"A Listening Heart" August 16,2015

I Kings 2: 1-4 John 6: 51-58 (This is a sermon of simultaneous words and actions. The preacher needs 4 bread bagetes, 3 large round loaves {about 12” in diameter}, 2 Communion Chalices and 1 white flat bedsheet or Tablecoth. Periodically throughout the preaching of the sermon, the preacher places an additional loaf upon the Communion Table. 1 Round loaf at the end of the Table. 1 Round loaf adjacent to the first. A bagete on either side of the second loaf. Another round loaf, then two bagetes, then the 2 cups. At the conclusion of the sermon, a large white sheet is placed over the elements, revealing the shape of Jesus' human body on the Table.) We went to the Latest Superhero Movie, and just before the lights went out, I whispered to my wife: “If you could have any super power, anything unique to you, what would it be?” Would you want to be invisible, to be invincible, to fly? The question for Solomon is that God promised David that his child would be King, then as king, is asked by God what would you want? To be rich, to be healthy, to be loved? We have paraphrased Solomon asking for Wisdom, what he literally requested was “A Listening Heart.” Compare this to Pharaoh's Hard-Heart! Compare this to Warriors with the Heart of a Lion. Compare this to those who die of a Weak heart, or Love. A Listening Heart is description of compassion. Ironically, like the Wizard gifting the Scarecrow a Diploma instead of a Brain, the Lion a Badge instead of Courage, the Tin Man a Clock instead of a Heart, what God gave to Solomon WAS Wisdom, and not a Listening Heart. Would that there could be a leader with Wisdom & Compassion! Heart and Mind, Flesh and Blood. The Lectionary only has us read a few verses, when the Book of Kings in total, describes both the right hand and the left. This is history similar to the Book of Deuteronomy where like the Book of Judges, each leader did what was right in their own heart, until they turned around and sought God. Once upon a time there was a prince, who following the death of his father, married a princess and settled down to live happily ever after, when God appeared to him in a dream offering whatever he desired. Being a humble man, the new King described, “I am only a child, therefore give your servant a Listening Heart to govern your people discerning between good and evil.” The wisdom of the King was written down as the Book of Proverbs, attracting blessings from nations around the world, as the king built cities, and a navy, temples and palaces, during a time of 40 years of peace and prosperity. This King is remembered throughout the histories of every culture of the world, as Wisest of Wise, Greatest of Kings, with the Greatest of Wealth, the Greatest of commitment from his people, the most grand temple ever built for God. Once upon a time there was a prince, who like Michael Corleone in The Godfather II, following the death of his father, killed his elder brother Fredo, I mean Abithai who was the principle competitor for power; then killed Joab his father's General for not doing exactly what the king commanded in being merciful to Absalom. Then believing himself to have divine wisdom and a divine mandate, he built the kingdom of his dreams, a kingdom of power, prestige, 700 wives and 300 concubines. To support his extravagance the king levied heavy taxes. To complete his building programs he forced thousands into slavery, as had happened under the Pharaohs of Egypt. To support his desire for spirituality, he brought together all the idols and sacrifices of every pagan worship intermixed with the faith of Israel, so that people could not differentiate between child sacrifice, abomination, and the Word of the Lord. After 40 years he died and the Northern tribes rebelled abandoning the Southern Kingdom of Judah and its Capital at Jerusalem. Both of these are equally true descriptions of Solomon. He was the wisest of Kings, he was the greatest of fools. He was the embodiment of everything Samuel had warned the Nation about having a King. The Temple he built was three stories tall, with 30 foot tall free-standing bronze columns the tops of which were carved with lilies. Cedar ceilings, Cyprus Floors, Olive wood doors, and enough gold ornamentation to have bankrupted Fort Knox. The Daily menu for Solomon's Court required 1,000 measures of flour; 10 Oxen, 20 Steers, 100 Sheep, ample sides of deer, antelope, gazelle, roebuck and fattened fowl. Reading the passages selected, there is an idea which often comes Mid-August of asking “SO WHAT!” Solomon was King over 900 years before Jesus Birth! Jesus had a lengthy argument over the quality of his sacrifice with the Judeans, over 2000 years ago! I recognize that Biblical Scholars from Augustine to Luther to Calvin to my own professors of Theology and the Bible have identified there was controversy in the early Church over the importance or lack thereof in celebrating the Lord's Supper. But what does bread and wine representing Jesus' flesh and blood, have to do with life, when a daughter is Anorexic, or a spouse has Parkinson's, or a loved one being in a life and death dangerous situation, or College loans becoming greater than Mortgage Debt? Like the crowds, we grow tired of abstract phrases and metaphors about Jesus being “the Bread of Life,” taking my flesh into your flesh and drinking my blood. And we want to scream “Stop all the Nonsense, we need something better than metaphors and empty abstract phrases!” To which, Jesus has one of those moments like an exasperated child speaking to an adult, where turning from the crowd, he speaks directly into the camera, right to us, saying “I am telling you the gospel truth. If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, not simply consuming religious ritual but gnawing on the bones of what this is about, you will not have life in yourself. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” Greek had two different verbs for eating, Phagein meaning to eat to consume, and Trogein meaning to gnaw and chew, working at digesting, and here Jesus used both, to emphasize communion is about receiving, but more an experience of life to be worked at. This passage, along with the New Testament Letters were the reason behind Roman persecutions of Christians for Cannibalism! In her book The River, Flannery O'Connor described a child trying to re-enact his baptism, by going too deep into the water to see the Kingdom of God. When criticized, O'Connor explained saying: In a world where nearly everyone is nearly blind, you have to draw really big caricatures. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are about Life and Death. This is not simply about religion, or good/ bad, or wisdom/ understanding. What Jesus said was “My flesh and blood are the real food and drink.” And suddenly we recognize Jesus is serious! This is not theory or metaphor... When the South Sudanese: Andrew, Jacob and John first arrived in Syracuse, I remember our members showing them that we had provided them everything we could think they might need or want, Can-openers, potholders, pots and pans and flower vases, coats and sweaters, dressers and beds and sheets and pillows and pillowcases. When one asked, “Thank you, but where are our Bibles? We were taken at gunpoint to a river filled with hippopotamus and crocodiles, and we did not know how to swim, and they shot at us as we made our way back into the war-zone that was our home, all the while praying to God that we wanted to believe, we wanted to read for ourselves the word of God. Where are Bibles?” When I went to South Sudan the first time, that night there was gunfire. The next morning at worship, it was explained that a man had come home and found his wife with another man and shot them dead. The Pastor had described how their blood had drained into the ground, and this sand that was their home and their bed, now contained their life blood. When I began to preach the sermon, I knelt down and taking a pinch of sand from the ground put it in my mouth and swallowed. “Your flesh is my flesh, your blood is in me. To eat flesh and drink blood was brutal animal-like slaughter. When we celebrate the Sacrament, we tend to treat this as sacred, holy, serving, it is a prayerful act; whereas what Jesus was naming was confrontation of our sin, claiming and owning our brokenness and unwillingness to forgive or be forgiven, the only remedy for which is for Jesus to offer his own flesh for our division and his blood for our redemption. It is difficult for us to imagine just how offensive Jesus' words were to the Judeans. 7 Times Jesus said “Eat Me!” In Aramaic, the common language of the Disciples' time, the title for the Devil was not Beelzebub, or Valdemort, Lucifer, or Satan, but “Flesh Eater!” In Judaism, eating flesh and drinking blood were Evil. According to Leviticus, blood and the fatty flesh were ritually dedicated exclusively to God, because this is the seat of life. Life blood is from God, and belongs to God, so to consume blood was to claim a sacrifice, to try to be like God! Jesus' Words sound like the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, “Eat of it, you will be like God!” Yet, here we are not at the beginning of Creation, but near the Climax of the Gospel with the Messiah with us. George Barna leads one of the great survey research programs internationally. A few years ago, the Barna group asked what are the words we all most long to hear? What they found were three phrases: “I love you” “I forgive you” and “Dinner Time” in offering his flesh and blood, Jesus said all three.

"Jesus As A Peanut Butter Sandwich" August 9, 2015

2nd Samuel 18 John 6: 35-51 There are churches and communities where everyone is in agreement, everyone is alike and there is no diversity. One of the things I love: is preaching to a congregation who do not all believe the same. There is a tension that calls for better preaching, when you stand on the tightrope between opinions. The description of the Symbol of Justice, is that she is carrying balanced scales in one hand, a sword in the other, covered with a blindfold, that the Law be equal and objective, as well as blind. But the image of FAITH, is that God is able to peek under blindness, so as to intentionally rebalance the scales in favor of those in need. One of the recurrent themes for me in preaching is that The Bible, Faith has become so accepted, so taken for granted that we assume we know what we believe; while at the same time, very few read and study the Bible to ever be able to understand and argue faith interpretations. Growing up, we knew David was the Shepherd boy; David fought Goliath with a slingshot; David grew up in the household of King Saul playing the harp until King Saul threw a spear at David and David led a Civil War against Saul; David was the best loved King of Israel, David made Jerusalem the Capital City, David brought the Ark of the Covenant with the 10 Commandments to Jerusalem, David had an affair with the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba), the child they conceived died, David's youngest son was King Solomon. These are elements of the Bible, we take for granted as common understanding. Suddenly in seminary, we learned that David's family was the saddest, most involved, tormented Soap Opera in History. What the Prophet Nathan had promised, was that while David would not die for his sin with Bathsheba, David's family would never know peace, as he had had an affair in secret, his family's secrets would be known to all. Punishment for their sin did not end with this child, but David with the Covenant Promise from God to have a legacy, is then promised that that legacy will suffer. As King in a polygamous culture, David had several wives, and the children of these were half-brother's half-sisters, all having GOD in common, and David the King as their father. After Bathsheba's baby died, Amnon, one of the sons of King David became attracted by his half-sister Tamar, and Amnon raped Tamar. The third in line for David's throne was a son named Absalom, and Absalom avenged his sister Tamar by killing Amnon, then killing each of his other siblings, and leading the army of Israel against David the King. History repeating itself, the Nation of Israel was again divided in Civil War between the Army of David with his Generals Joab, Zeruiah and Ittai, versus the army of Israel now under David's son Absalom instead of Saul and Jonathan. And where David previously had instructed Joab to withdraw the army abandoning Uriah so as to claim Bathsheba as wife of the king; David here with Bathsheba and his Generals withdrew from Jerusalem, abandoning his other wives, whom Absalom then publicly took as his wives and concubines. It is a Soap Opera. The other essential to any Soap Opera, Absalom had the most gorgeous thick long luxurious hair. All of which sets up this morning's Scripture passage, because as the Army of David and his Generals go to war, David is torn between seeking Victory, seeking Justice against those who would challenge his authority to be King; and David's desire for mercy for his own son whom he loves. As military strategist, David divides his army in thirds, each led by a General, to trap Absalom and his army; yet David instructs them “Deal gently for my sake with the boy Absalom.” As General of his own Army, Absalom was riding a donkey, when his hair became snagged in the branches of trees, and Absalom was left to dangle between Heaven and Earth, between life and death. So Symbolically, what was going on here? What was Absalom riding outside Jerusalem? (A Donkey) And Absalom hung where? (From a tree suspended between heaven and earth until his death.) And who is Absalom? (The Son of the King) So the question of A Certain Man to Joab was “Who has the power, the authority and responsibility to kill the Son of the best-loved King ordained by God” stated more directly it is the question about Judas: IT WAS ESSENTIAL THE SON DIE BUT WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO KILL“The Son of God?” And Joab, who previously has done the killing for the King, pierced Absalom's body with three spears, and Joab's 10 armor bearers did as well. The sacrifice of Absalom, the Son of the King, is foreshadowing of Jesus on the cross, pierced by the spear. Even if it had not been the theme of the last three weeks, We would recognize and accept as appropriate that Jesus is “The Bread of Heaven.” We know from Communion Jesus is the bread and cup. “Jesus is Bread of Heaven” is a common phrase in worship like “Holy, Holy,...” or “Amazing ...” or “Jesus the Lamb of...” or Jesus the Son of … and Son of ...” or “Forgive them Father, they know not...” We all assume we know what these phrases mean and take them for granted. But when Jesus spoke to the crowds they took his words as obscure, as blasphemous, the people at that time reacted as if I said to you this morning I AM a Peanut Butter Sandwich! What do you mean? A Peanut Butter Sandwich!?! We knew your family, we have known you all these years, you are just like all the rest of us. What do you mean calling yourself “Bread From Heaven!” Could there be anything more basic, more common? This is not Jesus as Priest or Divine, a Carpenter, or even Messiah, Baked Alaska or Crepe Suzette, Bread was the most common staple, part of every meal of every day; not an extravagance, but basic sustenance for life. I have an elder brother who loved Peanut Butter Sandwiches, from the first day of Kindergarden until he graduated from college, and the 20 years after as he tried to break into acting in Hollywood, and still today at age 61 as a 5th grade teacher, my brother has eaten a Peanut Butter sandwich every day of his life. It was not just a sandwich, it was a connection to home, to the kitchen counter, to safety, by having a peanut butter sandwich. Truly, Jesus did not say I am a Peanut bread sandwich, but rather I am the Bread of Heaven because for the Judeans, Bread from Heaven correlated to our Spiritual Ancestral Home, Manna in the Wilderness. When they had been slaves in Egypt, they were fed every day, not great food, not abundant quantity, but fed, what they did not have freedom.When they were in the Wilderness they finally had freedom, but often it seemed they would be without food, until they received Bread from Heaven, God's love that kept them alive for 40 years. For Jesus to say “I Am the Bread of Heaven,” is to identify himself as being the gift of God's love and grace in the wilderness of freedom. Strangely, the verb here in verse 47 is not future tense but Present tense. Jesus says, “Truly truly, He who believes HAS eternal life.” Not that eternal life is after death, “He who believes will have eternal life,” but that heaven is our reality here today. What if, Eternal life, Heaven, the Kingdom of God were not the Greek or Roman ideal of a future possibility, a different reality, life on clouds behind pearly gates with harps and halos; but here and now? We live in a time where the infant born today could naturally live to 100 years of age... where peace and prosperity could be available to all if we chose to put our minds to it. IS this not the vision of Isaiah 65: For behold I create a new heaven and new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. No more shall there be in Jerusalem the sound of an infant that lives but a few days, or an old man that does not fill out his days, for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them, they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. What if instead of arguing over who is best, who is right and who is wrong, what if we could see Christ as The Bread of Heaven, the Son of the King of Heaven? What if we perceived the world, our world as filled with miracles, (not magic, not sorcery, not wish fulfillment,) but filled with the love of God! Recently at a Wedding Banquet, I sat at table with the Bride's employer, who was Muslim. As I sat down, he said “So you are the Minister, tell me, in your religion, after you die do you receive 43 Virgins?” and he laughed. And I looked at he and his wife, and said “My image of Heaven would not be a slumber party with 43 12 year olds? I believe if we have eyes to see it, Heaven is here and now, with one another, at a great Wedding Banquet.”

"America's God: Talent" August 2, 2015

2nd Samuel 11:26 – 12:15 John 6: 24-35 (Several ideas for this sermon were stimulated by other's. While my own words and development, I have cited here the original references.) Over the years, we have addressed many different topics. I have preached over 1600 sermons. My father used to refer to his "Barrel of recycled sermons," I have never the same one twice, yet one topic I believe we have never before addressed directly is SEX. However, when the Bible has us address Herod's lust for Salome, followed by two weeks on David and Bathsheba, you get the hint that we are supposed to talk about Sex. Then a friend in this community died, and addressing sex seemed trite... taking a step back, I realize what that issue, and this, and our Gospel, all wrestle with is Judgement. Our frustration that the God of our culture of our values is not God; we are not in charge, and according to our judgement, the world is wrong, God is wrong. If we could, we would have stopped him... but that is the point: We are people who care, but we are not God. Depression is a chemical imbalance. My body produces too much cholesterol, so I take a pill to balance chemistry. What is difference, whether the imbalance is in my heart, or my liver, or my brain? Years ago, I knew a great preacher, who week after week for his entire ministry preached on The Prodigal Son occasionally The Elder Brother, claiming this was the Biblical witness America needed. Today, I think the witness we need to hear over and over is: 2nd Samuel 11 and 12 with Nathan's: “You are the One.” First, because we assume there a good people and bad, right and wrong. Yet here The Best Loved King of Israel, God's Shepherd through whom God promised to provide for the Nation, and through Israel to all the Nations, David the Psalmist... David, is revealed to be committing the most common and heinous of acts. Good people do bad things, and those we believe to be bad sometimes do good things as well. Second, because we easily make excuses to save the offender. It was not that David was up on the roof when he “accidentally” saw Bathsheba showing off her body. David was King of a Promised Lineage, he had absolute power and authority over the nation. David could order armies to war, commit genocide, send people to deaths. And David chose to stay home instead of going to battle with his Generals, David went up on the rooftop looking for what and whom he could see when he was bored, in private, David saw Bathsheba in the privacy of her bath. David ordered her to be brought to him. Then ordered Uriah abandoned to suffer and die alone. With great power and authority comes great responsibility, and David as King was seduced by his own power and talent avoiding his responsibility. Third, the Parable of Nathan demonstrates the problem of naming abuse. Our SPAM folders are filled with: “Have an Affair tonight!” “Single Women in Skaneateles Want You” “Bob has sent you a private message.” The Predator can never perceive what he has done, or even that he could, do wrong. As Bill Clinton vowed “I did not have sex with that woman.” In our mind's eye, we all see ourselves as the hero of our narrative, and what other people do to us, instead of judging what we have done. Fourth, the sentence carried out does not seem fair, it is not on David & Bathsheba for their affair, but on their children as they carry forward this secret and the effects of the affair for generations. Underlying the Affair, is often that the person needs something they do not feel they are getting anywhere else. The partner may be providing everything, but we can be unable to see what is there. Our own Syracuse University has done a great deal of research on Marriage & Family and Sex, and claim that of the Top 10 Things people want in Marriage, Sex is number 9, whereas COMPANIONSHIP, CARING, A SENSE OF HUMOR and COMMUNICATION top the list. The research at SU claims the hormones in Men and Women want different things in a relationship. What Men want is 1) Respect, My partner is proud of me, they follow my lead, I matter, I feel capable. 2) Shelter, creating a Retreat, A Home that is a refuge from Stress, is Fun, is our Cave. 3) Companionship, All the world may be against me, but we two are a team. 4) Someone who responds to me, they study what makes me happy and try to accommodate. 5) A person who tries to attract me, they care about how they look so as to keep me interested. Where Women claim they desire 1) Affection, to be cherished, hugged, kissed, romanced. 2) Conversation about feelings 3) Honesty and Openness 4) Safety and Financial Security 5) Family Commitment So if men are looking for respect from their partner, and women are looking for affection, and either one does not get it from their partner, a hunger sets in. In the case of David, he and his wife Michel were estranged...When David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem he danced in the streets and leapt for joy, and she mocked and belittled him. “You shamed yourself in front of the people, dancing half-naked, like an animal!” From that point on they rarely spoke. The reason it feels so good to be in a relationship is being Chosen, out of all the other possibilities. The problem of a break up is the feeling of being un-chosen, is I was not enough. (Crotts, Stephen M., “How to Affair Proof Your Marriage,” Sermon Suites, 2014.) During the Televangelist' Scandals, Billy Graham was thanked for being a beacon of hope. Asked how he had managed to avoid this Graham replied, “I constantly run scared, knowing it could happen.” When our son Nathan, who is now 27 was about 3, I recall reading this parable one Sunday morning. In the middle of the service after hearing the passage's repetition Nathan slid off the pew and came walking up the aisle and repeated “You are the Man, You are the Man” and I had to stop mid-sermon. One of the most popular television shows of the last decade has been America's Got Talent, which in essence is a 21st Century Vaudeville Talent Show. Jugglers, comedians, singers, acrobats, computer designers all perform, but to create interest and motivate the performers, they are judged by celebrities; competing for $1,000,000; with the ultimate opportunity to headline a show at LasVegas. Over the years they have increased from 3 to 4 to 5 celebrities, not known for their faith, brilliance or wisdom, but Howard Stern, Supermodel Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and one of the former Spice Girls. The mantra which is repeated, after every performance in every episode, is: “We want more! Bigger! Give us more than anyone else!” I fear, this has become The GOD of our society: worshipping celebrity, pushing for more, faster, bigger, with greater danger, satiate our desire now, differently, with the pay-off of getting rich and becoming celebrities. (McKenzie, Alyse, “Jesus' Got Talent,” Edgy Exegesis, 2012.) That is exactly the circumstance the Gospel of John describes. This is Jesus of Nazareth 3rd appearance before the celebrity judges. We saw him feed 5000 people with 3 loaves and 5 fish. Then we witnessed his walking on water. Now the crowd comes seeking Jesus to demand that he perform. “Give us a sign!” “Show us power!” “Perform a miracle for us!” Jesus refuses to perform, because he had also taught Water into Abundant Wine, Born from Above, Temple of Life... In our earliest manifestation, I believe this community responded to God and acted in faith, ultimately when asked to judge their own identity, making two fatal mistakes. When we began as the Schaneateles Religious Society, we gathered as the whole community to do the work of God together. Yet by a Vote which took place on Christmas Day, we chose to be a Presbyterian Church with a building and pastors and program, rather than the whole community gathered together in faith. In that earliest representation we were the Courts of the Community judging Civil and Criminal cases, but not based on the Law or on Celebrity, but on how we as sisters and brothers could Forgive.