Faith Means Taking Risks

 

My faith is getting put to the test every week in this country as more and more outrageous news comes pouring out of Washington, DC. 

And Austin, TX.

And Tallahassee...always.

So I felt fortunate to have heard the "Strict Scrutiny" podcast where they interviewed former SCOTUS clerks who had served with late New Hampshire justice David Souter. As I listened to them reminiscing about him, it felt familiar, soothing and sad. Souter's demeanor and his way of viewing his role as a justice reminded me of my dad...and a brand of conservativism that wasn't destructive and crazy, but was deliberate and worked to find the best answer to pressing issues.

I miss my dad. And I miss a judiciary that behaved more responsibly. I didn't always agree with every ruling. But at least I had a fair shot at thinking they might have done the right thing instead of cringing as the SCOTUS aids and abets the destruction of democratic norms.

I mean, I seriously wonder if we're going to be at a place in the not too distant future where a lawyer stands before the nine justices and starts, "May it please the court, f---k you!" 

Justice Souter died in May at age 85. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. 

And may his approach to justice that helped start this sermon on faith resonate with you. 

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40

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I was recently listening to a podcast where I heard an interview with two women who had clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

During the course of their reflections and remembrances of their former boss… they talked about a commencement address that he had made at Harvard University.

So naturally…I went scouring the internet to find a video of his remarks.

It was an excellent speech about the judiciary…and especially the way in which Souter approached his role as a judge looking at the United States Constitution…and how best to apply the law in any particular case.

Justice Souter talked about one of the greatest fallacies that’s out there when it comes to thinking about the Constitution.

So many of us expect it to be straightforward…and can be read plainly.

For instance…the Constitution makes it very clear that in order to run for the United States Senate…a person must be at least 30 years old.

That’s an absolute…a certainty.

But Souter says so much of the Constitution has competing good things.

There’s a desire for security on the one hand…and liberty on the other…and that’s where he saw the breathing room in the document.

Paying attention…and honoring the different ideals in the Constitution…requires reason…and discernment…and a sense of the real people…not just theoretical ideas… but the actual flesh and blood humanity…that would feel the effects of whatever decision that was rendered by the court.

And while he didn’t use the word…I would say that what he was talking about requires faith.

As our Letter to the Hebrews says:

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith requires us to let go of certainty…and live into the true ambiguity of the world.

Faith means that we put our trust in God…this unseen power of Love that surrounds us…that has made a promise to us over and over never to leave us…or abandon us…even in those darkest hours of our souls.

As we see in this anonymous Letter to the Hebrew followers of Jesus…the author cites the many examples of our biblical ancestors who…despite any misgivings or doubts they might have had…still put their trust in God and took risks that might have seemed illogical.

For example…Abraham and Sarah set out on a journey.

They moved away from their familiar land…and were in fact…dwelling as foreigners in a strange place.

They had no guarantee of anything good coming from this.

But acting on faith…they followed God’s lead.

Sarah…who was an old woman…didn’t think it was possible for her to have a child.

And yet…she bore Isaac.

Isaac…who would miraculously…and fortunately…be spared from getting sacrificed by his father.

Because he survived that terror…Isaac would marry Rebecca…who would bear and raise twins…one of whom was Jacob.

Jacob would then become Israel…and the story goes on from there.

All of this done in the uncomfortable space of not knowing…no absolutes…. only hope in the assured promise that God would be with them.  

Faith requires us to allow God to lead us…and that can be terrifying for the human mind that so desperately wants to be in control.

It’s hard to let go and let God when you have bills to pay…or when you’re not feeling well in your body.

To live into a life of faith is to be willing to take risks.

I think that’s why it’s important for us to hear what Jesus is saying in this morning’s Gospel.

We can’t always be 100-percent sure of what’s coming next…like the owner of the house knowing what time the robber is going to show up to ransack the place.

But even so…we also can’t live in fear…and put multiple locks on our doors…or as the parable said last week…build a bigger barn so we can hoard away all our ‘stuff.’

Because “stuff” isn’t what matters to God.

What matters to God is us…and how we care for the creatures of God.

And we must be prepared to follow…to take the risk of answering the call that God places on us.

That’s why we gather here…Sunday after Sunday.

Our prayers…our rituals…are not the “thing”…but they are the means by which we continue to open ourselves up and invite God to do the work in us to prepare us for the greater acts that we must do out in the world.

How we treat our loved ones and our friends on a day-to-day basis.

 

The way we interact with our colleagues at work or at school.

The willingness to go into those places that take us out of our comfort zone…and do the things we do to bring about a more just society.

We’re living in a time of turmoil…and fear…with players who are intentionally and deliberately undermining our sense of a shared common humanity.

They are provocateurs of our basest instincts…and preying on our most atavistic fears…leading us into “us” vs. “them” camps.

And while this all may feel like some fresh new hell for us…sadly it is not.

As our wise writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes says:

“There is nothing new under the sun.” (Eccl. 1:9)

This is not anything God…or Jesus…or the Holy Spirit haven’t seen and experienced before.

The cruelty inflicted on immigrants…the whipping up of worries about transpeople…and the pain and destruction of war from Ukraine to Gaza.

The Scapegoating.

Betrayals.

Violence.

We need only remember the crucifixion to know that Jesus is keenly aware of how evil manifests in the human heart.

But we also look to that same cross and know that Jesus shows us that sin and death did not defeat goodness and love.

In all of it…our Holy Trinity is still with us…working in us and through us…even with tears and sighs too deep for words.

This is how keeping the faith…the hope in those things that are unseen…can helps us.

If we can remember that God is never far from us in our struggles…it can be like an extra battery charge when we feel our energy getting drained by the world around us.

Faith means to take the risk of living into Love in a world that doesn’t reward us for caring about those that the powers-that-be would have us despise and call “other.”

But this is the risk God is commanding us to take with the promise that we are trotting the   path of our biblical ancestors.

And we are never walking this path alone.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

"God's Dream for Us" Feast of the Transfiguration

 

It's not every day that a major feast of the church falls on a Wednesday. But when it does...I figure: hey, let's have church tonight. 

Being bivocational and very part-time in this vocation limits my ability to do a lot of the "things" they told us we'd be doing when we were in seminary. But I do love sharing the faith, and especially the key elements of the Christ story. And so if the holiday happens to be at the time I would normally be in Valdosta....bring a potluck dish for afterward and let's gather! 

Luke 9: 28-36

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Our Gospel presents the human Jesus at a critical moment.

He’s steeped in prayer.

Suddenly he becomes bright and glowing.

This light is enough to catch the attention of his sleepy-eyed friends.

And what they saw were the two giants of Judaism…Moses and Elijah…on either side of Jesus speaking to him.

Moses…the one who brought the Torah to his people…and Elijah…the prophet who lived and breathed and demonstrated Torah in action.

The symbol of the Law and the Prophets.

We don’t know what these two were saying to Jesus.

Perhaps this appearance was the answer to Jesus’ prayer up there on the mountain.

Maybe Jesus was seeking the strength to carry on in the mission that had been laid upon him when he came out of Jordan at his baptism.

Or when he read the prophetic words of Isaiah in the temple.

It’s possible he was seeking a clearer sense of what his purpose was on earth.

Moses would know and understand the struggle to lead people and guide them to stick close to God when there were so many temptations not to do so.

Maybe Elijah was there to give him the reassurance that he must make the trip to Jerusalem…even though it was not going to go well.

Elijah knew what it meant to be rejected!

Sometimes…we get so caught up in emphasizing Jesus as part of the Godhead that we forget he was not play acting at being human; he was human.

And his humanness shows up at different times in the biblical stories.

I think this is one of those times where the human Jesus…after so much teaching and healing…needed a little help from his friends.

And of course…this moment on the mountain top…doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

In the ten verses before our Gospel…Jesus is again praying…alone. He then goes to his disciples and asks,

“Who do the crowds say that I am?” (Lk. 9:18c).

Like you and me…Jesus knows fear.

He’s undergone testing in the wilderness and understands that he’s on a mission.

He also knows that this calling is leading him into the mouth of a roaring lion called the Roman Empire.

And he knows that he’s going to pay a price for that.

Do the people get it? Do they know?

His followers give him various answers to this question—“Oh, some think you’re John the Baptist, others say your Elijah, maybe one of the other prophets”

Everyone with their ear to the ground is playing a guessing game about him.

But Peter is the one who blurts out “You’re the Messiah of God!”

You—Jesus—you’re the one who is going to take the fight to the Roman Empire and save the Jewish people from this oppressive regime.

This is what Jesus has in his head and what’s weighing on his heart as he takes Peter along with James and John to the mountain top about a week after this conversation.

And he prays.

And God comes to him…with Moses and Elijah…to illuminate his mind…and to command to his friends:

“This one…this Jesus before you…he is my Chosen One. Listen to him”

There’s quiet. And as the cloud lifts to the astonishment of Peter and the others…the only one before them…the chosen one…is Jesus.

They’ve now witnessed something breathtaking. The scales have fallen from their eyes and they’ve seen that this teacher who they’ve been following is embodying something more than just rabbinic wisdom. This is God’s son.

Not only have they seen Jesus changed. They’ve been changed because they have been witnesses to this change.

This is a lot to process.

Life is different now for all of them.

For Jesus…this mountain top moment is the final sharpening and shaping of who he is and what he must do.

Because… fifteen verses later in this chapter of Luke…we will hear that “the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)

I think this feeling of groundbreaking…and life-changing shifts in the world…is something we all can relate to.

Those of us who have lived for any significant amount of time have seen lots of world-changing events.

We’ve likely felt those moments where we bear witness to something and know that this is so big…nothing will be the same.

I like history.

In my home office…I have calendar that focuses on big moments from our past.

And on this particular day…as we are celebrating the Feast of the Transfiguration…we are also marking sixty years since the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

Talk about a moment of illuminating the conscience of the nation.

Despite amendments made to the Constitution at the end of the Civil War granting black men the right to vote…several Southern states found ways to disenfranchise blacks.

They’d make up all kinds of trials and tests.

Hopeful black registrants would be asked to recite the U.S. Constitution.

Clerks of Court would require them to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar.

What finally moved President Johnson to act on behalf of black voting rights were the images of peaceful protestors marching from Selma to Montgomery in March 19-65.

When white police attacked the black marchers with clubs and dogs on the Edmund Pettus Bridge…that was enough.

About a week after the incident…Johnson spoke before a joint session of Congress and demanded they pass voting rights legislation…and within four months…both chambers overwhelmingly adopted the Voting Rights Act.

The legislation banned the use of literacy tests….provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas where less than 50 percent of the non-white population had registered to vote… and authorized the U.S. attorney general to investigate the use of poll taxes in state and local elections.

While it didn’t solve all the problems of racism in America…it was a momentous occasion that shined a new light on the abuses occurring…and brought more people into participating in democracy.

And it worked.

In Mississippi…in 19-64…blacks made up six percent of the voting population.

Five years later…by 19-69…it was 59-percent.

The tragic violence of the March to Selma caused a new light to shine in the country that moved us forward.

A light that should and must be passed on from one generation to the next…shared from parent to child…so that all will be lit up with that sense of self-worth…knowing that they have a stake in the larger world.

That is the struggle we’re in now…to keep the light of love…life…and liberty shining.

That is the dream of God…that we learn to live in Love with one another and all of God’s creation….granting everyone respect and dignity.

Because Love is the source of life and liberty.

May we continue to work toward transforming this world from God’s nightmare into God’s dream.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

The "Things" Between Worry and Fear: A Sermon for 8C Pentecost

 

I hadn't thought about my stuffed animals in years. They're all gone now. The only ones I have were ones given to me by godmother when I was heading to college. The others, I imagine, were tossed in a dumpster when my brothers cleared out our family home. 

We won't talk about that. 

But it was interesting for me to think through my need to have stuffed animals, both ones given to me and ones that I mysteriously acquired and loved like the Velveteen Rabbit. I hadn't realized that these dozen or so toys were essential "things" that kept me feeling safe at night. 

And it made me think about classmates and friends that I knew did not have as many stuffed animals. I didn't realize that my plush buddies were a sign of privilege. It was interesting to think about in light of the Gospel reading.

What did I fear that made me need to have all those toys?

See what you think.

Text: Luke 12:13-21

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             When I was little…I had a lot of stuffed animals. I wasn’t into Barbie and Ken and those Mattel type toys…although I did have a few.

But I loved my teddy bear…aptly named Roosevelt. 

My green bunny named James…not sure why I picked that name but he was James.

Of course…I had a Raggedy Anne and her brother Andy.

Lucy Pink who was a pink poodle.

And every night…all my stuffed animal friends had to be tucked carefully around me. They were my pals…my buddies…who would keep me safe at night from whatever imaginary monsters might be lurking in the closet or under my bed. Safety in numbers I suppose.

By being surrounded by these toys…I could feel secure…and taken care of.

I often think that’s why we acquire the things that we do.

We have a deep need to have “things.”

And by having “things”…we feel more at ease and maybe even a little more confident that we’re going to be OK.

And then here’s Jesus this morning telling us, “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” (Lk.12:15b)

To illustrate his point…he does what he loves to do in Luke. He tells a story which we call “The Parable of the Rich Fool.”

In this story…a farmer has an incredibly good year.

Clearly…there has been no draught…and just enough rain to yield a bumper crop.

In fact…it’s more than what his barn can hold.

But instead of sharing this abundance…the farmer has a discussion with himself.

‘Gosh, I have so much. What ever should I do?’

He’s probably seen those lean years when he didn’t have as much. Maybe the rains had drowned his fields.

So he decides that he’s going to tear down the barn he has and build an even bigger one.

Now he’s set!

He can store up all his grain and live happily ever after…secure in knowing that he has what he needs for himself.

I guess he didn’t bother to think about the possibility of mold…or rats…getting into the barn and spoiling his plan to have years of leftovers.

At any rate…God looks at this situation and calls the man a fool. Why?

Because the man isn’t going to live forever…in fact his life is coming to an end that night. So what good is all this “stuff” going to be to him being stored up in a bigger barn?

And who is going to be left to deal with it all when he’s gone?

In Luke’s Gospel…our evangelist has placed this Parable of the Rich Fool between two teachings of Jesus to his followers about fear and worry.

Remember where we are in the overall story in the Gospel.

Jesus has “set his face toward Jerusalem.”(Lk.9:51). The march toward the ultimate showdown is on.

He knows what he’s getting into by going to the city.

He’s aware that things are not going to go smoothly when they arrive.

The opposition from the ruling Roman Empire is strong. Rome does not like any troublemakers…especially Jewish ones.

 And then there are those who have carved out a comfortable living and want to keep the status quo.

They don’t need anyone messing up the good thing that they’ve got going on in Jerusalem.  

With all this in mind…Jesus can sense that some in his group are going to need reassurance and a pep talk to keep them going.

And so he encourages them to fear not what might happen to their bodies…but to fear that greater adversary: those thoughts that will cloud their brains and get them to give up on God.  

He warns them not to let the “stuff” of rulers or other authority figures…intimidate them into falling away from God. Afterall… the authorities they will encounter in Jerusalem are mere mortals who will dry up and blow away like grass…but God’s Love is with them and in them.

We can almost hear him using the words of our psalmist:

“For God alone my soul in silence waits; truly, my hope is in God.” (Ps.62:6).

So that’s what Jesus advises before this particular parable.

On the other side of this story of the rich fool…Jesus again tells his followers to not get so focused on what they’re going to eat or what they’re going to wear. He talks of the ravens that don’t have barns and storehouses…and yet they’re fed.

He mentions the lilies in the field.

They flower and look pretty without worrying if and when it will happen.

He finishes by reminding them not to hold onto their possessions…but to share.

This was the ethic of early Christianity.

The community of followers were to pool their resources and distribute them among each other and to the widows and poor.

Some intentional Christian communities still do that.

But we are a far cry from that as our widely accepted Christian ethic now.

We live in a world of private property rights….where governments feud over public lands and water rights that were never really theirs in the first place.

But I think it’s still worth considering some deeper spiritual questions that this Gospel raises even for us in our 21^st century context:

What are we afraid of that keeps us from living into Love for ourselves and all of creation and makes us seek security in things?

What is it that we keep holding back…filling up bigger and bigger metaphorical…or maybe even real… barns with things…so that we don’t feel that we have to worry?

And in all our storing and saving and collecting of things…have we crammed our hearts so full that there is no room for God…for that peace and love that is beyond all measure?

I sometimes wonder about that.

I sometimes think that with all the things that can get thrown at us…at our work places…with stresses and to do lists in our homes…and definitely the flood of news stories as we doom scroll through videos and social media…all of these are taking up space…and crowding out the room for us to realize that our number one mission as people of God is to live into Love.

Our chief purpose as children of God is to remember that we are deeply loved and valued for exactly who we are…and to share that same love with others.

At our vestry meeting last Sunday…we reflected on prayer and the way we pray. And I shared the wisdom that I learned working with the brothers of the Society of St. John the Evangelist…an Episcopal monastery in Cambridge Massachusetts.

Brother Keith Nelson taught us about prayer as the dialogue we have with God…and quite often God initiates that conversation…in ordinary and simple ways.

He gave the example of being on a walk outside in a garden and noticing the brilliant color of a particular flower…or seeing a bird take flight over a pond.

These are the ways in which God begins to engage with us…hoping we will take the time to notice and enter the dialogue.

Make enough space to have the conversation.

That’s the encouragement I want to leave for us this week.

Even in these blazing hot and humid days of summer…let’s take a moment to put down phone…step away from the barrage of things that come at us…and make room for remembering that God is Love and that’s enough to get us through to the next day.

And then…pass on that feeling of love to someone else….because surely they need it too.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity who is Love Everlasting.