Gospel text for Sunday 4 December 2022

Matthew 3.1-12        In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

                     "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Reflection        Finding his place in the mystery of the wilderness rather than in Roman baths or columned temple halls, grizzly John the Baptist is an anomalous character. Even though John's scraggly beard is crusty with legs of locust glued to globs of honey and he looks more like a hippie than a holy man, crowds listen to him. What is he saying?  “I am nothing. What I have to offer you is merely a bath in water that is nothing compared to the baptism by fire that the one who follows me will bring to you.” 

John consistently directs attention away from himself toward Jesus. “He who is coming after me is more powerful than me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.” (Matt 3.11) Yet, even as John is a paragon of humility, he is an intrepid prophet fearlessly speaking truth to power. He not only calls for the people’s radical change, “repent and be baptized,” daring to criticize King Herod for marrying his brother’s wife, John also demands social justice. This does not end well for John who ultimately loses his head for it. But I am leaping ahead.

Even though he is a descendant of the priesthood of Aaron, as a comment against common corruption John renounces his rights to a position in the Temple. As a critic of injustice and exploitation the humble prophet John chooses to stand outside of Roman culture and condemn the status quo.  But, in keeping with his culture, John expects a Messiah to come and in a singular sweeping apocalyptic act set the world right. He declares, “(the Messiah) will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

John expects an all powerful Messiah King will bring an end to the corrupt status quo and institute a happily ever after life. This is where he and Jesus part ways.

Somewhere I read the contemporary Christian Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan’s description of a fundamental difference between John the Baptist and Jesus. According to Crossan both of them are interested in how the world will be transformed into the Kingdom of God. John believes the solution to the insoluble social situation depends on a deus ex machina, Divine apocalyptic intervention.  This means the kingdom of God is contingent on a God engineered catastrophic event that happens to the people and instantaneously results in peace and righteousness. 

By contrast, Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God depends on actions through the people, socially conscious action taken to transform the misuse of power, position and privilege in the world. Rather than waiting for a distant god to provoke an apocalyptic event and instantaneously revolutionize the world, Crossan argues that Jesus assigns the responsibility for restoring peace and righteousness and remodeling the world to the slow work of the people. This represents an enormous advance in the development of human consciousness; from apocalyptic magical thinking to taking personal responsibility for the quality of life and care of all humanity.

What does this mean for us today? I believe it means taking a stand with Jesus and exercising the right use of position, power and privilege in response to human suffering; mass shootings, seditious conspiracy, hunger, obfuscation of truth, homelessness, hopelessness and every form of oppression and inhumanity. 

What does this mean for us today?  It means we, the people, must take responsibility to care for the roughly ten percent of the eight billion people in the world who are suffering from extreme poverty; beginning in our own country where nearly thirteen percent endure impoverishment. 

What does this mean for us today? It means we, the people, must speak truth to power, calling for responsibility, accountability and factuality. It means, with all humility we must use our hands and feet and voices to end hate, harm and hopelessness by living, acting and voting to insure dignity and care for all people, beginning where we stand.

No singular apocalyptic event, no messianic savior king or president, will bring to light the Kingdom of God on earth. But a million, a billion, countless trillion decisions made by each of us every single day will. We are meant to be humble prophets, standing shoulder to shoulder with John and Jesus, willing to renounce positions of power and privilege in the interest of claiming our shared responsibility for calling out corruption and being the kingdom of peace and righteousness on earth.

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Gospel text for Sunday 21 June 2020

Matthew 10.24-39        Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father, 

and a daughter against her mother, 

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 

and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Reflection    Jaundiced air envelops the scene. A barren desert scape blown dry by lethal winds bearing dusty devils brings no consolation. The majesty of mountains that usually glorify this desolation is shrouded beneath a burial cloak of black and orange smoke crowned with ashen billows. 

“Oh God, what is happening to our world? I am driving through a post apocalyptic movie set. Everywhere I look the world is on fire. Not only the Bighorn fire in front of me but also the Sawtooth and Mangum fires at my back. Not only forest fires but also viral fires leaping from unsuspecting host to host, inciting disease and dealing death. Not only Covid-19 but also protesters and provocateurs, champions of change inciting protectors of the status quo. O God, this moment moans with pain, pain so great we are all groaning.” 

Rapt in this apocalyptic apprehension while driving from Phoenix to Tucson an audible groan escaped my gut riding a river of tears. This is world pain, weltschmerz, a great German word that speaks to the collective pain experienced during times of extended conflict and transition. Today the pain I feel is greater than my own. 

I groan with the many blameless police as well as their several brutal colleagues, for the pain that inflames all of them.

I groan with the peaceful protesters calling for an end to ethnic violence as well as their     agitated provocateurs, for the pain that inflames all of them.

I groan with the conscientious folk sacrificing their pleasures to cut short Covid-19 as well as with those who due to need or desire exercise their right to act as they choose, for the pain that inflames all of them.

I groan with all creatures, the earth and the air, for the pain that inflames all of them.

James Baldwin, an African American novelist, was one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers especially known for his essays on the black experience in the United States. Baldwin writes, “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

Driving from Phoenix to Tucson I stumbled into everything I have been afraid to face; the depth and breadth of pain that is inflaming every person, group, institution, government and country today. I fear for our way of life. I fear that we cannot breath and be who we are. I am afraid to open my mind and my heart to consciously experience the depths of this personal and collective pain; weltschmerz. 

How are we to be with this pain? When the world as we have known it is replaced by an apocalyptic movie set do we welcome the pain, anger, resentment and confusion as  invitations to venture deep inside ourselves and experience Divine wisdom hidden within? Probably not our first go to. If we are honest we are more likely to eat, drink, do drugs, binge watch Netflix or even meditate seeking something pleasurable to avoid the strong emotions.  When we have no idea what is going on or how things are going to turn out, do we welcome this as an opportunity for something new and better to emerge? or do look for someone or something to blame, or make ourselves the guilty ones?

When we shut ourselves off from experiencing reality as it is, we disconnect our selves from wisdom, which is the Holy Spirit present with us. When we are disconnected Jesus’ words make no sense. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Jesus brings a sword because we need it to poke and to prod us, to unmask the ways we run from reality. 

Jesus brings a sword to uncover our preference to look for someone to blame (including ourselves), rather than welcome the discomfort of our anxiety, fear, resentment and uncertainty.

Jesus brings a sword to vanquish our desire to recreate the way things were rather than wait in uncertainty for something new to be conceived. 

Jesus brings a sword to turn us around to face ourselves and the fullness of our humanity.  And I recoil.

I recoil because I feel vulnerable. I feel vulnerable because there is a soft spot in my belly that churns as I live through the desolating apocalypse of mysterious virus, insidious fires, protests and provocateurs, violence and threats of more. I feel vulnerable because there is a soft spot in my heart where I am connected to every person, plant and place. This soft spot is the fullness of my humanity, the tender site of of divine presence with me that weeps with every burnt twig and mourning mother. 

This is the place I am loath to face because the spring of living water that Jesus brings there bears not only his incomprehensible peace but also every droplet of world pain. Still James Baldwin’s words echo in my soul, “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” 

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Gospel text for Sunday 13 November 2016

Luke 21:5-19

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, `I am he!' and, `The time is near!' Do not go after them.

"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

Reflection        Surely we are in no less a time of apocalyptic expectation than were the people listening to Jesus predict the decimation of the temple. Some of us are calling for a radical end of the way things have been. Others fear seismic doom and gloom borne of change. Within families, communities, cities , the Church, relationships are strained if not fatally fractured.

As people of God we are intended to be in loving relationship with God and one another. Most of us have been distracted and like our ancient Jewish ancestors forgotten our covenant with God. We are worried about “when (these terrible things) will be, and what will be the sign that it is about to take place.” Then and now we are asking the wrong questions.

The question is not “How shall we prepare ourselves for disaster;  ‘famine, plague and dreadful portents and great signs from heaven?’” The question is “How shall we live to fulfill our covenant agreement with God? How shall we repent, turn away from our selfishness, entitlement, pride and isolation to follow the way of Jesus by dignifying, caring for and giving ourselves away for the good of all people?” 

If we did live to fulfill our covenant with God there would indeed be an apocalyptic transformation of the world as we know it. And, if we choose to do this, like Jesus and his disciples, we can expect to be misunderstood and suffer along the way.

The good news is, God is with us and we do not have to prepare. We can have confidence because Jesus counseled, we need not be “terrified.” This moment in which we find ourselves is an opportunity to live and reveal the good news that God is with and for all people. “So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.” We may be hated and betrayed by many folk but we are assured of God’s presence with us… always. 

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