First Reading
Jeremiah 15:15–21
15O LORD, you know;remember me and visit me,and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.In your forbearance do not take me away;know that on your account I suffer insult.16Your words were found, and I ate them,and your words became to me a joyand the delight of my heart;for I am called by your name,O LORD, God of hosts.17I did not sit in the company of merrymakers,nor did I rejoice;under the weight of your hand I sat alone,for you had filled me with indignation.18Why is my pain unceasing,my wound incurable,refusing to be healed?Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook,like waters that fail.19Therefore thus says the LORD:If you turn back, I will take you back,and you shall stand before me.If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,you shall serve as my mouth.It is they who will turn to you,not you who will turn to them.20And I will make you to this peoplea fortified wall of bronze;they will fight against you,but they shall not prevail over you,for I am with youto save you and deliver you,says the LORD.21I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 26:1–8
1Give judgment for me, O LORD, for I have lived with integrity;
I have trusted in the LORD and have not faltered.
2Test me, O LORD, and try me;
examine my heart and my mind.
3For your steadfast love is be- fore my eyes;
I have walked faith- fully with you.
4I have not sat with the worthless,
nor do I consort with the deceitful. R
5I have hated the company of evildoers;
I will not sit down with the wicked.
6I will wash my hands in inno- cence, O LORD,
that I may go in procession round your altar,
7singing aloud a song of thanksgiving
and recounting all your won- derful deeds.
8LORD, I love the house in which you dwell
and the place where your glo- ry abides. R
Second Reading
Romans 12:9–21
9Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Gospel
Matthew 16:21–28
21From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." 23But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?27For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. 28Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Sermon: Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
In January we were a part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration at Irving Park Baptist church. Many of our neighborhood congregations took part in the celebration, and between music and dance, we read excerpts from King’s writings. There was a line read that afternoon that has stuck with me since that day, even if sometimes I have trouble understanding what it might mean. “When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Our reading from the book of Exodus for today tells the story of that long bend. The Israelites have made for themselves a home in Egypt, forced there by famine in their homelands, making for themselves a place because Joseph served Pharaoh. But then a new Pharaoh comes to power, one that does not know Joseph, and that new king is afraid. He is afraid of losing his power, and he is afraid that these people will rise up, join the enemies of Egypt and take power from him. So he subjects them to great injustice, making them slaves to the Egyptians, making their lives bitter with hard service. But that arc only bends one way- and so even under this oppressive rule, the Israelites continue to grow numerous. Their bitter life will not stop them from living, and so the Pharaoh comes up with a new plan.
The Pharaoh calls into his throne room two of my favorite characters from the Old Testament, Siphrah and Puah. These two women are midwives- people who help to bring life into that dark world of hard labor. They go to women as they are giving birth and they help to usher that new life out of the darkness and into light. So they come into Pharaoh’s palace, and he tells them that they have a new job- when they go to these women, when they see that the baby is a boy, they are to kill him, but they can let the girls live. Surely, this will keep the Israelites from growing in number- how could they overcome this kind of oppression?
What Pharaoh doesn’t know, is that Siphrah and Puah are no ordinary midwives, they are actually extraordinary. They are called by God to the ministry of life, and no power structure will bend them away from the work they are called to do. So with fingers crossed they leave the presence of Pharaoh, and they quietly go back to the work they were called to, the first women to engage in civil disobedience in the story of God’s people. They are extraordinary, brave, courageous women, doing the most ordinary of tasks, bringing life into the world.
The Israelite people will not be kept down, and they continue to grow in number. Pharaoh, confused, calls Siphrah and Puah into his chambers- demanding they account for all these boys wandering around. They tell the Pharaoh that it’s a genetic issue. These Hebrew women just deliver in a snap! They can’t get there in time to fulfill Pharaoh’s orders.
We know how the rest of the story goes. We’ve seen the movies- baby Moses is born, hidden away in a basket and sent down the river. He is found and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. The universe arcs toward justice, or perhaps irony. But, those two names, Siphrah and Puah are forgotten. Those two extraordinary women who would not be denied their call, who would not do injustice in the name of God, those two extraordinary women get lost to the record books, but it was those two women who allowed that baby to be born. It was those two women who refused to compromise who set in motion the circumstances that allowed for the birth of the prophet Moses.
There are plenty of forces in this world that try to remind us that we are nothing if not ordinary. There are plenty of forces in this world that try to convince us that what we see around us is as good as it gets. But, we, friends, we know better. We know that we are riding that arc toward justice, because that is what our God is all about. We know that we are more than ordinary, because we are made in the image of our God, and we are set to do extraordinary things. Because God continues to use us to bring about God’s kingdom, we are more than ordinary, even if our names our lost to the record books for all time.
As has been said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Who were those women to defy the greatest power they had ever known, held by Pharaoh? They were children of God, destined to do amazing things, destined to be a part of that arc towards justice. Their names are not famous, but their deeds changed the history of a people.
So as we hear their story this morning, we must ask ourselves, who are we? Who are we to deny that God has called us to extraordinary things? Who are we to imagine that we are not to shine with the glory of God? Because day by day, as I watch the story of this congregation unfold I see that arc towards justice. Day by day I see cracks in the huge walls of oppression. Day by day, I see you raising up children who will do extraordinary things. Only weeks ago I watched more than one hundred children dance down the aisles of this sanctuary as we ended magic mushroom, and I saw in their joy, in their spirits, that in this place, extraordinary things are being done. A program that was started by a few people thirty years ago has raised up thousands of children, girls and boys who know that no matter what the world tells them, God loves them. I see you stepping forward in faith and daring to believe that this congregation can have an impact on this neighborhood, supporting a free clinic in this neighborhood when people were saying it was only going to serve drunks and addicts and the bad element. I see you supporting an afterschool program focused on children in this neighborhood that people say aren’t worth our time or our energy, because they are poor or they come from difficult circumstances. And I tell you, somewhere those two Hebrew midwives are saying, well done.
So who are you? In your ordinary work, you are an extraordinary child of God. We are called to do more than we can imagine in ways we can only dream of- but we are called to lives of extraordinary service. I can’t tell you when it will feel like you are standing at the foot of Pharaoh, but I can tell you that time will come. And when it does, when you are afraid and facing that tough choice, I hope you will hear the voices of those two forgotten women, Siphrah and Puah, reminding you that made in the image of God, you are extraordinary, and you are standing in a world that arcs toward God’s justice. Amen.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Our reading from the book of Exodus for today tells the story of that long bend. The Israelites have made for themselves a home in Egypt, forced there by famine in their homelands, making for themselves a place because Joseph served Pharaoh. But then a new Pharaoh comes to power, one that does not know Joseph, and that new king is afraid. He is afraid of losing his power, and he is afraid that these people will rise up, join the enemies of Egypt and take power from him. So he subjects them to great injustice, making them slaves to the Egyptians, making their lives bitter with hard service. But that arc only bends one way- and so even under this oppressive rule, the Israelites continue to grow numerous. Their bitter life will not stop them from living, and so the Pharaoh comes up with a new plan.
The Pharaoh calls into his throne room two of my favorite characters from the Old Testament, Siphrah and Puah. These two women are midwives- people who help to bring life into that dark world of hard labor. They go to women as they are giving birth and they help to usher that new life out of the darkness and into light. So they come into Pharaoh’s palace, and he tells them that they have a new job- when they go to these women, when they see that the baby is a boy, they are to kill him, but they can let the girls live. Surely, this will keep the Israelites from growing in number- how could they overcome this kind of oppression?
What Pharaoh doesn’t know, is that Siphrah and Puah are no ordinary midwives, they are actually extraordinary. They are called by God to the ministry of life, and no power structure will bend them away from the work they are called to do. So with fingers crossed they leave the presence of Pharaoh, and they quietly go back to the work they were called to, the first women to engage in civil disobedience in the story of God’s people. They are extraordinary, brave, courageous women, doing the most ordinary of tasks, bringing life into the world.
The Israelite people will not be kept down, and they continue to grow in number. Pharaoh, confused, calls Siphrah and Puah into his chambers- demanding they account for all these boys wandering around. They tell the Pharaoh that it’s a genetic issue. These Hebrew women just deliver in a snap! They can’t get there in time to fulfill Pharaoh’s orders.
We know how the rest of the story goes. We’ve seen the movies- baby Moses is born, hidden away in a basket and sent down the river. He is found and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. The universe arcs toward justice, or perhaps irony. But, those two names, Siphrah and Puah are forgotten. Those two extraordinary women who would not be denied their call, who would not do injustice in the name of God, those two extraordinary women get lost to the record books, but it was those two women who allowed that baby to be born. It was those two women who refused to compromise who set in motion the circumstances that allowed for the birth of the prophet Moses.
There are plenty of forces in this world that try to remind us that we are nothing if not ordinary. There are plenty of forces in this world that try to convince us that what we see around us is as good as it gets. But, we, friends, we know better. We know that we are riding that arc toward justice, because that is what our God is all about. We know that we are more than ordinary, because we are made in the image of our God, and we are set to do extraordinary things. Because God continues to use us to bring about God’s kingdom, we are more than ordinary, even if our names our lost to the record books for all time.
As has been said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Who were those women to defy the greatest power they had ever known, held by Pharaoh? They were children of God, destined to do amazing things, destined to be a part of that arc towards justice. Their names are not famous, but their deeds changed the history of a people.
So as we hear their story this morning, we must ask ourselves, who are we? Who are we to deny that God has called us to extraordinary things? Who are we to imagine that we are not to shine with the glory of God? Because day by day, as I watch the story of this congregation unfold I see that arc towards justice. Day by day I see cracks in the huge walls of oppression. Day by day, I see you raising up children who will do extraordinary things. Only weeks ago I watched more than one hundred children dance down the aisles of this sanctuary as we ended magic mushroom, and I saw in their joy, in their spirits, that in this place, extraordinary things are being done. A program that was started by a few people thirty years ago has raised up thousands of children, girls and boys who know that no matter what the world tells them, God loves them. I see you stepping forward in faith and daring to believe that this congregation can have an impact on this neighborhood, supporting a free clinic in this neighborhood when people were saying it was only going to serve drunks and addicts and the bad element. I see you supporting an afterschool program focused on children in this neighborhood that people say aren’t worth our time or our energy, because they are poor or they come from difficult circumstances. And I tell you, somewhere those two Hebrew midwives are saying, well done.
So who are you? In your ordinary work, you are an extraordinary child of God. We are called to do more than we can imagine in ways we can only dream of- but we are called to lives of extraordinary service. I can’t tell you when it will feel like you are standing at the foot of Pharaoh, but I can tell you that time will come. And when it does, when you are afraid and facing that tough choice, I hope you will hear the voices of those two forgotten women, Siphrah and Puah, reminding you that made in the image of God, you are extraordinary, and you are standing in a world that arcs toward God’s justice. Amen.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Weekly Texts: Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
First Reading (Semi-continuous)
Exodus 1:8—2:10
Chapter 1
8Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9He said to his people, "Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." 11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, 14and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live. 17But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?" 19The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them." 20So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live."
Chapter 2
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. 3When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.5The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. 6When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. "This must be one of the Hebrews' children," she said. 7Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" 8Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Yes." So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, "because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 138
1I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart;
before the gods I will sing your praise.
2I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name, because of your steadfast love and faithfulness;
for you have glorified your name and your word a- bove all things.
3When I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength within me. R
4All the rulers of the earth will praise you, O LORD,
when they have heard the words of your mouth.
5They will sing of the ways of the LORD,
that great is the glory of the LORD.
6The LORD is high, yet cares for the lowly,
perceiving the haughty from afar.
7Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe;
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall save me.
8You will make good your pur- pose for me;
O LORD, your steadfast love endures forever; do not abandon the works of your hands. R
Second Reading
Romans 12:1–8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Gospel
Matthew 16:13–20
13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Exodus 1:8—2:10
Chapter 1
8Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9He said to his people, "Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. 10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." 11Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, 14and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live. 17But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. 18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?" 19The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them." 20So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live."
Chapter 2
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. 3When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.5The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. 6When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. "This must be one of the Hebrews' children," she said. 7Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" 8Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Yes." So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, "because," she said, "I drew him out of the water."
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 138
1I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart;
before the gods I will sing your praise.
2I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name, because of your steadfast love and faithfulness;
for you have glorified your name and your word a- bove all things.
3When I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength within me. R
4All the rulers of the earth will praise you, O LORD,
when they have heard the words of your mouth.
5They will sing of the ways of the LORD,
that great is the glory of the LORD.
6The LORD is high, yet cares for the lowly,
perceiving the haughty from afar.
7Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe;
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right hand shall save me.
8You will make good your pur- pose for me;
O LORD, your steadfast love endures forever; do not abandon the works of your hands. R
Second Reading
Romans 12:1–8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Gospel
Matthew 16:13–20
13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Sermon: Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
The first sermon I ever preached in this sanctuary was from a text talking about divorce. I remember thinking as I wrote that first manuscript, geez… it really can’t get worse than this. What am I supposed to talk about? I can imagine God having a quiet chuckle thinking about what I was going to find in a text in the middle of August in 2008, because if it was up to me, I would want to take a bottle of white-out and cover up all the pages of your bibles that hold Matthew 15: 10-28. I don’t like the Jesus we confront in our text for this morning, in fact, I think this passage makes him sound like someone I certainly wouldn't want to know.
Jesus and the disciples are in the district of Tyre and Sidon, when this Caananite woman comes wandering into the picture. The people who live in this region aren’t Jewish, they worship Phoenician gods, and so they are pagans. The Canaanites were descendents of Canaan, a son we hear a bit about in the old Testament. He was the son of Ham. According to the story, after the great flood Noah got a little drunk. He laid naked in his tent, and Ham walked in. Seeing his father’s nakedness, he tells his brothers in a half joking fashion, and those brothers, appalled that their father is lying naked, cover him. Waking, Noah is so angry at what Ham has done that he curses Ham’s son, Canaan, making him the slave to all these brothers. Later in the book of Genesis, God gives Abraham the land of Canaan, then in Dueteronomy, tells Joshua to kill the people and take their lands and their cities.
This woman carries all this with her- historical slavery to the Jews, curses on her people and her land. She is the victim of long-held racial prejudices, she is ignored and despised by good Jewish people. So when we find her screaming about some sick daughter, following Jesus and the disciples around, it doesn’t seem surprising that she appears a little off her rocker. That she won’t be quiet, that she keeps following them crying out for help.
And this is where I don’t really get Jesus’ response. He doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t say anything. In fact, this is the only time in the entire gospel that Jesus does not respond to someone’s cry. He ignores her. How can the Jesus I know do that? The disciples ask him to please tell her to go away, with her carrying on the way she is. And Jesus says, you know, my ministry is for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He doesn’t send her away, but he doesn’t bless her either, because she is far outside of his ministry to the lost sheep of Israel.
Now let us remember what Jesus is all about- so far in our gospel we know he is all about the lost, he is all about the kingdom of heaven, he is all about healing and eating with tax collectors and sinners. He is all about challenging the in-group, in the face of incredible opposition. So is he just having a bad day? Because to me, this seems like a great teaching moment- when he can tell those disciples, well, my friends, you might think that this woman is outside of our ministry, but she is certainly not, because no one is. She is a child of God just as you are, so get out of the way and send her down because I have a healing ministry to get going. This, of course, is not what we hear from Jesus. In fact, the text seems to get even worse. This woman falls at the feet of Jesus, and she begs him to heal her daughter, sick, even dying and possessed by a demon. And Jesus says to her, “it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
Is this a misprint? Because I can’t figure out how that could ever be a nice thing to say. I can’t even figure out how Jesus just fed a crowd of 5,000 people with a couple loaves and some fish, and now he is calling this woman a dog and telling her there isn’t any food left. This just doesn’t square with who Jesus seems to be.
And I am not the only one who seems a bit stuck on this point. Scholars have battled with this passage, trying to figure out a way for Jesus to be meaning something nice. Some suggest that he was really just trying to prove a point, calling this woman a dog to her face so that those slow to learn disciples would really understand that all people are included in the kingdom of God. Others suggest that perhaps he was saying these terrible words to her in order that she could learn more about who she was, she could learn to stand up for herself even in the face of abuse. Others suggest that Jesus was trying to make a point, speaking out against prejudice to all who would hear this text. And others suggest that Jesus was tired, having a bad day, annoyed with all the miracles he was doing. The writer of the gospel of Matthew just doesn’t tell us. The writer doesn’t include a conversation later with the disciples where Jesus explains what he was doing, all we have are the words recorded in our lesson for today.
I battled with this text all week. I sat in my office and tried to figure out what to say. And I came home and fell asleep thinking about what Jesus was doing here. I think the problem is that I don’t know if I buy any of those other explanations. But then, I realized, perhaps we don’t have to.
I’m Lutheran by background and Scandinavian by heritage, so I know that in my upbringing the mark of strong person, the mark of a good leader was to stick it out no matter what kind of decision you made. Good leaders don’t change course. They don’t make mistakes, they don’t go back on their word and try something new. This kind of thinking happens in the church all the time. It happens in our jobs, when we know we’ve really screwed something up, and rather than turn around, we plow forward in order to save face. Or in our families, when we have made a bad decision, or done something hurtful or unfair, and rather than admit that we were angry, or tired, or scared, we just keep on enforcing that decision even if it doesn’t make any sense. We see it in politics. We see it in churches. Good leaders don’t change course, because it means that the first course was wrong.
And that is where I found some good news. Because, right there, in that messy passage in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus changes course. Without shame, without anger, he is challenged imagine something new. This woman teaches him something new. This woman asks him to consider that his mission and ministry might be a lot bigger than he first imagined. It isn’t just to the lost sheep of Israel, it is just as much to the poor, broken, pagans in Canaan. It is to the people that no one could have ever imagined were included.
Our call to ministry- ministry in the church, ministry in our jobs, ministry in our families, is marked by love for God’s people. As one writer put it, just when we think we’ve seen the limits of God’s love, that love grows. I think this woman in our text for today taught Jesus something. I think she taught Jesus that his ministry was bigger than he could ever have imagined, that it extended to the ends of the earth, past those places where good Jewish people could be assured God’s love did not go. So, we, too, can find something here. Faith points us down strange roads, and sometimes we are forced to change course. This woman, cursed since the time of Noah, alone, afraid, kneels at the feet of Jesus and reminds him of who she is. Because she is no dog. She is a woman of great faith. Faith that was profound enough to teach Jesus something. She, despite being cursed and ignored, reflects to all those wandering through her land, the face of God. Amen.
Jesus and the disciples are in the district of Tyre and Sidon, when this Caananite woman comes wandering into the picture. The people who live in this region aren’t Jewish, they worship Phoenician gods, and so they are pagans. The Canaanites were descendents of Canaan, a son we hear a bit about in the old Testament. He was the son of Ham. According to the story, after the great flood Noah got a little drunk. He laid naked in his tent, and Ham walked in. Seeing his father’s nakedness, he tells his brothers in a half joking fashion, and those brothers, appalled that their father is lying naked, cover him. Waking, Noah is so angry at what Ham has done that he curses Ham’s son, Canaan, making him the slave to all these brothers. Later in the book of Genesis, God gives Abraham the land of Canaan, then in Dueteronomy, tells Joshua to kill the people and take their lands and their cities.
This woman carries all this with her- historical slavery to the Jews, curses on her people and her land. She is the victim of long-held racial prejudices, she is ignored and despised by good Jewish people. So when we find her screaming about some sick daughter, following Jesus and the disciples around, it doesn’t seem surprising that she appears a little off her rocker. That she won’t be quiet, that she keeps following them crying out for help.
And this is where I don’t really get Jesus’ response. He doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t say anything. In fact, this is the only time in the entire gospel that Jesus does not respond to someone’s cry. He ignores her. How can the Jesus I know do that? The disciples ask him to please tell her to go away, with her carrying on the way she is. And Jesus says, you know, my ministry is for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He doesn’t send her away, but he doesn’t bless her either, because she is far outside of his ministry to the lost sheep of Israel.
Now let us remember what Jesus is all about- so far in our gospel we know he is all about the lost, he is all about the kingdom of heaven, he is all about healing and eating with tax collectors and sinners. He is all about challenging the in-group, in the face of incredible opposition. So is he just having a bad day? Because to me, this seems like a great teaching moment- when he can tell those disciples, well, my friends, you might think that this woman is outside of our ministry, but she is certainly not, because no one is. She is a child of God just as you are, so get out of the way and send her down because I have a healing ministry to get going. This, of course, is not what we hear from Jesus. In fact, the text seems to get even worse. This woman falls at the feet of Jesus, and she begs him to heal her daughter, sick, even dying and possessed by a demon. And Jesus says to her, “it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
Is this a misprint? Because I can’t figure out how that could ever be a nice thing to say. I can’t even figure out how Jesus just fed a crowd of 5,000 people with a couple loaves and some fish, and now he is calling this woman a dog and telling her there isn’t any food left. This just doesn’t square with who Jesus seems to be.
And I am not the only one who seems a bit stuck on this point. Scholars have battled with this passage, trying to figure out a way for Jesus to be meaning something nice. Some suggest that he was really just trying to prove a point, calling this woman a dog to her face so that those slow to learn disciples would really understand that all people are included in the kingdom of God. Others suggest that perhaps he was saying these terrible words to her in order that she could learn more about who she was, she could learn to stand up for herself even in the face of abuse. Others suggest that Jesus was trying to make a point, speaking out against prejudice to all who would hear this text. And others suggest that Jesus was tired, having a bad day, annoyed with all the miracles he was doing. The writer of the gospel of Matthew just doesn’t tell us. The writer doesn’t include a conversation later with the disciples where Jesus explains what he was doing, all we have are the words recorded in our lesson for today.
I battled with this text all week. I sat in my office and tried to figure out what to say. And I came home and fell asleep thinking about what Jesus was doing here. I think the problem is that I don’t know if I buy any of those other explanations. But then, I realized, perhaps we don’t have to.
I’m Lutheran by background and Scandinavian by heritage, so I know that in my upbringing the mark of strong person, the mark of a good leader was to stick it out no matter what kind of decision you made. Good leaders don’t change course. They don’t make mistakes, they don’t go back on their word and try something new. This kind of thinking happens in the church all the time. It happens in our jobs, when we know we’ve really screwed something up, and rather than turn around, we plow forward in order to save face. Or in our families, when we have made a bad decision, or done something hurtful or unfair, and rather than admit that we were angry, or tired, or scared, we just keep on enforcing that decision even if it doesn’t make any sense. We see it in politics. We see it in churches. Good leaders don’t change course, because it means that the first course was wrong.
And that is where I found some good news. Because, right there, in that messy passage in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus changes course. Without shame, without anger, he is challenged imagine something new. This woman teaches him something new. This woman asks him to consider that his mission and ministry might be a lot bigger than he first imagined. It isn’t just to the lost sheep of Israel, it is just as much to the poor, broken, pagans in Canaan. It is to the people that no one could have ever imagined were included.
Our call to ministry- ministry in the church, ministry in our jobs, ministry in our families, is marked by love for God’s people. As one writer put it, just when we think we’ve seen the limits of God’s love, that love grows. I think this woman in our text for today taught Jesus something. I think she taught Jesus that his ministry was bigger than he could ever have imagined, that it extended to the ends of the earth, past those places where good Jewish people could be assured God’s love did not go. So, we, too, can find something here. Faith points us down strange roads, and sometimes we are forced to change course. This woman, cursed since the time of Noah, alone, afraid, kneels at the feet of Jesus and reminds him of who she is. Because she is no dog. She is a woman of great faith. Faith that was profound enough to teach Jesus something. She, despite being cursed and ignored, reflects to all those wandering through her land, the face of God. Amen.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Weekly Texts: Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
First Reading
Isaiah 56:1, 6–8
Thus says the LORD:Maintain justice, and do what is right,for soon my salvation will come,and my deliverance be revealed.6And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,and to be his servants,all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,and hold fast my covenant — 7these I will bring to my holy mountain,and make them joyful in my house of prayer;their burnt offerings and their sacrificeswill be accepted on my altar;for my house shall be called a house of prayerfor all peoples.8Thus says the Lord GOD,who gathers the outcasts of Israel,I will gather others to thembesides those already gathered.
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 67
1May God be merciful to us and bless us;
may the light of God's face shine upon us.
2Let your way be known upon earth,
your saving health a- mong all nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the na- tions on earth. R
5Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6The earth has brought forth its increase;
God, our own God, has blessed us.
7May God give us blessing,
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe. R
Second Reading
Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. 29for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
Gospel
Matthew 15:[10–20] 21–28
10Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand: 11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." 12Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" 13He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." 15But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us." 16Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." 24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." 27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Isaiah 56:1, 6–8
Thus says the LORD:Maintain justice, and do what is right,for soon my salvation will come,and my deliverance be revealed.6And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,and to be his servants,all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,and hold fast my covenant — 7these I will bring to my holy mountain,and make them joyful in my house of prayer;their burnt offerings and their sacrificeswill be accepted on my altar;for my house shall be called a house of prayerfor all peoples.8Thus says the Lord GOD,who gathers the outcasts of Israel,I will gather others to thembesides those already gathered.
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 67
1May God be merciful to us and bless us;
may the light of God's face shine upon us.
2Let your way be known upon earth,
your saving health a- mong all nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the na- tions on earth. R
5Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6The earth has brought forth its increase;
God, our own God, has blessed us.
7May God give us blessing,
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe. R
Second Reading
Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. 29for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
Gospel
Matthew 15:[10–20] 21–28
10Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand: 11it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." 12Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" 13He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." 15But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us." 16Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." 24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." 27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." 28Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Sermon: Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
I’m from Northern Michigan, so I grew up on the waters of Lake Michigan. Now, Lake Michigan is not a turbulent sea, but it does have its fair share of storms. Plus, it is cold and sometimes scary, which led me, as a child, to both love spending time on our boat and also find myself gripped with fear every time I had to make that first step on to it.
Now for any of you with some boating experience, you might be aware of the problem with keeping one leg on land and one leg on the boat. Even if you are conflicted or scared, decision time doesn’t work to well if you are trying to make it as your legs drift farther and farther apart. There is a rather famous family story in the Petersen household of the time I did just that. I would often get scared as I made that leap into the boat, but on this particular late summer day, fear paralyzed me. So as I stood with a leg on the pier and a leg in the boat, things started to move farther and farther and farther apart. I could hear my Father yelling at me- get in or get out, but it was like everything was in slow motion. Until, of course, reality came speeding at me and I dropped, fully clothed into the chilly waters of Lake Michigan.
So when I hear this familiar story from the gospel of Matthew my heart goes out to the disciple Peter. He and the other disciples have been in the boat all night, following Jesus’ command that they push off and go to the other side. Jesus is not with them, so they have been in this rickety old boat all by themselves. The night has not been calm, their tiny craft has been battered back and forth by the waves. The rain has poured in, they were smack in the middle of a big storm. They aren’t closer to where they are going and they are far from where they have been. And so they are afraid. And I hear that. They are afraid because they waves aren’t getting any calmer and their boat isn’t getting any closer to dry land. They are afraid because they have been left on their own, and Jesus doesn’t seem to be interested in calming this storm.
So in the middle of the pouring rain, they look out on the water, and they see a figure walking towards them. And, now, if they didn’t know what fear was, they really know what it is all about because surely a ghost is walking on the water towards them. What was bad has now moved quickly into worse, because not only is there a storm but there is a ghost headed in their direction. So with one voice, those wind-battered, rain-beaten disciples cry out in fear.
And then they hear,“It is I, do not be afraid.”
Do they recognize his voice? Can they tell it is Jesus? I imagine they are looking back and forth at one another- squinting their eyes, wiping the rain from their faces in hopes of getting some confirmation, the man walking on water is Jesus. Always quick to respond, Peter cries out, “You know what- if it is you, Jesus, if it is you, call me out onto the water- make me walk to you.” And that ghostly figure says, “come.”
In this story, Peter is often cast as the hero or the antithesis of what it means to be a person of faith. As a hero, we flock to Peter because when faced with making the decision between land and water, Peter chooses water. Plenty of people hold up Peter as the man who had enough faith to trust that God could do anything, even make him walk on water. He is a hero because he dared to do the impossible believing that God would save him. And, at the same time, Peter is often cast as the disciple we don’t want to mimic. Yes, we might follow him out on to the water, but, we, we would have enough faith to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and not waver. Peter just lets fear get the best of him, he lets the wind and the waves take over and he doesn’t believe. So, we don’t want to be anything like him, because we want to be people of faith, who don’t doubt, who don’t take their eyes off their savior.
But the people I really wonder about in our text for today are the people who I would have been huddled with, the rest of those disciples in the bottom of the boat. Because sometimes I really can’t make that tough decision between boat and water, and I end up finding myself feeling more and more stretched apart. I want to be like the risk taking Peter who was willing to jump out of the boat and rush towards the ghostly figure of his savior- but I often find myself feeling as if I am in the bottom of the boat- not sure if the person I hear calling me is Jesus, or something else entirely.
Churches are often built to look like the interior of ships. The nave, or central part of the church, comes from the latin word for ship. It makes sense to me, because sometimes I wonder if we aren’t like those disciples paddling until our hands are calloused and bruised in order to get to where the Lord has told us to go. I wonder if we aren’t like those disciples, rain soaked and tired as we navigate our way through this life. And some of us find ourselves feeling a lot like Peter on that fateful morning, ready and willing to take a leap of faith, to run towards the place where Jesus is calling us, because we have all the hope and the passion and the faith that our God can make us do things that defy what seems possible. And some of us find ourselves shaking on the bottom of the boat, because we don’t know whether that guy out there is seeking to do us harm or good.
But wherever we are, in the bottom of the boat or skiing on the water, what we know from our text is that the rains and the wind don’t cease. Peter walks towards Jesus, takes that giant leap of faith, and the rain doesn’t stop, the waves don’t get any smaller. That leap of faith starts to seem like a bad decision when he realizes that his step didn’t calm the storm. He begins to sink when he looks around him only to discover that even for taking a giant step of faith the world around him didn’t appear to change much. The wind and the rains don’t cease for the people of God, and the perspective is much the same in the boat and out of it.
I don’t think the faith we are looking for is found exclusively surfing the waves. I don’t think the kind of faith we are searching for is only in the bottom of the boat. I think the kind of faith we are looking for is in that decision time between staying on land or getting into the water. Because whether we are hanging back in the boat or running at full speed towards Jesus, he is still coming towards us. He is still meeting us in the middle of the storm, as we continue to push forward trying to get to where he told us to go. He is still coming towards us when we are rain soaked and wind beaten. He still meets us, calls out to us, and tells us not to be afraid.
Because the rains still come down and the winds still push us in every direction, no matter how we try to get to him. The waves are not stilled, the winds are not silenced as we decide between boat and water. We still carry fear in our hearts whether it keeps us stuck in our ship or leaves us sinking in the waves. But, because of who our God is, God keeps coming to us. God keeps meeting us in our boat, keeps climbing in, sometimes dragging one of us behind, but keeping us together, despite the storm. God keeps coming down, because that is what God does. We can’t get to God, God gets to us. We can’t get to God, we can’t calm the storm, but our God can. Our God can meet us no matter how bad the circumstances, can whisper to us, do not be afraid, and can finally calm the storm that has been sending us in every direction.
And so that leaves us with only one thing left. To look around in our boat. To see what God has done. And to fall down and worship, seeing that it was never a ghost coming towards us, it was the very son of God. Amen and thanks be to God.
Now for any of you with some boating experience, you might be aware of the problem with keeping one leg on land and one leg on the boat. Even if you are conflicted or scared, decision time doesn’t work to well if you are trying to make it as your legs drift farther and farther apart. There is a rather famous family story in the Petersen household of the time I did just that. I would often get scared as I made that leap into the boat, but on this particular late summer day, fear paralyzed me. So as I stood with a leg on the pier and a leg in the boat, things started to move farther and farther and farther apart. I could hear my Father yelling at me- get in or get out, but it was like everything was in slow motion. Until, of course, reality came speeding at me and I dropped, fully clothed into the chilly waters of Lake Michigan.
So when I hear this familiar story from the gospel of Matthew my heart goes out to the disciple Peter. He and the other disciples have been in the boat all night, following Jesus’ command that they push off and go to the other side. Jesus is not with them, so they have been in this rickety old boat all by themselves. The night has not been calm, their tiny craft has been battered back and forth by the waves. The rain has poured in, they were smack in the middle of a big storm. They aren’t closer to where they are going and they are far from where they have been. And so they are afraid. And I hear that. They are afraid because they waves aren’t getting any calmer and their boat isn’t getting any closer to dry land. They are afraid because they have been left on their own, and Jesus doesn’t seem to be interested in calming this storm.
So in the middle of the pouring rain, they look out on the water, and they see a figure walking towards them. And, now, if they didn’t know what fear was, they really know what it is all about because surely a ghost is walking on the water towards them. What was bad has now moved quickly into worse, because not only is there a storm but there is a ghost headed in their direction. So with one voice, those wind-battered, rain-beaten disciples cry out in fear.
And then they hear,“It is I, do not be afraid.”
Do they recognize his voice? Can they tell it is Jesus? I imagine they are looking back and forth at one another- squinting their eyes, wiping the rain from their faces in hopes of getting some confirmation, the man walking on water is Jesus. Always quick to respond, Peter cries out, “You know what- if it is you, Jesus, if it is you, call me out onto the water- make me walk to you.” And that ghostly figure says, “come.”
In this story, Peter is often cast as the hero or the antithesis of what it means to be a person of faith. As a hero, we flock to Peter because when faced with making the decision between land and water, Peter chooses water. Plenty of people hold up Peter as the man who had enough faith to trust that God could do anything, even make him walk on water. He is a hero because he dared to do the impossible believing that God would save him. And, at the same time, Peter is often cast as the disciple we don’t want to mimic. Yes, we might follow him out on to the water, but, we, we would have enough faith to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and not waver. Peter just lets fear get the best of him, he lets the wind and the waves take over and he doesn’t believe. So, we don’t want to be anything like him, because we want to be people of faith, who don’t doubt, who don’t take their eyes off their savior.
But the people I really wonder about in our text for today are the people who I would have been huddled with, the rest of those disciples in the bottom of the boat. Because sometimes I really can’t make that tough decision between boat and water, and I end up finding myself feeling more and more stretched apart. I want to be like the risk taking Peter who was willing to jump out of the boat and rush towards the ghostly figure of his savior- but I often find myself feeling as if I am in the bottom of the boat- not sure if the person I hear calling me is Jesus, or something else entirely.
Churches are often built to look like the interior of ships. The nave, or central part of the church, comes from the latin word for ship. It makes sense to me, because sometimes I wonder if we aren’t like those disciples paddling until our hands are calloused and bruised in order to get to where the Lord has told us to go. I wonder if we aren’t like those disciples, rain soaked and tired as we navigate our way through this life. And some of us find ourselves feeling a lot like Peter on that fateful morning, ready and willing to take a leap of faith, to run towards the place where Jesus is calling us, because we have all the hope and the passion and the faith that our God can make us do things that defy what seems possible. And some of us find ourselves shaking on the bottom of the boat, because we don’t know whether that guy out there is seeking to do us harm or good.
But wherever we are, in the bottom of the boat or skiing on the water, what we know from our text is that the rains and the wind don’t cease. Peter walks towards Jesus, takes that giant leap of faith, and the rain doesn’t stop, the waves don’t get any smaller. That leap of faith starts to seem like a bad decision when he realizes that his step didn’t calm the storm. He begins to sink when he looks around him only to discover that even for taking a giant step of faith the world around him didn’t appear to change much. The wind and the rains don’t cease for the people of God, and the perspective is much the same in the boat and out of it.
I don’t think the faith we are looking for is found exclusively surfing the waves. I don’t think the kind of faith we are searching for is only in the bottom of the boat. I think the kind of faith we are looking for is in that decision time between staying on land or getting into the water. Because whether we are hanging back in the boat or running at full speed towards Jesus, he is still coming towards us. He is still meeting us in the middle of the storm, as we continue to push forward trying to get to where he told us to go. He is still coming towards us when we are rain soaked and wind beaten. He still meets us, calls out to us, and tells us not to be afraid.
Because the rains still come down and the winds still push us in every direction, no matter how we try to get to him. The waves are not stilled, the winds are not silenced as we decide between boat and water. We still carry fear in our hearts whether it keeps us stuck in our ship or leaves us sinking in the waves. But, because of who our God is, God keeps coming to us. God keeps meeting us in our boat, keeps climbing in, sometimes dragging one of us behind, but keeping us together, despite the storm. God keeps coming down, because that is what God does. We can’t get to God, God gets to us. We can’t get to God, we can’t calm the storm, but our God can. Our God can meet us no matter how bad the circumstances, can whisper to us, do not be afraid, and can finally calm the storm that has been sending us in every direction.
And so that leaves us with only one thing left. To look around in our boat. To see what God has done. And to fall down and worship, seeing that it was never a ghost coming towards us, it was the very son of God. Amen and thanks be to God.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Weekly Texts: Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
First Reading
1 Kings 19:9–18
9At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."11He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." 15Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 18Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."
Psalm 85:8–13
8I will listen to what the LORD God is saying;
for you speak peace to your faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to you.
9Truly, your salvation is very near to those who fear you,
that your glory may dwell in our land. R
10Steadfast love and faithfulness have met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11Faithfulness shall spring up from the earth,
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12The LORD will indeed grant prosperity,
and our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness shall go be- fore the LORD
and shall prepare for God a pathway. R
Second Reading
Romans 10:5–15
5Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that "the person who does these things will live by them." 6But the righteousness that comes from faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) 7or 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say?"The word is near you,on your lips and in your heart"(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."14But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Gospel
Matthew 14:22–33
22Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."28Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
1 Kings 19:9–18
9At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."11He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." 15Then the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 18Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."
Psalm 85:8–13
8I will listen to what the LORD God is saying;
for you speak peace to your faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to you.
9Truly, your salvation is very near to those who fear you,
that your glory may dwell in our land. R
10Steadfast love and faithfulness have met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11Faithfulness shall spring up from the earth,
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12The LORD will indeed grant prosperity,
and our land will yield its increase.
13Righteousness shall go be- fore the LORD
and shall prepare for God a pathway. R
Second Reading
Romans 10:5–15
5Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that "the person who does these things will live by them." 6But the righteousness that comes from faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) 7or 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say?"The word is near you,on your lips and in your heart"(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."14But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Gospel
Matthew 14:22–33
22Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."28Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
Sermon: Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Unemployment reached a four-year high this last month, as employers cut another 51,000 jobs, according to the latest report on the economy. If you don’t hear the word economy at least once a day, you don’t turn on the television, read the newspaper, or surf the web. It seems like the economy is going down the tubes, and fast. Unemployment is up. Oil prices are higher than they have ever been. Government budgets are being slashed, leaving people unable to get the services they need. It is a mess.
It seems kind of natural to me that we talk about the economy with a little fear in our voices. This church runs on the gifts of its members- so the state of the economy certainly keeps me awake at night. People keep talking about less, less, less, we have to cut back, we have to scrimp and save, because things are bad now, and they are going to get worse. The stock market is down, banks are failing, we don’t know where our money is safe. The economy is like a big, mysterious force that defies our understanding or explanation. We just react to it.
This morning our gospel is one of those famous bible stories. A very similar story appears in all four of our gospels. The only miracle to make it on the pages of every single gospel. Some of the details might be a bit different, but the shape of the story is the same- a bunch of hungry people are out in the wilderness with Jesus, and there isn’t enough food to go around. So out of a measly offering a few loaves and some fish, an abundant meal is served, and all the people, thousands of them, leave satisfied.
But the story begins a little differently in the gospel of Matthew. Because in this gospel, Jesus goes the wilderness because he has just received terrible news. John the Baptist has been beheaded. John the Baptist, his friend, cousin, the prophet that proclaimed Jesus’ divinity, he’s dead. Jesus leaves and goes off to a deserted place. Do you know that feeling? Because I do. That feeling when you just have nothing left, when you want crawl under the blankets and wait until it is a new day. That feeling that comes over you when it seems as if the world itself has become one big disappointment, and there aren’t any good options left. That feeling when someone dies, or when you face tragedy, or when the world just overwhelms you. I imagine that is what Jesus was feeling after his friend dies- sadness and despair, and so he goes off to a deserted place.
And even in the pain of the loss of this friend, the crowds still follow Jesus. They follow him into his lonely place, and they themselves are sick and hungry. I imagine Jesus is scraping the emotional bottom, but what does he do? He sees that great crowd, thousands of people, and he has compassion for all those sick, sad, lost people, and he goes to them and he heals them.
But this isn’t the only picture in our story. Because after Jesus heals these people, night begins to fall. They start to look a little hungry. Their collective tummy starts to growl. So the disciples come to Jesus asking him to send these people to the villages so they can get some food. But Jesus doesn’t send them away. He looks at the disciples, and he says, “you feed them.” You, underline, exclamation point, you feed them. But with what? They don’t have anything. How can they feed a crowd of 5,000 men, plus numerous women and children? How can their nothing feed this huge something?
This gospel story is about a lot of nothing. That is, at first glance, the state of this gospel economy. Nothing- no energy, just sadness. Nothing- no food, no drinks, just a few loaves and some measly salty old fish. A whole lot of the bottom. A whole lot of not much. Jesus, the disciples, and all these hungry people are in the wilderness, that scarce desolate place, and they are speaking the language of scarcity.
I know that language, and I know you do, too. The language of scarcity is so pervasive that it feels like it is almost normal. We don’t have enough, time, money, energy. We don’t have enough to give anything, because there is only so much. We know the economy of scarcity, and it isn’t just about jobs and gas prices. We are pulled in 100 different directions, we are pushed and tugged, and sometimes we really do have nothing left. I have certainly thought that on plenty of days. People, church, the world, keeps trying to take from us, and in an economy of scarcity, we are forced to protect what we have.
But, when we look a little deeper, when we focus our eyes on the whole gospel story, the economy starts to shift. The disciples bring those loaves and those fish to Jesus. There isn’t much there. It really is a sad little offering spread out before thousands of people. But Jesus takes that nothing, and looking up to heaven, he blesses that tiny little offering, and the disciples pass it out to the crowd. And miraculously, that nothing, those tiny fish and loaves become more than something, they become a feast to feed thousands, a feast that leaves all the people loosening their belts because their stomachs are so full, a feast that leaves behind 12 baskets of broken bread.
With God, the economy isn’t based on scarcity, because God’s economy is based on extravagant abundance. Sometimes it feels like a miracle, when God takes our nothing, our little bit of time, our little bit of energy, our little bit of commitment, and makes it into something that can only be described as divine. In an economy of scarcity, we hold on to what we have until we have enough that we can be sure it is okay to share. We hold on to our time and our energy and our money because it just wouldn’t be right to give it away until we are on a full tank. But, in an economy of abundance, God seeks to use even our little nothing. God seeks to use us even when we aren’t at our best. The story didn’t start with 12 baskets of bread, it started with five loaves and two fish. In an economy of scarcity, the person baking that bread and the person catching those fish would have kept them to feed their own rumbling stomachs. Some people say that the miracle in this story is that heavenly power multiplied those loaves like magic in the hands of Jesus. I agree that heavenly power multiplied those loaves and fish, but I wonder if that heavenly power wasn’t focused on the 5 loaves and the 2 fish, but if that heavenly power was focused on the more than 5,000 people sitting in the grass. I wonder if that heavenly power was what inspired them to throw in a loaf or two as the basket came their way, because even if they didn’t have much, surely the person next to them should get a fish sandwich. I wonder if the miracle was that in an economy of scarcity, in an economy we know just as well as that gathered crowd, if the miracle is that for those hungry people, for those disciples, for those hearing this story, suddenly scarcity felt like a whole lot more. The story of not enough became the story of more than enough. The story of keeping for oneself became instead a time to share in order that all might eat and be filled. This is a miracle worth printing on pages in all four gospels. Not enough, when we look up towards heaven, suddenly becomes more than enough. Enough that we can’t do anything but give it away rejoicing because the economy has shifted. Amen and thanks be to God.
It seems kind of natural to me that we talk about the economy with a little fear in our voices. This church runs on the gifts of its members- so the state of the economy certainly keeps me awake at night. People keep talking about less, less, less, we have to cut back, we have to scrimp and save, because things are bad now, and they are going to get worse. The stock market is down, banks are failing, we don’t know where our money is safe. The economy is like a big, mysterious force that defies our understanding or explanation. We just react to it.
This morning our gospel is one of those famous bible stories. A very similar story appears in all four of our gospels. The only miracle to make it on the pages of every single gospel. Some of the details might be a bit different, but the shape of the story is the same- a bunch of hungry people are out in the wilderness with Jesus, and there isn’t enough food to go around. So out of a measly offering a few loaves and some fish, an abundant meal is served, and all the people, thousands of them, leave satisfied.
But the story begins a little differently in the gospel of Matthew. Because in this gospel, Jesus goes the wilderness because he has just received terrible news. John the Baptist has been beheaded. John the Baptist, his friend, cousin, the prophet that proclaimed Jesus’ divinity, he’s dead. Jesus leaves and goes off to a deserted place. Do you know that feeling? Because I do. That feeling when you just have nothing left, when you want crawl under the blankets and wait until it is a new day. That feeling that comes over you when it seems as if the world itself has become one big disappointment, and there aren’t any good options left. That feeling when someone dies, or when you face tragedy, or when the world just overwhelms you. I imagine that is what Jesus was feeling after his friend dies- sadness and despair, and so he goes off to a deserted place.
And even in the pain of the loss of this friend, the crowds still follow Jesus. They follow him into his lonely place, and they themselves are sick and hungry. I imagine Jesus is scraping the emotional bottom, but what does he do? He sees that great crowd, thousands of people, and he has compassion for all those sick, sad, lost people, and he goes to them and he heals them.
But this isn’t the only picture in our story. Because after Jesus heals these people, night begins to fall. They start to look a little hungry. Their collective tummy starts to growl. So the disciples come to Jesus asking him to send these people to the villages so they can get some food. But Jesus doesn’t send them away. He looks at the disciples, and he says, “you feed them.” You, underline, exclamation point, you feed them. But with what? They don’t have anything. How can they feed a crowd of 5,000 men, plus numerous women and children? How can their nothing feed this huge something?
This gospel story is about a lot of nothing. That is, at first glance, the state of this gospel economy. Nothing- no energy, just sadness. Nothing- no food, no drinks, just a few loaves and some measly salty old fish. A whole lot of the bottom. A whole lot of not much. Jesus, the disciples, and all these hungry people are in the wilderness, that scarce desolate place, and they are speaking the language of scarcity.
I know that language, and I know you do, too. The language of scarcity is so pervasive that it feels like it is almost normal. We don’t have enough, time, money, energy. We don’t have enough to give anything, because there is only so much. We know the economy of scarcity, and it isn’t just about jobs and gas prices. We are pulled in 100 different directions, we are pushed and tugged, and sometimes we really do have nothing left. I have certainly thought that on plenty of days. People, church, the world, keeps trying to take from us, and in an economy of scarcity, we are forced to protect what we have.
But, when we look a little deeper, when we focus our eyes on the whole gospel story, the economy starts to shift. The disciples bring those loaves and those fish to Jesus. There isn’t much there. It really is a sad little offering spread out before thousands of people. But Jesus takes that nothing, and looking up to heaven, he blesses that tiny little offering, and the disciples pass it out to the crowd. And miraculously, that nothing, those tiny fish and loaves become more than something, they become a feast to feed thousands, a feast that leaves all the people loosening their belts because their stomachs are so full, a feast that leaves behind 12 baskets of broken bread.
With God, the economy isn’t based on scarcity, because God’s economy is based on extravagant abundance. Sometimes it feels like a miracle, when God takes our nothing, our little bit of time, our little bit of energy, our little bit of commitment, and makes it into something that can only be described as divine. In an economy of scarcity, we hold on to what we have until we have enough that we can be sure it is okay to share. We hold on to our time and our energy and our money because it just wouldn’t be right to give it away until we are on a full tank. But, in an economy of abundance, God seeks to use even our little nothing. God seeks to use us even when we aren’t at our best. The story didn’t start with 12 baskets of bread, it started with five loaves and two fish. In an economy of scarcity, the person baking that bread and the person catching those fish would have kept them to feed their own rumbling stomachs. Some people say that the miracle in this story is that heavenly power multiplied those loaves like magic in the hands of Jesus. I agree that heavenly power multiplied those loaves and fish, but I wonder if that heavenly power wasn’t focused on the 5 loaves and the 2 fish, but if that heavenly power was focused on the more than 5,000 people sitting in the grass. I wonder if that heavenly power was what inspired them to throw in a loaf or two as the basket came their way, because even if they didn’t have much, surely the person next to them should get a fish sandwich. I wonder if the miracle was that in an economy of scarcity, in an economy we know just as well as that gathered crowd, if the miracle is that for those hungry people, for those disciples, for those hearing this story, suddenly scarcity felt like a whole lot more. The story of not enough became the story of more than enough. The story of keeping for oneself became instead a time to share in order that all might eat and be filled. This is a miracle worth printing on pages in all four gospels. Not enough, when we look up towards heaven, suddenly becomes more than enough. Enough that we can’t do anything but give it away rejoicing because the economy has shifted. Amen and thanks be to God.
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