September 9, 2018     Justice and Mercy For All                                  
       Several years ago, when I was a camp counselor, I had an experience that really challenged me to think about how I treated others. At the time, I was a high school senior, and saw the world from a rather self-centered point of view. 
       It happened one of the first weeks of camp, when I was a counselor for a group of 7th and 8th graders. In that group were some high energy, attention seeking kids, and the other counselor for the group and I found ourselves drawn to them. So at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the same group of kids would scramble to sit at our table. Now this went on for the first 3 days of camp, when the camp director pulled the two of us aside, and pointed out the favoritism that we were showing to one part of the group. 
        He made it clear to us that we were a Christian Church Camp, and that as the leaders of the group we were called to model a world where everyone is included and everyone is valued as part of the community. Which brings us to our epistle lesson this morning. 

         In our reading from James, James writes, "Brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism, really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?" He then goes on to question his church on how they treat rich and poor. Do they treat the rich with special consideration, offering to them the best seats, and treating them with honor, while telling the poor to sit on the floor? James then tells them that when they do this they transgress against the commandment of God, and to remember that they are called to love their neighbor as themselves - which I believe means, we are to treat all people, not just the rich, as we would want to be treated, with honor, dignity, and respect. 
         Now, I think that most of us know this, but in the midst of our lives, just like when I was a teenager, we can be so focused on ourselves that we forget what we are doing, and how we treat people differently. We do this because the world has always operated under a patronage system, where people rely upon the rich to offer them work and jobs and wages. And the world also tells us to look down on those who are poor, who don't get along, who are characterized as lazy, strange, dirty, or sinners. 
          In contrast to this, we as Christians are called to model the behavior of Christ, who suffered himself to show compassion to the poor, the sick, the troubled, the outcast, and the unclean. Our Christian Churches are called to be places of welcome and fellowship, a space where rich and poor are not considerations, and all are treated as brothers and sisters in Christ. In these actions, we show forth the glory of Christ, that stands in direct contrast to the way of the world. In our discipleship, we offer hope to those in need, and a vision of a better world, in which all people are valued as children of God. One in which there is Justice and Mercy for all. And that's the good news of Jesus Christ! 

September 2, 2018            Righteousness                               

This week, our nation mourned the passing of Senator John McCain. In past few days, he was celebrated as a man of honor, justice, and peace. Past presidents and other commentators noted how he could disagree with others, without questioning their patriotism, how he worked with people of opposing parties to do what was best for America, and how he championed the cause of those unjustly oppressed by the powers that be.

John McCain himself would say that he was no saint, that there were many choices he made that he regretted and that he would change, and that when he was remembered, that people would think of him as someone who loved his country, and was a public servant. And one of the phrases that John uttered, that many remembered, when John disagreed with a legislation that he felt was inadequate, he would say that “America” was better than this. John had a vision for this country, and that vision came from his own sense of courage and patriotism and faithfulness, that came from a lifetime of living these ideals.  

Earlier this week, as I met with the local ministers to read through the texts, I focused on a thread of verses in our lectionary, that I believed spoke about the same thing.

From Deuteronomy this verse, “For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him?  And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?”

The author of Deuteronomy’s intention was to unite the values of God’s justice and compassion, with what it meant to be a great nation. And it is a people who recognize the power of this spirit, and practice it themselves – as our epistle lesson notes – “being not just hearers, but doers”, who pass it on to their children and children’s children, that makes for a great and longstanding nation.

And from the gospel, “there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”  For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.

Jesus speaks these words in the midst of an argument with the Pharisees about what it means to be clean and therefore righteous. The rules of cleanliness are a means to exclude and to look down upon all who do not practice the jewish religion, especially those who are foreigners and the poor.  The parallel in America today to this, is the way people judge each other as clean or unclean, by their political party, their wealth, their status, their culture, religion, or from what nation their ancestors came.

Jesus rejects the use of God’s law as a means to exclude or oppress others, and pointedly tells the people, that it is the spirit in which they live which makes them clean or unclean. And I would add, it is that Spirit in which we live, that makes us citizens not just of this nation, but of the greatest nation of all, the kingdom of heaven.

         And that’s the good news of Jesus Christ.  

August 19, 2018           Wisdom and Foolishness                                         

As I noted in the introduction to our reading from the book of proverbs this morning, we are introduced to two women. I like to call them Lady Wisdom, and Madam Foolishness.

Lady Wisdom is the wisdom of God, and through Lady Wisdom, God built the creation, the house in which we all live. That house, the creation, rests on 7 pillars, a number that represents the wholeness and completeness of God’s design. Lady Wisdom is present in every bit of that creation, and is there to instruct us in God’s will and purpose, and to nourish us with God’s design for our lives and future.

Lady Wisdom does not rest. Lady Wisdom daily prepares a feast. She slaughters the animals, she gathers the vegetables, she cooks, she cleans, she puts out the fine china, lights the candles, puts flowers on the table, and she mixes the wine. And when the feast is prepared, she sends out her servants to call people to the feast – You that are simple turn in here! Her invitation is to the lost and the confused, those frustrated by the world and it’s vain pursuits, to them she offers purpose and meaning, good health and clarity of thought.

To those who come to Lady Wisdom’s table, the food is simple and good, it is satisfying and does not weigh down one’s stomach. The wine is light and delightful, it does not dull one’s senses, but heightens one’s appreciation of life and living. One might compare the feast of Lady Wisdom, to Communion, for in that feast, one comes to see the Goodness of God, and all that God has given to us. 

In contrast to Lady Wisdom, there is Madame Foolishness. Madame Foolishness thinks she knows a great deal, is ready to share her opinions with everyone, and insist that she is right about everything. Madame Foolishness thinks a great deal of her looks, and dresses herself up with the thought of using seduction to get what she what she wants.

Madam Foolishness is never busy. She sits at the front door of a house she did not build, she likes to be seen about town, and sit in the high places so that people can praise her. Her house is disorganized, and she can’t keep servants, because she drives away those whom she calls to serve her. She produces very little, and all that she has comes from what she has stolen from others.  Do you know any people like this?  

Ironically, Madam Foolishness extends roughly the same invitation to all, “You who are simple, turn in here.” But her invitation to those lost in the world is entirely different. It is not an invitation to purpose and meaning, but to self-indulgence and gluttony. She promises that her stolen food is sweeter than the real thing, but it is overly rich and ultimately unsatisfying, it weighs down the stomach, dulls the mind and sickens the soul.  As time goes by, the feast of Madame Foolishness, darkens one’s eyes toward living, and steals away the will to live.

This morning, the Apostle Paul tells the Ephesians, “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.”  Brothers and Sisters, I tell you, the days are always evil, and always good! While we might tell ourselves, “that years ago things were better”, even if they were, there were always the voices of Lady Wisdom and Madame Foolishness calling to us. And in every generation, we are called to conduct ourselves either according to God’s Wisdom, or in debauchery – wild living. For in the first case, God’s Wisdom, there is life, and in the second case, debauchery, there is death.

Now I know, that simply by being here this Sunday, that all of you have heard the call of Lady Wisdom. But I also know, that all of us, to some degree struggle with the choice of who to follow. And so I encourage you to examine your lives and discern in which areas of your life you choose to listen to the call of Madame Foolishness. And then make the decision, to run ….. run for you life, back to Lady Wisdom, so that your life might be saved.

Which brings us to our gospel lesson this morning. The Jewish leaders who scoffed at Jesus talking about eating his flesh and drinking his blood were devotees of Madame Foolishness. With these words, Jesus was calling us, not to cannibalism, but to the feast of Lady Wisdom. He was calling us to that table, where the bread of life was served. And all who believe in him, all who live in his Spirit, take the wisdom of God into themselves, and have life in this world, and life everlasting. And that’s the Good News of Jesus Christ.    

August 5, 2018                         Bread of Heaven                            

It seems the news is daily filled with talk about Russian interference in our elections. Although most of what I hear is talk, I have heard very little about the nuts and bolts of how they are supposed to be doing this and why? Which is why I found an article on this subject this week that was very interesting.

 The article focused on 3 million tweets that have been collected over the past 2 years that have been identified as coming from computers at the internet research agency in Russia. Now the article breaks these tweets down into a number categories, but the two that stand out, are called left troll and right troll. Troll being the term for someone who posts something inflammatory on the internet to start an argument.

The left trolls post statements that seek to divide and anger voters on the left. E-mail posts about dissatisfaction with the left, the hopelessness of voting, radical and false statements about black lives matter, impeachment, and the me too movement are meant to start arguments on the left. The right trolls post statements meant to fire up and anger those on the right. Most of these statements are focused on immigration, the border wall, fake news, and attacking the integrity of the justice department.

Now most of you will say, that you don’t follow twitter so you may not be effected by any of this. However, many of you use email, and facebook, and the internet, and guess what – all of these have been compromised as well, through ad’s comments, posts, chain emails, news items, and etc. And even further, some of the less scrupulous news agencies, repeat these news stories, because they are more interested in ratings, than they are in the source of these articles.

So, if you are wondering what all this Russian interference in our elections stuff is all about, it’s all about making dividing, distracting, confusing, and making people in America angry at each other, so that we don’t know what to believe, or how to choose the people who will serve the best interests of our nation. That’s what it’s all about!

So what does this have to do with our scriptures this morning? Our first story talks about the grumbling and complaining Israelites in the wilderness, who basically say they would rather return to slavery in Egypt rather than be free in the wilderness. And I kind of get that, .. being free is tough stuff, it often means being responsible for what one thinks and says and does. Being a slave on the other hand is easy, as a slave, whatever you do or whatever is done to you is someone else’s fault. In the end, God provides bread and quails, so that the people end their grumbling, are fed and have the chance to become united.

Our gospel lesson this morning, continues on from the story of the feeding of the five thousand. As I mentioned last week, this miracle story is meant to show us the contrast between the worldly message of scarcity and the divine message of abundance. This week, the crowds follow him, not simply because he fed them physically, but because he fed them spiritually, the gospel message gives them hope, and so they follow him. Hope for peace, hope for freedom, hope for unity.

And finally, Paul has this to say, to the Ephesians who are a diverse congregation suffering attacks from the surrounding community that threaten to divide them.

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one LORD, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

I hope you can see where I am going with this. Our nation is under attack from people who would seek to divide, distract, and have us destroy ourselves. As long as we continue to act as partisans, and by partisan, I mean people who love their party more than their nation, they will continue to succeed. But as Christians, we are called to God above nation, nation above party, and people above politics. We are called to reject division and seek unity in our lives together, for as Christians, we believe that all are children of God, potential brothers and sisters in Christ.

We do this, because hope and truth are our bread of heaven. The hope and truth revealed to us through faith in Jesus Christ. And each act of faith in our lives, each time we reject division and seek unity, each time we act in love toward our fellow humankind, each time we suffer one another in love, we do so seeking the kingdom of God to become present in human life. That’s where the rubber meets the road, in our daily Christian lives. And in doing so, we are fed spiritually with the bread of heaven, Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.