Presented at County Line Brethren Church on December 20, 2009.
Year C, Fourth Sunday of Advent
Scripture passages: Micah 5:2-5a and Luke 1:39-55
So, here we are, with the encroachment of winter upon us. Snow fell yesterday and it is likely to be with us for some time, delivering on Irving Berlin’s dream for a “White Christmas.”
All over the east coast today, churches are closed and sledding hills are crowded. Side streets have been turned into toboggan runs. Add a little snow and dreary becomes wonderful – at least for those who have a sense of adventure. Fires have been lit in the fireplaces while stoves and ovens create the aromas of cookies and hot chocolate. Winter can be very dreary. But it need not be so.
It seems more than coincidence that Christmas comes during the darkest, most dormant, and is the coldest season of the year – at least for those of us dwelling in the north side of the northern hemisphere. The deciduous trees have shed their leaves for the most part. In many areas familiar with snow, the grass turns brown, lakes have begun to freeze over, and even some of the wildlife have disappeared.
We would do well to be reminded that scripture nowhere tells us the date, month or even the season for the birth of Jesus. Some have suggested that cultural and non-Christian influences helped the church to set the date at December 25. This is difficult to argue against for this is almost certainly true to at least some extent. Nevertheless, positioning Christmas toward the end of December, fits quite nicely into the liturgical calendar.
In the beginning of “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” winter had settled in for a very long time. Winter was maintained in the grip of evil, without the hope of spring. Mr. Tumnus, the faun said that Narnia was, “Always winter, never Christmas.”
Winter, which officially arrives tomorrow, symbolizes for some the time of Seasonal Affective Disorder and cabin fever, as well as sustained periods of trouble and despair.
In our Old Testament reading for today, Judah was experiencing a winter of distress and despair. Their nation was falling apart.
Historians tell us that many in Judah suffered displacement and economic hardship after the fall of the northern kingdom in 722BC. To keep Assyria at bay, rulers of Judah paid tribute for several generations and evidently passed those expenses on to the poor. In addition, refugees flooded into Jerusalem and elsewhere in the southern kingdom from the north and from territories Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, sliced off from Judah and gave to the Philistines. In a time when resources were not plentiful, the increased population and need for more food encouraged landowners to lower wages and expand their properties.
The trickle-down effects of these conditions were according to Micah, deadly. The “heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel” coveted and seized fields, oppressed small farmers and pushed them off their land, took bribes, and generally declared “war against those who put nothing into their mouths” (referring to Micah 2:1-9 and 3:2-11). [Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol. 1, pp.74, 76]
It has been discovered that Sennacharib, the king of Assyria, had taken possession of 46 strong cities and many other smaller towns in Judah. Even Jerusalem was placed under siege during this time.
Much of the early portion of Micah is devoted to the pronouncements of judgment against Judah and Jerusalem – even more than what they had experienced already! For example, Micah 3:9-12 says this.
Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us." Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.
So, you see that even the Lord God has determined to judge these people. They have distorted justice and pushed down the poor to their own benefit. They call good evil and evil they call good. They are unkind to one another and not following God.
And to top it off, a prophet of God is telling us it is going to get worse. Now that feels good doesn’t it?
Let’s consider this for a moment in the context of our own current travails. We have high unemployment. Many hard working people lost their jobs, not because of their performance, but because of the crisis in our economy. There are big money people that are making bigger money on the backs of people who were enticed and tricked into loans that were dangerous, and the home is now back in the hands of those big money people. Not only our federal government, but individual and corporate debt loads have been higher than anyone could have imagined just a few years ago. Innocent people have been put to death in our prisons, babies die in abortion clinics, and civilians die in our wars abroad, while others die due to the lack of adequate medical care.
Are we that different from Judah in Micah’s day? I suspect that there are even more similarities. Let us not be deluded into thinking it is just the country or just the corporate big shots or just the criminals and gangsters or just the politicians. It is us, you and me. Most of us have been greedy, blurring the line between “wants” and needs.” It is not helpful to point the finger entirely at other people. We must accept responsibility for our own greed and reliance upon our own skill. We trust more in doctors, politicians and our savings account than we do in Almighty God. Surely, we suffer, in part, as a result of our own devices.
But God did not leave Judah and Jerusalem to wallow in their suffering. And God does not leave us in the mire of our own making. God is always faithful and will not forget his children. Out of the pain of judgment and the desolation wrought by foreign kings, God sends a message of hope. 700 years before the birth of Jesus, God reached into the heart and soul of a desperate people. God pronounces his everlasting faithfulness to a people who have lost hope.
During a time when raw military power is used to suppress the people, God speaks about a new ruler who will arise out of the little town of Bethlehem. During a time when the prevailing belief is that the only answer to this oppressive power is more power, God says that this new ruler will
stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace. (Micah 5:4)
“He shall be the one of peace.” The problem with reliance upon power is that it always takes more power. God offers the hope that this new ruler will come, not with bigger and better guns, but in the strength of the Lord. And he will stand and feed the flock. He is able to do this, not because he is able to build alliances, but because he will come “in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.”
Hope is then the next phase of our preparation for the coming Christ. Repentance prepares our hearts to receive the hope offered by God. Hope without repentance is a pipe dream. Repentance without hope is a meager existence. Hope fits in well with that ‘forward-looking’ aspect to repentance.
Now, for Judah and Jerusalem in Micah’s day, the realization of this hope was still a long ways off. You did hear me say that Micah spoke the word of the Lord 700 years before the birth of Jesus. You also heard me emphasize that there would be more trouble for Judah.
In spite of this, let it be known here today that God is faithful and his promises are true. We do not know his specific plans, but we know he has not forgotten us. He understands our desperate states, both individually and corporately together. In the same way that God spoke words of hope to the people then, he offers us words of hope today. But let us not be deceived. We are not looking for, or demanding, quick fixes. God’s ways and his timing are just and perfect. We pray he will not tarry another 700 years, but it is his decision.
Our personal and collective response to our failings has been covered in the past two sermons. Our peace and liberty rests in the pathway of repentance. While that does not bring about perfect restoration, in and of itself, we are provided with the hope of reconciliation because of the cross.
Meanwhile, 700 years after the prophecy of Micah, angels appeared to the parents of both John and Jesus. It is no mystery that these two women, prominent in the birth narratives, are brought together. In the midst of another “winter” with the children of Israel again occupied by a foreign power, the imminent arrival of the Shepherd is brought to bear in the lives of Mary and Elizabeth.
There is no irony in the grace bestowed upon both Elizabeth and Mary. For that is the way God works. He chose the small village of Bethlehem for the birth of his child. God chose these two obscure and humble women to participate in his plan to save the planet. That’s how God does things.
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." (I Corinthians 1:27-31)
In this, our last Sunday of Advent, Mary sets out “with haste” to her cousin Elizabeth. Perhaps someone should have reminded her that this has been in the planning stages for a few thousand years. She probably did not need to hurry. But Mary was driven to see Elizabeth. For the promise of hope, delivered to Micah, would soon come to fruition in and through their own lives. Husbands would do well to pay heed to this.
We made a lot of preparations for the open house last week and really enjoyed seeing all of you who attended. By the way, I believe there is still one pecan bar left, unless you had it last night, Beth. Well ahead of time we set up tables and chairs and did a lot of cleaning. The kids helped with the baking. I did not do any of that – you should be thankful. Now, over the course of our marriage, I have learned a few things – even though I still have a lot left to comprehend (I’m a real slow learner). Here’s one thing I learned. Just because I THINK every thing is done and prepared and ready does NOT mean every thing is done and prepared and ready.
Indeed, pregnancy is a time of waiting and preparation. Hmmm. That’s just like the season of Advent, is it not? This was not just some long pajama party. Mary and Elizabeth had some preparing to do. There was a lot of talking, to be sure. By the way, Elizabeth had no one to talk to. Her husband was unable to talk. So, yes, Mary and Elizabeth were best buddies, sharing their fears, their excitement and their hopes.
This brings us to our final point. Even repentance has pointed us in this direction. Have you noticed that true hope is difficult to suppress or keep hidden? True hope is about as hard to hide as is pregnancy. [that reminds me of a show Beth likes to watch about people who give birth not knowing that they were even pregnant, but we won’t go there] But typically, pregnancy is a physical manifestation of hope. It is hard to hide or be quiet about.
Elizabeth testifies to the veracity of Gabriel’s message to Mary. Mary gives God the glory and gives voice to her hope for the shepherd that will turn things upside down. Mary’s song is about a shepherd whose
mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
This was not something Mary could keep to herself. It was a hope that she shared, with Elizabeth. They were together for 3 months, sharing their hope.
So, our final act of preparation for the coming Christ child is sharing our hope with one another.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Repentance, Part 2
Presented at County Line Brethren Church on December 13, 2009.
Year C, Third Sunday of Advent
Scripture passages: Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Luke 3:7-18
No one wants to be chastised by John the baptizer this close to Christmas. No preacher wants to read this text when preparing for his third Advent sermon. No parishioner wants to be challenged by John's words as she sits in the pew enveloped in thoughts of final Christmas preparations and purchases. Again this Third Sunday of Advent, however, the lectionary delivers us to John and his challenging words from the wilderness.
There is no getting to Bethlehem and the sweet baby in the manger without first hearing the rough prophet in the wilderness call us to repentance. . . Trying to avoid or sugarcoat John's words is just not possible. Faithful and fruitful arrival at the manger will be possible only after the careful self-examination and recommitment called for by John.
(Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol. 1, p. 69)
In the Advent season, the primary themes are preparation, anticipation and waiting. Last week we looked at repentance as a critical key to unlocking our hearts in preparation for the coming of the Christ child. By definition, repentance involves addressing past sins, wrong-doings and transgressions. We express regret and sorrow. At the same time we were reminded that we have already been forgiven; past, present and future by the precious sacrifice of our Lord. Therefore, repentance is not something we do, in order to “stay saved.” Repentance is something we do so that our intimacy with the Divine deepens. We also discovered that repentance is incomplete without a forward-looking perspective. This includes that intimate relationship with Jesus and the anticipation of his coming (whether it is the symbol of Christmas morning and the coming of the Messiah, or his return in the clouds). Without this forward-looking perspective, we are more prone to remain stuck in the past. This touches a bit on the observation and question posed by Jean last week; that we often have difficulty accepting God's forgiveness, or at least feeling it in our hearts.
Before we move on to our topic for today, I would like to spend a few minutes on this issue, in the hope that it will be helpful.
Let's assume that we wrong another person. At some later time we genuinely regret this and apologize, asking for forgiveness. We may even try to correct the wrong in some way. How do you know that this other person has forgiven you? Not, how do you guess or presume that the other person has forgiven you. Rather, How do you KNOW – without a shadow of a doubt – that the other person has completely and unequivocably forgiven you??
A couple stories from scripture come to mind. The first is derived from the story of the relationship between Paul and John Mark. John Mark, as you recall, deserted Paul and Barnabas on one of their missionary journeys. Paul was so hurt and/or angry and/or distrustful of John Mark that he refused to allow John Mark to accompany he and Barnabas on their next missionary journey. This produced a schism between Paul and Barnabas. As far as we know, for many years this schism continued. But late in Paul's life, in one of his twilight letters, he specifically requests the presence of John Mark. Can you imagine after deserting the great Apostle Paul, having him more than a decade later requesting your helpful presence? I can only imagine that when John Mark was in the presence of Paul, in his later years, that forgiveness was more than a matter of the mind. Forgiveness had settled deeply in their hearts. One lesson we can learn here is that forgiveness settles in as relationships are restored.
The other passage that comes to mind is the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. After the son had spent all his money, envied the food of pigs, he came to his senses and returned to his father's home.
“But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him. Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe, and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Bring the fattened calf and kill it! Let us eat and celebrate, because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again – he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
Again we are able to discern that it is in the restoration of the relationship that full acceptance of forgiveness is realized. This often takes a long time, sometimes it takes years for human relationships to be fully restored. And, unfortunately, there are some situations where the relationships are not restored on this side of heaven.
So, the question then becomes how can we experience or feel forgiveness prior to, or in the absence of, a full restoration of the relationship.
Here is where our relationship to God, through His Son, may be particularly helpful. Because of what Jesus accomplished, we are fully forgiven for our sins yesterday, today and tomorrow. God fully understands and forgives – knowing who we are, warts and all. We sense that our relationship with him is tarnished, and so, we get our feet dirty. We remain 100% sinner. And yet, we are referred to as “saints” in scripture. God currently sees us through those Jesus goggles as what we shall be: made perfect in him. We are therefore 100% saints. This is that Lutheran doctrine that we spoke of a few weeks ago. We are 100% sinner and 100% saint. Because of Jesus, our relationship with God has already been restored. It seems to me that the tension we experience when we do not feel forgiven, is because we are focusing on the “sinner” part, instead of the “saint” part.
I am also reminded of the the passage in Matthew 18, which talks about forgiveness in the parable of the Unmerciful Servant. Peter asked Jesus, how many times should we forgive someone who sins against us? Jesus replied “seventy times seven.” Jesus then tells the story about a servant of the king that owed the king a lot of money. The king was about to sell the servant and his family, in order to satisfy the debt. The servant begged for mercy and the king canceled the debt. This same servant then began to collect the debts owed to him and even had one of the debtors thrown into prison because of his failure to pay up. When the king found out about this, he was furious and called the servant in for a meeting. As a result, the king turned the servant over to the jailers until his debt was paid.
We often find it hard to forgive those who have hurt us and cannot imagine how or why God would forgive us for all the bad things we have done. This parable would indicate that one of the reasons we cannot accept God's forgiveness is because we have been unable to forgive others for the wrong they did to us.
Are there perhaps things that we can do, which would help us along this pathway toward experiencing forgiveness?
I did a mini survey this week. Ok, I asked three people. Do you ever have problems feeling forgiven? How are you able to feel or experience God's forgiveness?
One person acknowledged that he has had times that he did not feel forgiven by God, even though he knew he was. This man did not know how to get to the point of feeling forgiven. One person said that he thought it was a matter of trust. While acknowledging that he also struggles with feeling forgiven, he thinks that we simply need to learn to trust that what the Bible says is true. If the Bible says we are forgiven, we should trust that. So, in one sense, it does boil down to trust. Can we trust that God has forgiven us? Can we trust that God forgives us, even when others have not forgiven us?
Another person stated, matter of factly, that he felt forgiven after going to confession. I cannot underestimate how much of an impact this person's statement had upon me.
I have long thought that as Protestants, in regards to some of the practices of Catholicism, we have thrown out some babies with the bath water. In my mind, the practice of regular confession is high on the list.
In our scripture passage for last week, you may recall that those who were baptized by Jesus also “confessed” their sins. It turns out this is a very healthy practice and supported by scripture notwithstanding all the other stereotypical practices that accompany it.
All through the movie, Gran Torino (another great movie which I am not recommending for younger or weaker audiences) the young priest is trying to get the Clint Eastwood character to come to confession. The priest is attempting to fulfill an obligation to Clint Eastwood's late wife. Only near the end of the movie does Clint Eastwood's character go to confession, which is also interesting. But to say any more would give away a key piece of information about the ending. So, I'll just leave it at that.
I think we have really missed the boat on confession as Protestants. But confession is not the only practice which has been discarded – to our detriment.
In our passage today, John warns the crowd to “bear fruits worthy of repentance.” Indeed, if they did not bear fruit worthy of repentance, they would be cut down. We then read about those same people who have made their confession and been baptized by John the baptizer, coming to John and asking them, “What shall we do now?”
Now here is where there are two package responses that are typically heard among the Protestant circles I am familiar with.
The first packaged response from Protestants is that their job now is to avoid doing any bad stuff, as I talked about last week. Especially avoid the big three: sex, sex, and sex. According to this formula, the secret to the Christian living is to avoid egregious public sins.
The second package response from Protestants is “go to church, read your Bible, tithe, pray and evangelize others.” And if you're lucky enough to live in the 21st Century, only listen to Christian music. If you do those things, everything will be groovy. That's the key to living the Christian life.
The thing is, that's not at all what John instructed them to do. Jesus told the crown in general: "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."
It seems important to note that this comment appears to be made to everyone. Because it is a general instruction, it will have a more ready application to us today. It is both piercing in its assumption and liberating in its execution. The assumption is that we, darn near 100% of us, tend to be hoarders. I am embarrassed to say that Beth and I have enough decent old clothes in our house to clothe at least one man and one woman. We also have a lot of food in our house, but we have more clothes than we do food. Why do we do this? Well, one reason is that we hope we will lose weight so that we can fit into those old clothes. But even if we did lose that weight, there would still be too many clothes. As George Carlin said many years ago, we need more space to put all our “stuff” in. Jesus said about the same thing when he told of a farmer that wanted to build more buildings to put all his grain in. So, the piercing assumption is that we acquire and hoard more stuff than we need, for whatever reason, while others suffer without. If we want to travel down this pathway of repentance, in preparation for the Christ child, part of repentance means eliminating our selfishness and fear of running out of “stuff.” It also means being more mindful of those who have great need and responding to that need.
We also note that John provided more specific instructions to the tax collectors and the soldiers. The tax collectors who were baptized asked, “Teacher, what shall we do? Jesus said, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”
The soldiers who confessed and were baptized asked him the same question, “What shall we do?” Jesus said, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."
It would be helpful to note that for these two specific groups of people, they were well-known to have been unethical in these ways. And so, John admonished them to make corrections, particularly connected to these unethical practices.
Let's be clear here. This is a continuation of the theme of preparing for the coming of the Christ, whether figuratively in the manger, or in the anticipation of his return in the clouds. And the primary way to prepare for his coming is in the act and process of repentance. John the baptizer was about preparing the way for Jesus by means of repentance.
In conclusion, we have learned the following about this pathway of repentance as preparation for the Christ.
1. Repentance involves addressing past sins, wrong-doings and transgressions. We confess our sins, expressing regret and sorrow regarding our mistakes.
2. At the same time we were reminded that we have already been forgiven; past, present and future by the precious sacrifice of our Lord. Therefore, repentance is not something we do, in order to “stay saved.”
3. We also discovered that repentance is incomplete without a forward-looking perspective. This includes that intimate relationship with Jesus and the anticipation of his coming (whether it is the symbol of Christmas morning and the coming of the Messiah, or his return in the clouds). Without this forward-looking perspective, we are more prone to remain stuck in the past.
4. Repentance involves the difficult task of forgiveness. We go through the process of repentance, in part, to obtain forgiveness. Ironically, we are better enabled to go through the process of repentance by forgiving others.
5. And today, we learn that repentance involves a change in who we are: less selfish, less hoarding, less fearful, more mindful of, and responsive, to those in need.
May your journey of repentance lead you to closer intimacy with the Divine and your fellow travelers.
Year C, Third Sunday of Advent
Scripture passages: Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Luke 3:7-18
No one wants to be chastised by John the baptizer this close to Christmas. No preacher wants to read this text when preparing for his third Advent sermon. No parishioner wants to be challenged by John's words as she sits in the pew enveloped in thoughts of final Christmas preparations and purchases. Again this Third Sunday of Advent, however, the lectionary delivers us to John and his challenging words from the wilderness.
There is no getting to Bethlehem and the sweet baby in the manger without first hearing the rough prophet in the wilderness call us to repentance. . . Trying to avoid or sugarcoat John's words is just not possible. Faithful and fruitful arrival at the manger will be possible only after the careful self-examination and recommitment called for by John.
(Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol. 1, p. 69)
In the Advent season, the primary themes are preparation, anticipation and waiting. Last week we looked at repentance as a critical key to unlocking our hearts in preparation for the coming of the Christ child. By definition, repentance involves addressing past sins, wrong-doings and transgressions. We express regret and sorrow. At the same time we were reminded that we have already been forgiven; past, present and future by the precious sacrifice of our Lord. Therefore, repentance is not something we do, in order to “stay saved.” Repentance is something we do so that our intimacy with the Divine deepens. We also discovered that repentance is incomplete without a forward-looking perspective. This includes that intimate relationship with Jesus and the anticipation of his coming (whether it is the symbol of Christmas morning and the coming of the Messiah, or his return in the clouds). Without this forward-looking perspective, we are more prone to remain stuck in the past. This touches a bit on the observation and question posed by Jean last week; that we often have difficulty accepting God's forgiveness, or at least feeling it in our hearts.
Before we move on to our topic for today, I would like to spend a few minutes on this issue, in the hope that it will be helpful.
Let's assume that we wrong another person. At some later time we genuinely regret this and apologize, asking for forgiveness. We may even try to correct the wrong in some way. How do you know that this other person has forgiven you? Not, how do you guess or presume that the other person has forgiven you. Rather, How do you KNOW – without a shadow of a doubt – that the other person has completely and unequivocably forgiven you??
A couple stories from scripture come to mind. The first is derived from the story of the relationship between Paul and John Mark. John Mark, as you recall, deserted Paul and Barnabas on one of their missionary journeys. Paul was so hurt and/or angry and/or distrustful of John Mark that he refused to allow John Mark to accompany he and Barnabas on their next missionary journey. This produced a schism between Paul and Barnabas. As far as we know, for many years this schism continued. But late in Paul's life, in one of his twilight letters, he specifically requests the presence of John Mark. Can you imagine after deserting the great Apostle Paul, having him more than a decade later requesting your helpful presence? I can only imagine that when John Mark was in the presence of Paul, in his later years, that forgiveness was more than a matter of the mind. Forgiveness had settled deeply in their hearts. One lesson we can learn here is that forgiveness settles in as relationships are restored.
The other passage that comes to mind is the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. After the son had spent all his money, envied the food of pigs, he came to his senses and returned to his father's home.
“But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him. Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe, and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Bring the fattened calf and kill it! Let us eat and celebrate, because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again – he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
Again we are able to discern that it is in the restoration of the relationship that full acceptance of forgiveness is realized. This often takes a long time, sometimes it takes years for human relationships to be fully restored. And, unfortunately, there are some situations where the relationships are not restored on this side of heaven.
So, the question then becomes how can we experience or feel forgiveness prior to, or in the absence of, a full restoration of the relationship.
Here is where our relationship to God, through His Son, may be particularly helpful. Because of what Jesus accomplished, we are fully forgiven for our sins yesterday, today and tomorrow. God fully understands and forgives – knowing who we are, warts and all. We sense that our relationship with him is tarnished, and so, we get our feet dirty. We remain 100% sinner. And yet, we are referred to as “saints” in scripture. God currently sees us through those Jesus goggles as what we shall be: made perfect in him. We are therefore 100% saints. This is that Lutheran doctrine that we spoke of a few weeks ago. We are 100% sinner and 100% saint. Because of Jesus, our relationship with God has already been restored. It seems to me that the tension we experience when we do not feel forgiven, is because we are focusing on the “sinner” part, instead of the “saint” part.
I am also reminded of the the passage in Matthew 18, which talks about forgiveness in the parable of the Unmerciful Servant. Peter asked Jesus, how many times should we forgive someone who sins against us? Jesus replied “seventy times seven.” Jesus then tells the story about a servant of the king that owed the king a lot of money. The king was about to sell the servant and his family, in order to satisfy the debt. The servant begged for mercy and the king canceled the debt. This same servant then began to collect the debts owed to him and even had one of the debtors thrown into prison because of his failure to pay up. When the king found out about this, he was furious and called the servant in for a meeting. As a result, the king turned the servant over to the jailers until his debt was paid.
We often find it hard to forgive those who have hurt us and cannot imagine how or why God would forgive us for all the bad things we have done. This parable would indicate that one of the reasons we cannot accept God's forgiveness is because we have been unable to forgive others for the wrong they did to us.
Are there perhaps things that we can do, which would help us along this pathway toward experiencing forgiveness?
I did a mini survey this week. Ok, I asked three people. Do you ever have problems feeling forgiven? How are you able to feel or experience God's forgiveness?
One person acknowledged that he has had times that he did not feel forgiven by God, even though he knew he was. This man did not know how to get to the point of feeling forgiven. One person said that he thought it was a matter of trust. While acknowledging that he also struggles with feeling forgiven, he thinks that we simply need to learn to trust that what the Bible says is true. If the Bible says we are forgiven, we should trust that. So, in one sense, it does boil down to trust. Can we trust that God has forgiven us? Can we trust that God forgives us, even when others have not forgiven us?
Another person stated, matter of factly, that he felt forgiven after going to confession. I cannot underestimate how much of an impact this person's statement had upon me.
I have long thought that as Protestants, in regards to some of the practices of Catholicism, we have thrown out some babies with the bath water. In my mind, the practice of regular confession is high on the list.
In our scripture passage for last week, you may recall that those who were baptized by Jesus also “confessed” their sins. It turns out this is a very healthy practice and supported by scripture notwithstanding all the other stereotypical practices that accompany it.
All through the movie, Gran Torino (another great movie which I am not recommending for younger or weaker audiences) the young priest is trying to get the Clint Eastwood character to come to confession. The priest is attempting to fulfill an obligation to Clint Eastwood's late wife. Only near the end of the movie does Clint Eastwood's character go to confession, which is also interesting. But to say any more would give away a key piece of information about the ending. So, I'll just leave it at that.
I think we have really missed the boat on confession as Protestants. But confession is not the only practice which has been discarded – to our detriment.
In our passage today, John warns the crowd to “bear fruits worthy of repentance.” Indeed, if they did not bear fruit worthy of repentance, they would be cut down. We then read about those same people who have made their confession and been baptized by John the baptizer, coming to John and asking them, “What shall we do now?”
Now here is where there are two package responses that are typically heard among the Protestant circles I am familiar with.
The first packaged response from Protestants is that their job now is to avoid doing any bad stuff, as I talked about last week. Especially avoid the big three: sex, sex, and sex. According to this formula, the secret to the Christian living is to avoid egregious public sins.
The second package response from Protestants is “go to church, read your Bible, tithe, pray and evangelize others.” And if you're lucky enough to live in the 21st Century, only listen to Christian music. If you do those things, everything will be groovy. That's the key to living the Christian life.
The thing is, that's not at all what John instructed them to do. Jesus told the crown in general: "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."
It seems important to note that this comment appears to be made to everyone. Because it is a general instruction, it will have a more ready application to us today. It is both piercing in its assumption and liberating in its execution. The assumption is that we, darn near 100% of us, tend to be hoarders. I am embarrassed to say that Beth and I have enough decent old clothes in our house to clothe at least one man and one woman. We also have a lot of food in our house, but we have more clothes than we do food. Why do we do this? Well, one reason is that we hope we will lose weight so that we can fit into those old clothes. But even if we did lose that weight, there would still be too many clothes. As George Carlin said many years ago, we need more space to put all our “stuff” in. Jesus said about the same thing when he told of a farmer that wanted to build more buildings to put all his grain in. So, the piercing assumption is that we acquire and hoard more stuff than we need, for whatever reason, while others suffer without. If we want to travel down this pathway of repentance, in preparation for the Christ child, part of repentance means eliminating our selfishness and fear of running out of “stuff.” It also means being more mindful of those who have great need and responding to that need.
We also note that John provided more specific instructions to the tax collectors and the soldiers. The tax collectors who were baptized asked, “Teacher, what shall we do? Jesus said, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”
The soldiers who confessed and were baptized asked him the same question, “What shall we do?” Jesus said, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."
It would be helpful to note that for these two specific groups of people, they were well-known to have been unethical in these ways. And so, John admonished them to make corrections, particularly connected to these unethical practices.
Let's be clear here. This is a continuation of the theme of preparing for the coming of the Christ, whether figuratively in the manger, or in the anticipation of his return in the clouds. And the primary way to prepare for his coming is in the act and process of repentance. John the baptizer was about preparing the way for Jesus by means of repentance.
In conclusion, we have learned the following about this pathway of repentance as preparation for the Christ.
1. Repentance involves addressing past sins, wrong-doings and transgressions. We confess our sins, expressing regret and sorrow regarding our mistakes.
2. At the same time we were reminded that we have already been forgiven; past, present and future by the precious sacrifice of our Lord. Therefore, repentance is not something we do, in order to “stay saved.”
3. We also discovered that repentance is incomplete without a forward-looking perspective. This includes that intimate relationship with Jesus and the anticipation of his coming (whether it is the symbol of Christmas morning and the coming of the Messiah, or his return in the clouds). Without this forward-looking perspective, we are more prone to remain stuck in the past.
4. Repentance involves the difficult task of forgiveness. We go through the process of repentance, in part, to obtain forgiveness. Ironically, we are better enabled to go through the process of repentance by forgiving others.
5. And today, we learn that repentance involves a change in who we are: less selfish, less hoarding, less fearful, more mindful of, and responsive, to those in need.
May your journey of repentance lead you to closer intimacy with the Divine and your fellow travelers.
Repentance
Presented at County Line Brethren Church on December 6, 2009.
Year C, Second Sunday of Advent
Scripture passages: Malachi 3:1-4 and Luke 3:1-6
“There Will Be Blood”, is a very dark movie about an oilman's ruthless quest for wealth in the early days of oil development in California.
As an aside, I must mention that I do not recommend this movie for the young or those with weak stomachs. But for those who are able to handle dark tales, this movie is a masterpiece that describes the depths of evil which exist deep in the human heart.
Daniel Day-Lewis played the role of the oilman flawlessly. Actor Paul Dano plays a Christian Revivalist preacher who challenges the heartless oilman. His sermons speak a lot about repenting. And this is the old fashioned kind of repentance. Turn or burn. It is filled with emotion and dramatic revivalist preaching. We can hear those words almost curdle off the tongues of these religious messengers. “REPENT” “REPENT” In this context, the focus is always on the avoidance of evil, wrong-doing, or sin. The focus is on choosing to stop one's evil ways.
Some may paint John the baptizer with similar brush strokes. After all, he is the voice in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew tells us that John wore clothes made of camel's hair and a leather belt holding it all together. His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. He was the quintessential wild man. The people would gather around him and submit to baptism while confessing their sins.
So, before we go any further, perhaps it would be helpful to try to figure out how all of this relates to our Advent season. Let us be reminded that Advent is a time of waiting as well as a time of preparation. As we mentioned last year, this season of Advent is different than the season of Christmas. The liturgical season of Christmas officially begins with the birth of Jesus. Despite all the Christmas carols we hear in the stores and even in our churches, we are not actually in that season yet. It would be helpful to mention that there are some songs of Advent that are mistaken for Christmas songs. One prominent example is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” This song looks forward with hope to the coming of the Christ child, while recognizing that it is not here yet.
So, as we consider the season of Advent, these images of John the baptizer preaching this baptism of repentance come to mind. Indeed, we will be considering the lessons of preparation as found in the example of John the Baptizer during this Advent season.
The preaching of John the baptizer would have us to repent of our sins and receive forgiveness, so that our hearts are pure, and in readiness to receive the Christ child on Christmas morning. What I struggled with is the fact that we are already forgiven (as we discussed just a few weeks ago). So, if we are already forgiven, how does that figure into being ready to receive the Christ child. Does that mean we no longer need to repent? We find throughout most of the New Testament that the unregenerated are being called to repentance. Indeed, there appear to be relatively few passages that specifically refer to believers being called to repentance.
I am assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that John is speaking primarily to the unregenerated calling them to repentance. If this is true, then an appropriate question is: does John's call to repentance as a way to prepare for the Christ child, apply to us who have already been regenerated? If so, how does it apply?
There are a couple of New Testament passages that seem to speak our topic of believers being called to some type of repentance. The first is feet washing at the last supper. There is some type of cleansing here. Even though they were already identified as part of the group, the disciples were told that they must get their feet washed, or they would have no part of Jesus. Even though we have been baptized, our feet still get dirty. And we Brethren clearly understand that Jesus has instructed us to regularly participate in this feetwashing ordinance. Isn't it interesting that Jesus wants us to continue this practice, despite our being forgiven? And according to the structure of the ordinance, feetwashing precedes both the Love Feast and the Eucharist (or the bread and the cup). We may say that Feetwashing addresses both the dirty feet that we have acquired as we continue our feeble efforts to live for Jesus and it prepares us for the Love Feast and the Eucharist. The Feetwashing does NOT mean that the Christian is in need of being “saved” again as evidenced by Jesus' response to Peter's bold request to be washed entirely. Essentially, Jesus said that Peter had already been baptized, was already saved, but simply needed to have his dirty feet washed. The Feetwashing has nothing to do with the person's salvation or status of being justified by the sacrifice of Jesus. In this sense, the Feetwashing tends to focus on addressing past wrongdoings, sins or transgressions. And yet, this is not the only purpose of the Feetwashing. Feetwashing is clearly a preparation intimate communion with our Lord in the sacred space of the celebration of the Eucharist. Not only that, but Feetwashing would also certainly look forward in preparation to continuing intimate communion with our Lord following the conclusion of the Eucharist.
There is an important clue here about what repentance means, particularly as it relates to our preparations during the Advent season. Most of the time, in my experience, repentance focuses on addressing past sins and indiscretions. And yet Paul tells us that when we celebrate the Eucharist, “we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” What we discover here is that there is an inherently forward-looking perspective about this important Christian ritual. Indeed, if we look a little further, this forward-looking is an important aspect of the New Testament understanding of both repentance and the message of John the Baptist – which has some specific and powerful implications about how we prepare for the coming of the Christ child.
There are 3 different word groups in the New Testament that are translated as repent or repentance. epistrepho and metanoeo basically mean to “turn round, turn oneself round, and refer to a man's conversion” (NIDNTT). The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology goes into depth a bit more related to the Greek word, epistrepho.
The use of epistrepho suggests that we are not concerned primarily with turning FROM the old life, but that the stress is on the turning TO Christ, and from him to God. (NIDNTT)
The third Greek word, metamelomai, “expresses rather the feeling of repentance for error, debt, failure and sin, and so it looks back” (NIDNTT).
So, if we look at these words, there is both an addressing of past sins and a forward-looking perspective, primarily toward Christ.
The second portion of scripture that came to my mind which seems to address this idea of believers being called to repentance is found in the letters to the churches in chapters two and three in Revelation.
Five of the seven churches are chastised by Jesus, who is speaking and are told directly to repent. What we discover in these letters is that some of the sins of individuals and/or the sins of the entire congregation are quite public and egregious. Others are more secret and pervasive. Jesus, who is speaking, on the one hand pronounces heavy judgment upon those who do not repent. On the other hand, every single letter closes with a description of the rewards for those who overcome.
And so, even in this passage which includes harsh judgments, there is a strong forward-looking perspective surrounding passages related to repentance.
Let me draw your attention to one more scripture passage and then we will move to our application and conclusion.
Do you remember this passage which seems out of context?
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." (Matthew 12:43-45)
I have to tell you. I wonder if this passage has some application to our present discussion? If repentance consists only of confessing our sins, expressing remorse, paying some type of restitution in order to restore or reconcile a relationship – I wonder if that type of repentance is only half of the solution? If we were to simply repent of our sins, we would be focused only on the past.
I would like to do an experiment. I want you to stop thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving dinner, we had two of them, was filled with too much eating and a fair amount of gluttony. I would like for you to make an attempt to stop thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. And stop thinking about all the pumpkin pie and the whipped cream. Don't think about the the stuffing or the cranberry salad or the moist white meat or the potatoes and gravy. It's bad! Stop thinking about Thanksgiving dinner!
How did you do?
Ok, let's try another experiment. Let's see if you do any better with this. Stop worrying about what you're going to buy family members and friends for Christmas. Stop worrying about Christmas. Stop thinking about all the decorations that need to be put up and all the cleaning you need to do. Stop thinking about Christmas. And stop being depressed about not having any money for gifts this year. Stop thinking about the Christmas rush. Stop feeling anxious and depressed about Christmas. Just stop it! Don't worry about Christmas – be happy! Stop being upset at all the problems that happened in Christmas' past.
How did you do?
Whatever the problem is, focusing on the problem will not, by itself, enable one to be victorious. Instead, focusing on the solution tends to pathway to success. It is generally not helpful to focus on past failure.
In the field of addiction, ruminating about alcohol, cocaine, or marijuana is not generally helpful. Instead, focusing on recovery is the pathway to freedom. Did you know that the original 12 steps for Alcoholics Anonymous, which is utilized by many 12-step recovery groups, mentions alcohol only one time. You see, focusing solely on past failures serves only to maintain the death grip of addiction.
With regard to depression or anxiety, it is a common problem that those who suffer have a propensity to ruminate about those things that sustain the depression or anxiety. And if they try not to think about these things, it is similar to our attempt to stop thinking about Thanksgiving dinner or the problems associated with the coming of Christmas.
I have discovered this in many Christian approaches to repentance. The more we try NOT to think about something, the more prone we are to think about it. Indeed, we may even discover that simply repenting of our sin only accentuates it in our minds. And before we know it, that evil spirit has returned with seven of his friends and produces even more failure and transgression than we experienced in the past.
The scriptural answer is that true and full Christian repentance, while addressing the past, is primarily forward-looking in its perspective.
Let's see how that works. As in the Brethren three-fold communion service, the ultimate purpose and focus of the Feetwashing is ongoing intimate communion between the believer and our Lord. The focus of the Eucharist is not the believer, but Jesus – his death and his coming. The ultimate purpose of Jesus' letters to the churches is to encourage them to overcome.
Having addressed the past, with what shall we fill our minds? I discovered a long time ago that my personal antidote for anxiety and depression is worship. Why is that? Part of the reason is that while I am focused on Jesus or the Father, I am NOT focused on what is depressing or producing anxiety.
Let's come full circle then and try to connect all of this with John's stated purpose of preparing the way of the Lord, by preaching a baptism of repentance. Have we figured our if, and how, this applies to us?
1. Believers are called to repentance as evidenced by the Feetwashing service and Jesus' letters to the churches.
2. This repentance is not identical to the call to unregenerate and does not involve our status as justified before God.
3. Repentance is incomplete without a “turning to” Jesus and our Father. This involves filling our mind with thoughts of Jesus, such as we experience in worship.
4. Full repentance is forward-looking and involves anticipating his coming. During the period of Advent, we look forward to the coming of Jesus not only in the manger, but also his coming in the clouds.
5. As we fill our minds with Jesus, we are able to experience freedom from our sins, our failures, our transgressions and wrong-doings, as well as our addictions.
Now, as I indicated a few weeks ago, I will take comments and questions about our topic today.
Year C, Second Sunday of Advent
Scripture passages: Malachi 3:1-4 and Luke 3:1-6
“There Will Be Blood”, is a very dark movie about an oilman's ruthless quest for wealth in the early days of oil development in California.
As an aside, I must mention that I do not recommend this movie for the young or those with weak stomachs. But for those who are able to handle dark tales, this movie is a masterpiece that describes the depths of evil which exist deep in the human heart.
Daniel Day-Lewis played the role of the oilman flawlessly. Actor Paul Dano plays a Christian Revivalist preacher who challenges the heartless oilman. His sermons speak a lot about repenting. And this is the old fashioned kind of repentance. Turn or burn. It is filled with emotion and dramatic revivalist preaching. We can hear those words almost curdle off the tongues of these religious messengers. “REPENT” “REPENT” In this context, the focus is always on the avoidance of evil, wrong-doing, or sin. The focus is on choosing to stop one's evil ways.
Some may paint John the baptizer with similar brush strokes. After all, he is the voice in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew tells us that John wore clothes made of camel's hair and a leather belt holding it all together. His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. He was the quintessential wild man. The people would gather around him and submit to baptism while confessing their sins.
So, before we go any further, perhaps it would be helpful to try to figure out how all of this relates to our Advent season. Let us be reminded that Advent is a time of waiting as well as a time of preparation. As we mentioned last year, this season of Advent is different than the season of Christmas. The liturgical season of Christmas officially begins with the birth of Jesus. Despite all the Christmas carols we hear in the stores and even in our churches, we are not actually in that season yet. It would be helpful to mention that there are some songs of Advent that are mistaken for Christmas songs. One prominent example is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” This song looks forward with hope to the coming of the Christ child, while recognizing that it is not here yet.
So, as we consider the season of Advent, these images of John the baptizer preaching this baptism of repentance come to mind. Indeed, we will be considering the lessons of preparation as found in the example of John the Baptizer during this Advent season.
The preaching of John the baptizer would have us to repent of our sins and receive forgiveness, so that our hearts are pure, and in readiness to receive the Christ child on Christmas morning. What I struggled with is the fact that we are already forgiven (as we discussed just a few weeks ago). So, if we are already forgiven, how does that figure into being ready to receive the Christ child. Does that mean we no longer need to repent? We find throughout most of the New Testament that the unregenerated are being called to repentance. Indeed, there appear to be relatively few passages that specifically refer to believers being called to repentance.
I am assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that John is speaking primarily to the unregenerated calling them to repentance. If this is true, then an appropriate question is: does John's call to repentance as a way to prepare for the Christ child, apply to us who have already been regenerated? If so, how does it apply?
There are a couple of New Testament passages that seem to speak our topic of believers being called to some type of repentance. The first is feet washing at the last supper. There is some type of cleansing here. Even though they were already identified as part of the group, the disciples were told that they must get their feet washed, or they would have no part of Jesus. Even though we have been baptized, our feet still get dirty. And we Brethren clearly understand that Jesus has instructed us to regularly participate in this feetwashing ordinance. Isn't it interesting that Jesus wants us to continue this practice, despite our being forgiven? And according to the structure of the ordinance, feetwashing precedes both the Love Feast and the Eucharist (or the bread and the cup). We may say that Feetwashing addresses both the dirty feet that we have acquired as we continue our feeble efforts to live for Jesus and it prepares us for the Love Feast and the Eucharist. The Feetwashing does NOT mean that the Christian is in need of being “saved” again as evidenced by Jesus' response to Peter's bold request to be washed entirely. Essentially, Jesus said that Peter had already been baptized, was already saved, but simply needed to have his dirty feet washed. The Feetwashing has nothing to do with the person's salvation or status of being justified by the sacrifice of Jesus. In this sense, the Feetwashing tends to focus on addressing past wrongdoings, sins or transgressions. And yet, this is not the only purpose of the Feetwashing. Feetwashing is clearly a preparation intimate communion with our Lord in the sacred space of the celebration of the Eucharist. Not only that, but Feetwashing would also certainly look forward in preparation to continuing intimate communion with our Lord following the conclusion of the Eucharist.
There is an important clue here about what repentance means, particularly as it relates to our preparations during the Advent season. Most of the time, in my experience, repentance focuses on addressing past sins and indiscretions. And yet Paul tells us that when we celebrate the Eucharist, “we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” What we discover here is that there is an inherently forward-looking perspective about this important Christian ritual. Indeed, if we look a little further, this forward-looking is an important aspect of the New Testament understanding of both repentance and the message of John the Baptist – which has some specific and powerful implications about how we prepare for the coming of the Christ child.
There are 3 different word groups in the New Testament that are translated as repent or repentance. epistrepho and metanoeo basically mean to “turn round, turn oneself round, and refer to a man's conversion” (NIDNTT). The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology goes into depth a bit more related to the Greek word, epistrepho.
The use of epistrepho suggests that we are not concerned primarily with turning FROM the old life, but that the stress is on the turning TO Christ, and from him to God. (NIDNTT)
The third Greek word, metamelomai, “expresses rather the feeling of repentance for error, debt, failure and sin, and so it looks back” (NIDNTT).
So, if we look at these words, there is both an addressing of past sins and a forward-looking perspective, primarily toward Christ.
The second portion of scripture that came to my mind which seems to address this idea of believers being called to repentance is found in the letters to the churches in chapters two and three in Revelation.
Five of the seven churches are chastised by Jesus, who is speaking and are told directly to repent. What we discover in these letters is that some of the sins of individuals and/or the sins of the entire congregation are quite public and egregious. Others are more secret and pervasive. Jesus, who is speaking, on the one hand pronounces heavy judgment upon those who do not repent. On the other hand, every single letter closes with a description of the rewards for those who overcome.
And so, even in this passage which includes harsh judgments, there is a strong forward-looking perspective surrounding passages related to repentance.
Let me draw your attention to one more scripture passage and then we will move to our application and conclusion.
Do you remember this passage which seems out of context?
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." (Matthew 12:43-45)
I have to tell you. I wonder if this passage has some application to our present discussion? If repentance consists only of confessing our sins, expressing remorse, paying some type of restitution in order to restore or reconcile a relationship – I wonder if that type of repentance is only half of the solution? If we were to simply repent of our sins, we would be focused only on the past.
I would like to do an experiment. I want you to stop thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving dinner, we had two of them, was filled with too much eating and a fair amount of gluttony. I would like for you to make an attempt to stop thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. And stop thinking about all the pumpkin pie and the whipped cream. Don't think about the the stuffing or the cranberry salad or the moist white meat or the potatoes and gravy. It's bad! Stop thinking about Thanksgiving dinner!
How did you do?
Ok, let's try another experiment. Let's see if you do any better with this. Stop worrying about what you're going to buy family members and friends for Christmas. Stop worrying about Christmas. Stop thinking about all the decorations that need to be put up and all the cleaning you need to do. Stop thinking about Christmas. And stop being depressed about not having any money for gifts this year. Stop thinking about the Christmas rush. Stop feeling anxious and depressed about Christmas. Just stop it! Don't worry about Christmas – be happy! Stop being upset at all the problems that happened in Christmas' past.
How did you do?
Whatever the problem is, focusing on the problem will not, by itself, enable one to be victorious. Instead, focusing on the solution tends to pathway to success. It is generally not helpful to focus on past failure.
In the field of addiction, ruminating about alcohol, cocaine, or marijuana is not generally helpful. Instead, focusing on recovery is the pathway to freedom. Did you know that the original 12 steps for Alcoholics Anonymous, which is utilized by many 12-step recovery groups, mentions alcohol only one time. You see, focusing solely on past failures serves only to maintain the death grip of addiction.
With regard to depression or anxiety, it is a common problem that those who suffer have a propensity to ruminate about those things that sustain the depression or anxiety. And if they try not to think about these things, it is similar to our attempt to stop thinking about Thanksgiving dinner or the problems associated with the coming of Christmas.
I have discovered this in many Christian approaches to repentance. The more we try NOT to think about something, the more prone we are to think about it. Indeed, we may even discover that simply repenting of our sin only accentuates it in our minds. And before we know it, that evil spirit has returned with seven of his friends and produces even more failure and transgression than we experienced in the past.
The scriptural answer is that true and full Christian repentance, while addressing the past, is primarily forward-looking in its perspective.
Let's see how that works. As in the Brethren three-fold communion service, the ultimate purpose and focus of the Feetwashing is ongoing intimate communion between the believer and our Lord. The focus of the Eucharist is not the believer, but Jesus – his death and his coming. The ultimate purpose of Jesus' letters to the churches is to encourage them to overcome.
Having addressed the past, with what shall we fill our minds? I discovered a long time ago that my personal antidote for anxiety and depression is worship. Why is that? Part of the reason is that while I am focused on Jesus or the Father, I am NOT focused on what is depressing or producing anxiety.
Let's come full circle then and try to connect all of this with John's stated purpose of preparing the way of the Lord, by preaching a baptism of repentance. Have we figured our if, and how, this applies to us?
1. Believers are called to repentance as evidenced by the Feetwashing service and Jesus' letters to the churches.
2. This repentance is not identical to the call to unregenerate and does not involve our status as justified before God.
3. Repentance is incomplete without a “turning to” Jesus and our Father. This involves filling our mind with thoughts of Jesus, such as we experience in worship.
4. Full repentance is forward-looking and involves anticipating his coming. During the period of Advent, we look forward to the coming of Jesus not only in the manger, but also his coming in the clouds.
5. As we fill our minds with Jesus, we are able to experience freedom from our sins, our failures, our transgressions and wrong-doings, as well as our addictions.
Now, as I indicated a few weeks ago, I will take comments and questions about our topic today.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
What can be done about sin?
Presented at County Line Brethren Church on November 15, 2009.
Year B, Proper 28
Scripture passages: Hebrews 10:11-25 and 1 Samuel 1:4-20 & 2:1-10
I regularly encounter people who are having a very difficult time figuring out what to do about sin.
For some people, they are not sure what to do about guilt related to past indiscretions, something said or done. Some would classify these as sins of commission. The memories do not ever seem to go away. These brief invasive memories regularly haunt our thoughts, dreams and fantasies. These past acts intrude upon our present, robbing us of peace, joy and intimacy. It may be something as simple as saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time. It may be something which caused irreparable harm or damage to another person or an organization. We may have even harmed ourselves in the process.
In the election campaign last year, a couple of very poignant moments occurred when Pastor Rick Warren asked both candidates what they considered to be their greatest moral failure. I shudder to think which of my many failures I would have cited as my greatest moral failure. Obama stated, “"I had a difficult youth. There were times when I experimented with drugs." McCain stated, "My greatest moral failing, and I am a very imperfect person, is the failure of my first marriage." I have to tell you that at this juncture, I was very impressed with both men. That they were willing to share about their failures – those sins, if you will, which still linger in their minds vacillating between the vivid present and the repressed past – is a testament to the quality of their characters. Nevertheless, it is unfortunately part of our humanness that we struggle with our own sins of commission – the harm we have done to ourselves and others. What can we do about these sins that continue to bother us in our present existence? They do not seem to disappear over time. Perhaps if we are fortunate, they tend to bother us less frequently the more time passes.
For other people, it is the guilt about something left undone, which should have been done that feeds the misery. Some would classify this type as a sin of omission. The phrase often heard from these individuals is “if only.” “If only I had been there to help.” “If only I had said something.” “If only I would have been more courageous.” I came across a wonderful poem that describes some examples of things undone.
THE SIN OF OMISSION
Margaret E. Sangster
It isn't the thing you do dear,
It's the thing you leave undone
That gives you a bit of a heartache
At setting of the sun.
The tender word forgotten,
The letter you did not write,
The flowers you did not send, dear,
Are your haunting ghosts at night.
The stone you might have lifted
Out of a brother's way;
The bit of heartsome counsel
You were hurried too much to say;
The loving touch of the hand, dear,
The gentle, winning tone
Which you had no time nor thought for
With troubles of your own.
Those little acts of kindness
So easily out of mind,
Those chances to be angels
Which we poor mortals find-
They come in night and silence,
Each sad, reproachful wraith,
When hope is faint and flagging,
And a chill has fallen on faith.
For life is all to short, dear,
And sorrow is all too great,
To suffer our slow compassion
That tarries until too late;
And it isn't the thing you do, dear,
It's the thing you leave undone
Which gives you heartache
At the setting of the sun.
An interesting admonition regarding the sin of omission is found in Lev. 5:1. “If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.”
We are told that the Apostle Paul directly and cruelly persecuted believers. This would certainly be the sin of commission. I think of the apostle Paul who held the coats for those who stoned Stephen. By this, he committed the sin of omission. He stood by silent. In a court of law, he would be an accomplice. Thereafter, he referred to himself as the “chiefest of sinner.” Surely he recalled that incident frequently. His past never seemed to leave him though we must assume that he discovered some way to achieve peace and serenity without glossing over his past sin.
Another group of people suffer, upon being pierced and harmed by the sins of others; friends, family and strangers. These individuals are tormented by the insidious acts of others. They wonder why they were singled out as the victim. They relentlessly search or wish for justice in venues established instead for punishment. They often become angry at everything and everybody, both human and divine.
Listen to this account of the execution of D.C. Sniper, John Allen Muhammad, published this week on the CNN web site.
Justice fell short with the execution of Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad, one of his victims' survivors said after witnessing his death by lethal injection.
Muhammad died silently Tuesday night in a Virginia prison death chamber filled with lawyers, lawmen and his victims' survivors.
After the execution, Steven Moore said he thought about Muhammad's accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, who received a life sentence for their crimes.
"Well, myself, I wish Malvo was right there beside Muhammad," said Moore, whose sister, FBI analyst Linda Franklin, was gunned down in Virginia. "They both committed the same crimes. No, I don't feel any closure. I mean, it's ... it ... nothing changes."
(“D.C. sniper's execution met with grief, bitterness” by Bill Mears. CNN web site)
Steven Moore has not yet figured out what can be done about sin, especially when you are the recipient of the wrong. What can I do about sin, when I have been victimized by another person's sin? He sought some sort of justice and closure, hoping it would come with the death of the assailant. But peace has not yet come.
So, whether it is a sin of omission, a sin of commission or sin inflicted upon us by another, we are pressed to consider: What Can Be Done About Sin?
In the Old Testament, the prescribed way to deal with sin in a just manner was by means of the sacrificial system, in conjunction with lex talionis (an eye for an eye).
Hebrews 9:9, tells us, “the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.” This basically says that the Old Testament sacrificial system did not ease the conscience or provide the sinner with peace.
In Hebrews 10:1-4, it says,
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
We are told here that the Old Testament sacrificial system could not make anyone perfect. And while it may cleanse the individual from the stain of sin for a moment, the very next hour, the very next day the person offering the sacrifice is stained and dirty and guilty yet again. Indeed, the sacrificial system only served to remind the people of their stainful and sinful existence.
In Hebrews 10:11 we are told, “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” [As an aside, I would like you to note that the priest in this passage is standing. We will come back to this in a moment. For now, just note that the priests are standing up.] In this middle portion of the book of Hebrews, the writer has repeatedly said that the sacrifices did not do away with sin. As indicated in the earlier passage, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to do away with sin. The sin remained.
However, throughout most of the Old Testament, priests would offer sacrifices in the manner prescribed by the law, for “in this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven” (Lev. 4:35). So, in the Old Testament, “atonement” is provided and the one who sinned is “forgiven.” There was forgiveness. However, it must be pointed out that the sin was not done away with.
In Lev. 16, the strict procedures for the Day of Atonement are delineated. The purpose of the sacrifices offered on the Day of Atonement, is to provide a pathway for reconciliation between the Children of Israel and God Almighty. It provides for the forgiveness of sins committed and to cleanse the people, albeit temporarily. Again, it has no effect on future sin, or sin itself. It does not remove sin. Therefore, the relationship between the people and God continues in this state of flux between separation and reconciliation, separation and reconciliation, separation and reconciliation. Because sin remained intact, this vicious cycle between being adversaries and being in communion with God and with one another persisted unabated. We actually see people enslaved in this same cycle today. Perhaps you feel like you are imprisoned in this cycle yourself.
In the Old Testament framework, sin separated us from God as well as God from us. Sin continued to exist and exert its power and influence upon our lives personally and collectively.
Bob Meyers, whose 53-year-old brother, Dean, was shot dead while pumping gas in Virginia, called Tuesday's execution surreal.
"Watching the life be sapped out of somebody intentionally was very different and an experience I'd never had," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live."
"I'd watched my mother die of natural causes, but that was very different."
He said he might have attained some closure, "but I would say that pretty much was overcome just by the sadness that the whole situation generates in my heart. That he would get to the place where he did what he did, and that it had to come to this."
Meyers said he had forgiven Muhammad for two reasons: "One is that God calls for me to do that in the Bible and the second thing is related to that. If I don't, it rots me from the inside out. It doesn't really hurt John Muhammad or anybody that I have bitterness against." (“D.C. sniper's execution met with grief, bitterness” by Bill Mears. CNN web site)
WOW!! Now that is a person aware of the power of sin. Furthermore, that is a person that has a New Testament orientation.
Look carefully at Hebrews 10:12-14.
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God," and since then has been waiting "until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet." For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
I would like to point out how the stark contrast, as differentiated from the Old Testament perspective on sin. What the writer of Hebrews is saying is that Jesus' single sacrifice took care of sin; past, present and future. Indeed, the writer goes on to say that this one sacrifice by Jesus has made us “perfect.” WOW! Now that's different. AND, did you notice that this priest, Jesus, is now sitting down. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, the priest was always up standing, walking around, performing his service to God and the people. But here Jesus is sitting. This small change noticed on the stage of priestly service means that the work of the priest in regards to sin is DONE, IT IS ACCOMPLISHED.
The fact that Jesus has sat down means that sin has been done away with, it is defeated. There is no more work for Jesus to do. Past, present and future, sin has been obliterated. And because sin has been obliterated, we are given the promise in verse 17, “their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” This is a puzzling verse which, from our human vantage point, is impossible to grasp. One way to catch a glimpse of understanding is by stating this sequence clearly.
1. Jesus did away with sin.
2. By doing away with sin, God now views us as perfect.
3. If God views us as perfect, there are no outstanding debts related to sin.
Then, in contrast to the cycle of separation and reconciliation that we find throughout the Old Testament, the writer of Hebrews informs us that we now have confidence to enter the Holy Place (previously reserved only for the High Priest) WITH CONFIDENCE! The reason we can enter the Holy Place, is because we have been thoroughly cleansed – not by anything we have done, or promise to do, but by his sacrifice.
So, because we have been completely cleansed, past, present and future we have also been provided with a clear conscience. This is a most difficult teaching. How is it that we are to have a clear conscience while at the same time express remorse for our hurtful acts.
In other words, how shall we live?
I read an interesting article by Lutheran author, Nadia Bolz-Weber, entitled, “Latin Tattoos and 24 Hours of Televangelism” (published in Sojourners). She wrote this little essay after watching 24 hours straight – of Televangelism. I can't imagine subjecting myself to that. She did it for 24 hours.
During this 24 hour period she heard about “progressive sanctification.” I am not entirely opposed to this idea, but Ms. Bolz-Weber finds it to be distasteful and contrary to a key Lutheran teaching. Here's what she says.
I believe we are all (watch me get all fancy on the Latin here) simul iustus et peccator—simultaneously saint and sinner. (As a matter of fact, I have this tattooed in Latin around my right wrist because I'm just that much of a theological fancy-pants.) While perhaps not perfect, this doctrine is one of the most useful things about my Lutheran theological camp. We hold that we are all 100% sinner AND 100% saint. "But wait, Nadia," you say, "that's 200% percent." Well, yes and no; you see, the two are simultaneous. There is no process of sanctification, good works, prayer, yoga, recycling, Bible study, or holy living that makes us even 99% sinner and 101% saint, much less like 10/190.
The really liberating thing about this is that when we all come to the table fully aware that we are sinners, that we are broken on some level and never perfect, then the temptation to pretend otherwise is greatly diminished. To embrace your sinfulness and saintliness is not the same as being intentionally immoral. It is to be realistic that no one can possibly be 100% honest all the time, to always think of the neighbor before the self, to always honor God in everything you do, to at all times decrease in self so that others may increase. Even if our actions come close to this (they never do, but if they did), we still are stuck with the reality of our minds and the thoughts of our hearts. You see, the spiritual poison of our own righteousness, of saying here are the rules we must follow to please God and to be sanctified, and I follow those rules so I have good reason to be prideful about my sanctification because I earned it is problematic. The moment we try and maintain our holiness, the moment we try to appear to be without sin, that junk just comes out sideways.
These televangelists and mega-church personalities fall hard when they fall. When I fall, which is pretty much every day (including this moment as I write unkind things about these folks), I don't fall too far. Is this because of some sort of reverse righteousness? That could be a fair critique. I just know that people are drawn to me as a Christian leader not because I'm some sort of spiritually arrived person, but because I'm a pretty transparent one. Don't get me wrong: there are some icky parts I keep to myself, but for the most part I don't make too much of an effort to appear a whole lot better that I am. There's not a sin pressure valve that's building up ready to blow into a national crack-smoking, sex-for-money scandal. (Note to self: Avoid national crack-smoking, sex-for-money scandals.)
She's right, you know. When I try to be perfect, my junk really does come out sideways and I eventually fall – HARD! When I acknowledge my sin before God and others without trying to follow all the rules perfectly, I am more at peace. I feel restored to God and friends and family. I am no longer in the yo-yo type cycle of separation and reconciliation with God because I know that I am always accepted by God. I acknowledge that God views me as perfected by his Son. My conscience is clear. I feel forgiven. I am more able to forgive others who have hurt me.
Year B, Proper 28
Scripture passages: Hebrews 10:11-25 and 1 Samuel 1:4-20 & 2:1-10
I regularly encounter people who are having a very difficult time figuring out what to do about sin.
For some people, they are not sure what to do about guilt related to past indiscretions, something said or done. Some would classify these as sins of commission. The memories do not ever seem to go away. These brief invasive memories regularly haunt our thoughts, dreams and fantasies. These past acts intrude upon our present, robbing us of peace, joy and intimacy. It may be something as simple as saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time. It may be something which caused irreparable harm or damage to another person or an organization. We may have even harmed ourselves in the process.
In the election campaign last year, a couple of very poignant moments occurred when Pastor Rick Warren asked both candidates what they considered to be their greatest moral failure. I shudder to think which of my many failures I would have cited as my greatest moral failure. Obama stated, “"I had a difficult youth. There were times when I experimented with drugs." McCain stated, "My greatest moral failing, and I am a very imperfect person, is the failure of my first marriage." I have to tell you that at this juncture, I was very impressed with both men. That they were willing to share about their failures – those sins, if you will, which still linger in their minds vacillating between the vivid present and the repressed past – is a testament to the quality of their characters. Nevertheless, it is unfortunately part of our humanness that we struggle with our own sins of commission – the harm we have done to ourselves and others. What can we do about these sins that continue to bother us in our present existence? They do not seem to disappear over time. Perhaps if we are fortunate, they tend to bother us less frequently the more time passes.
For other people, it is the guilt about something left undone, which should have been done that feeds the misery. Some would classify this type as a sin of omission. The phrase often heard from these individuals is “if only.” “If only I had been there to help.” “If only I had said something.” “If only I would have been more courageous.” I came across a wonderful poem that describes some examples of things undone.
THE SIN OF OMISSION
Margaret E. Sangster
It isn't the thing you do dear,
It's the thing you leave undone
That gives you a bit of a heartache
At setting of the sun.
The tender word forgotten,
The letter you did not write,
The flowers you did not send, dear,
Are your haunting ghosts at night.
The stone you might have lifted
Out of a brother's way;
The bit of heartsome counsel
You were hurried too much to say;
The loving touch of the hand, dear,
The gentle, winning tone
Which you had no time nor thought for
With troubles of your own.
Those little acts of kindness
So easily out of mind,
Those chances to be angels
Which we poor mortals find-
They come in night and silence,
Each sad, reproachful wraith,
When hope is faint and flagging,
And a chill has fallen on faith.
For life is all to short, dear,
And sorrow is all too great,
To suffer our slow compassion
That tarries until too late;
And it isn't the thing you do, dear,
It's the thing you leave undone
Which gives you heartache
At the setting of the sun.
An interesting admonition regarding the sin of omission is found in Lev. 5:1. “If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.”
We are told that the Apostle Paul directly and cruelly persecuted believers. This would certainly be the sin of commission. I think of the apostle Paul who held the coats for those who stoned Stephen. By this, he committed the sin of omission. He stood by silent. In a court of law, he would be an accomplice. Thereafter, he referred to himself as the “chiefest of sinner.” Surely he recalled that incident frequently. His past never seemed to leave him though we must assume that he discovered some way to achieve peace and serenity without glossing over his past sin.
Another group of people suffer, upon being pierced and harmed by the sins of others; friends, family and strangers. These individuals are tormented by the insidious acts of others. They wonder why they were singled out as the victim. They relentlessly search or wish for justice in venues established instead for punishment. They often become angry at everything and everybody, both human and divine.
Listen to this account of the execution of D.C. Sniper, John Allen Muhammad, published this week on the CNN web site.
Justice fell short with the execution of Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad, one of his victims' survivors said after witnessing his death by lethal injection.
Muhammad died silently Tuesday night in a Virginia prison death chamber filled with lawyers, lawmen and his victims' survivors.
After the execution, Steven Moore said he thought about Muhammad's accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, who received a life sentence for their crimes.
"Well, myself, I wish Malvo was right there beside Muhammad," said Moore, whose sister, FBI analyst Linda Franklin, was gunned down in Virginia. "They both committed the same crimes. No, I don't feel any closure. I mean, it's ... it ... nothing changes."
(“D.C. sniper's execution met with grief, bitterness” by Bill Mears. CNN web site)
Steven Moore has not yet figured out what can be done about sin, especially when you are the recipient of the wrong. What can I do about sin, when I have been victimized by another person's sin? He sought some sort of justice and closure, hoping it would come with the death of the assailant. But peace has not yet come.
So, whether it is a sin of omission, a sin of commission or sin inflicted upon us by another, we are pressed to consider: What Can Be Done About Sin?
In the Old Testament, the prescribed way to deal with sin in a just manner was by means of the sacrificial system, in conjunction with lex talionis (an eye for an eye).
Hebrews 9:9, tells us, “the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.” This basically says that the Old Testament sacrificial system did not ease the conscience or provide the sinner with peace.
In Hebrews 10:1-4, it says,
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
We are told here that the Old Testament sacrificial system could not make anyone perfect. And while it may cleanse the individual from the stain of sin for a moment, the very next hour, the very next day the person offering the sacrifice is stained and dirty and guilty yet again. Indeed, the sacrificial system only served to remind the people of their stainful and sinful existence.
In Hebrews 10:11 we are told, “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” [As an aside, I would like you to note that the priest in this passage is standing. We will come back to this in a moment. For now, just note that the priests are standing up.] In this middle portion of the book of Hebrews, the writer has repeatedly said that the sacrifices did not do away with sin. As indicated in the earlier passage, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to do away with sin. The sin remained.
However, throughout most of the Old Testament, priests would offer sacrifices in the manner prescribed by the law, for “in this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven” (Lev. 4:35). So, in the Old Testament, “atonement” is provided and the one who sinned is “forgiven.” There was forgiveness. However, it must be pointed out that the sin was not done away with.
In Lev. 16, the strict procedures for the Day of Atonement are delineated. The purpose of the sacrifices offered on the Day of Atonement, is to provide a pathway for reconciliation between the Children of Israel and God Almighty. It provides for the forgiveness of sins committed and to cleanse the people, albeit temporarily. Again, it has no effect on future sin, or sin itself. It does not remove sin. Therefore, the relationship between the people and God continues in this state of flux between separation and reconciliation, separation and reconciliation, separation and reconciliation. Because sin remained intact, this vicious cycle between being adversaries and being in communion with God and with one another persisted unabated. We actually see people enslaved in this same cycle today. Perhaps you feel like you are imprisoned in this cycle yourself.
In the Old Testament framework, sin separated us from God as well as God from us. Sin continued to exist and exert its power and influence upon our lives personally and collectively.
Bob Meyers, whose 53-year-old brother, Dean, was shot dead while pumping gas in Virginia, called Tuesday's execution surreal.
"Watching the life be sapped out of somebody intentionally was very different and an experience I'd never had," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live."
"I'd watched my mother die of natural causes, but that was very different."
He said he might have attained some closure, "but I would say that pretty much was overcome just by the sadness that the whole situation generates in my heart. That he would get to the place where he did what he did, and that it had to come to this."
Meyers said he had forgiven Muhammad for two reasons: "One is that God calls for me to do that in the Bible and the second thing is related to that. If I don't, it rots me from the inside out. It doesn't really hurt John Muhammad or anybody that I have bitterness against." (“D.C. sniper's execution met with grief, bitterness” by Bill Mears. CNN web site)
WOW!! Now that is a person aware of the power of sin. Furthermore, that is a person that has a New Testament orientation.
Look carefully at Hebrews 10:12-14.
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God," and since then has been waiting "until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet." For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
I would like to point out how the stark contrast, as differentiated from the Old Testament perspective on sin. What the writer of Hebrews is saying is that Jesus' single sacrifice took care of sin; past, present and future. Indeed, the writer goes on to say that this one sacrifice by Jesus has made us “perfect.” WOW! Now that's different. AND, did you notice that this priest, Jesus, is now sitting down. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, the priest was always up standing, walking around, performing his service to God and the people. But here Jesus is sitting. This small change noticed on the stage of priestly service means that the work of the priest in regards to sin is DONE, IT IS ACCOMPLISHED.
The fact that Jesus has sat down means that sin has been done away with, it is defeated. There is no more work for Jesus to do. Past, present and future, sin has been obliterated. And because sin has been obliterated, we are given the promise in verse 17, “their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” This is a puzzling verse which, from our human vantage point, is impossible to grasp. One way to catch a glimpse of understanding is by stating this sequence clearly.
1. Jesus did away with sin.
2. By doing away with sin, God now views us as perfect.
3. If God views us as perfect, there are no outstanding debts related to sin.
Then, in contrast to the cycle of separation and reconciliation that we find throughout the Old Testament, the writer of Hebrews informs us that we now have confidence to enter the Holy Place (previously reserved only for the High Priest) WITH CONFIDENCE! The reason we can enter the Holy Place, is because we have been thoroughly cleansed – not by anything we have done, or promise to do, but by his sacrifice.
So, because we have been completely cleansed, past, present and future we have also been provided with a clear conscience. This is a most difficult teaching. How is it that we are to have a clear conscience while at the same time express remorse for our hurtful acts.
In other words, how shall we live?
I read an interesting article by Lutheran author, Nadia Bolz-Weber, entitled, “Latin Tattoos and 24 Hours of Televangelism” (published in Sojourners). She wrote this little essay after watching 24 hours straight – of Televangelism. I can't imagine subjecting myself to that. She did it for 24 hours.
During this 24 hour period she heard about “progressive sanctification.” I am not entirely opposed to this idea, but Ms. Bolz-Weber finds it to be distasteful and contrary to a key Lutheran teaching. Here's what she says.
I believe we are all (watch me get all fancy on the Latin here) simul iustus et peccator—simultaneously saint and sinner. (As a matter of fact, I have this tattooed in Latin around my right wrist because I'm just that much of a theological fancy-pants.) While perhaps not perfect, this doctrine is one of the most useful things about my Lutheran theological camp. We hold that we are all 100% sinner AND 100% saint. "But wait, Nadia," you say, "that's 200% percent." Well, yes and no; you see, the two are simultaneous. There is no process of sanctification, good works, prayer, yoga, recycling, Bible study, or holy living that makes us even 99% sinner and 101% saint, much less like 10/190.
The really liberating thing about this is that when we all come to the table fully aware that we are sinners, that we are broken on some level and never perfect, then the temptation to pretend otherwise is greatly diminished. To embrace your sinfulness and saintliness is not the same as being intentionally immoral. It is to be realistic that no one can possibly be 100% honest all the time, to always think of the neighbor before the self, to always honor God in everything you do, to at all times decrease in self so that others may increase. Even if our actions come close to this (they never do, but if they did), we still are stuck with the reality of our minds and the thoughts of our hearts. You see, the spiritual poison of our own righteousness, of saying here are the rules we must follow to please God and to be sanctified, and I follow those rules so I have good reason to be prideful about my sanctification because I earned it is problematic. The moment we try and maintain our holiness, the moment we try to appear to be without sin, that junk just comes out sideways.
These televangelists and mega-church personalities fall hard when they fall. When I fall, which is pretty much every day (including this moment as I write unkind things about these folks), I don't fall too far. Is this because of some sort of reverse righteousness? That could be a fair critique. I just know that people are drawn to me as a Christian leader not because I'm some sort of spiritually arrived person, but because I'm a pretty transparent one. Don't get me wrong: there are some icky parts I keep to myself, but for the most part I don't make too much of an effort to appear a whole lot better that I am. There's not a sin pressure valve that's building up ready to blow into a national crack-smoking, sex-for-money scandal. (Note to self: Avoid national crack-smoking, sex-for-money scandals.)
She's right, you know. When I try to be perfect, my junk really does come out sideways and I eventually fall – HARD! When I acknowledge my sin before God and others without trying to follow all the rules perfectly, I am more at peace. I feel restored to God and friends and family. I am no longer in the yo-yo type cycle of separation and reconciliation with God because I know that I am always accepted by God. I acknowledge that God views me as perfected by his Son. My conscience is clear. I feel forgiven. I am more able to forgive others who have hurt me.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Scribes and Widows
Presented at County Line Brethren Church on November 8, 2009.
Year B, Proper 27
Scripture passages: Hebrews 9:24-28 & Mark 12:38-44
When we read this passage about the widow dropping a couple of copper coins into the plate at the temple, we often think that it is certainly going to be a sermon on stewardship. It is easy to go in that direction. I might start out like this.
The vast difference between the scribes who put in large sums of money and the widow who only put in a penny is being seen around our country today. There are few times in your nation's history that the difference between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is so vast as to be incomprehensible.
Time magazine highlighted this difference in their recent issue on November 9, 2009. Here are some things I learned. Prior to the stock market crash of 1929, the average income, adjusted for inflation, for the top 0.01% was about 8 million dollars a year. Over the next 5 decades, it hovered between 3 and 7 million dollars a year. Over the past 3 decades the trend has exploded upwards, such that by 2007, the average income for the top 0.01% of wage earners in the USA is 35 million dollars. We are not talking about people with the most assets. We are talking about how much people earn in a year's time. To put it a different way, the top 1 out of every 10,000 people in the USA earn an average of $673,076 every single week! Some of those people are certainly our beloved sports stars (football, basketball, and baseball).
I read recently that Mel Gibson has donated $37 million to his own personal church. I'm sure the church was happy about that. I wonder if someone dramatically less fluent that Mel dropped a few bucks into the plate – even though that person had other needs to attend to. I doubt Mel is going to miss that money.
I also think of people like Bill and Melinda Gates who have given millions and millions to fight global problems. I doubt that Bill and Melinda will miss that money. Then I think of my mother-in-law, Evelyn, who consistently sends money to several organizations every month. She has only a little money coming in to pay her bills, and yet she faithfully writes checks to organizations. She is giving out of her need rather than out of her abundance.
And then this sermon on stewardship would say something like, we need to give out of our need instead of out of our abundance. Come on now, let's all give like it hurts! The only way to know how much to give is by whether it is hurting or not. If it is not hurting, you are not giving enough. Only when you are in financial distress because of your giving can you be satisfied that you are giving enough. Oh, and by the way, the proper place for your giving is into the church's treasury. I almost forgot that important piece.
That's a hardball stewardship sermon. The problem is that Jesus was not really saying this. This would be an example of poor hermeneutics.
Let's dig in and see if we can learn something new from this passage.
One of the first things to notice is that Jesus is emphasizing contrast. On the one hand, you have the scribes. On the other hand, you have a widow. And rather than focusing on what we know historically about the scribes or about widows of the day, let's look initially at the contrasts that are set up in the passage itself.
The scribes are identified as follows:
They like to walk around in long robes.
They like to be greeted with respect in public.
They like to have the best seats in the synagogue.
They like to have places of honor at banquets.
They devour widows' houses for financial gain.
They say long prayers to impress other people.
They contribute large sums into the church treasury.
Their contribution, though large, was from their abundance.
Now here is the contrast as the passage describes the widow.
The widow is poor.
The widow put two small copper coins into the treasury, which is about the worth of a penny.
The widow's contribution, though small, was all that she had to live on.
It seems important to note that Jesus, in his assessment of the situation, is pointing out the contrast between the two. But why is he emphasizing the contrast. Is he holding up the widow as someone we should emulate? Is Jesus trying to say that we should all be poor? Is Jesus trying to say that we should always give till it hurts?
Perhaps you caught it. Perhaps you have an idea. Perhaps you noticed an important clue in the beginning of the passage.
Do you remember in English class, as well as in writing and composition, or maybe in speech class, that it is helpful for the audience if you give them some kind of clue in the beginning about the theme of the essay or speech?
What is the first expression that Jesus uses, at least in our English version? It may be “beware” or “watch out”. What are we to beware of? We are to beware of the scribes. Pay close attention to this. As much as some may prefer to make this passage about the widow, Jesus' focus here is primarily on the scribes – and how we are to avoid the trappings of this elitist group of people. The widow certainly makes for a better, feel-good, Hollywood portrayal. However, Jesus is more concerned about warning his followers about the scribes. One of the main purposes of the widow is to provide a clear contrast with the self-serving scribes.
Jesus encounters the widow as he simply sits down to watch people make their contributions to the treasury of the temple. He observes the scribes making sizable donations. And then along comes this poor widow. Not just any widow, but a poor widow.
Now regarding this widow of contrast, there are a couple of interesting points to be made. First, the widow is contributing to an unjust religious system that both encouraged the scribal abuses of taking possession of widows' houses and benefited from this outrageous practice. Briefly put another way, the widow was contributing to the same tainted organization that a) stood by silent while many widows were forced into poverty and b) collected large sums of money from the very same people that had absconded with the widows' houses. Put in a more positive manner, the widow was faithful to the God even when the religious organization was disregarding God's law.
Here's another interesting point regarding the widow's gift. In the verses immediately following, Jesus says that the physical temple, as a symbol of the corrupt temple system, would soon be destroyed. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Wow! We learn here that the widow is contributing to a doomed cause! She is certainly not aware of this. And yet, the widow continues to be faithful.
So we find that the widow is faithful to God in her contribution to the temple, despite its corruption and impending demise. This will be helpful to us, but only when it set in proper context as a contrast with the scribes. For the scribes also gave to this corrupt and doomed organization, not as victims of its abuse but as benefactors.
As we have discussed recently, we would be wise to consider the larger context as we try to understand this passage. What's going on in the book of Mark at this time? Jesus is marching on his way to Jerusalem. Why is Jesus marching to Jerusalem? To offer himself as a sacrifice for many who do not deserve it. Jesus is ready to offer all that he has for those who would run from him. Jesus is ready, and will give his life for the world, which stood in rebellion against God in the first century, and continues to rebel against God to this day. Jesus did not give out of his abundance, like the scribes. Jesus was proceeding undeterred to Golgotha, to restore everything to its proper place under heaven.
That offers a stark contrast to the scribes, who were all about themselves. Despite those scribes who were undoubtedly faithful, the scribes were identified by the general public in just the same way that Jesus described them. They were self-serving scoundrels. They were all about appearances. The clothes, the long prayers, and deep pockets made deeper by taking advantage of others. Instead of protecting the poor, the widows and the vulnerable, the scribes and the temple system lived off of them.
The first and foremost message Jesus would have us receive is “don't be like the stereotypical scribe.” That person is completely opposed to what a disciple of Jesus is all about.
Let me also say that contrary to what you have heard, this passage is not a passage against riches. It is also not a passage against long prayers. It is not a passage against wearing nice clothes. It is a passage against the 3 P's: pretense, privilege and plundering.
A disciple of Jesus is not a pretender. It is not about the show. It is not about what looks best. It is not about the jewelry, the fancy clothes, the nice cars, or the nice house. One of Jesus' predominant themes is about how those homes and people are frequently rotten inside. In another passage, Jesus refers to them as white-washed tombs. Pretty on the outside, but full of dead men's bones inside.
A disciple of Jesus does not claim special privilege. They do not draw attention to their position or demand respect of name or status. A disciple of Jesus is not trying to impress other people with their knowledge or who they had dinner with last week.
A disciple of Jesus is also not a plunderer of other's possessions. There is a lot of plundering going on today. Exceedingly high interest rates on credit cards is called usury and is denounced by the scripture. Finding loopholes to foreclose on homes is simply legal stealing. Forcing families into bankruptcy by denying further health coverage when they get sick is immoral. Oh yeh, there is a lot of plundering going on these days, and it should be shunned by disciples of Jesus.
The purpose of the widow is to show how utterly perverted is the faith of the scribes. The other purpose of the widow is to point us toward Jesus. The widow points us to those qualities demonstrated by Jesus at the cross. The widow embodies the characteristics of a real disciple of Jesus.
A disciple of Jesus gives all of themselves to those people or causes who some deem unworthy, undeserving, doomed to fail, and/or completely and pervasively flawed. {repeat this}
That's a pretty tall order isn't it? All of a sudden, this passage is a lot more than putting more money in the offering plate.
Why do disciples of Jesus do this? The simple answer is that this is exactly what Jesus did, by going to the cross for us and the world. Romans 5 says that while we were powerless, sinners and enemies of God, Jesus died for us.
So, let me see if I can bring this home. Let's see how this might apply to us. I am hoping it would be safe to say that none of us fit the stereotypical version of the scribe of 33 A.D. However, truth be told, it seems highly unlikely that we are fulfilling Jesus' admonition to sacrificially give all we are to those who are undeserving. In actual fact, most of us are still tainted to some degree with at least some portion of the error of the scribes Jesus talked about. Rather than look at ourselves, the temptation we succumb to occasionally is to vilify the scribes, as if they are the most evil of all. The benefit of casting stones at the scribes is that we are not then compelled to enter into a personal and painful examination of our own pretending, our own desire for prestige, and for ways that we plunder our own neighbors.
Here are some things I wonder about in my own life. Perhaps they will help with your own personal examination as we consider the scribes. You will note in these questions that they do not necessarily have to be specifically religious or spiritual in nature.
1.Are there times when I pretend to know the answer to a question or a problem when I am only guessing? I really do that sometimes.
2.Are there times when I pretend to like something when I really do not? Sometimes it is hard to be completely honest.
3.Do I feel pretty good about the amount I contribute to the church offering? Should I pat myself on the back?
4.Are there times I feel slighted when someone did not recognize me properly, or even introduce me?
5.Are there times when I become angry when I was not given credit for the work I did? I do get angry if someone gets sole credit for a project I spent a lot of time on.
6.Are there times when I have paid a lot less for something than it was worth – because a neighbor had to liquidate to raise some cash?
7.Do I purchase items made or produced by people in other countries who are being paid a pittance.
That's the examination portion to see if there are ways in which we resemble the scribes. Maybe we are a little like the scribes. Ouch, that hurt a little.
Now, let's examine our own life as a disciple. This is the other side of the coin.
1.Do I give sacrificially to others who don't really deserve it? Usually, if I don't think they deserve it, I just don't give them anything.
2.Do I give sacrificially, with a glad heart? Sometimes, when I do things for Beth, “glad” is not always the word that describes my heart.
3.Do I give all of myself, even when it seems that the result will be failure? If I know a project will fail, I typically only give a partial effort.
4.Do I ever give to those I know cannot pay me back? I actually kind of enjoy doing this sometimes.
Oooooo! Ouch, again! This is way more than a stewardship sermon. So, maybe I'm not a completely sacrificing disciple of Jesus. The truth is that I have often been on spiritual auto pilot. I just keep doing what I have always done. I'm fortunate that I haven't been caught 150 miles past the Minneapolis airport. However, I have periodically done the spiritual equivalent.
You see, in the same way that the widow gave all that she had for a corrupt and doomed temple system, in the same way that Jesus gave all that he had for a corrupt and doomed world, we are being called to give all that we have to the poor, the powerless, the weak, the voiceless, the sick, the disenfranchised, the atheists, the disabled, the unemployed, the gays, the abortionists, the Wall Street executive, the Taliban, the terrorists, the Jews, the Muslims, the Hindus, the Black, the Asian, the Arab and the Sudanese, and those who are not like us – precisely because there was a guy by the name of Jesus that gave all of himself for me: full of failure, completely and pervasively sinful, undeserving in every way, and devoid of the ability to love.
Because of Jesus, I am free. Because of Jesus I am free to reach out to others.
Year B, Proper 27
Scripture passages: Hebrews 9:24-28 & Mark 12:38-44
When we read this passage about the widow dropping a couple of copper coins into the plate at the temple, we often think that it is certainly going to be a sermon on stewardship. It is easy to go in that direction. I might start out like this.
The vast difference between the scribes who put in large sums of money and the widow who only put in a penny is being seen around our country today. There are few times in your nation's history that the difference between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is so vast as to be incomprehensible.
Time magazine highlighted this difference in their recent issue on November 9, 2009. Here are some things I learned. Prior to the stock market crash of 1929, the average income, adjusted for inflation, for the top 0.01% was about 8 million dollars a year. Over the next 5 decades, it hovered between 3 and 7 million dollars a year. Over the past 3 decades the trend has exploded upwards, such that by 2007, the average income for the top 0.01% of wage earners in the USA is 35 million dollars. We are not talking about people with the most assets. We are talking about how much people earn in a year's time. To put it a different way, the top 1 out of every 10,000 people in the USA earn an average of $673,076 every single week! Some of those people are certainly our beloved sports stars (football, basketball, and baseball).
I read recently that Mel Gibson has donated $37 million to his own personal church. I'm sure the church was happy about that. I wonder if someone dramatically less fluent that Mel dropped a few bucks into the plate – even though that person had other needs to attend to. I doubt Mel is going to miss that money.
I also think of people like Bill and Melinda Gates who have given millions and millions to fight global problems. I doubt that Bill and Melinda will miss that money. Then I think of my mother-in-law, Evelyn, who consistently sends money to several organizations every month. She has only a little money coming in to pay her bills, and yet she faithfully writes checks to organizations. She is giving out of her need rather than out of her abundance.
And then this sermon on stewardship would say something like, we need to give out of our need instead of out of our abundance. Come on now, let's all give like it hurts! The only way to know how much to give is by whether it is hurting or not. If it is not hurting, you are not giving enough. Only when you are in financial distress because of your giving can you be satisfied that you are giving enough. Oh, and by the way, the proper place for your giving is into the church's treasury. I almost forgot that important piece.
That's a hardball stewardship sermon. The problem is that Jesus was not really saying this. This would be an example of poor hermeneutics.
Let's dig in and see if we can learn something new from this passage.
One of the first things to notice is that Jesus is emphasizing contrast. On the one hand, you have the scribes. On the other hand, you have a widow. And rather than focusing on what we know historically about the scribes or about widows of the day, let's look initially at the contrasts that are set up in the passage itself.
The scribes are identified as follows:
They like to walk around in long robes.
They like to be greeted with respect in public.
They like to have the best seats in the synagogue.
They like to have places of honor at banquets.
They devour widows' houses for financial gain.
They say long prayers to impress other people.
They contribute large sums into the church treasury.
Their contribution, though large, was from their abundance.
Now here is the contrast as the passage describes the widow.
The widow is poor.
The widow put two small copper coins into the treasury, which is about the worth of a penny.
The widow's contribution, though small, was all that she had to live on.
It seems important to note that Jesus, in his assessment of the situation, is pointing out the contrast between the two. But why is he emphasizing the contrast. Is he holding up the widow as someone we should emulate? Is Jesus trying to say that we should all be poor? Is Jesus trying to say that we should always give till it hurts?
Perhaps you caught it. Perhaps you have an idea. Perhaps you noticed an important clue in the beginning of the passage.
Do you remember in English class, as well as in writing and composition, or maybe in speech class, that it is helpful for the audience if you give them some kind of clue in the beginning about the theme of the essay or speech?
What is the first expression that Jesus uses, at least in our English version? It may be “beware” or “watch out”. What are we to beware of? We are to beware of the scribes. Pay close attention to this. As much as some may prefer to make this passage about the widow, Jesus' focus here is primarily on the scribes – and how we are to avoid the trappings of this elitist group of people. The widow certainly makes for a better, feel-good, Hollywood portrayal. However, Jesus is more concerned about warning his followers about the scribes. One of the main purposes of the widow is to provide a clear contrast with the self-serving scribes.
Jesus encounters the widow as he simply sits down to watch people make their contributions to the treasury of the temple. He observes the scribes making sizable donations. And then along comes this poor widow. Not just any widow, but a poor widow.
Now regarding this widow of contrast, there are a couple of interesting points to be made. First, the widow is contributing to an unjust religious system that both encouraged the scribal abuses of taking possession of widows' houses and benefited from this outrageous practice. Briefly put another way, the widow was contributing to the same tainted organization that a) stood by silent while many widows were forced into poverty and b) collected large sums of money from the very same people that had absconded with the widows' houses. Put in a more positive manner, the widow was faithful to the God even when the religious organization was disregarding God's law.
Here's another interesting point regarding the widow's gift. In the verses immediately following, Jesus says that the physical temple, as a symbol of the corrupt temple system, would soon be destroyed. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Wow! We learn here that the widow is contributing to a doomed cause! She is certainly not aware of this. And yet, the widow continues to be faithful.
So we find that the widow is faithful to God in her contribution to the temple, despite its corruption and impending demise. This will be helpful to us, but only when it set in proper context as a contrast with the scribes. For the scribes also gave to this corrupt and doomed organization, not as victims of its abuse but as benefactors.
As we have discussed recently, we would be wise to consider the larger context as we try to understand this passage. What's going on in the book of Mark at this time? Jesus is marching on his way to Jerusalem. Why is Jesus marching to Jerusalem? To offer himself as a sacrifice for many who do not deserve it. Jesus is ready to offer all that he has for those who would run from him. Jesus is ready, and will give his life for the world, which stood in rebellion against God in the first century, and continues to rebel against God to this day. Jesus did not give out of his abundance, like the scribes. Jesus was proceeding undeterred to Golgotha, to restore everything to its proper place under heaven.
That offers a stark contrast to the scribes, who were all about themselves. Despite those scribes who were undoubtedly faithful, the scribes were identified by the general public in just the same way that Jesus described them. They were self-serving scoundrels. They were all about appearances. The clothes, the long prayers, and deep pockets made deeper by taking advantage of others. Instead of protecting the poor, the widows and the vulnerable, the scribes and the temple system lived off of them.
The first and foremost message Jesus would have us receive is “don't be like the stereotypical scribe.” That person is completely opposed to what a disciple of Jesus is all about.
Let me also say that contrary to what you have heard, this passage is not a passage against riches. It is also not a passage against long prayers. It is not a passage against wearing nice clothes. It is a passage against the 3 P's: pretense, privilege and plundering.
A disciple of Jesus is not a pretender. It is not about the show. It is not about what looks best. It is not about the jewelry, the fancy clothes, the nice cars, or the nice house. One of Jesus' predominant themes is about how those homes and people are frequently rotten inside. In another passage, Jesus refers to them as white-washed tombs. Pretty on the outside, but full of dead men's bones inside.
A disciple of Jesus does not claim special privilege. They do not draw attention to their position or demand respect of name or status. A disciple of Jesus is not trying to impress other people with their knowledge or who they had dinner with last week.
A disciple of Jesus is also not a plunderer of other's possessions. There is a lot of plundering going on today. Exceedingly high interest rates on credit cards is called usury and is denounced by the scripture. Finding loopholes to foreclose on homes is simply legal stealing. Forcing families into bankruptcy by denying further health coverage when they get sick is immoral. Oh yeh, there is a lot of plundering going on these days, and it should be shunned by disciples of Jesus.
The purpose of the widow is to show how utterly perverted is the faith of the scribes. The other purpose of the widow is to point us toward Jesus. The widow points us to those qualities demonstrated by Jesus at the cross. The widow embodies the characteristics of a real disciple of Jesus.
A disciple of Jesus gives all of themselves to those people or causes who some deem unworthy, undeserving, doomed to fail, and/or completely and pervasively flawed. {repeat this}
That's a pretty tall order isn't it? All of a sudden, this passage is a lot more than putting more money in the offering plate.
Why do disciples of Jesus do this? The simple answer is that this is exactly what Jesus did, by going to the cross for us and the world. Romans 5 says that while we were powerless, sinners and enemies of God, Jesus died for us.
So, let me see if I can bring this home. Let's see how this might apply to us. I am hoping it would be safe to say that none of us fit the stereotypical version of the scribe of 33 A.D. However, truth be told, it seems highly unlikely that we are fulfilling Jesus' admonition to sacrificially give all we are to those who are undeserving. In actual fact, most of us are still tainted to some degree with at least some portion of the error of the scribes Jesus talked about. Rather than look at ourselves, the temptation we succumb to occasionally is to vilify the scribes, as if they are the most evil of all. The benefit of casting stones at the scribes is that we are not then compelled to enter into a personal and painful examination of our own pretending, our own desire for prestige, and for ways that we plunder our own neighbors.
Here are some things I wonder about in my own life. Perhaps they will help with your own personal examination as we consider the scribes. You will note in these questions that they do not necessarily have to be specifically religious or spiritual in nature.
1.Are there times when I pretend to know the answer to a question or a problem when I am only guessing? I really do that sometimes.
2.Are there times when I pretend to like something when I really do not? Sometimes it is hard to be completely honest.
3.Do I feel pretty good about the amount I contribute to the church offering? Should I pat myself on the back?
4.Are there times I feel slighted when someone did not recognize me properly, or even introduce me?
5.Are there times when I become angry when I was not given credit for the work I did? I do get angry if someone gets sole credit for a project I spent a lot of time on.
6.Are there times when I have paid a lot less for something than it was worth – because a neighbor had to liquidate to raise some cash?
7.Do I purchase items made or produced by people in other countries who are being paid a pittance.
That's the examination portion to see if there are ways in which we resemble the scribes. Maybe we are a little like the scribes. Ouch, that hurt a little.
Now, let's examine our own life as a disciple. This is the other side of the coin.
1.Do I give sacrificially to others who don't really deserve it? Usually, if I don't think they deserve it, I just don't give them anything.
2.Do I give sacrificially, with a glad heart? Sometimes, when I do things for Beth, “glad” is not always the word that describes my heart.
3.Do I give all of myself, even when it seems that the result will be failure? If I know a project will fail, I typically only give a partial effort.
4.Do I ever give to those I know cannot pay me back? I actually kind of enjoy doing this sometimes.
Oooooo! Ouch, again! This is way more than a stewardship sermon. So, maybe I'm not a completely sacrificing disciple of Jesus. The truth is that I have often been on spiritual auto pilot. I just keep doing what I have always done. I'm fortunate that I haven't been caught 150 miles past the Minneapolis airport. However, I have periodically done the spiritual equivalent.
You see, in the same way that the widow gave all that she had for a corrupt and doomed temple system, in the same way that Jesus gave all that he had for a corrupt and doomed world, we are being called to give all that we have to the poor, the powerless, the weak, the voiceless, the sick, the disenfranchised, the atheists, the disabled, the unemployed, the gays, the abortionists, the Wall Street executive, the Taliban, the terrorists, the Jews, the Muslims, the Hindus, the Black, the Asian, the Arab and the Sudanese, and those who are not like us – precisely because there was a guy by the name of Jesus that gave all of himself for me: full of failure, completely and pervasively sinful, undeserving in every way, and devoid of the ability to love.
Because of Jesus, I am free. Because of Jesus I am free to reach out to others.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Job's Repenting
Job’s Repenting
Presented at County Line Brethren Church on October 25, 2009.
Year B, Proper 25
Scripture passages: Job 42:1-6, 10-17; Hebrews 7:23-28
Before we grab the bait, we would be wise to look carefully for the hook. When I go fishing, I don’t do much catching. My explanation is that there are a lot of fish down there that have the ability to see my hooks. For some reason they do not see other fishermen’s hooks, but they are able to see mine – unless of course the fish are only about 4 inches long.
When we read some portions of scripture, it is tempting to take the bait to oversimplify without considering all the steps which help us put all of scripture into proper perspective. For example, the story has been told many times of the man who was looking for God’s guidance, opened the Bible and (with his eyes closed) thrust his index finger upon the page and was horrified to discover the passage about Judas, “and he went out and hanged himself.” This is an extreme example of how NOT to use and interpret the Bible. One obscure and ambivalent passage is found in I Corinthians 15:29:
Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?
Some have used this passage to build a tenet of religious practice in which believers submit to baptism for presumably unsaved and/or unbaptized friends, relatives and ancestors – in order to secure their salvation. Proper consideration of scripture as a whole would clearly lead us to different conclusion. As far as I know, this is the one, isolated passage that references this bizarre practice. There are many passages in scripture which must be considered carefully in order to avoid improper conclusions.
Our lection passage for today, defies easy explanations and seems to dangle some tempting morsels which threaten to unravel what we have learned thus far from the book of Job.
Let us recall a few simple rules for understanding and interpreting the Bible, which is called the study of hermeneutics.
If one is to gain a fuller understanding of a passage of scripture, the student is to consider the sentence, the paragraph, the immediate context, the context of the book, the style of the material (for example is it a parable, a prophesy, a story, or poetry). In addition, one must consider the grammatical, historical-cultural, and overall theological contexts. And finally, there are some that say that the Gospels (more specifically the words of Jesus) are more important that the letters of the New Testament. Others believe Paul’s letters, for example, help to explain the Gospels. And using a wider lens, many Christian theologians assert that the New Testament helps us to understand the Old Testament.
Where does this leave us? Well, we must be cautious about how we interpret scripture and how we attempt to apply it to our lives. One more example before we move on directly to our text. Paul stated on one occasion that he does not allow women to speak in the church. The Brethren Church, from early in its history, has held that women are certainly permitted to speak in church and even pastor congregations. The Brethren Church considered the context from which Paul spoke along with the large number of scripture passages which spoke differently about this issue. They arrived at a conclusion that scripture as a whole spoke favorably about the role of women in the leadership of the church.
Here is the question I would like to address today. To what is Job referring to when he says in 42:6 “Therefore do I loathe [it], And I have repented on dust and ashes.” (Young’s Literal Translation)?
What is Job repenting of?
Is he repenting of claiming to have been subjected to injustice?
Is he repenting of asserting that God was not just?
Is he repenting of yelling at God?
Is he repenting of asserting that he was righteous?
So, what is Job repenting of?
One option is to say that Job is repenting of expressing his anger and frustration to God – implying that it is sinful to do so. Perhaps that might make sense if we only looked at the book of Job. But what about scripture as a whole? If we were to say that Job was repenting of having spoken freely of his anger and frustration toward God, then how are we to make sense of the Psalms in which David or other psalmists are at least as frustrated and angry as Job is? Are we to suggest that God does not accept our vitriol directed at him? If there is one thing that the Psalms teach us, it is that God is big enough to accept our anger, direct, raw and unfiltered.
Another option for trying to understand Job's Repenting, is that Job's friends were correct in their admonitions to Job, that Job was harboring some grievous sin, which was why God had so inflicted Job with all kinds of suffering. So, what if we were to suggest that Job’s friends were right all along and that Job was a really bad sinner, in need of repentance – that his repentance in 42:6 was because of his sin? In between the paragraphs read by Mark, God chastises Job’s friends “because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” God then instructs these three friends (through Eliphaz) to “take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly.” This is certainly an indictment against these three friends for what they said. We are therefore not able to say that Job had some grievous sin he was repenting of. Furthermore, we are also reminded that in the very first verse of this book, Job was identified as “blameless and upright.” I am convinced there is no way that this phrase could ever apply to me, and I dare say any in my hearing would be brave enough to place themselves in the same company as Job. So again, Job was not repenting for some grievous, hidden sin.
Let us examine the context to see if there are any clues to understanding Job's repentance.
After all the suffering of Job and the conjecture of his friends, God appears to Job in the whirlwind. Consider Job 40:1-7
The LORD said to Job:
Job 40:2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”
Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD:
Job 40:4 “I am unworthy —how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.
Job 40:5 I spoke once, but I have no answer —twice, but I will say no more.”
Job 40:6 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:
Job 40:7 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
And now, consider Job 42:1-6
"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. [You said,] 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. [You said,] 'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.' I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
Notice that there are a few subtle differences between what God has said and Job's assessment of himself.
1.God indicated that Job had misrepresented God by speaking about God, without having a personal point of reference for actually knowing God.
2.God indicated that Job was trying to contend with God, correct God, and even accused God of injustice.
3.To this Job replied that he was not worthy.
4.On the other hand, God specifically implies that Job spoke about God in a “right” manner.
Do you catch the dissonance? How can Job, on the one hand speak properly about God, and on the other hand, speak without knowledge?
In order to gain more understanding about this puzzle, let's consider what happened to another person who had an encounter with God. Perhaps another example from scripture as a whole can shed some light for our understanding.
In Isaiah 6, the Lord presented himself to Isaiah, seated on a throne, the train of his robe filling the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with 6 wings. The sound of their praises shook the doorposts and the thresholds of the temple, which was filled with smoke. What was Isaiah's response? “Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.” You see, even though Isaiah had already prophesied as a servant of the Lord, when he was brought into the presence of the Lord, he was undone. The glory and majesty of God was so overwhelming and so far beyond himself that he became aware of how small he was in comparison. He thought he would be consumed, that he was finished. Perhaps it would be helpful to add that we know of no grievous sin, hidden or not, that Isaiah had committed. And yet, when both Job and Isaiah were brought before the presence of the Lord, Almighty God, they were both undone.
For me, one of the keys to understanding Job's repentance is found in 42:5. It is the statement that he had previously only heard about God with his ears. He had been given the book-knowledge. He had done all the reading. He had talked with the elders. He had worshiped God. He sacrificed to God. He did all the things that godly people do, in order to show his honor and respect for God. He was also an obedient follower of God. He was well-respected in his community. Job knew a lot about God.
But something dramatic happened when God revealed himself to Job. Job's eye's were opened – WIDE. This opening brought into clear view the awesomeness of God and the smallness of Job. I hasten to add that becoming aware of his smallness is in no way related to his significance. In other words, smallness does not equal insignificance. But the DISTANCE between God's awesomeness and Job's smallness is so incredibly large as to make Job feel so small.
The other side of the same coin is that once Job saw the unbelievable awesomeness of God, all of a sudden, Job's own words became completely inadequate.
How many of you have seen the Grand Canyon? How many of you have been to Europe? Tell me about one of the places that you have been to that took your breath away.
One of the mistakes that I made right before Beth and I were married is that I traveled with the Ashland College Choir to Europe for 3 weeks in the spring of 1975. We flew from JFK to Iceland to Luxembourg and then hopped on a bus which took us to various sites in mostly western Europe. We went to Paris and saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Champs Elysee. We visited Lucerne Switzerland and walked across the picturesque wooden bridges with murals painted on the archways. That's where I bought my wedding gift for Beth, a cuckoo clock. I saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the ruins of Rome and St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. I stood at the bottom of the ski jump in Innsbruck, saw the man-made hills near Munich under which was all the debris from WWII, and watched the famous clock in Prague. I took a bunch of pictures. I had a great time.
However, when I got back and tried to share that experience with Beth, I found myself unable to put into words anything that would resemble my own reality. Because Beth was not there with me, she was not able to completely join me in my joy, my sense of wonder and the moments of discovery.
Let me put it another way. Prior to going to the Grand Canyon, I had seen pictures. I had seen movies. I had read about it some. I imagine that I may have even had conversations about the Grand Canyon. So, I had an intellectual understanding of the Grand Canyon. I had pictures in my mind. And yet, when I walked up to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon, despite being in the middle of clinical depression at that time, I became aware that what I was experiencing at that time was greater than any picture I had ever seen. It was more than any essay could have ever described. It was more than could be seen in an IMAX theater. It was like I just wanted to stay there and look. I just wanted to allow my eyes to enjoy a feast of majesty. I could not express it adequately. I cannot satisfactorily share that experience with you today.
So, it is right and it is acceptable and it honors God to speak of God, to praise and worship him. And yet, when such time comes that we encounter God directly in his presence, face to face, our past words and attempts to explain him seem so weak, inadequate and flimsy. Indeed, when I shall see God someday, these words comparing him to my Europe trip or the Grand Canyon will surely seem silly, like the words of a child or an infant.
When Job repented, he was repenting because his current experience of being in God's presence made every past thought, feeling, argument, and accusation of injustice seem completely anemic, decrepit, and powerless. Indeed, with Job's new awareness, what he had said before seemed to be referring to something completely different from what he was currently experiencing in the presence of Almighty God.
Job was repenting because he had previously thought of himself as big, important, entitled. But now, in the presence of Almighty God, Job was reminded just how small he is – there is no comparison. Job is small, but is nonetheless very important to God. Job was important enough to God to address individually. Job was important to God.
Unfortunately, we are a lot like Job – prior to being brought into the presence of the Lord. We discuss what God is like. We discuss whether it is ok for Christians to do this or that. We discuss which church is closer to what God wants. We discuss the finer points of theology, and sometimes we discuss the larger points of theology. We discuss how far God's grace and mercy extend. We question our own worth and whether we are significant to the God of the universe. These are not bad, for God complimented Job for speaking properly of him. But compared to the real deal of being in the presence of the Almighty, all our words are just child's play. Our efforts to understand God are like looking through a dirty, painted window. You may be able to tell that there is something on the other side, but we really only barely have a clue.
And God knows this about us. And yet, God chooses to speak to us. God chose to reveal himself to Job. God occasionally provides us with brief and clouded glimpses through the dirty window pane.
Even though we are small, to God we are significant. Job was significant enough to God to speak with. And God speaks to us today through his word. God chooses to speak to you. We may be small in the scheme of things, but we are very important to God.
Presented at County Line Brethren Church on October 25, 2009.
Year B, Proper 25
Scripture passages: Job 42:1-6, 10-17; Hebrews 7:23-28
Before we grab the bait, we would be wise to look carefully for the hook. When I go fishing, I don’t do much catching. My explanation is that there are a lot of fish down there that have the ability to see my hooks. For some reason they do not see other fishermen’s hooks, but they are able to see mine – unless of course the fish are only about 4 inches long.
When we read some portions of scripture, it is tempting to take the bait to oversimplify without considering all the steps which help us put all of scripture into proper perspective. For example, the story has been told many times of the man who was looking for God’s guidance, opened the Bible and (with his eyes closed) thrust his index finger upon the page and was horrified to discover the passage about Judas, “and he went out and hanged himself.” This is an extreme example of how NOT to use and interpret the Bible. One obscure and ambivalent passage is found in I Corinthians 15:29:
Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?
Some have used this passage to build a tenet of religious practice in which believers submit to baptism for presumably unsaved and/or unbaptized friends, relatives and ancestors – in order to secure their salvation. Proper consideration of scripture as a whole would clearly lead us to different conclusion. As far as I know, this is the one, isolated passage that references this bizarre practice. There are many passages in scripture which must be considered carefully in order to avoid improper conclusions.
Our lection passage for today, defies easy explanations and seems to dangle some tempting morsels which threaten to unravel what we have learned thus far from the book of Job.
Let us recall a few simple rules for understanding and interpreting the Bible, which is called the study of hermeneutics.
If one is to gain a fuller understanding of a passage of scripture, the student is to consider the sentence, the paragraph, the immediate context, the context of the book, the style of the material (for example is it a parable, a prophesy, a story, or poetry). In addition, one must consider the grammatical, historical-cultural, and overall theological contexts. And finally, there are some that say that the Gospels (more specifically the words of Jesus) are more important that the letters of the New Testament. Others believe Paul’s letters, for example, help to explain the Gospels. And using a wider lens, many Christian theologians assert that the New Testament helps us to understand the Old Testament.
Where does this leave us? Well, we must be cautious about how we interpret scripture and how we attempt to apply it to our lives. One more example before we move on directly to our text. Paul stated on one occasion that he does not allow women to speak in the church. The Brethren Church, from early in its history, has held that women are certainly permitted to speak in church and even pastor congregations. The Brethren Church considered the context from which Paul spoke along with the large number of scripture passages which spoke differently about this issue. They arrived at a conclusion that scripture as a whole spoke favorably about the role of women in the leadership of the church.
Here is the question I would like to address today. To what is Job referring to when he says in 42:6 “Therefore do I loathe [it], And I have repented on dust and ashes.” (Young’s Literal Translation)?
What is Job repenting of?
Is he repenting of claiming to have been subjected to injustice?
Is he repenting of asserting that God was not just?
Is he repenting of yelling at God?
Is he repenting of asserting that he was righteous?
So, what is Job repenting of?
One option is to say that Job is repenting of expressing his anger and frustration to God – implying that it is sinful to do so. Perhaps that might make sense if we only looked at the book of Job. But what about scripture as a whole? If we were to say that Job was repenting of having spoken freely of his anger and frustration toward God, then how are we to make sense of the Psalms in which David or other psalmists are at least as frustrated and angry as Job is? Are we to suggest that God does not accept our vitriol directed at him? If there is one thing that the Psalms teach us, it is that God is big enough to accept our anger, direct, raw and unfiltered.
Another option for trying to understand Job's Repenting, is that Job's friends were correct in their admonitions to Job, that Job was harboring some grievous sin, which was why God had so inflicted Job with all kinds of suffering. So, what if we were to suggest that Job’s friends were right all along and that Job was a really bad sinner, in need of repentance – that his repentance in 42:6 was because of his sin? In between the paragraphs read by Mark, God chastises Job’s friends “because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” God then instructs these three friends (through Eliphaz) to “take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly.” This is certainly an indictment against these three friends for what they said. We are therefore not able to say that Job had some grievous sin he was repenting of. Furthermore, we are also reminded that in the very first verse of this book, Job was identified as “blameless and upright.” I am convinced there is no way that this phrase could ever apply to me, and I dare say any in my hearing would be brave enough to place themselves in the same company as Job. So again, Job was not repenting for some grievous, hidden sin.
Let us examine the context to see if there are any clues to understanding Job's repentance.
After all the suffering of Job and the conjecture of his friends, God appears to Job in the whirlwind. Consider Job 40:1-7
The LORD said to Job:
Job 40:2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”
Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD:
Job 40:4 “I am unworthy —how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.
Job 40:5 I spoke once, but I have no answer —twice, but I will say no more.”
Job 40:6 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:
Job 40:7 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
And now, consider Job 42:1-6
"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. [You said,] 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. [You said,] 'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.' I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
Notice that there are a few subtle differences between what God has said and Job's assessment of himself.
1.God indicated that Job had misrepresented God by speaking about God, without having a personal point of reference for actually knowing God.
2.God indicated that Job was trying to contend with God, correct God, and even accused God of injustice.
3.To this Job replied that he was not worthy.
4.On the other hand, God specifically implies that Job spoke about God in a “right” manner.
Do you catch the dissonance? How can Job, on the one hand speak properly about God, and on the other hand, speak without knowledge?
In order to gain more understanding about this puzzle, let's consider what happened to another person who had an encounter with God. Perhaps another example from scripture as a whole can shed some light for our understanding.
In Isaiah 6, the Lord presented himself to Isaiah, seated on a throne, the train of his robe filling the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with 6 wings. The sound of their praises shook the doorposts and the thresholds of the temple, which was filled with smoke. What was Isaiah's response? “Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.” You see, even though Isaiah had already prophesied as a servant of the Lord, when he was brought into the presence of the Lord, he was undone. The glory and majesty of God was so overwhelming and so far beyond himself that he became aware of how small he was in comparison. He thought he would be consumed, that he was finished. Perhaps it would be helpful to add that we know of no grievous sin, hidden or not, that Isaiah had committed. And yet, when both Job and Isaiah were brought before the presence of the Lord, Almighty God, they were both undone.
For me, one of the keys to understanding Job's repentance is found in 42:5. It is the statement that he had previously only heard about God with his ears. He had been given the book-knowledge. He had done all the reading. He had talked with the elders. He had worshiped God. He sacrificed to God. He did all the things that godly people do, in order to show his honor and respect for God. He was also an obedient follower of God. He was well-respected in his community. Job knew a lot about God.
But something dramatic happened when God revealed himself to Job. Job's eye's were opened – WIDE. This opening brought into clear view the awesomeness of God and the smallness of Job. I hasten to add that becoming aware of his smallness is in no way related to his significance. In other words, smallness does not equal insignificance. But the DISTANCE between God's awesomeness and Job's smallness is so incredibly large as to make Job feel so small.
The other side of the same coin is that once Job saw the unbelievable awesomeness of God, all of a sudden, Job's own words became completely inadequate.
How many of you have seen the Grand Canyon? How many of you have been to Europe? Tell me about one of the places that you have been to that took your breath away.
One of the mistakes that I made right before Beth and I were married is that I traveled with the Ashland College Choir to Europe for 3 weeks in the spring of 1975. We flew from JFK to Iceland to Luxembourg and then hopped on a bus which took us to various sites in mostly western Europe. We went to Paris and saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Champs Elysee. We visited Lucerne Switzerland and walked across the picturesque wooden bridges with murals painted on the archways. That's where I bought my wedding gift for Beth, a cuckoo clock. I saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the ruins of Rome and St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. I stood at the bottom of the ski jump in Innsbruck, saw the man-made hills near Munich under which was all the debris from WWII, and watched the famous clock in Prague. I took a bunch of pictures. I had a great time.
However, when I got back and tried to share that experience with Beth, I found myself unable to put into words anything that would resemble my own reality. Because Beth was not there with me, she was not able to completely join me in my joy, my sense of wonder and the moments of discovery.
Let me put it another way. Prior to going to the Grand Canyon, I had seen pictures. I had seen movies. I had read about it some. I imagine that I may have even had conversations about the Grand Canyon. So, I had an intellectual understanding of the Grand Canyon. I had pictures in my mind. And yet, when I walked up to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon, despite being in the middle of clinical depression at that time, I became aware that what I was experiencing at that time was greater than any picture I had ever seen. It was more than any essay could have ever described. It was more than could be seen in an IMAX theater. It was like I just wanted to stay there and look. I just wanted to allow my eyes to enjoy a feast of majesty. I could not express it adequately. I cannot satisfactorily share that experience with you today.
So, it is right and it is acceptable and it honors God to speak of God, to praise and worship him. And yet, when such time comes that we encounter God directly in his presence, face to face, our past words and attempts to explain him seem so weak, inadequate and flimsy. Indeed, when I shall see God someday, these words comparing him to my Europe trip or the Grand Canyon will surely seem silly, like the words of a child or an infant.
When Job repented, he was repenting because his current experience of being in God's presence made every past thought, feeling, argument, and accusation of injustice seem completely anemic, decrepit, and powerless. Indeed, with Job's new awareness, what he had said before seemed to be referring to something completely different from what he was currently experiencing in the presence of Almighty God.
Job was repenting because he had previously thought of himself as big, important, entitled. But now, in the presence of Almighty God, Job was reminded just how small he is – there is no comparison. Job is small, but is nonetheless very important to God. Job was important enough to God to address individually. Job was important to God.
Unfortunately, we are a lot like Job – prior to being brought into the presence of the Lord. We discuss what God is like. We discuss whether it is ok for Christians to do this or that. We discuss which church is closer to what God wants. We discuss the finer points of theology, and sometimes we discuss the larger points of theology. We discuss how far God's grace and mercy extend. We question our own worth and whether we are significant to the God of the universe. These are not bad, for God complimented Job for speaking properly of him. But compared to the real deal of being in the presence of the Almighty, all our words are just child's play. Our efforts to understand God are like looking through a dirty, painted window. You may be able to tell that there is something on the other side, but we really only barely have a clue.
And God knows this about us. And yet, God chooses to speak to us. God chose to reveal himself to Job. God occasionally provides us with brief and clouded glimpses through the dirty window pane.
Even though we are small, to God we are significant. Job was significant enough to God to speak with. And God speaks to us today through his word. God chooses to speak to you. We may be small in the scheme of things, but we are very important to God.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
BIG, MYSTERIOUS, MAJESTIC GOD
Presented at County Line Brethren Church on October 18, 2009.
Year B, Proper 24
Scripture passages: Job 38:1-7, 34-41; Hebrews 5:1-10
Not that long ago, Bart and Joan were doing rather well. Bart had a good job. He had been there several years and had earned the respect of his co-workers. When problems surfaced, they would seek out his input and opinion. He had been promoted a couple times and had a supervisory position. His wife, Joan, had been working part-time ever since the kids both entered public school. It was fulfilling and flexible, allowing her time off when the kids were sick. It provided her an opportunity to interact with other people and the modest income allowed the family to enjoy some extra activities. They had a small savings account, a couple of reliable vehicles, were buying a house and the Christmas tree last year was surrounded by gifts. The kids were doing well in school. The oldest was in advanced math and played the clarinet. The youngest liked to play soccer and enjoyed the children's ministry at church.
Every few weeks or so (not that long ago) they would get together with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. There would be plenty of food and fun, along with an occasional skirmish between the younger cousins. Oh, and I must mention the regular touch football game enjoined by young and old, male and female, throughout the fall – especially on days like today.
Not that long ago they attended church most every Sunday. They sat in pretty much the same seat, every time they went. Half the family sang, half didn't. And even though Uncle Roger couldn't hold a tune in a bucket, he sang loud enough for everyone to hear anyway. He explained to those who were brave enough to question him that he was just making a joyful noise to the Lord, and then gave them a little wink.
Not that long ago, the family would get up on Saturday morning early. Father and son would go to a Boy Scout event. Mother and daughter would go shopping at the mall.
Not that long ago. Not that long ago.
About a year and a half ago, Bart had an accident in his pickup truck. It was his fault. The road was a little wet and he had lost focus on his driving for a moment. He rear-ended the car in front of him and injured the elderly driver of the other car. The insurance company eventually settled the whole mess. But Bart would occasionally see this person around town who still appeared to walk stiffly. Bart would feel guilty.
About a year ago, Uncle Roger was diagnosed with dementia. He started leaving the oven and the stove on, almost burning the house down one day while sustaining heavy damage to the kitchen. Uncle Roger was lucky to get out alive. A couple months after that he was found wandering in the middle of a street across town at midnight. He did not know where he was, or how to get home. Uncle Roger has lived with his kids ever since, and he doesn't sing loud in church anymore – everyone kind of misses that. In fact, Uncle Roger has never been the same.
About 9 months ago, Bart was laid off because of the bad economy. For a few weeks it was kind of nice, he said it was like a vacation. He was able to do some of those projects around the house. Joan was sure happy about that. He started collecting unemployment, which was only about 60% of his previous take-home pay. They decided to pay for the COBRA insurance out of their savings, in order to keep health insurance. Bart looked for work, but it seemed like there were 100 or more applicants for every job he pursued. Furthermore, 90% of the available jobs were for ½ the pay he had been getting. To help ends meet, Joan began working full-time when she had the opportunity, but it was second shift. The benefits were virtually non-existent and sometimes had to go into work when she was sicker than a dog because she was afraid of getting fired. Everyone missed having mom at home for dinner.
Bart finally got a part-time job working for a friend involved in remodeling. It was money under the table, without any benefits.
The trips to the mall stopped. COBRA ended because they could not afford it. The savings account was empty. Bart and Joan were arguing more than they used to. The kids spent more time in their rooms, alone. The TV was on all the time, even when there was no one watching it.
When they went to church, it was not as enjoyable as it had been. It was hard to “get into worship.” Their attendance at church became less frequent. They even missed one of the family gatherings at Bart's brother's house.
Bart would spend time with his friends occasionally. They would give him advice about how to find a job, talk about the bad economy, and rail against both nagging wives and ungrateful children.
Bart and Joan could not figure out how they were going to handle Christmas this year. They simply did not have the money to stack gifts next to the Christmas tree and they certainly could not contribute to the family gift exchange at grandma's house on Christmas Eve.
They began to question where God was. They weren't bad people. They did not live extravagant lives, and yet they were beginning to feel like God had forgotten about them. Most of the friends that Bart met with periodically did not attend church and would sometimes speak about religion disrespectfully – that religion was only for kids and old women and weak people (you know, like what Jesse Ventura says).
One Sunday morning Joan announced to the family that she was done with church, she was done with God, she was done with the Bible, and suggested that God had deserted them. Joan was tired. Joan was finished.
Meanwhile, Bart continued to get together with the pastor for breakfast once in awhile. The pastor's answer was that Bart needed to read the Bible more, pray more, and to come to church every Sunday.
Bart began experiencing panic attacks about 2 months ago. At first he thought he was having a heart attack, but the ER doctor said there was nothing wrong with his heart. All the follow-up tests confirmed that there was nothing wrong physically. He has started receiving the hospital and doctor bills and has no idea how to pay for them. He's not sure how to pay for the medicine he now takes for his anxiety, and has tried skipping doses.
He recently took a walk on a nearby country road. His God-fearing friend had made that suggestion indicating that it had helped him. He was surprised after just a few minutes on his walk that he started to cry. A few minutes later, he noticed he was angry and began yelling at some cows in a nearby pasture. Then the anger turned toward God, there in between a field of corn on one side of the road and soybeans on the other side of the road.
After successfully keeping a lid on it for several months, the dam broke. Out spewed the venom at the One Person who could have done something to fix it all – and was choosing not to. And yet, in everything Bart said, he did not curse God, but simply and animalistically vented his hurt, his pain, and his frustration like the ooze spurting out of boil having just been lanced.
You could almost hear the voice of Job as he screamed at God saying, “desert me if you choose, but I shall not forsake you. Kill me if you must, even in death will I trust you.”
When he was done and the eruption subsided, he began to weep. It was like he was walking to nowhere in particular, without any awareness of his surroundings.
After walking another mile or so, he noticed some wild turkeys crossing the road about a 1/10th of a mile beyond him, and he stopped in his tracks. For some reason Bart could not move. He was mesmerized. He was struck by how the younger ones were nearly as big as the adults. He noticed the heightened vigilance of the adults compared to the younger ones. The waddling snood under their beak caught his eye as it walked, along with that odd-looking red-pink carbuncle on top of its head. He remembered that he had seen them fly up into the trees before, and that Benjamin Franklin advocated that the turkey be named as our national bird. He observed that they traveled as a group across the road. And in comparison to the summer hummingbird and the winter plumage of goldfinch, blue jay, and cardinal, the turkey is a rather homely bird. But I must say, they are not nearly as ugly as the ostrich or the vulture.
And then it was like Bart heard a soft whisper. It was a question. “Were you there when I make that turkey? No, I'm not talking about all those turkeys. Were you there when I make that turkey? And it was like Bart was drawn to one specific turkey just about to disappear into the corn field. Then it was like Bart was drawn to one specific ear of corn, which had already fallen and was drooping downward, about ready to be harvested, and he heard the voice continue softly. “Were you there when I make that ear of corn?
He was then drawn to a grove of trees not far away, with some of the branches hanging over the road. It was like a painter’s palate, filled with virtually every color imaginable. As he approached the grove, his brain seemed to swim in the colors. One bright yellow leaf shook a bit and he heard the voice again, “Were you there when I made this leaf, not just the entire grove, but this particular yellow leaf?”
About that time, the sun was starting to go down and began to radiate as a blazing red fireball. And he heard the voice again, “Were you there when I hung that in the sky?” Soon, it seemed that the entire western sky was ablaze in streaks of colors and the voice asked, “Can you do that?” Unable to move or attempt to answer, Bart just stood there. It was like for the first time in his life, he was catching a glimpse of the BIG, MYSTERIOUS, and MAJESTIC GOD.
Again, another question, “How is it that you are able to understand what is happening to you at this moment?”
“How is it that you are able to love your wife, play with your children, and hug your parents?
“How is it that you are able to read my precious letters that I wrote specifically for you and comprehend them?
“How is it that you are able to enjoy Beethoven, George Beverly Shea, Eric Clapton, U2, Third Day and John Mayer?”
• And then it dawned upon Bart that God had not answered any of his complaints. God did not provide a satisfactory answer.
• God had not apologized but nor had he chastised Bart. God did not apologize for making any mistakes.
• God did not reveal his great big plan which would have helped Bart make sense of everything that was happening and how his life had felt like someone had flushed the toilet. God did not talk about how all the bad things fit into his wonderful plan for Bart's life.
• God did not tell him to read the Bible, pray more often, or even to attend church. God did not tell him to do more spiritual activities.
Attempts to understand the ways of God extend way beyond the walls of the church or even beyond those who identify themselves as part of the church. Questions about God seem to pop up in the oddest places.
In the movie, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and the others have taken care of the wicked witch of the west and returned to Oz. They approach the Wizard in his castle and ask for the favors previously promised as rewards for the demise of the witch. As they stand there, “the little dog”, Toto, sees movement off to the side, bites and pulls down the curtain. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” “I am the great and powerful wizard of Oz” (said with diminishing confidence).
The powerful wizard that they were anticipating did not exist. There are some people whose encounter with God is kind of like this movie. Many people view God as similar to the Wizard of Oz, manipulating all the bells and whistles behind a cosmic curtain, but without any real power to have any impact on difficult circumstances. They hear all kinds of promises that God makes to them if they live right, make good choices, avoid all forms of evil, and fight for the right causes. Then when they come to God to collect on his so-called promises, they are sorely disappointed. They come to believe that God is not really a god at all. Indeed, he is often identified as inept, like an elderly person in a nursing home who simply wants visitors and sentimental gifts, but can offer no gifts themselves.
Other people view God as the George Burns or Morgan Freeman, giving sage advice to his unwilling disciples.
And still others view God as a tyrant who would subject one of his trustworthy followers, such as Job, to cruel game of “he loves me, he loves me not” with the devil himself.
And yet, the God of Job defies definitions and explanations; choosing instead to reveal his majesty to his servant.
Dazzling pictures and data from the Hubble Space Telescope continue to bear witness to the unfathomable vastness of the cosmos. Multiple galaxies can be seen in some images, each of them made up of BILLIONS of stars. In the light of such amazing and overwhelming realities, it is possible for us to feel very small. “Who are we?” we wonder with the psalmist, “that God would take notice of us,” given the near infinite scope of creation?
In that context, the voice of the Lord thundering from the whirlwind comes addressed to one of us! The Lord speaks about the rest of creation, but to Job. For all of the seeming inconsequence, we are the ones to whom God has spoken, the ones to whom God holds out the promise of conversation about the design of creation. Outside the boundary of this lection, God says to Job, “Look at Behemoth, which I made just as I made you” (40:15, NRSV, emphasis added). God is not dismissing Job, but is REORIENTING Job within a larger awareness of God's good creation. “Who is it that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” (38:2). The answer is Job – the (very) one with whom the living God (chooses) to speak. [Feasting on the Word, Year B, Vol. 4, pp. 170-175]
You see, for God, it is not about the 'why', but about the who.
It is fitting that at the end of every sermon on Job, John Calvin writes, “Now we shall bow in humble reverence before the face of our God.”
We are all trying our best to understand God, in the midst of our own troubled existence. We read and study the Bible. We pray. We treat others as we would like to be treated – some of the time. We are trying. Nevertheless, God will always be the 'never-fully-understood-personified-mystery.' For, you see, the human mind is fully incapable of grasping God's majesty – except perhaps on a country road around sunset.
Year B, Proper 24
Scripture passages: Job 38:1-7, 34-41; Hebrews 5:1-10
Not that long ago, Bart and Joan were doing rather well. Bart had a good job. He had been there several years and had earned the respect of his co-workers. When problems surfaced, they would seek out his input and opinion. He had been promoted a couple times and had a supervisory position. His wife, Joan, had been working part-time ever since the kids both entered public school. It was fulfilling and flexible, allowing her time off when the kids were sick. It provided her an opportunity to interact with other people and the modest income allowed the family to enjoy some extra activities. They had a small savings account, a couple of reliable vehicles, were buying a house and the Christmas tree last year was surrounded by gifts. The kids were doing well in school. The oldest was in advanced math and played the clarinet. The youngest liked to play soccer and enjoyed the children's ministry at church.
Every few weeks or so (not that long ago) they would get together with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. There would be plenty of food and fun, along with an occasional skirmish between the younger cousins. Oh, and I must mention the regular touch football game enjoined by young and old, male and female, throughout the fall – especially on days like today.
Not that long ago they attended church most every Sunday. They sat in pretty much the same seat, every time they went. Half the family sang, half didn't. And even though Uncle Roger couldn't hold a tune in a bucket, he sang loud enough for everyone to hear anyway. He explained to those who were brave enough to question him that he was just making a joyful noise to the Lord, and then gave them a little wink.
Not that long ago, the family would get up on Saturday morning early. Father and son would go to a Boy Scout event. Mother and daughter would go shopping at the mall.
Not that long ago. Not that long ago.
About a year and a half ago, Bart had an accident in his pickup truck. It was his fault. The road was a little wet and he had lost focus on his driving for a moment. He rear-ended the car in front of him and injured the elderly driver of the other car. The insurance company eventually settled the whole mess. But Bart would occasionally see this person around town who still appeared to walk stiffly. Bart would feel guilty.
About a year ago, Uncle Roger was diagnosed with dementia. He started leaving the oven and the stove on, almost burning the house down one day while sustaining heavy damage to the kitchen. Uncle Roger was lucky to get out alive. A couple months after that he was found wandering in the middle of a street across town at midnight. He did not know where he was, or how to get home. Uncle Roger has lived with his kids ever since, and he doesn't sing loud in church anymore – everyone kind of misses that. In fact, Uncle Roger has never been the same.
About 9 months ago, Bart was laid off because of the bad economy. For a few weeks it was kind of nice, he said it was like a vacation. He was able to do some of those projects around the house. Joan was sure happy about that. He started collecting unemployment, which was only about 60% of his previous take-home pay. They decided to pay for the COBRA insurance out of their savings, in order to keep health insurance. Bart looked for work, but it seemed like there were 100 or more applicants for every job he pursued. Furthermore, 90% of the available jobs were for ½ the pay he had been getting. To help ends meet, Joan began working full-time when she had the opportunity, but it was second shift. The benefits were virtually non-existent and sometimes had to go into work when she was sicker than a dog because she was afraid of getting fired. Everyone missed having mom at home for dinner.
Bart finally got a part-time job working for a friend involved in remodeling. It was money under the table, without any benefits.
The trips to the mall stopped. COBRA ended because they could not afford it. The savings account was empty. Bart and Joan were arguing more than they used to. The kids spent more time in their rooms, alone. The TV was on all the time, even when there was no one watching it.
When they went to church, it was not as enjoyable as it had been. It was hard to “get into worship.” Their attendance at church became less frequent. They even missed one of the family gatherings at Bart's brother's house.
Bart would spend time with his friends occasionally. They would give him advice about how to find a job, talk about the bad economy, and rail against both nagging wives and ungrateful children.
Bart and Joan could not figure out how they were going to handle Christmas this year. They simply did not have the money to stack gifts next to the Christmas tree and they certainly could not contribute to the family gift exchange at grandma's house on Christmas Eve.
They began to question where God was. They weren't bad people. They did not live extravagant lives, and yet they were beginning to feel like God had forgotten about them. Most of the friends that Bart met with periodically did not attend church and would sometimes speak about religion disrespectfully – that religion was only for kids and old women and weak people (you know, like what Jesse Ventura says).
One Sunday morning Joan announced to the family that she was done with church, she was done with God, she was done with the Bible, and suggested that God had deserted them. Joan was tired. Joan was finished.
Meanwhile, Bart continued to get together with the pastor for breakfast once in awhile. The pastor's answer was that Bart needed to read the Bible more, pray more, and to come to church every Sunday.
Bart began experiencing panic attacks about 2 months ago. At first he thought he was having a heart attack, but the ER doctor said there was nothing wrong with his heart. All the follow-up tests confirmed that there was nothing wrong physically. He has started receiving the hospital and doctor bills and has no idea how to pay for them. He's not sure how to pay for the medicine he now takes for his anxiety, and has tried skipping doses.
He recently took a walk on a nearby country road. His God-fearing friend had made that suggestion indicating that it had helped him. He was surprised after just a few minutes on his walk that he started to cry. A few minutes later, he noticed he was angry and began yelling at some cows in a nearby pasture. Then the anger turned toward God, there in between a field of corn on one side of the road and soybeans on the other side of the road.
After successfully keeping a lid on it for several months, the dam broke. Out spewed the venom at the One Person who could have done something to fix it all – and was choosing not to. And yet, in everything Bart said, he did not curse God, but simply and animalistically vented his hurt, his pain, and his frustration like the ooze spurting out of boil having just been lanced.
You could almost hear the voice of Job as he screamed at God saying, “desert me if you choose, but I shall not forsake you. Kill me if you must, even in death will I trust you.”
When he was done and the eruption subsided, he began to weep. It was like he was walking to nowhere in particular, without any awareness of his surroundings.
After walking another mile or so, he noticed some wild turkeys crossing the road about a 1/10th of a mile beyond him, and he stopped in his tracks. For some reason Bart could not move. He was mesmerized. He was struck by how the younger ones were nearly as big as the adults. He noticed the heightened vigilance of the adults compared to the younger ones. The waddling snood under their beak caught his eye as it walked, along with that odd-looking red-pink carbuncle on top of its head. He remembered that he had seen them fly up into the trees before, and that Benjamin Franklin advocated that the turkey be named as our national bird. He observed that they traveled as a group across the road. And in comparison to the summer hummingbird and the winter plumage of goldfinch, blue jay, and cardinal, the turkey is a rather homely bird. But I must say, they are not nearly as ugly as the ostrich or the vulture.
And then it was like Bart heard a soft whisper. It was a question. “Were you there when I make that turkey? No, I'm not talking about all those turkeys. Were you there when I make that turkey? And it was like Bart was drawn to one specific turkey just about to disappear into the corn field. Then it was like Bart was drawn to one specific ear of corn, which had already fallen and was drooping downward, about ready to be harvested, and he heard the voice continue softly. “Were you there when I make that ear of corn?
He was then drawn to a grove of trees not far away, with some of the branches hanging over the road. It was like a painter’s palate, filled with virtually every color imaginable. As he approached the grove, his brain seemed to swim in the colors. One bright yellow leaf shook a bit and he heard the voice again, “Were you there when I made this leaf, not just the entire grove, but this particular yellow leaf?”
About that time, the sun was starting to go down and began to radiate as a blazing red fireball. And he heard the voice again, “Were you there when I hung that in the sky?” Soon, it seemed that the entire western sky was ablaze in streaks of colors and the voice asked, “Can you do that?” Unable to move or attempt to answer, Bart just stood there. It was like for the first time in his life, he was catching a glimpse of the BIG, MYSTERIOUS, and MAJESTIC GOD.
Again, another question, “How is it that you are able to understand what is happening to you at this moment?”
“How is it that you are able to love your wife, play with your children, and hug your parents?
“How is it that you are able to read my precious letters that I wrote specifically for you and comprehend them?
“How is it that you are able to enjoy Beethoven, George Beverly Shea, Eric Clapton, U2, Third Day and John Mayer?”
• And then it dawned upon Bart that God had not answered any of his complaints. God did not provide a satisfactory answer.
• God had not apologized but nor had he chastised Bart. God did not apologize for making any mistakes.
• God did not reveal his great big plan which would have helped Bart make sense of everything that was happening and how his life had felt like someone had flushed the toilet. God did not talk about how all the bad things fit into his wonderful plan for Bart's life.
• God did not tell him to read the Bible, pray more often, or even to attend church. God did not tell him to do more spiritual activities.
Attempts to understand the ways of God extend way beyond the walls of the church or even beyond those who identify themselves as part of the church. Questions about God seem to pop up in the oddest places.
In the movie, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and the others have taken care of the wicked witch of the west and returned to Oz. They approach the Wizard in his castle and ask for the favors previously promised as rewards for the demise of the witch. As they stand there, “the little dog”, Toto, sees movement off to the side, bites and pulls down the curtain. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” “I am the great and powerful wizard of Oz” (said with diminishing confidence).
The powerful wizard that they were anticipating did not exist. There are some people whose encounter with God is kind of like this movie. Many people view God as similar to the Wizard of Oz, manipulating all the bells and whistles behind a cosmic curtain, but without any real power to have any impact on difficult circumstances. They hear all kinds of promises that God makes to them if they live right, make good choices, avoid all forms of evil, and fight for the right causes. Then when they come to God to collect on his so-called promises, they are sorely disappointed. They come to believe that God is not really a god at all. Indeed, he is often identified as inept, like an elderly person in a nursing home who simply wants visitors and sentimental gifts, but can offer no gifts themselves.
Other people view God as the George Burns or Morgan Freeman, giving sage advice to his unwilling disciples.
And still others view God as a tyrant who would subject one of his trustworthy followers, such as Job, to cruel game of “he loves me, he loves me not” with the devil himself.
And yet, the God of Job defies definitions and explanations; choosing instead to reveal his majesty to his servant.
Dazzling pictures and data from the Hubble Space Telescope continue to bear witness to the unfathomable vastness of the cosmos. Multiple galaxies can be seen in some images, each of them made up of BILLIONS of stars. In the light of such amazing and overwhelming realities, it is possible for us to feel very small. “Who are we?” we wonder with the psalmist, “that God would take notice of us,” given the near infinite scope of creation?
In that context, the voice of the Lord thundering from the whirlwind comes addressed to one of us! The Lord speaks about the rest of creation, but to Job. For all of the seeming inconsequence, we are the ones to whom God has spoken, the ones to whom God holds out the promise of conversation about the design of creation. Outside the boundary of this lection, God says to Job, “Look at Behemoth, which I made just as I made you” (40:15, NRSV, emphasis added). God is not dismissing Job, but is REORIENTING Job within a larger awareness of God's good creation. “Who is it that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” (38:2). The answer is Job – the (very) one with whom the living God (chooses) to speak. [Feasting on the Word, Year B, Vol. 4, pp. 170-175]
You see, for God, it is not about the 'why', but about the who.
It is fitting that at the end of every sermon on Job, John Calvin writes, “Now we shall bow in humble reverence before the face of our God.”
We are all trying our best to understand God, in the midst of our own troubled existence. We read and study the Bible. We pray. We treat others as we would like to be treated – some of the time. We are trying. Nevertheless, God will always be the 'never-fully-understood-personified-mystery.' For, you see, the human mind is fully incapable of grasping God's majesty – except perhaps on a country road around sunset.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
