Exodus 1: 6 – 2:10 Matthew 16: 13-20 In the 21st Century we have been taught to listen for sound bytes. The Bible is different, has such an economy of words, We each need to think for yourself. Ancient listeners would have been following along in Genesis. Recalling the words of Laban, when Jacob had lived with Rachel and Leah’s family for 20 years, the host recognizes “How blessed they have been by having Israel in their company.” In that time and for generations to come, Israel was treated as GuestWorkers, a favored people. Then the readers come upon description that: Joseph and all of that generation died; but their descendants were fruitful and multiplied, growing exceedingly strong, from which the reader would think for themselves, and they would reason 400 years passed from the end of Genesis to the beginning of this Second Book of Torah. AND they would recognize foreboding “a New King arose in Egypt who did not know Joseph”. Maybe after 400 years the new Pharaoh (who is un-named because he is remembered only for what he did, not his relationship to God) no longer believed the truth of history. Maybe he chose to forget. But with SHREWD EYES he looked on people, not seeing a blessing, but seeing them with fear in his heart. There is a pun here, shifting from the adverb “shrewd” to the noun… for what is a Shrew? It is a vicious little vermin. The Bible describes this King as being a FOOL. For in contrast to the Pharaoh, the powerful King of Egypt, The Most Powerful, there are a number of powerless individuals, women, each whose names are remembered. The Pharaoh starts by issuing Executive Orders that the people of God are now his slaves. Then he instructs the Midwives to kill the Hebrew baby boys at birth. Literally he follows his Policy of Social Control SLAVERY with Population Control. Remember also, that where Egypt’s Pharaoh ordered the death of all the male Hebrew babies, with the 10th Plague all the firstborn of Egypt die. However, the Midwives named Shiphrah and Puah feared God more than they feared the King. Ironically, there were only 2 Midwives for the thousands of women, Egyptian & Israelite, in Egypt! So Shiphrah and Puah play upon the Pharaoh’s racial stereotypes, citing that these slaves are such “hardworkers”, they are not like Egyptians, the women deliver before the Midwives ever even arrive. So the Pharaoh goes to the people, telling all the Egyptians and Israelites to throw the male baby boys into the river to drown. FIRST, Who are going to be the slaves to build the Pyramids, if all the boys are killed? SECOND, the Nile River was considered the Source of ALL Life; so how could the baby boys be killed in the source of life? The story shifts, instead of focusing upon Pharaoh, to focus upon the Hebrew people, dealing with how to live with his Shrewd Laws. A Man and a Woman, just like at the beginning of Genesis testing the Law, they are of the Tribe of Levi, from whom are descended the Priests of God. And the woman of the couple gives birth to a baby. Here the RSV translates that “When she saw he was a goodly child”, actually in Hebrew, she says exactly the words God said in Genesis at the Creation of each element of Life: And the Creator said “It is Good” and it was so. Bells should be going off for us, the Bible is quoting from God’s act of Creation! “And the Woman and Man hid themselves” and she hid the child for three months. How long? a good Biblical number: three. When she could hide him no more, she follows but undercuts the Law, because she made for him an Ark, reeds mortared together with pitch and bitumen to be watertight. Again, the Bible reminds us of Genesis and God instructing Noah how to preserve his family against the chaos of the Flood. In a foreshadowing of Baptism, she symbolically buried the mortality of the son that was hers, by placing him into the waters, for him to drawn out with a new name and new identity for God’s purpose. The name that he is given is literally “Drawn out of the waters of death” in Hebrew Moshe, Mossy, we know him as Moses. But we skipped an essential part, the part of the young girls, not yet Women. As we have watched daughters over the years, it has appeared there are two basic types. Some daughters are Princesses (Cinderella/Ariel/Frozen’s Elsa), and some daughters are spies (Harriet the Spy/Nancy Drew/Wonder Woman incognito as Diana Prince.) In this story, the Princess does what princesses do, she comes to the river to take a bath, trying to have privacy from everyone following her, she just wants to soak and be perfumed, perhaps to have a baby doll that she can mother without having given birth. Miriam, the elder sister to the Baby, witnesses, watches in the reeds waiting, spying, observing. Except, neither of these girls does what was expected, they think for themselves. For the Princess it would have been easy to ignore a Hebrew Baby. Knowing her Father’s Orders, she could have tipped the basket, or pushed it downstream, but instead she drew the baby out and saw that he was Good. The Witness could have remained hidden, secret, but instead she stepped out and offered to the Princess, shall I get a wetnurse to feed and care for the baby for you? Such simple connections, that changed the course of history. Shiphrah and Puah could have killed the baby boys; the Levite Couple could have ended their son’s life; Princess could have ignored the baby or followed her father’s rules; Miriam could have stayed silent… but by a simple act each provided for this Savior to enter into the time he was needed. Andy Andrews in the book The Butterfly Effect describes that none of us know the impact of our thinking, of our simple acts. He describes Moses and Susan Carver were Unionist Land-owners in Missouri, who adopted a slave’s orphaned baby they named George Washington Carver. George Washington Carver as the adopted son of a Farmer became a Botanist, the creator of Peanuts, who often took a young boy Henry Wallace for long walks through his gardens. Henry Wallace was a one-term Vice President, who in New Mexico created a position for a scientist to cultivate seeds for dry arid climates and hired as that scientist Norman Borlaug. Borlaug developed a high-yield disease resistant corn and wheat, credited with saving over 2,000,000 people from famine. None of which would have happened without each simple connection, each person thinking for themselves, in faith. Preachers often dwell on Peter’s making the leap of faith that Jesus, the Carpenter’s Son, the Nazarene, the Rabbi, was the Son of God. But I think there is a more basic and important point here. Up until this point in the Gospel, Jesus of Nazareth has been an itinerant Rabbi and Miracle Worker. He has Called his disciples, healed the sick, fed the hungry, and taught in Parables. Much of what we remember as the Man, Jesus. Jesus here asks his disciples the same question that has been asked over and over again throughout the Gospel: “What are you searching for?” “Where is God?” “Do you believe God will send a Messiah, a Savior, and who is that?” “Who do the people say is the representative of humanity, the Son of Man?” Jesus’ disciples quote all the parts of the Bible: Elijah, Jeremiah, the Prophets, the popular answer of the day being John the Baptist. Then Jesus asked the question all of us ask about ourselves, “Who do people say I am?” I am my parents child, my wife’s husband, my children’s father, your pastor, and wear a number of volunteer hats. But for Simon Peter this somehow jarred loose the challenge, “You are the Christ, the Messiah of the Living God!” and this takes Jesus into “what it will mean to live out and die for this identity.” Rather than going along with the assumptions about our lives, to think for yourself and claim what you want your next life from here forward, your legacy to be. Reynolds Price discovered he had a cancerous growth on his spine in 1984. He went through surgery and radiation, afterward wrote the book As Whole New Life, because quite literally he could never return to whom he had been. His mate, his children, his friends all wanted him to go back to what he had done, to continue where life had left off because that was what they knew, where they were safe. Price said, “The most kind thing anyone could have said five weeks after radiation, would have been to look me in the eye and pronounce “Reynolds Price is dead. As one who today lives beyond death, who do you want to be? Live Resurrected, Live, whoever you will be!” At the end of a marriage, at the end of a career, when a dream dies, when hope is broken, literally the old self is dead. Price described “If I were honest, the years between 1933 and 1984 were comfortable and good, but despite an enjoyable 50 year head-start, my life since the catastrophe have been better.” Think for yourself: who do you want people to say you are?

"A Lifetime of Reconciliation" August 20, 2017

Genesis 45: 1-15 Matthew 15: 1-28 20 years ago, after being in ministry for a dozen years, I was mentoring a Seminary student in preaching, writing sermons, when it occurred to me that every sermon I preached and believe I would ever preach, is about “rebuilding trust”. That seems so simple, but all of us, all humanity in all places in every time throughout the history of the world, have had relationships with our parents, siblings, loved ones, co-workers, superiors, our children, neighbors, and God: broken with anger & hurt. This, is the most basic reason for our Sacraments; that in BAPTISM you would know, every single one of us hear and are made to remember: “You are loved! Almighty God claims you saying Well Done!” In COMMUNION, that Jesus gave a new LAW to love one another, offering his life for our brokenness, to reconcile us, and to God. But as simple as that realization, Reconciliation does not happen instantly. To truly reconcile, to forgive and rebuild trust, especially when shamed, insulted, violated for generations, is something that requires a lifetime to heal. When we do not talk about differences, when we do not and cannot listen to one another, when all we can do is protest and counter-protest and riot, our brokenness festers like infected wounds, like a cancer multiplying exponentially until there is nothing healthy left in us, we are defiled by what has come from our hearts out our mouths. Last time, as this summer we have been reading the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we left off with Jacob returning to reconcile with God and with his brother Esau, In the intervening of last week, another generation has gone by. Jacob’s beloved Rachel died, and their firstborn, Joseph, did not play well in the sandbox with his brothers, so his brothers roughed him up, stripped him naked, taking away Joseph’s most prideful possessions, and threw him down an abandoned well. I have always identified with Joseph, because I had elder brothers and the only time they let me play was to suspend me upside down, then drop me through the hayloft, when they built tire-swings to be test-pilot to see if the rope would break. Joseph’s brothers then sold him into slavery, telling their father there was no point searching for him because he had been killed by a beast and could not come home; while, by his slavers, Joseph was wrongly accused and sentenced to the dungeons to live out his days. Through an Act of God, Joseph is not only released from prison, but elevated to be the most powerful and influential ruler of Egypt, under Pharaoh. When a famine, similar to what has been happening in Northeast Africa today, afflicted the land, and all nations of people came as refugees to Egypt seeking aid. Given all Joseph has endured because of his brothers’ hatred, given all the power Joseph now possesses, how do we expect Joseph to respond to his brothers? Yet he forgives. As Post-Modern Deconstruction Historians we reinterpret Joseph sold his family into slavery to Egypt, Slavery that will lead to Moses and Israel’s Exodus. But Joseph provided for his family, he kept them alive, Joseph gave his brothers food and water, gave those whom he had justification to hate: land in Goshen. For Joseph it was not simply “forgive and forget”, the most-powerful man in the world, was heard weeping, and throughout his life Joseph provided for them, claiming “God used what you planned for evil, in order to provide you blessing.” Instead of your preacher cherry-picking which passages to preach which week, I have followed the Catholic Lectionary of the Vatican rotating passages over a three year cycle. The intrigue of this is that we and those who worship at St. Mary’s and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church can talk together, sharing insights, because in all honesty, none of us have all the answers. But this week, of all possible selections, we were given by the Lectionary this passage from Matthew. Most often what has caught my attention has been Jesus exchange with this woman. First, she is Canaanite, identifying that this is a passage about RACE. Quite literally, Jesus refers to her as less than human, as a mongrel beast. Second, she is a Woman, which in the Ancient World meant that by virtue of her gender she was not equal, without rights, without being counted among the population, without freedoms we take for granted. Third, she came in need, begging for help for one: NOT A SON OF ISRAEL. To discuss Racism is not a matter of being Politically Correct. Our lack of honesty about our feelings, Refusing acknowledgement of Race, has permitted atrocities to occur throughout human history. Religious Scholars have debated why the Bible demonstrates Jesus said what he did here, whether the Messiah could be wrong and corrected. I believe, the issue of RACE is so important, that this conversation is recorded, to call attention especially in the Church that horrible wrongs have been committed and need to be discussed. Of all the things that “have come out of people speaking this last seven days,” what has excited me, has been the words of the descendants of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis. Each of whom have emphatically stated their belief that their family’s Confederate Statues should no longer be displayed in Civic Parks, but should be moved to Museums, BECAUSE to many people Human Slavery was/is shaming as INHUMAN DOGS; BECAUSE in Museums there could be explanation and education about the Patriotism of these National Leaders; BUT ALSO, BECAUSE instead of riots, instead of protests, our Nation might finally sit down and talk about Race and Traditions, about Implicit Prejudices we have never admitted we owned. As much as we as a Nation take pride in being a Great Melting Pot of Diversity, in all being Created Equal, the TRADITION we are most embarrassed about, the Sin we never speak of : is Racism. Nothing will ever be done, no healing can ever take place, if we do not talk together, listen to those who differ from us, and consider the cost of forgiveness, consider our willingness for reconciliation and our desires not to do so. In his Second Inaugural Address, President Lincoln stated: “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war might speedily pass away. Yet IF GOD WILLS this war continue, until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred fifty years of unrequited toil be sunk, until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another’s drawn with the sword,… then as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves.”

"A Lonely Place Apart" August 6, 2017

Genesis 32:22-31 Matthew 14: 13-21 There is a routine to life. Sunset, sunrise, sunset, sunrise, Sunday comes once each week, which helps us maintain our balance and routine, order and schedule. Different from childhood, as an adult on vacation, I find I covet every day. But there come points in life, a birthday or anniversary, survival of trauma, loss and crisis that we find ourselves in a lonely place, apart. Not depression but self-examination. The Gospel of Matthew has a great deal more texture and emotion than Mark had. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus was Baptized, lived in the wilderness, ministered to by angels; when John the Baptist was killed, Jesus came out of the wilderness preaching “Repentance” carrying on the ministry of John. Matthew is different. According to Matthew, John was arrested and put in prison by Herod for preaching. John criticized Herod for having murdered Herod’s own brother in order to take the brother’s wife “Herodias” as his lover. Then Herod had a Great Banquet, a bacchanalia replete with excessive drinking, half-naked dancing girls, one of whom was Herodias’ own daughter, Herod’s niece: Salome, who so excited the Tetrarch that he offered her ANYTHING she desired, even half his kingdom, which as a puppet of Rome, with the reality of God, really was not his at all. At her mother’s request, Salome asked for John’s Head on a Platter. Some deaths hit us harder than others. My brother and I felt, when we reached the age our birth-mother had been when she had died, it was a very hard year. John being Jesus cousin, the mentor who had baptized Jesus; when he was executed as entertainment at a Banquet, Jesus sought to be alone… but the crowds followed. While all four Gospels tell the story of Jesus, with their own parables and teachings and miracles, even different naming of disciples, what they have in common is: Jesus’ Baptism, Feeding the 5000, Jesus’ Communion, and his death upon the Cross with Easter morning. I believe a shift happens here, for Jesus. In the 13 Chapters prior, Jesus has Called disciples and taught and sent them out to do great things. After this, Jesus will experience the Transfiguration, then go to Jerusalem, but in this moment, in this lonely place apart a miracle happens. There is a wonderful contrast in Banquets, between Herod’s Bacchanalia of excess, and Jesus’ Serving the 5000 men plus women and children. One is demonstration of satisfaction of our lusts even for death, the other is about serving others, care and compassion for others. The Miracle here is not that the Messiah used 3 loaves and 5 fish to feed 5000 people. This week, the Wednesday Bible Study glimpsed the Gospel of Thomas, with the Fabled Miracle that the boy Jesus helping his father the Carpenter, stretched a 2x4 to become as long as the other. If anything, instead of a multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, this is an example of “Division” because Jesus breaks the bread and gives it to them and they were balanced and satisfied. Over the centuries, preachers have come up with all kinds of explanations, many like Stone Soup where the listeners already had food hidden and were motivated to share. INSTEAD, the first MYSTERY of this, I Believe, is there is something glorious in the Breaking of the Bread… this is foreshadowing Communion and receiving and serving others, you are satisfied. I visited a man in the psychiatric ward several weeks ago, who was exceedingly agitated, the nurses said no medication they were giving him allowed him to quiet down and rest. But when we took bread, naming this as all the sins and brokenness of all the relationships of our lives and broke it, receiving, then took the cup as forgiveness and assurance of God’s grace; suddenly the man was calm. The Second Mystery here, is that in the Greek and Roman cultures, they believed that “The Gods” were either totally removed from human concerns and this world, or were vengeful and vindictive causing pain to people through flood, war, disease. YET here, the Son of God, our Messiah, has compassion on the crowd, he cares about their needs and does something about this. Related to this, he sends out his disciples to feed the people with this gift of grace and not only were they satisfied, they had an abundance of 12 baskets full left over. Which is the THIRD Mystery, that faith is not about knowledge, or understanding, myth or beliefs… FAITH is multiplied in acts of mission and compassion. As a church we functioned and did churchy stuff, even rebuilt the church in this community; but when we volunteered our time and resources in Mission trips serving others, when we began serving and sharing dinner at the Manor, when we developed relationships with the South Sudanese, it changed us. Mission has less to do with the good we do for others, than the fact, that doing mission changes us, changes the church and changes our faith. I love this story of Jacob. Because after 20 years of growing up in competition with his twin brother, growing up in competition for his parents’ love, where he literally was a HEEL, a USURPER trying to get ahead of those in his own intimate family by stealing their blessings; he has spent the next 20 years competing with Laban, tricking one another for who will win, how much they can get out of one another, teaching his wives to compete using everything at their disposal, their own good looks, their fertility, the fertility of their maids as concubines for Jacob, fertility drugs and myths; Jacob seems to have one last game to play. He is right back where he had had the dream of the Stairway to Heaven, and he learns that Brother Esau whom he always tricked is on his way with 400 men. Jacob divides up everything he possesses, sending half with one wife, and half with the other, even dividing these up into groups, so that if one is taken or destroyed, his legacy will live one. When after sending everyone ahead, Jacob is set apart in a lonely place. There is a subtlety, that in faith, to be “HOLY” literally means to be “Set Apart” so whether he intended this or not, Jacob is in a Holy Place, a Lonely place, Set Apart. Suddenly, in the dark of night he is jumped by a stranger, and they wrestle all through the night, competing to kill one another, competing for survival. Up until this moment, all the competitions of Jacob’s 40 years of life have been competitions to get ahead, but not competitions to live or die. So, like a great Mystery: we need to wonder, who is this attacker, the stranger, the Other? Is this God? Did Laban follow and attack him? Is the competitor: Jacob’s twin brother Esau? Could this be one of his wives, or concubines, or the eldest of his children? Everyone had MOTIVE to want to kill him. Everyone had Opportunity, with no alibis given. So who done it? Personally, having wrestled with this passage, I believe Jacob is finally wrestling with himself. Wrestling with whether he will admit to himself, he has been a HEEL, he been a USURPER stealing the blessings from those he loves, whether he will admit to himself the brokenness in his life and his need for forgiveness. And he wins, he walks away, with a limp, changed no longer ever the same. Different from Abraham and Isaac who know God and have relationship with God all their lives, for Jacob this is a catharsis of faith. God has been with Jacob, watching over him all his life, but now Jacob knows himself and God and goes out into the world.