So different, so similar

Yesterday is the scheduled time for lectionary reading and first responses. Life happens and I found myself a part of two death circumstances. One the final preparation for a funeral today of a beloved elderly member of the parish whose has been absent for the past several years. She has been in very poor health in that time; her death was not a surprise, and has an aspect of relief. The other was the sudden unexpected violent death of a young man whom everyone described a delightful, full of life, full of promise, trusting, and never a bad word to say. His death is full of surprise, shock, leaving folk spinning for answers, in some cases to questions still unknown.  I cannot imagine two death experiences more different.

 At the end of the day, picking at a late dinner, mindless sitting through a late evening mystery I began to realize as different as these deaths are, they are similar. Whether with some expectation or rude shock we are challenged by the unknowable mystery of what lies beyond death’s door. As I fumbled through ministering to both sets of mourners I realized my role is much the same – that is to journey with, perhaps as Urban Holmes’ concept of priest as shaman, or as a thin manifestation of the Spirit as Advocate, one who stands with. It’s a role of speaking the truth, “Our beloved is dead.” of pointing away from unhelpful speculations, of pointing to unshakable, though incomprehensible (passing all understanding), truth: the strength and peace of God’s love. Moreover I realized all this is best accomplished by “just showing up.” [1]

 The Dawn has come, and gone; it’s time to show up once again; trusting not in my own limited gifts, rather in God’s mysterious presence.

---

[1] Woody Allen

The Kingdom of God is near.

Hear my sermon at St. Stephen’s Web site: http://www.saintstephensblytheville.org/sermons-2013.php, (Generally available mid Monday.) or read it below

July 7, 2012 Proper 9
2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

When we got to our daughter’s there were hamburgers stacked high on gigantic gilded platters, hotdogs stacked like cordwood, mounds of potato salad, deviled eggs beyond counting, and later fireworks brilliantly flare against the darkened night sky. All in all it was a good day, a really good day. I hope you enjoyed your July 4th celebrations; Angie, Marcel, and I did. But, I must say, I think I’ve a bit of Naaman in me at the moment. Not that I see myself as a great man, not that I have some incurable socially debilitating, degenerating disease, not that I have a letter of introduction to a neighboring state leader; nope none of that stuff. It’s rather strangely like Naaman’s behavior after Elisha’s servant, from behind the partially opened door, tells him to wash in the Jordan seven times and he will be cured. Naaman gets angry, he expects the prophet, this [quote] man of God, to come out say some fancy words, make some intricate motions to effect his cure. And that’s the bit, his cure. For Naaman, this is all about “The Great and Powerful Naaman,” when in it truth, it’s all about God. And, at least as I was pondering all this Friday morning, as I struggled to write my blog bit, and the Facebook posting, and two orders, and a sermon, and facing our daughter’s rapidly approaching wedding, it was suddenly becoming all about me. In my experience, that is never a good thing. Oh I recover, but what I do to myself, and what I do to others it’s simply not as it should be.

That realization, jumped over to how we, as church, get on about our role as one of the 35 pairs Jesus sent ahead. When it goes well we are all about “The Kingdom of God.”
When it doesn’t goes as planned, we are about “Woe is us!” “Will we survive this crisis?” and so on. Sometimes we actually get angry at the people Jesus sent us to. We may not say anything to them, but the curious requirements we’re quick to put around benevolence quickly begins to look like vengeance: “You won’t listen to me about God, I won’t help you with food, clothes, housing, gas, medicine and so on. And if someone in our church begins to miss-behave, which, excluding sex and money, really means going to another church, we are, all too often, quick to chide them; because it’s all about us and their going else-where isn’t good for us.

Fortunately for Naaman he is surrounded by a bunch of no named, literally they are not named in the story, people who come to his aid: the Jewish slave girl, the Aramaean king, the unmentioned Jewish courtier who says something to Elisha, (He had to find out somehow.) and finally Naaman’s aides. And the good news is Naaman listens, is healed of his leprosy, and )a couple of verses later) comes to believe in God, so much so he carries two mule loads of dirt home, so he can properly worship God.

Now I know, than none of these unnamed characters are knowingly evangelist, but you’ve got ta acknowledge their actions, by hook or by crook, proclaimed to Naaman The Kingdom of God has come near you. and he got the message. And that is my vision for us. No – no, not for us to be unknown evangelists, and certainly not to be unaware evangelists, but to be those who whenever we meet someone be it a welcoming interaction, or a flat out rejection, lets it be known that “The Kingdom of God has come near you!” When Jesus sends those 70 out into a hostile world he tells them what to do when they are welcomed, and what to do when they are rejected, and both sets of instructions include saying “ The Kingdom of God has come near you!”

As I mentioned, I know what it is like to get sucked into that Naamanesque [quote] it’s all about me! mindset. I also know what it’s like for congregations to fall into the same [quote] It’s all about us! behavior. Now, we do not have a cast of unnamed aides to guide us as Naaman did. WE have something better, we have Paul, and he does share a bit of wisdom, with the Galatians, that seems to combat Naamanqesque quite nicely. Note, Paul is speaking about new members who fall under the influence of those preaching a corrupt Gospel. But what he writes applies to prophets, priests and kings, apostles, disciples, missionaries, evangelist, and just plain ordinary people of God, trying to go on ahead of Jesus.
         First,
             be gentle,
                 judgment is God’s work;
         then be careful you are not tempted,
             take care of each other;
        test yourselves;
        do not grow weary in doing what is right;
        work for the good of all;
        boast of nothing except Jesus the Christ;
        and finally, always remember
             that there is no divine division
                 among God’s people,
                 everyone is a new creation.

Do these seven little things and God’s peace and mercy will be upon you, and you will be a living sign that “the Kingdom of God is near!”

 

lectionaryscripturenotes.com http://www.lectionaryscriptureno tes.com/
Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14 | Pentecost 7, Cycle C

episcopaldigitalnetwork.com
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2013/06/13/7-pentecost-proper-9-c-2013/
7 Pentecost, Proper 9 (C) – 2013
By the Very Rev. Antho ny F. M. Clavier

cep.calvinseminary.edu http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/thisWeek/index.php
This Week at the Center for Excellence in Preaching
Next sunday is July 07, 2013 (Ordinary T ime)
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20, Scot t Hoezee
2 Kings 5:1-14, Scot t Hoezee
Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16, Stan Mast
Psalm 30, Doug Bratt

workingpreacher.org
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1685
2 Kings 5:1-14, Karla Suomala
Galatians 6:[1-6]7-16, Sarah Henrich
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20, Michael Rogness

… twice before …

Well I have started this twice before.  However, with yesterday’s festivities, today’s news from Egypt, the realization my oldest is getting married in 19 days, a funeral on the horizon, Sunday’s Order of Service and sermon to do, the healthy delta lunches effort, and the week to week humdrum of life and ministry none of it seems so relevant.

Except for Jesus’ words proclaim the Kingdom of God has come near.

Gracious Lord, by your Holy Spirit, may all that I say and all that I do proclaim that your Kingdom is near.

Let us not grow weary in doing what is right.

It was intention to ponder the appointed read from Galatians for Sunday. And then the Old Testament reading from the Daily Office (1Samuel 12:1 ff) grabbed my attention.  Samuel pronounces Israel’s sin in choosing a King to serve over them, in God’s place. Yet, his pronouncement is not without hope for he also says: ” … do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart … for the Lord will not cast away his people. It seems particularly  relevant given tomorrow is July 4th.

And then the reading from Luke (23:1 ff) the story of Pilate and Herod passing Jesus back and forth like some intriguing persona or political hot potato, both ignoring Roman Law (or so I an told) grabbed my attention.

Both stories raise the specter of the 1st clause of the 1st Amendment to our Constitution:  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”  I am frustrated that we have misinterpreted that to mean “separation of church and state” because it is silent as to citizens bringing religious values into political dialogue and processes.  I am also angered when elected official proclaim biblical values in some political debates, and then blatantly ignore the teachings of their own church in others as they promote policy based on writing of avowed atheist.

So, I am frustrated and offended. The calling is to call people into the transforming presence of God in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The calling is to remind people we can not mess it up fatally bad. It is as Samuel said “God will not cast away his people.” It is as Paul wrote: “What will separate us from the love of God? … nothing.

It now seems this reflects Sunday’s reading from Galatians after all. Paul writes: “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right.”

So, offended – yea, frustrated, yea, but weary – never, one way or another, know or unknown God’s strength is with us.

JST+

In this morning’s reading from 1 Samuel are

In this morning’s reading from 1 Samuel are the foreboding words: and there they Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. We know from early in the story it is God who ‘made’ Saul king. It seems to me Israel might have benefited from a descendant’s wisdom, the Psalmist who wrote:  I lift up my eye to the hills, from where is my help to come? (note: the hills are the presumed living places of local gods, usual customary sources of help) My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. We too should remember this tid-bit of wisdom for help, comes not from NSA surveillance not it’s detractors, but from our living, God. 

 

Nudges

I have long enjoyed the story of Naaman being cured of leprosy. It is rich in setting, in plot, and personalities.  Two personalities that contrast with each other are the King of Israel, (who is not even named) and Naaman the Commander of the Aram’s army.  The King of Israel appears to be paranoid; his immediate response to receiving the letter introducing Naaman and seeking cure for his leprosy is to believe the King of Aram is trying to pick a fight. (By the way the King of Aram is not named either.) He never even considers what God might be up to. Naaman, on the other hand is a narcissist, he is offended Elisha does not come out and make a big show.  Both are surrounded with wise advisors. Someone from the King of Israel’s court talked how else does Elisha learn what’s going on. And Naaman’s servants show him the folly of his response.

How often have you been blessed by a gentle nudge from friend, family, colleague, which set you back on course. I cannot count the times; but they are enough for me to realize the presence of the Kingdom is more often than not revealed quietly than complex schemes or fancy shows.

Celebrating freedom

Sunday Paul spoke to freedom, Thursday we celebrate our freedom. We can learn abiout both from the other.

You can listen to my sermon at http://www.saintstephensblytheville.org/sermons-2013.php when it’s posted (probably tomorrow), or read it below.

Proper 8

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Luke 9:51-62

 

Focus:  We are free to be a trusting faith community in our worship, and beyond.

______

Are you ready? I know you are ready.  You think ahead, never wait until the last moment. So, you know where you will be, you know who you will be with, you have laid in all the necessary supplies:

                        hamburgers, hotdogs,

                        buns and condiments,

                        potato salad, baked beans,

                        banana pudding,

                        ice tea.

You know when to leave, and where to go to see the fireworks. Yep, you are ready to celebrate the 4^th of July, our Independence Day. So are Angie, Marcel and I,       at least I think we are.

So we will gather with family, friends and neighbors, and we will experience a trait of our freedom, to gather without fear, and celebrate with each other. And that is a good thing. However, it is an incomplete thing, for this is not only about our freedom, it is about remembering that our freedom has not been without cost, that our freedom will not continue to be           without cost,           that our freedom, is as much about responsibility as it is about rights,          that our freedom is not without risks, that our freedom,     is not ours individually, if it is not everyone’s collectively.

 

Take away the hamburgers, hotdogs, beans, banana pudding and fireworks, and you have an aspect of Pauls’ teaching to the Galatians this morning. He puts it this way:

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love to serve one another.

 

I know the printed text says “become slaves” however ‘slave’ is a loaded word in our culture, and the Greek equally means “to serve”   in fact the King James reads by love serve. For Paul, true freedom is seen in our relationships with each other, and in our service to others.

The story of Elijah and Elisha this morning is an example of what Paul is writing about. Since last week’s mountain top re-commissioning Elijah has been busy. Among his divinely appointed actions, he anointed Elisha “to be a prophet in [his] place.”           Thus both know there is a divine succession plan in place. When the time arrives, both know. Three times Elijah tells Elisha Stay here, God has sent me to …  and three times Elisha says: As the Lord lives … I will not leave you.  Yes, I know there are only two in the appointed reading, oh well. In any case, among the many gleanings here, is a model of service beyond self, to God, through another. All of Elisha’s actions appear as devotion,             extraordinary loyalty to Elijah. Yet, there is so much more, for his loyalty to Elijah is a manifestation of their love for each other, their mutual knowledge the other is anointed by beloved by God. To phrase it as Paul might:

            Elisha is not using his anointing

            as an opportunity for self-indulgence,

            but through love is serving another.

Luke tells quite a different story. In the time since Jesus left the Gerasenes,  things have been busy. But the time has come. And Jesus literally changes directions, and heads towards Jerusalem, following the most direct route. That happens to take them through Samaria. Any self-respecting Jew would go around, but not Jesus, for many reasons, he goes through. As we should expect, he and his party are not particularly welcome, no Jews would be; been to North Korea lately?

Angered at their perceived miss treatment James and John, likely seeing themselves as Elijah’s, tell Jesus they’d be glad to call down divine fire. Now why they think they could do that     is a bit beyond me. Since leaving the Gerasenes the disciples have:

witnessed Jesus continue to do powerful works;

they’ve had a try themselves, but Luke doesn’t tell us any more than they were sent;

they’ve also:

• tried to send the crowds away to feed           themselves,
• gotten all in a knot about Jesus’ telling them about his death and resurrection
• tried to put Jesus, Moses and Elijah, in a box, ‘cause they couldn’t deal with the transfiguration,
• failed to cast a demon out of a boy,
• got to arguing amongst each other about who’s the greatest,
• and tried to stop someone they don’t know from acting in Jesus name.

It’s not been a good interval. ^[i]

Is it any wonder we hear Jesus biting retorts to those who proclaim their desire to follow him:

• I’m totally dependent on the hospitality of others; do you really want to try that?
• Your relationship to me is more important that any family or other responsibility or tradition.
• If you don’t always look where you are going, you will go the wrong way.

This following Jesus stuff,             is not going to be easy.  The disciples’ failure is evidence.

Alan Culpper notes,             all the their failures            are rooted in the disciples’ vision of their relationship with Jesus. ^[ii] As we have heard, they don’t get it, they don’t understand as Walter Brueggemann writes:        

 

The radicality of Jesus’ words lies in his claim to priority over the best, not the worst, of human relationships. Jesus never said to choose him over the devil but to choose him over the family.  …  [and in doing so] find the ability to love them. ^[iii]

Please note none of this suggests Elijah or Elisha are any better than the disciples. We know Elijah has had his moments. Just last week he quit. And, the Gospels do reveal that the disciples eventually get it, all be it, after coming to know the resurrected Jesus.

And I rather suspect, that that, coming to know the resurrected Jesus is the grounding of the freedom Paul proclaims. For coming to know the resurrected Jesus, is to come to know you are beloved, and from there well, all the world,      is ours to serve, and we are free to be a trusting faith community in our worship, and beyond.

 

 

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[i]  The New Interpreter’s Bible, The Gospel of Luke, R. Alan Culpepper

[ii] ibid

[iii] INTERPRETATION A Bible Commentary  for Teaching & Preaching GENESIS

                James Luther Mays, Editor,  Patrick D. Miller, Jr., Old Testament Editor,

                Paul J. Achtemeier, New Testament Editor,   Walter Brueggemann

 

 

episcopaldigitalnetwork.com The Re. Nils Chittenden

                6 Pentecost, Proper 8 (C) – 2013 June 30, 2013

                2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20; Galatians 5:1, 13-25;

                                Luke 9:51-62

 

cep.calvinseminary.edu http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/thisWeek/index.php

                This Week at the Center for Excellence in Preaching

                                Luke 9:51-62,  Scott Hoezee

                                2 Kings 2:1-14,  Scott Hoezee

                                Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Stan Mast

 

http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching   June 20, 2013

                Commentary on 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14,  Karla Suomala

                Commentary on Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Sarah Henrich

                Commentary on Luke 9:51-62, Michael Rogness