sermon Sept. 24, 2007

from Rachel Stivenson, our seminarian
Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your Name, deliver us and forgive us our sins, for your Name’s sake. Amen.

Do you ever have that fantasy that starts with “what would I do if I won the lottery?” Of course you do! I have it, and I don’t even buy lottery tickets. I think it’s a pretty common fantasy, to have enough money to do whatever we want to do, and even to have enough money to pay other people to do what we want them to do.
I can tell you what I would do if I suddenly had, say, fifty million dollars. I’m not a selfish person. I wouldn’t spend it all on myself, or even on my loved ones. There would be a new car, of course, and probably a full-time cook and housekeeper, college funds for my godchildren. But then I would set up a foundation and use that money in all kinds of good ways – to improve schools, beautify Belle Isle, fight AIDS, help refugees, end hunger – I have great plans for that money. I would use it to serve God in a big way.
And there’s the problem with my fantasy. Which is more important, the part about serving God, or the part about “in a big way”? For me, this fantasy is really about getting to be in control, making the world more like what I think it ought to be. I could look out on all the good I’m doing, pat myself on the back, and think, “Wow, Rachel, you’re really something. You’ve really made a difference.” I could easily get lost in the world of philanthropy, and never hear God’s quiet voice saying, “Did I ask you to save the world? Hasn’t that job already been taken?”
This is probably why God has not seen fit to entrust me with great wealth. Better to leave my grandiose plans in fantasyland. Because my lottery fantasy is all about trying to serve two masters. It’s pretending to serve God while really serving money, and power, and control.
Now, there are people who do truly serve God with their great wealth, and I am grateful for them. We need those hospitals and schools and such. But for me personally, it’s clear that my lottery fantasy, which pretends to be about being faithful in much, is a distraction from the question God is really asking me, “Are you being faithful in a little? Forget about the gifts I haven’t given you. Are you being faithful with the gifts I have given you?”
“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. . . No slave can serve two masters; . . . You cannot serve God and wealth.” Luke has put these words of Jesus in the midst of a whole series of parables about wealth. There’s the parable of the prodigal son. In today’s gospel there’s this odd parable of the incompetent and dishonest manager. Next week we’ll hear about Lazarus and the rich man. And remember last week, we heard the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin? There’s another theme running through here, too, about being lost and being found. By putting all these parables together, Luke is telling us that how we handle our wealth is intimately connected to whether we are lost or found.
The prodigal son, who lost himself in the squandering of his father’s wealth, did not even realize he was lost until that wealth was utterly gone. It was only when his first master – money – failed him that he “came to himself,” as the Scripture puts it, and realized just how far away from home he had wandered. When he went back ready to submit himself to a new master, to be a servant to his father, he found enthusiastic welcome and much rejoicing. Just as there was great rejoicing over the sheep and the coin that had been lost and were found.
The manager in today’s gospel is another squanderer, and as a result he loses his job. Like the prodigal son, he is lost and he wonders what to do. He’s too proud to beg and too weak to do manual labor. But the plan he comes up with involves no change of heart, no turning to a new kind of master. It is dishonest and expedient, and the manager continues to serve wealth. This is one way to get by in the world. It works, after a fashion. His old boss is impressed with his shrewdness. But the manager doesn’t get his job back. There is no rejoicing, no suggestion of being found.
In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, which we’ll hear next week, again the rich man only sees clearly after his wealth is gone. In that parable it’s too late to change. No rejoicing. I really prefer the prodigal son story. But the point is clear – serving wealth rather than God will take you where you would rather not go.
Not all the wealthy people in these parables are bad guys. The prodigal son’s father is rolling in it – he can afford to give half his property to his son and keep running a successful farm, with servants, robes, and rings. But he also doesn’t appear to be attached to his wealth. What matters to him are his sons. His focus is on love.
The rich man in today’s reading also seems not too attached to his property. It’s not so clear where his focus is, but he doesn’t get upset over the rewriting of his debtors’ bills, engineered by the man he has just fired. In a society that placed great importance on honor, perhaps he was able to value the good will and honor that would come to him through the reduction of those debts, and so be less concerned about the loss of income.
Wealth itself is not the problem in these parables. Getting lost is the problem. It is possible to manage wealth, in service to God, without getting lost in it. It isn’t easy, however. Jesus said it was about as easy as putting a camel through the eye of a needle.
I think it’s important to remember at this point, that every one of us here is wealthy by global standards. It doesn’t always feel like it, with job uncertainties, mortgages, raising kids, the price of gas, and a thousand other worries. But we do have enough, and more than enough. It’s easy to get lost in our consumer society and forget that.
We are bombarded with ads that say we need more, that we are lost without this car or that beer, and that no one will love us if we have dandruff. The constant message is that whatever you’ve got, it’s not enough.
This is a lie. When we experience God finding us, the state of our bank account fades in importance. It doesn’t go away entirely, but the emphasis changes. As one of our J2A youth said after a week at an orphanage in Jamaica, “It’s not about what can you have, it’s about what can you give.” When God’s love finds us, and wraps us in the certainty that we are cared for, gratitude replaces fear. In service to wealth, we lament what is lacking rather than rejoice in what we have. In service to God, our focus turns to love, and there’s always more where that came from.
Jesus was talking to two very different groups of rich people here. There were the Pharisees, who grumbled and ridiculed. Although they would have said they were serving God, and maybe even meant it, they were really serving their own narrow version of religion. The religion they served – not Judaism in general, but their version of it – was more concerned with deciding who was holy and who was sinful than with the renewing love of God. Wrapped in self-righteousness, they had no room for the profusion of God’s abundant love in their lives.
Then there were the tax collectors, who had come to listen to Jesus. Although they had a lot of money, they had less to lose in social standing than the Pharisees. At least some of them, like the disciple Matthew, were able to find in Jesus’ words the freedom to break free from their complicity with the Romans and find a new life.
Jesus was also talking to the disciples, who had left everything behind to follow him. As confused and bumbling as they often were, the disciples got this right – when Jesus asked them to follow him, they went. They didn’t always know where their next meal was coming from or where they would sleep that night. But after encountering Jesus, that just wasn’t as important.
God gives each of us material and spiritual gifts, and leaves it up to us to decide how we use them. We can choose the service of the Kingdom or the service of something else – wealth, comfort, control, self-righteousness, security, whatever. Jesus tells us we can’t do both. Not we shouldn’t, or we mustn’t. We simply can’t. It’s impossible. Maybe it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway – the abundant life, the life of rejoicing, the life of finding and being found, lies in the service of the Kingdom.
It’s not necessary to make a big splash, so don’t wait for the lottery. “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much.” The visit to a lonely person, the check sent to the Red Cross, the decision to work toward tithing, the fervent prayer for peace – all these are acts of faithfulness. In these small acts we meet Jesus, who is always finding us. In these small acts we find the love that makes it possible to do the next faithful thing. And so we find our way into the service of God, whose faithfulness to us never fails.

How well do you know yourself?

Sermon-C Proper 18 –September 9, 2007
Do you know what this will cost you?
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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Mike Yaconelli , the great youth leader who died a few years ago in a car accident, used to say, "Follow Jesus and he will mess up your life; or don't follow Jesus and you can mess up your life all by yourself.
So here’s this week’s question-“How well do you think you know yourself?”
Think about the times in your life when you’ve really gotten in trouble-when you really fell into something bad. I’ll bet if you were really honest, you’d have to say, “I didn’t face the facts-I wasn’t honest with myself.” Usually when I first get into trouble, I start explaining things (to myself) by saying that “circumstances were against me” or “ other people didn’t do what they should have” or it was just bad luck. But you know what, most of the time when bad things happen to me, it’s because to some degree I misled/lied to myself. I thought I was smarter or wiser or stronger than I was. Most of the time, when we get in deep, I think, it’s because we aren’t honest with ourselves.
Jesus is still on his way to Jerusalem, and the crowds are growing every day. People are flocking to him, like he’s the messiah or something. And each day he gives them something harder, something more challenging to chew on. He’s not trying to get rid of them-he just wants them to understand what he’s about-and what it is to follow him. They keep thinking that it’s going to be great. And he keeps saying that it’s going to be hard.
You know in Judaism, if you want to become a Jew, a rabbi is supposed to turn you away twice, before even talking to you about it. They believe that being a Jew is so hard and so difficult that anyone who wants to be a Jew must get used to rejection-or they shouldn’t even consider conversion.
Jesus begins his teaching this way:
14:25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them,
14:26 "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.
14:27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Large crowds are following Jesus. They’re all so excited, so expectant. He is the answer to all their dreams. And he verbally slaps them in the face. To continue n this road is HARD, he says.
So let me ask you, has being a Christian cost you a lot? Have you had to make significant sacrifices, to be a follower of Christ?
Soren Kierkegaard the great 19th century theologian told this story:
"I went into church and sat on the velvet pew. I watched as the sun came shiningthrough the stained glass windows. The minister, dressed in a velvet robe, opened the golden gilded Bible, marked it with a silk bookmark and said, 'If any man will be my disciple, said Jesus, let him deny himself, take up his cross, sell what he has, give it to the poor, and follow me.' And I looked around and nobody was laughing."Has it been hard for you? Let me clear one thing up, when Jesus says, “"Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” “Hate” is a poor translation. A better way to say it is, Whoever does not love them less, cannot be my disciple. But can anyone here really say that? I can’t. Jesus was trying to wake up everyone who thought that following him would bring them prosperity and health and happiness. He knew what it was going to cost him, and he knew what it would cost those who were faithful.
Is this a hard gospel to hear? You bet. I don’t like it. It’s too hard. I want a God who comforts, and strengthens, and supports me-especially when I get myself in trouble. I don’t want a savior who demands so much of me.
Are you sure you wish to follow me? Jesus wants to know. And of course everyone says, yeah, sure. They thought it was a parade. How many of you would join an organization, be a part of something, if you thought it might cost you-everything?
Jesus isn’t trying to drive folks away-he just wants them to see the truth about discipleship-to understand. He is trying to get them to face the truth about themselves. How many times have you got into trouble, because you lied to yourself? Almost every time, for me. Because I wanted things to be different than how they truly were.
I think if I was to retitle this section I would call it, “Facing ourselves.” The crowds are growing. The enthusiasm, the expectations, the hopes, the dreams are all overflowing. Everyone believes that he will be the answer to all of their prayers.
There is an old story:
A pilgrim settled down to sleep one night at the edge of a village - soon an excited villager appeared saying 'Give me the diamond, give me the diamond '. 'What diamond?' asked the pilgrim. The villager replied 'I have had a dream that you have a diamond of great value and if I asked you for it you would give it to me and I should be rich forever." The pilgrim reached into his bag and pulled out a stone. 'You may certainly have it', he said and settled down again to sleep. The villager looked at the great gem in amazement for it was the largest diamond he had ever seen. Hetook the diamond and walked away. He tossed and turned all night unable to sleep, and the next day he return to the pilgrim and said“give me the wealth that makes it possible for you to give away this diamond so easily.”
To follow is to live a different life. To follow is to stand out-and on occasion-to stand apart. To follow sometimes will be dangerous, and at times should be hard. We can’t confuse inconvenience with sacrifice. Sometimes following is awkward or tiresome or embarrassing. Jesus said, to follow may cost us. It may cost us a lot. To be a people that stays with Jesus as he heads to Jerusalem, means more than inconvenience. It means the cross.
One pastor wrote: It is costly to be a congregation that makes a difference.
“How well do you think you know yourself?” The people on the road to Jerusalem thought they knew themselves pretty well-til they heard today’s teachings-and then they had to wonder.
"Follow Jesus and he will mess up your life; or don't follow Jesus and you can mess up your life all by yourself.

Sermon Sept. 2, 2007

Sermon-C Proper 17 –September 2, 2007
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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
How many of you drive US 23 on at least a semi-regular basis? If you get on or off at Geddes or Plymouth Road, there are almost always these guys there with signs asking for help. They hold up signs that say something like, “I’m homeless” “I’m a vet” something like that. When we were in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago, there was a guy holding up a sign that said, “Why lie? I want money for beer.”
Everyone I know wants to help the poor, the needy, the hungry, the hurting. But what goes through your mind when you see someone standing beside the road with a sign? My guess is you’re like me-you’re torn. You want to help-but you don’t want to be taken advantage of. We want to help people in need, but it really bothers us when maybe someone isn’t really in need-maybe they’re a con artist, maybe they’re lazy, maybe they go home at night and laugh at all the suckers who stuffed their pockets with dollar bills-and here’s the one we wonder about a lot-maybe they use the money for alcohol or drugs. Maybe all I’m doing is helping someone in their addiction. You wonder that, don’t you?
This isn’t a new worry. People in Jesus’ day wondered the same thing. If you listen to the miracle stories in the Bible, people often wondered if the people Jesus healed were really lame, blind, hurting. People who faked injuries or illness went back long before the gospels. People were always accusing the recently healed of being nothing more than shills for Jesus.
Go back to the gospel for today. Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath…
In the gospel of Luke there are 19 references to meals, 13 of those stories only happen in the gospel of Luke-and no other gospel. This is the third meal on Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. Luke loves to write about meals. Why? Because, they were great opportunities for Jesus to do his most difficult teaching. Think about it-the feeding of the 5000, the last supper, Jesus appearing to the disciples after the resurrection, all these references to meals. Luke talks about them all the time. Think about how often you hear about Jesus and food. No wonder everyone leaves church and wants to go out to eat right away. You hear about Jesus eating ALL THE TIME. But it’s more than just food. Jesus uses meal times constantly to confront, argue, teach, explain, even heal. Why? Why at meals? Why do eating and drinking-and the discussions that happen occur so often?
And don’t think people didn’t notice that Jesus and his friends liked to eat
Luke 7: 34the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, (a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!”)
I think it’s because for Jesus-and for the evangelist Luke, meals were supposed to be symbols for what the Kingdom of God looked like. A perpetual feast, a banquet, a party. This is the Kingdom of God-a place, an event, a celebration. Where everyone is having fun. The theologians even have a phrase for all this-they call it-“table fellowship”. One of the most interesting Jesus’ pictures I’ve ever seen was Jesus as a short fat man. For Jesus, the closest thing to heaven is the meal, the place where people are filled, where everyone is happy, where children, and men and women gather together and simply enjoy. That’s the kingdom. In the post communion prayer in the burial office, we say: Almighty God, we thank you that in your great love you have fed us …and have given us a foretaste of your heavenly banquet.
Our Eucharist is supposed to be a taste, a sample of what heaven is. But it doesn’t end there.
“Dr. Alan Culpepper in the New Interpreter's Bible says " The greatest crisis the early church faced, moreover, was not the delay of the parousia (second coming) but the burning issue of whom one ate with”.
It’s not just the food, and everyone being happy-there’s even more. It’s about a meal where everyone is treated with dignity, everyone is honored, everyone is fed with more than just food.
I was reading what other pastors wrote about this passage, and one of them had this interesting story:
Several years ago I tried something new at the church to help people get to know each other. One Sunday we chose to worship in our fellowship hall around the tables where we would share lunch and fellowship. One member walked into the fellowship hall, went to a table and was told the seats there were saved for other family members not yet at the church. She was then told this a several other tables. In the end she became angry and left - vowing never to come back.
Meals in the gospels are moments when Jesus can teach what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. It’s where we can “show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” It’s where no one is embarrassed, where everyone is welcome, it’s where people come to receive hope, and comfort, and strength-and not just food. Meals are where Everyone eats their fill. And everyone, regardless of the life they’ve led, their condition, their health, their wealth, their disability, regardless of their character-everyone, everyone, gets to sit at the table-where they want. Meals in the Kingdom of God are where especially those who are poor, crippled, hurting, and get to eat the best. The Eucharist is supposed to be like that-where everyone comes and kneels or stands-shoulder to shoulder-all with the same amount, all in the same place-all receiving as much love as they can stand.
I have thought long and heard about these guys by the exit ramps in Ann Arbor and other places. Most of my trips, I know when I’m going to be there, when I will likely encounter them. I think next time, I’m going to buy an extra sandwich before I go-and give it to them. I won’t worry about what they will do with the money-instead, I’ll simply give them a meal.

The Lesson Jeremiah 2:4-13
Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves? They did not say, "Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?" I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, "Where is the LORD?" Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit. Therefore once more I accuse you, says the LORD, and I accuse your children's children.
Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God

Psalm 81:1, 10-16 Page 704, BCP
1 Sing with joy to God our strength *and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.
10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, *"Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it."
11 And yet my people did not hear my voice, *and Israel would not obey me.
12 So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts, *to follow their own devices.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me! *that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I should soon subdue their enemies *and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, *and their punishment would last for ever.
16 But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat *and satisfy him with honey from the rock.

Second Reading: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God


The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according Luke 14:1, 7-14
Glory to You, Lord Christ
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to You, Lord Christ

Stand tall-sermon Aug. 26, 2007

Sermon-C Proper 16 –Aug.12-07
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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
“Mike Yakonelli the founder Youth Specialties and a much sought after speaker for many years in churches all over America, tells a story how a woman in his congregation who was not used to "how we do things" in church, raised her hand to ask him a question in the middle of his sermon. The point he had just made was unclear to her.”
I don’t know how many of you struggle with something in your life-physical, spiritual, emotional-I know very few people who don’t-so we should all understand how this woman feels. Deborah and I were sitting over dinner, talking about this gospel and how hard it is to be released from things. We carry around so many things that bend us over. This woman, in this morning’s gospel, had “a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight…” 18 years, can you imagine? 18 years of increasingly being bent over. Something that makes you smaller, more weighed down, less able to stand up. Something that cripples you, shackles you, binds you? Can you imagine going through that kind of pain and discomfort? That much distress and disfigurement? I can imagine it. I know a lot of people that have carried around their pain, their hurt for a lot longer than that.
I was asking Deborah, I wonder what that kind of release, that kind of freedom felt like-to be so crippled by a spirit for that long, whatever it is-and then suddenly to be free. What does that freedom, that relief feel like?
I’ve been repeating over and over this summer that Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem. He’s very focused now, very goal oriented. And he goes into the synagogue to teach on the Sabbath. What do you think he is saying?
In Jewish Law there are 39 categories of activity Or "melachot" (m'-LUH-khuh) that are prohibited on the Sabbath-the Day of Rest:
1. Sowing
Plowing
Reaping
Binding sheaves
Threshing
Winnowing
Selecting
These are categories of activities of work which you are not supposed to d on the sabbath and over the centuries they have been greatly expanded. Number 27 is tieing. No. 28 is untieing. You’re not supposed to untie some thing (it is considered work) on the Sabbath. We don’t get Jesus’ pun here. The leader of the synagogue chastizes Jesus for doing work on the sabbath, and Jesus angrily replies,
Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?
13:16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?"
The word that Jesus uses for “be set free” comes from the same root word for , untieing the donkey or ox. In other words, you can untie your animals, but not your people.
And it says, everyone rejoiced. One because Jesus healed this long suffering woman, and two, because the religious leader, someone who was the pronouncer of the rules, was put in his place. It’s easy to cheer against religious leaders, I know. But don’t miss the bigger picture. Who was really tied up in this story? The woman was set free, the religious leader was bound up. For her, it was the body that was crippled-for the leader-it was his soul. Let me give you some more Judaism.
This from a preacher online: There are different explanations/interpretations in Exodus and Deuteronomy about the Sabbath commandment. Exodus says:
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work--…. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Here it is tied to God's rest on the seventh day of creation.
Deuteronomy says:
Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work…. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.
Here remembering the Sabbath is tied to liberation from slavery.
Jesus fulfilled the law from Deuteronomy (not from Exodus)-he released the enslaved. He didn’t ask the woman if she wanted to be healed, she didn’t profess any faith in Jesus. I’ve always wondered, “what was Jesus teaching that day in the synagogue-what was he teaching on the sabbath?” Was he teaching about healing? About freedom? About release? Was he teaching about Deuteronomy?
You know what I think? I think he was teaching about the Kingdom of God. I think he was telling the people that in the Kingdom come, people could be free and healed-no matter how long they carried around their affliction, no matter how overwhelming their pain, their guilt. I think he was telling folks that no matter what the rules were, that a day was coming when people could be free from the past, that a day was coming when the hurt and grief and guilt and sorrow and illnesses and traumas of the past would be untied. I think Jesus was saying that in the future Kingdom of God, the only afflictions that would bend us over and cripple us would be the ones WE chose to hold on to. And then he untied this bent over woman from her 18 year affliction, but he couldn’t unbend this leader of the synagogue.
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He stops in the local synagogue to teach. And while he’s there, he frees one person, but not another. I think this is a story about two people-the bent over woman, and the synagogue leader. I think this story is about us. Who do we want to be? Are we the ones who hold on to our afflictions, our crippledness-or are we the ones set free? Jesus is going to Jerusalem. He’s on a mission. I think Jesus is trying to set people free as he journeys. Sometimes, I think, we don’t want to be fee from our burdens. But sometimes, sometimes, we come to church on the sabbath, and we hear the gospel message of freedom and release, and we stand up straight, unbound, let loose-and all the people rejoice with us.
Luke 13:10-17
13:10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
13:11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.
13:12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment."
13:13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
13:14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day."
13:15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?
13:16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?"
13:17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
From Wikipedia
Jewish law prohibits doing any form of melachah ("work", plural "melachot") on Shabbat. Melachah does not closely correspond to the English definition of the term "work", nor does it correspond to the definition of the term as used in physics.
Different denominations view the prohibition on work in different ways. Observant Orthodox and Conservative Jews do not perform the 39 categories of activity prohibited by Mishnah Tractate Shabbat 7:2 in the Talmud. These categories are exegetically derived - based on juxtaposition of corresponding Biblical passages - from the kinds of work that were necessary for the construction of the Tabernacle. Many religious scholars have pointed out that these labors have in common activity that is "creative," or that exercises control or dominion over one's environment. The 39 categories are:
Sowing
Plowing
Reaping
Binding sheaves
Threshing
Winnowing
Selecting
Grinding
Sifting
Kneading
Baking
Shearing wool
Washing wool
Beating wool
Dyeing wool
Spinning
Weaving
Making two loops
Weaving two threads
Separating two threads
Tying
Untying
Sewing stitches
Tearing
Trapping
Slaughtering
Flaying
Tanning
Scraping hide
Marking hides
Cutting hide to shape
Writing two or more letters
Erasing two or more letters
Building
Demolishing
Extinguishing a fire
Kindling a fire
Putting the finishing touch on an object
Transporting an object between a private domain and the public domain, or for a distance of 4 cubits within the public domain
Each melachah has derived prohibitions of various kinds. There are, therefore, many more forbidden activities on the Shabbat; all are traced back to one of the 39 above principal melachot. Direct derivatives (toledoth) have the same legal severity as the original melachah (although there are marginal differences); examples are the related activities of cooking, baking, roasting and poaching, all of which fall under "baking." Indirect derivatives instituted by the rabbis are termed shevuth and are much less severe in legal terms (e.g. they were not punished with stoning when this punishment was still in force).
Given the above, the 39 melachot are not so much activities as "categories of activity." For example, while "winnowing" (category 6, above) usually refers exclusively to the separation of chaff from grain, and "selecting" (category 7, above) refers exclusively to the separation of debris from grain, they refer in the Talmudic sense to any separation of intermixed materials which renders edible that which was inedible. Thus, filtering undrinkable water to make it drinkable falls under this category, as does picking small bones from fish. (Gefilte fish is a traditional Ashkenazi solution to this problem.)
Another example is the prohibition (according to Orthodox and some Conservative rabbinic authorities) against turning electric devices on or off, which is derived from one of the "39 categories of work (melachot)". However, the authorities are not in agreement about exactly which category (or categories) this would fall under. One view is that tiny sparks are created in a switch when the circuit is closed, and this would constitute "lighting a fire" (category 37). If the appliance is one whose purpose is for light or heat (such as an incandescent lightbulb or electric oven) then the lighting or heating elements may be considered as a type of fire; if so, then turning them on constitutes both "lighting a fire" (category 37) and "cooking" (a form of baking, category 11), and turning them off would be "extinguishing a fire" (category 36). Another view is that a device which is plugged into an electrical outlet of a wall becomes part of the building, but is nonfunctional while the switch is off; turning it on would then constitute "building" and turning it off would be "demolishing" (categories 35 and 34). Some schools of thought consider the use of electricity to be forbidden only by rabbinic injunction, rather than because it violates of one of the original categories. A common solution to the problem of electricity involves pre-set timers for electric appliances, to turn them on and off automatically, with no human intervention on Shabbat itself.
[edit] Extenuating circumstances
In the event that a human life is in danger (pikuach nefesh), a Jew is not only allowed, but required, to violate any Shabbat law that stands in the way of saving that person. (In fact, any law in all of Judaism - excluding certain prohibited actions: murder, idolatry, and various sexual relations and acts such as incest and rape - is to be broken if doing so is necessary to help someone who is in grave danger.) Lesser, rabbinic restrictions are often violated under much less urgent circumstances, e.g. a patient who is ill but not critically so.
Various other legal principles closely delineate which activities constitute desecration of the Shabbat. Examples of these include the principle of shinui ("change" or "deviation") - a severe violation becomes a non-severe one if the prohibited act was performed in a way that would be considered abnormal on a weekday. Examples include writing with one's non-dominant hand (according to many rabbinic authorities). This legal principle operates bedi'avad (ex post facto) and does not cause a forbidden activity to be permitted barring extenuating circumstances.

sermon

Luke 12:49-56
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. Amen.
In theory, I love the fact that we use a lectionary. Each week we read scriptures that are being read by Christians all over the world. Not only is there a wonderful unity in that fact, but it helps to keep preachers honest. We cannot preach week after week on only our favorite passages and themes – at some point we have to confront parts of the Bible that confuse or trouble or anger us. I love that. In theory. Until I get stuck preaching on a Sunday like this one.
All I can say is, I’m glad it’s not “Bring-A-Friend Sunday.” Today’s readings are enough to send even seasoned Christians running screaming from the church. “And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns.” Isaiah calls that a love song.
The psalm speaks of God’s vineyard, the nation of Israel, being burned with fire and cut down. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews remembers our “cloud of witnesses” – people who have done great things for the faith, to be sure, but also people who have “suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented.”
This is really starting to sound like a lifestyle you want to follow, isn’t it? Well, thank goodness for the Gospel. You can always count on “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” to offer words of love and comfort, right?
Wrong. “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.”
This is not one of your more evangelistic texts. What in these words could possibly make a person want to become a Christian? Where is the good news? What is Jesus thinking?
Remember – how could you forget? Father John’s talked about nothing else for weeks – that Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem. He is headed to a violent confrontation with death. He’s focused on what’s ahead, and he’s understandably a bit stressed. He says to his disciples, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” That’s an interesting thing to say not very long after he’s rebuked James and John for wanting to rain down fire on a Samaritan village. Fire represents judgment, but the judgment comes from God, through Jesus, not through his disciples, and ultimately it will be a judgment of love rather than destruction. But Jesus knows he’s going to have to literally go through hell first, and he wishes he had that part behind him. When he says, “I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!” we again remember James and John, and Jesus’ question to them, “Are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Jesus’ intensity is rising as he gets closer to Jerusalem and the horrors he will have to face.
So the intensity of his teaching is rising, too. He is still, as Father John pointed out last week, talking about priorities, figuring out what we value most and following it. And he wants us to know that this is where the rubber meets the road. If we’re going to follow Jesus, seriously follow Jesus, we can expect to get what Jesus got. The road leads to a cross. That’s the simple truth of the matter.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that any of us will be called to die for our faith, but I can’t promise we won’t. It does mean that a faithful life does not always follow the path of harmony and conflict avoidance. And no part of our lives is protected from that. In Jesus’ culture, kindred and family ties were everything. To be outside of your family was to be completely set adrift. It didn’t get any worse than being divided “father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother.”
One could look at this and think, “Wow, this is scary stuff. I am really not excited about that cross ahead of me. Maybe I’ll just turn around right now.” Or, one could look at this and think, “Jesus knew how hard this would be, and he’s encouraging me to keep at it. Jesus has walked this road before me and is walking it now with me, and promising that it’s all worth it.” Because of course, the cross is not the end of the road. Jesus didn't come to live among us in order to bring division, he came in order to bring us abundant life. But he also knew, and wanted his followers to know, that abundant life doesn't always come easily or painlessly.
Let me tell you about three women who have helped me on my journey. The first I’m sure you all know: Harriet Tubman. She helped more than 300 slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad. She was still a slave when she married John Tubman, a free man. He was content to leave things as they were, but, for obvious reasons, she was not. When she escaped slavery and began leading others to freedom, her husband refused to go with her and eventually married someone else. But she had found her path and continued to walk it. One biography said that “She always expressed confidence that God would aid her efforts, and threatened to shoot any of her charges who thought to turn back.” This is not a woman who feared conflict in her fight against great injustice, and it cost her.
Perhaps not quite as well known to us, but hugely famous in her own day, was Aimee Semple McPherson. She was a Pentecostalist evangelist in the early part of the 20th century. She built the 5,000 seat Angelus Temple in Los Angeles and led a religious renewal on Azusa Street that included blacks, whites, Latinos and people across all social classes. And she was a show-woman. Her sermons included huge moving sets and live animals. She founded the International Church of the Four Square Gospel, which thrives today in many parts of the country and around the world.
Her personal life was littered with failed marriages, a month-long disappearance which she claimed was a kidnapping, nervous breakdowns, and rumors of an affair with an employee, and she died at age 54 from an apparently accidental overdose of a prescription medication.
Perhaps not a person to hold up as a role model for us moderate Episcopalians. But this woman and her church also fed 1.5 million people in Los Angeles during the Great Depression. For her the message of the Gospel was not simply words, but action. You have to show people how much you love them.
She spent her life doing that, and it cost her. Anthea Butler, an assistant professor of religion at the University of Rochester, said this about Aimee. “What becomes the issue is how much are you supposed to give up of yourself to live for God? I mean, this is always the big question. There’s all these great songs about, 'I surrender all, put your all on the altar' all these sorts of things. And people saying these things, they really mean them. But nobody ever bothers to think of a life like Aimee's. And Aimee just decided to go headlong into all of this. There is a point in which you have to count the cost of what it's going to do. Do you pull back when your family starts to fall apart or your daughter doesn't like you anymore? Do you pull back when your mother turns against you? Do you pull back from it when you've had this accusation against you that you really ran off with the radio operator? Do you pull back? And I think someone like Aimee says, 'No, I don't pull back from it.'”
Did she make the right choices? I don’t know. Certainly the presence of pain and division in one's life is no automatic guarantee that one is doing God's work. I do know that Aimee helped a lot of people, and her commitment to following Christ has not been matched by many.
But one might be Eleanor Josaitis. Does anyone here know Eleanor? She and Father William Cunningham founded Focus:HOPE in Detroit in 1968, after the violence of 1967. Here’s an excerpt from a Focus:HOPE paper about her:
What drove this former suburban housewife, a mother of five, to give up her comfortable life to help save the city of Detroit? One evening as Josaitis watched television, she came upon a channel showing the violence at the civil rights marches in Mississippi. Haunting images of policeman using fire hoses on the marchers caused her to break down into tears. She had an even more intense reaction when she became an eyewitness to the Detroit riots of 1967. “We saw tanks, we saw fire everywhere, we saw people running, and we said we have got to do something.”
Josaitis’ decision to take action caused serious family problems. Her parents did not understand where she was coming from - her mother appointed a lawyer to try to take her five children away, and her father disowned her.
She did not allow this adversity to prevent her from helping the community. Josaitis partnered with Father Cunningham to form Focus:HOPE.
Since then, Josaitis has received a variety of responses from the people of metro Detroit - but she prefers to call all of them “love letters.” One of these notes contained a cutout of her editorial for the Free Press written after September 11. The article begged the community to strive for celebration of diversity - scrawled across its body were the words, “Stick diversity ” – and then some words I can’t say from the pulpit.
In the last nearly 40 years Focus:HOPE has helped thousands upon thousands of people with food and job training programs. For Eleanor Josaitis, following Christ is about love, and where there is need, love requires action as much as words.
Jesus stood up for marginalized people and proclaimed a Gospel of love that was for everyone, no matter what. It cost him his life, and gave us our lives, so that we can follow his example. Paul Nuechterlein writes, “If our peace and happiness is to be bought at the price of ignoring another's pain, then Jesus comes with a truth which will divide us.” When we challenge that false peace and happiness, we will be opposed by those who want to maintain the status quo, and it will cost us.
We need to hear this message with great humility. The possibility always exists that when we make unpopular choices, we're wrong. We have to always be asking the question, "Why am I doing this? Is this what Jesus is calling me to do, or am I off on an ego trip?" And we have to listen not only to our own hearts, but to the wisdom and discernment of our faith community. Nobody is a Christian alone. And then we have to proceed with what we honestly believe is the faithful choice, whatever the consequences.
So where’s the good news? The good news is that there are people like Harriet Tubman, Aimee Semple McPherson and Eleanor Josaitis, and a host of others, who found such joy and fulfillment in the road they walked with Jesus that it was worth the high price they paid. The good news is that there are people like you and me, not famous, not doing spectacular things, but honestly trying, day in and day out, to live out our commitment to the One who is the Source of all joy. The good news is in the resurrection moments we all experience at one time or another. Our J2A group in Jamaica. The youths who went to help Hurricane Katrina victims last year. The many people at Trinity who give of their time, money, and energy for Adopt-A-Child-Size. Our CROP walkers. Jesus comes into each of our lives with the opportunity to know the joy as well as the hard work of service.
The good news is that God is with us in the midst of every difficult choice, every broken relationship, every painful moment, strengthening us and showing us how to love.
Ultimately the love of God is stronger and more permanent than division, violence, even death, and Jesus knew that even as he was facing down the cross. Jesus warned us that it wouldn’t be easy, that sometimes it would be downright awful. But Jesus, and a great cloud of witnesses, walked this road before us, and walk it with us now. There is no other road that is more joyful or more fulfilling.

We're all on a journey

Sermon-C Proper 14-8-12-07
"That's what defines teachers, perseverance and patience,"
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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
I really don’t expect you to remember me, but once upon a time, I used to preach here a lot. And when I was, I told you that in the gospel of Luke there was a very important verse. Just a few weeks ago, 9:51: 9:51 When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.. Does that ring a bell? I keep referring to it this summer, because if you remember that verse it explains so much of what else happens afterwards in this gospel. he set his face to go to Jerusalem. Jesus is on a journey, a pilgrimage of sorts- to complete his mission, to fulfill his purpose. He has a trip to make that will define his life and change ours. He heads south through Galilee, then on through the hated land of the Samaritans. While on the road he heals, he casts out demons, he encounters spiritual challenges, and like today-he teaches. Always remember, every thing Jesus is doing, every thing he’s saying, is supposed to teach us, to show us, to lead us. It is his time.
But before he can finish his goal, he has to help us to understand why he is doing this, and who he is. 2 weeks ago one of his disciples, says, "Lord, teach us to pray” last week someone wanted him to arbitrate a family dispute over property, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.". This is all part of his journey he has a destination, but the trip is also very important. He is trying to show us how to live our lives as he travels. These several weeks this summer are all about advice that the disciples collected from him as they walk along. Much of the teaching is about our priorities. This week continues his instruction about figuring out what we value-and then going after it. It’s all education. Remember a few weeks ago when I said that Stephen Covey uses the phrase, “keep the main thing__________?”
A pastor writes: Look at what Jesus says- do not be afraid... live generous lives... prepare for the party..be ready to serve when called. All the time Jesus is on his journey, he’s teaching. And all the time he’s teaching, he’s trying to explain why his face is set towards Jerusalem-and what our journey has to be, too.
After the service today, our youth are going to talk about their pilgrimage to Jamaica. For two years our Journey to Adulthood teens raised money, prepared, worked, planned-all for a one week trip to an orphanage. They’re going to explain what they learned, what fun they had, what relationships they made. Remember this as you listen to them,-as I thought about today’s gospel, I realized that it was like their face was set towards Jerusalem, because this is what a pilgrimage is-you go one a journey, because that is the best way to learn who we are, and what is important: do not be afraid... live generous lives... prepare for the party..be ready to serve when called. Sometimes I think this is how we are supposed to spend our lives-to see our lives as a journey. To realize that all of life is a pilgrimage to find out who we are and what is important. We always think we know it, but then a year later something happens and suddenly we’re discovering all over-again.
This is from an article on the internet on space news: in the 1980s, in an effort to better connect the American public with its space program, NASA began to investigate several options for sending an American civilian into space onboard the Space shuttle. NASA considered sending a journalist, an explorer, or an entertainer, but ultimately decided on sending a teacher as the first civilian in space. 11,000 teachers applied. There were 119 semi finalists. The teacher they chose was Christa McAuliffe. Her back up, in case Christa couldn’t fly, was Barbara Morgan. 73 seconds after take off in January 1986, Challenger exploded, killing all 6 astronauts and teacher Christa McAuliffe aboard. Although Christa was in no way responsible for the disaster, her death was seen as especially painful, and the teacher in space program was shelved indefinitely. Barbara Morgan, Christa’s back up, returned to teaching 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders in McCall, Idaho as she had done for several years. In the late 1990s NASA decided to reinstitute the teacher in space program, and they called Barbara back. She was supposed to fly in 2002, but the loss of Columbia put that on hold. 22 years after she was scheduled to go up into space, last week, Barbara Morgan the 2nd teacher, went up this week on Endeavour.
"That's what defines teachers, perseverance and patience," she told reporters in a preflight briefing. "So I am just doing the job of a teacher."
Since her selection, NASA has trained three new teachers to fly in space, …"I do look forward to going back in the future," she said. "I taught for 24 years before taking this lateral move to do this job. And I loved every minute of it."
Barbara plans on returning to teacher after her return. 22 years, and two terrible accidents later, this teacher wanted to complete her mission.
Jesus has his face set towards Jerusalem. He has a mission, and we are it. And on this mission he’s trying to teach us, to show us, to lead us into who we are and what is important. He wants us to journey, to pilgrimage with him. He wants us to be patient and to persevere: His goal is for us to live our lives in such a way that we realize if we learn what he teaches, our trip, our journey, our pilgrimage, our life is worth it: do not be afraid... live generous lives... prepare for the party.. be ready to serve when called.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Sermon-Proper C11-July 22, 2007
One Thing is Necessary
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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
About 18 years ago a bunch of us from Trinity went to Florida to attend a conference on how to grow your ministry. The leader of the conference was an Episcopal priest named Bill Atwood. He had 7 principles that he wanted to teach us that were absolutely necessary if your church was going to grow. One of them was, “find ways to say yes”. That meant that most of the time we are supposed to be affirming ideas. Looking for ways to make them happen-not finding reasons that they won’t work.
But one of the chief principles for growth Bill took from Stephen Covey-Keep the main thing, the main thing (actually Covey’s quote is, The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.). Atwood was convinced that most churches forgot what they were about, and that’s why they died.
Every time I hear this gospel story, two things happen for me: I feel guilty because I always like Martha better; and two I remember Bill Atwood and that conference in Florida. And I think of those principles.
In every church there are lots of “Marthas”. What’s a Martha? There are so many Martha guilds around. These are groups (almost always women) who are devoted to good works. How does Martha come out in today’s gospel? SHE IS NOT A ROLE MODEL!
For centuries if you really wanted to put someone down in the church , you simply shook your head, and in your best condescending way, you say: "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things…”. And that’s how we make people feel small and unfaithful. The lesson that almost everyone takes from today’s gospel is this: it is better to sit at the Lord’s feet-than it is be a servant. In the battle between simply Being with Jesus or doing like Jesus, the Be’s have it. Isn’t that what you’ve always thought when you’ve heard this story? We were at the Fire Chaplains training program in April in Indianapolis and they were talking about the personality of the firefighter; The instructor said,
That firefighters get bored easily , “ESPECIALLY IN CHURCH.” He said, “never try to use Mary and Martha as your example with firefighters-they will always think that Jesus chose the wrong one.”
Martha-action, Mary sitting, waiting, listening. Whenever I hear this gospel, that is always what I think.
Do you remember the gospel from last week? IT WAS THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN. When you hear Jesus teaching about taking care of your neighbor, do you hear him saying, “boy this Samaritan, he should have sat down and just waited?” We have to keep in mind the stories before and after the one we’re hearing.
Jesus has been spending the whole 10th chapter of Luke teaching about ministry, about discipleship. The first story (2 weeks ago) is the sending out of the 70. Then the story last week of the good Samaritan. And now Martha and Mary. The key is to see the connections between these 3. Because Luke the gospel writer wants us to understand that ministry is about all 3 stories-it’s not just about evangelism, it’s not just about caring for our neighbor, and it’s not just about sitting and listening. It’s about “keeping the main thing, the main thing.”
Martha was a good host. Hospitality was just emphasized, stressed, accentuated in last week’s story about the Good Samaritan, right? That makes today’s story even more important. Jesus is making sure that the disciples don’t think it’s only about being sent out, or only about taking care of one’s neighbor-Jesus is trying to teach them-and us-that how easy it is to lose sight of the main thing. Martha, “you’re distracted” “Martha, you are worried”. Martha, you’re losing sight of what is important. John, I hear him saying, you’re getting sidetracked.
Two weeks ago, the disciples thought what was important was a show of power; last week, the young lawyer thought the main thing was knowing the laws; Martha’s main thing was taking care of her guest. Each week Jesus redefines, re explains the previous story. This time he’s saying, it’s not all about what you do. It’s about doing the one thing that is needed-the main thing. At this moment, Jesus is telling Mary, it’s about listening and learning. They’ll be time for hospitality later. In a sense this story is about the struggle between worrying and waiting. Two things that test our faith. I wish I had a nickel for every time someone has told me not worry, and instead to have faith. Telling someone not to worry, is like saying, “don’t think about elephants.”
Here’s what I try to say to myself instead, when I start getting overwhelmed with worry: keep the main thing the main thing. One thing is necessary. It’s sometimes the hardest thing there is to do. To wait. To sit. To listen. Sometimes the main thing is to show hospitality. Sometimes the main thing is to go out and spread the word. The test isn’t to always do the same thing, the challenge is to figure our what is needed. And then to do that. Can you say this, to yourself? John, John, one thing is necessary-keep the main thing, the main thing.
Amen.



Luke 10:38-42
10:38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.
10:40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."
10:41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;
10:42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."