I think I'm getting a preaching voice

John 1:6-8, 19-28
Advent 3B

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN

How do you witness about your faith? How do you testify about what Jesus has done for you?
Do you witness about your faith? Do people know that you’re a Christian?

One way you witness about your faith is by coming to church. You’re here this morning. You aren’t at a football game, you’re not out eating breakfast at a restaurant, or you’re not at home. People you know are probably aware that you go to church on Sunday mornings. Thus, you testify that your faith is important enough to set aside specific time to worship and gather with other believers.

What else? Perhaps you pray for friends and family. If someone is ill or experiencing some sort of crisis or loss you might tell her that you will pray for her. That simple statement is testimony that you have a relationship with God and that you believe that you can intercede in behalf of your friend and help her because of who you believe God to be and how he acts in the world.

The Greek word for witness is martyr. As you know, Christianity has not been, and is not in some places, acceptable. It is illegal or misunderstood or simply unaccepted. This can give rise to persecution of people who still try to practice Christianity. In the ancient church there are stories of men and women who refused to denounce their faith. They testified that they believed in Jesus Christ and because of that belief they were killed. They were martyred- they are witnesses.

Would you die for your faith?


In today’s gospel reading we again encounter John.
John who isn’t immediately designated as John the Baptist but simply as John, as one who came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.

John is the first person who points toward Jesus, who stands a sign who proclaims that Jesus is coming into the world.

John’s testimony also points to something else. A witness, or one’s testimony is not to be confused with the real thing, with the real person the testimony is about.

There were many who believed that John was a prophet like Moses or Elijah, or that he himself was the messiah. There are those in this world who believe that their witness, that their faith in God and relationship with God means more than just pointing to the one who saves us, to the one who brings good news in the world and effects change. There is the danger that we might think of ourselves as the one who has the power to save or the power to condemn or the power to effect change rather than standing as a witness and allowing the one who does effect change to do so in and through us.

But, John did not succumb to this danger. John confessed the truth.
I am not the Messiah, he said.
John said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord,' " as the prophet Isaiah said.

When the power of God is revealed, when the presence of Christ is in our midst, our job is not to stand gaping and in awe- though we may very well do that. Our job is to get out of the way, to see God at work and to point to what God has done. Otherwise we bar the way for others to access God.

And that’s what John does. John stands out of the way. John isn’t obliterated from the story, John is still important for the story to happen- but he stands aside, he is not the central character, he is one who points to the truth, to the word who became flesh and dwelt among us.

26 John answered the priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."

John was baptizing because God determined that Jesus should be baptized by John so that Jesus would be revealed to the world. And although it’s not in today’s reading- the story continues- and John describes how he saw the spirit of God descend up on Jesus at his baptism. John claims, “I myself did not know him but the one who sent to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God"

The first one to publicly claim Jesus as the Son of God is John the Baptist.
A human being declares it in the gospel of John, not God not a demon as in other gospels, but an ordinary, chosen by God, man. Perhaps even some might describe as a lunatic- but he is the first one who witnesses to the truth about who Jesus is.

And even as John points to Jesus and our eyes focus upon him we see that as much as Jesus is the Son of God and as much as Jesus has done for the sake of the world- Jesus himself stands as a witness, Jesus himself testifies and points to one greater than he, he points to the one who sent him, to the Father in heaven who sends Jesus to reconcile the world to him self.

For God so loved the world that he sent his only son, not to condemn the world, but so that all those who believed in him might have eternal life.

The son- Jesus- who is sent by God for you and for me, for the sake of the world- who at the same time is the word made flesh- the Word that has existed from the beginning, the word that was with God, that word that is God. God himself has put on flesh to live and dwell among us, to be in relationship with us, to restore the world to life.

How do you witness to that? Do you stand out of the way, do you let the truth speak for itself?
The gospel of John begins with the witness and testimony of John the Baptist- one man who sees Jesus for who he is and claims it, claims the truth, even to the religious authorities who had the power to arrest him and put him to death.

And the gospel narrative itself stands as a witness- the stories, the characters, the signs that Jesus performs, these are all witnesses to the truth of who Jesus who, to the truth of how God is breaking in and acting in the world. The story itself points to the truth, it makes the way straight to the Lord.

And why? Why do we need witness and testimony about the truth- a truth and reality that at one level seems so basic. God created, God loves, and God will sustain the world- and he does this primarily through the person, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why is it so hard for us to believe this? Why is it so difficult for us to proclaim this, to testify the truth when we hear it over and over and over again?

For the simple reason, that like those priests and Levites from Jerusalem, it is difficult to wrap your head around the idea that there is one who- though John the Baptist is unworthy to stoop down and untie his sandal- who takes on human flesh, who lives as an itinerant, poor preacher, who brings good news to the poor and downtrodden, who condemns the principalities and powers of the world, who is then crucified by those same principalities and powers, who is the son of God. Who is the one whom God sent as savior and Lord, savior and Lord who serves and asks us to serve one another, to serve the world, to get out of the way and to point toward the one who brings light and salvation and life to the world.

But it is true. This one whom John proclaims, whom we worship, is the one who is the light and life of the world, the one for whom we wait, the one for whom we anticipate, the one for whom we step out of the way and make his path straight so that the world might know him, so that the desperate needy ones of this world will see him and have life.

Thanks be to God for the testimony and witness of John the Baptist who points the way toward Christ. AMEN

Freedom

John 8:31-36
Reformation Sunday

In this post-modern world of ours there are people who would claim that there is no universal truth. You know, with all the advances in science and technology, with the plethora of religious expression, with the emphasis on individuality in our society, there is nothing that humanity as a whole can hang onto and declare universally true. What is true is true for me and what is true is true for you. It really is an essential part of American culture, isn’t it? We all get to express our own realities. There are those who choose to live in a politically leftist, vegetarian, green world and there are others who choose to live politically to the right, toting their guns, and driving their humvees. We can follow the diet we want, we can buy the clothes we want, we can live in the neighborhood we want, we can spend time with people who are like minded.

We are free to do whatever we please and it’s a god-given right to be free in America.
So much so that we sing about it in many different songs-
I went to a concert this week and one of the stanzas in a song went like this:

Well open up your mind and think like me
Open up your plans and then your free
Look into your heart and you’ll find the sky is yours

Essentially, we are free to decide what we want to think, what we want to do, who we want to be. And we’re the luckiest as Americans, because we live in a democracy and we only need weed our way through the media and advertising to determine what is true and what to think. We simply need to look down into ourselves to discover what is true and to discover the freedom that lies within.

Well… there’s one tiny problem with all that I’ve just said.
As much as we’re American and living in a great democratic and capitalistic society, we’re also creatures who were created by someone a whole lot more powerful and divine than we could ever be.
You see we’re creatures who have been around for a few millennia and we’ve managed to screw a few things up in the time that we’ve been given. We’ve managed to kill a whole lot of people and ruin a lot of resources that we have received.

In the freedom that we pursue we’re really good at wielding death- we’re good at wielding death inadvertently- we’re good at wielding death intentionally- we’re good at wielding death systemically.

So, if you acknowledge this, you must acknowledge that there is no way in fact that we can be free using our own devices- right?
The clothes we buy leave someone else naked. The cars we drive pollute the air and use up a quickly depleting resource. The food we eat leaves someone else hungry. The money we spend leaves someone else poor. The houses we build leave someone else homeless. You see where I’m going with this…

And you might try to disagree with me. You might say that you earned the money that you have to buy what you need and to buy what you want. Perhaps…

The folks who were speaking with Jesus in today’s gospel reading forgot who they were, too. Jesus says simply, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you truly are my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

It’s almost as if the only thing that the Jews who believed in him heard was the very last phrase, “and the truth will set you free.”
And they, like us, are kind of surprised that they need to be set free. They must already think they’re free. Why do they need to be set free? What do they need to be freed from?
The ironic thing is that the historical reality is that these Jews have experienced multiple levels of oppression. Their ancestors were slaves in Egypt before they were brought into Israel by Moses and Joshua. And within the context of John’s gospel all of Israel is under the rule of the Roman Empire after a history of exile and occupation by numerous other empires.

So, clearly the Jews in our Gospel reading aren’t free. But what about us? I could acknowledge that most of us in this room have never experienced political oppression in the ways that first century Jews did. Certainly we’re part of the empire that is the United States of America, but we’re citizens, not the colonized.

Well… what does Jesus say? He seems to make a clarification once the Jews ask him, ‘How can you say, “You will become free?”’

Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”
Oh.
Here’s the kicker. Slavery isn’t reserved for politics and empires.
Slavery happens at the most basic level of interactions within ourselves and in relationships.
Sin.

Each time someone sins, he or she is a slave to that sin.
You serve that transgression. You are bound to your wrongdoing.
When you are a slave you have no say, right? Your life is not your own, your decisions are not your own. Who you are is determined by someone else. In this case, who you are is determined by your sin, by your brokenness, by your inability to do what is right.

The clothes we buy leave someone else naked. The cars we drive pollute the air and use up a quickly depleting resource. The food we eat leaves someone else hungry. The money we spend leaves someone else poor. The houses we build leave someone else homeless.

So, it may seem that we are free to do as we please- but what we do, because of our very human nature- ends up being broken and sinful. And so we aren’t free- I don’t think we realize what freedom really means- at least freedom in the sense that God would have us be free.

No, real freedom for us is the freedom we find in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who is the son- the one who is not enslaved and therefore the one has the power to grant freedom. And if we know that, then we know the truth.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It is Christ who gives the power to become children of God and bestows on us the Holy Spirit.

This is something that we remember on this Reformation Sunday, something that was not original to Martin Luther, but something that was renewed through his study and preaching and teaching.

There is absolutely nothing that we can do to save ourselves. There is absolutely nothing we can do to free ourselves from the death wielding world, from the death wielding relationships, from the death wielding bodies that we inhabit.

Instead, Jesus comes and inhabits our world and relationships and bodies and speaks to us a universal truth. God the father and creator of the heavens and the earth sent his only begotten son into the world to save the world through him.
This truth, this Jesus Christ, put on our flesh to take on our brokenness, to take on our enslavement to our worldly pursuit of freedom- to a pursuit that only leads to a dead end. We live in a world of limited good- if I have something, that means that someone else doesn’t.
So, instead, Christ comes to us, face to face with us- the truth encounters us and breaks open the shackles that have bound us.
Freedom in Christ leads not to death but to everlasting life. A life that has no fear of death, for Jesus has over come it through his death on the cross and his resurrection.

We sin, and we are bound to our sin. But Christ frees us, frees us to be the human beings that God created us to be. Freed to live a life in complete service to Christ for the sake of the world. God sent his only son, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. If we are freed in and through Christ than we have become his body in and for sake of the world.

The clothes we buy leave someone else naked and so we give them away and clothe the naked. The food we eat leaves someone else hungry and so we stock food pantries and work in soup kitchens. The money we spend leaves someone else poor and so we save some of it and give a portion of it away. The houses we build leave someone else homeless and so we provide shelters and we build homes for those who cannot afford to build their own.

True freedom is the freedom of living without the fear of death, that Christ is in, with, and under you always, never forsaking, always leading you ever closer to him, ever closer to freedom, ever closer to abundant life.

The Parable of the Landowner, the tenants, the vineyard, and the son

It's been awhile...


Matthew 21.33-46

The classic reading on today’s gospel reading is that of an allegory for the passion of Jesus. Every character, and even the vineyard represent something:
The landowner represents God.
The tenants represent the chief priests and the elders – those folks whom Jesus is talking with as he tells the parable in the gospel of Matthew.
The slaves of the landowner are the Old Testament prophets.
The son of the landowner is Jesus.
And the vineyard is Israel or the larger creation.

When read this way, it’s easy to point out who the good guys are- landowner, slaves, and son – God, prophets, and Jesus
and who the bad guys are- the tenants who rent the land and end up killing the son.

But, the lovely thing- and sometimes confusing thing- about parables, is that they can twist easily out of our grasp and take on a whole new definition if we consider them in another light.

Certainly this is the meaning of the parable- God sent his only son into the world to reconcile it to himself, and the world rejected the son and killed him.

But perhaps also this-
What happens if you, or anyone who might have heard this parable, considered himself or herself as each character in the story?
What if you are the landowner? How does that open up the parable- what does it reveal to us about the kingdom of God?
Frankly, I’m not sure I could be as patient and trusting as the landowner in the story. Over and over again, he sends his slaves to try to redeem what is rightfully his, and he fails- he doesn’t get what belongs to him- instead he just gets dead slaves.
This landowner has great faith in the folks who have been hired to work the land. As a landlord he won’t make a prophet- so he probably doesn’t have the best business strategy- but he does show a lot of mercy, he gives his tenants second, third, unending chances to show their respect and give back what rightfully belongs to the landowner.
And maybe this reveals something about God, and maybe this suggests a way we should be with other people.

And what if you are the vineyard? What do we learn about the kingdom of God from this perspective?
The vineyard is built by the landowner, it is outfitted with everything it needs to protect it and make it successful- a fence, a winepress, a watchtower -and the vineyard is given tenants to till it and to keep it. There’s no reason for an unsuccessful harvest.
So what- we are a part of the created order, the vineyard- in fact we’re given tools and protection in the form of families and gifts and abilities to be fruitful and successful and to become a bountiful harvest for the landowner. Perhaps an important thing to remember is that the vineyard belongs to the landowner, the one who has created it, not the ones who sustain it in the meantime and hope to exploit it in the end.

And what if we’re the son? What window do we gain on the kingdom of God?
The son is the rightful heir to the vineyard. The son is the one who will gain all that the landowner and the tenants have worked for. The son receives the inheritance not because he has earned it, but simply because he is the son- inheritance could be by birth or by adoption- it is at the landowner’s discretion. The parable makes clear that the son will receive the inheritance- in effect, he will be gifted the vineyard- and gift is the same as grace in Greek. It is be the landowner’s, by God’s grace that the son receives the inheritance.

We have been baptized into this community of faith. We have been promised that we have received the gift and seal of the holy spirit, the cross of Christ on our foreheads- that we have become children of God and that we will inherit, we will be given the kingdom of God and eternal life.

Of course, that’s not the end of the story of the son. The son is also taken by the tenants, beaten, thrown out of the vineyard and killed. It’s hard not to think of this part as only Jesus’ part. And maybe that’s one gift of looking at the parable through multiple lenses. Jesus is God’s only begotten son, the one whom God sent so that the rest of us would not suffer the same fate. We will not have to die to receive our inheritance, instead there was one who died for us.

But still, it does not mean that children of God won’t struggle to receive the inheritance, to remember who we belong to, to whom the harvest truly belongs. We are heirs of the kingdom of God and of eternal life, but we are not kings and queens.

So far it hasn’t been too bad, has it? There is the risk of being killed by the tenants, but other than that the kingdom of God is looking pretty good, no?

So- what if we’re the tenants? What if we’re the ones appointed by the landowner to take care of the vineyard and then at the harvest to give over the portion that rightfully belongs to the landlord?

This perspective is probably just as easy as looking at the parable as an allegory of the passion narrative. Here we are, chosen by the landowner, trusted by the landowner to work the vineyard, make it successful. And being a tenant doesn’t mean that we have to give the whole harvest over to the landowner. We certainly would get to keep our portion and then give a part to the landowner as well. But, we tenants, we decide that we should get the whole kit and caboodle. I mean- gee we’ve worked really hard and where has the landowner been? He hasn’t shown up at all, he only sends his slaves and his son- he obviously doesn’t have that much invested in this vineyard- we can keep the harvest for ourselves.
And looking at ourselves as the tenants of course can load us down with guilt. Certainly we’ve exploited what God has created and tried to keep for ourselves what should be given to God. We’ve made most natural resources a commodity- we’ve put price tags on gifts from God. And we keep the money. Finders, keepers, right?

And as tenants we are guilty of the son’s death. It is for our sin that Christ died, it was for us that he was handed over to the chief priests and elders and condemned to death and crucified.

And we’re the guilty ones. And we are deserving of death- for as created beings who have exploited God’s creation and God’s gifts, death is what we will inherit.

But at the same time, the son came to take on our guilt. God knows that we are broken and that we cannot save ourselves. We cannot fix what we have done to ourselves, to one another and to the world. And so the son comes and accepts us and our brokenness. He holds out his arms to embrace us all, even as we have nailed him on the cross.

The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Yes, we are responsible for the tilling and the keeping of God’s creation. We are responsible for giving back- be that tithing or giving of our time and our talents to the work of God in the world. We are responsible for caring for one another for protecting others from exploitation and injustices.
And oftentimes we succeed at these things. And oftentimes we fail.
God holds us responsible.
God also saves us.

The son is nailed to the cross. But it is his death that brings life.
We rejected him, him who is the cornerstone, the chief cornerstone on which all lives stand and are sustained.
Perhaps its capricious, perhaps its unimagined grace that abounds beyond our wildest dreams.
But as landowner, vineyard, son, or tenants, we belong to God, whatever we harvest belongs to God, and we give thanks for that and we act and give out of that knowledge. We act and give out of his mercy and grace and love that knows no end.

Thanks be to God who gave his only son that we might have life, and have it abundantly. AMEN

Inside and out

Insiders and outsiders keeps coming up in the lectionary text for me... I'm preaching on Romans as it is in the lectionary most of the summer. This week I tried to maintain integrity, and the complexity, of the "Jewish Question" - at least as it is according to Paul.

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Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

To all of you beloved by God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God the father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN

In our reading from Romans this morning, Paul is winding down his discussion of the “Jewish Question.” What does it mean that there are Jews in the world who have not followed Jesus. How will God remain faithful to his initial covenants with the Jews in the light of Jesus Christ? Will God remain faithful to his initial covenants?

And Paul’s resounding answer? By no means! No way, Jose. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
And how can Paul be so confident in this? And what difference does it really make to us that the Jews are still God’s people- even in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

For Paul it is their very rejection that others are able to enter into the covenant. The verses that lie between what we read today say this- based on Paul’s understanding of scripture- of the Old Testament- he sees that the Jews are committing a transgression in not following Jesus. They are falling away, they are sinning- like they had in the past- when they didn’t remain faithful to God at the time of the Kings. And so the prophets came and warned the people that they would be sent into exile if they didn’t remain faithful to the covenant with God. And we know the history- they weren’t faithful, Israel and Judah were destroyed- the people were exiled from the land. But we know there was reconciliation and return. The people were restored to relationship with God and to the land.

But now- in Paul’s lifetime, something else has happened. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ completely shift Paul’s frame of reference. So- how salvation will be affected for the Jews has also shifted- in fact- it is not completely clear for Paul how exactly it will happen. And so- he wrestles with these questions in his letter. And it seems Romans 11 is Paul’s best attempt at figuring out what is truly hidden within the mystery of God.

Paul concludes that while the Jews appear to be unfaithful when it comes to Jesus- this makes room for others to enter into relationship with God. Paul is very clear to point out that the Jews are not excluded from this relationship. In fact, they make possible the relationship for Gentiles- for they are the tree that the Gentiles are grafted into. They are the tradition, the family that we are adopted into and allowed to inherit. And Paul also makes it very clear that Gentiles, you and I, who have now entered into this relationship with God through Jesus Christ should not hold it over anyone’s head. Don’t boast- you’re not the tree- you’re only the branches grafted in- you could just as easily be lopped off again.

This is pretty harsh language… It does seem like some will be in and some will be out. And unfortunately there are those who did not heed Paul’s warning and they did boast over the Jews- to the point that this text was used in part for justification of the Holocaust.

But take in context- in both its literary context in the larger letter to the Romans and within its social context- it’s hard to justify anyone being cut off from God.

Paul lived in a society that was based on limited good. That is- there were never enough resources to go around- not enough food, not enough land, not enough status, never enough honor and repute. Basically- if someone had something, then somebody else didn’t have it.

I would suggest that this lies behind Paul’s effort to understand why all Jews have not followed Christianity. Paul calls it a partial hardening of hearts. Not all Jews have faith in Jesus Christ. But, there are many Gentiles who do have faith in Jesus Christ. Ergo- the faith that the Gentiles have means that the Jews cannot have faith right now- because in a limited good society, there wouldn’t be enough faith to go around.

And if you stopped here- the of course those who believed would get in and those who didn’t wouldn’t.

But, Paul doesn’t stop here- and neither do we. In spite of limited good- in spite of the appearance that there are Jews who don’t believe and it may seem that they won’t be saved and brought into covenant with God- Paul still states- very clearly and very firmly.
All Israel will be saved.
All Israel will be saved.

For Paul, everyone has been in the same place. Every one sins, every one has been out of right relationship with God – every one is in need of salvation. Jews have not kept the law. But Gentiles, up until this point have not even known God.

Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have no received mercy due to their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too many now receive mercy.

There is no either/or here. It’s a both/and- we are all in the same boat- we are all sinners having gone astray- broken, failing human beings not even able to live into what we truly are- looking to take something from someone else- food, land, honor, relationship, money. Our brokenness leads us to fear, fear of each other, fear of death, fear of God- that we would rather wall ourselves in and horde our treasures and our goods lest we lose even more. And it doesn’t matter if you’re Jewish, or Christian, or what have you. If you are human, you are broken without God.

But, you are not without God- neither you, nor any Christian, nor any Jew are without God. Paul writes, “The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”
We haven’t made the decision to be in relationship with God- God has called us to be in relationship with him. We didn’t ask God to send Jesus to live among us, to teach us and to lead us into the way of salvation. He did it- he sent his son for us. You may think you made the decision to get up today and to come to church. You may have confessed your faith before you were baptized, you may have made a conscious decision that you wanted to be a Christian. But you didn’t do it without God.

God is the mover. God is the creator.
We are the ones who are created, who have the breath of life breathed into us so that we may live- who have the water and the spirit poured onto us so that we may be in relationship with God and walk in his ways and know his truths. It doesn’t work the other way.

So, Paul’s explanation for salvation for Jews and Christians is only possible. At one level it’s too cut and dry- on another level in raises questions about the nature of God- it makes me ask if God is really just if he’s cutting people off for a time. It makes me wonder what kind of God makes everybody unjust to show that he is merciful.

And wonder we will- but it’s not for us to decide and to determine the nature of God or even how our salvation will be accomplished.

And Paul recognizes this, too.
All Israel will be saved.
The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
He made us.
He called us through our baptism.
He gives us life in the meal that he shares with us.
We are his- we do not live on our own.

And however that works out- however God chooses to save the world. The only thing we need to know is that he’s done it. He will do it.
God is faithful. God stands by his covenants. He has not failed us. He has not failed the Jews. He never will.

And so we wonder. We question. But we also praise and we worship, knowing that our salvation is sure. That our relationship with God will not falter- he is with us, here among us.

Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgment and how fathomless his ways!

Thanks be to God.
AMEN

Weeds and Wheat

I always find any text that creates or has been interpreted to create a distinction between insiders and outsiders particularly difficult to preach on. However- when I wrote the sermon for today's texts- somebody else supersedes the weeds and the wheat

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So, why would God allow wheat and weeds to grow up together? Why do good and evil exist in God’s creation? Or perhaps we should reframe the question. Why questions usually do not provide us with satisfactory answers.

What difference does it make? What difference does it make that this is God’s realm? This is the kingdom of heaven that Jesus tells a parable about. God created the heavens and the earth. God will deal with good and evil. God will take care of it on the earth, in us.

And what difference does it make who is telling the parable? Jesus, sitting in a boat on the sea, speaking to a crowd of his followers tells them about the realm of God. Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth tells these people the ways of God, or at least gives them a really tough riddle about God.

But, Jesus, this Jesus, this teller of parables- he is the son of God, he is the one sent to this creation, God’s heaven and earth, the one where good and evil exist. And this Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, he took bread. He took bread, made from wheat, the good stuff of the earth, that grain that nourishes and fills us up. He took that bread; he blessed it and he broke it.- and he said this is my body. He broke the bread and said this is my body broken for you.

For you, for you who are good and evil. For you who live in a world rooted with good and evil intertwined to the point that we cannot tell the difference. He takes other wheat, he takes bread that becomes his body. His body that will die upon a cross. His body that will go into the earth, the earth intertwined with good and evil, buried in the ground. And his body will be raised up on the third day, declaring life to this creation. This resurrection of Jesus Christ declares life for the realm of God, the kingdom of heaven, God’s creation- the heavens and the earth- life for all of it.

What will God do with the wheat and the weeds? What will God do with good and evil? God transforms it through Christ. God transforms what we see as good and evil into something we cannot even fathom. Out of death, God gives life.
Out of broken bread, we receive the promise of salvation and life.
From a small town in Palestine, born in a homely manger in a barn comes the salvation of the world.
Good and evil have nothing on this holy one.
The holy one comes to the earth, the holy one takes us up into his arms, his merciful, ever loving arms. The holy one comes and says here- my kingdom for you. This bread, broken- it is for you. Eat it. Smell it, taste it, savor it. Eat it, it is for you.

For you- for us- you and I are the good and the evil; we are the wheat and the weeds; we are God’s creation, we are god’s realm, we are the kingdom of heaven. Jesus gives us the parable. Perhaps we get it; perhaps we don’t. But, Jesus also gives us himself. Take this, my body, it is for you. He is the wheat, he is the farmer, he takes us up into himself, we receive life.

Sin

So, perhaps this blog is turning into a sermon blog... But, my sermon this week is on Romans 7. And I think it helped me to articulate sin as a concept that I am constantly wrestling with- especially in terms of the systemic nature of sin- which then I think definitely applies to the situation in Israel/Palestine as well as any system of oppression, political or otherwise that ends op destroying life or the opportunity to live fully.

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Proper 9
Romans 7:15-25a

To all God’s beloved, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN

St. Paul often gets the reputation of an antinomian- that is someone who is opposed to the law. At the time that he was writing his letters to early Christian congregations, one of the things he had to overcome was the emphasis of Judaism on the law- the torah- the rules and regulations that were to frame a person’s entire life. Because of this, Paul sort of makes the law an opponent- something that he is continually arguing against.

But Paul wasn’t antinomian, he wasn’t against the law. In fact, he often talked about how he himself actually upheld the law, he lived according to the law, Jewish practices and regulations, quite well.

In addition, in the section of Paul’s letter to the Romans that we read today, he tries to show that it isn’t the law that is his opponent. Prior to this section, Paul has already claimed that the law comes from God. The law is spiritual, Paul says.

The problem then lies in sin, and subsequently the law in relationship to sin.

Sin- it’s a word that we can use quite flippantly, or perhaps we speak the word and talk about sin but do we really dwell on it?
It’s a sin to curse. Lots of people take their vacation in Las Vegas, the city of sin.
We confess our sins in our corporate confession together, often at the beginning of a church service.
Every time we pray the Lord’s prayer we ask God to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Or, in another version of the prayer, we ask God to forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

Our word for transgression or trespass, the word sin has been around since the tenth century- it’s an old English word probably with roots in German that means offense or misdeed.

And of course the concept of sin has been around since the beginning of time.
But I suppose this morning we ought to deal with the sin in the context of Paul’s letters and how it relates to our own lives.

Paul talks about sin almost as a personified thing, something that stands outside of us that then influences and manipulates us into doing this that we shouldn’t or don’t necessarily want to do- things that are against the law- God’s law, mostly- but it could probably apply to laws put forth by governments.

This sin, this power that works against our good somehow dwells within us- so much so that even though we may know what the right thing is to do, we don’t do it. It’s almost as if sin takes on a systemic nature- flowing into every aspect of a person’s being, and subsequently entire communities until it infiltrates the whole word.

It’s not good news. In fact it is terrifying really- something that most of us would rather not admit; I daresay some of us here may even deny it.

The way that I often understand sin is that it is a kind of brokenness. With sin, we as human beings are not whole and therefore our relationships and our communties- in fact our entire world, is not whole- rather it is broken.

Sin is something that destroys life. It takes away the life giving possibilities in us, in our communities, and in the world.

I would assume that everyone here has sinned at one point or another- and I would suggest that we are all in a perpetual state of sin- and all our deeds and actions will not deliver us out of that state of sin. There is no self-help book you can buy or episode of Oprah that you can watch that will get you out of the state of sin- that will remove sin from your person, from your relationships, from our world.

Maybe I’m speaking in too general terms.
Now religion has spent millennia trying to figure out sin- so I don’t expect to hash it all out here and now- but one question that frequently arises is in regard to the levels of sin- firstly, are there levels of sin? Are there sins that are worse than others? Surely murder is worse than running a red light. And secondly, what are those levels and how do we determine them?

Perhaps it would be worthwhile to try to articulate levels of sin and that way we can determine where we fall within the spectrum of sin. I may sin- I may take the Lord’s name in vain and I know I’ve gone over the speed limit, but I’ve never killed another human being. Surely a murder is a worse sinner than me!

Perhaps, but perhaps also sin is so pervasive and cunning that although I have never killed anyone I pay taxes to a government that supports torture in certain instances, I purchase clothing from companies that use sweatshops and child labor, I eat food that has been cultivated and harvested by people who do not have status in this country. If I am not contributing to these people lives, am I contributing to their deaths?

If I do not do things in the name of Christ or act out of love, what am I doing? Am I acting in my own self-interest, in my own self-preservation- and to what end? If someone does something that you do not approve of, that you disagree with- what do you do? Do you get angry? Do you decide that you no longer want to be in relationship with that person? Do you gossip or talk about what that person behind his or her back rather than try to come to some sort of reconciliation in your differences?

Maybe my talk about systemic sin and the sin of unjust judgment that leads to a breakdown in relationship are not equal. But that in itself is the deception of sin. It is so pervasive, it becomes so entangled in our lives that we try and justify little sins as no big deal.
A white lie is still a lie.
Perhaps a little sin is still a sin.

And so- here we are, stuck in a pervasive, tangled web of sin with no hope of getting ourselves out of it- in fact, we may only become more enmeshed the more we try to get out of it ourselves.

Because we know that we want to do better. We wouldn’t be here, gathering every week if we didn’t think that we were fundamentally good people trying to do right in the world as God, through Jesus Christ, has called us to do.

But at the same time- sin is pervasive even in this room, in this sanctuary- hate, judgment, transgression have all happened here among us.

And as we are bound in sin, sin has a really amazing way to continue to act in and through us, in spite of ourselves.

Paul writes- I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in myself another principle at war with the principle of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in me. Wretched one that I am.

So what can we do?
Simply know this.
We are saved by God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We are stuck and we can’t free ourselves.
But, Jesus Christ came and lived among us teaching us about God’s mercy and steadfast love and that confessing our sins we will be freed through Jesus Christ.

It is Jesus Christ alone who grants the power to forgive sins. It is Jesus Christ alone who went up onto a cross, freely, condemned unjustly, and died for your sake and mine- not so we would feel guilty about it- not so we would feel that we are so terrible and would could never pay back the gift that has been given to us. In fact, we can’t pay back the gift. But, Christ died to reveal the way to triumph over sin, to grant grace and forgiveness to the whole world.

In the sin that was Christ’s condemnation and crucifixion is our very freedom from sin.
In his weakness and suffering is Christ’s full power and glory demonstrated- not in the way that we think it ought to be, but in the way that God demonstrated it through Christ.
In his death is our life.

So, into his death we have been brought down to death- so even though sin may be pervasive and it may seem that we liver perpetually in it- there is one who has taken us up out of that muck and web of sin and gives a new everlasting life.

Sin may live and dwell in us- but we do not dwell in it. You are here because you dwell in Christ Jesus- the one who bathes you and feeds you through his word of grace and truth. Sin could never prevail against this one and will not have the final say. Yes it is here, it breaks down our relationships we sin against one another and the world- but because of Jesus Christ, our lives and our love for one another and the world and built up even more. Because the love from Jesus and through Jesus is more powerful than sin- it is more powerful than death and so the only thing that we can do, that we have been freed to do is to live fully, to live fully in him and for him and for the sake of the world. We have been freed from our sin so that we can name it for what it is, so that we can say no to the systemic nature of sin, to the systems that we are still a part of, but through Christ we have the power and the love to change them.

So thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN

The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

I just finished my sermon. The sea of Galilee was the setting for the gospel reading from John. I haven't achieved the courage to speak to the Palestinian situation in my sermons yet, but it's certainly a backdrop and on my mind. So, I just thought I would share a portion of my sermon- because even though I don't address the issue of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, I am telling my congregation to be active! (Even that is a little scary for me.)




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You see, it seems that after the death and resurrection of Jesus and after the disciples had returned home, returned north to the Galilee- they tried to go back to life as it was before Jesus called them. Prior to our reading this morning, Peter announces that he is going fishing, and so some of the disciples accompany him. They were out all night long and they didn’t catch anything. In the morning, a man appears and tells them to throw their nets over the other side- and of course- they catch so many fish they can’t bring the net back into the boat.
At this point the disciples realize it is Jesus- Peter jumps out to get to Jesus and once they all arrive on the beach, Jesus makes a breakfast of grilled fish and bread for the guys.

I don’t know if you’ve ever wondered it- but I want to ask the disciples what they think they’re doing going fishing after all the things that have happened to them. Sure there could be a variety of explanations- they needed to make some money, they didn’t really believe Jesus’ other resurrection appearances and think he’s still dead so they go back to the life they know. Fishing for people didn’t seem to work so well- so they went back to a job they knew how to do. Although they weren’t so successful until Jesus showed up.

But here we have Jesus appearing to the disciples for a third time. A third time- third time is the charm?
John uses threes quite a bit- especially in this passage.
For the third time Jesus appears. We know, and certainly the disciples must have known it, things are never going to be the same.
And after breakfast Jesus has a conversation with Peter. He asks Peter three times, three times- do you love me. And Peter responds in turn, three times, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And Jesus tells Peter three times to feed his sheep or lambs.

If you recall during Jesus’ trial, it was Peter who denied Jesus three times, claiming that he did not know Jesus and was not affiliated with him.
Three times then, three times now at Jesus’ third resurrection appearance.
It does not seem to be a coincidence.

There are some who suggest that Jesus' questions and Peter’s response serve to forgive and exonerate Peter’s denial of Jesus. When Peter denied Jesus he was not being who he truly was- the ever zealous disciple, the first one called by Jesus, one of the first leaders of the church. So, Jesus asks him- after the crucifixion and in the light of the resurrection. Peter, do you love me, do you love me, do you love me? Yes, yes, yes, you know I do, Lord. So, go and be who you are Peter, who you have been called to be, go and be the shepherd, you’ll go where you don’t want to go- but also this- Jesus ends his conversation with Peter, Follow me.

This story, and this feast day, for that matter become important for us because Peter and Paul both, who once denied Jesus, have been called by him and have been completely transformed because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Their lives were never the same when they began preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now, I don’t think God is expecting you to abandon the life that you know and go and be missionaries in the world. But, I do think things have been fundamentally different for us as Christians- at our baptisms we were claimed by God- just like Christ called Peter and Paul- to do God’s work in the world. To become who it is that God calls us to be- to follow our vocation as Christians no matter what it is that we have done or have not done. If we have denied that we know Jesus, if we have persecuted or done harm to the church- God continues to call us to serve him. Because of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, because Christ shows up again and again- maybe not on the beach to make us breakfast- but certainly in the word we hear today, in the meal that we will share- each time we remember that we are baptized we hear Christ’s call to us. You have been marked by the cross of Christ and sealed with the holy Spirit.

And you will go out from here, you will go out in peace and you will bring Christ’s peace to the world- if that means holding the door for someone, giving a monetary contribution to the church or a charity, volunteering your time, being a good mother or child or student, doing your job well- if you do it in the name of Christ, you’re doing your job- your Christian vocation.

Jesus asked Peter, Do you love me? And Peter responded. Lord, you know I do. So Jesus commanded him, feed my sheep.

Peter is our brother in the faith. Jesus asks us- do you love me. Lord, you know we do. So, Jesus commands us, feed my sheep. Do my will, serve Christ in the world- volunteer, give your time, give your money away, love all people as if they were yourself. It’s your call- your baptismal call- the waters that save you also expect you to serve. We’re not saved by God to serve ourselves- we’re saved by God to serve God and to serve God’s good creation. So, go and do it.

Breaching walls

I got new contact lenses today. It's always amazing to me how such a slight change (in this case new contact lens technology) can affect my vision. Certainly in this case I mean it literally- but somehow that literal change also has affected me metaphorically.

As people have asked me about my trip and how it was- and I respond, "Good, difficult, terrible, wonderful... the Palestinian people are the most beautiful people I have ever met..." I also find myself talking a lot about the separation wall. Partly because it's the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen. And to top it off- besides the fact that it creates prisoners out of the Palestinians and blocks them from their own land and farms, the Israelis built the wall past their own borders into Palestinian land and on either side of the wall there is land known as the "seam zone" - all for the sake of "security."

This is a photo of the wall I took in East Jerusalem at Abu-Dis. In the rear of the picture the wall cuts the road right off.

Anyway... in my thinking the last few days the "seam zone" has been juxtaposed to my experiences of forgiveness and relationship. You know, when you're in conflict with someone, often times the person on the defense creates a seam zone in order to be more protected and somehow the one who is seeking reconciliation has to broach that seam zone. And it always seems to me that it's the person who thinks the relationship is more important than the principle of the conflict that broaches the seam zone and seeks an end to the conflict. But it's always a risky thing to do- broach that zone- since the other side is well-defended and appears to operate from a more secure place.

I don't want it to sound as if I'm saying that the Palestinians have to somehow peacefully broach that seam zone (God knows they have tried and some have been shot for it). But, the metaphor gives me a better understanding of relationship and how to give a little.

For the other thing about walls is: they all fall. They can't last forever- so they can and will be breached (even peacefully to bring about reconciliation).

I sat by a Holocaust survivor on the plane

On my flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt I had the privilege of sitting next to an ex-pat Holocaust survivor who now resided in Tel Aviv. It was certainly one way to book-end my trip, as our first event when we got to Jerusalem was to visit the Yad Vashem (the Jerusalem Holocaust Memorial). Sonja was eight years old when she went into a work camp (Perhaps Camp Gurs or Rivesaltes in southern France as Sonja indicated they escaped through the Pyrenees into Spain). She was lucky in that her whole family survived and made it out of the camp because the man who ran the camp ("a good Christian man") let them go when he found out the camp would be closed and all prisoners would be sent to Auschwitz.

Sonja knew I was not a Jew but had no problem with me being a Christian. In fact, she seemed quite pleased. We talked about faith a bit. She said she believes in God but she doesn't understand him. Why would God allow all these awful things to continually happen upon the earth? "When I look at what happens in Africa..." She did not directly adress the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza but she did say she did not judge people based on skin color or race or origin. "Arab or non-Arab, it shouldn't matter."

I reflect on this because of Sunday's lectionary text. In the Revised Common Lectionary we read Romans 6 and Paul's thoughts on sin and grace. It would seem that the world has continued to sin inspite of the grace show to us through Jesus Christ.

Like Sonja, I don't understand why God "lets" things happen and doesn't stop the apparent evil and sin we perpetuate as human beings. Perhaps we chalk it up to difficult questions regarding theodicy or deposit it into the realm of mystery surrounding God. What I told to Sonja and what I still try to cling to in my tenous faith is the knowledge that it is part of our human nature to be broken-in big and little ways. Sin and evil are ever present in the world. But at the same time, God's love is ever present and superior to sin and evil. Sonja's life has been completely affected by her experience in the work camp but it didn't stop her from living her life or telling her story or entering into relationship, even with those who are different from her. The occupation, the settlers, the wall don't stop the Palestinians from living their lives, from continually striving for some sort of solution to the evil that is visited upon them, from being the happy people they are and demonstrating kindness to those who visit them.

Paul asks, "Shall we sin so that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?" We live with two realities. People are only interested in serving themselves and their own interests which inevitably leads to sin and brokenness. People are only interested in working for peace and love and an end to sin and brokenness. Death is certain in the realm of sin. But life is certain when grace is juxtaposed to that realm of sin and in the end will turn the realm of sin into grace and death into life. It simply has to be that way.

Home from Palestine and Israel

For some reason coming back from Israel and Palestine and trying to get back to central time has inspired me to start a blog. I've thought about it for awhile and perhaps now I think I need to put my thoughts down and this might give me more impetus to do so!

It was an amazing trip and I think I'll be thinking about and processing all of the things I experienced for a long time.

Probably one of the most powerful things I experienced was spending a couple of hours at the Deheishe Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. This is one sqaure mile (the same size as Old Jerusalem) that houses 11,000 Palestinian refugees. These refugees have been displaced since 1948 when the UN set up this camp. The camp is really a small town and half of the population are children. When we arrived at the camp we were not able to go through the main entrance as the Israeli army had gone in with 14 jeeps and surrounded a house looking for a 16-year old Muath Abu Aker. Apparently he was thought to be involved in a Palestinian armed resistance group. The army did not find him at home after they arrested all the residents and lined them up outside. Through binoculars we were able to see all the people lined up and we heard tear gas canisters going off and rubber bullets being fired. A few times we also heard live ammunition; or as our host at the camp put it, "killing bullets."

I couldn't stop the tears flowing. Our host was incredibly gracious as he told us his story, unabashedly. He has two daughters and he explained that he doesn't really leave the camp as to be detained or questioned or humiliated in front of his family would be too much. His family was arrested for sixteen hours once and they were made to stand outside for that length of time in front of guns. His baby daughter was a week old at the time.

After our introduction to the camp and when it was deemed safe to go outside, we received a brief tour. News traveled fast that we were walking about and we were soon accompanied by numerous children who were glad to see us and to practice their english on us.

I have never seen more beautiful people in my life than I have in the West Bank. I was treated with more hospitality and welcome in Bethlehem and Deheishe than I experienced in Israel proper, where at one place (Sepphoris) we were spit upon by Jewish kids who were accompanied by an armed guard (hopefully they were just kids being kids).

In spite of it all, Israel and the West Bank are beautiful places. As I experienced seeing and meeting the children of Deheishe Refugee Camp it filled my heart and broke it at the same time.