Revelation 7:9-12
Matthew 5:1-12
When my father died, someone in the church gave me very sage advice: “People are going to insist on telling you all kinds of stuff. They have a need to say it, but you are in no place to receive it. So give yourself permission to not have answers right now, recognizing that the purpose of therapy is to spend years figuring out what is our stuff, and what stuff is projected from other people, and whether any stuff has meaning.”
Ancient Judaism had a tradition of sitting SHIVAH for two years after a loved one dies. Gathering at each Sabbath with those who know you, with those who will tell you the truth, gathering for a meal. Because at the times of death, we are so overwhelmed by emotions by disruption to our lives we are off balance, and with good friends, it takes a full two years to unpack and sort out, finding new balance so we can go on.
There are certain celebrations like Christmas Eve and Easter, in which you want to gather the whole tableau, hearing the shepherds filled with awe and wonder, the angels singing Glori in Excelses Deo, the wisemen on bended knee adoring mother and child. Or the witnesses of Easter's Resurrection with Mary being consoled, Peter and the beloved disciple breathlessly staring into the empty tomb, the visitors to Emmaus, the soldiers frozen in fear, the Roman Centurion having proclaimed “surely this was the Son of God.” We experience crescendo upon crescendo of majesty. There are other occasions, like All Saints, in which we proceed far more slowly, turning over everything we thought we knew, because the images are not the philosophical constructs of Paul, or the narratives of Abraham or Moses but VISIONS of Imagination.
Pidge and Marne Dowley each died earlier this year. Marne was blind and had been failing for some time, she seemed close to death's door, with Pidge waiting on her lovingly. Then suddenly he had a stroke and was gone. Suddenly, Marne rallied and had several months in which she cared for their estate and their children before she too passed. I recall stopping in one day, as she sat beside the fireplace. She inquired of her pastor, “What is Heaven like?
Trying to be a good counselor, I asked why she asked... And she retorted “Because I want to know if that's where I really want to go.” I recall describing that most of life seems a puzzle to me, and that I believe, when I die, God will reveal that the complex puzzle I thought I had been working to solve, really amounts to only one small piece in the puzzle of history and humanity. I also recalled a Robin Williams Film in which after he dies Heaven and Hell are like living inside a lush series of paintings, where anything we imagine can be tangible and real.
Tragically, we have been afraid of what to do with The Book of the Revelation in the 21st Century. Hollywood has grasped it's images, and in one film after another, from The Exorcist to The 7th Seal to Indiana Jones, we have made the images terrifying. In the last section there was guarantee that the Holy Number of 12 times 12000 of each of the 12 tribes of Israel scattered as they once were to the Diaspora, all would be brought home. Everyone known and expected and counted upon. But just as our Choir's Anthem had this marvelous counterpoint between the dirge of numbering each who has died and the celebration at the resurrection for ever more, Revelation shifts to a vision of All the Saints that are beyond numbering. And while there robes had been filthy and saturated with blood at endurance of suffering life, they have made them white as snow. The text is specific here that while usually in reference to resurrection we identify a passive voice that “GOD raise up Jesus” here the emphasis is active, that the saints each had a role in their own salvation, in there making their robes/ our robes clean.
What would those white robes feel like, soft as silk, or freshly laundered and stiff with outdoor air? What would be the feel of the blood of the Sacrificial Lamb? How does it feel to stand in the presence of God, not alone like Dorothy before the Wizard of Oz, but standing with an entire population of people all of whom love the Lord? How awesome to imagine the one who was sacrificed for us, becoming our shepherd!
How quickly we bury our words... “All The Saints Had a Role In Their Own Salvation.” What do we mean by salvation anymore? There are certain words like Evangelism and Morals and Salvation, which in the mainline Church became passe for a time. We are a self-satisfied people who despite Inflation and Recession, and constant Wars, live a pretty good life. Are our values, the priorities of our lives based on account balances or on the salvation of our souls? DO we even worry about the immortality of our souls?
Whenever a person dies a chill runs up a preacher's spine and should, as we wonder what words to say. How do we encapsulate in a few moments all that this person represented to others and in their own salvation? Mary Soderberg, Ed Belinski, I read through the list of names and for each recall their identity as so and so's mother, their father, their wife, 2 year old Cameron. While others have had all kinds of interpretations about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, representing one like Moses bringing the Law to the People from the Mountain... what I hear in the Beatitudes this morning is discerning what is really of value. Would I want to be outed by Jesus looking out and saying “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit,” “Blessed are those who Mourn, Blessed are the Humble.” But regardless of whether I wanted to be identified or not, what he offers is clarification about what life and death is really all about. A searching for the Kingdom of God, a desire to be comforted, the promised land, righteousness being satisfied.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
October 23, 2011, Sing to the LORD a New Song
I Corinthians 13
John 2
The Choir just sang "Sing to the Lord a New Song!"
This is the first day of your life together as Husband and Wife.
When announcement was first shared about having a wedding on Sunday morning during Worship, there were those who responded, “You know you are starting a precedent, and soon everyone is going to want to get married on Sundays.” The truth is that up until the 20th Century, from the time of the Early Church, Weddings and Funerals often took place on Sunday mornings. Worship of God was not a 60 minute time-block, but an all day affair. Lately, we have had Saturday weddings, Friday, Thursday, even requests for Sunday afternoon weddings... not because these were a celebration of the Church as the Body of Christ, the Community of Faith, but because Restaurants for the Reception have a vacancy.
As a society, we need to rethink what we are expressing in Weddings. When everything is spectacle, how many bridesmaids, how lavish the flowers, how extravagant the reception, we have lost sight of marriage. My favorite comment, as guests come forward after a wedding to describe how beautiful it was, is to remind them that “YES and They are Married! That is the best part!” We have made marriage in America all about the Bride. Or how adorable the Flower-girls. In Sudanese weddings, because the wedding is negotiation of the Dowry, it is all about the Groom. When “The Wedding” is about “The Marriage, the covenant commitment” between these two.
At the height of the Reformation, Church leaders were concerned that in the Mass, worship seemed like a Magic Show, a performance, in which what was rehearsed was executed before the masses, the words were pronounced and miraculously, magically, the dead were raised up, the bread and wine became body and blood. Consequently, the Church began to emphasize fellowship and education rather than what was created during worship. But the fact of the mater is that by the stating of their Vows, Anna and David are changed, from being two individuals, to as happened in their baptisms claiming a new identity before God of living for one another.
We have taken marriage so much for granted!
How many of us had one or the other of these readings in our weddings?
Yet, neither of these was written for reading at weddings.
The Wedding at Cana, is evidence in John of Jesus' first miracle. And what that miracle demonstrates is the SUPER-ABUNDANCE of GOD's Love. When the limited wine has run out, there is now gallons and gallons to be shared. And the quality of the new wine, is far richer, far better than anything anyone had ever shared. We can try to recreate it. We can attempt to explain the miracle... but that makes this a trick. The miracle is that what once was impossible because of the limitations of each as individuals, even both working independently, now is possible because of joining together.
First Corinthians 13, so equated with weddings that it is often identified as The Wedding Passage, or The Poem about LOVE. The English language does not have the nuance of other languages. In English, we have only one word, to describe the bond between siblings, between grandparent and grandchild, for the parent walking their adult child down the aisle, or for a nursing mother, or as between neighbors and co-workers working as a team, who spend a lifetime helping one another; as well as romance and passion, and erotic desires between two; as well as for empathy and compassion and self-sacrifice motivated by faith, motivated by commitment. Love. But what the Founder of the Church was describing here is AGAPE, The Love originated by God, expressed by us as individuals for others that changes the lives of all the world. Paul was not writing about a wedding, but about the whole community of faith, the Church, and how we are to respect and live our lives for one another.
The Latin translation of AGAPE was CARITAS, which in English are where we derive the words CHARITY and COMPASSION. In the KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible written 500 years ago this year, this passage was always translated as FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY abide these Three, but the greatest of these is CHARITY. What a different direction that provides for reading these words at a wedding! David and Anna, Faith and Hope are vitally important in a marriage, but more than all of this, is CHARITABLE COMPASSION. When the other is in need... When there is something you can do to care for others... something motivated by God, affecting the whole world, do so in love.
Often I hear couples describe, I did this and that and all the “honey-do” things on the Refrigerator, when do I get what I want? When is it my turn in marriage? There is no score keeping. There is no budget for the costs of love. Act out of living your life for that other person.
More than a few have raised an eyebrow that today we are celebrating both your Marriage and the Baptism of you child. But then again, there are many in the church, who had not been active for years, who by having children, by the children asking about God have been brought to faith. The question we need to be concerned with is have the couple made a covenant commitment to one another to act charitably, to act in devotion to the other's needs, and have the couple claimed an extension of their faith in God for this child, claiming this child as a Gift from God?
Faith, Hope, LOVE, abide these three, but the greatest of these is LOVE.
John 2
The Choir just sang "Sing to the Lord a New Song!"
This is the first day of your life together as Husband and Wife.
When announcement was first shared about having a wedding on Sunday morning during Worship, there were those who responded, “You know you are starting a precedent, and soon everyone is going to want to get married on Sundays.” The truth is that up until the 20th Century, from the time of the Early Church, Weddings and Funerals often took place on Sunday mornings. Worship of God was not a 60 minute time-block, but an all day affair. Lately, we have had Saturday weddings, Friday, Thursday, even requests for Sunday afternoon weddings... not because these were a celebration of the Church as the Body of Christ, the Community of Faith, but because Restaurants for the Reception have a vacancy.
As a society, we need to rethink what we are expressing in Weddings. When everything is spectacle, how many bridesmaids, how lavish the flowers, how extravagant the reception, we have lost sight of marriage. My favorite comment, as guests come forward after a wedding to describe how beautiful it was, is to remind them that “YES and They are Married! That is the best part!” We have made marriage in America all about the Bride. Or how adorable the Flower-girls. In Sudanese weddings, because the wedding is negotiation of the Dowry, it is all about the Groom. When “The Wedding” is about “The Marriage, the covenant commitment” between these two.
At the height of the Reformation, Church leaders were concerned that in the Mass, worship seemed like a Magic Show, a performance, in which what was rehearsed was executed before the masses, the words were pronounced and miraculously, magically, the dead were raised up, the bread and wine became body and blood. Consequently, the Church began to emphasize fellowship and education rather than what was created during worship. But the fact of the mater is that by the stating of their Vows, Anna and David are changed, from being two individuals, to as happened in their baptisms claiming a new identity before God of living for one another.
We have taken marriage so much for granted!
How many of us had one or the other of these readings in our weddings?
Yet, neither of these was written for reading at weddings.
The Wedding at Cana, is evidence in John of Jesus' first miracle. And what that miracle demonstrates is the SUPER-ABUNDANCE of GOD's Love. When the limited wine has run out, there is now gallons and gallons to be shared. And the quality of the new wine, is far richer, far better than anything anyone had ever shared. We can try to recreate it. We can attempt to explain the miracle... but that makes this a trick. The miracle is that what once was impossible because of the limitations of each as individuals, even both working independently, now is possible because of joining together.
First Corinthians 13, so equated with weddings that it is often identified as The Wedding Passage, or The Poem about LOVE. The English language does not have the nuance of other languages. In English, we have only one word, to describe the bond between siblings, between grandparent and grandchild, for the parent walking their adult child down the aisle, or for a nursing mother, or as between neighbors and co-workers working as a team, who spend a lifetime helping one another; as well as romance and passion, and erotic desires between two; as well as for empathy and compassion and self-sacrifice motivated by faith, motivated by commitment. Love. But what the Founder of the Church was describing here is AGAPE, The Love originated by God, expressed by us as individuals for others that changes the lives of all the world. Paul was not writing about a wedding, but about the whole community of faith, the Church, and how we are to respect and live our lives for one another.
The Latin translation of AGAPE was CARITAS, which in English are where we derive the words CHARITY and COMPASSION. In the KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible written 500 years ago this year, this passage was always translated as FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY abide these Three, but the greatest of these is CHARITY. What a different direction that provides for reading these words at a wedding! David and Anna, Faith and Hope are vitally important in a marriage, but more than all of this, is CHARITABLE COMPASSION. When the other is in need... When there is something you can do to care for others... something motivated by God, affecting the whole world, do so in love.
Often I hear couples describe, I did this and that and all the “honey-do” things on the Refrigerator, when do I get what I want? When is it my turn in marriage? There is no score keeping. There is no budget for the costs of love. Act out of living your life for that other person.
More than a few have raised an eyebrow that today we are celebrating both your Marriage and the Baptism of you child. But then again, there are many in the church, who had not been active for years, who by having children, by the children asking about God have been brought to faith. The question we need to be concerned with is have the couple made a covenant commitment to one another to act charitably, to act in devotion to the other's needs, and have the couple claimed an extension of their faith in God for this child, claiming this child as a Gift from God?
Faith, Hope, LOVE, abide these three, but the greatest of these is LOVE.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Oct 16, 2011 "What Are We Going to Do"
Exodus 33: 12-23
Matthew 22:15-22
Last time, we spoke of the Golden Calf, how like Adam and Eve ate of the Apple when given the Law not to, that even before Moses could come down the Mountain with the 10 Commandments, the Nation had already violated at least three; more than breaking laws, both the eating of the Apple and worship of the idol, were violations of trust breaking the heart of God. For Adam and Eve, taking the apple did not mean death, but it was an end to life in the Garden of Eden and beginning to live with the curse of human actions. So also for this people who were not yet a people, what is to happen, who are they to be to God once they broke trust, violated the commandment to be God's people?
There is a tension in Scripture, between humanity being created good, very good and blessed to be; versus having sinned, being corrupt. How can we ever forgive broken trust? Forgiveness of trust broken is basic to all our circumstance. The act of redemption, the assurance of forgiveness are foundational to Christian faith. It is not that the SECULAR WORLD is SELFISH, and the SACRED is TRUSTING, there are times when the most sacred thing is to be private, to claim what is precious to you; and there are times when as a society we can act on behalf of others in need. There is a correlation between belief that God was Dead, that God Grew Tired of Us, and the “ME Generation” of the last several decades. Not causation, but correlation, that on Christmas and Easter, and at Funerals, Marriages and Births, people seek a relationship with something beyond themselves. But the reality that we are easily seduced, if given the chance we will choose for our desires rather than for commitment, the truth there are broken hopes and dreams and trusts, is foundational to human life. So what are going to do?
On the first day of Seminary, we had a class on Preaching. The professor read the story of the Golden Calf, then separated us into three groups, almost half the group as the Hebrew Nation, an equal number were to take the role of God, and three of us were to play the part of Moses.
Those who were the people, were admiring one another's clothes and earrings, their houses and cars, and worshipping the celebrities in the tabloids, they took great pride in being One Nation Under God. Over a loudspeaker came the voice of God, saying “I have given you all the Laws and the Prophets, everything needed to be faithful, Don't Mess up!” and they dropped the Bible on the floor.
And the professor turned to those of us who were taking the part of Moses and asked “Now, having heard the Word, and witnessed reality, what are you gonna do?”
Moses gathered the Nation and preached “So who do you want to be?” ...possessing a few moments of fame, having the largest pile of belongings of anyone you know, to claim to be a Nation under God ...or to be a people in relationship with the Creator, Judge, Redeemer and Sustainer of all that is and will ever be?
Moses left them to work on that and knelt down before God, preaching differently. How often we think “preaching” is only when the minister stands in the pulpit on Sunday morning and talks to us... But the other half of preaching is being in relationship with God. Can God be vengeful? Yes. Can God forgive? Yes. Can we act, seeking redemption, humbly sincerely asking God for hope, and believe God could change circumstance, either by expanding possibilities beyond our knowing, or by changing our hearts? Again the answer is YES.
But part of this passage in Exodus, is recognizing what WHIMPY BELIEVERS we have been.
Moses does not mumble, and mutter under his breath: I guess I should be sorry, I want You to fix things give me another chance God. NO. Moses stands toe to toe with God. Moses' prayer has CHUTZPAH! “Hey God, Just what do you think you are doing? You have said I have found favor in your sight. You have said you know me, you know my name and trust me. How do I know you are with me? Please do NOT destroy this people unnecessarily, because that would not look good on God or on me as a believer! If the people return and are faithful, forgive them, be their God. But also, if I have found favor, if you do know me and trust me, then I need to be able to know you and trust you, and see your presence with us.”
Moses is not giving a list of demands or frivolities. But his prayer takes God seriously... takes himself seriously ...takes faith seriously, as sincere, honest communication of what we believe and stand for. That is the greatest flaw of our world today... our word does not stand for anything. The news reports are filled with video of defendants, even world leaders lying, covering up the truth. There is a seeming assumption, that on our wedding day we repeat the words given us, and if something else comes along, if our lives change, we can divorce. Increasingly, I think that before a couple divorce, they need to gather those who were witnesses and explain to them, and explain to God, seeking not just to get out of the contract, but to redeem the relationship.
Evaluating the contract, parsing words, these are what the Herodians and Pharisees were trying to do. Just like in the political debates of our times, they posed a “Gotch Question.” A legal debate that either makes you for us or for them. Like the 18 yr old blonde MTV Reporter asking of the President: “Boxers or Briefs”, not only is it an affront to ask this kind of question of a person in this position; but it is not a question, it is a political trap. We pay Federal and State Income Taxes, County, Town and Village Property Taxes, School Taxes, Vice Taxes on Alcohol and Cigarettes, Child Care Taxes, Social Security taxes... There was Roman Law that the Taxes paid to the Empire had to be paid in Roman Currency with an image of Caesar and inscription “Our loyalty to our Emperor and Priest Caesar, son of the August Caesar.” Judaism being practiced at Jerusalem, was within a Roman province, so one of the few claims to religious loyalty was that animals bought for sacrifice at the Temple at Jerusalem had to be bought with Jewish currency, and just as we have a currency exchange at borders, it would be a profanity to bring Roman currency into the Jewish Temple. As King Herod was a political appointee of the Roman Emperor, the Herodians were in favor of paying Taxes to Caesar. Pharisees who spent their lives debating nuances of Jewish Law were against paying any tax to the Government, in favor of giving buying sacrifices at the Temple. So Jesus, are you a Republican or Democrat? Conservative or Liberal? But instead of being concerned about political parties, or which Tax loopholes to reform, Jesus speaks to the Faith of the issue saying I do not have on me any of the coins used to pay Roman taxes, show me whose image and inscription are upon what is given. And the Pharisees reach into their purse and take out Roman Coins... To which Jesus responds “RENDER to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” Therefore, not only, give silver and gold to governments who manipulate and control the printing of currency, and as you are in the image of God give yourself and all you have to the service of God; but also, if you have come into the Sanctuary with currency of the Emperor in your purse, it would be profane to claim that you belong to God.
Interestingly, the word for the Roman Coin with the image of the Caesar was called an Eichon, which in English is where we acquire the word ICON. And Jesus word “RENDER” literally meant “Give what is obligated” so not as a free will offering or a pledge or tithe, but purchase for what you receive. And what Moses demanded of the People and God was that they Give to God what is Owed in being Faithful, and that God give to the people what is owed of one who knows them/us by name, knows our actions and has seen us.
Generations later, when Elijah was running away from Jezebel for having killed al the prophets of Baal, this is the cave that Elijah sought, where he might profess that he had been very Zealous for the LORD and he, he alone was left who was faithful, where Elijah saw Earthquake, Whirlwind, Fire and Flood, but God was in none of these, and a Still Small Voice asked what are you doing here? What Moses sought was to see God, but there was no description of Earthquake, Whirlwind, Fire or Flood, but that Moses was able to witness the GLORY of God with him, to witness where God's presence had been. We are a jaded people who have seen miraculous things. It is hard for us who have witnessed people walking on the moon, video links around the world, the ability to split the atom and splice genes, to look for the GLORY of God... but in the end what else are we going to do?
Matthew 22:15-22
Last time, we spoke of the Golden Calf, how like Adam and Eve ate of the Apple when given the Law not to, that even before Moses could come down the Mountain with the 10 Commandments, the Nation had already violated at least three; more than breaking laws, both the eating of the Apple and worship of the idol, were violations of trust breaking the heart of God. For Adam and Eve, taking the apple did not mean death, but it was an end to life in the Garden of Eden and beginning to live with the curse of human actions. So also for this people who were not yet a people, what is to happen, who are they to be to God once they broke trust, violated the commandment to be God's people?
There is a tension in Scripture, between humanity being created good, very good and blessed to be; versus having sinned, being corrupt. How can we ever forgive broken trust? Forgiveness of trust broken is basic to all our circumstance. The act of redemption, the assurance of forgiveness are foundational to Christian faith. It is not that the SECULAR WORLD is SELFISH, and the SACRED is TRUSTING, there are times when the most sacred thing is to be private, to claim what is precious to you; and there are times when as a society we can act on behalf of others in need. There is a correlation between belief that God was Dead, that God Grew Tired of Us, and the “ME Generation” of the last several decades. Not causation, but correlation, that on Christmas and Easter, and at Funerals, Marriages and Births, people seek a relationship with something beyond themselves. But the reality that we are easily seduced, if given the chance we will choose for our desires rather than for commitment, the truth there are broken hopes and dreams and trusts, is foundational to human life. So what are going to do?
On the first day of Seminary, we had a class on Preaching. The professor read the story of the Golden Calf, then separated us into three groups, almost half the group as the Hebrew Nation, an equal number were to take the role of God, and three of us were to play the part of Moses.
Those who were the people, were admiring one another's clothes and earrings, their houses and cars, and worshipping the celebrities in the tabloids, they took great pride in being One Nation Under God. Over a loudspeaker came the voice of God, saying “I have given you all the Laws and the Prophets, everything needed to be faithful, Don't Mess up!” and they dropped the Bible on the floor.
And the professor turned to those of us who were taking the part of Moses and asked “Now, having heard the Word, and witnessed reality, what are you gonna do?”
Moses gathered the Nation and preached “So who do you want to be?” ...possessing a few moments of fame, having the largest pile of belongings of anyone you know, to claim to be a Nation under God ...or to be a people in relationship with the Creator, Judge, Redeemer and Sustainer of all that is and will ever be?
Moses left them to work on that and knelt down before God, preaching differently. How often we think “preaching” is only when the minister stands in the pulpit on Sunday morning and talks to us... But the other half of preaching is being in relationship with God. Can God be vengeful? Yes. Can God forgive? Yes. Can we act, seeking redemption, humbly sincerely asking God for hope, and believe God could change circumstance, either by expanding possibilities beyond our knowing, or by changing our hearts? Again the answer is YES.
But part of this passage in Exodus, is recognizing what WHIMPY BELIEVERS we have been.
Moses does not mumble, and mutter under his breath: I guess I should be sorry, I want You to fix things give me another chance God. NO. Moses stands toe to toe with God. Moses' prayer has CHUTZPAH! “Hey God, Just what do you think you are doing? You have said I have found favor in your sight. You have said you know me, you know my name and trust me. How do I know you are with me? Please do NOT destroy this people unnecessarily, because that would not look good on God or on me as a believer! If the people return and are faithful, forgive them, be their God. But also, if I have found favor, if you do know me and trust me, then I need to be able to know you and trust you, and see your presence with us.”
Moses is not giving a list of demands or frivolities. But his prayer takes God seriously... takes himself seriously ...takes faith seriously, as sincere, honest communication of what we believe and stand for. That is the greatest flaw of our world today... our word does not stand for anything. The news reports are filled with video of defendants, even world leaders lying, covering up the truth. There is a seeming assumption, that on our wedding day we repeat the words given us, and if something else comes along, if our lives change, we can divorce. Increasingly, I think that before a couple divorce, they need to gather those who were witnesses and explain to them, and explain to God, seeking not just to get out of the contract, but to redeem the relationship.
Evaluating the contract, parsing words, these are what the Herodians and Pharisees were trying to do. Just like in the political debates of our times, they posed a “Gotch Question.” A legal debate that either makes you for us or for them. Like the 18 yr old blonde MTV Reporter asking of the President: “Boxers or Briefs”, not only is it an affront to ask this kind of question of a person in this position; but it is not a question, it is a political trap. We pay Federal and State Income Taxes, County, Town and Village Property Taxes, School Taxes, Vice Taxes on Alcohol and Cigarettes, Child Care Taxes, Social Security taxes... There was Roman Law that the Taxes paid to the Empire had to be paid in Roman Currency with an image of Caesar and inscription “Our loyalty to our Emperor and Priest Caesar, son of the August Caesar.” Judaism being practiced at Jerusalem, was within a Roman province, so one of the few claims to religious loyalty was that animals bought for sacrifice at the Temple at Jerusalem had to be bought with Jewish currency, and just as we have a currency exchange at borders, it would be a profanity to bring Roman currency into the Jewish Temple. As King Herod was a political appointee of the Roman Emperor, the Herodians were in favor of paying Taxes to Caesar. Pharisees who spent their lives debating nuances of Jewish Law were against paying any tax to the Government, in favor of giving buying sacrifices at the Temple. So Jesus, are you a Republican or Democrat? Conservative or Liberal? But instead of being concerned about political parties, or which Tax loopholes to reform, Jesus speaks to the Faith of the issue saying I do not have on me any of the coins used to pay Roman taxes, show me whose image and inscription are upon what is given. And the Pharisees reach into their purse and take out Roman Coins... To which Jesus responds “RENDER to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” Therefore, not only, give silver and gold to governments who manipulate and control the printing of currency, and as you are in the image of God give yourself and all you have to the service of God; but also, if you have come into the Sanctuary with currency of the Emperor in your purse, it would be profane to claim that you belong to God.
Interestingly, the word for the Roman Coin with the image of the Caesar was called an Eichon, which in English is where we acquire the word ICON. And Jesus word “RENDER” literally meant “Give what is obligated” so not as a free will offering or a pledge or tithe, but purchase for what you receive. And what Moses demanded of the People and God was that they Give to God what is Owed in being Faithful, and that God give to the people what is owed of one who knows them/us by name, knows our actions and has seen us.
Generations later, when Elijah was running away from Jezebel for having killed al the prophets of Baal, this is the cave that Elijah sought, where he might profess that he had been very Zealous for the LORD and he, he alone was left who was faithful, where Elijah saw Earthquake, Whirlwind, Fire and Flood, but God was in none of these, and a Still Small Voice asked what are you doing here? What Moses sought was to see God, but there was no description of Earthquake, Whirlwind, Fire or Flood, but that Moses was able to witness the GLORY of God with him, to witness where God's presence had been. We are a jaded people who have seen miraculous things. It is hard for us who have witnessed people walking on the moon, video links around the world, the ability to split the atom and splice genes, to look for the GLORY of God... but in the end what else are we going to do?
Sunday, October 2, 2011
October 2, 2011, "Universal Faith"
Genesis 14:13 - 15:6
Hebrews 4:14 - 15:14
Many years ago, recognizing that this is World Communion Sunday, the one time in all the year when every church of every denomination break bread and pour the cup of reconciliation and pray for peace, that we sent a postcard to everyone related to the Church inviting them to “The Feast of God's Blessings.” The Sanctuary was filled, the music spectacular, but after worship at the door, several families asked “And where do we go for the Dinner?”
Another year, we emphasized that on this day, Catholic and Lutheran, Episcopal, Baptist and Pentecostal, UCC and Presbyterian all would share communion. I am told, the following morning some of our parishioners greeted colleagues at work, describing “How wonderful that we could all celebrate communion on the same Sunday and maybe we were not so far apart after all.” To which they were told, by Catholic, Lutheran and Episcopal friends, “We celebrate Communion every week, where have you Presbyterians been?”
One year preaching at the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Worship; knowing that through the Lutherans there were now accords with the Roman Catholic Church, and the Episcopal and Presbyterian and Methodist; and knowing that the Latin word for Thanksgiving is Eucharist, I proposed that we all come together in this worship for the sharing of Communion, we set out the elements of Bread and the Cup on the Table, then realized that while there were accords for the future, in order for Presbyterians to participate we were required to have Elders serve, for Anglicans, the Cup needed to have fermented wine, for Methodists it had to be Non-Fermented Grape Juice preferable Welch's as Welch had been a Methodist, and for Catholics a priest needed to serve who could not serve Protestants.
We cannot simply declare that all shall be one, a universal faith, leapfrogging over the last 500 years of Church History, to resolve our differences. Instead what Genesis and Hebrews affirm is going back before the creation of separate religions, to our roots and core beliefs.
In Genesis, we follow the love of God for all Creation and after several failed attempts, God's Covenant commitment with one family for all the earth. Abram and Sarai take Abram's Nephew whose name was Lot, and follow where God leads. Not simply Nomads, but a people of Promise, who traverse through all of Canaan, for a new home. Abram and Sarai , as well as Lot, each grow in prosperity as they follow God's Promise. Yet the world can be a hostile place, and Lot and his neighbors in Sodom are kidnapped and taken prisoner as slaves. When Abram hears of Lot's captivity he leads his household and all the surrounding community as if a great army. Abram executes military strategy as he recognizes the strengths of each and divides their number to form companies, Not attacking from one side alone, but in the dark of night, attacking from every side. The Bible describes not only did they win, they “routed” their enemy, the opposing 5 kings and their armies running and falling down the hillsides.
Victorious Abram, Mamre, Aner and Eshcol, return home, with all the people and possessions that had been taken, as well as all the belongings of the 5 kings. And at the Valley of the Kings, 2 other Kings come out to greet them, the King of Sodom and the King of Salem. The King of Sodom is thankful for the victory against their enemy and wants to reward Abram with the booty of war. The King of Salem, brings out bread and wine, to bless Abram and to bless God for what has happened in these last hours. There is recorded evidence here in the 14th Chapter of Genesis, that long before the Sacrament of Jesus' Last Supper, before Moses and the Manna from Heaven, before the Passover while slaves in Egypt, even before the births of Isaac or Ishmael, there was a sacred meal of bread and wine, as we blessed one another and blessed God in thanksgiving for the events that happened.
We tend to overshadow this story with memory that Sodom and Gomorrah were places of sin and corruption. There was a time in which the Chosen People of God, lived as neighbors, acting in ways that benefitted both Israel and Sodom. While another neighbor, Salem was not Sodom. Salem is the ancient name for Jerusalem, “salem” having the same root as “Shalom” and in Arabic “Salem” meaning PEACE and RIGHTEOUSNESS. The King of Salem was also a Priest of God. We know the name of the King who also was a Priest, Melchizedek; but his faith in God had no name for God, only The God Most High, where Abram knew YHWH and spoke directly with God as trusted companion.
The Letter to the Hebrews, is a sermon to a Christian Community, a Church. This people have become Secular. They understand social behavior. They have all the right words and customs, but no longer remember the WHY of faith. Their prayers have become a shopping list of “O God, I Need and end to War, an end to Famine, give rain where there is drought, and dryness where there has been flooding, Also I need toothpaste, a loaf of bread, and why not a bottle of Grape Juice while we are at it.” For them, Prayer and Faith, had become rituals, meaningless routines. The Preacher here, reaches back into their faith history and affirms, before Christianity, our ancestors were the Jews of Ancient Israel, who under Solomon and King David had become a Great and powerful Nation, but long before even that, our ancestors of faith had wandered with Moses in the wilderness with the Tent of Meeting in which was the Ark of the Covenant containing the 10 Commandments. Once each year, on the holiest day of the year, the High Priest would take the Confessions and Prayers and Offerings of the People of God, entering into the Tent, passing through the Veil into the Inner Sanctum, the Holy of Holies, where the High Priest being a man, acknowledging his identification with the people, would offer his sacrifice and prayers, along with those of the people. The Preacher affirms, We Have A Great High Priest, able to fulfill all that those Priests of old did, but more because our Great High Priest is the Son of God Most High.
Can our High Priest identify with us, yes He was Fully Human, tempted as we all are, but he chose to be without sin! Could he enter the Holy Tent of Meeting God in the Wilderness, Passing through the Veil to the Holy of Holies? More than that he has passed through the veil between Life and Death, to sit at the Right hand of God! Can he carry our prayers and offerings, and make our sacrifice? More than that he can, he already has, with the personal sacrifice of his own life. Where other High Priests needed to repeat their sacrifice annually, his sacrifice is for all time and all people, for he is a Priest in the order of Melchizedek, he is both King and Priest.
So what is required of us? That our Confession be what we can HOLD FAST TO. Make your Confession of what you believe, what you believe! Jesus offered his sacrifice, with prayer and passion, blood, sweat and tears. May Our Faith not be something we recite like a Christmas list of wants, not weekly confessional making up what we could have done. But recognizing the moments in our lives that are holy and giving thanks to God with Tears and Laughter.
This week, the former Priest from our Village sent me a story from over 40 years ago. We all remember the 20th of July 1969. That was not the Summer of Love, which was the year before, it was the summer of landing on the Moon. We all remember watching and listening as Neil Armstrong stepped down the ladder from the Landing Module stating “One small step for Man, one Giant Leap for Mankind.” But do you remember the other guy? There were two in the Module, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, not Buzz Lightyear, but Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin in addition to being an Astronaut, was an Elder sitting on The Session of a Presbyterian Church in Texas. Weeks before the Mission, at their Session meeting he had asked, “So my job is going to allow me to do something that is a first for humanity. How shall we remember it?” And the Session celebrated Communion together, giving to him the Chalice, a vial of Wine and a Wafer of bread. After they set foot on the Moon, the words spoken by Buzz Aldrin were: “Wherever you are, whomever you are, I would like you to stop what you are doing and give thanks for the events of the last several hours.” Taking the wine, he poured it into the cup and at 1/6th the Gravity of Earth it floated out like balls of gelatinous mass, which entering the cup dissolved and washed up the sides. They held the Bread and the Wine blessing God and all Creation repeating the words of John “I am the Vine and You the Branches, all things are possible with God, cut off from me you can do nothing.”
Hebrews 4:14 - 15:14
Many years ago, recognizing that this is World Communion Sunday, the one time in all the year when every church of every denomination break bread and pour the cup of reconciliation and pray for peace, that we sent a postcard to everyone related to the Church inviting them to “The Feast of God's Blessings.” The Sanctuary was filled, the music spectacular, but after worship at the door, several families asked “And where do we go for the Dinner?”
Another year, we emphasized that on this day, Catholic and Lutheran, Episcopal, Baptist and Pentecostal, UCC and Presbyterian all would share communion. I am told, the following morning some of our parishioners greeted colleagues at work, describing “How wonderful that we could all celebrate communion on the same Sunday and maybe we were not so far apart after all.” To which they were told, by Catholic, Lutheran and Episcopal friends, “We celebrate Communion every week, where have you Presbyterians been?”
One year preaching at the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Worship; knowing that through the Lutherans there were now accords with the Roman Catholic Church, and the Episcopal and Presbyterian and Methodist; and knowing that the Latin word for Thanksgiving is Eucharist, I proposed that we all come together in this worship for the sharing of Communion, we set out the elements of Bread and the Cup on the Table, then realized that while there were accords for the future, in order for Presbyterians to participate we were required to have Elders serve, for Anglicans, the Cup needed to have fermented wine, for Methodists it had to be Non-Fermented Grape Juice preferable Welch's as Welch had been a Methodist, and for Catholics a priest needed to serve who could not serve Protestants.
We cannot simply declare that all shall be one, a universal faith, leapfrogging over the last 500 years of Church History, to resolve our differences. Instead what Genesis and Hebrews affirm is going back before the creation of separate religions, to our roots and core beliefs.
In Genesis, we follow the love of God for all Creation and after several failed attempts, God's Covenant commitment with one family for all the earth. Abram and Sarai take Abram's Nephew whose name was Lot, and follow where God leads. Not simply Nomads, but a people of Promise, who traverse through all of Canaan, for a new home. Abram and Sarai , as well as Lot, each grow in prosperity as they follow God's Promise. Yet the world can be a hostile place, and Lot and his neighbors in Sodom are kidnapped and taken prisoner as slaves. When Abram hears of Lot's captivity he leads his household and all the surrounding community as if a great army. Abram executes military strategy as he recognizes the strengths of each and divides their number to form companies, Not attacking from one side alone, but in the dark of night, attacking from every side. The Bible describes not only did they win, they “routed” their enemy, the opposing 5 kings and their armies running and falling down the hillsides.
Victorious Abram, Mamre, Aner and Eshcol, return home, with all the people and possessions that had been taken, as well as all the belongings of the 5 kings. And at the Valley of the Kings, 2 other Kings come out to greet them, the King of Sodom and the King of Salem. The King of Sodom is thankful for the victory against their enemy and wants to reward Abram with the booty of war. The King of Salem, brings out bread and wine, to bless Abram and to bless God for what has happened in these last hours. There is recorded evidence here in the 14th Chapter of Genesis, that long before the Sacrament of Jesus' Last Supper, before Moses and the Manna from Heaven, before the Passover while slaves in Egypt, even before the births of Isaac or Ishmael, there was a sacred meal of bread and wine, as we blessed one another and blessed God in thanksgiving for the events that happened.
We tend to overshadow this story with memory that Sodom and Gomorrah were places of sin and corruption. There was a time in which the Chosen People of God, lived as neighbors, acting in ways that benefitted both Israel and Sodom. While another neighbor, Salem was not Sodom. Salem is the ancient name for Jerusalem, “salem” having the same root as “Shalom” and in Arabic “Salem” meaning PEACE and RIGHTEOUSNESS. The King of Salem was also a Priest of God. We know the name of the King who also was a Priest, Melchizedek; but his faith in God had no name for God, only The God Most High, where Abram knew YHWH and spoke directly with God as trusted companion.
The Letter to the Hebrews, is a sermon to a Christian Community, a Church. This people have become Secular. They understand social behavior. They have all the right words and customs, but no longer remember the WHY of faith. Their prayers have become a shopping list of “O God, I Need and end to War, an end to Famine, give rain where there is drought, and dryness where there has been flooding, Also I need toothpaste, a loaf of bread, and why not a bottle of Grape Juice while we are at it.” For them, Prayer and Faith, had become rituals, meaningless routines. The Preacher here, reaches back into their faith history and affirms, before Christianity, our ancestors were the Jews of Ancient Israel, who under Solomon and King David had become a Great and powerful Nation, but long before even that, our ancestors of faith had wandered with Moses in the wilderness with the Tent of Meeting in which was the Ark of the Covenant containing the 10 Commandments. Once each year, on the holiest day of the year, the High Priest would take the Confessions and Prayers and Offerings of the People of God, entering into the Tent, passing through the Veil into the Inner Sanctum, the Holy of Holies, where the High Priest being a man, acknowledging his identification with the people, would offer his sacrifice and prayers, along with those of the people. The Preacher affirms, We Have A Great High Priest, able to fulfill all that those Priests of old did, but more because our Great High Priest is the Son of God Most High.
Can our High Priest identify with us, yes He was Fully Human, tempted as we all are, but he chose to be without sin! Could he enter the Holy Tent of Meeting God in the Wilderness, Passing through the Veil to the Holy of Holies? More than that he has passed through the veil between Life and Death, to sit at the Right hand of God! Can he carry our prayers and offerings, and make our sacrifice? More than that he can, he already has, with the personal sacrifice of his own life. Where other High Priests needed to repeat their sacrifice annually, his sacrifice is for all time and all people, for he is a Priest in the order of Melchizedek, he is both King and Priest.
So what is required of us? That our Confession be what we can HOLD FAST TO. Make your Confession of what you believe, what you believe! Jesus offered his sacrifice, with prayer and passion, blood, sweat and tears. May Our Faith not be something we recite like a Christmas list of wants, not weekly confessional making up what we could have done. But recognizing the moments in our lives that are holy and giving thanks to God with Tears and Laughter.
This week, the former Priest from our Village sent me a story from over 40 years ago. We all remember the 20th of July 1969. That was not the Summer of Love, which was the year before, it was the summer of landing on the Moon. We all remember watching and listening as Neil Armstrong stepped down the ladder from the Landing Module stating “One small step for Man, one Giant Leap for Mankind.” But do you remember the other guy? There were two in the Module, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, not Buzz Lightyear, but Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin in addition to being an Astronaut, was an Elder sitting on The Session of a Presbyterian Church in Texas. Weeks before the Mission, at their Session meeting he had asked, “So my job is going to allow me to do something that is a first for humanity. How shall we remember it?” And the Session celebrated Communion together, giving to him the Chalice, a vial of Wine and a Wafer of bread. After they set foot on the Moon, the words spoken by Buzz Aldrin were: “Wherever you are, whomever you are, I would like you to stop what you are doing and give thanks for the events of the last several hours.” Taking the wine, he poured it into the cup and at 1/6th the Gravity of Earth it floated out like balls of gelatinous mass, which entering the cup dissolved and washed up the sides. They held the Bread and the Wine blessing God and all Creation repeating the words of John “I am the Vine and You the Branches, all things are possible with God, cut off from me you can do nothing.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)