I think everyone has what could be called an “inner critic”. It’s that Jiminy Cricket voice inside of you often giving you a running commentary on how you’re doing. Perhaps it sometimes says you’ve done a great job. But quite often a person’s inner critic is pretty harsh. Left to run rampant an inner critic can destroy self-confidence and self-esteem. It can cause doubt, shame, and feelings of worthlessness.
If you’re a person who’s inner critic is very weak, then I suggest you tune out from this sermon. Pull out your phone, put your earbuds in, and watch something on YouTube until the sermon is over. (There’s also the possibility that if you have no inner critic that you are a sociopath, and in that case you won’t get anything out of the sermon anyway!)
For most of us whose inner critic is alive, and perhaps all too well, our gospel reading is probably a gut punch. What is this, “hating father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself…”? Where is the Jesus of love and radical forgiveness? Where is, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light”? This is God, our creator, talking to us about making life miserable?!? Perhaps Jesus is the sociopath!
I think commentator Joel Green gets at the heart of the matter in the New International Commentary on the New Testament when he says, “…the distinctive property of disciples is the abandonment with which they put aside all competing securities in order that they might refashion their lives and identity according to the norms of the kingdom of God.” (Pg. 567) That’s certainly a mouth full, but I think “put aside all competing securities” nails the situation firmly.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but as I continue to study and learn the scriptures I am finding more and more strongly that Christianity has misunderstood the Bible since the time of St. Augustine in the 4th Century. Augustine interpreted scripture as if it was about guilt. In truth it was about shame. Guilt is feeling that you’ve done something bad. Shame is feeling that who you are is bad. Shame is a much deeper and much more powerful feeling. Shame is a feeling that all humans feel regardless of culture.
I’m finding that I’m not alone in recognizing St. Augustine’s mistake. More and more scholars are on the same path. And if Augustine was wrong, then our whole understanding of: original sin, sex, guilt, and what is called ‘atonement theory’ is all seriously warped. I won’t go so far as to call any of it wrong, but definitely warped.
Feelings of shame are a fundamental driving force of all human culture. It lurks largely undetected behind many of the decisions we make. In the Adam and Eve story, just three chapters into the Bible, what is the first feeling recorded about humans? They are not ashamed before they eat the fruit. But they definitely are afterward.
It seems that most humans, from perhaps age 2 and upward, are in a constant quest to feel like who they are is enough. We want approval. We want acceptance. We want to feel like we belong. We don’t just want to fit in, for that is a shallow feeling. No, we want to feel like we belong. And we will do almost anything to feel that.
We know we can’t please everyone, but we do aim to please some key people. They’re usually our parents, perhaps some close friends, maybe a boss or co-workers. We want to belong. We want to feel whole. When we don’t, that’s a manifestation of shame. And many people, perhaps most people, have an inner critic that is constantly causing anxiety about belonging.
You judge yourself for each and every failing.
You tell yourself you’re not good enough.
You tell yourself that if people knew the truth about you they wouldn’t accept you.
And your inner critic looks at the world around you and is sure and certain that most of the people you interact with really and truly do have their lives together. You, however, do not. You are alone and a mess up.
Now, shame does not manifest itself in straightforward ways. Certainly lots of things we feel that are rooted in shame we wouldn’t describe as shame, but it is all there.
As a man, I can’t speak to the central dynamics of shame in women, but as I look around at men, I see an awful lot of ‘tough guy’ acts out there as men seek to prove themselves. That doesn’t just go for young guys being idiots trying to prove themselves. It goes for men of all ages and ways of life. They are by no means rare, but what I would call an ‘authentically grounded man’ is not the norm. This is a guy who is solid in who he is. He has no need to prove himself. He can win or lose with grace. He will not seek conflict, but will fight if necessary. He embraces his masculine strength and power and uses it for the betterment of the community. Such men do indeed have shame dynamics at work within them, but they have channeled it in a healthy way.
So, here’s a statement of reality. Most people live with an inner critic telling them they aren’t good enough, or they need to do (or be) better. And they seek approval for who they are from the people around them. The problem is, everyone else is doing the same thing! It is as if we’re all playing the game of overcoming shame, everyone seeking approval.
Yes, people think they have achieved belonging through status or possessions, but these things do not ultimately endure. Jesus says do not put your treasure – or perhaps your self-worth – in earthly things where thieves break in and moths and rust consume.
Where does our solid and eternal worth lie? Back to the story of Adam and Eve. They lie with God.
Joel Green used the phrase, “put aside all competing securities.” It is a fundamental piece of human development that we look to our parents as our first source of self-worth. As we age we look to others too: friends, colleagues, bosses, neighbors, a spouse. All of these things can be deeply good. And yet they can become competing securities.
Jesus is saying that if you want to truly follow him, if you want to truly be a free and full disciple, you cannot allow the global human shame and approval game to dictate your life. If you want to truly be free and full then you’ve got to root yourself in God’s security.
Jesus is using exaggerated language when he talks about hating father and mother, etc. But he does want his would-be followers to recognize just how significant it is to not be wrapped up in human approval. We saw this earlier when we read the story of Mary and Martha. Martha put her self-worth in fulfilling the gender expectations of women. Mary took the bold and daring approach of putting her self-worth in Jesus.
What does half-hearted discipleship look like? What is it like when people commit to Jesus, but only if it also fits with social expectations of other people also wrapped up in shame? It is like salt that’s lost its saltiness.
Such a thing is impossible of course, but in the region in which Jesus lived there were rock formations that were salty, but it was possible for the salt to be leached away; thus leaving worthless rock that was fit for nothing.
Jesus isn’t being mean in any of this. He’s just stating reality.
It would be great if I could conclude by giving you a formula for freedom from shame and perfect discipleship. But no such formula exists. Instead, it is a daily journey for Jesus’ disciples. Some days we may succeed. Other days we may fail. When we succeed give thanks to God. When we fail do not let the inner critic have too much of a say. The power of forgiveness is not about forgiving your guilt – the bad stuff you do. The power of forgiveness is freeing you from shame – reminding you that who you are is indeed enough. You are God’s child. Forever. Well made. Solid. Good. The world will tell you otherwise, but the world’s perspective is flawed.
Through the cross of Christ we learn just how far God will go to combat shame. God wants to, and will, free is to the fullness of life God always meant for us to have.
Monday, July 25, 2022
Monday, July 18, 2022
July 17, 2022 Luke 14:1-24
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” That’s the opening verse of Psalm 24 and St. Paul quotes it to the Corinthians as well. The question is, do we know what that means? And also, do we really believe it?
Many of the civilizations indigenous to North America held the view that the earth was not individual property and could not actually be owned. Instead it was a common resource for all living things. They could not understand the European understanding of private and individual ownership. When you look at Jesus’ teachings about possessions you can also question where this idea of private and individual ownership came from. A lot of St. Paul’s writings do not talk about personal ownership but actually a stewardship of things.
I do believe we would be much better off if we considered ourselves not the owners of things, but actually stewards (or caretakers) of things while we have them. I’m sure you know the saying well that you never see a U-Haul at a cemetery!
Whether they be the ancient Jews, or Jesus himself, or our Christian faith ancestors, they all taught that life is transient and that too much focus on acquiring earthly possessions is a foolish thing. We have yet to get there in Luke’s gospel, but we will soon reach the place where Jesus puts money and all earthly ideas of ownership within the realm of evil. These things give us a false sense of security and a false sense of value. Ask someone from Ukraine, or a desperate migrant from Central and South America what it’s like to have your entire life’s work destroyed by the whims and wills of powerful forces.
But it’s more than just possessions. Social dynamics- things like: popularity, reputation, status, pride and prestige also come into play.
We see all of this at work behind the scenes in our gospel reading. The scene of the whole passage is a sabbath day meal at the house of a Pharisee where Jesus is a guest. Luke doesn’t give us many details. It’s hard to tell if Jesus was the guest of honor or not, but it is clear that the lawyers and Pharisees were watching him.
I’ve said many times before that it is a mistake to caricature these guys as stuck-up judgmental snobs. Sure, some of them were. But I have a feeling many of them were hard working, decent, responsible people who lived by the laws and who ultimately wanted to make the world a better place. From what they have seen of Jesus so far they think he is a threat. Preaching about grace and radical forgiveness, and God delighting in people takes away the foundation of what they hold on to. There is certainty in clear laws and rules from God. Remember always, they are an oft-conquered beleaguered people. Holding on to their identity and their faith was all they could do. What would happen if there weren’t rules and regulations? Was Jesus preaching that anything goes? His teaching seem to hold wide open the door for carelessness and laziness. If God was as loving as Jesus preached, and if God truly forgave the way Jesus said, then what about accountability and responsibility? What about hard-work and efficiency? How do you know right from wrong if there aren’t clear solid guidelines?
I’m sure many of the Pharisees and lawyers knew the spirit of the law could be followed without the letter of the law, and they knew times when it would be the most loving thing to relax the laws, and that sometimes a person would be caught between a rock and a hard place. They could be accepting and loving, but Jesus likely threatened their way of life with what appeared to be no rules or regulations. And so they’re watching him. Some are undecided about him. Some have decided he has to go.
It is a sabbath day meal. Someone with dropsy appears. Luke doesn’t say how, he just appears. The scene was probably one of a banquet at a wealthy person’s house. You’ll remember the city houses of wealthy people often had a central courtyard that opened onto the street. People walking by could see what was going on, especially if there was a big meal in the open courtyard. Perhaps this man with dropsy knew Jesus was there and was hoping to encounter him.
Jesus asks those at the meal with him, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” He knows the answer. Curing and healing is considered “work” and is therefore not allowed. The sabbath was for rest. But Jesus heals him and sends him away.
Now the Pharisees and lawyers have a dilemma on their hands. Jesus just clearly broke a foundational religious law from God. He didn’t observe the sabbath. And yet he undeniably has supernatural healing powers!
What to make of this?
When Jesus observes how people are picking the places of honor he cites the age old proverb about not putting yourself forward in the presence of the king, lest someone more important than you be invited and you be put to shame. Like today, if you are at a formal banquet there may be a head table where the dignitaries sit. Maybe the most prestigious and important people sit nearest the host and the common guests sit lower. You wouldn’t be wise to just decide you deserve a place at the head table unless you’ve been clearly told to sit there. And Jesus is not teaching some sort of strategic false humility. He is not saying to go to the lowest seat and then be on display to everyone else as the host brings you up to a more prestigious place. He is saying that earthly designations of status and honor are completely irrelevant to God. If you’ve been invited to a banquet and you haven’t been specifically told where to sit just place yourself among the commoners and don’t worry about it. Just see yourself as one of the crowd and don’t get caught up in being in the top place.
I don’t know about you, but I tell myself I don’t really care about earthly status and honor. I don’t think I do, except when I feel like someone is above me and is lording it over me.
Last week at confirmation camp the camp was very short on staff. Many of us in the faculty volunteered to help in the kitchen, especially with washing dishes after meals. I took a couple shifts and thought nothing of it. Work is work. It has to be done and someone has to do it. It isn’t beneath me.
But then I thought that if there was a meal where a whole bunch of bishops and high church officials were there for a meal, and they saw me doing dishes (and especially if they were condescending towards me, or if they put on that fakey sympathy privileged people can have toward people they consider to be lower than themselves) I’d be resentful. I’d want them to know that I’m not a common dish washer. I’m an ordained parish pastor, and a conference dean to boot! I’d want them to know my real social status.
And then I realize what a hypocrite I truly am. I tell myself I think everyone is equal, and I pride myself on doing the humble tasks – just like Jesus said we’re to do – but I also want my slice of the social status pie!
I find myself being no better than the Pharisees. And when Jesus says, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your relatives or rich neighbors in case they may invite you in return…” And I think how quaint that teaching is. Yes indeed Jesus, when I give a party I’ll invite the poor, the crippled and the lame.
But then when I think about it, would I really do it? Jesus, do you know how much time and effort it takes to put together a party for a bunch of people? Do you know how much all that food costs? If I invite my friends I can count on maybe making a main dish and my friends and relatives will bring all the rest. It works well. But if I have to make a meal and make all the food because the people I invite can’t afford to bring anything, that’s costly! Plus, what will the neighbors think of the folks I’m bringing into my neighborhood?
Yes, this teaching trips us up easily. The ways of this world subtly work themselves deep into the social fabric of our lives.
I’m at the end of your attention span I’m sure, but we still have the image of the great dinner banquet where the invited guests all gave excuses why they couldn’t come. In this one Jesus really drives home his point. The guests who don’t come give three excuses: One just bought land. A second just bought some oxen. A third just got married. None of these seem to us to be legitimate excuses to skip a banquet. But we have to remember Deuteronomy 20:5-8. Then we discover these excuses roughly correspond to the legitimate exemptions from a call to take up arms and join in a holy war. As Jesus uses them we realize they are human social excuses. Just like possessions can rule our lives – thinking we actually own them – so can social expectations consume our lives and we make them all important.
We’re going to get more answers from Jesus down the road about how his followers are to live with responsibility and accountability. You know well that Jesus is not an ‘anything goes’ guy who chucks out all rules and regulations. But here, as well as there, we see Jesus calling the people around him to keep everything in heaven’s perspective.
You don’t see U-Hauls at gravesides. And your social status doesn’t follow you to the grave either. An honorable rich powerful person is just as dead as a poor shameful helpless person. So, does that stuff ultimately matter? Does the stuff that so easily drives our lives matter? Not one bit.
This is both freedom and challenge for us. For us who have a lot in the way of dignity and possessions it is tough. It can certainly feel like loss, even though it is ultimately gain. Fortunately, God is forgiving even of ourselves. And God delights to work through us, even when we make a bungling mess of things. May we always rejoice in God’s abundant love for us!
Many of the civilizations indigenous to North America held the view that the earth was not individual property and could not actually be owned. Instead it was a common resource for all living things. They could not understand the European understanding of private and individual ownership. When you look at Jesus’ teachings about possessions you can also question where this idea of private and individual ownership came from. A lot of St. Paul’s writings do not talk about personal ownership but actually a stewardship of things.
I do believe we would be much better off if we considered ourselves not the owners of things, but actually stewards (or caretakers) of things while we have them. I’m sure you know the saying well that you never see a U-Haul at a cemetery!
Whether they be the ancient Jews, or Jesus himself, or our Christian faith ancestors, they all taught that life is transient and that too much focus on acquiring earthly possessions is a foolish thing. We have yet to get there in Luke’s gospel, but we will soon reach the place where Jesus puts money and all earthly ideas of ownership within the realm of evil. These things give us a false sense of security and a false sense of value. Ask someone from Ukraine, or a desperate migrant from Central and South America what it’s like to have your entire life’s work destroyed by the whims and wills of powerful forces.
But it’s more than just possessions. Social dynamics- things like: popularity, reputation, status, pride and prestige also come into play.
We see all of this at work behind the scenes in our gospel reading. The scene of the whole passage is a sabbath day meal at the house of a Pharisee where Jesus is a guest. Luke doesn’t give us many details. It’s hard to tell if Jesus was the guest of honor or not, but it is clear that the lawyers and Pharisees were watching him.
I’ve said many times before that it is a mistake to caricature these guys as stuck-up judgmental snobs. Sure, some of them were. But I have a feeling many of them were hard working, decent, responsible people who lived by the laws and who ultimately wanted to make the world a better place. From what they have seen of Jesus so far they think he is a threat. Preaching about grace and radical forgiveness, and God delighting in people takes away the foundation of what they hold on to. There is certainty in clear laws and rules from God. Remember always, they are an oft-conquered beleaguered people. Holding on to their identity and their faith was all they could do. What would happen if there weren’t rules and regulations? Was Jesus preaching that anything goes? His teaching seem to hold wide open the door for carelessness and laziness. If God was as loving as Jesus preached, and if God truly forgave the way Jesus said, then what about accountability and responsibility? What about hard-work and efficiency? How do you know right from wrong if there aren’t clear solid guidelines?
I’m sure many of the Pharisees and lawyers knew the spirit of the law could be followed without the letter of the law, and they knew times when it would be the most loving thing to relax the laws, and that sometimes a person would be caught between a rock and a hard place. They could be accepting and loving, but Jesus likely threatened their way of life with what appeared to be no rules or regulations. And so they’re watching him. Some are undecided about him. Some have decided he has to go.
It is a sabbath day meal. Someone with dropsy appears. Luke doesn’t say how, he just appears. The scene was probably one of a banquet at a wealthy person’s house. You’ll remember the city houses of wealthy people often had a central courtyard that opened onto the street. People walking by could see what was going on, especially if there was a big meal in the open courtyard. Perhaps this man with dropsy knew Jesus was there and was hoping to encounter him.
Jesus asks those at the meal with him, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” He knows the answer. Curing and healing is considered “work” and is therefore not allowed. The sabbath was for rest. But Jesus heals him and sends him away.
Now the Pharisees and lawyers have a dilemma on their hands. Jesus just clearly broke a foundational religious law from God. He didn’t observe the sabbath. And yet he undeniably has supernatural healing powers!
What to make of this?
When Jesus observes how people are picking the places of honor he cites the age old proverb about not putting yourself forward in the presence of the king, lest someone more important than you be invited and you be put to shame. Like today, if you are at a formal banquet there may be a head table where the dignitaries sit. Maybe the most prestigious and important people sit nearest the host and the common guests sit lower. You wouldn’t be wise to just decide you deserve a place at the head table unless you’ve been clearly told to sit there. And Jesus is not teaching some sort of strategic false humility. He is not saying to go to the lowest seat and then be on display to everyone else as the host brings you up to a more prestigious place. He is saying that earthly designations of status and honor are completely irrelevant to God. If you’ve been invited to a banquet and you haven’t been specifically told where to sit just place yourself among the commoners and don’t worry about it. Just see yourself as one of the crowd and don’t get caught up in being in the top place.
I don’t know about you, but I tell myself I don’t really care about earthly status and honor. I don’t think I do, except when I feel like someone is above me and is lording it over me.
Last week at confirmation camp the camp was very short on staff. Many of us in the faculty volunteered to help in the kitchen, especially with washing dishes after meals. I took a couple shifts and thought nothing of it. Work is work. It has to be done and someone has to do it. It isn’t beneath me.
But then I thought that if there was a meal where a whole bunch of bishops and high church officials were there for a meal, and they saw me doing dishes (and especially if they were condescending towards me, or if they put on that fakey sympathy privileged people can have toward people they consider to be lower than themselves) I’d be resentful. I’d want them to know that I’m not a common dish washer. I’m an ordained parish pastor, and a conference dean to boot! I’d want them to know my real social status.
And then I realize what a hypocrite I truly am. I tell myself I think everyone is equal, and I pride myself on doing the humble tasks – just like Jesus said we’re to do – but I also want my slice of the social status pie!
I find myself being no better than the Pharisees. And when Jesus says, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your relatives or rich neighbors in case they may invite you in return…” And I think how quaint that teaching is. Yes indeed Jesus, when I give a party I’ll invite the poor, the crippled and the lame.
But then when I think about it, would I really do it? Jesus, do you know how much time and effort it takes to put together a party for a bunch of people? Do you know how much all that food costs? If I invite my friends I can count on maybe making a main dish and my friends and relatives will bring all the rest. It works well. But if I have to make a meal and make all the food because the people I invite can’t afford to bring anything, that’s costly! Plus, what will the neighbors think of the folks I’m bringing into my neighborhood?
Yes, this teaching trips us up easily. The ways of this world subtly work themselves deep into the social fabric of our lives.
I’m at the end of your attention span I’m sure, but we still have the image of the great dinner banquet where the invited guests all gave excuses why they couldn’t come. In this one Jesus really drives home his point. The guests who don’t come give three excuses: One just bought land. A second just bought some oxen. A third just got married. None of these seem to us to be legitimate excuses to skip a banquet. But we have to remember Deuteronomy 20:5-8. Then we discover these excuses roughly correspond to the legitimate exemptions from a call to take up arms and join in a holy war. As Jesus uses them we realize they are human social excuses. Just like possessions can rule our lives – thinking we actually own them – so can social expectations consume our lives and we make them all important.
We’re going to get more answers from Jesus down the road about how his followers are to live with responsibility and accountability. You know well that Jesus is not an ‘anything goes’ guy who chucks out all rules and regulations. But here, as well as there, we see Jesus calling the people around him to keep everything in heaven’s perspective.
You don’t see U-Hauls at gravesides. And your social status doesn’t follow you to the grave either. An honorable rich powerful person is just as dead as a poor shameful helpless person. So, does that stuff ultimately matter? Does the stuff that so easily drives our lives matter? Not one bit.
This is both freedom and challenge for us. For us who have a lot in the way of dignity and possessions it is tough. It can certainly feel like loss, even though it is ultimately gain. Fortunately, God is forgiving even of ourselves. And God delights to work through us, even when we make a bungling mess of things. May we always rejoice in God’s abundant love for us!
Monday, July 11, 2022
July 10, 2022 Luke 13:10-54
At the center of our gospel reading is a question, and it is a question that we also find at the center of our lives. As Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem someone asks him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”
Indeed, if existence is for eternity, and if God is our judge, and further, if God can either save or damn, then what are our chances? And how do we know which side of salvation we’re going to be on?
Would that Jesus gave a clear answer! If there is anything we humans are the most desperate for it is an answer to this! If we knew clearly and precisely what God wanted from us then life would be so much better, so much cleaner, so much clearer. The basic anxiety of existence would be settled. But Jesus’ answer is complex and contradictory.
Let’s start by understanding the dynamics within Judaism of those days. Jewish history was rough – conquered over and over again by just about every major empire since the Bronze Age. A look at their scriptures shows that they felt their history before God was a checkered one at best – and for the most part it was a history of unfaithfulness. They only existed as a unified nation under kings David and Solomon. The kingdom split into two after Solomon. The northern kingdom – with most of the tribes was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E. Those tribes were, for the most part, lost. Basically only Judah remained.
So at the root of the question, “Will those who are saved be few?” is a lot of history. Will God only save the tribe of Judah? Will God save all those who have Jewish ancestry, even if they don’t know it? How many non-Jews will God save, and why? Will God save bad Jews simply because they are Jews, or will good non-Jews get in? How much do you really have to follow the religious laws for God to let you into heaven?
I do not think the person asking the question really saw it in light of the way many Christians do today; which is as more of a global question of salvation.
Jesus initially sidesteps the question. He gives a traditional image that implies only a few will find their way, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and now be able.” Okay, this is looking like salvation is going to be tough, and very limited.
But then Jesus makes a transition in his image, “When once the owner has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from…”
With all the questions in the air, the hearers (and we the readers) are shocked to find that we’re already on the outside and unable to get in!
But then Jesus shifts the image yet again. He says, “Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some who are last will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
What does that mean? Jesus is pulling on images from the prophet Isaiah and his vision of a heavenly banquet for all nations on earth. Does that mean then that everyone gets in? But what about the narrow gate that few get in. What about the closed door that no one is left past?
Our heads are left spinning. Our hearts may be knotted by this confusion. Or perhaps our hearts just reject it all as nonsense.
It is my belief that most people in our society live with the idea that if they’re basically good God will like them and they’ll go to heaven. And bad people go to hell. It’s as simple as that. And of course, most people consider themselves to be basically good. They really don’t think about it much. They don’t have interest in religious teachings or a faith community. They don’t really want to hear what is good and what isn’t.
I’ve begun reading the book How to Be Perfect. It’s by Michael Schur. He’s the creator of the Netflix series The Good Place. I haven’t seen that series either, but I’m going to start it. Inasmuch as I have read of the book it seems that what is right and wrong, or good and bad, is actually enormously complex. It is, in truth, completely impossible to pin down. So, as for, “How to be perfect?” Just forget it. It won’t happen. And trying to be good and virtuous may actually not make you any better at all. I’ll have to read the whole book to be sure though.
The point is, and this I am sure of from moral philosophy, the idea of good and bad is in no way shape or form clear.
Consider this parable by Franz Kafka about the human predicament. It’s called “Before the Law” (cited from New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 9, Pg. 279. Originally Franz Kafka: The Complete Stories, ed. Nahum N. Glatzer (New York: Schocken Books, 1983)) A man from the country seeks admission to the Law. When the doorkeeper tells him he may not enter, he looks through the open door, but the doorkeeper warns him that he is just the first of a series of doorkeepers, each one more terrible than the one before. So the man waits for the doorkeeper’s permission to enter. For days and then years, the man talks with the doorkeeper, answers his questions, and attempts to bribe him, but wit no success. The doorkeeper takes the man’s bribes, saying he is only doing so in order that the man will not think he has neglected anything. As the man lies dying, he sees a radiance streaming from the gateway to the Law. Thinking of one question he has not asked, he beckons the doorkeeper and ask him why in all those years no one else has come to that gate. The doorkeeper responds: “No one else could ever be admitted here, since this gate was made only for you. Now I am going to shut it.”
It is a very intriguing parable! It is just as impossible as Jesus’ response to the person who asked him a question. What then are we to do? We are faced with the impossible – and eternity depends upon it!
This is all at the heart of the mystery of election and grace, and free will and determinism. This is the heart of what we ask ourselves if we contemplate questions like what does it mean to exist? What is consciousness? How do we come to be here?
Underneath all these issues is this: We are dealing with something that is beyond our ability to consciously comprehend. Jesus did not give a clear answer because no clear answer is possible within the limits of our humanness. Will those who are saved be few? Wrong question. It’s a question made from the fears and limits of humans.
Jesus’ enigmatic response takes us to this truth. We simply need to trust God. This is God’s business. It is not our own. Sure, such question will come into our minds. Perhaps they will even haunt us. I know they do some people. But ultimately live in trust of God and let God sort out the technicalities.
Commentator R. Alan Culpepper says this in the New Interpreter’s Bible, “Strive, therefore, as one who dares not presume on God’s grace. Strive as though admission to the kingdom depended entirely on your own doing, but know that ultimately it depends on God’s grace.” (New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 9, Pg. 279)
I disagree with him. His suggestion makes it sound like life is a grueling test, and that grace will only come to those most diligent. His thoughts leave no room for fun, or for laughter, or for mistakes, or for indulgence. Jesus, after all, had fun with people. That’s a lot of what got him in trouble with the pious religious people of his day.
No. While I completely agree that it all depends upon God’s grace, and that even our very best attempts at goodness are laughable failures in God’s eyes, live with daring love, knowing that God loves you deeply. Actually, live with daring love knowing that God actually delights in you. Let God’s grace be the first word and the last word and every word in between. Let God’s grace inspire you, and the righteousness will flow authentically from there.
Indeed, if existence is for eternity, and if God is our judge, and further, if God can either save or damn, then what are our chances? And how do we know which side of salvation we’re going to be on?
Would that Jesus gave a clear answer! If there is anything we humans are the most desperate for it is an answer to this! If we knew clearly and precisely what God wanted from us then life would be so much better, so much cleaner, so much clearer. The basic anxiety of existence would be settled. But Jesus’ answer is complex and contradictory.
Let’s start by understanding the dynamics within Judaism of those days. Jewish history was rough – conquered over and over again by just about every major empire since the Bronze Age. A look at their scriptures shows that they felt their history before God was a checkered one at best – and for the most part it was a history of unfaithfulness. They only existed as a unified nation under kings David and Solomon. The kingdom split into two after Solomon. The northern kingdom – with most of the tribes was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E. Those tribes were, for the most part, lost. Basically only Judah remained.
So at the root of the question, “Will those who are saved be few?” is a lot of history. Will God only save the tribe of Judah? Will God save all those who have Jewish ancestry, even if they don’t know it? How many non-Jews will God save, and why? Will God save bad Jews simply because they are Jews, or will good non-Jews get in? How much do you really have to follow the religious laws for God to let you into heaven?
I do not think the person asking the question really saw it in light of the way many Christians do today; which is as more of a global question of salvation.
Jesus initially sidesteps the question. He gives a traditional image that implies only a few will find their way, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and now be able.” Okay, this is looking like salvation is going to be tough, and very limited.
But then Jesus makes a transition in his image, “When once the owner has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from…”
With all the questions in the air, the hearers (and we the readers) are shocked to find that we’re already on the outside and unable to get in!
But then Jesus shifts the image yet again. He says, “Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some who are last will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
What does that mean? Jesus is pulling on images from the prophet Isaiah and his vision of a heavenly banquet for all nations on earth. Does that mean then that everyone gets in? But what about the narrow gate that few get in. What about the closed door that no one is left past?
Our heads are left spinning. Our hearts may be knotted by this confusion. Or perhaps our hearts just reject it all as nonsense.
It is my belief that most people in our society live with the idea that if they’re basically good God will like them and they’ll go to heaven. And bad people go to hell. It’s as simple as that. And of course, most people consider themselves to be basically good. They really don’t think about it much. They don’t have interest in religious teachings or a faith community. They don’t really want to hear what is good and what isn’t.
I’ve begun reading the book How to Be Perfect. It’s by Michael Schur. He’s the creator of the Netflix series The Good Place. I haven’t seen that series either, but I’m going to start it. Inasmuch as I have read of the book it seems that what is right and wrong, or good and bad, is actually enormously complex. It is, in truth, completely impossible to pin down. So, as for, “How to be perfect?” Just forget it. It won’t happen. And trying to be good and virtuous may actually not make you any better at all. I’ll have to read the whole book to be sure though.
The point is, and this I am sure of from moral philosophy, the idea of good and bad is in no way shape or form clear.
Consider this parable by Franz Kafka about the human predicament. It’s called “Before the Law” (cited from New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 9, Pg. 279. Originally Franz Kafka: The Complete Stories, ed. Nahum N. Glatzer (New York: Schocken Books, 1983)) A man from the country seeks admission to the Law. When the doorkeeper tells him he may not enter, he looks through the open door, but the doorkeeper warns him that he is just the first of a series of doorkeepers, each one more terrible than the one before. So the man waits for the doorkeeper’s permission to enter. For days and then years, the man talks with the doorkeeper, answers his questions, and attempts to bribe him, but wit no success. The doorkeeper takes the man’s bribes, saying he is only doing so in order that the man will not think he has neglected anything. As the man lies dying, he sees a radiance streaming from the gateway to the Law. Thinking of one question he has not asked, he beckons the doorkeeper and ask him why in all those years no one else has come to that gate. The doorkeeper responds: “No one else could ever be admitted here, since this gate was made only for you. Now I am going to shut it.”
It is a very intriguing parable! It is just as impossible as Jesus’ response to the person who asked him a question. What then are we to do? We are faced with the impossible – and eternity depends upon it!
This is all at the heart of the mystery of election and grace, and free will and determinism. This is the heart of what we ask ourselves if we contemplate questions like what does it mean to exist? What is consciousness? How do we come to be here?
Underneath all these issues is this: We are dealing with something that is beyond our ability to consciously comprehend. Jesus did not give a clear answer because no clear answer is possible within the limits of our humanness. Will those who are saved be few? Wrong question. It’s a question made from the fears and limits of humans.
Jesus’ enigmatic response takes us to this truth. We simply need to trust God. This is God’s business. It is not our own. Sure, such question will come into our minds. Perhaps they will even haunt us. I know they do some people. But ultimately live in trust of God and let God sort out the technicalities.
Commentator R. Alan Culpepper says this in the New Interpreter’s Bible, “Strive, therefore, as one who dares not presume on God’s grace. Strive as though admission to the kingdom depended entirely on your own doing, but know that ultimately it depends on God’s grace.” (New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 9, Pg. 279)
I disagree with him. His suggestion makes it sound like life is a grueling test, and that grace will only come to those most diligent. His thoughts leave no room for fun, or for laughter, or for mistakes, or for indulgence. Jesus, after all, had fun with people. That’s a lot of what got him in trouble with the pious religious people of his day.
No. While I completely agree that it all depends upon God’s grace, and that even our very best attempts at goodness are laughable failures in God’s eyes, live with daring love, knowing that God loves you deeply. Actually, live with daring love knowing that God actually delights in you. Let God’s grace be the first word and the last word and every word in between. Let God’s grace inspire you, and the righteousness will flow authentically from there.
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
July 3, 2022 Luke 12:1-13:9
We all know what the word hypocrite means. It’s someone who says one thing but does another. I’m sure we can all think of people who deserve the label of hypocrite. And perhaps even within ourselves we can find some hypocrisy at work.
Our English word hypocrite comes from Greek, and the Greek equivalent sounds about the same. What is not the same, however, is what the word means. The Greeks would call stage actors hypocrites because the person they portrayed on stage wasn’t who they really are. But there are more subtle meanings to it too. As we find the word in Luke’s gospel it is more closely inclined towards the way it is used in the Greek translations of the Old Testament. So when Jesus says to, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is their hypocrisy,” he is meaning people whose actions are not determined by God, and are thus godless.
As Jesus has looked at them and interacted with them for a long time now he does not call they hypocrites because they say one thing but do another thing. He regards them as misdirected in their fundamental understanding of God’s purposes. They are therefore incapable of discerning the authentic meaning of the scriptures, and therefore, unable to present anything other than a distorted expression of piety. They are so lost they don’t even realize they are lost. I believe the current day saying would be that they don’t know how much they don’t know.
Jesus is not saying the Pharisees are at all unique in this hypocrisy. He sees the exact same dynamics happening within his closest followers. They too don’t know how much they don’t know. He presents this warning lest they inadvertently build their own lives in a similarly distorted manner.
Indeed, when you know something is wrong, or perhaps that you are doing something wrong, you have some options. You could do the right thing. That would be to recognize the problem and work to change it. Another option would be to deny that what you are doing is wrong. Then you just keep doing it. A third option, and always a very tempting one, is to make excuses for yourself so that you can just keep doing it. Or you can blame or attack the messenger who brought the fault to your attention.
But what do you do when you’re doing something wrong and you don’t even know it? What do you do when you think you’re doing something right, but you’re actually being duped by someone else?
There are no Wegmans in Victor so I think I can get away with picking on them. A lot of what I know about Wegmans typifies the way the Pharisees and the society they created for themselves worked. Wegmans does a superb job of making customers feel good about themselves for shopping there. I don’t shop there often, but I do know they make it is point to let customers know their food is supporting local agriculture. It's sustainably sourced. It’s gotten fairly. They are often listed as one of the top employers of the nation for how they treat their employees. You can see from the helping hands employees that they make it a point to hire people who may struggle to get jobs elsewhere. And even for all this, their prices remain very reasonable.
Yes, shopping at Wegmans is an experience designed to make you feel good about yourself. But then there’s the truths underneath the surface. A few months ago I was talking to Jen Sainsbury, former employee of Wegmans. As for them being such an amazing employer to their employees, she says they simply manipulate the system to get those high marks. When it comes to employee satisfaction surveys, they do not take feedback from their entire workforce. They choose which employees fill out the surveys. Then they edit them as necessary. As for labels like local, natural, sustainable etc., they all mean basically nothing.
People who live in Canandaigua know that Wegmans owns most of the key real estate with retail potential. They play hard ball in the real estate market, keeping competition out. Why is the Tops in Canandaigua where it is? Because it is land Wegmans couldn’t control.
I don’t know if they still have the signs, but several weeks ago the Canandaigua store had a sign as you enter: “Stop hate. End racism. Choose love.” How quaint! How politically correct and proper! …coming from a store located in a wealthy liberal minded suburban area. What happened to all the Wegmans that used to exist in the poor areas of downtown Rochester? They closed because they didn’t meet profit projections. Notice that the recent shooting in Buffalo didn’t happen at a Wegmans. Why? Because Wegmans won’t invest where there really is need. They invest in wealthy white liberal suburbs in the east, and they cater to the political whims of such people. Notice it is Tops who actually dared to open a store in a rough place in Buffalo. Yeah to them! That’s real commitment. That’s truly putting your money at risk in the name of good.
Now I’m not intending to trash Wegmans. And I’m not intending to make Tops out to be a saintly store. Both stores are major retailers who know how to successfully run a business and make a profit. That often means being tough. Inasmuch as it is fair, that is the way healthy society works. But my point is that it is so easy to be a Pharisee and do things that make you feel good about yourself. There are business whose business model is to make money by helping you feel good and right! The same sort of dynamics went on in Jesus’ day. The Pharisees were hypocrites not in a conscious way, but in a way in which they did not understand and could not see.
What do we do? To pull in a phrase that Jesus uses elsewhere, how do we take the log out of our own eyes before taking the speck out of our neighbors?
The rest of our gospel reading is Jesus teaching some very radical ideas. He says, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.” And, “Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, and unfailing treasure in heaven.” There are also several teachings about being alert and watchful for his return. It’s been almost 2000 years, how long are we to stay awake?!? What do we make of these teachings? How are they going to keep us from being hypocrites?
Is this supposed to be a life of misery?
In John 10:10 we read Jesus saying, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” That is where we start. That is how we dismantle the hypocrisy.
Wegmans may indeed make you feel good about yourself… for a while. But do they really give abundant life?
Jesus says not to worry about what you wear or what you eat or about what people think. These may sound challenging, but they are actually freeing.
If you worry about what people think of you then you are a slave to their opinion of you. That will never bring life.
If you always need to have the latest and greatest then you are a slave to that. That will never bring life.
If you worry about this life only, and focus your attention on “making it” then you will always be a slave to success. That will never bring life.
Focus on God. Focus on God providing; knowing that God loves you.
Jesus never said it would be easy. Quite the opposite, as we read Jesus giving several warnings of persecutions to his follower, which we read today. It makes sense. Those who invest their lives in the hypocrisy of the world feel threatened by those who live authentically. Jesus also knows that his followers will make mistakes. That’s why even as he was teaching them he let them know about forgiveness.
That’s where we wrap up today’s sermon, and where we wrap up Jesus’ teachings too; the parable of the unproductive fig tree. After years of unproductivity the most practical thing to do with an unproductive tree is to cut it down. But in the parable we have the gardener begging the owner to give it one more chance – and not just another chance, but to actually invest more in it.
That is God’s love for us. Knowing we will fail, knowing we are often ignorant, knowing all our shortcomings, God continues to want to invest in us; giving us opportunities for the life of true abundance.
Our English word hypocrite comes from Greek, and the Greek equivalent sounds about the same. What is not the same, however, is what the word means. The Greeks would call stage actors hypocrites because the person they portrayed on stage wasn’t who they really are. But there are more subtle meanings to it too. As we find the word in Luke’s gospel it is more closely inclined towards the way it is used in the Greek translations of the Old Testament. So when Jesus says to, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is their hypocrisy,” he is meaning people whose actions are not determined by God, and are thus godless.
As Jesus has looked at them and interacted with them for a long time now he does not call they hypocrites because they say one thing but do another thing. He regards them as misdirected in their fundamental understanding of God’s purposes. They are therefore incapable of discerning the authentic meaning of the scriptures, and therefore, unable to present anything other than a distorted expression of piety. They are so lost they don’t even realize they are lost. I believe the current day saying would be that they don’t know how much they don’t know.
Jesus is not saying the Pharisees are at all unique in this hypocrisy. He sees the exact same dynamics happening within his closest followers. They too don’t know how much they don’t know. He presents this warning lest they inadvertently build their own lives in a similarly distorted manner.
Indeed, when you know something is wrong, or perhaps that you are doing something wrong, you have some options. You could do the right thing. That would be to recognize the problem and work to change it. Another option would be to deny that what you are doing is wrong. Then you just keep doing it. A third option, and always a very tempting one, is to make excuses for yourself so that you can just keep doing it. Or you can blame or attack the messenger who brought the fault to your attention.
But what do you do when you’re doing something wrong and you don’t even know it? What do you do when you think you’re doing something right, but you’re actually being duped by someone else?
There are no Wegmans in Victor so I think I can get away with picking on them. A lot of what I know about Wegmans typifies the way the Pharisees and the society they created for themselves worked. Wegmans does a superb job of making customers feel good about themselves for shopping there. I don’t shop there often, but I do know they make it is point to let customers know their food is supporting local agriculture. It's sustainably sourced. It’s gotten fairly. They are often listed as one of the top employers of the nation for how they treat their employees. You can see from the helping hands employees that they make it a point to hire people who may struggle to get jobs elsewhere. And even for all this, their prices remain very reasonable.
Yes, shopping at Wegmans is an experience designed to make you feel good about yourself. But then there’s the truths underneath the surface. A few months ago I was talking to Jen Sainsbury, former employee of Wegmans. As for them being such an amazing employer to their employees, she says they simply manipulate the system to get those high marks. When it comes to employee satisfaction surveys, they do not take feedback from their entire workforce. They choose which employees fill out the surveys. Then they edit them as necessary. As for labels like local, natural, sustainable etc., they all mean basically nothing.
People who live in Canandaigua know that Wegmans owns most of the key real estate with retail potential. They play hard ball in the real estate market, keeping competition out. Why is the Tops in Canandaigua where it is? Because it is land Wegmans couldn’t control.
I don’t know if they still have the signs, but several weeks ago the Canandaigua store had a sign as you enter: “Stop hate. End racism. Choose love.” How quaint! How politically correct and proper! …coming from a store located in a wealthy liberal minded suburban area. What happened to all the Wegmans that used to exist in the poor areas of downtown Rochester? They closed because they didn’t meet profit projections. Notice that the recent shooting in Buffalo didn’t happen at a Wegmans. Why? Because Wegmans won’t invest where there really is need. They invest in wealthy white liberal suburbs in the east, and they cater to the political whims of such people. Notice it is Tops who actually dared to open a store in a rough place in Buffalo. Yeah to them! That’s real commitment. That’s truly putting your money at risk in the name of good.
Now I’m not intending to trash Wegmans. And I’m not intending to make Tops out to be a saintly store. Both stores are major retailers who know how to successfully run a business and make a profit. That often means being tough. Inasmuch as it is fair, that is the way healthy society works. But my point is that it is so easy to be a Pharisee and do things that make you feel good about yourself. There are business whose business model is to make money by helping you feel good and right! The same sort of dynamics went on in Jesus’ day. The Pharisees were hypocrites not in a conscious way, but in a way in which they did not understand and could not see.
What do we do? To pull in a phrase that Jesus uses elsewhere, how do we take the log out of our own eyes before taking the speck out of our neighbors?
The rest of our gospel reading is Jesus teaching some very radical ideas. He says, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.” And, “Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, and unfailing treasure in heaven.” There are also several teachings about being alert and watchful for his return. It’s been almost 2000 years, how long are we to stay awake?!? What do we make of these teachings? How are they going to keep us from being hypocrites?
Is this supposed to be a life of misery?
In John 10:10 we read Jesus saying, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” That is where we start. That is how we dismantle the hypocrisy.
Wegmans may indeed make you feel good about yourself… for a while. But do they really give abundant life?
Jesus says not to worry about what you wear or what you eat or about what people think. These may sound challenging, but they are actually freeing.
If you worry about what people think of you then you are a slave to their opinion of you. That will never bring life.
If you always need to have the latest and greatest then you are a slave to that. That will never bring life.
If you worry about this life only, and focus your attention on “making it” then you will always be a slave to success. That will never bring life.
Focus on God. Focus on God providing; knowing that God loves you.
Jesus never said it would be easy. Quite the opposite, as we read Jesus giving several warnings of persecutions to his follower, which we read today. It makes sense. Those who invest their lives in the hypocrisy of the world feel threatened by those who live authentically. Jesus also knows that his followers will make mistakes. That’s why even as he was teaching them he let them know about forgiveness.
That’s where we wrap up today’s sermon, and where we wrap up Jesus’ teachings too; the parable of the unproductive fig tree. After years of unproductivity the most practical thing to do with an unproductive tree is to cut it down. But in the parable we have the gardener begging the owner to give it one more chance – and not just another chance, but to actually invest more in it.
That is God’s love for us. Knowing we will fail, knowing we are often ignorant, knowing all our shortcomings, God continues to want to invest in us; giving us opportunities for the life of true abundance.
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