20 Pentecost Proper 25 Yr C Oct 27 2019

Audio  20 Pentecost Proper 25 Yr C Oct 27 2019

Sirach 35:12-17, Psalm 84:1-6, 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18, Luke 18:9-14

We continue in Luke with this parable, no easier than any that have come before it. What is the kingdom of God like? The kingdom of God is like the Pharisee and the tax collector who both pray before God.

The Pharisee stands by himself and says, "thankfully I am not like those other people, I fast, I give a tenth of my income, and I'm just downright good." Or words to that effect. And really, the Pharisee is actually just telling the truth, a Pharisee is righteous before the law, he’s not really a bad guy. He is also doing exactly what is asked of him, he’s giving a tenth of everything he has. But the portrait that the gospel paints is not only of a righteous man before the law, but also of a self-righteous man who looks down on others for not being as good as he.

The tax collector is standing off on his own, beating his breast and lamenting his wretchedness. A tax collector works for the Roman government, and the Roman government is the occupying power. Tax collectors are not really in good favor with the Jewish people. But this tax collector seems to recognize his need for God. And on the pharisee’s terms, a tax collector is not righteous before the law.

Maybe what the Kingdom of God looks like in this parable, is the difference between being self-righteous like the Pharisee, and being humble, like the tax collector. The tax collector shows us that we stand before God and recognize that we are recipients of a profound gift. Recognizing that God is God and we are not, recognizing Love and forgiveness are the key elements of the relationship we are called into.

But, if we jump too quickly to the sentence that finishes this piece of scripture, "all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted," we might think this is easy and straightforward. But parables just cannot be read that way, they are never easy and straightforward, there are always layers of meaning, and even innuendo. Jesus does not teach in easy and straightforward ways.

So, what do we do with the pharisee and the tax collector? You see, as soon as you decide you are humble like the tax collector, you become prideful like the pharisee. So, this isn't about not being righteous or even self-righteous like the pharisee and instead being humble like the tax collector. As soon as we do that, we are in danger of puffing ourselves up with humility.

This story is about God, and God's relationship with us. So, what does this story show us about God? It continues to show us that God's heart’s desire is to be in relationship with us. What gets in the way of that relationship is judging others about their behavior, those thieves, rogues, adulterers or even this wretched tax collector. What gets in the way of that relationship with God is being dishonest with yourself, being self-righteous.

God's heart's desire is to be in relationship with each of us and all of us together. God's heart’s desire is to love us into our true selves. What that means is that we don't have to be perfect before coming into God's presence. That means that we don't have to have our lives all put together before coming into this church. That means that we are imperfect and sinful people. That means that this Pharisee, and the tax collector and all of us who are like him, are equally welcome in God's presence and we are loved by God.

The children’s story Old Turtle and the Broken Truth gets at this nicely. In it, the truth of the universe comes to earth but on its way is broken in two. One half – that we are special and deserve to be loved – gives strength and happiness but over time leads to arrogance and disregard for others. Only when we discover the other half – that so also all others are also special and deserve to be loved – can we live into the peace and goodness of the universe and of God. This is the heart of justification. A word used in this to describe the tax collector, a word whose meaning we have trouble understanding. But justification is the empowering word that frees us from insecurity and despair and then frees us again to share that same good news and love of God with others. And for this reason, recognizing that we are justified has the capacity to provide our central identity and to illumine all our decisions and choices, particularly regarding those around us.

When are you like the Pharisee? We are like the Pharisee when we come to the conclusion that there is nothing we can learn from those with whom we disagree. We are like the Pharisee when we put up a wall around us so thick and so tall that no one and nothing can get in. We are like the Pharisee when we decide that we are right and everyone else is wrong.

When are you like the tax collector? We are like the tax collector when we sit in the lowest seat only because we hope we will be invited into the highest seat. We are like the tax collector when we don't speak up for those who are oppressed because we don't want anyone to know that we are followers of Jesus.

God's heart’s desire is to be in relationship with both the Pharisee and the tax collector. God's heart’s desire is to love us into our true selves. And our true selves are imperfect and perfectly loved. God's invitation to us is into relationship, and that relationship is through prayer, and song, worship and service, and learning God's word. That relationship is through one another, because when one with another, we are Christ for each other. In our lives and in our witness to the love that wins, we are in relationship with God.

As I pondered this passage for the last few days, I wonder about us, here at Trinity. I wonder about how we show people in our community how God's heart’s desire is to be in relationship with each and every person. We, here at Trinity are not perfect. Our worship is not perfect, it's sometimes messy, but everyone is welcome. All of us are not perfect, sometimes we come sad or angry, but we always are forgiven.

You see, the invitation to worship the God who is love is God's invitation, and there are thousands of people who still haven't heard the invitation, or who refuse the invitation. Today I encourage you to invite someone you know into God's love. Invite someone you know to Trinity for a cup of coffee and conversation, and to stay for the community. Invite someone you know to Trinity to experience the God whose heart’s desire is to love them. Invite someone you know to Trinity to find meaning and acceptance for themselves and their children. Invite someone you know to Trinity who is searching and has lost their way.

Invite the Pharisees, invite the tax collectors. You know that here they will find themselves, here they will find the love that wins, here they will be home. It is God's invitation, but you must bear the invitation into the world. Go out into the world, bearing God's invitation to love.

Amen.

19 Pentecost Proper 24 Yr C Oct 20 2019

Audio  19 Pentecost Proper 24 Yr C Oct 20 2019

Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 121, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, Luke 18:1-8

What an odd sort of story from Luke. Keeping in mind that when Jesus tells a parable, he is trying to shake us up, make us see and hear things differently, what might this parable have to say to us today? I wonder if it has to do with taking a long view. I wonder if it has to do with staying in, participating in, our relationship with God.

Let’s take a look at a couple of scenarios that may shed some light on this very odd little story. First of all, we know that at this point in Luke’s gospel, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. This story is one of a series of stories of Jesus imparting as much wisdom to the disciples as possible before arriving in Jerusalem. We are overhearing Jesus instructing the disciples, and Luke means for us to hear it. Luke says this is a story about praying always and not to lose heart.

And yet we have this very puzzling judge, and an equally puzzling woman. The Judge should have been associated with honor, but instead was associated with shame, he neither feared God nor had respect for people. Eventually he granted her need out of convenience for him, nothing more noble than that, he just didn’t want to be bothered anymore. And she, the widow, had no protection or honor. She should have been respected, but she was powerless, so this was life and death for her. Her coming to this court and this judge was constant and repetitive.

There’s all sorts of ways this could go, you’ve probably heard many of them. But in spite of what the world would say to us, in spite of those whom we come in contact with that would have us believe God is inconsequential, or God is irrelevant, today I want to offer this. God is calling us to stay in this relationship, God is calling us to participate in this relationship, God is calling us to partner with Jesus in loving one another. And the reality is that none of that happens in the time we want it to happen.

So staying in is about the long view. I saw a meme on Facebook this week, a picture of an apple with these words, “the day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.”

Staying in. Staying in when the going gets tough. Staying in when all evidence suggests it’s a lost cause. Staying in when God doesn’t seem to answer your prayers as you wish. Staying in when death looks you in the eyes. Staying in when everything and everyone in our culture says you are foolish. Staying in is what God calls us to and staying in any relationship is hard. But you can do hard things.

The going gets tough, doesn’t it? We have learned to expect results instantly. Our internet speed must be instantaneous. Our email must be answered immediately. Our texts read and responded to right away. Everything we experience today regarding the gathering of information is about having it in the palm of our hand right now. We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom, while starving for relationship. We have lost sight of the value of waiting, of patience, of obedience in the same direction.

God calls us to stay in, even when the evidence suggests it’s a lost cause. But that evidence really is interpreted through a lens that may not have God in focus. The story of Jesus’ life and death look like a lost cause. People looked to Jesus as leader, as king, and maybe even as magician. And yet, Jesus was put to death on a cross and laid in a tomb and left for dead. Stay in, hold on, wait for it…. Mary and the other women return to the tomb to anoint the body and God does a new thing. Remember that seed? The day you plant it, it looks nothing like the fruit you will eventually pick and eat. When the seed goes into the ground, it sure doesn’t look like the apple that one day hangs on the tree. Burying the seed in the ground looks a lot like death, and yet what emerges is new life. Letting go of our old selves, our addictions, our need to control, our need for power, is a lot like being buried with Jesus, to rise again as new creations. Stay in for the long haul, the arc bends toward joy.

Stay in when God doesn’t answer your prayers the way you want God to answer your prayers. How hard is that? You and I both know God is God, and we are not. How many times have you heard, no, not now, maybe even no, not ever. What we think is best for us is often not what is best for us. And yet, God loves us so very much God lets us choose, God even lets us fail. These are not the times to turn our back on God because God didn’t do it our way. Stay in, participate in this relationship God gives us. Stay in and don’t let the world beat you down.

Stay in even when following Jesus may look foolish. Some would say, look out only for yourself, make money at the expense of others, guard your walls so that no one who challenges your carefully constructed contours may show you something new and different. Because looking out for the least and the lost, feeding those who are hungry, caring for those on the margins, won’t get you anywhere, won’t make you money, and surely won’t buy you happiness. Stay in when following Jesus may look foolish, the arc bends toward hope.

Stay in, because death is not the worst thing that happens to us. The worst thing is not living while we are alive. God gives us this great gift of love, and mercy, and compassion. God gives us this great gift of new life today. Let go of the stuff that gets in the way of relationship, let go of the stuff that pulls us apart, let go of the addictions, let go of the anger, let go, so that you can stay in and your heart may love.

Stay in for the long haul, the arc bends toward joy, hope, and love. And as you stay in this relationship that God offers you through Jesus Christ, and through all those you come in contact with, you are empowered and equipped to love with your whole heart, and what happens then? Love wins. Amen.

17 Pentecost Proper 22 Yr C Oct 6 2019

Audio  17 Pentecost Proper 22 Yr C Oct 6 2019

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4, Psalm 37:1-10, 2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10

How much is enough? We work our whole lives to have enough. Enough money to retire, enough house to live in, enough toys in our garage, or our lake place, or our vacation place. Can we ever have enough? When we lived in Rapid City, we knew a person who we perceived to have a lot. A large house with a great view, cars that were very nice, a vacation home in Montana, and the ability to give abundantly. Sometimes Willie and I wondered what that would be like. We wondered what it would be like to just be able to buy, without choosing between this one or that one, we could have both. We wondered what it would be like to not have to stick to a budget at the grocery store, just buy whatever we wanted. We wondered what it would be like to always stay in a fabulous hotel, and while on vacation to do whatever we wanted, never having to say no because we just don’t have the money. What would it be like to have enough to do it all?

How much faith is enough? Eugene Peterson, in his translation of the bible, The Message writes, “The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.” But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.”

I think this story from Luke is about God's absolute and abundant faith in us. I think it is about faith, and faith is not a quantity to be measured, or thing to be possessed, or something to be consumed. This story is not about how much faith you have at all, the story we embody, the story we enact, the story of Love, is the story of God's faith in us. 

You see, our relationship with God is never about us at all, so it can’t be about how much faith you or I have. Our relationship with God is about God's faith in us. And God does have faith in us, that is shown in the pattern of the sacred story. God creates and blesses all of creation, but creation turns away from God and we wander in the wilderness, God calls us back into relationship and comes into our lives in a real and incarnational way, in flesh and blood, there is forgiveness and reconciliation and transformation. 

We know the truth of this relationship in the reality of death and resurrection. God accompanies us through the pain and the suffering and the joy of this life. Jesus is God in the flesh, and walks this journey with us, Jesus suffers through pain, hangs on a cross, and through Jesus God shows humanity what new life looks like. Jesus is broken, and wholeness looks nothing like life before death. It is all about death and resurrection. Talk about faith, God has faith in us. 

I don't get up in the morning and ask God for more faith, I get up in the morning and know that because God has faith in me, that God is faithful, I can do the work God calls me to do. Sometimes I wonder where God is, sometimes I wonder what God is up to because I sure can't figure out the plan, but that doesn't change God's faith in me. With that, some semblance of faith returns. And that faith looks a lot like love. Love as an act of the will, love as mercy and compassion, love as justice and peace. Lord, help me to be your love in my part of the world today, Lord, help me to treat each person whose path I cross with mercy and compassion, is my prayer. Lord, help me to get on board with what you are already accomplishing in the world today. Lord, you have faith in me, help me to have faith in myself. 

Faith is not about having enough, faith is about asking questions, not about having all the answers. Faith is big enough and important enough to be able to embrace all of our doubt. And faith is never about being perfect, but about being perfectly loved.

We live in a broken world, most of us are broken, and Jesus, in flesh and blood, in the bread and the wine, seeps into our very being and heals us, we are made whole in the bread and the wine. We are made whole by the love that is shown forth in this community, love that is Jesus in our midst. Jesus prepares supper for us, Jesus invites us to the table for food and drink, Jesus gives Jesus' very self so that we may be put back together, we are re-membered in a meal, in a community, that is Jesus' body. This is faith.

Friends, we’ve got all we need to be faithful. We’ve got a God who loves us so very much. Faith is an adventure. Faith is putting one foot in front of the other and walking toward a future we do not see yet but trust God is fashioning. Faith is heading out the door each day looking for opportunities to be God’s partner and co-worker in the world. Faith is imagining that the various challenges put in front of us -- whether solving a problem at work or forgiving someone who hurt us, -- are actually opportunities that invite us to grow as followers of Jesus and witness to God’s presence and goodness in the world.

Being faithful, finally, is about recognizing all the God-given opportunities just to show up and do what needs to be done: doing our work, caring for those in need, protecting the vulnerable, reaching out to the lonely, befriending the friendless, keeping the world going, contributing to the common good, changing the world. Amen.