Lord, Hear Our Prayers

 

I cried before this service. Not hard and not for long. Just a few tears because my heart has been breaking. 

It's breaking for the country. For those who are being swept up in raids, or taken randomly off the streets for the crime of being Latino or Latina. For those who are getting harassed or detained just because. For those who have been sent to CECOT in El Salvador where they are being beaten and abused and forced to perform oral sex on guards. 

It's breaking for our military, for people who joined to serve the country, and who are being used to be an extra guard for the extrajudicial police force assembled to terrorize cities with large immigrant populations. That's not why these people signed up and some are grumbling that they don't want to do this.

I am sad about Gaza, the starvation and famine because of the Israeli government. For those families in Israel who were traumatized by Hamas and their brutal attack on October 7, 2023, and the hostages who probably are all dead by now that are still in Hamas custody. 

I am upset about the Supreme Court which, like our Congress, has surrendered its role as a check to the other two branches of government and is ruling in ways that clearly have nothing to do with law and everything to do with making sure to achieve a particular political goal.

I am deeply hurt and saddened that with all that has been happening in the country, that our Justice Department has thought it more important to protect child predators...which very likely includes the current president and other rich white wealthy men...rather than children and women. 

And I cried because all of this was in my head and I needed to lead a worship service...and I knew I would be addressing some of these ills in my sermon...but I didn't know if it would make any difference. 

And so I prayed. For strength. For God's wisdom and love to move through me. 

Here's what I had to say.

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Texts: Luke 11:1-13, Col. 2: 6-19

“Lord, teach us to pray…”

I remember one of the first times…years ago…when a woman I knew called me up and asked me to pray for her.

I was a little flummoxed at first. I had grown up in the Episcopal Church and the prayers I knew were in books.

And now here I was in my kitchen on the phone with someone who wanted me to just pray off the top of my head for them.

I did it…pulling together the phrases I could think of…praising and describing the goodness of God…petitioning for her particular circumstance…seeking a good and just resolution…and finishing it with the blessing of the Holy Trinity.

And her response to my prayer was…

”That’s it?!”

She had grown up in the world of megachurch…where spontaneous prayers could last the length of a praise song…and my prayer had lasted less than a minute.

My prayer wasn’t answering her need.

But I got better with practice.

When I was doing my chaplain internship for Clinical Pastoral Education…I found that I had to learn many ways of praying…both with the residents of Hebrew Home in Rockville, Maryland…and with their families and guardians.

Sometimes the prayers were songs.

Sometimes they invoked the name of Jesus.

With Jewish residents…I would invoke Adonai for the Name…or HaShem.

And with others…simply using the prayer that Jesus is teaching in our Gospel this morning was the easiest way to connect with another Christian.

However the prayer came out…whatever words or songs were shared…I always found that prayer helped.

It gave a sense of calm and stability both for me as the chaplain…and for the person who requested the prayer.

Our text says that one of the disciples sought out Jesus’ advice about how to pray.

I think this is one of the most basic and yet important requests that anyone can make.

And while we have taken these words of Jesus and turned them into the Lord’s Prayer—probably the most recognized prayer among Christians—I see this as Jesus giving a blueprint…or an outline…for the way our prayers should go.

First…we address God.

We do it in a way that shows an intimate and familial relationship…”Father”…or parent…and then we praise God for who God is… that familiar and loving parent.

Next…we look for the way of God…God’s kingdom come…that mission of building up people…freeing people from the burdens that keep them from knowing and experiencing God’s liberating and life-giving love.

We ask that prayer for ourselves as well.

Feed us…God…both in body and soul…and guide our feet along this path with you.

Forgive us as we forgive others….we’re all human and we make mistakes.

And do not bring us to the time of trial.

In our rendition of this prayer…we have added a conclusion which basically circles back to acknowledging God as the ultimate power of goodness in the universe.

But I think it’s worth thinking about this line:

“Do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Because Jesus is acknowledging what was the reality on the ground as he and his followers kept on this march toward Jerusalem. 

He’s preparing them with this prayer for the real tests that are before them as disciples.

They’re going to struggle against earthly powers…facing  opposition from those in charge of things in the Empire.

There will be those for whom the systems are working just fine—thank you very much—and they have no desire to change.

And there are those who fear that any change will mean a loss of control.

Behind all of it is a greater challenge that pursues both the opponents and supporters of Jesus.

There are the unseen powers at work.

Those forces that will get his disciples jockeying for a seat at his right hand or his left.

They’ll be tempted to seek to be served…rather than to serve.

To be the greatest.

It’s that spiritual element that Jesus knows threatens to destroy the goodness that is inherent in God’s creation: Greed.

Greed has an insatiable appetite…a craving to have more than anyone else…and to have power over…rather than to share in power with people.

It makes sense then… that in this form of prayer that Jesus is teaching the disciple… he ends with that petition to the loving fatherly figure of God to steer them clear from this confrontation with greed.

Because Greed is a formidable opponent to love.

Greed doesn’t believe in sharing…or caring.

It never gives.

It only takes.

And once it takes…it will hold on to whatever power it has and will jealously guard it like a dog with a bone.

That was true then and it’s true now.

Greed preys upon girls and boys.

Greed takes away health care from seniors and children.

And those who are greedy want control over what we read…what we see…and what we think.

And so that innocent question of the disciple…”Lord, teach us to pray…” is the perfect request of our perfect Lord.

Because Jesus knows that in order to face the challenges…both earthly and spiritual…that plague us…prayer is foundational because it’s what will ground us in the real reality.

The reality that God is Love…and Love is the formidable opposite of Greed and its self-centeredness.

I meet usually about six or seven times a year with the women who are mostly members of Daughters of the King to write the Prayers of the People that we use in our worship services.

There is a formula for the prayers that we write…specific groupings that the Book of Common Prayer outlines as the required ideas that must be covered in the prayers.

The language we use is drawn from some of the Scripture passages as well as other prayer sources members of the group have on hand.

Often times…there is a lot of energy when the topic becomes writing prayers for “the Nation and all in authority.”

What is it that we seek in our prayers for those who are the political leaders of our communities and the world?

What we seek is found in our reading from the Letter to the Colossians:

That they follow the example of Christ…”who is the head of every ruler and authority.” (Col.2:10b)

The Christ who is the embodiment of Love….who was filled with the Spirit that fueled the prophet Isaiah:

“To bring good news to the poor… to proclaim release to the captives…recovery of sight to the blind…to let the oppressed go free…and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18).

Bringing good news to the poor…not cages in the Florida swamps.

Or penalizing the penniless.

Or shifting funds meant for recovery after a hurricane or a flood and giving it to private companies to build prisons.

Our nation…and all its institutions…needs prayers.

We need to pray for those who are the justice seekers…the truth tellers…and the peace makers.

And we need to pray for ourselves.

For the quiet confidence and the courage to live into the fullness of life…and turn away from hardness of heart.

What is it that you need today to keep the flame of Love burning inside of you?

Ask for it. Seek it out. Knock loudly.

God’s Spirit of Love is waiting to hear our prayers.

In the Name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

Martha and Mary and Righteous Anger

 

Protest outside Texas State Capitol Building (The Austin American Statesman)

Admittedly, it is getting harder and harder for me to preach as our country spirals downward into a new fresh level of Hell each week.

Some of the diehard supporters of the president are finally coming to realize that they've been had. Not because of the brutality toward immigrants (they seem to enjoy that). 

Not because of the draconian cuts and destruction of the social safety net because of the "big beautiful bill" (they seem to think that they won't suffer the consequences of this transfer of wealth to the the very wealthy while stripping us of our medicare and medicaid money).

Not even because the Congress and their overlord have decided to take away promised money to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting...which means tiny community public radio stations will lose up to 65-percent of their revenue (afterall, NPR is a bunch of libs, right?)

No. They're upset because for ten years they've been promised that all will be revealed to them in the files of the late human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein...and it will confirm the conspiracies of the wicked Democratic political pedophile ring run out of the non-existent basement of a DC pizza parlor and finally we can hang all those "libtards" like Bill and Hillary Clinton who abused kids. 

Attorney General Pammy Jo Bondi went on TV and said she had the Epstein client list on her desk. She paraded out a bunch of DOJ employees in suits with white binders labeled "The Epstein Files." 

Now, suddenly, Bondi and her overlord in the White House are saying that there is no list. It's a hoax. It's all a ruse. A lie. And it's the Democrats fault for lying that there were files and a list...and...and...and...

(And let's face it: we know that the current squatter in the Oval Office who had a 15-year friendship and partied regularly with Epstein is all over those files.)

I mean, as a preacher, what am I supposed to do with this? What am I to do when I know that there is a segment of my congregation that is aware of all of this, another segment that just puts it's head in the sand and doesn't want to deal with this, and those few who have probably blocked me on Facebook at this point because I put out my disgust with all of it on a daily basis?

This Sunday I had elected to do what is called "An Instructive Eucharist" meaning that I had us distribute a booklet that had the whole service with annotations along the side margins about the different elements happening. I did a little bit of instruction as we went along as well. And since our Gospel lesson was the story of Martha and Mary...a story that has been told (IMNSHO) incorrectly for too long...I sidestepped the latest outrages...and focused on unpacking the Gospel. 

And I did sneak in a bit about being outraged as well. Because there is exasperation in the Gospel story...and not exactly in the way the church has taught.

See what you think.

Texts: Luke 10:38-42; Psalm 52

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I’ve talked about this before…and since this is an “Instructive Eucharist” Sunday…I figured I’d pull back the curtain and just talk for a moment about the sermon…and the process that I go through to come up with the message that I deliver on Sundays.

The purpose of the sermon is to offer a reflection on the words of Scripture that we’ve heard on any given Sunday.

In some denominations…especially the ones that don’t follow the pre-determined lessons in the Revised Common Lectionary…preachers can basically pick and chose what the congregation will hear and then they can comment on whatever they want.

In the Episcopal Church…it’s expected that the preacher…usually a priest or a deacon…will stick to the script. As in…they will preach based upon what has been shared.

Makes sense, right?

As noted in your Annotated Eucharist booklet…this is a practice that we inherited through Judaism…and became an expectation at any Eucharistic service since 15-49.

So how does a preacher prepare a sermon?

Again…I can only talk about how this preacher does it.

Well…do remember back in your school days playing Tug-o-War?

Two teams…a long rope…and each team pulling with all their might to get the other team over a line?

That’s a little bit like what writing a sermon can feel like to me.

I start the week reading through the assigned Scriptures for Sunday.

I do this a couple of times…taking a pause between each one.

I’ll read through the first lesson from the Old Testament…in this case the prophet Amos… and his warnings to the people of Israel about their religious arrogance and social injustice.

The psalm is something like a Greek chorus to the First Reading…offering its own commentary on the prophetic word.

The second reading…the Epistle…which means “Letter”…is just that.

It’s typically one of the Letters containing teachings to a community of early Christians. In this case…it’s the believers in Colossae.

And then of course…we have the Gospel.

So I spend a lot of time…slowly reading through these…and allowing whatever words or phrases to percolate in my brain.

And that’s when the tug-o-war begins.

Which reading is pulling harder on me? 

Which phrases seem to be demanding my attention?

As that tugging and wrestling is going on in my head…I’m also aware of what’s going on right now?

What’s happening in our broader culture?

What am I aware of that’s happening here at the church?

What are the highs and lows in our lives right now?

I put all that together with whatever passages of Scriptures have been catching my attention.

I pull out a few books…maybe some articles…read commentaries.

And then I pray.

I pace.

I pray.

I pace.

I go to see my clients…and spend time away from praying and pacing to focus on breathing and lengthening and stretching muscles as I practice my healing ministry of massage therapy.

And then usually by Friday afternoon…I make myself focus on writing the sermon.

And then I pray again…that what I have felt moved by the Spirit to say…will be of some help to someone here in the room or even online.

May it be so.

That image of tug-o-war works with our Gospel lesson…as we hear yet-another of the familiar passages from Luke…the story of Jesus’ visit to “a certain village” and the home of Martha.

Too often…this story gets told like it’s a tug-o-war between Martha and Mary….pitting these two sisters against each other.

And way too many times it is also used in ways to shame women in the church.

And some of the worst perpetrators of that shaming are women themselves.

For too long…the church has taught this particular lesson as Jesus disparaging Martha because she complains about Mary.

The church has told everyone that Martha is upset  that Mary isn’t helping in the kitchen.

And Jesus says Mary has chosen the “better part”…meaning she’s not fussing over food and dishes in the kitchen…because she’s praying and studying.

The scandal of the story is that Mary isn’t doing “women’s work” because she’s behaving like a man, studying Torah.

Mary is obviously on Team Jesus…and she and Jesus and others have grabbed the figurative rope and they’ve yanked that nagging Martha over the line…and made her realize that she’s a busy body who needs to get over herself.

If that’s the story you’ve heard you’re not alone.

And it is not what this story is about.

Martha is not a nag.

In fact.. Martha is not in a kitchen. (Look at the text: there is no kitchen).

Furthermore…Mary is not even in the house.

Uh-oh! Crazy priest lady is now blowing up all those years and years of church sermons…and Sunday School.

Remember how I said when I prepare for a sermon I pray…and pace…and I read commentaries?

I spend a lot of time wrestling with these texts.

So have others…people with far more time than I have…and with a much better command of the biblical Greek than I have (I studied Hebrew in seminary).

One of those is Mary Stromer Hanson…the author of a book called “The New Perspective on Mary and Martha.”

Hanson took a second look at the English translation we have…and found that one little word can change our whole understanding of the situation in this scene.

So…let’s take a look at this.

In our text…it says…”She (Martha) had a sister named Mary…who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.”

But what Hanson has found is that our biblical translators didn’t correctly translate a Greek word that’s in the text.

There is a “KAI”…which can be translated as “ALSO.”

So the line should read: “She had a sister named Mary who ALSO sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.”

And what is this “sitting at the Lord’s feet”?

Now…how many of us have thought that this meant that Mary was literally sitting on the floor listening to Jesus teach?

This is what artists have rendered and what Sunday schools have taught us.

But the phrase to “sit at the feet” is a way of talking about discipleship.

 It’s a phrase that appears later in the Book of Acts when Paul is testifying to his credentials as a Johnny-come-lately to following Christ as a disciple.

So let’s think about this:

It seems Mary AND Martha have sat at the feet of Jesus…meaning they’re both disciples of Jesus.

Oh, no! Luke has spilled the beans: there were women following Jesus…going out into the countryside…just like that group of 70 he sent out to go into the towns…say “Peace be with you”…cast out demons…et cetera et cetera.

If they reject you…shake the dust of that town off your feet…

OK…so what is this complaint of Martha’s? Why is she upset?

Well…we’ve thought about the playground game of Tug-o-War.

Now we’re going to high school…maybe college…and the dreaded “group project.”

Those assignments where you are put on a team not of your own choosing…and where you were forced to produce a final project as a team.

If your experience was anything like mine…there would be those members of the team who would pull their own weight…and one who did not.

And I know I was always frustrated and irritated with the one who seemed to be the slacker. Because that one always created more work for me and the others.

That’s a little bit like the situation here in the Gospel.

Martha is at her house.

Her house is base camp for the service…the discipleship… that she is doing in her village.

Mary…who is also a disciple…isn’t at the house.

 It’s quite likely that she has opted to hit the road as part of the 70 and to do her service outside the home…leaving Martha to handle the needs of the village.

When Jesus pays his disciple Martha a visit….he finds that she’s overwrought.

The needs in her village are many…and the laborers are few.

And the one who she had depended upon to help her…her sister Mary…is off somewhere else.

So Martha looks at Jesus with exasperation and basically says,

“Listen, man. I am having to do it all here and I need my sister to help me. You know where she is. Tell her to come home.”

Ministry…doing the work of loving…serving…and giving of ourselves for the betterment of our community…that’s hard work.

It takes more than one person to do it all.

We can see that here at St. Barnabas.

In order to make things happen here…it takes a bunch of people to help on Sundays…and the other six days of the week.

Each person carrying out whatever ministry it is…from playing music…creating the bulletins…crafting the prayers…to making sure the trash gets taken out…fixing the coffeemaker …keeping and caring for grounds and the gardens.

And just like Martha…when there’s people missing or not around to help…it means there’s more work for the few.

At the same time…there are those who take the words and the prayers that they’ve heard on Sunday…and they carry those with them into the community…into their every day life…and strive to make this a better society.

These Marys…stand on the street corners and before councils with the righteous anger of our psalmist:

“You tyrant, why do you boast of wickedness against the godly all day long?

You love evil more than good and lying more than speaking the truth.” (Ps.52: 1, 3)

They go to meet those who are on the margins…those who may never show up at a church service but still yearn to meet a person of God who will show them love…mercy…and compassion.

Jesus knows both these types of disciples.

And he knows both are vital to his mission of Love.

He acknowledges that Mary has made her choice to take her ministry out…going out into sometimes uncertain and dangerous places where she will either be welcomed or rejected for the message of love.

He also sees that Martha is right where she needs to be…doing the work of ministry closer to home and being that disciple who welcomes the foreigner…the stranger into the community by offering hospitality.

His “Martha, Martha” isn’t a harsh admonishment.

It’s an effort to bring her back to herself…take a breath…pray…so that she can serve her community without falling apart.

Because Jesus needs disciples working on both fronts.

Even today.

In these troubled times in our country…we need both those who feel the call to follow Jesus into the public square…and those who will be at the door of the home for the wanderer looking for kindness…compassion…love and mercy.

We need prophets…and we need hosts.

We need those who go out to meet the needs of the community…and those who do the work in the church.

We need Marys and Marthas.

Wherever we feel God calling us…personally…whichever way we feel the Spirit tugging us…know that Jesus is there…and will not leave our side as we carry on.

We are all those sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Now we must do our part to stand for Love in this world in our own way.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

"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 and 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.