Searching for the Answer

Psalm 52

¹ Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
    Why do you boast all day long,
    you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
² You who practice deceit,
    your tongue plots destruction;
    it is like a sharpened razor.
³ You love evil rather than good,
    falsehood rather than speaking the truth.^[c]
4 You love every harmful word,
    you deceitful tongue!

⁵ Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
    He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from the land of the living.
⁶ The righteous will see and fear;
    they will laugh at you, saying,
⁷ “Here now is the man
    who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
    and grew strong by destroying others!”

⁸ But I am like an olive tree
    flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
    for ever and ever.
⁹ For what you have done I will always praise you
    in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
    for your name is good.


Luke 10: 38-42

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 Colossians 1: 15-28

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of^[g] your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

²⁴ Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.

*****

There is a Zen Buddhist fable, of a woman who's seeking the meaning of life. So eager is this woman to find life's meaning that she sells all she has, and sets off on a worldwide spiritual quest.

In a distant land, she hears rumors of one who knows the answer: an old man who lives in the mountains. Finally, in a small hut in the Himalayas, she finds him. She knocks on the door of his hut. He opens it, and invites her in for tea.

"No, thank you," she says, "I haven't come for tea. I'm seeking the meaning of life."

"You must have tea," the teacher says, and motions her to sit down.

All the time the water is boiling, the woman talks. The words tumble out of her mouth, rapid-fire. Having sought the wise teacher for so long, she now wants him to know everything about her. She tells him all her worries and doubts and anxieties, all the troubling thoughts that have kept her from sleeping at night. All the while, the teacher sits quietly, making the tea.

When it has reached the proper strength, he begins to pour her a cup; but she's oblivious to what he's doing. He keeps pouring, until the cup is full, then he pours some more. The woman looks down. She notices her cup is overflowing, that the tea is running to the edge of the table and dripping onto the floor. "Stop!" she exclaims. "There's no more room!"

"Just so," says the teacher. "You come here wanting something from me, but what am I to do? There is no more room in your cup. Come back when it is empty, and then we will talk."

The woman never did have to return to the master. For in the simple act of pouring her a cup of tea, he had taught her all she needed to know.[i]

******

We live in a time of questioning and searching.  Is what we are doing right? Should I be doing it another way? Why did they get the attention? Why? Why? Why? How? How? How? When? When? When? 

This morning’s lectionary text echoes this questioning throughout.  Here we find a psalmist questioning a “mighty man’s” response to the actions of the people- what really runs the world, love or evil? We also find Martha questioning Jesus about the actions of her sister Mary- why must Martha work alone?  One thing that I have learned this summer, begrudgingly I might add, is that there is a back story to most questions, whether the person realizes it or not.  Today I want to try to find the back story to these two questions.

This morning’s Psalm was written in a time when power and riches destroyed social order and presented a scandal for anyone who loved good and trusted in God[1].  It seems that this scandal is challenging the Psalmist to a point at which he loses it.  What is it that actually happened? Well, a common approach to this Psalm is that it describes when Doeg the Edomite told Saul of David’s guidance from the priest Ahimelek at Nob when David was fleeing from Saul- leading to the murder of multiple priests.  The “mighty man” is Doeg.  Personally? I can’t blame David for finally losing it and questioning Doeg’s actions! The world has been split at this point and the good guys are losing- David wants to know why. 

Now we come to the sisters- a relationship that I might understand a little bit more about seeing as how I have two of my own sisters.  Here we find one sister, Martha, hard at work while the other is sitting as Jesus’ feet.  I can imagine the annoyance and the stress all too well.  There is no telling how long Martha has been at work, but it doesn’t read to me like she only just started.  She sounds annoyed enough that maybe this isn’t the first time either.  Martha works, Mary relaxes- or at least that is how Martha sees it.  I would love to know who was older- is Mary the older sister who shoved her work off on Martha enough times that she is finally saying something?  I know both as a younger and older sister how that game goes and that once it has started, there seems to be no end.  Finally Martha find her out- Jesus.  HE will put the game to an end.  I can only imagine the look on Martha’s face when he responds.

In both of these cases, we find someone searching for an answer- in their mind, the ultimate answer.  They come with their back story, just like the lady in the Zen Buddhist fable; and just like that lady, they see an overflowing cup before them.  In both cases we find a response, but I am not convinced that we find comfort just yet.  In the Psalm, we find David encourage himself in verses eight and nine as he reminds both himself and the reader that he is like a green olive tree in the house of God… trusts in the steadfast love of God forever… will thank God forever because of what has been done… and will continue to proclaim God’s name.  This doesn’t quite explain what runs the world overall, but it reassures David of what runs HIS world.  In the case of Mary and Martha, we find Jesus responding to Martha’s plea by telling her that she has need of only one thing and it seems to me that the one thing is not the cleaning.  Again, we find comfort but quite frankly, I don’t know about y’all but like the women who went to the old man, I want an answer! Why continue to proclaim God’s name when the power continues to go to the opposite? What one thing is needed beyond prepared food and a clean kitchen to eat in?  I am a person who likes to have an answer… these stories aren’t helping me in that arena.  Right now even I feel very much like the woman who went to the old man likely felt as she left- confused and covered in tea…

This is where Paul comes in- good ole’ Paul, he always does a great job of summing things up.  In this morning’s text, Paul is responding to a plea of the Colossians who are at odds with their neighbors who are challenging their faith.  Which way is the right way?

Has that ever happened to you? I know it happens to me almost daily.  I am embarrassed to admit it, but almost every morning before I get out of bed I will grab my phone and check Facebook.  I scroll through my homepage and see the status updates- a few that I agree with, a few that I could care less about, and many more that challenge my beliefs politically and religiously.  After I get my shower, I go downstairs and turn on the news while I have breakfast and get ready for the day.  It is almost guaranteed that at least one of the stories will aggravate me and challenge me.  Listening to the radio on the way into work is no different.  Things get to be a whole lot of fun once I arrive at work where I work with six other chaplains of different religious backgrounds.  We spend the day discussing different situations and how we would respond based on our own beliefs and I would be lying if I said there weren’t times that I wanted to scream because of the disagreement that I have with some of what is said.  I think I could safely say that I understand, at least a little bit, where the Colossians are coming from with their concerns.  I start the day thinking I have things straight, and before I get out of bed I am questioning myself and those around me.  Which way is right? Am I wrong? But this is what I believe! Why are you challenging me?

In verse 21 of this morning’s text, Paul brings the problem to surface- the Common English Bible reads like this- “Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies with him in your minds, which was shown by your evil actions.  But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death, to present you before God as a people who are holy, faultless, and without blame.”  So there we have it- the initial problem of feeling as if we are alienated from God, and the solution- Christ, the one who is the physical incarnation of God and the one who reconciled not just one group of people, but all people.  Christ, the one who is so beautifully described in the Christological Hymn in verses 15-20.

I am a big fan of the way Paul works- he doesn’t leave things undone.  Just in case there is any question, Paul continues with an explicit charge to the people of Colossae- “continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven”.  Ok- so let’s lay this out real quick to make sure we are all on the same page-

When someone challenges what you believe (as happened to David when Doeg rewarded evil and to Martha who thought that she shouldn’t be the only one cleaning), first remember that we have reconciled to God through Christ despite our actions, and that we should follow this up by continuing in our faith and hope that we have learned from the gospel. 

So now, if we rewind and go back to the Psalm we find a very irritated David who doesn’t understand what is going on with the world but continues to hold onto his own faith despite what he is seeing around him.  David is a model for many of us- even before Jesus sat with Mary and Martha and before Paul wrote to the Colossians, David thought to look to the Lord for his guidance and support in his time of questioning.  David recognized that this relationship was the answer to all questions he could ask and he seems to have the idea that since it works for him, he will defy social pressure and stick with it.

When we look back at Mary and Martha, we can listen to Jesus tell the frustrated Martha “only one thing is needed- Mary has chosen what is better for her and it will not be taken away from her”.  There is much debate about what this one thing is, however I would venture to say that this one thing is what Paul spoke of- the recognition of her relationship with Christ and continuing to strengthen her faith- to sit with her sister at the feet of her teacher and friend.

It is hard to make it through the day without questioning why something happens the way it does or to not have our beliefs questioned and challenged.  And this is clearly nothing new.  Since the beginning of time people have struggled with this.  In today’s world we can be questioned on any number of things- what is important though is not the question, but the response.  When someone challenges us, do we fall into the temptation to let loose on them and tell them the many reasons why we are right and they wrong? Or do we look to God, recognizing that through Jesus Christ we are reconciled and come into relationship with God- praising God’s name just as David did and just as Jesus alluded to with Martha?

An old Zen Buddhist fable speaks of a woman who was searching for the answer.

An old psalm speaks of a man who was searching for the answer.

An old gospel text speaks of a woman who was searching for the answer.

An old letter speaks of a community who was searching for the answer.

The woman never did have to return to the master. For in the simple act of pouring her a cup of tea, he had taught her all she needed to know.

The man never did have to worry, for in the simple act of pouring out his love and life for God he learned all he needed to know.

The sister never did have to worry about the work, for in the simple act of stopping to listen she learned all she needed to know.

The community never did have to fight, for in the simple act of believing and hoping they learned all they needed to know.

Today’s newsfeed speaks of a world that is searching for the answer, however we don’t have to worry for all we need to know is that we are reconciled through Christ in God despite our actions, we should follow this up by continuing in our faith and hope.

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[1] Interpretation

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[i] http://www.sermonsuite.com/free.php?i=788034126&key=qN1us5dnmoicVdox

Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done...

This sermon is one that came in the middle of a sermon series on the Lord's Prayer at my home church on June 23, 2013.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10


for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3: 26-29


"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19: 33-34


“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

We speak of God’s kingdom all of the time- but do we really know what it is? Well, if we are willing to sit down and hash it out, we can start in the Gospels where Jesus uses parables to speak of the kingdom of God. I chose to not do that this morning for a reason- we would be reading a whole lot, and I think Paul sums it up very nicely in his letter to the Galatians- “In Christ, There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female.”

The focus of most, if not all, of Paul’s letters was unity in Christ. Knowing that Christ is the incarnation of God, this is not surprising that Paul would strive to put this unity focus in his teachings because it is through our unity in Christ that we come into unity with God. It is as simple as that… or is it?

We cannot, even for a second, deny that there is diversity around us. Even if we limit our scope to this sanctuary, or even the pew where we are sitting, we see that we are unique. Every person has a unique appearance, a unique dialect, a unique job, a unique set of beliefs… I could go on for hours, but you get the point. However, even though we are all unique, we have one common thread holding us together- that we are all the children of God.

Just a few weeks ago, Rev. Sherrod baptized Ella Grace Hilliard. One very important aspect of that baptism was the communal recognition of our own baptisms. Whenever one is baptized, all are re-baptized. The significance in this is that through this recognition of our own individual baptism, we are also recognizing that we are all baptized in the same name of Jesus Christ, the son of God and that we are all children of God.

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Paul points to this same baptism to explain that there is no separation between one person and the next. This was in a time of upheaval and strong belief that if someone was not like you, they were wrong. I hate to say it, but it probably wasn’t too far from where we are today. What is even more astonishing is that Paul doesn’t just bring all of those in the present into union, but ties them to the past as well- taking this unity as far back as Abraham, assuring that those who are in Christ are the descendents of Abraham and therefore part of the covenant with God.

We see in other letters from Paul that he does not totally do away with those things that make us unique- he addresses slaves as slaves, men and women accordingly, and even continues to use ethnic distinctions. These are not things that can be done away with- the point that Paul is trying to make is that because we are all children of God, these distinctions do not matter to God.

When we jump back to the laws in the book of Leviticus- we see that this lack of distinction wasn’t completely foreign- "When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.”

Well, dictionary.com defines a stranger as a person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like, as a visitor or guest. There is no mention here of “this does not include…” So there you have it- even in the book of laws that many people turn to in order to cast someone out, we are told that we are to welcome those people in and to love them as ourselves. Throughout Leviticus 19 we find a great focus put on strengthening one’s relationship with their neighbor, whether they are a neighbor whom you have known for your entire life or someone who has come from an outside land.

What’s more is this law and deterioration of boundaries was not just set by some random person, but rather this law and all of those in this chapter are handed down to Moses by YHWH- further enforced throughout by the Hebrew phrase, “אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם “ (Ani Adonai Elohachem), translated as “I the Lord am your God”. For this reason, these were never taken lightly.

Have you ever tried to sit down and have a conversation with someone who did not agree with you? Unless you are a rarity, I bet you were quite uncomfortable- arms crossed and very guarded, and maybe even a bit defensive. We all fall into that mode on occasion if something we believe is being challenged. If someone says or does something that makes us uncomfortable, we retaliate- it is the human thing to do. But I wonder- what would happen if we actually engaged in conversation with this person rather than arguing and defending? That is what the law given to Moses is trying to get the people to do- to essentially sit down and engage rather than argue; to welcome one another in rather than to slam the door shut.

I think we are all familiar with the story of the ugly duckling- the version that I remember goes something like this…

One dark stormy night, when the wind was so strong it could pick up a boulder, a nest of eggs sitting by the lake was disturbed. One egg, much lighter than a boulder, was pushed down the hill by the wind until it came to rest in a new nest. The mother duck, not knowing how in the world one of her eggs slipped out from underneath her, quickly pulled the lost egg into her warmth- and there is sat until it came time to hatch.

Well, the day finally came and the eggs began to hatch. As the eggs hatched, beautiful baby ducklings climbed out of the shell and began to waddle around. One egg didn’t hatch though. Very worried, the mother duck found her spot sitting on the egg once more until finally it began to move. The ducklings and their mother gathered around, very excited, and watched as they saw the cracks slowly creep through the egg until finally a large grey head popped out from the egg. Very confused, the ducklings began to look at one another and then to this new duckling- they were each a beautiful yellow, but this new duck was grey! Something was terribly wrong.

As the ducks began to grow and learn their way around the pond, the grey duck who we will call “Buster” for the sake of the story, was always left out. His brothers and sisters made fun of him and left him out of the games they played. When they saw him coming, they would quickly swim away. It seemed that the only duck who loved him was his mother. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to get her other children to recognize Buster as part of the family, but she never shut him out. She fed him, swam with him, relaxed with him- mother never let her baby be alone.

And then it happened- one morning when Buster woke up, he looked up and saw all eyes on him and all beaks dropped open. Very confused, Buster waddled over to the lake and looked down at his reflection- he was no longer the goofy looking grey ball of feathers, but a beautiful swan. His brothers and sisters had spent so much time ignoring him that they never saw Buster’s transformation but his mother just smiled since she saw the whole thing happen.

Do you see the connection? This story that we use to teach our children the importance of not shutting a person out because they are different, isn’t really just for the kids. This story is a perfect summation of why we should let go of our differences and welcome one another in. I don’t know that the mother duck ever truly thought that this egg was hers since I think we all know that a mother is the first to see a difference in her children, but she saw that it was in need and she took it under her wings. Even after the eggs hatched and she saw that Buster was different, she never cast him out but continued to nurture him the way that only a loving parent could do. I don’t think I would be too far off base if I suggested that this is the way that God see’s us- we are all different, however no difference is ever enough that God would cast out a child. Just as the mother duck encouraged her ducklings, who did not listen, to include Buster God encourages us and even gave us a law.

This is the point when it can be all to easy to say “Well, this all sounds great but Paul wasn’t speaking to us- he was speaking to the Galatians… and the laws were given to Moses to give to the Isrealites… not us.” Remember that baptism though? The one that established that we are all children of God, not just connected to those people living today but all the way back to Abraham? Paul was in fact speaking to us and the laws were not just for the Isrealites. As Christians we too are called to look beyond all differences and distinctions and to welcome strangers in.

Theologian Freidrich Schleiermacher addresses the Kingdom of God in his writings about eschatological hope. In it, Schleiermacher explains that the Kingdom of God will come when all of humanity comes into full God-consciousness, essentially meaning that all of humanity not only recognizes but is completely dependent on God.

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The original greek actually tells us that while the kingdom has been and continues to be present in heaven, it is not yet here on earth- so how do we get there? How will all of humanity recognize and become completely dependent on God, bringing the ever present kingdom in heaven into presence here on earth?

Well- I think that Paul and, let’s just throw it out there, YHWH give us a great start. When we strive to look past all earthly distinctions of age, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, education, social status, economic status, and any and all other distinctions which are present, we subsequently begin to welcome in those strangers that YHWH spoke of to Moses. When we can begin to look to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can begin to work towards bringing the Kingdom of God into action here on earth.

Last week I took a few minutes to sit down with our church’s bulletin to see how we are breaking down boundaries and welcoming all who we come across into the coming kingdom of God. I was very pleased with what I saw- every week we open our doors to at least five groups- Mother’s Morning Out, Girl Scouts, AA, AA/ Alanon, and the Career Transitions Support Group. Our prayer list includes not just members, but friends and family of members- last week there were five in the total twelve prayer concerns. The announcements start with an invitation to all in the greeting- “We invite you.” We also included two organizations outside of our church which we support. I would be willing to say that we are on the right track! But, if I have learned anything during my four weeks working as a chaplain, it is that we have to be willing to ask the tough questions. So here goes…

We open the doors so other groups can use our facilities, but is there ever a member presence? Has anyone ever been here to welcome people or to offer further hospitality? What can we do for these groups who regularly use our facilities, so that they know we are more than just a building? I know that we have made efforts periodically, but are we consistent and intentional with these efforts?

We read names in the bulletin- in many cases the same names for weeks and months on end. Do we as a church do anything to reach out to these friends and family so that they know we are not only praying for them on Sunday morning but continually thinking of them?

We send flip flops to Raleigh Rescue Mission, but have we thought about going down there to learn about what they do and maybe even work for a little bit? I can tell you from experience with Summer In The City- they have a huge food pantry that is always in need of organizing.

What can we do as God’s Children once we, both as a church and as individuals, reach out a bit further? LISTEN. What is the story behind the story? When we meet that person who takes us out of our comfort zone, imagine what we can learn if we actually listen to what they are saying. We may not understand everything that we are hearing, and we may not agree- but we are all God’s Children. God doesn’t focus on our differences and let them get in the way of God’s love, so why do we let them get in the way of our own love?

As humans, we come to know God through our earthly relationships- those relationships that we foster can be the avenue for the Kingdom to truly come and for God’s will to be done. As Jonathan said last week, “we are called to live lives that are sacred and set apart”. My follow-up to that would be that in breaking boundaries and looking beyond what makes us different from one another, we begin to live out one aspect of the sacred and set apart life. Jesus Christ ate with the sinners and outcasts, but who determines who that is? Unfortunately, humanity does. When we can go beyond these definitions of who we think other people are, and just open up and be with all of God’s children we will truly be setting the stage for the kingdom to finally come.

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The kingdom and will of God are already and continue to be present… what role will we play as both individuals and the church to help to bring that kingdom and will of God into the world today? It won’t happen all at once, but we can definitely start today.

Daddy, Help Me!

This sermon is one that was based on an exegetical paper for Old Testament (my last one!!!) and written for a local retirement community in Richmond, VA where I had the privilege to preach this morning.

Psalm 27

1 Of David-

The Lord is my light and my salvation,

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life,

Of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the evil ones approached me to consume me;

my adversaries and oppressors,

they stumble and fall.

3 If an army camp against me,

my heart will not fear,

if battle arise on me,

in this I trust.

4 One thing I asked of the Lord,

that do I seek,

to dwell in the house of the Lord

all of my living days,

to see the delightfulness of the Lord,

to seek in his temple.

5 He will hide me in his dwelling place in the evil days,

Hide me in the refuge of his tent,

Raise me upon a rock.

6 Now is my head high,

Over my enemies around me,

I offer sacrifices in his tent, sacrifices of joyful shouts,

Let me sing and make music for the Lord.

7 Hear my voice, O Lord, when I call out,

Be gracious to me and answer me.

8 To you my heart says,

“Seek my face, Lord, I seek your face.”

9 Do not hide your face from me,

Do not turn away your servant in anger.

You have been my help,

Do not forsake me, do not abandon me,

O God, my salvation.

10 My father and mother leave me,

But God will take me in.

11 Show me your way, O Lord

Lead me on a level path

Because of my enemies.

12 Do not give me to the soul of my foes,

Because false witnesses have risen against me,

and he that breathes out violence.     

13 If I did not believe that I will see
the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living

14 Wait for the Lord,

Let your heart be strong and take heart,

And wait for the Lord.

Today it seems like every kid is born knowing how to swim.  My two and three year old nieces are little water bugs and have been for at least a year.  I wasn’t quite so excited about the water when I was little.  I didn’t grow up being able to go to the pool whenever I wanted- yes, my neighborhood had a pool but it wasn’t great and we couldn’t afford a membership but we did occasionally go to another pool if the housework was done and we had enough time on the weekend (a very rare occasion since both Mom and Dad worked on the weekends).  Not to mention packing up three young girls to go to the pool couldn’t have been an easy task for my parents.  My sister’s and I didn’t get to go to swim lessons every week either, so on these few occasions when we did go to the pool our Dad would jump in and try to teach us.  I will never forget holding onto the side of the pool and extending my legs out behind me and kicking with all of my might while Daddy kept his hand right underneath me to keep me up.  As far as I was concerned that was all I needed- a wall and Daddy’s hand.  Unfortunately I quickly learned that holding onto the wall and keeping Daddy that close wouldn’t get me across the pool and I kept trying- every time we went to the pool I would start at the wall and try to let go.  

The whole swimming thing never really kicked in though until I was in fourth grade and at a pool party with all of my friends.  Nothing is more embarrassing than being the only one who can’t swim, so I just didn’t tell anyone.  Instead I took a deep breath, remembered all that Dad had taught me over the previous years, jumped into the 5-foot section… and swam.  I was beyond excited! That summer I took the swim test at camp in the 10-foot section and even though I wasn’t the fastest or the best, nothing could stop me because I could finally swim!  Every time I jumped into the pool I went through the same process- deep breath, remember what Daddy taught me, and jump.  It always worked.

Today’s Psalm shows David with a very similar attitude about life.  In these first verses we find a person who not only has high self-confidence (something I was definitely lacking until that pool party), but he also had incredible confidence in the Lord- and why not? Life is great! David writes with the tone that sounds like he is relaxing in a floating chair on the pool with a sweet tea and his iPod playing quietly.  Maybe it is during “adult swim” so David knows that no kid is going to come splash him or flip him over so there is nothing to worry about. 

 

David opens his psalm with something that I have always thought of as one of the ultimate praises in the Bible- “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?”  Throughout the whole of scripture the term “light” is used to denote perfect happiness.  David opens his psalm speaking of the perfect happiness that he feels because of the Lord- is there any greater affirmation? For many of us, even if we are only “pretty happy” we feel as if nothing can stop us, so I can’t even begin to grasp just how confident David feels knowing and that the Lord is on his side.  Going on in the text, David answers that question- he is so confident that no one will be able to approach him and if they try, he isn’t even afraid.  David’s confidence and trust in God is so great that an army can come against him and he won’t fear.  I assume that like most other armies they could be carrying weapons, riding horses, and wearing some kind of terrifying clothing while yelling all sorts of things… ok, so maybe I have the movie Braveheart playing in my head.  The point is that David is not praying for protection- he knows it is there.  

I recently found myself talking to a swim coach who works mostly with adults.  I asked him what the hardest part of coaching adults was and he began to explain that adults know too much.  We are aware of the complications that can occur when swimming if we don’t have a strong enough stroke or breathe correctly or tilt our head correctly.  Every summer we see the unfortunate stories on the news of someone drowning, and if we have low self-confidence in the pool we are more likely to remember those stories.  The coach continued to tell me that he preferred coaching children because they have much less fear if not no fear- water is just a big playground to them (I must have missed that memo as a child learning to swim).  Children don’t think things through to figure out exactly what needs to be done and they very likely don’t watch the news and then remember the tragic stories that they might have seen.  Children are more than excited to jump into the water and go- usually the one thing that holds the children back is the fear of the parents who very worriedly slip on the water wings (with good reason) before letting their children jump.  Since I had already been thinking about the text for today’s worship service, I couldn’t help but think about David when these differences were explained to me.  Just as the children have no fear and jump into the pool as if it is nothing, David had no fear and continued through life as if it was nothing- God was on his side and had already given David his water wings and that was all that mattered.  David didn’t waste time trying to think through every possible scenario or technique- David simply trusted.

What is even more impressive to me is that the only thing that David is asking for in these first verses is that he be in communion with the Lord for all of his life.  And what a significant prayer that is as it once again shows us just how much self-confidence and God-confidence David has- enough that he isn’t praying for anything other than to be with God. 

I think I could say that after I learned to swim I was fairly confident- maybe not as confident as David but I was definitely excited about life.  I remember going camping in Brevard, NC with my family later that summer.  The outside temperature was probably in the 90s since it was early August so we needed a way to cool off.  Sliding Rock is a natural water slide in Pisgah Forest- one huge rock that has been smoothed out by the 54-degree water that flows down into a ten-foot deep pool at the bottom.  This water slide is quite popular during the later months of the summer since nothing can cool you off quite like plunging into that pool of water at the bottom.  Well, after watching teenagers go speeding down the rock for about ten minutes I decided not to test my luck but so much and found the slower side of the rock that would only dump me into about six or seven feet of this ridiculously cold water.  Mom and Dad watched from up top with my baby sister- probably at least fifty feet up- while my older sister and I went to slide.  My turn finally came so I sat down on that cold rock, and seeing my big sister waiting in the pool of water after taking her first slide, pushed off.  What I didn’t realize was that I sat down on the edge of the slow side so the current pulled me over and I went speeding down the rock and was thrown into the ten-foot pool of water.  I was terrified and it was as if I had forgotten how to swim- I was sure that I was going to drown.

This psalm takes about as drastic as a turn as my slide down the rock did- in verse seven we find a much less confident David.  “Hear, O Lord, I cry aloud!” We don’t know what has happened, but that isn’t important.  Our very self-confident and God-confident friend is not so self-confident anymore.  We get the idea that David’s incredible prayer that the only thing he wanted, to live in communion with God, wasn’t answered as he pleas for the Lord to not hide the Lord’s face.  David is fulfilling a command given to the Israelites years before, to continually seek the face of the Lord, but it seems that David can’t find it.  Something has happened to shake him and all of the affirmation and praise that we heard in the opening verses has been turned on its head as we feel the fear that David is now expressing.  David’s fear is so great that he even begs the Lord to not turn him away.  It seems that this is quite possibly the furthest David has ever felt from the Lord, however he continues to pray.  We don’t find David cursing the Lord or asking why whatever this is has happened to him, instead we find him praying through a string of imperatives and these imperatives alone create a very real plea- “Hear, O Lord. Be gracious. Do not hide your face from me.  Do not turn your servant away, Do not cast me off, do not forsake me. Teach me your way, lead me on a level path. Do not give me up!” I don’t think it would be a far stretch to say that we have all prayed this prayer at one time or another.  However, through all of these very strong and passionate pleas, David closes his psalm with a word of hope as he reminds himself and his readers that through all of this he continues to believe that he will one day see the goodness of the Lord in this life.

We have all had this moment.  Maybe some of us are experiencing it now.  That moment when we don’t know what else to do other than to pray… if we can even think that far.  Maybe we received bad news about a family member… or maybe the stresses of our economy are hitting just a bit too close to home… maybe we have been presented with a challenge that we just don’t know how to even start handling it… it can be a number of things and unfortunately sometimes it is a number of things all at once.  What we can learn from David is that we can still pray to the Lord- through it all, we can pray.  This is a message that it is woven in all over the Old Testament as our ancestors came across any number of challenges, yet continued to pray.  It doesn’t matter what we say in these prayers and it doesn’t matter if we are upset- as long as we continue the conversation the relationship will continue.  

What makes this just a bit easier is keeping the conversation going all of the time, not just when we are losing all confidence and don’t know what to do.  This psalm can be read in a very cyclical nature, over and over again, that is very real to life.  Do one thing for me- take a moment and listen as I read the psalm once more, only this time when I read the very first line “Of David”, change it from David to your own name and continue to hear the psalm as if it were your own story.

1 Of David-

The Lord is my light and my salvation,

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life,

Of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the evil ones approached me to consume me;

my adversaries and oppressors,

they stumble and fall.

3 If an army camp against me,

my heart will not fear,

if battle arise on me,

in this I trust.

4 One thing I asked of the Lord,

that do I seek,

to dwell in the house of the Lord

all of my living days,

to see the delightfulness of the Lord,

to seek in his temple.

5 He will hide me in his dwelling place in the evil days,

Hide me in the refuge of his tent,

Raise me upon a rock.

6 Now is my head high,

Over my enemies around me,

I offer sacrifices in his tent, sacrifices of joyful shouts,

Let me sing and make music for the Lord.

7 Hear my voice, O Lord, when I call out,

Be gracious to me and answer me.

8 To you my heart says,

“Seek my face, Lord, I seek your face.”

9 Do not hide your face from me,

Do not turn away your servant in anger.

You have been my help,

Do not forsake me, do not abandon me,

O God, my salvation.

10 My father and mother leave me,

But God will take me in.

11 Show me your way, O Lord

Lead me on a level path

Because of my enemies.

12 Do not give me to the soul of my foes,

Because false witnesses have risen against me,

and he that breathes out violence.     

13 If I did not believe that I will see
the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living

14 Wait for the Lord,

Let your heart be strong and take heart,

And wait for the Lord.

Life can present us with a whole lot of good, and a whole lot of bad.  There are times when we live like the little kids at the pool who jump in without a worry in the world, other times we might be more cautious like when I chose to slide down the slower side of the rock, and then there are the unfortunate times when life throws us into the deep end even though we took all of the precautions.  Our own self-confidence actually has very little, if anything, to do with how things happen.

That afternoon when I sat down on the rock, I was sure that I was about to have the time of my life and had already decided I would go down at least ten more times but then I felt myself pick up speed and hit the water- I was terrified, I forgot how to swim, and I was sure that I was going to drown and I probably would have… except that the next thing I knew I was in my Daddy’s arms- the same Daddy who seconds before was standing about 50-feet above me with my Mom and baby sister.  I was cold and shaken up, but I was ok because Daddy had me.

And that is just how the psalm closes.  Many commentators suggest that the final verse of the psalm is not the word of David at all, but rather a salvation oracle.  These final words are the words that we can carry with us throughout all of our days, both good and bad, just as I carry the swim lessons and even more importantly the memory of my Daddy holding me every time I am near a pool or waterfront.  As you go out into the world, remain confident in both yourself and the Lord when possible… but always remember that even when you feel that you can’t handle what life is throwing at you, you can still continue to talk to God and be confident that the Lord is on your side.  In all that you do, remember the final words of today’s psalm-

14Wait for the LORD;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the LORD!

In the name of God, our rock and our salvation, Amen.

 

Let Me See Your Papers

This is a sermon that I wrote for my "Preaching as Pastoral Care" class in response to a situation where the church was casting out others based on the simple fact that the congregation was made uncomfortable by them, due to something they could not control.  Since this happens all too often and is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately, I wanted to post this for people to ponder over. Enjoy!

¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

John 2: 15-17

 

           

         

            The opening scenes of the recent film adaption of the classic, “Les Miserable” by Victor Hugo show a man, Jean Valjean, being “released” from slavery into a life where he will always be on parole and must check in with the authorities every 30 days.  As he travels the French countryside in search of a new life, Valjean stops and asks for work from a man who immediately asks for his papers, and upon seeing the terms of his “release” tells him there is no work for him.  Valjean continues his journey, stopping to warm his hands and body by a fire pit but is turned away by the others because of his papers- mind you, these people do not appear to be of any wealthy status and are likely freed slaves as well.  Finally, a priest takes him into the convent and gives him a warm meal and place to sleep.  In the middle of the night, Valjean fills his bag with all of the silver that he can and flees the convent only to be caught by the authorities, beat up, and returned to the convent.  “He says you gave him this,” the authorities tell the priest as they open the bag to reveal all of the silver. 

            Most of us can probably think of a time when we were shunned and cast out by those who we were sure would accept us or maybe we have even done the shunning. It happens in our schools as children who might not dress the same or play the same games are left out of the circle.  It happens in the workplace when someone may not be on the same track as the others- working either above or below standard.  It happens in families when a family member messes up one time too many and the rest of the family is tired of dealing with it.  It even happens in churches when someone doesn’t fit in with the rest of the congregation- maybe it is because of their job, their economic status, where they live, what they believe or how they think.  What it all boils down to is that when someone makes us uncomfortable, we turn them away- sometimes telling them that there is another place to go that could be better for them.

            What I find most interesting about all of this is the similarity to those who Jesus walked among and ministered to.  His community had its own social groups and pinned other groups as “good” and “bad” doing all that they could to keep their distance from them.  The Pharisees and Sadducees agreed on a few things, but not most, while he Herodians would collaborate with the Pharisees to establish grounds for Jesus to be destroyed.  Jews and Samarians were taught that it was wrong to have any contact with the opposite group.  Jews couldn’t decide how they felt about the Gentiles but the overall feeling was generally negative while some Gentiles openly hated the Jews and others were actually attracted to the Jewish religion.  Like I said- we are not too different with our own divisions.

Do you remember the woman at the well? John 4 recounts Jesus’ journey through the Samaritan city called Sychar where he stopped to rest at a well.  While he was resting there, a Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus, a Jew, asked her for a drink.  During their discussion about living water, it is revealed that this woman has had not one, but five husbands and the man she is now with is in fact not her husband.  Even today this situation is one that would likely be frowned upon, however they continue talking and Jesus reveals himself to her as the Messiah just before the Disciples arrive.

            Maybe you remember this parable that Jesus told the lawyers in the Gospel of Luke- A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them.  Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  The next day he took out two denarii (a denarii is equivalent to about a day’s wage), gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.”

            If those don’t spark a memory, maybe this last one will- “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.  He climbed up in a sycamore tree For the Lord he wanted to see.  And when the Savior passed that way He looked up in the tree.  And said, 'Zacchaeus, you come down! For I'm going to your house today! For I'm going to your house today!”  This song is one that many of us might remember singing as children learning about the way in which Jesus reached out to this tax collector, a man who no one else in town would have paid any attention to if they could help it.

            What do these three stories have to do with anything? The Samaritan woman, the injured man, and Zacchaeus are all three people who according to society should have never been approached by the one who did approach them.  The Samaritan woman was seen as unclean at best, not to mention the traditions of separation between Samaritans and Jews.  We aren’t told which social class the injured man belongs to, but it is probably a safe guess that the Samaritan should have never approached him.  Zacchaeus was a tax collector- if we can’t stand them now, how can we fault people for wanting to get rid of them then?  However, in all three situations Jesus was the one approaching the unapproachable or teaching this unheard of action.

            Jesus lived his life in a way that reached out to “the least of these,” living among the shunned and eating with them.  Jesus’ life was in no way conventional.  The Disciples had a hard time understanding this, probably wondering if this man they were following was even sane.  In fact, we find this in this morning’s reading when Jesus called Levi to follow him; he sat for dinner at Levi’s house where he ate with tax collectors and sinners.  When the scribes and the Pharisees asked why he ate with these sinners, Jesus responded “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

           

            There we have it- Jesus sat and talked with the unclean Samaritan woman, called on Zacchaeus, and taught the lawyers about neighbors through the story of the Good Samaritan because these three people, cast out by everyone else, were the most in need.  Jesus did not come to teach the taught, heal the well, or save the saved.  If that were the point of Jesus’ life here on earth, there would be no point.  Jesus came to eat with the sinners, sit with the shunned, and reach out to the ignored.

            Every week we spend time talking and thinking about the ways that we do and can live our lives in a way that most reflects the life of Jesus.  We would be making a very large mis-step if we were to ignore this very prominent factor of his life.  In a world that is divided based on faith, politics, economy, education, race, sex, and age among countless other divisions, we are given countless opportunities to reflect Jesus’ actions in our lives.  Or not.

            Take a moment to think.  When have you been cast out or ignored because you thought differently or acted differently from those around you? How did you feel? How do you wish the situation had been handled? Now, think about a time when you were the one that cast out or ignored someone because they thought or acted differently from you? Why did you do it? Did it solve any problems? Were they helped by your actions?

            This is a hard thing for all of us to think about, likely because we have all experienced this in one way or another.  It is a fact of life.  We want to be comfortable and when someone or something comes into our bubble that makes us uncomfortable, something must be done about it.  What we need to pay attention to is the way that we respond when this happens.  Our church continually tries to pop our own bubble as we go down the street to the Mayview retirement community and nursing home to worship with the residents every few months; our members drive the van to pick up the elderly and help them to run errands every week; and we work along side a variety of people when we go to the food bank.  However, occasionally the mold is broken.  I have sat in these pews and watched the homeless find a place to sit apart from everyone and I have stood here at the pulpit and watched the unsure slip in and out of the balcony before anyone even knows they were here.  Our response to these people and even our own family and neighbors who might “break the mold” on occasion is what is most important.  We can do one of two things- we can get rid of the change that makes us uncomfortable, or we can find a way to accommodate and most importantly welcome it into our lives as we make adjustments in our own actions and thoughts that may not necessarily reform our lives, but transform them in a way that we can be ourselves as we allow the same freedom for those around us.

            Jesus never cast out or ignored those who might have made him uncomfortable.  Instead, Jesus welcomed them into his life with open arms and an open heart.  Jesus sat with them and spoke with them, learning from them as they learned from him.  I don’t remember any part of the Bible that tells us that Jesus forced his opinion on them or turned them away because he just couldn’t figure out what to do with them.

            Being Christian doesn’t mean that life is made any easier- if anything, it makes it harder.  As Christians, we are called to live a life that reflects that model life of Christ.  At times this might be relatively easy- typically the times and situations when we are most comfortable with the decisions that we have to make.  However, I would venture to say that many times, our call to live a life reflective of Christ is quite difficult- the times when we are pushed out of our comfort zone. 

When I was in elementary school it was very easy to identify most of the Christian students because it was fashionable to wear bracelets with the letters “WWJD” woven into them.  WWJD- What would Jesus do?  These bracelets were traded and collected- some kids would have up to ten on their arm at one time.  Occasionally, they were even just given away to someone who didn’t have one but wanted one.  That was how I got my first one.  If someone had this bracelet that was supposed to make them think twice about their actions, they were accepted with excitement into the world or trading and collecting- if someone happened to have a rainbow or tie-dye bracelet it trumped the multiple bracelets that others wore.  That was the problem though- the bracelet was supposed to make a person think twice about their actions, yet it was the center of a new clique that formed with rules about who was in and who was out, a very ironic situation considering Jesus wouldn’t have any of these rules.  These bracelets served as our “papers” in a way. 

As we look at our own lives- personal, family, work, social, and even church- who are we asking for papers? What do we require those papers to say? Are we turning people away to help them or are we turning them away to help ourselves? What could we learn if we simply poked a hole in the walls of our comfort zone before we took the even harder step to tear down the walls? 

I bet we would see that we have just as many problems as those around us, our different thoughts and beliefs might just be different approaches to the same solution, and maybe- just maybe, we are all looking for the same thing in this crazy journey called life- a way to see the love of God more clearly in our own life.  That person across the street isn’t that different from us and neither is the person down the pew.  Once we are able to recognize this, maybe then we can take a step forward in a way that reflects Christ’s actions and begin to learn from one another.

When the authorities returned Jean Valjean and the stolen silver to the convent in Les Miserables, the response from the priest was not at all what they expected to hear.  “He says you gave him this,” the authorities tell the priest as they open the bag to reveal all of the silver.  “He tells the truth- however, I can’t believe you forgot what I told you last night… these are yours as well.  How can you forget the most precious pieces?” replies the priest, handing Valjean two silver candlesticks.  The authorities release Valjean and leave him with the priest who tells Valjean to take the silver and use it to turn his life around.

In a world that stops everyone in their tracks, asking to see papers that say that what they do and think and feel fits in the pre-defined mold for the day, people look toward the church for acceptance.  If we don’t live as Christ did and break the mold to offer acceptance to those who are different from us in our own personal life and family life as well as here in God’s house, just as the priest in Les Miserable did, how can we live it out in the world beyond these four walls and how can we expect others to extend the same openness to us?