We want a Monarchy!

Proper5BISam8 by Annette Fricke

"We Want a Monarchy!"

The citizens of the United States have just gone through the agony of another presidential election.  I think it would be accurate to say that many people wanted change.  Many in my circle were not really happy with either the Democrat nor the Republican candidates.  Some people equate socialism with communism.  For other countries, it is a no-brainer.  Some countries have had years of universal healthcare.  The main objection, it seems to that is the much higher tax rate of these countries. Demanding "radical" change in the way things are done in America seems to be almost unanimous. England had its own upheaval, leaving the EU. What they don't agree upon is what needs change, how to change it or even who should effect the change. And the conflict continues.

In the passage from 1 Samuel 8, we hear echoes of another divisive political climate in ancient Israel. Things have got to change, the system is broken, we hear the people telling Samuel, their aging statesman. What's hard for us to imagine, though, living in a 21st century democracy, is the kind of change that elders of Israel were urging.  "Give us a king to govern us!" they demanded in 1 Samuel 8:6. Unlike this proposed monarchy, this is not the government we have, but the government from which we fought to be free.

It is not entirely clear why the ancient Israelites transitioned from a tribal society into a monarchy in the early Iron Age (sometime in the late 11th or early 10th century). Up until this point, the most significant transition between leaders in the biblical text occurs when Moses dies and Joshua, Moses's assistant, takes over. After that, the biblical text describes a fairly haphazard state of affairs in which charismatic leaders (judges) rose up from time to time to lead groups of Israelites, generally into battle, culminating in the figure of Samuel. As the author of Judges records, "In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes" (17:6). 

Monarchy was certainly not a new institution in the Ancient Near East, having deep roots in Mesopotamia and Egypt, as well as nations surrounding Israel. Israel was perhaps unusual in not having instituted a monarchy. But King Saul rose to power in a period characterized by unprecedented upheaval among Israel's neighbors. "Throughout most of its recorded history," notes James Kugel, "the little strip of territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea had been dominated by its larger, more powerful neighbors...Egypt to the south, Babylon and Assyria to the east, Aram/Syria to the north, and still farther north, the Hittites." During the reigns of Saul and David, however, most of these nations were distracted by their own internal issues. It's possible that this reprieve gave the "tribes of Israel a unique opportunity, not only to cast off foreign domination but to form a mini-empire of their own..."

In addition to the opportunities created by this temporary power vacuum, ancient Israel was likely experiencing internal turmoil due to competing coalitions within the tribal society. The author of the text hints at this possibility at the beginning the 1 Samuel 8 when he frames the narrative by pointing out that Samuel had grown old and that he had appointed his sons as judges, "yet his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside for gain; they took bribes and perverted justice" (verses 1-3). 

This same information is immediately repeated in verses 4-5, when these words are put in the mouths of the elders of Israel who come to Samuel who tell Samuel, "You are old...  appoint for us a king to govern us, like other nations." 

For some, then, a monarchy might have meant a more reliable system of governance which might allow for more equitable rule than seemed probable under the leadership of Samuel's wayward sons. For others, and not as obvious in the text itself, it's possible that the elders represented an elite segment of society who would also stand to benefit under a monarchy, the 1% if you will. For them, having a king would create the possibility for significant personal gain, a society in which both power and resources were consolidated in the hands of a few.

The text doesn't provide any further clues as to who more precisely was interested in a king or even why, suggesting variously that "the elders of the people of Israel" (8:4), "the people who were asking for a king" (8:10), "the people of Israel" (8:22), or simply "the people" (8:19, 21). The only stated rationale for such dramatic social change: they wanted someone to govern them, they wanted to be like the other nations, and they wanted a king to go out before them to fight their battles.

It is also possible that not everyone was on board with the idea of monarchy. This becomes apparent in the sharp contrast in the text between the seemingly unified position of the people and both Samuel's and God's distinctly negative responses. Upon hearing the people's request, the narrator reports that "the thing displeased Samuel" and that "Samuel prayed to the Lord," presumably about his concerns.

God comforts Samuel, saying, in effect, 'Don't worry, this is not about you. Look what I've done for them in the past, and look how they've rejected me.' God continues speaking, "Now then, listen to their voice; only -- you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the way of the king..." (8:9). Samuel goes on, at great length, to demonstrate that a king is not necessarily the solution to all their problems. In fact, in his view, a king is just the beginning of a completely new set of problems. 

It's easy to side with Samuel and God in this passage, from our vantage point in a democracy, but we may not be giving the people the credit they deserve. If part of the reason the Israelites want a king has to do with justice and good governance, then Samuel misses this altogether. In his response, he doesn't recognize their concern, by either defending his sons or explaining past injustices. One almost gets the feeling that he is deflecting the legitimate concerns of the people by making it about him! Does he feel guilty about not being as attentive to these kinds of problems as he should have been? 

God's response is a bit strange as well. God, like Samuel registers the request as a personal attack, yet God tells Samuel to go ahead and give them a king. We are left wondering if God authorizes this change in affairs because God wants to punish the people or because God sees new potential, some fresh air, in a different form of governance. Maybe God is just as ready for a change as the people, but just wasn't willing to initiate it.

Just how do we see change?  Do we rail against it simply because it has not been done before?  Do we ever welcome change?  Are there acceptable ways to introduce change?  Do we fear the unknown and therefore cling to the past? There is one thing for sure found in this story about Samuel, the people supported him, but not his sons and gave him direction.  The position of a king here is not one of dictatorship, but of being humble enough to accept that perhaps the judgment of the elders is spot on.  Is the church where it needs to be or do we need to come up with something new?  You decide.

Breathe that They may Live!

5LentA Ezekiel 37:1-14 by Annette Fricke

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath (ruah), prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath (ruah): Thus, says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds (ruah plural), O breath (ruah), and breathe upon these slain, that they may live” (Ezekiel 37:9). The Hebrew word ruah, meaning “breath” and “wind” as well as “spirit,” is repeated ten times in these fourteen verses -- four times in the climactic verse 9 alone.  Breath, wind and spirit are thought to be similar terms denoting the same thing.  They are all approximations descriptive of what some would say is the grace of God.  On our own, we cannot give ourselves life, but God can.

Ezekiel insists that individuals are both utterly free to make moral choices and responsible for the consequences of these choices. Each individual is given the chance to make decisions that may be life-giving or death-dealing (Ezekiel 18). Yet Ezekiel sees little evidence that Judeans will choose more wisely in the future than they have in the past. Though blessed with moral agency, they are no more able to use this faculty well than lifeless bones are able to get up and walk.

But Ezekiel discovers divine grace instead. This grace initiated the whole human enterprise by making humans from dust and breathing into them the breath, ruah, of life (Genesis 2:7). God likewise initiated the entire Israelite project, choosing to take slaves from Egypt, giving them God’s own law, and bringing them to a good land -- and doing this with minimal cooperation (Ezekiel 20:5-14). Now, Ezekiel says, God will take the initiative yet again: God’s spirit will bring new life to a people dead as stone, dead as bones.

Divine initiative and human action are interwoven throughout this passage. It is God who leads Ezekiel to the valley and directs his attention and speech. It is the prophet who sees, and describes, the utterly dry bones, and responds by doing as he is asked, ordering the desecrated bones to hear God’s word. As he does so, with no help from the bones themselves (what could the dead do?), God brings them together.

God adds sinews, tendons to attach them; flesh, muscles to make them strong, and skin to give them form. Yet still they lie lifeless. It is only when God tells the prophet to speak to the ruah -- the spirit, or breath -- and Ezekiel does so, that the spirit breath blows from the four winds and the bodies live and stand. Divine agency and human response appear interwoven, if not inextricable. Initiative comes from God, who makes sure the prophet participates. Ezekiel calls to the spirit; the spirit enters the people; they come to life, a vast multitude.  What was once desecrated, without life now becomes holy with life and the potential to serve God once again.

It seems quite logical that the original giving of the Holy Spirit in early Christian rituals was not by the laying on of hands, but breathing on a person.  We now associate breathing on someone with spreading germs.  But think for a moment about the qualities of wind or breath.  A cold wind penetrates to the bone, doesn’t it?  Anyone who has lived in a damp, cold, humid climate knows this to be the case.  It makes sense then that God’s spirit penetrates to the bone and that is how dry bones can come alive!

God’s Spirit, which is really God’s grace is what fills the gap between what we are made for and putting that grace into action.  We are not meant to be dead pew sitters, but alive in Christ people who think and move and take action in the world about us.  Just as Jesus reached out to others, that also is our mission.

Jonah, a Whale of a Story

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Epiphany3BJonah3:1-5, 10 A sermon Lowry 5step methodPsa2nd
                Before us is

Before us is the story of Jonah, a reluctant, unwilling, prophet of God.  He does not go out with the boldness of Peter, but is rather much more like Saul the persecutor of the early Christian community.  He does not pray to God for strength to carry out God’s mission, he does just the opposite and actually flees from God.  But God gets him to do God’s work anyway.  It is a story that many of us have heard from Sunday School or Vacation Bible School several times over.  “Jonah and the Whale” was what we were taught, but now it is “Jonah and the Big Fish.”  God wants to go one way and Jonah the other.  God finally wins out in the end with an ending that makes Jonah unhappy.  What can we learn from Jonah?

 “The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time.” We know what happened the first time. God said, “Get up and go to Ninevah … and Jonah got up and ran away towards Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.”

He doesn’t leave what he’s doing and immediately follow God’s call. He jumps on the first boat going in the opposite direction and hides in the hold of the ship, hoping that somehow God won’t take notice. If compared to Jesus’ core disciples, it’s as if they, upon encountering Jesus, jumped into their fishing boats and rowed like madmen for the opposite shore, as far away from this dangerous itinerant preacher as they could get.

Jonah did just that, trying to get as far away from the LORD, and the LORD’s bizarre instructions, as he could get. Go to Nineveh? The capital of the Assyrian Empire, that destroyer of Israel, that brutal occupying force. It was unthinkable.

After Jonah runs away, God sends a storm. The sailors of the boat are more pious than Jonah, but they eventually they reluctantly throw Jonah overboard. The sea calms down immediately, and Jonah is swallowed by a big fish.

Jonah, totally surrounded by sea water and fish blubber, pleads to God: “You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me.” The sea in the ancient Near East, of course, is the symbol of chaos, of danger, of wildness. But even in the heart of the seas, God hears Jonah’s prayer. God speaks to the great fish, and the fish spews him out onto dry land.

That’s where we enter the story. “The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, “Get up and go to Ninevah, that great city.” And, this time, still covered in sea water and fish regurgitation, Jonah obeys. He walks into the city, one day’s journey, and preaches the shortest sermon ever recorded:

It’s a sermon of just five words in Hebrew -- “Forty days more, and Nineveh will be overthrown!”

The response is electric. Immediately, the people of Nineveh believe God, and here’s where the humor of this story builds. The people declare a fast. The king, not to be outdone, orders human and animal alike to fast and put on sackcloth. Then all those sackcloth-covered cows and sheep and people bellow out their repentance to God, and God’s mind is changed about the punishment, and does not bring it about.

We would think Jonah would be ecstatic. After all, he’s the only really successful prophet in the whole Bible. He has brought about a mass conversion of which even Billy Graham would be jealous. Every inhabitant of the city, human and animal alike, has come forward for the altar call. Jonah should be ecstatic.

But Jonah is not ecstatic in any sense of the word. Jonah is madder than mad. “Ah, LORD, is this not what I said would happen when I was still in my own territory? That’s why I fled to Tarshish in the first place. Because I know that you are a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.”

Jonah, of course, is quoting the LORD’s own self-description (from Exodus 34:6) a description taken up by prophets and psalmists throughout Israel’s history to remind God of God’s own nature. But in Jonah’s mouth, it is an accusation: You, God, are gracious and merciful. I KNEW this would happen! I declared your judgment on this sinful city, and you changed your mind!

Here’s the thing, you see, this is what all of us have found out about following the call of God in and through the waters: God is God and does not act as we think the Almighty should act. In good faith, we follow where we hear God’s call, we go to the city, or the suburb, or to small town and rural America, and we are prepared to bring God’s word to that place, and what we find is that God is already there before us. We find that no people, and no place, not even Nineveh, can properly be called God-forsaken.

Often, of course, that lesson is hard to learn. A story I read comes to mind.  “A friend of mine whose first call was in a small-town parish. The council president in that parish was a very, very difficult woman who tried to sabotage him at every turn. He tried, he really did. He prayed for her. He visited her and attempted to reconcile with her. He prayed and prayed, and finally one day he started singing (to the tune of “Bind Us Together, Lord”): “Bind her and gag her, Lord, bind her and gag her with cords that cannot be broken …” It is a prayer Jonah himself might have prayed. 

Think now, if you will, of a person that you find difficult to love. (Now, I am not talking about an abusive situation.) Think about someone that you find irritating or annoying, someone you find difficult to be around.  They may hold values that you don’t hold.  Or perhaps those conflicting values are the cause of disagreements.  We all have that one person who is a challenge to us, that one person who throws us off to where we don’t know how to respond. But how do we treat someone like this with dignity and respect? There are no easy answers.  Sometimes it involves the slow process of getting to know that person and that person’s understanding of the world.  Certainly, praying about it and consulting others would also be of help.  Lastly, it facilitates the process if we remember that we are no better or worse than the person with whom we have a conflict.  Apologizing and forgiveness may also be in order to smooth out a relationship.

God indeed loves us.  That is also a message that we have been given several times.  However, we still have that tendency to draw some kind of line between us and them.  With God, there are no sides.  The same God who gave Jonah a second chance gives the people of Nineveh a second chance, and we can’t begrudge that kind of mercy. God gives all of us a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance and ad infinitum. This God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, a God we know most fully in Jesus Christ. Jesus is our supreme model for our behavior towards others.

And that, my friends, is certainly a Gospel story worth preaching and teaching among all people everywhere.

Do you Walk away from Suffering?

PassionSundayAPsalm31

Exegesis: Psalm 31 is one of three psalms that appear prominently in the story of Jesus’ passion.

In the minds of the Gospel writers, this psalm along with Psalms 22 and 69, seems to have expressed better than any other passages the nature of Jesus’ suffering and his emotional turmoil while being rejected, betrayed, and crucified.

Psalm 31 appears explicitly only one time in the gospel writings, in Luke 23:46 when Jesus quotes verse 5a, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” The psalm is a prayer by one who suffers unjustly and in that suffering, puts complete trust in God.

Psalm 31 has both of these elements, and each is employed to full effect. These two elements go hand in hand, as the cry for help arises out of a place or state of deep need, and at the same time out of a sense or state of deep trust.

The complaint portion of this psalm elucidates a place in which there is “terror all around!” (verse 13). The source of this terror is the physical distress of the psalmist, and the feeling that “I am an object of scorn, dread, and the plotting of my enemies.” The call for help emerges first from the psalmist’s “distress,” “grief,” “sorrow,” and miserable sighing (verse 10). This deep emotional distress manifests itself in physical suffering: “my eye wastes…my soul and body also…my strength fails…my bones waste away.” And second, the call for help is uttered over the voices of those who see the psalmist’s misery, speak scornfully of the psalmist, and have begun to scheme against the psalmist.

Trust, which balances this cry for help is simple, yet profound. “You are my God,” and “My times are in your hand….”

There was much suffering during the time that the psalms were composed.  These sufferings were the raw material that inspired the writing of the psalms and their use in temple worship.  We continue to have much in common with the people of old.  We suffer, too.  Suffering is common to all, both the young and the old, the wealthy and the poor.  Nobody is immune to suffering, not even Jesus. As written in the passion narrative for today, Jesus was mocked, spat on, derided, taunted by many around him and crucified by the government officials.  Crucifixion itself was a very cruel way to die. “Most experts agree, though, that what ultimately kills a crucified person is suffocation. Either the body loses so much oxygen that the person smothers, or the carbon dioxide level in the body goes up so much that the body tissues turn acidic and destroy their own cells.”[1]  As to how this or any other suffering is experienced not only depends on the particular source of suffering, but each person’s perception.  One thing is for sure, it is quite painful.

This congregation has experienced the death of several members, members who have been pillars of the parish in their monetary giving as well as their sharing of their talents.  They have been the metaphorical bricks and mortar that have laid a solid foundation that has lasted for many years.  If it was not for them, we would not be here today.  Perhaps when we come forward to give thanks for our blessings, we should remember these people more often, not just on All Saints’ Sunday as is the tradition. 

In Jesus’ day, many people treated him cruelly and/or abandoned him when he was going through the process on the way to the cross.  We are told that there were few who actually stayed with him and watched him die on the cross. Many people hate nursing homes and hospitals and don’t even want to visit when death is not imminent, less so when someone is on hospice or actively dying. This is an important topic we should be discussing with our families and friends.  It is something of importance that we should be writing down, not just whether or not we want cremation or bodily burial and what kind of worship service we want.  This is the time to have those conversations. Today, at this moment.

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[1] http://io9.gizmodo.com/this-is-the-horrible-way-that-crucifixion-actually-kill-1477804826

Faith to Mission

3LentB, John 2:13-22

Exegesis—In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus is more and more convinced that his mission includes the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem as he nears his ministry’s end.

In these gospels, Jesus enters the temple, overturning tables, and quoting Isaiah 56:7 stating, "My house shall be called a house of prayer." and Jeremiah 7:11, "You have made it a den of robbers." This action convinces Jewish leaders even more to silence Jesus, indeed to destroy him (Mark 11:18; Luke 19:47).

John's gospel differs from this more familiar picture in very important ways. First, Jesus is just beginning his ministry. Right after the miracle at Cana in Galilee, he returned to Capernaum "with his mother and his brothers and his disciples" (2:12).  John tells us in 2:11 that his disciples "believed in him" after the first sign of changing water to wine.   Now, in this passage, we will see the disciples actively engaged in trying to understand this Jesus in whom they "believe" with the help of Scripture.

We also will see in these verses that such understanding of both Scripture and Lord is an unfolding process. In fact, the "remembering" of Scripture and Jesus' own words are at the center of the lives of Jesus' disciples. It is useful to see Jesus' own disciples coming to deeper realization of what it means to believe in Jesus. Gradually, they come more fully to understand how Jesus serves the God who has sent him out of love for the world.

Central to the passage, is the act of interpretation and remembering. Both times the disciples appear, they are remembering. In verse 17, they reflect on Jesus' quotation of Zechariah 14:20-21 in terms of Psalm 69:9. Jesus explains the temple cleansing in prophetic terms decrying the use of the temple for trade.  But why does Jesus do this?  It is perfectly legal and a great help for visitors to the temple to buy in order to make the required sacrifice.  That is the Jewish law. But that historical fact is not relevant. Rather, Jesus is declaring himself both as prophet and as one who claims that the Lord's house is his "Father's" house. His disciples have the first hint of the big conflict that will be at the heart of Jesus' ministry, and recognize it as predicting Jesus' death.

This passage lays before us a promise that if we pay attention and remember, then Scripture and its Lord will be revealed as true and reliable. However mysterious and incomprehensible Jesus' word or deeds may be in the present, to engage with belief and keep Scripture in mind eventually will bring disciples to the place where things come together and belief is created.

The passage reminds us of two additional things. One is that expanding, deepening, maturing belief comes in a process of engaging, experiencing, and remembering. Another is that this is possible because the same God has sent the prophets whose words are Scripture (even for Jesus) and has sent Jesus.  This God continues to be among us as the Holy Spirit. The reliability is God's reliability, God's faithfulness.

Human Condition then-- In spite of their dawning comprehension of perils that surround Jesus, the disciples are no more able than the "Jews" to grasp fully Jesus' statement in verse 19. (And remember, the disciples themselves, like Jesus, are also Jews). Jesus offers a sign so outrageous and so incomprehensible; it is not until after his resurrection that his disciples understand what he has just said. Jesus seems to speak of the temple, but does not. Or does he?

          First, we are informed that Jesus had a particular meaning in mind not understood by his contemporary audience, a meaning that makes Jesus' prophecy abundantly true. Second, we are reassured that the disciples come to understand this when their experience catches up to that of the readers. That is, when the disciples find out what the narrator and his audience already knows, that Jesus will both die and be raised in three days, they too will look back at this prediction in verse 19 and fully understand it.

At that point, after Jesus' resurrection when the disciples remember this moment and understand their Lord more fully, they offer an example to us. For remembering and belief come together again in verse 22. They remember what Jesus said. They have seen it come to pass. They believe anew both in Scripture (the prophetic word Jesus cites) and in Jesus' own prophetic word.

Human Condition here and now-- This passage lays before us a promise that if we pay attention and remember, then Scripture and its Lord will be revealed as true and reliable. However mysterious and incomprehensible Jesus' word or deeds may be in the present, to engage with belief and keep Scripture in mind eventually will bring us to the place where things come together and belief is created.

The passage reminds us of two additional things (at least!). One is that expanding, deepening, maturing belief comes in a process of engaging, experiencing, and remembering. Another is that this is possible because the same God has sent the prophets whose words are Scripture (even for Jesus) and has sent Jesus.  This God continues to be among us as the Holy Spirit. The reliability is God's reliability, God's faithfulness.

Proclamation—We walk by faith because that is the hallmark of our belief and understanding of the works and person of Jesus.  Jesus’ identity is from the beginning.  As in the very first part of the Gospel of John says and I quote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.”  Jesus is this Word.  Jesus does not stand alone just as we do not stand alone.  The whole book of John is permeated throughout with this concept.  Jesus both quotes scripture from the past and as a true prophet tells the future and it is fulfilled. This is the trustworthiness of God.  The resurrection is the seal that what Jesus says about God is true because Jesus is God. 

We walk by faith because even though we are assured that eternal life is ours by Jesus’ actions here on earth, there is still much we do not know with certainty and our faith, at times is very weak and we want to give up.  And yet, we have each other.  It is the fellowship among believers that helps keep our faith alive.  It is the remembering of scriptures and hymn texts that cause our memories to stay alert and watchful and mindful of our task here on earth.  It is up to us to make that kingdom here on earth a living, breathing organism.  It is up to us to nurture and to receive nurturing, to live in that salvation.  We are to receive from Jesus each time we pray and study scripture and participate in the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is where we meet God face-to-face.  It is where God’s presence is assured.  God’s presence with us is what strengthens us for mission in the world, to be present with the outcast, the unloved, the forgotten.  God never forgets us and that is our mission to others.  We are charged with the mission to bring together all of God’s children.  What word or deed will you share with others today?

Whoever Welcomes You

Proper8A/Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, July 2, 2017, St Martin’s Episcopal by Annette Fricke

            The tone of this part of Mathew, chapter 10, is one of comfort when it talks about when a person does something good, a reward will follow.  However, if we are to step back just one verse, we hear quite the opposite.  Verse 39 reads, “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”  It is important to read scripture as a whole, not just the little passages we listen to on Sunday mornings as though that is all there is in the Bible.  I once knew a student at the Catholic seminary who thought that the Bible consisted of only those Biblical passages read during Mass.  What comes before the gospel helps to illuminate the meaning of the present text.  Our gospel’s meaning is better understood in the context of what precedes; that half a sentence which says, “Those who find their life will lose it.”  The contrast compels us to think about our motivations in life.  To pursue anything irrespective of our relationship to God is always a mistake.  It will cost us.  We may be making new friends who we believe value the same things as we do, but at the same time without our rootedness in God, drive us further from God.  Our faith wavers when we grab onto such things as security—that better job, that better salary—that better position.  Are we doing it for selfish reasons or because we sense that God is pushing us forward in that direction?  Opportunities for change seldom come in a package where it is an easy decision.  The decision-making process is usually filled with all sorts of pros and cons, where when chosen one way or the other still makes us wonder if the decision we made was the right one.  Perhaps either way was the right one.  Perhaps either way was the wrong one. A friend of Dad’s once told me when he was over 90 years old, “I still don’t know if marrying Doris was the right choice.”  Despite that thought that he would mull over in his mind periodically, he remained faithful to her. Despite that our thoughts and behaviors may betray our loyalty to God, the choice to follow or not is always there.  The choice to follow will sometimes send us in a direction we didn’t really choose to go.  The way of God is the way of sacrifice.

            In today’s reading we hear the words, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”  For the day in which this was written, it was meant to be the same as if in the presence of the sender.  Whoever welcomes you, welcomes Jesus, and whoever welcomes Jesus, welcomes the Father; for all of these are one and the same.  These words bring to mind the ancient Jewish tradition of sending messengers.  They did not have newspapers, television, radio or computers then.  Everything was sent by way of a messenger and what was sent by messenger was the same as if that person was speaking directly to you.  Even in the middle ages, the tradition continued.  If the king sends a messenger, it is the same as if the king was speaking directly to you.  This tells us something very important.  If we see ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ, our ministry is Jesus himself.  We are not just the messenger or gopher.  We are not simply middle management.  We are not simply the poor laborer or slave of our master.  As we look back a few Sundays to John, chapter 14, it said that we are in Jesus just as Jesus is in the Father.  We are God to the person to whom we minister.  People know God through us as Christian believers.  Yet even though we are in the community of Christ, we are amongst a sea of unbelievers and atheists which are quite numerous.  This may be cause to feel like one of the little ones, as the early Christians felt.  But God is with us in the most profound way possible.

            So, with that in mind, here is our challenge.  Our bulletin proclaims every Sunday, “St. Martin’s is a welcoming, vibrant community that fosters spiritual growth to serve Christ in all people.”  Will we walk away?  Will we take responsibility?  Will we see that this simple sentence and guiding principle is accomplished over and over so that our small Christian community will increase and the work God has given us to do will be done?  Do we not also pray every time we gather, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”  In order that our prayers be effected, action must follow.  We are to seek God’s guidance and go forward, as we proceed, discerning where God would have us be as a congregation, using the resources we have and trying different strategies.  We should be asking the questions as to how to make our ministry to others work.  A challenge requires a response, a united response where we work together, not each person doing their own little thing by themselves.  We are called to relationship and we are to be about the building of relationships with each other and our community, the local as well as the global community.

            We are called to meet basic needs, to see that basic needs are distributed and received.  That is the grace of God at work.  That is the reward of servanthood.  That is the reward of sainthood.  The life packs are a great example of meeting basic needs.  Outside our community were several places in need of drinkable water such as Airway Heights and Flint, Michigan.  Many during this time of the year are victims of house fires in need of temporary shelters.  We are not expected to meet everybody’s needs, but we do have the resources to meet the needs of many.  We are a strong congregation, but our strength is stronger when we unite in common goals, pitch in and work together.

            If we are to seek validation of what Matthew is telling us in this gospel passage, there are two other gospels to consider.  Mark’s gospel says that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.  John’s gospel says that from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.  I think we can put these together.  Is not our reward in serving others the grace of God which we ourselves have received?  Isn’t it God who makes us God’s righteous servants, to walk humbly beside God in service to others in need and giving them what they need?

            And how do we decide?  During my time as a Camp Counselor one summer, we had the kids make a list of “Needs and Wants.”  What do we really need to live on this earth?  We need food, clothing, and shelter—and I might add, drinkable water.  If the water is making us sick, it is not drinkable.  Basics.  Campers need to know that it is possible to live without a cell phone and other items they would be tempted to put on the “needs” side of the list. One counselor decided that he would wear the same pair of camp shorts for a whole year without washing them.  It is up to us as a congregation to decide.

We are called by God to give the simplest of things, like water, because the simplest is the most needed; giving water, a smile, a hand, a compliment.  Give that which will brighten someone’s day and make their load just a bit easier.  It doesn’t have to be big, just help where help is needed.  Listen where listening is needed.  Care where caring is needed.  Do the righteous thing and distribute God’s grace to all of God’s children.  We are all God’s children.  We are all brothers and sisters.  “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.  And whoever gives even a Dixie cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple---truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
Copyright Annette Fricke 2017.

God of Comfort

2AdventB, year 2017 but never preached aloud. On Isaiah 40:1-11.

Prior to chapter 40, the news spoken in God’s name is a word of judgment. The people have rebelled against the precepts of God. The people have lived at the expense of their neighbors, putting their own desires above the needs of others. Plain and simple, God’s chosen people had betrayed him.  They basically ignored God’s claim on their lives.

From chapter 40 forward, this word of judgment is in the past. Jerusalem was destroyed, and a number of its citizens did go into exile. Now, circa 540 BCE, on the other side of this experience, a new word comes to the people of Judah.

In verse 1, we hear a word of comfort and hope for a new future for the people of God. This sets the tone for both this passage and for the whole of Isaiah 40-66.

These chapters, mostly from the 8th century, point forward to a time when Jerusalem would be destroyed. In 587 BCE Jerusalem fell to Babylon, and a portion of Jerusalem’s population went into exile. God’s people are enslaved several times in the Hebrew Scriptures, then released depending upon the kingly power in charge.  I imagine for days on end, when in possession of another kingdom mulling over and over in their minds, both thinking and feeling what it was to be in bondage and at the beckon call of people clearly not on your side nor doing anything to set you free.  Your life is never your own in that situation and you must do as you are told or suffer the consequences.

Conflict--Picture for yourself a general release of all prisoners in the United States. The thought is rather scary, isn’t it? Think about all the people who were locked up for assault or murder. Yet although it may be a scary ordeal for some of us, it would be a happy event for others.  It would be a reunion of parents and children, brothers and sisters. Some who were innocent or were jailed for civil disobedience would return to their communities. Many who had become lost in the legal system would suddenly experience hope in their freedom. The impact of such an act was felt by the Jewish people when they heard the words of Second Isaiah.  It is over and now you can go home.  Some probably had no real home to go home and had to start from scratch.

Complication--The beginning of Second Isaiah presents a scene of divine command and the announcement of a town crier. God pronounced a nation-wide forgiveness and the crier announced the return of the exiles. [40:1-5] The joy of such an announcement must have accompanied the fall of Babylon to Cyrus and the Persian army in 539 B.C. A year later, the Persian ruler enacted an edict of return for the Jews in the Diaspora. They were to rebuild Jerusalem and restore the Temple.

Sudden Shift--The changing events justified the loyalty of the exiles to God. Now God could display power, even by way of a foreign king. The Jewish nation could once again praise the acts of their God. They could once again show both a religious and patriotic pride because God saved them! [40:9-11]

Good News--Freedom from bondage implicitly means return. Pardon from sin means return to God. As we wait for the coming of the Lord at Christmas, let us remember the words of Isaiah and their echo in the preaching of John the Baptist. Metanoia, the Greek word for repentance, means to turn away from self-centered pursuits and activities and instead, turn towards the Almighty.

Unfolding—Three proclamations build on the imperative to comfort God’s people in verse 1, each expanding on what it means for the people of Jerusalem to receive comfort.

While not everyone living in Jerusalem went into exile, a good number of people did. This passage talks about their return. The most direct route between Babylon and Judea, through the Syrian Desert, is poetically described in verse 3 as a way in the wilderness and a highway in the desert. It is unlikely, however, that any exiles returning from Babylon would have actually made the dangerous trek through the waterless wilderness. Rather, they would have followed water sources, going through northern Syria and then back south to Jerusalem.

That such a route would have been so unlikely suggests that a travel log is not the point. Rather, the poetic description functions to recall another journey through an inhospitable wilderness. This news of a metaphoric highway in the desert heralds a second Exodus, an easier one with flat ground and trouble-free travel (verse 4). Once more God’s people would follow their God out of captivity to a Promised Land. Anyone who had doubted God’s presence in and devotion to Judah would see this and know that God had not only spoken a redeeming word but also had the power to fulfill it.

In verse 6, the punctuation marks found in the NRSV seem to indicate a short conversation between two voices. An anonymous voice, some sort of divine attendant, issues a command to “Cry out!” A second voice, “I,” asks what is to be cried. Following this compact dialogue is commentary on the poor, unreliable constancy of the people, liable to droop like a flower in a field, and a final, triumphant claim that God is wholly other -- constant, reliable, and able to stand forever (vs. 6b-8). However, a number of scholars have suggested that the dialogue continues beyond the two lines shown in the NRSV. In this view, the “I,” speaking as the prophet, continues to speak to the end of verse 7. The words are an objection to the command to cry out. Why prophesy to a people with the constancy of grass? The anonymous voice responds in verse 8 with the very hopeful news that the constancy of the people is less important than that of God.

When read in this way, the passage echoes the pattern of a prophetic call narrative (introductory word, commissioning, objection, assurance) much like Isaiah’s call in Isaiah 6. This is a new word for a new time but is in line with the prophecy of Isaiah the 6^th century prophet.

The objections of the prophet are understandable. Would the word fall on willing ears? Not too likely. Would the message given make a difference in a world full of fickle people? Hard to tell. These are questions of most of the witnesses to the word and action of God, prophets and preachers included. The response that the word of God is not about human constancy but about the enduring reliability of God comes as assurance to the prophets in this passage and to the witnesses throughout the centuries.

At the end of this passage the city of Jerusalem, also identified as Zion, is personified. This is common in Isaiah 40-66. However, the place in the Hebrew Scriptures in which Zion is personified most consistently, is in the first two chapters of the book of Lamentations. In Lamentations 1-2 Daughter Zion cries out against the destruction wrought her. She speaks words of accusation against her human enemies and even God. The refrain that comes again and again is, “There is no one to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:2, 9, 16, 17, 21). At the end of her speeches -- and even the end of the book of Lamentations -- Daughter Zion receives no response to her cry.

The response to Zion’s laments comes, rather, in other biblical books. The response comes in verses such as Isaiah 40:1 “Comfort, O comfort my people.” The response comes in verses such as Isaiah 40:9 in which the words for Jerusalem to speak are not those of lament but of good news. She is no longer told to wail but to raise her voice without fear. The message given is confident and hopeful, “Here is your God!” Here is a God who comes to feed the flock, to gather the lambs, to lead the mother sheep -- to bring comfort. Here is God in whom we may have hope. How do you plan to turn away from yourself this Advent? How do you plan to turn towards God?

Who is Righteous Before God?

Proper25C on Luke 18:9-14

Exegesis: The Pharisee’s prayer of gratitude may be spoken to the Lord, but it is really about himself. He locates his righteousness entirely in his own actions and being. The religious word for that is self-righteousness.

The tax collector, on the other hand, knows that he possesses no means by which to claim righteousness. He has done nothing of merit; indeed, he has done much to offend the law of Israel. For this reason, he stands back, hardly daring to approach the Temple, and throws himself on the mercy of the Lord.

Here is the essential contrast. One makes a claim to righteousness based on his own accomplishments, while the other relies entirely upon the Lord's benevolence. Rather than be grateful for his blessings, the Pharisee appears smug to the point of despising others. In his mind, there are two kinds of people: the righteous and the immoral, and he is grateful that he has placed himself among the righteous. The tax collector, on the other hand, isn't so much humble as desperate. He is too overwhelmed by his plight to take time to divide humanity into sides. All he recognizes as he stands near the Temple is his own great need. He therefore stakes his hopes and claims not on anything he has done or deserved but entirely on God's mercy.

It does not appear to be accidental that this exchange takes place at the Jewish Temple. On the grounds of the Temple, you were always intimately aware of who you were, of what status you had, of what you could expect from God. There were, at the Temple, "insiders" and "outsiders," and according to these rules there was no question of where the Pharisee and tax collector stood. But when Jesus dies, all of this thinking changes. As the gospels report, the curtain in the Temple is torn in two (Luke 23:45), symbolically erasing all divisions of humanity before God. That act is prefigured here, as God justifies not the one favored by Temple law, but rather the one standing outside the Temple gate, and aware only of his utter need. His utter need is to be right with God.

Human Condition there and then: The logical best response to the occupation of a politically and spiritually foreign power is that you try to stick it out in the community, and try to bring your faith and your tradition into that community as best you can, without fighting back in such a way that you compromise the very ideals that you’re trying to uphold.

This is the hard path. This is the most difficult option. This is the tough and often mundane, hard-working alternative, where you just plug away over the years by teaching the truth, by being distinct in your dress in your speech, and by showing integrity in your dealings with people, such that it testifies to the faith that is in you.

This is the path that was taken by the Pharisees, and while we know that Jesus gave them a hard time, we know too that of all the different groups that took these different paths, the Pharisees were the only group that Jesus extensively communicated with at all!

They were in the world but not of it! They were distinctively religious people who knew who they were and what they were all about. They were the pillars of their community, as historically had been, the people that had held that community together. And so, when the Pharisee stands up and prays, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector’ he is surely simply telling the truth. He is not like other men. And he certainly was nothing like this sorry representative of humanity tax-collector.

The tax-collector was a collaborator. He was one of those wretched individuals who had seen (in the tragic occupation of his people) an opportunity to make money!

Let it be sufficiently said that these people were the drug-pushers of that time period. They were people who made all their money out of other peoples’ misery. And so, when we’re told that the tax-collector stood near the back of the temple, bowed his head and beat his chest praying, “God have mercy on me, a sinner”, what more would we have expected him to say? He’s praying the only prayer that he’s got!

Human Condition here and now: We are the Pharisee.  In public, we make statements in our churches like “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free for all are one in Christ Jesus,” yet make judgments day to day about those who have different levels of income or education and those who act in a way that we think is not moral.  We are upset by the decisions of our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers as though we should be making those decisions for them. All too often we are just like the Pharisee. We know that we are better than other women and men, we do consider ourselves superior, we have not sunk to the depths to which others have sunk, and at our better moments we thank God for that.  We congratulate ourselves and praise only the most talented and intelligent folks and as to others, we leave them in the mud as if they are a lesser human being. We pick favorites among our children according to our own standards as if that ought to be the measuring stick. We fail to act as God has shown that all of humanity is worthy of our dignity and respect.  Our churches are divided over whether or not homosexuality is a sin as well as whether or not women should be allowed to teach and preach to men. Women are trained and ready to be priests in churches that do not allow women to become priests. Other countries see universal healthcare as a no-brainer, but many in this country are against it.

Proclamation: So where do we go from here?  How do we rid ourselves of our prejudices and try to see things from a different perspective?  First of all, we acknowledge them. How can we do better?  Research the social ills of the day and get together with others to address them. How do we, in the least, withhold judgement?  Get to know the people around you and their perspective on situations in our world. One of the most difficult phenomenon to deal with in today’s schools is that of bullying.  This is something we see in our schools at a very early age.  One of the solutions to this in times past was to fight back and sometimes this resulted in fist fights and black eyes. Children would get hurt both physically and emotionally.  For some, this is still the solution, the thoughts go like this, “If I beat the crap out of him, he won’t bother me anymore.”  Then, “Why should I tell a teacher?  I can handle it myself.” The bully always feels he or she has a right to assert dominance and to make fun of other children.  We should never ignore violent and emotional abuse. This is a problem that we as Christians need to address.  If we could work on just this one thing and keep working on it, the world would be a much better place to live.  It is up to adults to be a good example and model of how to live respecting other people, even those with which we disagree. And if children want to join in, we should welcome them.  They, too have an understanding of what is right and wrong and should be encouraged to participate in working towards the dignity and respect of all people.  We need to teach our children how to treat others in the same way they would like to be treated, to point out when things are far from equal.  We should be encouraging them to be in places with other children, like at summer camp and to befriend those who have no friends, teaching them social skills to make connections with others. We are to do what we can to correct the ills of society.

            Yes, we are much like the Pharisee of Jesus’ parable of long ago, but only God can justify us and make us whole, therefore we should always pray in deep humility, “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a poor miserable sinner and help me once more to walk in your grace.”

           

            

In explanation.

The following sermons are exercises towards a final sermon for the Preachers in Training licensure for the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane.

They are leading up and and meant to also set the tone for what it is to be a Christian and to be a preacher and leader of a congregation.

The first sermon begins with Proper 25 in year C and concludes with Proper 8A, both using the Gospel texts assigned in the Revised Common Lectionary.

This is my second class with this group.  Previously, I completed a Homiletics class at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio and every study towards becoming a full sister with the Anglican Order of Preachers which also included a method of preaching.

I may use parts of these exercises in the future should I be called on to give a sermon for any of these dates in 2017 or in the sequence of every 3 years afterwards.

I continue to preach approximately every 3 months at St. Martin's Episcopal in Moses Lake, WA located in central Washington State.  I also continue to work as both a therapist and a Crisis Responder for Adams County, both south and east of here.