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.   

July 29, 2018            Faith in God’s Abundance                            

A few weeks ago, a tv network was proclaiming a series of movies that would celebrate “Christmas in July”. Which of course made me think of one of my favorite Christmas movies, “It’s a Wonderful life”. And of all the great scenes in that movie, one of them was the scene in which the stock market crashes, all the people are anxious and fearful, there’s a run on the banks, and the George Bailey character manages to convince the investors in his savings and loan, to not pull all their money, and take only what they need to tide them over. He tells them not to lose their heads, and that they will get through this together.

Sure enough the people decide to trust that there will be enough to get them through this tough time, and because of their faith, a miracle happens, the savings and loan goes on to provide decent housing for the common working men and women of the community, rather than living in the slums of some greedy banker.

Of course, I thought of this story, because it contrasts the despair of scarcity with the faith of abundance. At the time of the market crash, many despaired, gave into fear, and lost all they had. Others, had faith, pulled together, and found that despite their losses, there was an abundance that sustained them, and even led to a better life! Which leads us to our gospel lesson this morning.

Our reading from the gospel of John this morning has two parts, the first is the feeding of the five thousand and the second is Jesus coming to the disciples on the water. Now one might wonder, why John puts these two stories together, but I believe that there is a common thread between the two, both stories talk about how scarcity is turned to abundance and anxiousness to peace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

In our first story, Jesus feeds the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. In past sermons, I have focused on the anxiety of the disciples when Jesus tells them to feed the people. It cannot be done is their response, and then Jesus does it. Now the story of the feeding of the multitudes must be an important one, because we find it in all four gospels, and in the gospel of Mark, we find it twice.

Another common theme among the gospels is that there are leftovers, 12 baskets full in some stories and 7 baskets full in others. Commentators on the gospel seem to universally agree, that the 12 basket of leftovers represents the twelve tribes of Israel, and 7 baskets of leftovers represents the 7 great nations of the world. Basically, the statement is, that faith in Jesus has the power to feed not only the multitudes, but the nation, and the world.

A third theme unites these stories, they are usually followed by some anxiety by the disciples. In one gospel the disciples have an anxious discussion about where there next meal will come from, and in this gospel, and others, there is a storm at sea that Jesus calms. In a couple of these, Jesus asks them, “didn’t you understand about the loaves and the fish?” And my interpretation of this question is that Jesus is saying to them – Don’t you understand that you don’t have to be anxious, have faith, and your needs will be met, and you will have peace in your lives.

Now in our prayer of confession this morning, I wrote that our fear of scarcity leads to greed and gluttony. What I meant by this was that if we believe there is not enough for all, we hoard as much as we can, and waste our lives in pursuit of lavish experiences. And if we believe in the abundance of God’s blessing, we can be happy in living plainly, and give of ourselves to one another.

A third thing that I did not mention, is that when we live in fear and anxiousness, we become paralyzed. We may have enough resources to do many good things, but we are afraid to use them. We may have enough time to do all we can do, but we fritter away that time with doubt and worry. But the good news of Jesus Christ is, that through faith in the abundance of God’s love and blessings to us, we can be freed to use our resources and the time God has given us to accomplish a great many things, rather than losing or wasting our lives on our own self-centered pursuits.   

Also, in our prayer of confession, I wrote that fear of scarcity leads to division, suffering, and death. One need only look to what happens when leaders say they will put their nation first! This leads to leads to a lack of cooperation, that creates trade problems that impact small businesses, families and farmers, raises prices on goods and services, and turns every disagreement into a threat of war. My point is that all of these things are driven by the fear of scarcity, and that fear leads to a world that is worse for all not better. And it is clear to me that those who sell this snake oil, do not understand the story of the loaves and fishes.

For the story of the loaves and fishes tells us that through faith in Jesus Christ, we can work together to discover that God’s creation is good, that God creation contains enough blessings for all the people of the earth, that God has given each of us enough resources and time to accomplish all that we need. Have faith brothers and sisters, for through your faith in Jesus Christ, you will not be afraid, and you will work miracles in your life, and in the world! This is the good news of Jesus Christ.     

July 22, 2018            Sheep Without a Shepherd                     

Over the last several months, I have seen images and heard stories of a number of lost sheep. Lost sheep who have suffered through the hurricanes in Texas and in Puerto Rico. Lost sheep who have lost their children or other loved ones in shootings throughout our nation. Lost sheep who have been separated from parents or children at our border. Lost sheep who have lost their jobs, their homes, their health insurance. Lost sheep who suffer from violence in Chicago, Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, and across this great nation. Lost sheep who are losing loved ones to illness, to cancer, to drug addiction. Lost sheep who find it harder and harder to balance their household budgets. Lost sheep who are struggling in relationships with their parents, their spouses, their children. Lost sheep who are looking for shepherds, shepherds who will care for them, shepherds who will feed them, bring them to green pastures, and lead them beside still waters.

Now over the last 40 years, since I was old enough to become aware of these things, there have been lost sheep all along the way. In fact, part of the reason I chose to go to seminary, was that I found myself being a shepherd to the lost sheep around me. I was the one that people were turning to when things went wrong in their lives. I was the person who was there to listen, to understand, and to show compassion to them. So I decided, I better go to seminary and make sure that I was properly leading those who came to me.

To be clear, I am not picking on a particular political party, for both parties have failings in their leadership, and create lost sheep in our society. What is that biblical saying, “do not put your trust in princes,… put your trust in God?” As I said, both parties have their failings, and mainly because at times neither party has shown compassion for those who are suffering. The word compassion can be broken into two parts – passion – to suffer, and com – with. In short, showing compassion means to suffer with, those who are experiencing the brokenness of human life.

And so we come to our gospel lesson this morning, where Jesus Christ has compassion for those who come to him, for they are like sheep without a shepherd, and he begins to teach them many things. I suspect that one of the most basic things he taught them, was how to have compassion for one another. And another thing that I suspect Jesus taught them was that compassion flows from a sense of God’s abundant love for each of us.

Throughout history, the world constantly tells us to be afraid, that our lives are too short, that we will not have enough for ourselves or our families, that we cannot afford to give of ourselves, or suffer with those who are lost, that we are in competition with everyone else, and that they are our enemies. You know, the interesting thing about our gospel reading this morning, is that it leaves out, the entire passage in which Jesus feeds the five thousand. There with two loaves and some fish, Jesus asks for God’s blessing, and there IS ENOUGH! With baskets left over. Faith in the abundance of God’s love for us, is the foundation of our being able to show compassion to one another!

The good news is, that each and every day, I see people who have this faith in the abundance of God’s love for us. I see people helping hurricane victims, comforting and working with those who have lost loved one’s to gun violence. I see people working together to reunite children and parents. I see people working to comfort those who are sick, and to overcome disease and illness in people’s lives. I see people who are being good neighbors and good friends to those who are going through all of the troubles and tramas of human life. I see good shepherds all over the place, whose faith in the abundance of life that they have, leads them to give of themselves to one another.

And while they may not know it, or acknowledge it, they are acting in that same Spirit as our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ, for the healing of a broken world. And that faith, and that Spirit, is the same Eternal Spirit that gives us life! So I encourage you to go and do likewise, so that you may experience the good news of Jesus Christ in your life! 

July 15,2018                                Amos                                                  

         As many of you know, a number of years ago, I went on a trip to Ecuador with the youth of the Illinois South Conference. On the first trip I took with that group, we worked on building houses with Habitat for Humanity, and on the second trip, we worked on the foundation and on the walls of a church building.

         Now my grandfather was a bricklayer, when he started out in the construction business, and so it was kind of exciting to learn how to mix the mortar, and to scoop it onto the bricks and to set the bricks into place to build the walls. That first afternoon that we laid brick was more of a practice day, many of the bricks that we laid that day, had to be taken down and redone, because our walls didn’t exactly go straight over or straight up. But by the end of the day, our maestro – master builder, identified a few of us who could lay brick straight – up and across.

        Of course, no one can really put the bricks into place perfectly straight just by eye, so in order to guide those who put the bricks into place, a number of strings are put up, strings attached to a poll that has been leveled that go across the outside of the wall to be built, so that one can see if the bricks are level horizontally, and strings that hang down, so that one can be sure that the bricks are level vertically.

         These strings, particularly the one’s that have a weight on them and hang down are called plumb lines, and they have been used by builders for thousands of years in order to keep walls straight and to lay solid foundations for whatever they are building. That way, buildings won’t fall over or fall down.

         The reason I thought of this experience of laying brick and plumb lines this week, was because of our Old testament reading from the prophet Amos. Amos uses the idea of plumbline, as a way of comparing the building of a wall or house, to the building of a nation. In Amos’ day, Israel’s king has gone after other gods, which is to say the king chosen a set of values that are different from the values of the God of Israel.

         If you read Amos you will find that the kings and princes of Israel of neglected to care for the poor, blaming them for the problems of the nation. You will the kings and princes of Israel plotting on their beds ways to corrupt the justice system, oppress the worker and the farmer, and take advantage of foreigners. In short, they have rejected the God who liberated them from slavery, when they were slaves in the land of Egypt. And now their rejection of God, has resulted in into division, confusion and disarray.

I suppose it’s not hard to imagine what happens when honesty, integrity, faithfulness, compassion, justice and mercy are thrown out the window by our leaders in order to satisfy their greed for wealth and power. So God sends Amos, with a Word for the King. A Word that is meant to serve as a plumbline, to measure whether the king is upright before God. A Word that is meant to lead the nation back to God, and it’s people to choosing God’s will and ways for their lives.

As Christians, our plumb line is the cross of Jesus Christ. You may remember the hymn verse we sing during lent, Before the Cross of Jesus, our lives are judged today. That plumb line reminds us two things, first that the world seeks for us to be dishonest, to be unfaithful, to seek justice for ourselves and not for others, and when we act like this, we crucify our savior and we crucify our lives. Second, it tells us that there is life in honesty, truth, faithfulness, mercy and justice for all. In fact there is not only life, but truth and wisdom and peace for those who seek to live that life. Now that does not mean that we will not face trials or troubles or suffering in our lives, but it does mean we now realize why we face these hardships, and knowing why, we can have the peace and strength to endure them, and to be redeemed from them. And that’s what I think Paul was telling us this morning, when he writes….

         In him (Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight  he (God) has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.

         And that is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ!