Luke 2:1-20        In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Reflection  Have you ever wondered why we must celebrate Christmas every year? Perhaps it is because we have not yet fully given birth to the living, breathing, human Christ. In truth everyone of us is pregnant with the extraordinary Christ life potential but rarely do we allow it to manifest fully through us. Until all that we say and all that we do is an expression of the Christ present with us, the Incarnation of humanity will be incomplete and so, we need Christmas.

The revelation of the Christ on earth did not come with flashing neon lights and snappy slogans, did not burst through space on a rocket or float to earth on a stairway of clouds. The revelation of Divine Presence came in the flesh and bloody birth of the peasant Mary’s child arriving just like our wet and wrinkly newborns. 

Reflecting on the Christmas blessing the twentieth century theologian Carl Rahner puts it this way. “(It) is not the deepest blessing of Christmas … that (Jesus) was born as the infant child of Mary but rather that he was born to become fully human, and with the promise that we too might be so.” In other words, Divinity is realized in the fullness of humanity and the blessing of Christmas depends on all of us becoming fully human.

What does it mean to be fully human? I believe it means to be precious and vulnerable, humble and unique, and blessed to be a blessing, just like Jesus; the infant, the itinerant teacher, friend, rabbi and rebel, loved and hated, feared and revered, delighted, frustrated and aggrieved. In our preciousness, our vulnerability and all of our broken places we are blessed and meant to be a blessing, laboring to make Divinity manifest by becoming fully human. 

As Rahner attests, the historical event of the birth of Jesus points to something more, to ‘the promise that we too might be so.” This is the blessing of Christmas.  Do we dare to receive and allow it to manifest through us?

The time of expectation and waiting is over. For us who have prepared our hearts Jesus is born again this and every moment.  Our present moment is full of Jesus, the Christ child, God with us. It is of this that the prophet Isaiah sings to God; “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.”

The time of searching and waiting for God is ended. We are no longer in the dark, no longer seekers. We are believers, receivers and manifesters. All that remains for us to do is put aside our complaints, our multitasks and distractions, to cradle  the blessing that makes each one of us fully human.

This is the heart and the height of Christmas. Being full of Jesus we are fully human. Amen.

                        Merry Christmas!

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The Collect and Gospel text for 4th Sunday of Advent, 20 December 2020

 The Collect        Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Luke 1:26-38         In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Reflection        “Purify our conscience.” This is the work of Advent. This is also the work of Lent. In fact, this is the work of our lifetime; to prepare a room in the mansion of ourselves and welcome the light of Christ to be born again and reign through us. If that sounds like a tall order, it is. That is why we need a daily visitation with Almighty God. That is why today’s opening collect is worth praying every single day.

But what does it mean to purify our conscience? I believe it means cleaning out our proverbial attics and downsizing;  discarding our disappointments, annihilating our affronts, casting out complaints, releasing our losses, banishing blame,  shutting the door on shame,.  A daunting undertaking. No wonder we need a daily visitation with God to purify our conscience. 

Now let me be clear. Not everything we experience and store in our attic belongs in the incinerator. The process of purifying our conscience is meant to reform whatever prevents the innocence of our open, empty, receptivity. I hear you protest, “I am an adult. I have a long and patchy past. My innocence was lost when dad took the training wheels off my bike. As a matter of fact, it is probably a bad idea to be open, empty and receptive. Seems like a sure recipe to be exploited or abused.”

Let me clarify. I believe you are speaking of naive innocence. In the context of the purification of our conscience I refer to what I call “wizened innocence.” Please ponder with me the possibility of the open, empty, receptivity of wizened innocence one word at a time.  What does it mean to be open? It means to be honest, transparent and accessible. What does it mean to be empty? Humble, not full of our self. Being empty we are content, not envious or grasping for more. What does it mean to be receptive? It means being sensitive and open-minded, responsive to others and hospitable. To purify our conscience means to abolish whatever prevents us from being honest and transparent, humble and content, sensitive, open-minded and hospitable. It means purging whatever inhibits our wizened innocence. Why does this matter? Why should we bother?

We welcome this process of purification because the work of Advent, Lent and our entire lifetime is to prepare ourselves to be the hospitable mansion in which the Christ incarnates and through which the Christ Light reigns on earth. Here is the wrinkle.  The single greatest stumbling stone in our attic is fear. Fear of being open. “If I am honest and transparent people will see who I really am. I will not measure up and I will be rejected.” Fear of being empty. “ If I am empty I will have no sure footing, no safety net. I may be lacking and suffer.” Fear of being receptive. “If I am receptive I will be vulnerable,  influenced or deceived. People will take advantage of me.” 

Thanks be to God there is an antidote to fear. Every time Almighty God breaks through our conscience to prepare a human mansion in which to incarnate and through which to reign, an angel or prophet appears and proclaims, “Do not be afraid, Mary (Diann, John, Linda, Dave, Susan, Ron, Ken…)  do not be afraid.” 

Then God said (to Jacob), "I am God, the God of your father;  do not be afraid to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. (Gen 46.3)

And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid.”(Jos 11:6)

Then the angel of the LORD said to Eli'jah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid.” (2Ki 1:15)

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid: Zechari'ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. (Luk 1:13)

And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid: Mary, for you have found favor with God. (Luk 1:30)

But the angel said to the women (at the tomb), "Do not be afraid: for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. (Mat 28:5)

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid: go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Mat 28:10)

God knows we are afraid AND we know that every time one of God’s people steps over fear to say “Yes, here I am… “ their fear is replaced with light that incarnates through them and reigns on the earth.  

Here is the punchline. We are all virgins until we abolish every obstacle, step over our fear and say, “Yes. Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then, with our consent in a baptism by fire, fear is incinerated as the Light of Christ finds in us a mansion in which to live and from which to reign. 

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Gospel Test for 3rd Sunday of Advent 13 December 2020

                                                        MLK Kneels & Stands

John 1:6-8,19-28        There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Reflection        This week I heard the voice of a woman crying out from her wilderness, “I do not feel brave enough to speak up. I slip into silence rather than take the risk of calling out lies, confronting hypocrisy, or condemning the keepers of the status quo for failing to care for so many suffering people. My lips refuse to move because I do not have courage.”

My heart nods with her prophetic words. “Me too. I prefer to settle in comfortable silence rather than brave confrontation.”  How about you? Do you have the courage to join John and be a voice “crying out in the wilderness, ‘make straight the way of the Lord?’” or do you prefer to be silent?

Were he with us today John might say, “It is time for a course adjustment. The people of God have chosen countless detours, diversions and distractions, making crooked the way of the Lord. It is time to get on track, return to basics, reclaim the straight way of love; love God, love our neighbors. No exceptions.“ John’s instruction is simple. It is the execution that we trip over.

Here is the thing. The “straight way of the Lord” is not easy because instead of seeing people who think, believe, vote, worship or live differently than us as beautiful revelations of Divine creativity, we experience them as wrong or even threatening.  We cannot wrap our minds around God’s pronouncement that all of humanity is good, very good, when so many of “those people” seem to be our adversaries or assailants.

There have been and always will be lots of people with whom we disagree, and many who have hurtful things to say to or about us,  but that does not make them enemies. Therefore, it is right that we should ask, "How are we to love people who disagree, disrespect or devalue us?" I believe the answer is hidden in plain sight in the  text describing John the Baptist’s encounter with the priests and Levites who confront him, “Tell us who you are.” 

Looking carefully we see that John responds with the utmost humility. “I am not the Messiah nor anything special. Just a lone voice pointing to something greater than I am.” He kneels before his challengers and at the same time acts with integrity to advance the way of the Lord, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” The lesson we take from watching John is this; let our lives speak with humility, integrity and conviction.

This week I also heard the voices of two religious luminaries, individuals with distinct and widely divergent views. During a joint interview of the Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Dr. Russel Moore, the chief ethicist of the Southern Baptist Convention addressing the question of how to be in relationship with people with whom we completely disagree, Dr. Moore avers, “I see other people as those created in the image of God, and not ultimately my opponents.” The conservative evangelical continues, “Scripture calls us to both conviction (of our beliefs) not an evaporating of our differences, but also to kindness and active love for even those people who disagree with us completely.” *

Magnifying the wisdom of our gospel text the progressive Christian Curry asks,“How do I stand and kneel at the same time in my relationship with others especially with those who disagree with me?” He then reflects, “so I’ve got to kneel before them as someone created in the image of God, just like me.. and, at the same time I must stand with integrity.” Coming from vastly different perspectives both religious scholars affirm the instruction to let our lives speak with humility, integrity and conviction. The key is, beginning in humility.

When the priests and Levites ask John, “Who are you?” he knows they are asking the wrong question. John knows he is not defined by the tribe he belongs to or the ideology he affirms. John experiences the meaning and value of his life in humbly pointing toward something greater than his conservative or progressive self.  Rather than defending his personal perspective, John ranks himself below the Messiah, Elijah and the prophet. In humility he receives the God given courage to stand with integrity and speak with conviction. The key is, beginning in humility.

Returning to the woman crying out in her wilderness, “I do not feel brave enough to speak up,” I pray she hears John’s message. “Do not be afraid of people who disagree with you completely. Remember, God is God and you are not. So, humbly kneel before the people who disagree with you, receive the God given courage to stand with integrity and speak your truth with conviction. Let your life speak.”

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 * Faith, Compassion & Healing Our National Divide   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1yM0c0E9ZQ

 Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the good news of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way;

the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight,’”

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Reflection        Can you hear yourself crying in the wilderness? “What is going on here? I have worked hard to be safe and secure still I am under siege by a shape shifting virus. I have cared for my family and established my social standing but the sources of my affection and esteem are in quarantine.  I have made my mark in the bureaucracy yet I have neither power nor control in the current Covid climate. Surely there is a better way of living.”

Could it be that we, like the bug eating baptizer John, are standing in the wilderness between worlds, between the way life has been and the way life could be? Could it be that we are ready to  change our lives and bravely join the people of the Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem to begin something new? Are we ready to join ALL the people looking for a better way of living?

Here I believe the operant word is ALL. The transition from the way life has been to the way life could be occurs in the company of ALL the people. And so the question before us is, “Are we ALL ready to walk into the wilderness, step into the Jordan river, die to the way life has been (life that is all about me) and begin a new way of living (that is all about we)?

By every measure the way life has been is not good enough. It is not good enough because too many people do not have access to dignity and a decent life and as a result, they have lost hope. When hope is lost, fear and anger conquer humanity and we all suffer, we ALL suffer.

Let’s be honest. We are creatures of habit. We prefer predictability and frequently choose a negative outcome rather than risk uncertainty, a sure and certain way to lose hope. But every chapter in life’s book has an ending that offers the possibility of a new beginning. It is up to us to turn the page. When the way life has been is not good enough it is time to choose to begin again because our lives are not the artifact of our circumstance. They are the result of our choices.  

And so we begin again by letting go of the story of how good things used to be. We stop complaining about the things we have lost or miss. Instead of thinking of change in terms of cost and fear of failure, we embrace it like a personal operating system upgrade that corrects errors and enhances our lived experience. 

When we choose to join John the baptizer in the wilderness standing between the way life has been and the way life could be, we have an opportunity to manifest the one thing that makes a real difference. Hope.

Hope is what gives people the energy to act. In the absence of hope we either sink into despair or erupt into anger, neither of which foster new or renewed life.  

Please consider just a few of the insidious idioms for the way life has been. “Every man or woman for herself.” “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” “Better look out for number one.” There is no ignoring the tragic consequences of these invocations. Suddenly John the baptizer’s call to repentance makes sense. Repentance is not about blame or shame. It is about making a conscious and conscientious choice to turn away from the way life has been and adopt new words for living, words that foster hope. 

Perhaps Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.” Or Mother Teresa, “Love is not patronizing and charity isn't about pity, it is about love. Charity and love are the same - with charity you give love, so don't just give money but reach out your hand instead.” Finally, “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson.**  Words that foster hope. 

Poised  between the way life has been and the way life could be we tremble when we hear John call, “Prepare the way of the Lord” because we know we must choose one way or the other. Will we cling to life as it has been, all about me procuring my private security, safety, esteem, power and control? Or will we step out of our comfortable ruts? Join ALL of  the people, step  bravely into the river of life and be the new beginning of “Good news of Jesus the Christ for ALL people?” 

• *https://www.wisesayings.com/helping-others-quotes/#ixzz6fctweEgt

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 Mark 13:24-37        Jesus said, “In those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

Reflection        “The sun will no more give its light by day, nor the moon its light by night,” because we,  the People of God, have refused to succumb to the subterfuge of darkness. We have decided to “Keep Awake” and be the revelation of God’s new light which is nothing less than a new way of being human. It is not about right belief. It is about right living. And right living is the fulfillment of our hope for Advent; extending peace, love and joy to all humanity. 

This Sunday begins the season of Advent. It is the beginning of the Christian liturgical year during which we wait expectantly for the promise of new light to manifest. The temptation is to look outside ourselves and point our fingers at the untold myriad signs of darkness. We screw up our eyes and wrinkle our foreheads straining to see a new sun or moon or star rise outside of us (will there be a miracle cure for COVID?). But all we see is darkness (the COVID numbers keep rising; physical, social, emotional and financial loss abound). The result, we shudder, shrink and close our eyes. And darkness grows ever darker as we are lured into torpidity (turning to drink, drugs or mindless distraction) until Jesus’ bidding, “Stay awake!”penetrates the night and turns our world inside out. 

It is the end of time as we have known it, but only if we “Keep Awake!” “For behold darkness covers the land; deep gloom enshrouds the people.”(Isaiah 60.2) Interesting how little has really changed during the past 2760 or so years since the prophet Isaiah spoke these words. Life continues to challenge us at every turn. We grow weary, worn down and desolate, turning against each other and ourselves. Until Jesus breaks into the scene and counsels, ‘When darkness sweeps over the earth and all that you have counted on to be reliable and true seems to be falling from the sky into the abyss, “Keep Awake,” for it is out of the midst of darkness that new light rises.’ 

‘Awakeness’ is the light that pierces the darkness. Which is why when dark is at its darkest and things seem beyond repair, we must keep awake to wield the sword of hope against agents of despair. When darkness surrounds us and lures us into sleep, there is every chance we will miss the experience of something new and good and true. And if we miss it, how will we share it? How will we pass on the revelation of God’s renewed light?

Unlike the secular New Year that arrives amidst gyrating crowds and explosive light displays, our New Year, our Advent season of hope is born on the quiet wings of peace, love and joy because the season of hope is born in our hearts. As the prophet Isaiah asserted, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9.2) In other words, there is hope no matter how dark the times may seem.

The season of Advent, our new Church year, leads to the fulfillment of our ancient ancestors’ hope, hope that we know comes as God’s light born again each year in the incarnation of Jesus.  And, the season of Advent depends on us to “Keep Awake” because we can only be the continuing revelation of God’s light in the world if we “Keep Awake.” 

So, “Keep Awake.”  Rather than forward, delete the nasty social or political cartoon. Rather than judge the person who seeks refuge or assistance, offer food, drink and a place to sleep. Rather than talk about “those people,” ask someone who does not think or pray or vote like you to tell you their story, then listen. Rather than lament the way things are, talk about a blessing you experienced this week (if you are reading this you still have eyes to see!). Voilà - there you have it. The end of time as we have known it because you have  refused to succumb to the subterfuge of darkness. 

Happy New Year! 

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Gospel text for Sunday 22 November 2020

 

Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Reflection        Sheep or Goat? What do you get when you breed a sheep with a goat? According to wikipedia, a geep or a shoat, but this hybrid rarely survives birth because of the genetic difference between them. Which brings us back to the question, sheep or goat?

I can see myself as both. This week a woman I will call Lisa came to the church asking for assistance with her rent. She gave me the information needed to pay her landlord and I felt good that we could help her. But when she immediately asked me for a gas card, I felt miffed, partially at her but mostly at myself because I had given away the last three gas cards the week before and had not yet replenished the supply. Still, I invited her to come back to the church the next afternoon for a gas card and she left. As it turned out Lisa’s landlord would not accept the discretionary account credit card, only a cashier’s check. My feelings of benevolence were fast fading. Driving to the bank to procure a cashier’s check was rather like navigating the fields of outer darkness, where I was grinding my teeth and grumbling

By grace there was no line inside the bank. While a kind teller printed the check, the sheep Debra had a talk with the goat Debra. “So, you are feeling inconvenienced. Did not want to drive to the bank this morning. Certainly did not want to go to Frys to purchase gas cards. Hummm. Imagine how inconvenient it would be if you could not pay your rent or put gas in your car. Imagine how you would feel if you had to ask a stranger for help.” The teller returned and offered me a blessing, “There will be no fee for the certified check.” Smiling I left the bank and went to Frys and purchased gas cards.  Now the sun shone through the windshield as I drove back to church. Peace was restored to my soul and I experienced the joy of being blessed to be a blessing. Sheep or goat? There is no geep or shoat.

Earlier in Matthew’s gospel we listen to Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mountain (Matt 5.3-11) teaching the ethics of God’s kingdom. In summary, we the people of God are meant to be pure in heart, merciful and peacemakers. We are meant to offer comfort and care to the poor, the meek and the mourning, even at the expense of being misunderstood or persecuted. Jesus proceeds to interpret the Law of Moses in what we call the six antithesis (Matt 5.21-48). Jesus is saying. Moses’ law is good but it does not go far enough. Do not murder and do not even express hatred or malice. Do not be sexually immoral or break any commitments, be truthful and have integrity in all things.

Throughout Matthew’s text we receive instructions on how to live as Jewish Christians, not only in obedience to Jewish law but also in imitation of Jesus’ exemplary mercy. With today’s gospel text we arrive at the moment  of reckoning. How are we doing?  Matthew’s text is the only gospel that describes this disturbing judgment scene where we find ourselves directed to either the right or the left hand of God.

This I believe is the mystery and hope in the pericope. You see, whether we are sheep or goats we are still held in the hand of God because God is the shepherd. We all belong to God. But in order to fully participate in the joy of God’s kingdom we must not only receive God’s blessing, we must allow God’s blessing to flow through our hands. The way we do this is by following the Mosaic law and living in imitation of Jesus whose life and ministry is all about connecting and caring for all people, especially the marginalized. 

We are blessed to be a blessing. There really is no gray zone between  feeding the hungry, dropping off water for the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, giving clothes to the naked, caring for the sick and visiting the prisoner; in other words, being sheep. Or being goats and hesitating to hand the hungry five dollars, reluctant to leave water for the thirsty, turning away the stranger, shrinking from the naked, shirking the sick and shunning the prisoner. No geep, no shoat.

Every hour of every day we have the opportunity to choose how we live. Do we choose to live in accord with the ethics of God’s kingdom and experience the joy of God’s blessing right here, right now on earth? or do we choose to withhold comfort, care and connection and naturally experience the misery of being dismembered from God’s kingdom?  Every hour of every day we choose. Shall I be a goat or a sheep? Our choice determines our experience of being cursed or blessed.

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Gospel text for Sunday 15 November 2020

 Matthew 25:14-30        Jesus said, “It is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 

After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 

Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Reflection        There was lots of head scratching and grimacing the first time a group of folks read through this text about the man who entrusted his property to three  slaves while he was on a journey.  A lot jumps off the page; slaves, investing, trading, fear of the harsh master, the very idea that “… to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” Folks were not happy and wondered,  “where is compassion or justice in this?” 

Reading the parable again we noticed the slaves who were given five and two talents respectively must have also known the master was a harsh man, still, they took the risk to invest their talents. But the third slave who had only one talent is paralyzed by fear of losing the little he has. Rather than taking a risk and using his talent, he hides it. What does this have to say about the nature of risk aversion and how we humans respond to uncertainty? 

None of the three slaves know when the master will return nor what will be the outcome if they invest their talents. Even though they were all exposed to this uncertainty, the first two slaves take the risk and invest all that they were given. The result; not only do they double their talents, but their benefactor welcomes them to “enter into the joy of their master.” By contrast, the risk averse third slave tries to lower the uncertainty of his situation by at least not losing what he already has (rather like putting our money under a mattress). This time the master’s response is disturbing, taking away is single talent. Is the slave not simply being prudent? It seems the master really is a harsh and unreasonable man.

Grumbling and dissatisfied, we read the text for a third time. Someone notes, the first and second slaves must have recognized the gifts that they were given and responded in kind by giving everything back to the master. Even though the master had no idea how much the two slaves gained while he was away, they held nothing back for themselves.” And the light bulbs began going off in the minds and hearts of the participants. By giving everything to the master, the two slaves “entered into the masters joy,” what I would call, the unimpeded flow of generosity. 

This teaching tale begins with the master’s generosity. The first two slaves respond openhandedly. They fully receive, invest and return the gift. But the third slave fails to recognize the gift of the talent freely given to him and so he clings to the little he has, burying the talent and effectively stopping the flow of generosity. Instead of being welcomed into the masters joy the third slave experiences the natural consequence of failing to trust the master’s generosity and essentially casts himself into “the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The master knows all about generosity as he freely admits being accustomed to “reaping where (he) did not sow, and gathering where (he) did not scatter seed…” In other words, he knows he does not depend upon himself for his prosperity, or profit. It is pure gift. So he opens his hand and generously continues the flow of wealth to the slaves. 

The question before us is this. Do we choose to trust that the generosity extended to us will continue through us or do we cling to the little we have and impede the God given flow of generosity?

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Hymn Text for Sunday 8 November 2020

How Great Thou Art

A Christian hymn based on a Swedish traditional melody and a poem written by 

Carl Boberg (1859–1940) in Sweden, in1885.  

O Lord, my God      

When I in awesome wonder

Consider all

The worlds Thy hands 

     have made

I see the stars

I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout

The universe displayed

Then sings my soul

My saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art

How great Thou art

When through the woods

And forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing 

     sweetly in the trees

When I look down

From lofty mountain grandeur

And see the brook

And feel the gentle breeze

Then sings my soul

My saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art

How great Thou art

Then sings my soul

My saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art

How great Thou art

It is well

With my soul 

It is well

It is well with my soul

When Christ shall come

With shout of acclamation

And take me home

What joy shall fill my heart 

Then I shall bow

In humble adoration

And then proclaim

My God, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul

My saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art

How great Thou art

Then sings my soul

My saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art

How great Thou art

How great Thou art

How great Thou art

Reflection        O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

consider all the worlds your hands have made.

In spite of being stunned by all the stars

astounded by the rolling thunder

confounded by your power

throughout the universe displayed

I wrestle with you. 

I grapple, grunt and battle over everything from my preference to indulge my introvert self, guilt for being a single mom and not remarrying, worry about our church surviving this Covid crisis, fear about the future of our country, mourning for the misery of many I see and cannot mend.  And at the end of every dark night of battle, I rise again in the company of angels at the place of awesome wonder, awakened in this world of sunrises and thunder, morning doves and all the multiverse displayed, and my soul sings

How awesome is this place. How awesome this moment. 

(Genesis 28.14)

“And it is well with my soul, it is well,” until I turn on the radio and hear voices bound to send me to dust off my red cap or put on my blue shirt, add my tongue to the trouble and my temper to the tumult that is taring our country apart. And the dark night of wrestling begins again. “Oh God, are you not paying attention? Do you not see what we are doing to ourselves and to each other? Make the bad guys stop. Let the good guys prevail.”

Last week we remembered to wear our white robes as sure and certain signs of who and whose we are, people blessed and meant to be a blessing. This week we must strip down further and return to our bare naked selves; innocent, vulnerable and free as the day that we were born, free to be born again 

as through the woods and forest glades we wander 

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees…

And our souls sing,  How awesome is this place! How awesome this moment.

If we are truly followers of Jesus, we rise again every single morning, savor the beauty and grandeur of the world, handle the twists and tangles of creation, and choose over and over and over again to align our lives in God’s desire for our holiness.

Which means, if our candidate for president loses, we choose a holy way to grieve, respond and move on. If our candidate wins, we choose a holy way to celebrate, respond and move on. In either case, we honor our feelings, wake up in the morning in the company of angels and we all bow down in humble adoration

And then proclaim

My God, how great Thou art!

After a long, dark night of grappling, grunting and battling over everything from proper protocol in the face of Covid-19, the role of media information and disinformation, what is truth? who gets to decide? to -  who will be the next president of the United States, we, the people of God, rise again together at the place of awesome wonder, waking up in this world of sunrises and thunder, morning doves and all the multiverse displayed, Then our souls shall sing together

My saviour God, to Thee

How great Thou art

How great Thou art.