September 11, 2022 The Lie of Wealth Luke 18:15-34

        Today’s gospel reading probably strikes more fear in the hearts of us more than any other.  While Jesus often spoke about the allure of wealth, the false feeling of safety and power it creates, and the way people get hurt in its abuse, nowhere else does he so blatantly say, “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”  (Luke 18:22)

            To say that we don’t like hearing that is putting it mildly.  We immediately start to analyze the text looking for escapes and loopholes.  Jesus really can’t mean that we have to sell everything, give to the poor, and then follow him?  Can he?

            I’ve heard it said that Jesus didn’t really mean that literally.  He meant it figuratively.  He meant that we have to be willing to sell everything, but not actually do it… unless specifically asked to do it.  Just like this rich ruler.

            I wonder what kind of word we’d have to hear from God before we’d actually obey.  It would have to be something stronger than the feeling a guilt and fear that this text stirs in our bellies.  I suspect even if we were to step outside and the clouds would spell out, beginning with our name… “sell all that you have and give the money to the poor.”  I suspect we’d ignore it.  Or perhaps we’d fund an atmospheric study on climate change to figure out what was going on for such a weather phenomenon to occur.

            Well, I have bad news for you.  I’m NOT going to soften the blow of this text. 

I’m not going to say you don’t have to, but be willing to. 

I’m not going to say that we really don’t qualify as being wealthy enough to heed this command – this is meant for people wealthier and more prominent than ourselves.

No, I’m going to let this text stand as it is.

            So, what do we do with it?

            Let’s note that there are a number of stark contrasts going on here.  People are also talking past each other.  Perhaps the most important one of those is the way “Kingdom of God” and “eternal life” are mixed together.

            It is always important to remember that when Jesus is talking about the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven, he is not talking about eternal life.  Kingdom of God refers to here and now.  This time.  This place.  He means the dynamics of God’s will alive and real for people to see and live in right now.

            Eternal life is something that is actually talked about rarely in the Bible.  In this text though, we find them mixed.

            The rich ruler asks, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Obviously this is about eternal life.

            Jesus’ answer is, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” This is about the present age.

            The response of those who heard it is, “Then who can be saved?”  So the crowd is thinking eternal life. 

            After a couple sentences Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age…”
            You see clearly there the way Jesus connects kingdom of God with life here and now.

            But then Jesus concludes, “…and in the age to come eternal life.”

            So, these two things are indeed separate.  And yet here they are linked.  Keep that thought in mind because we’ll come back to that.  But there’s another dynamic we have to bring in by going back to the beginning. 

The ruler asks Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  That sentence is fraught with problems and dripping with subtle arrogance.  At first it seems deeply respectful.  He calls Jesus “Good” and “Teacher.”  And Jesus’ reply seems nonsensical, “Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone.”

            Come on Jesus, if you don’t qualify as good, who does?!?
            Yet he’s calling the guy out on his very flawed world view.  This guy addresses Jesus as good and teacher because that is the game of status, privilege, and trading favors.  He’s honoring Jesus because he expects Jesus to honor him as an equal in return.

            Jesus’ response is not a knock on Jesus’ own goodness.  It is a refusal to play the world’s game of status and honor.  Remember back to the testing of Jesus at the beginning of the gospel?  The devil says to Jesus after showing him the glory of the world, “If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  (Luke 4:7)  In other words, “Jesus, you’ve got what it takes to be top dog in this world.  Play the game of life like everyone else and you’ll come out the clear winner.”  Jesus refused then.  And he refuses this ruler’s world view.

            We see more of it as his sentence continues, “…what must I do…”  Notice he does not say, “What is the path to eternal life.”  He does not say, “Jesus can you help me attain eternal life.”  No, he says, “What must I do…”  The focus is on himself.  It’s about his own abilities and wealth and talents.  If you were here last week you may remember the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  The Pharisee prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”  There we also saw someone focused upon himself and his own abilities.

            And then to put a cherry on the top of the arrogance sundae from this rich ruler, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

            Inheritance is legal language.  He sees life and salvation as if it were a business transaction with God.

            Jesus’ response at first makes it sound like that’s how it is.  He says, “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’”

            And, with a sense of business negotiation the ruler replies, “I have kept all these since my youth.”

            But Jesus’ answer pulls the rug out from under his feet.

            Jesus asks this guy to give up far more than his possessions.  That’s actually the easier task.  Jesus is asking this guy to give up his self-focus; his ability to depend upon himself.  He’s asking him to become dependent upon God.  And if he is to enter the kingdom of God (again, this means God’s reign here on earth) then he’s going to have to become interdependent with other people.  He’s got to give up his self-reliance.

            Let’s bring back in the kingdom of God/eternal life distinction we had earlier.

Why do our possessions here and now mean so much to us?  Why do passages like this bother us so much?  Because we use our possessions to give us an identity.  Our homes, our clothes, our cars all say something about us: wealthy, poor; successful, failure; important, ignorable; worthwhile, worthless. 

Our possessions also give us a sense of security.  If you have money you have choices.  And you have power.  If you don’t have money you are at the mercy of whatever comes your way.  We perceive money to be security.

This text challenges us to see possessions differently.  Instead of money being identity and security, are we able to take the daring step of seeing money as opportunity?  Can we see our resources not for ourselves but as power to bring about God’s kingdom on earth?  Can we genuinely and generously use our resources to build up the value of other people?  Can we use our resources to create community for all?

Notice I did not say to become an enabler.  Notice I did not say put yourself in the poorhouse.  But I did say see money and possessions as resources to build community.

God invites us -and wants us- to build his kingdom here and now on this earth.  It would be a community where all have value.  Where all contribute meaningfully, and all have what they need.  That would be a wonderful world!  That is a world where we contribute to God’s kingdom now, and puts it on a path towards eternal life.  Remember we talked about the merger of those ideas at the beginning.

            Now our gospel reading for today should have ended with the words, “…to be continued.”  For indeed we only saw the first half of a two-part episode.  Next week we will meet another rich ruler.  I’m not going to give his name this week.  I’ll save it for next week and I’m almost certain you’ll recognize him.  There we will see what happens when someone does take to heart the grace of God.  There we will see when a rich person does enter the kingdom of God – here on this earth.  And how it places him in God’s salvation.

            For now though, we need to live in the dis-ease of our lives and of our possessions.  Relying on them will take us nowhere.  But seeing them as a gift and an opportunity will empower us to create God’s kingdom.  That is a kingdom that begins now and extends to eternal life.

September 4, 2022 Luke 18:1-14

 

Albert Schweitzer, Born January 14, 1875. Died September 4, 1965
Theologian, biblical scholar, Lutheran pastor, medical doctor, African missionary, concert organist, musicologist, author, humanitarian, philosopher.
Winner of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of “Reverence for Life”

September 4th is the church holiday to commemorate Albert Schweitzer. If you’re my age or younger it’s quite likely you don’t know what he’s famous for. If you’re older you are more likely to recognize him. The question is for what? He is perhaps most famous for winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his philosophy of “Reverence for Life”.

As the name suggests, it reveres life in all forms: other humans, animals, insects, even plants. That does not mean that you refrain from swatting a mosquito. But it does mean that you honor the mosquito’s life, its place in creation, and its desire to be alive. Schweitzer argued that we are brothers and sisters to all living things, and owe to all of them the same care and respect that we wish for ourselves.

But it’s also quite likely you’d recognize his name because he was also a medical doctor who in 1913 founded a hospital in Lamberene, Gabon. Schweitzer is significantly responsible for bringing basic healthcare and vaccinations to Africa. Though it is a fictitious story, in the book The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, she notes that Schweitzer’s healthcare and vaccination efforts so dropped infant and youth mortality rates in nations across Africa that the countries began suffering from overpopulation, which was, inadvertently, causing wars! From time to time Schweitzer is referenced by the doctors in the TV sitcom MASH.

Or, if you are a musician, you may have heard of Albert Schweitzer because he was a world-famous concert organist. In order to support his missionary and medical work in Africa Schweitzer did not travel through Europe begging for money. Instead he traveled through Europe giving organ recitals. He raised money for his mission work through ticket sales.

Or, if you are a pastor or theologian you may recognize Schweitzer because he was an influential biblical scholar and Lutheran pastor. He was controversial. His published books questioned many beliefs about Jesus that are conveniently held by Christians. He didn’t agree with the typical tidy depiction of Jesus many Christians love to accept. He wrote,

"Jesus comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake-side, He came to those men who knew him not. He speaks to us the same word: 'Follow thou me' and sets us to the task which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is." (The Quest for the Historical Jesus, MacMillan, Pg. 403)



Schweitzer studied many of the world’s religions. His Reverence for Life philosophy, while certainly in line with Christian understandings, draws significantly on Hinduism.

There is a great deal more to Schweitzer, but our sermon today is not about him. These are just some highlights to give you a flavor of who he was. I want us to have a sense of him because I think he makes a great foil for two of the characters Jesus creates in the parables we read today.

First, we have the unjust judge in the Parable of the Unjust Judge and Widow. Jesus creates the character of this judge who has no regard for God or for humans. As we read in our first reading, judges were to hear the small and the great alike. They are not to be partial. And they should ultimately know that the judgment is God’s. So, this judge is missing all the key qualities necessary for his role!

While Jesus uses this character to illustrate that even a corrupt judge will give in to the persistence of the powerless widow - and thus we are to be persistent in prayer – Jesus is also using the theme of power and corruption, which he so often uses in his teachings. People who have power and a position tend to use them for their own ends.

From what I’ve told you about Schweitzer, I think you’d agree that he was an enormously talented person. He had international prominence. But he did not use his talents or position for his own personal gain. He was the opposite of this unjust judge. Schweitzer used his talents for the betterment of all. He not only worked in his African hospital, he also worked to help European nations end colonial rule in a way that gave the people the best chance for healthy and stable independence.

There is a story about Schweitzer that I picked up from a book by King Duncan. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but supposedly he was visiting a certain city, and dignitaries were awaiting him at the train station. Schweitzer was 6’ 4” so he was hard to miss. But he was not to be found among the first-class passengers. So they waited while the second-class passengers disembarked. Still no Schweitzer. Finally, they saw him coming out of the third-class area, carrying his own suitcase. “Why on earth do you travel third class?” they asked him. “Because there is no fourth-class!” he replied.

What is more widely attested is that when he was on the lecture tour in 1953 after winning the Nobel Peace Prize he arrived by train in Chicago. Reporters and officials gathered on the platform to greet him as he got off the train. Cameras flashed. City officials approached him with hands outstretched. Various people began telling him how honored they were to meet him.

Schweitzer politely thanked them and then, looking over their heads, asked if he could be excused for a moment. He quickly walked through the crowd until he reached the side of an elderly black woman who was struggling with two large suitcases. He picked up the bags and escorted the woman to a bus. After helping her aboard, he wished her a safe journey. As he returned to the greeting party he apologized, “Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

If there is truth to that story I’m sure Schweitzer’s humility was part of his strategy for the reverence of life. But still, he did not seek to be anything other than common.

In any event, let’s use that as a segue to the second parable – the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Consider the Pharisee’s prayer. How much more arrogance can a person have than to pray: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week I give a tenth of all my income”?

His prayer is all about him. At best we could say he’s thanking God for making him superior to others! But ultimately he considers himself to be substantially superior. He has contempt for the tax collector. Albert Schweitzer was one of the most widely talented human beings to ever live. But would he pray such a prayer? Would he even think, “God, thank you for making me so talented that I can help these poor ignorant Africans”? No, of course not! A person is a person. Period. Life is life. You see someone who needs a suitcase carried, and you can do it, so you do it. And that’s not patting yourself on the back for doing a good deed of humility. It is simply seeing the value of the other.

The Pharisee had enough religion to be virtuous but not enough to be humble. His religion drove him away from people, rather than towards them. The Pharisee distances himself from the tax collector and in so doing he distances himself from God.

The tax collector, probably considering himself weak in faith, ironically does have enough religion to be humble. He seeks love, grace, and acceptance; knowing deep inside himself there’s nothing in him that is superior to others.

Like every era, our society celebrates those who have extraordinary talent – movie stars, musicians, athletes, savvy business leaders, and politicians. I guess its unavoidable. This is Labor Day weekend – a time to raise up those who often get overlooked. For indeed, it is the laborer who makes things happen. It is the laborer whose work makes society what it is. Laborers are often those who get C’s and D’s in school. They’re the ones who didn’t get the trophies or the scholarships or the awards. They don’t get recognition dinners or public accolades. Yet they are the people everyone counts on. God sees and knows this value and the essential role they play.

Have a bit of Albert Schweitzer’s attitude with you as you celebrate Labor Day tomorrow. If you have or had a job in the labor force I say thank you. And if you did not, then take time to appreciate what countless unnamed laborers do for you. For me, it’s being aware of highway workers. I remember paving Route 15 near Duncannon, Pennsylvania. The concrete paving crew comprised over twenty individuals. They were a rough bunch. Almost all of them had felony records. But they all worked and worked hard. They took pride in their work. I haven’t driven on the section I was a part of paving for several years, but even when the pavement was nearly 20 years old, it was still smooth as glass. Every day thousands of people benefit from the enduring value of their labor. It is good that their work be recognized. It is the laborer who makes life possible for all those who consider themselves to be superior.

Jesus valued all people, whether the world called them talented or not.

Schweitzer’s Reverence for Life was something that seemed to flow from deep within him. He truly valued all living things. He saw himself as part of God’s great work and rejoiced in it. And he wanted all others to be able to do the same. Though none of us will probably ever accomplish anything along the lines of him, we are no less before God. And that is how Jesus would want us to see ourselves.

August 28, 2022 Coming of the Kingdom Luke 17:20-37

We’ve been on this journey with Jesus to Jerusalem in Luke’s gospel all summer long. The journey itself probably only took a few weeks. We’ve heard that the crowds around Jesus have been growing larger and larger, but that is probably not exclusively due to Jesus’ popularity. Thousands of Jews were making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover holidays. The closer the date gets, and the closer Jesus gets to Jerusalem, the bigger the crowds will be.

Our gospel reading begins with Pharisees asking Jesus when the kingdom of God was coming. To understand this question we should turn all the way back to John the Baptist’s ministry which preceded Jesus’. John had been preaching repentance because the Messiah was coming. He said the Messiah would be winnowing the wheat from the chaff and burning the chaff with unquenchable fire.

But then when Jesus does show his nature he is not living up to the wrathful Messiah John expected. John begins to ask questions about Jesus (Luke 7:19). The overarching questions start to be: What sort of Messiah is this? And, what will the coming kingdom of God look like?

We should put ourselves in the shoes of the Pharisees at that time. We’d have been taught from little on up that we are God’s chosen people. We’d have been told stories of the countless times God had miraculously rescued the people from their oppressors. We’d have been told that we need to remain faithful, and that we need to live by God’s commands. Yet we live in frustration. Why does God let the persecution continue? Why doesn’t God act decisively now? If we truly are the chosen people then why has life always been so hard?

When we hear that a Jewish itinerant preacher -one who can perform healings and miracles - is saying, “The kingdom of God has come!” our ears perk up. Surely many people claimed to be a savior figure for the Jews. But this guy could be the real thing!

We naturally ask things like: When will this be? What will happen? What will it be like? What do we do to prepare? How can we help?

But Jesus’ answer is disappointing. In our gospel today Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is among you.” Or it is often translated as, “The kingdom of God is within you.”

That sounds like weak spiritual talk. That sounds like the kingdom of God is a state of mind – just put a smile on your sufferings and everything will get better. Fine talk, but where’s the substance. If you’re a person who’s being enslaved or persecuted or exploited, if you’re a person who works hard all day to feed your kids but try as you might your family suffers from malnourishment, if you work hard to build yourself a home and till some land and own a couple head of livestock and then the Romans just come along and take it all away to feed their army and just kick you to the curb, those words just aren’t going to cut it. You need action from a Messiah. You need action from God coming to forcefully bring justice and peace to the world.

When Jesus when, will the kingdom of God come to be? From the point of view of a persecuted person it’s a very reasonable question.

And from that point of view, what will come – which is Jesus’ crucifixion – looks like total nonsense.

That’s where this all gets messy.

Many Christians today regularly proclaim the return of Jesus. They preach about the book of Revelation and an ultimate judgment day. That becomes the center of their faith.

But that’s missing something.

The Jews of Jesus’ day, and the Christians of today who focus on some end of time action by God, miss the real point.

The point is God at God’s most powerful.

When and where did God act the most powerfully in the history of the universe? Where is God’s ultimate power most fully visible to be seen? The crucifixion.

That made no sense to the Jews of that day, and if we’re honest with ourselves that makes no sense in our day either. Instead of looking forward to some great future ultimate event, how can we look backwards and honestly believe deep within our bones that God has already acted decisively to conquer the evil of the world? How can God conquer evil by passively allowing humanity to do its worst?

None of that makes sense!

Yet the foolishness of God is stronger than human wisdom.

Let’s remind ourselves of the dilemma God faces when trying to save humans. God’s power and wisdom is infinite. We humans are small and insignificant. And yet within our smallness God has created in us intelligence, creativity, playfulness, and freedom.

We humans have really messed that up. Instead of trusting God we’ve turned to ourselves. Instead of believing God will provide we hoard. Instead of knowing that God has made us beautiful and capable we’ve turned to ourselves.

Biblical scholar Joel Green says humans have turned to the, “twin securities of status and possessions,” and that, “attracts calamitous disaster in the end.” (New International Commentary on the New Testament, Luke, 635)

We humans as a whole just mess stuff up. How is God supposed to save us from ourselves? If God comes in with power and might – which is what we tell ourselves we want – the affect is only temporary. What God needs to do is to change us somehow while still preserving our intellect and our freedom.

I’m sure the Jews of Jesus day would have loved if God came in and beat the Romans to a pulp and reestablished Jewish rule of the Holy Land. Jewish lives would have been saved. Persecution would have ceased. There would have been a new hope.

But only for a short while.

The crucifixion changed the world permanently.

The crucifixion of the Son of God does many many things. Among them is that it invites us into a change of priorities and attitudes. It calls the orientation towards the twin securities of status and possessions the lie that it is. And it does so while still preserving the fullness of who God created us to be.

The only way God could change humanity was to do so by example and invitation.

This does not mean go out and be a martyr. That would be a mistake.

I said earlier that some English translations quote Jesus as saying, “The kingdom of God is among you.” Others say, “The kingdom of God is within you.” I think the answer is both. It is both a personal life attitude and it is the attitude of the community of those who follow Jesus.

The crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus did not hit the world with a bang. It was noted by very few. But those few began to live its reality. They realized it was God’s model for how humans are to be. They employed it among themselves and a community grew. And it grew and grew and grew.

The early church did not grow by miraculous deeds. The early church grew because it presented a tangibly better life for those who joined it. It was a community of grace, honesty, sharing, acceptance, and authenticity.

Oh for sure, read the book of Acts and you see that it starting going off the rails almost right away, but the core was still there and it remained solid.

Jumping ahead 19 centuries, why is church in the Western world declining? The answer is simple. We have possessions and securities enough that we are fooling ourselves into thinking we can truly make it with the twin securities of status and possessions. It’s the word “affluenza”. It’s the warning Jesus gave to all those who have the power and wealth to think they can depend upon themselves.

It is a very tempting way of life to adopt.

What does it mean for us as we read about the end of time judgment and things? Jesus tells us. “I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.”

What does that vivid image mean? It means that we do the tasks of life that are necessary. But we build our lives on the values of the kingdom of God. Those values are that all people are made in the image of God and are capable and worthwhile. We seek to equip others but not become unhealthy enablers. We see resources at our fingertips as to be applied not for our own ends but for the ends of the betterment of the community. We know that we sin and fall short and that others do the same. And so we forgive just as we have been forgiven.

If you’re ever in a bind as to what to do, reflect on the Lord’s Prayer. It’ll give you the principles you need to act. Do that and everything will be okay – always and forever – regardless of what goes on in the world around us.

August 21, 2022 Gratitude Luke 17:11-19

One of the most miserable tasks I ever had to do as a kid and a young adult was write thank you notes. I knew that people had given me some item, or given me money, that came from their hard work and earnings. So I knew they had given me something of value. It cost them something. And I knew it was important to say thank you. I was truly appreciative! But sitting down and writing out a thoughtful note and all the work of handwriting addresses just seemed tedious. I don’t mind as an adult. But as a kid I did. And I’d swear there were a few adults in my life who held a stop watch counting the minutes for how fast I’d get a thank you mailed to them!

In our gospel reading we meet ten lepers who are healed by Jesus. Actually, I need to be as precise as Luke is. Our translation is actually a bit wrong. Luke more literally says there were ten men who had leprosy. He always does that. He says a person has a condition. A person has leprosy. He does not say a person is a leper. In 5:18 Luke refers to a man who was paralyzed. He does not say a paralyzed man. In 8:27 he does not call the guy from Gerasene and demoniac. He says a man who has demons. Perhaps it’s too subtle, but there is a humanizing effect to this. Luke sees all people as people first, conditions second. You are not your condition.

Anyway, we meet ten men who have leprosy. In Luke’s typical storytelling style he does not give us all the details we need up front. He puts them in just when he wants in order to surprise us.

While Luke may be good at humanizing people, he is not good at geography. He says that Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem. He’s traveling in the region between Samaria and Galilee. Not exactly. He’s traveling south which means he has to go through Samaria outright. Either that or he’s skirting along the eastern border of Samaria. This is something Jewish travelers probably did. You’ll remember that Jews and Samaritans did not get along at all.

Let’s note a few things about the men calling out to Jesus. First, they call him Jesus and Master. Thus they’ve heard of him before and they know something about him. They ask for mercy from him. They don’t especially ask for healing. Mercy might have meant healing but it could also have meant a gift of money or food. Lepers, after all, had to live in isolation because the disease was highly contagious. They’d live in isolation until they died.

Luke tells us that Jesus saw them. That doesn’t seem like a big deal. They’re calling out to him after all, but seeing is a big deal in Luke’s gospel. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan we meet three people who saw the man in the ditch. Only one acted upon what he saw. For Luke, seeing is recognizing a person and their condition. It is an opportunity for mercy, to connect, and to recognize their humanness.

Jesus just tells them to go show themselves to the priests. This was standard procedure if one happened to be cured of leprosy. It was like going back to the doctor to be given a clean bill of health.

The healing itself is never narrated. It happens offstage. Why? Because the point of the story is not the healing. It is the response to the healing. Only one of the ten comes back to Jesus. He throws himself at Jesus’ feet and says thank you.

Jesus does not pull out a stop watch and say, “Good job. You’ve given me my thank you in good time.” No. In fact Jesus’ response is not about thank you at all.

Luke drops two things on us simultaneously. First, he tells us this one guy was a Samaritan. A Samaritan is someone the Jews loved to hate. But the Samaritans loved to hate the Jews too. Lots of boundaries are being broken here. This man has not been declared clean but he comes back right to Jesus and thanks him. And, he’s a Samaritan giving thanks to a Jew.

The second thing is that this Samaritan is grateful to God. Apparently the other nine, whom we now can infer were Jewish, did not feel this gratefulness. Why? Why are they not grateful to God?

Luke does not answer that in any direct way. But the context of this story does give us an answer. If you were here last week you’ll remember Jesus saying this, “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would your not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink, later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’” (Luke 17:7-10)

Ouch! How cruel is that coming from God?!? The placement of this story of the cleansing of the ten who had leprosy illustrates a point.

What is owed? What is expected?

It appears as if the other nine knew Jesus was a healer. They received their healing and did what Jesus told them. They went to the priest. They were found clean. They then joyously returned to their lives and families. That’s great! Except it doesn’t seem to surprise them. It is as if that is what they expect of God for being a Jew.

We may think that’s pretty presumptuous of them. And yet, do we inadvertently fall into the same trap? How much should we be grateful for that we are not?

It is so very easy for us to forget how divorced from reality we really are. I don’t know if they still have it, but I love the hand cranked generator and incandescent lightbulb our boy scout troop here has. When you have to generate the power to light a lightbulb by hand you realize just how much energy it takes. True, it is an old incandescent bulb, and not a new LED, but you get the point.

When I was a kid there was a big thing about how many hours of TV kids watched. Kids wanted to watch more. Parents wanted them to watch less. I remember, ironically on TV, an interview with a dad who installed a generator on an exercise bike. It powered the TV. The kids could watch as much TV as they wanted. They just had to provide the power to run it! It goes without saying that they didn’t watch much!

How many of us heat our homes but cutting down trees, splitting wood, and burning it? And if you do, how many of us actually split the wood by hand? Don Curtis liked the quote that heating with wood heats you twice. Once when you burn it, and once before when you split it.

How many of us got here by our own body’s energy – walking, jogging, or riding bike; and how many of us got here by using an automobile? Even an electric one had to get that power from somewhere!

I discipline I try to have for myself, but forget quite often, is to realize that simply having cold running water in my house is nothing short of amazing. It is not my due. I did not carry the water. I did not treat the water to make sure it is safe. I just turn a knob and – miracle of miracles – water comes out of a pipe!

To have hot water running water is to live a life of extreme luxury. I’ve said this before and I’ll never forget it. An African Civil Engineer once said, “Potable water is the most precious commodity on earth. Yet you Americans are so opulent you flush your toilets with it and think nothing of it!”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we are not waking up every day in absolute awe and wonder of what amazing things are at our finger tips each and every moment of each and every day we are missing things! We are like the nine who, for some strange reason, think we somehow deserve it.

The Samaritan, the foreigner, felt the amazingness of Jesus’ work. He was grateful to God.

While I readily accept that saying the conveniences of our lives is not the same as receiving a miracle from God, I hope you get the point of how easy it is to lose a sense of awe and gratitude.

Let me conclude with these words from R. Alan Culpepper:
“Are we self-made individuals beholden to no one, or are we blessed daily in ways we seldom perceive, cannot repay, and for which we often fail to be grateful? (New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 9, Pg. 328)

“[In the preceding scene of the slave who works without expectation of reward] discipleship requires doing one’s duty, but because of God’s mercy, God’s servants can never repay the grace they have received.” (Pg. 325)

Faith, like gratitude, is our response to the grace of God as we have experienced it. Faith, like gratitude, is our response to the grace of God as we have experienced it. For those who have become aware of God’s grace, all of life is infused with a sense of gratitude, and each encounter becomes an opportunity to see and to respond in the spirit of the grateful leper.” (Pg. 328)

August 14, 2022 Luke 17:1-10

St. Teresa of Avila is often (somewhat incorrectly) credited with saying, “Lord, if this is how you treat your friends it is no wonder that you have so few.” I think that is a good way to begin a look at our gospel reading for today. In Luke 17 we’re still journeying with Jesus towards Jerusalem. We’re still getting a series of very challenging teachings. We have no record of all the content he taught, but Luke seems to feel it necessary to keep focusing on these very tough things. We open with Jesus warning his disciples that, “occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” (Luke 17:1-2)

We don’t know who these “little ones” are, but it probably means any person who is a new Christian or not deep in faith. You don’t want your actions or teachings to damage the faith of others. Jesus then goes on to talk about repeated forgiveness. This is not about the person asking for forgiveness. This is the person who is offering forgiveness. His disciples rightfully recognize this is a very tough task – must forgive again and again and again! They say, “Increase our faith!”

To me that is a very reasonable request. It is a highly faithful request. They realize they cannot grow their faith on their own. They need God to do it. So they ask for it. What could possibly be wrong with that?
But then Jesus says, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (17:6)

Ugg. Lord if this is how your treat your friends it is no wonder that you have so few!

And then Jesus goes on with the parable about the slave doing all the required tasks and when all is said and done saying, “We are worthless slaves, we have done only what we ought to have done!”

How selfless are we supposed to be? How miserable are we to make life for ourselves? Is God truly such a harsh and unrelenting taskmaster? And if this is what God expects of his devoted followers on earth, would anyone really want to spend eternity with such a being in heaven?!?

Perhaps the best way to get at all of this in a way that is both faithful to what Jesus taught and to be more palatable is to turn it upside down.

Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism have the idea of karma. Karma is the notion that there is ultimately a sense of justice in the universe. It’s the idea that if you’re a good person good things will happen to you. If you’re a bad person bad things will happen to you. And very importantly, if the effects of your deeds do not catch up with you in this lifetime they will when you are reincarnated.

Christianity solidly rejects the idea of karma, although many Christians speak as though it had some truth, just that the effects of one’s actions do catch up to them in this lifetime. The idea that God will bring about a more pleasant life for a faithful follower than a cruel and abusive person is very popular and appealing. There are certainly many places in the Bible where it suggests that God listens to the prayers of the faithful and gives them what they ask for.

This is all very rocky territory though; for what is a faithful prayer? How do you know if you’re praying for your own selfish ends or for the true coming of God’s will?

That is a good place to start our reversal. Let’s say that there is an actual formula for what a good disciple is and does. Let’s say there’s a rulebook to follow. There are clear expectations of how you are to act.
Do this. Don’t do that.

Work this many hours a week. Give this much money. Pray this often… with these words.

Go to worship on such and such day. Perform certain rites and rituals. Keep yourself away from all these bad places and things. Do all of this and you will be in good stead with God. And God will reward that behavior.

Your life will be noticeably better than the lives of those around you who do not do these things. God will hear your prayers and do what you ask. If you want a good crop, God will provide. If you want a healthy balance in your retirement savings God will make sure it happens. If you want to be sure you don’t get injured in a freak accident, or that you won’t get cancer God will keep you safe.

It sounds nice. At least it does at first. But look at what happens. Let’s revisit the parables Jesus has taught on this journey to Jerusalem:

The Parable of the Good Samaritan – If we’d done our duty then we’d let a dying person lay in a ditch because they deserved it.

The Parable of the Rich Fool – We’d hoard resources and turn the screws to everyone beneath us.

The Parable of the Unproductive Fig Tree – We’d be ruthless in cutting away everything that didn’t produce to our expectations of excellence.

The Parable of the Great Dinner – We’d only associate with those who were of our class and standing.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son – We wouldn’t accept the prodigal son back. We’d say he got what was coming to him and he could live the rest of his life in squalor.

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus – We’d say Lazarus deserved his lot in life. We laugh at him as he lay in the gate covered in sores. And when we died we’d be in paradise laughing at him for all eternity.

If Christianity were a merit based religion we’d all be a bunch of arrogant stuck up snobs. There’d be no point in forgiveness. There’d be no grace. And if something bad did happen we’d let people in their pits to find their own way out.

All of this probably sounds a lot like the religious leaders Jesus was so often getting into conflict with. Indeed it was!

But the world is not so simple. The human brain is not to simple. And faith is not so simple.

Faith is not a commodity to be had, or increased or decreased. Faith is a relationship of trust in God. It means that you trust God to have hold of you no matter what – whether you get away with your misdeeds undetected or not, or whether your good efforts are noticed or overlooked.

How often do you do something and you just hope it works out? How often do parents debate whether they should punish the child or hug the child? Where is the line between helping and enabling? Where is the line between giving a person advice based on your experience and building yourself up by putting another person down.

Life is complicated. And it is based on grace.

Let’s go through the parables again. A life of grace means that if you see a person lying in a ditch you help them out. It means that you are generous with your resources and use them to build up others because it is all God’s anyway. It means that you give people another chance – perhaps not becoming an unhealthy enabler, but certainly always opening the path for them to succeed. It means seeing people suffering and recognizing it, and doing what is in your power to help.

It means meeting the world where it is.

And certainly, you can have a lot of fun along the way! God shapes you into a complex and beautiful being enormously capable – and you probably don’t even realize it is happening.

The disciples wanted more faith. Jesus couldn’t give it to them as if it were an ingredient in a recipe. But they stayed with Jesus. That is the means by which God was able to make their faith grow. They failed often enough to not get cocky. They succeeded enough to catch glimpses of joy along the way. Yet these great heroes who helped to found Christianity would probably indeed say for all their efforts, “We have done only what we ought to have done.” May our response to God’s grace be the same!

August 7, 2022 Luke 16

When I worked as a bridge inspector we usually worked ten hours a day or more when we were out on the bridges. Inspections usually took weeks, sometimes a month or more. Since we were traveling and there were lodging and food expenses plus per day rental rates on access equipment we pushed to get as much done in any given day as was possible. The notable exception was the Macombs Dam Bridge in Harlem. Or more specifically, the 155th St. Viaduct.





There we arrived at 8 in the morning, ate a half hour lunch at noon, and were climbing in the company van and out of there by 4:30. We called Harlem the “Arm Pit of the World.” The whole area around which we were working was run down, dirty, smelly, and crime ridden. I remember inspecting steel columns where they met the concrete and having to dig through an accumulation of discarded needles and drug paraphernalia that had been tossed there. I saw more crimes than I could keep count of. Most of them were low level things – vandalism, larceny, some drug deals, a bit of street brawling. I saw very little actual violent crime right on the street in broad daylight. And I only ever heard gunshots from a distance. Still though, at 4:30 every day all of us on the inspection crew climbed into the company van and drove out of that mess. We wanted to be out of there well before dark. And so we’d battle the traffic to a Red Roof Inn in suburban New Jersey. We’d clean up, eat supper at some reasonably decent restaurant, and then return to our rooms. Red Roof Inn is, of course, nothing fancy, but it was a world of difference from Harlem. I would have never actually spent the night at the bridge, but I was often curious what actually went on after dark. I considered myself lucky that I did not have to live there, and that I could escape every day. Since then that part of Harlem has been redeveloped. I have no idea what it is like now, but it is probably much nicer.

This image of being able to daily escape from the horrors of life that many people could not escape comes to me when I read the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. As Jesus tells the parable there was a gate between them, two very separate lives in close proximity to each other.

What should I have done? Should I have tried to cross that “gate” that separated us? Should the company have put us up in lodgings in the neighborhood of the bridge? The people there certainly couldn’t get out, or it was very difficult.

I, wearing a hard hat, coveralls and climbing gear, probably didn’t actually register to the residents of Harlem as a real person. I worked for the city and that was its own human category. But should I have tried to befriend the residents? Should I have been the do-gooder white person from outside coming to show pity on the black people trapped in cycles of poverty and abuse? Humph. What would that have accomplished? I would have been doing it for my own ego’s sake; to feel good about myself. Not to actually help them. I was there to do a short-term project and then I’d disappear. They’d still be there. We all knew there was a race and status chasm between us. There was no way I’d befriend anyone, and they wouldn’t befriend me. Even if I were to move there I would never fit in. I would never belong. And they would never fit into my world.

Jesus talked about wealth and status more than anything else. What is a faithful Christian to do? In our gospel reading today Jesus said, “Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” What does that mean?

First, Jesus considers all earthly wealth to be dishonest wealth. He’s not talking about money you’ve gotten by sneakiness or stealing or anything like that. All earthly wealth has the very strong potential to be a source of security and status for us. It can become an idol. And truthfully all of it belongs to God anyway. It’s we who think we can own and control it for our own ends! And to that point, Jesus calls it dishonest wealth. It can easily lie to us. We’ve talked about that a lot in these chapters of Luke’s gospel and I’m not going to revisit that here. Here we focus on what we should do, we who do have within the stewardship of our lives, significant earthly wealth.

The parable of the Dishonest Manager can be confusing. Is Jesus really suggesting such dirty dealings? No. Of course not. But he is commending the guy’s shrewdness and strategy. Apparently Jesus’ disciples aren’t showing that in their own lives. And I believe we can fall into the same trap. We can think that if we’re doing God’s work we have to do it all in a prim and proper way. As if God wouldn’t want charity to be tainted by any of the shenanigans we might get up to otherwise. But Jesus says be just as shrewd with your faith dealings as with the rest of your life. Work hard. Be clever. Be creative. Elsewhere Jesus says be innocent as doves but cunning as serpents (Matthew 10:16). The crucifixion was by no means prim and proper after all.

What does this look like? I believe some churches make a mess of it. Some churches who run inner city soup kitchens will make those who come for food sit through a worship service first. That’s perhaps cunning, but it’s not the point. Similarly, some churches throughout the world do what I’ve heard called “rice evangelism”. They give food but with the clear message of what church denomination it came from. Globally Lutherans generally DO NOT do that. We see a need. We provide. End of story.

If you remember Arden Strasser, the missionary in Zambia that we used to support, I think you see a picture of the shrewdness Jesus is talking about. Much of Arden’s work was offering microloans to people who didn’t have access to money otherwise. The microloan might be to buy a flock of chickens, or dig a well, or buy a sewing machine, or something. The idea was to give a person an opportunity they could not have otherwise. And since it was a loan it was not at all charity. Ideally it would become a self-sustaining system.

And that takes us to the second parable. The rich man ignores Lazarus completely. We’re told this rich man wore purple and linen. This is the epitome of opulence. The process of making fine linen was laborious. On the wealthiest owned linen at all. And purple was an even greater luxury item! Yet this man wore that every day. He also hosts feasts every day, something that even wealthy people of that day couldn’t afford. So, Jesus is casting this guy as an extreme glutton – a hedonist. Then there’s Lazarus who lays outside the gate starving to death and looking in at the feasting. He would have eaten that which fell from the table. You’ll remember that bread was eaten but also used as napkins. You’d wipe your hands on it, and in rich parties, just drop the bread on the floor. So Lazarus isn’t even being given the garbage.

Don’t get the idea that the dogs licking Lazarus’ soars were taking pity on him. They saw him as a future meal and they were getting an initial taste! The rich man dies and is buried. Lazarus dies and we are not told what happens to his bodies. But I think the dogs finally got what they’d been tasting! From there we learn that despite being tormented the rich man still wants to order Lazarus about – send him to do his bidding. And we also discover something else. The rich man calls Lazarus by name. So, Lazarus hasn’t bene invisible all this time after all. The rich man not only knew of his existence but also knew his name!

The beauty of the microloan stuff Arden Strasser was doing was not only providing opportunity but also building community. People had to pay the loans back which ensured ongoing connections. That is what Jesus is asking of his followers. That is using dishonest wealth to both help people and build relationships.

Sure, it is easy to write a check or click on a button and send money to a charity. But have you actually built community? Aren’t you still just a do-gooder still in your own life of earthy comfort? And if I were to try to help the people of Harlem decades ago would I have been really building community, even though I was there face to face? No. It would have been charity. I was there for a short time and then gone. Building community takes time.

From these parables I learn this. Indeed, do not think your security or self-worth resides in what you own. Do not depend upon your possessions to make a name for yourself or give you status. And also, when you give, give in a way that connects you to people. I lament the way the pandemic ended the way Family Promise housed families in churches. Even though it was a short time, and a small commitment, it was still face to face time sharing with people. It opened the door for community. Whether or not the guests took advantage of it is not ours to judge.

You’ve surely heard the saying, “Think globally. Act locally.” Indeed. Be conscious of what is going on the world at large. But also realize it is not yours to fix the world’s problems. Instead, put solid sustained effort into the work for the community that is near at hand. Work hard. Be creative. Be clever. Make use of the dishonest wealth so that through it you are bringing about God’s kingdom.

And finally, none of it is easy. Don’t look for it to be rewarding. Don’t expect to feel good about yourself for what you did during the day when you go to bed at night. If you do, then great! If not, that does not mean that your efforts were any less powerful or valid.

Let me conclude with these words from Fred Craddock:

“Most of us will not this week christen a ship, write a book, end a war, appoint a cabinet, dine with a queen, convert a nation, or be burned at the stake. More likely this week will present no more than a chance to give a cup of water, write a note, visit a nursing home, vote for a county commissioner, teach a Sunday school class, share a meal, tell a child a story, go to choir practice, and feed the neighbor’s cat. ‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.”’ (New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX, Pg. 311)

July 24, 2022 Shame and Faith Luke 14:25-35

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.