Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? Lent 3 Sermon

            The summer after I graduated from high school I was replacing steel fence posts in my parents’ cow pasture.  The ground was hard and dry so the posts didn’t go in easily.  I had to hold the post with one hand and hold the heavy sledge hammer in the other and beat down hard many times to drive the posts in. 

It’s hard to get good aim when swinging a sledge hammer one handed so I had my hand close to the hammer head.  All was well until the post where I had slid my hand all the way up the handle, and the hammer head missed the post.  Instead of the heavy steel head of the hammer smashing down on top of the steel post the head went beyond the post and my finger got smashed between the post and the hammer handle.  It didn’t even take a second for me to realize I was going to be making a trip to the local medical center to get my finger sewn back together again!

Of course it was stupid and careless of me to let my hand slip that far up on the hammer handle.  I learned my lesson well and I haven’t made that mistake again.  While I didn’t like hurting, the situation made sense.  I messed up and I got hurt.

Now let’s change the situation.  Let’s look at the case of Giana Bartolucci and her father.  Some of you may know her.  She used to sing in the Amadeus Chorale, the children’s choir that meets here for rehearsals on Friday nights.  She’s been in our sanctuary many times.

Last Christmas Eve she and her father were driving to church when they were hit by a drunk driver.  Their vehicle flipped over and caught on fire.  Both were severely injured and burned.  They were rushed to the hospital for treatment.  There were many touch and go moments.  Her dad has improved significantly, but she has not.  I want to read excerpts from two recent updates from her family about her.  This one’s from February 6^th: Giana developed a fever today so is now getting some antibiotics while they wait for the results of cultures that were taken. She is beginning to respond some to some simple commands which is a wonderful answer to prayer but she has a long way to go! Various therapies work with her each day and the doctors continue to tweak her medications to maximize her comfort and progress. The burn doctor is hoping to auto-graft some remaining areas on her left leg later this week.

And one from February 20^th A few days ago Giana was transferred to Unity Hospital to start therapy (swallowing, moving her hands, legs, sitting up, etc. Due to complications with her GI tube she was officially discharged from Unity after only being there 2.5 days, in order to go back to Strong for her G-tube replacement (Strong put it in and had to be the one to replace it).

Without being overly dynamic let’s just say that the little girl’s life will never be the same; a lifetime of problems, pain and complications even though she did nothing to deserve it.

Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why do some destructive and downright evil people get away with anything, yet others hit hardships and problems no matter how hard they work.

Our gospel reading gives Jesus’ response to the questions of why bad things happen to good people.  People were asking him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.  We have to take a moment to understand what that means.  These Galileans would have been Jewish pilgrims from Galilee who were killed by Pilate’s troops while they were offering sacrifices to God for their sins.

Just like the idea of getting struck by lightning for using God’s name in vain, so is this idea.  Was God angry with these people or their sacrifices?  Was God using Roman soldiers to carry out divine punishment by these people being killed in the process of offering their sacrifices?  Were they guilty of some secret sin but God knew and punished them?

Jesus takes the question further by adding another dimension.  He says, “Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think they were even worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?” (Luke 13:4)  In this example there is a natural disaster or accident causing deaths.  The question remains – what did they do to deserve it?

Before we get to Jesus’ answer – which I guarantee you, you will not like – let’s be sure we understand what’s going on in our minds.  We believe that there should be discernible links between actions and consequences.  I hit my finger with a big hammer.  It hurt and I had to get medical attention.  It all makes sense.  But a girl seriously harmed by a drunk driver – that we just don’t get.  People in Jesus’ day thought the same way.

So, what does Jesus say?  “…do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” (13:4-5)

Does this mean that they deserved it?  Does this mean that Giani deserved to be hit by a drunk driver?  Does God really not care when we suffer?  We want to cry out to God, “Come on God, pain is real!  Lives are being ruined!  I don’t like this sense of justice!”

Let’s use that thought to come at the problem from a different angle.  You all know the story of Adam and Eve and their sin in the Garden of Eden.  When I imagine them being tempted to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil I imagine a lush tree with tantalizing fruit hanging from it.  The temptation to eat of the fruit is like what I feel when homemade chocolate chip cookies have just come out of the oven.  I can’t resist for long! 

But that’s probably a wrong way to imagine it.  Put yourself in Giana’s parents’ shoes.  Something terrible has happened to your daughter.  You don’t understand it.  And there in front of you is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Do you want to eat that fruit?  Do you want that knowledge for yourself?  Do you want to know why?  Oh yes.  Yes you do!  In fact that will gnaw at you constantly.  Eventually you will reach out and want that for yourself.

Keep the story of Adam and Eve in your mind as we look at the parable Jesus tells about the unproductive fig tree.  While there aren’t exact parallels I do think the parable uses the Garden of Eden as a backdrop.  Again we have a troublesome tree in a garden.

The owner, a God-like figure, says to get rid of this tree.  For three years he’s been looking for figs and gotten none.  Fig trees don’t usually produce until they are ten years old, so that puts this tree at about thirteen years old.  It has been taking up valuable space and resources for 13 years yet has produced nothing.  Knowledge and logic would suggest that it should go – it should be replaced with something productive.  But the gardener, a Jesus-like figure, asks for mercy.  He begs for one more year.  And in that year it will receive extra care; and fertilizer.  (I suppose if we are in the place of the unproductive tree we’d better get ready to have manure dumped on us!)

What do we learn about why bad things happen to good people from all this?  First, (and perhaps the hardest) we want to be able to make sense of the world.  When something happens we want to be able to see how it fits into God’s greater design.  But we have to remember that isn’t always the case.  Maybe it is.  Maybe it isn’t.  Our knowledge is limited.  It is an act of faith to accept that, and to accept that no matter how much or how little sense something makes, God’s ultimate plans will be accomplished.

To put it all succinctly, why do bad things happen to good people?  I don’t know.  I can’t know.  But there are things I do know. 

The parable of the unproductive fig tree shows God’s mercy.  God gives second chances.   Or in the case of the fig tree, fourth chances.  And God will work us to help our lives bear good fruit. 

We also know that God does not abandon us in our pain and in the things that seem unfair.  God is not afraid of pain and hurt.  Whenever we ask why bad things happen and we can’t make sense of it remember the ultimate bad thing that happened to a good person – the crucifixion of Jesus.  There you have a totally and perfectly innocent person suffering for the sake of all the rest.

According to the gospel of Mark what does Jesus say from the cross?  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Why?  There are many reasons.  Among them is for us to fully know that God knows what it feels like when bad things happen to good people.  God is with us always.

May every day bring you joy and happiness.  And may bad things not happen to you.  But when they do, God will give you the faith needed to go through them.

Which way are our lives oriented? Mid Week Lent Service

Which way are our lives oriented?  Do we build them around what culture says we are to do or around what God says we are to do?  The gospel of Luke dives into these questions with Jesus as an example.  We had several Bible readings (Luke 2:41-51, 4:5-8, 4:20-30, 13:31-35, 23:32-37) which make the contrast between the way the world says Jesus should orient his life and the way God the Father says Jesus should orient his life.  Over and over again we find that the world’s ways are reasonable and logical.  Perhaps they are even good, but they are not what Jesus is called to do.  They are not oriented towards God’s purposes. 

Following is a skit I created to be performed on the 1^st Sunday in Lent, but since I wasn’t here we didn’t do it.  However, we have it now and notice the way the devil often gives reasonable and logical responses – but they aren’t necessarily right.  For every decision big or small we should not look to the world for answers but to our God.

 

Lent 1 Year C Skit

Synopsis: A person contemplates the purchase of a new car – a Honda minivan – while the Angel and Devil try to influence the decision.

Cast:    Angel, Devil, Person

Set: Person sits while the Angel and Devil stand at either shoulder.  Person has a copy of Consumer Report or similar information about minivans.

Costumes: Something to designate Angel and Devil

 

Person: I think I’ll go with the Honda Odyssey.

Devil: The Honda Odyssey!?!  Are you nuts?  That’s about the most boring vehicle ever made!  Do you really want to make the statement everywhere you go that you’re the world’s biggest bore?  Go for a sports car or a big SUV!

Angel:  Don’t listen to him.  You have no need for a sports car or an SUV. 

Devil:  Of course you do!  You want to look successful don’t you?  You want to look like you’re making it – not just scraping by driving a boring shoe box with wheels tacked on.  Where’s your sense of style?

Angel:  You can’t think that way!  Who made you who you are?  God did.  Who made you worthwhile?  God did.  You don’t need a car to give you style.

Person:  Minivans are kind of boring, but that’s what I need to get the kids from place to place and haul a big item from time to time.

Devil:  Okay, fine!  Buy the minivan.  But at least get one with some options.  What are the choices?

Person:  (Consulting paperwork) Let’s see.  The base model has…

Devil:  (Interrupting) The base model!?!  You’re kidding me right?  Not only are you going to drive the world’s most boring vehicle, you’re also going to go cheap?

Angel:  There are a lot of benefits to keeping things simple.

Devil:  Benefits?  Sure.  Like what?  Like nothing!  Every time you park that thing in the parking lot by the ball fields do you really want every other parent to look at your minivan and think, “That’s the base model.  How poor must they be?”  Can you ego handle that?  No it can’t!  You’ve got to show the world you’ve got it by the horns.  At least buy something further up the ladder.  Something that says you’re not just scraping by at bare minimum.

Angel:  Don’t listen to him.

Devil:  Look, how about this one (pointing at the paperwork) – the Touring Elite model.  Now that makes a statement of success!
Angel:  That costs fifteen-thousand more than the base model!

Devil:  Of course it does!  It says, “I’ve made it.”  It says, “I’m a practical parent who wants to keep my kids safe, so I gave in to a minivan.  But I’ve also made it and I don’t really have to drive this.”  It even sounds kind of humble like that – that you’re a caring parent and successful community member.  Yes, that’s the image you want!

Angel:  There’s nothing humble about a strategy of humility.

Devil:  Sure there is.  Everybody does it!

Person:  There’s no way I can afford the Touring Elite model – it’s nearly fifty-thousand-dollars!

Devil:  (Resigned) Okay, but at least don’t go for the base model.

Angel:  The base model has everything you need to get safely everywhere you want to go.  And even the base model is really quite luxurious.

Devil: (Sarcastically to the angel.)  Well listen to you!  Next thing you know you’ll be trying to talk him out of a minivan altogether.

Angel: Maybe, but there’s more to it than that.  He’s/She’s skipped over the first question already.  That question is, does he/she really need a minivan at all?

Devil:  Of course he/she needs a minivan at the very least!  Every parent with kids needs at least a minivan.  It says, “I’m a parent and I have responsibilities in this world and I keep my kids safe and want them to be well-rounded and do well.”

Angel:  That’s a total lie, and you know it!

Devil:  No it’s not!

Angel:  Oh yes it is!  (to the person)  Don’t let pressures trap you.  Have you really thought this through?  What made you think you needed a minivan in the first place?  Think deep.  Be honest.

Person:  Everybody has a minivan, at least.  It’s just what you do.

Devil:  Exactly!  You need it!  You have to have it.  It says to the world that you’re a good person.

Angel:  It says to the world that you’re going along with what everyone else says you are supposed to have.

Devil:  Don’t listen to that angel.  People are going to think you’re weird.

Angel:  Did God make you weird?  No.  God did a good thing when you were made.  No one can take that from you.  And nothing can enhance it either.

Devil:  Absolutely do not listen to that angel!

Angel:  And there’s more.  Here’s the real question to ponder.  Does this equip you to show the love of God in the world?  You always pray, “Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done.”  That means big decisions and small are made with God’s will in mind.

Person:  Maybe I’d better pray about this more before I make any decisions.

Angel:  That’s the spirit!

Devil:  I hate tempting faith filled people.  Next time I want to be on the winning side!

Citizenship in Heaven, Lent 2 sermon preached 2/21/16

            Valentine’s Day was last Sunday and I included a bag of Dove chocolates in the presents I gave to my to my wife.  I chose the Dove chocolates because there are sweet little thoughts and sayings printed on the inside of the foil wrappers.  Nissa has one from a couple years ago posted on the refrigerator that says, “Laugh until your heart overflows.”  But the new messages weren’t the same.  I was disappointed, most of them were snarky and not sweet at all.  Later in the week as I was thinking about today’s sermon I realized I wanted to use some of those sayings, but I couldn’t remember them for certain.  It’s a small bag of candy and with four people dipping into it, it didn’t last long.  So I did the only thing that would guarantee accuracy in a sermon – I bought another bag.  (But don’t get your hopes up.  That bag’s gone too!)  Here are some of the sayings:

Make all foods finger foods.

Teach your grandma to take a selfie.

Ignore Hashtags (preceded by #)

Keep them guessing.

Stay up past your bedtime.

Don’t worry what the neighbors think.

Buy both.

The only really sweet one was, “Learn something new with an old friend.”  And in the bottom right corner of every wrapper were the words, “Choose less ordinary; Dove.”

Now I get that these edgy little comments are meant to be cute and fun.  And I’m probably being a killjoy to criticize them, but they don’t capture a spirit that will really warm our hearts.

Maybe I’m still being a killjoy to say that it feels like a lot of what our culture celebrates these days has an arrogant edge to it.  There’s a subtle – or not so subtle – selfishness to it.  There’s an indulgent spirit.  There’s a desire to one-up another person.  There’s a desire to stand out; and who cares what the consequences are to others.  The thing is, do we really like ourselves when we act this way?

When I was a kid I remember a few other kids who, well without going into details, most kids considered odd or weird or repulsive.  They got picked on a lot.  And I would join in too.  At one level there was a delight in making fun of someone and enjoying making them feel bad.  But at a deeper level I didn’t like myself when I was doing it.  Often when I look around at people in our communities I wonder, “Do they really like themselves?  Are they actually happy with who they are?  It doesn’t seem so.”

Our second Bible reading was from Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  Among the many exhortations he gives them is the part we read today reminding them that their citizenship is in heaven.  Citizenship was very important to the Philippians.  Though located in north eastern Greece, Philippi had been given the status of “Ius Italicum” (Italian Law) which meant its citizens had all the same rights and privileges of citizens of the city of Rome.  Among their perks were significantly reduced taxes, including no land tax.  Though not an exact equivalent, imagine if your municipality were granted an exemption from all property taxes in perpetuity, and other communities then had to foot your community’s expenses.

Such was the case for Philippian citizens.  Then when Paul says their citizenship is in heaven we know he is drawing on a powerful concept for these people.  The rule of heaven applies to them, and all its benefits – including someone else footing the cost for their salvation.  They knew that someone was Jesus.

We too are citizens of heaven.  Now don’t get carried away.  You can’t write on your 1040 and your IT-201 that you are a citizen of heaven and therefore exempt from paying all state and national taxes.  But I do think the citizenship idea is a healthy way for us to understand how to structure our lives and be happy with who we are.

I started off saying I don’t want to be a killjoy by nit-picking the sayings in Dove candy wrappers.  Indeed Christian righteousness can often bring up an image like nuns in a convent all walking around with their hands folded in prayer and no hint of a naughty thought anywhere in their lives.  Who wants to live like that?  Either you’ll become a pious snob or you’ll come to hate God because God won’t let you have any fun.  And if that becomes your view of God then why would you want to go to heaven?  But that is not what citizenship in heaven is all about.

To be a citizen is to belong.  It is to have a place to call home.  It is to have a group of people around you who respect you, accept you and value you.  It is to have a meaningful role and purpose in your life.

Paul wrote to the Philippians, “For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.  Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.” (3:19)  As you read that list of qualities don’t imagine some shadowy character that Charles Dickens would create as a villain.  Just imagine an ordinary person struggling through life.  He or she wants friends, wants community, wants acceptance.  Except instead of turning to Jesus, they turn to themselves.  Rather than building others up they seek to build themselves up by tearing others down.  On the surface they feel acceptable.  Inside they hate themselves.  In big ways and small life for them is constant work for acceptance from others.  And it just doesn’t work.

Citizenship in heaven isn’t about being righteous.  It is about knowing you have a place.  When Jesus says, “Take up your cross,” and in the many places in the Bible when we are called to live selflessly and virtuously this is not about being goody-two-shoes.  This is about doing things so that you are happy within yourself.  And when you are happy within yourself you can be happy with others.

Indeed it isn’t always easy.  There are always temptations.  There are always failures.  There are times when we still want to tear someone else down to build ourselves up.  And there are times when we want to exploit and indulge because that’s the easy way.  But we do well to remember our citizenship.  It is a citizenship granted to us that we did not earn.

            Perhaps we should make Citizen of Heaven chocolates.  The wrappers would say:

You are beautiful.

Smile, God loves you.

Rejoice for you are God’s good creation.

You are a citizen of heaven.

Help someone in need today.

Though it will never fit on a tiny foil wrapper, “Write someone you love a handwritten note today and actually mail it – even if they live at the same address as you.”

Smile at someone you don’t know.

Compliment someone.

Give someone some praise.

When the day is done you will have lived as a citizen of heaven.  You will have shared God’s love.  And you will fall asleep with contentment and satisfaction within yourself.  Amen

Faith Questions Lenten Series - What Happens After You Die?

I often hear questions along the lines of what happens after you die? 

Similar to these are:  What actually happened to Jesus between Good Friday and the resurrection?  What does it mean that he descended to the dead, or that he descended into hell?

Answering these questions is complicated, but it also gives us a good foundation for understanding how the Bible works.

When most people think about what happens after you die their ideas come from the ancient Greeks.  The ancient Greeks believed there was a body/soul split.  When the body died the soul was released.  It would then go to either heaven or hell.  Many Christians will vehemently insist that this is what the Bible teaches too, but it does not.  Indeed these thoughts are present in our scriptural writings, but they are secondary, they are supportive, not primary.  

What is primary is the ancient Hebrew ideas of the body and of death.  The ancient Hebrews did not accept the body/soul split of the Greeks.  To them body and soul were one.  And when you died, that was it.  You were dead.  Consider Ecclesiastes 9:5-6: “The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no more reward, and even the memory of them is lost.  Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished; never again will they have any share in all that happens.”

            This remains at the heart of the Bible’s teaching about what happens after death.  However, newer writings of the Old Testament and the New Testament do indeed show ever more Greek influence.  That created an interesting division in Judaism.  You’ll remember the sect of the Sadducees.  They were a conservative group that only considered only the oldest parts of the Old Testament to be scripture.  No surprise they thought death was the absolute end of a person.  They didn’t believe in a resurrection from the dead.  The far more liberal Pharisees included the newer writings of the Old Testament in their scripture, and indeed those parts showing more Greek influence about existence after death.  They did believe in the resurrection.

Despite a Greek influence in their understanding about a person their understanding remained firmly rooted in ancient Hebrew ideas.  And the same is at the core of our Christian thoughts. 

1^st Corinthians 15, which we read earlier, is the most concise teaching about what happens after death in our scripture Bible.  Notice there is no body/soul split.  The dead are dead.  They don’t have bodies decomposing in one place while their souls exist elsewhere.  It speaks of a resurrection event.  It speaks of a glorious new existence in some form.  Harper’s Bible Dictionary calls it a, “complete transformation of the human being in his or her psychosomatic totality.”  (Pg. 864).  In other words, everything is new, while somehow who you are also remains whole.

            Some people are unnerved by the idea of deceased relatives having no existence at all right now.  But I remind people of God’s powers.  God is beyond time itself.  From God’s perspective the future is already over and the past hasn’t yet happened.  It is we who are bound by time.  It is we who are separated by those we love who have died.  To put it differently, time is only relevant to the living.

            Now, what of those parts of the New Testament like Acts 2 and 1 Peter 5 that speak of Jesus going to the realm of the dead?  I don’t believe these texts were designed to give us insight into what happens after you die.  It appears that the authors are using Greek ideas to teach a deeper truth.  It is always important to remember that the Bible’s authors will borrow from other belief systems in order to teach a deeper truth.  In the case of death the teaching is that the power of God’s love in Christ does have power over death.

            Death is absolute, but God’s love is even greater.

            If we as Christians think our soul is immortal then we miss the power and miracle of God’s love, and the resurrection.  When you die you die.  Your body dies.  Your soul dies with it.  It doesn’t have a supernatural existence that is somehow maintained.  God promises to bring it all back from non-existence.  Christ’s resurrection and the promise of our own is then a true miracle of absolute proportions.  That is what we live for in faith and hope.

February 14, 2016 1st Sunday of Lent Luke 4:1-13

Our gospel reading with Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness reminds me of the silly story of the man who went to his doctor and asked him for some medication because he was feeling guilty about some of his behavior.  The doctor said, “I think you need to see a psychiatrist.  I don’t have any medicine that could change your behavior.”

“You misunderstand me doc.”  The man replied, “I don’t want to change my behavior.  I want you to give me something so I don’t feel guilty about my behavior.”

We could look at our gospel reading from the point of view of resisting temptations.  Indeed we could draw parallels between the three things the devil is tempting Jesus to do and things we are tempted to do in our own lives.  But I think we’ll find something more significant if we go another layer deeper into the text.  Let’s rename this text, “The Testing of Jesus.”

Remember that this text comes at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.  We’re in chapter 4 of Luke’s gospel so we’ve been through Jesus’ birth story and a bit about Jesus’ childhood.  For the most part, however, Jesus hasn’t come on the scene yet.  He hasn’t preached anything.  He hasn’t taught anything.  He doesn’t have disciples or followers.  He is baptized by John the Baptist and immediately goes into the wilderness for forty days, which gives us our forty days of Lent.  This is a time for prayer and discernment for Jesus before he begins his public ministry.  And thus the stage is set for his temptation, or testing, by the devil.

            If you’re a scientific thinker don’t get too worked up about figuring out the nuts and bolts of what really happened historically.  Luke is teaching us something in story form, and the historic plausibility of the story doesn’t impact its truth.

            It boils down to this.  Jesus is the Son of God.  How is he going to use his status as the Son of God?

             Let’s go back to another story in the Bible, the story of Adam and Eve.  You’ll remember that things start off quite well for them, but then they mess up.  They eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Twentieth Century German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer starts his book on ethics with these words, “The knowledge of good and evil seems to be the aim of all ethical reflection.  The first task of Christian ethics is to invalidate this knowledge.”  Bonhoeffer goes on to explain that if we find ourselves asking questions of what is right and what is wrong - what is good and what is evil – then we’ve already gone too far.  We’re claiming for ourselves the ability to figure out good from evil.  That is God’s to know and not us.  What Adam and Eve should have done is turned to God and known God ever more fully.  Instead, they didn’t trust God and set out away from God on their own course of self-improvement.  Similarly when we find ourselves not knowing what is right we should turn to God and know God’s nature ever more fully.  With that orientation we will do what is right.

            So, back to Jesus in the wilderness, what is his orientation going to be?  Will he as a man stay turned to God and God’s purposes, or will he be like Adam and Eve and not be content with what God has made him and set off on his own course of self-improvement?

            That is the root question underneath our gospel reading.   And it is a question we have to ask ourselves too.  Which way are our lives oriented?

            We might easily answer that our lives are turned towards God.  After all here we are in church.  We pray.  We try to do what is right.  We try to be good people.  We resist temptation, and even when we fail we are sorry about it and try not to do it again.

            But evil is not so simple.  Evil is very subtle.  Look at the temptation of the devil when he shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and says, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority…  If you, then, will worship me.”  As a child I imagined this worshipping would look like Jesus bowing down before the devil and literally worshipping him.  How disgusting!  But as an adult I understand this temptation differently.  The real test is which way will Jesus orient his life and ministry?  Is he going to go along with the flow of the world or is he going to orient his life exclusively the way God calls him to orient it?

            Why is your life structured the way it is?  If you own a house, why did you buy it?  If you have children, why did you have them?  Why did you buy the car that you have?  Why do you have the education that you do?  If you are retired or think and plan ahead for retirement, what is shaping that vision?

            I believe that what many people who consider themselves to be good and successful have really done is looked at what our culture says good and successful people do and they basically follow along.  It is very easy to build your life around society’s models and then tack on Christian faith almost as an accessory.

            I have an old Dodge minivan that is rolling on to the end of its life.  I was recently talking to my mechanic about it and he recommended that when the time comes I should check out the Honda Odyssey minivan.  He says they are long lasting and perform well.  So I started poking around online to learn more about Honda Odysseys.  I don’t buy new cars.  That’s mostly because I’m just plain cheap, but also because when you park in hospital parking garages as often as I do it’s only a matter of time before your vehicle bears all sorts of scrapes and dings from other people’s car doors.  I couldn’t risk something new and pristine in a parking garage. 

Well, I didn’t poke long before my jaw dropped at how much Honda Odysseys cost; even-well used ones!  But I looked some more and saw that the stripped down base models were still really well equipped and were pretty reasonably priced.  I could be comfortable with that.

But then vanity set in.  Do I really want to pull into a parking lot filled with other parents and have them see I’m driving the bottom of the line vehicle?  I mean, a minivan isn’t exactly a fashion statement.  At their best they’re still an insult to a guy’s masculinity!  The least I could do was be seen in something more than the base model.

Then I thought about it some more.  Why do I want a minivan in the first place?  Well… it’s because that’s what good parents drive, right?  I’m probably getting myself in trouble when I say this, but what you drive says a lot about you.  If I, with a wife and two kids, insisted on driving a sports car people would call me a selfish jerk.  If I drove a massive SUV that rivaled the state snow plow trucks in size people would call me a bully.  But a minivan is what good parents who have their priorities straight and care for their children drive, right?

So says society at least.  But what about God?  Have I considered the situation in light of what God is calling me to do?  Is a Honda Odyssey going to equip me to accomplish God’s purposes in this world? 

That is the question I should be asking.  When the devil tempts Jesus the real test is whether Jesus will go along with the ways of the world because that is what the world expects of people or will he turn to God over and over again?  The world says if you’re hungry and you can get food for yourself you should get it.  But God wanted Jesus to be fasting when he was in the wilderness.  The world says here are the rules we live by Jesus, bow down and follow them.  But Jesus chose to always turn to God for guidance.  The world says use your gifts to get ahead in life.  If you’re smart or sexy or talented or charismatic use those skills to go as far as you can go.  Jesus choses to use his gifts only to accomplish God’s agenda.

The world says buy the minivan because that’s what good parents drive.  Maybe that’s what I should have to accomplish God’s purposes.  Maybe not.  I’d better make the decision in light of God’s kingdom, not just do it because society tells me so.

Here at the beginning of Lent the testing of Jesus in the wilderness by the devil reminds us that this is the annual time when we look at our lives.  Where are we going?  Why are we doing what we are doing?  How do we make decisions?

Wholeness of life is only possible in God.  May God give us the courage and insight to always turn towards him.  Amen

Ash Wednesday 2016, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

            The years we have presidential elections give me a ready- made illustration to an Ash Wednesday sermon.  You couldn’t ask for a bigger contrast between the genuine humility Jesus talks about in our gospel reading and what it takes to run for President of the United States.  Candidates spend years, perhaps decades, strategizing to be president.  You can’t just step off the street with no experience and expect to get anywhere as a candidate.  Every speech you make must be made in light of someday being president.  Every bill supported, every vote cast might be scrutinized in the future.  Your friends and acquaintances are largely based upon who will help you get further up the political ladder.  You don’t necessarily do what you think is right, but what will get you ahead.

            And then, if you do actually become the president, or any high office, you’ve got a lot of favors to pay back.  You’re expected to help your supporters get ahead as well.  And of course there are probably skeletons in your closet you now have to keep hidden.  And there are deals you made in ‘smoke filled rooms’ that you want to keep quiet.  And of course there are re-election issues to consider.

            After all that, do you really have that much freedom or power?  No, you’re probably a slave to your own schemes.  We have to ask ourselves, is anyone who really wants to be President of the United States fit for the job?

            Let’s leave the high profile world and come closer to our own.  While probably none of us have the drive to become president, some of the same dynamics can take hold of our lives.  Jesus’ teachings about true piety and humility are for our own good.  God does not want us to be humble so that God can feel good; as if God is president and we are all lowly campaign workers whose own ambitions God doesn’t want as competition!

            Last Christmas and New Years I was visiting relatives and someone was watching a show on the Disney Channel.  I don’t know the name of the show.  It was some cartoon about the children of fairy tale characters.  Anyway, I caught a conversation between two teenage girl characters that went something like this:
“Help me make these cupcakes into something fabulous.”

“I didn’t know you liked to make cupcakes.  Why the sudden interest?”

“Because when Sarah made cupcakes everyone raved about them, and I want to make them so people will rave about me too.”

“Alright, let’s see what we can do.”

             My jaw nearly dropped when I heard this!  I couldn’t believe I had heard something actually insightful from the Disney Channel!  But there it was – insight deep into the hearts and minds of many people.

            Haven’t we all been there at some time or another?  Haven’t we been around people we want to impress and so tried to do something impressive?  We want to do something to stand out, something unique, something important, something to receive praise.  I think these dynamics are most powerful when we are adolescents, but they can carry on throughout all of life.

            These things can be very subtle.  If you have a circle of friends and you’re trying to decide what you want to do, it’s nice when you have an idea and everybody jumps on it too.  It’s no fun if your thoughts are constantly ignored or shot down.

            Do you ever ask yourself why you really are doing what you do?  Are you doing it to fit it?  Are you doing it to impress someone?  Are you doing it in order to feel acceptable or worthwhile?  Why do you really want to make cupcakes?  It takes real courage to be the Disney character who answered, “So that people praise me.”

            Ten years ago I began to serve on the synod’s candidacy committee.  That’s the committee that oversees the development of pastors through the seminary process.  The candidacy committee is considered by many to be the most powerful and prestigious committee in the synod.  I remember my first several meetings sitting there at this table surrounded by some of the titans of our synod – names and legends: pastors, seminary professors, professionals leading their fields.  I was both honored to be seated at a table with these folks, but I also knew I was way out of my league.  I didn’t want to look like a fool.  I wanted to show I was indeed good enough to be there.  When we had conversations and made decisions I wanted to say things that were insightful and worthwhile and wise.  I didn’t want these highly intimidating people to look at me and think, “What’s that guy doing here?”  If I’m bluntly honest with myself, my motives for what I did were to get the praise of the others around the table.

 

            In our gospel reading Jesus taught not to do things so as to be praised by other people.  We make a mistake if we imagine the people Jesus is calling hypocrites are high flyers like presidential candidates, or even any person who makes a big deal about what they do.  Jesus was probably speaking in parables, using exaggerations, to make his point.  His point speaks to us – not as a condemnation, but as a warning.

            Why do we do what we do?  When our motives are to get acceptance and praise we are in dangerous territory.  We are taking a serious risk of getting hurt.  We are looking to other people to establish and maintain our sense of self-worth.  God tells us that our self-worth resides safely and securely in him and him alone.

            When we do something purely for the point of being constructive and helpful and up-building, then we are truly giving.  Then whether our efforts are notice or not noticed, accepted or rejected, we do not feel that we ourselves are being accepted or rejected.

            If your life is a popularity contest then you are living in a very frightening and insecure way.  You want to live as Jesus instructed.  That is to put your treasure in what God is doing.  Put your trust in the fact that God loves you and cares for you and makes you worth something.  If God honors you, you’re a fool to look anywhere else.