"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.

"Choosing Between" July 30, 2017

Genesis 29: 15-28 Matthew 13: 44-52 How quick we are to judge and choose between options, as being wrong, rather than recognizing how blessed we are that we live in a time and place that we have choices. In Jesus’ parables of the Kingdom, would you value farmland because it is fertile and healthy, or only if you find a treasure in it? As a Jeweler, would you disregard a string of pearls for One of Great Value? All M&Ms in a bag for One green one? Over the last several weeks, I have listened to Grandparents describe that their grandchildren were not being raised with the same boundaries, traditions and customs that they had raised their kids, instead of recognizing we have the joy of grandchildren, and share miraculous resources as normal! The story of Jacob’s marriages and family, describe the circumstance of a family, having their customs, their faith and traditions, their identities based on birth-order, passed on from generation to generation; which then are challenged by a stranger, who demonstrates other ideas that are not wrong they are just different, and we have the choice between and maybe to include both. We probably need to insert the disclaimer here that Television and Radio shows do: “This morning’s sermon will include matters that may not be suitable for children... “Beauty, Love, Marriage, Infertility, Fertility drugs, Genetics, S-E-X.” Before you ask, there is no theme running here, that this week is about SEX and last week about Drugs and Rock & Roll, we just preach what the Bible and Holy Spirit give us! Jacob walked across the desert. Arriving at a Watering hole he does the unthinkable: Jacob asks for directions! Only to discover he is already, where he wanted to be! According to Tradition, the Shepherds of several different flocks patiently wait until all others have arrived, to share together in opening the floodgates, so to water their sheep equally. Jacob asked if they knew his Uncle Laban, and they respond that “Yes, Laban is known, He is very prosperous, and by the way here is his daughter.” Wanting to get Rachel alone, Jacob suggests that all the others leave so as to have her to himself, when they refuse because they have not yet watered their sheep, Jacob picks up the boulder it took several shepherds to move, and he waters their sheep himself! Break all customs of patiently waiting, working together, sharing water equally, Jacob has other ideas. Then, in addition to knowing she was his “wealthy relative’s” daughter, Jacob literally is knocked down by how drop-dead gorgeous Rachel is. He kisses her hand and weeps over how beautiful she is. Laban hears there is a stranger asking about him, so comes to the watering hole to meet Jacob and invite him home for dinner. Over the meal and the next few days, Jacob tells their family story to Laban, all about his parents…Laban’s sister & Isaac the brother-in-law, but also the time Jacob got the better of his brother Esau for a pot of stew, and how he tricked his father into giving him what the father intended for Esau. Much like the family stories that are told among our own kin over vacation. At which Laban affirms: “You are bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!” In my own family, my grandfather began a tradition, that when a couple is married, the night before the wedding, the father-in-law presents the bride with a pearl necklace. My Grandfather did so to my mother; my father gave my wife a pearl necklace; and as the minister in the family called upon to officiate weddings, not only do I have necklaces in case either of my sons ever marry, but I have given them to each of my nieces and cousins as I blessed their marriages. It is a family tradition. Laban responded to Jacob, “So if I give you a job, what wages do you desire?” Having not read President Trump’s The Art of The Deal, Jacob blurts out that he wants Rachel, and instead of negotiating a dowry of cattle, or working several years, he commits to seven years of hard labor to possess her. Laban agrees that trusting him is better than a stranger. There is this wonderful statement of love, that to Jacob 7 years passed as a few days! We are known for having Celebrations, especially Weddings, but Jacob’s Wedding lasted 7 days & nights, of feasting and drinking. However, the morning after the wedding night, Jacob discovers Laban tricked him, to consummate the marriage with Leah instead of her sister Rachel. Laban explains it is against their tradition and customs to marry a younger daughter before the first-born. There is an irony here, for Jacob who stole Esau’s right of first-born. At which Laban offers, that Jacob not give up, but finish out the week-long Wedding celebration, at the end of which he will be married to Rachel as well, if Jacob works another 7 years. Poor Rachel not only has to share her husband with sister, she does not get her own wedding! Now there is an odd translation here, because the same word in Hebrew could mean Weak or Beautiful. So either Leah, had Weak eyes, meaning she was near-sighted, squinted, her eyes were dull, had no sparkle, OR where her little sister was gorgeous …the only thing beautiful about Leah, was her eyes. Which again is ironic in a culture where women are veiled from head to foot, so the only thing visible was her eyes. While it is not our tradition to have more than one spouse at a time, the reality is that we marry: the strengths & weaknesses in one another, for better & worse. The difficulty in this story being that the two sisters compete for Jacob’s affections. When Leah does not have Jacob’s love, she consoles herself by bearing the children Rachel cannot. In rapid succession Leah gives birth to the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. HOWEVER, because she cannot conceive, Rachel is unsatisfied with Jacob’s love; and he reacts “Am I God, to grant you children or deny you?” Using the tradition of Jacob’s Grandma Sarah, Rachel produces the sons she desires: Dan and Naphtali, by Jacob through her slave Bilhah. Not to be outdone, Leah has Jacob impregnate her slave Zilpah, for children named Gad and Asher. Incorporating another family custom, the Superstition of Old Wives’ tales, there was a Fertility drug made from wild Mandrake Root. We probably know this better from the Harry Potter series, Mandrake roots bear a resemblance to a newborn baby, HOWEVER, Mandrake can produce the side-effects of :Total Paralysis, Psychotic Hallucinations, Death, Blurred Vision, Dilation of Pupils, Dry Mouth, Difficulty Urinating, Dizziness, Headache, Vomiting, Blushing, Rapid Heart Rate, Hyperactivity, Unconsciousness, Rheumatoid pains, Melancholy, Convulsions, Madness, and did we say Death! Really puts you in the Mood, does it not! And like several medications today, should not be handled by children. One day, Leah’s eldest son Reuben finds and pulls up several roots. Desperate for children, Rachel sells her sister a night in Jacob’s bed for Leah’s son’s mandrakes. No good turn goes unpunished, and Leah is suddenly able to get pregnant again, giving birth to Issachar, Zebulun, and a daughter Dinah. And finally a year after purchasing the mandrakes, Rachel becomes pregnant with Joseph. Having acquired 2 wives, 2 concubines, 11 sons and a daughter, Jacob wants to leave, to go home. But Father Laban says, “I have been blessed for having Jacob here; so tell you what, if you work for me another 6 years, for a total of 20, I will give you all the sheep and goats of my herd, that are born speckled or spotted, or anything but wholly black or white.” But, trying to fix the deal, that night Laban steals from the herd all the sheep that are in any way spotted, striped or marked, sending these off with his sons, leaving only all black or all white sheep and goats. A few years ago there were a series of books published about what you needed to do to have a female baby, versus a male, what foods to eat, what positions… Jacob believed that if while the sheep were breeding, they looked on stripes or spots, that is what would be born. So he whittled stripes and spots on sticks. Further tradition, is that he only put the striped and spotted sticks in front of the strongest and healthiest of sheep. So by the end of the 6th year, Jacob had the majority of the herd, and Laban’s were weak and sickly, while the sheep and goats of Jacob were strong. Realizing each has been tricked by the other, Laban and Jacob break all relationship with one another, cutting off each other, by establishing a Stone Altar, as a dividing line between them, with the vow “The Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent one from another.”

"Stairway to Heaven" July 23, 2017

Genesis 28: 10-22 Matthew 13: 24-43 Several years ago, a friend asked if I could come to their church to preach, and these were the passages. Looking for an illustration, and uncertain what I would find there, I went to Marcellus Hardware for “Nightingale’s Best Mixture” of Fescue, Rye and Blue. I did not need pounds of the stuff for a sermon prop, asking for a few pinches of seed, they charged me only 10 cents and separated this into two baggies one for good seed one for weeds that looked just the same. Arriving at Security, the Homeland Security Guard asked “What’s in the Baggies?” And I replied “2 Nickel Bags of Grass and Weed!” which made him jump up off the stool he was sitting on. He said “What?” and I responded “Jesus has this parable in Matthew about Grass and Weeds, so I was bringing along my own weed.” Which did not improve matters… So I switched to the Old Testament Passage from Genesis, and Jacob’s Dream of a Ladder to Heaven. The last several weeks as we have reflected on Genesis, we have come to know Abraham Sarah and Isaac who married Rebekah, and they had twins Jacob and Esau. I’ve always thought, Jacob makes it hard to love to him. Last week we read of how Jacob was born grasping at the heel of his brother, trying to be first. While Isaac favored his son Esau, Rebekah made certain Jacob was always her baby. Like being bribed by your brother to eat his vegetables, or choosing the largest dessert, Jacob bought Esau’s birthright for a bowl of Soup, the insult of which is that a person of faith is to always demonstrate hospitality, giving soup to a stranger. Then Jacob tricked their aged, blind father, sick in bed into giving him everything the father had to him in an irrevocable blessing. This morning, Rebekah is saying to her husband, “You know we have to launch Jacob, marrying him off to a nice girl. Not one of those trashy Hittite girls like his brother Esau married, but a good girl from the families in our hometown… Maybe my brother Laban knows some nice girls…” With that, Jacob is sent off to live with Uncle Laban, but it’s a long way to walk back to Ur of Chaldea, so on the way, Jacob lays down with a rock for a pillow. During the night he dreams dreams and visions. The Irish describe “Thin Places,” much like Skaneateles Lake, a natural place filled with emotions, a point where Heaven and Earth meet almost to touch, and Angels go back and forth between. At that time, Houses of worship were built in the shape of a beehive, called a Zugarat with stairs going up the outside. The size of the House of worship was not determined by the size of the congregation, but by how big and how high up in heaven was your God. For me, those thin places, connections between the reality of Earth and Heaven have not so much been places, as points in life, summers at the lake, mission trips, falling in love, being Ordained, the Baptisms our Children. Jacob did not awaken completely converted. The Hebrew has a wonderful word, to describe Jacob, he awakes “Over Raw” not Overwrought, but so exceedingly raw, there has to be another word for the experience. Jacob recognizes this as the Doorway to the House of God, so names the place “House of God”, Beth-el. He does not yet claim The Lord of his ancestors as being his God. He wants more. To some extent, Jacob is like the couple who desire to be married in their parents’ church, not their church, not their God, but the God who was faithful to ancestors, whom they will give a token if God will show them all the blessings they desires as well. There is no explanation or interpretation about the dream, all of that has come over time, by other people. Rarely do we hear the promise of Jacob to God. I think, that may be because it is too much like us, with flaws and weaknesses as well as strengths. When he awakes, Jacob makes an altar out of the pillow he dreamt upon… Except in typical fashion for Rebekah’s baby, Jacob still wants to barter and make deals for himself… Much like Scarlet O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, he defiantly raises his fist to Heaven: “IF God will be with me, and IF God will keep me safe in the way I go, and IF God will give me bread to eat, water to drink, and clothes to wear, and IF I come to my father’s house again in peace, THEN the God of my ancestors will be my Lord, this rock shall be an altar to God and out of all that is given me by God, I will return 1/10th.” 40 years ago when I graduated High School, Led Zepplin’s “Stairway to Heaven” was at the Top of the Charts, though it was never released as a single. According to the History of Rock & Roll, “Stairway to Heaven” is the 3rd most requested, recognized song in history! “Stairway to Heaven” was the theme for our Homecoming and our Prom, everyone knew that Guitar Solo by Jimmy Page and Robert Plan. But what I find amazing is how well the words describe Jacob’s Mother, Rebekah… “There’s a lady whose sure, All that glitters is gold, AND She’s BUYing a Stairway to Heaven! When she gets there she knows, if the doors are all closed, with a word she can get what she came for. There’s a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure, ‘cause you know words can have 2 meanings.” She believes in material things, and that possessing it all, is her stairway to heaven; even if when we get there all the doors are closed to her. The point this morning is that Heaven is not a place we built for God to dwell in, separate from earth with all our resources. All the universe belongs to God, the world is not left on remote control distant from God. These two realities, this life and the life-everlasting are intricately intertwined and inter-dependent. I grew up in a minister’s family, we went to church every Sunday, because it was what we did, in part because at that time there was nothing else on Sunday’s… but at a number of different points in life, I gave up the faith of my father for my own faith in God. God confirmed that this life, our lives are heaven and hell on earth.

"Ordinary Things" July 16, 2017

Genesis 25: 7-10, 19-34 Matthew 13: 1-23 I do not know why, but I walked to church today, and on the way to Church today, I was stopped by a friend, who thanked me for coming to his wife's Memorial. He said, she had had a terrible Cancer for years, and finally one day, having tried everything else I prayed for a miracle. It did not cure her cancer, but I got two miracles. First, the final morning of her life, I called my son to say she was passing, and he drove 11 hours, and was able to be here to hold her in his arms as she died. Second, all the churches, all the ministers and congregations, where I have preached and worshipped all came for her Memorial... In the midst of projects, replacing the floor in our home, which I call a vacation, a friend phoned, saying that her son and his wife and their 8 year old were visiting. The boy’s father was Christian and his mother Jewish, they wanted to wait until he was of age to decide for himself what to believe. Except how could he make a decision, when he had never been taught the truths of Judaism or Christianity? Suddenly this summer he had been filled with questions about God, so could they bring him over for me as the God-guy, to answer all his questions? Sitting in rocking chairs on the porch, trying to answer all the questions of an 8 year old, I believe may be as close as any of us will ever have to the experience of Jesus teaching parables from a boat off shore. My problem, like Jesus’, was how do you step into the middle of a person’s life, to tell them both what they want to know and what you believe is everything they need to know? We as human beings have a basic desire to understand life, we have questions about love and marriage, birth, death and meaning. We have been carefully taught over our lifetimes, that everything has a beginning, a middle and an end. But Jesus’ parables and the stories of the Bible are not one person’s explanation of everything; instead, using ordinary things, events we all might be able to relate to, the Bible in 1st Testament and Gospels, provides us analogies, which are like looking through a lens at who God is. Later this summer, on August 21st, there is to be a Total Eclipse of the Sun. We know this to be an exceedingly rare phenomenon, and that when it happens, you cannot look directly at it for fear of burning your retinas, instead, we look through refracted lenses, that is what a Parable or Bible story is. After so many torrential storms this summer, I thought about changing our sermon, to Noah and Ark, as something we all could relate to. But the point of that story is not that it rained for 40 Days and 40 Nights without ceasing, not that flooding and erosion took place that we can identify with; the point is that humanity had forgotten all about God and were each abusing others for what they wanted, so God determined to begin again with a remnant, one couple and their off-spring protected from chaos in an Ark of the Covenant. The point of that story is not how much it rained that summer, but our recognition of the sins in our lives, and that God could a would begin again with a precious remnant. Generations after Noah, instead of the story being explanation of all the World through Science, God chose a particular couple, whom we may see as like us: Abraham and Sarah. Now while their story is told for several chapters, the stories connect to significant events in their life. Their Calling from God, and their wandering in foreign places with other people; their infertility and desire for fulfillment by any means and the problems created; testing whether their desire after fulfillment, is as great as their trust in God? The death of a spouse and marriage of one’s adult children. The faith being carried on in the next generation, even with their own infertility. Infertility is treated as an ordinary thing, and a hard issue in the Bible. Today, 10% of the American population struggles with infertility. But in the Bible, the point of infertility was not just ability to conceive, but whether your life was blessed by God or hopes and dreams were denied you. Hard to understand in the moment, difficult circumstance sometimes prepare us for miracles, we otherwise would not see. But Isaac and Rebecca then give birth to twins. As familiar as this has become to us, even with fertility drugs and surgery, only about 3% of births are multiples. Imagine the difficulty this week in South Sudan, of twins being born to a woman, without all of our Western Medical intervention, only two Midwives, and the twins happened to present Breech! I think part of the importance of this, is the Bible explaining there are multiple ways to God, like twins wrestling in our womb, only one of which can we follow. What has been routinely neglected, that I think is the most wonderful part of the Story of Abraham, is that when he died, Isaac and Ishmael BOTH, TOGETHER, ancestor of Judaism and Christianity and the ancestor of Islam, buried their father. In the midst of this miracle, comes this oracle in verse 23 that “The One shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the Younger.” This is not the way of the world. There is something dark in Jacob, always insisting, grasping for more, exploiting opportunities. This is a profound theological claim, that all opportunities are not open to us. It does not suggest we are denied freedom, but there is destiny. Some options are closed, some choices denied; YET God has the power to make Promises and fulfill them in spite of human expectations. We are not FATED to the way the world is presented to us. Primogeniture, the rights of the first-born, was not a Law from God, it is cultural tradition, human nature. Jacob will contest with the way things are. There is nothing wrong, or evil in Esau, he simply had the context of being Jacob’s twin. Over the centuries, people have interpreted this parable of Jesus in so many ways. What is fabulous about parables, is there is no one way to interpret, and our ordinary circumstance routinely brings new understanding. What I love about the Story of the Sower of Seeds, at this point in life, is that God is the sower of grace, and as precious as God’s Grace is, God does not sow miracles as if single seed planted for maximum yield and productivity. I have a brother who is a specialist in Dairy Science, he is paid to walk onto your farm knowing how to increase the maximum output from each cow. God is unconcerned with maximum output or efficiency, Grace is scattered by God like a carpet upon the earth. There are abundance for everyone, if we only have eyes to see. The secret to life is knowing what is in your control and what is not. In the ministry, there is a lot that we have absolutely no control over. Oh, we try to do things in the most efficient manner, with the greatest of expertise, but the number of Baptisms, Believers, Births, The number of Weddings, the number of Funerals, are not in our control. But we can help with the ordinary things, listening to the questions of an 8 year old, and trying to respond as best we can.

"Seek Ye First" June 25, 2017

Genesis 21: 8-21 Matthew 10: 11-39 Have you ever started a project, begun a meeting, come home to cook supper, and no matter how hard you try, things do not go right? Yet, when we begin, if first we pause, to see that we have everything we need, to check-in with one another, if we first center ourselves in prayer seeking to be right with God, somehow we accomplish a great deal more, in the same allotted time, because all impediments, all the distractions are removed. 6 times in the last 70 years, the Supreme Court has ruled that in Schools, at Football games, at Graduations, you cannot be prayed upon, but there is nothing preventing each of us, from acting on our own faith to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” This morning Amelia is being Baptized and 9 Graduating! As much as we have hopes and dreams for you, to succeed, curing Cancer, making a fortune, having a highly respected reputation, with great love; our prayer is that you Seek God, Ask that the doors be open to you, and all the rest will happen. Know that wherever you go, whatever happens, we will love you and pray for you. A few weeks ago my eldest phoned one evening, he is now almost 31. I knew I was in trouble as he started off saying “Dad, I hope you won’t be mad. I know that you folks worked hard and made sacrifices, taking on debt to pay for my college education. But after working at that field for 10 years, I am no longer happy or satisfied. I know you will worry about where I will live, and how I will afford rent. I know you will worry about where I will get food. I know you will worry what I will do, but I have quit my job without having another to go to.” When I could get a word in, I responded, “I appreciate all that you have said, but I am not worried. Because in all that you have stated, you have not said, I am moving home for you to pay my bills!” I know that you will be okay, and we are proud of you for knowing you were unhappy and could do more and are doing what you need. There is tension in our Scriptures, this morning. Our Old Testament, before Christianity, existed as the Jewish Bible. We know well the Sacrifice of Isaac Chap 22, but the sacrifice of Ishmael is just as heart-rending and painful for Abraham. Genesis struggles, because this is the Sacred text for Israel, and appropriated by Christianity, yet Abraham had another child, a first-born, whom the Bible has to acknowledge. You recall from Confirmation that there was a Law of Progeniture, that the 1st-born inherits everything, and the younger nothing; yet time and again God’s Promise was fulfilled through the other child. This is especially sacred, because Ishmael the first-born had been the Child according to the Law; he was a child born out of precise manipulation, trying to get one’s way, whom God will love and provide for as being Child of the Law. Isaac is Child of the Promise, whose life is a gift of God’s grace. The story is that Abram and Sarai had been unable to conceive, so Sarai controlled fate by having Abram impregnate her Egypt Slave, Hagar, who was Sarai’s property. Then after Ishmael was born, Sarah was able to give birth to Isaac, and the laugh that was on Sarah was that her son, because of her actions, was not first-born. Not to be outwitted, Sarah demands her Slave Hagar and Hagar’s child be exiled. Just as your fathers will be when you leave home, Abraham is doing what he knows must be, but with a personal sense of loss, foreboding. Amazing that in Judaism’s Hebrew Bible, we have record what happened to Hagar and Ishmael, traveling off into the desert. Their water gone, Ishmael is dropped beneath a bush, as Hagar the Egyptian prays to God, and God hears Ishmael & Hagar, opening her eyes to see the waterhole a few meters away she had not witnessed. The Hebrew Bible affirms God cares and loves Ishmael; surprising because Ishmael is the ancestor of Islam; Ishmael the father of the Arab people; referenced again in Isaac’s son Esau, marrying a daughter of Ishmael: and Joseph being sold by his brothers to nomadic Ishmaelites who take Israel’s son to Egypt. Jesus commissioned his disciples to go out into the world in pairs, not to repeat what he had done, for a student can never surpass his teacher, but to follow your own prayer and calling. Imagine being paired with Judas, or with Thomas the doubter, or with Simon Peter. For the last year Hamilton has been the hot-ticket on Broadway. How many of you in the congregation were History Majors? How many of you would have thought that the Revolutionary War would have been the focus of Rapp and Jazz, Hip Hop and R&B Ballads for the 21st Century? Like Ishmael and Isaac, like the disciples being sent out in pairs, the musical follows two men, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Burr was the son of Rev. Aaron Burr the President of The College of New Jersey, later renamed Princeton University. His mother was the daughter of the Great Awakening Theologian Jonathan Edwards. But Aaron Burr was orphaned at age 3 and raised by his uncle. Burr and Hamilton grow up together. Burr had a distinguished military career, then went to Law School, and as an Attorney made great fortunes, becoming New York State’s Attorney General, then went into Politics as Senator from NY, and became Thomas Jefferson’s Vice President. However, the point of the play is that with all his position, education, power and influence, Aaron Burr refused to take a stand, even for what he knows to be right. Not a matter of political correctness, Burr refused to lead until he knew the majority. Like Alexander Hamilton rallying Revolutionary Soldiers, Jesus spoke to his disciples to live with boldness. “What you have heard in the dark, tell in the light; what has been whispered, preach to the housetops.” In that spirit, I would speak out on four matters this morning. We live in extremely polarized times, arguing over whether there is Global Warming or we are experiencing Cyclical Changes... But I would tell you it’s getting hot. I would challenge you that we have more than an opportunity, we bear Responsibility and obligation to care for the Creation God has gifted us. We have known the pristine purity of this lake and unspoiled wilderness that need to be protected from spoil. Not as means of keeping things the way they once were, but because this cannot ever be replaced. I have a friend, whose church is entirely covered in solar panels, because the Church serves as a witness to the world. As your pastor these last twenty and more years, we have witnessed a great many events, this small part of God’s Creation has known great tragedy and loss. However, I have known two times in all these years where I have been embarrassed. In each, people bought land that was for sale. What I have been embarrassed by is that neighbors and friends in this community have insulted and denigrated one another. If you care about what happens to a parcel, then you buy it. If not, then trust that God knows every hair on your head, God cares even about a sparrow, so trust one another and trust God. This passage from Matthew has often been misinterpreted as if to say that if you cannot get your way, if you feel unwelcomed shake off your sandals at one another. I once heard of a pastor who became so fed up with their congregation that on their last day, threw his shoe at the congregation. That is not what this passage states. Rather , that when you have encountered difficulty, when there are hardships, do not carry that experience with you into the next, instead shake off the past experience and go forward without the dust on your feet, Seek the Kingdom of God and God’s Righteous, and all these things will be added unto you. I have but one last thing to say this morning… Wherever you go, whatever you do, you have a home here, and you are loved.

"Hospitality" June 18, 2017

Genesis 18: 1-15 Matthew 9:35-10:8 Last week, to emphasize Christ’s Great Commission, we began with illustration that annually Coach Vince Lombardi started practice by emphasizing The Fundamentals. Unfortunately, after the Worship service someone came up to me saying “Okay Coach, So our purpose is to Win! Our Goal is to do great things, to attract more members, to build up the Financial Reserves, Budget and Program, to do great acts of charity and mission locally and around the world.” And I cried out saying “NO we do not score points or touchdowns. We do not win!” Ever since the 1950s, we have adopted the Pop-Psychology: I’m Okay/You ‘re Okay; when the truth is: “I AM NOT OKAY! You are not Okay! BUT that is okay, God Cares! The World has diminished the humanity of people and the divinity in us... We have wasted the Gift that is God’s Creation, using everything up, in order to win. Instead of attempting to imitate the world, demanding Success as the world measures success, the Church, this Body of Christ, needs to be Counter-Cultural! We need to be weird! Instead of deferring maintenance, we need to boldly act. People come to Church because the goals and priorities and values of the world have not satisfied. Christian faith requires a reorientation of Self, because winning is so much a part of our life. This reorientation of Faith, is like the reorientation of Fatherhood, and like Hospitality. One minute, you are living life for yourself, taking everything as it is, striving only to get more; when suddenly, you are a Father. I would be the first to acknowledge the hardships on a woman’s psyche, body and spirit by laboring to give a child. But women have 9 months to acclimate to becoming a mother. When you become a Father, suddenly in a moment, you are changed to live life for others, Hosting another. One of the greatest tragedies of our culture, is that we no longer know how to be HOSPITABLE! Communicating through Social Media, we choose whether we want to accept one another or not. We choose whether to defend ourselves by only sending an emote, or 132 characters, or leaving a text message, or by talking to one another as if on a telephone, whether to see one another as we talk, but still this is nothing like hosting another in your home, being present with one another. I remember our parents having parties when we were in 6th and 7th grade, in order that we would learn to practice being social. Being HOSPITABLE is greeting each and every guest, sincerely saying “I am so delighted you are present here”, paying attention to their needs, and as they depart sincerely entreating that you wish they did not leave so soon. The vital importance of HOSPITALITY is that you come to realize that all that we possess is here to be shared with others. For me, the greatest awareness of faith came in recognizing that while we labored, and worked for years, spending millions of dollars restoring this church, creating health care in East Africa, a home for elders in this community, NONE of this belongs to us. This is God’s House and God’s Table, and we are gifted with being in this temporary moment in time. Too often, we hear sermons preached on this passage from Matthew, that if others do not receive you as a welcome guest with a great treasure to share, you should shake the dust off your shoes at them. THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. Instead, that when not received, leave the dust of that place and experience behind you, because you are going to Holy Ground and who wants to carry that hate with them! In the heat of the day, Abraham has been sitting in a temporary place of comfort, a place of shade appreciating life. That is SABBATH. Abraham is a perfect HOST, leaping up when he sees strangers approach, and greeting strangers as loved ones. Offering to wash their feet, giving them bread made of the finest flour, literally killing the fatted calf. Faith is not bartered for or bought, as are possessions in our culture. You do for others, expecting nothing in return, because that is who you are. When in this story, after they have eaten, the three strangers reveal themselves to be Messengers of God, knowing what God knows, bestowing Blessings. This morning’s reading is not about Abram and Sarai. 24 years before they left home and family to follow where God would lead. But over this journey of 24 years, Abram was changed from a name that means “Exalted Elder”, to Abraham, a name that means “Father of Many Generations.” Sarai whose name meant “Princess” has been changed to Sarah which means Mother of Kings/Nations”. What they are promised was nothing new. It was the repeated Promise of the last 24 years. Early on, it hurt, having a promise unfulfilled, waiting without a light at the end of the tunnel, trying to believe against the reality of life. Their HURT turned to ANGER, and over time Anger mellowed to cold resignation, as a bit of them died. Sarah is no longer the “little princess” believing everything is going to be given to her. So when this Promise is given to a 90 year old Woman, she laughs at the Impossibility, literally the Inconceivable. Humor is difficult to quantify, everyone from Aristotle to Schopenhauer, to Freud have tried to understand and explain humor, much like explaining a joke. Reinhold Niebuhr described that HUMOR is the PRELUDE TO FAITH. What he meant was that confronting the incongruous, confronting the contradiction of the impossible being in reality, can lead us to trust God. When Charlie Chaplin slipped on a Banana Peel, when the Three Stooges twisted one another’s nose with a Wrench, we laughed at the absurdity, the slapstick, the indignity. That kind of humor allowed us permission to stand outside ourselves, to realize the roles and situations, all were pretense and sham and meaningless. This was a guard against taking ourselves too seriously. If you have ever had a really horrible day in a series of stressful days, and suddenly you are caught off guard to laugh until you cry, then you know what I mean. These are the moments, the tears and laughter that save marriages. However, there are incongruous moments when we see ourselves, when we do not laugh. What I find truly heart-breaking, is that Charlie Chaplin, and the Three Stooges were born out a time of the Great Depression between World Wars, when all the world was life and death, there was not food to eat, or a future for your children or grandchildren to believe in. Today, we live in greater prosperity and luxury than the world has ever known, and we insult one another, we refuse to laugh at ourselves. Human beings aspire to take on the Cosmos, to leave a lasting mark on all time and space, even more to conquer everything. Pascal described that “standing on Earth, looking up at the stars, we can feel pretty big.” The difficulty came with the Mercury and Apollo missions, when at the end of our universe, we were given glimpses of earth, all the lines of distinction between us as Humans, Nations and Continents were dwarfed to insignificance. Confronting the impossible, facing life and death, facing the contradiction of everything we tried to win being of little to no value, that is the Prelude to Faith. The difference is whether we stop there laughing in embarrassment, with Sarah, or whether we allow ourselves to be surprised. The Stranger responds to Sarah: “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” I love the Hebrew translation here, as the name of God in Hebrew is I AM, so “Is anything IMPOSSIBLE for I AM?” Years ago, between Brooklyn and Long Island, there was a Baptist Minister. A committed bachelor, he had devoted his time to study earning seven advanced degrees including two PhD’s one from Dartmouth, the other from Columbia, when suddenly at age 72 he faced mandatory retirement. He became depressed, laying in bed, saying: I pastored this church, but never really won souls to Christ, I will be gone and no one really cares. Seven days later, he met a Pastor from India, and invited him to preach. After the worship service, the Indian Pastor returned the favor, inviting this Minister to India to preach. The Minister described the mandatory age of retirement, and that he was going to Florida to live out his days. The Indian described that in his home people respected a man after his hair turned white. The Minister prayed about this and decided to go. His congregation asked “What if you die in India?” The Minister replied “India is just as close to heaven as it is from here.” So he sold his home, books and furniture, placed his possessions in a trunk and booked One-Way passage. Arriving in Bombay, his trunk had been lost, and on the streetcar his passport and wallet were stolen. He arrived at the Monastery, where they welcomed him, but stated that his friend had stayed in America and they had nothing for him to do. The Minister decided he would make an appointment to see the Mayor of Bombay. The Missionaries replied, they had tried for years but never been received. However, the next day, appearing at the Mayor’s offices, as an American with White Hair, he presented his Business Card with 7 academic degrees, and assuming he must have some great important business, not only did the Mayor grant him audience, but a High Tea for the Nation’s dignitaries in his honor. The Minister wound up sharing his faith for three hours. Among the guests was the Director of India’s version of West Point, who invited the Minister to become Chaplain. So at age 72 he began a 16 year ministry, traveling the world. There is a thriving Church at Calcutta, and a Christian body at Hong Kong because of this faith. He died one afternoon in Bombay, believing he was just as close to Heaven in India as he had ever been in America.