Don't Be Fooled

Sermon-21 Pentecost Proper 24-Oct. 17, 2010
The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
Every week on Monday morning I tell Erin to remember to put my Sunday sermon on the blog, and every week she asks me the same question-“what should I call it?” This week I think I will say, “Don’t be fooled”. When you hear this gospel you’ve already heard what the parable is about, “Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” So what do you think the parable is going to be about? “To pray always and not to lose heart” Right? Ah, but what’s the title of my sermon? That’s right, “don’t be fooled.” It seems so simple, “pray always and don’t lose heart.” That’s a good message and important, and one we need to repeat and remember. I just don’t think it’s the point of the parable. Sorry, it would be a lot simpler if it was. One preacher I was reading said that all a preacher has to do on this Sunday is tell several stories about how people kept on praying and eventually what they prayed for happened. My gosh, we’ve got the obvious example of 33 miners in Chile, right, All praying to be rescued.
I think the key to this parable happens several verses earlier, a section of Luke we never hear read on Sundays. It’s the 17th chapter, the 20th verse: 20 “Once Jesus* was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming” . I think this story for today is an answer to that question. Notice how this parable ends, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
Alyce MacKenzie, my new favorite preacher, wrote this: “it’s not just a personal message which nudges us to pray for a cure for a family member, a new job, or financial stability. It’s about a particular type of praying: for justice for those whose needs are not being met in our society, praying that they will receive what they need and what is rightly theirs.”
Did you notice that the word justice is repeated 4 times in this short parable? The woman was seeking justice, the judge didn’t care, all he wanted was for her to go away. “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?” This parable is about prayer AND it’s about justice. AND it’s about doing what is right. Don’t be fooled, it’s not just that we should pray, it’s about fighting for justice and bringing the kingdom of God into the world now, AND it’s about praying. Fred Craddock once wrote: “All we know in the life of prayer is asking, seeking, knocking, and waiting, trust sometimes fainting, sometimes growing angry. Persons of such prayer life can only wonder at those who speak of prayer with the smiling facility of someone drawing answers from a hat. In a large gathering of persons concerned about certain unfair and oppressive conditions in our society, an elderly black minister read this parable and gave a one-sentence interpretation: "Until you have stood for years knocking at a locked door, your knuckles bleeding, you do not really know what prayer is." ..This parable is about prayer-and it’s about showing our faith through good works and fighting for the oppressed and doing the right thing and holding up the lowly. Do you know that the word for “widow” in Hebrew means. “The one without a voice”? This woman had no voice, no status, but she could keep fighting for justice. Do you really think Jesus only wanted us to pray more, and that’s why he told this story? “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" This parable was included here by Luke the gospel writer, 50-60 years after Jesus had died and risen, and the church was discouraged and oppressed. Those Christians, afraid, persecuted, hounded, were wondering, when will the world end, and when Jesus will come again and make things right? “ Listen again to the question from a few verses earlier :Once Jesus* was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming”. And the Christians Church, a few generations after Jesus was wondering the same thing.
And Jesus tells this story that not only should they keep on praying, but that they had to keep working and fighting for justice, for widows and orphans, for people who had no voice, and those who had no power. That’s why Jesus told this parable. This again from Alyce Mackenzie: “One thing about the Bible- it presents a full picture of God. Not just a God of reward and mercy. Not just a God of justice and accountability. Always a God of mercy and justice, [always a God of] grace and challenge. You can’t have one without the other, when it comes to God. And, in preaching, the good news is not the good news if it isn’t true to the whole character of God. So Jesus, after assuring us that it is God’s intention to grant vindication [or justice] for all, puts the burden to make some behavioral change back on us.“Yet, (despite the fact that we know God’s will is for justice on earth) when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (18:8) When are we to prepare for the kingdom of God? We are to prepare now for then. How? By praying for justice, pestering for justice, persistently demanding justice from people and institutions with other priorities.”
We’re supposed to pray constantly, especially for those who have nothing but prayer-the powerless, the weak, the hurting, the defeated, those without a voice. AND we are supposed to help bring about the kingdom of God, by pestering working fighting and nagging for justice. One last clue. This gospel translates the judge’s phrase, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming. The real translation of “wear me out” is to “give someone a black eye”. The judge doesn’t want to be shamed by this voiceless person, he doesn’t want to be hounded all his life by someone who will not stop.. Our calling in this parable is not just that we are supposed to do that, but it’s also to pester and nag and work and fight for justice. , of course we are to pray always and not lose heart -AND we are to bring about the Kingdom of heaven on earth.
Don’t be fooled, we are to knock on the door of God with our prayers until our knuckles are bleeding-and we are called to work for the kingdom of God here on earth until all those without a voice are heard. Amen.

I Want To Be Thankful But...

Sermon-20 Pentecost Proper 23-Oct. 10, 2010
The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Have I mentioned that I just returned from Scotland and France?
There were some moments that were so special on that trip, I was so often brought to tears. Going to Scotland there were 12 of us, and we arrived on two separate dates, and all walked up together at the same hotel at the same moment. I was so grateful, so relieved-but then I began thinking about where were we going to eat lunch.
A few days later we arrived in a little town of Melrose in southern Scotland, and there was a drum and bagpipe competition going on. We had just enough time to throw our luggage in our room and dash out to the street for the 15 or so bands who were competing to go marching by. It was exquisite, and I said a prayer to God thanking him for letting us see and experience this beautiful moment. And as I was watching and filming these wonderful bands going by, I realized that I needed a heavier sweater than the one I had on, and I was wondering if I had time to go back up to the room to get it.
Later in the trip we came to the top of the highest point on the walk, WideOpen Hill. It’s about 1207 feet up and it was kind of an arduous climb. We were standing at the top taking pictures, congratulating each other on how great we were, enjoying this amazing scenery. And I said a prayer thanking God for this great opportunity and the strength to get there, but then I had a blister that was starting and I was beginning to worry about the walk down.
Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"
“But the other nine, where are they?” I know where they were. They were showing themselves to the priest-like Jesus told them; or they were making plans for their new life-rejoining society and once again being part of a community. Or they were thinking about how they were going to earn a living, now that they no longer would be begging.
In other words, they were doing what all of us do when we are overwhelmed with thanksgiving and joy-they were thinking about the million and one things that will or might or could happen next.
Barbara Brown Taylor in her book The Preaching Life contrasts the actions and attitudes of the nine lepers with those of the one who returned.“Those nine presumably Jewish lepers were doing what they had been told, and they were trying in their own way to fulfill expectations and duties. "Ten were healed of their skin diseases, but only one was saved….Ten behaved like good lepers, good Jews; only one, a double loser, behaved like a man in love." She goes on to describe the difference, and to realize that "I know how to be obedient but I do not know how to be in love".
"I know how to be obedient but I do not know how to be in love".
Do you know how hard it is simply to give thanks? You may think you’re the only one who has trouble doing this, but how hard is it for us simply to savor some act, some event for very long at all, to take some moment, some experience that’s wonderful, and just be grateful for more than a minute? Remember the old Chevy Chase movie, National Lampoon’s Summer Vacation? He is taking his kids on their first real summer vacation, and they go to the Grand Canyon. They stare at this great wonder of the world, and after about 5 seconds he says, “well, that’s great, we have a lot to see-let’s go.”
These 10 people, 9 Jews and one non Jew would travel around in a group because it was safer. Because they were lonely, depressed and defeated. They had a disease that was slowly, painfully, killing them and they stayed with each other for support, protection, and help as they died. "The regulations of Numbers 5:2-3 specified that lepers should be put out of the camp. Leviticus 13:45 repeats that command and adds that lepers should wear torn clothes, let the hair of the head hang loose, and cry ‘Unclean, unclean’ when approached.” That’s a living death. And suddenly, out of nowhere, they were saved. Out of nowhere they were rescued and given their lives back-and in that moment they had to be overwhelmed. They must have ALL been so incredibly thankful. So where were the other 9? Why did only one come back to Jesus to give thanks? Why did only the Non-Jew, only the outsider, only” this foreigner”, as Jesus says, return to praise God?
It is hard to live a thankful life. I know. I struggle with this, regardless of the incredible blessings I have received. Why is it so difficult to be grateful? Why is it so hard to live a life of gratitude? Most Christians I know, will all say that they have been very blessed, that they are thankful for all that God has given them. I hear this all the time. I say this all the time. So why, why is it so much easier to be the 9 who walked away? The Rev. James Liggett, a priest in Midland , Texas, once wrote, “ No, the issue wasn’t gratitude. The issue wasn’t feeling good about Jesus or anything like that. The issue was that those who had received so much were running so hard in the wrong direction. They were so full of what they had received, of their gift, that there was just no room for the giver, the source of the gift. They weren’t ungrateful, they were just busy. That’s all; they were just terribly busy. There we are. There is our world. There is our life, in one small, bitter nutshell.”
Kate Huey, a United Church of Christ Commentator that I quote almost every week wrote this: “Sometimes it takes someone else, unexpected, to open our eyes to blessings and wonders in our lives. A person on the margins, on the outside, may have a better vantage point to look inside and see the heart of the matter. When has someone else, unexpectedly, helped you to see something important?” (Text for Preaching). Sometimes someone has to wake us up and say, “Life is different now, you’re alive, your life is a gift.”
It is not easy to live a life of thankfulness. There is a reason why 9 kept on walking. There is a reason why I seem to be able to stay grateful for only a few minutes at a time. There is a reason why we can go from incredible gratitude to worrying about everyday life so quickly. I think it’s because living thankfully is so hard, it takes so much work.
How many times have you come to church and been told to be thankful? 5? 10? 1000? How often, as a Christian, do you hear the message that we should have a grateful heart? You want to, you want to live thankfully, but life keeps getting in the way, right? WE FORGET. WE GET DISTRACTED. WE GET BUSY. BAD THINGS HAPPEN. Linda Loving, a Wisconsin priest said, “I believe gratitude is not so much a behavior as it is a grounding. Gratitude is not so much an act as an attitude, a frame of mind. Consider the words from First Thessalonians: “Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.: Give thanks in all circumstances. Not just when the leprosy is healed but also when you discover more chemo is needed. Not just when you exchange wedding vows but also when you exchange the damaging words of your first lovers’ quarrel. Not just when the unexpected promotion comes, but also when the unexpected layoff occurs. All circumstances. Giving thanks in all circumstances because God knows where we are. God knows how we feel. God knows our next breath. How extraordinary to be so known, so loved, so healed. I believe we are most whole when we hold our stance of gratitude in the world knowing we are held by the Holy.”
It is not easy living a grateful life. It is hard being thankful for very long. So if it’s so hard, why try? Why work so hard at a life of gratitude? For me, I guess it’s because I want to. Living like the 10th leper, the outsider, the one who turned and came back looks so much richer, so much fuller, so much more like life-than living like the 9 who kept going. I don’t care how hard it is, I want to be thankful in all things. I know how tempting it is to be distracted and preoccupied with life, but I want to live like one who knows how precious their life is. I know what it is to live an obedient life . Theologian and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote: “Only they who give thanks for little things receive the big things. We prevent God from giving us the great spiritual gifts he has in store for us because we do not give thanks for daily gifts.” I want to live like the one who realizes that he has been given life-I want to live like the one whose faith has made them well.

It Is Enough

The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Last summer I told you that there was a key verse in the gospel of Luke (by now you should be pretty tired of this). The verse was 9:51:When the days drew near for him(Jesus) to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
That was June 27-3 ½ months ago. And each week since then we have listened to stories from that journey. Every week there is a teaching about discipleship, about how to follow Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. These teachings overlap, intersect, and challenge those following Jesus. It is a journey that he uses to grow his disciples, and it is a tool that Luke the gospel writer uses to teach us, his readers.
Today’s gospel is a very short reading that has two important points, faith and humility.
Alyce McKenzie a preacher I really like, wrote this about today’s gospel, “To preach on this parable, I would need to go back to (Luke) 16:14 where Jesus tells us that “God knows our hearts.” (16:15) God knows that some of the Pharisees’ hearts are full of the love of money. God knows that the rich man’s heart in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (16:19-31) is filled with love of material comfort and a confidence that his wealth is a sign of God’s approval. God knows that some people’s hearts are filled with unforgiveness toward others (17:1-4) that can be a stumbling block to their growth toward God. Who can blame the apostles, after hearing about all these things that God knows are in our hearts, for saying to themselves, “My God, I need more faith to deal with all of this!” and then turning to Jesus and saying in 17: 5 “Increase our faith!”
And Jesus looks at them and says of their faith, “you have enough”. Faith doesn’t come in sizes. We’re always talking about people who have a lot of faith, and people who have a little-but Jesus tells his friends, “you’ve got all you need!” Mother Teresa once said, “Our calling is not to do great things, but to do small things with great love.” Jesus is teaching them-and us-that we don’t need more faith-we just need to use the faith given to us.
There is an old prayer from many years ago (I don’t know who said it), but it goes like this: "O God, I don't pray for enough faith to move mountains. I can get enough dynamite and bulldozers to do that. What I need and ask for is enough faith to move me." The problem wasn’t the size of the disciples’ faith-the problem was the size of the disciples’ hearts. And Jesus told them, you have what you need to change the world. Asking for more puts the responsibility on God. You have enough.
That’s the first teaching- on faith. We have been given enough. Size doesn’t matter.
Years ago Bob Greene, a popular columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, and then the Chicago Tribune, wrote a column in his paper about a doctor in Chicago. He promised that he wouldn’t divulge the doctor’s name or where his office was, but there were enough clues that people could have figured it out. The story about the physician was that this doctor told people to pay only what they could afford. He let people pay him as much-or as little-that they wanted. The story really got around, and a few weeks later, Greene went back to the doctor and did a second story. The doctor told him how much he regretted doing the first interview and becoming well known. Greene asked him,” well, you probably have way too many patients trying to get in to see you now?” “No,” the doctor told him, “I have control over how many patients I take-I know how to say no.” “Are your patients paying you less, now that they know that you’re a newspaper star.” Green asked “No. that’s not it, either,” replied the doctor. Greene kept guessing why the doctor regretted the first story, and finally the doctor held up a hand to stop him. “I guess,” explained the physician, “I’m worried about my own motives. I’m afraid that I will keep doing the right thing just to be admired or respected or whatever by people. I set my own rules for payment by patients because I believed that’s what doctors should do-no, I’m concerned that I might do the right thing for the wrong reasons.”
That column was many years ago but it had a big impact on me. Here was a good person who was concerned about why he was doing the right thing. And he knew himself well enough to know that praise and fame might change him into someone he didn’t like.
In the 1st century Jewish rabbis wrote several commentaries on scriptures. They were collected and called: Pirke Aboth (Sayings of the Fathers). This is one of them: "If you have learned much Torah (Law), do not flatter yourself about it, because it was for this purpose you were created." (2:9)
Jesus is teaching his followers to be careful about why they live a life of faith. when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”
Does this sound harsh to you? Last night at Mike and Sara’s wedding I told them that some of the most important words in a marriage were “please” and “thank you”, and here is Jesus telling his followers, “you don’t need a reward for being my followers!” ouch
The best way I can understand this harsh teaching is from a story, Rev. Milton Gutierrez of the Methodist Church in Allen Texas told years ago: a woman who came to him with a faith question. “Pastor Milton,” she said, “I want to know ‘What is the reward for the life of faith?’” Being a very wise man, he said, “Let me think about that and I’ll give you an answer next week. ”She didn’t forget. The next week she came to him with an expectant expression on her face. “Pastor Milton, what is the reward for the life of faith?” To which he replied, “The reward for the life of faith is the life of faith.”
The ending for this story could be, “your life as a follower of Jesus is your reward. It is enough.” Jesus doesn’t promise wealth, or fame, or health or even peace. Lots of people do promise those things to Christians- but not Jesus. He’s on his way to Jerusalem with a bunch of people who want more-more faith, more power, more rewards, more….And even though they’ve walked with Jesus all this way, they haven’t got it yet. They keep thinking there’s got to be something in it for them. They’re doing the right thing-Jesus is asking them to do it for the right reason.
Years ago I had a great bishop with a wonderful sense of humor. Now clergy traditionally will say that when they go to a new church that the Spirit was calling them. Bishop Ray used to say, “It’s amazing how the Holy Spirit is always calling me to a church with an increase in salary.”
Jesus is on a journey to the cross. He has been teaching the whole way. Today he shows his frustration with his students who never believe what they have, what they get, is enough. I could be one of them-always wanting, asking for more. Never believing what I have is enough, always aching for approval, recognition, rewards. I was at a wonderful lecture a week ago by a seminary professor. When she finished her 5 hour talk everyone stood and gave her a standing ovation, and she turned and faced the wall in embarrassment. In the small town of Chartres an hour outside of Paris is a magnificent cathedral. There is a tiny winding stairway that takes you up 300 steps to the top of one of its two Gothic spires. There is a small platform that has been built there so you can walk around the spire and see 30-40 miles in every direction. The view is great. But what impressed me more than anything is that the craftsmen, sculptors, and masons who built this incredible building used as much care and love and skill at the top-where no one would ever see their work- as they did at the ground where everyone stands to gaze and admire.
Today we learn that what we have is enough-enough faith, enough recognition, enough rewards. We have been given all we need to be a disciple.“ The reward for the life of faith is the life of faith.” Amen.