Tuesday, May 31, 2022
May 29, 2022 Easter 7 Luke 10:1-24
I was serving at a different congregation this Sunday. The following was created to be read by members of the congregation; with one standing at the altar, one at the pulpit, and one at the baptismal font.
Altar: A
Pulpit: P
Baptismal Font: B
B: Much has been made of Jesus saying, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightening.”
What does this mean?
Is Jesus speaking of some primordial event that caused an overall breakdown of the goodness of God’s original plans for creation?
Was Satan originally an angel that fell from God’s good graces and was thrown out?
Is this downfall some future event that Jesus is predicting?
It is not smart to make too much of it. The image isn’t consistent. Jesus is certainly drawing on Isaiah 14:12 which reads, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!” But that does not refer to Satan. It refers to one of two kings of Assyria; either Sargon II, or Sennacherib. The prophet Isaiah was already mixing images with this reference. Jesus mixes them even more.
Traditions and Christian folklore have associated this “Day Star” with an angel named “Satan” or “Lucifer”. This angel was thrown out of heaven by God for his pride and arrogance. Intriguing as the idea may be, the Bible itself makes no such connections.
Whichever Assyrian king is referred to, he had made great boasts, and (at least from the point of view of the ancient Israelites) made himself out to be a god.
When Jesus draws on this passage from Isaiah he is not making a statement about the origin of evil at all. He is making a statement about the downfall of evil that is being brought about by the work of his disciples.
P: Our gospel reading started off with Jesus sending 70 of his followers out ahead of him to every town he intended to go. Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem. This journey will be spreading the good news of God’s love throughout the whole region. By the time Jesus does reach Jerusalem there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people following him.
No names are given to any of these 70. Certainly the twelve disciples and Jesus’ close female followers were among them. But they are just among these 70 ordinary people.
Think about it. Jesus commissions and empowers 70 ordinary people to go out and proclaim that the Kingdom of God has come near. That’s it. There’s no special sales pitch. They’re not handing out swag. They aren’t selling a product. They’re not performing miracles. They’re just saying that God’s kingdom has come near.
What is the result?
Failure?
Sometime later the 70 return to Jesus saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” Jesus replies, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightening.”
Are we to take that literally? When did this happen? It doesn’t matter. The point Jesus is making is that these 70 ordinary people have been undermining the forces of evil so seriously that evil is being shaken to the core.
A: We live in a world that can feel like it is wracked with evil. People act from greed and fear. They commit violent acts regularly. Domestic terrorism has become a daily event even in our own country. For example, at this point there have been 27 school shootings in our nation this year. (Statistic reported by Education Week and relayed by National Public Radio.)
But evil is not necessarily always obvious and violent. Humanity’s desire for lives of ease and comfort creates colossal demands.
-According to the World Population Review, humans use over 3.6 billion gallons of oil every day.
-According to World Meters numbers from 2017, humans use 374 billion cubic feet of natural gas every day.
-The World Bank estimates from 2016 are that human cities create 5.5 million tons of solid waste every day. (That number does not subtract out the weight of recycled materials though.)
Are those things actually evil? Not necessarily. But the list of humanity’s destruction can go on and on in a seemingly endless list. While climate change may be the hot button issue of the day, it is but one of many issues. It certainly appears as if evil is alive and well. What are we to do?
Jesus sent 70 ordinary people into the world to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. Those 70 ordinary people shook evil at its core even though they did nothing that felt all that special. They made Satan fall like a flash of lightening. Since the pandemic our church’s attendance has averaged around 70 people. Though we may not like to call ourselves “ordinary” we’d probably not see ourselves as particularly skilled at combating evil. That is just the sort Jesus calls upon! We are indeed equipped to also shake evil to the core.
B: Our journey in the battle against evil began at our baptism. While baptism may seem like just a splash of water, it is far more. In baptism we die from the ways of the world that draw us away from God. God turns our hearts towards him. That alone is a blow to the unbridled power of evil. Certainly we still sin. We make mistakes. We do things that are hurtful, destructive, and wrong. And we still participate in the ways of the world.
But we are different. We know that we are God’s. No one can take that away from us.
We are enough.
We are not lacking.
No one can shame us into doing what we do not want to do. All are just like us – sinners in need of God’s redemption. We see the earth as God’s good creation. We see its resources as things to be used responsibly.
These things may seem like small things to us, but they are not. Evil does not like people to have such a mindset. It threatens the power it is clinging to. And evil knows it will eventually lose.
Baptism tells us that when we look in the mirror we see the face of God looking back at us. And baptism tells us that every person around us is also made in the image of God. We do not shame or condemn others.
A: Our daily battle against evil continues in communion. Like baptism, this may seem like too small a thing. What good can a scrap of bread and a thimble-full of wine possibly do against evil? But evil does not like communion at all.
Where else do: young and old, rich and poor, educated and ignorant, all gather and kneel before their God in silence? Evil cannot stand such a thing! Evil seeks to create dissention and division. Evil tells us we need to have more. Evil tells us to stand out and be special. Evil tells us we can be perfect and save ourselves. Evil does not like people kneeling in equally in submission to receive from God.
P: Words have power. Perhaps we do not preach sermons or shout from the street corners, but our words still have enormous power. So does our silence. Words of kindness and support to are direct assaults on evil. Words of encouragement and praise are also assaults on the power of evil. Evil would have us live in jealousy and fear. God’s word that: ‘We are good,’ and ‘We are enough,’ allows us to be generous in our praise of others.
Silence also has power. When we speak out against the actions of evil we are directly assaulting it. But perhaps we are too scared to speak sometimes. We seek the courage to do so. And even when we keep silent, we do not join our voices with those who seek to do harm. We are countering evil.
Actions also have power. So does inaction.
Every dollar we spend, every purchase we make, can be an act that brings the Kingdom of God into the world.
-Whenever we act with the mindset that we are God’s people evil becomes scared.
-Whenever we connect our lives to the rhythms of God’s world evil doesn’t like it.
-Whenever we use resources to build up others and create opportunities for life evil is threatened.
A: Jesus sent 70 ordinary people out and Satan fell from heaven like a flash of lightening. The biggest lie of all is that Satan actually has power. But Satan’s kingdom is incredibly fragile and frail. Though it may make a lot of noise, and it may indeed cause a lot of pain, Satan’s kingdom is nothing compared to the power of God’s love.
P: Making Satan fall like a flash of lightening does not have to be hard. It is the work of ordinary people. Satan’s power is something we effectively assault each and every day. Live by the power of God’s love and evil’s grip grows ever weaker. Evil is scared of us!
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
May 22, 2022 Easter 6 Luke 9:51-62
I have good news and I have bad news. If you’re like most people you’d rather hear the bad news first. That way you aren’t worrying while you’re hearing the good news. So let’s start with the bad.
The bad news is that Jesus doesn’t care one bit about social obligations and conventions. In the second part of our gospel reading we meet three would-be followers of Jesus. Let’s keep in mind the context, which is that Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem. Until now all his public ministry has been in and around Galilee. He traveled from place to place. He appears to have made Capernaum his home base. He would travel out from there and then return. You might encounter Jesus this week and again next week.
But now if you want to follow Jesus you have to truly be ready to be on the road. This is his big journey, his final journey, the journey to Jerusalem. If you want to be a follower it’s got to be now. If you put it off he will be long gone.
First we meet a prospective disciple. Our NRSV translations are to be commended for not making an assumption. Most translations automatically assume the person is a man. Commentator Joel Green points out that there is nothing in the text to require this. Given the way Luke raises the role of women it is entirely possible this was a female. Anyway, this prospective follower says, “I will follow you wherever you go.” That sounds sincere enough. Jesus replies, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
That’s a very interesting reply. Jesus could have said, “Everyone else has a home but I don’t.” But he goes for something deeper. He says that even many in the animal kingdom have greater permanence, comfort, and safety than he does. He, the Son of Man, God-with-us, has no place on this earth that he will call home – at least not now that he’s heading to Jerusalem.
He warns this would be disciple that following him is not a life of ease and comfort. It is to not only be on the move, but it is to not even be staying in cheap flee-bag motels. Jesus did not go to Google maps and plan out his journeys with stops at points of interest and nice lodgings along the way.
Many people mistakenly assume this person was a man, but not necessarily. Similarly most people assume this would-be disciple turned away and didn’t follow. But the text does not say that. It just gives Jesus’ response. We do not know if the person followed or not.
There is an important lesson to learn from this two-sentence exchange. It is one that makes Christianity a pretty tough pill to swallow as a faith.
Many people believe that God will protect and reward those who are faithful followers. Indeed you find some of that in the Old Testament. And the New Testament does have many places where people’s lives are improved because of their faith. You know well that Jesus said many times when he was healing people, “Your faith has made you well.”
Yet let’s not overlook texts like these. And the many texts which show that following Christ is not a path to an easy life. Remember that according to church tradition only one of the disciples lives to an old age and dies a natural death. St. Paul frequently wrote about his hardships for following Christ.
I say none of this to be depressing. In fact, remember that I promised beforehand that there is both good news and bad news. The good news is yet to come. The point is, one does not decide to follow Jesus because doing so will give one a demonstrably better life.
The next person Jesus actually invites. 9:59 says, “To another [Jesus] said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But he said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
That sounds very harsh of Jesus. At first we may believe this person’s father has just died and that Jesus is being demanding in the midst of this person’s grief. But that is not necessarily so. A couple things are possible. The person may be following traditional Jewish mourning practices. If so, then those social obligations would keep him at home. Or possibly the person is waiting for the final burial of his father. Remember in those days that when you died you were put into a tomb. But you were only put there temporarily. When you were reduced to your skeleton your bones would be removed and buried elsewhere. Then the tomb would be reused. Possibly this person is in the in-between time for his father.
Whatever the case, Jesus’ words show that social expectations do not overrule one’s calling by God. Jesus is certainly not saying that people should disregard their family’s needs, but their family’s needs do not dictate their calling from God.
The third person says to Jesus, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus replies, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
This would indeed seem to be a cruel demand of Jesus if we did not have his reply. After all, if a person just ups and leaves his family without saying where he’s going they’re sure to worry. But that is not the kind of farewell this person is intending. He seems to be intending that he will go back to his family and talk it over. He seems unsure of whether he wants to follow Jesus or not. That may seem simple for us in our day. But in those days being a follower of Jesus often meant a major life shift. Sometimes it even meant breaking with one’s family. If you became a half-hearted follower of Jesus who was always reconsidering whether it was worth it you weren’t much of a follower at all.
So, if following Jesus isn’t going to make your life easier and you can’t be guaranteed tangible benefits, then where can there possibly be good news in this at all?
The good news is not that if you suffer now God will reward you in eternal life. Unfortunately many people live horrible lives with that hope and assumption. The truly good news is that following Jesus can and will bring you immense peace and wholeness to your life here and now. It just may not be in the terms the world expects. But then again, any success in the world’s eyes is transitory at best.
Luke gives us this same answer, but I think John’s gospel gives it more concisely. In John 14:27 Jesus is speaking to his disciples at the Last Supper when he says to them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
Many people define peace as a lack of conflict. That’s technically accurate. But it is not the peace that Jesus means. It is not the peace that Jesus gives. Elisabeth Johnson, a professor at the Lutheran Institute of Theology at Meiganga, Cameroon, has this profound thought:
“Peace signifies more than the absence of conflict; it is a profound and holistic sense of well-being. It is the kind of peace which the world cannot give, but can only come from God.” (Working Preacher.org, May 2016).
You see, it would actually be bad news if following Jesus made life easy, comfortable, and convenient. While that may be what we want on the surface, it like all other things wouldn’t really bring us peace. It would just be an easy life. Peace like Jesus gives is this profound and holistic sense of well-being. When Jesus brings you peace he gives you an enduring completeness. Does that mean every day will be easy? Will you have no questions? Will you have no doubts? Will you feel that way each and every moment?
The answer is “No” to all of those questions. But it does mean overall that you are anchored in God’s reality.
I cannot give you an illustration or a story or a teaching that will give you this peace. Good news of that sort comes only from God. But I can encourage you to make opportunities for it. Life is so frantic. It is so easy to ask God for help in the franticness. But quite often the peace will come by stepping away from the franticness. That is what Jesus tells those who would follow him.
Take time to pray. Meditate. Read scripture. Go for walks on the many trails around here that go along the canal or to waterfalls or in the woods.
Take time to feel the body that God has given you. Take time to pay attention to your breathing. Let the miracle of you be a miracle to you.
That is truly good news. That you are a miracle of God’s creativity. Let that bring you peace and joy.
The bad news is that Jesus doesn’t care one bit about social obligations and conventions. In the second part of our gospel reading we meet three would-be followers of Jesus. Let’s keep in mind the context, which is that Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem. Until now all his public ministry has been in and around Galilee. He traveled from place to place. He appears to have made Capernaum his home base. He would travel out from there and then return. You might encounter Jesus this week and again next week.
But now if you want to follow Jesus you have to truly be ready to be on the road. This is his big journey, his final journey, the journey to Jerusalem. If you want to be a follower it’s got to be now. If you put it off he will be long gone.
First we meet a prospective disciple. Our NRSV translations are to be commended for not making an assumption. Most translations automatically assume the person is a man. Commentator Joel Green points out that there is nothing in the text to require this. Given the way Luke raises the role of women it is entirely possible this was a female. Anyway, this prospective follower says, “I will follow you wherever you go.” That sounds sincere enough. Jesus replies, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
That’s a very interesting reply. Jesus could have said, “Everyone else has a home but I don’t.” But he goes for something deeper. He says that even many in the animal kingdom have greater permanence, comfort, and safety than he does. He, the Son of Man, God-with-us, has no place on this earth that he will call home – at least not now that he’s heading to Jerusalem.
He warns this would be disciple that following him is not a life of ease and comfort. It is to not only be on the move, but it is to not even be staying in cheap flee-bag motels. Jesus did not go to Google maps and plan out his journeys with stops at points of interest and nice lodgings along the way.
Many people mistakenly assume this person was a man, but not necessarily. Similarly most people assume this would-be disciple turned away and didn’t follow. But the text does not say that. It just gives Jesus’ response. We do not know if the person followed or not.
There is an important lesson to learn from this two-sentence exchange. It is one that makes Christianity a pretty tough pill to swallow as a faith.
Many people believe that God will protect and reward those who are faithful followers. Indeed you find some of that in the Old Testament. And the New Testament does have many places where people’s lives are improved because of their faith. You know well that Jesus said many times when he was healing people, “Your faith has made you well.”
Yet let’s not overlook texts like these. And the many texts which show that following Christ is not a path to an easy life. Remember that according to church tradition only one of the disciples lives to an old age and dies a natural death. St. Paul frequently wrote about his hardships for following Christ.
I say none of this to be depressing. In fact, remember that I promised beforehand that there is both good news and bad news. The good news is yet to come. The point is, one does not decide to follow Jesus because doing so will give one a demonstrably better life.
The next person Jesus actually invites. 9:59 says, “To another [Jesus] said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But he said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
That sounds very harsh of Jesus. At first we may believe this person’s father has just died and that Jesus is being demanding in the midst of this person’s grief. But that is not necessarily so. A couple things are possible. The person may be following traditional Jewish mourning practices. If so, then those social obligations would keep him at home. Or possibly the person is waiting for the final burial of his father. Remember in those days that when you died you were put into a tomb. But you were only put there temporarily. When you were reduced to your skeleton your bones would be removed and buried elsewhere. Then the tomb would be reused. Possibly this person is in the in-between time for his father.
Whatever the case, Jesus’ words show that social expectations do not overrule one’s calling by God. Jesus is certainly not saying that people should disregard their family’s needs, but their family’s needs do not dictate their calling from God.
The third person says to Jesus, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus replies, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
This would indeed seem to be a cruel demand of Jesus if we did not have his reply. After all, if a person just ups and leaves his family without saying where he’s going they’re sure to worry. But that is not the kind of farewell this person is intending. He seems to be intending that he will go back to his family and talk it over. He seems unsure of whether he wants to follow Jesus or not. That may seem simple for us in our day. But in those days being a follower of Jesus often meant a major life shift. Sometimes it even meant breaking with one’s family. If you became a half-hearted follower of Jesus who was always reconsidering whether it was worth it you weren’t much of a follower at all.
So, if following Jesus isn’t going to make your life easier and you can’t be guaranteed tangible benefits, then where can there possibly be good news in this at all?
The good news is not that if you suffer now God will reward you in eternal life. Unfortunately many people live horrible lives with that hope and assumption. The truly good news is that following Jesus can and will bring you immense peace and wholeness to your life here and now. It just may not be in the terms the world expects. But then again, any success in the world’s eyes is transitory at best.
Luke gives us this same answer, but I think John’s gospel gives it more concisely. In John 14:27 Jesus is speaking to his disciples at the Last Supper when he says to them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”
Many people define peace as a lack of conflict. That’s technically accurate. But it is not the peace that Jesus means. It is not the peace that Jesus gives. Elisabeth Johnson, a professor at the Lutheran Institute of Theology at Meiganga, Cameroon, has this profound thought:
“Peace signifies more than the absence of conflict; it is a profound and holistic sense of well-being. It is the kind of peace which the world cannot give, but can only come from God.” (Working Preacher.org, May 2016).
You see, it would actually be bad news if following Jesus made life easy, comfortable, and convenient. While that may be what we want on the surface, it like all other things wouldn’t really bring us peace. It would just be an easy life. Peace like Jesus gives is this profound and holistic sense of well-being. When Jesus brings you peace he gives you an enduring completeness. Does that mean every day will be easy? Will you have no questions? Will you have no doubts? Will you feel that way each and every moment?
The answer is “No” to all of those questions. But it does mean overall that you are anchored in God’s reality.
I cannot give you an illustration or a story or a teaching that will give you this peace. Good news of that sort comes only from God. But I can encourage you to make opportunities for it. Life is so frantic. It is so easy to ask God for help in the franticness. But quite often the peace will come by stepping away from the franticness. That is what Jesus tells those who would follow him.
Take time to pray. Meditate. Read scripture. Go for walks on the many trails around here that go along the canal or to waterfalls or in the woods.
Take time to feel the body that God has given you. Take time to pay attention to your breathing. Let the miracle of you be a miracle to you.
That is truly good news. That you are a miracle of God’s creativity. Let that bring you peace and joy.
Monday, May 16, 2022
May 15, 2022 Easter 5 Luke 21:5-38
Creating a sermon for our gospel reading today was tough. Preaching on the return of Jesus and a violent supernatural end of the world does not seem to fit at all with the experience of our lives today. It sounds like hokey pre-scientific nonsense. Plus, how many people and groups have made predictions over the centuries. And the fact that we’re still here proves they were wrong!
Such teaching can also make our skin crawl, as that is not the core of the faith that we find the Spirit inspiring in us. When I drive to Lyons to work with the church there I go by a church along Route 31 whose sign out front usually has something to do with the end of the world. There’s often flames and dire warnings. Part of me wants to go there sometime just to see what it is like. I’d probably be offended and think it an embarrassment to Christianity.
So what do we do with these predictions of Jesus? How are they relevant to us?
First, let’s not just toss these predictions out as if they are remnants of the ignorant past. Indeed they are not. Jesus’ words spoke truthfully and powerfully in the world at that time, and they also do so today.
That takes us to the second thing, which is where I want to focus. The truth is that Jesus’ words do not ring true to our experience of life. For that we should be deeply thankful. For today’s sermon I want to remind us of just some of the numerous things we often take for granted, but are actually amazing blessings.
With the war in Ukraine it is pretty easy to us to appreciate peace. We do not live in a nation where there are foreign armies toting countless forms of weaponry traveling around. Our cities are not being attacked. Our industrial infrastructure is not being blown to bits.
Lest we forget the ongoing drug war in Mexico, there are also not large organized militant bands roaming our communities doing whatever they think is right to promote their own self- interest.
No one likes getting a parking ticket or a speeding ticket. No one likes when the code enforcement officer tells you that you can’t park a camper in your driveway, or that you can’t build the shed in your backyard that you want to build. And yet, we have a regulatory system that creates communities with a good standard of living.
I almost never hear people praising government regulations. People often complain about them getting in the way of development and profitability. I understand the complaints. But let’s also not forget the good.
When was the last time you went into a grocery store and questioned if the meat in the refrigerated display was safe to eat? When was the last time you ate at a restaurant and got food poisoning? Do you think twice about whether there is bacteria in your drinking water?
Thank government regulations for all of that!
Memorial Day is coming up. Canandaigua will have its Memorial Day parade return after being off for a couple years because of the pandemic. I will attend to support the high school band and the Boy Scout troop I lead. Crowds will be lining the streets sitting in chairs to watch the parade go buy. Every time there is a military group or a fire truck or something similar those seated will stand in respect and clap to show appreciation for the sacrifices made and the dangers faced. This is good. This is as it should be. These people deserve our respect and approval.
Yet while it would never happen, sometime I want there to be a parade which highlights the people who run the water treatment system. I want to highlight the people who keep the sewers clean and do wastewater treatment. I want to highlight the garbage collectors who take away all the dirty, smelly, and sometimes dangerous trash and get it someplace out of sight and out of mind. Perhaps we should add landfill workers to that parade too!
If you have had surgery and I have met with you before going in you know that I often say a prayer. It is easy to pray for the surgical team who will be operating on you. Indeed the surgeons, skilled nurses, anesthesiologist, and perhaps a whole team of support staff will be using their skills and expertise to get you back to a healthy place. They should be commended. And yet you know that I often include the hospital janitors in that prayer. I do it just to trip people up in their thoughts. After all, whenever you’re going in for surgery you’re going to be anxious about a good many things. But I also mean it. I don’t care how skilled a surgeon is, if there isn’t a sterile environment in which to do his or her work, the greatest surgeon isn’t worth much. It is the janitor whose work makes everything else possible. Your life is just as much in the hands of the janitor as it is the surgeon.
Speaking of medical things, when was the last time you went to the hospital and as a pain management they said, “Here’s a shot of whiskey and bite down on this bullet”? I hear all sorts of complaints about poor treatment, and mistakes, and mismanagement at every one of the hospitals around here. But I’ve never heard anything that bad!
I assume when you went to bed last night you did not have a serious fear that you wouldn’t live to see the morning. Thank the countless people who monitor the skies, the seas, and the land borders of our nation. They are on duty twenty-four hours and day three-hundred-sixty-five days a year watching for threats. When they do their job nothing happens. It is only when they make mistakes does anything take place that makes the news.
It would be cool if you turned on a news program and all they had to say was, “Nothing happened today. Thank you everyone for doing a perfect job!”
My one colleague and I are reading the book A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. The author decides to hike the Appalachian Trail as a project and then write about it. The ensuing adventure is absolutely hilarious. No book has ever made me laugh so much. But he also includes many serious facts about things relevant to hiking. Things like being safe in bear territory, how the forests are managed, how to have appropriate equipment and maps and stuff. He also has some profound thoughts for those who take time to realize it. He begins Chapter 6 with:
“Distance changes utterly when you take the world on foot. A mile becomes a long way, two miles literally considerable, ten miles whopping, fifty miles at the very limits of conception. The world, you realize, is enormous in a way that only you and a small community of fellow hikers know. Planetary scale is your little secret.” (Page 100)
How would life be different if Rochester was a day’s journey on foot? How about a trip to Buffalo taking a week? How different would your world be?
I could go on and on but I’m pretty sure you get the point. Our world is vastly different than the reality Jesus preached to. It is vastly safer. Vastly more just. Vastly more comfortable.
Let’s make sure we are thankful and appreciative for it.
I don’t want to trivialize the real anxieties that many people face. I don’t want to minimize the real pain of a failing body and having no pain killer capable of creating comfort. I fully respect mental illnesses, abusive situations, and the many injustices that take place all around us all the time. All of that needs to be taken seriously. Yet as we honor the seriousness of the problems we do face, let’s not lose sight of how abundantly blessed we are.
America as a nation works incredibly well. There are many many plain things that people do that are the backbone of making it a great place to live.
I invite you too keep your eyes open to the many blessings that are often just a layer under what is visible. Rejoice and make use of these blessings, for they are blessings indeed, not rights. Be thankful to God that Luke 21 does not play a major role in your life. And make use of these blessings to share the good news of God’s grace. For all people in all times and in all places need to hear that.
Such teaching can also make our skin crawl, as that is not the core of the faith that we find the Spirit inspiring in us. When I drive to Lyons to work with the church there I go by a church along Route 31 whose sign out front usually has something to do with the end of the world. There’s often flames and dire warnings. Part of me wants to go there sometime just to see what it is like. I’d probably be offended and think it an embarrassment to Christianity.
So what do we do with these predictions of Jesus? How are they relevant to us?
First, let’s not just toss these predictions out as if they are remnants of the ignorant past. Indeed they are not. Jesus’ words spoke truthfully and powerfully in the world at that time, and they also do so today.
That takes us to the second thing, which is where I want to focus. The truth is that Jesus’ words do not ring true to our experience of life. For that we should be deeply thankful. For today’s sermon I want to remind us of just some of the numerous things we often take for granted, but are actually amazing blessings.
With the war in Ukraine it is pretty easy to us to appreciate peace. We do not live in a nation where there are foreign armies toting countless forms of weaponry traveling around. Our cities are not being attacked. Our industrial infrastructure is not being blown to bits.
Lest we forget the ongoing drug war in Mexico, there are also not large organized militant bands roaming our communities doing whatever they think is right to promote their own self- interest.
No one likes getting a parking ticket or a speeding ticket. No one likes when the code enforcement officer tells you that you can’t park a camper in your driveway, or that you can’t build the shed in your backyard that you want to build. And yet, we have a regulatory system that creates communities with a good standard of living.
I almost never hear people praising government regulations. People often complain about them getting in the way of development and profitability. I understand the complaints. But let’s also not forget the good.
When was the last time you went into a grocery store and questioned if the meat in the refrigerated display was safe to eat? When was the last time you ate at a restaurant and got food poisoning? Do you think twice about whether there is bacteria in your drinking water?
Thank government regulations for all of that!
Memorial Day is coming up. Canandaigua will have its Memorial Day parade return after being off for a couple years because of the pandemic. I will attend to support the high school band and the Boy Scout troop I lead. Crowds will be lining the streets sitting in chairs to watch the parade go buy. Every time there is a military group or a fire truck or something similar those seated will stand in respect and clap to show appreciation for the sacrifices made and the dangers faced. This is good. This is as it should be. These people deserve our respect and approval.
Yet while it would never happen, sometime I want there to be a parade which highlights the people who run the water treatment system. I want to highlight the people who keep the sewers clean and do wastewater treatment. I want to highlight the garbage collectors who take away all the dirty, smelly, and sometimes dangerous trash and get it someplace out of sight and out of mind. Perhaps we should add landfill workers to that parade too!
If you have had surgery and I have met with you before going in you know that I often say a prayer. It is easy to pray for the surgical team who will be operating on you. Indeed the surgeons, skilled nurses, anesthesiologist, and perhaps a whole team of support staff will be using their skills and expertise to get you back to a healthy place. They should be commended. And yet you know that I often include the hospital janitors in that prayer. I do it just to trip people up in their thoughts. After all, whenever you’re going in for surgery you’re going to be anxious about a good many things. But I also mean it. I don’t care how skilled a surgeon is, if there isn’t a sterile environment in which to do his or her work, the greatest surgeon isn’t worth much. It is the janitor whose work makes everything else possible. Your life is just as much in the hands of the janitor as it is the surgeon.
Speaking of medical things, when was the last time you went to the hospital and as a pain management they said, “Here’s a shot of whiskey and bite down on this bullet”? I hear all sorts of complaints about poor treatment, and mistakes, and mismanagement at every one of the hospitals around here. But I’ve never heard anything that bad!
I assume when you went to bed last night you did not have a serious fear that you wouldn’t live to see the morning. Thank the countless people who monitor the skies, the seas, and the land borders of our nation. They are on duty twenty-four hours and day three-hundred-sixty-five days a year watching for threats. When they do their job nothing happens. It is only when they make mistakes does anything take place that makes the news.
It would be cool if you turned on a news program and all they had to say was, “Nothing happened today. Thank you everyone for doing a perfect job!”
My one colleague and I are reading the book A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. The author decides to hike the Appalachian Trail as a project and then write about it. The ensuing adventure is absolutely hilarious. No book has ever made me laugh so much. But he also includes many serious facts about things relevant to hiking. Things like being safe in bear territory, how the forests are managed, how to have appropriate equipment and maps and stuff. He also has some profound thoughts for those who take time to realize it. He begins Chapter 6 with:
“Distance changes utterly when you take the world on foot. A mile becomes a long way, two miles literally considerable, ten miles whopping, fifty miles at the very limits of conception. The world, you realize, is enormous in a way that only you and a small community of fellow hikers know. Planetary scale is your little secret.” (Page 100)
How would life be different if Rochester was a day’s journey on foot? How about a trip to Buffalo taking a week? How different would your world be?
I could go on and on but I’m pretty sure you get the point. Our world is vastly different than the reality Jesus preached to. It is vastly safer. Vastly more just. Vastly more comfortable.
Let’s make sure we are thankful and appreciative for it.
I don’t want to trivialize the real anxieties that many people face. I don’t want to minimize the real pain of a failing body and having no pain killer capable of creating comfort. I fully respect mental illnesses, abusive situations, and the many injustices that take place all around us all the time. All of that needs to be taken seriously. Yet as we honor the seriousness of the problems we do face, let’s not lose sight of how abundantly blessed we are.
America as a nation works incredibly well. There are many many plain things that people do that are the backbone of making it a great place to live.
I invite you too keep your eyes open to the many blessings that are often just a layer under what is visible. Rejoice and make use of these blessings, for they are blessings indeed, not rights. Be thankful to God that Luke 21 does not play a major role in your life. And make use of these blessings to share the good news of God’s grace. For all people in all times and in all places need to hear that.
Monday, May 9, 2022
May 8, 2022 Easter 4 Luke 20:1-21:4
(This lengthy message is split into several sections. Each section was read by a different person.)
If Jesus were here today what would he say about the news that the Supreme Court intends to overturn the Roe vs. Wade case? Many “conservative” Christians would say he would be on their side. They could site numerous scriptural passages to back their case. Similarly, many “liberal” Christians would say he would be on their side. They too could site numerous scriptural passages to back their case. Which side would he be on? Who’s right and who’s wrong about him?
Our political landscape in America today is divided into the Republican and the Democratic parties. While you cannot make a direct comparison, Judaism of Jesus’ day was also broken into several parties. They seldom got along. Which one did Jesus align with? How did Jesus handle those he disagreed with?
Those are entrapping questions. The truth is that Jesus aligned with none of them. He took issue with them all. In our reading from Luke we encounter a few of those parties. It turns out that despite their differences they did have one thing in common. They all want to get rid of Jesus! Each attempted to trap Jesus with their own agenda and beliefs.
We’ll look at them in a moment, but first remember that all of the events of our gospel reading took place within the temple complex in Jerusalem just a few days before the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.
The first group we meet in our gospel reading is the chief priests - and their scribes. These were the highest officials in Judaism. Their role was to ensure that the temple operated properly. During the Passover holiday thousands of Jewish pilgrims from throughout the region would descend upon Jerusalem to offer the required sacrifices. This task was complicated because it wasn’t practical to travel with an animal for sacrifice. A suitable animal would be bought once reaching Jerusalem. Similarly, Roman money had graven images of foreign gods. It was not suitable for paying the temple tax. So a large network of money changers and merchants were needed to facilitate a major holiday season.
Ancient cities were also very cramped. Where could all these exchanges take place and thousands of animals housed?
In ancient Jerusalem nearly a quarter of the city was given over to the temple complex. The vast courtyards around the temple building gave space for merchants and money changers.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem that Passover season one of the first things he did was to upend the tables of the money changers and drive out the merchants from these courtyards. This was perceived by the leaders as an irreligious outrage. It also threatened the peace in a city already strained to its limits with travelers. In the first verses of our gospel reading they ask of him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”
Jesus knew the kind of authority they would respect. It was human authority. He would have had to have been from a prominent family, or have high educational credentials, or have wealth and political power. Only these things carried weight in their eyes. Jesus had none of them.
Jesus answers their question with a question of his own, “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” John the Baptist was also a man without proper family or credentials, yet he was highly regarded by the crowds. The leaders realized they had no appropriate response.
Luke tells us that the chief priests watched Jesus and sent spies in an attempt to trap Jesus in a different way. Luke does not tell us who these spies are, but Mark’s gospel tells us they were Pharisees and Herodians.
The Pharisees were perhaps the largest of the Jewish sects. Jesus himself was probably considered to be one of them. Pharisees were the only group within ancient Judaism to have synagogues. These places of worship and teaching were scattered throughout the land with many communities having one. The Pharisees believed that close observance of the religious law was necessary to be in right relationship with God. As we have seen in the earlier chapters of Luke, Jesus conflicted with them often. Too often they let the letter of the law override the spirit of the law.
The Herodians were another Jewish sect. As their name suggests, these Jews backed the leadership of the Herod family. The Herods were by no means legitimate leaders. But by carefully leveraging their influence in the region the Romans decided to install them as puppet kings. The Herod family and their supporters knew how to leverage political and economic power; much the way our political leaders do today.
Pharisees and Herodians together make strange bedfellows, but they join forces to set a trap for Jesus. They ask an entrapping question in a flattering form, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”
There is no good answer to this. If Jesus says that Jews should pay their taxes he will cause great anger. The Jews resented their Roman overlords and resented paying the taxes which funded the very armies which kept them oppressed.
If Jesus says ‘yes’ the word would be spread that he is a sell out to the Romans. Yet if Jesus says ‘no’ the word would be spread that Jesus is an insurrectionist and seeking to start a rebellion.
Jesus creates an embarrassing trap in return, “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” he says. Keep in mind that the scene takes place in the holiest place in Judaism. Of all places the temple was a place for purity. No graven images should be present under any circumstances. The money changers existed for the very purpose of keeping idolatrous Roman coins out of the holy place! Yet someone among the Pharisees and Herodians did have a Roman coin on them. They provide Jesus with the denarius he asked for. This alone undermines the case they were trying to make. Jesus finishes off his escape from their trap by saying, “…give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Next up is the Sadducees. This obscure group of Jews appears to have been highly conservative. They saw only the Torah, the books from Moses, as authoritative scripture. As Luke reminds us, they rejected the idea of the resurrection and any idea of existence beyond a human lifespan. Sadducees also rejected the Pharisees innovation of the synagogues. They believed the only place for worship was the temple. There were probably few Sadducees. Perhaps they numbered less than a thousand. Nevertheless they were probably people of high social rank and great financial means.
They create a trap of their own for Jesus. They invent the ridiculous scenario of a woman who had seven husbands. It is based on the words of Deuteronomy 25 where if a man dies childless his wife is required to marry his next younger brother. This was so that his lineage would continue on. The question is, in the resurrection whose wife would she be?
Jesus’ response shows the limitations of their thinking, for in the resurrected life there is no need for procreation. Using only the writings the Sadducees considered to be scripture, Jesus finds an implicit reference to eternal life in Exodus 3:6. He says, “Moses himself shows, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”
That argument would not hold weight in a modern court of law, but it does the trick nonetheless.
Jesus continues on with his own question, “How can they say that the Messiah is David’s Son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ David thus calls hum Lord; so how can he be his son?”
While Jesus’ chain of logic may be difficult to follow, we get the gist. Imposing human logic upon the ways of God simply does not work.
Perhaps we feel Jesus should be kinder to all his opponents. Should he not speak more gently to them? Should he not be more understanding of their ignorance of his intentions?
No.
Jesus is bringing into existence the Kingdom of God. God’s kingdom threatens all the status and power systems that were the lifeblood of all of his opponents.
He points this out when he says, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace… They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearances say long prayers.”
The ways of life of the high priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians all relied on strategies of power. Jesus would have none of that. The gospel reading ends with the scene of the widow’s offering in the temple. All of the dynamics of religion had reduced her to poverty and kept her there. Yet her devotion to what that power systems told her was right compelled her to give her last coins.
Jesus is Lord. As such he will not allow himself to be conformed to the designs and plans of others. In our world divided into Republicans & Democrats, Pro-life & Pro-choice, Jesus would refuse to engage in the categories. Simply put, Jesus would not allow God’s kingdom to be conformed to the designs of any human group or party. Jesus will define himself and his followers according to God’s terms and God’s alone.
In today’s world many groups grasp religious teachings to bolster their own preconceived notions of what is right or wrong. That is a fundamentally flawed first step. Everything goes wrong from there. Jesus did not take sides, other than to side against any and every religious or political group who sought their own ends.
What Jesus did teach was for each person to see the life and value of the other – regardless of their beliefs or backgrounds. Remember, Jesus’ disciples were a mixed bunch too. Most were probably Pharisees. But Simon the Zealot was obviously a Zealot. The Zealots were militant group seeking to violently overthrow the Romans. Yet another disciples, Matthew, was a tax collector. Matthew had sold out his integrity to the Romans. Surely Matthew and Simon did not get along! Yet Jesus chose both and put them in his inner circle of followers.
Jesus wanted each person to see the full value and humanity of the other person – whether they be friend or foe. And whether they be worthy of love or not, Jesus taught to be a loving servant to them. A loving servant may use kindness. Or a loving servant may use tough love. But regardless, it is a way of embracing the value of the other.
Consider this final piece. At the Last Supper all twelve disciples received the bread and wine. And Jesus stooped down and washed the feet of all twelve. Jesus did this in full knowledge that they would all flee from him. Peter would deny him. And Judas would betray him!
Before you cast a stone at someone who’s political ideas do not match your own, you’d better be ready to take a bowl of water, kneel at the feet of your opponent, and wash them. Then and only then will you be of a political ideology Jesus would approve of. That is what he expects of his followers.
If Jesus were here today what would he say about the news that the Supreme Court intends to overturn the Roe vs. Wade case? Many “conservative” Christians would say he would be on their side. They could site numerous scriptural passages to back their case. Similarly, many “liberal” Christians would say he would be on their side. They too could site numerous scriptural passages to back their case. Which side would he be on? Who’s right and who’s wrong about him?
Our political landscape in America today is divided into the Republican and the Democratic parties. While you cannot make a direct comparison, Judaism of Jesus’ day was also broken into several parties. They seldom got along. Which one did Jesus align with? How did Jesus handle those he disagreed with?
Those are entrapping questions. The truth is that Jesus aligned with none of them. He took issue with them all. In our reading from Luke we encounter a few of those parties. It turns out that despite their differences they did have one thing in common. They all want to get rid of Jesus! Each attempted to trap Jesus with their own agenda and beliefs.
We’ll look at them in a moment, but first remember that all of the events of our gospel reading took place within the temple complex in Jerusalem just a few days before the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus.
The first group we meet in our gospel reading is the chief priests - and their scribes. These were the highest officials in Judaism. Their role was to ensure that the temple operated properly. During the Passover holiday thousands of Jewish pilgrims from throughout the region would descend upon Jerusalem to offer the required sacrifices. This task was complicated because it wasn’t practical to travel with an animal for sacrifice. A suitable animal would be bought once reaching Jerusalem. Similarly, Roman money had graven images of foreign gods. It was not suitable for paying the temple tax. So a large network of money changers and merchants were needed to facilitate a major holiday season.
Ancient cities were also very cramped. Where could all these exchanges take place and thousands of animals housed?
In ancient Jerusalem nearly a quarter of the city was given over to the temple complex. The vast courtyards around the temple building gave space for merchants and money changers.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem that Passover season one of the first things he did was to upend the tables of the money changers and drive out the merchants from these courtyards. This was perceived by the leaders as an irreligious outrage. It also threatened the peace in a city already strained to its limits with travelers. In the first verses of our gospel reading they ask of him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”
Jesus knew the kind of authority they would respect. It was human authority. He would have had to have been from a prominent family, or have high educational credentials, or have wealth and political power. Only these things carried weight in their eyes. Jesus had none of them.
Jesus answers their question with a question of his own, “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” John the Baptist was also a man without proper family or credentials, yet he was highly regarded by the crowds. The leaders realized they had no appropriate response.
Luke tells us that the chief priests watched Jesus and sent spies in an attempt to trap Jesus in a different way. Luke does not tell us who these spies are, but Mark’s gospel tells us they were Pharisees and Herodians.
The Pharisees were perhaps the largest of the Jewish sects. Jesus himself was probably considered to be one of them. Pharisees were the only group within ancient Judaism to have synagogues. These places of worship and teaching were scattered throughout the land with many communities having one. The Pharisees believed that close observance of the religious law was necessary to be in right relationship with God. As we have seen in the earlier chapters of Luke, Jesus conflicted with them often. Too often they let the letter of the law override the spirit of the law.
The Herodians were another Jewish sect. As their name suggests, these Jews backed the leadership of the Herod family. The Herods were by no means legitimate leaders. But by carefully leveraging their influence in the region the Romans decided to install them as puppet kings. The Herod family and their supporters knew how to leverage political and economic power; much the way our political leaders do today.
Pharisees and Herodians together make strange bedfellows, but they join forces to set a trap for Jesus. They ask an entrapping question in a flattering form, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”
There is no good answer to this. If Jesus says that Jews should pay their taxes he will cause great anger. The Jews resented their Roman overlords and resented paying the taxes which funded the very armies which kept them oppressed.
If Jesus says ‘yes’ the word would be spread that he is a sell out to the Romans. Yet if Jesus says ‘no’ the word would be spread that Jesus is an insurrectionist and seeking to start a rebellion.
Jesus creates an embarrassing trap in return, “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” he says. Keep in mind that the scene takes place in the holiest place in Judaism. Of all places the temple was a place for purity. No graven images should be present under any circumstances. The money changers existed for the very purpose of keeping idolatrous Roman coins out of the holy place! Yet someone among the Pharisees and Herodians did have a Roman coin on them. They provide Jesus with the denarius he asked for. This alone undermines the case they were trying to make. Jesus finishes off his escape from their trap by saying, “…give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Next up is the Sadducees. This obscure group of Jews appears to have been highly conservative. They saw only the Torah, the books from Moses, as authoritative scripture. As Luke reminds us, they rejected the idea of the resurrection and any idea of existence beyond a human lifespan. Sadducees also rejected the Pharisees innovation of the synagogues. They believed the only place for worship was the temple. There were probably few Sadducees. Perhaps they numbered less than a thousand. Nevertheless they were probably people of high social rank and great financial means.
They create a trap of their own for Jesus. They invent the ridiculous scenario of a woman who had seven husbands. It is based on the words of Deuteronomy 25 where if a man dies childless his wife is required to marry his next younger brother. This was so that his lineage would continue on. The question is, in the resurrection whose wife would she be?
Jesus’ response shows the limitations of their thinking, for in the resurrected life there is no need for procreation. Using only the writings the Sadducees considered to be scripture, Jesus finds an implicit reference to eternal life in Exodus 3:6. He says, “Moses himself shows, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”
That argument would not hold weight in a modern court of law, but it does the trick nonetheless.
Jesus continues on with his own question, “How can they say that the Messiah is David’s Son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ David thus calls hum Lord; so how can he be his son?”
While Jesus’ chain of logic may be difficult to follow, we get the gist. Imposing human logic upon the ways of God simply does not work.
Perhaps we feel Jesus should be kinder to all his opponents. Should he not speak more gently to them? Should he not be more understanding of their ignorance of his intentions?
No.
Jesus is bringing into existence the Kingdom of God. God’s kingdom threatens all the status and power systems that were the lifeblood of all of his opponents.
He points this out when he says, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace… They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearances say long prayers.”
The ways of life of the high priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians all relied on strategies of power. Jesus would have none of that. The gospel reading ends with the scene of the widow’s offering in the temple. All of the dynamics of religion had reduced her to poverty and kept her there. Yet her devotion to what that power systems told her was right compelled her to give her last coins.
Jesus is Lord. As such he will not allow himself to be conformed to the designs and plans of others. In our world divided into Republicans & Democrats, Pro-life & Pro-choice, Jesus would refuse to engage in the categories. Simply put, Jesus would not allow God’s kingdom to be conformed to the designs of any human group or party. Jesus will define himself and his followers according to God’s terms and God’s alone.
In today’s world many groups grasp religious teachings to bolster their own preconceived notions of what is right or wrong. That is a fundamentally flawed first step. Everything goes wrong from there. Jesus did not take sides, other than to side against any and every religious or political group who sought their own ends.
What Jesus did teach was for each person to see the life and value of the other – regardless of their beliefs or backgrounds. Remember, Jesus’ disciples were a mixed bunch too. Most were probably Pharisees. But Simon the Zealot was obviously a Zealot. The Zealots were militant group seeking to violently overthrow the Romans. Yet another disciples, Matthew, was a tax collector. Matthew had sold out his integrity to the Romans. Surely Matthew and Simon did not get along! Yet Jesus chose both and put them in his inner circle of followers.
Jesus wanted each person to see the full value and humanity of the other person – whether they be friend or foe. And whether they be worthy of love or not, Jesus taught to be a loving servant to them. A loving servant may use kindness. Or a loving servant may use tough love. But regardless, it is a way of embracing the value of the other.
Consider this final piece. At the Last Supper all twelve disciples received the bread and wine. And Jesus stooped down and washed the feet of all twelve. Jesus did this in full knowledge that they would all flee from him. Peter would deny him. And Judas would betray him!
Before you cast a stone at someone who’s political ideas do not match your own, you’d better be ready to take a bowl of water, kneel at the feet of your opponent, and wash them. Then and only then will you be of a political ideology Jesus would approve of. That is what he expects of his followers.
Monday, May 2, 2022
May 1, 2022 Easter 3 Luke 24:36-53
(Accompanied by an operating single and double pendulum. A homemade one though, not as nice as the ones below!)
You all know what a pendulum is. It is a simple steady and absolutely predictable device. A pendulum swings back and forth, back and forth with clockwork precision. If you know your physics well you know that a pendulum swinging gently exhibits simple harmonic motion. The equations that predict it are very simple.
I have a clock from the late 1800’s with a pendulum. There is a screw at the bottom of the pendulum that adjusts its length. The clock’s instructions say that ¼ turn of the screw will increase or decrease the clock’s speed by 15 seconds per day. Despite the old technology and over a century’s worth of wear that clock doesn’t do too bad head-to-head with a modern quartz clock movement. And it will probably easily run for another century. Good luck getting quartz action to do that!
Even if you take a pendulum and swing it wildly it is still highly predictable. The formulas are a more complicated than those of simple harmonic motion, but it is still easily analyzed mathematically. Yes, pendulums are remarkable for their simplicity and predictability.
But what about a “double pendulum”? What happens if you add just one more moving piece?
Suddenly the whole thing goes to chaos. What was once predictable has now become wildly unstable. It is theoretically possible to use mathematical equations to predict a double pendulum, but you need a serious amount of computing power to be able to do it! And, even the most miniscule variation in the inputs can lead to dramatically different results. I have heard that the variations are so miniscule that even with precision equipment in laboratory conditions it is impossible to get the inputs precise enough to make a double pendulum predictable.
What happens then if we add a third, fourth, or fifth pendulum? We are getting into the area of chaos theory and there is just no predictability whatsoever. I know the Rochester Museum and Science Center has a chaotic pendulum. I think there are like four arms to it. The last I was there it was in the lobby of the planetarium. If you’ve never done it, give it a spin sometime you’re there. It is instant chaos!
If life were like a simple pendulum everything would be easy. Good things would happen for good work. Bad things would happen for bad work. There would be control. Sometimes when trends come and go or philosophies rise and fall people say it is like a pendulum and that if you wait long enough things will eventually swing back. It’s a nice thought. Sometimes it does happen. But would that life actually did work that way!
But life is like a pendulum with thousands, or millions, or probably even billions of moving pieces! Good luck predicting it, let alone controlling it!
For most of us, we live in a fairly stable and predictable society. We are not living in a place like Afghanistan or Ukraine. We are also not living in an area prone to wildfires or floods or tornadoes. Even so, I think we’d all like to feel like we have more control of life than we currently do. And so, life itself can become a source of constant anxiety. If people’s social media posts are any indication, a lot of people are feeling anxious and constantly drained. The chaos of the pandemic certainly hasn’t helped.
God has made this world wonderfully complex. But it can also feel incredibly scary and unpredictable. For many people each and every day is an exhausting ordeal trying to stay ahead of the chaos. They desperately want stability and a sense of peace.
At the birth of Jesus the angels announced to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” (Luke 2:14) In today’s gospel reading we’re at the other end of the story, the evening of the resurrection. This is Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples. And his very first words to them are, “Peace be with you.”
The word “peace” can mean many things. In the Bible it generally means good wishes and friendly interactions. Peace between God and humanity is certainly a big thing! In a world where so much is unstable and chaotic it is an enormous relief to be at peace with God.
It is a huge statement of forgiveness that Jesus greets his disciples on that Easter evening with peace. They certainly didn’t deserve it! Jesus could have very justly said, “I told you so!” Or, “Where were you when I needed you most?” “You bunch of weak minded, weak willed, weak faithed cowards! You abandoned me the first moment things didn’t look good. None of you stuck with me, not even a bit! You are my closest followers, but one betrayed me, one denied me, and the rest of you fled in fear. Why should I be nice to you?”
Yes, all of these statements would have been well deserved.
But Jesus’ opening words are, “Peace be with you.” And then he goes on to calm their fears. He acknowledges their doubts and insecurities. He lets them see him and touch him. He asks for something to eat. They offer him some broiled fish, which proves that he is real flesh and blood. (Although in the resurrection reality I’m hoping for something like a bacon cheeseburger or a hot fudge sundae. Not broiled fish!)
Then he explains things to them. These were things that were mysteries to them beforehand. Then again, there was no way they could understand the crucifixion and resurrection without having experienced it. There was just no way they could believe that God would work redemption through innocent dying. That is the absolute opposite of justice; which is precisely the point.
The central point remains peace. God does not want to be at war with His creatures, even if they are weak and fickle. The world may be chaotic, unpredictable, and anxiety producing. There are an infinite number of moving pieces. But God sees all and knows all. Perhaps God does not control all, at least not in the sense of constantly overriding the natural dynamics of physics, but God does interact with all.
God is our friend in all of this.
God is our partner and our companion.
God, our true hope and salvation, is at peace with us.
God seeks to be at peace with us and to equip us even as we fail miserably. That’s exactly what was happening between Jesus and the disciples.
It is significant to note that it is in the midst of the chaos and the confusion that Jesus empowers his disciples. Jesus does not calm the chaos for them. They need to still live in it. But they have God as a friend in it. God will be with them.
God’s peace is with us always, even if all of life feels like chaos. God’s peace is greater than any chaos that can ever form. We can work and play and rest securely in that.
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