. Instead, they made their money by taking more than was allocated for the imperial tax. Devout Jewish folk did not like tax collectors because they were making their living dishonestly. Patriotic Jewish people living under the yoke of the Roman Empire hated Jewish tax collectors, like Matthew, even more because they were working for the enemy occupiers. No wonder throughout the Gospel accounts we find that tax collectors were the social outcasts of the day. They were lumped together with prostitutes, adulterers, and anyone who had done something to deserve getting leprosy (as though it were under their control). But, that was not how Jesus saw them.

The last words Jesus spoke in today’s Gospel lesson point us in a challenging direction. This path, which we are called to walk, leads us to responding to those sinful, wretched, and hated ones of our own day not with vengeance, but with mercy. Through Christ we hear God challenging us to have mercy on others instead of extracting sacrifice from those whom we loathe. Of course, this is not easy, but as the bard, William Shakespeare himself wrote:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd./

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven/

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:/

It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes./

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest;/[1]

Mercy is a double gift that is most powerful in the most powerful. It is a quality that extends from God’s own Trinitarian nature. And yet, we live in a world that is obsessed with proving ourselves right and others wrong. We seek to extract justice in the form of vengeance instead of practicing forgiveness and reconciliation. We persecute the tax collectors of our own age, even if it is simply by avoiding them or speaking in hushed tones about them. In short, we have not gone and we have not learned that God desires mercy, not sacrifice.

During a midweek sermon a few years ago the Rev. Evan Garner spoke about the tax collectors and lepers of our own day. Who are the people we avoid as a result of what they do? In our society who is it that we ignore? What persons do we completely isolate simply because of who they are?

The answers in our culture within the Southeastern United States appear vast. Yes we still don’t like tax collectors, but more notably we want nothing to do with pedophiles, sexual offenders, and murders; some of us have trouble with Muslims, While Supremacists, the Alt-Right, the Alt-Left, Socialists, Feminists, and really anyone who has a different view from our own; we don’t want to socialize with adulterers, criminals, certain types of rednecks, most Yankees, and almost all foreigners; we do not know how to approach those with special needs, those going through divorce, those who have lost their job, those suffering from dementia, and often anyone who is not like “us.” We may not have problems with Jesus having dinner with a tax collector, but we sure will get squirmy if we have to sit down with our modern day version of “them” to break bread. But, that is precisely what we must do.

Not too long ago in this part of Matthew’s Gospel account, Jesus made a challenge. He told those who struggled with the sin they saw in someone else to get the plank out of their own eye first. Then, and only then, so maybe never, for none of us will ever be sinless, can we address the sawdust in the other’s eye. As we follow Jesus this is the only way. We must seek mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation for ourselves and with others. That is the true path of peace, the true course of Christ, the way of love.

On this day when we remember a Saint who was also a sinner (hint: that was true of all of them), let us hear again Jesus’ challenge. We are to seek mercy not retribution, for none of us is worthy to dine with our Savior. Still he invites all of us to the table. And all who turn around and come to meet him here, regardless of their sins, will not be turned away. Everyone is welcome here. For that, thanks be to God.

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[1] William Shakespeare, “The Quality of Mercy” www.PoemHunter.com accessed September 19, 2018 https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-quality-of-mercy/