Sunday, November 15, 2015

What Large Stones!

Sermon for Proper 28 Year B - RCL

Track 1

1 Samuel 1:4-20

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, `I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs."

“Look! What large Stones and what large buildings!” What a way to start a reading. I almost wish we could stop right there with our reading from Mark. But no. Next we get into the text about the end of times and the destruction of the temple. As we approach the end of the church year the texts always turn to the expectation of something to come. The end of the world as it is known and the coming reign of God. Today we have the last reading from Mark for our church year. Next Sunday is the last Sunday before we start advent when we remember Christ the King. So what are we to do with this reading?

The disciples have just come out of the temple and they are in awe. It was a huge building. When I was on vacation n Europe I went to several wonderful cathedrals and I was impressed. I am sure I said something similar. Wow – what a wonderful stone cathedral! How magnificent! Or if you happen to be traveling with me you would hear me say things like – Wow look at that ornate pulpit! I can’t imagine preaching from such a pulpit Or Look at that magnificent pipe-organ. Just like the disciples we are impressed by earthly things. We like to visit and be impressed. But what does Jesus do?

Jesus predicts a time when the temple will be no more. Wow. Talk about asking for it. The occupation force – the Romans would not like this kind of talk. It would be another reason to Jesus to be put to death. And when we read about the charges against Jesus later in the gospels this is one of the reasons given for why he should be crucified – But we get to that part in lent! So it is no wonder that the disciples wait to ask Jesus about his prediction in private. It is bad enough he said what he did in public.

But Jesus really does not answer their question. Instead Jesus says. "Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, `I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines.”

As in other places in Mark’s Gospel Jesus tells the disciples that following him is not going to be easy and many people will try to lead us astray. And what is worse for us is the signs Jesus mentions seem to be all around us today. Nations are at war. There are earthquakes. There are famines. The terrible attacks in France just this past week. So is this the end of times?

There are people who fixate on the “signs” all around us and are happy to predict that we are nearing the second coming of Christ. That the end is near. From time to time we do get people “decoding” the bible – almost like they have a secret decoder ring! They predict a specific time for the faithful to leave this earth and for the destruction of those of us left behind. And I am sure that I would not be someone they would predict would be taken away!

Or perhaps this makes you think of a street corner preacher – perhaps with a sign saying the end is near – predicting the end and telling you to repent. Now I have to say that I read this – and the rest of Mark Chapter 13 – about the end times and I have to go to the end of chapter 13 where Jesus tells the disciples “Keep alert – because you do not know when the moment is coming”. No one knows.

Jesus goes on to say that all of these signs are the birthpangs. Jesus is not really focusing on the end but on new beginnings. And that the new beginning is going to be hard. But the good news is that new life comes from birthpangs.

This should be good news for all of us. It should be good news especially to you. Right now St. Matthews is in the midst of birthpangs. The discernment of how and what will be here is happening – perhaps not as fast as we would like but the Holy Spirit has her own timetable!

This reminds me of a story my mother has told about being pregnant – I think with me – and when she was very near to term her relatives say in the living room staring at her and asking when I was going to come. Her answer was I would come when I was ready and to stop sitting there staring at her and waiting. New birth will ultimately come on its own schedule – like any baby!

The worship of God and the wonderful outreach of this community will continue. The form may be different but I don’t hear anyone saying that it won’t continue. But entering into new life is never without mess. Entering into new life is never without some pain and discomfort. At our diocesan convention on Saturday we were reminded of a saying of our new Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. “The God that is behind us is bigger than any thing that is in front of us.” Our God is bigger than we often acknowledge. Our God has our !

Being a disciple of Jesus in a time when people are awed by large stones – just as much or more today than 2000 plus years ago – is not easy.

Verna Dozier – one of my favorite authors said this about the new creation that Jesus is talking about here “…the kingdom is here, the kingdom is still to come. It is a faith statement about the dream of God.”[1]

There will be a new birth. That is why we are here. We are called to be the agents of change. We are called to show a world that worries more about what Starbucks puts on its cups – or does not put on their cups – than it does about feeding the hungry - that the new kingdom is happening now. We are called to be change agents. We are called to help bring God’s dream of a kingdom of love to fruition in each of our corners of creation. We are called to show the world that God’s Love exists everywhere – and especially on this corner of Edison and Bell!

Amen.

[1] Dozier, Verna J. “The Dream of God, A Call to Return. 1991.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Jesus Wept

All Saints Sunday – Year B-RCL

Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

I have to admit that this is one of my favorite passages from the Gospel of John. It is a place in the gospels where I can certainly relate to Jesus – it is a place in John where we get to see the incarnate Jesus at his most human. Jesus Wept. In John’s Gospel there is an assurance from the very beginning that Jesus is the Christ – the Son of God. The Gospel of John starts not with the birth of Jesus in a manger but with Jesus being present at the very beginning of creation. For John there is never a question of who Jesus is. That he is the messiah.

It is in John’s Gospel that we read that Jesus wept. The death of his friend Lazarus stung Jesus. Jesus knew that he had the power to overcome death but death still stung. It still evoked tears. And this is a passage that gives us permission to mourn a loss. It gives us the permission to weep. We also hear that Jesus was greatly disturbed at the death of this friend. Jesus reaction is one that I bet all of us have had at one time in our lives. Jesus’ reaction at the death of Lazarus gives us permission to hurt and to be angry. It gives us permission to grieve. Growing up in a society that taught that boys don’t cry it gives me permission to cry – which I admit is not something that is easy for me. Jesus wept. So we can weep.

Today as we remember all the saints who have gone before us. Today we are explicitly given permission to remember.

Death is not easy. Even the so-called good deaths – those deaths that have given relief to suffering and pain – are not all that easy. And some deaths seem to sting more than others. When we are touched by the death of children or very close loved ones the hurt is strong. No matter the death the loss always catches us up short. There are saints in my life that I remember fondly and for no reason, after many yeares, the loss will catch me up short at the strangest times. One of the saints in my life was a wonderful woman - Nell. For Nell the great commandment to Love God and Love neighbor was practiced with wild abandon. She loved God’s creation in ways that I can only strive to duplicate. She was always there for me in so many ways.

After my Godfather died she called me every Tuesday at 6:30 AM. She called me then because she knew it was my early day at college and that I would be up getting my day started. She called for a year – every Tuesday – to check in and let me know that it was ok to grieve. She is now counted as one of the saints and every so often something will remind me of her. It might be the smell of an oak woodland in summer. It might be the picture of her than hangs in my house. It might be the sound of bird-song, she was a great bird watcher! It can be anything and even after all of these years a tear will come to my eye – or a smile to my face.

Today we remember all the saints – known and unknown. We read names from the Book of Remembrance and bring photos or other things that represent those who have joined the ranks of the saints and offer them to God on an altar of remembrance. It is a time set aside for us to remember. It is a time to remember their earthly pilgrimage with us. It may also be a time to weep again at our loss. And we can be comforted in our sorrow. We can be comforted that even the incarnate Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus.

We also need to remember those Saints who have nobody to remember them. They are surely just as much part of the host of Saints as those we hold in our hearts. When I visited the great Abbey Church in Melk I was struck by two Unknown “crypt Saints” who are in glass coffins on two side altars. The inscriptions said that they had no idea who these people where in life. But in death they offered them names. One they named Clemens and the other Friedrich. We know nothing about their lives before they ended up in Melk but in death they are saints.

Today is also a time to remember that God has power to destroy death. Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb. Even though Martha warned Jesus that Lazarus was sure to stink after being dead three days – Jesus still called his name and even in death Lazarus responds. Jesus will do the same for us.   When we are in the depth of despair and hurt Jesus is calling our names. Calling us out of whatever tomb we have entered. Jesus has the power over death. Physical death and the little deaths that we all experience in our lives. Jesus doesn’t care that we may stink. He will call our names anyway. All we need to do is respond.

We don’t know what life after death looks like. The book of Revelation promises us that we will be with God. That death will be no more:

"See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them as their God;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them;

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away."

God will wipe away our tears. That is why I am here. The gift of the incarnate Jesus – the promise that God dwells with us. The gift of God weeping at the death of his friend. And the promise that in our grief it is God who wipes away our tears. We don’t read today that we are not to grieve. We read that even our incarnate Lord wept. And that God will wipe away our tears.

All we have to do is listen for our name. And we will be called. It doesn’t matter how much we stink or how much we think we are unlovable. The truth is that God loves his creation so much that God dared to dwell with us. God dared to cry with us. And God will dare to be with us for all time.

Sermon on Mark 10: 2-16

Sermon for October 4, 2015 – Proper 22B - RCL

Track 1

Job 1:1; 2:1-10

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12

Psalm 26

Mark 10:2-16

Some Pharisees came, and to test Jesus they asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her." But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Our Gospel reading today is hard to preach about. It is hard because it has been used by some as a reason to exclude. It is hard because it has been used to hurt people. I would rather ignore the text and perhaps preach on Job – that shows how much I would rather ignore this text. Or perhaps skip past the part of the passage on divorce and go straight to the nice scene of Jesus blessing the children. But it is exactly because it’s hard that we have to look at this passage.

To start to understand this passage we have to put it into the societal context of Jesus’ day.

In Jesus’ day – and for many cultures for centuries after this – Marriage was not about love. It was about property rights. Women where used to make alliances between families. Women were considered property of their fathers until they are given to another man in marriage. If you look at the royal families of Europe you will see many marriages made to create alliances and to avoid wars!

If a man divorced a woman she was vulnerable. She had no protection. That is why the law required the man to give a certificate of divorce to the woman so that she could show why she was single – especially if she was single with children.

There were two schools of interpretation in Jesus’ day – one that stated a man could divorce a woman for any reason – and another that there had to be a serious reason – such as adultery to be able to divorce the woman. And yes for the most part it was only the man who could make the divorce – although there were some exceptions.

It seems that Jesus was in particular addressing the idea that the divorce could be for any reason – the woman burned the steak – divorce her. A new prettier woman had moved into town and the man wants to get married to her – divorce the old wife. The man wants to set up a new alliance with an important family - divorce her. Jesus says divorcing just so you can go with another wife/husband is adultery.

Marriage today is different – at least in our society. It is more about the couple finding love and wanting to make that relationship a covenant. Jesus says that we should look at marriage as God looks at creation. Marriage is about a covenant relationship where two people have agreed to hold each other in covenant – together. One partner is not above the other. Marriage is all about relationship

Today the church has come to recognize that sometimes divorce is the right answer in some situations. We don’t take it lightly and the church encourages people to seek guidance. But sometimes love has died. Sometimes there is abuse. Sometimes the sin would be staying in a dead marriage. But we still teach that divorce is not the answer to wanting something new.

That is also why we require pre-marital counseling in the church. The church says that we are not to enter into marriage unadvisable or lightly. But in situations where the relationship has died or perhaps has become abusive divorce may be the right thing. Even with today’s more liberal divorce laws I personally don’t know anyone who takes divorce lightly. Both marriage and divorce are not to be taken lightly.

But marriage is not the only place where one finds relationship. It is not for everyone. Married people are not better than single people. Divorced people are not lower than married people. If there is sin in this Gospel text it is when we use it out of context to hurt people.

It is when we demonize the divorced person

It is when we hold single people as lower than married people

It is when we hold the vulnerable in contempt

When we say it is all about me and no one else.

The second part of this reading is the glue that holds it together. Jesus welcomes the child into his arms and blesses them. Children in at that time were some of the most vulnerable in society. Jesus once again is reaching out to the vulnerable.

And then Jesus say “"Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." Jesus is saying that the kingdom of God exists for the vulnerable in society. Even with today’s hyper-individualism where it is all about me – Jesus says that it is not all about me. It is all about me in relationship. In relationship with God and in relationship with creation – in relationship with each other. That is what creation is about.

All of us are vulnerable at times. We may not like to admit it. It is especially in those dark times of vulnerability where God desires to enter into our lives. And our Job is to act as agents of God when we see the vulnerable.

That is why we are here. To help bring God’s dream for creation into reality. A dream where we hold each other in relationship. A dream of a kingdom where all of creation is nurtured. When we are welcoming the vulnerable of today into our lives we are helping to bring Gods dream into reality. When we welcome children into our midst we are bringing God’s dream into reality. When we welcome the hungry we are bringing God’s dream to reality.

I invite each of us to enter into partnership with God. To welcome all people into God’s loving embrace.