"Hope is the Faithful Companion of Life"

 

Detention Center in the Everglades. Photo credit to the Naples Daily News.

That title might seem a little odd as we watch the current political class of our country working overtime to destroy all the things that used to make America great.

Our system of laws seem to apply only when Republicans think it'll help them. 

Our Congress has passed the president has signed a bill that is predicted to end Medicaid healthcare coverage for 17 million Americans, while giving an enormous tax cut to the wealthiest one-percent of this country. It also jacks up the budget of the Department of Homeland Security to levels that far exceed the money countries such as Russia, a country at war right now, are spending on their military.

The purpose of such spending? To set up "detention centers" aka concentration camps in places such as Florida's Everglades! 

It's hard to maintain "hope" or "faith" or "love" under these conditions. But to give up, for me  at least, is not an option.

And I hope it is not an option for you either. 

In these times, I am thinking it will be up to those of us who are the hope-filled of the church to stand as tall and firm as we can muster against these horrors.

Because "hope is the faithful compaion of life!"

Text: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 and 2 Kings 5:1-14

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I heard a phrase this week shared by the Reverend Canon Dana Corsello of Washington National Cathedral.

 She put this in the context of thinking about our current times in this country.

She said: “For hope alone is the most faithful companion of life.”

I found that phrase to be helpful for me…especially as I looked into the heart of our readings for this Sunday…particularly the Gospel lesson.

Just a quick refresher…last week…Jesus was faced with those who felt they could take it slow…procrastinate…on getting going with the spreading a message and mission of Love.

This week…Jesus is assembling the team.

And Team Jesus is growing…

It’s become more diverse…and a more complete and perfect vision of God’s desire to bring all the world together.

We get that hint from the fact that he’s sending 70…which is a number of perfection in the Bible…and an indication that there are now Gentiles as part of the pack that is following Jesus.

 He’s got them all together…and they’re huddled up to get their instructions.

Don’t bring along extra baggage.

Approach people with a “Peace be with you.”

Accept whatever food and drink is offered to you…no special menu for you. You are the guest.

If the house and the town is good with you…and accepts you…great.

But if they do not accept the message…tell it out loud that you’re shaking the dust of that town off of your feet and moving on.

I’m sorry that the diviners of our lectionary didn’t include the next verse that actually appears in this scripture because I think it’s an important one…especially given all the cultural noise that has been allowed to swirl in this country for decades. So let me just do this quick aside.

After Jesus says to wipe the dust of this unwelcoming town off your feet…he adds that the judgment against such a place will be harsh. In fact…it will be worse for that town than what happened to Sodom.

Now…you probably have heard the story out of the book of Genesis about Sodom…how it and another town called Gomorrah…were destroyed.

What you may not know…is that Sodom was a prosperous city.

It was a place of wealth and extravagance.

And it was a greedy city.

A possessive place where they didn’t want to share what they had.

And that was not just a huge faux pas…that was a violation of the very core of the expected ethical behavior of any people.

So in the book of Genesis…when a gang of men show up at Lot’s door demanding that they be allowed to abuse the two male strangers Lot was sheltering…the sin was not the type of abuse; it was the fact that their abusive behavior was a sign of them not welcoming and showing hospitality to foreigners.

That’s what finally destroyed Sodom.

And that is what Jesus is saying will be reigned down upon those places that refuse to welcome these emissaries that he’s about to send out.

Those places which refuse to feed, clothe and shelter those who are wanderers, foreigners in their midst, will not have a share of the kingdom of God.

Because the kingdom of God is about Love. Mercy. Compassion.

And clearly Jesus knows…and is warning his followers…that they will encounter places full of greedy and inhospitable people.

Afterall…he tells them that he is sending them out like lambs among wolves.(Lk 10:3).

In those First Century times…hospitality was of paramount importance.

Because there were lots of people living like nomads…moving about from place to place.

And so there was an interdependence on each other and an expectation that people would show kindness to strangers…especially in Jewish cities.

For those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus…and believers in God… these expectations have never gone away.

We are all charged with being in the hospitality business and we are expected to show kindness toward people regardless of whether they look like us…talk like us…worship like us…or even vote like us.

We had that same message reinforced on Friday at the service at Christ Church where we heard that portion from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount in Matthew where he reminds us to not just love our neighbor but to show love to our enemies…those we would label as an “other”.

Yet…somehow…this core concept of our Judeo-Christian ethic has been lost on us. Somewhere along the way…we have succumbed to the temptation of our lesser selves…and have turned against each other.

I’m not just talking about the discord and rancor that has infected our everyday political life…and making it impossible for us have rational discussions.

But a habitat for the endangered Florida Panther…and a water source for the entire South Florida region…has now become home to a detention center…a tent city…for people who came to this country…hoping to flee violence and persecution.

That is simply evil.

Is it any wonder that there are already reports that international tourism is down significantly and economists are predicting a loss of as much as 25-billion dollars to this country?

In fact…when we came back from France at the end of May…we didn’t see any international visa holders in line to come into the country at the Atlanta Airport.

Not one person.

It feels as if the world has decided to shake off our dust from their feet and has moved on.

So where is the hope in all of this?

I think we might pick up some if we pay attention again to the first reading we heard today…that peculiar story about Naaman, the great and powerful military man, who has an unfortunate case of leprosy.

Notice in that story that it’s a girl…an Israelite who had been taken by a foreign power…who suggests that Naaman go to the prophet Elisha…one of her people…to get help.

And then when Elisha gives Naaman the simple directive to go take a dip in the Jordan River seven times…and Naaman pouts…it’s Naaman’s attendants…his undelings who say to him… “Gee, General: do the simple thing he told you to do. Why does it have to be hard for you to believe?”

What Jesus is telling us to do…to love…to show kindness…empathy…compassion…to everyone…this should not be hard to do.

We have heard these words… and we partake of the meal at this table.

This meal which is given freely and intended to remind us that our baptism in Christ is a baptism into a mission of meeting the needs of the world with Love.

And just like those early disciples…we won’t necessarily be loved back.

But we do it anyway because there is always hope.

Hope that when we shine that compassionate light of Christ…we will kindle hope in the other.

And hope is that faithful companion of life.

And the choice is always before us:

life and death…blessings and curses.

Choose life. (Deut. 30:19)

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

Unreasonable Jesus in Unreasonable Times

I'm getting the text of these sermons posted late. And this one definitely took a lot of effort on my part to settle down and concentrate on the task at hand. There was just so much that was happening in the country that felt just...ick...and gross that I could barely focus. We've had political assassinations in Minnesota, Marines sent into Los Angeles with a nebulous mission, and the Supreme Court came down with truly crappy and hurtful rulings that further erode both the separation of church and state and my own confidence that the rule of law is still a "thing" in this country.

I went to Valdosta early on Wednesday at the encouragement of another Episcopalian to a three-hour session with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. They were looking for what is happening and still needs to happen to address homelessness exacerbated by the past two hurricane seasons.

That was also super hard to listen to as story after story was told of folks who are at their wits end trying to make it in the community. The upside was that I got the contact information for one of the local movers-and-shakers as well as the Habitat for Humanity leader for Lowndes County.

Hopefully...something good will come out of all of this.

And that's where I am at. How about you? 

Text: Luke 9:51-62

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All of us have something we’re good at doing.

Some are really good working with their hands and can do things like quilting or knitting or woodworking.

Some are great cooks and like to try out new recipes.

Others are gifted organizers, teachers, writers.

We’re fortunate to have people like Avery, Sarah, and David who have musical abilities as part of their talents.

We’ve all got something, some special skill set or a hobby that gives us pleasure…and we do it well.

One of the skills that I have perfected over time is procrastination.

I am a gold medal procrastinator!

I can always find something…anything…to distract me from doing what I am supposed to do.

Even writing this sermon…you would not imagine how important it was for me to go outside in 90-degree heat to clean my car.

One of my friends and neighbors has just retired from teaching at Florida State University.

For a while…a group of us lived together in a house on Tallahassee’s west side.

The absolute best times of the year were at the end of the fall and spring semesters when final grades needed to be turned into the university.

Because that’s when my dear academic friend would hit the kitchen…and make one delicious meal after another.

If there were a lot of papers to be graded…we might even get Hyde Park chocolate fudge cake or brownies.

We might have heard that 18^th century saying that “procrastination is the thief of time.”

Today…we’re hearing in the Gospel of Luke…that Jesus is telling us that procrastination is the thief of Love.

Where this Gospel reading starts is at a critical moment in Jesus’ mission and journey.

We hear that “when the days drew near for him to be taken up”…meaning when Jesus is crucified…resurrected…and when he ascends in a similar dramatic way to that story we heard of Elijah…Jesus has “set his face to go to Jerusalem.”

This is the turning point in Luke’s Gospel.

Jesus has been teaching and healing…meeting people out in their wilderness moments…going beyond the borders that most Jews would have gone to find those lost sheep like that Gerasene demoniac we heard about last week.

Now he’s headed into the heart…and the heat…of Rome’s power hold in the region: Jerusalem.

This is where things are going to get real…and ugly.

And he knows it.

He sends messengers ahead of him into Samaria.

Crossing through there would be a more direct route to Jerusalem from the region of Galilee where they were.  

It’s also a trickier path since the Samaritans…the remnant of Jews from the Northern Kingdom… and the Jews such as Jesus who see Jerusalem as the center for Temple worship…hated each other.

Like they really…really saw each other… not as comrades in a struggle against the Roman Empire…but as people who wanted absolutely nothing to do with each other and routinely committed violence against each other.

So…not surprisingly…word came back to Jesus that the Samaritans wanted nothing to do with his march to Jerusalem and would not help him and his followers.

James and John want to use their refusal to help against them.

They turn to Jesus…seeking his approval to reign down fire on these no-good so-and-so Samaritans.

Because what says Christ-like Love more than wanting to barbecue your enemies, right?

Naturally…Jesus says “Nope. Not gonna let you do that.”

He could have reminded them that the appropriate answer to those who don’t show hospitality is simply to shake off the dust from your feet and move on.

Maybe he could’ve even reiterated that point he’d made earlier about loving your enemies. 

But he’s not got time for that.

His face is set to go to Jerusalem.

And that’s when he encounters the procrastinators.

These are those folks who say they want to be on his team…take up his cause…go on this journey to spread mercy…compassion…love…and justice for all.

Ahhh….but…each of them has excuses for why they can’t go quite yet.

There’s the eager one wanting to join…who probably didn’t like the idea that to be with Jesus means to be homeless.

The one who wants to fulfill the commandment to honor mother and father by burying their dead parent.

The one who wants to look back at their home…what they have there…and take that in…dwell on their past…before going on.

Jesus says to all of them…Love cannot wait for those who are going to procrastinate.

The time for Love…and to Love… is now.

Not tomorrow.

Not next week.

Not when I have completed whatever and whatever.

The time for those committed to Love…in the way that Jesus has shown us and instructed us to love…to have mercy…to show compassion…and to commit to the mission of helping everyone breathe free is right now.

Biblical scholar Richard Swanson calls this the unreasonable Jesus.

Jesus is throwing down the gauntlet.

He’s looking at us in the eyes with both his tenderness and tenaciousness and telling us to quit waiting for the perfect moment to minister to the needs of the people and places before us.

Jesus is unreasonable…because these are unreasonable times.

This past week…I went to a meeting here in Valdosta hosted by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

They brought in a team to hear what was happening in the city after the hurricanes and the needs for housing assistance.

And what they heard…and what I heard…was that there are multiple problems still facing people in the community.

Homes that still haven’t been fixed.

Landlords that will rent places that really aren’t suitable for housing.

Rents and utility bills that people can barely afford or really CAN’T afford without some kind of assistance.

Some elderly residents who can’t afford a hotel room any more and are sleeping in their cars.

Compounding the problem are some even more basic failures.

There are a lot of adults who simply don’t know how to read and so they can’t understand the contracts that are put in front of them.

Now these are the real needs in Valdosta.

They may not be the real needs of anyone sitting here today.

But when you have a room of about fifty people…and you here these stories…and testimonies from those who could attend a meeting in downtown Valdosta on a Wednesday morning…it doesn’t take much imagination to realize that there are probably another 50 or so people out there that also need help.

And what’s happening in Valdosta and Lowndes County is happening in other communities in Georgia and throughout the country.

The problems facing us are numerous and too large for one person or even one church to handle alone…especially for this church which has its own needs…and issues to address.

And yet…Jesus keeps pressing us forward…keeps reminding us that Love isn’t going to wait around for a convenient time and place to act…for a moment when we’re ready.

Jesus can be just so unreasonable….and we can be so reticent.

But if we’re looking to promote a world of health…healing and hope…with God’s unconditional love…maybe it’s time to consider the best ways for us to live out God’s love for our neighbors as well as ourselves.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.