Gospel text for Sunday 28 September 2014

Matthew 21:23-32        When Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, `From heaven,' he will say to us, `Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, `Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, `I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.”

Reflection     “By what authority are you doing these things?”  It seems like a perfectly reasonable question. except, the authorities had seen Jesus “doing these things,” healing and teaching and exuding enough charisma that crowds of people were following him. The chief priests and the elders were not interested in where Jesus got his authority. They were interested in maintaining their authority and Jesus was breaking their rules and challenging their authority. But Jesus was not game. No way was he going to fall into their trap, so he turned the table on them and used the parable of the two sons to accuse them.

“By the way, don’t you realize that the most dispised people among you, the prostitutes and tax collectors who fail to keep the temple Law of Moses “are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you because when John came crying “Repent,” they believed and changed their ways.  But when John came to you, “you did not change your minds and believe him.”” I can almost hear Jesus shaking his head and mumbling, “Don’t you see. Humanity was not made to serve the law. The law was made to serve humanity. All you have to do is change your mind and believe what John said, “Repent, (which means turn around, change your mind) the kingdom of God has come near.””(Matt 3.2 and writers additions).

Could it really be that simple? Just change your mind? Simple as a beligerent son saying to his father, “No, I am not going “to work in the vineyard today,” then changing his minds and showing up for work? 

That reminds me of the Lovin’ Spoonfuls song, “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” 

Did you ever have to make up your mind?
You pick up on one and leave the other behind
It's not often easy and not often kind
Did you ever have to make up your mind?

Did you ever have to finally decide?
And say yes to one and let the other one ride
There's so many changes and tears you must hide
Did you ever have to finally decide?

Of course this 60s  song was about a man choosing between two women but, let me suggest it is not too different from John’s call to repent - to finally decide, to say yes, I believe, and leave not believing behind. Do you believe?

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Gospel text for Sunday 21 September 2014

Matthew 20:1-16       esus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, `You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, `Why are you standing here idle all day?' They said to him, `Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, `You also go into the vineyard.' When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, `Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, `These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Reflection       My fair share. What is my fair share. That was the first thing I wondered when reading this parable. But what about the generous landowner? What about all the people who, much as the landowner, look for opportunities to be generous?

I turned to Charity Navigator to find giving statistics for Americans in 2013. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=42#.VBy4wl7Zdg0

In 2013 the Americans’ total giving to charitable organizations was $335.17 billion (about 2% of the GDP). Individuals (not corporations) gave 72% of it, roughly $240.6 billion to religious institutions, education, human services, health agencies and charities that focus on the environment or animals. This does not include monies given to assist with natural disasters and tragedies or handed out on the street. Like the landowner in Matthew’s text, Americans are generous.

What does it mean to be a generous individual? According to Wikipedia’s definition, generosity or largess is “a habit of giving without expecting anything in return… Generosity is not solely based on one's economic status, but instead, includes the individual's pure intentions of looking out for society's common good and giving from the heart. Generosity should reflect the individual's passion to help others.”

Sounds great. But how is Christian generosity distingushed from being a good citizen? Sacrifice. The word is sacrifice. It is at the heart of our Christian tradition. Paul counsels the Romans, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God…” (Ro 12.1) In Luke 18, Jesus challenges a rich young man to sell everything. Mincing no words, Jesus said to his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt 16.24-25)

These are hard words. Apparently, sacrifice is generosity on steroids. It is more than having good intentions, a loving heart, writing checks and hoping for the good of all people. Sacrifice is muscle on the bones of generosity that compels us to be willing to earn less (as did the land owner) in order to give more to others. Sacrifice is deciding to do less to sure up our personal kingdoms in order to build God’s kingdom on earth right now. Sacrifice is holding nothing back until everybody on the land gets a full days’ wage

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Epistle Holy Cross Day, 14 September, 2014

Philippians 2:5-11

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death--

even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Reflection        When Jesus entered Jerusalem he knew he was headed for death. Not just death, tortuous death; excruciating, humiliating death nailed to a cross and lifted high so all could watch him gasp for breath. Jesus knew what was waiting for him and he chose not to wipe Jerusalem’s dust from his heels and walk north to Samaria or Cana. He could have headed for the proverbial hills, gone underground and out of sight and saved himself. Who would blame him?

But Jesus was not listening to the voice of fear shouting, “By all and any means, save yourself. The most important thing is to be safe and secure, to surround yourself with people who care for and esteem you. Be sure to maintain a modicum of power and control.” That was not the voice that he was listening to. Jesus was listening to the deeply interior voice of his Father God.

Jesus’ decision to walk into Jerusalem, to host a farewell supper with his closest friends, and to allow one of them to betray his whereabouts to his persecutors was not a personal decision. Jesus’ decision to allow himself to be handed over to suffer and die on a cross went beyond his desire to take care of his basic needs for safety and security,  affection, attention and esteem. It bypassed his personal need for power and control. Jesus’ decision and action was not personal, it was transpersonal.

Transpersonal experiences have been defined as experiences "in which the sense of identity or self extends beyond the individual or personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind.....”  Jesus was operating from a transpersonal perspective.  And so he chose to stay the course, to remain faithful to truth as he knew it. Jesus chose to stand in his place and claim his birthright as the Son of Man and the Son of God. The officials called this treason. Jesus called it truth. He was willing to  give up his life rather than give up his Truth. 

What does this have to do with us, mere humans, not Jesus? Everything. We are made in the image of God which means “we are free to make choices : to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God.” (BCP 845) In other words, we participate with God in bringing about good in creation. That is why we are here.  Remember Jesus words to the disciples“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these…?” (John 14.12) 

I believe we have set our sights too low. Rather than claim our birthright as daughters and sons in the family of God we have let ourselves off the hook by claiming we are mere humans. What if we stood in our place and claimed our birthright as children of humanity and children of God, would we be moved to give ourselves away to care for and dignify all people? 

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Matthew 18:15-20        Jesus said, "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."

Reflection      Borrowing an analogy from one of my favoirte preachers, Barbara Brown Taylor, we are “like pebbles put in a tumbling jar - smoothing out our rough edges by rubbing up against one another.” Can you imagine one unpolished pebble saying to the other pebbles in the jar, “This is just the way I am. I have always had these points and sharp edges. I have always been like this? Just look at my Meyers/Briggs or my MMPI!” Or, “This point is really special to me?” Or, “You just rub me the wrong way?” 

The thing is, in family life, community life, Church life and global life it is is not all about me. It is all about we. That’s what Jesus wants the disciples and us to understand when he says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” When we come together, work together or worship together, we inevitably rub up against one another. We become as the abrasive grit in the tumbler of life used to smooth the rough edges of gemstones. That is how we grow together, how we become more divinely human and more humanly divine. Like gems hidden in rough unpolished agates the Word of God is secreted within each one of us. The hidden jewel, God’s Word, is love.

For most of us loving our neighbors does not come without a rub, especially if our neighbors do not think, feel, look and behave just the way we do. It is through the rough and tumble of life that we learn to love those, “other people.” Love is cultivated and refined in the give and take of relationships. Anyone who is in a committed relationship or long time friendship knows this. Love means rubbing up against one another. Love is not all about me. Love is about we.

And “Jesus said, “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.”” I believe the operant word in Jesus’ sentence is, “Listen.” In fact, Jesus uses the word “listen” four times in three sentences. It must be important.

Listen. Open the ears of your hearts to your sisters’ and brothers’ points of view. Listen beyond superficial differences; traditional, comtemporary; red, blue; global, local; chocolate, vanilla; listen for the place of our shared humanity wherein we care deeply about our children, families, community, Church and world. Listen beyond our superficial differences; Oriental, Asian, Hispanic or Caucasian; Jewish, Islamist, Buddhist, Atheisit, Hindu, Christian, unaffiliated; listen beneath all that for the place of shared divinity wherein we truly love our neighbor.

Loving our neighbor does not require uniformity of thought nor conformity of behavior. Loving our neighbor means we allow enough spaciousness in our relationship to make room for our differences. Loving our neighbor means the jewel hidden within each person is revealed. Listen.

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Hebrew Testament Text for Sunday 31 August 2014

Exodus 3:1-15        Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain."

But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM Who I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever and this my title for all generations."

Reflection        Last week we met Jesus asking the disciples and us, “But who do you say that I am?” This week we wander back in history some twelve hundred years and find Moses asking God, “Who shall I tell the Israelite people You, God, are? What is your name?”  God’s answer, “I AM  who I AM,” must have rattled around in Mose’s mind.  “This is not going to be easy!”

Imagine a philosopher pondering on Moses’ behalf, “I AM who I AM; derived from the verb ‘to be’ that must mean, I exist. How can it be enough to say “I exist?”  How can it be sufficient simply to exist without a definable and recognizable image? How can it be enough to claim existance with neither subject nor predicate? It reminds me of Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet moaning as he ponders suicide, “To be, or not to be…?” To exist or not to exist. That is the question. And God’s answer is, I exist. I AM. 

God chose not to identify God’s self as either subject or predicate, which is to say, God refused to be confined to either object or essence. Rather, God chose to identify God’s self as the linking word, the copola, relationship. God identified God’s self as that which connects, a bridge, I AM.

And God continued, “Moses, Moses, “I will be with you….”” In other words, I, your God, AM in relationship with you, I coexist with you. I Am “the God of your ancestors,  the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,”  I Am joined with or coupled with you and your ancestors. We are intimately linked and have been through time.

Unequivocal as God’s response to Moses may sound, I don’t suppose it much comforted Moses. What are the people going to think when I say,” I AM sent me?” Is that not the question with which we all wrestle? How can I tell the people with whom I work or go to the gym about my God whom I cannot see or touch or frankly find any words sufficient to describe? What shall I say to my children when they ask, “Where is God?”  How shall I defend God when critics query, “If there really is God why do such terrible things as the brutality in the Middle East, ravaging disease in Africa, senseless killing in Misssouri happen?” 

In the course of God’s conversation with Moses God attested, “I have been, I AM, and I will be” in relationship with you. And finally Moses received the answer to his original question, “God, what is your name?” “My name is forever I AM.”  Finding his courage in forever I AM and trusting I AM forever with him, Moses was emboldened to go and confront the king of Egypt, the oppressor of God’s people. Would that we all remember forever I AM and do likewise.

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Gospel text for Sunday 24 August 2014

Matthew 16:13-20        When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Reflection    I believe everything hinges on our response to Jesus’question. “But who do YOU say that I AM?” Who is this Jesus who has caught the imaginations and hearts of people for more than two thousand years? What sets him apart from the great prophets, teachers, kings and priests throughout history and now? What about him has kept the stories of people’s encounters with him alive and engaged for twenty centuries? Why have millions of artists been inspired to render mages, in their own likeness, of Jesus? Why, for two thousand years, have people not tired of studying and writing, wondering and asking, Who is this Jesus?

Please remember. When Jesus asked the question, “But who do YOU say that I AM?” there was no creed, no council of bishops,  no conversation about dual natures, no theology of the Trinity. There wasn’t even a Christian church. There was just Jesus and the people who recognized him and allowed their lives to be changed because of him. So today I set aside the creeds, the great books and all I have been taught ABOUT Jesus and ask myself, who is Jesus in my life? What difference does he make? 

My painfully inadequate response to Jesus’ question is, “Jesus, you are  present, real, surprising, relevant, gift, astonishing, heartening, comforting, challenging, baffeling and disturbing. Jesus, you reveal God’s unspeakable love in the only way I could even begin to apprehend it, in human form, just like me. Jesus, you touch me with Wisdom that speaks in whatever language it takes for me to hear the Good News that God is with and for me and all of humanity, no matter what. Jesus, you give me Hope that I and humanity will not be overcome and separated from God when human conditions breed hatred, mistrust, violence and senseless killing. Jesus, you are my brother, my teacher, my guardian, my companion and my God, calling me to faith and finding me when I get lost. Jesus, you are all things to me in order that I may know...  I am.“ 

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Gospel text for Sunday 17 August 2014

Matthew 15.21-28        Jesus left Gennesaret and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly

Reflection        Oh dear, how shall we deal with this incredibly rude Jesus? How will we justify his heartless behavior? How could the son of God behave this way? And then the Canaanite woman reminds us, Jesus is Lord and he is also the son of David, born of Mary, of woman. He is also fully human. He was raised as an observant Jew. He knew the Hebrew scriptures and the temple customs. It was as natural for Jesus to see the Canaanite woman as an untouchable stranger who had no business approaching him and asking for his help as it is for many Americans to see the Central American women and children entering this country illegally as strangers or aliens who have no business entering this country and asking for help. 

Yes, Jesus is the son of God and Jesus is the son of humanity; fully divine and fully human. For reasons we will never know the Canaanite woman recognized the dual natures of Jesus, Lord and Son of David. After all his healing, preaching, exorcisisms and raising people from the dead, this story offers a glimpse of Jesus’ humanity. Just like every one of us, Jesus was subjected to the conditions of his social, cultural and religious context. And, just like us, Jesus had the capacity to stretch beyond the limits of his condioned social and emotional responses and become more compassionate. 

Something happened to Jesus in his exchange with the Canaanite woman. His original idea of who he should and should not relate with was changed. His notion of who was eligible for his help and healing was radically challenged. The Canaanite woman’s persistent faith pierced the depths of Jesus’ humanity and sparked the mercy of his divinity.  And he was changed. Who are the people seeking mercy from us? With our human and divine natures balanced and engaged, how shall we respond? Do we dare follow Jesus, step into foreign territory, meet the stranger face to face and allow ourselves to be changed?

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