Third Sunday after Pentecost Yr B Proper 6 June 13 2021

Third Sunday after Pentecost Yr B Proper 6 June 13 2021

1 Samuel 15:34-16:13, Psalm 20, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10,[11-13],14-17, Mark 4:26-34

 

Why do we love the stories of the underdog so much? Well at least I do. Rick and I watched the movie Rudy so many times we could recite the lines, and I cry every time Rudy gets put into the game. Mighty Ducks, the first one, is another favorite, I sit on the edge of my seat until the end of the game, even though I’ve seen them win a bazillion times. The Rookie, Star Wars, Chariots of Fire, Remember the Titans, Field of Dreams, and the list goes on. Which comes first, our passion for rooting for the little guy, the underdog, or this story of David and Goliath?

 

I remember my very first New Testament professor telling us that all history is written from the perspective of the winners. History published in history books is written from the perspective of the winners. The losers don’t write history, and their story is rarely told in history books. Western civilization loves its winners and winners often claim God is on their side.

 

During the time in which the story in 1 Samuel first was told, Israel is constantly at war with the Philistines. Ancient warfare was highly ritualized. Each side would send out its great champion who would fight on behalf of his people. Often the battle would end there, because whichever champion won the other side would be so demoralized it would retreat. At this time, the Philistines have a champion who is described as well, huge, Goliath. And the problem is that the Jewish forces have no champion at all. Goliath is marching out in front of the Philistine lines, shouting curses at the Jews and challenging someone to come and fight him. Choose yourself a man and let him come down to me, shouts Goliath. If he can fight me and kill me, we will be slaves to you; if I defeat him and kill him, you will be slaves to us. The mortified Israelite army has to listen to this, because no one is willing to take on Goliath. One day, David, who is a shepherd and not a soldier, shows up on the battlefield bringing food for his brothers and he’s shocked by what he sees. Outraged at Goliath’s blasphemous insulting of the God of Israel, David volunteers to fight Goliath, convincing King Saul with his steadfast faith in God.

 

And so we have before us this story of David in which the underdog becomes the champion. And we have this story of Jesus, in which those who are low are raised up, those who are on the margins are brought to the center, those who have no power are empowered, and lowly fisher folk become disciples.

 

I wonder if it’s just human nature to be on the side of the winner. Is it part of our DNA? The biological story may support that. We know the story of the survival of the strongest. We know that the human drive is to procreate, to survive and to thrive. In the animal kingdom the weakest and the smallest don’t last long. But Jesus shows us that in God’s kingdom in dying we are alive, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing everything. 

 

We add to that scenario the parables in Mark’s gospel, parables that show us what the kingdom of God looks like. With his parables, Jesus invites us to see the kingdom of God in the images and dramas of everyday life. In a woman baking bread, a group of bridesmaids preparing for a wedding, a roadside mugging, a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son. While they are rooted in the commonplace, parables are not simple nor straight forward. And there is never just one answer to the question, what is the kingdom of God like? 

 

They are rich and compelling stories, let’s remember a few more. There’s the one about a moneylender who forgave two wildly unequal debts, another about a persistent widow who nagged a judge into granting her justice, and another about a banquet in which all were invited but only the poor and sick and forgotten remembered to come. Parables are surprising and shocking. Parables show there are no boundaries to God’s love. Parable push the walls over, pull the margins apart.

 

We have two little parables before us, that show us a kingdom that is expansive and inclusive. First, this wonderful story about a man who throws seed out onto his field, goes to bed, and forgets about it. Who does that? The farmers I know work long hours preparing soil for seeding, watering and treating the young plants so they grow as big as possible, and hopefully, if all of the conditions are right, the sun, the rain, the wind, no hail to destroy the tender shoots, there could be a harvest. But this man has no idea about how the seeds sprouted and grew, it was as if the earth did it all by itself. 

 

The second parable shows us a mustard seed, every time we’ve heard this story, we remember how tiny that mustard seed really is. After it is sown, it grows into the greatest of all shrubs, and in it the birds of the air make their nests. 

 

These parables give us a vision of an expanse in which all may dwell and find refuge, a place where no one is an outsider, and no secret survives the light of exposure. The vision is huge, abundant, like the growth in the first parable, and in the second, the expanse is a mustard shrub that grows from the tiniest seed and becomes large enough to host all who seek its shelter. 

 

The Good News is that in God’s kingdom barriers are broken, margins are erased, everyone has a place, and even the underdog can win. 

 

So I return to the all time best underdog movie, Rudy. For those of you who don’t know the story, Rudy grew up in a steel mill town where most people ended up working, but Rudy wanted to play football at Notre Dame. There were only a few problems. His grades were too low, his athletic skills were poor, and he was only half the size of the other players. But he had the drive and the spirit of five people and has set his sights upon joining the team. He spent two years at St. Mary’s working on his grades and working his way through school. When he finally got into Notre Dame as a junior, he walked on to the team and served on the ‘scout’ team as pretty much a tackling dummy. By the time he was a senior, he had endeared himself to the really good football players, and they really wanted him to be officially recognized as a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and that would happen only if he participated in at least one play. Rudy’s teammates had already experienced his heart, and his steadfast faith, and insisted to the coach that Rudy suit up. So in the waning moments of the last game of Rudy’s senior year, the team and then the fans chanted Rudy, Rudy, coach put him in and Rudy ran a couple of plays. 

 

What is the kingdom of God like? I leave you to wonder about that.  

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost Yr A Proper 14 August 9th 2020

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost Yr A Proper 14 August 9^th 2020

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28, Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b, Romans 10:5-15, Matthew 14:22-33

 

“Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”. I could hear that over and over again, maybe that’s why Jesus says it over and over again. “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”. Because really, what do we have to be afraid of? When we read the newspapers or our news feeds, when we watch the news, it seems that there is much of which to be afraid. Pandemic, disruption in our cities, protest, election. But here, in this story from Matthew, Jesus says, “take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.” And Jesus shows us just what that looks like. Peter wanted desperately to trust Jesus, and Jesus invited him to come. Peter began the walk over the water to Jesus, but became frightened, lost his courage, and began to sink. But Jesus doesn’t let Peter sink in the water. Jesus reached out his hand to Peter to pull him back in.

 

Sometimes we think of this as a story about not having enough faith. It’s where we get the expression, “oh ye of little faith”. But that’s not right. This is a story first and foremost about Jesus’ assurance of courage. Step out, and Jesus has our back. Do not be afraid.

 

We have so many examples of courage in Jesus’ name. We just said goodbye to John Lewis, a man of courage, who stepped out of the boat as a young man. Who sat at lunch counters only to be spat upon, who crossed bridges only to be beaten, who as a congressperson spoke truth to power.

 

Or WEB DuBois (Dewboyss), whose commemoration day was just this past week. Racism was the main target of Du Bois's polemics, and he strongly protested against lynching, Jim Crow laws, and discrimination in education and employment. His cause included people of color everywhere, particularly Africans and Asians in colonies. He was a proponent of Pan-Africanism and helped organize several Pan-African Congresses to fight for the independence of African colonies from European powers. Du Bois made several trips to Europe, Africa and Asia. After World War I, he surveyed the experiences of American black soldiers in France and documented widespread prejudice and racism in the United States military. He is most famously known for being one of the founding members of the NAACP.

 

Or what about Malala Yousafzai (Use-efsai)? The Pakistani schoolgirl who defied threats of the Taliban to campaign for the right to education. She survived being shot in the head by the Taliban and has become a global advocate for human rights, women’s rights and the right to education.

 

I could go on with the Peter’s of the world who stepped out in courage. It’s not so much about not being afraid, as it is in the midst of the fear knowing that Jesus has our back, that Jesus reaches out and walks with us in the midst of the fear. That is what courage is. That is what faith is.

 

Jesus doesn’t let us sink.

 

Let’s check this out. We heard the mustard seed story just two weeks ago. Jesus says in a version of that story, “if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Now we know that a mustard seed is a mighty tiny seed, so having faith the size of a mustard seed is a little faith. But these are stories not about what faith is lacking, and it is not about not having enough faith, it is about the faith that Peter has that causes him to courageously step out of the boat. And they are stories that include you and me, who, on most days, like Peter, have a little faith. And these people whose stories we know, that probably felt a lot like Peter.

 

So how much faith do you need to make a difference, to change the world, to move mountains, to be courageous, and, like the rest of the disciples in the boat that day, to know that Jesus is lord? You need a little faith. Faith is not about having enough, faith is not about knowing for absolute sure, faith is not about clarity or certainty. Faith isn’t about shouting most loudly about knowing exactly what God’s specific plans for everyone are, faith isn’t about knowing the future. 

 

Well then, what is faith about? Faith is a willingness to risk. Faith is about the courage to take that step out of the boat, to respond to Jesus when he says, “come ahead,” and to do it whether you think you’ll sink or swim. And faith proceeds from love, the kind of love that makes a person willing to be the first to say “I love you”, not because of a certain expectation of a particular reply, but because of the possibilities that saying “I love you” opens. 

 

Faith doesn’t connote belief in a particular outcome, and it isn’t an intellectual assent to a particular proposition. Faith is not a wish for more money or a better life. Putting our faith in this particular story about death and resurrection, putting our faith in Jesus does not mean believing that we’ll be successful in a particular enterprise that Jesus is calling us to. Having faith in Jesus means a willingness to follow Jesus, not because we believe that we’ve already got the rest of the story plotted out once we’ve made that decision, but because we take seriously that Jesus is Lord.

 

So faith is the courage to risk, faith opens up the possibilities, and faith is taking seriously that Jesus is Lord. This faith opens up the possibility that we are fully capable of loving one another, that we are fully capable of respecting the dignity of every person, and the possibility that we must die in order to live again. This kind of faith also opens up the possibility that we may fall, and that we may wallow in the mess. And when that happens, we can look to resurrection and hope, and know that Jesus is right there with us in that mess. 

 

Faith is not certainty and it is not security in a right future. Faith is living each day knowing that Jesus lived each day. Faith is the courage to risk. Jesus loved, Jesus was hurt, Jesus even hurt others, Jesus risked everything, Jesus died and Jesus rose from the dead. Faith is responding to Jesus’ invitation, “come ahead, have courage,” and being transformed by the relationship. 

 

Faith is risking it all and being together in the mess. Peter wasn’t alone in that boat. All the disciples were there with him. Faith is finding love and hope here in the body of Christ. Because this risky business of faith is not to be undertaken by yourself. It is to be undertaken together, it is to be undertaken in the body of Christ. We do this together, no one is out there alone undertaking this risky business of faith, it’s too important, it’s too dangerous, it’s too perilous. Every one of us needs a support team, whether the team meets in person or online.

 

The body of Christ, the community of faith, is our support team in this risky venture of faith. I could not be your priest without all of your prayers and words of encouragement. I depend on your prayers, as you depend on my prayers and the prayers of all of us gathered. Not one of us can accomplish the risky work of faith out in the world without the support team that is our community of faith.

 

My favorite author, Madeleine L’engle once said during her recovery after a horrible accident she was in, that she could no longer pray, but that she knew that there were people who were praying on her behalf. We pray for others and on behalf of others all the time. That is the body of Christ, the community of faith doing its courageous work.

 

I believe faith is not one sided. Faith is not just about us. I believe that God has faith in me, and in us. Imagine the risk God takes at the creation of each and every child, each and every planet, each and every star. Will it be all that God intends for it to be? Will it be creative, will it be life-giving, will it fulfill all the hope in its creation? God is faithful. God risks everything with each and every one of us. If we have little faith, the size of a mustard seed, God has humungous faith, the size of millions of universes.

 

It is God’s huge faith in me that enables me to have faith in Jesus. Whatever that faith is, it’s enough to make a difference, it’s enough to bring Light into the mess, it’s enough to move mountains, it’s enough to get through the hard stuff of life. Thank God. Amen.

 

3rd Sunday after Pentecost Yr B, proper 6, June 14 2015

Audio 3 Pentecost Yr B June 14 2015 (outside in garden)

Why do we love the stories of the underdog so much? Well at least I do. We’ve watched Rudy so many times we can recite the lines, and I cry every time Rudy gets put into the game. Mighty Ducks, the first one, is another  favorite, I sit on the edge of my seat until the end of the game, even though I’ve seen them win a bazillion times. The Rookie, Star Wars, Chariots of Fire, Remember the Titans, Field of Dreams, and the list goes on. Which comes first, our passion for rooting for the little guy, or the story of David and the story of Jesus?

I remember my first New Testament professor telling us that all history is written from the perspective of the winners. History published in history books is written from the perspective of the winners. The losers don’t write history, and their story is rarely told in history books. Western civilization loves its winners and winners are often assigned near divine status,or, at the least, God is on the winner’s side status. 

During the time in which the story in 1 Samuel first was told, Israel is constantly at war with the Philistines. Ancient warfare was highly ritualized. We see that each side would send out its great champion who would fight on behalf of his people. Often the battle would end with that, because whichever champion won the other side would be so demoralized it would retreat. At this time, the Philistines have a champion who is described as well, huge, Goliath. And the problem is that the Jewish forces have no champion at all. Goliath is marching out in front of the Philistine lines, shouting curses at the Jews and challenging someone to come and fight him. Choose yourself a man and let him come down to me, shouts Goliath. If he can fight me and kill me, we will be slaves to you; if I defeat him and kill him, you will be slaves to us and serve us. The mortified Israelite army has to listen to this, because no one is willing to take on Goliath. One day, David, who is still a shepherd and not a soldier, shows up on the battlefield bringing food for his brothers and he’s shocked by what he sees. Outraged at Goliath’s blasphemous insulting of the God of Israel, David volunteers to fight Goliath, convincing King Saul with his steadfast faith in God.

And so we have before us this story of David in which the underdog becomes the champion. And we have this story of Jesus, in which those who are low are raised up, those who are on the margins are brought to the center, those who have no power are empowered, and lowly fisher folk become disciples. 

I wonder if it is human nature to be on the side of the winner. Is it part of our DNA? The biological story may support that. We know the story of the survival of the strongest. We know that the human drive is to procreate, to survive and to thrive. In the animal kingdom the weakest and the smallest don’t last long. But Jesus shows us that in God’s kingdom in dying we are alive, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing everything. 

God’s kingdom is very different from human’s kingdom. In God’s kingdom, the underdog becomes the champion. In God’s kingdom, fisher folk become disciples and bring the Good News to all nations, to all people, to the ends of the earth. In God’s kingdom, God has faith in the people, and the people respond with faith the size of a mustard seed. In God’s kingdom, faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to grow and accomplish great things. In God’s kingdom, not only does the underdog win, not only does the lowest get lifted up, but even what is dead has new life. Even faltering faith of the disciples can become awe. 

The Good News is that God’s kingdom has begun. Jesus’ life, and love, suffering and death, and resurrection began God’s kingdom. In God’s time God’s kingdom will be fulfilled. In the meantime, you and I are called to be active participants in God’s kingdom. We respond to God’s love, we respond to God’s faith in us. We can be on the side of the underdog. We can be with the lowly disciples in the boat. 

So I return to the all time best underdog movie, Rudy. For those of you who don’t know the story, Rudy grew up in a steel mill town where most people ended up working, but Rudy wanted to play football at Notre Dame. There were only a couple of problems. His grades were too low, his athletic skills were poor, and he was only half the size of the other players. But he had the drive and the spirit of five people and has set his sights upon joining the team. He spent two years at St. Mary’s working on his grades and working his way through school. When he finally got into Notre Dame as a junior, he walked on to the team and served on the ‘scout’ team as pretty much a tackling dummy. By the time he was a senior, he had endeared himself to the really good football players, and they really wanted him to be officially recognized as a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and that would happen only if he participated in at least one play. Rudy’s teammates had already experienced his heart, and his steadfast faith, and insisted to the coach that Rudy suit up. So in the waning moments of the last game of Rudy’s senior year, the team and then the fans chanted Rudy, Rudy, coach put him in and Rudy ran a couple of plays. 

It wasn’t about winning at all, it was about a little guy who responded to life in big ways and with gusto. It is about faith, it is about being fully engaged in relationship with God and with others, it is about the love that wins. 

19 Pentecost Yr C

My mom has some beautiful Noritake china she got when she and my dad were married. There is a gold edge around a flower pattern. That beautiful china has spent most of its life in the cabinet, behind closed doors. It has been joined by my grandmother’s china, also Noritake of a very similar pattern. I realize that there is some care involved in using china, it is supposed to be washed by hand so as not to destroy the gold or chip the edges. But it seems to me such a waste to keep it in the cabinet and not to use it. Someday I will get all that china, and if you come to my house for dinner, you will eat off of it, we will exclaim at its beauty, and I very well might put it in the dishwasher. Such a gift of beauty, such a gift of history, such a gift should be unwrapped and opened and used, even if it doesn’t always get washed by hand, I would rather have used it for it’s intended purpose and break some, than have it perfect. Perfect, for what? Perfect to gaze upon it? What is a gift if it isn’t unwrapped and enjoyed; it’s just a box with pretty paper.

As we approach Luke’s gospel it seems difficult. But today I want for us to hear the gift in it; the gift that should be unwrapped and enjoyed, and used for its right purpose. I have said before and I say it again, the gospel is not about behaving well for a reward at the end of life. The gospel is about living as God’s new creation right here, right now. This good news today is not about a reward. It is not about serving in order to gain something, or to have some sort of claim of God. We don’t get credit for doing what we’re supposed to do. We do what we are supposed to do because it’s the right thing to do.

I want to read the passage for you from Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message. Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, 'Sit down and eat'? Wouldn't you be more likely to say, 'Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I've finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper'? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what's expected of him? It's the same with you. When you've done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, 'The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.
Friends, it’s not about you, what you do, who you are, the words you say. And it’s not about rewards, it’s not about getting what you deserve, if it was, most of us would get very little. And it’s not about anyone’s judgment of others or of themselves. It is about God and God’s amazing and abundant love and grace. That is what Luke is saying in this passage. God has given us, and continues to give us a gift, there is nothing that we do to deserve it, to possess it, to own it, it just is. So all that we do, all that we are, is in response to that gift. And as my mother’s beautiful china shows us, our response, our work, is to unwrap that gift and to enjoy it, and to use it rightly.

The startling juxtaposition of this passage with the plea of the disciples right before it, Lord, increase our faith, exemplifies what is wonderful about Jesus and his method of training us and developing our discipleship, our response to the amazing and abundant love. Hear what he says. Jesus says you do not need to increase your faith; you just need the tiniest bit of faith imaginable. A grain of mustard seed’s worth of faith can empower you to do great things. Which is to say, you already have enough. You have enough! What you have is sufficient, use it rightly.

As it says in our catechism in the Book of Common Prayer, we are to bear witness to Christ wherever we may be, and “according to the gifts given us, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world.” This is our baptized ministry. This acknowledges that we have all been given gifts. We do not all have the same gifts, but we all have the gifts necessary, and the gifts to do the right thing. Open your gift, Trust what you have – what you have been given. Trust what you have to give. It is more than enough. You can uproot trees. You can move mountains. The lame will walk, the blind will see. Loaves multiply so there’s enough to feed everyone. As you sow, you shall receive. As you follow Christ, you will begin to lead. If only you have faith as small as a mustard seed.

You see, this is good news. God has given a great gift, there is nothing you need to do to receive it but trust that it has been given. Your job, your ministry, is to use it out there, in here, at school, at work. We are sent out to do the work we have been given to do, to love and serve as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. You have enough.

What an amazingly radical message is here. Your gift is enough. It is sufficient. It is everything you need. What if we heard that over and over again, instead of what’s in your wallet, we hear you have everything you need in your heart. Instead of buy more, bigger, and better, we hear give your coat and maybe even your gloves. Instead of live for yourself, we hear live die to self and live for others, all for the sake of the kingdom that is at hand. The kingdom of God is at hand. We can reach out and touch it, feel its nearness, participate in its fullness. If only we have the tiniest bit of faith, God’s will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

This is so very important to remember, especially in light of Lamentations, and what we have been hearing from the prophet Jeremiah for a number of weeks now. The pain and grief of Israel is palpable. When everything goes wrong, even in the deepest depths, you are still in relationship with God. In these passages we hear that anger and grief are as welcome as joy. We are not to wallow in anger and grief, but we can be at home there for a while. We are not to get stuck in nostalgia, some romantic version of the past, nor are we to fall in love with our fantasies of the future, but we are to embrace what is set before us, we are to embrace the gift of new life God has given us.

This mustard seed of faith is enough. It is a gift that is to opened, embraced, celebrated, and yes even chipped and broken sometimes. Chipped and broken does indeed mean that we are fully alive.

Amen.