You sweep us away like a dream…
Imagine this.
It is early Saturday afternoon/early Sunday morning.
I get a phone call.
It’s Bishop Taylor.
He says, “Jeanne, he’s back.”
“He’s back? Who’s back?” I ask.
“Jesus,” the Bishop replies.
“WHAT?!!!?”
“ Yes, he’s back and he’s coming to your Saturday evening/11 AM Sunday
morning service.”
“To St. John’s?”
“Yes, that’s where he said he wanted to go. He wants to preach.”
Well.
Who am I to say no to Jesus wanting to preach.
I’m a bit of a nervous wreck and I don’t say anything to anyone.
After all, what if I say Jesus is coming here to St. John’s
and he doesn’t show up?
The service starts.
No Jesus.
We begin the Liturgy of the Word.
We hear the lessons and I read the Gospel.
Just as I return the Gospel book to the altar,
here comes Jesus.
Right down the center aisle.
Right here at St. John’s.
Imagine.
He walks up to the pulpit.
He looks out at each of you.
I mean he really looks at each of you.
He looks at me too.
Needless to say, we are all speechless.
Jesus too is silent for a few moments.
Then he speaks.
“You shall love the Lord your God
with ALL your heart, and with ALL your soul,
and with ALL your mind.
This is the greatest and first commandment.
And a second is like it:
you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these TWO commandments
hang ALL the law and the prophets.”
On these TWO commandments—
Love God. Love your neighbor—
hang ALL the law and the prophets.
Jesus smiles.
He looks again—deeply—at each one of us.
And then he walks down the center aisle and out of St. John’s.
We are stunned.
Suddenly we come alive and realize we have all these questions
we want to ask Jesus.
Someone runs after him,
out into the parking lot
But he is gone.
We sit in silence and think about what he has said.
You shall love your God
with ALL your heart, and with ALL your soul,
and with ALL your mind.
Love your neighbor.
It sounds so simple.
Almost too simple.
Surely there is more required of us than love.
But those are Jesus’ own words.
Love God. Love your neighbor.
Most of us realize--
regardless of the simplicity of the statement--
we realize that love is never an easy journey.
Even when we set out with the best possible intentions.
Loving with ALL our heart
And ALL our soul
And ALL our mind—
ALL.
That means no exceptions.
Not an easy journey
but that is the journey for which we are each commissioned.
When I travel,
I like non-stop flights.
No changing planes.
No lost luggage.
No sitting around in multiple airports.
No missed connections
Give me a non-stop flight any day.
And that is great—for going to Wales or to Providence or to Denver
or to wherever we might be traveling.
But we have to understand—
there just aren’t any non-stop flights on our spiritual journey.
We get on. We get off. We wander. We lose our “luggage”—
whatever we are carrying around at the time.
Sometimes we pick up some new baggage along the way.
Our spiritual journey forces us to travel some new routes.
Some we willingly undertake,
Others are almost forced upon us.
We find ourselves sitting next to strangers quite often.
Have you ever noticed how pews in a church are set up like an airplane?
All neatly lined up.
A center aisle.
We have our favorite seats—window or aisle.
Please oh please save us from those middle seats
unless we are sitting with family!
We travel along our spiritual path and we arrive—
Or at least at first we THINK we have arrived.
But when we stop and look around
We realize we are not at our destination—
we are at a new place
but it often feels like beginning again.
And the journey continues.
Perhaps that’s why Jesus tries to make it so simple for us.
Friends, he says,
You don’t really need to remember 10 commandments.
You can remember just two.
Two will do it.
Here are your signposts for your journey.
Love God. Love your neighbor.
ALL the commandments hang on those two.
LOVE.
Yes, we know it is simple to remember—
but we know it is not simple to live those two commandments
on a daily basis.
We can get our ticket and board the plane
but it won’t be a non-stop flight.
But regardless, loving God and loving one another—
with ALL of our being—
that is our flight assignment for our spiritual journey.
It’s a bumpy ride sometimes.
There is often turbulence.
How do we love people that drive us crazy?
How do we love people that are down right hateful?
How do we love God with all our heart and soul and mind
when we are so busy, when we’ve been hurt,
when we are struggling to make a living,
when we are fighting an illness?
We show up.
We pray.
We make mistakes.
We try again.
We start over.
It’s not a non-stop flight.
There is no direct route.
We choose to sign up for the journey or not.
We choose to accept the assignment or back away.
We are not trying to achieve perfection or success.
Our spiritual journeys are not about accomplishments.
Our spiritual journeys are about increasing our faith, our hope, our charity.
Our spiritual journeys are about learning to walk in love
as Christ loves us.
We heard in the reading from Deuteronomy about Moses.
Moses never got to go and live in the promised land here on earth.
But he got a glimpse. He got a holy glimpse.
And that glimpse reminded him
That the journey—that long and winding road—
is not about the promised land here on earth—
it is about what lies beyond.
Moses only got a glimpse.
But that glimpse was enough.
That glimpse makes the whole journey—
with all its stops, connections, layovers, lost luggage—worth it.
We show up for worship to catch a glimpse.
We offer kindness and forgiveness and love
to those who have not earned it or deserved it,
to catch a glimpse.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and first commandment.
And a second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments hang ALL the law and the prophets.
Love is everything.
Absolutely everything.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Sermon for Year A Proper 23
Whose party is it?
Some of you are old enough
and some of you are young enough
to remember an old Leslie Gore song—
“It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to..”.
That song has run through my head all week.
As I read the scripture lessons for this week.
As I read the newspaper and listened to the news.
It’s my party
And I’ll cry if I want to.
Whose party is it?
Moses goes up on the mountain to speak with God
and when Moses doesn’t come back right away
the people gather around his brother Aaron, complaining and shouting
and the next thing you know
they are melting down their gold,
taking control
creating an idol to worship—a golden calf.
A “god” that is tangible and touchable.
Did they think God wouldn’t know, wouldn’t notice?
Jesus tells a parable about a king who is trying to give a party—
a wedding feast for his son.
But it wasn’t really a very happy occasion.
People were invited and they didn’t come.
Not only did they not show up,
people were rude, abusive and destructive.
The king doesn’t take rejection well.
He strikes back—
he gets rid of the murderers and burns down their city.
But the king does not give up.
He is determined to have this feast.
He extends the invitation to a new guest list.
He sends his servants out to invite those
who are never invited to any party.
So the Father,
determined to have this feast
Sends his servants out into the streets
And has them invite everyone and anyone—
That’s right—
The gospel says they invited the good and the bad—
Everyone—
And soon the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Everyone is invited. Everyone is welcome at the party.
But it’s not a free ride.
The guest who shows up dressed as if it’s casual Friday
instead of a wedding feast?
He’s bound hand and foot and thrown into the outer darkness.
I doubt there’s much partying going on
in the outer darkness!
It sounds like a place I don’t want to go!
There is a lot
of chaos and confusion, anger and anxiety
in our scripture readings today.
It’s not too dissimilar to what’s been happening in our world this past week,
especially the financial world.
Wall Street has not been having a party.
And even people without investments are worried about
what this all means.
How will this affect me? You? Us?
Read the headlines in The New York Times or any other paper
and you see words like “Panic,”
“Depression,” “Fear.”
Not exactly the most conducive environment
for kicking off a parish stewardship campaign.
But today is the day we do just that.
There’s a minister named Larry Patten
who says that stewardship is a fancy word
for asking nice church folks to give money.
And we do indeed “stew” over it!
Here’s the biblical truth behind stewardship.
We are called to give 10% back to God.
You’ll find that in more places than one in the Bible.
A tithe.
A portion.
Keep nine sheep but give me the tenth one, says God.
Keep the nine dollars but give me the one dollar.
Ten percent.
It’s easy math.
But that doesn’t mean we like it.
We are funny about money.
Not HA-HA funny,
But weird funny.
Touchy funny.
It’s none of your business funny.
But it is God’s business.
Because the question we have to struggle with is this:
What belongs to God?
Ten percent? Five? One?
What belongs to God?
I think the answer to that is everything.
Everything is God’s.
Every hair on our head.
Every coin coming in and going out of our pockets.
The mortgages we pay, the foreclosures we fear, the SUV or Prius in the garage, the oil in Iraq…
It all belongs to God.
All of it.
Just like we each belong to God.
.
Do I want you to make a pledge this year?
Of course I do.
Do I wish that every member of this parish would tithe?
Of course I do.
Do I believe we will be bound hand and foot
And thrown into the outer darkness
If we do not make a pledge?
No.
Absolutely not.
But I also believe
that we do not want to be part of the crowd at the foot of the mountain
With our golden calf—
worshipping our everyday, right now wealth and abundance
with no regard to what God calls each of us
to be, to give, to offer, to trust in.
Your pledge—your offering to God—
Is your decision, your choice.
This is a generous and giving parish.
You do give with glad and generous hearts.
I, like you, want this parish to grow and thrive
and be on a strong financial foundation.
We have been blessed
with this little corner of God’s kingdom
called St. John’s Episcopal Church.
It is not ours.
It belongs completely to God.
But we have been invited to the party, to God’s feast.
We have been invited to care for this little corner of the kingdom.
How awesome it is
to know that God trusts us to offer this care.
That is our challenge.
But within that challenge is also our blessing.
Some of you are old enough
and some of you are young enough
to remember an old Leslie Gore song—
“It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to..”.
That song has run through my head all week.
As I read the scripture lessons for this week.
As I read the newspaper and listened to the news.
It’s my party
And I’ll cry if I want to.
Whose party is it?
Moses goes up on the mountain to speak with God
and when Moses doesn’t come back right away
the people gather around his brother Aaron, complaining and shouting
and the next thing you know
they are melting down their gold,
taking control
creating an idol to worship—a golden calf.
A “god” that is tangible and touchable.
Did they think God wouldn’t know, wouldn’t notice?
Jesus tells a parable about a king who is trying to give a party—
a wedding feast for his son.
But it wasn’t really a very happy occasion.
People were invited and they didn’t come.
Not only did they not show up,
people were rude, abusive and destructive.
The king doesn’t take rejection well.
He strikes back—
he gets rid of the murderers and burns down their city.
But the king does not give up.
He is determined to have this feast.
He extends the invitation to a new guest list.
He sends his servants out to invite those
who are never invited to any party.
So the Father,
determined to have this feast
Sends his servants out into the streets
And has them invite everyone and anyone—
That’s right—
The gospel says they invited the good and the bad—
Everyone—
And soon the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Everyone is invited. Everyone is welcome at the party.
But it’s not a free ride.
The guest who shows up dressed as if it’s casual Friday
instead of a wedding feast?
He’s bound hand and foot and thrown into the outer darkness.
I doubt there’s much partying going on
in the outer darkness!
It sounds like a place I don’t want to go!
There is a lot
of chaos and confusion, anger and anxiety
in our scripture readings today.
It’s not too dissimilar to what’s been happening in our world this past week,
especially the financial world.
Wall Street has not been having a party.
And even people without investments are worried about
what this all means.
How will this affect me? You? Us?
Read the headlines in The New York Times or any other paper
and you see words like “Panic,”
“Depression,” “Fear.”
Not exactly the most conducive environment
for kicking off a parish stewardship campaign.
But today is the day we do just that.
There’s a minister named Larry Patten
who says that stewardship is a fancy word
for asking nice church folks to give money.
And we do indeed “stew” over it!
Here’s the biblical truth behind stewardship.
We are called to give 10% back to God.
You’ll find that in more places than one in the Bible.
A tithe.
A portion.
Keep nine sheep but give me the tenth one, says God.
Keep the nine dollars but give me the one dollar.
Ten percent.
It’s easy math.
But that doesn’t mean we like it.
We are funny about money.
Not HA-HA funny,
But weird funny.
Touchy funny.
It’s none of your business funny.
But it is God’s business.
Because the question we have to struggle with is this:
What belongs to God?
Ten percent? Five? One?
What belongs to God?
I think the answer to that is everything.
Everything is God’s.
Every hair on our head.
Every coin coming in and going out of our pockets.
The mortgages we pay, the foreclosures we fear, the SUV or Prius in the garage, the oil in Iraq…
It all belongs to God.
All of it.
Just like we each belong to God.
.
Do I want you to make a pledge this year?
Of course I do.
Do I wish that every member of this parish would tithe?
Of course I do.
Do I believe we will be bound hand and foot
And thrown into the outer darkness
If we do not make a pledge?
No.
Absolutely not.
But I also believe
that we do not want to be part of the crowd at the foot of the mountain
With our golden calf—
worshipping our everyday, right now wealth and abundance
with no regard to what God calls each of us
to be, to give, to offer, to trust in.
Your pledge—your offering to God—
Is your decision, your choice.
This is a generous and giving parish.
You do give with glad and generous hearts.
I, like you, want this parish to grow and thrive
and be on a strong financial foundation.
We have been blessed
with this little corner of God’s kingdom
called St. John’s Episcopal Church.
It is not ours.
It belongs completely to God.
But we have been invited to the party, to God’s feast.
We have been invited to care for this little corner of the kingdom.
How awesome it is
to know that God trusts us to offer this care.
That is our challenge.
But within that challenge is also our blessing.
Sermon for Year A Proper 22
KISS: Love God. Love One Another.
The breath of life.
That is what we each are given.
We are part of God’s creation.
This is a beautiful piece of poetry we heard as our second reading
(James Weldon Johnson's THE CREATION)
I recognize that it is not very inclusive of women.
But we women know
God gave us the breath of life as well
And we too are created in God’s image.
This piece was written in 1927.
The world has changed a great deal since then.
Yet the beauty of James Weldon Johnson’s words
still touches us today.
We are given breath,
our life,
by God.
We then have quite a journey of free will
on how we will use that life.
Our scripture readings today are interesting.
The Hebrew people receive the ten commandments.
We’ve let the ten commandments become almost a cliché in our culture.
That’s a mistake.
The ten commandments are
actually the minimum moral code
for how we can survive as a culture.
I read an interesting essay this week by David Gill,
an ethics professor.
He points out that every one of the ten commandments hangs on LOVE.
When Jesus is asked WHAT ARE THE GREATEST OF ALL THE COMMANDMENTS—he replies immediately:
Love God. Love one another.
That’s like giving us the KISS version of the ten commandments.
(KISS standing for Keep it simple, stupid)
Martin Luther said, “Whoever knows the Ten Commandments
perfectly knows the whole of scripture.”
Take that little scripture insert and put it in your pocket.
Pull it out later today or later this week.
And think about your own life and those commandments.
Don’t think about or judge anyone else’s life.
Just think about your own.
Think about your own covenant relationship with God
And how you are doing in keeping up your end of the bargain.
We hear from Jesus in today’s gospel.
That we can lose the whole kingdom
if we forget what is really important,
if we ignore the One who gave us breath, life.
Love God.
Love one another.
Loving God means putting God at the center of our lives.
Not work, not money, not success, not even family—
but God.
That’s not easy.
But even more difficult is loving one another.
Imagine a day without being critical of someone.
Without spreading or listening to a tidbit of gossip.
Imagine a day without blaming someone else
when things don’t go as you want.
Imagine a day when every minute you just felt
overwhelmed by love.
.
We need these commandments.
We need to remember who it was that gave us life.
We need to remember who the Creator is.
Who it is who gives us everything.
And we need to live lives of thanksgiving.
How do we do that?
Love God.
Love one another.
And how do we do that?
Practice.
Yes.
Practice love every day.
And saying your prayers never hurts either.
The breath of life.
That is what we each are given.
We are part of God’s creation.
This is a beautiful piece of poetry we heard as our second reading
(James Weldon Johnson's THE CREATION)
I recognize that it is not very inclusive of women.
But we women know
God gave us the breath of life as well
And we too are created in God’s image.
This piece was written in 1927.
The world has changed a great deal since then.
Yet the beauty of James Weldon Johnson’s words
still touches us today.
We are given breath,
our life,
by God.
We then have quite a journey of free will
on how we will use that life.
Our scripture readings today are interesting.
The Hebrew people receive the ten commandments.
We’ve let the ten commandments become almost a cliché in our culture.
That’s a mistake.
The ten commandments are
actually the minimum moral code
for how we can survive as a culture.
I read an interesting essay this week by David Gill,
an ethics professor.
He points out that every one of the ten commandments hangs on LOVE.
When Jesus is asked WHAT ARE THE GREATEST OF ALL THE COMMANDMENTS—he replies immediately:
Love God. Love one another.
That’s like giving us the KISS version of the ten commandments.
(KISS standing for Keep it simple, stupid)
Martin Luther said, “Whoever knows the Ten Commandments
perfectly knows the whole of scripture.”
Take that little scripture insert and put it in your pocket.
Pull it out later today or later this week.
And think about your own life and those commandments.
Don’t think about or judge anyone else’s life.
Just think about your own.
Think about your own covenant relationship with God
And how you are doing in keeping up your end of the bargain.
We hear from Jesus in today’s gospel.
That we can lose the whole kingdom
if we forget what is really important,
if we ignore the One who gave us breath, life.
Love God.
Love one another.
Loving God means putting God at the center of our lives.
Not work, not money, not success, not even family—
but God.
That’s not easy.
But even more difficult is loving one another.
Imagine a day without being critical of someone.
Without spreading or listening to a tidbit of gossip.
Imagine a day without blaming someone else
when things don’t go as you want.
Imagine a day when every minute you just felt
overwhelmed by love.
.
We need these commandments.
We need to remember who it was that gave us life.
We need to remember who the Creator is.
Who it is who gives us everything.
And we need to live lives of thanksgiving.
How do we do that?
Love God.
Love one another.
And how do we do that?
Practice.
Yes.
Practice love every day.
And saying your prayers never hurts either.
Sermon for Year A Proper 21
Just say YES
There is a book out now--
supposedly a true story--
about a fellow—Danny Wallace—
who is a freelance radio consultant for the BBC.
The book’s title is YES MAN.
Because Danny Wallace—
who had been accused of always immediately saying NO
to everything and everyone--
decided that for one year
he would say YES to everything and everyone.
Just to prove he could I suppose.
He says YES to people giving out pamphlets on street corners.
He says YES to credit card offers overflowing from his mailbox.
He says YES to all those pleas for help on the Internet.
He attends meetings with a group
that believes aliens built the pyramids in Egypt
and he says YES to every invitation to go out on the town
or come to a party.
Danny Wallace becomes the ultimate YES MAN.
In today’s Gospel reading
Jesus is telling yet another vineyard parable.
This time it sounds like the vineyard owner
has one son who is a YES man
and one son who is a NO man.
Or at least that is the first impression.
As the story goes on we hear the story a little differently.
The man asks his sons for help.
The first son says NO—sorry, I’m too busy, I’m too tired, I’m not interested.
I just don’t want to go work in the vineyard—
but then he changes his mind—
he does go and work as his father asked.
The other son says YES immediately—sure, Dad, of course I will,
no problem,
Only there is a problem
because he doesn’t actually go.
He says he will go,
He tells his father he will go—
But he doesn’t.
The son who says NO goes;
the son who says YES doesn’t go.
Jesus is quick to point out that the son who actually WENT and WORKED
is the one we need to look to as our model—
not the son who promised and did nothing,
not the son who boastfully said YES, OF COURSE
and then did nothing.
Jesus is making a very particular point here.
Jesus is teaching that what we say—what we promise God with words—
is not what matters.
The saying is so easy.
Words can slip and slide so easily off our tongues.
We can be so glib.
Jesus is teaching that what we do—how we LIVE our promises—
that is what matters.
And that doing is not always easy
Poet Mary Oliver has a line in her poem
SIX RECOGNITIONS OF THE LORD
I know a lot of fancy words.
I tear them from my heart and tongue.
Then I pray.
St. Francis said:
Preach the gospel at all times.
When necessary, use words.
Words are beautiful and good and indeed, can help us communicate;
but it is our actions that speak the loudest.
Showing up.
Showing up to worship.
Showing up to pray.
Showing up to give.
Showing up to help.
Preach the gospel at all times.
When in doubt use words.
There should be no doubt
that Jesus very purposefully
uses the imagery of a father and two sons.
A father loves both his sons.
Even the one that can’t seem to follow through on his promises,
Even the son who fails is still a beloved child.
Things done and things left undone.
We are such a mixture of both.
God knows that.
We want to be good and do good
But sometimes we over promise what we can deliver.
Jesus tells this parable so that we might grow a kinder, more compassionate,
And far less judgemental heart.
Tax collectors and prostitutes—
the lowest of the low in that first century society--
yet Jesus holds up his hands to the harsh judgments
that slip so easily off the lips of some
and says look with different eyes,
see with a different heart.
God welcomes everyone as beloved children.
We are called to change.
To change our minds.
To change our hearts.
God welcomes each one of US as beloved children.
We do not have to be perfect
to come into God’s kingdom.
It would be a lonely, empty place if that were the case.
We fool ourselves if we think God expects perfect.
Madeline L’Engle once told the story of her mother,
a life long Episcopalian,
who suddenly stopped going to church.
Finally, she confronted her mother and said,
What is this about?
Her mother said,
I can’t go to church because I can’t take communion.
What? asked her daughter.
What are you talking about.
I can’t take communion, Madeline.
I’ve thought about it and I am just not worthy.
Mother! No one could take communion if we had to be worthy.
There was a silence.
A long pause.
Oh, her mother quietly replied.
I guess that’s true.
Her mother never missed another Sunday==
or another communion.
We don’t have to put up a good face with God.
God knows whom we really are—
the good, the bad and the ugly.
We are created in God’ image.
God only wants us to be real, to be honest, to be truthful.
To be faithful.
We need to stop expecting others to be perfect.
We need to stop expecting ourselves to be perfect.
We need to just stop and listen and hear the invitation
to come—
come into the vineyard and go to work.
We are each invited every day.
Why not give it a try, says God?
And who do we find in the vineyard?
A bunch of folks just trying,
TRYING--to practice the generous gospel of Jesus Christ.
This means we will be mixing with
seekers, searchers,
and those who have been bruised;
those who limp and mourn;
orphans and widows,
folks who are worn out,
clapped out, burnt out,
wise elders, young wonderers,
lesbian and gay couples,
singles and married,
the wealthy who are trying to get through
the eye of the needle,
the poor who are struggling to maintain their dignity,
the emotionally deprived and harmed,
those who have failed to love
and those who are afraid to receive love
those who have broken their promises,
those bowed down with burdens,
those who teeter on the brink of breakdown,
those for whom the grip of alcohol or work,
food or drugs or sex,
gambling or unnamed powers,
is getting stronger,
and those for whom the grip is loosening,
Those struggling with faith and doubt,
and goodness knows how many others…
Indeed, anyone who is like those Jesus mixed with.
The kingdom of God is not a private club
and neither is this parish.
We are called to offer our parish as one little corner of the vineyard—
a sacred space open to all people of goodwill---
especially those who find difficulty with any of this.
And though we are not yet
strong and vulnerable enough
to show the unconditional love of God at all times,
we hope we are moving in that direction.
We hope we are moving in that direction.
+ + +
Note: This sermon was inspired by a brochure titled BEWARE! Found in St. Hywyn’s Church in Aberdaron, Wales.
There is a book out now--
supposedly a true story--
about a fellow—Danny Wallace—
who is a freelance radio consultant for the BBC.
The book’s title is YES MAN.
Because Danny Wallace—
who had been accused of always immediately saying NO
to everything and everyone--
decided that for one year
he would say YES to everything and everyone.
Just to prove he could I suppose.
He says YES to people giving out pamphlets on street corners.
He says YES to credit card offers overflowing from his mailbox.
He says YES to all those pleas for help on the Internet.
He attends meetings with a group
that believes aliens built the pyramids in Egypt
and he says YES to every invitation to go out on the town
or come to a party.
Danny Wallace becomes the ultimate YES MAN.
In today’s Gospel reading
Jesus is telling yet another vineyard parable.
This time it sounds like the vineyard owner
has one son who is a YES man
and one son who is a NO man.
Or at least that is the first impression.
As the story goes on we hear the story a little differently.
The man asks his sons for help.
The first son says NO—sorry, I’m too busy, I’m too tired, I’m not interested.
I just don’t want to go work in the vineyard—
but then he changes his mind—
he does go and work as his father asked.
The other son says YES immediately—sure, Dad, of course I will,
no problem,
Only there is a problem
because he doesn’t actually go.
He says he will go,
He tells his father he will go—
But he doesn’t.
The son who says NO goes;
the son who says YES doesn’t go.
Jesus is quick to point out that the son who actually WENT and WORKED
is the one we need to look to as our model—
not the son who promised and did nothing,
not the son who boastfully said YES, OF COURSE
and then did nothing.
Jesus is making a very particular point here.
Jesus is teaching that what we say—what we promise God with words—
is not what matters.
The saying is so easy.
Words can slip and slide so easily off our tongues.
We can be so glib.
Jesus is teaching that what we do—how we LIVE our promises—
that is what matters.
And that doing is not always easy
Poet Mary Oliver has a line in her poem
SIX RECOGNITIONS OF THE LORD
I know a lot of fancy words.
I tear them from my heart and tongue.
Then I pray.
St. Francis said:
Preach the gospel at all times.
When necessary, use words.
Words are beautiful and good and indeed, can help us communicate;
but it is our actions that speak the loudest.
Showing up.
Showing up to worship.
Showing up to pray.
Showing up to give.
Showing up to help.
Preach the gospel at all times.
When in doubt use words.
There should be no doubt
that Jesus very purposefully
uses the imagery of a father and two sons.
A father loves both his sons.
Even the one that can’t seem to follow through on his promises,
Even the son who fails is still a beloved child.
Things done and things left undone.
We are such a mixture of both.
God knows that.
We want to be good and do good
But sometimes we over promise what we can deliver.
Jesus tells this parable so that we might grow a kinder, more compassionate,
And far less judgemental heart.
Tax collectors and prostitutes—
the lowest of the low in that first century society--
yet Jesus holds up his hands to the harsh judgments
that slip so easily off the lips of some
and says look with different eyes,
see with a different heart.
God welcomes everyone as beloved children.
We are called to change.
To change our minds.
To change our hearts.
God welcomes each one of US as beloved children.
We do not have to be perfect
to come into God’s kingdom.
It would be a lonely, empty place if that were the case.
We fool ourselves if we think God expects perfect.
Madeline L’Engle once told the story of her mother,
a life long Episcopalian,
who suddenly stopped going to church.
Finally, she confronted her mother and said,
What is this about?
Her mother said,
I can’t go to church because I can’t take communion.
What? asked her daughter.
What are you talking about.
I can’t take communion, Madeline.
I’ve thought about it and I am just not worthy.
Mother! No one could take communion if we had to be worthy.
There was a silence.
A long pause.
Oh, her mother quietly replied.
I guess that’s true.
Her mother never missed another Sunday==
or another communion.
We don’t have to put up a good face with God.
God knows whom we really are—
the good, the bad and the ugly.
We are created in God’ image.
God only wants us to be real, to be honest, to be truthful.
To be faithful.
We need to stop expecting others to be perfect.
We need to stop expecting ourselves to be perfect.
We need to just stop and listen and hear the invitation
to come—
come into the vineyard and go to work.
We are each invited every day.
Why not give it a try, says God?
And who do we find in the vineyard?
A bunch of folks just trying,
TRYING--to practice the generous gospel of Jesus Christ.
This means we will be mixing with
seekers, searchers,
and those who have been bruised;
those who limp and mourn;
orphans and widows,
folks who are worn out,
clapped out, burnt out,
wise elders, young wonderers,
lesbian and gay couples,
singles and married,
the wealthy who are trying to get through
the eye of the needle,
the poor who are struggling to maintain their dignity,
the emotionally deprived and harmed,
those who have failed to love
and those who are afraid to receive love
those who have broken their promises,
those bowed down with burdens,
those who teeter on the brink of breakdown,
those for whom the grip of alcohol or work,
food or drugs or sex,
gambling or unnamed powers,
is getting stronger,
and those for whom the grip is loosening,
Those struggling with faith and doubt,
and goodness knows how many others…
Indeed, anyone who is like those Jesus mixed with.
The kingdom of God is not a private club
and neither is this parish.
We are called to offer our parish as one little corner of the vineyard—
a sacred space open to all people of goodwill---
especially those who find difficulty with any of this.
And though we are not yet
strong and vulnerable enough
to show the unconditional love of God at all times,
we hope we are moving in that direction.
We hope we are moving in that direction.
+ + +
Note: This sermon was inspired by a brochure titled BEWARE! Found in St. Hywyn’s Church in Aberdaron, Wales.
Sermon for Year A Proper 19
The Pilgrim Way
Some of you know
that I have just returned from 12 days in Wales.
I helped lead a pilgrimage.
There were 11 of us who traveled together,
ate together, worshipped together, learned together,
laughed together, prayed together.
For those 12 days we were a small and loving community,
our own little congregation.
I was repeatedly astounded how this group shared and helped
and loved one another.
It was an amazing time.
In Wales we traveled several ancient pilgrimage routes.
Paths that have been traveled since the early centuries of Christianity.
We learned about St. David, St. Non, St. Beuno.
We worshipped in a church in Llandanwg that has celebrated
with prayers and hymns and Holy Eucharist
since the early 5th century.
We met clergy and parishioners from a variety of parishes.
We noticed differences but we also noted similarities.
We visited three Cistercian monasteries—
the ruins of those monasteries, to be more accurate.
Strata Florida, Valle Crucis, and Tintern.
The Cistercians were very important to Christianity in Wales.
Once we have fully recovered from jetlag,
Organized and edited our 3 million photographs,
and had more than 24 hours to reflect upon this experience,
we will certainly share more about our pilgrimage
with all of you.
On pilgrimage afar and on our daily pilgrimages
we receive so many blessings in the people we meet,
the places we visit,
the prayers we offer and the prayers that are offered for us.
When we touched down at the Charlotte airport yesterday evening
we immediately began to hear news.
Gas had gone up 85 cents a gallon since we left--
IF you could find gas
(indeed, we had to stop at two stations
before we found any gas at all)
There was political news in abundance.
We were well soaked in rain in Wales
And happy to find out that you, too, had some rain here
while we were away.
We were not so happy to hear that
Hurricane Ike was heading straight towards Galveston and Houston.
To go away on an intentional pilgrimage, or a retreat,
to purposefully fast from the media
to let go of control and focus one’s heart on the spiritual
stops time in a way--
So that we might intentionally make ourselves present
and open to God.
That is a gift.
But upon return
We also must face that time has not really stopped.
We must learn to make ourselves intentionally present
and open to God
even amidst the hubbub of our daily lives.
Following the Cistercian tradition that we heard so much about in Wales
was a very well known American monk
by the name of Thomas Merton.
Until his death in 1968,
Thomas Merton lived at a monastery in Gethsemane, Kentucky.
You can still go on retreat to that monastery today.
Thomas Merton wrote a prayer
that I keep taped in the front of my hymnal.
Here are the words:
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you
and I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
And I know that if I do this,
you will lead me by the right road
although I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death,
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
This is a wonderful pilgrim prayer.
This is a wonderful prayer for all of us trying to follow God.
My Lord I have no idea where I am going…
Our scripture readings today are all about forgiveness.
Forgiveness is often a long and difficult journey.
Sometimes our anger and bitterness and hatred over being so wrongly hurt
has consumed us and every nook and cranny of our lives.
Sometimes we are afraid to forgive those who have hurt us--
because we don’t know where that forgiveness will lead.
Will it lead to more hurt, more abuse?
Does our forgiveness mean what they did is right, is okay?
.To the contrary,
Forgiveness is about truly freeing ourselves.
Forgiveness is about letting go of denial
and acknowledging the truth,
Forgiveness is about letting go of all those hurts that have kept
and keep us captive
and finally—FINALLY--moving on.
Forgiveness is not about forgetting.
Forgiveness is not about being someone else’s doormat.
Forgiveness does not mean staying in a hurtful, abusive relationship.
Forgiveness means, with God’s help,
We unlock the chains that have bound you to the perpetrator,
We lay those chains down upon the ground
for good and for ever.
Forgiveness gives us the freedom
To once again walk as a child of light.
Peter questions Jesus
about how far does forgiveness really need to go,
Jesus responds: to infinity—
not seven times but seventy-seven times.
Never stop forgiving one another.
Forgive your brother or sister from your heart.
Forgiveness is unconditional.
It cannot depend or rely upon the repentance of the wrongdoer.
Forgiveness does not wait
for someone to be sorry for what they have done.
We cannot possibly repay God for all our blessings.
But we can show our gratitude by the way we treat others.
We choose.
Whether we close ourselves in by putting on
the armor of hate and resentment, bitterness and judgment.
Or whether we open ourselves up
by putting on the face of Christ, the armor of light,
and offer mercy and grace, forgiveness and love.
We are so quick to judge.
So slow to forgive.
The world may give us a million messages
that tell us that is the way to live, the way to be,
But Christ tells us that is backwards.
The teacher and poet Wendell Berry writes:
Friends, every day do something that won’t compute.
Love the Lord.
Love the world.
Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
We find the stepping stones to the path of forgiveness
in those words in Thomas Merton’s prayer:
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
It is with God’s help
that we learn to forgive from our hearts.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
Some of you know
that I have just returned from 12 days in Wales.
I helped lead a pilgrimage.
There were 11 of us who traveled together,
ate together, worshipped together, learned together,
laughed together, prayed together.
For those 12 days we were a small and loving community,
our own little congregation.
I was repeatedly astounded how this group shared and helped
and loved one another.
It was an amazing time.
In Wales we traveled several ancient pilgrimage routes.
Paths that have been traveled since the early centuries of Christianity.
We learned about St. David, St. Non, St. Beuno.
We worshipped in a church in Llandanwg that has celebrated
with prayers and hymns and Holy Eucharist
since the early 5th century.
We met clergy and parishioners from a variety of parishes.
We noticed differences but we also noted similarities.
We visited three Cistercian monasteries—
the ruins of those monasteries, to be more accurate.
Strata Florida, Valle Crucis, and Tintern.
The Cistercians were very important to Christianity in Wales.
Once we have fully recovered from jetlag,
Organized and edited our 3 million photographs,
and had more than 24 hours to reflect upon this experience,
we will certainly share more about our pilgrimage
with all of you.
On pilgrimage afar and on our daily pilgrimages
we receive so many blessings in the people we meet,
the places we visit,
the prayers we offer and the prayers that are offered for us.
When we touched down at the Charlotte airport yesterday evening
we immediately began to hear news.
Gas had gone up 85 cents a gallon since we left--
IF you could find gas
(indeed, we had to stop at two stations
before we found any gas at all)
There was political news in abundance.
We were well soaked in rain in Wales
And happy to find out that you, too, had some rain here
while we were away.
We were not so happy to hear that
Hurricane Ike was heading straight towards Galveston and Houston.
To go away on an intentional pilgrimage, or a retreat,
to purposefully fast from the media
to let go of control and focus one’s heart on the spiritual
stops time in a way--
So that we might intentionally make ourselves present
and open to God.
That is a gift.
But upon return
We also must face that time has not really stopped.
We must learn to make ourselves intentionally present
and open to God
even amidst the hubbub of our daily lives.
Following the Cistercian tradition that we heard so much about in Wales
was a very well known American monk
by the name of Thomas Merton.
Until his death in 1968,
Thomas Merton lived at a monastery in Gethsemane, Kentucky.
You can still go on retreat to that monastery today.
Thomas Merton wrote a prayer
that I keep taped in the front of my hymnal.
Here are the words:
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you
and I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
And I know that if I do this,
you will lead me by the right road
although I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death,
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
This is a wonderful pilgrim prayer.
This is a wonderful prayer for all of us trying to follow God.
My Lord I have no idea where I am going…
Our scripture readings today are all about forgiveness.
Forgiveness is often a long and difficult journey.
Sometimes our anger and bitterness and hatred over being so wrongly hurt
has consumed us and every nook and cranny of our lives.
Sometimes we are afraid to forgive those who have hurt us--
because we don’t know where that forgiveness will lead.
Will it lead to more hurt, more abuse?
Does our forgiveness mean what they did is right, is okay?
.To the contrary,
Forgiveness is about truly freeing ourselves.
Forgiveness is about letting go of denial
and acknowledging the truth,
Forgiveness is about letting go of all those hurts that have kept
and keep us captive
and finally—FINALLY--moving on.
Forgiveness is not about forgetting.
Forgiveness is not about being someone else’s doormat.
Forgiveness does not mean staying in a hurtful, abusive relationship.
Forgiveness means, with God’s help,
We unlock the chains that have bound you to the perpetrator,
We lay those chains down upon the ground
for good and for ever.
Forgiveness gives us the freedom
To once again walk as a child of light.
Peter questions Jesus
about how far does forgiveness really need to go,
Jesus responds: to infinity—
not seven times but seventy-seven times.
Never stop forgiving one another.
Forgive your brother or sister from your heart.
Forgiveness is unconditional.
It cannot depend or rely upon the repentance of the wrongdoer.
Forgiveness does not wait
for someone to be sorry for what they have done.
We cannot possibly repay God for all our blessings.
But we can show our gratitude by the way we treat others.
We choose.
Whether we close ourselves in by putting on
the armor of hate and resentment, bitterness and judgment.
Or whether we open ourselves up
by putting on the face of Christ, the armor of light,
and offer mercy and grace, forgiveness and love.
We are so quick to judge.
So slow to forgive.
The world may give us a million messages
that tell us that is the way to live, the way to be,
But Christ tells us that is backwards.
The teacher and poet Wendell Berry writes:
Friends, every day do something that won’t compute.
Love the Lord.
Love the world.
Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
We find the stepping stones to the path of forgiveness
in those words in Thomas Merton’s prayer:
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
It is with God’s help
that we learn to forgive from our hearts.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
Sermon for Year A Proper16
Who do you say I am?
There is an amazing cover on the recent issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.
Michael Phelps
Wearing his gold medals from the Olympic Games.
Now if you don’t know who Michael Phelps is,
All I can say is that he is an amazing swimmer.
Amazing.
I am a Michael Phelps fan.
But not just because he is an amazing swimmer.
I like Michael Phelps because he has very candidly talked about being teased--
Actually more than teased—more like bullied and tortured
when he was growing up.
He and his sisters were raised by their mother Debbie
In a working class neighborhood in Baltimore.
Phelps had it otouch because he was taunted by other kids
About his sticking out ears, his lisp and his long arms.
He also struggled with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and was put on medication for two years.
His mother Debbie said:
"In kindergarten I was told,
'Michael can't sit still, Michael can't be quiet,
Michael can't focus'.
"I said, 'Maybe he's bored'.
The teacher said, 'He's not gifted.
Your son will never be able to focus on anything'."
Then Michael Phelps discovered swimming.
And he knew that was who he really was—a swimmer.
He had a natural gift,
but he coupled that with incredible dedication
and the hard work of training.
Michael Phelps competed in his first Olympic games in Sydney
in the year 2000.
He was 15 years old.
Even as a teenager, Michael Phelps decided
that he would define who he was---
not other people.
Did their ridicule and comments hurt?
Yes, of course they did.
Cruel comments hurt all of us deeply.
Somehow, though, these past few weeks,
I don’t think anyone has paid much attention to Michael Phelps ears—
those gold medals and those multiple world records
have had the spotlight.
We cannot control what other people say or do.
We can control how we react to what other people say or do.
So what does Michael Phelps have to do with the gospel of Matthew?
Lots and lots of people have lots and lots of opinions about Jesus—
and many of them are not very complimentary.
That was true in the first century and it is still true today
In the twenty-first century.
Jesus knows who he is—
But I think he is wondering if anyone else can really see him,
Really see him for who he is.
But I think Jesus is dead serious when he asks Peter the question:
Who do you say I am?
The others have responded to Jesus by what they have heard others say.
But Peter speaks from the heart.
What a gift it is to have someone who loves us so much
that they see us with the eyes of their heart.
Peter is rash and controlling, often fearful, sometimes a hot=head.
But at this moment,
Peter’s eyes are as wide open to Jesus as they can possibly be:
And that is what he sees:
All the possibilities.
All that is and will be possible with God.
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!
What a gift it is to have someone who really sees us
for whom we really are.
We are each so loved by God.
God looks at us with the eyes of the heart.
Be whom you were created to be.
Use YOUR gifts.
Paul had it so right when he wrote in his letter to the Romans:
..we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.
We have gifts that differ.
But we each have gifts.
The challenge is to discover those gifts and to celebrate those gifts.
Very often gifts come coupled with a great deal of hard work.
Michael Phelps made it to the Olympics
because he was disciplined and dedicated and practiced
and practiced and practiced.
and trained and trained and trained.
Throughout our lives
other people will try to define who we are.
It is good to listen
but it is important to listen with our heart.
Throughout our lives
other people will also try to tell us who Jesus is and who God is.
They will insist on this characteristic or that.
But each of us must take the time to be able to answer
the question Jesus asks today:
Who do YOU say I am?
To see with our heart
we must listen with our heart.
To become whom God created us to become,
is to first discover our gifts,
to then discover the ways we can develop and use those gifts,
and finally to celebrate with great joy
those gifts we have been given.
To listen to God
we must first take the time,
to set aside time to be quiet, to sit in stillness and silence—
even if it is only the few minutes at night
before we drift off to sleep,
or the few minutes in the morning when we first awake.
Once Mother Teresa was asked by an interviewer,
“What do you say to God when you pray?”
Mother Teresa replied,
“I don’t say anything. I just listen.
The interviewer then asked,
“Well, what does God say?”
“Nothing”, she replied.
“God just listens too.”
We are all given the gift of prayer.
Prayer opens our hearts.
Prayer trains us to listen.
Prayer is a discipline.
Prayer is learning to be quiet, to be still.
Prayer is learning to receive.
Prayer changes us in ways we cannot ask or imagine.
Prayer is the journey which leads us to our answer
for the question
Jesus has for each of us:
Who do YOU say that I am?
God is listening.
There is an amazing cover on the recent issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED.
Michael Phelps
Wearing his gold medals from the Olympic Games.
Now if you don’t know who Michael Phelps is,
All I can say is that he is an amazing swimmer.
Amazing.
I am a Michael Phelps fan.
But not just because he is an amazing swimmer.
I like Michael Phelps because he has very candidly talked about being teased--
Actually more than teased—more like bullied and tortured
when he was growing up.
He and his sisters were raised by their mother Debbie
In a working class neighborhood in Baltimore.
Phelps had it otouch because he was taunted by other kids
About his sticking out ears, his lisp and his long arms.
He also struggled with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and was put on medication for two years.
His mother Debbie said:
"In kindergarten I was told,
'Michael can't sit still, Michael can't be quiet,
Michael can't focus'.
"I said, 'Maybe he's bored'.
The teacher said, 'He's not gifted.
Your son will never be able to focus on anything'."
Then Michael Phelps discovered swimming.
And he knew that was who he really was—a swimmer.
He had a natural gift,
but he coupled that with incredible dedication
and the hard work of training.
Michael Phelps competed in his first Olympic games in Sydney
in the year 2000.
He was 15 years old.
Even as a teenager, Michael Phelps decided
that he would define who he was---
not other people.
Did their ridicule and comments hurt?
Yes, of course they did.
Cruel comments hurt all of us deeply.
Somehow, though, these past few weeks,
I don’t think anyone has paid much attention to Michael Phelps ears—
those gold medals and those multiple world records
have had the spotlight.
We cannot control what other people say or do.
We can control how we react to what other people say or do.
So what does Michael Phelps have to do with the gospel of Matthew?
Lots and lots of people have lots and lots of opinions about Jesus—
and many of them are not very complimentary.
That was true in the first century and it is still true today
In the twenty-first century.
Jesus knows who he is—
But I think he is wondering if anyone else can really see him,
Really see him for who he is.
But I think Jesus is dead serious when he asks Peter the question:
Who do you say I am?
The others have responded to Jesus by what they have heard others say.
But Peter speaks from the heart.
What a gift it is to have someone who loves us so much
that they see us with the eyes of their heart.
Peter is rash and controlling, often fearful, sometimes a hot=head.
But at this moment,
Peter’s eyes are as wide open to Jesus as they can possibly be:
And that is what he sees:
All the possibilities.
All that is and will be possible with God.
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!
What a gift it is to have someone who really sees us
for whom we really are.
We are each so loved by God.
God looks at us with the eyes of the heart.
Be whom you were created to be.
Use YOUR gifts.
Paul had it so right when he wrote in his letter to the Romans:
..we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.
We have gifts that differ.
But we each have gifts.
The challenge is to discover those gifts and to celebrate those gifts.
Very often gifts come coupled with a great deal of hard work.
Michael Phelps made it to the Olympics
because he was disciplined and dedicated and practiced
and practiced and practiced.
and trained and trained and trained.
Throughout our lives
other people will try to define who we are.
It is good to listen
but it is important to listen with our heart.
Throughout our lives
other people will also try to tell us who Jesus is and who God is.
They will insist on this characteristic or that.
But each of us must take the time to be able to answer
the question Jesus asks today:
Who do YOU say I am?
To see with our heart
we must listen with our heart.
To become whom God created us to become,
is to first discover our gifts,
to then discover the ways we can develop and use those gifts,
and finally to celebrate with great joy
those gifts we have been given.
To listen to God
we must first take the time,
to set aside time to be quiet, to sit in stillness and silence—
even if it is only the few minutes at night
before we drift off to sleep,
or the few minutes in the morning when we first awake.
Once Mother Teresa was asked by an interviewer,
“What do you say to God when you pray?”
Mother Teresa replied,
“I don’t say anything. I just listen.
The interviewer then asked,
“Well, what does God say?”
“Nothing”, she replied.
“God just listens too.”
We are all given the gift of prayer.
Prayer opens our hearts.
Prayer trains us to listen.
Prayer is a discipline.
Prayer is learning to be quiet, to be still.
Prayer is learning to receive.
Prayer changes us in ways we cannot ask or imagine.
Prayer is the journey which leads us to our answer
for the question
Jesus has for each of us:
Who do YOU say that I am?
God is listening.
Sermon for Year A Proper 15
Things fall apart
Pema Chodron is a Buddhist
who is a gifted teacher and writer.
She tells this story in her book Things Fall Apart.
A holy man and his disciples were on their way to visit a temple.
To get into the temple
they had to pass by this enormous, very ferocious attack dog.
The good news was
the dog is kept on a chain
so if you keep out of the dog’s reach you were okay.
They arrive that day
and all that stands between them and their destination
is this growling, baring his teeth huge dog.
They pass by safely
as the dog strains against the chain that holds him.
They think they are home free
when the chain breaks
and the dog comes running straight towards them.
The disciples freeze and begin to scream.
The holy man begins to run as fast as he can—
not AWAY from the dog, but straight towards the dog.
The dog sees the man running towards him—
something he has never seen before—
and the dog stops
then walks away and lies down and goes to sleep.
Sometimes when things fall apart,
the best approach is to run towards all that is collapsing.
to face the disappointment, the anger, the prejudice, the shock
head on.
In our reading from Genesis
Joseph is part of a family that has fallen apart.
In a surprising twist of events,
His brothers come before him needing food.
These are the same brothers who showed him no mercy.
Joseph faces his brothers head on.
He could have easily turned away,
not met with them at all.
He could have easily had them all thrown in prison—
or killed—
These brothers had deceived Joseph and their father.
Jealousy and greed and selfishness
caused Joseph’s brothers to conveniently throw him in a pit—
and walk away.
Things had indeed fallen apart in that family—
as in many families.
But Jospeh doesn’t sweep that dysfunction under the rug.
Rather than transform his power
into anger or revenge or hatred,
Joseph forgives his brothers
and in the process he IS transformed—
along with the rest of his family—
by the true power
of compassion and forgiveness and love.
Joseph faces into the growling dog
that has kept him and his family hostage all these years
and lets go of the past
so there is room for the future.
In Matthew’s gospel today we have a very painful encounter
between Jesus
and the Canaanite woman.
This is not the “love is all you need” Jesus,
we are so comfortable knowing.
Jesus is downright hateful in this scripture passage.
He is cruel to this woman.
Why?
Because she is not a Jew,
not one of the chosen people,
not one of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Jesus’ disciples urge him to send her away
and he is set on a collision course to do just that,
to show no mercy.
The woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter
And Jesus replies cruelly:
“It is not fair to take the children’s food
and throw it to the dogs.”
He is telling this woman that her ethnic and religious background
mean that not only will he not listen to her,
not only will he not heal her daughter,
but Jesus thinks she and her people are the scum of the earth.
Harsh words can fool us into believing
that Jesus is running straight toward the growling dog.
But the reality is Jesus is ducking out the side door.
He doesn’t want to deal with this problem.
He doesn’t want to take the time to really see who this woman is
beyond the stereotypes and prejudices of his day.
You see, it is the woman who runs straight towards the growling dog.
This mother is not about to let go of her hope
that her daughter can be healed.
You can call me anything you like, Jesus.
You want me to be a dog?
I will be a dog.
But please—
Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.
And Jesus stops short.
His carefully constructed prejudices fall apart.
Jesus realizes how wrong he has been.
Not only wrong in the way he has spoken to and treated this woman
but how wrong he has been about his mission in the world.
Suddenly Jesus realizes that God’s love and mercy and grace
are for ALL people.
Not just a select few.
All people. No exceptions.
The church is not a private club, not a gated community.
Paul gets it so right in his letter to the Romans.
God doesn’t exclude anyone.
God welcomes all.
All people.
When we face the things in our lives that bother and disturb us the most,
We have hope for real healing.
When we run away, when we hide, when we keep secrets,
when we respond with anger or cruelty or apathy,
That growling dog keeps running after us, nipping at our heels,
smacking his lips
keeping fear as the ruler of our lives.
Our scriptures this morning tell us that is not God’s intention—
to rule us with fear.
This does not mean that God gives us a “pass GO and collect your $ 200”
highway to life is easy street.
There is an enormous difference between
life is easy
and
life is good.
Joseph’s life was transformed first by God.
Joseph had to let go of his privileged family position as beloved son
and suffer slavery, prison, and many harsh hardships.
Yet God transformed evil into good.
God transformed a curse into a blessing.
What Joseph then offered his brothers
was that same mercy, that same love
that had been offered to him by God.
Anger and hatred and revenge destroy.
Love and mercy and forgiveness transform.
Jesus was running from the truth—
the truth that all people are worthy of respect and dignity.
That all people are God’s children.
The Canaanite woman had every right to be furious with Jesus—
his words and his actions are plain hateful.
But she believes in his power to heal—
and she focuses on that good she believes is inside him
She faces up to the growling dog of rejection
and Jesus stops.
He recognizes and realizes his mistake,
How wrong he has been.
The Canaanite woman’s love for her daughter
And her love and belief that God will heal her daughter
Opens Jesus’ eyes.
And the child is healed.
When we stop running away from all that keeps us captive,
When we face the growling dog head on,
we too have hope for healing, for wholeness.
Pema Chodron is a Buddhist
who is a gifted teacher and writer.
She tells this story in her book Things Fall Apart.
A holy man and his disciples were on their way to visit a temple.
To get into the temple
they had to pass by this enormous, very ferocious attack dog.
The good news was
the dog is kept on a chain
so if you keep out of the dog’s reach you were okay.
They arrive that day
and all that stands between them and their destination
is this growling, baring his teeth huge dog.
They pass by safely
as the dog strains against the chain that holds him.
They think they are home free
when the chain breaks
and the dog comes running straight towards them.
The disciples freeze and begin to scream.
The holy man begins to run as fast as he can—
not AWAY from the dog, but straight towards the dog.
The dog sees the man running towards him—
something he has never seen before—
and the dog stops
then walks away and lies down and goes to sleep.
Sometimes when things fall apart,
the best approach is to run towards all that is collapsing.
to face the disappointment, the anger, the prejudice, the shock
head on.
In our reading from Genesis
Joseph is part of a family that has fallen apart.
In a surprising twist of events,
His brothers come before him needing food.
These are the same brothers who showed him no mercy.
Joseph faces his brothers head on.
He could have easily turned away,
not met with them at all.
He could have easily had them all thrown in prison—
or killed—
These brothers had deceived Joseph and their father.
Jealousy and greed and selfishness
caused Joseph’s brothers to conveniently throw him in a pit—
and walk away.
Things had indeed fallen apart in that family—
as in many families.
But Jospeh doesn’t sweep that dysfunction under the rug.
Rather than transform his power
into anger or revenge or hatred,
Joseph forgives his brothers
and in the process he IS transformed—
along with the rest of his family—
by the true power
of compassion and forgiveness and love.
Joseph faces into the growling dog
that has kept him and his family hostage all these years
and lets go of the past
so there is room for the future.
In Matthew’s gospel today we have a very painful encounter
between Jesus
and the Canaanite woman.
This is not the “love is all you need” Jesus,
we are so comfortable knowing.
Jesus is downright hateful in this scripture passage.
He is cruel to this woman.
Why?
Because she is not a Jew,
not one of the chosen people,
not one of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Jesus’ disciples urge him to send her away
and he is set on a collision course to do just that,
to show no mercy.
The woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter
And Jesus replies cruelly:
“It is not fair to take the children’s food
and throw it to the dogs.”
He is telling this woman that her ethnic and religious background
mean that not only will he not listen to her,
not only will he not heal her daughter,
but Jesus thinks she and her people are the scum of the earth.
Harsh words can fool us into believing
that Jesus is running straight toward the growling dog.
But the reality is Jesus is ducking out the side door.
He doesn’t want to deal with this problem.
He doesn’t want to take the time to really see who this woman is
beyond the stereotypes and prejudices of his day.
You see, it is the woman who runs straight towards the growling dog.
This mother is not about to let go of her hope
that her daughter can be healed.
You can call me anything you like, Jesus.
You want me to be a dog?
I will be a dog.
But please—
Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.
And Jesus stops short.
His carefully constructed prejudices fall apart.
Jesus realizes how wrong he has been.
Not only wrong in the way he has spoken to and treated this woman
but how wrong he has been about his mission in the world.
Suddenly Jesus realizes that God’s love and mercy and grace
are for ALL people.
Not just a select few.
All people. No exceptions.
The church is not a private club, not a gated community.
Paul gets it so right in his letter to the Romans.
God doesn’t exclude anyone.
God welcomes all.
All people.
When we face the things in our lives that bother and disturb us the most,
We have hope for real healing.
When we run away, when we hide, when we keep secrets,
when we respond with anger or cruelty or apathy,
That growling dog keeps running after us, nipping at our heels,
smacking his lips
keeping fear as the ruler of our lives.
Our scriptures this morning tell us that is not God’s intention—
to rule us with fear.
This does not mean that God gives us a “pass GO and collect your $ 200”
highway to life is easy street.
There is an enormous difference between
life is easy
and
life is good.
Joseph’s life was transformed first by God.
Joseph had to let go of his privileged family position as beloved son
and suffer slavery, prison, and many harsh hardships.
Yet God transformed evil into good.
God transformed a curse into a blessing.
What Joseph then offered his brothers
was that same mercy, that same love
that had been offered to him by God.
Anger and hatred and revenge destroy.
Love and mercy and forgiveness transform.
Jesus was running from the truth—
the truth that all people are worthy of respect and dignity.
That all people are God’s children.
The Canaanite woman had every right to be furious with Jesus—
his words and his actions are plain hateful.
But she believes in his power to heal—
and she focuses on that good she believes is inside him
She faces up to the growling dog of rejection
and Jesus stops.
He recognizes and realizes his mistake,
How wrong he has been.
The Canaanite woman’s love for her daughter
And her love and belief that God will heal her daughter
Opens Jesus’ eyes.
And the child is healed.
When we stop running away from all that keeps us captive,
When we face the growling dog head on,
we too have hope for healing, for wholeness.
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