All Saints (transferred) Yr C October 30 2022

All Saints (transferred) Yr C October 30 2022

Daniel 7:1-3,15-18, Psalm 149, Ephesians 1:11-23, Luke 6:20-31

 

We arrive back at Luke’s story after Jesus has chosen the disciples, and he sets about teaching them everything he can as they embark on their journey to Jerusalem. Jesus comes down from the mountain, stands on the plain, raises his head to look at his disciples, his friends, and begins this teaching. Luke has every intention that any onlookers, including you and I, will overhear what Jesus says.

 

Jesus says, blessed are you who are poor now, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. And immediately the disciple’s ears prick up, your ears prick up. Who’s he really talking to? The disciples are not poor, the disciples are not hungry, we are not poor, we are not hungry. And all of a sudden the disciples know, and we should know too, that this is not about us, it is about people who are poor and hungry. In Luke’s beatitudes it is Jesus who has attitude. You will also notice that these beatitudes are not the same as the beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel. Luke’s seem much more strident, much less spiritual, than Matthew’s. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is clearly including those who are on the margins, those who are disenfranchised, those who have nothing, those who are blessed.

 

You see, you remember, near the beginning of Luke’s story, we hear Mary’s song, the Magnificat. This song frames Luke’s gospel, none of this gospel can be read without referring to it.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

 

Jesus does indeed speak about those who are rich and powerful being cast down. "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. These are hard words for us, as we sit here many of us have had plenty to eat. But, blessing, according to Jesus, far from being about material abundance, is to enjoy the regard and favor of God. And the God of Israel to whom Jesus bears witness reserves special regard for the poor, the maligned, the downtrodden. This God shows particular favor to those in need. While this may at first seem threatening to those of us who enjoy so much of the world's bounty, it also clarifies our calling to identify and help those in need, and it promises that God stands also with all of us in our moments of loss, distress, and poverty.

 

And this remains good news, it is good news because Jesus says directly to us, Love your enemies, do good to those who turn their backs on you, give your coat to someone who needs it. The good news here is that the heart of God is full of mercy and compassion, abounding in steadfast love. The good news here is that God loves every one of God’s children, and that God’s dream for us is to act in love.

 

We read these beatitudes on this All Saints Day, the day we remember the cloud of witnesses, all those who came before us to walk this journey of love, all those who show us what it means to be blessed. Because a saint is an ordinary person like you and me who is made holy, and who is blessed by God.

 

We too are blessed to be a blessing. We are filled with God’s love, and mercy, and compassion, Yes, we can be saints too. The words we pray at a funeral, “Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light,” remind us that we are numbered in the ranks of those who are sinners made into saints, we are not perfect, but perfectly loved. And we are called specifically to welcome all God’s children, we are called to love our enemies, and we are called to bless those with whom we disagree.

 

Along with the saints we name today we too are called to bless others with mercy and compassion, with love and forgiveness. And on this day of all saints, we reaffirm our baptismal promises. We remember who and whose we are, we recall our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God. We vow to live our lives from that center, from that identity, God’s beloved. On this day of all saints, we remember, we reaffirm, and we renew our courage and bravery to be witnesses to God's amazing and abundant love.

 

As we reaffirm our identity as God's beloved, we are renewed for the journey. This community of faithful saints, along with the cloud of witnesses, the saints who have gone before us, we are renewed by hope and blessing for the journey we take together. We call upon each other and God to stand here beside us as we follow Jesus into the world to do the work that we are called to do, and that work is to be agents of God's healing and reconciliation, agents of God’s love in the world. 

And all the saints of God say, Amen. 

 

All Saints Yr C November 3 2019 (transferred)

Audio  All Saints Yr C November 3 2019

Daniel 7:1-3,15-18, Psalm 149, Ephesians 1:11-23, Luke 6:20-31

We arrive back into Luke’s story after Jesus has chosen the disciples, and he sets about teaching them everything he can as they embark on their journey to Jerusalem. Jesus comes down from the mountain, stands on the plain, raises his head to look at his disciples, his friends, and begins this teaching. Luke has every intention that you and I will overhear what Jesus says.

And then, Jesus says blessed are you who are poor now, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. And immediately the disciple’s ears prick up, your ears prick up. Who’s he talking to? The disciples are not poor, the disciples are not hungry, we are not poor, we are not hungry. And all of a sudden the disciples know, and we should know too, that this is not about us, it is about people who are poor and hungry. In Luke’s beatitudes it is Jesus who has attitude. You will also notice that these beatitudes are not the same as the beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel. Luke’s seem much more strident, much less spiritual, than Matthew’s. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is clearly including those who are blessed, those who are on the margins, those who are disenfranchised, those who have nothing.

You see, you remember, near the beginning of Luke’s story, we hear Mary’s song, the Magnificat. This song frames Luke’s gospel, none of this gospel can be read without referring back to it.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

Jesus does indeed speak about those who are rich and powerful being cast down. "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. These are hard words for us, as we sit here many of us have had plenty to eat. But, blessing, according to Jesus, far from being about material abundance, is to enjoy the regard and favor of God. And the God of Israel to whom Jesus bears witness reserves special regard for the poor, the maligned, the downtrodden. This God shows particular favor to those in need. While this may at first seem threatening to those of us who enjoy so much of the world's bounty, it also clarifies our calling to identify and help those in need, and it promises that God stands also with all of us in our moments of loss, distress, and poverty.

And this remains good news, it is good news because Jesus says directly to us, Love your enemies, do good to those who turn their backs on you, give your coat to someone who needs it. The good news here is that the heart of God is full of mercy and compassion, abounding in steadfast love. The good news here is that God loves every one of God’s children, and that God’s dream for us is to act in love.

We read these beatitudes on this All Saints Day, the day we remember the cloud of witnesses, all those who came before us to walk this journey of love, all those who show us what it means to be blessed. Because a saint is an ordinary person like you and me who is made holy, and also who is blessed by God.

We too are blessed to be a blessing. We are filled with God’s love, and mercy, and compassion, Yes, we can be saints too. The words we pray at a funeral, “Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light,” remind us that we are numbered in the ranks of those who are sinners made into saints, we are not perfect, but perfectly loved. And we are called specifically to welcome all God’s children, we are called to love our enemies, and we are called to bless those with whom we disagree.

Along with the saints we name today we too are called to bless others with mercy and compassion, with love and forgiveness. And on this day of all saints, we reaffirm our baptismal promises. We remember who and whose we are, we recall our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God. We vow to live our lives from that center, from that identity. On this day of all saints, we remember, we reaffirm, and we renew our courage and bravery to be witnesses to God's amazing and abundant love.

As we reaffirm our identity as God's beloved, we are renewed for the journey. This community of faithful saints, along with the cloud of witnesses, the saints who have gone before us, we are renewed by hope and blessing for the journey we take together. We call upon each other and God to stand here beside us as we follow Jesus into the world to do the work that we are called to do, and that work is to be agents of God's healing and reconciliation.

Thanks be to God.

4 Epiphany Yr A Jan 29 2017

Hadrian's Wall, the northern edge of the Roman Empire

4 Epiphany Yr A Jan 29 2017 Audio

I am convinced the prophetic voices we hear in today’s readings can guide our walk with Jesus. We must listen to them. We hear these verses in Matthew’s gospel that we call Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Jesus’ sermon on the mount is the opening proclamation of the ministry to follow, and it shows us what the kingdom of God looks like. In God’s kingdom, you are blessed, and the purpose and focus of Jesus ministry is to bless. Blessing is what it means to follow Jesus. And in our lectionary today, Matthew’s gospel is preceded by the prophet Micah. So today, we’ll begin there with Micah.

The last verses of what we hear from Micah are what we know best. I want to put those verses into some context. What we have is a sort of trial, with an indictment, “plead your case” the Lord says. And then the sarcasm begins. In the voice of the Lord we hear, O my people, what have I done for you? All I've done for you is to bring you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of slavery; I sent before you Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam. As if that's not enough to. And then the voice of the Lord calls us to remember what happened and to remember the saving acts of the Lord. And following that is this question, how shall we come before the Lord? Shall we bring burnt-offerings, rivers of oil, our first born child, again, sarcastic. And then we hear the instruction, what the Lord really needs of us is to do justice, and to love kindness (also translated mercy), and to walk humbly with our God.

Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. Wow. This is what God’s kingdom looks like, and this is also what it means to follow Jesus. But, humbly isn’t quite an accurate translation, it should be more like walk intentionally, walk deliberately, with your God. Do justice, love kindness, and walk intentionally with God.

So then we move into how to recognize blessing in Matthew. We’ve heard these beatitudes so many times, haven’t we. You know, for a long time I taught children using Godly Play. Godly Play is a way to tell the sacred bible stories. So, I’d tell this story about Jesus teaching his friends when the children were in first grade, and then they’d hear it again in second grade, and by third grade they’d say, we’ve heard that one before! And I’d respond with, of course you have, what’s different about it this time? Because you see, each time we hear these sacred stories, we are in a different place and a different time, so we hear something different in them. Friends, we are in a different place and a different time, we must hear these beatitudes differently.

Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples with this teaching. You and I are really just eavesdropping on Jesus’ teaching. Jesus is teaching his disciples about how to recognize blessing. Not, who is blessed, or how to bless, but how to recognize what God has already blessed. God has already blessed the poor in spirit, and theirs is the kingdom of heaven. God has already blessed those who mourn, and they will be comforted. God has already blessed the meek, and they will inherit the earth. God has already blessed those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and they will be filled. God has already blessed the merciful, and they will receive mercy. God has already blessed the pure in heart, and they will see God. God has already blessed the peacemakers, and they will be called children of God. God has already blessed those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And God has already blessed those who are reviled and persecuted.

You see, our job, as followers of Jesus is to get with the program, God is already doing great things, our job is to see that and join forces. And what’s odd about this, is God has already blessed those who we would not think are blessed. In our world, when we think of someone who is blessed we most often think of someone who is wealthy or powerful or famous or successful or beautiful or enviable. Blessing, at least according to the standards of this world, is most often of the material kind. Blessing, in our world is missing the close call, or getting something someone else doesn’t get. But that’s not what is revealed in Matthew’s story about Jesus teaching the disciples. God blesses those in need.

So now we have these two scripture that are presented to us together on this day, in this church, in this community, in this country, and the question I ask of them is what does it have to do with us? What do these pieces of scripture have to do with following Jesus?

Following Jesus is about is doing justice, loving kindness, and walking intentionally with God. Following Jesus is to recognize blessing when it is staring us in the face. I think recognizing blessedness has something to do with living in a country of hospitality, a county in which people who can no longer literally live in their own countries can come and find justice, and kindness and mercy, and freedom to walk with God. I think recognizing blessedness has something to do with living in a community, a church of hospitality, a place where people of all stripes can come and find justice, and kindness and mercy, and freedom to walk with God.

Friday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. When I was a kid in civics class, we learned about the Holocaust, and I remember being frightened and disgusted. In my own life I can not come to terms with how people can do such things to other people. And I learned that we learn about such atrocities, so as to never let it happen again. I have been to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, I have been to the Holocaust Memorial in Washington DC, and I believe following Jesus is about offering hospitality and sanctuary to all who come seeking refuge from violence and persecution in their own countries. And I know that seems like it is way outside our control, so the question I bring to these texts today is, right here in our church, right here in our community, how do we follow Jesus by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking intentionally with God. How do we follow Jesus by recognizing blessing when it is staring us in the face?

So that’s what I want for us to consider. What is it you can do, today, tomorrow, and the next day, to offer hospitality to the people you sit next to in these pews, to the people who walk by our church daily, to the people who are in our neighborhood and community, to the people who come to this country seeking refuge from death and starvation. What is in your hands? How can you walk with God and be that light that shines in this darkness? How can you be a partner in building God's kingdom?

Friends, we follow Jesus because we are convinced of God’s love for us, God’s love for all of creation. We follow Jesus because we are convinced that Love wins. We come here, to this place and we offer our own brokenness to be forgiven and healed, we are filled with bread and wine that are Jesus’ body and blood. In the mystery that is God’s love for us, we recognize blessing, we receive mercy, and we enact justice. You are loved, go out into the world to do the work you are called to do, to love and serve as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. Amen.

Christ the King Year A

Recall your math classes in school. I for one, was not much for the math option. I did get through Algebra 1 and Geometry successfully, but the rest, Calculus, Trigonometry, Statistics, not my cup of tea. I was a good student, I listened in class, did my homework, and relied heavily on the answers in the back of the book. I am ever thankful for those answers in the back of the book.

The book we read together, our bibles, the story of God's activity in the life of God's people, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on our need for answers, has no answers in the back. And that is especially frustrating in the midst of this book of Matthew, it would be so much easier if we could just turn to the back and have it all worked out for us. We find ourselves in this place where it just keeps getting harder. Story after story shows the demands for discipleship, and Jesus' impending death, and there are no answers.

What these stories show us is that Jesus did not come to make bad people good, but to make dead people alive. New life is not about right answers, it is about responding to God's amazing and abundant love. New life, transformation, conversion, whatever you want to call it, demands a response, and that response is about being a disciple, and disciples feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of the sick and visit the imprisoned.

In the story before us today, we see the Lord of all creation, the King on the throne of glory, with everyone gathered together. For some this is a scary story, we may ask ourselves, am I a sheep, or am I a goat? Do I sit on Jesus' right? Do I enjoy eternal life or am I to be banished forever? I think these questions are all beside the point. The truth is that we are not totally one or the other, ever. And I don't think it's about a percentage of goodness or badness. Did I do the right thing 51 percent of the time, and is that enough? That's not the way Jesus acts here.

Our reality is that we don't always respond to every opportunity of Jesus in our midst with total generosity, we don't always give away our coat, we don't always provide a meal, we don't always visit those who are sick or imprisoned. I think what is really going on here is a story about discipleship, and what really gets us into trouble is doing nothing. Jesus is Lord over all the earth and has something so say about what we do, and what we do is to love God with all our heart and mind and soul, and love our neighbor as ourselves. We aren't asked to do it perfectly, but we are expected to do it. That is what followers of Jesus do. This story is about that expectation.

This new life that Jesus gives us, this transformed life, is all about relationship, relationship with God and with others. It is not about following a particular set of rules, it is not about being perfect, or being perfectly bad, it's about relationship. It's about relationship with God who is creator of the universe. It is about a relationship with Jesus who walked this earth to show us that Love wins. It is about a relationship with others in whom we believe Jesus lives and moves and has his being.

It is in this relationship and these relationships, that we are fully alive. We don't feed hungry people, clothe naked people, visit sick and imprisoned people because of the reward, or because we work at earning God's love. We do these things in response to the amazing and abundant love that God lavishes upon us, and that we experience in the life, the suffering and death, and the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus came to make dead people alive. Living fully alive is the fruit of resurrection.

Author Anne Lamott said in her graduation commencement address to the students at Berkeley, “Your problem is how you are going to spend this one and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are." And by one much, much, much earlier than Anne Lamott, St. Irenaus of Lyons, "Man fully alive is the glory of God."

Our lives have already been given by God, and we have already been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ's own forever in baptism. God is already in relationship with us, we have already been born again, we have already received new life, the dead have been made alive, Love wins. We are to embrace that reality and live it fully and completely, we are to live fully alive, we are to live as disciples, and the way we do that is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned. As we do these things which are the right things to do, God is blessed.

So what does it mean when we don't do these things. Does God love us any less? Are we ultimately in peril? Once again, no answers at the back of the book. But it seems to me that not doing these things lessens our lives. Not doing these things means we are not living the new life that Jesus has given, not doing these things is not living fully alive and not blessing God.

I also want to point out that what is absent in these discipleship instructions has quite a loud voice. What is absent is "live for yourself, be narcissistic, make as much money as you can and don't share it with anyone." What is absent is "use other people and creatures and things and when you're finished throw them out." What is absent is a list of the kind of people you can fall in love with.

Come, you that are blessed, all of you, when I was hungry, you fed me, when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink, when I was a stranger you welcomed me, when I was naked you gave me clothes, when I was sick you took care of me, when I was imprisoned you visited me. It's not complicated, it's not easy, we aren't perfect. We are loved, we are blessed, we are broken, we are sent. The Lord who is of all things seen and unseen, asks us to love each other, to treat each other with mercy and compassion, to show the world that Love wins.

Amen