December 29, 2024 Christmas 1 Luke 2:21-40

 One of my favorite lessons in confirmation class is to give the kids Sour Patch Kids candy.  After we’ve all had some I ask, “Are they sweet or are they sour?”  The kids usually pause with a puzzled look.  Then they start sputtering out something about how they’re sour at first but then become sweet.  So, I ask again, “Are they sweet or are they sour?”  Eventually we get around to the answer that they’re both.  Sour Patch Kids are a candy that is both sweet and sour.

            Then I ask another question.  “Are you basically good or basically bad?”  With the prompting of the Sour Patch Kids candy they’re ready with the answer: they’re both.  That then opens the door for a discussion about a fundamental thing about our nature.  Human beings are simultaneously saints and sinners.  We all have good motives and bad motives at work within us.  We may try to always do what is right.  But try as we might, we end up doing things that are bad.  Perhaps it is because we are lazy.  Or perhaps it is out of ignorance.  Or perhaps it is because we just don’t care and willfully do something that is bad.  Regardless, both good and bad exist within all of us at all times.

            I leave the discussion there with the confirmation class.  That’s an appropriate level of understanding for a teenager’s mind.  However, in worship today we want to take it one step further.  That step is small but its consequences are big.  It chooses a path that will lead to very different places.  That next step is the question, “Which is stronger within us:  the good or the bad?”  Or another way of saying it is, “Are humans basically good or are they basically bad?”

            You may find yourself pondering that for a while.  There are many things to consider.  You may change your mind many times over.  Philosophers have spun that question round and round for centuries.  There may seem to be no clear answer. 

However, traditional Christian theology has always had a clear and consistent answer.  Humans are basically bad.  Period.  That’s hard news, but it is the truth.  In Romans 7:21-25 St. Paul writes, “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.  For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

While we are indeed a mix of good and bad, the bad is the stronger side of us.  If people could be counted on to be basically good, then our whole history and our whole religion would be different.  God would not have had to come in the form of Jesus to save us.  God could have just given us rules and laws to live by.  God could then count on the good within us to be drawn to those laws and follow them.

But we are fundamentally bad.  Thus, Jesus needed to come to save us.  We cannot save ourselves.  Jesus taught many things that could be called good morality.  But Jesus’ purpose was not to teach morality.  Jesus came to die for us in order to rescue us from the inescapable power of evil.

Even our very best attempts at goodness end up causing bad effects.  Consider Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer.  Schweitzer was a medical doctor, professional musician, and missionary.  He won the Nobel Prize for his “sanctity of all life” ideas.  Schweitzer considered all of life to be valuable – from complex humans to simple single-celled organisms.  He said it should all be respected.

Albert Schweitzer worked many years in Africa to build hospitals and improve medicine.  He is perhaps the most important person in vaccinating African children.  He is probably the single most responsible person for child mortality rates falling in the world.

Schweitzer was undeniably a good person.  He worked very hard.  He was selfless.  He sought what was good for all living things.  And yet, what are the long term results of his good efforts?

Do you remember third law of motion in physics?  “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”  That goes for more than just objects.  It goes for human motives as well.  There is no good thing that we do that does not also lead to terrible consequences.  Because of Schweitzer’s good work human populations began to soar; overcrowding the planet.  It has been noted in Africa that instead of children as infants they now grow up to kill each other in wars over food.

No matter how good we try to be, an equal and opposite will come to be.  There’s just no way of ever escaping it.

Should we give up trying to be good?  Should we do things that are bad so that good things result as their opposite?  Certainly not!  But it all does remind us of how trapped our lives are in sin.

This does not play well in our society today.  Our society today is based on the idea that people are basically good.  We tell ourselves that with enough education people can be expected to know what is right and to do it.  We tell ourselves that there’s no problem technology can’t solve.  We tell ourselves that with things like recycling and “clean” energy that we actually save the planet from environmental destruction.

In our society Christianity’s traditional claims that we are basically bad are actually seen as part of the problem.  We’re told that Christianity’s focus on the bad is one of the things that is holding back human progress.  One of the major reasons churches are declining is because of this.

This shouldn’t surprise us.  People want to hear good things.  They want to feel good about themselves.  They want to be told they are good.  They want to believe that by their own goodness they can save themselves.

This has implications for our faith as well.  I believe one of the reasons people have such a hard time hearing God’s voice is because we live in a society that is constantly telling us we are good.  Our society tells us to look within ourselves for self-fulfillment.  How is God supposed to speak to us when we always look inside?

In the gospel reading we met two elderly people who seem to be able to hear God well.  They are Simeon and Anna.

Simeon is called righteous and devout.  We might be tempted to think this is because Simeon has somehow discovered the right way to live.  Perhaps he has, but it is not because he is looking within himself for goodness.  He knows that salvation must come from outside himself.  While holding the baby Jesus he says, “My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”  Notice that all of this is about what God is doing.  There is nothing about what Simeon is doing.  Simeon does not look to himself.  He is always looking to God.  Simeon knew he needed God’s grace.  That is a big part of why he was able to recognize it.

We aren’t told as much about Anna.  We’re just told that she is 84 years old and that she worships in the temple with fasting and prayer night and day.  Luke doesn’t record many of her words.  From what she does say we realize that she is like Simeon.  She is looking to God, and not to humanity, for salvation.

Are we basically good or are we basically bad?  Society wants to tell us that we are good.  Society will tell us that we humans can save everything and do everything right.  But that puts us in an inescapable downward spiral.  Our Christian faith wants to tell us that we are basically bad.  That is not meant to depress us.  And it is not meant to say that we are always driven by selfish and evil intentions.  It is meant to remind us that even at our best we can’t help making a mess.  We just can’t escape it.  So, like St. Paul we cry, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

It is by acknowledging our fundamental inability to make things right in the world that we turn to God.  When we turn to God in this way we then have our ears open to hear God’s words to us.  That does not mean that evil will also not be close at hand.  But it does mean that God’s voice will at least be heard.

Ultimately we rejoice that saving ourselves is not in our hands.  It is a task that is too big for us.  It is in God’s hands.

We always strive to do what is right, even as we know evil will be warping everything we do.  Even so, God does good things through our work.  God alone can bring about the good.  We rejoice in that and rejoice in God’s saving love.

December 15, 2024 Advent 3 Luke 1:39-56

            The gospel writer Luke introduced us to Mary the mother of Jesus in what we read last week.  You may recall that I made a big deal about how unremarkable she was.  In what we read the week before we met Zechariah and Elizabeth.  Luke told us they had perfect pedigrees and that they were upright and holy in all respects.  They would go on to become the parents of John the Baptist.  By contrast Luke tells us nothing, absolutely nothing, about why God chose Mary.  We are left to conclude that what made Mary special was simply that God chose Mary.  God’s choice was God’s choice because that’s what God chose.  It’s a perfectly circular bit of logic!  But Luke does not let Mary’s character go completely undeveloped.  In what we read today her personality explodes into the storyline.  Quite likely, however, we missed it.  And I am saddened to say that many western biblical interpreters miss it too.

It starts with the very first line of what we read, “In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country…”  (Luke 1:39)  Okay, so what’s so remarkable about that?  Here’s where our lack of geography and social customs fails us.

That journey, which it appears Mary takes all by herself, is a journey of at least 70 miles.  70 miles!  When was the last time you set out on a 70 mile walk?  And, remember, Mary is probably 13 years of age!  Forget 1^st century Palestine.  Think about today.  How would you feel about a 13-year-old girl just up and walking 70 miles to visit a relative!?!  It’s not safe!  In fact it’s downright nuts!  And 21^st century America is far safer than 1^st century Palestine.

            So, it turns out 13-year-old Mary has got some guts!  She’s either very brave or she’s crazy, or probably some mix of the two.

            There’s a second issue.  Consider these thoughts from commentator Joel Green, “As a young girl, Mary would not normally have left her home without accompaniment – either to browse her hometown or (especially!) to travel some seventy miles to the hill country around Jerusalem.  Until she entered the bridal chamber, a girl lived in seclusion in her home.”  (New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Luke, Pg. 94-5)

            Said differently, Mary is thumbing her nose at societal expectations of a girl.  And, according to Luke, she goes of her own accord.  The angel doesn’t tell her to go see Elizabeth.  The angel tells her about Elizabeth’s pregnancy but nothing more.

            Mary, all on her own, in complete disregard of all social propriety, and with disregard for the physical dangers, goes on a 70 mile journey.

            When I think of Mary the mother of Jesus the first image that pops into my mind is someone along the lines of the way the Christmas carols speak of her.  Mary… sweet, tender, meek, mild.  Mary… obedient, accepting, vulnerable.

            That is NOT the way Luke describes her.  Who knows what her attitude really was, but based on this trip she’s a strong woman and she’s got guts!

            I often envision Mary telling Joseph of her pregnancy with fear and trembling in her voice.  I imagine her scared out of her wits that Joseph will reject her and that she will have to live a life of shame and humiliation.  But based on this text I imagine her striding up to Joseph, poking him hard in the chest with her finger and proclaiming, “So Joseph, this is how it is.  I’m going to give birth to the Son of God.  You’re going to marry me anyway.  That’s just the way it is because God said so.  If you’ve got a problem with that then take them up with God!”  And then Joseph, shrinking from this little firebrand of a woman, nods his head in visible agreement.

            Pants hadn’t been invented yet so this image doesn’t work, but it’s quite possible that Mary was the one who wore the pants in the family!

            Going a bit further into the text we find Mary’s bold actions are echoed in the attitude behind her words.  Mary’s song, often called The Magnificat, may sound sweet in our ears.  But we read it with the ignorance of 21^st century white American  church culture.  Read The Magnificat from the point of view of a black person, or a third world person, and you get a completely different feel.

            We interpret her words as sweet.  But I invite you to sit down and read it carefully sometime.  Realize that what Mary says could quite possibly be a religious terrorist manifesto.  Consider:

            “[God] has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.”

            So, the powerful will be brought down.  The lowly will be raised.  And notice how boldly Mary speaks.  Notice the tense of her verbs.  She does not use a future tense.  She does not say, “God will show strength with his arm… he will bring down the powerful...  he will send the rich away empty.”  No, she uses the past tense.  She is so certain of God’s promised future actions that she speaks of them as if they’ve already happened!

            This girl’s got faith!  And bold confident faith at that!  As Luke portrays Mary there is nothing meek, mild, or tentative about her. 

            The content of what Mary says in the Magnificat will come up over and over again and be developed further as we go further into Luke’s gospel.  We’ll be revisiting those themes many times.  For this week again though, we keep our focus on this character Mary.

            Mary is a superb model of feminism.  She seems to know who she is.  She is strong.  She thinks and act on her own.

            However, she is not an aggressive fire breathing man hater either.  She is not disobeying social customs because she wants to be a rebel.  She is not doing dangerous things because she is a daredevil.

            Let’s make sure we understand her actions fully in context of Luke’s gospel.  What we see here is a person who is confidently and boldly inspired by God’s promises of action that that is what is going to lead and shape her life.  Nothing is going to get in the way of that.  What remains key is that it is God’s prompting.  It is God’s action.  It is the coming of God’s kingdom that is driving Mary.  Indeed she is being bold, and probably careless, but she is doing it in faith.  Anything done in faith is going to be done with integrity, authenticity, and humility.

            I came across this quote from Mark Twain last week, “Each man is afraid of his neighbor’s disapproval – a thing which, to the general run of the human race, is more dreaded than wolves and death.”

            I suspect there is far more truth to that than we want to admit.  I suspect that in our subconscious we fear disapproval from others far more than anything else.  I suspect getting approval from others is the number one motivator in our lives.  We will say what we have to say, we will do what we have to do, we will shape our lives the way we have to shape our lives in order to get approval.

            Sure, we know we can’t please everyone all the time.  We know there are people who are going to like us and there are people who are going to dislike us, maybe even hate us.  We know we are individuals and there is lots of room for personal expression.  But for the most part we conform to societal norms.  Assuming those norms are basically honest and decent and life-affirming there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with that.  But that is still missing something.  We see that something in Mary.

            Just like we saw last week, God is shaping Mary.  God’s actions and God’s promises drive her life.  God defines her, not other people.  That is the way to true confidence.  That is the way to true authenticity.  That is the way to fullness of life.

            Perhaps you think that is all fine and good for Mary.  But what about us?  And that is a good question.  It is not a question I’m going to answer; at least not today.  I’ll let the gospel writer Luke bear that task.  For now, that is exactly where he wants us to be as his readers.  The answer is going to come in the remaining 23 chapters.  And he will pick it up again in the 28 chapters in Acts.

            Mary’s life was an adventure.  So is what Luke wrote in the Bible.  And we are a part of that adventure too.

December 8, 2024 Advent 2 Luke 1:26-38

             Last week I described Luke as an historian.  He indeed did work the way we would think of an historian today.  He studied multiple sources and weighed the merits of competing claims to truth.  That being said, Luke was not perfect.  We know from what he writes in the Acts of the Apostles that he gets some things wrong about Paul’s missionary journeys.  And we always have to remember that he wrote in his context using the images and ideas of the time.  Those things change over time.

I say that because when Luke talks about things like angels coming to deliver messages to humans it can easily sound like a fairy tale.  I believe many Christians inadvertently suspend reality when they read the Bible and enter into a sort of fairy tale understanding of God.  Or they wish that God would act today the way God acted in olden days.  That is a mistake. 

Central to Christianity is the idea of the Incarnation.  That is, that God was born into human form and lived a lifetime like one of us.  God knows human fears, doubts, frailties, successes, and pains.  What you feel in your life God has felt too.  We make a profound mistake when we think that old saints were somehow holier or more enlightened or privileged by God over us.  Not true.

Our gospel reading today may sound fantastic.  We have an angel named Gabriel visiting a woman for whom it is impossible for her to be pregnant.  It’s like a fairy tale.  But don’t read it as such.  In fact, it is intended to be as ordinary as something can be.  To understand that let’s look at what is not there.

            Luke crafted this scene with many parallels to what we read last week.  That was the announcement of the conception of John the Baptist to Zechariah, the man who would be his father.  Consider:

 

Luke 1:11-20                                      Luke 1:28-38

“he was troubled” (12)                       “she was much troubled” (28)

“the angel said to him” (13)               “the angel said to her” (30)

“Do not be afraid” (13)                      “Do not be afraid” (30)

“will bear you a son” (13)                  “you will… bear a son” (31)

“and you will name him” (13)            “and you will name him” (31)

“he will be great” (15)                                    “he will be great” (32)

“said to the angel” (18)                      “said to the angel” (34)

“and replying the angel said” (19)     “and replying, the angel said” (35)

“Gabriel… God… sent” (19)             “Gabriel… sent… God” (26)

“and now” (20)                                   “and now” (36)

 

Commentators note that each story interprets the other.  So, what is missing in the second that is so important?

You’ll remember the story about John’s conception starts this way, “…there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah.  His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.”  (Luke 1:5b-6)

Turning to the story of Jesus’ conception, what does Luke tell us about Mary’s background?

Does Luke tell us about her ancestors or family line?

Does Luke tell us anything about her faith?

Does Luke tell us anything about her righteousness according to the religious law?

The answer to all of those is, “No.”

John the Baptist will be born to very deserving parents.  What has Mary done to deserve the honor she will have?  What made her special?  The only thing we get from Luke is when the angel Gabriel says, “…you have found favor with God.” 

There are many traditions and stories about the background of Mary.  They mostly come from the Roman Catholic Church.  There’s no way to verify or deny any of them.  But as far as Luke is concerned, they don’t matter.  Commentator Joel Green notes this, “God has given favor to one who had no claim to worthy status, raised her up from a position of lowliness, and has chosen her to have a central role in salvation history.”  (New International Commentary on the New Testament, Luke, Pg. 87) 

This is not just about noticing what is not in Luke’s text. He reinforces it with what is there. 

Last week we read about the angel Gabriel visiting Zechariah.  The location of the event couldn’t have been more precise.  The city is Jerusalem.  The building is the temple.  The room is the sanctuary within the temple.  Then we are told that Gabriel appears while Zechariah is at the incense altar.  While few people ever set foot inside the temple proper those few who did could tell precisely – to within a square foot – of where this amazing event took place. 

How about Gabriel appearing to Mary?  We are just told it is a town in Galilee called Nazareth.  Nazareth is only significant today because of the Bible stories about Jesus.  In those days it was completely obscure.  Ask a resident of New York City where Victor is and they’ll probably give you a blank stare.  Ask a Jew of those days where Nazareth is and they’d probably never heard of it.  Nazareth was “nowhereville”.  So this time Gabriel appears in an unknown place in an unknown town to an unknown and completely unremarkable girl.

What makes Mary remarkable?  God decided to favor her.  Why?  Luke doesn’t say.  This is God’s business done in God’s own time and in God’s own way.  What made Mary remarkable was God’s work, not hers.  I believe there is something deeply significant for us in this. 

We are in the season of frantic buying for Christmas.  This buying can tell us something about ourselves.  Now I’m not talking about those who make a Christmas list of all practical things, and then they buy practical things for others as well.  I don’t mean to knock the idea, in fact I like it a lot.  However, when it comes to exchanging gifts on Christmas day all you’ve really done is have someone else buy you something you were going to buy anyway, and you’ve bought them something they would have bought anyway.  It ends up being a wash.

No, I’m talking about the stuff that we ask for because we think it’ll improve us in some way.  Or, perhaps its stuff we like or are excited to have.  Stuff like a piece of jewelry to make us look glamorous, or perhaps a tool to make us look capable.  And going beyond typical Christmas gifts, things like houses and boats and cars and all the things that people have to create an image of themselves.

Most people want to look capable, successful, and meaningful.  They try to accomplish it through the possessions they surround themselves with and the lifestyle they seek to present.

If Luke told us that God chose Mary because she lived in a prominent city, or was from a wealthy family, or was well connected, or because she had an outstanding education, or that she had nice clothes, or…  …even that she was somehow particularly holy or righteous, then we could understand that there was something she could do about herself to earn such a favorable place in God’s plans.  But again, everything about Mary herself is unremarkable.

I believe many people believe that by their own power they can give themselves an important place in the world and have a life that is meaningful.  But that is a recipe for emptiness. 

So much of what people work for, and buy, does not give lasting satisfaction.  How many Christmas gifts this year will be giving joy for a short term, but then they will break or their owners become bored with them, or they simply go out of style?  People want ever more in their search for meaning.

This story of the announcement of the conception of Jesus is more than just a story.  It carries deep meaning for us.  Its message is one that is central for living a meaningful life.

Last week I joked that when Gabriel told Zechariah that he would have a son Zechariah said something that was very reasonable but completely stupid, “How will I know that his is so?”  I said don’t ever ask an angel for proof because you just might get it!  Zechariah got his proof.  He lost the ability to speak until the birth of John. 

Contrast that with Mary’s response.  Though what Zechariah was promised was improbably what Mary was promised was impossible.  Yet she says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

That is among the deepest and most profound statements of faith of all time.  It comes from the mouth of someone scholars believe was only 12 or 13 years old.  While that is criminally young by today’s standards it was adulthood for a woman then.  Mary basically says that she will let God define her.  She’s not looking for clothes or jewelry or a fancy car or a powerful marriage, or an amazing circle of friends.  She is not looking for a place in history or has any interest in making a name for herself.  She is a completely unremarkable person who is simply letting God define her. 

There are going to be risks!  In fact her life could be ruined.  But she accepts because ‘who she is’ will be defined by God and God alone. 

            As we light more candles of the Advent wreath and draw ever close to Christmas, may we let God define us.  May we realize that God will probably not do anything through us that people think is particularly remarkable, but it will still be fulfilling.  May we say to God, “Let it be with me according to your word.”

December 1, 2024 Advent 1 Luke 1:1-25

             Over the years I’ve heard any number of people say they can’t reconcile the idea of a loving God with all the unfair pain and suffering in the world.  They have a point.  How can we say God is good and loving and then have a world so full of brokenness and pain.  Some of the brokenness comes from things like natural disasters that we have no control over.  Some of it comes from societal dynamics of abuse and exploitation.  Regardless, life’s unfairnesses come from all over.  They are hard to reconcile with a loving God.  At the very least, we should be able to expect that God loving Christians would be fundamentally better than other people.  But that doesn’t seem to be the case either.

            That shouldn’t be news in a Lutheran church.  If you look at the early writings of Lutheran reformers you see they’re struggling with why there’s so much evil at work among Christians.  They conclude that the church is a mixed bag and really no better than outside it.  History proves that to be true.  Plenty of virtuous people exist outside Christianity and plenty of villains exist within it. 

            But I don’t want to go too far with this and lose direction.  As read Luke’s gospel this church year.  we’re going to meet a lot of people who live good and righteous lives and have everything go terribly wrong for them.  John the Baptist and Jesus are the two biggest examples.  And we’re going to meet good and righteous people who are rewarded by God for their lives.  Things come together for them.  They pray and they get what they ask for.  That some get and some don’t may leave us puzzled and feeling like life is even more unfair!  Luke has his purposes though.

            First, let’s look at the introduction.  Luke’s gospel starts off with a dedication by the author, “I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write and orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.”

Who is Theophilus?  Who is this “most excellent” person?  Most biblical scholars that I know of say that Theophilus was the author’s patron.  He was Luke’s financial benefactor.  It’s no surprise that if someone is financing your life you’re going to be flattering toward them.  Theophilus is otherwise unknown though.  And importantly, not all biblical scholars take that approach. 

I think it is contrary to the theology of Luke’s gospel to butter up a wealthy person.  Luke has a contemptuous view of wealth.  Also, “theophilus” as a word means “friend of God,” or “lover of God”.  So, some biblical scholars say that Theophilus is the reader, whoever that reader is – including you.  I think that fits.  Luke is a clever and playful writer.  At the very least it’s the sort of thing he would do.

So, quite possibly Luke is calling you, you who he’s never met, “most excellent lover of God.”  Part of the Bible is dedicated to you!  And the Bible is calling you “most excellent”.

Now if that gives you an inflated ego you’ve missed the point.  It is intended to be a compliment and also an affirmation.  We need to take a moment to remember the world that Luke is writing into.  If the world today seems like a mess with all sorts of unfair things going on, it was like that – and actually worse – for Luke’s original readers.  It seems most likely that this gospel was written around the year 80.  You’ll remember that there were Jewish revolts in the 60’s and the Romans clamped down in the year 70.  They destroyed Jerusalem completely, which of course included the temple.  The Roman destruction was so complete that archaeologists can only find fragments of the foundations of buildings. 

As a religion Judaism was in shambles.  The temple was gone.  The central leadership appears to have either fled or been killed.  Several of the sects within Judaism disappeared – either the Romans killed them or they were too scared to continue.  The Romans also didn’t consider Christianity to be its own religion.  They saw it as yet another sect of Judaism.  In some places Christians were persecuted.  In other places not.  Regardless, it wasn’t safe to go around proclaiming that you were a follower of Jesus of Nazareth.  All in all, Luke’s original audience did not feel like they were most excellent lovers of God.  Their faith and the world around them were a mess.  They needed reassurance.  And they needed to know that God was in control.  They needed to know that God would bring order to the chaos.

The first person we meet is Zechariah.  Here’s a guy who gets what he wants from God; after a time.  We are told that he is a priest.  Being a priest was not, for the most part, an occupation.  Being a priest was a role you were born into.  It just meant you were of the tribe of Levi.  It appears as if there was a rotation among the priestly tribe and they would come to serve in the temple for a time, probably twice a year.  Once there what they did was determined by lot, which is basically rolling dice.

Luke tells us that not only was Zechariah a priest his wife Elizabeth was also of priestly descent.  And both Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous people. 

In this Luke wants his readers to see the orderliness of God’s actions.  He wants his readers to see that God remembers and honors the religious laws and those who live righteously.  The whole world may appear to be going off kilter.  Not everything is fair.  But God’s firmly in control.

We learn that despite their righteousness they have been unable to have children.  That would have been seen as a contradiction in those days.  With a lack of medical knowledge most people viewed a couple’s inability to bear children as proof that God did not like them.  People would think they must be somehow in wrong with God.  Perhaps they were publicly righteous, but they must be doing something secretly sinful.  Typically the woman would bear the brunt of the blame.  The eventual birth of John the Baptist brought honor and dignity to Elizabeth. 

The barrenness of the Zechariah and Elizabeth as an old couple also carries a symbolic meaning.  For hundreds of years the Jewish people had been waiting in expectation for God to act.  The people’s hope is paralleled by this aging couple hoping for the birth of a child.  In both cases the waiting had been so long that they were despairing of it ever happening.  The announcement of the birth of John is renewed hope.

The hope is not going to be exactly what the people had in mind, however.  That goes into our sense of justice (or injustice) from God as well.  The angel’s message says nothing about a restored kingdom of Israel.  It also says nothing of the expulsion of the non-Jews, which was another Jewish expectation.  The message is one of renewed hope, begun by repentance and ongoing faithful living.  And yet, as Luke tells the story of John the Baptist and eventually Jesus it is a story of surprises.  Zechariah is surprised.  Elizabeth is surprised.  We’ll be reading about Mary, the mother of Jesus being surprised in another week.  And we’ll be reading about King Herod too.  There are some surprising things for him as well.  Herod and his ancestors had spent decades expanding the Jerusalem temple and adding to its grandeur.  It was his great monument.  It was his life’s great accomplishment.  Jesus predicts it will be destroyed, and so it was.

So much for the grand plans of human beings!  We need to remember that our greatest efforts are nothing if they aren’t connected to God’s designs.  And there’s no point trying to convince God that your agenda is going to be of benefit to God.  You just can’t make that case.  It is far better to let God’s desires and designs be what makes the plans for your life.  That is, admittedly, easier said than done.

Things don’t go according to Zechariah’s ideas either.  You’ve heard me use him as an example of what not to do if you’re met by an angel.  If an angel tells you something that is impossible, or near impossible, will happen, just accept it.  Certainly don’t ask for proof!  That will probably not go well for you.  We’ll contrast him with what Mary does when the angel announces Jesus conception to her.  What was improbable for Zechariah and Elizabeth was outright impossible with Mary.  But she just accepts.

We can sense the themes that are going to be laid out in Luke’s gospel here at the beginning.  While yes, God will honor and fulfill promises made long ago, they will not be fulfilled as humans thought.  Also, while God respects the promises made to the Jews and God honors their ideas of righteousness, God will also not be overly bound by such things. 

            The story unfolds in the weeks to come.  For now realize that the Bible has called us excellent lovers of God.  Whether we feel it or not God is working in and through us.  Maybe we will see the results of what God is doing through us.  Maybe we won’t.  But we do not loose heart.  We, like Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Mary who we will meet next week, and many others we have yet to meet in the gospel, embark on the adventure of being a lover of God.  Fairness is no guarantee.  God’s faithfulness to us despite unfairness is guaranteed.

 

November 24, 2024 Generosity Sermon Week 4 Matthew 19:16-30

 The story of the rich young man who comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life makes us very uneasy.  Are we to sell everything and give it to the poor?  Are we damned for eternity because we will not do this thing?  But if we do, then how are we to live?  And won’t every one of our family and friends think we’re some sort of religious nut?

Well, I’m not going to try to make the text comfortable for us.  It is intended to make us uncomfortable and keep us in that place.  During November we’ve been using materials from the national church for a stewardship drive on generosity.  This text was not chosen as a way to get people to sell all their stuff and give all their money to their church.  This text was chosen because underneath it is a great lesson in generosity.

Let’s remind ourselves about this rich young man.  It is always easy to picture him as haughty, arrogant, and elite.  Possibly we picture him as greedy or shrewd.  Whatever the case, it is easy to picture him as someone other than ourselves; who has obvious flaws because of his wealth.  But you’ll remember me saying this every time we look at one of the Bible’s stories about this guy, those images are a mistake.  What picture should come to mind when we read about this guy?  It should be a picture of perfection.  He is the kind of guy every parent wants their child to marry.  He is a young adult who is smart, handsome, and kind.  He is wealthy.  He is not a playboy but virtuous with his wealth.  He genuinely cares about his neighbors.  He probably gives generously to local charities.  He sponsors the local soccer team.  He’s an all-around great guy.  You want him in your neighborhood. 

We’re not supposed to play favorites when visitors come to this congregation for worship, but we do it anyway.  If this guy walked in the door many people would be paying attention to him. He’d be clean cut, well dressed, and have an authentic air of graciousness.  People would be inviting him to sign the guest book, come to coffee hour, and come to worship next week.  People would be lining up to tell me about him and tell me to get in touch with him.  He is conscientious, authentic, humble, agreeable… you name it.  Or to sum him up in one word, perfect.

            Jesus says, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

            You can bet the jaws of the disciples dropped when they heard Jesus give him that answer.  Here was the perfect disciple of Jesus.  He would be the poster boy of their movement.  Think of him as the image of what an ideal follower of Jesus would be!  If this guy can’t make it no one can.  The disciples ask, “Then who can be saved.”  Jesus gives the answer: It is impossible, but for God all things are possible.

            So how does any of this have anything to do with generosity?  It all sounds like absurdity!  That is where our minds go with this text.  But we easily overlook what sets up the whole scene.  This perfect young man comes to Jesus and asks, “What good deed must I do to inherit eternal life?”  This man, perfect as he is, is trying to enter into a transactional type of life with God.  This man will do his part to please God.  God, in turn, will repay him with eternal life.  This young man will be able to hold his head high – not in arrogance or haughtiness.  (I suspect there was a genuine humility to him.  He wasn’t arrogant or boastful or rude.  He comes to Jesus with respect and addresses Jesus as any good Jew would address a well-known rabbi.  He calls Jesus “Teacher.”)  The man would hold his head high because he is a model of the good life for others to emulate.  I believe you can do that with gracious humility.

            Jesus, though, will have nothing to do with this transactional model of discipleship.  He points out the flaw in this man’s self-understanding.  Jesus says, “Why do you ask me about what is good?”  Notice a key word there: what.  What is good?  Jesus goes on, “There is only one who is good.”  It’s not about what is good.  It is about who is good.  God alone is that who.

            This young man, wonderful as he undoubtedly is, was focusing on the what.  As long as he did that he would not focus on the who.

            Any time our lives are based on the what we’re living in a transactional relationship.  That’s not necessarily evil.  The ‘what’ of utility bills and food and the necessities of life are not bad.  But they are not the path to eternal life.  We make a mistake if we think doing the what right has salvific importance.  It doesn’t.  That was the man’s mistake.  It is impossible to do the what of life well enough to earn eternal life.  Jesus makes it very clear.  You can’t get to heaven.  It's impossible.  It’s a camel going through the eye of a needle.  It is about the who of eternal life because for God the impossible is possible.

            When we can focus on the who then authentic generosity with the what comes.

            With daylight hours being short at this time of year it is a good time to do some stargazing.  No matter how early you go to bed, the stars are almost certainly out.  Perhaps you know many of the constellations and can identify whatever planets may be up in the sky.  Perhaps you just gaze at the moon with it’s brightness and detail.  Stargazing is a good way to realize just how big God is as the Who behind it all.

            I didn’t like Carl Sagan and Neil Degrasse Tyson and other scientists who simplify and belittle Christian beliefs so they can dismiss them.  But these personalities indeed do a good job of inspiring wonder in us and help us to realize the enormity of the universe.  Billions of galaxies.  Trillions of stars.  A universe so vast that we can’t even see across it even if given billions of years for light to travel.  Let there be no doubt about it.  The Who of the universe is big.

            We humans are stuck here.  We can get to the moon for a short time.  I know we’re trying to get humans to Mars in a bit over a decade, but there are serious problems with that.  And while I want to say that nothing is impossible, there is simply no way we’ll ever be able to launch radiation protected spacecraft with significant energy on board to ever get a human past Mars alive.  In the scope of this universe we don’t even count as dust.  Our ideas of powerfulness are ludicrous.

            There’s nothing in the what of life that can please or impress God.  But we can be in awe of the Who of the universe who has put importance upon us creatures of dust.

            St. Paul reminded the Philippians of this when he wrote, “Christ Jesus, though he was in the from of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”  (Philippians 2:6-8)

            God’s love for us is pure gift.  God not only creates us and sees us, God also came to be with us in Jesus – the Incarnation.  Then as Paul tells the Corinthians, God doesn’t even just come to visit us for a while and then leave.  Jesus certainly could have ascended without having to be crucified.  But Jesus does die at the hands of us creatures of dust.  God has been very generous with us – ultimately generous.

            Do we owe it to God to be generous towards each other in return?  You could certainly make that argument!  But that would be missing the point.  Jesus didn’t tell the young man that he owed it to God to sell everything and follow him.  His instructions were nothing about owing at all.  A relationship with God is not about owing things.  A good and “perfect” relationship with God is being in awe of God’s generosity.

            None of us ever reaches that perfectly.  We’ll always have our doubts and fears.  But I think keeping God’s generosity in the front of our minds shapes the way we do everything else.

            Finally, God knows full well that we need the whats of life.  Jesus said to his disciples, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.”  (Matthew 19:29)  For the original readers of Matthew this was comforting news.  The decision to follow Jesus had cost them close relatives – relatives they depended upon for survival.  The church, then, would take the place of those essential relationships.  Generally we are not forced into such a situation.  But the blessings should be real for us.  Our faith community is God’s community.  It is a community that asks for our generosity and should be able to reflect our generosity in the world.