First Reading
Revelation 7:9–17
9After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10They cried out in a loud voice, saying,"Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!"11And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12singing,"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdomand thanksgiving and honorand power and mightbe to our God forever and ever! Amen."13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" 14I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal ;they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.15For this reason they are before the throne of God,and worship him day and night within his temple,and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.16They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;the sun will not strike them,nor any scorching heat;17for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 34:1–10, 22
I will bless the LORD at all times;
the praise of God shall ever be in my mouth.
2I will glory in the LORD;
let the lowly hear and rejoice. R
3Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD;
let us exalt God's name together.
4I sought the LORD, who answered me
and delivered me from all my terrors.
5Look upon the LORD and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6I called in my affliction, and the LORD heard me
and saved me from all my troubles. R
7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear the LORD
and de- livers them.
8Taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are they who take ref- uge in God!
9Fear the LORD, you saints of the LORD,
for those who fear the LORD lack nothing.
10The lions are in want and suffer hunger,
but those who seek the LORD lack nothing that is good.
22O LORD, you redeem the life of your servants,
and those who put their trust in you will not be punished. R
Second Reading
1 John 3:1–3
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Gospel
Matthew 5:1–12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.7Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sermon: Reformation 2008
I am the kind of Lutheran that loves this church so much that I pre-ordered my ticket to see the Luther movie in the movie theater. I can’t pretend that I didn’t cry when I saw Luther post those theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg. Our celebration of Reformation makes me proud to be a Lutheran, proud to have a heritage of reform, proud to be a part of a church grounded in growth. I love that this church was formed by a man wanting to put the scriptures into the hands of the people. I love that we believe that in those scriptures we could find a real truth. A real life. A real freedom.
The days are coming says the Lord. So begins our reading from Jeremiah for this morning. The days are surely coming when our celebration of reformation will be just a distant memory, when we will be finished with our constant reforming, when the Spirit of God will have had her way with us, and we will finally reach that place where we become our most full selves, the body of Christ in the world. The days are coming, but even on this day, those days seem far off, too far off.
I went to a small religious college. It was there that I came face to face for the first time with an altar call. It was the first time someone told me that I needed to ask Jesus into my heart. I had never heard of this before, growing up Lutheran, I was baptized, I went to church camp, I went to confirmation classes, I missed the memo about asking Jesus into my heart. I was also quite confused when I saw many of my friends asking Jesus into their hearts all the time. They would have big moments of conversion, then something would get in the way, they wouldn’t feel as close to their faith anymore, they would do a few things that definitely fell into the sin category, and there they would be again, marching down the aisle of the church and asking Jesus back into their hearts.
The days are coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people. I will put my law within them, I will write it on their hearts, I will be their God and they shall be my people.
That’s the funny thing about our hearts, on this celebration of Reformation, we remember that God has promised to be with us, to wash us in grace. There is no rhyme or reason to why God has chosen to be in relationship with us. Most of us haven’t asked for it, and if we have, we certainly have trouble living as if that is the truth. We are sinners, but called saints by a God who has made an unbreakable covenant with us, has written the law in hearts, has made us God’s people, has invaded our hearts, filled them, shaped them so that they can only be called the shape of God. Walter Brueggeman says, “this covenant is given by God without reason or explanation, God wants the relationship with the people and resolves to have it. So God declares that he will write himself into the people.” It isn’t about us asking, it is about God doing. God comes down, and fills us with God’s very presence. We don’t have to keep asking, we just have to feel into those places where God already is. It isn’t about our work, it is about God’s.
We need this reminder of reformation, because it reminds us of the shape of our hearts. We don’t need flashy programs or new ideas, the covenant has been written into our hearts, we are made in the shape of a God that is constant through time, a God who has promised that we will be in relationship with him regardless of ourselves. God has wormed into our hearts, written herself upon them, and we cannot get out of this relationship without cutting out part of our own hearts.
That’s where Jeremiah and John seem to meet. Because Jeremiah tells us about the law written on our hearts, and Jesus in John’s gospel promises us that it is the writing that will set us free. It is the inscription inside of us, that gives us freedom we can’t get from anywhere else. It isn’t about heritage or ancestry; it is about what God has done and continues to do. The celebration of Reformation, for as proud as it makes us to be Lutherans, isn’t the point. The point is what God has done, where God has gone, how far God will go to be in relationship with us, to set us free from all the binds us, from all those things that hold us prisoner. We are in constant reformation, because those sinful natures keep getting in the way, keep telling us that there is something that will be more satisfying that will give us more than a relationship with God.
We are the people that both Jeremiah and Jesus are speaking about. We are the people of God, we are the ones who receive this promise. We have been grafted into this everlasting covenant. We are the ones that God loves with such depth that nothing can separate us from that love. And yet, we are also with that gathered crowd in our gospel wondering how we could ever be slave to anyone or anything. We are the ones who will listen to the freedom of the gospel and then wonder if there is something a little less difficult out there to give us the same results. We can’t imagine that we have ever been slaves, that there are forces and sins that have such a deep hold on us that we can’t even see it anymore.
Today, we will celebrate with six young adults as they affirm the promises made in their baptisms. They will stand before us and decide for themselves that they are a part of this holy family. But, confirmation is not the end, it is only another beginning. Just as we seek constant reformation in our church, we also seek constant reformation in our lives. Because for as much as we desire to live into the freedom of the gospel, to taste the free gift of grace, sin gets in the way. We do not live as we ought. We forget these promises, we ignore God’s law, we turn off the voice inside of us that urges us to live as God’s faithful people. It is in that relationship with Christ that we are set free. It is in the love that God has for us that we are set free. We exchange all the pain, all the ugliness, all the sin and the sorrow, all those things that bind us and break us down, we exchange all of it, for a relationship with God. For a return to the way we were made. And it doesn’t end on one day. It doesn’t end with one promise. It is difficult work, coming back again and again and falling down only to be covered with grace.
The truth of Reformation is that God is always doing a new thing, always within us, always with us, always covering us with grace. We will be made free. We don’t ask God into our hearts, God is already there. God desires to be in relationship with us, even as we break our end of the bargain, even as we ignore what God has done and continues to do. This is a new kind of covenant, one that cannot be broken, and so it doesn’t count on us. It counts on God. Amen.
The days are coming says the Lord. So begins our reading from Jeremiah for this morning. The days are surely coming when our celebration of reformation will be just a distant memory, when we will be finished with our constant reforming, when the Spirit of God will have had her way with us, and we will finally reach that place where we become our most full selves, the body of Christ in the world. The days are coming, but even on this day, those days seem far off, too far off.
I went to a small religious college. It was there that I came face to face for the first time with an altar call. It was the first time someone told me that I needed to ask Jesus into my heart. I had never heard of this before, growing up Lutheran, I was baptized, I went to church camp, I went to confirmation classes, I missed the memo about asking Jesus into my heart. I was also quite confused when I saw many of my friends asking Jesus into their hearts all the time. They would have big moments of conversion, then something would get in the way, they wouldn’t feel as close to their faith anymore, they would do a few things that definitely fell into the sin category, and there they would be again, marching down the aisle of the church and asking Jesus back into their hearts.
The days are coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people. I will put my law within them, I will write it on their hearts, I will be their God and they shall be my people.
That’s the funny thing about our hearts, on this celebration of Reformation, we remember that God has promised to be with us, to wash us in grace. There is no rhyme or reason to why God has chosen to be in relationship with us. Most of us haven’t asked for it, and if we have, we certainly have trouble living as if that is the truth. We are sinners, but called saints by a God who has made an unbreakable covenant with us, has written the law in hearts, has made us God’s people, has invaded our hearts, filled them, shaped them so that they can only be called the shape of God. Walter Brueggeman says, “this covenant is given by God without reason or explanation, God wants the relationship with the people and resolves to have it. So God declares that he will write himself into the people.” It isn’t about us asking, it is about God doing. God comes down, and fills us with God’s very presence. We don’t have to keep asking, we just have to feel into those places where God already is. It isn’t about our work, it is about God’s.
We need this reminder of reformation, because it reminds us of the shape of our hearts. We don’t need flashy programs or new ideas, the covenant has been written into our hearts, we are made in the shape of a God that is constant through time, a God who has promised that we will be in relationship with him regardless of ourselves. God has wormed into our hearts, written herself upon them, and we cannot get out of this relationship without cutting out part of our own hearts.
That’s where Jeremiah and John seem to meet. Because Jeremiah tells us about the law written on our hearts, and Jesus in John’s gospel promises us that it is the writing that will set us free. It is the inscription inside of us, that gives us freedom we can’t get from anywhere else. It isn’t about heritage or ancestry; it is about what God has done and continues to do. The celebration of Reformation, for as proud as it makes us to be Lutherans, isn’t the point. The point is what God has done, where God has gone, how far God will go to be in relationship with us, to set us free from all the binds us, from all those things that hold us prisoner. We are in constant reformation, because those sinful natures keep getting in the way, keep telling us that there is something that will be more satisfying that will give us more than a relationship with God.
We are the people that both Jeremiah and Jesus are speaking about. We are the people of God, we are the ones who receive this promise. We have been grafted into this everlasting covenant. We are the ones that God loves with such depth that nothing can separate us from that love. And yet, we are also with that gathered crowd in our gospel wondering how we could ever be slave to anyone or anything. We are the ones who will listen to the freedom of the gospel and then wonder if there is something a little less difficult out there to give us the same results. We can’t imagine that we have ever been slaves, that there are forces and sins that have such a deep hold on us that we can’t even see it anymore.
Today, we will celebrate with six young adults as they affirm the promises made in their baptisms. They will stand before us and decide for themselves that they are a part of this holy family. But, confirmation is not the end, it is only another beginning. Just as we seek constant reformation in our church, we also seek constant reformation in our lives. Because for as much as we desire to live into the freedom of the gospel, to taste the free gift of grace, sin gets in the way. We do not live as we ought. We forget these promises, we ignore God’s law, we turn off the voice inside of us that urges us to live as God’s faithful people. It is in that relationship with Christ that we are set free. It is in the love that God has for us that we are set free. We exchange all the pain, all the ugliness, all the sin and the sorrow, all those things that bind us and break us down, we exchange all of it, for a relationship with God. For a return to the way we were made. And it doesn’t end on one day. It doesn’t end with one promise. It is difficult work, coming back again and again and falling down only to be covered with grace.
The truth of Reformation is that God is always doing a new thing, always within us, always with us, always covering us with grace. We will be made free. We don’t ask God into our hearts, God is already there. God desires to be in relationship with us, even as we break our end of the bargain, even as we ignore what God has done and continues to do. This is a new kind of covenant, one that cannot be broken, and so it doesn’t count on us. It counts on God. Amen.
Weekly Texts: Reformation Sunday
First Reading
Jeremiah 31:31–34
31The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt — a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. 33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 46
1God is our ref- uge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved,
and though the mountains shake in the depths of the sea;
3though its waters rage and foam,
and though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
4There is a river whose streams make glad the cit- y of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be shaken;
God shall help it at the break of day.
6The nations rage, and the kingdoms shake;
God speaks, and the earth melts away. R
7The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
8Come now, regard the works of the LORD,
what desolations God has brought up- on the earth;
9behold the one who makes war to cease in all the world;
who breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the shields with fire.
10"Be still, then, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth."
11The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold. R
Second Reading
Romans 3:19–28
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For "no human being will be justified in his sight" by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.21But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.27Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.
Gospel
John 8:31–36
31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 33They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?"34Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Jeremiah 31:31–34
31The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt — a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. 33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 46
1God is our ref- uge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved,
and though the mountains shake in the depths of the sea;
3though its waters rage and foam,
and though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
4There is a river whose streams make glad the cit- y of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be shaken;
God shall help it at the break of day.
6The nations rage, and the kingdoms shake;
God speaks, and the earth melts away. R
7The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
8Come now, regard the works of the LORD,
what desolations God has brought up- on the earth;
9behold the one who makes war to cease in all the world;
who breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the shields with fire.
10"Be still, then, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth."
11The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold. R
Second Reading
Romans 3:19–28
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For "no human being will be justified in his sight" by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.21But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.27Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.
Gospel
John 8:31–36
31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 33They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?"34Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Sermon: 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
If you don’t know that there is an election in exactly 16 days, than you must be living under a rock. Whether it is local or national news, we are fully immersed in the political world these days, hearing about who we should vote for, who we shouldn’t vote for, and why one candidate over the other should have our vote. For any of you that watched the most recent presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, you heard plenty about a little guy from Ohio named Joe, who happens to be a plumber. Both Obama and McCain offered different explanations for what they would do for Joe the plumber, leaving many of us to think, who the heck is this Joe guy? But, at the base of all the promises to Joe was a question about taxes. Who will raise them for him and who will lower them? Who is being real about the taxes we are going to pay and who is trying to pull the wool over our eyes?
You can barely turn on the television without confronting someone who says that they are the person who is going to lower your taxes. And then, we arrive at church this morning, imaging that perhaps here we will get a break from hearing the back and forth, and what do we find Jesus talking about? Taxes.
Even if you haven’t read much of the bible, it would still be a surprise if you hadn’t at least a blurb of this passage before. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, give to God what is God’s. For some, these words have been the warrant to head off to the hills, establish their own compound and stop paying taxes. For others, it has been a big green light to keeping a strong barrier between their political and religious lives. There are two extremes to this text, and it seems that we often head towards one or the other, leaving the middle to those who are just confused. We find ourselves trying to identify as citizens of this country, all the while know that we are citizens of a very different kingdom, the kingdom of God, where things like the economy, the structures of power and privilege, and the very day to day of life are often completely different from what might be filtering out of Springfield or Washington, DC.
Jesus is confronted by a gathering of Pharisees and Herodians. They are odd bedfellows to say the least, the Herodians were those who defended and supported the rule of the land by Herod- direct and open supporters of the Roman occupation. This tax that they come asking about was an annual tribute tax sent to Rome, a total of one denarius for each person. This was, by no means, the largest of the taxes paid by the people. They also gave tithes to the temple, paid customs taxes as well as taxes on the land. The people who worked the land were forced into subsistence farming by these taxes, taking home only about 1/3 of the production of the land. So the question isn’t really about all taxes, it is about this particular tax, a tax that was supported by the Pharisees and collected by the Herodians.
So these two sets of leaders come to Jesus and begin with some false flattery. And then comes the big question- is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? This was the trap- either to make him lose favor with the people, oppressed by these taxes, or to cement him as a political threat, a teacher who was encouraging the people to openly defy the occupation. Either way, he was set to lose.
Which leaves us to wonder, how would we answer that question? Is it lawful for us to pay taxes? Are we first citizens of this country or world, or are we citizens the kingdom of God? Where do we have our primary allegiance? Can we really do both?
Jesus asks them for a coin, a coin bearing the face and title of Caesar. Most likely, it also included an inscription about Caesar’s divinity, he was considered descended from God to rule the people. And so Jesus tells them to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
Our greater church has a lot to say about this, but what I find most helpful is from our social statement on church and society, “The church must participate in social structures critically. Not only God but also sin is at work in the world. Social structures and processes combine life-giving and life-destroying dynamics in complex mixtures and in varying degrees. The church, therefore, must unite realism and vision, wisdom and courage, in its social responsibility. It needs constantly to discern when to support and when to confront society's cultural patterns, values, and powers.”
We’ve already given our allegiance, and it is an allegiance proclaimed in baptism. We are made children of God, marked with the cross of Christ, people who are called to live into the kingdom of God, making it manifest in the world. We are citizens of a kind of kingdom that is different than the one of this world, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t also, at the very same time, live in a country that both blesses and oppresses. That is what structures do- God can be found in them just as sin can corrupt them. We are citizens of both, living in the tension that this life creates. Do we pay taxes, of course. But, we don’t understand our money to come from anywhere but the hand of God. It isn’t a choice between Caesar or God- it is all God’s. What we give to Caesar, is still God’s. All we have and all we are is God’s, and so our primary allegiance will always be to that creator.
But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t pulled in all kinds of directions and our allegiance is sought after by all kinds of structures. We can ignore them, tell ourselves that they have no place and talk consistently about the evils of the world. Or we can whole heartedly fall into them, telling ourselves that our faith is relegated to only one teeny, tiny part of our lives. Either way, we lose. If we see the world around us, the political structures that have been set up, the secular world as evil, we miss the chance to discover our God hidden among the brokenness of the structure of the world. If we pretend that our faith is only something that effects us on Sunday mornings, we miss the incredible opportunity to bring our God into places that are hungry for what God is all about.
And so that is where we find Jesus’ answer to this tricky question. Somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t provide us with an easy answer, and I still find myself feeling a little uncomfortable when I see my tax dollars spent on things that I find grossly negligent of the needs of the world. But I give to Caesar what is Ceaser’s, remembering that in all reality, it is already all God’s. We are first and foremost, members of the kingdom of God, made children of God through baptism, taught to live in a world where we are marked by love and trust, hope and generosity. We can’t pretend it isn’t tricky to make our way in a world that doesn’t often reflect the gifts of God’s kingdom, but it is where we find ourselves. And regardless, we trust that because it is all God’s, because every breath and day are blessings of our God, because all we have and all we are is a blessing from God, that we are people of a different kind of kingdom. We are people of God, called to live in a broken world, called to proclaim a different kind of life. We live in the middle of the tension, in the already and not yet of the coming of the kingdom of God. Jesus gives us no easy answer, but instead a blessing to try it on our own, to be citizens of the kingdom of God while participating in the political structures of the world. We can’t separate the two, we can only live into the mystery, knowing that when we search, when we question, we will always find God. Amen.
You can barely turn on the television without confronting someone who says that they are the person who is going to lower your taxes. And then, we arrive at church this morning, imaging that perhaps here we will get a break from hearing the back and forth, and what do we find Jesus talking about? Taxes.
Even if you haven’t read much of the bible, it would still be a surprise if you hadn’t at least a blurb of this passage before. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, give to God what is God’s. For some, these words have been the warrant to head off to the hills, establish their own compound and stop paying taxes. For others, it has been a big green light to keeping a strong barrier between their political and religious lives. There are two extremes to this text, and it seems that we often head towards one or the other, leaving the middle to those who are just confused. We find ourselves trying to identify as citizens of this country, all the while know that we are citizens of a very different kingdom, the kingdom of God, where things like the economy, the structures of power and privilege, and the very day to day of life are often completely different from what might be filtering out of Springfield or Washington, DC.
Jesus is confronted by a gathering of Pharisees and Herodians. They are odd bedfellows to say the least, the Herodians were those who defended and supported the rule of the land by Herod- direct and open supporters of the Roman occupation. This tax that they come asking about was an annual tribute tax sent to Rome, a total of one denarius for each person. This was, by no means, the largest of the taxes paid by the people. They also gave tithes to the temple, paid customs taxes as well as taxes on the land. The people who worked the land were forced into subsistence farming by these taxes, taking home only about 1/3 of the production of the land. So the question isn’t really about all taxes, it is about this particular tax, a tax that was supported by the Pharisees and collected by the Herodians.
So these two sets of leaders come to Jesus and begin with some false flattery. And then comes the big question- is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? This was the trap- either to make him lose favor with the people, oppressed by these taxes, or to cement him as a political threat, a teacher who was encouraging the people to openly defy the occupation. Either way, he was set to lose.
Which leaves us to wonder, how would we answer that question? Is it lawful for us to pay taxes? Are we first citizens of this country or world, or are we citizens the kingdom of God? Where do we have our primary allegiance? Can we really do both?
Jesus asks them for a coin, a coin bearing the face and title of Caesar. Most likely, it also included an inscription about Caesar’s divinity, he was considered descended from God to rule the people. And so Jesus tells them to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
Our greater church has a lot to say about this, but what I find most helpful is from our social statement on church and society, “The church must participate in social structures critically. Not only God but also sin is at work in the world. Social structures and processes combine life-giving and life-destroying dynamics in complex mixtures and in varying degrees. The church, therefore, must unite realism and vision, wisdom and courage, in its social responsibility. It needs constantly to discern when to support and when to confront society's cultural patterns, values, and powers.”
We’ve already given our allegiance, and it is an allegiance proclaimed in baptism. We are made children of God, marked with the cross of Christ, people who are called to live into the kingdom of God, making it manifest in the world. We are citizens of a kind of kingdom that is different than the one of this world, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t also, at the very same time, live in a country that both blesses and oppresses. That is what structures do- God can be found in them just as sin can corrupt them. We are citizens of both, living in the tension that this life creates. Do we pay taxes, of course. But, we don’t understand our money to come from anywhere but the hand of God. It isn’t a choice between Caesar or God- it is all God’s. What we give to Caesar, is still God’s. All we have and all we are is God’s, and so our primary allegiance will always be to that creator.
But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t pulled in all kinds of directions and our allegiance is sought after by all kinds of structures. We can ignore them, tell ourselves that they have no place and talk consistently about the evils of the world. Or we can whole heartedly fall into them, telling ourselves that our faith is relegated to only one teeny, tiny part of our lives. Either way, we lose. If we see the world around us, the political structures that have been set up, the secular world as evil, we miss the chance to discover our God hidden among the brokenness of the structure of the world. If we pretend that our faith is only something that effects us on Sunday mornings, we miss the incredible opportunity to bring our God into places that are hungry for what God is all about.
And so that is where we find Jesus’ answer to this tricky question. Somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t provide us with an easy answer, and I still find myself feeling a little uncomfortable when I see my tax dollars spent on things that I find grossly negligent of the needs of the world. But I give to Caesar what is Ceaser’s, remembering that in all reality, it is already all God’s. We are first and foremost, members of the kingdom of God, made children of God through baptism, taught to live in a world where we are marked by love and trust, hope and generosity. We can’t pretend it isn’t tricky to make our way in a world that doesn’t often reflect the gifts of God’s kingdom, but it is where we find ourselves. And regardless, we trust that because it is all God’s, because every breath and day are blessings of our God, because all we have and all we are is a blessing from God, that we are people of a different kind of kingdom. We are people of God, called to live in a broken world, called to proclaim a different kind of life. We live in the middle of the tension, in the already and not yet of the coming of the kingdom of God. Jesus gives us no easy answer, but instead a blessing to try it on our own, to be citizens of the kingdom of God while participating in the political structures of the world. We can’t separate the two, we can only live into the mystery, knowing that when we search, when we question, we will always find God. Amen.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Weekly Texts: 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
First Reading
Isaiah 45:1–7
Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,whose right hand I have graspedto subdue nations before himand strip kings of their robes,to open doors before him — and the gates shall not be closed:2I will go before youand level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronzeand cut through the bars of iron,3I will give you the treasures of darknessand riches hidden in secret places,so that you may know that it is I, the LORD,the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4For the sake of my servant Jacob,and Israel my chosen,I call you by your name,I surname you, though you do not know me.5I am the LORD, and there is no other;besides me there is no god.I arm you, though you do not know me,6so that they may know, from the rising of the sunand from the west, that there is no one besides me;I am the LORD, and there is no other.7I form light and create darkness,I make weal and create woe;I the LORD do all these things.
Psalm 96:1–9 [10–13]
1Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2Sing to the LORD, bless the name of the LORD;
proclaim God's salvation from day to day.
3Declare God's glory a- mong the nations
and God's wonders a- mong all peoples.
4For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised,
more to be feared than all gods. R
5As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols;
but you, O LORD, have made the heavens.
6Majesty and magnificence are in your presence;
power and splendor are in your sanctuary.
7Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD hon- or and power.
8Ascribe to the LORD the honor due the holy name;
bring offerings and enter the courts of the LORD. R
9Worship the LORD in the beau- ty of holiness;
tremble before the LORD, all the earth.
[10Tell it out among the nations: "The LORD is king!
The one who made the world so firm that it cannot be moved will judge the peo- ples with equity."
11Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea thunder and all that is in it; let the field be joyful and all that is therein.
12Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy at your com- ing, O LORD,
for you come to judge the earth.
13You will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with your truth.] R
Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:Grace to you and peace.2We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
Gospel
Matthew 22:15–22
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" 21They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
Isaiah 45:1–7
Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,whose right hand I have graspedto subdue nations before himand strip kings of their robes,to open doors before him — and the gates shall not be closed:2I will go before youand level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronzeand cut through the bars of iron,3I will give you the treasures of darknessand riches hidden in secret places,so that you may know that it is I, the LORD,the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4For the sake of my servant Jacob,and Israel my chosen,I call you by your name,I surname you, though you do not know me.5I am the LORD, and there is no other;besides me there is no god.I arm you, though you do not know me,6so that they may know, from the rising of the sunand from the west, that there is no one besides me;I am the LORD, and there is no other.7I form light and create darkness,I make weal and create woe;I the LORD do all these things.
Psalm 96:1–9 [10–13]
1Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2Sing to the LORD, bless the name of the LORD;
proclaim God's salvation from day to day.
3Declare God's glory a- mong the nations
and God's wonders a- mong all peoples.
4For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised,
more to be feared than all gods. R
5As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols;
but you, O LORD, have made the heavens.
6Majesty and magnificence are in your presence;
power and splendor are in your sanctuary.
7Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD hon- or and power.
8Ascribe to the LORD the honor due the holy name;
bring offerings and enter the courts of the LORD. R
9Worship the LORD in the beau- ty of holiness;
tremble before the LORD, all the earth.
[10Tell it out among the nations: "The LORD is king!
The one who made the world so firm that it cannot be moved will judge the peo- ples with equity."
11Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea thunder and all that is in it; let the field be joyful and all that is therein.
12Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy at your com- ing, O LORD,
for you come to judge the earth.
13You will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with your truth.] R
Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:Grace to you and peace.2We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.
Gospel
Matthew 22:15–22
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" 21They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
Sermon: 22nd Sunday after Pentecost
When we read this parable at my text study this week, the pastor reading it finished by saying, “The gospel of the Lord?” And I definitely find myself in that camp this week, digging desperately into the words of Jesus read this morning and imagining that somewhere, buried in there, is some good news. I just couldn’t see it at first glance, and it didn’t get any more apparent the tenth time through, but I think there is something, buried within the text that speaks to us this morning.
Yesterday we held a wedding here at Irving Park. Only months ago I was planning my own wedding, so I feel for the king in this parable. People aren’t sending in their RSVP cards! And he is hosting a very important wedding, the wedding of his son. The invitations have gone out, he has killed the oxen and the fat calf. The tables are spread with the most decadent of food. So his servants go out to the get the guests, the a-list guests. And instead of straightening their ties and heading to the king’s feast, they turn their backs to return to their fields and their offices. They go back to the day to day of their lives and ignore this most important of invitations. The regular work of living crowds it out. And, so when the servants return without guests, the king sends them out one more time, to tell them what is in store for them. And they still don’t come. They ignore the invitation.
So he starts again, this time with a new slate of guests, anyone that will come off the street, good and bad, the people you would never expect at the table, and those that have been there all along. And so the wedding hall is filled. Just filled with guests.
Let’s just stop here. If this is another allegory, than we can fill in the cast of characters. Jesus is telling this parable to those same chief priests and elders we’ve been following the last few weeks. So we have to imagine that the banquet is being hosted by God, and that the invitation keeps going out, again and again, and those people in power keep ignoring it, because they are too caught up in the day to day of the temple, in the day to day of doing what they have always done, never stopping to consider that they might have gotten it all wrong. And because the invitation keeps getting ignored, God invites everyone to the table, and that means that the table gets filled with tax collectors and sinners, prostitutes, and addicts and every other character you can imagine. The party will go on, and if the invitation is ignored, God is still hosting it, and anyone can come.
So I get that. I mean, we talk about that all the time around here. We want our church to be the kind of place where all people will feel welcome, where the table is open for everyone. But, we’d miss a lot of this parable if we imagine that we are always ready to skip down the sidewalks to church and answer God’s invitation. I know that for years, I ignored God’s invitation to ministry. I thought I had some better things to do, maybe ways to make a bit more money. But that nagging call kept getting in my way. I kept feeling God tugging on my heart, and the world kept looking more and more broken to me. But God’s invitation isn’t just to pastors- God’s invitation is to all kinds of places and all kinds of situations. Sometimes, God’s invitation is to the celebration of new ministries, sometimes it is to bring new life to places where there is only death, and sometimes, God’s invitation is just to come to the table. The invitation is just to come into the community, to be born anew here, to be grafted into a new family. And that invitation is too often ignored. It gets crowded out. For the people in our parable, as Dr. Elton Richards suggests, the choice isn’t between good and evil. It isn’t as if the invitation was to the king’s banquet and the people instead chose unsavory activities. The choice was to do the good work of the land or to go to the king’s banquet. Both are good choices. And we get confused if we consider that those things that beg for our time, that cause us to crowd out God are going to be choices between good and evil. They won’t be that apparent. They might just be the choices between the everyday and the new life in Christ. And if our stomachs aren’t growling and our hearts aren’t broken, than we might not have that hunger for the kingdom of God. We might just be satisfied with the everyday. And so we’ll turn away from the invitation and go back to those things that will never be quite the spread of the banquet.
But the parable isn’t over yet. Because now the new slate of guests are feasting and celebrating, and then the king notices a man who isn’t dressed like the rest. He isn’t wearing a wedding robe. He has shown up, gotten his plates full of food, feasted with the rest of the guests, but he looks different. Now, here is what I know about wedding attire in this ancient community- when a celebration was being held, the people would wear longer, usually white robes. You did not attend this kind of celebration wearing the everyday cleaning out the garage kind of stuff. If you could not afford this kind of robe, you would borrow one from a neighbor. It was inconceivable to consider showing up at a celebration not wearing the right kind of attire. There are even some scholars who suggest that the King most likely provided robes for those in attendance. So to not wear a robe, means that you refuse to join in the rejoicing. You have only contempt for the host and the occasion.
Again, the guest has refused the invitation. Yes, he has shown up. He has taken his appropriate place at the table. But he isn’t interested in the celebration, he just wants the face time. Perhaps he just wants people to see that he is there, but he doesn’t care for the king or for the celebration. He doesn’t want to change even his clothing.
We believe the invitation is open to all. That God’s table is open to all. The love of God that we celebrate here is available to all. God’s love for us cannot be denied, it cannot be changed, it cannot be removed. But, we can refuse to be changed. We can refuse to let grace to change us. We can come here Sunday after Sunday, maybe even a few other days during the week, and we can hear the words and shake the hands, and all the while keep blocking up our hearts and refusing to let God in. Grace is free, but it does not leave us where we are. God expects more from us than just showing up. God expects us to do something, to respond somehow to the invitation.
This is a tough parable. But at its core is that invitation- the invitation to the banquet, the invitation to the celebration. We can ignore it, we can turn away, we can even show up and refused to be changed. But in all of this, we are not living into our full potential as children of God. We are settling with less than the best, with things that will never satisfy the same way. The invitation is open, to come to the table, to rejoice with God, and to be changed. How will we respond? Amen.
Yesterday we held a wedding here at Irving Park. Only months ago I was planning my own wedding, so I feel for the king in this parable. People aren’t sending in their RSVP cards! And he is hosting a very important wedding, the wedding of his son. The invitations have gone out, he has killed the oxen and the fat calf. The tables are spread with the most decadent of food. So his servants go out to the get the guests, the a-list guests. And instead of straightening their ties and heading to the king’s feast, they turn their backs to return to their fields and their offices. They go back to the day to day of their lives and ignore this most important of invitations. The regular work of living crowds it out. And, so when the servants return without guests, the king sends them out one more time, to tell them what is in store for them. And they still don’t come. They ignore the invitation.
So he starts again, this time with a new slate of guests, anyone that will come off the street, good and bad, the people you would never expect at the table, and those that have been there all along. And so the wedding hall is filled. Just filled with guests.
Let’s just stop here. If this is another allegory, than we can fill in the cast of characters. Jesus is telling this parable to those same chief priests and elders we’ve been following the last few weeks. So we have to imagine that the banquet is being hosted by God, and that the invitation keeps going out, again and again, and those people in power keep ignoring it, because they are too caught up in the day to day of the temple, in the day to day of doing what they have always done, never stopping to consider that they might have gotten it all wrong. And because the invitation keeps getting ignored, God invites everyone to the table, and that means that the table gets filled with tax collectors and sinners, prostitutes, and addicts and every other character you can imagine. The party will go on, and if the invitation is ignored, God is still hosting it, and anyone can come.
So I get that. I mean, we talk about that all the time around here. We want our church to be the kind of place where all people will feel welcome, where the table is open for everyone. But, we’d miss a lot of this parable if we imagine that we are always ready to skip down the sidewalks to church and answer God’s invitation. I know that for years, I ignored God’s invitation to ministry. I thought I had some better things to do, maybe ways to make a bit more money. But that nagging call kept getting in my way. I kept feeling God tugging on my heart, and the world kept looking more and more broken to me. But God’s invitation isn’t just to pastors- God’s invitation is to all kinds of places and all kinds of situations. Sometimes, God’s invitation is to the celebration of new ministries, sometimes it is to bring new life to places where there is only death, and sometimes, God’s invitation is just to come to the table. The invitation is just to come into the community, to be born anew here, to be grafted into a new family. And that invitation is too often ignored. It gets crowded out. For the people in our parable, as Dr. Elton Richards suggests, the choice isn’t between good and evil. It isn’t as if the invitation was to the king’s banquet and the people instead chose unsavory activities. The choice was to do the good work of the land or to go to the king’s banquet. Both are good choices. And we get confused if we consider that those things that beg for our time, that cause us to crowd out God are going to be choices between good and evil. They won’t be that apparent. They might just be the choices between the everyday and the new life in Christ. And if our stomachs aren’t growling and our hearts aren’t broken, than we might not have that hunger for the kingdom of God. We might just be satisfied with the everyday. And so we’ll turn away from the invitation and go back to those things that will never be quite the spread of the banquet.
But the parable isn’t over yet. Because now the new slate of guests are feasting and celebrating, and then the king notices a man who isn’t dressed like the rest. He isn’t wearing a wedding robe. He has shown up, gotten his plates full of food, feasted with the rest of the guests, but he looks different. Now, here is what I know about wedding attire in this ancient community- when a celebration was being held, the people would wear longer, usually white robes. You did not attend this kind of celebration wearing the everyday cleaning out the garage kind of stuff. If you could not afford this kind of robe, you would borrow one from a neighbor. It was inconceivable to consider showing up at a celebration not wearing the right kind of attire. There are even some scholars who suggest that the King most likely provided robes for those in attendance. So to not wear a robe, means that you refuse to join in the rejoicing. You have only contempt for the host and the occasion.
Again, the guest has refused the invitation. Yes, he has shown up. He has taken his appropriate place at the table. But he isn’t interested in the celebration, he just wants the face time. Perhaps he just wants people to see that he is there, but he doesn’t care for the king or for the celebration. He doesn’t want to change even his clothing.
We believe the invitation is open to all. That God’s table is open to all. The love of God that we celebrate here is available to all. God’s love for us cannot be denied, it cannot be changed, it cannot be removed. But, we can refuse to be changed. We can refuse to let grace to change us. We can come here Sunday after Sunday, maybe even a few other days during the week, and we can hear the words and shake the hands, and all the while keep blocking up our hearts and refusing to let God in. Grace is free, but it does not leave us where we are. God expects more from us than just showing up. God expects us to do something, to respond somehow to the invitation.
This is a tough parable. But at its core is that invitation- the invitation to the banquet, the invitation to the celebration. We can ignore it, we can turn away, we can even show up and refused to be changed. But in all of this, we are not living into our full potential as children of God. We are settling with less than the best, with things that will never satisfy the same way. The invitation is open, to come to the table, to rejoice with God, and to be changed. How will we respond? Amen.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Weekly Texts: 22nd Sunday after Pentecost
First Reading
Isaiah 25:1–9
O LORD, you are my God;I will exalt you, I will praise your name;for you have done wonderful things,plans formed of old, faithful and sure.2For you have made the city a heap,the fortified city a ruin;the palace of aliens is a city no more,it will never be rebuilt.3Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;cities of ruthless nations will fear you.4For you have been a refuge to the poor,a refuge to the needy in their distress,a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,5the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place,you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;the song of the ruthless was stilled.6On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoplesa feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.7And he will destroy on this mountainthe shroud that is cast over all peoples,the sheet that is spread over all nations;8he will swallow up death forever.Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,for the LORD has spoken.9It will be said on that day,Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.This is the LORD for whom we have waited;let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 23
1The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not be in want.
2The LORD makes me lie down in green pastures
and leads me be- side still waters.
3You restore my soul, O LORD,
and guide me along right pathways for your name's sake.
4Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. R
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. R
Second Reading
Philippians 4:1–9
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.2I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Gospel
Matthew 22:1–14
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' 5But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' 10Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.11But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. 13Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14For many are called, but few are chosen."
Isaiah 25:1–9
O LORD, you are my God;I will exalt you, I will praise your name;for you have done wonderful things,plans formed of old, faithful and sure.2For you have made the city a heap,the fortified city a ruin;the palace of aliens is a city no more,it will never be rebuilt.3Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;cities of ruthless nations will fear you.4For you have been a refuge to the poor,a refuge to the needy in their distress,a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,5the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place,you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;the song of the ruthless was stilled.6On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoplesa feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.7And he will destroy on this mountainthe shroud that is cast over all peoples,the sheet that is spread over all nations;8he will swallow up death forever.Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,for the LORD has spoken.9It will be said on that day,Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.This is the LORD for whom we have waited;let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Psalm (ELW)
Psalm 23
1The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not be in want.
2The LORD makes me lie down in green pastures
and leads me be- side still waters.
3You restore my soul, O LORD,
and guide me along right pathways for your name's sake.
4Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. R
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. R
Second Reading
Philippians 4:1–9
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.2I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Gospel
Matthew 22:1–14
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' 5But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' 10Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.11But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. 13Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14For many are called, but few are chosen."
Sermon: 21st Sunday after Pentecost
Twice we hear about a vineyard in our readings for today. Twice we hear about a disappointing vineyard. First, from the prophet Isaiah, God plants a vineyard on hill, clears it of stones, plants it with the choicest of grapes. But that vineyard doesn’t turn out the way God desired, God does not get what God expected. There is no justice, there is only bloodshed. There is no righteousness, there is only rubbish. And then we hear the parable spoken by Jesus this morning, right on the heels of our texts for the last two weeks. It is the same leaders of the temple that were asking about authority last week, it is the same crowd that caused them to fear. Now Jesus tells another parable, this time about a vineyard. The people hearing his words would have remembered Isaiah’s vineyard, the one that did not yield what God expected.
For those of us that have heard this parable before, it might have been explained as a simple allegory. The tenants are those wicked leaders, the servants sent by that landowner are the prophets- so those wicked leaders beat them and send them away. Then, God finally sends God’s son, Jesus, and those wicked leaders kill him. Even the end of the parable says that those leaders, who were seeking to destroy what Jesus had been building realized with great anger that he was talking about them. They had been ignoring and silencing those people God sent. But if that is the only layer of this parable, then the sermon should end here. Because that means this parable is stuck in a time we no longer live in, and it doesn’t have anything to do with us.
I think that there is so much more to the parable of the vineyard than just a condemnation of those leaders that sought to oppress the people through their power. I think there is much more in this parable that speaks to us this morning- because in so many ways we have become those wicked tenants.
Every morning over the last week I turned on NPR, and I was bombarded with stories about the bailout. There were people appalled that we are giving money to those rich people on wall street, there were people who said that if we don’t do this, if we don’t bail out the market than the sky is going to fall, credit will grind to a halt, and we will find ourselves in the middle of the grapes of wrath. Economists have been saying for months that things have gotten as bad as they are going to get, and then another morning rolls around and someone is telling us that things have actually gotten worse. We’re in real trouble.
And we are. We’re in trouble bailing out wall-street, and we’re in trouble if we hadn’t. We’re in trouble, because things have gotten so far out of control, we have been tilling the land for so long, we have become so obsessed with credit and the access to credit, that we have become completely separated from the one who really owns the land. Like those wicked tenants, we have forgotten who owns the land on which we live, the one who owns those things for which we labor, our primary relationship is not with the giver, the landowner, our primary relationship has shifted to the stuff that is produced. And it is one big risky, frightening disappointment, isn’t it?
Brian Stoffregen suggests that the parable of those wicked tenants is most about our inherent selfishness. We don’t want to accept that God has authority over us, that what we have, all of it is from God, it isn’t from us. It isn’t about us. When we hear that God asks us to live differently, to shift our primary relationship from the stuff of the creator to the very author of creation, that is a threat to our very economic lives. When we start getting crazy and throwing around words like stewardship, suggesting that in order to free ourselves from this obsession with money and credit and things, we ought to give that first ten percent of time and talent and treasure to the one who blessed us with them in the first place, it is then that those selfish attitudes start to boil up within us, and we find ourselves considering that it might be easier to get rid of God than to give back some of the things of this life. Instead of returning the profits of the land to the landowner, those tenants start to believe that those profits are their own, that they deserve them, that the own them, and so those servants coming to take them away are really coming to steal what is rightfully theirs. So they beat them, and stone them, and finally they kill the last one.
When we start to use words like stewardship, I know that for some of us, our minds start to wander, and we begin making mental grocery lists or imagining what we are going to order for brunch. But, we would be fools if we didn’t talk about money this week. It is all anyone is talking about, our leaders voted for a seven hundred billion dollar bailout. Things have gotten so bad that we need to spend seven hundred billion dollars for a hope that things will improve. I can’t even comprehend how much money that is. I can’t even wrap my mind around that many zeroes.
You know, this is a hard lesson for me. But, here’s the gospel truth. Credit is all rubbish. It isn’t hope. There isn’t true power in credit. There isn’t true power in the stuff of the land. That is what those tenants didn’t understand, and that is the force we have to fight. That stuff isn’t going to save us. That stuff isn’t going to make us truly secure. It just can’t. The profits of the land will just make us more and more anxious, more and more afraid that someone is going to come and take it away from us. When our primary relationship, when the thing that is most important to us, when we invest all our hope for the future in the profit, than it is going to keep falling apart again and again and again.
But here is the hope my friends. As Paul writes from prison to the Philippians, all those gains, they are nothing compared to what we have found in Christ. That’s the good news, and I promise that it is deeper and stronger than anything you’ll hear from wall street. We are just stewards, managers, of the blessings of God. All creation, all profit, all abundance, comes from the hand of God, and we are just those who hold it for now. And we can white knuckle grip the profits of the land, we can kill the messengers who suggest a new way of living. We can keep putting all our hope and all our faith in money and the market and credit. We can care more about the produce and the profit than about God our landowner. And it will keep spiraling out of control. Or we can reimagine a different kind of market, a different kind of world. We can reimagine a world where our grip on the stuff of this life is not as white knuckled. When the profits and the credit and the money are all just blessings from God, not God himself. We can reimagine a world where the thing we desire most is not a relationship with creation but a relationship with the creator. A relationship not with the stuff, but with the one who knits us together in our mother’s womb. Friends, our attitude has to change. And, I don’t have any simple answers. I struggle to get there myself. I don’t know how to always be generous, how to always be good stewards. But I do know that we aren’t there now. That things are not as they ought to be.
But we can begin. We can begin by seeking to grow in our stewardship of the abundant blessings of God. We can seek to grow in our ability to let go, to give back, to loosen our grips on the profits. I know it is scary. I know it is threatening. But on the other side of the release of all this stuff, there is freedom. Freedom to live without anxiety and fear. I know the argument sounds weak. Give up some of what you have, give it back to God the landowner, and you will find a freedom that you will never get from wall-street. But, I promise that it is true. Because it is all loss, it is all rubbish compared to what we have found in Jesus Christ. Amen.
For those of us that have heard this parable before, it might have been explained as a simple allegory. The tenants are those wicked leaders, the servants sent by that landowner are the prophets- so those wicked leaders beat them and send them away. Then, God finally sends God’s son, Jesus, and those wicked leaders kill him. Even the end of the parable says that those leaders, who were seeking to destroy what Jesus had been building realized with great anger that he was talking about them. They had been ignoring and silencing those people God sent. But if that is the only layer of this parable, then the sermon should end here. Because that means this parable is stuck in a time we no longer live in, and it doesn’t have anything to do with us.
I think that there is so much more to the parable of the vineyard than just a condemnation of those leaders that sought to oppress the people through their power. I think there is much more in this parable that speaks to us this morning- because in so many ways we have become those wicked tenants.
Every morning over the last week I turned on NPR, and I was bombarded with stories about the bailout. There were people appalled that we are giving money to those rich people on wall street, there were people who said that if we don’t do this, if we don’t bail out the market than the sky is going to fall, credit will grind to a halt, and we will find ourselves in the middle of the grapes of wrath. Economists have been saying for months that things have gotten as bad as they are going to get, and then another morning rolls around and someone is telling us that things have actually gotten worse. We’re in real trouble.
And we are. We’re in trouble bailing out wall-street, and we’re in trouble if we hadn’t. We’re in trouble, because things have gotten so far out of control, we have been tilling the land for so long, we have become so obsessed with credit and the access to credit, that we have become completely separated from the one who really owns the land. Like those wicked tenants, we have forgotten who owns the land on which we live, the one who owns those things for which we labor, our primary relationship is not with the giver, the landowner, our primary relationship has shifted to the stuff that is produced. And it is one big risky, frightening disappointment, isn’t it?
Brian Stoffregen suggests that the parable of those wicked tenants is most about our inherent selfishness. We don’t want to accept that God has authority over us, that what we have, all of it is from God, it isn’t from us. It isn’t about us. When we hear that God asks us to live differently, to shift our primary relationship from the stuff of the creator to the very author of creation, that is a threat to our very economic lives. When we start getting crazy and throwing around words like stewardship, suggesting that in order to free ourselves from this obsession with money and credit and things, we ought to give that first ten percent of time and talent and treasure to the one who blessed us with them in the first place, it is then that those selfish attitudes start to boil up within us, and we find ourselves considering that it might be easier to get rid of God than to give back some of the things of this life. Instead of returning the profits of the land to the landowner, those tenants start to believe that those profits are their own, that they deserve them, that the own them, and so those servants coming to take them away are really coming to steal what is rightfully theirs. So they beat them, and stone them, and finally they kill the last one.
When we start to use words like stewardship, I know that for some of us, our minds start to wander, and we begin making mental grocery lists or imagining what we are going to order for brunch. But, we would be fools if we didn’t talk about money this week. It is all anyone is talking about, our leaders voted for a seven hundred billion dollar bailout. Things have gotten so bad that we need to spend seven hundred billion dollars for a hope that things will improve. I can’t even comprehend how much money that is. I can’t even wrap my mind around that many zeroes.
You know, this is a hard lesson for me. But, here’s the gospel truth. Credit is all rubbish. It isn’t hope. There isn’t true power in credit. There isn’t true power in the stuff of the land. That is what those tenants didn’t understand, and that is the force we have to fight. That stuff isn’t going to save us. That stuff isn’t going to make us truly secure. It just can’t. The profits of the land will just make us more and more anxious, more and more afraid that someone is going to come and take it away from us. When our primary relationship, when the thing that is most important to us, when we invest all our hope for the future in the profit, than it is going to keep falling apart again and again and again.
But here is the hope my friends. As Paul writes from prison to the Philippians, all those gains, they are nothing compared to what we have found in Christ. That’s the good news, and I promise that it is deeper and stronger than anything you’ll hear from wall street. We are just stewards, managers, of the blessings of God. All creation, all profit, all abundance, comes from the hand of God, and we are just those who hold it for now. And we can white knuckle grip the profits of the land, we can kill the messengers who suggest a new way of living. We can keep putting all our hope and all our faith in money and the market and credit. We can care more about the produce and the profit than about God our landowner. And it will keep spiraling out of control. Or we can reimagine a different kind of market, a different kind of world. We can reimagine a world where our grip on the stuff of this life is not as white knuckled. When the profits and the credit and the money are all just blessings from God, not God himself. We can reimagine a world where the thing we desire most is not a relationship with creation but a relationship with the creator. A relationship not with the stuff, but with the one who knits us together in our mother’s womb. Friends, our attitude has to change. And, I don’t have any simple answers. I struggle to get there myself. I don’t know how to always be generous, how to always be good stewards. But I do know that we aren’t there now. That things are not as they ought to be.
But we can begin. We can begin by seeking to grow in our stewardship of the abundant blessings of God. We can seek to grow in our ability to let go, to give back, to loosen our grips on the profits. I know it is scary. I know it is threatening. But on the other side of the release of all this stuff, there is freedom. Freedom to live without anxiety and fear. I know the argument sounds weak. Give up some of what you have, give it back to God the landowner, and you will find a freedom that you will never get from wall-street. But, I promise that it is true. Because it is all loss, it is all rubbish compared to what we have found in Jesus Christ. Amen.
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