”The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him. Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, "Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours." And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.” Jeremiah 32:1-2a, 6-7, 9-10, 13-15
The text above is part of the Old Testament reading for Sunday, September 26, when Emanuel Church will celebrate its 149th anniversary. It describes an act of great faith on the part of Jeremiah, in a time of great crisis. Judah is under siege from Babylon, and Judah’s people will soon be marched in exile to Babylon. Jeremiah himself is in prison, for having prophesied the downfall of Judah. All hope seems to be lost. And yet, in the midst of siege and desolation, knowing full well that Judah was about to be destroyed, Jeremiah does a seemingly irrational, even ridiculous thing: he buys a field from Hanamel, his cousin. He charges Baruch, who acts as his secretary, to seal the deed in a secure place, where it will be preserved for a long time. “For thus says the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.” Jeremiah had the vision to see that, even though the present looked utterly hopeless, he and his people, and the land in which they lived, had a future.
We live in very difficult times, in which many are unemployed and struggle to get by from day to day. It’s understandable that in the struggle, many become desperate. Bridesburg has high rates of alcoholism and addiction, along with resulting economic and social distress. I was surprised to learn recently, from a neighboring pastor, that Bridesburg also has a very high rate of suicide, among the highest suicide rates in the city of Philadelphia, higher than suicide rates in neighborhoods which are much worse off economically. All this speaks of a sense of hopelessness. We can get through desperate circumstances if we have hope for better times to come. But if we lose hope, our situation is grim indeed. I see this hopelessness as a sign that we in the church have failed to communicate to our neighbors the hope that comes from faith in Jesus Christ – a hope that is not just about “pie in the sky, by and by,” but hope in God who is present with us in every situation, hope in God who will never leave us nor forsake us. Said another way, our neighbors are dying – some quite literally killing themselves - for want of the Good News we offer. So what we do at Emanuel Church is literally a matter of life and death, not only for ourselves, but for our beloved neighborhood of Bridesburg where God has planted us.
I’m reminded of a story told about Martin Luther, the great German reformer. Luther was once asked, “What would you do, sir, if you learned the world would end tomorrow? ” Luther replied, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” Though the soil in Bridesburg can be a bit rocky, may we at Emanuel Church continue to plant seeds of hope.
See you in church!
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Please come join the hopeful folks at Emanuel United Church of Christ on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. We're on Fillmore Street (off Thompson). www.emanuelphila.org
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Freed by Christ
(Scriptures: Isaiah 58:9b-14, Psalm 103, Hebrews 12:18-29, Luke 13:10-17)
Did this ever happen to you? You’re in a bad mood – and it shows on your face - and a friend (or your mom) tells you “You know, if you keep frowning all the time, your face will get stuck like that.” I was a moody kid, especially as a teenager, and so I frowned a lot. I knew mom was joking, but I always wondered in the back of my mind if that could really happen….if my face could get stuck in a frown. So I’d try to force a smile now and then, just to be sure I still could.
Our Gospel reading this morning is about Jesus healing a woman who got stuck. No, she didn’t get stuck with a frown on her face. Rather, we’re told that she was bent over – some translations say she was bent almost double – unable to stand up straight for 18 years. We don’t know exactly what happened to her – Luke’s gospel tells us she had a spirit of weakness, that she was bound by Satan so that she couldn’t straighten up. Maybe she had some sort of degenerative problem in her spine. Maybe she had muscle spasms that contorted her body. Or maybe, in a society in which women were treated as little more than property, valued for little more than producing sons to carry on the family line, she just became so overburdened by misfortune and abuse and oppression that over the years she slouched until she slumped, slumped until she stooped, stooped until she just couldn’t straighten herself up.
I’d like us to imagine what it was like living inside her body for all those 18 long years. When you’re bent over as badly as she was, it’s hard to walk. It’s hard to breathe. Sun, blue skies, rainbows, birds, moonlight, stars, all these are out of your visual range, unless you’re lying down looking up. And you have to strain to see the face of the person you’re talking to. When you’re standing and walking, all you see is….your feet…and the ground around them. And on a sunny day, like the groundhog, you see your shadow – your bent-over back blocks out the light of the sun. So when Jesus tells her, “Daughter, you are healed from your weakness,” the woman’s world just widened, expanded. She could stand up straight, could take a good deep breath of fresh air, could see the sky, the sun. She could look Jesus in the eye, and see the compassion in his face.
Of course, as often happens, no good deed goes unpunished. You’d think the leader of the congregation would be happy for the woman, happy to see her finally standing tall after 18 years of misery. Yep, you’d be happy and so would I, and you’d think the leader of the woman’s congregation would be happy too. And you’d be wrong. It was the Sabbath, the day of rest, you see, and as far as the leader of the congregation was concerned, the main issue at hand was not that Jesus healed the woman, but that Jesus healed her on the wrong day. “There are six other days when Jesus can heal people to his heart’s content,” the leader of the congregation said. “Come back on one of those days. The Sabbath is a day of rest, not a day of healing.” For his part, Jesus is about to jump out of his skin with frustration at this purported faith leader who just utterly missed the point of the miracle that had happened. “You’d untie your donkey on the Sabbath to give him a drink, wouldn’t you. And I’m not supposed to free this woman, who’s been tied up in a knot for 18 years, because it’s the Sabbath? Hello?” And the woman’s fellow congregation members praised God for all they had just seen.
From 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 6: “The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Recent events at our sister congregation, Hope Outreach UCC in Kensington, and their dispute with Philadelphia L&I provide a perfect illustration of how rigid adherence to the letter of the law can kill. Some city officials think it’s better for people to be kicked to the curb or to be forced to go to larger shelters, facing threat of robbery and even physical attack, than for them to sleep in a church building that doesn’t comply in every detail to the building code. But churches, too, can read Scripture in ways that are death-dealing rather than life-giving. Many churches make the same effect as the congregation leader did – interpreting Scripture from a perspective from a principal that what God most urgently requires is purity, following all the rules. And in a quest to maintain purity, churches have read Scripture to promote slavery and segregation, to exclude women from positions of leadership, pastoral and otherwise, and to proclaim some groups - immigrants, lgbt persons, others -in our society beyond the limits of God’s grace...as if God's arms can't reach far enough to embrace them. It’s important to note that Jesus was not about throwing out Scripture – but rather, Jesus interpreted scripture from a perspective that the God’s most urgent requirement is not purity, but love – love of God, love of neighbor. I’m reminded of some lines from a poem by Edwin Markham:
"He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic , rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him in."
The congregation leader from Luke’s gospel drew a circle that shut both the woman and Jesus out. But love and Jesus had a wit to win; they drew a circle that took everybody in.
I suspect that we all, in one way or another, at one time or another, maybe even now, have been like that bent over woman. By our own choices or by circumstances beyond our control, by our own attitudes or by the attitudes of others, we find not only our bodies, but our minds and our spirits, bent over, twisted out of shape. By the attitudes of others – perhaps by our own attitudes, our view of the sun, of the stars, of the heavens, of God’s grace, is blocked. All we can see is the ground immediately in front of us. We stand in our own shadow, or are forced to stand in the shadow of others; we feel that somehow we are blocked from the life-giving light of God’s love. And yet, somehow, we still find our way to worship, still show up in some forlorn hope that maybe, just maybe, today will be the day God heals us. Maybe, just maybe, today will be the day God enables us to overcome our spirit of weakness, enables us to stand tall.
From Psalm 103:
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
May it be so with you, and with me, and with all who pass through the doors of Emanuel United Church of Christ. Amen.
*******************
Please join us at Emanuel United Church of Christ as we worship God each Sunday at 10 a.m. We're on Fillmore Street (off Thompson). www.emanuelphila.org
Did this ever happen to you? You’re in a bad mood – and it shows on your face - and a friend (or your mom) tells you “You know, if you keep frowning all the time, your face will get stuck like that.” I was a moody kid, especially as a teenager, and so I frowned a lot. I knew mom was joking, but I always wondered in the back of my mind if that could really happen….if my face could get stuck in a frown. So I’d try to force a smile now and then, just to be sure I still could.
Our Gospel reading this morning is about Jesus healing a woman who got stuck. No, she didn’t get stuck with a frown on her face. Rather, we’re told that she was bent over – some translations say she was bent almost double – unable to stand up straight for 18 years. We don’t know exactly what happened to her – Luke’s gospel tells us she had a spirit of weakness, that she was bound by Satan so that she couldn’t straighten up. Maybe she had some sort of degenerative problem in her spine. Maybe she had muscle spasms that contorted her body. Or maybe, in a society in which women were treated as little more than property, valued for little more than producing sons to carry on the family line, she just became so overburdened by misfortune and abuse and oppression that over the years she slouched until she slumped, slumped until she stooped, stooped until she just couldn’t straighten herself up.
I’d like us to imagine what it was like living inside her body for all those 18 long years. When you’re bent over as badly as she was, it’s hard to walk. It’s hard to breathe. Sun, blue skies, rainbows, birds, moonlight, stars, all these are out of your visual range, unless you’re lying down looking up. And you have to strain to see the face of the person you’re talking to. When you’re standing and walking, all you see is….your feet…and the ground around them. And on a sunny day, like the groundhog, you see your shadow – your bent-over back blocks out the light of the sun. So when Jesus tells her, “Daughter, you are healed from your weakness,” the woman’s world just widened, expanded. She could stand up straight, could take a good deep breath of fresh air, could see the sky, the sun. She could look Jesus in the eye, and see the compassion in his face.
Of course, as often happens, no good deed goes unpunished. You’d think the leader of the congregation would be happy for the woman, happy to see her finally standing tall after 18 years of misery. Yep, you’d be happy and so would I, and you’d think the leader of the woman’s congregation would be happy too. And you’d be wrong. It was the Sabbath, the day of rest, you see, and as far as the leader of the congregation was concerned, the main issue at hand was not that Jesus healed the woman, but that Jesus healed her on the wrong day. “There are six other days when Jesus can heal people to his heart’s content,” the leader of the congregation said. “Come back on one of those days. The Sabbath is a day of rest, not a day of healing.” For his part, Jesus is about to jump out of his skin with frustration at this purported faith leader who just utterly missed the point of the miracle that had happened. “You’d untie your donkey on the Sabbath to give him a drink, wouldn’t you. And I’m not supposed to free this woman, who’s been tied up in a knot for 18 years, because it’s the Sabbath? Hello?” And the woman’s fellow congregation members praised God for all they had just seen.
From 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 6: “The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Recent events at our sister congregation, Hope Outreach UCC in Kensington, and their dispute with Philadelphia L&I provide a perfect illustration of how rigid adherence to the letter of the law can kill. Some city officials think it’s better for people to be kicked to the curb or to be forced to go to larger shelters, facing threat of robbery and even physical attack, than for them to sleep in a church building that doesn’t comply in every detail to the building code. But churches, too, can read Scripture in ways that are death-dealing rather than life-giving. Many churches make the same effect as the congregation leader did – interpreting Scripture from a perspective from a principal that what God most urgently requires is purity, following all the rules. And in a quest to maintain purity, churches have read Scripture to promote slavery and segregation, to exclude women from positions of leadership, pastoral and otherwise, and to proclaim some groups - immigrants, lgbt persons, others -in our society beyond the limits of God’s grace...as if God's arms can't reach far enough to embrace them. It’s important to note that Jesus was not about throwing out Scripture – but rather, Jesus interpreted scripture from a perspective that the God’s most urgent requirement is not purity, but love – love of God, love of neighbor. I’m reminded of some lines from a poem by Edwin Markham:
"He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic , rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him in."
The congregation leader from Luke’s gospel drew a circle that shut both the woman and Jesus out. But love and Jesus had a wit to win; they drew a circle that took everybody in.
I suspect that we all, in one way or another, at one time or another, maybe even now, have been like that bent over woman. By our own choices or by circumstances beyond our control, by our own attitudes or by the attitudes of others, we find not only our bodies, but our minds and our spirits, bent over, twisted out of shape. By the attitudes of others – perhaps by our own attitudes, our view of the sun, of the stars, of the heavens, of God’s grace, is blocked. All we can see is the ground immediately in front of us. We stand in our own shadow, or are forced to stand in the shadow of others; we feel that somehow we are blocked from the life-giving light of God’s love. And yet, somehow, we still find our way to worship, still show up in some forlorn hope that maybe, just maybe, today will be the day God heals us. Maybe, just maybe, today will be the day God enables us to overcome our spirit of weakness, enables us to stand tall.
From Psalm 103:
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
May it be so with you, and with me, and with all who pass through the doors of Emanuel United Church of Christ. Amen.
*******************
Please join us at Emanuel United Church of Christ as we worship God each Sunday at 10 a.m. We're on Fillmore Street (off Thompson). www.emanuelphila.org
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Running With Perseverance
(Scriptures:Jeremiah 23:23-29, Psalm 80:1-2,8-19
Hebrews 11:29-40, Hebrews 12:1-2, Luke 12:49-56)
I think all of our families have favorite stories that get told every year around the holidays, or certain family photos that they like to pass around from time to time. For example, my parents took a picture of me when I was a few years old, eating corn on the cob rather messily. My face, covered from ear to ear with bits and pieces of corn, had this really intense look of concentration – at that moment when I was a few years old, nothing, but nothing, was going to divert my focus from that cob of corn. This picture, known as “the dreaded corn picture” had a way of reappearing as I grew up when I least wanted it to. But there may be other stories and pictures that we keep returning to in difficult times, stories and pictures of big moments in our lives – a photo of a fiancé or spouse that we carry in our wallet, maybe look at if we’re separated; a picture of mom and dad that gives us comfort when times are tough, maybe a picture of you and some fishing buddies with the really big fish you caught – the one that didn’t get away. If a loved one is dying, maybe a picture of you with that loved one in happier times. When a loved one passes, we share our memories of the departed – funny stories, sad stories, stories that remind us of the character of the departed.
This week, we continue in our reading from the letter to the Hebrews. Last week, we talked about Abraham, and Moses, and other patriarchs and matriarchs of the Old Testament, each passing the torch of faith along to those who came after. This week we’re given glimpses of key moments in the history of the Hebrews. As we read about these heroes of the faith, it’s a little like opening a family album and looking at the various snapshots – look, there’s mom and dad, and Aunt Sally, and Uncle Ernie…...
Last week we remembered Abraham, who maintained faith that God would fulfill God’s promise that Abraham and Sarah would bear a son, even though both were long past the age of parenting a child. Today we hear other names, names and events we may remember from Sunday school classes – the parting of the Red Sea, the falling of the walls of Jericho – we may remember the song “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down” – Rahab the prostitute, who showed hospitality to the Hebrew spies. And over and over again we hear the refrain “by faith” – by faith the people passed through the Red Sea, by faith the walls fell, by faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish. By faith – by faith – by faith.
As we discussed last week, the “faith” talked about here is not just intellectual assent to a creed – nor is it, in the words of the Archie Bunker character from “All in the Family” ‘believing a bunch of stuff that nobody in his right mind would believe’ – faith is not just a head trip - but rather it’s trusting enough in God to act - trusting God enough to step out in faith. This is the faith by which Peter was able to step out of the boat and walk on the water - for a few steps – anyway, before his faith was shaken and he plunged in. The faith of the letter to the Hebrews is a faith that empowered the Old Testament matriarchs and patriarchs and prophets – who otherwise were just normal folks - so that they “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” Faith is an action word. We remember the names of these heroes of the faith, not because they were superheroes flying around wearing capes, with a big "S" on their chests, or because they were otherwise awesome people, but because they were ordinary people saying "yes" to an awesome God.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews goes on to make an interesting statement – that these heroes of the Old Testament, though commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised. Of course, on one level, they did see God’s promise fulfilled – Abraham and Sarah had a son in their old age, Moses led the people through the Red Sea, and so forth. But they didn’t see the full inbreaking of God’s reign – the author of Hebrews says this is because God provided something better so that they would not, apart from us – us the original readers and us here today – be made perfect. So the writer of Hebrews is saying that the fulfillment of God’s promises to the heroes of faith of the first covenant – what we call the Old Testament – is bound up with our salvation through the new covenant of faith in Jesus Christ. So we are part of the same great story, the same great drama of salvation, of all the heroes of the faith. These heroes are now witnesses to our faith, our lives, our journey to salvation.
You don’t need me to tell you that we live in difficult times. It’s hard to persevere when our lives seem to be little more than a series of misfortunes, one after another, when it seems that, if we didn't have bad luck, we wouldn't have any luck at all. There are times when we may feel so discouraged that it’s hard to get out of bed and put one foot in front of another, let alone run any race with perseverance.
The author of the letter to the Hebrews was writing to encourage early Christian churches that were feeling discouraged by persecution and difficult times. He reminded his readers how, through faith, their ancestors had overcome adversity. For his readers, these stories of Abraham and Moses and Rahab and Jephthah and all the rest were like favorite family stories that had been handed down through the generations. They are our family stories as well.
But we also have our own family stories, our individual family stories and our Emanuel church stories. These are the stories we hear every Sunday during the coffee hour – the stories of those who came from Germany to Bridesburg in the 1850’s to found this congregation - stories of how families continued to come to this church in very difficult circumstances, and the members of the church welcomed them - stories of beloved pastors from the past. And the not-so-upbeat stories as well – of pastors or congregants that didn’t quite fit, whose presence caused friction or tension or discord. These are the stories of which you’ve told me so often, “we could write a book.” And, in all seriousness, somebody really should write these stories down before they get lost – especially with our 150th anniversary coming up next year. They’re the stories of our Emanuel saints, those who’ve gone before us in the faith. They’re part of that cloud of witnesses that we read about, that cloud of witnesses cheering us on when things are tough. And, during our times of difficulty, times when we feel we want to quit or give up, if we have trouble relating to the Old Testament stories, we can draw strength from the faith journeys of those that are a little closer to home, those whose stories we still personally remember, because we were there, or a church member told us about them. In the same way, God willing, we’ll be able to pass our faith stories on to coming generations of Emanuel Church members.
So when the going gets tough, we can be inspired by the stories of those who ran this race before us. But the writer of Hebrews goes further – after all, we can’t just live on memories, though at times it’s a tempting thought. We’re told that in order to run the race with perseverance, we must cast aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. We need to leave our excess baggage behind, to travel light. We can’t run well if we’re weighed down with burdens of addiction or other attachments to self-destructive behavior, or burdens of worry or resentment or bitterness. And we won’t run well if we’re turning our head this way and that way and the other way to look at every shiny object we see on the sidelines, shiny objects like wealth or power or concern about our status or reputation or respectability. In order to run this race, we need to be willing to leave behind anything that comes between us and the prize of the high calling of Jesus Christ. And this is what lies behind Jesus' very difficult words in our reading from Luke's gospel: as we run to focus on the prize of Christ's high calling, we may become alienated even from family members, from loved ones whose attention is diverted by the many distractions along the way.
Running the race of the high call of faith may lead us into some uncomfortable situations. You may have heard on the news about our sister congregation, Hope United Church of Christ in Kensington, the former Kensington Congregational church. They’ve been in an ongoing dispute with Phila L&I and the zoning board over the congregation’s use of their upstairs sanctuary area to shelter about 2 dozen homeless men. They’ve been trying to cooperate with the city authorities, but L&I seems intent on shutting the shelter down. But the congregation feels that a vital part of their calling is sheltering these men, and they’re not backing down. In support of the congregation, a coalition of UCC and other clergy held a press conference this past Tuesday. And in order to shelter the men and keep L&I at bay, the church is holding all-night worship services all through the month of August, including the homeless men, who are invited to be present to worship or …pray, or….meditate…or participate in worship at their level of comfort. Many Phila UCC clergy are taking turns. It’s one of those times when, in order to provide comfort to some homeless men in their time of affliction, we may end up afflicting some city officials who are entirely too comfortable with the notion of kicking homeless men to the curb. Will the church be successful in their dispute with L&I? I haven’t a clue. Are they being faithful to the call of Jesus to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and bind up the wounds of the afflicted. You bet they are. This is what it looks like and feels like to run the race of faith, with perseverance.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” Amen
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Come join us at Emanuel United Church of Christ on Sundays at 10 a.m. We're on Fillmore Street (off Thompson) www.emanuelphila.org
Hebrews 11:29-40, Hebrews 12:1-2, Luke 12:49-56)
I think all of our families have favorite stories that get told every year around the holidays, or certain family photos that they like to pass around from time to time. For example, my parents took a picture of me when I was a few years old, eating corn on the cob rather messily. My face, covered from ear to ear with bits and pieces of corn, had this really intense look of concentration – at that moment when I was a few years old, nothing, but nothing, was going to divert my focus from that cob of corn. This picture, known as “the dreaded corn picture” had a way of reappearing as I grew up when I least wanted it to. But there may be other stories and pictures that we keep returning to in difficult times, stories and pictures of big moments in our lives – a photo of a fiancé or spouse that we carry in our wallet, maybe look at if we’re separated; a picture of mom and dad that gives us comfort when times are tough, maybe a picture of you and some fishing buddies with the really big fish you caught – the one that didn’t get away. If a loved one is dying, maybe a picture of you with that loved one in happier times. When a loved one passes, we share our memories of the departed – funny stories, sad stories, stories that remind us of the character of the departed.
This week, we continue in our reading from the letter to the Hebrews. Last week, we talked about Abraham, and Moses, and other patriarchs and matriarchs of the Old Testament, each passing the torch of faith along to those who came after. This week we’re given glimpses of key moments in the history of the Hebrews. As we read about these heroes of the faith, it’s a little like opening a family album and looking at the various snapshots – look, there’s mom and dad, and Aunt Sally, and Uncle Ernie…...
Last week we remembered Abraham, who maintained faith that God would fulfill God’s promise that Abraham and Sarah would bear a son, even though both were long past the age of parenting a child. Today we hear other names, names and events we may remember from Sunday school classes – the parting of the Red Sea, the falling of the walls of Jericho – we may remember the song “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down” – Rahab the prostitute, who showed hospitality to the Hebrew spies. And over and over again we hear the refrain “by faith” – by faith the people passed through the Red Sea, by faith the walls fell, by faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish. By faith – by faith – by faith.
As we discussed last week, the “faith” talked about here is not just intellectual assent to a creed – nor is it, in the words of the Archie Bunker character from “All in the Family” ‘believing a bunch of stuff that nobody in his right mind would believe’ – faith is not just a head trip - but rather it’s trusting enough in God to act - trusting God enough to step out in faith. This is the faith by which Peter was able to step out of the boat and walk on the water - for a few steps – anyway, before his faith was shaken and he plunged in. The faith of the letter to the Hebrews is a faith that empowered the Old Testament matriarchs and patriarchs and prophets – who otherwise were just normal folks - so that they “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” Faith is an action word. We remember the names of these heroes of the faith, not because they were superheroes flying around wearing capes, with a big "S" on their chests, or because they were otherwise awesome people, but because they were ordinary people saying "yes" to an awesome God.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews goes on to make an interesting statement – that these heroes of the Old Testament, though commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised. Of course, on one level, they did see God’s promise fulfilled – Abraham and Sarah had a son in their old age, Moses led the people through the Red Sea, and so forth. But they didn’t see the full inbreaking of God’s reign – the author of Hebrews says this is because God provided something better so that they would not, apart from us – us the original readers and us here today – be made perfect. So the writer of Hebrews is saying that the fulfillment of God’s promises to the heroes of faith of the first covenant – what we call the Old Testament – is bound up with our salvation through the new covenant of faith in Jesus Christ. So we are part of the same great story, the same great drama of salvation, of all the heroes of the faith. These heroes are now witnesses to our faith, our lives, our journey to salvation.
You don’t need me to tell you that we live in difficult times. It’s hard to persevere when our lives seem to be little more than a series of misfortunes, one after another, when it seems that, if we didn't have bad luck, we wouldn't have any luck at all. There are times when we may feel so discouraged that it’s hard to get out of bed and put one foot in front of another, let alone run any race with perseverance.
The author of the letter to the Hebrews was writing to encourage early Christian churches that were feeling discouraged by persecution and difficult times. He reminded his readers how, through faith, their ancestors had overcome adversity. For his readers, these stories of Abraham and Moses and Rahab and Jephthah and all the rest were like favorite family stories that had been handed down through the generations. They are our family stories as well.
But we also have our own family stories, our individual family stories and our Emanuel church stories. These are the stories we hear every Sunday during the coffee hour – the stories of those who came from Germany to Bridesburg in the 1850’s to found this congregation - stories of how families continued to come to this church in very difficult circumstances, and the members of the church welcomed them - stories of beloved pastors from the past. And the not-so-upbeat stories as well – of pastors or congregants that didn’t quite fit, whose presence caused friction or tension or discord. These are the stories of which you’ve told me so often, “we could write a book.” And, in all seriousness, somebody really should write these stories down before they get lost – especially with our 150th anniversary coming up next year. They’re the stories of our Emanuel saints, those who’ve gone before us in the faith. They’re part of that cloud of witnesses that we read about, that cloud of witnesses cheering us on when things are tough. And, during our times of difficulty, times when we feel we want to quit or give up, if we have trouble relating to the Old Testament stories, we can draw strength from the faith journeys of those that are a little closer to home, those whose stories we still personally remember, because we were there, or a church member told us about them. In the same way, God willing, we’ll be able to pass our faith stories on to coming generations of Emanuel Church members.
So when the going gets tough, we can be inspired by the stories of those who ran this race before us. But the writer of Hebrews goes further – after all, we can’t just live on memories, though at times it’s a tempting thought. We’re told that in order to run the race with perseverance, we must cast aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. We need to leave our excess baggage behind, to travel light. We can’t run well if we’re weighed down with burdens of addiction or other attachments to self-destructive behavior, or burdens of worry or resentment or bitterness. And we won’t run well if we’re turning our head this way and that way and the other way to look at every shiny object we see on the sidelines, shiny objects like wealth or power or concern about our status or reputation or respectability. In order to run this race, we need to be willing to leave behind anything that comes between us and the prize of the high calling of Jesus Christ. And this is what lies behind Jesus' very difficult words in our reading from Luke's gospel: as we run to focus on the prize of Christ's high calling, we may become alienated even from family members, from loved ones whose attention is diverted by the many distractions along the way.
Running the race of the high call of faith may lead us into some uncomfortable situations. You may have heard on the news about our sister congregation, Hope United Church of Christ in Kensington, the former Kensington Congregational church. They’ve been in an ongoing dispute with Phila L&I and the zoning board over the congregation’s use of their upstairs sanctuary area to shelter about 2 dozen homeless men. They’ve been trying to cooperate with the city authorities, but L&I seems intent on shutting the shelter down. But the congregation feels that a vital part of their calling is sheltering these men, and they’re not backing down. In support of the congregation, a coalition of UCC and other clergy held a press conference this past Tuesday. And in order to shelter the men and keep L&I at bay, the church is holding all-night worship services all through the month of August, including the homeless men, who are invited to be present to worship or …pray, or….meditate…or participate in worship at their level of comfort. Many Phila UCC clergy are taking turns. It’s one of those times when, in order to provide comfort to some homeless men in their time of affliction, we may end up afflicting some city officials who are entirely too comfortable with the notion of kicking homeless men to the curb. Will the church be successful in their dispute with L&I? I haven’t a clue. Are they being faithful to the call of Jesus to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and bind up the wounds of the afflicted. You bet they are. This is what it looks like and feels like to run the race of faith, with perseverance.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” Amen
******************************
Come join us at Emanuel United Church of Christ on Sundays at 10 a.m. We're on Fillmore Street (off Thompson) www.emanuelphila.org
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Blessed Assurance
(Scriptures: Genesis 15:1-6, Psalm 33
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Luke 12:32-40)
Did anyone watch the winter Olympics earlier this year in Vancouver? I turned on the channel a few times, but it seemed that every time I watched, they were showing a curling competition….and that just isn’t my favorite thing to watch. But one thing you might remember is that before the games begin, there is the ceremonial carrying of the Olympic torch, beginning in Greece, and been carried over a period of months to wherever the games are situated. Of course, one person isn’t carrying the flame for all that time; it’s carried by a number of people over many miles, until the final climactic moment when final runner arrives to light the symbolic cauldron, signifying the beginning of the games. And while the final carrier of the flame may be a famous athlete or some other person of symbolic importance to the host country, there are many other people, mostly anonymous, involved in carrying the flame over many miles to its final destination.
Today begins a series of readings from the letter to the Hebrews. This letter was written to sustain an early Christian community, likely composed largely but not entirely of Jewish converts to the way of Jesus. This letter is unique in its emphasis on the role of Jesus as our great high priest, “a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek”. This community was undergoing persecution and hardship, and becoming discouraged, and this letter was written to encourage them to keep on keeping on.
The letter to the Hebrews does this in several ways. In the first verse of today’s reading, we see “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” In essence, the writer is telling his readers, “what you see isn’t all you get” – that behind the routine of daily life, where the early church faced persecution, ridicule, and discouragement, God’s plan of salvation is unfolding on a scale that is both cosmic and personal, on a scale that involves all creation and all of humanity, living and dead – but also involves you, and you, and you, and me. The focal point of that plan is Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected and ascended, our great high priest, who constantly intercedes with God the Father on our behalf.
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for…” - well, what does that mean? What is faith? Those who remember the old sit-com “All in the Family” may remember that its main character, Archie Bunker, was constantly arguing with his son-in-law Mike, whom Archie referred to as “Meathead”. In the course of one argument, Archie Bunker explained faith to his atheist son-in-law thus: “Faith, Meathead, faith is something you believe that nobody in his right mind would believe.”
Not exactly words I would use to teach a confirmation class. But Archie does have a point, of a sort: faith involves trusting that there is a spiritual reality beyond the daily routine that we can see and hear and smell and touch and taste. It involves trusting that God knows us and cares for us – and our neighbor, and for all creation – and that despite all the very real crimes and tragedies that mark all of our lives, ultimately God’s purpose will not be thwarted, that God can bring good out of terrible tragedy – in the words of the old hymn, that “though the wrong seems oft’ so strong, God is the ruler yet.”
This may seem a little different from the definition of faith with which we grew up. Many of us grew up in churches that told us that faith was about memorizing the Apostles’ Creed or some other statement of faith. And creeds are important – they are like containers for our faith, giving our faith shape and form – but possessing a living faith means more than being able to recite words. Rather, living faith is trust – childlike trust – in God, in the saving work of Jesus Christ, in the ongoing witness of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Rather than something that narrows our horizons and blinds our vision, faith is an openness to the witness of Scripture and the witness of the saints of the past – and an openness to seeing God’s action in the present, and an openness to the new directions in which God may be calling us. It has been said that “tradition is the living faith of the dead, while traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” We value the insights of the past, but we are not bound by them. Rather, we look for ways in which God is active in our individual lives and in our gathered life at Emanuel Church, right here, right now, today. And, true to Archie Bunkers words, those around us may think we’re not in our right mind, that we’re a little crazy to speak of faith and hope in a world of tragedy. But we persist, because we know that what we see is not all we get.
After the writer of Hebrews speaks of faith, he reminds his readers – and reminds us – that they and we are part of a spiritual family with a long lineage, a spiritual line that goes back to Abraham and Moses and David and all the great patriarchs and matriarchs of the Old Testament. Sort of like the long, winding journey of the Olympic torch, Abraham and Sarah, Moses, and all the rest carried the torch of faith through all the long centuries. There were times when those who carried the torch grew weary, or didn’t take their responsibility seriously. There were times when it seemed like the torch was flickering, and on the verge of going out. The writer of Hebrews is telling his readers that “now the torch of faith, which Abraham and Moses and all the rest carried in their time, has now been passed to you and to me, to us. Now is not the time to drop out of the race or let the flame go out!”
While we don’t face the persecution of the early church, we’re all too familiar with frustration, with loss of hope. As that flame passed from the Jewish patriarchs to the early church, the torch of faith has now been passed to us. Some of us here have carried that torch of faith for many a long year. Others have joined the race much more recently. No matter. All of us – every single one of us – has a role in carrying that torch of faith in our generation, and passing it on to generations to come.
I’ll close with these words, attributed to the late Archbishop Oscar Romero:
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.
*********
Please join us on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. at Emanuel United Church of Christ. We're on Fillmore Street, just off Thompson. www.emanuelphila.org
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Luke 12:32-40)
Did anyone watch the winter Olympics earlier this year in Vancouver? I turned on the channel a few times, but it seemed that every time I watched, they were showing a curling competition….and that just isn’t my favorite thing to watch. But one thing you might remember is that before the games begin, there is the ceremonial carrying of the Olympic torch, beginning in Greece, and been carried over a period of months to wherever the games are situated. Of course, one person isn’t carrying the flame for all that time; it’s carried by a number of people over many miles, until the final climactic moment when final runner arrives to light the symbolic cauldron, signifying the beginning of the games. And while the final carrier of the flame may be a famous athlete or some other person of symbolic importance to the host country, there are many other people, mostly anonymous, involved in carrying the flame over many miles to its final destination.
Today begins a series of readings from the letter to the Hebrews. This letter was written to sustain an early Christian community, likely composed largely but not entirely of Jewish converts to the way of Jesus. This letter is unique in its emphasis on the role of Jesus as our great high priest, “a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek”. This community was undergoing persecution and hardship, and becoming discouraged, and this letter was written to encourage them to keep on keeping on.
The letter to the Hebrews does this in several ways. In the first verse of today’s reading, we see “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” In essence, the writer is telling his readers, “what you see isn’t all you get” – that behind the routine of daily life, where the early church faced persecution, ridicule, and discouragement, God’s plan of salvation is unfolding on a scale that is both cosmic and personal, on a scale that involves all creation and all of humanity, living and dead – but also involves you, and you, and you, and me. The focal point of that plan is Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected and ascended, our great high priest, who constantly intercedes with God the Father on our behalf.
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for…” - well, what does that mean? What is faith? Those who remember the old sit-com “All in the Family” may remember that its main character, Archie Bunker, was constantly arguing with his son-in-law Mike, whom Archie referred to as “Meathead”. In the course of one argument, Archie Bunker explained faith to his atheist son-in-law thus: “Faith, Meathead, faith is something you believe that nobody in his right mind would believe.”
Not exactly words I would use to teach a confirmation class. But Archie does have a point, of a sort: faith involves trusting that there is a spiritual reality beyond the daily routine that we can see and hear and smell and touch and taste. It involves trusting that God knows us and cares for us – and our neighbor, and for all creation – and that despite all the very real crimes and tragedies that mark all of our lives, ultimately God’s purpose will not be thwarted, that God can bring good out of terrible tragedy – in the words of the old hymn, that “though the wrong seems oft’ so strong, God is the ruler yet.”
This may seem a little different from the definition of faith with which we grew up. Many of us grew up in churches that told us that faith was about memorizing the Apostles’ Creed or some other statement of faith. And creeds are important – they are like containers for our faith, giving our faith shape and form – but possessing a living faith means more than being able to recite words. Rather, living faith is trust – childlike trust – in God, in the saving work of Jesus Christ, in the ongoing witness of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Rather than something that narrows our horizons and blinds our vision, faith is an openness to the witness of Scripture and the witness of the saints of the past – and an openness to seeing God’s action in the present, and an openness to the new directions in which God may be calling us. It has been said that “tradition is the living faith of the dead, while traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” We value the insights of the past, but we are not bound by them. Rather, we look for ways in which God is active in our individual lives and in our gathered life at Emanuel Church, right here, right now, today. And, true to Archie Bunkers words, those around us may think we’re not in our right mind, that we’re a little crazy to speak of faith and hope in a world of tragedy. But we persist, because we know that what we see is not all we get.
After the writer of Hebrews speaks of faith, he reminds his readers – and reminds us – that they and we are part of a spiritual family with a long lineage, a spiritual line that goes back to Abraham and Moses and David and all the great patriarchs and matriarchs of the Old Testament. Sort of like the long, winding journey of the Olympic torch, Abraham and Sarah, Moses, and all the rest carried the torch of faith through all the long centuries. There were times when those who carried the torch grew weary, or didn’t take their responsibility seriously. There were times when it seemed like the torch was flickering, and on the verge of going out. The writer of Hebrews is telling his readers that “now the torch of faith, which Abraham and Moses and all the rest carried in their time, has now been passed to you and to me, to us. Now is not the time to drop out of the race or let the flame go out!”
While we don’t face the persecution of the early church, we’re all too familiar with frustration, with loss of hope. As that flame passed from the Jewish patriarchs to the early church, the torch of faith has now been passed to us. Some of us here have carried that torch of faith for many a long year. Others have joined the race much more recently. No matter. All of us – every single one of us – has a role in carrying that torch of faith in our generation, and passing it on to generations to come.
I’ll close with these words, attributed to the late Archbishop Oscar Romero:
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.
*********
Please join us on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. at Emanuel United Church of Christ. We're on Fillmore Street, just off Thompson. www.emanuelphila.org
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Hope Needs Help!
I'm writing to pass along information regarding our sister congregation, Hope Outreach Mission UCC, located at C & Indiana in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. From a friend of the congregation:
"I'm writing as a follow-up to the meeting at Hope Outreach this afternoon, to support the church in its ongoing men's ministry, which is under fire from Licenses and Inspections. During the meeting, the Phila L&I inspector showed up again and informed Pastor Deborah Savage that he would return with a "cease and desist" letter on Monday, after which there would be one week's grace till he returned the following Monday (Aug. 9) with police to remove all the men from the building.
Plans were put into motion in several directions, including working on a request for a zoning change (from the present "assembly" zoning to "multiuse," which could include permission to allow the men to remain in the building overnight); contacting various city officials (from the local Councilperson to the Mayor); making contingency plans for housing the men if, in fact, they are barred from the church; and setting up a fund within the Association to provide the money to continue this fight.
As background, Hope has had this men's ministry in place for nearly a year, taking homeless men off the street, getting them off substance addictions, helping them turn their lives around through recovery programs, and gving them a hand up to self-sufficiency. In the course of this year, some 200 men's lives have been touched. (We saw many of them at the Spring Association Meeting at Chestnut Hill.) Currently, nineteen men are staying at Hope overnight. They receive breakfast and dinner and a place to clean up and sleep safely. These men have done the community a wonderful service in cleaning up the park across Indiana Ave. from the church, which was a drug park previously. The surrounding community supports Hope in this ministry.
The plan for now is that Hope will have an all-night prayer vigil every night during August. They are asking pastors and parishioners in the Association (and elsewhere) to commit to helping with these vigils. We are also asking that individuals and churches consider contributing to what we will call the Hope Outreach Support Fund. Checks should be made payable to the Philadelphia Association, UCC, and write "Hope Support" on the memo line. Mail to Philadelphia Association, c/o N. Krody, PO Box 24005, Philadelphia, PA 19139-0005.
A local chapter of "Mrs. E.J." is being established. Nationally in the U.C.C., Ministers for Racial, Social, and Economic Justice (MRSEJ) has existed for many years. Locally, the Revs. Dwayne Royster and Linda Noonan have agreed to provide leadership. Clergy (including licensed ministers, and other lay leaders) in the Association are invited to join them at another meeting next Tuesday, Aug. 2, at 1 p.m., at Hope (C & Indiana, in Kensington) for a follow-up meeting.
Most of all, please share this with your congregations and keep Hope Outreach Ministries in your personal and public prayers in coming weeks."
"I'm writing as a follow-up to the meeting at Hope Outreach this afternoon, to support the church in its ongoing men's ministry, which is under fire from Licenses and Inspections. During the meeting, the Phila L&I inspector showed up again and informed Pastor Deborah Savage that he would return with a "cease and desist" letter on Monday, after which there would be one week's grace till he returned the following Monday (Aug. 9) with police to remove all the men from the building.
Plans were put into motion in several directions, including working on a request for a zoning change (from the present "assembly" zoning to "multiuse," which could include permission to allow the men to remain in the building overnight); contacting various city officials (from the local Councilperson to the Mayor); making contingency plans for housing the men if, in fact, they are barred from the church; and setting up a fund within the Association to provide the money to continue this fight.
As background, Hope has had this men's ministry in place for nearly a year, taking homeless men off the street, getting them off substance addictions, helping them turn their lives around through recovery programs, and gving them a hand up to self-sufficiency. In the course of this year, some 200 men's lives have been touched. (We saw many of them at the Spring Association Meeting at Chestnut Hill.) Currently, nineteen men are staying at Hope overnight. They receive breakfast and dinner and a place to clean up and sleep safely. These men have done the community a wonderful service in cleaning up the park across Indiana Ave. from the church, which was a drug park previously. The surrounding community supports Hope in this ministry.
The plan for now is that Hope will have an all-night prayer vigil every night during August. They are asking pastors and parishioners in the Association (and elsewhere) to commit to helping with these vigils. We are also asking that individuals and churches consider contributing to what we will call the Hope Outreach Support Fund. Checks should be made payable to the Philadelphia Association, UCC, and write "Hope Support" on the memo line. Mail to Philadelphia Association, c/o N. Krody, PO Box 24005, Philadelphia, PA 19139-0005.
A local chapter of "Mrs. E.J." is being established. Nationally in the U.C.C., Ministers for Racial, Social, and Economic Justice (MRSEJ) has existed for many years. Locally, the Revs. Dwayne Royster and Linda Noonan have agreed to provide leadership. Clergy (including licensed ministers, and other lay leaders) in the Association are invited to join them at another meeting next Tuesday, Aug. 2, at 1 p.m., at Hope (C & Indiana, in Kensington) for a follow-up meeting.
Most of all, please share this with your congregations and keep Hope Outreach Ministries in your personal and public prayers in coming weeks."
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Rich With God
(Scriptures: Hosea 11:1-11, Psalm 107,
Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 12:13-21)
In our increasingly fast-paced world, demands on our time and money never seem to end. We may find ourselves feeling like we’re being pulled in a dozen different directions at once. Our family needs our time, our employer may want us to work late – especially if the company has downsized, and as one of the survivors you’re picking up half of what had been somebody else’s job, friends may remind us that it’s been just ages since you and your friends have had a guys’ night out or girls’ night out. Political or charitable organizations may want us to show up at fundraisers or charity events. Amid all of this, we all need a little “me” time now and then. We may feel like we’re just flailing at things, just slapping bandaids on a whole lot of festering situations because we don’t have time to deal with any of them in depth. How do you sort all this out? Steven Covey, author of books such as “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” has a saying to help people who feel overwhelmed by demands on their time or money – “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
In our Gospel reading today, we learn that, not unnaturally, people made unreasonable demands on Jesus’ time. And, though we rarely see Jesus refuse a request for assistance, in today’s reading we see him gently setting some boundaries on his time and energy. Asked by a man in the crowd to help him and his brother sort out the family inheritance, Jesus responds, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” Since when did Jesus hang out a shingle as an estate attorney. Hey, dude in the crowd, not my job! But then, as is often the case with Jesus, he doesn’t give the man what he asks for, but rather what the man needs. Jesus gets to the root of the reason for the man’s request, telling the whole crowd “Take care, be on guard against all kinds of greed, for life does not consist of an abundance of possessions.” He then tells the parable of a man whose land produced so abundantly he had nowhere to put everything. After puzzling for a moment what to do, the man decided to tear down his barn and build bigger ones that could hold all the surplus crops – I suppose today he’d rent a storage bin - and then take an early retirement, living off the proceeds. Sounds like a great plan, until God rains on his parade, telling him basically, “Today you die – and all that stuff you’ve stored up so carefully in your shiny new barn, whose will it be?” As the saying goes, you can’t take it with you. In conclusion, Jesus says, “So it will be for those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
We may think that Jesus is being a little hard on the man in his parable. After all, Jesus gives no indication that the guy was evil or dishonest. He’d worked perfectly hard to see that his fields produced, and was it his fault if he wound up with a bumper crop? What was he supposed to do with his surplus? Well, maybe giving some of it away wouldn’t have been such a bad thing – he had more than he knew what to do with, after all, and undoubtedly people around him were hungry. Jesus’ point, I believe, was that the man had no thought of expressing gratitude to God for his blessings, had no thought of sharing them with his less fortunate neighbors. The man’s main priority was his own security, his own comfort, his own enjoyment. And for Jesus, those things, while they are good things, are not the main thing.
It’s a timely parable in our society today. We live in a society where the gulf between rich and poor, between have and have-not, are as great as they were in the late 1800’s. This was the time which we now call the “gilded age”, the days of the great industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J P Morgan, Andrew Mellon – called “robber barons” by some because their immense wealth, which they flaunted at every opportunity, came at great cost to their workers. These were the days before labor unions, when if a worker didn’t like his job because 12 hour days were too long or working conditions were too dangerous or the pay was too low – hey, tough situation, there were 10 guys lined up who’d be perfectly happy to take your job. And the more things change, the more they stay the same – with union membership down, companies downsizing, and regulatory agencies looking the other way – all too often we’re back to 12 hour days, increasingly dangerous working conditions, and a shrinking paycheck. If you don’t like it, there are 10 people lined up who’d be perfectly happy to take your job. At least back in the days of the robber barons, the industrialists actually made things – today we have investment bankers and CEO’s who are just as wealthy, who treat their workers – often overseas workers – just as badly as the robber barons did, and they don’t even manufacture things – all many of them do is move money around. But for those unfortunate among us who didn’t get an $80 million dollar bonus last year, hey, at least we can watch them on TV. 20 years ago, you could watch “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”; today, if your cable package includes it, you can watch Wealth TV 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Where is the church in all this? I’ll be a little impolite this morning: all too often, many churches, many denominations, are just plain out to lunch. It is striking that while Jesus didn’t say all that much about sex, he was an absolute pain in the neck on the topic of money and possessions – meanwhile many churches, many denominations, go on and on and on about sex, but are strangely silent on the topic of money and possessions. And of the churches that do preach about money, many of them are of the prosperity gospel variety that tell their members that “God wants them rich.” Or, like some TV evangelists, they talk their elderly viewers into sending their last dollar to TV preachers who already have more dollars than they know what to do with. I will mention that the United Church of Christ, along with some of the other mainline Protestant Churches and the Roman Catholic church, has traditionally stood with labor, traditionally advocated for the rights of workers to organize, traditionally spoken against unfair labor practices and dangerous working conditions.
Remember early on, I spoke about “keeping the main thing the main thing.” The point is not that Jesus was a killjoy or that he wanted his followers to dress in rags or eat cat food or scrounge in dumpsters for their meals – but that all too often, money and possessions can be a form of idolatry. In our reading from Hosea, God speaks of the people of Israel as an exasperated parent would speak of a wayward but still beloved child. The more God called Israel, the more Israel sacrificed to idols such as the Baals – sort of like a child who asks for assistance from mom and dad, and then spends it on booze or drugs. God is ready to leave them to their fate, to let Assyria and Egypt have their way with Israel – sort of like letting an addict hit bottom. And yet, like a father or mother who detests a child’s addiction or self-destructive behavior, but cannot turn their back on their child, God cannot totally give up on God’s people – “how can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel?” While those in Hosea’s time sacrificed burnt offerings to idols made of wood or stone, all too often our society asks us to sacrifice time, effort, peace of mind, our relationships with family and friends, in an obsessive pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, status, security – either way, it’s a form of idolatry. It’s not that any of these things – wealth, power, prestige, status, security – are necessarily bad things. In fact, in and of themselves, they’re good things, gifts from God. They’re just not the main thing. To the extent that we express gratitude to God and use these good things to help others, our efforts are to God’s glory. To the extent that these things turn our attention away from God, they become idols.
Paul’s letter to the Colossians puts this into even stronger language: he speaks of our new life as believers as being raised in Christ. And like Christ, while he has been raised, and we with him, Christ’s glory is hidden, not fully evident, as it will be when Christ comes in glory. In the same way, our new life in Christ is hidden – the full working of Christ in our lives will not be seen until Christ comes in glory. That is to say, we live in an in-between time – while Jesus’ death and resurrection has created a new age of salvation and transformed lives through the work of the spirit – Christ’s kingdom or reign has not yet come in its full glory. So, in this in-between time, Paul calls on us to seek those things that are above – the things of the spirit. As regards the things of this earth, Paul says that we have died – those things are dead to us, and we to them – like childhood toys that once meant the world to us, but that as adults we’ve now long since discarded and forgotten. And Paul specifies those things that are earthly – and among them Paul lists greed, which he explicitly says is idolatry. Christ speaks of our new selves, which are being renewed in such a way that our labels – Jew, Greek, slave, free, male, female, barbarian, Scythian – no longer divide us, because Christ is all and in all.
Christ is all and in all. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. When we’re feeling overwhelmed with demands on our time or effort or money, we need to focus on those things which are above, need to focus on Christ. To say “yes” to Jesus we may need to say “no” to competing priorities. There’s an item in the bulletin about a new section on the main United Church of Christ website – it’s called “Feed Your Spirit”, and if you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I’d encourage you to check it out.
“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” As we gather in a few minutes for communion, and as we depart this sanctuary to serve God in our daily lives, may we seek those things that are above. In our lives, and in this congregation, Emanuel United Church of Christ, may we keep the main thing the main thing. Amen.
*************
At Emanuel United Church of Christ, love of God and neighbor is the main thing. Join us on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. We're on Fillmore Street, just off Thompson. www.emanuelphila.org
Colossians 3:1-11, Luke 12:13-21)
In our increasingly fast-paced world, demands on our time and money never seem to end. We may find ourselves feeling like we’re being pulled in a dozen different directions at once. Our family needs our time, our employer may want us to work late – especially if the company has downsized, and as one of the survivors you’re picking up half of what had been somebody else’s job, friends may remind us that it’s been just ages since you and your friends have had a guys’ night out or girls’ night out. Political or charitable organizations may want us to show up at fundraisers or charity events. Amid all of this, we all need a little “me” time now and then. We may feel like we’re just flailing at things, just slapping bandaids on a whole lot of festering situations because we don’t have time to deal with any of them in depth. How do you sort all this out? Steven Covey, author of books such as “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” has a saying to help people who feel overwhelmed by demands on their time or money – “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
In our Gospel reading today, we learn that, not unnaturally, people made unreasonable demands on Jesus’ time. And, though we rarely see Jesus refuse a request for assistance, in today’s reading we see him gently setting some boundaries on his time and energy. Asked by a man in the crowd to help him and his brother sort out the family inheritance, Jesus responds, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” Since when did Jesus hang out a shingle as an estate attorney. Hey, dude in the crowd, not my job! But then, as is often the case with Jesus, he doesn’t give the man what he asks for, but rather what the man needs. Jesus gets to the root of the reason for the man’s request, telling the whole crowd “Take care, be on guard against all kinds of greed, for life does not consist of an abundance of possessions.” He then tells the parable of a man whose land produced so abundantly he had nowhere to put everything. After puzzling for a moment what to do, the man decided to tear down his barn and build bigger ones that could hold all the surplus crops – I suppose today he’d rent a storage bin - and then take an early retirement, living off the proceeds. Sounds like a great plan, until God rains on his parade, telling him basically, “Today you die – and all that stuff you’ve stored up so carefully in your shiny new barn, whose will it be?” As the saying goes, you can’t take it with you. In conclusion, Jesus says, “So it will be for those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
We may think that Jesus is being a little hard on the man in his parable. After all, Jesus gives no indication that the guy was evil or dishonest. He’d worked perfectly hard to see that his fields produced, and was it his fault if he wound up with a bumper crop? What was he supposed to do with his surplus? Well, maybe giving some of it away wouldn’t have been such a bad thing – he had more than he knew what to do with, after all, and undoubtedly people around him were hungry. Jesus’ point, I believe, was that the man had no thought of expressing gratitude to God for his blessings, had no thought of sharing them with his less fortunate neighbors. The man’s main priority was his own security, his own comfort, his own enjoyment. And for Jesus, those things, while they are good things, are not the main thing.
It’s a timely parable in our society today. We live in a society where the gulf between rich and poor, between have and have-not, are as great as they were in the late 1800’s. This was the time which we now call the “gilded age”, the days of the great industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J P Morgan, Andrew Mellon – called “robber barons” by some because their immense wealth, which they flaunted at every opportunity, came at great cost to their workers. These were the days before labor unions, when if a worker didn’t like his job because 12 hour days were too long or working conditions were too dangerous or the pay was too low – hey, tough situation, there were 10 guys lined up who’d be perfectly happy to take your job. And the more things change, the more they stay the same – with union membership down, companies downsizing, and regulatory agencies looking the other way – all too often we’re back to 12 hour days, increasingly dangerous working conditions, and a shrinking paycheck. If you don’t like it, there are 10 people lined up who’d be perfectly happy to take your job. At least back in the days of the robber barons, the industrialists actually made things – today we have investment bankers and CEO’s who are just as wealthy, who treat their workers – often overseas workers – just as badly as the robber barons did, and they don’t even manufacture things – all many of them do is move money around. But for those unfortunate among us who didn’t get an $80 million dollar bonus last year, hey, at least we can watch them on TV. 20 years ago, you could watch “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”; today, if your cable package includes it, you can watch Wealth TV 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Where is the church in all this? I’ll be a little impolite this morning: all too often, many churches, many denominations, are just plain out to lunch. It is striking that while Jesus didn’t say all that much about sex, he was an absolute pain in the neck on the topic of money and possessions – meanwhile many churches, many denominations, go on and on and on about sex, but are strangely silent on the topic of money and possessions. And of the churches that do preach about money, many of them are of the prosperity gospel variety that tell their members that “God wants them rich.” Or, like some TV evangelists, they talk their elderly viewers into sending their last dollar to TV preachers who already have more dollars than they know what to do with. I will mention that the United Church of Christ, along with some of the other mainline Protestant Churches and the Roman Catholic church, has traditionally stood with labor, traditionally advocated for the rights of workers to organize, traditionally spoken against unfair labor practices and dangerous working conditions.
Remember early on, I spoke about “keeping the main thing the main thing.” The point is not that Jesus was a killjoy or that he wanted his followers to dress in rags or eat cat food or scrounge in dumpsters for their meals – but that all too often, money and possessions can be a form of idolatry. In our reading from Hosea, God speaks of the people of Israel as an exasperated parent would speak of a wayward but still beloved child. The more God called Israel, the more Israel sacrificed to idols such as the Baals – sort of like a child who asks for assistance from mom and dad, and then spends it on booze or drugs. God is ready to leave them to their fate, to let Assyria and Egypt have their way with Israel – sort of like letting an addict hit bottom. And yet, like a father or mother who detests a child’s addiction or self-destructive behavior, but cannot turn their back on their child, God cannot totally give up on God’s people – “how can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel?” While those in Hosea’s time sacrificed burnt offerings to idols made of wood or stone, all too often our society asks us to sacrifice time, effort, peace of mind, our relationships with family and friends, in an obsessive pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, status, security – either way, it’s a form of idolatry. It’s not that any of these things – wealth, power, prestige, status, security – are necessarily bad things. In fact, in and of themselves, they’re good things, gifts from God. They’re just not the main thing. To the extent that we express gratitude to God and use these good things to help others, our efforts are to God’s glory. To the extent that these things turn our attention away from God, they become idols.
Paul’s letter to the Colossians puts this into even stronger language: he speaks of our new life as believers as being raised in Christ. And like Christ, while he has been raised, and we with him, Christ’s glory is hidden, not fully evident, as it will be when Christ comes in glory. In the same way, our new life in Christ is hidden – the full working of Christ in our lives will not be seen until Christ comes in glory. That is to say, we live in an in-between time – while Jesus’ death and resurrection has created a new age of salvation and transformed lives through the work of the spirit – Christ’s kingdom or reign has not yet come in its full glory. So, in this in-between time, Paul calls on us to seek those things that are above – the things of the spirit. As regards the things of this earth, Paul says that we have died – those things are dead to us, and we to them – like childhood toys that once meant the world to us, but that as adults we’ve now long since discarded and forgotten. And Paul specifies those things that are earthly – and among them Paul lists greed, which he explicitly says is idolatry. Christ speaks of our new selves, which are being renewed in such a way that our labels – Jew, Greek, slave, free, male, female, barbarian, Scythian – no longer divide us, because Christ is all and in all.
Christ is all and in all. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. When we’re feeling overwhelmed with demands on our time or effort or money, we need to focus on those things which are above, need to focus on Christ. To say “yes” to Jesus we may need to say “no” to competing priorities. There’s an item in the bulletin about a new section on the main United Church of Christ website – it’s called “Feed Your Spirit”, and if you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I’d encourage you to check it out.
“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” As we gather in a few minutes for communion, and as we depart this sanctuary to serve God in our daily lives, may we seek those things that are above. In our lives, and in this congregation, Emanuel United Church of Christ, may we keep the main thing the main thing. Amen.
*************
At Emanuel United Church of Christ, love of God and neighbor is the main thing. Join us on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. We're on Fillmore Street, just off Thompson. www.emanuelphila.org
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