The Pre Arrangement

How do you know that what you do is right, God's will, a sacred act, and not simply expedient? According to The Gospel of Matthew, John the Baptist came preaching Hell-Fire and Brimstone, Repent, Abstain, live Pure and Chaste lives, turning aside from all Evil, as an Elect, Righteous people; Jesus came and not only ministered to the most common people, Jew and Gentile, he associated and ate with the most disreputable, diseased, sinners. We live in a time of radical cultural change, do we simply bless whatever the culture dictates, or stand apart as ritualistically out of touch? When for several generations now, marriages have more likely ended than continued, how do you know this one will succeed? When asked about this Ann Landers replied, that “A marriage license is not a guarantee of a happy marriage, any more than a fishing license guarantees catching fish, it simply gives you the legal chance to try.” Every minister discerns that their particular Calling is unique, they possess gifts called upon in the place and time of a particular people. In the 1950s and 1960s, my Father developed churches in suburbs where there had been no community. My own Calling has been to re-visit circumstances that did not go well and attempt to experience differently with trust as an act of faith. When we rebuilt the Church, it was not as an act of architecture or engineering, but going back to the foundations of what we believe and are called to be. When we replaced the Organ, it was not to have the biggest, or best, but what would be necessary to support the faith and arts of this community. When we recreated the Manor it was not to make the facility new, but to respond to what each person wanted as their home. When we went to S.Sudan, it was not build a Clinic or a new nation, but to re-unite families lost because of war. This morning, we Baptize a new generation in this church, the 3rd and 4th generation of each family. But standing in the same place as generations before you, sacred words incanted by one ordained, does not guarantee: health, blessings, wisdom, faith. This day, we begin a new relationship, and we have tried having multiple pastoral leaders before, how do we ensure that this will work, when we have failed and condoned problems in our past? Throughout the last 40 years in American culture, we have had Pre-Nuptual Agreements, even Palimony Contracts, determining up-front, whose is what, in the event that the relationship does end. What I would suggest to you, is that the issue in any pre-agreement is not explicit in the fine print of the contract, but instead, in the naming of trust between the parties, that each person be honest with themselves and each other and God, and whether this agreement is only for dividing assets and worth, or whether we trust one another, and what do we trust them for? Once upon a time a pious holy man was wandering through Eastern Europe, when he came upon a village whose “Shochet” had died. The Shochet is a kind of Rabbi, who recites the prayers of atonement necessary for the killing of animals to be as offerings and sacrifices to God. The town butcher ran into this stranger, and recognizing him to be a holy man, asked if he happened to be a shochet? Miraculously, the stranger said he was! Delighted, the Butcher, took the rabbi to the slaughterhouse, that they might begin work as partners. As they settled in, the Shochet asked the Butcher if he might be advanced some money, that he might be able to purchase things necessary for him to live in the community and do his work. The butcher responded, “But you are a complete stranger, I only just met, how can I trust to lend you money?” The Rabbi responded, “You were going to trust me with the spiritual-well-being of this whole community, the restitution of your sins in relationship to Almighty God, even though you never before laid eyes on me, but when I ask you for a few coins, with my Word of repayment, you act as if you do not know me?” This morning's scripture from Genesis is the longest chapter in the book. The issue at hand, is in order for God's promise of future generations to be as many as there are stars in the heavens or sand upon the shore, there has to be a partner for Isaac. Ironically, in one single verse, the couple see each other, are married, go into the tent together and fall in love. The 66 verses before are about how this relationship is established as a sacred pre-agreement. After the death of Sarah, Abraham takes his most trusted servant, and gives him two commands: My Son Isaac who was born in this land and has never been in our ancestral homeland is NOT to go back there; and the wife that you find for him, is NOT to come from this Canaanite people. So you are this trusted servant, who makes an oath with your master to find a wife for his son and heir. How would you do it, what would you set out to do? Something tells me, that hosting an “American Idol” competition would not be successful. Nor would going on line to the dating Website for cheating spouses, or even Christian Singles. Instead, this servant takes his caravan to the marketplace, sitting beside the local well. He offers a prayer to God for revelation, that he would be cleared of all distraction, and the one of whom he asks a cup of cold water, who replies “Certainly and allow me to water your camels as well,” shall be the one. Realize that watering all the workers and camels in a caravan is no simple task and would be a sign of hard work, devotion to strangers, compassion to animals. Before the words have escaped the servants lips to God, a woman comes forward, of whom he asks a cup of cold water, and she offers to water his camels as well. To her, to her mother, to her brother, this series of events is retold again and again. A Faith Story, a Sacred act is not about logic or reason, or signs, it is a sacred story. Remember your story, of how you you met and fell in love? Remember the story of your wedding day? Remember your story of the Birth of your child and of their Baptism? Through the telling of stories, we claim each other, we fall in love. Years ago, I knew a couple who had an arranged marriage like this, wearing a veil, they did not actually see each other until after the wedding was done. I recall asking them about love, and they both blushed, and described that over 40 years together, they learned to love each other for who they were. In answer to the question of the New Testament, what do we do with these polar opposites? John the Baptist represented a faith of ancient purity and exclusivity, while Jesus demonstrated inclusion; and both were rejected by the people and culture! Neither one is right, nor is splitting the difference and trying to find a happy medium. Instead a sacred relationship requires that we be tolerant and inclusive, while also representing repentance from what any of us desire or want to instead doing what is right before God. As much as this was a sacred holy relationship of Rebecca being chosen by God, coming from a family that would be acceptable, a beautiful and intelligent woman, who is decisive and respectable, the fact of the matter for Genesis and all the remainder of Scripture, is that Rebecca is the one who causes a cultural shift. Where Law and custom dictated that the first born inherit everything, Rebecca would be the one who tricked her husband into blessing the younger instead. There can be no Pre-Agreement to cover every contingency. Instead, what we need is to know ourselves, and to be honest with one another about who we are and what we want. Then to act in the presence of God, that this is not just routine, but a sacred holy devotion of trust and commitment. However, there is also a unity, that Baptism is not an event unto itself. Marriage is not a one day celebration. There is also a Gathering at the Table, where we humbly confess we are all sinners. We need God and we need each other, and we are broken, wounded by our words and actions, the events of our lives, which cannot be restored without forgiveness and reconciliation.