This is a Test

 

Another week in the Disunited States of America. 

Or are we more united than we might be led to believe? I just can't tell anymore. 

What I do know is that as we enter this season of Lent, and we read the story of the temptation of Jesus after his baptism, I am looking longer and harder at how Jesus could withstand the mind games that he had to endure in that moment. How this Satan was attempting to pull him away from God and succumb to the baser instincts of his humanity. 

We are seeing on a large scale what happens to a person who gives in to the lure of money and power. And now, I am reading how some of the people who followed this pied piper are beginning to feel betrayed. Not all of them. Maybe it's less than five percent of them. But still...this early into a presidency, that says something. 

I mean, they wanted lower egg prices. Instead, they're getting thousands of fired park rangers, scientists, and hurricane hunter pilots. And their grocery bills haven't budged. In fact, there is now a surcharge added for eggs at places such as Waffle House. 

This is why Jesus shows us something important about the moment we're in: resistance is the righteous path to take. 

See what you think. 

Text: Luke 4:1-13

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We all know about taking tests.

In school…there were quizzes…multiple choice…essay exams.

Lots of professions…nurses…electricians…teachers… all require passing a test before getting a job.

We might not like them…but really the testing is all part of making sure that a person has the knowledge and the skills to do the work they’re setting out to do.

So while this Gospel story today is often talked about as Jesus getting “tempted by the devil”…we can also consider it Jesus getting tested.

This time in the wilderness is preparing him for the major work that still lies ahead.

A mission to get people back to living their lives deeply grounded and centered on Love.

I know Luke speaks of “the devil.”

And that tends to get us thinking of that character…the red being with horns and a tail and pitchfork.

Maybe it’s easier for us to imagine a physical being like that which we can call “the devil.”

But really “the devil” isn’t some physical being…or demi-God…or deity of any kind.

I tend to follow the line of thinking of a Swiss theologian named Karl Barth.

Barth was one of the contemporaries of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and part of what was called “The Confessing Church.”

They were the religious leaders in Germany who opposed the Nazi takeover of religion.

Barth was a firm believer in the goodness of God and God’s creation.

He believed that only God can create anything…and the very thing that opposed God was actually this shapeless…tasteless…“evil”  that was “nothingness.”

Evil exists…but it’s almost like carbon monoxide.

It tries to sneak in unnoticed and disrupt and destroy the creatures of God…such as you and me…and in this case Jesus.

In my own interpretation…this “nothingness” is always looking for a way to become something.

And I see this nothingness trying to test Jesus in the wilderness.

Will Jesus succumb to nothingness…to the evil and greedy ways of having power over things…or will he stick to the path of God…and remain faithful to building a world of power with the people?

Can Jesus…in this wilderness moment…hold on to the memory of his baptism when the Holy Spirit came to him and he heard the voice saying: “You are my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”  

Jesus has been fasting for forty days.

He’s in this land of uncertainty…the lonely and isolated place of wilderness.

He’s famished.

What better time for him to have the devil of nothingness put into his head…

“You’re God’s Son, remember? Turn this stone into bread.”

We know what it’s like to be hungry.

Our stomach is gurgling.

We feel our blood sugar plummeting and we’re getting shaky.

Think of those moments and realize that Jesus is feeling all of that.

And while we’re at it…think of another story where food becomes so tempting.

In the Book of Genesis…that nothingness comes in the form of the crafty serpent who spoke to Eve in the Garden of Eden:

“Did God say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”

And Eve tells the serpent they may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden… except that one in the middle…the Tree of Knowledge. If they eat that fruit…they will die.

“Ahhhh”….says the serpent…”you aren’t gonna die. You’ll just know good and evil. You’d like to know good and evil…right?”

And that fruit was so beautiful….so tempting.

And Eve ate the apple…and shared it with an unquestioning Adam.

Jesus knows this story all too well.

As a good Jew…he knows that this is the story his people tell to explain how humans came to be separated from God.

And so despite whatever hunger pangs he may be feeling his answer to this first test question is:

“No, I will not make this stone into bread.

I know what you’re trying to do here, devil.

And I remember that when my people ate the manna in the wilderness…they were warned not to rely on bread alone.”

So… Jesus has passed this test.

But the examination isn’t over.

The weakened-by-hunger Jesus gets to see all the kingdoms of the world. These could all be his…everything of the world…if he will follow this voice beckoning to him to surrender to the human-driven desire to have power over others.

Many of us wrestle with this one in our lives regularly.

Whenever we’re in a position of authority…either at our jobs…or in our families… we must consider how far do we exercise our authority.

And there’s always the temptation to use the power we’re given in ways that puff up ourselves by tearing someone else down.

Think of the memes on social media that get moved around at lightening speed…collecting “likes” and “hearts” and “ha-ha” emojis….without asking:

 Is this information true?

Is it necessary to share?

Is it kind?

When I was a reporter covering Florida politics…one of the most depressing things that I witnessed was seeing the way power corrupted newly elected legislators.

These were people who would arrive into these elected positions with such high hopes that they would be able to do good work and serve the people.

And within about three weeks…I could see the shine wearing off.

The lure of power over others made them turn on some of the constituent groups that had helped get them into office in the first place.

Like Adam and Eve…they had taken a bite of the apple of power…and it had turned their hearts to stone.

Jesus answers the second question of this test with a “No thanks. I know what it says in Deuteronomy. I’m worshipping the real God…and I’m not in this for the false God of Dominance and Empire.”

Still…this nothingness is determined…and tries a third time…another test question.

The devil basically says, “If you’re the Son of God: prove it.  Let’s see if God will catch you when you fall?”

This is truly an evil thought to put in the head of someone who is famished.

It’s also an attempt to get Jesus to invoke his divinity…and by doing that…separate himself from us…by using his divine power and cancelling his humanity.

Jesus…once more…is able to summon up his strength to quote from Deuteronomy:

“Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

The exam is finished.

Jesus scores a perfect A… three out of three.

He passes with flying colors.

But there is this last phrase…that devil departs from him “until an opportune time.”

Jesus will be tested again and again.

Because nothingness will keep looking for ways to get him to stumble and fall and turn away from his mission of spreading love.

We are also tested again and again.

There are so many forces…those unseen and hidden ways…that evil keeps looking for that crack…that opening…in which to infiltrate our hearts and minds…and elevate that part of us that harbors hurt…and jealousy…and rage.

It wants to draw us into that place where we stop seeing each other as the beloved and beautifully made children of God…and turn us against one another.

There are those with the megaphones of media who want to spread fear of anyone seen as different…and convince us that empathy is of the devil.

The natural temptation when hit with so much negativity is to withdraw and pull away…hide under the covers.

But Jesus has shown us that even when we are feeling at our weakest…the right answer to the test questions is not to despair or give in but to resist the evil that wants to infect us.

It’s not easy to do…and we will not always do it well.

That’s the most beautiful part of our Baptismal Covenant.

When we promise to “persevere in resisting evil” it quickly follows that we whenever we don’t do it…”we will repent and return to the Lord” (BCP 304).

It’s not an “if.”

It’s a “when.”

And it’s OK to admit that…to acknowledge that we will not always get it right.

There is a lot of resisting that has to happen in the world today…and a lot of repenting and returning to God in that process.

Together…we can help each other through this wilderness during Lent.

And with God’s help…we will arrive at Easter…having passed the tests presented to us in this time.

In the Name of Our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tears Will Keep Us Together

Some of you may remember the 1970s Captain and Tennille hit, "Love Will Keep Us Together." 

I'm calling this entry "Tears Will Keep Us Together" because I think we are all overdue for a collective cry in the face of the madness that is swirling around us. 

And I think it is through our crying that we can arrive at the realization that for those who are wondering, "Where is our God?"...the answer is "in community." 

COVID forced us apart. Now is the time to pull together because we are going to need to lean on each other and work together if we want to maintain the ideals of this country: life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

With God's help, we can get there.

Text: primarily Psalm 51

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Normally…when I preach a sermon…I like to focus on the readings we’ve just heard.

I like to expand upon them…maybe fill in some gaps here and there…offer a slightly different take on familiar passages.

And the longer I sat with all the readings from this service for Ash Wednesday…I found myself drawn to a part of our opening collect…and how it confirms the words at the end of Psalm 51.

Specifically…I want us to remember these two ideas…and keep them close…and let them sink in:

“Almighty and everlasting God…you hate nothing you have made…”

And from Psalm 51…which we will be reading later…

“The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

God hates nothing God has made. That means God does not hate you, or me, or anyone. 

God’s only requirement is for us to bring our broken and remorseful hearts to God’s altar.

These are the words that felt the most important for a time such as this.

We’re living in a moment in this country where so many are feeling that up is down and down is up.

The very core teachings of our faith…things such as having empathy for other people…seeking to build a more just society for all…following the Biblical mandate to welcome the stranger…simply showing loving-kindness to one another…these are getting ridiculed…tossed aside as weak…labeled unpatriotic.

Even…by some…these ideas have been called “demonic.”

I mean…Bishop Mariann Budde…who is definitely not one of those in the ranks of the purple shirts looking to be the center of attention…came in for harsh criticism for asking the President to be merciful toward minority groups feeling afraid.

Five Georgia Congressional representatives signed onto a House Resolution to censure her.

Such legislative attacks are performative and silly.

The Episcopal Church is religious denomination and not a branch of government.

And yet they are heartbreaking.

Our basic values…the core of our faith…and the ability for us to live as E Pluribus Unum in this country…is under daily assault.

I admit…it has left me at times…shedding some tears.

Perhaps…some of you have cried, too.

But…despite what might pass for conventional wisdom in the world…I will tell you that tears are good.

They’re normal.

They’re not signs of weakness.

On the contrary…they are signs of strength because we care.

About ourselves.

About other people.

About the beautiful creation that surrounds us.

And about goodness…fairness…and justice.

My wife shared with me a blog written by a Roman Catholic priest in Wisconsin named Father Derek Sakowski.

Father Derek describes tears as “a precious gift from God.”

Rather than be fearful or ashamed of our tears…we should see them as God’s way of helping us to let go and acknowledge that we really aren’t super humans.

We have countless examples in the Scriptures that confirm the importance and rightness of our tears:

Jesus wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus.

Mary Magdalene wept at the tomb of Jesus before she saw his resurrected self standing in the garden.

Peter…who was so wanting to be heroic and stand by Jesus in Jerusalem…wept when he heard the cock crow a third time and realized he had let his friend and teacher down…just as Jesus had predicted.

We heard this recently…Joseph and his brothers wept when they discovered that this youngest son of Jacob who the brothers had abused and sold into slavery…was alive and was in a position to save them from famine and death.

And of course…Psalm 51 is King David’s lament over his failures…both as a leader and as a man.

By bringing our tears…our broken and contrite hearts before God…it’s a way for us to say…without words…”I need help.”

And we do need help.  

Think about our responses to those five pledges we make in the Baptismal Covenant.

We cannot accomplish the tasks of staying with God in prayer, resisting evil, proclaiming God’s Good News in word and example, seeing Christ in all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being as we strive for justice and peace….we cannot accomplish any of those laudable goals without God’s help.

And that means…we can’t do the work of Love without each other.

Lent is often seen as a time…and was once upon a time…a period in which the faithful and sin sick people of God separated themselves from community.

I would offer that we do not do that now.

Now…perhaps more than at any other time…is a time for us not to go our separate ways and “give up” on each other.

Rather we need to find ways to come together…in mindfulness and loving kindness…and drop this idea that our rugged individualism makes us strong.

This is the false self…the front we put up for others…in our effort to project some idea of what it means to be “tough.”

Perhaps the thing we “give up” this Lent is our pulling away from each other…our diehard self-reliance… and recognize that we need community.

Because it is in community where we find the Spirit of God….and that sense that we belong to something greater than ourselves.

Maybe our tears are a way of clearing our eyes…and giving us a chance to see each other as siblings in Christ…with our quirks and particular gifts…as we keep on the journey with Jesus…to the cross…through his death…and into a resurrected life.

It could be that this is the Lent where our tears…having watered the garden of our hurt and anger and frustration at things happening in the world…will grow the garden of that tiny mustard seed planted in us at our Baptism: that seed of a faith in a Love that will never be defeated.

Because Love is the best antidote to a culture of self-centeredness and death.

For this Lent…may we rediscover our connections and our interdependence on God and each other…and this be the beginning of building the bonds that will sustain us in times of sorrow and remind us of the joy of friendship.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

Love is Our Super Power

 

Oh. My. God.

That's the only thing I could think after seeing clips of the Oval Office meeting between our president, vice president, and secretary of state...and Ukranian President Volodymr Zelensky. 

As one who grew up in a very Republican household...I was steeped in anti-communism and distrust of the Russians.

So to see so-called Republicans berating Zelensky for defending the freedom of his country for these three long years after a Russian invasion....

Oh. My. God. 

And what I realized about myself is that the more I see of this administration...the more they are pushing my anger button over and over and over. I can sense that I am falling headlong into that pit of hell called "Hate." 

And spending too much time in that pit leads to hardness of heart.

And hardness of heart leads to death.

Time to counteract that.

See what you think of this antidote that I offered to my congregation.

Text: Luke 9:28-43a

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There’s a common phrase that gets used in church circles: “Mountain top moments.”

Mountains in the Scriptures…as we see in today’s readings…are those places where big transformational things happen.

It’s those times when something so extraordinary happens that it takes our breath away.

These can be some of the most fleeting…and yet profound experiences when we feel almost a tingling sensation that says, “God is here.”

In those moments…we might want to respond as Peter does.

We want to preserve this…keep it…dwell in this space forever.

But there’s a reason these are called mountain top “moments” and not “mountain top forever and evers. Amen.”

Even for Jesus…this is not a time that he will get to remain in a state of wonder and bliss.

In fact for Jesus…this is probably not the most wonderous moment.

It was more likely a sobering awakening and understanding of what was to come.

I say that because of who shows up.

As Jesus is praying…he’s joined by Moses and Elijah…the symbols of the Law and the Prophets.  

They’re talking to him about “his departure, which he was about to achieve at Jerusalem.”

The Greek word in the text for “departure” is “exodus.”

And this is not merely some excursion.

This mountain top moment for Jesus is the time for him to prepare for the most difficult and demanding part of his ministry: his exodus…as in his crucifixion.

We don’t know what Moses and Elijah said to Jesus in this moment.

But it makes sense that if two figures were to come to Jesus in this time of prayer…these two would be the ones.

Biblical scholar Richard Swanson shared in a commentary about a conversation he had with a friend from the Lakota tribe. The Lakota talk about the circles of wisdom in life.

There are several of them.

Joni Mitchell fans might consider her song, “The Circle Game”…where the seasons go ‘round and ‘round as we are all on a carousel of time.

Children live on the outer most circle…touching and feeling and exploring the world as they learn.

And as they learn…they move in to the next circle of wisdom.

The ones on the innermost circle are the oldest…the elders.

This circle is closest to true divine wisdom.

 And for Jesus…as a Jewish man of the First Century…there can be no greater pillars of divine wisdom to appear in a moment of prayer than Moses and Elijah.

What did they want him to know?

Again…Luke doesn’t give us the details of what was said in this moment between the three of them.

But we can imagine that these two were giving him something of a spiritual pep talk.

Both Moses and Elijah faced trials and tribulations as leaders of Israel in their own times.

Moses took his people out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt under an oppressive regime of Pharoah.

Elijah exposed King Ahab’s corruption of the people when he led them into following the false God Baal.

Jesus is now facing the same sort of situations.

If we remember from our earlier readings in this season of Epiphany…at the time that Jesus was presented at the Temple…two elders of the community…Simeon and Anna…both saw in this baby the promise of one who would deliver his people from the hardships and injustices of the Roman Empire.

But for Jesus…this is not the sort of revolutionary deliverance that involves weapons and war.

His is an effort to take down the oppressive “power over” and controlling systems of Rome…and disrupt that human lust for greed…and bring everyone to a place of living into and for God’s love.

God’s love…which has no asterisks or expiration date…no boundaries at all.

In prayer…the young man Jesus has moved closer to the inner circle…with Moses and Elijah…

And in this space…his true being and purpose is beginning to shine through.

As he converses in prayer…he’s growing brighter…shinier…filled with light.

Meanwhile…his good friends Peter…James and John…have been fighting to keep their eyes open.

Drowsiness…in the Bible…is often a sign that a person isn’t paying attention and letting other things distract them.

They’re awake enough to see this sight.

And Peter thinks this is a time to build booths…make that moment last forever.

Until the cloud descends and the voice thunders out:

“This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.”

No more Moses.

Elijah has been whisked away again.

Only Jesus is before them.

This “mountain top moment” for Peter…James and John left them speechless.

That’s a normal response to something so awe-inspiring…and other-worldly.

Such an encounter with the holy is the sort of thing that requires time and space to process it.

But this vision is now in their memory banks…and it will become important to them and to Jesus’ ultimate mission of spreading love…after his exodus at Jerusalem.

For now though…it’s time to go back into the valley.

And for Jesus…it’s clearly back to work encountering a man whose son needed healing from a demon.

Our modern medicine tells us that this boy likely was suffering from epileptic seizures…but for our Biblical ancestors…such convulsions were blamed on demons.

This story of this boy with a demon exists in both Matthew and Mark…and we hear how this poor desperate father sought help from the disciples…but it wasn’t working.

In Mark’s telling of the story…there’s more of an exchange between Jesus and this dad…which comes to a head with the father crying out, “I believe; help my unbelief.”

I’m really sorry that Luke left that detail out of his account…because it brings us full circle to the mountain top…and what I think is most useful for us in our current time.

Because that prayer: “I believe; help my unbelief” is such an honest plea.

It’s one that many of us can probably relate to…especially as we bear witness to things happening around us in the world.

It’s that unfiltered appeal…that willingness to drop any façade of being assured of our own strength to make things happen.

This is a case where the only thing that father could do is to turn everything over to God.

Through this interaction with this boy and his father…Jesus shows us that no demon we face is stronger than power of Love…if we will only allow ourselves to believe it…trust it…and live into it.

Jesus needed prayer to stay true to his mission and maintain his strength to meet the task before him.

Just as this father did…Jesus…the very human part of Jesus…in his mountain top moment…had turned himself over to God…and sought God’s help.

And God…through linking Jesus to the greatest prophets of the Jewish people…answered Jesus’ prayer…connecting to Jesus to his inner divine self…and it radiated from him.

Prayer is powerful.

We need prayer to stay true to the mission we have as followers of Jesus:

To love.

 That Love that Paul talks about in the First Letter to Corinthians…when he described this Love that is “patient…kind…bears all things…endures all things……is not rude or boastful…rejoices in the truth.”

That is the Love of God…which is in each of us.

Through prayer…we are embark on a journey to that inner circle of wisdom.

And in that place…we can connect to God…and give God the pathway to light that fire of Love within our hearts…helping us to shine Love back out into the world.

Love is the super power we have as followers of Jesus.

Unconditional love…and promises of health…healing…and hope…is a world vision worth our effort.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Your Enemies And Right Relationship

 This past week in the Administration from Hell has really pushed all of my buttons. 

Our president has decided that Ukraine...which was invaded by Russia three years ago today...started this war, their leader is a dictator, and we are going to do peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin, one of the most evil and reprehensible foreign leaders in the world, without Ukraine's Volodymer Zelensky. 

Our vice president has lectured European leaders as if they are kindergarteners. 

The administration has fired two members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--a Black man and a woman--claiming they were "DEI hires." 

Park rangers, biologists, JAGs in the military, any federal employee still in their probationary period with a government agency (so a lot of young professionals) have been fired with a mass email and locked out of their computers, so they can't download information like their performance evaluations to help them get new jobs. 

All of this benefits billionaires...specifically one billionaire: Elon Musk. He is eliminating the federal agencies that kept a check on his business interests, and appears to be data mining to get access to the trade secrets of his competitors who had government contracts. 

So imagine the joy of opening the Scriptures for the week and reading that Jesus wants me to "love your enemies."

I needed help...big time...to write and preach this sermon.

Thanks be to God for those men of God....the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Rev. Sen. Raphael Warnock. 

All of us who aim to do our best to walk with Jesus need to help each other. Maybe this sermon helps you. I hope it does.

Let me know what you think. 

Texts: Luke 6:27-38; Gen. 45: 3-11; 15....and Gen. 4:1-11

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I don’t think there’s a tougher piece of Scripture to hear than this week’s Gospel.

There is nothing more challenging…more counter-cultural…than a message to “love your enemies.”

And this Scripture is especially hard to hear right now in our country.

The animosity between groups of people has been building for years.

Distrust of the “other”…whichever “other” that is.. has been spreading like a wildfire.

Verifiable facts…like who started a war in Ukraine… are being re-written.

People are angry…families are split.

And here comes Jesus with “Love your enemies.”

If hearing it is hard…preaching on it is even harder.

And doing it…that’s the hardest!

It’s not as if Jesus was ignorant to the difficulty of his message.

He saw the abusive behavior of the Roman Empire.

And he understood the seething anger of his fellow Jews.

Remember last week’s Gospel lesson with the blessings and woes?

Jesus is there…on the plain…on the level with them in their tired and weary lives.

And yet…he still said…don’t return their hatred with more hatred.

Be different. Don’t behave like them.

A word we must still consider today in 2025.

How can we… when we’re witnessing chaos…and learning about people losing their jobs for no reason…how do we bring ourselves to a place of “loving” the enemy?

I think the best place to start is by thinking through some definitions.

When we hear “enemy” we might be thinking about those we see as foes.

That’s who those listening to Jesus had in mind with the Empire.

But an “enemy” might also be that person who we don’t like. The person we don’t want to be around.

Jesus doesn’t ask us to “like” people.

He says to “love” them.

So what does Jesus means by “love” here?

This is a particular type of “love.”

In the Greek of the New Testament…there are three different types of “love.”

There is “eros”…which is the romantic love; there is philia…which is where we get Philadelphia being “the city of brotherly love.” That idea of a kinship and bond.  

And then there is “agape” love.

This is a redemptive love…the creative and overflowing goodwill that doesn’t seek anything in return. The love that wants good things for all people.

It’s this “agape” love that is the “love of the enemy”…that Jesus is talking about.

In his book “Strength to Love” the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. does a deep dive into what it takes to reach a place of having that agape love for the enemy.

Dr. King certainly knew the hardship of finding love for those who were prejudiced against Black Americans in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

King says the first step toward this agape is to do some inner work.

You can’t get to “loving the enemy” until you work on forgiveness.

One must be able to forgive the wrong that was done.

That doesn’t mean you gloss over what happened…or try to label an evil act as “good.”

Evil is never good.

And this also isn’t about being a doormat.

What forgiveness means is seeing the wrong for what it is…but not allowing that wrong to put up a barrier to relationship.

It’s that part of the Lord’s Prayer: forgive us our trespasses…our wrongs…our refusal to be in relationship to people and the planet…as we forgive those who trespass against us.

We can see an example of that in our first reading with the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph’s brothers had initially tried to kill him but instead they sold him into slavery in Egypt. Joseph, who had the gift of dreaming and interpretation, then went on to became so valuable to the Pharoah that he was now in a position of power in Egypt.

His brothers had no idea he had become so successful.

When they found out who he was…and how powerful he was…they were terrified that he was going to seek revenge for what they had done to him.

But Joseph didn’t use his power over them.

He had had time to reflect…and to see that what they had been meant for bad…had turned out better for him.

And really for them…too.

He forgave them. And a relationship that had been severed could now be repaired.

The brothers huddled together and they wept.

The other thing Dr. King notes about forgiving the enemy is the need to recognize a truth about the human heart.

Each of us is capable of both good and evil.

We all can love and hate.

I recently had a chance to rewatch a video that I had made for one of my seminary classes about the story of Cain and Abel.

If you don’t remember the story…the brothers…Cain and Abel…bring an offering to God.

Cain is a tiller of the ground, so in my video…he presents God with a basket of vegetables.

Abel is a shepherd…so he presents God with a choice sheep from his flock.

God accepts Abel’s offering but rejects Cain’s.

Cain gets angry…and God cautions Cain to be careful about this emotion…and tells him that he must master it or else it is going to take him down the pathway of sin.

Sin meaning a separation from God.

That separation…in this case…manifested in Cain leaving the conversation with God and going off to kill his brother Abel.

That’s an extreme example of what happens when hate gets the better of us.

But it illustrates what happens when we feel wronged and then we transfer our hurt onto the other who we think is getting something we aren’t getting.

That jealousy or envy becomes a barrier to relationship.

I think that’s what’s at the heart of the fear and the anger at diversity…equity…and inclusion.

There’s a perception that someone who is a woman…or is not white…or maybe is gay…is somehow “getting something” that they didn’t “deserve.”

Now this term “DEI” is thrown about as a bad thing.

But as Senator and Baptist preacher Raphael Warnock recently pointed out…those letters “D-E-I” spell “dei”…the Latin phrase: “of God.”

And we are all made in the image of God…the “imago dei.”

The diversity of the people in our workforce is a reflection of the diversity of people in our country…which is a reflection of the people in creation.

And as it says in the Book of Genesis…all those made in God’s image are “very good.”

Both the people we love…and the people we hate are “imago dei.”

We can’t forget that.

The Cain and Abel story is also a reminder that we can choose to either follow good…or follow evil…and that both emotions reside in all of us.

So often…the source of somebody’s hate is coming from a place of fear…or prejudice.

It’s built on the wobbly foundation of simply not knowing a person who is different from us…or not understanding differences.

Those barriers can be broken down if we take the time to listen to each other…and feel safe enough to share our stories with one another.

I can see some of that happening in the Episcopal Church around the issue of the boarding schools where our indigenous siblings were sent in the 19^th and 20^th century to “kill the Indian in them.”

Indian children were taken from their families and shipped off miles away to boarding schools…and stripped of their names and given numbers.

They were punished for singing their songs and speaking in their native languages.

While the trauma of those experiences will never be undone…the fact that the Church is now listening…and acknowledging that these wrongs were done in our name is the start of healing.

It repairs the relationships distorted by hatred by giving those hurt the dignity of being heard.

And it softens the hearts of those who have let their hatred…their fears and their prejudices…consume them and rob them of their humanity.

As we approach the end of Epiphany and the start of the season of Lent…I can’t think of a more important lesson for us than this one about “loving our enemies.”

Because we are going to need a lot more love in these next many years.

Things are not right at the moment in this country.

And I’m not just talking about what’s happening on the macro level of national and foreign policy.

As I said at the start of this sermon…we’ve been increasingly turning on each other in ways that are undermining our ability to be in right relationship with each other.

And when we are not in right relationship with each other…we are definitely not in right relationship with God.

When we see each other as only whatever partisan positions we take…or whatever other characteristics we are…gender…orientation…race…and we retreat into that place in our hearts that feeds on our fears of what’s different….we are starving and fasting our faith in God.

In this time…we are being called again by God to choose life.

Choosing life means choosing to stand for Love.

Because Love is the answer and the only force that can turn the enemy into a friend.

Love…that agape love…is that overwhelming and creative force that wants the good for everyone…and refuses to capitulate to the idea that goodness…life…love and light are in limited supply.

As Dr. King so eloquently said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

If we want to be seen as followers and believers in Jesus…we must be ready to take on the difficult task of Love.

We must be willing to see the imago dei in each other…both those who are friends and those who are enemies.

May Love and light be our guide.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

Blessings and Curses: A Sermon for 6C Epiphany

 I swear, most weeks feel as though I am getting challenged by God to rise up to the challenge of following Jesus to the cross in more than a metaphorical way. That's life in the first month of this presidential administration. 

We're all living in this Hell together. And so I am also hoping that through the words given to me to speak it might motivate a few more people off the sidelines. 

Could that be you?

Texts: Jer. 17:5-10; Ps.1;  Luke 6:17-26

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            It can be easy when we hear stories from the scriptures that are so well-known to just kind of gloss over them.

Familiarity with something like today’s reading—the Beatitudes—is one where we hear it and think:

 “Yeah, yeah. Blessed are this group and that group.”

My guess is that most of us were listening and thinking of the other version of the Beatitudes—the one from Matthew’s Gospel—which is part of what is called “The Sermon on the Mount.”

But this reading is NOT that reading.

And this passage from Luke has some details that I think require us to slow down and pay attention to what our evangelist wants us to know about Jesus.

So let’s dig in here for a moment.

Unlike Matthew…Luke places Jesus not on a mountain…but on the plain…on the ground.

And not just on the ground.

Luke’s Jesus is looking up at his disciples before he begins to speak.

Instead of being elevated above them…Luke wants us to remember that Jesus is “with” the people.

Around his disciples is the crowd….all those folks who have come from miles and miles on foot…seeking to hear a word from him.

These are the lost…the lonely…the disenfranchised…the people with disabilities.

The ones the Empire is trying to crush like bugs.

This crowd is straining to hear what Jesus is saying to his ragamuffin group of followers.

So Jesus begins:

“Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God.”

What?

It’s a blessing to live month to month trying to figure out how to make ends meet?

“Blessed are those who are hungry now for you will be filled.”

Seriously?!

We all know it’s a lot harder for a child to learn anything in school if they aren’t getting enough food to sustain their bodies.

Just these first two mentions of who is “blessed”…or the “fortunate ones” is just strange.

But then…Jesus is strange.

And he’s called the disciples to join him in this upside-down way of looking at things.

Is it virtuous to be poor?

To be hungry?

No…not really.

But this isn’t virtue signaling or just talk about material wealth.

This is about the Way of Love.

And the Way of Love is the ongoing effort to bring about a more just and fair society.

And that requires taking the conventional wisdom that says that wealth and prestige makes one great…and flips that idea on its head.

The Way of Love requires us to come together…be in relationship and not separate ourselves from each other…or even divorce ourselves from our own hearts and minds.

Most of all…this Way of Love… this blessed path of Jesus… demands that we not turn away from God.

Jesus is preparing his disciples….and anyone else willing to listen to him… that our call is to trust and lean into that Universal Source of Love…the Love that is of God…as our true inheritance.

Live it. Breathe it. And share it back with the world.

We are to look to God and feed our hearts…not our stomachs… with that Love.

That was his message in the Beatitudes then.

Today…Jesus is looking at you and me…the disciples of now…and saying, “Blessed are you.”

And with that blessing…comes the responsibility.

We are called to not look away…but to sit with and stand by those who weep…continue to make contact and connection to one another.

And as we watch the news each day…there are many who are weeping and in need of those who will be with them in this time of uncertainty.

It reminds me of some of the things that Mother Leeann Culbreath was sharing in the migration with dignity forum we held last week.

She asked us to give…in one sentence…a story of an immigrant that we have known in our own lives.

And everyone at that forum had a story they could share.

Everyone knew someone who had come to this country in search of a better life.

And…let’s be honest…all of us who are white and not claiming a heritage of one of the many indigenous tribes…we’re all here because our ancestors came from somewhere else.

Mother Leeann shared about her experiences…and the stories of immigrants who faced dangerous treks through areas known for gang violence and civil war to get to the United States.

Some of them have been waiting for months and years as the immigration courts slowly process thousands of asylum cases.

There are simply not enough judges to do the work

And now…these innocent people are living in fear.

Without the proper papers…they could be sent back to places where they face almost certain death.

These are just some of the people waiting and weeping.

And Jesus invites us to weep with them…until those tears can turn to joy.

Not through punishment…but through properly fixing the systems that have been broken for too long.

None of this work of love is about being popular.

In fact…for those who are the fortunate…the blessed…those who follow in the Way of Love are courting trouble from the forces that deal in fear.

That’s Jesus’s warning to us.

He’s telling his disciples…both then and now… to prepare to be hated for not going along with the status quo advocated by the powerful.

And yet…sticking to that Source of Love is the answer and the way to stay strong in the face of opposition.

I’m reminded of a quote I heard recently from the late Bishop Barbara Harris…who was one who leaned into the Love of God as she faced the challenges of being the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion…and was the first black woman bishop to boot.

Bishop Harris said, “Remember that the power behind us (God) is greater than the challenges ahead of us.”

In the Beatitudes…Jesus is saying the same thing.

He’s drawing upon the words of the prophets such as Jeremiah…warning of the “woe” that comes to those cut themselves off from others…and by doing that…cut themselves off from God.

Pay attention to what Jeremiah says:

“Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the Lord.

They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.

They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.”

Jeremiah’s words tell us what the curse is: separating one’s heart from the Love that is the Lord.

 

Jeremiah goes on:

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.

They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.” (Jer.17:5-6a)

The ones who live their lives by the societal standards that rewards those with “power over” others have lost touch with God.

As Jesus puts it…there is woe coming to those who have full stomachs but are still greedy for more because their greed is separating them from the Way of Love.

Blessed are the ones who fix their hearts on God…share in bearing the burdens of life with others…

These are the people who will be like the trees…with deep roots…fed by the living waters.

The woes are for those who withhold compassion… mercy… and justice.

The blessings come to those who…as Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote…stand in the shadow of the cross.

The Beatitudes are meant to prepare us for the hard work of Love that is before us…sharing that love with all…and not just the few who look like us…sound like us…or worship like us.

Are we ready to respond to a call to love…without any expectation of a reward?

Can we stand with Love amidst the crowd of hurting and broken people in our communities and shoulder some of their burden?

In other words: we will seek and serve Christ in all persons loving our neighbor as ourselves?

Hopefully we answer, I will…with God’s help.

I will trust in God.

I will look to Jesus as my guide through these trying times.

I will allow the Holy Spirit to work through me…and shine that light of love to those who are looking for it.

As our psalmist says:

“The Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked is doomed.” (Ps.1:6)

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.