February 23, 2025, Meetinghouse Church, God’s Amazing Grace, Jonah 3:1-10, Luke 15:11-24

February 23, 2025, Meetinghouse Church, Rev. Dr. Kathy Monson Lutes

God’s Amazing Grace, Jonah 3:1-10, Luke 15:11-24

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

    be acceptable to you,

    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

What a story Jonah tells us. A storm, a big fish, and as Christian reminded us last week, a city of truly horrible people, all in our bible, our sacred scripture. And we just heard Lisa read, God saw the Ninevites’ efforts to renounce their evil behavior. And God relented, God relented. Well, that sure made Jonah mad. It’s hardly believable, most of us are with Jonah on this one. How could God relent? They were monsters, and monsters have no place in God’s kingdom, right? 

Monsters. We have so much trouble with this. How can God relent, and not punish those who are monsters? We see it all the time in our news delivered to our inboxes. Monsters who we want to see punished for what they’ve done, those who gun down innocent people, those who kidnap and torture, those who put people who are “other” into detainment camps. These are people and regimes to be feared, and they should be punished, never to be granted compassion or mercy. Isn’t that what justice is all about? 

Or the ones who have lived a life of causing misery for others, the ones who have done unspeakable harm to others, the ones who have never said or been sorry in their entire life, they surely do not deserve forgiveness, or mercy. Or how about the one who just disagrees with us? That person who can’t see it your way? 

Again, as Christian reminded us last week, Jonah needs to be reminded who the God of Israel is. We need to be reminded who God is. God doesn’t act like an expected vengeful, punishing God. Instead, this God relents. Again and again the Old Testament witnesses to the fact that God is responsive to God’s creatures. As people change, as history develops, God is responsive to what is happening. God’s will is to save God’s people. God will always act in ways that bring God’s people back to Godself. God’s dream is to bring all creation to Godself, Ninevites, Israel, Jonah, you, me. Even when repentance doesn’t look like what we expect it to look like. This is a story about that God. This is a story about the God of love, the God of wholeness, the God who desires us to be in relationship with God, with creation, with one another. 

This is not a story about vengeance or punishment, but instead, God shows forth God’s amazing love and grace. 

And then, to make love, and mercy, and grace, even more clear, God takes on our skin, God shows up. God walks, laughs, and even dies among us. God breaks through our lives, our experience, the holy stoops into our lives and meets us in our ordinary places. Jesus takes it all to himself, binding us to God's presence in all times and all places. Jesus bears God's life into our world. 

Where does the holy meet you? Around your kitchen table, as you grab one moment for all of you to be together in the midst of your busy and distracted lives. In the hospital room at the birth of a child. Falling in love. A quiet night at home with your beloveds. In the deep grief of the death of one you love. In joy and companionship. The veil between us and the holy is lifted, God takes on our skin, and we, every one of us, monsters included, are part of God’s kindom. 

This incarnation is so important Jesus can’t stop talking about it. Consider a shepherd who leaves his sheep to find the one that is lost, and when that sheep is found, he lays it over his shoulders and rejoices. Or a woman who has lost a coin, she lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and searches carefully until she finds it. And when she does, she calls together her friends and neighbors to rejoice.

Or the  man who has two sons. One of those sons demands his inheritance and runs off with it only to squander it all on debauchery and loose living. This son realizes his folly and returns home. While he is still far off, his father sees him and is filled with compassion. His father orders a party, a celebration, because the son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. 

Does not God rejoice with the Ninevites, does not God rejoice with you and me, we have been lost, and we are found. We have so much trouble with this grace. Whether we identify with the older or the younger son, we have trouble accepting the grace freely given. It’s the same for the Ninevites as for us. Grace is not earned, but freely given. Grace is forgiving and nourishing.

We often have trouble accepting the intimacy of love no matter what, from this God who is willing to bring those nasty Ninevites back into Godself, or to run out into the field to welcome us home. But we forget that this is a God who freely chooses us. God continually chooses God’s people even when we have apparently wandered far away.

There is nothing we can do that will keep us from God’s embrace, from God’s love, from God’s grace. And yet, we are so good at keeping our gaze away from all of that. Repent means to turn around, so maybe sin is when we turn away from God, sin is when we set our sights on that which is not God, sin is when we fool ourselves into believing that God does not care. God cares, God loves, God embraces, all we have to do is turn around and let the embrace enfold us.

Have you ever felt like that one who is lost? Have you ever wandered, wondered, if you would ever be found again, scooped up in the arms of anyone who loves you? You may know what that embrace feels like. But maybe not, maybe that return and embrace is yet to come. The one who waits, the shepherd, Jesus, anticipates your return.

The joy of the one who welcomes back the lost, and the celebration that ensues, shows us what the Kingdom of God looks like. It includes the outcasts and sinners, it includes the expanse of time and space. It includes the fellowship we have around our kitchen tables, our communion tables, and our soup kitchen tables. It includes even the one who would rather not be included.

I’m reminded of a movie I watched with my kids, over and over. Hook, with Robin Williams, the kingdom table is piled high with all the wild and wonderful things that can be imagined. And the people sitting at that table, are lost boys, battered, bruised, lost, and found.

God’s kingdom table is populated with all those who have turned from God and returned to God. God’s kingdom table is populated with all those younger children who have been reckless, and all those older children who have been loyal. God’s kingdom table is populated with all those who stand on the margins and look in, and those in the center whose gaze is nearsighted. God’s kingdom table is populated with those who wish to be first, and those who are always last. God’s kingdom table is populated with all of us who are scooped up by the joyful, compassionate one, and ride on those shoulders all the way to the celebration. 

And what’s so very difficult about it is that most of the time we are pointing in the approximate direction, not the opposite direction, but almost the direction of God. We are full of good intentions. You know what this is like, But the reality is that we are human, and we will continue to make mistakes, we will continue to suffer the consequences of our decisions to turn away from God. We will continue to miss the mark. The Good News is that in the midst of our mess, God never gives up on us, God never gives up on us, God takes us back, even when we give up on ourselves, even when we give up on each other.

God’s love is available to all, even those who don’t look like us, act like us, sing like us, pray like us. Our job as followers of Jesus is to go out and be God’s light and life in the world. Our job as followers of Jesus is to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God’s amazing and abundant love. We must carry into the world God’s love and the reality of God’s forgiveness; we must show that no one is ever outside of God’s embrace.

And, we may invite them to the party. We may invite them to this place where we gather together to celebrate God with us, where we are made into God’s body as we pray together, as we hear the word together, as we turn our sights back toward God, as we stand side by side and receive the gift of bread and wine, the gift of life, and are transformed into the people God creates us to be.

I think these stories from the bible that we hear today, and all that Jesus says and does, asks us to consider what kind of party we throw and who is really welcome at the banquet. 

And what kind of people God calls us to be. Not only are we people who are God’s beloveds, we are people who bring our tarnished, messy, forgiven selves into this place of worship.  We are called to welcome all 

Beloved God,

you love us even when we don’t deserve to be loved;

you extend your grace even when we cannot see clearly enough 

to be full of grace ourselves;

you put on our skin so that we may follow you.

Forgive us

when it seems we have done the unforgivable.

Forgive us 

when we look with disdain at those who can’t possibly be forgiven.

Help us

turn our eyes, and our hearts to you.

Help us

reach out to your beloveds, those who sit with us in these pews (seats) 

and those who are not yet in these pews (seats) 

and show forth your love, and mercy, and compassion.

Oh God of grace, 

we pray this in your most holy name.

Amen. 

 

Jonah/Mark 1:14-18, February 9 2025

Jonah/Mark 1:14-18, February 9 2025, Meetinghouse Church

Rev. Dr. Kathy Monson Lutes

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

    be acceptable to you,

    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Sven and Ole go fishing. It’s such a great day, they rent a boat so they can fish from the middle of the lake. They row out, drop their lines, and before you know it, they're catching fish, one after another after another. They can’t believe what a great fishing spot they found. Sven says, “This is the best fishing spot in the county. It’s just too bad we didn’t bring some paint.” Ole asks, “Paint? Why should you want paint to go fishing?” “Well Ole, don’t you see, so we can paint an “X” in the bottom of the boat, so we can find this spot next time.” Ole laughs at him. “Sven, don’t be so silly! Next time, what if they give us a different boat?”

Fishin’ stories often are about the one that got away, or as Sven and Ole show us, the ones who aren’t all there. The fishin’ stories we have before us today are about the ones who do the fishin’. These are stories about how individuals and communities are transformed and changed by the God who welcomes all, the God who reaches out to even those like the Ninevites - who really have nothing to do with Yahweh, who is the God of the Hebrew people. These are also stories about saying yes to God’s welcoming call, saying yes to God’s embrace, saying yes even when that seems hard or even impossible. Jonah himself is transformed from a reluctant prophet to a messenger of God, and then a whole community that was transformed. In Mark, Simon and his brother Andrew, and James and John, heard Jesus’ call, and were transformed; they left what they were doing and followed Jesus. These stories are about change, and these stories are deeply hopeful, they are all about not being stuck in the old patterns, but about the willingness to respond to God’s call to transformation and change, personally, but more importantly, the whole community of faith. 

Jonah is a reluctant prophet. Going where God tells him to go is the last thing he wants to do. And then, when he finally gives in, he’s all hot and bothered that God saved those evil Ninevites without so much as an I’m sorry or forgive us. The story opens with Jonah fleeing to Tarshish. He hides from God on a ship, and when a mighty storm comes up the crew throws Jonah into the sea to stop it. Jonah didn’t die in the sea because the fish swallowed him. Jonah was delivered from the belly of that fish quite apart from whether Jonah deserved to be delivered. Jonah was delivered from the belly of that fish to bring God’s message of love and forgiveness to the Ninevites, apart from whether they deserved to be delivered. Jonah is the recipient of God’s grace in a way that is no different from what will be the case for Nineveh. 

I wonder what happened In the belly of that fish. I wonder if Jonah remembered who he was, I wonder if he remembered that God was God, I wonder if he remembered his relationship with God, and that’s what saved Jonah. I wonder if Jonah remembered that God’s grace was available to him whether or not he deserved it? 

Remembering who you are in the belly of a fish seems like a fishy story to me, but there is truth somewhere in that experience. 

When have you been in the belly of a fish? 

When have you had an experience that would either kill you or transform you? 

When have you struggled with a decision, struggled with discernment of what you should do? 

When have you had to surrender to guidance from outside yourself?

Have you ever felt like you don’t deserve God’s grace?

Are you there now?

So the people of Nineveh are about their evil ways. God knows that evil ways beget negative consequences. The job of a prophet, even a reluctant one, is to call the people to turn back to God, to turn away from greed, to turn away from idol worship, to repent. That is what God is Jonah to tell the Ninevites, God calls Jonah to tell the people of Nineveh to change. The consequences for the people Nineveh on the path they are on are dire. But they hear God’s call through Jonah to repent, and they believe God and change their ways. A whole city is willing to believe God and be transformed. But Jonah is a whole book about people who -  in Jonah’s judgement -  weren’t supposed to get it. The people of Nineveh - the reluctant prophet Jonah thought - were too awful, they could never change their ways . And yet they got it. The people of Nineveh believed God, and a whole community changed. I think it’s important to hear that through Jonah they believed God, they believed what God had to say through Jonah, and they believed God’s abundant love for them. The people of Nineveh felt their worth, and God’s grace. 

And Jonah is disgruntled. Jonah has so much trouble with this God who would save an entire city that in his judgement was not worthy of being saved. Jonah complains to God because of the leniency granted to those scoundrels living in Nineveh. 

I much more easily identify with Jonah, the reluctant prophet, the one who had to spend some time in the belly of a fish, the one who wasn’t too sure that those people of Nineveh deserve God’s love and attention, the one who wasn’t too sure about God’s love for himself, than I do with Simon and Andrew, and James and John, to whom Jesus said, follow me, and immediately they left their nets and their kin and followed Jesus. I wonder if fishing was really that bad, or if maybe they had heard about this Jesus, who Mark tells us in the first line of his story, is the Son of God. I wonder if they, like the people of Nineveh, believed God, and like the Ninevites, knew that they were God’s beloved. 

Earlier in Mark’s story, Jesus is baptized in the Jordan. And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, the heavens were torn apart, and the Spirit descended like a dove on him, and a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased. I think this is what Simon and Andrew, James and John knew was true, and because they believed God, because they knew that the truth was in incarnation, the truth was contained in the reality of God with us, God in our midst, they were willing to leave their livelihood and their kin, to follow this One.

And we remember the woman at the well, who on a hot desert day met Jesus and offered him a cup of cool water. In that encounter, in that living water, she knew him, and she was changed forever, rushing away to tell everyone who she met. 

When we meet God we are changed. When we meet God in our midst, God with us, we are no longer the same. This is what the reluctant prophet Jonah was telling the Ninevites, that God changes everything, and Jonah had to be convinced of that reality himself. This is the reality of what Simon and Peter, and James and John did. The story Mark tells is a story that illustrates how Jesus changes everything. That change is described in these stories that show us that everything is turned around, topsy-turvy, the first shall be last and the last shall be first, the social order of the day is changed. Who you are is no longer defined by your family; it is no longer defined by the privilege, or lack of privilege into which you are born. These followers of Jesus left their homes, they left their kin, they were changed in a very real way, whether in the belly of a fish, or while we are fishing. Therein lies the hope. Who we are is defined by God’s abundant love for us and God’s delight in us. Not by what our culture counts as value. You see, in God’s kingdom the meek shall inherit the earth, the last shall be first and the first shall be last, the merciful shall receive mercy, dieing comes before rising, compassion is strength - not weakness. And God welcomes all into this kingdom.

The Ninevites had to learn that, the original followers of Jesus had to learn that, we have to learn that.

Meeting God in our midst changes us in ways that call for a response. Jonah responds, Simon and Andrew, James and John respond. Follow me, Jesus says. What is your response? God is up to something in each of our lives, God is up to something in our community. Follow me, Jesus says. The call is to follow; how do you respond?

The Kingdom of God is not some far off place in a far off time, the kingdom of God is now. It is how our relationship with Jesus changes us and how we respond to that change. And that kingdom looks like radical love, loving those who don’t look like us, loving those who disagree with us. And that kingdom looks like mercy, and compassion. Your kingdom looks like crossing boundaries. And it looks like a church made up of people whose deepest desire is to serve one another, and to serve the least, the lost, and the lonely.

Let us pray,

Creator of the land and sea, snow and fire, fish and fowl;

Help us to hear your voice call us beloved, 

help us follow you into your kingdom, 

where all are loved, all are feed, all are welcome.

Amen. 

The Presentation of Our Lord, February 2 2025,

The Presentation of Our Lord, February 2 2025,
St. Martha and Mary Episcopal Church, Eagan MN
Malachi 3:1-4, Hebrews 2:14-18, Luke 2:22-40, Psalm 84

Forty days ago we celebrated the joyful feast of the birth of Jesus. Today we recall the holy day on which Jesus was presented in the temple.  And an historical note, the traditional liturgy for the day is called Candlemas, because of its ancient rite of blessing of the candles to be used in the church for the next year, a practice dating from the middle of the fifth century. Today we hear that Simeon and Anna, led by the Spirit, recognized Jesus as their Lord, and proclaimed him with joy.  

This story, the Presentation of The Lord in the Temple is similar, and yet not the same, as our baptism of today. You and I recognize Jesus in all sorts of ways as well. We recognize Jesus in baptism, in one another, and in the breaking of the bread. In this story, a Jewish family presents their son in the temple at eight days old, and the child is circumcised, and at the same time, the child is named. This child is Jesus, God in our midst. 

At our sacrament of baptism, a baby is presented, named, gotten all wet, and marked as Christ's own forever. We trust that God shows up in a particular way at baptism, but not once and for all, but to begin the journey with us. When we baptize a baby, we also trust that the community of faith, all of us, takes seriously the promises we make. One of those prayers is especially wonderful, the promise by our prayers and witness we will help this child to grow into the full stature of Christ, as well as the promises that our made on our behalf. 

In our story today we meet Simeon and Anna, very old people who are living the end of their lives at the temple. Separately they understand who this baby Jesus is. Simeon is clear that this child is the light of revelation to the Gentiles, and this child is for glory to Israel. Simeon now can die in peace, because he has seen God in his midst. Simeon blesses Mary and Joseph. Anna also recognized the child as the one everyone was looking for, for the redemption of Jerusalem. 

Simeon and Anna are you and me. Simeon and Anna are the witnesses to God's grace and love in the world. Simeon and Anna are the witnesses to pain and suffering in the world. Simeon and Anna speak to the hope that rises out of suffering and adversity, the hope that breeds courage, the hope that God is fully capable of doing something new, and indeed is doing something new. Each time a baby is presented here, at this font, and at any font in any church, it is a sign of hope, it is a time to recognize Jesus in our midst and the claim Jesus makes on our hearts and souls. The claim Jesus makes on each of us as we promise to raise our children with the story of life and death and resurrection. The claim Jesus makes on each of us to make us new creations. We respond to Jesus' claim on our hearts and souls by promising to be bearers of the light and builders of the Kingdom. We promise to show the world that Love wins. 

Simeon and Anna are you and me. We, like Simeon and Anna, witness God's grace and love in the world, we witness pain and suffering in the world. And we must recognize Jesus in our midst, in our baptism of course, but also in the world. We must recognize Jesus in our midst, we must recognize Jesus in the places in our world where Jesus resides. With those on the margins who are poor, those who need food and clothes, those who are broken and in need of healing. Sometimes those people are here in our midst, and sometimes we are those people. We recognize Jesus among us.  

Jesus is presented in the temple, we present our children for baptism, trusting that God claims our hearts and souls and walks with us, showing us the way through pain and suffering, death and resurrection. We recognize Jesus in the water of baptism, water that gives life and takes life, we recognize Jesus in the light of epiphany, the light that brightens the darkness, the light that will not be put out. We recognize Jesus in the hearts and souls of one another.

And we recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. This breaking of bread is central to what we do each time we gather here. We pray, we sing, we confess our sins and receive forgiveness, we break bread, we give thanks and we are sent out to do the work God calls us to do. The epic story of the love that wins tells us that Jesus broke bread with his friends, and in a like fashion his body was broken for us. With our broken bread, in our broken lives, in our broken hearts, Jesus fills and floods us with the bread and wine, and puts us back together, in a way that alone we cannot. Jesus' love re-members us, and we are not just glued together, but we are enveloped in a love that will not let us go. 

It feels particularly hard to be a kingdom builder these days. The chaos of our world is tearing us down, tearing us apart. We see evidence all around us that God’s kingdom and the earthly kingdom in which we live are moving farther and farther apart. 

Jesus is presented in the temple, but doesn’t stay in the temple. Our work is to accompany Jesus into the world, being the light, and the food, of God's mission of healing and wholeness. You see, Jesus and Mary and Joseph did not stay in the safe and comforting confines in the temple. They went out to be on the journey of God's mission in their world. God's mission has always been the same, bringing each and every one of us and all of humanity into the healing love and embrace of God. God's mission is kingdom building, we pray that each time we pray the Lord’s prayer, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as in heaven.”  And in God's kingdom, all are welcome, no one is excluded. In God's kingdom our broken hearts and bodies are made whole. In God's kingdom everyone has enough to eat, everyone has a warm place to sleep. 

It takes courage to be about the work of kingdom building. Courage to step out into the work that God is already blessing. You, at your baptism, at your presentation to God, were marked as Christ's own forever, you already have all you need to be a kingdom builder, gather your courage and find the places and the spaces where you can be a kingdom builder, the courage to be a kingdom builder.