"You hypocrites!"

Sermon for August 25, 2019 – St. Paul’s SacramentoProper 16C – RCL Track 1

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 71:1-6

Hebrews 12:18-29

Luke 13:10-17 

Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

After last week’s Gospel reading of Jesus saying that he did not come to bring peace but to bring fire.  Not to bring unity but to sow division, I am happy this week to come back to the Jesus that I expect to encounter in the Gospel of Luke.  We expect healing stories in the Gospel of Luke.  After all it is the in the Luke’s gospel that Jesus starts his ministry of healing in a synagogue by reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and saying that that he was the one that the prophet predicted when Isaiah said:

 ““The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,”

Today we encounter the Jesus that we expect to encounter.  Today we have an amazing story of healing.  An amazing story of Grace.  The woman in this story did not approach Jesus for healing.  She, like Jesus, was planning on attending the sabbath services at the synagogue.  It seems that she was not there seeking a miraculous healing.  She was there, like the others, to worship God.   When Jesus sees her come in, he sees the spirit that has bent her over, and calls her over.  Jesus sees not just her physical suffering but sees her spiritual suffering as well. Jesus calls her over and simply tells her that she is free from her ailment and she immediately stands us and began praising God.  There is no prelude dialogue.  There is no proclamation that her faith has made her whole.  There is simply the grace filled healing from Jesus. 

And here is where the story gets interesting.

One of the leaders of the synagogue took issue with the fact that Jesus has just done some work on the sabbath.  And not only did he do work but he did it in the place set aside for the worship of God. In the synagogue.  Jesus, in the eyes of this leader has broken God’s law about keeping the sabbath holy.  He does not object per se to the healing but objects to the time and place of the healing.  He would, it seems, be perfectly ok with the healing if it took place on any other day.  He is upset with the breaking of the law of the sabbath.

Now before we too start calling this man a hypocrite perhaps we should look into our own hearts.  I bet we all have rules, or norms, that have risen in our hearts to the level of laws.  And I am willing to bet that we get pretty upset when those laws are broken.  I certainly have norms that, when violated, can make me upset.  Some of them are pretty silly too.  Like the one about not trying to hold a meaningful discussion with me before at least the second cup of coffee has been consumed.  Others are more serious.  Like taking the commandment to love God and Love our neighbors seriously – although I admit that even with that one, I can fall far short of my own ideal. 

We also take secular laws seriously.  While we may disagree with some of the laws and regulations the government has set four our wellbeing there is a set that we would take as important.  We feel strongly that killing another is wrong.  We feel strongly that abuse is wrong.  I feel strongly that we really should stop at stop signs and for red lights – especially having suffered the consequences of a car not stopping! To name just a few. 

In our worship space we have spoken and unspoken rules of interaction.  And when those are violated, we can get pretty upset.  I belong to a Facebook group of Episcopalians.  And while many of the posts are requests for prayers there are some that talk about when people’s “rules” for worship are broken – and how dare they.  A recent post – which generated many comments – was about the passing of the peace.  The author’s norm was that the peace should last about 10 seconds with a polite handshake only to those in the near vicinity.  Anything longer, anything more expansive than that was not worship and was really degenerating into an intermission that interrupted the flow of worship.  That is certainly not the norm in this congregation – although I have attended churches where that is the norm.  There is no law about how to pass the peace – the prayer book simply says that the “ministers and people may greet one another in the name of the lord.”  We all can get pretty upset if our worship norms are violated.

In the case of the leader of the synagogue he is not just upset that a norm was broken.  He was upset that a commandment that was given to honor the sabbath was broken.  He was advocating for a strict reading of the commandment that came after the people of Israel were set free from the Egypt.  He is worried that if you let some work happen during the Sabbath that pretty soon the sabbath will lose meaning.  David Lose, a preacher I follow said “Which is what the leader of the synagogue is worried about. Once you start making exceptions for this reason or that, pretty soon no one is really keeping the Sabbath and it’s lost its point altogether. And it’s not just the Sabbath. The whole law is like that -- keep making exceptions and it’s not really a law anymore; it’s more like a suggestion, with little or no power to protect and preserve us.”^[1]

Jesus, even though he called this man a hypocrite, is not calling for the abolishment of the law of the sabbath.  He is calling for a different interpretation of the law.  He points out that there are already exemptions allowed.  There are actions that can be taken during a sabbath that look like work even in the strictest readings.  Jesus reminds him that livestock are allowed to be taken for water.  Jesus argues that one is allowed under the sabbath rules to take actions that preserve life.  In this story Jesus says that this daughter of Abraham – this decedent of the house of Israel – a faithful member of the synagogue – should not have to wait until the day after the sabbath to be healed.  She had already suffered for 18 years – another day was a day too long.  For Jesus this act of healing was no more work that taking livestock to water.  It was a mercy that promoted life.

Jesus argues that the law of the sabbath allows for healing.  It allows us to give those in need water to drink and food to eat.  It allows us to expand the reach of God’s kingdom into the places where we live.  Jesus is not telling the people to ignore the rules around the sabbath.  He is instead allowing a more generous reading of what can be allowed.  He is advocating that allowing actions that bring about God’s dream are allowed.  Actions that show God is loved and all of our neighbors are loved – all of God’s beloved children are loved are allowed.

If we continued to read this chapter in Luke Jesus goes on to tell the parables about the Kingdom of God.  The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the Kingdom of God is like yeast – parables that we skip for now.  But they make clear that the healing was not a breaking of the law but was the in-breaking of the kingdom of heaven. 

David Lose said “Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God, and while the law helps us make sense of and get more out of life in the kingdom of the world, it must always bend to the grace that constitutes the abundant life Jesus proclaims. For above and beyond all the laws ever received or conceived, the absolute law is love, love God and love your neighbor. Or, perhaps, love God by loving your neighbor.”^[2]

The good news is that Jesus calls us to mercy and forgiveness.  Jesus calls us to bring about the inbreaking of the kingdom of God. Jesus does that by showing us examples of where we can interpret the law with grace.  Where we can read the laws with a heart tuned to healing.  Jesus calls us out when we, like the leader of the synagogue, read the laws, and our own norms, in ways that preclude being agents that bring God’s love into our world. 

This reading from Luke calls us to look into our hearts and souls.  To look for those places where we worship at the altar of idols.  To look for those times when we see others not as children of God but as disturbances to our sensibilities. To look into our hearts to see where we fail to welcome the stranger into our midst because their reading of God’s commandment is different than our own. 

Jesus tells us later in Luke that it does not take much for the inbreaking of God’s love.  A small seed, a measure of yeast, seemingly insignificant actions, cause the inbreaking of God’s love into our world. In today’s reading the healing of a women who had been bent over for 18 years showed God’s kingdom of love.  I invite you to look into your heart and see where you might need healing in order to see the inbreaking of God’s love, to look and see where you might be overly strict in your interpretations of law and norms that prevent God’s inbreaking love.  And most importantly to look and see what seeds you have that will cause the inbreaking of God’s love into our world.

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^[1] http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=2699 Accessed August 24, 2019

^[2] ibid

The Reign of God has come near - indeed in is here!

Sermon for July 7, 2019Pentecost 4C Proper 9 – RCL

2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
Galatians 6:(1-6)7-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace to this house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, `Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'

"Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

The readings today have a theme of healing – healing by unlikely people.  One theme that stuck out to me was ‘who do we consider to be people of God?’  In the reading from Second Kings there are assumptions made about who had the power to cure the soldier’s leprosy.  Not only who but how!  It was assumed by the king of Samaria first, that there ought to be someone in his kingdom that could heal his commander, and second, if the power exists in Israel then it must rest with the king. 

I think we all too often have similar thoughts – in today’s hyper nationalistic world the assumption is that the power to do the right thing, the power to heal, must rest in our location.  As our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry reminded the clergy last we we are not talking about red vs blue states, or the US vs Russia.  I am talking about the rise of nationalistic talk all over the world lately.  The rise of leaders who talk about the importance of keeping their nations pure ,so that by some spoken or unspoken purity code, all will be well with their people. 

The other assumption is that Naaman expects that he will only be healed by a physical interaction with the prophet.  He wanted the prophet to come out and wave his hands over him!  He can’t imagine that God could work in any other way.  That God works through unexpected people in ways that we can’t begin to predict.  For Naaman it is a servant – one who probably was risking a lot to talk to the commander – that told him about the prophet and also a servant that challenged him to try the “simple” way of washing in the river to be healed. 

If we look around us I bet we will see the same kinds of things going on.  There are the same assumptions about who is in, who has power, and who we should turn to to “heal” what is ailing us and our world. And yet I see people with no power – at least in the eyes of society, working to help people, working to help provide healing.  I have seen people who do not have a home reach out to others to provide healing.  I see it in the ministry that happens in our parking lot and in the church and parish hall during the week.  A place where people look out for each other, a place where we feed people, a place where we invite those who feel society has separated into “the other” into places of healing.  Invited into places of sanctuary. 

Look around it is happening all around us...

Sister Libby – when she retired from Loaves and Fishes was not content to sit around so she started Mercy Peddlers – to go out and visit folk where they are.  Their website says that the mission of: “ Mercy Pedalers are bicyclers and tricyclers reaching out to men and women experiencing homelessness on the streets. It is a ministry of presence and action based on the “Works of Mercy” and emphasizing “Welcoming the Stranger”.”^[1]  A group of people making a difference by proclaiming the kingdom of god – not necessarily with words but with actions. 

Today’s gospel lesson is one that gives me hope.  Hope because Jesus does not send one person out to proclaim God’s kingdom.  Jesus does not send one person out to heal people and cast out demons.  Jesus sends out 70 – and he sends them in pairs.  Seventy people can seem like a lot of people being sent out – especially when we otherwise tend to hear about the twelve apostles in the Gospel lessons. David Lose, a preacher I follow, pointed out that 70 can either seem like a lot or too few.  He pointed out that 70 is about the size these days of the average mainline congregation – a size where many people are worrying that they are in decline and dying – but Jesus found that number was a good size to proclaim the reign of God. 

The Gospel lesson provides a lot that we could use in our ministry.  It instructs us that ministry is frequently best done in community.  Not that a one on one encounter can’t provide healing and proclaim God’s near presence – but that it certainly helps us all to have someone to work with.  Because sometimes – despite our best efforts our works, our being, will be rejected by those we are trying to help.  That our work in proclaiming God’s healing presence will be rejected by those we think of with secular power.  And especially during those times it is good to have someone else with us – someone we can talk to; someone with whom we can examine our actions and see if we need to change our approach – or someone to simply offer us an understanding ear to hear our stories.

Another helpful thing in today’s reading is the promise that Jesus instructs the 70 to declare to people.  Jesus instructs the 70 to declare that “The kingdom of God has come near to you”.  Most of the time when I read this passage I hear the part about offering peace to the households and staying where that peace is received.  The part about sticking around and not searching for the best lodgings in town but to stay with the first house that welcomes you.  And conversely if you are not welcomed to shake the dust off your sandals as you leave the town.  An act that could be seen as condemning those who did not provide welcome. 

A story that sets up in our minds that some were included, and some were excluded.  There are those that welcomed Jesus’ advance party, those preparing the towns for Jesus to came through on his way to Jerusalem, and those that rejected the advance party.  Those who obviously are going to be welcomed by God and those who will not be welcomed because they rejected God’s advance team  made through some unlikely people – people who were following an itinerate Rabbi – people that were likely not from the best of society. Considering all the complaints we read in the Gospels about Jesus eating with the outcasts and sinners the 70 probably where not considered socially the best of that society. 

But this week another part of this story jumped out to me – And that is the promise that Jesus instructed the 70 to proclaim to those they encounter.  The promise that the Reign of God had come near.  Look at it again.  That promise is not to be offered only to those who accepted the peace that flowed through these unlikely proclaimers of God’s peace and healing.  It was to be proclaimed to those who reject it as well.  When I have read this in the past I heard – in my minds ear – differing ways of the promise being offered. 

To the group that accepted the peace – to the group that allowed the healing of God to come into their towns I heard in my mind a sincere promise.  And I admit I always add to the promise – I hear “Rejoice!  You have accepted God and you have felt his healing presence!  The reign of God has indeed come near to this place.” 

Conversely To the group that did not welcome the 70.  To the towns where they are shaking the dust off their feet I usually hear something else!  I hear in my mind “You fools!  You have rejected God.  You have rejected the nearness of the reign of God.  Pity be to you! You have rejected the nearness of God”  A warning rather than a promise.

But what if we don’t interject our own responses into the promise.  What if we read it truly as a promise to both those who accept and those who rejected the 70.  A promise that in both cases the Kingdom of God has come near.  That God’s presence is near – indeed is here.  And we are not responsible for being the gatekeepers of God’s love.  We are called – like the 70 to go out and offer God’s peace, God’s Love to a world that may or may not accept it – that doesn’t make it any less near! 

David Lose said, “the phrase “the kingdom of God has come near” is, ultimately a promise. Yes, it may call us to account. Yes, it may invite us to look more critically at how we treat others. But ultimately, it is the promise that, in God’s kingdom, identity is not something earned or asserted or fought over or claimed and gained at someone else’s loss. Rather, identity is something conferred as a gift, as we discover that we are – each of us and each person we encounter – God’s beloved children.

In God’s kingdom, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you have done. It doesn’t matter what nationality or race or gender or occupation or sexuality or age you are. It doesn’t matter where you were born or what economic status or influence you may have (or not have). These designations may be important to us, even at times useful on a day to day basis. But they just don’t matter all that much to God. So while all these descriptors and any others we can think of may describe us accurately, even at times helpfully or importantly to us, yet they do not define us. What defines us is how God sees us, as we discover who we are by remembering whose we are: God’s beloved child. And that, … is always good news.”^[2]

Our call as followers of Jesus has not changed much in over 2000 years.  And if we really look around at today’s followers of Jesus we will still see a mix of people that some in society would accept as leaders and others would draw a line and consider outcasts.  All of Jesus followers are called to offer God’s shalom, God’s healing to a world greatly in need of healing.  We are not called to draw lines that separate people from God’s love.  To separate those who we see as worthy.  We are called to keep drawing the circle bigger.  To offer our world an example of healing,  To offer it even if it is rejected.  And to hear the promise that even in rejections God’s healing, loving presence has come near – indeed has come here.

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^[1] https://mercypedalers.com/about/about-mercy-pedalers/

^[2] http://www.davidlose.net/2019/07/pentecost-4-c-good-news-or-bad/