Thoughts going in, Sunday November 2nd, All Saints Sunday

Rev. 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" 13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 'Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,' nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center before the throne will be their shepherd; 'he will lead them to springs of living water.' 'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"

            As I blog this on Thursday the 30th of November, the calendar on the wall says tomorrow is Halloween. Ah, the child's favorite 'holiday,' with its promise of the mega load of candy. Halloween really isn't Halloween, though. It's All Hallow's Eve--the liturgical prelude to November 1st, All Saint's Day. NOT that I'm one of those Grinch-like Christians who has a problem with trick-or-treating. My only point is that there's more going on with the day than meets the eye.

            Something like that is at work in this Sunday's first reading, from John the Seer's Revelation, chapter 7. First, a liturgical observation. Sunday itself is not All Saint's Day. It is simply the 21st Sunday after Pentecost. But we and many other congregations follow the long tradition of transferring the liturgical celebration of All Saints to the first Sunday in November, creating an All Saint's Sunday. In this way we ensure the celebration can be observed by more than just those who live in religious communities.

            Days like this are so rich with themes for exploration. There is much more to discuss than time in which to discuss it. For instance, I love the way the passage ends in vs 17 with the "Head & Shoulder's" promise from God of "no more tears:"  17 For the Lamb at the center before the throne will be their shepherd; 'he will lead them to springs of living water.' 'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'" This echoes the sentiments of the prophet Isaiah from so many years before:  On this mountain the Lord will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. (Is 25:7-8). Both are passages of VICTORY. They speak to the fact that in the end, God wins... and death dies; cause for celebration indeed! This is the life of the world to come, that the creeds talk about. It's also interesting to me that both the readings specifically mention the idea of every tear being wiped away. This implies a complete lack of sorrow. SOMEHOW, every regret... every misstep, every mistake, every gaff, every loathsome memory we have of letting down friends, family, ourselves, and God Almighty,... in short, everything that brings a tear to our eye ... somehow... will be made right by God himself.

            But I am also taken with the first part of the reading from Revelation: After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice (vss 9-10). To be clear, John the Seer uniquely *SEES* something that others don't. He sees a very present reality that is veiled to everyone else, but REAL nonetheless; he sees the heavenly throne room with the 'Church Triumphant' in worship--perfectly echoing the worship of the Church here on earth. Those who are familiar with the modern Lutheran Liturgy's hymn of praise "This is the Feast of Victory" will no doubt detect a resemblance in what is 'cried out' by the great host arrayed in white of Revelation and the lyrics of the hymn: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" (vss 10 & 12). Compare with the stanza: Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever, Amen. [note: for more similarities see Rev chapter 5]. The point is that 2 very important truths are being reflected in the liturgy: #1 Those who have gone before us are not lost; they are safe and sound in the presence of God, and #2 in the Eucharistic liturgy of the Church *we mystically join with *them in worship and praise, creating a closeness that is unparalleled at any other time and place.

            These are words of comfort that I often try to offer those in grief. While there is nothing wrong with visiting a loved one's final resting place, in faith we are never closer to them than when we are gathered together around the holy table; where our worship here echoes the worship in heaven; where angels, and archangels, and all the company of heaven laud and magnify His glorious name evermore singing Holy, holy, holy... and where the veil that separates us from them is pierced, as heaven joins earth when Christ's body and blood are mystically joined to the sacramental bread and wine.

            John the Seer looked and saw all of this (vs 9); he was blessed with a heavenly vision. But in faith, WE TOO can look and see this as well. In faith, we too can look and see a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. In faith, we can look and see in that multitude... those we've known and loved who are no longer with us. What if we're not 'sure' of their salvation? What if we're not sure how 'strong' their faith was, or if they'd been baptized, or if they'd accepted Jesus into their heart, or if they'd prayed the sinner's prayer with enough fervor and sincerity? What then? I was discussing this very topic with someone not long ago. When it comes right down to it, who among any of us has "enough faith" to merit heaven? Who among us ever gets 'wet enough' in baptism, or is sincere enough in asking Jesus to come into our heart? When faith becomes a badge of merit, God's grace is no longer in the picture. This is not a road we want to go down. That multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne... are there because God is gracious and merciful, loving and forgiving, and WANTS THEM THERE.

            John the Seer looked and saw them. This passage invites us to look and see them too.

Cheers,

T.M.

Thoughts going in, Sunday October 26th, Reformation Sunday

Luke 19:11-17: While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' 14 "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' 15 "He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16 "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17 " 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'

            We have no shortage of 'themes' for our consideration this Sunday. In fact, on the surface it may even seem that there's a clash of themes. For one thing, it's the last Sunday of October which many Protestants, and most Lutherans, observe as the Festival of the Reformation. On All Hallows Eve, October 31st, 1517, an Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Chapel. We now mark this day, or more often transfer it to the nearest Sunday in October, as a festival of the Gospel; a festival of the Church's constant need for introspection and reform; it's a festival of the triumph of God's word over the traditions of man. We typically sing "A mighty fortress is our God" as a processional hymn--it was a composition of Luther's and is often seen as the 'battle hymn' of the Reformation, but in fact the typical hymn of the day "Lord keep us steadfast in Thy word" more fittingly reflects the spirit of the Reformation. Sola Scriptura. Scripture alone is the final authority in matters of doctrine and practice within the Church. Having said all of that, a note of caution is in order. In times past, Reformation Sunday has often been celebrated as a 'triumph' of Protestantism, or more narrowly, a 'triumph' of Lutheranism. This is a difficult claim to maintain given the raw numbers (70 million people in the world profess to be Lutheran, vs 1.2 billion professing Catholics). It can, however, be celebrated as a triumph of the word of God.

            But as I say, this is simply one theme of the day. The other is that this Sunday marks our fourth and final stewardship emphasis week. We've explored called to be faithful, faithful in little, faithful with much...and now finally, faithful with all. ALL is a very inclusive term. Any discussion about true biblical stewardship includes so much more than what we do with the money God has blessed us with. This is where that time, talents, and treasures phrase comes in. Interestingly enough, this is also where Reformation themes can make another appearance. When Luther was a boy, the idea of giving God one's time and talents automatically meant devoting one's self to the religious life; a life of prayer; a life of monastic devotion; these were the ways one did something for God. In contrast, the butcher, the baker, or the candlestick maker were engaged in mundane, non-holy pursuits. With a re-emphasis of the word of God in the life of the believer, the Pauline emphasis on all work being dedicated to the glory of God was reborn (1Cor 10, Col 3, Eph 6). In this sense, one experiences CALLING... one experiences VOCATION simply by being a productive baptized Christian in the world. In other words, any discussion about being faithful with all must begin with a mindset and a question. What are you: husband, wife, mother, father, grandfather, grandmother? This is a HOLY CALLING. Are you approaching it as such? What else are you: business owner, accountant, sales, scientist, politician, engineer, counselor, cook, ditch-digger, etc.? This is a HOLY CALLING. Are you approaching it as such? Being faithful with all begins by believing that if we are engaged in responsible, ethical productivity in the real world, THIS is part of how we answer the call to stewardship. ANYONE can be an accountant; you have been called to be a Christian accountant. ANYONE can be in sales; you have been called to be a Christian in sales, etc.

            When we adopt this sense of calling/vocation, something very powerful begins to happen. The fragmentation and compartmentalization of life disappears and a vision of wholeness develops. What I mean is, we so often compartmentalize between our 'regular life' and our 'spiritual life.' I go to church on Sunday to practice my spiritual life, but I punch in down at the shop to work my regular life. But a faithful with all approach would disagree. A faithful with all approach would say that BOTH are, or at least can be, equally spiritual.

            One last thing comes to mind. Now that I am in CAP, I'm reminded of the way things work in a military culture. As you progress up the ranks you are automatically given more responsibility. Promotion often means more work. Worded another way, the reward for doing well is even greater expectation. Most times, this is embraced with enthusiasm. The newly promoted person WANTS the new challenge and responsibilities. They've earned it, now they want to demonstrate their ability to do it. Note how our passage in Luke ends: 16 "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17 " 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' Note: the master didn't say because you have been faithful in a very small matter, retire to a life of ease and inactivity... go on extended holiday and never come back now. JUST THE OPPOSITE! Bottom line... the call to be faithful with all means embracing the idea that God rewards good stewardship with MORE... and NEW... challenges and responsibilities. Congratulations on your promotion!

Cheers,

T.M.

Thoughts going in, Sunday October 19th, Pentecost +19

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner." 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." 9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

            This Sunday marks week #3 of our stewardship emphasis month. We've been attempting to see what the Bible has to show us about stewardship--with as much of an open mind as possible. In week 1 the emphasis was on faithfulness, with the idea being that ALL we have-- from our health and intellect to our worldly possessions--has been given to us as a sacred trust from the heavenly Father, who in this very act of *giving defines for us what faithfulness looks like. Then last week we used the John 6 story of the feeding of the 5000 to remind us that 'little is much when God is in it.' Most importantly, we saw that the biggest winner of that story was the young boy who contributed his little for the Lord. God will work in our world. The main question is whether or not we'll be around to see and be a part of the mighty act he performs.

            Well, this week we'll explore the idea of faithful with much. Before we dig into this text, I have to say that there are *other texts that come to mind in terms of exploring this idea of having much. There's the story of the rich young man, a story that occurs in the previous chapter of Luke's gospel. He approaches Jesus with the question what must I do to inherit eternal life. Jesus quizzes him on the commandments, but the young man says he's kept them all. So Jesus tells him to sell all of his possessions, give to the poor, and become one of his disciples. The account ends this way: When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God," (18:23-25).

            There's also the parable of the 'rich fool' in Luke 12 who has an unexpected windfall. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain (12:17-18). The story ends with God pronouncing him a "fool" and saying that his life is over.

            The common denominator of these two passages is that they both present rich men... people with 'much'...making bad choices concerning their 'much.' Both, to one degree or another, let their 'much' come between themselves and God or what God is about in the world. "Whew," we say, "thankfully I'm not rich so I don't have to worry about such things." Just a minute... we also have to remember that in spite of the horribly unjust wage gap and income divide in this country, when considered globally, every chart you care to look at shows that the bottom 10% of our country lives far better than the top 10% of most of the rest of the world. Globally, every American has much.

            Still, I opted against using those other passages because I felt they ended on a down note. The one guy goes away sad, and the other guy dies. I then remembered the story of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus definitely "has much"... it says in vs 1 that he was wealthy. He is, however, not a loved man. As a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus is scum. He's despised by his neighbors for collaborating with Rome for the sole purpose of his own enrichment. More importantly, he's written off as irredeemable by the religious authorities. My point is that we need to begin by stripping away whatever childhood sentiment we may have for Zacchaeus; he may have been a "wee little man" as the children's song goes, but make no mistake... in this culture he's the kingpin in a gangster movie. Jesus would have passed by armed guards on his way into the Zacchaeus compound. Once inside, Jesus would've been in the lap of luxury. In terms of wine, women & song; in terms of the finest things; in terms of everything imaginable, Zacchaeus would have it.

            Let's try to put that into our terms. Years ago Robin Leach did a show on the lifestyles of the rich and famous. They had everything: mansions, yachts, limos, jewelry, etc. Zacchaeus was one of them--at least he was rich and infamous. And here's where it gets interesting, because in spite of being one of them and having everything (including power), he was wise enough to realize that something was missing. He wanted to see who Jesus was (v3). Why? What should it matter who Jesus was? Why stop rolling thousand dollar bills into cigars long enough to care? Why get out of his hot tub? Why stop the partying? Why break up the extortion planning session with his lieutenants? Why walk away from his favorite concubine? It's only a wandering rabbi from Nazareth. Yet, Zacchaeus is a very strange figure in the Bible. He does not allow his 'much' to keep him from Jesus. He somehow realizes... God has somehow given him enough wisdom to see in this moment that there's something more valuable than the 'much.' This is the first of 2 very important lessons we see in the story.

            The second important lesson is found in vss 5-9: When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner." 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." 9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house." I love how some commentators can't leave well enough alone when it comes to the text. Even Barclay, whom I love, says that surely Jesus must have preached the Gospel to Zacchaeus. Others say similar things. It's almost as if they're miffed at Luke for 'leaving that part out.' Instead, why not just go with what Luke has given us: Zacchaeus had an encounter with Jesus and it changed his life. And note... it didn't just change what he believed; it didn't just change where he went to church or how often; and it didn't just change his attitude or outer affect... it's not that people noticed how much more serene or spiritual Zacchaeus looked. THE ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHANGED WHAT ZACCHAEUS CHOSE TO DO WITH MONEY.

            Is that what "saved" Zacchaeus? Every scholar from Augustine to Luther would scream NO. Zacchaeus was saved by grace through faith. But Jesus doesn't pronounce him to be saved until vs 9. Zacchaeus' CHANGE regarding his 'much' is the outward evidence... the needed outward evidence... that true faith is living in him. Had Zacchaeus said he now had Jesus in his heart and loved God above all else and his neighbor as himself, but changed nothing in his life, he would have been no different than the rich young ruler.

Cheers,

T.M.

            

Thoughts going in, Sunday October 12th, Pentecost +18

3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "It would take almost a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

            This is week #2 of our four-week stewardship sermon series. The layout of the series is part of a pre-planned program that picks themes and a basic accompanying verse/passage for each week. For week #1, the theme was very simple:  FAITHFUL. The whole series is called 'Found Faithful,' so it made sense to open the discussion with emphasis on what faithful means.

            This week we move down stream to something more specific... what does faithfulness look like when you haven't got much... or more specifically, "Found faithful in Little." The accompanying passage is the well known multiplying of the loaves miracle of Jesus--incidentally, the only miracle that appears in all four Gospels. Given the gist of this passage and the basic theme of 'little,' I chose Old Testament and Epistle passages that seemed to support this passage: 1Kings 17, the story of the widow's oil/flour that do not diminish while she was giving refuge to Elijah, and a passage from 2 Corinthians chapter 8 which includes the verse: For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.

            The common denominator is that quantity is irrelevant when God is involved. Generation upon generation has found a deep and abiding spirituality in this fact. There is an innate human tendency to believe that meaningful action, or meaningful change, can only be accomplished by the rich and powerful. Who am I? What possible difference could I make? This is the narrative of the have-not. And let's be honest, sometimes we use the narrative of the have-not as a handy excuse not to try. Who am I... what possible difference could I make... can become an easy ticket to the low road of remaining in our unchallenging comfort zone. In other words, looking close at these passages, I see not one, but TWO mandates: (1) The first is a positive/inspirational mandate... yes, even your small amount can make a difference... take heart... "Little is much when God is in it," as the old hymn says. But the (2) second is more of a mandate of rebuke... if everyone thought like this all of the time, NOTHING would ever get done; failure to challenge one's self and envision possibilities is never a virtue. Barclay has a great comment on this that I'll share in a bit.

            As to the passage itself, there are several key/interesting aspects. Take vs 5 for instance. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" I double checked, and sure enough, in the Greek it's "WE." From the beginning, in other words, Jesus is saying to Philip that this is a partnership. Yes, the problem looks big; yes the problem looks overwhelming, but this is a "WE" situation.

            Philip, of course despairs in vs 7: "It would take almost a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite. The TNIV is paraphrasing here. Literally Philip says it would take 200 denarii for everyone to get a little, but given that a denarius was the average day's wage for the working poor, the TNIV paraphrase makes sense. We should resist the urge to see Philip as the 'faithless' one, or the 'doubting-downer' of the group. From a narrative perspective, Philip's comments are needed to heighten suspense/expectation, and to highlight the extent of the miracle.

            Andrew and the un-named boy are also needed. Andrew NOTICED that which was so easily overlooked, a young boy with a miniscule amount of food. Andrew, in this story, is brainstorming. Brainstorming is all about throwing ideas onto the table, even if they're silly or don't make any sense, because often this silly-sounding thing leads to a real creative solution. And then there's the boy. He had something... not much...but something.... and here's probably the most important part of the story he was willing to share. It's pointless speculation to try to figure out what Jesus would've done if the boy had not been willing to share. Let's go even further and assume that not only was the boy willing to share, but he even had FAITH that in offering his meager gift to the Lord, something of substance could happen. Because, of course, that's precisely how the story unfolds. Jesus takes the gift, gives thanks/blesses it (vs 11), and something truly remarkable happens. I love what Barclay has to say here:

            There was the boy: he had not much to offer but out of what he had Jesus found the materials of a miracle. There would have been one great and shining deed fewer in history if that boy had refused to come or if he had withheld his loaves and fishes. The fact of life is that Jesus Christ needs what we can bring him. We may not have much to bring but he needs what we have. It may well be that the world is denied miracle after miracle and triumph after triumph because we will not bring to Christ what we have and what we are. If, just as we are, we would lay ourselves on the altar of the service of Jesus Christ, there is no saying what Christ could do with us and through us. We may be sorry and embarrassed that we have not more to bring--and rightly so; but that is no reason for failing or refusing to bring what we have and what we are. Little is always much in the hands of Christ.

            I began by noting the use of "WE" in Jesus' initial question. We are in partnership with Christ in mission and ministry by virtue of our baptism. This true wherever we are in life. But it's a 'junior partnership.' Our job is, thankfully, not to 'bless & multiply.' That's the senior partner's concern. In contrast, our job is really quite simple: Be like Andrew... notice the little things that are easily overlooked, and be like the boy... willing to have FAITH that our 'little' can do GREAT THINGS when the Lord gets his hands on it.

Cheers,

T.M.