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Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
An Easter Reflection
Matthew 28:1-10
“There is a widely told story about Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, who suffered ill health as a child. One night the nurse found him up, out of bed, with his nosed pressed against the window. ‘Come here, child,’ she said to him, ‘you’ll catch your death of cold.’ But he wouldn’t budge. Instead he sat, mesmerized, watching a lamplighter slowly working his way through the black night, lighting each street light along his route. Pointing to him, Robert said, ‘See, look there; there’s a man poking holes in the darkness.’” (1)
We all love stories that poke holes in the darkness, as a matter of fact we hunger for them. For example In October of last year, we watched with baited breath 33 Chilean miners emerge from their 69 day entombment through a rescue capsule one by one. And now after the recent earthquake in Japan we marvel at each miracle story shared by the survivors, like the one about the four month old girl who was swept from her parents arms during the tsunami being pulled out of rubble three days later virtually unharmed. And the one about the young man, thought to be dead, pulled out of the rubble eight days after the earthquake. And even this week we are counting down to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton as their love story begins to pokes holes in the darkness of the long line of loveless royal marriages.
Today we celebrate the story of God poking a hole in the darkness of the brokenness of the human condition through the resurrection of his son Jesus. Last week I did a dramatic reading of Jesus’ passion according to Matthew. In it was shared in the story of Jesus’ struggle. We remember that Jesus was betrayed by one of own, put to trial on trumped up charges, he was beaten, mocked and nailed to a cross. At the end of the story the men who were his disciples scattered and the women are standing in the shadow of the cross. When Jesus was buried, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remain at the tomb sitting vigil.
It is these same two women who went to Jesus’ tomb on the first day of the week to anoint Jesus’ dead body with oil and spices for it was what women did for their loved ones when they died. And behold when they came to the tomb all these apocalyptic things started happening, the earth shook, an angel came down from heaven, rolled away the stone that sealed the tomb and sat on it. The soldiers guarding the tomb quaked in fear and fainted dead away. And the angel looked at the women and said, “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid, now I don’t know about you but whenever I hear that phrase I become very afraid. Anyone who has ever traveled by plane knows the sinking feeling your stomach gets when in-flight the pilot gets on the intercom and says “We are experiencing an unusual amount of turbulence on our flight today, but let us assure you that there is no reason for concern.”
And yet, in spite of the turbulence that is happening all around Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were able to hear the angel’s words as comfort because they knew that the angel was and agent of God and the words “Do not be afraid” was a prophesy. The angel told them that the one they are looking for Jesus who was crucified was not there, for he had risen from the dead and is going ahead to Galilee just as he promised his followers. The women left the tomb quickly dizzy with emotion, both joyful and fearful at the same time. And as they were made haste to the 12 disciples they suddenly see the risen Christ. Now Jesus could have made his first resurrection appearance to anyone he wanted and yet instead of appearing to those who killed him, those in power, or to those who ran from him, his 12 disciples, Jesus appeared to those who stood by him throughout the his trial and execution, the women. And it was the women who were first given the joyful commission of proclaiming Christ’s resurrection to the world! To tell all that the darkness of Jesus’ death on Good Friday has been poked through by the light of resurrection so that all who believe in him may not die but have life everlasting!
But what does that mean for us, especially those of us for whom the Good Friday darkness lingers large in our lives today: be it mourning the death of a loved one, an illness, family discord, the loss of economic security. We remember that when the two Mary(s) went to the tomb that first day of the week they were devastated and they were fearful. But what they encountered at the tomb went beyond their wildest imaginations. They met an angel, they ran into the risen Christ. In the midst death and destruction, indeed they saw that God has created a new thing, that God had poked a hole in the darkness of death with the promise of eternal life. “This empty tomb is about the fulfillment of God's purposes, the same God who long before spoke of ‘new heavens and a new earth.’ has given us Easter Sunday ‘the first day of God's new week, the moment of sunrise after the long night, the time of new meetings, new meals, of reconciliation and new commissioning. It was the beginning of the new creation. It was, therefore, the sign of hope for the future, not only for individuals but for the whole world….The personal hope for resurrection is located within the larger hope for the renewal of all creation" (2) Resurrection puts before us the possibility of hope even in the midst of trial. The hole that is poked in our darkness may feel like it is only a pinprick, but it is a speck of light nonetheless. It helps us to dream of a different kind of world than the one we actually live in, a world where God’s justice reigns and all live in right relationship.
If justice is what God really wants, the resurrection proves it. Jesus was killed by those who feared him only to have God raise him from the dead to show us the promise of God’s love and grace. The empty tomb shows us that God is in charge and that even the violence of death on a cross cannot contain God’s aim to defeat the power of death and set things right for all of God’s creation. Today we sing Alleluia; he is risen because we want to celebrate the assurance of the new beginnings that resurrection brings.
The message is as the choir sang this morning, “They buried my body and they thought I’d be gone, but I am the Dance and I still go on. They cut me down and I leapt up high; I am the life that’ll never, never die.” May it be so. Amen.
(1) Peter James Flamming, Poking Holes in the Darkness: 14 Other Sermons You Just Can’t Sleep Through (Richmond: Monument Avenue Press, 1992.), 1.
(2) Kathryn Huey “Sermon Seeds” http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/april-4-2010.html?print=t
“There is a widely told story about Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, who suffered ill health as a child. One night the nurse found him up, out of bed, with his nosed pressed against the window. ‘Come here, child,’ she said to him, ‘you’ll catch your death of cold.’ But he wouldn’t budge. Instead he sat, mesmerized, watching a lamplighter slowly working his way through the black night, lighting each street light along his route. Pointing to him, Robert said, ‘See, look there; there’s a man poking holes in the darkness.’” (1)
We all love stories that poke holes in the darkness, as a matter of fact we hunger for them. For example In October of last year, we watched with baited breath 33 Chilean miners emerge from their 69 day entombment through a rescue capsule one by one. And now after the recent earthquake in Japan we marvel at each miracle story shared by the survivors, like the one about the four month old girl who was swept from her parents arms during the tsunami being pulled out of rubble three days later virtually unharmed. And the one about the young man, thought to be dead, pulled out of the rubble eight days after the earthquake. And even this week we are counting down to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton as their love story begins to pokes holes in the darkness of the long line of loveless royal marriages.
Today we celebrate the story of God poking a hole in the darkness of the brokenness of the human condition through the resurrection of his son Jesus. Last week I did a dramatic reading of Jesus’ passion according to Matthew. In it was shared in the story of Jesus’ struggle. We remember that Jesus was betrayed by one of own, put to trial on trumped up charges, he was beaten, mocked and nailed to a cross. At the end of the story the men who were his disciples scattered and the women are standing in the shadow of the cross. When Jesus was buried, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remain at the tomb sitting vigil.
It is these same two women who went to Jesus’ tomb on the first day of the week to anoint Jesus’ dead body with oil and spices for it was what women did for their loved ones when they died. And behold when they came to the tomb all these apocalyptic things started happening, the earth shook, an angel came down from heaven, rolled away the stone that sealed the tomb and sat on it. The soldiers guarding the tomb quaked in fear and fainted dead away. And the angel looked at the women and said, “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid, now I don’t know about you but whenever I hear that phrase I become very afraid. Anyone who has ever traveled by plane knows the sinking feeling your stomach gets when in-flight the pilot gets on the intercom and says “We are experiencing an unusual amount of turbulence on our flight today, but let us assure you that there is no reason for concern.”
And yet, in spite of the turbulence that is happening all around Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were able to hear the angel’s words as comfort because they knew that the angel was and agent of God and the words “Do not be afraid” was a prophesy. The angel told them that the one they are looking for Jesus who was crucified was not there, for he had risen from the dead and is going ahead to Galilee just as he promised his followers. The women left the tomb quickly dizzy with emotion, both joyful and fearful at the same time. And as they were made haste to the 12 disciples they suddenly see the risen Christ. Now Jesus could have made his first resurrection appearance to anyone he wanted and yet instead of appearing to those who killed him, those in power, or to those who ran from him, his 12 disciples, Jesus appeared to those who stood by him throughout the his trial and execution, the women. And it was the women who were first given the joyful commission of proclaiming Christ’s resurrection to the world! To tell all that the darkness of Jesus’ death on Good Friday has been poked through by the light of resurrection so that all who believe in him may not die but have life everlasting!
But what does that mean for us, especially those of us for whom the Good Friday darkness lingers large in our lives today: be it mourning the death of a loved one, an illness, family discord, the loss of economic security. We remember that when the two Mary(s) went to the tomb that first day of the week they were devastated and they were fearful. But what they encountered at the tomb went beyond their wildest imaginations. They met an angel, they ran into the risen Christ. In the midst death and destruction, indeed they saw that God has created a new thing, that God had poked a hole in the darkness of death with the promise of eternal life. “This empty tomb is about the fulfillment of God's purposes, the same God who long before spoke of ‘new heavens and a new earth.’ has given us Easter Sunday ‘the first day of God's new week, the moment of sunrise after the long night, the time of new meetings, new meals, of reconciliation and new commissioning. It was the beginning of the new creation. It was, therefore, the sign of hope for the future, not only for individuals but for the whole world….The personal hope for resurrection is located within the larger hope for the renewal of all creation" (2) Resurrection puts before us the possibility of hope even in the midst of trial. The hole that is poked in our darkness may feel like it is only a pinprick, but it is a speck of light nonetheless. It helps us to dream of a different kind of world than the one we actually live in, a world where God’s justice reigns and all live in right relationship.
If justice is what God really wants, the resurrection proves it. Jesus was killed by those who feared him only to have God raise him from the dead to show us the promise of God’s love and grace. The empty tomb shows us that God is in charge and that even the violence of death on a cross cannot contain God’s aim to defeat the power of death and set things right for all of God’s creation. Today we sing Alleluia; he is risen because we want to celebrate the assurance of the new beginnings that resurrection brings.
The message is as the choir sang this morning, “They buried my body and they thought I’d be gone, but I am the Dance and I still go on. They cut me down and I leapt up high; I am the life that’ll never, never die.” May it be so. Amen.
(1) Peter James Flamming, Poking Holes in the Darkness: 14 Other Sermons You Just Can’t Sleep Through (Richmond: Monument Avenue Press, 1992.), 1.
(2) Kathryn Huey “Sermon Seeds” http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/april-4-2010.html?print=t
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Jesus Wept
John 11:1-45
Most of us who have gone to Bible camp have had the conundrum of having to pick a Bible verse to memorize. I remember most of the kids picking either John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son…” or the shortest verse of the Bible, John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” RSV translation. It is quite puzzling this verse. Why would Jesus weep when he knew exactly what was going to happen. As the story goes, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, he knew that Lazarus’ illness would not lead to death but to the glory of God and so he stayed two days longer in the place in the place where he and his disciples were staying. A few days later just before Jesus and his disciples leave for Judea, Jesus says them, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so you may believe. But let us go to him.” (11:14-15)
Now, Mary and Martha are at home mourning the loss of their brother Lazarus. They do not understand why Jesus had not immediately come to them when they sent a messenger to let him know that Lazarus was ill. Jesus was their close friend. Surely, they thought, Jesus would come not only because he loved Lazarus, but also because he knew that Mary and Martha depended on Lazarus for their very livelihood. Women at that time could not live without a male to head their household. If Lazarus died, they could lose everything they have, their home, their farm, their money to the nearest living male relative because women were not allowed to own property.
In the days following Lazarus’ death Mary and Martha sit shiva for their brother. This is a Jewish tradition of mourning where all regular activity is interrupted and immediate family members do not leave their house for seven days to mourn the loss of their relative. Imagine how angry Mary and Martha were by the time Jesus meandered into Bethany with his disciples. Martha was so angry that she broke shiva, she left the house, ran out of the village and confronted Jesus on the street. In her pain she grabs his shirt and shakes him, chastising him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (11:21) She thought that if Jesus had come when he first heard word of Lazarus’ illness, that he could have prevented his death. But even as she is accusing Jesus of neglect she also leaves open the possibility that something could still be done, “But even now I know God will give you what ever you ask of him.” (11:22) We don’t know what she was asking for, perhaps some guarantee of security for her and her sister Mary now that they are without a man to take care of them.
Jesus tells her , “Your brother will rise again.”
Well duhh!!! Martha thinks to herself, “I know he will rise again, we all will on the last day when we are in heaven.” But Jesus goes on, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha has an ah ha moment, something clicks and she gets what is happening. She confesses her faith “Yes Lord, I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” She goes home to get Mary.
When Martha told Mary privately “the teacher is here and is calling for you.” (John 11:28) Mary got up and went to where Jesus was, quite angry and ready to give him a piece of her mind. Her friends follow her out of the house thinking that Mary was going to mourn at Lazarus’ grave. When she sees Jesus, she is so overcome with emotion, she collapsed at his feet and wailed to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved…Jesus began to weep.” (John 11:32-33, 35) Some note that is unusual for the author of the Gospel of John to make so many references to Jesus’ humanity, his being upset, his being effected by another person’s emotions and his crying because the emphasis of this particular gospel is about Jesus’ divinity. (1) Yet in spite of his divine self, the humanness of Jesus overcomes him and Jesus wept. The Jews think Jesus was weeping because he lost a close friend, but they don’t know what Jesus was thinking. Perhaps Jesus was crying out of frustration, angry at Martha and Mary’s disbelief. Perhaps he was crying because he though God was cruel to cause Lazarus to die just to prove a point. Perhaps Jesus knew the consequences of what he was about to do, that in his rising Lazarus from the dead, the religious authorities would become threatened and begin to plot to put Jesus to death.
Yet in spite of the obstacles which included the possibility of his own death, Jesus knew what he needed to do. Jesus ordered that the stone to be rolled away and called out, “Lazarus, come out!” and Lazarus came out of the tomb still bound by his wrappings. Jesus then told the people, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (11:44b)
What is interesting is how the different characters in this gospel story react to this situation. The disciples as always are clueless and in the beginning Mary and Martha are clueless too. The disciples and the sisters are only thinking of the obstacles whereas Jesus thinks of the possibilities. At the beginning of the story when Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples responded in fear “The last time we were in Judea you made the people so mad that they tried to stone us and you want to go back again?!?” But Jesus wasn’t thinking about the threats but rather the possibilities to bring about new life. When Jesus encountered Martha and Mary, the sisters are so consumed with their grief and anger that they yelled at Jesus. When Jesus spoke of resurrection the sisters think that he’s talking about heaven whereas Jesus is speaking of the possibility of new life in their present day. The disciples and the sisters are bound up in the grave cloth of their anxiety, their hopelessness, and their fear and Jesus tells them to unwrap their bindings with the hope of life and resurrection. Jesus wept, not because Lazarus had died, but because his friends are unable to see beyond the obstacles.
In my ministry I have encountered people who are unable to see the possibility of new life. They were bound in various ways. The man addicted to alcohol, living on the streets, unable to see life without drinking. The gang member recovering from a gunshot wound, unable to see life beyond the age of twenty one. The woman living in an abusive relationship, unable to see her worth. The government contemplating deep cuts to social programs, unable to see the abundance in other places. It is because of these that we the church is called to share the possibility for resurrection and life when the obstacles of fear and hopelessness get in the way. That we as a community of faith find ways to release persons and communities from the bindings of addiction, violence, hatred and greed, to tear away the wrappings of fear, anxiety, loss, and grief so that unbound women, men and children might be released from the clutches of death and begin new life. (2) May it be so. Amen.
(1) Frances Gench, “The Gift of Life.” Encounters with Jesus: Studies in the Gospel of John. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007), 88.
(2) Veronice Miles “John 11:1-45: Pastoral Perspective.” Feasting on the Word: Year A Lent Through Eastertide. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 144.
Most of us who have gone to Bible camp have had the conundrum of having to pick a Bible verse to memorize. I remember most of the kids picking either John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son…” or the shortest verse of the Bible, John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” RSV translation. It is quite puzzling this verse. Why would Jesus weep when he knew exactly what was going to happen. As the story goes, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, he knew that Lazarus’ illness would not lead to death but to the glory of God and so he stayed two days longer in the place in the place where he and his disciples were staying. A few days later just before Jesus and his disciples leave for Judea, Jesus says them, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so you may believe. But let us go to him.” (11:14-15)
Now, Mary and Martha are at home mourning the loss of their brother Lazarus. They do not understand why Jesus had not immediately come to them when they sent a messenger to let him know that Lazarus was ill. Jesus was their close friend. Surely, they thought, Jesus would come not only because he loved Lazarus, but also because he knew that Mary and Martha depended on Lazarus for their very livelihood. Women at that time could not live without a male to head their household. If Lazarus died, they could lose everything they have, their home, their farm, their money to the nearest living male relative because women were not allowed to own property.
In the days following Lazarus’ death Mary and Martha sit shiva for their brother. This is a Jewish tradition of mourning where all regular activity is interrupted and immediate family members do not leave their house for seven days to mourn the loss of their relative. Imagine how angry Mary and Martha were by the time Jesus meandered into Bethany with his disciples. Martha was so angry that she broke shiva, she left the house, ran out of the village and confronted Jesus on the street. In her pain she grabs his shirt and shakes him, chastising him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (11:21) She thought that if Jesus had come when he first heard word of Lazarus’ illness, that he could have prevented his death. But even as she is accusing Jesus of neglect she also leaves open the possibility that something could still be done, “But even now I know God will give you what ever you ask of him.” (11:22) We don’t know what she was asking for, perhaps some guarantee of security for her and her sister Mary now that they are without a man to take care of them.
Jesus tells her , “Your brother will rise again.”
Well duhh!!! Martha thinks to herself, “I know he will rise again, we all will on the last day when we are in heaven.” But Jesus goes on, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha has an ah ha moment, something clicks and she gets what is happening. She confesses her faith “Yes Lord, I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” She goes home to get Mary.
When Martha told Mary privately “the teacher is here and is calling for you.” (John 11:28) Mary got up and went to where Jesus was, quite angry and ready to give him a piece of her mind. Her friends follow her out of the house thinking that Mary was going to mourn at Lazarus’ grave. When she sees Jesus, she is so overcome with emotion, she collapsed at his feet and wailed to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved…Jesus began to weep.” (John 11:32-33, 35) Some note that is unusual for the author of the Gospel of John to make so many references to Jesus’ humanity, his being upset, his being effected by another person’s emotions and his crying because the emphasis of this particular gospel is about Jesus’ divinity. (1) Yet in spite of his divine self, the humanness of Jesus overcomes him and Jesus wept. The Jews think Jesus was weeping because he lost a close friend, but they don’t know what Jesus was thinking. Perhaps Jesus was crying out of frustration, angry at Martha and Mary’s disbelief. Perhaps he was crying because he though God was cruel to cause Lazarus to die just to prove a point. Perhaps Jesus knew the consequences of what he was about to do, that in his rising Lazarus from the dead, the religious authorities would become threatened and begin to plot to put Jesus to death.
Yet in spite of the obstacles which included the possibility of his own death, Jesus knew what he needed to do. Jesus ordered that the stone to be rolled away and called out, “Lazarus, come out!” and Lazarus came out of the tomb still bound by his wrappings. Jesus then told the people, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (11:44b)
What is interesting is how the different characters in this gospel story react to this situation. The disciples as always are clueless and in the beginning Mary and Martha are clueless too. The disciples and the sisters are only thinking of the obstacles whereas Jesus thinks of the possibilities. At the beginning of the story when Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples responded in fear “The last time we were in Judea you made the people so mad that they tried to stone us and you want to go back again?!?” But Jesus wasn’t thinking about the threats but rather the possibilities to bring about new life. When Jesus encountered Martha and Mary, the sisters are so consumed with their grief and anger that they yelled at Jesus. When Jesus spoke of resurrection the sisters think that he’s talking about heaven whereas Jesus is speaking of the possibility of new life in their present day. The disciples and the sisters are bound up in the grave cloth of their anxiety, their hopelessness, and their fear and Jesus tells them to unwrap their bindings with the hope of life and resurrection. Jesus wept, not because Lazarus had died, but because his friends are unable to see beyond the obstacles.
In my ministry I have encountered people who are unable to see the possibility of new life. They were bound in various ways. The man addicted to alcohol, living on the streets, unable to see life without drinking. The gang member recovering from a gunshot wound, unable to see life beyond the age of twenty one. The woman living in an abusive relationship, unable to see her worth. The government contemplating deep cuts to social programs, unable to see the abundance in other places. It is because of these that we the church is called to share the possibility for resurrection and life when the obstacles of fear and hopelessness get in the way. That we as a community of faith find ways to release persons and communities from the bindings of addiction, violence, hatred and greed, to tear away the wrappings of fear, anxiety, loss, and grief so that unbound women, men and children might be released from the clutches of death and begin new life. (2) May it be so. Amen.
(1) Frances Gench, “The Gift of Life.” Encounters with Jesus: Studies in the Gospel of John. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007), 88.
(2) Veronice Miles “John 11:1-45: Pastoral Perspective.” Feasting on the Word: Year A Lent Through Eastertide. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 144.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Amazing Grace
Jesus and the disciples see a beggar on the street that had been blind since birth. “How did he get this way?” the disciples ask Jesus. “Was it a sin he committed or was it a sin of his parents?” Jesus finds this question to be offensive, how could the disciples worry so much about sin when really they should be focusing attention on the real issue at hand, how do we go about the business of healing! We can hear urgency in Jesus’ response as he says, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:4-5) Don’t waste your time on abstract moral debating. Your mission is to share of God’s grace freely given to the world.
Jesus just walks over to the blind man beggar and just heals him. The blind man did not call Jesus to heal him. Jesus does not ask him permission, “would it be ok if I healed you today.” No, Jesus just spits on some dirt and rubs the messiness all over the blind mans eyes and tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The beggar cannot resist the grace that Jesus is giving him; the Holy Spirit nudges him to cooperate, to come to believe in the one who is opening his eyes.
When the man comes back from Siloam with his eyes fully working, his neighbor’s reaction to his healing is puzzling. Even though he is in their circle, they talk about him as if he were not among them. “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg? No it can’t be, it must be someone who looks like him.” The formally blind man keeps repeating “I am the man…I am the one who used to be blind but now I see…hey silly people quit talking about me like I’m not in the room.” The people don’t seem happy about the miracle that is standing in their midst. Instead they begin to interrogate him. “How were your eyes opened? Who opened them?” The man tells them, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” (9:11) You would think that the neighbors would be in awe of the miracle that has happened in their midst but instead they feel anxious, fearing that somehow with this man’s healing they were losing control. You see, As long as the man was blind and dependant, their status quo could be maintained. But “If the man were healed, if he were to shake off his powerlessness he could begin to demand food and care. Eventually he would enter the job market and perhaps even reclaim all that he had lost. If he were to do that, it might mean that someone else would lose status.” (1) Now this does sound mean spirited but in a community living on very little resources, the threat that you could have less could mean the difference between life or death for yourself or your family. What is even scarier for the neighbors is that there is a healer on the loose called Jesus liberating the oppressed left right and sideways. He must be stopped! So they ask the man, “Where is he?” and he says, “I don’t know?” Not satisfied with his answer the neighbors bring in the big guns, the religious authorities of their day…the Pharisees.
The Pharisees ask the man “how did you receive your sight?” And the man gives the same reply he gave to his neighbors, “He put mud in my eyes. Then I washed and I see.” (9:15) Now the Pharisees heard that Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath day. Huge sin according to the laws of the Jewish community of which Jesus was a part of “Ah ha,” the Pharisees say, “Ah ha, this crazy healer named Jesus is a sinner, he made mud and healed on the day of Sabbath. If he were truly from God, if he were the Messiah he would not have worked on the Sabbath day. How could a sinner note a Messiah perform a miracle?” The scripture is careful to note that the Pharisees were divided. Some were open to the possibility that Jesus was the Messiah. But there were some who couldn’t wrap their heads around a Messiah that didn’t follow the tradition to the letter of the law. If Jesus were the Messiah and the Messiah can break the Sabbath, what does this say about their traditions which are the very foundation of their faith? Their whole lives they had been taught that the Sabbath was never to be broken and here was man breaking the Sabbath by performing a miracle which only one sent by God, a Messiah can perform. Well maybe he wasn’t blind from birth after all. The Pharisees go to the man’s parents.
The parents react are tell the Pharisees that yes their son was born blind but that if the Pharisees want to know how he got his sight, that they should to go back to their son “He is of age.” They say, “He will speak for himself.” Now we’d like to think that the parents were practicing good boundaries by refusing to be triangulated between the Pharisees and their son, but really they said what they did because they were afraid. They knew if they implied anything that sounded like a confession that Jesus was the Messiah, they would be put out of the synagogue, which was their their spiritual home, their beloved community.
So the Pharisees go back to the formally blind man and they make him take an oath to “Give glory to God!” (9:24) In their insecurity they become arrogant in their knowledge of all things religious. “We know this man is a sinner” (9:24) Now the man is the first to admit his theological ineptitude, “I do not know whether he is a sinner.” but he will not dismiss his lived experience “One thing I do know, I once was blind, but now I see.” (9:25) Using the experience of his healing, the man gives a testimony that Jesus is indeed one sent by God but the Pharisees drive him from the temple because he did not pass their test of faith. Imagine how devastating it must have been for the man to be kicked out of the only spiritual home he had known. To be told that he doesn’t belong anymore because he wouldn’t toe the line, because he has the audacity to testify his belief on his lived experience rather than obeying tradition alone.
It is no accident that this story falls in the middle of Lent, the season of self examination. This is a story of the beggar’s journey to sight, not only his physical sight but spiritual sight. With any good story there is a character that we identify with, the character that reflects who we are in the story. Many of us would like to think we are the blind man, the one who readily testifies to having received God’s amazing grace. But the self examination of Lent begs the question, have there been times when have we been like the neighbors in the story when we were too afraid to celebrate one person’s victory fearing that it will mean less for us? Have there been times when have we been like the religious authorities, holding on to the letter law so tightly that we refuse to see the spirit from which the law came from? And when we’ve been like the blind man, who received God’s amazing grace, have we showed the courage in giving our testimony of faith even if it meant failing someone else’s test of faith.
In her commentary on this text, New Testament professor Frances Gench shares the following story of a seminarian whom she felt was one of the finest candidates for ordained ministry she had ever known. However, while he was in seminary he figured out something about himself: he was gay. She continues, “It was an experience of God’s grace in his life that opened his eyes—one that liberated him allowed him to see himself as he really was—indeed as God created him to be. But this new sight came with a cost, for what do you do when you are a candidate for ordination, facing a series of interrogations by candidacy committees and ordaining bodies before finally accepting a call? Is it any wonder that he felt a strong bond of kinship with the man in John 9 and his ordeals? Some will no doubt label this seminarian a sinner, even an abomination. But ‘one thing I know’ he says, ‘I once was blind, but now I see.’” (2)
Like the blind man, the seminarian sets the one thing he is certain of, his own experience against the standards with which the candidacy committee confront him. This seminarian knows that his God does not live in a book, not even the Bible itself, but in the act of mercy that has been done to him. In spite of the vitriol that would label him a sinner because of sexual orientation…this seminarian’s understanding of who God is, who Jesus is emerges from his struggle with those who would invalidate the experience of his own life. (3)
The once blind man went on a journey from darkness to seeing the light of the world. He moves from not knowing who it was who gave him sight, to knowing that person to be a prophet, to knowing that person to come from God. to seeing Jesus and proclaiming, “Lord, I believe” This journey did not come from the law alone but from his experience. His salvation came not by his works but by his faith alone. That is God’s Amazing Grace. May it be so. Amen
(1) Walter Brueggemann, “Theological Education: Healing the Blind Beggar.”
(2) Frances Gench, “A Journey to Sight” Encounters with Jesus (Louisville: John Knox Westminster Press, 2007), 75.
(3) Ibid., 76
Jesus just walks over to the blind man beggar and just heals him. The blind man did not call Jesus to heal him. Jesus does not ask him permission, “would it be ok if I healed you today.” No, Jesus just spits on some dirt and rubs the messiness all over the blind mans eyes and tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The beggar cannot resist the grace that Jesus is giving him; the Holy Spirit nudges him to cooperate, to come to believe in the one who is opening his eyes.
When the man comes back from Siloam with his eyes fully working, his neighbor’s reaction to his healing is puzzling. Even though he is in their circle, they talk about him as if he were not among them. “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg? No it can’t be, it must be someone who looks like him.” The formally blind man keeps repeating “I am the man…I am the one who used to be blind but now I see…hey silly people quit talking about me like I’m not in the room.” The people don’t seem happy about the miracle that is standing in their midst. Instead they begin to interrogate him. “How were your eyes opened? Who opened them?” The man tells them, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” (9:11) You would think that the neighbors would be in awe of the miracle that has happened in their midst but instead they feel anxious, fearing that somehow with this man’s healing they were losing control. You see, As long as the man was blind and dependant, their status quo could be maintained. But “If the man were healed, if he were to shake off his powerlessness he could begin to demand food and care. Eventually he would enter the job market and perhaps even reclaim all that he had lost. If he were to do that, it might mean that someone else would lose status.” (1) Now this does sound mean spirited but in a community living on very little resources, the threat that you could have less could mean the difference between life or death for yourself or your family. What is even scarier for the neighbors is that there is a healer on the loose called Jesus liberating the oppressed left right and sideways. He must be stopped! So they ask the man, “Where is he?” and he says, “I don’t know?” Not satisfied with his answer the neighbors bring in the big guns, the religious authorities of their day…the Pharisees.
The Pharisees ask the man “how did you receive your sight?” And the man gives the same reply he gave to his neighbors, “He put mud in my eyes. Then I washed and I see.” (9:15) Now the Pharisees heard that Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath day. Huge sin according to the laws of the Jewish community of which Jesus was a part of “Ah ha,” the Pharisees say, “Ah ha, this crazy healer named Jesus is a sinner, he made mud and healed on the day of Sabbath. If he were truly from God, if he were the Messiah he would not have worked on the Sabbath day. How could a sinner note a Messiah perform a miracle?” The scripture is careful to note that the Pharisees were divided. Some were open to the possibility that Jesus was the Messiah. But there were some who couldn’t wrap their heads around a Messiah that didn’t follow the tradition to the letter of the law. If Jesus were the Messiah and the Messiah can break the Sabbath, what does this say about their traditions which are the very foundation of their faith? Their whole lives they had been taught that the Sabbath was never to be broken and here was man breaking the Sabbath by performing a miracle which only one sent by God, a Messiah can perform. Well maybe he wasn’t blind from birth after all. The Pharisees go to the man’s parents.
The parents react are tell the Pharisees that yes their son was born blind but that if the Pharisees want to know how he got his sight, that they should to go back to their son “He is of age.” They say, “He will speak for himself.” Now we’d like to think that the parents were practicing good boundaries by refusing to be triangulated between the Pharisees and their son, but really they said what they did because they were afraid. They knew if they implied anything that sounded like a confession that Jesus was the Messiah, they would be put out of the synagogue, which was their their spiritual home, their beloved community.
So the Pharisees go back to the formally blind man and they make him take an oath to “Give glory to God!” (9:24) In their insecurity they become arrogant in their knowledge of all things religious. “We know this man is a sinner” (9:24) Now the man is the first to admit his theological ineptitude, “I do not know whether he is a sinner.” but he will not dismiss his lived experience “One thing I do know, I once was blind, but now I see.” (9:25) Using the experience of his healing, the man gives a testimony that Jesus is indeed one sent by God but the Pharisees drive him from the temple because he did not pass their test of faith. Imagine how devastating it must have been for the man to be kicked out of the only spiritual home he had known. To be told that he doesn’t belong anymore because he wouldn’t toe the line, because he has the audacity to testify his belief on his lived experience rather than obeying tradition alone.
It is no accident that this story falls in the middle of Lent, the season of self examination. This is a story of the beggar’s journey to sight, not only his physical sight but spiritual sight. With any good story there is a character that we identify with, the character that reflects who we are in the story. Many of us would like to think we are the blind man, the one who readily testifies to having received God’s amazing grace. But the self examination of Lent begs the question, have there been times when have we been like the neighbors in the story when we were too afraid to celebrate one person’s victory fearing that it will mean less for us? Have there been times when have we been like the religious authorities, holding on to the letter law so tightly that we refuse to see the spirit from which the law came from? And when we’ve been like the blind man, who received God’s amazing grace, have we showed the courage in giving our testimony of faith even if it meant failing someone else’s test of faith.
In her commentary on this text, New Testament professor Frances Gench shares the following story of a seminarian whom she felt was one of the finest candidates for ordained ministry she had ever known. However, while he was in seminary he figured out something about himself: he was gay. She continues, “It was an experience of God’s grace in his life that opened his eyes—one that liberated him allowed him to see himself as he really was—indeed as God created him to be. But this new sight came with a cost, for what do you do when you are a candidate for ordination, facing a series of interrogations by candidacy committees and ordaining bodies before finally accepting a call? Is it any wonder that he felt a strong bond of kinship with the man in John 9 and his ordeals? Some will no doubt label this seminarian a sinner, even an abomination. But ‘one thing I know’ he says, ‘I once was blind, but now I see.’” (2)
Like the blind man, the seminarian sets the one thing he is certain of, his own experience against the standards with which the candidacy committee confront him. This seminarian knows that his God does not live in a book, not even the Bible itself, but in the act of mercy that has been done to him. In spite of the vitriol that would label him a sinner because of sexual orientation…this seminarian’s understanding of who God is, who Jesus is emerges from his struggle with those who would invalidate the experience of his own life. (3)
The once blind man went on a journey from darkness to seeing the light of the world. He moves from not knowing who it was who gave him sight, to knowing that person to be a prophet, to knowing that person to come from God. to seeing Jesus and proclaiming, “Lord, I believe” This journey did not come from the law alone but from his experience. His salvation came not by his works but by his faith alone. That is God’s Amazing Grace. May it be so. Amen
(1) Walter Brueggemann, “Theological Education: Healing the Blind Beggar.”
(2) Frances Gench, “A Journey to Sight” Encounters with Jesus (Louisville: John Knox Westminster Press, 2007), 75.
(3) Ibid., 76
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Woman at the Well
It is quite ironic that that the world renowned actress Elizabeth Taylor would pass away in the same week we that the lectionary reading is about Jesus meeting a woman who was married almost as many times as Elizabeth was. Now the author of the gospel of John was all about irony. Irony abounds in many of the stories of John’s gospel. Biblical scholars note that “Irony presupposed a distinction between appearance and reality. What appears to be true is indeed true, but it is only a partial truth and not the full truth. Because of this distinction between appearance and reality, irony often takes the form of either humor or tragedy—or both” (1) I imagine that in heaven Elizabeth Taylor and John the Evangelist are right now giving a high five to each other in preachers like myself sermonize about woman at the well – another woman whose personal history has been held suspect.
It’s hard for some to get beyond the marital history of both of these women. Like Elizabeth Taylor, it seems the story about the woman at the well stops at Jesus’ mention of her five marriages and her living in sin with her current boyfriend. Much ado “has been made of her sinfulness, her shady past, her dubious morals, her promiscuity.” (2) And preachers have expounded upon how Jesus was able to forgive this woman of her past in order that she may be saved. The great sixteenth century theologian John Calvin imagined this unnamed woman to be a difficult and disobedient wife who forced her husbands to divorce her and speculates that Jesus brought up her past in order to get this woman to shut her mouth. (3) I love Calvin but I think this time he got it wrong.
Just as there is much more to the story of Elizabeth Taylor, such as her extraordinary acting career, her philanthropy, most especially her work in raising money for AIDS research and her business smarts, so too there is also much more to the woman in the well than just her marital history. Even though Jesus mentions her marriages the text does not show Jesus condemning her or even forgiving her for having multiple marriages. Instead Jesus embarks on the longest conversation that he has had with anyone in the Bible. Most of Jesus’ conversations in the Bible quickly turn into monologues of Jesus preaching but in this text there are thirteen exchanges between Jesus and the woman. There is give and take throughout their conversation.
The conversation itself is forbidden according the social conventions of Jesus’ day. Jesus chose to speak to an outsider who with three strikes against her, she’s a woman, she’s a Samaritan and she has had bad luck with husbands. Jewish men were forbidden from talking to women that they didn’t know and Jews were forbidden from talking to Samaritans. The Samaritans in Jesus’ time were reviled by the Jewish community of which Jesus was a part of. The Jews and the Samaritans shared a common heritage but differed from each other in worship practices and cleanliness laws.(4) Often the Jews referred to the Samaritans with terms such as foreigners or intruders so as to distance themselves from this group of people that were not like them. The Samaritan woman was well aware of this when she said to Jesus, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (4:9) Jesus replies that if she knew who she was really talking to, knew who Jesus really was, that she would be asking him for living water. Now we as the audience know that Jesus is the son of God, the Messiah, but this woman hasn’t caught on yet. To the Samaritan woman, Jesus is just some crazy Jewish guy “who had no business being there, no business speaking to her and no business asking her for a drink of water from the well.” (5)
However Jesus presses on, he continues the conversation. In her book “More Bad Girls of the Bible” theologian Barbara Essex states, “Theirs is no idle chitchat-they engage in a deep and wondrous theological discussion. She asks questions and points out her understandings and Jesus seems genuinely intrigued by her. So delighted is he with her theological savvy, he discloses himself to her—he is the Messiah that the Jews have been anticipating. His disclosure deepens her belief and she can’t wait to go and tell others. She [becomes] the first evangelistic missionary!” (6) This woman who was a part of a despised people is the first person whom Jesus reveals himself to be the Messiah, and this Samaritan woman is the first disciple empowered by Jesus to spread the good news to her entire village.
This irony was not lost on the first century people who were the first to hear the Gospel of John. This story to them was highly symbolic. Amongst this group were debates over whom they should evangelize too. Was salvation only for those of Jewish lineage or did it go beyond to the Gentiles, the Pagans, or even God forbid, those heretical Samaritans. The woman in this story represents the Samaritan presence within that first century community. The conversation she has with Jesus is a theological debate between Jewish custom and Samaritan custom which included the proper place to worship. This was the biggest conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans. The place of worship was where believers thought God dwelled. The Samaritans worshiped on Mt. Gerezim, the mountain that the woman and Jesus’ conversation was taking place. whereas the Jews worshiped in Jerusalem. However Jesus doesn’t make a big deal about customs or even place of worship. Instead he tells her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (4:21-24) Jesus asserts that the spirit of God is not bound to any one location or any one people. Any believer is able to worship God “in spirit and truth.” anywhere!
The disciples come back and they are concerned about Jesus. They are astonished that he is speaking to a woman but they seem to not make a big deal about her being a Samaritan. As the woman leaves for her village, the disciples urge Jesus to eat but he refuses their food. He tells them that he is already fed by doing the will of God, by building the Kingdom of God through empowering people like the Samaritan woman to spread the good news. As always, the disciples don’t get it. Their heads are still wrapped around physical food where as Jesus is talking about spiritual food. “Do you not say ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest.’” Jesus then points to the multitude of Samaritan people coming towards them led by the woman. “But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting…I sent you to reap for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor” (4:35-38)
The invitation that Jesus extends to the woman, to the Samaritans and most especially to the disciples is extended to us as well. We who have been witnesses to the good news of God’s love and grace freely given are called to share this message with those who need to hear it. We are called to follow Jesus’ example of transcending our discomfort and reaching out to those who are different from ourselves. It can be frightening, it’s certainly strange, but in the end we will be fed by the food of the will of God who sent Jesus, and who sends us to complete God’s work here on Earth. May it be so. Amen.
(1) George Stroup, “John 4:5-42: Theological Perspective” Feasting on the Word, 94
(2) Frances Taylor Gench, Encounters with Jesus., 34
(3) Ibid., 34.
(4) James D. Purvis, “Samaritans” The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Paul J Aichtenmeier Gen. Ed (San Francisco: Harper Row Publishers, 1985), 898-899.
(5) Barbara Essex, “More Bad Girls of the Bible.” 97
(6) Essex, “Bad Girls” 96.
It’s hard for some to get beyond the marital history of both of these women. Like Elizabeth Taylor, it seems the story about the woman at the well stops at Jesus’ mention of her five marriages and her living in sin with her current boyfriend. Much ado “has been made of her sinfulness, her shady past, her dubious morals, her promiscuity.” (2) And preachers have expounded upon how Jesus was able to forgive this woman of her past in order that she may be saved. The great sixteenth century theologian John Calvin imagined this unnamed woman to be a difficult and disobedient wife who forced her husbands to divorce her and speculates that Jesus brought up her past in order to get this woman to shut her mouth. (3) I love Calvin but I think this time he got it wrong.
Just as there is much more to the story of Elizabeth Taylor, such as her extraordinary acting career, her philanthropy, most especially her work in raising money for AIDS research and her business smarts, so too there is also much more to the woman in the well than just her marital history. Even though Jesus mentions her marriages the text does not show Jesus condemning her or even forgiving her for having multiple marriages. Instead Jesus embarks on the longest conversation that he has had with anyone in the Bible. Most of Jesus’ conversations in the Bible quickly turn into monologues of Jesus preaching but in this text there are thirteen exchanges between Jesus and the woman. There is give and take throughout their conversation.
The conversation itself is forbidden according the social conventions of Jesus’ day. Jesus chose to speak to an outsider who with three strikes against her, she’s a woman, she’s a Samaritan and she has had bad luck with husbands. Jewish men were forbidden from talking to women that they didn’t know and Jews were forbidden from talking to Samaritans. The Samaritans in Jesus’ time were reviled by the Jewish community of which Jesus was a part of. The Jews and the Samaritans shared a common heritage but differed from each other in worship practices and cleanliness laws.(4) Often the Jews referred to the Samaritans with terms such as foreigners or intruders so as to distance themselves from this group of people that were not like them. The Samaritan woman was well aware of this when she said to Jesus, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (4:9) Jesus replies that if she knew who she was really talking to, knew who Jesus really was, that she would be asking him for living water. Now we as the audience know that Jesus is the son of God, the Messiah, but this woman hasn’t caught on yet. To the Samaritan woman, Jesus is just some crazy Jewish guy “who had no business being there, no business speaking to her and no business asking her for a drink of water from the well.” (5)
However Jesus presses on, he continues the conversation. In her book “More Bad Girls of the Bible” theologian Barbara Essex states, “Theirs is no idle chitchat-they engage in a deep and wondrous theological discussion. She asks questions and points out her understandings and Jesus seems genuinely intrigued by her. So delighted is he with her theological savvy, he discloses himself to her—he is the Messiah that the Jews have been anticipating. His disclosure deepens her belief and she can’t wait to go and tell others. She [becomes] the first evangelistic missionary!” (6) This woman who was a part of a despised people is the first person whom Jesus reveals himself to be the Messiah, and this Samaritan woman is the first disciple empowered by Jesus to spread the good news to her entire village.
This irony was not lost on the first century people who were the first to hear the Gospel of John. This story to them was highly symbolic. Amongst this group were debates over whom they should evangelize too. Was salvation only for those of Jewish lineage or did it go beyond to the Gentiles, the Pagans, or even God forbid, those heretical Samaritans. The woman in this story represents the Samaritan presence within that first century community. The conversation she has with Jesus is a theological debate between Jewish custom and Samaritan custom which included the proper place to worship. This was the biggest conflict between the Jews and the Samaritans. The place of worship was where believers thought God dwelled. The Samaritans worshiped on Mt. Gerezim, the mountain that the woman and Jesus’ conversation was taking place. whereas the Jews worshiped in Jerusalem. However Jesus doesn’t make a big deal about customs or even place of worship. Instead he tells her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (4:21-24) Jesus asserts that the spirit of God is not bound to any one location or any one people. Any believer is able to worship God “in spirit and truth.” anywhere!
The disciples come back and they are concerned about Jesus. They are astonished that he is speaking to a woman but they seem to not make a big deal about her being a Samaritan. As the woman leaves for her village, the disciples urge Jesus to eat but he refuses their food. He tells them that he is already fed by doing the will of God, by building the Kingdom of God through empowering people like the Samaritan woman to spread the good news. As always, the disciples don’t get it. Their heads are still wrapped around physical food where as Jesus is talking about spiritual food. “Do you not say ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest.’” Jesus then points to the multitude of Samaritan people coming towards them led by the woman. “But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting…I sent you to reap for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor” (4:35-38)
The invitation that Jesus extends to the woman, to the Samaritans and most especially to the disciples is extended to us as well. We who have been witnesses to the good news of God’s love and grace freely given are called to share this message with those who need to hear it. We are called to follow Jesus’ example of transcending our discomfort and reaching out to those who are different from ourselves. It can be frightening, it’s certainly strange, but in the end we will be fed by the food of the will of God who sent Jesus, and who sends us to complete God’s work here on Earth. May it be so. Amen.
(1) George Stroup, “John 4:5-42: Theological Perspective” Feasting on the Word, 94
(2) Frances Taylor Gench, Encounters with Jesus., 34
(3) Ibid., 34.
(4) James D. Purvis, “Samaritans” The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Paul J Aichtenmeier Gen. Ed (San Francisco: Harper Row Publishers, 1985), 898-899.
(5) Barbara Essex, “More Bad Girls of the Bible.” 97
(6) Essex, “Bad Girls” 96.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
from where will my help come?
As I read psalm 121, I remember a tender scene in the movie “The Sound of Music.” Near the end of the movie we find the Von Trapp family trying to escaping the Nazi Brown Shirts by hiding in the convent where Maria had served as a novitiate. The scene becomes quite intense as we see the Reverend Mother scuttling the Von Trapp family through the convents graveyard towards the dark mausoleum behind the gate whilst the heavy footsteps of the Nazi soldiers can be heard in the distance. Maria breathlessly apologizes to the Reverend Mother for putting the abbey in such danger but the Reverend Mother assures her that it was right for her and her family to be there. Captain Von Trapp asks the Reverend Mother if he can borrow the caretaker’s car but the Reverend Mother tells him that it would be useless. She had heard on the radio that the borders had just been closed. Then the Captain looks over his shoulder and sees the mountains in the distance and tells her that they will drive up into the hills and go over the mountains on foot. Maria is concerned about the children but the children assure her that they will be ok. As the Reverend Mother starts closing the mausoleum gate Maria steps towards the her and the Reverend Mother looks into her eyes and says, “Maria. You will not be alone. Remember: ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help?’” A few scenes later we see the Von Trapp family at the mountaintop crossing into safety with the song “Climb Every Mountain” swelling in the background.
I have to give the Reverend Mother her props for picking the most theologically appropriate psalm verse to comfort Maria. Psalm 121 is part of a group of psalms called the “Song of Ascents.” The Hebrews used these psalms as liturgy as they journeyed to Jerusalem on pilgrimage. It is possible that the hills that they were looking to in the distance was Mount Zion. On Mount Zion was built the sanctuary of which the pilgrims believed to be dwelling place of God the creator of all things.
The journey to Jerusalem especially ascending up the mountains was treacherous. The stones under foot could slip and cause the person travelling on foot to fall. Throughout their long journey these pilgrims needed protection from the heat of the sun and the dangers of darkness. It is in the midst of this danger we can see the psalmist looking towards the hills of Jerusalem and crying out “from where will my help come?” and then the response, “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” On a visceral level we know what it means to lift our eyes to the hills in search of help. We’ve all made this cry in the challenging times of our lives. We also hear these cries from all over the world, most especially now from the people of Japan who are recovering from a devastating earthquake that happened a little over a week ago and we wonder once again how a loving God could allow this to happen.
“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (121:3-4) I don’t know about you, but it is hard for me to not wonder if this time God was asleep on the job because tectonic plates have shifted and a big chunk of the world has moved.
Some will try to explain this away with easy answers. They try to ease our anxiety by telling us that God was testing the faith of the Japanese or that God was sending a warning to the world through the destruction of Japan. Yes there are Bible stories about God destroying Israel, Judah and Jerusalem due to the people not obeying the laws of God. However, in the end it is written that God also bestows his mercy upon these cities in spite of their wrongdoing. What is missing in these easy answers is that God’s mercy and grace is always present especially in the face of human suffering. Our God is an in-carnational God. A Creator who so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son Jesus to know first hand the brokenness of our human condition. And during the season of Lent we remember that Jesus set his face to Jerusalem and went on a journey there that led to the cross. God has given humankind and even the the earth the gift of free will. God will not control the forces of nature to keep us from danger. However, God knows our pain because God has felt our pain and God is weeping with us now as we try to grapple with what happened in Japan.
In this psalm we hear the word keep six times. He who keeps you, he who keeps Israel, The Lord is your keeper, The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life, the Lord will keep your going out and your coming in. The word keep in the NRSV translation of the bible comes from the Hebrew word shamar which means to guard, to watch, to be a guardian to, to preserve. Reread this mind it is easier for us to understand what the psalmist was trying to say, “The Lord is your guardian; the LORD is your shade at your right hand…The LORD will guard you from all evil, he will guard your life; The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.” (121:5-8)
The keeping, the guarding, the watching, the shamar of God over creation is like how a parent keeps, guards, watches over their children. As parents you will do anything to keep yourr children safe from harm. But you also know that you do not own your children. As the poet Kahlil Gibran puts it, “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you yet they do not belong to you.” (1)
There comes a time when you need to allow your children their freedom and independence as they get older. As you give your children more freedom you realize that you can’t be with them 24/7 guarding, watching and keeping them. When your child does get hurt, it is hard for you as a parent not blame yourselves for not being protective enough but realistically you know that your protection can only go so far. You can choose to be the super overprotective parent by tying your child to yourself with a rope until they graduate from college, or you can teach your children the things they need to know to be safe, to do what is right and to let them know that you love them unconditionally and that you will always be there for them. You hope that with your love and everything you’ve taught your child that they will be able to make the right choices and be safe but you also know that you have to let go and let them make their own way.
So too it is with God and creation. God created the heavens and the earth and everything on it and yet God has gives all of creation free will. God chooses not to control humankind and even the forces of nature like a puppeteer would controls his marionettes. Instead God has given us the freedom to make the choice to go the way of God or to move away from God. However like a loving parent, God teaches us the things we need to know to do the right thing and is always there for us, loving us nconditionally.
“The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.” (121:7-8)
May it be so. Amen.
[1] Kahlil Gibran “On Children”
I have to give the Reverend Mother her props for picking the most theologically appropriate psalm verse to comfort Maria. Psalm 121 is part of a group of psalms called the “Song of Ascents.” The Hebrews used these psalms as liturgy as they journeyed to Jerusalem on pilgrimage. It is possible that the hills that they were looking to in the distance was Mount Zion. On Mount Zion was built the sanctuary of which the pilgrims believed to be dwelling place of God the creator of all things.
The journey to Jerusalem especially ascending up the mountains was treacherous. The stones under foot could slip and cause the person travelling on foot to fall. Throughout their long journey these pilgrims needed protection from the heat of the sun and the dangers of darkness. It is in the midst of this danger we can see the psalmist looking towards the hills of Jerusalem and crying out “from where will my help come?” and then the response, “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” On a visceral level we know what it means to lift our eyes to the hills in search of help. We’ve all made this cry in the challenging times of our lives. We also hear these cries from all over the world, most especially now from the people of Japan who are recovering from a devastating earthquake that happened a little over a week ago and we wonder once again how a loving God could allow this to happen.
“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (121:3-4) I don’t know about you, but it is hard for me to not wonder if this time God was asleep on the job because tectonic plates have shifted and a big chunk of the world has moved.
Some will try to explain this away with easy answers. They try to ease our anxiety by telling us that God was testing the faith of the Japanese or that God was sending a warning to the world through the destruction of Japan. Yes there are Bible stories about God destroying Israel, Judah and Jerusalem due to the people not obeying the laws of God. However, in the end it is written that God also bestows his mercy upon these cities in spite of their wrongdoing. What is missing in these easy answers is that God’s mercy and grace is always present especially in the face of human suffering. Our God is an in-carnational God. A Creator who so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son Jesus to know first hand the brokenness of our human condition. And during the season of Lent we remember that Jesus set his face to Jerusalem and went on a journey there that led to the cross. God has given humankind and even the the earth the gift of free will. God will not control the forces of nature to keep us from danger. However, God knows our pain because God has felt our pain and God is weeping with us now as we try to grapple with what happened in Japan.
In this psalm we hear the word keep six times. He who keeps you, he who keeps Israel, The Lord is your keeper, The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life, the Lord will keep your going out and your coming in. The word keep in the NRSV translation of the bible comes from the Hebrew word shamar which means to guard, to watch, to be a guardian to, to preserve. Reread this mind it is easier for us to understand what the psalmist was trying to say, “The Lord is your guardian; the LORD is your shade at your right hand…The LORD will guard you from all evil, he will guard your life; The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.” (121:5-8)
The keeping, the guarding, the watching, the shamar of God over creation is like how a parent keeps, guards, watches over their children. As parents you will do anything to keep yourr children safe from harm. But you also know that you do not own your children. As the poet Kahlil Gibran puts it, “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you yet they do not belong to you.” (1)
There comes a time when you need to allow your children their freedom and independence as they get older. As you give your children more freedom you realize that you can’t be with them 24/7 guarding, watching and keeping them. When your child does get hurt, it is hard for you as a parent not blame yourselves for not being protective enough but realistically you know that your protection can only go so far. You can choose to be the super overprotective parent by tying your child to yourself with a rope until they graduate from college, or you can teach your children the things they need to know to be safe, to do what is right and to let them know that you love them unconditionally and that you will always be there for them. You hope that with your love and everything you’ve taught your child that they will be able to make the right choices and be safe but you also know that you have to let go and let them make their own way.
So too it is with God and creation. God created the heavens and the earth and everything on it and yet God has gives all of creation free will. God chooses not to control humankind and even the forces of nature like a puppeteer would controls his marionettes. Instead God has given us the freedom to make the choice to go the way of God or to move away from God. However like a loving parent, God teaches us the things we need to know to do the right thing and is always there for us, loving us nconditionally.
“The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.” (121:7-8)
May it be so. Amen.
[1] Kahlil Gibran “On Children”
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Temptation in the Desert sermon for March 13 2011
Matthew 4:1-11
Shortly after I was laid off from my position as associate pastor several years ago I visited the Franciscan Renewal Center in the middle of the desert in Arizona for a spiritual retreat. This retreat center was built so that people could be apart from the world in a desert place so that they could connect with God in the sand, cactus and quiet of this center. Inspired by the many wilderness stories of the Bible and knowing that career wise I was in the wilderness, the first morning I was at the center I decided to take a walk away from the main buildings and go deep into the desert walkways in hopes of connecting with God in the midst of the wilderness. Now the wilderness of the retreat center was a very controlled setting because a fence was built around the perimeter of the property. I knew that if I got lost all I had to do was walk towards the fence and it would guide me back to the main buildings. But this did not keep me from becoming anxious as I walked deeper and deeper into the desert. You see, the further I walked away from the main buildings, the quieter my surroundings became. The chattering voices, the music in the background, the footsteps of other people dissipated until all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing and the pounding of my heart beat. I could literally hear the hum of my own electricity.
It was then that I got really scared, not because I thought I was going to get lost, not because I thought I was going to get physically harmed. No I became scared because in the middle of the desert I was completely and utterly alone. Without the distractions of computers, cell phones, tvs, background noise and other people, I was in a place where I had to finally face my inner demons. My first inclination was to run.
Today’s gospel takes place after Jesus’ baptism in the murky waters of the river Jordon and before his public ministry. We remember that at his baptism the spirit of God descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove and that he heard God’s voice from heaven said, “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (3:17) And what was the first thing that Jesus did after this mind blowing event? He followed the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. In her sermon “The Wilderness Exam”, Barbara Brown Taylor says that Jesus went from that “one spectacular moment to a long, lonely time in the wilderness, during which he may have wondered if he had imagined the whole thing. For forty days and forty nights there was no sign of God at all. The sky stayed shut. There were no doves. No voice from heaven spoke reassuring words. There was just him, the desert, and finally the devil.” (1)
In the middle of the desert without my cell phone, without my computer, without even my mp3 player, I was unable to drown out the voice of my inner demons. That devilish voice that plays on my insecurities, those old tapes that play in my head telling me that I’m not lovable, that I’m not worthy, that the jig is up, who do I think I am. Then the devilish voice would become relentless by playing on my greatest fears telling me that I was going to end up destitute going down the path I’m going. That ministry was not a financially feasible career for me to continue. This devilish voice was tempting me to sell out on my call to ministry in exchange for a job that would give me financial security. Maybe if I gave up on my pipedream of being a woman of faith working toward social justice, maybe just maybe I’d finally be able control of my today, tomorrow and the day after that.
Forty days into his retreat, starved, thirsty, unable to stand up on his own two feet, Jesus meets an amazingly biblically literate devil in the desert. Just an aside from Barbara Brown Taylor, “Just because someone knows the Bible chapter and verse does not necessarily mean that this person is up to any good.” (2) But I digress. Sensing Jesus’ vulnerability the devil tempts Jesus with nourishment, “If you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” (4:3) Some note that the devil trying to tempt Jesus into using his miraculous power for feeding himself rather than trusting God to satisfy his need. Jesus sees through this deception and replies quoting scripture “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (4:4) Jesus is telling the devil was that he will not abuse his God given power of performing miracles for his own personal gain. (3)
But the devil doesn’t give up as he continues his relentless pursuit to tempt Jesus. He takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and says to him, “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written” (remember this devil knows his bible) “for it is written ‘he will not command his angels concerning you’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” (4:6) The devil tempts Jesus to use his powers to meet test God and he uses scripture (out of context mind you) to prove that God agrees. However Jesus refutes the devil by bringing this scripture back into context, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (4:7) Some note that in this verse Jesus is telling the devil that scripture does not endorse the testing God’s protective grace for the sake of self-assurance. Jesus will not misuse his God given power to test God. (4)
Then the devil tries to seduce Jesus with something many people of this world crave, the ability to have control over all the kingdoms and the splendor of the world. “’All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (4:10) Jesus refuses to ally himself with the devil for control over the world and most especially control over his own destiny. Jesus refuses to misuse his power to build up influence and domination.(5) “Then the devil left him and suddenly angels came and waited on him.” (4:11)
In the desert I encountered a similar pressure from the devil suggesting that I deserved better than what God was giving me. In her sermon Barbara Brown Taylor states that we Christians are sometimes tempted to believe “that we deserve bigger and better than what we have. That the devilish voice in our heads says things like, ‘If you are a child of God, should things be going a bit smoother for you? If you are really a Christian, I mean-shouldn’t you be happier, healthier, richer, safer.” (6) More self actualized and self confident. She goes on, “You know what to say back now, right? ‘Away with you Satan, I would rather be a hungry child of God than a well-fed player on your team.” (7) So in the middle of the desert, in the midst of sand, cactus and deafening silence I was able to say “Away with you Satan, Away with your taunts of emotional in-security, Away with your seduction for me to sell out on my call, Away with your shame! I am a beloved Child of God, a woman called to serve in ministry and you will not make me misuse or even me dis-use my God given gifts for ministry.” And it was then that I could finally hear the small still voice of God say, “Well done good and faithful servant…in you I am well pleased.”
May it be so. Amen.
(1) Barbara Brown Taylor “The Wilderness Exam” Bread of Angels (Cambridge, Mass: Cowley Publications, 1997.), 38.
(2) Barbara Brown Taylor “Remaining Human” Christian Century February 7-14, 1996. 127.
(3) Robert Bryant, “Matthew 4: 1-11 – Exegetical Perspective” Feasting on the Word, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary Year A, Vol. 2 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 48.
(4) Ibid., 49.
(5) Ibid., 49.
(6) Taylor, “Wilderness Exam”, 40
(7) Ibid., 40.
Shortly after I was laid off from my position as associate pastor several years ago I visited the Franciscan Renewal Center in the middle of the desert in Arizona for a spiritual retreat. This retreat center was built so that people could be apart from the world in a desert place so that they could connect with God in the sand, cactus and quiet of this center. Inspired by the many wilderness stories of the Bible and knowing that career wise I was in the wilderness, the first morning I was at the center I decided to take a walk away from the main buildings and go deep into the desert walkways in hopes of connecting with God in the midst of the wilderness. Now the wilderness of the retreat center was a very controlled setting because a fence was built around the perimeter of the property. I knew that if I got lost all I had to do was walk towards the fence and it would guide me back to the main buildings. But this did not keep me from becoming anxious as I walked deeper and deeper into the desert. You see, the further I walked away from the main buildings, the quieter my surroundings became. The chattering voices, the music in the background, the footsteps of other people dissipated until all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing and the pounding of my heart beat. I could literally hear the hum of my own electricity.
It was then that I got really scared, not because I thought I was going to get lost, not because I thought I was going to get physically harmed. No I became scared because in the middle of the desert I was completely and utterly alone. Without the distractions of computers, cell phones, tvs, background noise and other people, I was in a place where I had to finally face my inner demons. My first inclination was to run.
Today’s gospel takes place after Jesus’ baptism in the murky waters of the river Jordon and before his public ministry. We remember that at his baptism the spirit of God descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove and that he heard God’s voice from heaven said, “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (3:17) And what was the first thing that Jesus did after this mind blowing event? He followed the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. In her sermon “The Wilderness Exam”, Barbara Brown Taylor says that Jesus went from that “one spectacular moment to a long, lonely time in the wilderness, during which he may have wondered if he had imagined the whole thing. For forty days and forty nights there was no sign of God at all. The sky stayed shut. There were no doves. No voice from heaven spoke reassuring words. There was just him, the desert, and finally the devil.” (1)
In the middle of the desert without my cell phone, without my computer, without even my mp3 player, I was unable to drown out the voice of my inner demons. That devilish voice that plays on my insecurities, those old tapes that play in my head telling me that I’m not lovable, that I’m not worthy, that the jig is up, who do I think I am. Then the devilish voice would become relentless by playing on my greatest fears telling me that I was going to end up destitute going down the path I’m going. That ministry was not a financially feasible career for me to continue. This devilish voice was tempting me to sell out on my call to ministry in exchange for a job that would give me financial security. Maybe if I gave up on my pipedream of being a woman of faith working toward social justice, maybe just maybe I’d finally be able control of my today, tomorrow and the day after that.
Forty days into his retreat, starved, thirsty, unable to stand up on his own two feet, Jesus meets an amazingly biblically literate devil in the desert. Just an aside from Barbara Brown Taylor, “Just because someone knows the Bible chapter and verse does not necessarily mean that this person is up to any good.” (2) But I digress. Sensing Jesus’ vulnerability the devil tempts Jesus with nourishment, “If you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” (4:3) Some note that the devil trying to tempt Jesus into using his miraculous power for feeding himself rather than trusting God to satisfy his need. Jesus sees through this deception and replies quoting scripture “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (4:4) Jesus is telling the devil was that he will not abuse his God given power of performing miracles for his own personal gain. (3)
But the devil doesn’t give up as he continues his relentless pursuit to tempt Jesus. He takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and says to him, “If you are the son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written” (remember this devil knows his bible) “for it is written ‘he will not command his angels concerning you’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” (4:6) The devil tempts Jesus to use his powers to meet test God and he uses scripture (out of context mind you) to prove that God agrees. However Jesus refutes the devil by bringing this scripture back into context, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (4:7) Some note that in this verse Jesus is telling the devil that scripture does not endorse the testing God’s protective grace for the sake of self-assurance. Jesus will not misuse his God given power to test God. (4)
Then the devil tries to seduce Jesus with something many people of this world crave, the ability to have control over all the kingdoms and the splendor of the world. “’All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (4:10) Jesus refuses to ally himself with the devil for control over the world and most especially control over his own destiny. Jesus refuses to misuse his power to build up influence and domination.(5) “Then the devil left him and suddenly angels came and waited on him.” (4:11)
In the desert I encountered a similar pressure from the devil suggesting that I deserved better than what God was giving me. In her sermon Barbara Brown Taylor states that we Christians are sometimes tempted to believe “that we deserve bigger and better than what we have. That the devilish voice in our heads says things like, ‘If you are a child of God, should things be going a bit smoother for you? If you are really a Christian, I mean-shouldn’t you be happier, healthier, richer, safer.” (6) More self actualized and self confident. She goes on, “You know what to say back now, right? ‘Away with you Satan, I would rather be a hungry child of God than a well-fed player on your team.” (7) So in the middle of the desert, in the midst of sand, cactus and deafening silence I was able to say “Away with you Satan, Away with your taunts of emotional in-security, Away with your seduction for me to sell out on my call, Away with your shame! I am a beloved Child of God, a woman called to serve in ministry and you will not make me misuse or even me dis-use my God given gifts for ministry.” And it was then that I could finally hear the small still voice of God say, “Well done good and faithful servant…in you I am well pleased.”
May it be so. Amen.
(1) Barbara Brown Taylor “The Wilderness Exam” Bread of Angels (Cambridge, Mass: Cowley Publications, 1997.), 38.
(2) Barbara Brown Taylor “Remaining Human” Christian Century February 7-14, 1996. 127.
(3) Robert Bryant, “Matthew 4: 1-11 – Exegetical Perspective” Feasting on the Word, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary Year A, Vol. 2 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 48.
(4) Ibid., 49.
(5) Ibid., 49.
(6) Taylor, “Wilderness Exam”, 40
(7) Ibid., 40.
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