ROYALS?

Sermon for Easter 5a, May 18, 2014-05-18(John 14:1-14 with I Peter2:2-10 in b.g)

(note to readers – the first "story" is taken directly from Living by the Word in the Christian Century the May 14, 2018 edition (by Mark Ralls)

 

A young girl stands before her classmates and teacher. Her teacher has chosen to be cruel. "Is it true," asks the teacher with a sneer, "that your father is a drunkard?" The girl is well aware that her father comes home very late at night. She also knows the condition he is in when he does finally come home. Yet she responds flatly, "No," she says, "My father is not a drunkard."

 

In one of his essays, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran pastor who was executed because he engaged in a failed plot to assassinate Hitler, uses this example to ask the question, "What does it mean to tell the truth?" What are we to make of this girl who brazenly refutes an indisputable fact? That's a complicated question, but for Bonhoeffer the answer is clear. The girl did not lie. She spoke a truth that was deeper that what her teacher or classmates could grasp.

 

Can deeper truths be named or illuminated by the bare facts of surface realities or present circumstances? NO! Deeper truths draw instead upon the full depth of the encounter between people – people who have come to actually know and in that reality actually love each other. The girl speaks truly out of her encounter with her father, a person who is much more to her than someone with a drinking problem. . .

 

Do we know such truth? And even if we are apprehended, claimed, engulfed by such truth can we, dare we speak of it, give our lives to it? ...

 

Regularly we gather in this place – to speak of, to sing praises to, to pray with and to God. We even gather to hear a word of God (I would boldly say) the Word of God PROCLAIMED. We come with all of our stuff: our questions, fears, hopes and dreams, grief, celebrations. We come with our illnesses, with the pain and joy of the world around us. This day we come with the news of over 200 Nigerian girls being abducted because they were receiving and desired an education. We come with the reality of 276 miners dying in a fire in a mine in Turkey. We gather alongside the pain and grief of their loved ones. We come with the news of those we love etched into our hearts and minds: news of sickness, of uncertainty, of new births and approaching death. We come in order to speak to God and even miraculously listen to and hear God.

 

Some may think that we are crazy, that we are wasting our time. COME ON! But are we crazy? Do we waste our time in seeking to both listen for and speak to God in Word and Sacrament?

 

We aren't the first to wonder. As Jesus tells his earliest followers that he must leave them, that he must go to Jerusalem to suffer and to die, they are beside themselves. Their hearts are troubled. They are awash with fear. Their hopes, their dreams, their expectations that Jesus  would magically deliver them from everything they hated: Roman occupation, from a "less than" status, were about to go up in smoke.

 

But  Jesus gives Himself to them, for them. His love, forgiveness, upcoming sacrifice as both God and human is to be, their way. By God's grace they can follow him. By God's grace we can follow him!

 

Such following is anything but easy. There is and will be resistance from within and without. Our following will not magically deliver us from those realities we hate or seek to avoid – from suffering and death, from inequality and violence. Not at all.

 

Yet Jesus goes on – both in word and deed. He goes to Jerusalem, to his cross, speaking words of forgiveness even for those who are so violently shaming and executing him: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do". ... Following his death and in the light of his resurrection he returns to those first disciples. Amazingly, He says to them , "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you!"

 

Is it possible that this Jesus  is giving us this profound, deep kind of truth – that He is the way now for us, the way for this crazy mixed up world? Is it possible that Jesus is calling us to live this truth in word and deed now, in our families, in our work places , uniquely?

 

This is not easy to say, pun intended! After all, who are we? At our best, we are aware of our own deficiencies: of thoughts that are less than godly, of desires that sometimes seek to and even succeed in consuming us, of selfishness that doesn't consider others when sometimes we just "WANT" so badly.

 

But dear people, we are not the first to be limited by our deficiencies! The first disciples fought over who would be number 1. For Jesus' entire life it was inconceivable to the disciples that in seeing Jesus they were glimpsing God. Even in today's text, situated on the night before Jesus death, Philip says to Jesus, "Show us the Father and we will be satisfied!" Really?

 

But Jesus sticks with them. He continues to stick with those who come after them. Jesus through the Spirit continues to enlist people who in following Him in their living will reflect this profound truth - Jesus is God. His life, death and resurrection are the way to God and the way through God to others, that many may know and experience God!

 

Our own unholy thoughts and seemingly insatiable desires do not disqualify us from being called. Instead they make us ongoing, daily candidates for death and resurrection as God seeks to daily claim us.

 

Listen as the author of First Peter tells his motley audience about God's work and claim upon their lives. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who claimed you out of darkness into his marvellous light."

 

If you had asked them and those around them, the early disciples were anything but chosen. They were neglected, subjugated, sometimes even forgotten by the Empire.  A royal priesthood? Most of them had little training and were as far from being royal in any sense of that word as you and I are disconnected from William and Kate. Yet none of this seems to matter to God who continues to choose fisher men and tax collectors, wealthy and poor, men. women and children of both "good" and "poor" reputation to be God's representatives to all whom they meet, speaking in both word and deed.

 

By God's grace the people whom First Peter is addressing have been swept up in and by the love and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ. Now they are to share in their own unique ways that love and forgiveness, that hope against hope with all whom they meet. They are to share the truth: the truth that our little girl in the opening story knows is far beyond the observable facts, or even what others may initially be able to perceive.

 

We are against all odds part of God's people, a royal priesthood. We are to proclaim the mighty acts of Him who died on that cross calling us out of any and all such darkness of fatalism, despair, apathy into his marvellous light, of forgiveness, love, compassion for all. The powers that be are only temporary.  God alone is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.  This is the truth – the GOOD NEWS FOR ALL.

How shall we live this?           Amen.

           

Freedom From Thieves and Bandits

4^th Sunday of Easter, May 11, 2014 (Also Mother's Day) John 10:1-10 with Acts 2:42-47 in bg

Malady – thieves and bandits. (many forms – they want to be our lord) The audience needs to identify – see the threat – personal and collective. 

There once was a boy named Tom. He was gifted in many ways. When Tom flashed his smile the room literally lit up. Now school wasn't his thing. But he had a mom who deeply loved him. And when he was small, he loved life, being part of it.

 

But there was a problem. Tom yearned- yearned to be loved by both his mom and his dad. One afternoon when he was about 8 he was outside playing. The neighbors were burning their garbage. In those days, in that place you could do that.  Tom and his friend were playing quite close to that burning garbage. His jeans literally caught on fire. Tom's dad said he was too busy closing a deal to come home to take his own son to the hospital. But Tom's uncle, his mother's brother, dropped everything and hurriedly raced Tom to the hospital.

 

Not long after that Tom said to one of his closest friends – that he hated his dad. Not too much later Tom began dabbling in drugs. Perhaps it wasn't so much about the drugs in the beginning – but about "belonging" – to something, some group – where he could develop an identity.

 

All of this is very sad because by the time Tom was 21 he was dead. He was found in a hotel room in Calgary. Now he was not only lost to his mom,  but also to the world – his gifts,  his smile and intelligence. IN many ways Tom lost his way and other forces worked to keep him "lost".  

 

Nor is Tom the only one who somehow became lost on his life's journey. Two weeks ago 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram in Nigeria. This may seem like only a "news" headline to us.  But can you imagine if every child in our congregation had been stolen by some crazy group – the boys made into warriors and the girls into sex slaves? Can you imagine how we would be feeling, what we would demand to be done?  Boko Haram are literally thieves and bandits. But such thieves and bandits are not only out there, they are sometimes also around and within us.  

 

There is incredible pressure for students to succeed, the absolute certainty that they must succeed to have the good life, the big house with the vaulted ceilings, the car of their dreams, the family which will only come, they are told if they have this stuff. So these students study, and they work often beyond diligently, being so afraid to fail. Somewhere in all of that, too often they become lost. Their time to  just be, to laugh, to cry has vanished. Their identity becomes striving for "success". If they succeed, well, what then – on to bigger and better things, more striving, extended exhaustion, then medication? And if they fail – well what then?  Of course this same scenario can be played out with sports, with music or dance....

 

There are so many thieves and bandits- who seek to derail us, move so many away from God's direction.  Can you imagine in tiny St. Paul Alberta, three local Mounties involved in a gun fight, after a fellow officer has had his vehicle rammed in broad daylight? It happens now. It will likely happen again.

 

Such thieves and bandits break into our lives when we least expect it, through means we might never imagine. Often they are disguised. But always, always, they attempt to steal our identity as God's children. Without our identity we lose our sense of call, to deeply care for ourselves and others.  Without our identity it is only one step to live by fear, to work to climb over, exclude others in order to "survive" ourselves.

 

But it doesn't have to be that way.

 

Jesus comes employing metaphors that we would be hard pressed to be caught up in:  images of sheep and shepherd, door and gate, a voice. We are not so familiar with such images – even "voice" is now being relegated to infrequent – as  texts and tweets take precedence.

 

So, I wonder. Can we actually listen and hear? At the conclusion of our gospel today, Jesus says, "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. (ah we know about that, don't we?. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." ... Really? Really!

 

Did you know that the shepherds of Jesus' day would lay themselves across the one gate to the sheep enclosure at night, so that any predators would have to go through them to harm or kill any sheep? Such a person deeply  cares about the sheep. He knows them, is invested in them. He will even give himself up for them!

 

Do  we realize? This is what God in the flesh does for us, gives God's own self up. God does this  so that we might live – not just exist, but live in harmony with God, in love and forgiveness with others – deeply aware of the importance of each person. We are called to work to care for and with others. This is not about success nor failure. It is about being accepted and loved by  GOD who actually knows us as we are – warts and all, failures and all – and still chooses to act because God loves us.This is about living out of our identity, given to us by God.

 

If only Tom could have known this very embrace of God: the dreams of God for him, the Creator of his unique smile! If only the members of Boko Haram could experience this love of God , the abundant life so that they could realize that life is not about enforcing "rules", or "regulations" upon others who are somehow less than them but rather is about joining with others to grow and learn, to serve and care. We do not need to be controlled by fear!

 

Dear people,  do we recognize the voice of Jesus, the guiding of the Spirit, the love of God in our own lives?. Whom are we following? Who is the One that is guiding our lives? 

 

We need to know that there are so many thieves and bandits – seeking to persuade us, to deceive us into trusting that their way is the way to go. But there is another One, One who not only lays across the chasm between heaven and earth, between life and death,  but who allows all of evil to have its way with Him, so that any and all  may be delivered from evil and death into life. Nor is this life mere survival. No, this life is abundant. This life is intended for all.

 

This day may we hear the Lord's voice! Perhaps we might hear God's  voice in my words. Who says that there aren't miracles? Perhaps we may hear and recognize God's voice in the hymns we sing in the midst of our pain and loss, our joy and celebration. Or perhaps we may recognize God's voice as we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray.

 

How radical it is to talk with and listen for God. By God's grace we can hear the risen Jesus' voice as we receive the bread and the wine. In the bread placed in our hands, the wine rushing across our tongue, He speaks to us: "This is my body given FOR YOU; this is my blood shed FOR YOU!"

 

Jesus  has come, lived, suffered and dies – so that the thieves and bandits that seek our lives can be put into their place and even changed themselves. Amen, come Lord Jesus.

Amen.

 

Seeing - A Living Confession

(John 20:19-31, Easter 2a14, April 27, 2014-04-27

            A woman once lived in a nursing home. This letter was found in her locker after she died by a staff person who thought her incapable of writing...

"What do you see nurses, what do you see?

A crabbit old woman, not very wise;

Uncertain of habit with far away eyes.

Who dribbles her food and makes no reply,

When you say in a loud voice, "I do wish you'd try."

I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still, As I rise at your bidding; as I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of 10 with a father and mother; brothers and sister who love one another.

A bride soon at 20, my heart gives a leap, remembering the vows that I promised to keep.

At 25 now I have young of my own, who need me to build a secure happy home.

At 50 once more babies play round my knee; again we know children my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead. I look to the future, I shudder with dread.

My young are all busy rearing young of their own.

And I think of the years and the love that I've known.

I'm an old woman now and nature is cruel. 'Tis her jest to make old age look like a fool.

The body it crumbles, grace and vigour depart.

There is now a stone where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells;

And now and again my battered heart swells. I remember the joys; I remember the pain.

And I'm living and loving all over again. And I think of the years all too few – gone too fast and accept the stark fact that nothing will last.

So, open your eyes, nurses, open and see; Not a crabbit old woman, look closer, see me!  (Pause)

 

What do we see today?

 

I see some amazing things. Just last night I saw a group of young people and older people eating together working to feed and be fed so that those younger ones might go to a youth gathering where they can sing and dance and perhaps also see God right there in their midst. I see on this "low Sunday" we who are today here, gathered to hear the living word of God, taken from accounts and stories first shared nearly 2000 years ago, but ever alive. I see ongoing kindnesses of so many – thank you cards slipped under my door or placed in my mailbox, some of you making dinners for others, calling regularly to check up – giving of yourselves so that others may live in thought, word and deed. And I give thanks as I see.

           

At the same time I also see disturbing things: far away and close to home. There is the unrest in the Ukraine – the battles in the Central African Republic where atrocities are being committed. I see my Jewish friends today commemorating the Holocaust and I wonder how we as human beings can do such horrible things to one another?

 

I see all these things through the lens of my eyes and faith – the eyes and faith of a privileged well off white male, nearing his senior years.

 

And I wonder, what do you see in the midst of your living?

 

Do you see God in the middle of all of this? Do you see God as having any power in the middle of all of this – even in and through you?

 

Would life be any easier if we could actually see God with our eyes, touch God with our hands, audibly hear God's voice, speaking distinctly clear directions in our ears? What do you think?

 

I'm not so sure. Thomas thought that he could trust God only if he could just see that the crucified Jesus was actually now alive. Actually, Thomas required more than that. Thomas wasn't sure about his buddies. They were prone to enthusiasm – not always trustworthy or level-headed. There was Peter who had said that he would NEVER DENY Christ. Then Peter denied Jesus three times. There were James and John who attempted to engineer their own sweet heart deal with Jesus when and if he came into his kingdom. There had also been Judas. I think you know about Judas. Who could blame Thomas for being more than a bit suspicious about these guys supposed Jesus "sighting"?

 

But then somehow, in the midst of all of this, Jesus appears to Thomas. "Peace", Christ says.

 

I wonder what kind of "peace" this is? On the one hand, Jesus saying "PEACE" to all of the disciples after he has been raised from the dead is good news indeed. It's certainly good news for Peter, James and John. Each of them had in their own ways abandoned Christ. He isn't holding a grudge. He still loves them. He accepts them. And He is risen! He is speaking to them, "Shalom, peace". This means, "Well being to you and yours" – well being in mind, body and spirit. Yes, "Peace" Jesus says.

 

But He doesn't just leave them there. He refuses to leave them behind their locked doors of fear. Nor does He leave them to luxuriate by themselves in His love. Rather, He empowers them to go out from that room, to live their lives following Him. In the first encounter with those disciples after His death He says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Then He breathes on them saying, "Receive the Holy spirit. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

On that second appearance to the disciples Jesus says to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt, but believe"...

 

We don't know whether Thomas actually touched Jesus or not. But we do know that Thomas is moved beyond his questions and doubts, perhaps even through them to trusting Jesus with his life! Thomas confesses his faith, "My Lord and my God".

 

This is no fleeting confession, given in the heat of the moment. Tradition tells us that later Thomas travelled to India, to proclaim the good news of Jesus in word and deed. But such proclamation costs Thomas. Tradition tells us that Thomas is martyred. He has come to see Christ's call upon his life for the world. Thomas strives to love as Christ loves, to serve as Christ serves, all everyone. For all of that he is executed, this Thomas.

 

So,  what/whom do we see? Would we like Thomas wish to see Jesus? Be careful! Christ may well give us his peace, but his is not the kind of peace that allows us to sit back and do nothing. Christ's peace causes us to see much – the wonder, the beauty, the majesty, the awe, the wondrous mystery of life. Christ's peace also causes us to see the horror, the ugliness, the greed and selfishness, the power of death and poverty in their many manifestations.

 

We are to see, not for our own selfish interest but in order that we might live and serve Christ. We are to daily receive the Spirit of God. We are sent into the world with this Spirit, to reflect the light of Christ, even when it isn 't so clear what we are to do.

 

At times we are blind. Yet God in Christ through the Holy Spirit enlighten us with wisdom and courage, even a peace that passes understanding moving us like a powerful wind from behind our locked doors of fear, misunderstanding, stereotypes to interactions with others, that listens and then advocates with and for others. Therein is the peace that passes understanding, for its source is in the One who loves the world.

            What are we seeing? Whom will we see? God help us in our living confessions for Christ's sake. Amen.