Jesus

Living.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

“God of life, you summon the day to dawn and call me to create with you. You are the Rock from which all earth is fashioned. You are the Food from which all souls are fed. You are the Force from which all power lines travel. You are the Source who is creation’s fountainhead. You are the Heart from which all hearts are beating. You are the Mind from which come thoughts and dreams. You are the Eye from which comes all my seeing. You are the Gift from whom all mercy streams. You are the Ache from which comes all my longing. You are the Pain in which I bear my grief. You are the Wind by which all souls go winging. You are the One from whom flows all my life.”

―Ray Simpson, Celtic Prayers for the Rhythm of Each Day

Luke 20:27-38

The Question about the Resurrection

27 Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him28 and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man[a] shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; 30 then the second31 and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. 32 Finally the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

34 Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.37 And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 20:28 Gk his brother

When I was a freshman in high school, I used to love getting into debates with my older sister who was a senior at the time. My sister is brilliant, she was in the highest academic school in Louisville, where we grew up, made straight “A’s” and went to the University of Louisville on a full academic scholarship that I think ended up paying her to go to school. So, when we got into a debate, I would look for those moments, you know, the “gotcha” moment. Now, we had some good debates on politics, religion, family life, etc. But, the one debate that would get heated was which was a better school? The university of Louisville, or Kentucky? 

One day, I had the gotcha with her as we were having a rather heated “dialogue” on the two schools…my sister, Beckie, got so frustrated with me, she picked up a chair and threw it at me…luckily, she wasn’t a good shot and missed me, but she did hit the door next to me pretty hard…there was a big hole in it…can’t hide that. 

When mom and dad got home…you can guess who got into trouble.  My sister are I fine together these days…not much debate on UK or UL. Much deeper things…

But, it was a moment back in our teenage years of wanting to win.  

This is an odd story in our gospel lesson…it’s about marriage, and in the first century, they had traditions that we don’t understand.  And, there’s some deeper going on, the Sadducees are trying to win an argument, much like my sister and I were trying to do those many years ago.

And, I have to admit, my first thought in reading this passage reminds me of the scene of the marriage ceremony from the moving “Princess Bride”.  

So, our message this morning is about marriage…or “twu wuv”.  Let’s dig deeper.

Our gospel story this morning is about this group of folks called the Sadducees.  They understood the law of the day well, they were also a part of the power structure of that day.  They came to Jesus with a question about marriage…but, they really were not interested in a conversation about marriage.  They wanted to debate, to work towards a “gotcha” moment with Jesus.  The Sadducees, along with the religious leaders, the Pharisees, sat on top of the proverbial social order.  They had it made.  Along comes Jesus making all sorts of statements, interpreting things differently, having a different take on the temple and its future, talking about relationships over institutional preservation…saying things like the Kingdom of God is here, in our midst.  

So, the Sadducees did just that, they presented Jesus with an issue to try and trip him up.  They were devout Jews, but they were also rational thinkers and didn’t believe in the resurrection.  They believed that when you died, you died.

The Sadducees brought up this issue of a woman marrying someone, then her husband dying without a son, marrying his brother, then the same thing happening several times, but still without a son.  She would die eventually without an heir, therefore, with Jewish custom of that day, she would not have a strong identity.  Because she had no children, no one could make claim…so, in the resurrection, whose wife would she be?  This was a patriarchal society, and even this question has undertones of 1st century sexism and unhealthy patriarchy.  But, they were trying to trick Jesus into either denying the resurrection, or making a social statement about marriage.

Jesus, gives a wonderful answer.  It’s interesting to note the tone as well.  Jesus is being treated in a very condescending way, he’s also being pushed into an argument that he doesn’t really care to win or lose…that’s not Jesus’ way…winning or losing.  Jesus is more interested in people and authentic friendships, Kingdom living….real living than some philosophical question about marriage in the resurrection.  

Jesus knows that this question isn’t about marriage…it’s about power, control, and the Sadducees wanting to prove their worth by trying to get Jesus in a gotcha moment.  

Who was going to be married to who in heaven wasn’t an issue…marriage is a gift in this life to be shared equally between folks, but even the question of would there be marriage in heaven is moot.  In the resurrection, there is only pure relationship, real life, and it’s not hierarchal or sexist.  It’s interesting to note that he mentions casually that no one is “given” away in the resurrection…thus a simple statement that takes away the patriarchal system of giving women away at the time.

He goes on to paint a picture that in the resurrection, one is with God and with others in perfect, loving unity.  That’s the way of the Kingdom, that’s where we want to live and find our being, now and in the future.

They were using a trap, but Jesus steps over it.  He also quotes from Moses at the burning bush.  When Moses asks God what his name is, Moses responds by saying that he is the God of Jacob, of Isaiah, etc.  The God of the living, not the dead.  

Friends, how is this applicable to us today?  Well, my hope is that you see many things in this passage in Jesus’ actions to not get caught up in trying to prove yourself through winning arguments…which is a good reminder in this endless election season.  But, to also see that God calls us to be alive, truly alive.  We do experience death…not only physical death, but relational death with others, and even within ourselves.  We see this often in how we treat others or are treated by others in ways where we try to somehow “win” rather than simply love and work towards unity or true friendship.  Yet, there is a better way.  As Jesus followers, we are called to love as Jesus loved, to practice true love if you will.  How did Jesus love so well?  Because he allowed himself to die to himself and others…daily, and at the end of his life…knowing that love always wins and leads to resurrection.  A new and fresh start.  We spend so much time living the way we’ve always lived or thinking and acting at how we always have, but God calls us to follow the way of Jesus and to die to ourselves in order to have resurrection and to truly find ourselves.  

Our church is experiencing resurrection…I see it, glimpses of it all of the time…we are having lots of good discussions around here, and in the midst of those, we are moving towards new life as we let go of winning and let God move and dance in our friendships with each other and with others in our neighborhoods and families.  

We are invited to live into this resurrection life daily…we are all one body. 

Zach.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

A Celtic Blessing

Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.
May the road rise to meet you;
May the wind be always at your back;
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
May the rains fall softly upon your fields.
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of God’s hand.

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

“Zaachaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he…”

I grew up listening to that song in Sunday school.  It’s ingrained in my brainwaves.  Our Gospel reading this morning, Luke 19:1-10, is about the story of Zaacheaus.  And, I think we can find ourselves in this story.  I know I can…there are times in my life when I’ve been curious, when I’ve wanted to see what’s going on…and have found myself being discovered, or discovering something about myself.  

The writer of Luke wants its readers to see someone who is on the journey towards seeing themselves in a different way through the generosity of God.  By showing God’s love for those on the margins of society, the writer shows Jesus as being very generous and that invokes a response of gratitude.

Throughout Luke, there is a central theme on “seeking and saving the lost” in preceding stories before today’s passage.  Jesus’ perspective on what it means to be “in” or “out” is fundamentally different from what society at that time believed which is evident in the crowd’s “grumbling” about Jesus’ desire to stay with Zach who was considered a “sinner” and thus one who was ostracized to a certain degree in that society. Oftentimes in the church today, we can relate as we are called to love those on the margins and to call out, in love, those in power and on the “inside”.  

Luke’s gospel has been referred to as the “Gospel of the Outcast”.  Each time Jesus encounters someone marginalized, he sees something more in them than the culture of that time…he sees someone made in the image of God and created for relationship.  

Zacchaeus ran to the front of the crowd in Luke 19:4 and climbed a tree in order to see Jesus.  Was this because he was short or because he wanted others to notice him?  What was his stature in the community?  There is a “larger” narrative here than Zacchaeus’ physical size. In this passage, the Greek word for “stature” comes from “mikro” which means “small”.  In the NSRV this is translated as Zacchaeus being a small man or short.  It could it also mean that he was simply not well regarded in the community and was not looked upon with respect.  He was a chief tax collector, his job was to collect money owed to the government and he was “wealthy” as he collected more money that was required…and those around him resented him for that.  Yet, Jesus saw something deeper in Zach, his humanity and called it out.  

In verse 9, Jesus identifies Zacchaeus as a “son of Abraham” and that “salvation has come to this house”.  The Greek word for salvation in Luke 19:9 is defined in this verse as meaning salvation in the NSRV, it could also mean “preservation”.  It could also be referring to Jesus as being salvation.  The point is that he saw Jesus as Lord in 19:8 and Jesus saw him as a “son of Abraham” and he is somehow “saved” now.  This passage reverses the societal order and gives Zacchaeus validation as a “clean” member of the community. 

Zacchaeus, “with joy” welcomes him into his house as he asked to do.  Not only does he recognize that Jesus is Lord with words, he responds to Jesus’ request to come to his house with action. This joy and desire to act faithfully leads him to give away half of his possessions to the poor and to repay any he may have wronged in Luke 19:8, well beyond what was required by Jewish law. God sees faithfulness in an entirely different way than simply following all of the laws.  Faith has to be genuine and based on God’s generosity to us and his coming to us, not us to him.  Jesus sees a deeper faith in Zaachaeus on that day…a curiosity that led Zach to a deeper trust.

Recognizing God’s generosity as Jesus sees Zacchaeus brings a fundamental change, transformation, in the way Zacchaeus sees himself and how others may see him.   

Friends, on that day in Zacchaeus’ life, he died to his old self and was raised up into the beginnings of his new “self”.  It’s fitting to know that this transformation happens throughout life.  We all have the invitation to die to our selves at some point in order for new life to begin.  As we remember those that have died in the flesh, may we remember that their Essence, their souls, are in the Resurrection, the new birth of Christ within and all around us.  It is fitting that we remember these folks and then baptize dear Blakelee, remembering that that the cycle of life, death, and rebirth are a part of all of us…and that just as Blakelee’s baptism symbolizes humanity’s dying, being put under the water, that all of us also rise up with Christ out of the water into new life.  It’s an unending cycle…may we live in awareness of it, be awakened to it, just as Zacchaeus was.  

Humbled.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

God to enfold me,
God to surround me,
God in my speaking,
God in my thinking.

God in my sleeping,
God in my waking,
God in my watching,
God in my hoping.

God in my life,
God in my lips,
God in my soul,
God in my heart.

God in my sufficing,
God in my slumber,
God in mine ever-living soul,
God in mine eternity.

(Ancient Celtic oral traditions – Carmina Gadelica)

Luke 18:9-14

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

A couple of years, I made a bold statement about preaching.  We were talking about belief and practice at our college/young adult gathering that we had when I was pastoring at Immanuel in Clifton.  I quoted an author that I have enjoyed reading over the years is George MacDonald.  He was a children’s, theology, and fiction writer in the late 1800’s from Scotland.  He once said that God isn’t interested in our theological doctrines, but in our obedience, or awareness, to or of God and how we honor others.

Specifically, George MacDonald says “to hold to a doctrine or an opinion with the intellect alone is not to believe it.  A person’s real belief is that which a person lives by.”  George MacDonald goes on to say that believing in an opinion about God is one thing, but trusting and being in a deep and abiding relationship with the one true and very good God that resides within and all around us is another.  

It seems as if God is more concerned about a person’s heart and mind being changed and growing that whether that person believed in the right things about God.  Relationship trumps dogma in other words.

So, I said, I might not preach another sermon on dogma or doctrine or man-made opinions about God.  It seems that in today’s preaching world, we try to give out feel good talks rather than prophetic words that Jesus said and lived out.  Words that cut to the bone of the corrupt system of injustice in the socio-religious-political world of Jesus’ day and what is STILL happening in our day.

Yes, today, things haven’t changed much.  Even though, in today’s thinking, we often want (and should) separate these things, but in Jesus’ day, society, religion, and politics were all intertwined.  And, even in our attempts to separate them today, they are still a part of a system that must be questioned and reformed, just as Jesus set out to do and has given us that same charge to live in Christ.

In our gospel lesson, Jesus is continuing this journey towards Jerusalem and is in the middle of a series of dialogues on prayer.  Jesus doesn’t seem to be too discerning of his audience.  He’s talking about the religious leaders again, the Pharisees, but also his disciples, folks following him and the folks in the crowd.  This is a message for us today as we often find ourselves in the place of the Pharisees as disciples or followers of Jesus…or we find ourselves as the other person in this story, the toll collector, or the sinner, the one seen as outside the religious boundaries that we have created.

The religious leader, and the non-religious toll collector…a person that was often looked down upon because he collected a tax and often took a cut for himself are both near or in the temple courtyards in this story.  Both of them are separated though from each other and from the others gathered there to pray.  The temple was set aside for prayers, but over the generations, there had emerged separate places of prayer for Jews, Gentiles, foreigners, men, women, etc.  All sorts of boundaries and walls created.  Yet, the Pharisee felt like he was living in a right way, had no need for forgiveness at the time, and was thinking God that he wasn’t like others…rouges, adulterers, etc. even the toll collector that he singles out.  Now, it’s good for him to give thanks, and it’s good for him to pray, but it’s not so good for him place himself above others.  He even goes on to say that he tithes 10%  and fasts twice a week.  Again, good things to do, but they denote a certain sense of entitlement.  If I do the right things, go through the religious motions, then God will be pleased with me and I am honored and can feel good about myself.

What’s missing?  An awareness of God, himself also, and certainly God’s love for everyone…and humility.  God is not interested in how well put together we think we are, but God is interested in how we have eyes and ears to see and hear our need to be connected to ourselves, others through God…to recognize God’s love and forgiveness for us.

In contrast, we see the toll collector…again standing off, not because he feels like he’s better than others, but because he knows that he has missed the mark, that he has sinned.  It doesn’t say with what, but maybe we can assume it’s because he’s gotten rich off of others…but, he’s beating his chest, crying out to God…asking God for mercy.  The definition of prayer really is about pleading to God…putting yourself in the midst of God’s flow and desperately wanting to place yourself before God.  That takes a risk.  Some of my most impressionable times in prayer have been when emotion and my full being are involved…when I’m yelling or pleading with God…placing myself in the midst of a vulnerable space.  

This man recognizes God.  He’s not interested in an opinion about God, he’s placing himself squarely in the midst of a very powerful, but loving God.  Now, we don’t know what happens next with this man.  Love from God is interesting.  It’s with us, but we may not always get what we think we want, or when we do, it may not be exactly as we intended.  But, we understand as Richard Rohr states in his book the Divine Dance that “God is the ultimate Participant – in everything – both the good and the painful.”

As we move through life, as we let go and live in awareness and as we cultivate being open as best we can to the the Divine presence of God in everyone and everything that we encounter daily, we can begin to live in a Trinitarian understanding of God.  A God who isn’t distant from us at all, but is dancing, crying, laughing, loving, and holding us together.  A God who created us out the relational energy of being 3 in 1, who saved us out of that same relational energy, and who sustains us out of the flow of that relational energy…holds us closer than we can ever realize and shapes and molds us into a community of humility of faith.  

In the book of Colossians, we are reminded that everything was created and finds it’s being in God…and later, in chapter 3, that all is in God, and God is in all.  We can’t create without one another, we can’t distance ourselves as the Pharisee did, we can’t pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and go it alone, we have to pray for humility to see God in everyone and everything.  Nor, can we allow our sins to keep us away from knowing that we have a God who is merciful, we must be like the toll collector, to wander into that risky place of vulnerability and confession, and plead for mercy.  In so doing, we can know that we are justified through Christ’s humanity and divinity that flows all around us.  

Listen.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

God to enfold me,
God to surround me,
God in my speaking,
God in my thinking.

God in my sleeping,
God in my waking,
God in my watching,
God in my hoping.

God in my life,
God in my lips,
God in my soul,
God in my heart.

God in my sufficing,
God in my slumber,
God in mine ever-living soul,
God in mine eternity.

(Ancient Celtic oral traditions – Carmina Gadelica)

Luke 16:19-31

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.[a] The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.[b]24 He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27 He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30 He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’31 He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 16:22 Gk to Abraham’s bosom
  2. Luke 16:23 Gk in his bosom

Sermon Manuscript:

How many times do you drive by or walk by a homeless person and wonder about their life?  What’s their background?  What are they thinking?  How did they get to this place in life?  We all have those kinds of thoughts and we all develop certain ideas or stereotypes in order to categorize and somehow reconcile with ourselves that we may or may not have to react to them.

Yet, they are humans, they are our brothers and sisters.  I’m reminded of that every time we have someone walking into the church asking for a handout.  

Now, there are ways we can help them beyond simple handouts.  There are some resources in our city that can help.  But, they best thing we can do, and I try to remind myself of this, is to look folks in the eyes, to connect with them, not dismiss them so quickly.    And, listen as best as I can.  

Now, I know there are a lot of stories, and having worked with homeless folks as a Social Work major and in several projects over the years, I’ve heard many of the same stories.  Yet, these are still people that God values and are image bearers of the Divine, as we all are.

In our gospel story, there is a homeless man, a beggar, Lazarus.  He was crippled and left at the gate of a wealthy man’s house to beg every day.  It’s interesting to note that Lazarus is named, but the wealthy man is not.  The author of this story is saying that Jesus thinks that this poor man is important and known by God.  The wealthy man is extremely rich…richer than most, had banquets daily, wore purple, which is a mark of wealth and very expense clothes.

Lazarus was so down the social ladder and in dire straights, that even dogs came to lick his sores…not to bring him comfort, but in this story, to add insult to injury.  He was helpless.

The beggar dies, as does the wealthy man.  In Hades, the afterlife as depicted in this story.  The wealthy man is in torment….he sees that Lazarus is there, and he’s with Abraham, the founder of Israel.  He asks for Abraham to comfort him…and, even in his death, still looking past Lazarus…talking to Abraham, because he was important in his mind.  

He asks for pity, for simply a drop of water.  Yet Abraham says no, and asks him to remember that Lazarus was with his lifetime and he never reached out to help Lazarus.  And that now Lazarus is comforted, and Abraham is not.

So, the wealthy man is still clueless, and asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his family to warn him…still thinking highly of himself, and not Lazarus.

Abraham again replies no, they’ve had Moses and the prophets, that’s enough.

They need to listen to what they’ve been taught…and, even if someone comes back from the dead, even then they won’t listen.  

This man, the wealthy man, was probably a decent person in his life, he just didn’t listen, didn’t have time or need to live “awake” to the realities right outside of his door.   

He was comfortable.  But, even though he had heard the prophets, knew the stories, he didn’t move to action in his life of being friends with the poor or trying to comfort them on include them.  

In Hades, the afterlife, it’s important to know that God’s presence is still there, it’s everywhere.  As it says in Psalm 139, there’s nowhere we can go to escape God’s presence.  

CS Lewis talks about this in the Great Divorce, a wonderful fictional book I’d encourage everyone to read.  Folks when they die, ride a bus to heaven…yet, many of them settle for hell, a small crack in heaven that they make bigger…they can ride the bus back into heaven…yes, they could have a second chance in hell even, by why would they change if they lived their lives a certain way, it’s harder in hell…so, they stay there…and maybe that is hell, being stuck in a certain way of living or understanding that keeps us from experiencing the wide expanse of God’s grace and joy in life with God and others in deep relational community.  

The wealthy man is tormented by the heat, but Lazarus, who is there also, is not tormented, on the contrary, he’s feeling the warmth of God’s love.  He spent his life in poverty and crippled, yet not complaining and experienced God’s grace in humility.  

Friends, we have the gift of the life we’ve been given.  We can love those around us, everyone, as best we can.  We must though ask God to wake us towards others around us.  If we want to experience spiritual growth, which is ultimately an understanding of God’s radically inclusive and graceful love for us and others that moves us towards being the humans that God created us to be, then we must be willing to be present with those we share space with, whenever we share space with them…loving them where they are.  

This parable, like many in Luke that we’ve read, reminds us that we have barriers in our world that can cause relational disconnect or fragmented lives.  Barriers like wealth inequality that prevents us from seeing the other.  It’s not wrong to be wealthy, but the way of Jesus and the scriptural trajectory leads us towards a better understanding that we can’t let having money or not having money prevent us from sharing life with each other, and that we are called to work towards hospitality and caring for folks.

This morning, let’s ask ourselves how we can see beyond the safety of the walls we’ve built around us to those right outside those walls…and go to them, be with them, and remove whatever separates us from ourselves, others, and God.  

Fierce.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

A Practice of Meditation & Compassion

O Hidden Light

Sun behind all suns

Soul within all souls

True Life of every life

This new day we greet Thee

‘Be still and know that I am God’

(Ps 46:10)

Silent Meditation

Use the rhythm of your breath to pray these words:

Breathe up the Divine from deep within

Prayers of Compassion

Breathe in a situation of suffering in the world.

Breathe out energies of healing

– JP Newell

Luke 16:1-13

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager 

16 Then Jesussaid to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealthso that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealthwho will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”


What does it mean to trick someone? My good friend of mine, Dr. Dean Nicholas, is the headmaster at CHCA and holds a Ph.D. from Hebrew Union, wrote a book on the “tricksters” in the Bible. 

This concept as a long history in many ancient cultures, and certainly in Jewish writings. The basic concept is that God will sometimes honor folks in the Bible who trick others into doing or acting a certain way to get themselves or others to move in a different direction, to change the story that we find ourselves in. The story of Jacob and Esau, of Joseph and his brothers, etc. All have a sense of “tricking” if you will, or doing some- thing that isn’t obvious at first, and then moving folks towards a different outcome…and seemingly God works it not only for their good, but for the good of others. 

Our gospel lesson this morning has a sort of “trickster” feel to it. Jesus is sharing a parable, a story about a rich man. Many of Jesus’ stories talk about wealthy folks. Essentially, because Jesus is drawing out that wealth oftentimes gets in the way of how others are treated or looked upon. It’s sets up real boundaries or walls between us.  There’s nothing wrong with having wealth, but our relationship to wealth, or attachment to it, can get in the way of being our truest Selves and relationships with others.  

This story is in between the stories that Jesus shares about the prodigal son and the divide between the rich man and Lazarus, but with a twist. 

This rich man has a manager for his business dealings. Apparently this manager wasn’t doing so good, so the rich man calls him towards accountability for how he’s handled his possessions. 

The manager realizes his job is about to be taken away, he realizes he doesn’t want to be out on the street or doing hard labor…he’s not depicted in the most flattering way, is he? But, he is shrewd, so knowing he has nothing to lose because his boss is going to take his job away, he goes to the people that are indebted to his master. He takes their accounts and greatly reduces the amount that each person owes. He does this knowing that his master’s debtors will be grateful and take him in, show him hospitality as he gives them a huge break. He tricks the master before the master actually fires him. Pretty dishonest, and the master realizes it. 

So, what does the master do, he commends the manager, congratulates him even. 

Now, we may read this today and think at how wrong this is…at best, we wonder why this is even the bible. Is Jesus telling us to act shrewdly? Jesus doesn’t say to be dishonest, but Jesus does say that we can learn from folks who act in gracious ways, even if it’s out of self-centered way. Oftentimes, unchurched folks act more gracious than the disciples, or the children of the light as Jesus says in this passage. It may be out of a sense of self-preservation, but their actions still produce a blessing. 

In essence, Jesus is saying that God works through the actions of the trickster manager, he redeems his actions somehow and blesses others. That no matter what happens, God will work towards the good of others. 

One commentary that I read brought it home well. The manager is making friends through dishonest wealth, yet those friendships are there for him. God is calling us towards a relational way of living, we are called to make friends as well, albeit in a more just and honest way. We are called to not collect debts, just as we pray to be forgiven of our debts and to forgive our debtors. By so doing and acting, by working towards unity and friendship and not trying to win or dredge up past wrongs or indebtedness, but through forgiveness and grace towards others and ourselves, we can love well and see friendships, true friendships form. 

We need that kind of wealth of community. By so doing, by blessing others and our neighbors, when we need them, they more likely to be there for us. 

Jesus is telling his disciples, learn to make friends, and in so doing, cultivate a healthy sense of reciprocal love. 

So much of Jesus’ followers existence was based on the hospitality of others, so it must be with us. It is hard for us to lean in on the generosity of others, yet we learn a lot when we do…and when we extend it with true authenticity and not for any other reason than to bless others. 

Jesus is saying also that we have to understand that we can’t serve two masters, it’s either the way of money, our a life based on transactions, or the way of God, which is based on authentic love and community. You can’t have both being dominate. Our attempts to preserve ourselves or our institutions through maintaining a status quo mindset ultimately still leads towards death. We have to have movement within our institutions that is initiated by authentic friendship and working towards the common good…institutions then can bless that work, which actually, ultimately, leads to their reformation and growth. If we share what we have, as Jesus says clearly in this passage, being trusted with much means to share it with others…this trust that God has given us with materials to bless others, then we will be given true riches as it says in verse 11…those true riches are found in the Kingdom of God, the presence of God with one another. 

The manager in our gospel lesson may have learned something as well even beyond his part in the parable…a lesson open to all of us. God’s love for us is fierce. It doesn’t always make sense, this love sometimes seems to trick us into doing and being in ways that we don’t understand. Yet, the love also produces within us a fierceness that moves us towards the other, towards accepting ourselves, and to a God who rewards us with relationships and community that may surprise us. 

Friends, may we live in a fierce love of God, not of money or possessions, or even institutional preservation…may we live loving new folks that we meet in and out of the church, and may we live loving each other even as we experience God’s love for us. Responding to the Word

Lost.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

“To look for the flow of the divine in all things is not to disregard the external authorities of religion, nation or culture. But it is always to consult also the compass of the soul and our place of inner knowing. So often we have been given the impression that faith primarily means accepting doctrinal beliefs or precepts that have been dispensed from above. Religious leaders appeal to scripture or the prerogative of tradition, often forgetting that these outward authorities need to be read and appraised through the lens of our inner knowing and the deepest experiences of our lives in relation to the earth and one another.”

―John Philip Newell, Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What Our Souls Know and Healing the World

Luke 15:1-10 

The Parable of the Lost Sheep 

15 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and
rejoices. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 

The Parable of the Lost Coin 

8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins,if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 

Sermon Manuscript: 

Have you ever lost anything? I know I have. Especially car keys! I try to put my keys in the same place all of the time, but sometimes I don’t. Then, when I’m running late, trying to get out the door, the sense of panic as I rush around trying to find them. Then, when I do find them, the sense of relief!

As I was preparing this sermon this week, I thought a lot about our national and international climate that we find ourselves in. It seems like we’ve lost a lot in our dialogue, or lack of dialogue with one another. We are content to toss out civility and even share outright lies, make up things on the spot or make huge statements that contribute to relational breakdowns and anxiety. We have lost something, and in this time in our culture, are we willing to look for something of greater value or simply just accept it? 

This morning our gospel lesson is about losing something and then finding it. The context is interesting. Tax collectors, folks who were not well thought of in Jewish society at the time. They’d often collect more than what was required for taxes to the occupying forces of Rome in order to enrich themselves. Then there were the sinners…folks who had somehow found themselves outside of community because of something they’d done or not done. But, they all felt accepted for who they were and they gathered around Jesus. 

Jesus didn’t condemn folks or try to control them. He didn’t want to put stress on them, he simply loved them and accepted them. He believed in them. Jesus knew their imperfection, they weren’t hiding anything, and somehow they knew that Jesus embraced them in their humanity. 

On the other hand, we also have the Pharisee’s hanging out. These were the people on the inside of the religious structure. They followed the rules, many of which they made and most were not what God had intended. These religious leaders, these insiders, were complaining and grumbling as they often did. They feared “the other” and made them out to be less than human.  They wondered aloud why Jesus would welcome these sinners (side note:  sinner is a word that is not necessarily biblical, it’s an archery term that simply means “missing the mark”, which, when applied to humans, is an impossibly standard…and who is setting the target).  Jesus even eats with these people they’ve labeled as “sinners”, which in that culture meant bringing them into friendship. 

Quite a contrast. The sinners were experiencing hospitality and radical grace from Jesus…so were the Pharisees. Yet, the sinners were drawn in closer to Jesus and the Pharisees, for the most part, kept their distance and complained. 

So, Jesus goes into these two parables. The first about losing one sheep out of a hundred. Some might say why go after one, take care of the rest…you still have 99. Yet, Jesus is saying that this sheep matters, that we all matter. And, if one of us is lost or feels marginalized, then leaving the majority and going after the minority is God’s imperative. Work hard to find that lost sheep. 

Then, when finding it, call the neighbors and friends over, have a celebration. 

The story goes on to say that’s exactly what happens in the universe all around us, that’s what God does…God rejoices when one sinner, someone who’s maybe feeling lost, repents. 

Again, we’ve said this before about repent, in Greek it’s metanoia, which means to change one’s mind, which then also begins to change one’s heart. When that happens, conversion or transformation can take root and someone begins the deeper journey of remember their humanity, or their “made in the image of God” Selves.  

In a similar way, Jesus talks about a woman who loses a coin. She lights a lamp, sweeps, does some work in her house to find that coin. She has 10, so losing one still leaves her with 9. But, she still knows something is missing. When she finds it, she calls in her friends and neighbors and celebrates as well. 

Again, the writer says God does the same. 

Jesus is trying to tell us that we all experience being lost. And that God wants us to be found and is searching us all out. Sinners and Pharisees…all of humanity… When we experience things in our lives where we know something is missing inside of us, or maybe even outside of us. When we know we feel empty or alone, or when we have done something to others or others have done something to us, that those can be opportunities to search for something of great value within us and with others.  To let go of all else to find the one thing that we’ve always wanted, being fully alive as found in God that resides within and all around us.  

The sinners, well, in this story, they repent, or have metanoia, and move forward. Jesus isn’t trying to control them, on the contrary, he’s freeing them and leading them towards a great treasure. Relational connection within themselves, others, and God. Life begins to be a joy and a cause for celebration. 

On the other hand, the religious leaders can’t let go of their stuff. When they lose it, they simply circle the wagons, silo themselves off, they don’t do the hard work of searching  for what is lost, but settle for what they have left. When they see Jesus, when they experience the crowds coming around Jesus, they grumble and complain that Jesus is doing right or the way they’ve always done things. So, they end up becoming more bitter, more anxious. 

Yet, Jesus doesn’t give up on them either. They may not know they are lost, they may not even want to be found. But, they are still human and still connected…so there is hope for them also to experience God’s love and to celebrate and experience real life. 

There’s a lot in this morning’s passage for us. Where do we find ourselves in these stories? Are we lost and are we willing to look for what we’ve lost? Are we willing to do the work to find ourselves in a place of growth and love in our lives? Or, are we OK to settle for what we think we have? Are we willing to know who we are and look at ourselves with honesty first before we complain and grumble about what others do or don’t do? Will we choose bitterness and lostness or celebration with each other and joy in friendships?

I have experienced WFPC, our community, as one that has let go and is letting God’s image rise up within and all around us…so, let’s celebrate as we continue our journey together!  What was lost is being found!

Cost.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

“God our creator and sustainer, You feed your children with the true manna, the living bread from heaven. Let this holy food sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage until we come to that place where hunger and thirst are no more, through Jesus the Christ, our Brother. Amen”

―Celtic Communion Prayer

Luke 14:25-33

The Cost of Discipleship

25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

One of my passions over the years has been backpacking. I’ve had some amazing trips throughout the US and Canada. I’ve also taken groups of high school students on some amazing adventures, as well as with friends and family.  For example, when I took our son and a friends of his to the Tetons in May.  

I even like the process of preparing for a backpacking trip.  One other example, and one of the most enjoyable trips was a trek to climb Mt. Whitney with some of my closest friends while I was at seminary in California working on my M.Div.

We started several months before as we had to apply for a permit to climb Mt. Whitney with the National Forest service. It was a lottery system and we were sure if we’d get it. They said to stay away from busy weekends and have no more than 2-3 folks to increase our chances of getting a permit. We picked the 4th of July weekend and had 5. Yet, we somehow were still selected for a permit!

We planned meticulously, all of us contributing something and distributing who would carry what. We planned for contingencies, and we made sure that we had everything lined up in case of emergencies, our route we’d take, etc.

We wanted to make sure that we had “counted the cost” of what it would take to do this trip and to do it well. In many ways, it was a pilgrimage, kind of like the one we are doing as a church to Iona this fall, and again sometime next year.  You plan well, but you also know that some things are beyond planning, and that as well, is part of the adventure, part of a pilgrimage.  

We did have some unforeseen issues on Mt. Whitney, but because we had counted the cost, we were able to overcome some things and had an amazing adventurous journey together…and great stories to share!  

Our passage this morning finds the writer of Luke picking up the journey, or pilgrimage, motif again with Jesus.

Jesus in on his way to Jerusalem with his disciples with a large crowd that was following him. Many of the folks in that crowd were probably neutral in terms of what they thought of Jesus, maybe just curious, but they were still drawn to him. I believe that Jesus, when he turned around and addressed the crowds, was wanting to draw as many of them who were willing to have eyes to see and ears to hear, the cost of what it means to truly follow him in the way of becoming fully human as God intended.

Jesus goes on to say that one must hate his father, mother, wife, children, siblings…even their very lives to follow him. Whoa! When we read that today, we have a very black and white understanding. But, in the first century, where family ties are central and there is an honor and shame culture like we discussed last week, Jesus is trying to break through to the crowds that there is a deeper community, deeper relationships, than simply familial relationships, that we are all bound together in our shared humanity, and we are being called into a new way of living and being with one another. Jesus is not telling the crowd that family isn’t important, but that there is a deeper bond, a oneness with all of humanity and that is a deeper priority.  

The word hate as understood by a first century audience is equivalent to disgrace. Are you willing to be shamed, to risk your honor, by walking towards a love for all of humanity, to follow Jesus, the reformer of a system that you’ve been brought up in? Are you willing to risk everything to be a part of the ethos and reality of the Kingdom of God that Jesus is sharing?

If you are, count the cost. Jesus goes into the metaphors of building a tower and a war campaign…build a strong foundation first, but also build something on top of that foundation. If you are going to wage a war, do you have enough fighters? I wouldn’t read into the metaphors too much other than Jesus is using some imagery that folks could understand, contemporary examples, that’s telling the crowds that following him is more than simply showing up at an event or at the temple occasionally, it’s all about a lifestyle.

It’s also about letting go and letting something deeper within you and all around you emerge, be born or remembered anew if you will.

We hold on to so much. We hold on to our shame, our image of honor, or possessions such as material wealth, even those possessions we hold in common like a neighborhood, a country, or even a church. Yet, Jesus is saying that we should let go of the vision or image that we’ve created to live into a better vision of what God intends….to move to the deeper places of who we are and to love those things out of our depth of being, of our divine image, and not out of our own image.  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a great German reformed theologian. He lived through Nazi Germany until he was arrested for his role in an attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler. Which, we won’t have much commentary on today, there’s so much more to Bonhoeffer’s life.

He also wrote some great books like the Cost of Discipleship where he says that the grace we have isn’t cheap…it has a cost, it is painful as witnessed in our lives and in the crucifixion of Jesus. We are invited into a better story, a better way of living, yes, but that comes at the cost of having to look deep inside of us to where our loyalties lie, to be aware of what it means to ask ourselves hard questions and be willing to trust in the mystery of God around and in us, and ofGod’s vision for our lives.

We are reminded of God’s calling to us to be that community that God calls in scripture the body of Christ. Jesus is not only calling us through the scriptures to live in the reality that we are all in the presence of Christ, but to bid farewell to whatever is holding on to us or that we are holding on to that prevents us from truly coming alive through Christ being present with us now, in this space, and in all of time…this sacred moment is to remind of God’s work in our midst on our behalf.

Invitation.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

“It was on Iona years ago that I first became aware of the need to reclaim some of the features of ancient Christianity in the Celtic world as lost treasure for today. Part of that treasure is the much-cherished image of John the Evangelist, also known as John the Beloved, leaning against Jesus at the Last Supper. Celtic tradition holds that by doing this he heard the heartbeat of God. He became a symbol of the practice of listening—listening deep within ourselves, within one another, and within the body of the earth for the beat of the Sacred Presence.”
―John Philip Newell, The Rebirthing of God: Christianity’s Struggle for New Beginnings

Luke 14:1, 7-14

 Jesus Heals the Man with Dropsy

14 On one occasion when Jesus[a] was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

Humility and Hospitality

7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 14:1 Gk he
  2. Luke 14:4 Gk he
  3. Luke 14:5 Other ancient authorities read a donkey

What does it mean to be invited?  Doesn’t it feel good to be included?

Usually, we get invited to events because of relationships of some sort.  Family members, friends, folks that we’ve been around.  Sometimes we get invited to other events because of our affiliations or because of something we’ve done.  Weddings are a great example.

Now, I love officiating weddings. 

Wedding invitations are sent, the only expectation, show up and celebrate…except of course for me when I’m officiating, I have some work to do! 

In Jesus’ time, folks were invited to banquets, or dinners, even weddings, often for favors.  

There was a strict social norm for invitation.  If you were invited to a meal or a dinner, you were expected to some time return the favor in this honor and shame culture. It was about patronage and earning that persons honor.  If one did not return a favor, then they were shamed.  Therefore, a person of means, of wealth, would not invite a poor person because they would shame the poor person because they would not be able to return the favor.

Jesus was invited to this particular meal because he was a prominent teacher at the time.  Probably folks in the religious leadership were curious as well, or maybe they had heard about Jesus’ words or his miracles and were intrigued.  Jesus certainly had the ear and imagination of the people that the religious leaders did not.

At the beginning of this meal, Jesus does perform a miracle.  A man with dropsy, or an edema, a swelling of tissue that could be caused by something like congestive heart failure, came to Jesus for a cure.  Jesus asked the religious experts, those who knew procedure, rules, and the law of temple worship if it was OK to heal on the sabbath, to deliver this man.  The religious folk were silent, even as they were confronted by this man’s humanity.  But, their silence betrayed them…their inaction gave witness to hearts formed by the status quo rather than the dynamic love of God.  

So, Jesus, out of love, healed the man and, the scripture says, released him.  He was released from his crippling physical issue, as well as the rules and the social structure that kept him in a crippled state as a person.  

Jesus doesn’t have animosity for the religious leaders, he simply wants them to break free into the expansive grace of God’s presence, God’s flow of love into their lives.  To move from a transactional worldview to a transformational worldview or imagination.  

Jesus also wants to let them know that the Sabbath is not simply a time to stop, but it is a time to step back, look at our lives, be transformed and healed.  To think about the things that are close to God’s heart.  It is not meant to simply be a time of doing nothing, but on the contrary, a dynamic time of seeking God, seeking inner healing.  

Jesus is, in effect, turning upside down their worldview, one of keeping things in a static state…which will lead to a slow death.  Instead, pondering on God’s active and dynamic presence can lead to change and growth.  But, You know, I can’t blame the religious leaders, they’d been raised in this culture, it’s what they knew.  They were probably decent folk who had emotional attachments to a system that seemed to be working and it seemed good for them, or so they thought.  

Jesus has gained their attention through his miracle and comments on God’s desire for the sabbath…now he’s inviting folks to think with a worldview that God intended.  One that isn’t “either/or” but “both/and”.  A Greek/Roman honor and shame worldview was dualistic, black and white, hierarchal.  Jesus is saying that God’s worldview is non-dualistic, based on the oneness of God’s being and presence that encompasses us and calls us to be in in equitable and honoring relationships with everyone…we don’t earn honor, nor do we expect others to earn our honor, we give it freely to all, even to those who may not deserve it.  

That’s hard to do, that’s not what we think is fair, yet that’s what Jesus teaches us all of the time…that’s why we often struggle with stories like this or with parables about folks getting paid the same wage whether they worked all day or an hour.  God doesn’t show favoritism and wants us to let go of interacting with others in a way that really is countercultural, even now.  Give folks honor, give them respect, even if they don’t always earn it.  We are often so quick to criticize, to complain, and even live in our own shame, maybe even shame others.  But, God’s way is a way of encouragement, including, and loving…that doesn’t necessarily lead to a transactional relationship, but it does lead to transformation and real growth.  

In our story, Jesus says to serve others, to not look for the places of honor, but to allow the master of the banquet to lift us up…not because we’ve earned it, but because we are loved.  Jesus also understands that it takes inviting others in to our homes, churches, and even our very lives, folks that can’t necessarily give us what we think we need.  It’s easy to invite our friends or ones who we know will return favors, people of means, but Jesus says to go out get the lame, the poor, the immigrant, the crippled…that when we do, we will be blessed, not with earthly blessings…folks may not repay us, but we will be blessed in another way.  We will experience resurrection.  By doing the right thing, being righteous in our relationships, we are resurrected in our own lives.  

Friends, that’s what God is calling us towards in our own lives, and in this church.  WE are called to invite others in to a great banquet of a church that is to be a foretaste of the the Kingdom of God…now, folks may not repay us with much, they may not be able to earn our honor or repay us with a good tithe or what we may think we’d want, but God says that as we invite folks, open up our church to others, and as we honor them and as we humble ourselves before each other, maybe not getting exactly what we thing we want, we will be blessed and we will receive God’s honoring us with resurrection in this life which will be with us into eternity.  We can grow this church, and grow ourselves…it may not look the way we think it should right now, but God has a vision for us to be a place of right relationship in a world that’s desperately searching for some kind of authentic love.  

Broken.

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PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

“Life’s essential harmony is within each of us. So also is life’s brokenness. To be part of transformation is to look falseness in the face, to passionately name it and denounce it in our world, and at the same time to clearly identify its shadow within our own hearts and to do battle with it there.

…

To grow in Christ was to grow in wisdom. To be nourished in the way of Jesus was to be nourished in an ancient way of seeing that is deep in the human soul, an inner truth that is not the preserve of one tradition over against another but a wisdom that precedes and is deeper than our divisions.”

―J. Philip Newell, A New Harmony: The Spirit, the Earth, and the Human Soul

Gospel Lesson

Luke 13:10-17

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman

10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 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. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 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.” 15 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 to water? 16 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?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame, and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things being done by him.

Reading the gospel passage this week, I kept on thinking what it could have been like to be this crippled woman.  I cannot imagine what it would have been like to have been crippled for 18 years.  The thoughts and voices that build up in your head.

I’ve not been crippled, but I have been injured.  I’ve actually been nursing a back issue for a while now!  

A few years back, when I was training for the Boston Marathon, I injured myself then as well.  I was able to train with the injury, but I knew it wouldn’t heal fully until after the race itself and with rest.  In the race, the injury  kept getting worst, it was painful, but the part that was the hardest were the voices in my head and trying to navigate some decisions.  Can I get through this day?  Will I need to stop at the medical tent?  Will someone be able to help me?  Luckily I did stop and eventually found someone that could help me stabilize my leg injury and get through the race.  Yet, there were times when I thought I may have to drop out.  Yet, even in those times, I was surrounded by crowds of people that kept me going.

But, that was a temporary thing.  I knew that I would heal, I had confidence that I could get through this somehow.

That may give me a window of what it means to be crippled, but I still can’t quite comprehend what it must have been like for this woman.  For 18 years she probably didn’t have crowds cheering her on.  As a cripple, in that society, she was considered on the margins, outside of society.  Even the religious order of the day did not fully embrace her in her humanity.  They seemed to be more focused on their sense of order, propriety, or doing the things they way they’ve always been done that they had forgotten their own shared humanity.  They had reduced religion to rules and not relationships.  They were blind and deaf to God’s very heart of relationship and could not recognize this woman’s humanity….they could not even recognize Jesus as the messiah, the one who came to give us our humanity back.

Our passage doesn’t say what she was crippled with, but that she was crippled by a spirit.  She was so harassed by something that it physically affected her.  She was not only crippled, but broken.  

I can somewhat relate to that, so can many of us.  We can be broken by spirits of fear, anxiety, the unknown, even change.  We can let the spirit of our selfishness, I call that our small e egos, that we are crippled if you will to doing the hard work of self and others awareness.  Those spirits of selfishness, anxiousness, fear, loneliness, can lead to physical issues.  And, in those situations of brokenness, there can be opportunities for growth.

I think this woman knew that she could not live as she had lived for almost two decades.  She didn’t want to be crippled, broken, yet it was what she knew.  She meets Jesus and she sees someone who can help her.  She begins the process of awareness.  She knows she needs to change, she knows that she wants something better, she takes a risk in trusting someone else.  Jesus sees her, Jesus touches her, Jesus heals her.  And, she dances. She’s been given life!  

As she celebrates, as something good happens, how did the religious rulers respond?  Well, again, they focused on the negative, they couldn’t see beyond themselves and their rules to the opportunities of restored relationship.  Jesus had compassion on the crippled woman, and the blindness of the religious leaders.  He healed the woman, yes, but he also calls out the religious leaders.  Jesus goes on to point out that they would take care of their animals on the sabbath, so why shouldn’t Jesus take care of this woman?  In other words, the religious leaders had become so stuck in a way of thinking, they couldn’t see their blind spots, or notice others.  Jesus doesn’t say much else, he just points out the obvious, this woman, one of us,  a human being, has been healed.  The religious leaders were shamed a bit as it says, and maybe, just maybe, they knew they had been focusing on the wrong things.

Friends, I don’t know where you are today.  Maybe some of us have been stuck in a certain way of thinking for a long time and it’s breaking us…maybe you have experienced change or are getting ready for a big change.  Maybe something is happening in your job, in your education with this new year, maybe you are afraid of what the future may bring you.  Maybe, like me, you’ve gone through periods of brokenness where you wanted to leave everything.  And, in that season of brokenness, new growth began to take shape.  

I believe that, just like this woman, when we are met by God deep within and all around us, when we meet the spark that Jesus has, when something inside of us is touched by the divine, and we are given the chance to be healed, we should not be afraid to let go of what has been crippling us, and to let the brokenness do it’s work of growth and leading us towards a deepening awareness of our truest Selves as it did with this woman in our story.  It starts with our hearts being moved, then our minds being healed as we move towards this awareness of our deeper selves, then healing can take root and work within us, moving us towards joy and away from what is crippling us. 

I believe that Jesus came to heal us beyond in the depth of who we are…we live in the body of Christ to move towards a sense of wholeness, relationship, and joy in the moment no matter what may be waiting around the corner.  To be healed, to let go of what is crippling us can be hard work, but when we allow ourselves to be touched by the divine, touched by God, allowing ourselves to be dependent on one another and brought into community, we can then dance and even celebrate the gift of being broken and open to growth, which, as the late Leonard Cohen says:  “There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in…” 

Witness.

/ jonesyuk / Leave a comment

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

God, Lord of all creation, lover of life and of everything, please help us to love in our very small way what You love infinitely and everywhere. We thank You that we can offer just this one prayer and that will be more than enough,  because in reality every thing and every one is connected, and nothing stands alone. To pray for one part is really to pray for the whole, and so we do. Help us each day to stand for love, for healing, for the good, for the diverse unity of the Body of Christ and all creation, because we know this is what You desire: as Jesus prayed, that all may be one. We offer our prayer together with all the holy names of God, we offer our prayer together with Christ, our Lord, Amen.

― Richard Rohr

Luke 12:49-56 

Not Peace but Division 

49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in- law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Interpreting the Times 

54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? 

Our Presbyterian heritage is built upon a premise of Christ’s actions happening on our behalf and Jesus is baptized for all of humanity, and that our baptism is a symbol of our participating in what Christ has participated in.  Baptism is symbolic of God’s action…that we are marked by God’s grace. 

In this morning’s gospel lesson, we hear Jesus say that he didn’t come to bring peace, but division, it’s a bit disorienting. Isn’t this the same Jesus who is always preaching unity, peace on earth and in us, and to work together, to be connected? 

But, when this passage is read in context, Jesus is saying that following him has consequences, we are operating under a different understanding than what is evident in this world. The old ways of doing things are behind us, a new way of being, of loving, of including and even a changing worldview is required. 

The world, the systems that dominate our thinking…what we see and is fed to us on social media and the news cycle at times…tell us to live and think a certain way that brings division and chaos.  Jesus is simply pointing out a reality, that living in Christ, in oneness, will bring us all to a point of saying that we choose oneness, but the world chooses division.  We see that when we sit at the proverbial thanksgiving dinner and folks are afraid to bring up politics or some other issue that folks have been polarized on. But, following Jesus requires a different depth, a change of course, a deeper inner peace that is not understood in a world dominated by transactional thinking.  Living in Christ calls us towards transformational thinking and being.  We can be attached to God, our truest Selves and detached from things, from outcomes, from circumstances, and still engage lovingly and honoring with others while working towards justice and reconciling relationships.

Yet, even as we are called to love the world, to build bridges and not walls, we are living countercultural and that causes division, and sometimes even violence and persecution… it certainly did for Jesus and the early disciples. It cost them their lives. 

We say it every time we have communion.  Our baptism is one baptism wrapped up in Jesus’ baptism.  This is a sign and a seal that our lives are intertwined.  All of it.  The good, the bad, the ugly…and the bad and ugly are oftentimes the things that lead to deeper beauty and growth.  And, it is a baptism that is constantly happening, flowing all around us and in us.

I’m living into my baptism, and with you as well. The relationships in my life, in our lives, remind us that our old lives are buried in the water, and new life springs out as we are washed in the waters! But, that’s a hard process at times, we may embrace it out of God’s love, but it has a cost doesn’t it? Love is free, love wins, but the growth that love brings can be hard to navigate at times. 

But, baptism gives us hope. We are not alone. God is with us and has given us Jesus. And, as our passage in Hebrews reminds us, we have a great cloud of witnesses that have gone before and after us, cheering us on to the finish line. 

This is Jesus’ example to us in his baptism. When he came to John, John didn’t think he should baptize Jesus, that Jesus should baptize him. Yet, Jesus says no, that in order for righteousness to be demonstrated, that Jesus should be baptized by John. Jesus knew who he was, that he was representing all of humanity and that he was God’s son, God’s human representation on earth. He was connected to the flow of God that created, saved, and sustains all of life. Yet, he also knew that to be righteous, or right in relationship, means to submit to someone else, to live in humility. So, he submits to John’s baptism. 

His dying to self on our behalf cuts to the core of who we are, tells us that we too are a part of the flow of God that changes everything. The question for us this morning is, our we willing to let go of those old ways of thinking and being and live into the new reality that Christ’s baptism represents? 

Do we recognize as this story points out that we can’t hide from the present times that we live in? WE, Jesus’ followers, are being reminded that we do have eyes to see and that the times are changing, just as we recognize that weather is changing. We may not want to recognize that culture is changing and that gives us opportunities for imagination and growth, but Jesus is saying that we are called to adapt and to grow with him. 

When Jesus is baptized, we read that the Spirit of God descends on Jesus life a dove. God’s Spirit is always with Jesus, even before this, and also with us. In the story of Noah, when the floods recede, there is a dove flying over the chaos, reminding us of the hope of new life, and, out of chaos, comes new life and stability. 

We all recognized that we live in uncertain times.  We can see, as Jesus did, that the winds have changed, literally with climate change, and also the deeper winds of a world being usurped by divisive ideologies and personalities that want to steal our joy and hope.  Yet, God reminds us that we are one with God and with one another and that we have a deeper Presence that cannot be destroyed or harmed.  May we live into that deeper Self, that Deeper Presence as we live in and through God’s Spirit.  

Friends, the same spirit of God is descending upon us even now, are we willing to receive God’s Presence in our lives and live fully in this new reality? If we are, then we will see evidence of changed behavior on our part, we will see our lives change and this church become all that God intends.