December 16, 2012, "What Should We Do?"

Zephaniah 3.14-20; Luke 3.7-18

“Are we there yet?”

“Mommy, Daddy, are we there yet?”

Slightly irritated, Mom replies, “No, we’re not; it’ll be awhile. I’ll tell you when we’re there.”

Is it Christmas yet?

No, not yet!

It’s the Season of Advent, when the church remembers a time before Jesus … the hopes and fears of all the years: Where is God in all of the stuff going on? … Are things moving along by the will and purpose of God, or are we stuck here? God promised to come to us, to come to our aid, to help us - when will that happen? Will it happen? Is faith just so much wishful thinking, or is faith real and good and worth our time? Are there other gods to which we might turn? Is there something else we might do? What should we do?

The people ask John, What should we do?

Here they are, coming out from Judea and Jerusalem to hear a preacher who’s washing away sins in the Jordan … that fabled river … where God’s people so long ago crossed over into the Promised Land.

John gets right to the point …

If you have a little extra, share it!

If you’re in position to make money, don’t go crazy about it!

If you’ve got some power, use it carefully! … be satisfied.

Simple … basic … essential … John doesn’t ask anyone to believe in something, but only to behave well … to prepare the way of the LORD.

What is the relationship between John and Jesus?

They’re family … cousins … Jesus lives in Galilee, in the northern part of Palestine … John lives deep in the Southern Wilderness regions … a man of the desert … dressed in the clothing of the wilderness… eating desert food: roasted locusts and wild honey … 

Cousins in the flesh … but it’s the spiritual relationship that Luke wants us to understand … if Jesus is the Messiah, John is a spiritual Elijah … who prepares the way of the LORD.

The angel’s announcement to Zechariah says it all:

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah wonders how all of this could be … the angel says to him, O be quiet! … and literally, Zechariah is unable to speak until the day of John’s birth. 

The angel saved Zechariah the embarrassment of his own words … such things cannot be explained, and there’s no use trying … words fail to capture the glory of God … God knew that Zechariah wouldn’t keep his mouth shut, so God shuts it for him … sealed his lips, silenced him, quieted him … all Zechariah could do was motion with his hands.

Let all the earth keep silence … the LORD is in his holy temple.

One of my favorite moments in the Bible - the Book of Revelation - the Lamb takes the Scroll, with seven seals, and opens it … one seal at a time … and at the seventh seal, the final seal, silence in heaven, for about half an hour … why the specific note about half an hour? 

Because heaven is a noisy place … singing and chanting and shouting and blaring trumpets … but even heaven knows when to shut up and keep quiet.

For an entire 30 minutes or so - a very long time in heaven to be quiet.

I once led a silent retreat … we began with small increments of silence … folks would go off and find a quiet place, and stay there - no reading, no writing, no walking about, no talking - just silence - we began with just a few minutes, and then on the third day of the retreat, several hours of silence.

At first, everyone found the silence to be intimidating, unnerving … folks wanted to read, write, talk, walk around, do something, anything … but at the end of the retreat, they found comfort in their silence.

The angel silenced Zechariah … Zechariah needed quiet time, and so did Elizabeth … so did everyone around him …

As Ecclesiastes says, There is a time to speak, and a time to keep silent.

John is born, grows up, finds his way into the Wilderness.

God’s word came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.

There were many who lived in the Wilderness in those days … for prayer, worship, contemplation, reading - spiritual communities similar to monasteries and convents: places of quietness, reflection, silence … a time to settle the mind and wait for the LORD.

When the LORD speaks, as Elijah learned in times past, the LORD is not in the wind and the earthquake and the fire, but in a still small voice - a hush, a breath, a stillness … 

John preaches … and baptizes … and the crowds came to hear him.

John says to them: change your hearts and change your lives … and then you’ll have God’s forgiveness.

There’s something here terribly important … a changed life welcomes the forgiveness of God … and we might well ask, “Doesn’t God’s forgiveness come first?”

Not according to John!

John is preaching to people who know the truth already … who know what God wants, but are reluctant to do what God wants … John says to the people, Do you want God’s forgiveness? ... then do what God wants!

Forgiveness has nothing to do with doctrine and dogma and creeds and confessions … how weary God must be of all our words, our preaching, our songs, our prayers … once again, our nation is beset with sorrow and suffering, and preachers across the land will cry out to their congregations: We need prayer back in our schools, and Bible study … we need to teach creationism … we need to keep women away from birth control … we need to get rid of atheists and Muslims and gays and lesbians and abortion doctors and socialists and Communists and illegal immigrants … and by the way, go out and buy more guns; fill the land with guns; pass laws that make it easier and easier to carry guns … and then we’ll all be happy and safe.

God says, “Be quiet!” … give thought to how you live and the values you hold - and remember, those who live by the sword die by the sword … give thought to how you live: what you do for one another, your care for creation, your kindness to the weak and vulnerable … if anyone makes it to heaven, it’ll not be on points of doctrine, but what was lived … not ideas but mercy … not creeds and confessions, neither prayers nor hymns, but justice rolling down like water and righteousness like and ever-flowing stream [Amos 5.24]

What should we do? The people ask.

If you have a little extra, share it!

If you’re in a position to make money, don’t go crazy about it!

If you’ve got some power, use it carefully! … be satisfied.

Who are the people who ask John?

Those who have an extra shirt and extra food … folks on the better end of things … who’ve made it … who have more in the closet and more in the pantry then other folks … 

The tax collectors … entrepreneurs … deal-makers, money-managers and bankers … go ahead and make money, but do so with restraint … only what’s legitimate, what’s authorized, and no more.

Soldiers of the Empire - probably Jewish mercenaries … they worked hand-in-glove with the tax collectors who relied on the force of arms to extort monies from merchants and travelers … John says: don’t cheat anyone, don’t harass the people with your weapons and power … be satisfied with your pay. 

Share from your abundance.

Restrain your greed.

Don’t bully others and be content with what you have.

Then or now, these are the central challenges that face all of humanity.

Every religion knows these things … Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims:

Share from your abundance.

Restrain your greed.

Don’t bully others and be content with what you have.

John tells us what to do … 

And when Jesus comes, he tells us the same thing … 

And the same fate befalls Jesus, as it did John … Herod kills John the Baptist for calling Herod’s family to account, and three years later, Herod will kill Jesus.

But we know how the story ends, so to speak … Herod doesn’t win, nor does Rome … no do all the powers of death and darkness … 

The stone is rolled away, Jesus steps out of the tomb … God’s way of saying - I will not give up on you … but let the world know, John’s message is the right one … those who share from their abundance, those who are restrained in their quest for money, those who are satisfied and use power carefully, are on the right track … they enjoy my Father’s forgiveness: they are the light of the world, the salt of the earth … their light shines in the world so bright that the world can see their good works and give glory to the Father in heaven.

Amen and Amen!

July 31, 2011, "Heaven Looks Like This"

Matthew 14.13-21
July 31, 2011

Are people hungry?

In many places around the world, people are just plain hungry … not enough food - drought and war and bad economies condemn millions to starvation.

A major problem here in America is hunger for good food … childhood obesity, diabetes; a host of medical issues reflect a poor diet, loaded with “Iowa sugar,” too much fat, too much salt - highly-processed foods laced with too many chemicals and not enough food-value.

Beyond food, how many millions are hungry for safety?

A good roof over their heads.

A home where their children are safe.

Good schools.

Good jobs.

Health-care for their families.

Job security.

A living wage.

Respect for their work.

Hope for tomorrow.

The right to choose.

The right to marry.

How many hunger and thirst for righteousness?

For truth.

Honesty.

Reliable ideas.

Faith.

Integrity.

Hope and love.

The kingdom of heaven … thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ...

Hunger comes on many different levels.

On every level of hunger, we find Jesus at work.

Hungry souls.

Empty bellies.

Wherever the hunger, Jesus is there.

Whatever the need, Jesus goes to work.

Our text this morning begins on a sad note … Jesus seeks solitude when he hears of John’s death at the hands of Herod; Jesus wants to be alone … like any of us, when hard times come our way.

To be alone with our thoughts and sorrows …

“Leave me alone; I don’t wanna talk about it.”

We need time to think.

Privacy for our tears.

We want to be alone, when there’s nothing to be said, nothing to be done.

I can imagine Jesus, wanting to be alone with his thoughts … the man who baptized him in the Jordan 30 years earlier, is dead now, at the hands of craven king, a king too drunk, too proud, to say no to Herodias and her dancing daughter at his birthday party. 

This moment of wanting to be alone is one of the most touching chapters in the gospel stories … if anyone thinks that Jesus is above and beyond the trials and hurts of life, here’s proof that Jesus feels the deeps of life and its many hurts.

A friend wrote to me the other day, “I’m tired of being hurt.”

I understand that … for sure.

Yet I wrote back, “To live is to risk hurt, and the longer we live, the more hurt we acquire.” 

We cannot escape “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”

But God is at work in our hurt!

God walks with us in the valley.

Until we have some healing, and then God takes us by the hand and leads us back to life.

I think of Elijah hiding out in the cave of his hurt.

God comes to Elijah and asks, What are you doing here?

Elijah replies with a long of list of sorrows and hurt … I’ve got good reasons to be hiding in my cave.

Yet the LORD says to Elijah, There’s work to be done. Get on your way to the tasks at hand.

Here in our story, there’s work to be done: the crowds.

They find out where Jesus is, and that’s where they go.

Instinctively, they know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life … they’re hungry for life … and as the day wears on, their bellies grow empty!

It’s a large crowd.

5000 men, plus women and children.

A lot of people - stomachs growling all over the place.

The disciples are uneasy.

They know what Jesus will say to them.

So they make the first move … This is a deserted place, Jesus; it’s late; send the crowds away so they can buy food in the nearby villages.

The disciples are hungry, too.

They’re afraid there isn’t enough to go around.

The pie won’t be big enough.

All we have are five loaves and two fish.

Send the crowds away.

They can fend for themselves.

We have ours, and it’s just enough to feed us, and we’re not about to share any of it.

The message of scarcity - strange things happen when the message of scarcity takes hold of the soul.

Kindness and generosity evaporate, vision dies; the haves throw up barricades to the have-nots. 

The message of scarcity.

Can we see how this creates boundaries?

Jesus looks upon the crowd with compassion … the disciples look upon the crowd fearfully.

Them versus us.

Outsiders and insiders.

Deadly categories:

Good folks, bad folks.

The deserving and the undeserving.

Hard-workers and the lazy.

When we think the pie is too small to feed everyone, we grow protective of the pie, especially if we think it’s our pie.

Before we press on with story, I pause here for a moment to consider what’s going on in America … the debate about health-care, Social Security, Medicare, raising the debt-ceiling, taxation, the Dream Act, immigration, and dozens of other issues …

So much of it’s driven by fear.

The scarcity message.

The pie is too small.

There won’t be enough to go around.

Send people away to fend for themselves.

The virtues of sharing and compassion are in short order these days … 

The folks with the pie want all of it.

And why?

I suppose they’re frightened.

We’re all frightened, in some ways.

Fear is in the air.

And fear is never helpful!

Fear distorts everything.

Remember the children of Israel in the wilderness, on the borders of the Promised Land? 

The spies return, and say, Yes, it’s a good and beautiful land, but there are giants there, and they’ll give us a good thrashing. We don’t stand a chance.

That day fear took hold, Israel turned tail, walked away from the Promised Land.

Fear does terrible things to us.

The young man in Norway, who killed so many of his fellow citizens - driven by fear, riddled with fear, upside down with fear … fear of the stranger, fear of Islam, fear of other cultures, fear of change … the pie isn’t big enough.

He claims to be a Christian.

He fashions himself a Knights Templar - a military order of Europe’s Middle Ages.

Because the pie isn’t big enough … we only have five loaves and two fish, and we’re not about to share any of it with anyone.

If the church of Jesus Christ has a mission for today, any meaning whatsoever, it has to be the fearless message of Jesus … and the message of abundance … 

A message that seems ridiculous to us … 

Yes, let’s be honest.

Have we ever said about the gospel, “Well, that’s Jesus. He’s perfect. He can think that way. But we can’t think that way. We can’t live that way.”

The message of abundance, the message of no-fear, seems ridiculous to us!

But it’s not ridiculous at all - sharing is the reality of love; giving is still the truth about life.

As God created life abundantly there’s more than enough to go around; this is a world of plenty … the pie is big enough … don’t be afraid … don’t let fear twist and distort how you see things.

Something, now, of great importance in our story.

Jesus does NOT tell the disciples to share.

Jesus says to them, Give ME what you have.

Can we see what he’s doing?

A great favor to them.

Their five loaves and two fish … they cling to them … hold them tight … like Gollum and the Ring of Power … or Voldemort and the Elder Wand … 

Jesus doesn’t command them to share what they have.

Because commands aren’t good enough.

Jesus doesn’t ask them to be charitable.

Because charity isn’t big enough.

No, something more important here.

Give ME what you have.

Jesus knows that as long as the loaves and fish are in the disciples’ hands, there won’t be enough.

There’s never enough when we’re in charge of the pie.

In our eyes, the pie is always too small.

Jesus does them a great favor.

Jesus asks them to surrender the fish and the loaves.

Surrender the pie.

Reminiscent of God asking Abraham and Sarah to sacrifice their son, Isaac … God had to know what kind of people God was asking to found a new nation … God needed people who could really give … 

So God asks for the son.

And in the moment when Abraham is ready to plunge the knife into the boy, God stays his hand … There in the bush, the ram … there’s your sacrifice … but now I know the kind of man you are; you can give.

Jesus needs disciples who can give.

The cycle of selfish ends now … in this moment … give the loaves and the fish to me …

And when they do, Jesus knows.

And so do they.

The pie is big enough for the whole wide world, and then some … with plenty left over at the end.

The promise of abundance.

The message we proclaim and live, because of Jesus.

The pie is big enough!

There’s more than enough to go around, and then some.

Don’t be afraid.

We can feed the world.

No one needs to go to bed hungry.

It can be done.

It must be done.

And the church of Jesus Christ can lead the way.

The next time we watch the news, or read the headlines, pay attention to the message of scarcity - the pie isn’t big enough to feed everyone, so we have to send folks away.

Pay attention to that message, because it’s hell’s message.

Not heaven’s message.

Not the message of Jesus.

When we’re afraid for the pie we have, and we wanna send people away, we must listen to Jesus, and his message of abundance.

And his command to give what we have to him.

In his hands, there’s more than enough.

And then, Jesus gives the fish and the loaves back to the disciples so they can feed the crowd.

In the moment of their surrender, they give away their fear.

When Jesus returns the fish and the loaves to them, they gain their courage.

And feed the crowd.

With twelve baskets of leftovers.

Enough for everyone, and then some.

And that’s what heaven looks like.

Amen and Amen!