Pentecost 21

Isaiah 53:4-12
Psalm 91:9-16
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45

Prayer of the Day
Sovereign God, you turn your greatness into goodness for all the peoples on earth. Shape us into willing servants of your kingdom, and make us desire always and only your will, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Greetings and welcome! I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the flowers on Sunday in remembrance of Pastor Appreciation Week. It is good to know that I am appreciated-as so many of you have reminded me, not only this last Sunday, but each day of my ministry here at Trinity. It is truly a joy to serve such a supportive congregation!

One of the common themes in our readings for this Sunday is “the suffering servant.” Isaiah testifies to the mysterious servant whose unjust suffering and death somehow redeems Israel and perhaps the world beyond. The author of Hebrews argues that Jesus, as both priest and sacrifice, makes peace for us with God. In the gospel lesson Jesus addresses a power struggle among the twelve by pointing out that leadership under the reign of God is practiced not by the example of power, but by the power of example through loving service.

Isaiah 53:4-12  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1391&cmpgn=5244

This passage might remind you of Lent and Holy Week. That is because it almost always comes into the passion observance at some point. The New Testament church recognized in these words the mission and ministry of Jesus. That is all well and good, but it is important, too, that we understand that this passage, which was composed five hundred years before Jesus was born, had a meaning of its own for the people to whom it was directed. This is the last of four “servant songs” belonging to the second of three sections of the prophet Isaiah. It is addressed to the Jews living in exile in Babylon at the end of the 6^th Century B.C.E. Part of the prophet’s purpose is to make sense out of the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and reassure the exiles that Israel has a future and an important role in God’s redemptive plan. He points out that the conquest of Babylon by Persia and the Persian policy of amnesty for peoples exiled under the Babylonian regime is part of that plan. The Jews now have the opportunity to return to the promised land-albeit as subjects of the new Persian Empire. Though they can never hope to recapture the glory of Israel under the Davidic dynasty, their life as a covenant people living in humble obedience to their God will reflect a different and greater glory.

Biblical scholars continue to struggle with the meaning of this particular passage. Who is the “servant”? What is the cause of his suffering and how does that suffering benefit the servant? Israel? The world? Is the servant the exiled remnant of Israel? The prophet? Some other individual? I am not sure the answer to these questions has to be a strict either/or. The prophet’s rejection and suffering at the hands of his/her fellow Israelites could well be a reflection of Israel’s rejection and suffering among the nations of the world. The prophet’s life may be a parabolic symbol of what Israel’s life as a people was intended to be and still might be.

How is the prophet’s/Israel’s suffering redemptive? As I have said before, this is dangerous theological territory. It must be said again from the outset that there is nothing at all redemptive about suffering in and of itself. Nothing good comes from spousal abuse, bullying, racial discrimination, economic exploitation, famine or disease. These are all instances in which suffering has been imposed on people by others or by circumstances beyond their control. There are some instances, however, in which people embrace suffering, not because it is good in itself, but because it is a necessary consequence of accomplishing a greater good. If you decide to have children, you will suffer in many ways: pain, discomfort and a degree of risk of serious physical harm (for women), sleep deprivation, economic loss, anxiety and stress to name just a few. And this is just the suffering you can expect when everything goes well! Still, we keep on having babies because we believe having and raising children to be worth the sacrifices it requires.

It costs God dearly to love this world that so often takes a self destructive turn just as it is costly for us to love a son or daughter whose choices derail their lives. Any parent who has ever walked with a son or daughter through the long and torturous path from addiction to sobriety knows that love is costly. The cost God was willing to pay for the redemption of the world was a long and often painful journey with God’s people Israel from slavery in Egypt, through doubt in the wilderness, through disobedience and rebellion in Canaan and through the dark night of despair in Babylonian exile. Yet this story reflects to all the world God’s commitment to redeeming all of creation. Therefore, Israel will finally be vindicated. Her suffering finally will be recognized as faithfulness to a gracious God whose salvation is for all people.

Not surprisingly, the church similarly recognized the redemptive love of God at work in Jesus’ faithful life, obedient suffering and willing death. His resurrection was seen as proof that “the will of the Lord” prospered in his hand.

Psalm 91:9-16  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1390&cmpgn=5244

This psalm has the infamous distinction of being the scripture with which the devil tried to induce Jesus to jump to his death from the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem. (Matthew 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12) Unfortunately, this prayer extolling the protective love of God for those who trust in him is open to just such distortion. There is no shortage of religion in book stores, on the airwaves and pulsing through the internet promising that the right kind of faith in God insulates a person from suffering. The Prayer of Jabez bv Bruce Wilkinson is a prime example. Though I am probably guilty of oversimplifying Mr. Wilkinson’s argument, his basic claim is that extraordinary blessings flow from praying the prayer of a biblical character mentioned briefly in the book of I Chronicles by the name of Jabez. The entire scriptural basis for this assertion is I Chronicles 4:9-10: “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.” This snippet of narrative comes in the midst of a lengthy chronology with no supporting context. Jabez’ mother gave birth to him in pain. I am not sure what this means as childbirth typically does not happen without some pain to the mother. Perhaps this was a particularly difficult delivery. All we know about Jabez himself is that he was more honorable than his brothers. But since we don’t know his brothers, this assessment is hard to evaluate. Is this like being the smartest of the Three Stooges? Jabez prays that his territory will be enlarged so that he will be protected from pain-a seeming non sequitur. I must confess that I really don’t know quite what to make of Jabez. I think I will continue to get my instruction on prayer from Jesus.

But I digress. The point here is that we should not read this psalm the way Wilkinson interprets the prayer of Jabez, as some sort of magical antidote to life’s slings and arrows. If you read the psalm carefully from the beginning, you will discover that it was composed by one who has seen combat, lived through epidemics and faced mortal enemies. The psalmist knows that the dangers out there in the world are very real and that life is not a cake walk. You might well prevail over lions and adders, but that does not mean you will come through without any scratches. The Lord promises, “I will be with him in trouble,” which can only mean that trouble will come the psalmist’s way. This psalm, then, must be interpreted not as the promise of a magic charm (the devil’s exegesis), but as a word of assurance that God’s redemptive purpose is at work in the lives of all who place their ultimate trust in God’s promises. As such, it is a word of profound comfort.

You will note that from verse 14 on the voice changes. In the previous verses the speaker appears to be that of the psalmist. But the last three verses are words of God declaring a promise of protection to those who know and trust in him. It is possible that this last section of the psalm constitutes an oracle proclaimed by a temple priest or prophet to the psalmist as s/he was seeking assurance in time of trouble and that the previous verses were inspired by the psalmist’s experiencing the fulfillment of these words of promise in his or her own life.

Hebrews 5:1-10  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1392&cmpgn=5244

At this point, you might want to review my introductory remarks on Hebrews from Sunday, October 7^th. You might also want to take a look at a summary of the book of Hebrews written by Craig R. Koester, Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. http://www.enterthebible.org/newtestament.aspx?rid=58 I want to emphasize once again that the characterization of Jesus as the ultimate high priest is not a repudiation of Judaism, but rather a repudiation of the efficacy of Temple worship and piety as it had become in the days of Jesus. At its best, the Temple served as a powerful symbol of the actual presence of God in the midst of Israel. It drew worshipers from all corners of Israel to Jerusalem where they celebrated their common faith in God and their solidarity with one another through sacrificial meals. The priesthood served as a mediator of God’s mercy and faithfulness to Israel and Israel’s confession of sin, prayers for forgiveness and hymns of thanksgiving.

At the time of Jesus, the office of the high priest was highly politicized and notoriously corrupt. The Temple that stood during the time of Jesus was built by Herod the Great, a hated figure appointed by Rome to be “King of the Jews.” Herod, it should be noted, was not a Jew and so his designation as their king was therefore all the more insulting. The Jews, then, were naturally ambivalent about the Temple in Jerusalem. It was, to be sure, a magnificent piece of architecture that arguably dignified the worship of God. But it was also a cash cow for the corrupt priesthood and its Roman overlords. Consequently, both Jews and Christians viewed the Temple’s destruction as God’s judgment on a hopelessly corrupt priesthood.

Just as obedience to Torah and worship revolving around the synagogue replaced Temple worship in the Jewish community, Jesus was understood among Christians as the new Temple of God and God’s true high priest of an entirely different lineage, that of Melchizedek.  Melchizedek is an obscure figure who, like our friend Jabez, makes only a fleeting appearance in the scriptures. Genesis 14 tells the story of how a confederation of kingdoms defeated the infamous city states of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham’s cousin Lot and his family got caught in the cross-fire and were kidnapped and enslaved by the victorious confederation. Abraham formed his servants into an army and pursued the confederation forces, ambushed them during the night, scattered their troops and rescued Lot. The king of Sodom was naturally grateful to Abraham as this victory benefited his kingdom. He came out to greet Abraham and with him was Melchizedek, king of Salem (another name for Jerusalem). Melchizedek, identified as “priest of God Most High,” brought with him bread and wine. He also blessed Abraham with the words:

“‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High,^*
maker of heaven and earth;
²⁰ and blessed be God Most High,^*
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!’

And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything.” Genesis 14:19-20. The only other mention of Melchizedek is in Psalm 110, a coronation hymn, in which the newly crowned king of Judah is named “a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” It is this very mysteriousness of Melchizedek, his lack of genealogy or history, that makes his priestly office such an appealing analogy to the ministry of Jesus. Jesus’ priestly authority is not grounded in the corrupt lineage of the Jerusalem establishment of his time, nor is it even rooted in any human genealogy. Jesus’ appointment and priestly office are grounded in God’s sovereign choice.

For those of us far removed from the historical context, the argument is a little hard to follow. But the bottom line is that, for the author of Hebrews, Jesus is the focal point for communion with God and fellowship among God’s people. The Eucharistic meal now serves as the original purpose of the sacrificial meals in the Temple. Jesus’ once and for all sacrifice is now sufficient to feed God’s people so no further sacrifices of any kind are necessary. Consequently, Christians need not despair over the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

In some ways, our own context is analogous to that of the church addressed by the book of Hebrews. We are also experiencing losses-in terms of membership, in terms of financial resources, in terms of our capacity, both as a congregation and as a national denomination, to be the church we have always been. If current trends continue, the ELCA will be a smaller, poorer and less influential church by the middle of this century. Many of our congregations may no longer be in existence. If numbers, finances and the ability to run expansive programs addressing every conceivable human need are at the center of what it means to be church, this is disturbing news. But maybe size, wealth and programmatic success don’t matter anymore than did the Temple. In my humble opinion, a small, poor and marginalized church speaking from the edges of society is a more faithful witness to Jesus than a wealthy, powerful church entrenched in the structures of societal power speaking from the center. But that is just St. Paul and me. What do we know?

Mark 10:35-45  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1393&cmpgn=5244

At first blush, it seems we should not be too hard on James and John. After all, this how things work among “the gentiles,” including us American gentiles. People who have donated generously to a successful campaign are rewarded with ambassadorships, cabinet positions and committee chairs in the new administration. (That is why prudent donors typically contribute to both campaigns. That way, no matter who wins, s/he will owe you. Why put all your eggs in one basket?)  James and John have certainly paid their dues. They have been at Jesus’ side throughout his ministry, stood by him in the face of opposition and have joined him on a danger fraught journey to Jerusalem. It is hardly unreasonable to ask that Jesus reward their loyalty with some measure of privilege in the coming kingdom. This is how politics is practiced in the real world.

Much of the story’s irony will be lost on us this Sunday because the lectionary makers have failed to include verses 32-34 that come directly before the lesson. Here we read: “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, ³³saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; ³⁴they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’” It is after this dark pronouncement that James and John come forward with their request for a high office in the coming Jesus administration. The warning that Jesus’ mission will end with his execution seems to have fallen upon deaf ears. The two disciples do not yet understand what Jesus’ coming in glory is going to look like. If they had understood, they might have been thankful to learn that the privilege of being at Jesus right and left hand had already been given away-to two criminals. James and John truly have no idea what they are requesting.

Yet, says Jesus, they will drink the cup he must drink and share in the baptism with which he is about to be baptized. That is a good word; a word of promise. James and John cannot understand it as such yet. Perhaps they cannot understand it at all. The question is, though, do we understand it? And if we understand it, do we hear it as good news? This is one of those texts that is more conveniently ignored-just like the one from last week in which Jesus calls upon the rich young man to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor. In fact, as I look at how most of our congregations are managed, how the New Jersey Synod is run and how our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is operated, we don’t look all that different from the gentile world. We have constitutions that divvy up power and authority between the pastor, lay leaders and committees. The pay structure for bishops, pastors of large congregations and pastors of smaller congregations does not suggest to me that we view “the least” as the “greatest.” We have our power struggles, disputes over authority and arguments over who is the greatest. I am not always convinced that our liturgy communicates the message that worship leaders and ministers of word and sacrament are “the least of all and the servants of all.”

Some of this, no doubt, is attributable to sinful human nature. After all, if we find power politics at work among the original twelve disciples, is it really so surprising that it persists among us today? Yet I wonder whether our structures do not contribute to our failure to practice servant leadership effectively. More importantly, I wonder if our structures are not the misbegotten fruit of a theology of church based on the notion of individual rights rather than selfless service within the Body of Christ. As a tail end baby boomer and child of the 60s (sort of), to be at all critical of “rights” goes against the grain of my moral conscience. But lately I have come to believe that my moral conscience is wrong. I do not believe that it is possible to preach the good news of Jesus Christ in the language of “rights.” The only way I can possess a right is to have an existence independent of the Body of Christ. If I am a member of the Body of Christ, then it makes no more sense to speak of my right to do this or that than it does to speak of my foot’s right to act independent of the rest of my body. To be baptized into the body of Christ is to die to any individual right I may have and to live henceforth for the good of the Body.

For a broken and divided world filled with individuals and groups all having conflicting interests, the language of rights does little more than define the contours of its fractures. The language of rights can only produce endless disputes over whose right is primary and how far a given right goes. That, of course, is colored by economic self interest, value judgments, cultural bias and a whole host of other distorting factors that virtually ensure a conceptual quagmire. When the church attempts to couch the gospel in the language of rights and frames its call for justice, peace and reconciliation in terms of rights, it invariably finds itself the dupe of some partisan interest. To be sure, the church has often sided with partisan interests that advance the cause of justice. But just as often it has sided with slavery, segregation, war and exploitation. In short, when we get caught up in speaking the language of rights, I am not convinced the church speaks truth any more clearly or faithfully than other people of good will. We are self interested too, after all.

Perhaps before we can speak of justice we need to experience it. Maybe we cannot ever hope to speak the truth unless we give ourselves to living the truth in a community that is founded not on inalienable rights, but on the unconditional mercy by which we have each been absorbed into a Body where our individual lives have been surrendered. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. Maybe the first step in speaking truth and justice is simply to be the church, the Body of Christ, a community of servants who claim no rights, no privileges, no greatness or distinction. We might not be any better at living as a Body than were James and John, or the church in Corinth or any other New Testament congregation. Nevertheless, even a church that does church badly is a better witness than a church that has given up on being church and adopts the way of “the gentiles.”

What do you think?

Pentecost 20

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Psalm 90:12-17
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31

Prayer of the Day
Almighty and ever-living God, increase in us your gift of faith, that, forsaking what lies behind and reaching out to what lies ahead, we may follow the way of your commandments and receive the crown of everlasting joy, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Greetings and welcome to the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost. The lessons for this week are a tad unsettling. They focus in one way or another on repentance. Amos points out to his people that their prosperity has been built upon a flimsy foundation of injustice and exploitation of the poor. He warns them that God, not the invisible hand of the market, will decide Israel’s fate. Unless Israel begins to do justice, she will soon face justice. The psalmist recognizes that life is brief and often filled with hard labor, disappointment and tragedy. Often, the sorrows we experience are brought upon us by our own folly. S/he therefore prays for wisdom to live his/her life wisely and well. The author of Hebrews reminds us that the word of God is “sharper than any two edged sword.” Though it is, to be sure, a healing word, healing does not come without the pain of self knowledge and repentance. In this week’s Gospel, Jesus offers a rich young man the gift of a once in a life time opportunity-but he cannot empty his hands to take hold of it.

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1386

For some autobiographical information on Amos, I suggest you re-read the comment of July 29^th.  Israel was experiencing an economic, military and religious revival under the leadership of her King, Jeroboam II. Business was booming; the long struggle with Syria had ended in victory for Israel; the chief sanctuary of the Lord in Bethel was packed to the rafters with avid worshipers. It was morning in Israel. Yet despite all appearances to the contrary, things were rotten to the core. The courts were turning “justice to wormwood.” A new commercial class was gaining unprecedented wealth by ruthlessly exploiting the poor even as they patronized the temple singing the hymns to Israel’s God. It was Amos’ job to tell his people that their wealth was not evidence of God’s blessing, but kindling for God’s fierce wrath. Wealth built on injustice will not be tolerated among the people called to be God’s light to the nations. So Amos calls his people to “seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire against the house of Joseph.”

The parallels here between 8^th Century Israel and 21^st Century Wall Street are not hard to miss. That pervasive infection of greed, selfishness and complete lack of conscience that built a mountain of phony wealth ending in a devastating crash ruining our economy is precisely the kind of sin infecting Israel. Like Amos, there were some lone voices in the business community crying out words of warning, but they were ignored. Though we can surely point to conduct by banks, mortgage brokers and venture capitalists that was absolutely despicable, I believe part of the blame for our present economic woes must fall squarely upon the rest of us who were all too willing to tolerate such conduct as long as it was growing our pensions and increasing the value of our homes. Nobody was trying to occupy Wall Street when the gravy train was on the roll.

Still and all, I think we need to be careful about drawing parallels. There is a difference between Israel and the United States of America. Israel was God’s covenant partner. She was called to be a light to the nations. She had received her freedom as a people and her land from the hand of God. She was God’s chosen people. Therefore, she was judged under the terms of the covenant relationship that her conduct had so grievously violated. The United States is not God’s chosen people. God has no covenant with America. Because America is not a party to the covenant, America is not answerable to its terms. That is not to say that God is unconcerned with what America or any other nation does or does not do. In general terms, God’s judgment falls upon all nations that practice injustice and unrighteousness. In general, God judges the righteousness of a people by how they treat and care for the weakest and most vulnerable in their midst. I think we can say with a reasonable degree of certainty that God is not pleased with the conduct leading up to the crash on Wall Street or with how the economic burdens resulting from that crash have been distributed. That said, Israel, as a people called by God to live in a covenant relationship reflecting a better hope for all humanity, is uniquely responsible for obedience to the terms of the covenant under which that hope is given concrete expression. So this word of Amos is more properly directed to the people of God, Israel and the church, than to Wall Street. So we need to ask ourselves how these words speak to us at Trinity.

Over the years, our church has been blessed with substantial real estate holdings as well as some very generous donations. We must take care lest this wealth become a curse rather than a blessing. I know from bitter experience that when churches come into money, they have a tendency to become more like lawyers, businesspeople and accountants than faithful disciples. It is sobering to realize that Israel’s finest hours occurred at times when she had her back against the wall and nothing with which to defend herself. That is where she most often witnessed the saving power of God. When Israel had wealth, peace and power she tended to forget where these gifts came from and began to imagine that they were hers to do with as she wished.

We cannot forget that we have been called to be the Body of Christ. We are in the business of making disciples-not growing our membership, maintaining our facility or investing our wealth to make more wealth. Money is not evil, but the love of money is. Most of us have a hard time having money without becoming attached to it and allowing it to run our lives. The gospel lesson is a very pointed reminder of that very thing.

Psalm 90:12-17  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1385&cmpgn=5244

This is a gloomy psalm. It is the prayer of a people that has seen years of suffering, hardship and sorrow. Adding to the peoples’ misery is the knowledge that their own sins and folly are at least partly responsible for the predicament in which they find themselves. They recognize in their sorrow the just wrath of God upon the evil they have done and the just consequences of the bad choices they have made. Beyond all of this, the psalm seems to recognize a universal sorrow that goes with being human. No matter how good life may have been to us, it inevitably slips away. Our children grow up and begin living lives separate from our own. The house, once boisterous and chaotic, is now quiet and a little empty. We retire and someone else takes our place. We lose our ability to drive. We might have to move out of the home we have lived in for most of our lives. We reach the point when we can no longer drive. Time seems to take life away from us piece by piece. As it all comes to an end we are left with unfinished tasks, unrealized dreams, regrets about those things of which we are now ashamed, but can no longer change. As I said, this is a gloomy psalm.

Gloomy as it is, though, it contains a ray of light. The psalmist’s prayer was answered. The psalmist concludes his/her prayer with the words: “establish thou the work of our hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” That we have this psalm in the scriptures, and that we will be singing it together on Sunday demonstrates that God in fact “established the work” of this psalmist’s hands. (I should mention that I owe this insight to Professor Rolf Jacobson, professor at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, M.N.) As dark as this psalm may be (and it is pretty dark), it is nevertheless a testament to God’s determination to make of our lives something beautiful and worth preserving. It reminds me of Paul’s assuring word to the disciples at Philippi: “And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6. Time may be at work taking us apart piece by piece. But the Spirit of God is also at work piecing together the new person born at our baptism into Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:12-16  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1387&cmpgn=5244

The writer compares the word of God to a double edged sword. This is a violent image. A sword has one purpose and that is to slay. Yet as discomforting as this image may be, it is entirely appropriate. To hear God’s word is to come very close to death. Recall the terror of Isaiah when confronted by a vision of God in the Temple of Jerusalem: “Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” Isaiah 6:5. The word of God discerns the “thoughts and intentions of the heart.” In its light, nothing is hidden.

I think a lot of us put a lot of effort into keeping secrets on ourselves. It has been said that every person has three selves: the one she is, the one she thinks she is and the one everyone else things she is. It is the first one that I am least likely to know because I am overly concerned with the first two. I want to believe that I am a person of integrity, courage, wisdom and vision. Those character traits are important to a minister. So I when I am less than honest, I rationalize it by convincing myself that it is all to spare the feelings of those who might be offended by what I believe to be the truth. When I am cowardly, I tell myself that discretion is the better part of valor. When I make mistakes, I make excuses. When I am at a loss over what needs to be done, I try to exude confidence. It takes a lot of energy to maintain a disguise. So as painful as a confrontation with God’s word may be, it is also liberating. There is nothing like the relief a person feels when a good and trusted friend says, “Who do you think you’re fooling. I know what’s going on here. Let’s talk about it.” Suddenly, the pressure is off. I no longer have to maintain the façade. I can stop making excuses, explanations, justifications and get down to the business of taking responsibility and making the changes I need to make.

That brings me to the second part of this lesson. The writer of Hebrews does not urge us to flee in fear from this blinding light of God’s word, but rather “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  God never wounds us unless it is for the ultimate purpose of healing us. If the word of the Lord sometimes scares the hell out of us, it is because we were made for something better than hell. Those of you who have undergone joint replacement surgery know that healing can sometimes be a long and painful journey. A successful hip replacement can relieve you of a lot of pain and give you more freedom of mobility. But to get there, the pain is going to have to get worse before it gets better. So it is with the Kingdom of God. The vision of a new heaven and a new earth where God dwells in our midst and we live together in peace with our neighbors and all of creation is one to which I am irresistibly drawn. Yet I know that I am not the sort of person that could live in such a renewed creation. I need a heart transplant and the only surgical instrument sharp enough to perform that operation for me is the word of God. Only daily repentance and forgiveness among people of faith can assist me in growing into the stature of Jesus Christ. With the psalmist, I must rely upon God to establish the work of my hands. I must trust Jesus to complete what he began at my baptism.

Mark 10:17-31  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1388&cmpgn=5244

This is without doubt one of the saddest stories in the gospels. The way Mark tells it, this young man coming to Jesus yearning for the way to eternal life was sincere. And let us be clear about one thing. When the gospels speak of “eternal life,” they are not merely speaking about some distant event in the “sweet by and by.” Eternal life is life that is spent doing the things that are of eternal importance, the things that matter to God. Naturally, then, Jesus refers the young man to the Commandments, all of which he claimed to have observed from his youth. We are told that Jesus, “looking upon him loved him.”  “You lack just one thing,” says Jesus. But alas, that one thing is just one thing too much for the young man. He wanted to follow Jesus. He wanted to spend the rest of his life doing things that matter
eternally. Instead, “he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.”

I am afraid that I identify with this rich young man. No, I am not rich by Donald Trump standards, but like nearly all Americans, I enjoy a measure of wealth that two thirds of the world can only dream about. I have never had to go hungry. I have never had to travel further than the kitchen sink to find clean water. Like everybody else in America, I feel I am not making enough, that my taxes are too high and that everything is more expensive than it should be. But I have no fear of starving to death or having to sleep on the street or being driven out of the community in which I live. Even if I were to end up broke and homeless, I have enough family and friends that would see to my basic needs and a social safety net that, despite years of trimming down, is still there. That might not get me on the cover of Forbes, but it makes me filthy rich by standards of most the world’s population. I, too, want to live my life for the things that matter eternally, but at the cost of losing my wealth? I would like to think that this is just a hypothetical question. Of course Jesus does not expect all of us to give up everything. This rich young man was a special case because…well, because he was rich. He was addicted to his wealth. Just because an alcoholic must refrain from drinking to maintain his sobriety, that doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to be teatotalers. So the argument goes. Trouble is, there is no indication that this young man was anymore addicted to his wealth than we are. In fact, we don’t even learn that he was wealthy until the end of the story. There is no indication even that Jesus knew about his wealth initially. Moreover, it appears that the twelve disciples, who do not appear to have been rich, also gave up all of their possessions to follow Jesus. I do not believe we can get ourselves out from under this troubling word by trying to make of the rich young man a special and extraordinary case. Giving up everything seems to go hand and hand with discipleship.

This story is so unsettling because it hits us right where we live. Next to the cult of individualism that has become so much a part of the American consciousness, I believe that the greatest threat to the health of the church today is our wealth. Somehow, we have convinced ourselves that we cannot be the church without elaborate sanctuaries in which to worship, a seminary trained pastor for each individual congregation, a Sunday School, numerous programs to meet every conceivable need and a big piece of real estate that does nothing other than provide a place for people to park their cars once a week on Sunday. The churches in the African nation of Namibia cannot afford any of these things, yet these churches are growing exponentially even as American churches decline. The question here is not about individual giving to the church-important as that is. Rather, the question is whether, as a church, we have given all to Jesus. How much of what we do is geared toward satisfying our own wants and needs as members rather than surrendering all to become the Body of Jesus in our community? Do we trust Jesus enough to follow after him doing the things that matter eternally-even when those things are not financially rewarding, desired by our members or promising in terms of increasing our membership? We confess each week in the Creed that we believe in Jesus, but are we ready to put our money where our mouth is? A church’s budget is frequently a portal into its soul. What do our financial records say about who we are? Do they reflect a passionate concern for the things that matter eternally?

Pentecost 19

Genesis 2:18-24
Psalm 8
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
Mark 10:2-16

Prayer of the Day
Sovereign God, you have created us to live in  loving community with one another. Form us for life that is faithful and steadfast, and teach us to trust like little children, that we may reflect the image of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Greetings everyone! As many of you know, I spent the last week out in the Red Rock Mountains of Arizona. In addition to getting in a lot of hiking, I managed to do a little star gazing. With the air as clear and dry as it almost always is in Sedona, it is possible to see more stars than you could shake a stick at. When one looks at “the moon and the stars which thou hast established” you have to ask along with the psalmist, “what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him?” The texts for this week all address this question in some shape or form. One thing is clear: to be human is to be related to other human beings, to all of creation and to God the Creator. When any one of these relationships go haywire, our very humanity is threatened. As the First Letter of John points out, when we claim to love God yet hate our sisters and brothers, we are deceiving ourselves. The one we hate is the very image of God. What we claim to worship as God is in fact an idol of our own imagining. Because we have forgotten that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” we treat it as a bundle of resources we are free to exploit no matter what the consequences to the environment, to human and animal populations or to future generations. To be fully human is to be rightly related to God, to our neighbor and to the rest of creation.

Genesis 2:18-24  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1368&cmpgn=5244

There is an element of humor in this passage that is very much underappreciated. I think that is probably because we have a deeply ingrained sense that religion, faith and the Bible are serious matters. To laugh at something in the Bible seems almost sacrilegious. Often, though, the biblical authors are intending to be funny. They see humor as part and parcel of every relationship worth having, including our relationship with God. Here God observes the earth creature just formed from dust and concludes that “it is not good for this creature to be alone.” So God creates the animals to be companions for this creature. The creature finds the animals interesting and perhaps endearing-so much so that it gives them names. Still, none of them proves a suitable companion. It appears that God is unsure of what is needed here; that God is fumbling around, turning out ever new and exotic animals that somehow fail to meet the creature’s deepest need. Then, in a flash of insight, God suddenly “gets it.” The creature needs a companion of its own kind. “Finally!” says Adam as Eve appears on the scene. “That’s what I’m talking about!”

Note well that the name, “Adam” is not really a proper name. It means simply “taken from the ground,” or “earth creature.” We cannot call Adam a “man” in terms of gender because at this point there is no gender. Without the male/female polarity, the concept of gender is simply unintelligible. As Phyllis Trible, a prominent biblical scholar, has pointed out, the Hebrew word for “man” in the sense of a male human is not used in the Adam and Eve creation story until after the creation of Eve. Only then is Adam referred to as “ish” which means “male person” over against Eve who is “ishah” or “female person.” Consequently, the notion that the male human was created first and the female afterwards is erroneous. Both male and female came into existence when Eve was drawn from Adam.

This text has been cited frequently in the so called culture wars as a proof text for the definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman. “Therefore, a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife and they become one flesh.” This, it is argued, constitutes the normative pattern established from the beginning. However, it seems to me that we need to read the text from the beginning rather than the end. And the lesson begins with God’s declaration that it is not good for Adam to be alone. God does not proceed with divine dispatch to the obvious (to us) conclusion, but experiments with the creation of other life forms to meet Adam’s need. But Adam’s loneliness is not merely “aloneness.” His longing is for an intimate relationship with one of his own kind. This longing cannot be satisfied by the companionship animals bring or even by his unique relationship to the Creator. The creation of male and female, then, was designed to alleviate that emptiness Adam experiences.

So this lesson is about more than just marriage. The primary concern from God’s standpoint is not the establishment of an institution, but rather the alleviation of Adam’s loneliness. Marriage is obviously not the cure all for loneliness. There are cold and loveless marriages in which one or both spouses find themselves desperately lonely. Conversely, there are unmarried individuals whose friendships, family and professional lives afford them a wealth of deep and lasting relationships in which they find comfort, support and much joy. This is yet one more reason why we should avoid getting hung up on the definition of marriage and hear what this scripture says about what makes us human: the deep and lasting relationships that meet our longing for intimacy and help define us as persons.

The question then, with respect to gay and lesbian persons, is this: “Is it good for them to be alone?” The text tells us that a man leaves his family and cleaves to his wife because it is not good to be alone. If that is the same reason for same sex relationships, namely, to find intimacy in a faithful union that overcomes loneliness, can we say categorically that such relationships are contrary to this scripture? Can the mutual commitment and self giving in marriage which for St. Paul reflects the love between Christ and his church likewise be found in same sex relationships? If so, what is to preclude recognizing them and celebrating them as marriages? It seems to me that we need to begin with the question presented to us by the scripture rather than the contentious and narrowly defined issues presented in the current political debate over the legal definition of marriage. Indeed, before we even begin talking about marriage, we need to have the more basic discussion over what makes human life “good.” We know that our being alone is not good. So how do our relationships enable us to overcome our loneliness and grow in our humanity? In what ways do our relationships hinder such growth, foster loneliness and frustrate our human development? In what way do societal expectations, class distinctions and cultural differences affect our ability to build friendships, cooperation and trust? St. Paul teaches us that in Christ, distinctions of race, class and national origin cease to be barriers and instead become doors to deeper community and oneness. Is that happening in our church? Is it reflected in our mission and ministry?

Psalm 8  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1367&cmpgn=5244

This beautiful hymn glorifying God is bracketed by a refrain at its beginning and end that says it all: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth.” This hymn recognizes both the glory of God under which all created things pal in significance. Yet it is this very glory that dignifies and gives meaning to creation generally and to human beings in particular. Small as we are, God does take note of us. More than that, God has given to us human beings the unique task of ruling over creation and having “dominion” over every living thing.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
⁴ what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals^* that you care for them?
⁵Yet you have made them a little lower than God,^*
and crowned them with glory and honor.
⁶ You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
⁷ all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
⁸ the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

It is important to understand what is meant by “dominion.” Note that the dominion we are given is over the works of God’s hands. God is still the rightful owner of all things over which we have dominion. We are stewards, not owners. To get an idea of what that means we need to return to Genesis 2:15 which regrettably was not included in our reading for Sunday. The verse reads: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” From the dawn of creation it has been the role of human beings to “till and to keep” God’s garden. This means, of course, that we are not free to make whatever use we will of everything under our dominion. Being made in God’s image means that we human beings have a unique capacity to create. We have the ability to altar the face of the earth in ways that no other creature can. This ability enables us both to enhance the beauty, habitability and productivity of our planet and to wreak catastrophic destruction on it.

Proper human dominion is a pressing issue for us today as the earth’s human population grows and consumes the earth’s resources at an unsustainable rate. A recent United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report says that if the world continues using its resources at current rates, humanity will be getting through some 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass annually by the year 2050. The report described this as “three times its current appetite,” and an “unsustainable” rate of extraction. http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15065771,00.html This sorry state has evolved from our viewing the earth as a ball of resources divided and owned by nation states each claiming sovereign control over those resources within its borders and/or owned throughout the world. Faithful dominion requires a different vision that begins with the acknowledgement that the earth belongs first and foremost to God. Our use of its resources cannot be guided by a desire to perpetuate a way of life that ruthlessly exploits and carelessly consumes with no thought for the health of the world’s ecosystems, the suffering inflicted on our fellow human beings throughout the planet or the welfare of generations to come. Proper dominion over the earth means learning to stop being consumers and to begin living as contributors. That, of course, will affect the homes we live in, the cars we drive (if any) and the way we eat. It will change a host of other daily habits that injure the environment, foster inequality and threaten peace. The psalm does not give us any concrete guidance in implementing these changes, but it does suggest to us that the potential for a better world is within our reach-when we finally learn to let God be God, let go of our desire to possess our planet and recognize it as God’s garden to be tended and cared for.

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1369&cmpgn=5244

Let’s begin with a word about Hebrews. This is an anonymous letter written in the latter half of the first century, probably between 80-90 A.D. In the past, and to some extent today also, Hebrews has been viewed by biblical scholars as a comparison of Christianity to Judaism. The intent, they maintain, is to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity. I don’t buy that. It seems to me that both Judaism and the church faced a common catastrophe, namely, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. Obviously, the Temple was central to Judaism. There are indications that it was likewise important for New Testament church. Jesus cleansed the Temple and taught in the Temple. According to Acts, the post resurrection church gathered in the courts of the Temple. The early church, being primarily Jewish, continued to worship in the Temple with fellow Jews. The destruction of that Temple was widely believed in both Christian and Jewish circles to signal the end of the age and the coming of God’s kingdom. That obviously did not happen. So both Judaism and the church were faced with understanding their existences without the Temple. For Judaism, the fulcrum of faith and life became the Torah and the worship of God it inspired in the Synagogue. For the church, Jesus Christ was the Temple of God, the locus of God’s presence. In my view, Hebrews is not an effort to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity over Judaism, but rather an attempt to demonstrate that the messianic mission of Jesus was not refuted by the destruction of the Temple, but rather lives on through the church which continues to embody that faithful mission.

The passage for this Sunday reminds us that disciples of Jesus are not a people of the book. “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son…” Hebrews 1:1-2. We are disciples of Jesus Christ whose ministry of healing, forgiveness and reconciliation continue in his resurrected Body, the church. Of course, the Bible is critical to us because it constitutes the normative witness to God’s saving act in Jesus Christ. The Bible is not, however, an end in itself. We read it seeking Jesus. We interpret it through Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. We can call the Bible God’s word because it points us to Jesus.

“We do not yet see everything in subjection to [Christ].” That is true today as then. It does not appear that Jesus reigns. Yet contrary to all appearances, we confess that he does. More than that, we live under the belief that he does. For if Christ is not Lord of heaven and earth, the Sermon on the Mount makes no sense. It is not practical to turn the other cheek in the face of aggression. It is not practical to give to people who beg from you. It is not practical to love an enemy that is trying to kill you. At least none of this is practical in a world run by the principalities, the rulers and the assumptions of this age. But disciples of Jesus maintain that Caesar is not Lord. Nor is the invisible hand of the market nor is dialectical materialism nor is any nation state. Jesus is Lord and the day will come when every knee will bow and tongue so confess. Therefore, we throw in our lot with the one we know to be victorious even if that means we will have to take some lumps from those who have not figured that out yet. We take the long view. The Kingdom of God is coming and so we gather as Christ’s Body animated by the Spirit of God so that we can be transformed into the kind of people capable of living in such a kingdom.

Mark 10:2-16  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1370&cmpgn=5244

This passage and the way the church has interpreted it in the past is responsible for a lot of pain inflicted on a lot of people. I can still recall the days when our churches would not perform second marriages on the basis of this passage. I have heard a number of heartbreaking stories about woman who have been counseled to remain with their abusive husbands so as not to “put asunder” what “God has joined together.” So I think it is critical that we get this scripture right.

First, note that Jesus does not dispute the law of Moses in this regard. Divorce is permitted under the terms of the law. Jesus goes on to point out, however, that Moses wrote this commandment “for your hardness of heart.” Marriage was designed to be a life-long commitment. Because “it is not good” for a person to be alone, dissolution of a marriage is contrary to its purpose. Yet because our hearts are hard, many of God’s good gifts to us are ruined. Marriage is one of them. It is important to emphasize here that the “hardness of heart” necessitating divorce is not found solely or even primarily within the divorcing couple. Due to our ever increasingly mobile society, many young married couples begin their lives together and raise their families in neighborhoods far from where they grew up and where their families reside. They lack the family support and encouragement that is often so helpful in building up and supporting a marriage. Demand upon professionals to work long hours takes a toll on marriage. Loss of employment, financial stress and illness of a spouse can test even the strongest marriages. I speak from experience when I say that marriage is too big a job for couples to manage on their own. I am thankful that Sesle and I have enjoyed the support of Sesle’s parents who served as a “second set of parents” for our children when they were small. We never had to worry about babysitting or day care. I am thankful for a vibrant community of faith that stood by me during times of illness in my family. I am likewise indebted to a supportive employer who was flexible enough to give me the time I needed to care for my family in periods of crisis. This week I will celebrate 29 years of marriage-but not with any sense of pride or accomplishment. I know only too well that I owe my successful marriage to a host of partners who stood by me and Sesle in time of need. I also know that there are better people than me whose marriages have broken under the strain of the factors discussed above.

In sum, there are many guilty parties in every divorce, such as uncaring and unflexible employers, unsupportive faith communities, distant and disinterested neighbors and corporate business entities that put profits before the stability of communities and the welfare of their workers. So also, behind every successful marriage there usually are a host of supporting angels that have been present at critical times to encourage faithfulness and endurance. Most significantly, the sins involved with the breakup of a marriage are no different from any other sin. They are covered by God’s mercy and forgiveness. Just as God raised Jesus from death, so also God can bring new life and love out of the ruins of a failed marriage.

Pentecost 18

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29
Psalm 19:7-14
James 5:13-20
Mark 9:38-50

Prayer of the Day
Generous God, your Son gave his life that we might come to peace with you. Give us a share of your Spirit, and in all we do empower us to bear the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Greetings everyone and welcome! As most of you know by now, Sesle and I will be away on vacation from Monday to Friday of this week. We will by flying out to Sedona, Arizona where Sesle will attend a continuing education event and I will be hunting beetles for my son Ben’s research projects. It promises to be an interesting time all around. If you are in need of pastoral assistance, please call the office or one of the lay ministers.

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=215351685

I love the family in which I grew up. I think my parents did a wonderful job raising me and my siblings. I enjoyed doing things with my family for the most part. Family vacations constitute one of the few exceptions to that rule. We never went to Disneyland or any comparable place when we took the two weeks of vacation to which my father was entitled each year. Instead, we drove out from Bremerton, Washington to Iowa to visit my aunt and uncle, stopping in Montana along the way to see another uncle and aunt. This was before air conditioning was standard equipment for cars and long before digital technology transformed the back seats into travelling entertainment centers. We traveled in a Chevy station wagon, my younger sister and me sitting all the way in the back on a seat facing the rear. The car had not gotten halfway through Washington State before my sister and I were whining: “When will we get there? We have to go to the bathroom! We’re hungry! How much longer do we have to drive? Why do we have to go on this stupid trip? Why can’t we just stay home?” Multiply that by several thousand voices and forty years and perhaps you can begin to appreciate Moses’ dilemma.

But now let’s take a closer look at what is going on here. The people are angry. They have been travelling for a long time eating food that is unfamiliar to them. They don’t know where they are going or when they will get there. They have to rely upon Moses to give them that information and it appears that Moses is not altogether clear on the future either. So they complain. “Come on Moses! You told us that you were leading us to a good land! You told us we would live as a free people in our own country. But so far, all we can see is this wilderness that can’t support us. We have to survive by scrapping our bread off the desert floor. When are you going to deliver on your promises Moses? How long do we have to wait?”

Moses is angry too-at God. “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? ¹²Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child,’ to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors? ¹³Where am I to get meat to give to all this people?”

I think everyone who has ever served as a congregational president or in some church leadership position has felt a little like Moses at some point. “Am I the only one here that sees what needs to be done? Is mine the only number in the church directory that everyone calls me for every little thing that goes wrong down at the church? Do I have to do it all?” Now I think we need to stop here and reflect on Moses’ complaint. In fact, God did not lay the burden of all the people on Moses. Moses assumed that burden himself. Has Moses also forgotten that it was God whose mighty works brought Pharaoh to his knees? Does Moses really believe that God expects him to “carry the people in his bosom?” Was it not God who has been carrying the people thus far? Part of Moses’ problem is that he has come to believe he is indispensible. He has convinced himself that no one is capable of leadership except him. Of course, when you assume responsibility for everything, you wind up taking the heat for everything. No human being can remain sane for long under that kind of pressure. God knows that. That is why God does not expect any of us to shoulder the load when it comes to mission and ministry.

Moses discovers that the people, who he sees as the problem, are actually the solution. Moses learns that he is not indispensible, that there are other persons with prophetic gifts capable of sharing his responsibility of embodying God’s vision for Israel. Of course, that means Moses has to let go of some of his power. That is not always an easy thing for leaders. Most of us leaders are convinced that nobody can do things as well as we can. Most of us leaders are convinced that our way is “the” right way. The notion that God might be leading through the insight and knowledge of someone else is a little threatening to us. So sharing leadership is a little frightening. Moses, to his credit, is willing to take that risk. He is secure enough in his leadership role to recognize the prophetic voice of God even when it is spoken outside of “official channels.” When Joshua reports to Moses that there are two men prophesying that were not among the seventy that he “properly ordained,” Moses tells him not to fret about it. Instead, rejoice that the generosity of the Spirit is bigger than our imagination and more expansive than our organizational structures.

This lesson serves to remind us that the church is not made up of leaders and followers. It is made up of a communion of saints each having their own unique gifts for building up the Body of Christ. So leadership in the church is never a question of “who is in charge.” Rather, it is always a question of how best to recognize each person’s unique gifts and to order our life together in such a way as to enable, encourage and support the exercise of those gifts for mission and ministry.

Psalm 19:7-14  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=215351766

The first six verses of Psalm 19 praise God for God’s self revelation in the wonders of the natural world, the heavens, the forests and fields. The second half of the Psalm, which is our text for Sunday, focuses on God’s self revelation in Torah, the teachings of the scriptures. “By them also is your servant enlightened, and in keeping them there is great reward.”  This is not to say, of course, that God rewards people who are obedient to the law with approval or that people who keep the law are somehow immune from suffering or bad fortune. Meditation on the scriptures is its own reward. By so doing, we are drawn closer to God and deeper into the heart of God. By internalizing the scriptures, we give the Holy Spirit a powerful tool for transforming us into the image of Christ. That is why I continue to recommend reading two psalms per day, one in the morning and one at night.

The psalm concludes with a prayer: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.” These words remind us of the admonitions of James the last few Sundays regarding the use of our tongue and the responsibility of being teachers in all that we do and say. This would be a good prayer to repeat each morning before we have had a chance to speak to anyone. It is a reminder that wherever we are, we are always in the presence of Jesus.

James 5:13-20  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=215351830

“The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” Over the years, there have been several studies done in the medical community to measure the “effectiveness” of prayer for people who are sick. The results have been inconclusive. At best, some data suggests that where people are supported by a praying community, they tend to experience a faster and more thorough recovery. Other test results suggest that people who are the object of prayer feel a sort of “obligation” to recover. Because setbacks in recovery might be interpreted as a lack of faith or divine support, knowing that one is being prayed for might actually hinder recovery.

Obviously, the problem here is our understanding of effectiveness. If the measure is simply recovery of the sick person we are praying for from his or her disease, that measure is flawed. Eventually, all of us will suffer an illness or accident from which we will not recover. No amount of prayer will save us from our mortality. Consequently, I don’t believe we can take James to mean that prayer always results in healing the sick. Moreover, James tells us that when we pray for the sick person, the Lord will raise him or her up and forgive his or her sins. Is “raising up” synonymous with healing? It may be so in some circumstances, but not all. Recall that Paul prayed three times for the removal of a “thorn in the side” that he felt was hindering his ministry. We do not know whether that was a physical ailment, but the point is that God did not remove the thorn. Instead, Paul was left to work around it and, in so doing, he discovered that God’s strength was sufficient for his weakness. Indeed, God was able to use Paul’s infirmity to strengthen his faith and deepen his ministry.

Prayer is more than making requests and seeing them answered. One of my predecessors here at Trinity, Rev. Stephen Bouman, recently said that “lament” is that space between what should be and what is. I like that. I believe that prayer often has a dimension of lament where we struggle with a reality that seems to cast doubt on God’s love for us and commitment to our wellbeing. It is in that struggle that we finally arrive at the place where God would have us be. It is perhaps not the place we hoped to arrive at. It is probably much different than what we expected salvation to look like. But it turns out to be a good place nonetheless because it is the place where Jesus brings us.

Mark 9:38-50  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=215351894

The first part of this Gospel lesson is strikingly similar to the interchange between Joshua and Moses in our first lesson. James and John come upon a man who is doing the work of exorcism in Jesus’ name. He is not one of the Twelve or any of the disciples commissioned by Jesus. So James and John put a stop to his ministry because, “he was not following us.” Notice the pronoun “us.” The disciples do not say that this man was not following Jesus, but only that he was not with them. In modern parlance, we might say that this man was not “properly ordained” or “approved by the credentialing committee” or “on the clergy roster of any Synod of this church.”  Now we need to be careful here. As I said before, the church is not a community of leaders and followers. It is a communion of saints each of whom is given gifts for building up the Body of Christ. As one who has experienced firsthand the destructive power of ecclesiastical regulations and guidelines that operate to crush opportunities for ministry that don’t fit into narrowly defined understandings of how ministry is to be done, I resonate to Jesus’ admonition here. Do not stop someone from exercising his or her gifts for ministry just because they don’t fit into any predetermined pattern. Rather, examine the pattern to see what must be transformed so that this gift of ministry might be gratefully accepted and integrated into the full Body of Christ.

Still and all, a call to ministry is never merely a matter of individual choice. It is the Body of Christ, the communion of saints that must help each person discern, develop and exercise his or her gifts for ministry. I might be entirely wrong about what my gifts and abilities are. I may be immature and inexperienced in my exercise of those gifts. I am always in need of the church’s guidance, encouragement and discipline in the exercise of ministry. That goes not only for pastoral ministry but for all ministries in the church-music, education, stewardship, administration, etc. Nobody’s office in the church is above the discipline and admonition of the church.

What follows is one of the few instances in which Jesus preaches hellfire. Whoever causes one of these “little ones” who believe in Jesus to fall will have hell to pay. Is this a continuation of Jesus’ teaching last week to the effect that there is nothing greater in the kingdom of God than to receive a child? Or is it a further response to James and John for their suppression of the exorcist? I think it might be a little of both. The lectionary readings from last week began with the question: “Who is the greatest?” Jesus first tells the disciples that to be great in the kingdom of God, there is no more noble task than to receive a child. Under this standard, moms, babysitters and nursery school teachers will be elevated over presidents, generals, captains of industry, bishops, pastors and seminary professors. How does one lead with greatness in the kingdom of God? Well, certainly not by suppressing the work of other people who are exercising the power of that kingdom under the poor excuse that they don’t have the proper credentials. Rather, greatness requires keeping the borders of the church porous, hazy and in flux so that it will be capable of receiving the gifts of the Spirit wherever they are manifest.

Exercising the worldly greatness of hierarchy in the church is a crime against the Body of Christ. It ignores Jesus’ dictum that the last are first and the first last. It imports methods, values and structures into the life of the church that are antithetical to the ways of the Spirit. In the name of exercising authority for the sake of the church, people acting under such a false understanding of greatness actually stifle the work of the church, hinder the Spirit of God and undermine the church’s witness to Jesus.

Pentecost 17

Jeremiah 11:18-20
Psalm 54
James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a
Mark 9:30-37

Greetings and welcome to all! This last couple of weeks we have seen the start up of another school year. My own inner annual calendar has never been able to shake the orientation developed early in childhood toward Fall as the beginning of the year rather than the end. School played a large part in all of that. The beginning of the school year meant knew cloths; tablets that had not yet been written upon and brand new pencils with clean erasers. The first day of class was truly a new start. My teachers did not know me well enough to form an impression of me, good or bad. I did not have any poor grades, missed assignments or bad conduct to make up for. The coming year was a blank slate waiting for my imprint.

Yet that sensation of newness was also a little deceptive. Some things do not change from year to year. The learning difficulties I experienced throughout elementary and middle school did not go away over the summer. I still had my place in the pecking order of school social life-and it was nowhere near the top. The bullies from last year would be on the playground and lurking about the neighborhood this year as well. I remember that school was often a ruthless, dangerous and carnivorous environment. It is a wonder anyone ever managed to learn anything there.

In fact, however, I did learn a lot at school-and not only from the stated curriculum. School was the place in my early life where I began to wrestle with the big questions: Who am I? What is important to me? What am I willing to take risks for? How much risk am I willing to take? Where does God fit into all of this? I am still not through with those questions, by the way. I don’t believe we ever stop pondering them. The texts for this coming Sunday plunge us into the heart of these big issues. Jeremiah discovers that his prophetic ministry is placing his life in danger. The psalmist faces ruthless enemies. James discusses the true meaning of wisdom and Jesus describes what true greatness is. For those of us returning to the battles fought in school and for those of us who have never managed to escape those battles, these texts offer us some valuable insights into our struggles.

Jeremiah 11:18-20  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1358&cmpgn=5244

The time is somewhere between 609 and 587 B.C.E. Jeremiah had spoken forcefully against the leadership of Judah accusing the royal establishment of idolatry, injustice and oppression. Moreover, as war loomed on the horizon for Judah against Babylon, Jeremiah prophesied the victory of Babylon. Such preaching, especially during a time when the nation faced imminent attack, was thought to be subversive and perhaps even treasonous. Jeremiah was seen as undermining the morale of the people, failing to support the troops and giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Jeremiah was a national security risk. That explains the assassination plot against him. We are not told whether the assassins are agents of the royal establishment or some ultra patriotic group of rival prophets. In either case, it is clear that Jeremiah is in danger and that this danger will only increase if he continues his preaching.

We seldom experience persecution in this country as a result of preaching and witnessing to Jesus Christ. In some parts of the world persecution goes right along with being a disciple of Jesus and living out your baptism. Such was the case for the New Testament church. Of course, I would like to think that the freedom from persecution we enjoy flows from our constitutional right of free speech and free exercise of religion. Yet sometimes I wonder whether our lack of persecution is due rather to a lack of faithful witness.  Perhaps our society and culture is content to leave the church alone because the church has become so compliant with cultural values and societal norms. Though it is quite uncommon, people still are getting arrested in this country simply for doing what Jesus calls them to do. I refer you to a remarkable message delivered by Shane Claiborne at the recent ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans that I had the opportunity to attend with our youth ministry leaders and five of our young people. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaOzKDRF0D4&feature=related Perhaps our preaching and our discipleship are too tame and domesticated.

The price of faithfulness required of Jeremiah harkens back to last week’s gospel in which Jesus calls all who would follow him to take up the cross. The cross, persecution and opposition, is the shape the Kingdom of God takes in our sinful world. Yet the joy of knowing that by faith we are already living in God’s future outweighs the burden of suffering which that entails.

Psalm 54  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1357&cmpgn=5244

This psalm is a lament; a cry for help to God. The psalmist is threatened by enemies. We don’t know who these enemies are or why they are attacking the psalmist, but they are described as “ruthless” and they are seeking the psalmist’s life. These enemies are not merely political rivals in a hotly contested election or contenders for professional advancement in the ruthless world of office politics. These enemies are threatening actual violence. They mean business. No wonder the psalmist wants to see them punished with evil and put to an end.

At first blush, this psalm might seem not to reflect the attitude toward enemies we learn from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors. Yet while this is surely the ultimate objective, it often takes us human beings time to get there. When we have been hurt, we need to cry. We need to express that hurt and anger in language that sometimes isn’t very nice. Nothing is gained by putting on a false front, suppressing our anger and pretending it isn’t there. The issue is not whether to express our anger and hurt, but how and to whom we express it. That is important for two reasons. First, we learn that God is always open to hearing our prayers-not only when we are filled with praise and thanksgiving, but also when we are filled with anger, hurt and hatred. I don’t know about you, but my religious education did not make that very clear to me. Consequently, there were times when I felt too angry to pray, too hurt to worship and too filled with unworthy emotions to approach God. Through reading the psalms I learned that we are never too unclean, too mean, to petty or too sinful to come before God in prayer.

Second, this psalm teaches us where to direct our anger. The psalmist is not screaming at his enemies “I wish you were dead!” Rather, he is expressing these dark thoughts to God. The psalmist knows that s/he is not in a position to judge the situation. As strongly as s/he may feel that s/he is in the right and the enemies are entirely in the wrong, the psalmist also knows that “human anger does not work the righteousness of God.” James 1:20. In fact, anger has a way of distorting our vision. It is then that we are most prone to see everything in terms of black and white. It is when we are angry that we forget how there is always two sides to every dispute and resort to retribution before even trying to figure out what the other side might be. It is for this reason that the psalmist leaves the business of punishing the wicked and executing justice to God. God and God alone can be trusted to punish the wicked-or show mercy. Knowing that makes it possible to let go of anger and the desire for revenge. That is the first step toward seeing our enemy in a different light and learning eventually to love him or her.

James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=214910244

Once again, I find inscrutable the minds of the lectionary police who feel the need to censor the biblical writers. I find it impossible to believe that these few verses 4:4-6 and the second half of verse 8 were omitted merely to save space. Yet for the life of me, I cannot figure out what it is that they are trying to hide from us. In any event, I have chosen to give you the entire unedited and uncensored passage. Perhaps you will have more success than me in discovering that deep, dark secret.

James begins by asking the question, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” Perhaps we need to pause here and ask ourselves what wisdom and understanding is. If wisdom is nothing more than the accumulation of knowledge, then our generation is surely the wisest yet. Never in the history of the world has so much knowledge been available to so many people. But it should be clear to us that knowledge does not equate with wisdom. As knowledgeable as we are, nations still cannot seem to settle their disputes without resort to warfare. Our agricultural ability has grown exponentially over the last several decades-yet so has starvation and the growing gap between the few very rich and the many poor. I think James is onto something here when he warns us that all the knowledge, understanding and wisdom in the world is useless where hearts are driven by jealousy and selfish ambition. Such wisdom, James points out, is actually demonic.

James goes on to point out that wisdom is shaped not so much by what you know as by what you desire. “What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members?” James 4:1. If your desires are selfish, knowledge will only make your selfish ambitions more deadly and destructive. If your desires are for God and for God’s kingdom, your knowledge will be placed in the service of peacemaking, mercy and reasonableness. James 3:17. So James urges us to “draw near to God” because you are shaped by what you love.

Mark 9:30-37  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1360&cmpgn=5244

You cannot possibly miss the irony here. Jesus has been teaching the disciples that he must soon be handed over to the powers of Rome that will kill him. And this is not just a passing remark. It is clear from the context that Jesus has been making this point with his disciples throughout his journey through Galilee. In fact, that was the point of the journey: to avoid public attention and the distraction it brings so that Jesus could focus with his disciples on the meaning of his mission. At the end of this day of heavy instruction, Jesus asks his disciples what they had been discussing among themselves along the way. If I had been in Jesus’ place, I might have expected the disciples to respond that they had been discussing all that they had heard him say that day. I would have expected the disciples to ask Jesus why he was going to Jerusalem, what he expected to accomplish by getting himself arrested, what purpose his death would serve and what did he mean by “rising again.” But the disciples have been reflecting on something else altogether. They have been arguing over who is to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. This is rather like the teacher who spends the morning painstakingly explaining long division to her class, asks them for their questions and receives only one response: “Is it time for recess yet?”

Jesus responds with far more patience than I think I would have had under the circumstances. He takes a child in his arms and says, “You want to be great? I will show you great.” Now it is critical not to confuse this passage with others where Jesus uses the child as an example of faithfulness and urges his disciples to become as children. That is not the point here. Greatness is demonstrated by receiving the child. Understand that child care was considered women’s work then much as it is today in most quarters, despite the trend toward greater shared responsibility between spouses. Even today, greatness is seldom demonstrated through babysitting. Yet Jesus seems to place a high priority on children. In one of the very few instances where Jesus threatens hell fire, he directs his admonition against persons who cause one of his “little ones” to stumble. Despite his handlers’ efforts to keep Jesus on message with the crowds, Jesus insists on taking time to bless infants. Children are a priority for Jesus. There is no greater task than to care for a child.

It strikes me that our culture’s attitude toward children is ambivalent to say the least. Their parents frequently shower children with money or spend money for them. Not surprisingly, then, billions of dollars are spent on marketing to children. In what I can only characterize as a wildly neurotic and delusional belief in parental ability to ensure a child’s success (however that might be defined), parents in Manhattan compete for limited spots in prestigious pre-school programs that promise to put toddlers on a track to the Ivy League. At the other end of the extreme, there are 1.6 million homeless children in the United States according to the National Center on Family Homelessness. These are kids that get shuffled with their families from homeless shelters, to hotel rooms, to group homes or foster care-or simply live on the street. They suffer from poor nutrition, lack of proper medical care and education that is inadequate to non-existent. Some of these children are undocumented and, in the view of many people, that makes these little urchins worthy of even the sad little scraps that fall from our tables. I have a feeling Jesus would take a different view. Not surprisingly, deep cuts in the federal budget depriving these kids of the paltry benefits they now receive has not created anywhere near the stir made by mere rumors of cuts to Medicare. Unlike senior citizens, children do not vote. Neither do they have super pacs to lobby for them.

The welfare of children has always been a high priority of the church. The first orphanages were established by the church in the first century. Before that time, orphaned children without responsible relatives were doomed to a life of begging, thievery or prostitution. In the year 1886, eleven Lutheran congregations in the metropolitan New York area created the Bethlehem Orphan and Half-Orphan Asylum, to take care of children who were orphaned due to a severe outbreak of influenza within the German communities of New York City. Dedicated on May 30, 1888, the asylum’s mission was to care for and educate orphans and half-orphans to be Christians and useful members of society. http://www.lssny.org/site/history/. Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey (LSM/NJ) began with the establishment of an orphanage in Jersey City in 1904. The LSM/NJ Adoption Program has been a licensed adoption agency since 1948 and offers a multi-faceted statewide adoption program focused on building healthy families and supporting all those touched by adoption. http://www.lsmnj.org/programs-services/community-outreach-services/adoption-program/. These activities are significant insofar as the lives they touch and the values of God’s kingdom to which they bear witness. But they cannot address the magnitude of our children’s needs throughout the country. Only when all hearts are drawn to love the kingdom Jesus proclaims and recognize the greatness of embracing a child can we hope to see a transformation in the treatment of all children.

Finally, as school begins, I am reminded once again that between fifty and seventy children walk past our church twice each day going to and from school. Those of you who have served with me on the council know that I view this as an opportunity for ministry and mission. Thus far, I have failed to generate much interest or discussion on this point. So I would urge all of you to think more deeply about our responsibility to the children in our community, the opportunities we have to minister to them and what resources we might bring to such a ministry.

Pentecost 16

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 116:1-9
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38

Prayer of the Day
O God, through suffering and rejection you bring forth our salvation, and by the glory of the cross you transform our lives. Grant that for the sake of the gospel we may turn from the lure of evil, take up our cross, and follow your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Greetings and welcome back! This week’s lessons have a focus on suffering for the sake of God’s good news. This is crystallized in Jesus call to his disciples to “take up the cross” and follow him. I have to confess that “cross bearing” is a term I use with great trepidation. In common parlance, that expression has come to mean nothing more than a personal inconvenient circumstance, as in “we all have our cross to bear.”  But the cross is not just any misfortune that happens to occur nor is suffering patiently a virtue in itself. No woman should accept her husband’s violent and abusive behavior as a trial to be endured with patience and acceptance. No child should accept sexual abuse. No one should be expected to remain passive in the face of discrimination or persecution on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation. Similarly misguided is the notion that God inflicts suffering upon us to punish or instruct us. We now know that parenting methods that employ the infliction of pain and guilt do not produce healthy children. I don’t believe we can attribute to God child rearing practices that even we know to be defective.

So what does it mean to “bear the cross”?

Isaiah 50:4-9a  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1353&cmpgn=5244

As was the case last week, this reading comes to us from a section of the Book of Isaiah scholars attribute to “Second Isaiah.” For more information on this fascinating prophet, I refer you to last week’s post for the September 9^th readings. This Sunday’s lesson is the third of four poems which scholars often refer to as “servant songs.”  There is no little debate over whether the “servant” refers to Israel as a whole, the prophet/poet or some other figure. It is probably misleading to insist dogmatically on any single answer to this question as the prophetic message of Isaiah (indeed, of all the Hebrew prophets) is layered and complex. In this reading, it seems clear that the servant is the prophet whose message is meeting resistance from among his own people. Nevertheless, the prophet models the call of Israel to live faithfully among the nations in obedience to a just and faithful God. Israel can expect that her faithfulness will bring about ridicule, rejection and perhaps persecution in a world governed by the brutal geopolitics of empire. Yet both Israel and the prophet have the assurance that the God of Israel, who yearns for a new and better day, struggles and suffers with them. The suffering in this case is not good in and of itself. But because it is the consequence of faithful obedience to the God whose purpose is to redeem and restore all of creation, this suffering will not have been in vain.

As we learned last week, the prophet of Second Isaiah had the task of convincing his or her exiled people that the time had come for them to leave their captivity in Babylon and make the perilous journey back home to Palestine. Many of these folks were skeptical of the prophet’s message and motives. No doubt some of them dismissed his daring vision as a mystical pipe dream. It appears that some folks were actually hostile to the prophet. They felt threatened by this impractical call to return to the homeland that was dividing families, disrupting communities and apparently convincing many families to uproot themselves and leave behind their land, livelihoods and loved ones. The intensity of opposition to this prophet is reflected in his reference to “those who pulled out the beard.” Shaving off the beard is a method of shaming a man still very much alive and well throughout the middle east. Taking off facial hair without the benefit of a razor adds a good measure of pain to the shame! We don’t know whether these measures were literally taken against the prophet or whether they are merely figures of speech. Either way, the prophet is experiencing intense opposition and isolation. This prophet is not a masochist. S/he does not revel in pain for pain’s sake. Nevertheless, s/he understands that the call to proclaim God’s new beginning for Israel will necessarily stir up opposition among those who are determined to maintain the status quo. The prophet does not shrink from such opposition, however, because the prophet is convinced that God’s new beginning is inevitable and s/he experiences joy in his or her part in proclaiming it.

Psalm 116:1-9  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1352&cmpgn=5244

This is a prayer of thanksgiving offered by a person who has just come through a very difficult time in his or her life and has reached a level of recovery. The prominent Hebrew Scripture scholar, Walter Brueggemann would probably call this a psalm of “reorientation.” It might well be sung by someone who has endured a long and difficult cancer therapy and received news that he or she is finally “cancer free.” Or it might be heard on the lips of someone who has gone through a difficult divorce that brought to an end a relationship that was supposed to last until death-and found the way back from heartbreak and despair to a healed life of love and trust. This psalm could be the song of a recovered alcoholic or the survivor of an abusive relationship.

This psalm does not explain what caused the psalmist’s suffering. Nor does it not suggest that the psalmist is somehow at fault or that his or her suffering is part of some greater plan. Sometimes suffering just is. There is no explanation for it, but one thing is clear. The psalmist knows that God has not deserted him or her throughout the dark times. God has been present all along the difficult journey from darkness into light. It is important to understand that this journey does not take the psalmist back to “the way things were.” Often, there is no going back. The scars of surgery remain even after a full recovery. Life after divorce can be filled with love, life and hope-but it does not restore the relationship that was lost.

There is no way back to the way things were. There is only the way forward into a better future that God promises.

Professor Walter Brueggemann divides the psalms into three categories: Psalms of orientation, psalms of disorientation and psalms of re-orientation. I believe that is a helpful distinction because at any given time in our lives we find ourselves orientated, disorientated or re-orientated. There are times when all seems well with the world. The job is exciting and filled with opportunities for advancement. Marriage is filled with intimacy, spontaneity and delight. The kids are getting good grades and behaving themselves. There is not a cloud in the sky. A psalm of orientation, of shear praise and thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness and goodness is appropriate.  Then tragedy strikes. The company you work for goes out of business. A spouse proves unfaithful. One of the kids gets sick-really sick. Or that routine X-ray exposes something very wrong going on under the skin. That picture perfect life is thrown into disarray. The darkness seems impenetrable. At times like these, psalms of disorientation give expression to our feelings of panic and abandonment. A good example is Psalm 39 which concludes with a prayer that God would “look away from me, that I may know gladness, before depart and be no more.” Yet even though the psalmist seems to have given up on God, the psalmist is nonetheless still speaking to God! Psalms of re-orientation, such as Psalm 116, are songs of those who have fallen from a secure and well oriented life into disorientation, but have experienced the salvation of a God who has led them out of the darkness and re-orientated their lives. The journey has not been easy, nor does it bring them back to where they were before. Re-orientated people have been changed forever by their trek through the darkness. They now know just how dark and terrifying life can be. But they also know just how faithful and steadfast is the God who continues to lead them even as they pass through the valley of the shadow.

Once again, I strongly encourage everyone to read two psalms per day, one in the morning and one at night before going to bed. There is no better path to deep, meaningful and transformative prayer!

James 3:1-12  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1354&cmpgn=5244

Last Sunday Morning I stopped at the little convenience store on Main Street in Bogota to pick up some milk and cream cheese for the family education hour I hoped would follow the Eucharist. I met a very young woman with a little girl that could not have been more than four years old. The woman greeted me with the words, “Good morning, Father.” Then she said to her little girl, “You see that man? He is a priest. Do you know who a priest is?” The little girl said nothing. “A priest is someone who works for God,” the woman continued. The little girl looked up at me, wide eyed. I have no idea how much or little she understood about God or whether the word “God” had any meaning for her at all. But if she remembers anything from this interchange it will be that people who wear black shirts and collars like mine represent God. That is a scary notion! Now I think I understand why James tells us that “not many of you should become teachers.” Like it or not, we who teach are held to a stricter standard. We can protest that we are only human. We can insist that a clerical collar does not make us better people and that is certainly true. Nevertheless, the collar sets me apart and identifies me with God. Like it or not, I have to live with the consequences.

“We who teach shall be judged with greater strictness.”  That might not seem fair, but it’s true. It does not matter that the instances of pedophilia are actually much lower among priests than in the male population generally. When a clergy person molests a child it is always more devastating. In addition to the permanent emotional scars always left by such abuse, the abused child’s perception of God is horribly corrupted. The public’s perception of the church-which is called to be Christ’s resurrected presence in the world-is irreparably damaged. It does not matter either that clergy are statistically among the least susceptible to crimes of embezzlement and fraud. When a pastor abuses the trust of his or her church in matters of money, the damage to the congregation far exceeds whatever the financial loss may be. Again, the church’s credibility with the public is undermined and so is its witness to Jesus and the kingdom he proclaims. So I read James’ warning with a degree of fear and trembling.

Of course, like it or not, we are all teachers in some measure. Our children learn from us more than they will ever learn in Sunday School about faith, worship and discipleship. We parents are teaching our children by example every waking moment about love, forgiveness, faithfulness and the importance of worship. We cannot avoid being teachers. The question is, how well and faithfully are we teaching? What lessons do our children come away with? What are they learning from our examples about what really matters?

James draws our attention to our use of speech as the chief source of potential destructiveness. It takes only one disparaging word to undo the sense of confidence, self worth and courage that parents, teachers and mentors work so hard to instill in a child. Once a false rumor gets started, it continues to live on, projecting itself over the internet, through mouths of talk show hosts and in idle conversation-even after it has conclusively been refuted. But the most insidious abuse of speech, as far as disciples of Jesus are concerned, is its effect on our witness. Like every other gift, speech is intended to give glory to God and to serve our neighbor. Yet when speech is used to injure, insult and destroy, it becomes “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

The Eight Commandment is clearly implicated here: “You shall not bear false witness.” In his Small Catechism, Luther writes concerning this commandment that “We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.” It is the second part of this commandment that needs our attention. It is easy enough for me to stand by and remain silent when I am part of a conversation in which someone is being attacked. Much harder it is to come to their defense, to speak well of them and try to convince everyone else to give them the benefit of the doubt. This is particularly so in cases where I tend to think that the victim might deserve some criticism or when I have my own reasons for feeling angry at him or her. But whether the absent person is guilty or not, the point is that he or she is absent. That person is the one who needs to hear whatever criticism any individual may have. Speaking it in his or her absence only conveys a one sided account to other people who may not even have any part in the dispute. Such speech, rather than bringing about healing, reconciliation and understanding, instead broadens the conflict and contributes to distortion and misunderstanding.

Mark 8:27-38  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1355&cmpgn=5244

This episode marks the turning point for the Gospel of Mark. Several things are at play here: First, Jesus asks the disciples point blank who they think he is. Of course, we as readers know that Jesus is God’s Son and Israel’s Messiah because we were told that in Mark 1:1. Jesus knows who he is because the Spirit descended upon him at his baptism by John in the Jordan, telling him that he is God’s Son, the beloved. The demons know who Jesus is and are ready to proclaim it-except that Jesus will not let them. Jesus’ disciples, however, remain in the dark about who he is. After Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples ask in wonder, “Who is this, that even the wind and the waves obey him?” Now Jesus pops the question directly, “So, who do you say that I am.” Peter, ever the impetuous spokesperson for the disciples, blurts out his answer. “You are the Messiah.” That is half the answer. Jesus is indeed the Messiah promised to Israel. But he is more than that. Peter’s answer is therefore incomplete. Just how far Peter is from understanding Jesus becomes clear in the next scene.

This is the first place in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus speaks specifically about his coming suffering, death and resurrection. Once again, Peter is the disciple who responds to Jesus’ words-and with a rebuke. Mark does not tell us exactly what Peter said, but Peter seems to have taken Jesus aside to have his conversation in private. On the face of it, it sounds reasonable. It is what good friends do when they hear a friend talking about his imminent death. “Oh, don’t talk rubbish! Things will get better. You’ll see. Nothing of the kind will happen to you. I’ll see to that!” Jesus, however, turns and sees his disciples. Why does Mark add this little observation? What does the sight of Jesus’ disciples do to evoke Jesus’ harsh response to Peter? I suspect that the sight of his disciples reminds Jesus why his suffering, death and resurrection are so important. Yes, the cross might be avoided. Jesus could remain in Galilee with his disciples, teaching in the wilderness, on the lake shore and outside of the towns and villages. That way, he might evade capture indefinitely. Indeed, if Jesus were content to remain on the outskirts, it is possible that neither Rome nor the Jerusalem religious establishment would consider him a threat worth pursuing. But Jesus came not merely to level criticism against the powers that be from a safe distance. He came to challenge the right of those powers to rule God’s creation. He came to establish the reign of God. The world needs to be told that Caesar is not Lord. The world needs to hear that God is not the property of any religious elite. There must be a confrontation between the power of empire that claims to rule God’s world and the Son of Man who actually does. Only so will the world know how different the gentle reign of God over creation is and that this reign of God finally will displace the imperial rulers who seek in every age to grasp the reins of power.

Of course, the reign of God will not be born without the pain, rending and blood that accompanies every birth. Just as Jesus will confront the violent reign of the powers that be with the gentleness of God’s reign on the cross, so the disciples will be called upon to live under God’s kingdom in a world that is hostile to it. The shape of faithfulness to God’s kingdom in a sinful world is the cross. Again, this is not to glorify suffering in and of itself. Suffering is unequivocally bad. Nevertheless, suffering that is incurred as a result of faithful discipleship can be redeemed. Just as God raised Jesus, the one who was faithful to God unto death, so God raises up his disciples whose witness to God’s peaceful kingdom in a violent world leads them into the heart of conflict, persecution and suffering.

Staying alive is not everything. “Survivalists” fail to understand that in making survival the number one priority, they are surrendering what is most precious. The kingdom Jesus proclaims is worth living for. And if living for the kingdom results in our dying, then the kingdom is also worth dying for. As the late Dr. Martin Luther King put it, “If there is nothing you are willing to die for, you have nothing to live for.” Or in the words of Jesus, “What does it profit one to gain the whole world, but lose one’s self?”

Pentecost 15

Isaiah 35:4-7a
Psalm 146
James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17
Mark 7:24-37

Welcome once again to our discussion of the Sunday lessons, this time for Sunday, September 9^th. Beginning this Wednesday at 11:00 a.m., we will be meeting again face to face in the Trinity Memorial Chapel for discussion of these texts. Accordingly, if you can make time to join us and swell our ranks, I encourage you to do so. Of course, you are also welcome to share your thoughts with us here online. Moreover, I would like to remind you that you can have each week’s lessons sent to your e-mail by subscribing to this site, a simple procedure that begins when you click the “follow” tab at the bottom right of the screen.

Isaiah 35:4-7a  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1348

Today’s lesson comes to us from what biblical scholars call “Second Isaiah.” As those of you who studied Isaiah with me four years ago no doubt recall (has it really been that long?), The collection of prophetic pronouncements and narrative put together in the Old Testament book we call “Isaiah” can be divided into roughly three sections. Chapters 1-39 are associated with the prophet Isaiah who lived and preached in the Southern Kingdom of Judah at the end of the 8^th century B.C.E. During this period Judah was living a precarious existence in the shadow of the great Assyrian Empire. Chapters 40-55 were written by an anonymous prophet between 150 and 200 years later. A lot of water had gone under the bridge during that time. The influence of Judah’s nemesis, Assyria, began to wane around 622 B.C.E. During this time, Judah was able to re-establish herself as a regional power, but this renaissance was short lived. The Babylonian Empire rose to fill the power vacuum left by Assyria’s decline and dominated Judah for decades. An ill fated rebellion against Babylon led by Judah’s last king, Zedekiah, ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E. and the deportation of Judah’s leading citizens to Babylon. The conquest of Babylon by Cyrus the Persian and his edict of 638 B.C.E.  permitting the return of peoples exiled by the Babylonians to their respective countries opened up the possibility for the exiles to return to their homeland in Palestine. The prophet of Second Isaiah (chapters 40-55) recognized in this development a new saving act of Israel’s God. Just as God had led Israel out of Egypt through the midst of the Red Sea and the wilderness into the promise land, so now God would lead the Judean exiles out of Babylon, through the desert wilderness back to that same promised land. This is the context of our lesson for Sunday.

Although located within the collection of prophetic material usually attributed to the Isaiah of the 8^th century, these verses are taken from a poetic composition that comes to us from the 6^th century and is therefore attributed to Second Isaiah or a prophet of his or her circle. In order to get a clear picture of what is happening here, you need to read the entire poem which you can find by clicking on this link. http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=213629199 The prophet’s principle concern was to encourage the exiles to return to their homeland in Palestine. Naturally, the exiles were hesitant. After all, most of these people were second generation exiles born in Babylon. For them, exile did not feel like exile. It felt like home. They had built their livelihoods in Babylon and set down roots there. How likely is it that they would want to leave all of that behind to make a dangerous trip through what is now the Iraqi desert to start all over again in a land that they knew only through stories, songs and tradition? The prophet announces that God will be with the exiles no less than with the Israelites in Egypt. God will cause a garden to bloom in the heart of the desert rich with pools of water, vegetation and shade. No dangerous animal will inhabit this Eden like paradise that will stretch from Babylon to Jerusalem. Moreover, the garden highway will remain forever as a memorial to God’s new saving act of deliverance for the exiles. As the exiles set out on their journey home, their illnesses will be healed. The blind will see. The lame will dance and the deaf will hear.

One might fault the prophet for over promising. After all, we know that no such miraculous garden ever sprang up from the desert floor. We know also that the exiles’ journey back to Palestine was difficult and dangerous. Moreover, when the exiles arrived back home they found their beloved city in ruins, the land occupied by hostile peoples and much political resistance to rebuilding the community. Yet in spite of all that, the exiles did in fact return. The prophet’s message inspired them to respond in faith to this new window of opportunity and so a new chapter in Israel’s history began.

I believe this reading is instructive for us on many levels. First, it teaches us to look for the doors of opportunity God is opening for us in the unremarkable occurrences of everyday life. The exiles might have looked at the conquest of Babylon by Persia as no more than a geopolitical event that meant nothing to them. One tyrannical empire conquers another. That is how it has always been. So now we have a new master. So what? It took a prophetic imagination to see in this event an opportunity for something truly new. It took the eye of a prophet to spot God’s hand at work in what most would cynically characterize as “geopolitics as usual.” So where are the opportunities God is making in our life here at Trinity? What doors are being opened? Is God dangling a glorious future right under our nose, but we fail to see it because we are so fixated on the past we lost and to which we long to return? What will it take to reignite a prophetic imagination in our hearts and minds?

Another aspect of all this is that, in some respects, the prophecy failed. The miraculous signs did not occur. The eternal memorial highway from Babylon to Jerusalem never materialized. The rebuilt community did not become the glorious magnet of wisdom and teaching that would draw all nations to peaceful co-existence. Then again, maybe the prophecy has not failed. Perhaps it still awaits fulfillment. Maybe this word of the Lord is bigger and more profound than even the prophet realized. Does God still have plans for Jerusalem? I hesitate even to ask the question because there is so much bad theology out there about the restoration of Jerusalem. Some of that theology calls for uncritical and unquestioned support for the State of Israel based on the mistaken belief that the rebuilding of Solomon’s temple (highly unlikely to occur for many reasons) will trigger a bloody end to the present age and the dawn of a new one-for the survivors anyway. Naturally, we don’t want to encourage these misguided notions.

Still, we ought not to over spiritualize this text. Clearly, Jerusalem is central to God’s saving work in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and broght his ministry to conclusion there. The New Testament speaks of Jerusalem as a potent symbol of the fulfillment of God’s ultimate intent of living among human creatures. Revelation 21:3-4. Jerusalem has been throughout the scriptures a unifying symbol of peace. Yet throughout history, the city of Jerusalem has been anything but that. Like the prophecy in Isaiah, the symbol that is Jerusalem has yet to become an historical reality.

I have never been a fan of “interfaith” dialogue. I find that enterprise generally trite, superficial and unproductive. Nevertheless, I cannot overlook the fact that the city of Jerusalem is a potent symbol of salvation, justice and peace for the three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Perhaps a good place to begin a truly fruitful discussion is around the city of Jerusalem that means so much to all of us. How do we understand the role of Jerusalem in each of our faith traditions? Are we content to let Jerusalem continue being a source and center of bloody conflict? How might Zion become the crossroads where nations come for instruction in the ways of peace and justice? See Isaiah 2:2-5.

Psalm 146  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1347

This is a psalm of praise celebrating the sovereignty of Israel’s God. More than likely, this psalm comes rather late in Israel’s history. There is no mention of the line of David or any hint of the monarchy in Israel. After a half millennia of disappointing kings whose leadership ultimately led to the destruction of Solomon’s temple, the siege of Jerusalem and the loss of the promised land, Israel was in no mood to put her trust in yet another royal figure.

During this binge of craziness that comes over us every four years as presidential elections draw near, we who follow Jesus would do well to take to heart the psalmist’s admonition: “put not your faith in princes or in any mortal that has no power to save.” That includes presidential candidates who tend to make messianic claims. Let’s put some perspective on this folks. What we are doing these days is a job interview-nothing more. We have narrowed the resumes down to two final contenders. One will get the job and the other won’t. There is no more to it than that. Contrary to what the candidates and the pundits are telling you, this is not an historic choice because presidents do not make history. The Lord makes history. The Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord watches over the sojourners. The Lord upholds the widow and the fatherless. Does God use presidents to do that? I don’t know, but I do know that the Lord does not depend on them and neither should you.

Are presidential elections important? Of course they are. So are job interviews, but seldom does the fate of a company hang in the balance over a hiring decision. Even more preposterous is the notion that the flow of history hinges on such a decision. When we start to think otherwise we stray into the sin of idolatry. Either God is sovereign or not.

James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1349

As those of you who were in church last Sunday already know, I will be preaching on the Book of James throughout this month of September. Therefore, I encouraged everyone to read through the entire book of James sometime this week. Oh, stop groaning! It is only four pages long! If you do that, I think you will get a lot more out of the lessons we will be reading and reflecting upon each Sunday.

This Sunday’s lesson begins with an admonition against making judgmental distinctions among people within the church. Of course, there are legitimate distinctions among members of the Body of Christ as Paul points out. There are various gifts given to different members for use in building up the church. Some are called to preach, others to teach, still others to evangelize and so on. But there is no hierarchical distinction here. Rather, each person is to use his or her gift in building up the Body of Christ. It is not important which gift you have but rather how you are using it.

James is not talking about such distinctions here. Rather, he is coming down hard on the practice of importing into the church distinctions of rank, class and social status that deserve no recognition among disciples of Jesus. Distinction based on wealth noted by James is but one example of such improper discrimination. There are many others. Sunday morning is still the most racially segregated time of the week in our country.  Some churches distinguish between charter members or “long time” members and more recent members by affording more respect and giving greater deference to the opinions of the old timers. I believe also that our ELCA is in danger of making its rostered leaders into a special class. Indeed, one of the deep reservations I had and still hold toward the Call to Common Mission agreement between the ELCA and the Episcopal Church in the USA is the provision for setting bishops apart as a special class of clergy uniquely capable of ordaining persons to the ministry of word and sacrament. This model of channeling the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through hierarchical channels has troubling theological implications to say the least. The liturgical pomp and circumstance that has grown up around the office of the ELCA bishop and has trickled down to parish pastors as well over the last couple of decades hardly reflects the kind of leadership Jesus models for us in the gospel and certainly does not make the greatest among us like the least.

Often I believe churches practice an unintentional but deeply improper discrimination against children. I have never favored the practice of running “child care rooms” during the worship service or conducting Sunday School classes while the grownups are in church. Yes, I know how hard it is to be in church with small children. I raised three of my own. I know what it is like trying to keep them pacified, taking them in and out to the bathroom, enduring the annoyed and agitated stares of people in the surrounding pews. I’ve been there and done that. But I will add that I don’t regret a minute of it and I believe that there is no better place for a small child to be during the worship service than in the worship service. And let me go on record here to say that, as a pastor, I don’t care how loud, disruptive or hyperactive kids get during worship. From my perspective, there is only one thing worse than babies crying in church: no babies crying in church.

Mark 7:24-37  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1350

I don’t much care for the way Jesus treats this Syrophonician woman, but I can understand it. Jesus went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. This is gentile territory, territory where Jesus probably would not be generally known. Evidently, he wanted it that way. Jesus entered a home intending not to be seen or recognized. Jesus had had enough. He had fed two crowds of people after teaching them for several days. He has had to endure constant sniping and criticism from his enemies. He has had to put up with the faithless and dimwitted antics of his disappointing disciples. Now Jesus is entitled to some down time. But even in this district where he should be anonymous, he cannot be hid. A woman comes crying after him, begging him for help. Jesus snaps at her. “Let not the children’s bread be thrown to the dogs!” That sounds harsh and it is. But it is just a fact of life. Not even Jesus can heal everyone in the world. You have to draw the line somewhere, don’t you? Furthermore, dogs are dependent animals. They live from the hands of their masters, “the children.” If the children are not fed, the dogs will perish as well. Jesus needs his bread. If he doesn’t get it, nobody gets fed.

Yet the woman will not leave it there. Yes, she says, the children must be fed. But even so, there is enough left over to feed the dogs. This remarkable woman is turning back on Jesus his own teachings that have been demonstrated not once, but twice in his feeding of the five thousand and four thousand respectively. God always provides enough for everyone’s need (if not for everyone’s greed). We cannot tell from the text, but it would not surprise me if Jesus smiled at this point as if to say, “Alright, you got me.”

If it is a little discomforting to see Jesus getting tired, irritated and losing his cool, perhaps that is because we forget that he was, after all, fully human. Jesus got tired and cranky like everyone else. Jesus was afraid of suffering and prayed to be delivered from the cross. When he was crucified, the pain, the suffering and despair was real. It was not just Superman playing dead. Living faithfully as God’s son did not make Jesus any less human. In fact, you could say that Jesus is the only one ever to have lived a genuinely human life.  We say that he was without sin not because he lacked human limitations, but because he lived faithfully within those limitations trusting his Heavenly Father with all matters beyond those limits.

The second story in this Sunday’s reading is Jesus’ healing the deaf and speechless man. This healing is intensely personal. In contrast to the exorcism of the Syrophonician woman’s daughter whose demon was cast out from a distance, Jesus gets physical here. He touches the man’s ears. He spits and touches his tongue. He looks up to heaven and sighs. He shouts, “Be open!” The casting out of the demon in the prior story seemed almost effortless. This healing seems to require a great deal of exertion on Jesus’ part. I am not sure what is going on here. Is Jesus slowing down? Is the frantic pace of his ministry as related in Mark’s gospel finally starting to take its toll? In any event, Jesus once again enjoins this man who has received the benefit of healing to secrecy. As in prior instances, Jesus’ admonitions prove ineffective. The news of his good work spreads despite his efforts to keep it confidential. It appears that not even Jesus can keep a lid on the good news of God’s coming reign.

Pentecost 14

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Greetings once again to our weekly reflections on the Sunday lessons. As many of you already know, daughter Emily has arrived safely in Rhodes, Michigan where she is beginning a year of pastoral internship at Hope Lutheran Church under the instruction of Rev. Reed Schroer. She has been given a warm and enthusiastic welcome. You can view Hope’s welcome message to Emily and find out more about her church and its ministry by visiting the website at http://www.hopeinrhodes.com/. I ask that you keep Emily in your prayers as she begins this new chapter in her pastoral instruction.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1343&cmpgn=5244

The lesson from Deuteronomy marks a new chapter in the life of Israel as well. Moses addresses his people, Israel, as they stand poised to enter into Canaan. The years of living as wandering nomads have come to an end. Israel’s settled future as a nation in its own right is about to begin. The critical question is: what sort of nation will Israel be? At the dawn of history, Cain asked God rhetorically, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” I think Cain’s attitude reflects the mentality behind most nations of the world. We look after ourselves and our own. We guard jealously our sovereignty and our national interests. Even within nations there exists a hierarchy of loyalties. My state, my community, my tribe, my family-the further away you travel from the people nearest and dearest to me, the less I care. I don’t want my tax dollars squandered on people down in Haiti. As a matter of fact, I don’t even like to see them spent on my own fellow Americans that I deem unworthy of assistance. Why should I be responsible for them? Israel, however, must be a nation guided by a different spirit reflected in different national priorities.

Moses makes clear to Israel that God did not liberate her from Egypt and bring her safely through the wilderness only to create another Egypt, another oppressive empire living off the forced labor of its oppressed subjects. Israel is not to be distinguished by its commercial wealth or its military might. When the nations of the world look to Israel they are not to be terrified of its power or dazzled by its wealth. Instead, they will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” vs. 6. “For what great nation is there,” asks Moses, “that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us; whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?”  vss. 7-8. Israel’s greatness lies in her recognition that the earth is the Lord’s. Her possession of the land is a gift given not in perpetuity, but as a sacred trust to be used for the greater glory of her God. Unlike Egypt which oppressed and enslaved the aliens living within its borders, Israel is instructed “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Israel is not to replicate Egypt (or Arizona either for that matter!). Furthermore, Israel is to be a nation without poverty. Disparity in wealth there may be, but Israel’s statutes and ordinances governing commerce and agriculture ensure that no one must ever go without the necessities of life: “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger; I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 23:22. Furthermore, “If there is among you a poor man, one of your brethren, in any of your towns within your land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” Deuteronomy 15:7-8.

Jesus also made it clear to his disciples that they were to be an alternative community modeling a different way of living together. “You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45. The community of disciples we call the church is a kingdom without borders. It is a household where rich and poor, strong and weak, saint and convict sit at the same table, eat from the same loaf and drink from the same cup. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, straight or gay, legal or illegal, criminal or law abiding citizen. All of these are called to be one body of which Jesus Christ is the head.

Psalm 15  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1342&cmpgn=5244

According to the Cambridge Bible Commentary on the Psalms, archeologists have recovered a number of religious inscriptions instructing worshippers in the ancient world concerning the preparations to be made and conditions to be fulfilled before entering a shrine or temple. These texts usually set forth a list of cultic requirements for cleansing, proper ritual attire and acceptable offerings. Psalm 15 focuses instead on the characteristics of character and ethical conduct as critical for determining worthiness to approach the Lord in worship. See Cambridge Bible Commentary on the Psalms, J.W.  Rogerson & W. McKay, (Cambridge University Press, 1977) p. 65. The requirements for approaching the Temple have less to do with placating the desires of a ritualistically finicky deity than they do with conduct of the worshiper toward his or her neighbor. There is much that could be said about the importance of truthful speech, faithful friendship, speaking well of one’s neighbor and honoring one’s promises. But I want to focus on just one characteristic of the righteous worshiper that caught my eye this week.

The one worthy to approach the Lord in worship does not put out his money at interest. Vs. 5. This injunction sounds a little archaic to generations raised in an economy that runs on credit. Unless we are one of the fabled 1%, most of us buy houses, cars and education for our children with money we have not yet earned. If there were no credit, I would not own a home and my children would likely not have had a college education. Hopefully, I would be able to find a rental unit within walking distance of the church. Otherwise, I would have to rely on public transportation or the kindness of my wealthier neighbors. There is no question that credit has allowed me to enjoy a lifestyle to which I could hardly expect to come close without it.

On the face of it, there is nothing unfair about reasonable interest. If I receive money from the bank that I have not yet earned, it is only fair that the bank be compensated for losing the use of its money for a period of time and for taking the risk that I might not be able to pay it back. But there is more than fairness at stake here. There is something fundamentally troubling about the fact that the middle class lifestyle many of us enjoy; the business opportunities that many entrepreneurs are able to seize; and the chances for making quick and easy fortunes on equities and commodities markets all are based on money which has yet to be made or on the future value of goods or business ventures that is speculative. If everything from my car to Facebook is being paid for with phony money-that is cause not only for financial concern but for deep moral reflection. There is an element of profound self deception here that hides the true cost of what we are purchasing and conceals the risks of the transactions we enter into. The projected cost as well as the anticipated profits from fracking for natural gas, exploiting offshore oil and building nuclear energy plants cannot possibly reflect the potential economic, environmental and geopolitical forces that might very well erase all profit and inflict losses now unimaginable. The value of the fruits and vegetables we purchase does not reflect damage inflicted on the soil and ground water by pesticides, agro fertilizers or the destabilizing effect of holding prices down through use of low cost foreign labor both here and abroad. What we should have learned in the 2008 debacle applies not only to mortgages, but to everything we purchase in a credit driven society: an economy that grows by encouraging people to spend money they don’t have to buy things they cannot afford is bound to crash sooner or later.

I am not suggesting a return to barter economy. Nor am I suggesting that you all go out and cut up your credit cards (though in some extreme cases, that is actually good advice). I do believe, though, that in this time and place when everyone is fixated on “the economy,” people of faith need to go beyond the sterile debate over how best to revive it and begin questioning the fundamental assumptions that underlie our economic relationships and whether those assumptions ring true.

James 1:17-27  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1344&cmpgn=5244

First, a word or two about the Book of James: Though styled as a letter, the book reads more like a string of sermonetts on different topics. There is no lack of debate among scholars as to whether James, the putative author of the letter, was actually the brother of Jesus we meet in Acts addressing the earliest disciples of Jesus, or a disciple of James writing in his name to a second or third generation Christian community or some other Christian leader named James. Though many of the teachings in the book are close and even identical to the sayings of Jesus, Jesus is mentioned only twice. For a more thorough review of the book, its origins and content, I urge you to read the summary written by Prof. James Boyce of Luther Seminary at Enter the Bible, http://www.enterthebible.org/newtestament.aspx?rid=59

The one theme that strikes me particularly this week begins at verse 19. “Let every man be quick to hear and slow to speak.” This is at variance with the encouragement I have always been given to “speak up.” As a shy introvert, I suppose that encouragement was a salutary influence. Yet as introverted as I might be by nature, I am just as prone as anyone to let anger take the wheel of my heart. Frequently, I take issue with people before trying to understand what the issue is. Often, I am more interested in refuting people I believe to be in error than in listening carefully for whatever truth may lay at the heart of what they are saying. Even when I remain characteristically silent, that does not mean that I am listening with care. Often my silence is spent in crafting my response to an argument I have not thoroughly considered. So shy people no less than extroverts must take James’ warning to heart.

Perhaps this admonition is also a good one for the church as a whole. We set great store by preaching-as well we should. Our ELCA has produced a number of provocative and thoughtful statements addressing important moral, social and ethical questions facing our world today. But as important as it is to speak boldly and truthfully, James reminds us that it is equally important to listen carefully and empathetically. I wonder what a ministry of listening would look like? I must confess that I have often been tempted to publicize a special event at our church inviting everyone in the community who has left the church, who is not interested in the church or who is angry at the church to come and tell us why. For our part, we would promise not to argue or even answer their charges. Our role would be simply to listen.

I would love to do that some day and perhaps I will. The only thing that gives me pause is doubt about my ability to keep my mouth shut. I am sure that I would hear many criticisms of the church that seem unfair, inaccurate or misplaced. I would be tempted to jump to the church’s defense with some well reasoned response. But that would defeat the whole purpose. The ministry of listening is just that: remaining silent; making space for people to express their hurt without having to fear retaliation; showing hospitality to strangers; and creating an environment in which reconciliation is possible. So what do you think? Are we up for this?

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23  http://www.workingpreacher.org/bible_passage.aspx?reading_id=1345&cmpgn=5244

Once again, the lectionary people have so thoroughly butchered this text that I hardly know what to do with it. Generally speaking, chapter 7 of Mark begins with a dispute as to what constitutes uncleanness. The disciples’ eating pods of grain in the fields with “hands defiled” sparks a dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees. Mark tells us by way of a parenthetical remark that the Pharisees do not eat without washing. It should be noted that this has nothing to do with hygiene and everything to do with ritual cleanliness. Jesus does not reject this practice per see. Rituals serve as reminders that every aspect of life is holy for God’s holy people. This is particularly true for meals. (That should come as no surprise for disciples of Jesus whose most significant worship activity is the Eucharist.) But ritual is distorted and burdensome when it becomes a master rather than a servant. When sickness or hunger prevent a child of God from enjoying the Sabbath rest God intends for all his creatures, it is sinful to prevent healing or preparation of food that would open the door to Sabbath rest for such excluded persons. So also the disciples, being out in the field and having no access to water or vessels for cleansing, should not be prohibited from receiving with thanksgiving what God provides to satisfy their hunger. The disciples were actually exercising their right to “gleaning” discussed in our review of the Deuteronomy text above. Where God makes provision for the poor, no one must seek to revoke that provision by resort to humanly devised rituals however useful or legitimate those rituals might be.

Excluded from the Sunday reading is Jesus condemnation of the use of “corban” to deny an aging parent the support owed by their children under the Ten Commandments. Vss. 9-13 The point here, too, is that the law was intended to serve God’s people in honoring God and loving the neighbor. When the law is used to circumvent that purpose, it is abused. A literal application of the law that violates its spirit is just as evil as outright disobedience.

Jesus goes on to discuss what makes a person unclean. Clearly, it is not what goes into a person, but what comes out. This theme will be repeated in the story of the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter Jesus heals.