July 31, 2016 "Enough Is Enough"

Hosea 11 Luke 12:13-21 Hosea 1 had been the assigned passage for last Sunday. But on your Anniversary, preaching: “Go marry a prostitute, and raise the children of others by her” saying the people of God have throughout history prostituted themselves, did not seem as attractive as A Fruit Basket, or preaching on Important Opportunities worth sacrificing our security. Life is filled with choices, the difficulty is that as much as we know what is right, the alternative is still enticing. This morning's sermon has two parts, the first on our need to Succeed, not on the basis of our community, or changing a social condition, but only for our own desires, which is Greed. The second is on Forgiveness, not as being a good thing, or the right thing, but because the brokenness of no-relationship destroys us. We know without hearing a sermon that Greed is the sin of Coveting. Greed is based on an assumption of Scarcity of limited resources, and that assumption is based on Anxiety / Fear. But I confess I have a problem, and need your help. I do not think I am the only one, but sometimes it's hard to tell, because this is a taboo people do not talk about. The problem is having enough. It is not that I do not have enough. It is just that sometimes, I feel like I do not… never enough time, enough money, never enough stuff. From 1976 until 1996 our Church had a deficit budget, not only Budgeting to spend Reserves, but overspending the Budget by a total of $200,000. Over the last 19 years, in addition to the Budget we raised over $3,000,000, we have annually been blessed with receiving more than we spent, which allowed us to repay mortgages early saving millions of dollars of compound interest, as well as adding to our Reserves over $600,000 not from Wills or Estates but from General Giving. Eight months ago, we received an unsolicited pledge of an additional $300,000 intended to stimulate all of us in our giving, Six months ago, we learned that because of NYS Taxes, this could not be done. Are we suddenly in debt: No. But somehow, not receiving a gift we thought we were receiving, made us disappointed, not a Success. Surrounding: the Prostitute whom Hosea married, and Israel whom God loves, and Jesus being asked to divide the inheritance, and the parable of the Rich Fool, is the issue of Success. Not Miserliness, not Cheating, but using any and every means necessary to succeed. This is a tricky one this morning, because ours is a world built on Success; even more so because the Church has no tangible product to sell, even Heaven and Sanctification have delayed gratification; and also my own salary is based on your success and your generosity and support of what we are doing, but not success at all costs. We are surrounded everywhere by overt and subliminal messages, telling us that we are incomplete, insufficient, unsatisfied; however if we buy what they are selling, be it toothpaste, or the latest pill, a new computer or car, or version of the truth, then we could become complete and satisfied, at least until the next version of the iPhone comes out. Our culture connects Consumption with Satisfaction, Happiness with Possessions, Material wealth demonstrates the Good Life, the success and failure of the Nation are based on our Economy. Last weekend the sidewalks were blockaded with people buying and selling, this week the docks and park are filled with polished antique boats, from Thanksgiving to New Years the Dickens Characters are pushing us to purchase, and we feel as if we are not doing our civic duty if we are not supporting the local businesses. Before we were married, I was able to pack everything I owned including my mattress in a VW 411, it was the hatchback version of a Volkswagen bug. When we graduated from Grad School, everything my wife and I owned, occupied no more space than our Dining room. When our parents left us to dispose of their belongings, we found stuff they had not used in decades, and we vowed to give whatever we were not using to those who would appreciate it. But every time I drive near the Home & Garden stores a voice invites “Buy me.” The A&E television network debuted a show in 2009 called “Hoarders,” which was the most watched series premiere among 18-54 year olds and despite being dropped 6 years later, was brought back each of the last two years because of people's identification with compulsive consumers. Several years ago, my brother bought a farm that had been owned by Carl a man with short-term memory loss. The house and barn were filled to the rafters with stuff, because when he would need a new Hot Water Heater he would buy one, then forget and go buy another, and a third. My brother sold all the stuff that was hoarded there and made enough money to pay the purchase price of the farm. So deep down, I know that money and possessions cannot make a person happy, yet secretly I believe I could handle it and may be the exception to the rule. It is as if I have 2 soundtracks in my head. The one is from the Beatles “Can't Buy Me Love” “I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright. I'll get you anything my friend, if it makes you feel alright. 'Cause I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love...” while the other is the Joel Grey and Liza Minelli song from Cabaret “Money, money, money, money, money... Money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around, Money makes the world go around... it's all the world can see.” What scares me about this parable, is how easily we identify with the Rich Fool. He has not cheated anyone, he is not a thief. He has worked hard all his life and been rewarded with success. He knows how to plan and follow through, and imagines how great it would be to give to our kids what they need to pay off their education debts, being able to see the world, not having to worry about the future, never again having to worry about whether my spouse would be taken care of. The false illusion is that money creates independence. Money could allow us to transcend being mortal, could allow us to escape being dependent upon others, most especially God. Different from other Prophets, Hosea is told to experience the one-sided relationship God feels with Israel by marrying a Prostitute named “Gomer.” The problem is that while she is beautiful, while she can satisfy his every desire, she feels nothing for him, Gomer's only desire is for money not for Hosea. She conceives and has children, but Hosea knows these may well be the offspring of other lovers, so names them “To make her suffer,” “Never to be pitied,” “Not my Child.” Even so, Hosea is responsible for them, and pays for their food, their clothing, their education, all their wants and needs, and Gomer's wants and desires, until ultimately Hosea and God say “Enough, I cannot take it anymore” and cuts off Gomer / her children, divorcing them, sending them away. As much as God was attempting to demonstrate the one-sided love God has for us through Hosea, few of us could ever identify with marrying a prostitute, although most of us can identify with relationships which have at times been one sided. Where as care-givers, more is asked of us than we ever imagined possible, and because of illness the other cannot demonstrate affection or love, may even make the care-giver to be the focus of their pain and suffering. More realistically we can identify with adult sibling relationships, where one has made a promise to their parents, the others do not support; where one is power of attorney and the others only picture the worth of possessions or moving on. At times I have wondered, if this question about inheritance was the reality behind the Parables of the Prodigal Son and Elder Son, with the younger demanding his inheritance not from the Father, but from the brother and from Jesus? The basis of Jesus calling the man a Fool is that while successful, while hard-working, he can only see life as a reflection of his possessions, the accumulation of his toys. One of the reasons I enjoy being a pastor rather than an attorney, is that when a person dies, rather than being responsible for the division of assets, we have responsibility for collecting / sharing their stories. The point of hope, is that in this morning’s reading from Hosea, and at the end of the Parable, there is realization that the path we have followed was wrong. While for the man in the parable it may have been too late, with God it is never too late to forgive, to heal cut-offs, redeem the lost. The point of forgiveness is not that the other has atoned for their wrong, or made restitution, or even that they admitted their error, or said “I am sorry.” Forgiveness is recognition that being without each other, having a broken relationship hurts so much, we have to forgive.

"Importunity" July 24, 2016

Amos 8: 1-12 Luke 11L 1-13 Over our years together, You have taught me a great many things, the most important is also the most subtle, the best example of which comes from our Wednesday evening Bible study. After years of “Trying to Teach” we abandoned the curriculum and the role of Teacher. Instead, we read the Word of God together, then like Amos we hear the question “What did you see in the text?” While as preachers, Mario and I could tell you all that scholars have thought and written from Augustine to the Present, which is what occurred for Centuries, that is not as important as what touches your heart and imagination, and how we as the body of Christ in this place and time, hear the Word of God choosing to act. The Word of God solicits and helps us to name the Important Opportunities we need to stop to recognize. That is the importance of Prophecy and Revelation, not to scare you, not as fortune telling, but as Biblical Witness to what will happen and the importance if you do or do not act; this is wisdom, to avoid being led astray into the company of fools and sluggards, as those who have no God. As often as I have read the Bible, every time we read the Word of God I see something fresh and different than ever before, because we are different, our current events, our shared experiences, our membership, now with Everett, Savanah and Billy as Baptized, with Phoebe Dominic, Hope and Mia home from ElSalvador, Seth and Mario having experienced Triennium, Gary and Doris having passed into the resurrection, John and Martha who came to us as refugees now commissioned as Apostles to Virginia. This is also the reason read the Bible together, to listen to one another, to hear each other and consider what otherwise we would have completely missed. We need to wrestle with is what is called “Presbyopia” or “Old Eyes” it is the reason for BiFocal Glasses, that our vision becomes fixed in one perspective, Near-sighted or Far Sighted, and we need help to flip back and forth to see another perspective. So is this passage for us personally / individually, or is this speaking to world circumstances? In Amos, God provides 5 Visions. In the first two, God was planning to punish humanity and the Prophet changed God's Mind, not to do so. But humanity did not change, so “God is described as being present in the midst of the City holding up a Plumb line to demonstrate just how far out line and unjust, unrighteous the world has become.” With the Vision of the Plumb line, there is nothing to argue about, no way to convince God to change, because the world is off-center and out of balance. In the silence, God sighs at the tragedy, anger and human fears. The piece I hear in that this morning, which I have not paid attention to previously, is that “God is in our midst”, God in Christ is not distant, not apart in Heaven, God is in the midst of Life, attentive both to how corrupt and decayed are our morals and relationships, AND God is attentive to our fears, our anxiety and anger, and human tragedy. In the Fourth Vision, once again there is nothing to argue about, GOD IS REVEALING something that was not seen or understood before. The Prophet looks and the Prophet sees A BASKET OF SUMMER FRUIT, except the emphasis is on the Fruit being RIPE TO OVER-RIPE, the fruit is about to Spoil and Rot and Decay. As a people of God, do you see that God has sent you A Fruit-basket, an Edible Arrangement, One of the Sensory Pleasures of the Languishing Days of Summer; or do you have a VISCERAL RESPONSE to DECAY & ROT from being SPOILED? For some in our world, This is the Best of Times, there are more Billionaires than ever before in history, many of us have multiple Homes, with Electronic equipment in every room, and two or more Cars, and all of our desires are satisfied, and the only worry is if we can keep life as it is, or as we remember it used to be. For others, these are the worst of times, the Middle Class has evaporated, leaving a larger class in poverty and fixed income, balancing creditors, and living one crisis away from total calamity. The Fourth Vision is encapsulated in a word: LAMENT. When we have lived with 15 years of unending WAR, yet war has never officially been declared. When everything has lost value, yet few described DEPRESSION or RECESSION, as if to name it fatalistically made it more real. LAMENT is living with Anxiety and Anger and Fear, without any resolution... One of the questions the Bible addresses this morning is whether ANXIETY and INJUSTICE ever WARRANTS VIOLENCE? During the War between the States, this congregation was divided over whether Freedom was an ideal, or whether Abolition was to be fought and died for. Other than a “Sigh” and dedicated hard work to change the world, what response is there to Lament to unresolved injustice? The Fifth and Final Vision of Amos is of an ABSENCE OF GOD. That is something the world has never before considered. There have been efforts to become Like God, to Replace God, to imagine God as Obsolete, there have been efforts to Kill God, followed over the last many decades by an increasing world population that when asked what Religion are You and what do you believe in? Respond: NONE and NOTHING. But in truth, we have never considered a world without God, because without God there is no Time or Space or Order, and the interconnects and interdependence of the balanced universe, all are taken away; where there is No Meaning to Life, to Love, to Peace, and Chaos is reality. Where the Sky turns black and the Earth rumbles and shakes; where hymns, harmonies, children singing and people humming, are turned into peoples screams and wailings. There are several books in the Hebrew Scriptures, Jeremiah, Joel, Judges, that each describe THE WORD OF THE LORD WAS RARE IN THOSE DAYS. My own imagination is the sound of THE WORD OF GOD being shut, is to be CUT OFF. CUT OFF is there, both with the Basket of Summer Fruit CUT OFF never again to grow, and CUT OFF is the absence of the Word of God. Cut-Offs do not feel good. We want to go on happily ever after. We want to celebrate Anniversaries more than 200 years... Cut Off describes no longer being willing or able to try, to believe. I take that back, there was once a time, where humanity was so filled with Anger, Fear and Hate, attempting to blame GOD, inflicting our emotional suffering in making an individual suffer, that we killed God, the sky turned black in the middle of the day, the ground shook, and hymns were turned to wailing. But the hope of Christian Faith, the Assurance of what we believe, is that even that, did not keep God from loving the world, God still saw life as an “important opportunity.” That is the phrase which catches me in this passage from Luke... IMPORTUNITY. Regardless of your age or condition in life, what could feel more safe and secure than to be snuggled in your bed at night, with your children and loved ones all in bed with you? Suddenly there is a knock at the door, and your neighbor has wants. You wish for anything rather than to be disturbed, to risk disturbing your safe world, BUT for IMPORTUNITY, you will. What is IMPORTUNITY? What I think it means is recognition that this is an Important Opportunity. This was important enough to our neighbor to disturb us, to share their need with us; this is an important opportunity for us to risk our safety and security and our loved ones, because there is need. On this 215th Anniversary Sunday, what I have come to realize is that in College and Seminary, we learned Theory, we learned Christology, Ontology, Theology, we read Martin Luther, John Calvin, Karl Barth, Bonhoeffer, Tillich and the Niebuhr brothers, we studied Peace and Justice, and Righteousness... but for 215 years what this church has actually dealt with week after week, season after season, for decade upon decade, are “importunities!” And when we ignored them, like debt, maintenance, or listening to each other, they grew. Not grand theoretical constructs or systemic theologies, not understanding Creeds or Confessions, but responding to human need for Bread, for Health care, because a parent, spouse or child died, because of a family CUT OFF, a Fight, a split, a war. I was blessed with coming to this church in late 1996, after the Co-Pastorate had ended, after Steve Panko had been prosecuted and removed from ministry, after Committees had been formed to rebuild and to replace the Organ. And the questions were How do we respond to what you see? How far will this Building Renovation go? Will it ever end? How much will it cost and who will pay for the debt? How big an Organ, whether electric, Antique or New? Whether to turn the Sanctuary 180 degrees? Whether to allow children in the Church? Whether to write a check to Presbytery calling that Mission or to get involved locally and around the world? Whether our community could tolerate Race, could our congregation heal the divisions we had, could we ever, ever have more than one pastor again? Before we had completed 5 years, it was our 200th Anniversary. Trying to get a handle on all of that, I read all of the Minutes of the Church from Quill Pen to the present, then wrote a History. Five years later, a member of the church who now has joined the Church Eternal, came to me with this lovely wooden box with dovetail joints. She described that during the height of conflict between the co-pastors, one had brought this to her. He described not trusting the other pastor, so asked her to keep all of the historic records of the Church at her home. She felt that my having been here 10 years, maybe she could begin to trust me and return this, because she was afraid she might die or have a fire or flood in her home and it would be lost. Reviewing these historic records, reveals whole other importunities. In Church history there were two Protestant Reformations, the first beginning with Martin Luther who lived and died believing in his ordination as a Catholic Priest, calling us to look at the church. All our beliefs about God and the Church, came in acceptance and challenge from Luther as the Evangelical Lutheran Church, then Dutch Reformed, Disciples of Christ, Congregationalists and Presbyterian Churches. Together these were a Reformation based on substance, as we differed about what we believe, A totally separate Protestant Reformation occurred for Non-Theological reasons, reasons that were not substantive but about who is in power, because Britain wanted to Exit the Catholic Union, which created the Anglican or Episcopal Church, the Methodist and Baptist Churches. 200 years after the Reformation, among the first community gatherings in Central New York once Abraham Cuddeback arrived here in 1794 were the creation of Religious Societies by New Hampshire Missionaries. At the time, there were not clear boundaries between villages, and all of this region was legally referred to as Marcellus, and culturally as Skaneateles. There were several Itinerant Missionaries who each came to Marcellus, Sennett, Skaneateles Falls, Elbridge, and Skaneateles creating what they named the Schaneatles Religious Societies. On July 20, 1801 Rev. Aaron Bascom meeting with 15 believers in Skaneateles created the Skaneateles Religious Society. On October 13, 1801 Rev. Caleb Alexander met with 18 believers in Marcellus to create a different Skaneateles Religious Society. In Skaneateles, on December 25, 1805 there was a vote to no longer be a Religious Society but to become The Skaneateles Chapel, with a Sanctuary and a Pastor. By 1809 we had built that Chapel, which today is the Baptist Church on State Street. But in 1816 there was an importunity within the body, because some wanted to follow the Anglican Prayer Book, while others wanted no mention of praying for Bishops and the King of England (realize this was only 30 years after the American Revolutionary War). Again those wishing to follow the British exited to form the Episcopal Church, which was not for the Theological Reasons of leaving the Catholic Church, but from being one Communion here in Skaneateles. Those who remained voted in 1818 to be Presbyterian, while Protestant coming from a totally separate theology and polity. In 1822 St.James had built their first Sanctuary across the street, while in 1831 we built our 2nd Sanctuary, and ever since we have attempted to outdo one another in mission and ministry, humility and faith. The most telling story about this Church, is that from 1838 until 1841 there was a split amongst the membership so severe as to create two “First Presbyterian Churches” in the same building, served by the same pastor, with two separately elected and ordained Sessions, and two sets of financial records. Why they split, how they functioned, what brought about their reconciliation, we cannot know. What we do know, is inscribed on the first page of the Session Minutes following a series of pages torn out of the binding, which describes: “We have done harm to God, we attempted to crucify our Lord by dividing the Body of Christ. We repent of our sin. The Word of God has been rare in these days, and we seek to begin anew.” The final item which I see in our passages this day, is that in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus describes there are going to be these conflicts and disruptions in families and in the life of the Church, which are Important Opportunities, but squarely with these, hand in hand, is Jesus teaching the Disciples how to pray. That while there are a great number of INPORTUNITIES which seem important at the time, creating a great deal that separates and divides us, as families, as races, as a nation and as a world, what unites us is One Baptism and One Communion in One God, and God's willingness to give us our daily bread, to forgive us our sins as we forgive others their indebtedness, and while Almighty God could, to lead us not into temptation.

"What Do You See?" July 10, 2016

Amos 7 Luke 10:25-37 Look at the persons on your left, now to the right. Actually look at them. Look at the faces of one another. Look at your Pastors. Look at the people on the Other side. What do you see? Strangers or Friends? Colleagues or an enemy? A Woman, a Man, a Child? A Caucasian, a Latino, an African, an Asian? Do you see someone Old or Young? Do you see a Republican or a Democrat? Do you see someone Married or Single, or Single again? Do you see someone carrying a gun? Do you see a Saint or a Sinner? Do you see a Jew, a Muslim, a Christian, or a Samaritan? Do you see your Neighbor? Do you see yourself? Do you see the face of God? When you look in the mirror what do you see? This week, I went to the Eye Doctor for an Annual Physical of the Health of What I See. After taking several pictures of each eye, they asked “What do you see?” and “Which do you prefer #1 or #2?” If we can answer those questions about a chart on the wall in the safety of the Doctor's Office what about in life? When you look at the world around us, What do you see? What would you prefer? Chaos, Fear, Control, Failure, Terror, Hope, Faith, Poverty, Decay, Brutality, Racism, Distrust, War, Avoidance? What is your reaction to what you see? What would it take for us to Change, to change what we see? What would it take for you to tell God, to beg God, to change what is coming? The Gospel has a marvelous story of Jesus, when he was on the Road to Jerusalem to the Cross and Resurrection when a Lawyer stood up and asked the Messiah “What must I do to inherit Eternal Life?” Two months ago, those being Confirmed met with our Session, and they were pressed, What questions do you have of the Session? And one of those exploring their faith and convictions asked: “What does it mean to live a Good Christian Life?” Personally, as someone with both a Masters in Divinity and a Doctorate in Gospel and PostModern Culture in “WHAT I SEE,” I am intrigued by the difference between one Generation's priority being what we must do in order to receive the Reward after death, having faith in Heaven and Eternity; versus a different Generation concerned with the here and now; but far more, I am delighted by those in each generation having concern with having faith in God. Jesus responds to the Lawyer's question, “You have studied the Scriptures, What do you see?” And unique to the Gospel of Luke, the Lawyer responds with the Summary of the Law, which in other Gospels Jesus is the one who says: To love the Lord your God, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. As that is the answer of Jesus elsewhere, he responds to the Lawyer: Do this and live! Before going any further we need to ask ourselves if this is what we see in Our Lives, in Our World? Is the Good Life, the Christian Life, the Way to Inherit Eternal Life? I have committed my life to believing it is; but other people, and other parts of our world have different priorities for the Good Life, and for what Star they follow, what they wish for as an Inheritance, the Goal in Life, for Eternity. I want to pause in Sabbath here for a moment this morning. Because last week you paid me the honor of personal recognition of my birthday. And in two weeks, we will celebrate the 215th anniversary of being this Church. I know I am one of the most blessed people in all the world. What other vocation are you privileged, even required to reflect on your life, to reflect on your faith and trust in God, to stop to question the circumstances all around us in life, seeing these as circumstances of faith, or God in our midst? One of the reasons we enjoy going to weddings, is to hear and witness to the vows of commitment between two, and to reaffirm our our love and marriage... What other job is there, that you are able to reaffirm your own marriage 18 to 20 times a year, every year? More than simply routine, the motivation most of us have for coming to worship is a basic human desire to know that we are loved, that we are held in the arms of God and comforted and corrected no matter what...What other life is there that week after week, I get to hold a child and provide the comforting touch? The reality most of us avoid discussing is when we give up control of this life... What other life is there that you are able to sit with and reflect, and afterward affirm to the world, the meaning of another's life? Thank you for allowing me to see God in you, to see you in God, and being able to speak to God for you. While the Lawyer makes a profound connection in connecting their love of God to their love of Neighbor; the Lawyer then provides the setting for one of the best-known parables of Jesus, by asking “Who do you see is my Neighbor?” Throughout the last 20 Centuries of human development, people have identified with and debated the roles and actions of the Priest and Levite and Samaritan. But few have ever asked, when you look at your neighbor, when you look in the mirror, do you see a Samaritan... do you see a Friend... do you see a child, or someone old, or only a pastor? Do you see God in that other person? When lying in the ditch, having been attacked and beaten and robbed, being left to die, when One comes to save/ goes out of their way to care for you, restoring you to life, and vowing to return for you, you do not see the other as a Stranger or as a Samaritan, this is “Your Savior” sent by God to minister to you. The great power of this Parable is not only that the Samaritan, whom people saw as a hated population in the culture, cared, when the Priest and the Levite did not; but that in Judaism, when One demonstrates compassion, particularly limitless compassion, like getting down off his animal AND cleaning his wounds AND pouring oil on them, AND bandaging his wounds AND putting him on his animal instead of himself, AND taking him to an Inn AND also caring for him for three days, AND making a promise to return for him, that person represents not simply a Good Life or a Christian person, or a Holy person, that One represents GOD. Jesus asked the Lawyer, and which one served as Neighbor to the one who was abused, the Lawyer did not say “The Samaritan” the Lawyer said, “the One who showed Compassion, the One who acted as God, acted as Neighbor.” The Book Amos is not to be read when you want Psalm 23. Amos is a Prophet of Judgement. Amos is hard. The Nation of Israel was living in prosperous times, a time of peace and affluence, and Amos was Called from the Southern Nation of Judah to come to Israel to preach the Word of God to their sisters and brothers: to have compassion on the poor, to care for the earth, to open their eyes to see the effect of their actions, and to change. On my first day of Seminary, I recall being picked by Jim Forbes to act out the role of the Preacher before our entering Class. He had half of the students act as the People of Israel, and the other half collectively act as the Voice of God. The Voices of Israel read aloud the story of the Golden Calf, when the Nation sinned. And the Voices of God threw a Bible into my arms, saying “Here is all the Law and the Prophets.” Then I was to read this passage from Amos 7. When Sept 11th happened Pat Robertson, Jimmy Swaggart and Oral Roberts, claimed this was punishment for the sins they named in others. As a Preacher, judging others, condemning others has never been my faith. But as a Modern-day Prophet, when the Bible says God created a plague as Locusts attacking and creating destruction all around us, I see terrorism and hate and racism, all around us, destroying us. And when the prophet looked and the prophet saw God creating a terrible Fire, I see Global Warming, this drought, bringing a devastation drying up all the waters, polar icecaps. And what we have Not Done, is what the Prophet cried to the Lord, “God Forbid!” And God relented and God repented of what God was going to do. But the prophet looked, and the voice of God said “Son of Man what do you see?” There are several word plays here, because the word in Hebrew for TO SEE sounds like the word for TIN, and an inverted tear-drop piece of tin tied to a string creates what was called a Plumb bob and Plumb-line. So what the prophet was to “SEE” was a Plumb-line and a Plumb-line was an ancient device in Masonry and Carpentry to determine how straight, or how out of alignment and how crooked is a wall... in this case the Wailing Wall, the Wall of the Temple of Solomon. The role of the Preacher/ Prophet is to witness the Visions of God to the People, and also to plead for the people to change God's heart. The problem of the Visions of Amos, are that the Prophet SEES and the prophet pleads to God to not punish but instead to act with Grace...and doing so, does not say that the people change. If we knew God was creating A Plague of Locusts against us to punish us for our neglect of the poor, what would it take to cause us to change? If God was creating a horrible Fire consuming the Earth, what would it take to make us change our behavior and care for Creation? If the world does not change, what would the Prophet See when a Plumb-line is held up to the Wailing Wall? That we are not upright, not straight, but falling apart. We mentioned that there were several word plays here. Not taking anything away from the Prophecy of Needing to be Straight as a Plumb-line, but a second word play adds dimension and depth to the Love that is God. The difficulty is that the Hebrew Language did not actually have a word for Plumb-line! The word used for Plumb-line in the Book of Amos is “ANAK.” Anak is actually a word borrowed from the Syria-Phoenician language, much as we do not have the word “Sushi” and we adopted this into English. Hebrew did have the word “ANAH” the only difference in writing being that a K looks exactly like an H but does not have a dot in it, like the crossing of a T or dotting of an I. Except that ANAH does not refer to a Plumb-line, instead, ANAH refers to a “Sigh.” So what do you see, when God holds a Plumb-line up against the Wailing Wall at the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Solomon, witnessing how far out of True, how Humanity is Crumbling, and God SIGHS?

"A Simple Gift" July 3, 2016

2 Kings 5: 1-4 Luke 10: 1-11 This being 4th of July Weekend, I cannot escape the irony that as the United States of America our identity is in having declared our independence from Great Britain, and Great Britain has now declared independence from the European Union. Yet, for vastly different reasons, by differing means, and I have not heard anyone cheering. South Sudan fought a Civil War for 25 years, in order to have a Referendum Vote for Independence. Our ancestors fought, fearing indictment for treason, questioning their own loyalties and identity and commitments, in what at the time the British Prime Minister referred to as The Presbyterian Rebellion. The action Across the Pond this week, carried all the repercussions of creation of a new Nation declaring independence; with all the repercussions of our Presidential election, All resolved by a Referendum Vote much as we might do for a School Millage. If ever there were a lesson in the power of each person's vote, this was it. The power is not in being able to fill a bubble, or pulling a lever, but in what this simple action, by the people, represents. Naaman the Syrian is remembered throughout history, yet not for being the Military General, the Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of a Conquering Nation, a Man of War. Hundreds of years after this event, Jesus spoke of how “at the time, people throughout Israel suffered and died of Leprosy, but only Naaman the Syrian was redeemed.” This is the story of a simple gift, a story Naaman himself would never before have believed, nor would the King of Syria, or even the King of Israel! After a great and terrible war between Syria and Israel, Syria was dominant, Naaman was the Conquering Hero. He was an enormous and powerful figure, made even larger in his ego and people's estimation of him by his mighty victories; yet as invincible as Naaman appeared, he had a terrible secret, he was afflicted with Leprosy. Leprosy is an immune deficiency disease rare in the United States, an extremely slow-growing bacteria often mistaken for Syphilis or Tuberculosis, that results in lesions, loss of feeling in extremities, extreme pain and eventual loss of fingers, toes, eyes, ears and nose. Leprosy can only be transmitted by human to human or animal to human contact. In all these ways, Leprosy was considered to be like AIDs in the 1980s. Secrets, good or bad, seem such a simple little thing, yet secrets have power unto themselves. Because the hiding of the secret makes you complicit. A gift is also given and received between two individuals. Yet a gift does not have the power of secret, because a gift is free. A gift cannot be earned, or bought, or compelled to be given. A simple gift is an act of Grace. In this battle with Israel, Syria had taken prisoners of war, among which was a young slave girl whom Naaman brought into his home as a gift, a possession for his wife. In the story the girl has no name or identification, she is as small and insignificant as Naaman is Powerful, yet where his secret makes him vulnerable, the girl has great faith and lets it be known to Naaman that in Israel there is a Prophet of God with the power to heal Leprosy. If you were this great and powerful, fearsome General, possessing all power and dominance, with direct access to the most powerful people, to the king of Syria, and you had this dirty secret, this vulnerability that was killing you but you had heard of a miracle cure, what would you pay, what would you give to be healed of this social disease? One of the most basic of human values is our power of The Self, our self-sufficiency. We believe in our control over our lives, our power. We believe in Survival of the fittest, and Capitalism, and particularly in America that we should be able to buy whatever we desire, particularly a life-saving cure. Our passages this morning fly in the face of these human values. That what is truly of value cannot be controlled, cannot be bought. Life is a gift, the most simple and yet most precious gift. Naaman did not understand and went to the King of Syria asking him to lend the King's authority and power to make the Israelites give Naaman this gift. Naaman traveled to Israel and stood as Commander of the Conquering Army to the vanquished King, demanding this power. There is an irony in the King of Israel, because on the one hand he knows and confesses that he is not God to grant or take away life; yet at the same time, the King never thinks to consult God or the Man of God, revealing that the King of Israel himself does not believe that even God has the power to give or take Life. At which point in the story, the Prophet Elisha invites Naaman for the cure. Naaman comes, but Elisha is no where to be found. Elisha sends word to Naaman to go bathe in the Jordan River 3 times. If as a General you had come to the vanquished Nation, and their prophet would not even see you, but told you to go soak your head, what would be your reaction? The Jordan River is not Skaneateles Lake, the Jordan is murky and muddy, often with the stench of decay, and with the sensitive skin and lack of immunities of Leprosy, would you go down into the water? But Naaman's servants ask him a question. If the Prophet had demanded a great price, or that you must first accomplish a great feat, you must kill the Wicked Witch of the West and bring her broom, you would then have believed you deserved to be cured, so why not if he asks a simple thing like bathing in the Jordan? Naaman does and when he emerged from the river the third time, his skin is like that of a newborn. Naaman is awestruck by the power of God, and willing to do anything, to give anything for what he has received. Herein is the real power in this story. Naaman was willing and did humble himself before God to do what he was told. Naaman's heart was changed from hating and looking down upon Israel as inferior, to wanting to worship God; and recognizing that as the General of Syria he will be required to worship the Syrian Gods, to stand beside the King of Syria as the King demands to be worshipped, so how can Naaman be faithful? At which point, the Bible records a bit of Comic relief, because where Elisha refuses to be paid for the cure, refusing gold and jewels, Elisha's servant Gehazi goes to Naaman in secret and says “I am Elisha's servant, pay me.” Which Naaman does. But along with the payment, Gehazi receives Leprosy as well. A prospective member came to me the other day, asking about the costs and requirements of membership. “I replied that we want you to want to give yourself.” We have no requirement that you give $300/year or $30,000; there is no requirement that you have perfect attendance, but we want you to want to be part of this body. Jesus did the most amazing thing in this passage from Luke. If you were looking for 70 Volunteers, you probably would not stand up at Coffee hour and say: “Excuse me, I need 70 volunteers to go into a strange and dangerous land, to invite yourselves into people's homes. You are to take absolutely nothing to make life more comfortable, no walking staff, no pillow, no extra clothes, no GPS, no Cellphone, no snacks, not even a pacifier. You will be utterly dependent upon the hospitality of strangers. You will be like lambs sent among wolves.” Twelve years ago, when I went to South Sudan the first time, John and Paul had told me that I was heading into a Warzone of people who had survived by stealing and conning others, so to be on guard. To not trust Taxi Drivers to take you where you want to go, to not trust police. I was meeting one of John's Cousins, who was a contractor from Philadelphia at Nairobi. Then meeting his Uncle who was a Senator at Lokichoggio. But when I arrived at Nairobi, there was no one there. I sat on my duffle realizing just how alone it was to be in a strange and hostile world. When suddenly the doors of the Airport opened and 30 young men came in with a banner reading “Lost Boy Lindsey!” They explained that there had been a death in the family, and my contact could not come. We flew to Lokichoggio, and a Peace Conference had been called so the Senator could not be there, instead there was another Uncle. We went to South Sudan, and in speaking with Government Officials and Administrators it occurred to me that our Goal was not to build a Hospital it never had been. Our goal was to create Trust, to re-unite the lost with their families. But Jesus was Not seeking volunteers. He was appointing “believers,” he was sending them out to challenge their most basic instincts of Individualism, Independence and Self-sufficiency, to trust. Imagine wrestling with whether to believe people are basically hostile, or hospitable. So let me ask you, which do you think was the Greater Gift from Jesus? That he was sending you out with the power to Cast out Demons, to fight the Devil and to Heal people? OR the power to trust, to work together, to rely on the hospitality of strangers? While the one sounds exciting and novel, the second provides the reality that when one falters, when one is exhausted, there is someone else who can help, and who can care for you. When one is discouraged, there is someone to bring you back. That is what this company of believers, does. But also, when invited into someone's home, you are demonstrating what HOSPITALITY is all about. When sharing a Meal at Table, you are BREAKING BREAD. When forgiving and acting with Compassion you are demonstrating the Kingdom of God. For decades, since the 1930s, our Mission Statement like that of most Churches was “To Welcome All who are like us to worship God and enjoy music and fellowship.” When about 5 years ago, we recognized that would not work anymore. People had too many other places to go and things to do on Sunday morning, they did not know they needed Worship. Our goal has never been about numbers, but it is about Success. That success is in sharing the Good News, that there is Good News in the world, which at times it has been hard to see and witness! But where you have witnessed the thin veneer between reality and something more, the presence of God in our midst that is the Good News to share!