August 8, 2010 - "Where Do You Bank?"

Luke 12:32-40

I used to own some stock.

It wasn’t much, but it had my heart.

I logged on to my stockbroker’s page nearly every day, maybe even a few times a day … I followed the ups and downs of my stocks with fevered interest … if my account went down, my heart sunk; if it went up, I was elated and full of dreams.

In other words, where my treasure is, that’s where my heart is, too.

On another level, the wellbeing of my children.

I have lots of treasure there, and I bet you do, too.

I check on them all the time.

I wanna know how they’re doing.

And if they’re sad, I’m sad.

And when they’re happy, I’m happy, too.

Where my treasure is, that’s where I find my heart.

And, of course, Donna.

I cooked a good meal the other night.

She said, “I’ll keep ya’ another 12 weeks.”

That’s good.

Because I treasure her.

And she has my heart.

We treasure ourselves, too, don’t we?

We’re mighty important.

Get sick, and suddenly we’re pretty much the center of our world …

If we have a fever, we take our temperature every few hours.

If we have hypertension, we putt on the cuff and measure our blood pressure, maybe a couple o’ times a day.

If we’re trying to lose some weight, we’re on the scale every morning.

We’re pretty important.

We have a lot invested in ourselves.

When we’re happy, the world looks good to us.

When we’re sad, nothing much counts.

Where our treasure is, that’s where our heart is, too.

Things we value.

People we love.

Dreams we have.

The pride of work and achievement.

A teacher receives the accolades of colleagues … and is voted “Best Teacher of the Year.”

An engineer is given a bonus for devising new techniques in manufacturing.

A young mother gets a squeeze from one of her children, and the child says, “Mom, you’re the best mom in the world!”

Pride of accomplishment:

We come home at the end of the day, and we say to ourselves, “Today was a good day. I did it right, and I did it well. I’m proud of me today.”

Take a look at the things we treasure, and that’s where the heart spends a lot of time.

So Jesus says:

Be sure about your treasure.

Don’t weigh yourself down with too much stuff.

Get rid of a few things and ease up a little bit.

Pay a little more attention to God.

And not so much about what you’re going to eat and what you’re going to wear – life is a whole more than that.

And if you’re ready for some adventure, seek the kingdom of God.

That’s a good thing.

Stock in the kingdom of God never goes down.

Moths don’t eat holes in it.

Thieves can’t take it’ from ya’.

Jesus is clear.

Since Jesus knows a lot about us.

Jesus knows that this treasure business has a dark side to it.

And when we slip into the dark side, we’re not much good for the good things of life.

The famous Christmas story tale by Charles Dickens, featuring our good friend, Ebenezer Scrooge.

When we’re on the dark side of things, we’re not much good for the good things of life.

Scrooge didn’t like Christmas – “bah humbug.”

He didn’t have friends.

He sure didn’t like children.

He was grumpy and miserly.

And he treated his employees cruelly.

When we’re on the dark side of things, we’re not much good for the good things of life.

But things changed for Scrooge.

It took a supernatural intervention.

And sometimes it does.

Grace has to take us by the scruff of the neck now and then and give us a good shake.

A few ghosts to startle us.

To awaken us to the things that count.

A lesson we need to learn a few times every day.

Keep things in perspective.

Stay on the light side of things:

A friend wrote recently: “I just finished a jigsaw puzzle in six months – on the box, it said, 4 to 6 years.”

A friend of mine owns a Lompoc Winery.

He used to be the IT guy for a major international corporation.

Recently, he said, "There were three things that counted at work: your title, the size of your paycheck and the size of your office. Now," he says, "I have no idea what my title is; am I the owner or the truck-driver; I haven't seen a paycheck in a few years; but this for sure, (walking with us over a hilltop through his vineyards), my office is really, really, big."

Over the last few weeks, we’ve spent a lot of time in the Gospel of Luke.

We’ve read and pondered what Jesus says and does.

The picture is growing clear.

Jesus knows us well.

 Be careful of greed, says Jesus.

Ya’ can’t have it all, and don’t even try.

No matter how big your barns are, they’re never big enough.

Get a hold of yourselves.

Don’t build your house on the sand; build it on the rock, instead.

Practice generosity.

Be kind.

Keep things simple.

Be dressed for action and keep your lamps lit.

Jesus talks a lot about being ready.

Ready for what?

Ready for life!

Ready for the people who come our way, and maybe we can help them.

Ready for just causes – we can write a letter and cast our vote for a better world.

Ready to learn … like Mary, when the Rabbi came to her home – she got outta the kitchen and sat as his feet.

Ready to follow … like Peter and John when Jesus stopped by their boat one day … the got outta the boat and followed him.

Ready.

Ready for life.

Ready for God.

Ready to serve.

Ready for kindness.

Ready to help.

Ready to give.

And ready to love.

The Prophet Micah says it well:

      “With what shall I come before the LORD,

      and bow myself before God on high?

      Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

      with calves a year old?

      Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

      with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

      Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

      the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

      He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

      and what does the LORD require of you

      but to do justice, and to love kindness,

      and to walk humbly with your God?

To seize the moment and make it count.

Like a fisherman on the Santa Monica pier – baited hook, hand on the line, waiting to feel the strike … 

A photographer out and about in the late afternoon … the golden hour, when the light is just right … ready to capture the beauty of a flower in full bloom …

A surfer, alert and ready to catch the next good wave.

Be ready, says Jesus.

Ready to make a difference.

I can do it.

I can serve.

I can volunteer.

I can join in and join hands.

I can make a difference.

We never know when the hour comes, says Jesus.

The moment to decide.

So be ready.

Pay attention.

Be alert.

Stop, look and listen.

And know this little flock.

It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.

Dear friends in Christ,

Enjoy the day, it's the day the Lord has made for you.

You will meet people who test your spirit.

You will meet people who surprise you with their love.

You will meet yourself, coming and going.

You will read something good.

You will eat something delicious.

You will hear a bird sing and be delighted.

You will see a face and see the face of God.

You will say something profound and wonderful.

Someone will thank you.

Someone will bless you.

Someone will give you a helping hand.

Such is life ... 

To God be the glory ...

And to all, a good day!

Amen and Amen! 

August 1, 2010, "What Should I Do?

Luke 12:13-34

“Houston, we have a problem!”

The immortal words of Tom Hanks … actually, astronaut Jack Swigert, Apollo 13, April 11, 1970 … an electrical problem, an oxygen tank explodes … a series of life-threatening failures … quick thinking and lots of jury-rigging saves the crew – though unable to land on the moon, they successfully return to earth.

“Houston, we have a problem!”

Our story begins simply enough …

Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, large crowds all around.

One man steps forward: Tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.

Something gone wrong.

Something unfair.

A family in distress over the inheritance.

“Houston, we have a problem!”

Jesus, can you help me?

I thought of an earlier moment in the Gospel of Luke.

Remember when Jesus visits in the home of Martha and Mary?

Mary sits with Jesus.

Martha fusses and frets in the kitchen, until she can take no more, and angrily comes to Jesus and asks, Don’t you care that I’m left with all the work while Mary talks theology with you?

Don’t you care?

Care about what Martha?

The pots and pans in your kitchen?

There’ll be time enough for that Martha.

Right now, there are other things more important.

Now is the time, Martha, to talk with me.

We’ll take care of the food later.

For now, let’s talk about God.

Jesus is not sympathetic with Martha’s frustration.

Nor is he sympathetic with this man’s family dispute.

Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbiter over you?

I’ve seen families in dispute over money.

It’s not a pretty picture.

It’s ugly and frightening.

Years ago, a funeral counseling with a family – the mother had died long ago, and now the father died, too.

I was called to do the service at a local funeral home.

I didn’t know the family.

They came to my office, so I could learn a bit more about their father.

Two brothers and sister … 

And before long, I knew that something was seriously wrong.

I thought there’d be a murder right in my office..

We got through the visit, and off they went.

I did the service two days later.

And afterward, stood by the coffin as folks walked by to offer their final respects, until everyone was gone,  except the two brothers and one sister were and the funeral director.

It didn’t take long for them to get in a brouhaha right next to the casket …

A family feud.

Hard and sad.

Some of us have gone through something like this … about as tough as it gets … brothers and sisters, cousins and uncles and aunts – everyone gets into it … years later, no one even remembers how it all started.

All anyone remembers is the bitterness.

The sadness.

The pain.

“Houston, we have a problem!”

But there are problems, and then there are problems!

A knight of the round table set out on a mission, and in the course of his travels, the knight had to cross through a valley.

Setting out across the valley, the knight is attacked by a fierce dragon.

Every attempt to cross the valley is blocked by the dragon.

This went on for days.

And then one day, the knight decides to simply watch the valley.

Early in the morning, the knight sees a small man come out with buckets of feed.

Feed for the dragon.

Every morning, every day, the dragon is fed.

So the knight does what knights do.

He meets the little man with the buckets of feed, and kills him.

Sorry, that’s the way the story goes.

And, then, in a few days, the dragon is hungry … so hungry, the dragon goes away.

The knight crosses the valley safely.

“Houston, we have a problem!”

There are problems and then there are problems.

Jesus understands that the presenting problem is never the real problem.

Martha’s frustration with being left in the kitchen isn’t the real problem.

Her problem is embarrassment about Mary’s boldness.

Maybe Martha is even jealous.

Maybe Martha wants to sit at the feet of Jesus, too.

But she’s a prisoner of her own rules and regulations.

It’s not the pots and pans.

The real problem is her soul.

That’s always the real problem.

The disposition of the soul.

“Houston, we have a problem!”

It’s our soul.

So Jesus turns to the crowd and warns them about greed.

Greed of every kind.

And then Jesus tells a story.

About a wealthy man.

The man was blessed by God.

A year of great harvest.

The man thought to himself, What should I do?”

I know what I’ll do, I will pull down my old barns and build new barns, bigger, better and brighter.

And then I will say to my soul, ‘Now you’re safe.’

‘You finally have enough … sit back and relax … eat, drink and be merry.

“Houston, we have a problem!”

Let’s see if we can probe the story a little bit.

Jesus grew up in Northern Palestine – Galilee; then, and now, the breadbasket of the middle east – fertile and pleasant and productive.

A land of peasants and powerful landlords.

Rembrandt’s picture, on the front of today’s bulletin, says it well …

Look at the man’s face.

I like him.

He’s a wise and prudent man who’s parlayed his lot in life into a very comfortable existence … he’s invested well and made good decisions.

And this year’s harvest has been particularly good.

What should I do? He asks.

Look at the picture … he’s holding a coin in his hand … mesmerized by its beauty … I kept thinking of Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” … Gollum’s enslavement to the ring of power … his precious …

Entranced with the coin in his hand, he asks, What should I do?

Let’s put on our thinking caps.

What happens to food prices when the harvest is good?

That’s right, food prices go down.

Today at Vons or Ralphs …  or in First Century Palestine, market forces are always the same.

Big harvests, lower prices.

So the man decides to build bigger barns and store the grain.

Why?

That’s right … drive up prices …

He’s not going to eat all that grain … he’s got tons of it.

More than enough for his family.

It’s market manipulation.

Sound familiar?

 “Houston, we have a problem!”

God calls the man a fool.

Why?

Psalm 14:1, fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’

The rich man turns from God, and that’s why he’s a fool.

He thinks his investments are his own decision.

His wealth, the result of his own intelligence and labor.

Turns to the coin in his hand, and thinks:

You’re mine, all mine, by the labor of my hand and my shrewd decisions.

What should this man have done?

He might well have remembered Israel’s time in the wilderness.

The people were fed every day.

Manna from heaven – collect just enough for yourself and your family, and share with one another as needed … don’t hoard it … trust God … there will be manna for you every morning …

Some folks tried to hoard the manna, and it only grew wormy and moldy.

They had to learn to depend upon God.

Every day … give us this day our daily bread!

There will always be enough …

God’s pie is really big.

What should the man have done?

Leviticus 19 …

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the every edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien; I am the LORD your God.

What should the man have done?

The man is a fool not because he’s greedy.

The man is greedy because he’s a fool.

He has forgotten God!

The God of the harvest.

The God of abundance.

The God of mercy and kindness.

Jesus knows this is the real problem.

For all of us.

Rich or poor.

Makes no difference.

When I was a pastor in West Virginia, early 70s … the poorest county in the poorest state at the time … I worked with community organizing, and I saw poor people fight like cats and dogs with one another who was going to be the president of the local development group, who was going to drive the van and be the treasurer – of a huge some of money, a grant of $500.

Rich or poor.

Makes no difference.

Except one.

From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded – Luke 12:48.

God has blessed the rich man with abundance, and because of the abundance, the rich man has the greater responsibility.

The LORD of the harvest entrusted to this man enough grain to feed hundreds and maybe even thousands.

More than enough for him, and more than enough to go around.

Yes, we all have responsibilities.

But to those to whom much has been, much will be required.

The welfare Moms of this land will face a lighter judgment in the kingdom of God than the women and men of great wealth who manipulated the markets to their own ends and built bigger and better and brighter barns.

Jesus reminds us all: use well what is given to you.

It’s all given by God.

Use it well.

With that, Jesus goes to the heart of the problem.

When we feel anxiety coming upon us, there is only one recourse that works: turn to God …

The God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ.

Do not worry … God feeds the ravens, and they’re dirty birds, but God feeds them anyone; think how much more God cares for you.

Consider the lilies of the field … not even Solomon was as glorious as they are … and if God cares for the lilies, think how much more your Father in heaven cares for you.

Do not be afraid little flock … it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

When you’re tempted to build bigger and better and brighter barns, have a great big garage sale instead, and give the proceeds to the poor.

Jesus is not asking us to get rid of everything.

No, no, no, no …

Here’s the point:

We just don’t need bigger barns.

Live well within our means.

Be generous and kind.

Practice charity.

Enjoy the blessings of God for sure.

Keep a kindly eye on the poor.

And think about God, says Jesus.

Think a lot about God!

The love of God. The providence of God.

The ravens and the lilies.

Let God be the treasure of your heart, not the coin in your hand.

The coin can’t save us.

God already has.

Where your treasure is, your heart will be there, too.

“Houston, we’ve solved the problem. We’re on our way home!”

Amen and Amen!

July 25, 2010 - "Learn to Pray"

Serra Retreat Center, Malibu

Luke 11:1-13

The whole thing begins simply enough … the disciples say to Jesus, Teach us how to pray.

The disciples reminded Jesus that John taught his disciples to pray … so maybe Jesus outta get on with it?

Whatever the motive, it’s a universal thing.

This business of prayer.

Because the world is so big.

And we’re so small.

And we know it.

And we hope there’s a god out there somewhere!

Let’s be honest.

We’d all like a little help now and then from the gods.

Protection for loved ones.

Healing from disease.

A little more money in the bank.

Safe travel.

Human beings pray

We’re profoundly and incurably religious.

Ancient caves thousands of years old reveal drawings and artifacts of religious activities …

History might well be read as a story of what we worship and what we think the divine beings want of us.

Life is full of religion:

Song and dance.

Art and music.

Holy men and holy women.

Rituals and rites.

Good luck charms.

Magic potions.

Spilled salt thrown over our shoulder.

Don’t walk under a ladder.

Don’t step on sidewalk cracks.

Go to church and say our prayers.

If there’s something out there, we’d like it to be on its side.

Prayer is a big business.

Google prayer … 77 million results, .13 seconds …

Go to a book store …

How to pray …

What to pray …

Ancient prayers …

New prayers …

Traditional prayers with thee and thou …

Hip prayers for the young …

Prayers of comfort for the old …

Prayers for parents.

Prayers for children …

You name, we’ve got prayers.

Prayer is a big business.

Teach us how to pray, said the disciples to Jesus.

Simple enough …

And Jesus offers a simple prayer, When you pray, pray like this …

And thus the LORD's Prayer … 

Let’s say it together this morning …

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen!

We can do no better then to pray The LORD's Prayer.

Pray it often.

All sorts of ways:

Pause on each line.

Devote a day to one line.

Let it sink in.

Our Father who art in heaven.

The LORD's Prayer is clear.

Honor God and pray for the stuff of life – bread and forgiveness.

But one line is strange.

Hazard a guess?

You got it,

Lead us not into temptation.

Let’s do some work.

The word can also be translated “testing.”

In Genesis 22, it says, God tested Abraham.

It’s quite a story, but God had to find out what kind of a man Abraham was.

God had to do some testing.

And we know the rest of the story.

God asks Abraham for his son.

The very next day, early in the morning, Abraham loads a mule with wood, and off he goes with his beloved son Isaac … three days trek to a mountain, a high place, to meet God and God’s awful demand, and on that mountain, Abraham builds an alter, places wood on it, binds his son and lays him on the alter, to sacrifice him to God.

At the very moment when Abraham has the knife in hand, ready to do the deed, the LORD calls out, Abraham, Abraham.

Now I know, says the LORD.

No need to go any further.

In the bushes, you’ll find a ram.

Now I know.

You’re the man.

You’re the one to shoulder the burdens of faith for a new day, for a new world.

You have withheld nothing from me.

Even your beloved son.

Life is full of tests.

Teachers test us.

The boss tests us.

Life tests all the time.

Lead us not into a time of testing, says Jesus.

Don’t put us into a place where our faith will be challenged, like Abraham was challenged.

We’re not up to it.

And that’s what this piece is all about.

Humility.

LORD, we’re not superstars.

We’re not Abraham or Isaac or Jacob.

We’re not giants in the faith.

We’re just fisherman and tax collectors and ordinary folk who try our best.

We don’t pretend to be anything more than what we are.

Flesh and blood human beings.

We love and we laugh.

We work and we weep.

We mess up and do foolish things.

We do good things and smart things.

We are what we are.

And here we are LORD.

We don’t ask to be tested, because we’re not that confident.

We don’t ask to be put on trial, LORD, because we’re not so sure of our selves.

We’re not proud LORD.

We’re not boasting about our faith.

We don’t look down our noses at anyone else LORD.

We know how tough life is for everyone.

So, LORD, don’t put our feet to the fire.

Don’t expect too much of us.

Lead us not into a time of testing.

The prayer ends with one final petition:

Deliver us from evil.

Let me say clearly: This is not a prayer for deliverance from bad things … bad things happen to all of us … there is no escape from hard times …

There was no escape for Jesus, and no escape for us either.

Life is what it is.

It’s prayer for deliverance from the greatest of all evils.

The evils within us.

There is no evil “out there” that can match the “evil within.”

Deliver us from the evil within.

Attitudes that frighten and frustrate.

Ideas that turn our heart heavy with envy and jealousy and anger and impatience and pride.

Longings that make us bitter and cranky and hard to live with …

Things that twist our soul and distort our values.

Deliver us from evil.

And with that, the prayer ends.

But the prayer is NOT the end of the story.

Jesus continues to teach.

Not how to pray.

But to whom we pray.

Anyone can use the words.

But Jesus wants us to know God.

The one to whom we’re praying:

With that, Jesus tells a delightful story.

Let me rework it a bit for you.

It seems that Donna and I got a midnight call from a friend, who just landed at LAX, and needs a place to stay, and he’s really hungry.

And we don’t have a thing to eat in the house.

So I go to my neighbors across the courtyard and pound on their door.

My neighbor hollers, Who’s there and what do you want?

I shout back:

I have an unexpected guest in my house, and the cupboards are bear – do you have any extra bread?

Go away, says my neighbor. I’m in bed; we’re all asleep. Let me alone.

But I keep pounding on the door.

And my neighbor finally gets up and gives me the bread.

Now here’s where the story gets complicated.

Some translations put the emphasis on the persistent person, as if Jesus were teaching us that God is a sleepy neighbor who doesn’t want to be bothered, so we have to make a lot of noise and pound on heaven’s door.

Is that what Jesus is teaching us?

That God would rather be left alone?

That the only way we can get something from God is pound on the door and make a lot of noise?

Make a fuss and embarrass God in front of the neighbors?

Is that what Jesus is teaching us?

Let’s read carefully.

Other translations suggest something else.

The man got up because he didn’t want to appear shameless.

The word for “persistence” can be translated “shameless.”

The burden is not on the guy pounding on the door; the burden is on the man in bed.

The man has a reputation to maintain.

He doesn’t want to look bad.

Now this may not catch our attention, but in First Century Palestine, reputation is everything, and hospitality is the heart of it.

In First Century Palestine,

It was a serious offense to withhold hospitality.

Now we have to stay with the story.

Is God concerned about God’s reputation?

The answer is yes!

Psalm 23: God leads us in paths of righteousness … finish it … for his name’s sake.

For the sake of God’s name.

God’s reputation.

But Jesus goes further.

You all know how to give good things to your children.

And if you know how to love your children, even though you’re not so hot.

How much more does your Father in heaven love you?

This parable moves from the lesser to the greater.

If your neighbor can be awakened in the middle of the night, how more will your Heavenly Father be willing to hear your prayers?

If your neighbor is concerned about his reputation,

How much more is God ready and eager to defend God’s name and maintain God’s reputation?

If we, who are the lesser, know how to love our children,

How much more will the Greater One know how to love us and provide for us?

We don’t have to bang on the door all night long.

God is our friend, and so much more.

God is our Father in Heaven.

God gives what we need.

So, go ahead and ask, and you shall receive.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be opened.

But you say to me, Preacher, wait a minute … I’ve asked, and I didn’t receive … I’ve looked high and low, and I didn’t find … I’ve knocked on the door, I’ve pounded on the door, and it remains closed.

Jesus adds something that catches us by surprise:

How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

The Holy Spirit?

What’s up with this?

I’m not asking for the Holy Spirit.

When was the last time any of us asked for the Holy Spirit?

I’m asking for health, for a job, for a child in trouble …

But Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit.

To bind our heart and mind to Christ.

And to bind Christ to us.

It’s not what happens to us.

It’s what happens inside of us.

Attitude is everything!

The Holy Spirit is what we need.

A Spirit-filled heart.

Let that be our first prayer in the morning, and our last prayer at night:

O LORD my God, fill my heart with your Holy Spirit.

So that however life plays itself out for us, we sing the songs of God.

In life and in death.

In the best of times and in the worst.

In our laughter and in our tears.

With faith, hope and love.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Amen and Amen!

July 18 2010 - "An Uppity Woman"

Luke 10:38-41

Did ya’ hear about the economy?

The economy is so bad, I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

The economy is so bad, Motel Six won’t leave the light on anymore.

The economy is so bad, Exxon-Mobile laid off 25 Senators and House members.

The economy is so bad, CEOs are playing miniature golf.

Nothing like a good chuckle now and then to lift the spirit and put a smile on our face.

When folks heard about Mary and Martha, there were a lot of chuckles, and some frowns as well …

Some folks would’ve said, “Well done Mary.”

Others would have observed, “An uppity woman.”

Whatever it was that day, Mary stepped out of her box … or out of the kitchen, so to speak.

Mary violated a boundary … a boundary of place and  behavior.

Cooking belonged to women …

Women belonged in the kitchen …

Archeology tells us a lot … ancient homes had food prep areas removed from living areas – food was a woman’s thing, done outta sight.

Sound familiar?

American homes after WW2 - kitchens walled off from the eating areas … think of Thanksgiving … turkey and mashed potatoes prepared by (?) … women … served by (?) women, and after dinner, the woman cleaned up … and the men? … the men kicked back in their recliners and feel asleep … oh well.

But have ya’ noticed how homes are designed these days?

Kitchen and eating melded together … people gather in the kitchen, pitch in with dicing and chopping as they socialize … no walls between kitchen and dining, and what with the Food Channel, men are cooking as much as women are!

Not so in Mary’s time.

Boundaries were set … when Mary stepped out of the kitchen to “sit at the feet of Jesus,” she violated the boundaries …

The picture on the front of our bulletin says it well.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus is code language for being a disciple.

It’s not a physical location … it’s a commitment to learn from someone.

If we’re in school, we might say, “I’m sitting under Professor’s so-and-so’s teaching.”

Mary sat at the feet of Jesus.

Why?

To become a rabbi herself!

This is what disciples did?

They sat at the feet of a rabbi, to become rabbis.

And if they did well, one day, the rabbi would say to them, Go now. Go into all the world and make disciples. Spread the word. Teach what I’ve taught. And I’m with you always.

Mary said: I want to be a rabbi, too.

Is there room for me?

Can I do it?

Mary, get back into the kitchen where you belong!

That’s what Martha said!

Get back where you belong!

Let’s be honest.

This is not a pretty picture.

Mary sits at the feet of Jesus to learn.

Martha fumes.

Don’t you care LORD?

Care about what?

Boundaries?

Social world?

Matha’s agenda?

No Martha, I don’t care about those things.

And you shouldn’t either.

Martha, Martha (the double use of her name – pay attention Martha; listen up), you are worried and distracted about many things, but Mary has chosen the better part!

End of discussion!

So, where do we go from here?

Several things.

Boundaries are helpful.

Physical boundaries, that is.

When the light turns red, stop!

When it’s green, go!

Stay in your lane; don’t cross the yellow line.

Stay behind the fence.

Don’t walk on the grass.

Wash your vegetables.

Cook chicken thoroughly.

Bag your doggy’s stuff.

Boundaries all over the place, and mostly helpful.

But not all boundaries are helpful.

Like social boundaries.

Social boundaries can be downright nasty!

I remember family travels to Florida in the 50s …

Signage on buildings, “Colored entrance only” …

Remember when country clubs wouldn’t allow Jews?

Civic clubs wouldn’t allow women?

Social boundaries.

You can’t live here … you can’t come in … you don’t belong here … go to the back of the bus!

One day in December,1955, a tired lady by the name of Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white passenger … she was too tired to get up and move to the back of the bus – tired of being a second class citizen in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Her courage created the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

And the walls came tumbling down.

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho.

And the walls came tumbling down.

Joshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus.

Jesus is named after the man who brought the walls down.

Jesus fit the battle his Jericho …

Jesus crossed boundaries, to come our way, and be our savior.

Tore down walls …

The dividing walls of hostility, Paul the Apostle would write years later …

Our nation right now is debating all kind of walls and boundaries:

Marital boundaries.

Who’s married and who isn’t?

Is marriage ONLY between a man and a woman, or can marriage include any two adults who love one another, and want to care for one another, and create a home together?

Who’s an American?

Does that mean one has to speak English ONLY?

And how well should one speak?

What about our governor’s accent?

Children born of undocumented families – are those children automatically citizens?

Who’s in and who’s out?

Christians have spend enormous amount of time on who’s a Christian and who isn’t.

In the 5th Century – the Donatist controversy.

Bishop Donatus said: If ya’ caved in under Roman persecution, you’re not fit for the kingdom of God. Go away. We don’t want you.

The good bishop believed the church should be full of saints, and not sinners …

The good bishop spent a lot of time figuring out who was in and who was out.

The good bishop would be right at home in many a fundamentalist church today, right here in America …

The good bishop would have his own TV program, spreading his message of judgment and exclusion.

He’d be the head of a publishing empire and live in Colorado Springs, or Orange County.

His wife would wear fluffy little dresses with her hair perfectly teased.

All around the world, Christians still fuss and frett like Martha about things that don’t count right now … fuss and frett about boundaries, and who’s in and who’s out … who’s a member and who isn’t …

Our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers really struggle with boundaries, don’t they?

Who can receive communion?

Is the priesthood only for men?

And what about a priest who abuses children? Is that man still a priest?

Protestants, too, have their boundaries.

Go to a conservative church, and you’re likely to be questioned on all sorts of things.

Go to a liberal church, and you’ll be questioned about the same things …

Some of that is important, but not now.

Not in the world in which we live.

Not with so much sorrow and so much grief.

We don’t need to be spending time in the kitchen … but a lot more time at the feet of Jesus.

In our story today, a principle:

Boundaries that keep people out are never helpful.

Jesus breaks those kinds of boundaries boundaries.

He touches the dead.

He welcomes women.

He hangs around with sinners.

He doesn’t bow and scrap before the powerful.

He disregards dietary rules and violates Sabbath regulations.

He goes where he shouldn’t.

He does what is forbidden.

Now, something interesting happens.

Folks either get really angry at Jesus …

Or … folks get brave around him.

Fishermen leave their nets and families.

Matthew steps outta the tax booth.

Peter gets outta the boat.

Mary steps outta the kitchen.

In the presence of Jesus, they got brave!

On a more personal basis, what about our own boundaries.

Have we ever said to ourselves, “I can’t do it?”

That’s a boundary, isn’t it?

Self-imposed.

No one said it to us.

No one told us we couldn’t do it.

Or maybe they did.

Sometimes we inherit hideous boundaries from our families:

You’ll never amount to anything.

Why can’t you do what your older brother does?

Keep quiet.

Put away those brushes and get back to your homework.

Real men don’t cry, they play football.

Real women are always pretty, and never good at math.

A young mother bought a ham for dinner, and cut off the ends before baking.

Her daughter asked her, Why do you cut the ends off?”

The mother replied, I don’t know. That’s the way my mother did it?

I think I’ll ask her.

So she asked her mom, Why do you cut off the ends of the ham?

Her mother replied, Well, that’s the way MY mother did it, and she was a good cook.

Now great grandmother was still living, so they decided to ask her.

And great gramma said, I never had a pan big enough for a whole ham, so I cut off the ends so it would fit.

Today is a good day to look at our boundaries … social boundaries, emotional boundaries - boundaries that keep us down and keep us out.

It’s never too late to get outta the kitchen.

Never too late to cross a boundary.

Never too late to sit at the feet of the rabbi.

Mary chose the better part.

Mary, an uppity woman!

And to God be the glory!

Amen and Amen!

July 4, 2010 - "Challenge and Thanksgiving"

Jeremiah 29:1-14

Good morning, and Happy 4^th of July …

234 years ago, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence:

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

The war continued seven more years.

France and Spain came to our assistance.

Cornwallis surrendered at the end of 1781.

Preliminary articles of peace signed November 30, 1782

Full treaty: September 3, 1783.

It’s quite a story …

And we can be justly proud … and deeply grateful.

So get out the grill,

Light the firecrackers,

Head off to the beach …

Enjoy the show …

And a happy 4^th of July.

America is a great nation …

Great in vision and great in kindness and great in generosity …

The inscription on the Statue of Liberty says it well:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

The American experiment - remains unique …

A rare mixture of peoples and religions from around the world … e pluribus unum – one out of many.

Our political systems are second to none.

Though terribly messy.

Because democracy is a messy business.

I was a senate chaplain several times in Oklahoma.

Be there an entire week to open the Senate with prayer.

After prayer, I’d stay in the Senate a few hours to hear the debate and enjoy the protocol.

When evening came, when my senator-friend and I would go out to be entertained by lobbyists … steak and lobster all around the table …

Friday morning, the chaplain-for-the-week was given an opportunity to address the body, and I remember saying to the senators:

This is one of the messiest things I’ve ever seen.

And one of the most beautiful.

Democracy.

So very messy.

So very beautiful.

Don’t every try to clean it up.

Don’t ever try to get rid of the mess.

As long as it’s messy, we’re on safe ground.

Over the years, our nation has wrestled with some of the world’s most famous words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“All men” it says …

There was a time when “men” was literal … no women allowed, except in the kitchen … but after decades of debate and struggle, women’s suffrage helped us get beyond gender.

There was a time when the word “all” was not so big as it is now.

There was a time when the word “all” did not include Native Americans … who were likely to be called “savages” …

The word “all” didn’t apply to people of color either … and we had to fight a Civil War to work out the details on what the word “all” meant.

In Los Angeles, 1943, the Zoot Suit riots:

A series of riots erupted between white sailors and Marines stationed throughout the city and Latino youth, who were recognizable by the zoot suits they favored.

African American and Filipino youth were also targeted.

Similar attacks against Latinos occurred in Beaumont, Chicago, San Diego, Detroit, Evansville, Philadelphia, and New York.

Earlier in the 20^th Century, Irish Catholics were attacked and beaten, and later on, Italians and Puerto Ricans fought it out on the streets of New York City … captured in the Broadway Play, “Westside Story.”

Only recently, have we worked our way through unfair housing laws … red-lined neighborhoods: unscrupulous agreements between bankers and white landlords and realtors.

Our own history here in California tells the tale:

Who can forget the wholesale detainment of Japanese Americans during WW2 and their dispersal to camps around the west?

In the years following World War II, African Americans were confronted with increasing patterns of housing segregation …

In 1955, William Byron Rumford, the first black to serve in the California State Legislature, introduced a fair-housing bill outlawing housing discrimination on the basis of race.

In 1963, the Legislature passed the Rumford Fair Housing Act which outlawed restrictive covenants and the refusal to rent or sell on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, or physical disability.

In reaction to the law, a well-funded coalition of realtors and landlords was determined to undo the law.

They immediately began to campaign for a referendum that would amend the state Constitution to allow property owners the right to deny minorities equal access to housing.

Known as Proposition 14, it was passed by 65 percent of the voters …

In 1966, the California State Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 14 violated the State Constitution's provisions for equal protection and due process.

In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the California Supreme Court and ruled that Proposition 14 had violated the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.

And I might add, Covenant Presbyterian Church decided to back fair housing … and when the news hit the streets, folks left the church over it.

But I wonder, can a Christian believe in anything but fair housing?

Can an American believe in anything but equal opportunity?

For freedom, Christ set us free, writes the Paul the Apostle.

For freedom, our founding mothers and fathers set the course of this nation.

We will continue to work our way through all of these questions … America has taken the wrong step sometimes, but more often than not, America has corrected itself and gotten back on the path of freedom and equality.

I celebrate with you today the goodness of America:

Education, freedom and research.

The Erie Canal and the Hoover Dam.

Irrigation and California’s Central Valley.

Powerhouse universities all across the land.

The Big Apple, the Windy City and Hollywood and Vine.

We are nation of natural beauty:

From the rugged coasts of Maine to the Great Lakes, the Mighty Mississippi, the Ohio and the Missouri.

The Smoky Mountains and the Rockies …

Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the Mojave Desert and the Redwoods.

We are a nation of civil rights and freedom …

President Eisenhower sent a thousand soldiers to Little Rock to protect nine African Americans enrolled in Central High School …

Senator Everett Dirksen stepped across the aisle, earning the wrath of his GOP colleagues, to help President Johnson pass our nation’s landmark Civil Rights Legislation.

The Rev. William Sloan Coffin and the Freedom Riders … and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Bridge to Selma.

Just this past week, the death of Senator Byrd, who as a young man joined the KKK, and then later apologized for it, and went on to a fine career to help us define the word “all” in the biggest and best possible ways.

America has made tremendous strides in race, the rights of children - and equality for women … including abortion rights and free access to birth control …

One of the more pressing issues right now is marriage equality for lesbians and gays … I believe we will resolve this issue, as we have the previous questions of race and gender.

Another pressing issue before us is health care, and I believe we will work our way through all of this and see the day when all Americans have access to reliable and affordable health care, especially our children.

Issues of public transportation, immigration and environmental quality are huge, and I believe we will find our way on these matters, too.

I believe in America … I believe we have within us the means and the resolve to keep open doors open, and open a few more doors along the way.

But one more piece needs our attention this morning.

In the early 60s, I was a hawk … go get the Commies in SE Asia; bomb the daylights out of ‘em …

But I did some homework on our role in SE Asia after WW2, after the French were defeated, and I came to believe that our war there was a mistake, based upon a mistaken policy, the Domino Theory – crafted by John Foster Dulles, the son of a Presbyterian minister, by the way.

It was the early 50s, a time characterized by McCarthyism … Black Lists, suspicion, fear, children crouching under their school desks and bomb shelters in the back yard.

Dulles’ Domino Theory guided the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations into a costly war from which we are still recovering.

But hats off to President Nixon who helped us out of Vietnam.

And hats off to Nixon who tore down the walls of suspicion and fear with China and built bridges instead …

As much as I regret Nixon’s role in Watergate, he was a internationalist who understood, rightly I believe, that America is at its best when it builds bridges to the world.

During the tumultuous 60s, I remember a phrase hurled at war protestors, “America, love it or leave it” … remember that?

I always said, “I love America; that’s why I protest the war!”

Ever since the Revolutionary War, and with World Wars 1 & 2, Christians have been supportive of America’s foreign policy – in many a mainline congregation, we find memorial plaques honoring those who served and died in America’s wars …

Which reminds me …

A little boy was standing in front of one of those plaques when the pastor walked by … the little boy asked the pastor what it was all about.

“Young man,” said the pastor, “this plaque has the names of everyone who died in the service.”

The little boy replied, “Which service, the 8:30 or the 11:00 o’clock?”

War looks good on the History Channel, and after the third martinia, it looks even better … nations love to lionize the warrior and blow the trumpet … 

But in reality, war is hideous, and Christians, especially, need to think carefully about faith and war.

Because we follow the Prince of Peace.

And we say to one another every Sunday, “God’s Peace.”

Speaking for myself, I am a grateful America, pleased to call this land home – a land of spacious skies and amber waves of grain, majestic purple mountains and the fruited plain … from sea to shining sea.

I choke up when I see the Stars and Stripes in a parade … and hear the National Anthem played at the Olympics … and taps played at a funeral.

I get goose bumps and a lump in my throat when I watch a flyover of f-16s.

I’ll never forget seeing my first American cemetery overseas  … my Belgian friends drove me there … we got out of the cars and walked up a wide stone stairway toward a colonnade, and there, at the top of the walkway, spreading out before me, thousands of graves – white marble crosses and Stars of David - gleaming in the sun … not a blade of grass out of place.

I couldn’t speak – my throat choked with emotion …

A few years later, our whole family strolled among the ten thousand graves of Normandy, all of us moved beyond words … I found a young soldier’s grave, who died on the day I was born … I stood there, and I wept.

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years,

Thine alabaster cities gleam,

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

Amen and Amen!