Metamorphosis & Mission

May I speak in the name of the transfiguring Christ, Light from Light, who challenges us to change and grow through co-missioning.

Metamorphosis.  In the lectionary readings assigned for today, the last Sunday after Epiphany, we’re hearing about Jesus’ transfiguration while on a mountain with some of his disciples.  The Greek verb form that has been translated as ‘transfiguration’ is a word that you’re probably familiar with in its Latin form: metamorphosis.  It means beyond-form or to change form, to re-form, to re-model, to fundamentally change shape or state; a paradigm shift.  For rhetorical purposes, I’m going to refer to ‘metamorphosis’ rather than transfiguration.

Mission. For the last fourteen years, the Episcopal Church* has observed World Mission Sunday on this Sunday before Lent begins (*note: Roman Catholics observe World Mission Sunday in October).  The stated purpose of this observance is to “hold up and celebrate our shared commitment and call to mission.” This year, we’re asked to celebrate and pray for the work and witness of 60 missionaries we have serving in 25 countries around the world… and to remain mindful that the Episcopal Church's official name is The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church.  All members of the Episcopal Church are also members of the Society and, therefore, we are all missionaries.  And, in fact, I am a ‘missioner’ (my work is domestic, here in this diocese among the college and university campuses) and with me is Nic, one of our campus ministry interns, who will be a short-term foreign missionary this summer with our Kansas2Kenya college team.  We’ll come back to this in a bit.

Light. As we consider metamorphosis and our mission, we also should reexamine our relationship with light… what light means in our lives as Christians.

So, you have three things to juggle in the next few minutes – listening for and considering ideas about metamorphosis, mission, and light.  Listen for how they’re related.  And, consider your own relationship to them. If you have trouble keeping them all in play as we look more closely at a couple of our lessons, focus on the one that resonates most with your heart this morning – the one through which the Spirit is most speaking to you.

MOUNTAINS AND METAMORPHOSIS

Today we’ve heard about both Moses and Jesus going the mountain with some of their trusted friends for encounters with the holy.  Moses ends up staying on the mountain for forty days, being enveloped by mysterious clouds of smoke, and receiving commands from God who is represented by a great fire at the top of the mountain. For Moses, to encounter God more directly would have resulted in death.  When he returns to his people to convey the law as he has received it, his face is glowing (a sign to them that he has been exposed to something holy).  It’s as if he’s been temporarily exposed to radiation and the glow eventually fades.  For Moses, this mountain encounter is a pivotal moment in his understanding of what must be done in order to help his people be fully liberated; but he hasn’t been through a metamorphosis per se.  His mission will now be to record, convey and interpret divine commands and laws that he believes, if adhered to properly with faithful obedience, should keep his people from drifted back into trouble and in healthy covenant with God.

Though there are echoes of Moses’ experience in our journey with Jesus up the mountain (a rising leader, born under threat of death, destined to lead his people to a better life, now ascending a mounting for enlightenment and instruction), something quite different occurs with our Lord, signaling that what follows his mountain encounter will have different implications for us that Moses’ journey.  It is Jesus himself who is revealed as the radioactive source of light in this case.  And, his face doesn’t just glow; it shines like the sun and his clothes like a dazzling, radiant white.  Then there appears both Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, calling forth in the Jewish memory Malachi’s sign of the end-times when the Law and Prophets would come together, “Remember the teaching of my servant Moses…. Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Mal 4:4-5).  And, in context of the stories in Matthew that we’ve been hearing this Epiphany season, we know that this radiant Christ doesn’t just recite law as handed down by Moses, he actually expands on it (“you have heard it said… now I say to you…) with a sense of divinely derived authority.  And, importantly, this more direct encounter with the Divine through Christ does not result in literal death; but we are told that union with Christ results in the death of our former selves.

How does this encounter affect the disciples?  Peter follows an initial instinct (perhaps with the wide-eyed nodding heads of his fellow disciples as a sign of their consent) to want to dwell here with these three prophetic elders and remain sheltered – to bask in the glory of the moment.  But the paradigm shift that is occurring will not allow any such attempt to stay up there on that mountain, away from the people and struggles below.  God’s presence overcomes them and they hear God’s voice repeating what was said at Jesus’ baptism – “this is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased…” with the added emphasis this time, “listen to him!” (we might hear in this command – listen, learn, and follow)  Now, more fully recognizing the divine power that they are face-to-face with, they fall to the ground in fear (that’s how they’ve learned to react in the presence of God – remember this is a great and ‘terrible’ day when the Lord comes).  Rather than the Divine being pleased with having instilled fear and trembling, Christ immediately reaches out to connect with them, tells them to have no fear, and instructs them to “get up”, there’s work to be done.  There is a sort of resurrection occurring here – a death to fear and a rising up of a new relationship with God – more accessible and interpersonal, more immediately loving and compassionate.

I’m left wondering if this encounter was really about Jesus’ need to go up the mountain to connect with Moses and Elijah in order to be re-formed and prepared for the rest of his mission and ministry… or, if this story is more about initiating the metamorphosis that takes place among the disciples, preparing them to re-form the body of the church to carry on Christ’s interpersonal mission… a process that continues in their encounter with the risen Christ and then with the reception of his Holy Spirit at Pentecost… and process that continues in us today as we encounter Christ through our baptism and in love with our neighbors… an experience of the metamorphosis of the elements on the altar, and a re-modeling of our own lives in a new light having received them.

LIGHT

This also causes me to take a moment to reflect on our relationship with light.  We take light for granted in our context here today and mostly think of it as a physical utility or commodity.  It’s not so miraculous anymore or spiritually significant.  We expect light wherever we go – if it’s not already being provided for us automatically on the street, at home, at work, at church, etc. we’ve come to believe that if it’s dark, we need only flip a switch and there will be light.  Our city lights are so bright at night that they flood out the stars above.  It’s even a whimsical luxury for some modern urban dwellers to travel to the country to look in awe at a night sky twinkling with star light.

Yet, for our ancestors, light-on-demand was rare. Other than from direct sunlight during the daytime and by the periodic full moon on some nights, there was a lot of darkness.  Light in the shadows or at night was a precious thing that resulted from labor and attention – camp fires, torches, lamps that needed oil, candles, etc..  Without directly sunlight or special effort and materials, the world was normatively dark – the streets, the homes, fields and pastures, places of work and worship were otherwise pitch black.  The darkness often represented mystery and danger, literally and figuratively.  When there was no light, you remained ‘in the dark’ and subject to whatever evil might lurk there.  

So, it’s no wonder that in our holy stories, miraculous “light” is an evocative metaphor and image for divine power.  To have something other than the sun become luminous or to shine on its own was something that warranted awe, perhaps fear, thanksgiving, and certainly reverence.  To be given light was a gift.  Light revealed what otherwise would not, could not be seen and as source of life.

Just a small sampling of how light is used in scriptures: God said, “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3, not Westar).  “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light” (Isa 60:19). “The city does not need the sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (Rev 21:23). “You are the light of the world…. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Mat 5:14). “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  On the road to Damascus, Paul is suddenly surrounded by bright light before encountering Christ (Acts 9:3). We are told that we are to become children of light.  And, we’re told that “God made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6).

Perhaps in some of these examples, we can begin to realize that even in our artificially illuminated world today, we, too, experience moments of en-lightenment, when a flash of God’s glory, the light of God’s love helps us ‘see’ through the darkness around us, even if only for a moment.  The smile of a stranger just at that moment that we’re about to lose our cool under the stresses of the day.  The phone call from a friend or family member that comes at just the right time.  The inspiring image of an unarmed man facing down a line of military tanks in Tiananmen Square.  The sounds of spontaneous hymns being sung in the streets of Haiti after a massive earthquake.  Or, in what Nic and the other student missionaries are likely to experience this summer in southern Kenya.

MISSION

As this college team follows Jesus amid the mountains outside of Nairobi and into an impoverished valley village, they will be leaving their comfort zones, encountering some dim realities, and perhaps feeling some fear and trembling at times.  Yet it will be Jesus who will continually touch them compassionately and say ‘do not fear.’  Where will they encounter divine light and metamorphosis?  After they have listened to the stories of these resilient people; after the students have labored with them to lay bricks and assemble roofs; when the students reach out their hands to widows and children who have been struggling to live in a weather-beaten tents for the past four years after having been violently driven from their previous homes which are now in ruins; when those mothers and children step through the door of their new homes and turn around to look the students in the eyes and smile… and when our student missionaries smile back…. the light of Christ will shine in that moment.  What a metamorphosis that will be… for the mother, her children, and for our student missionaries.  When they return home to share what they have experienced about the expansiveness of God’s family and the power of compassionate love for each other, the paradigm shift that began on that mountain long ago will continue.

LIGHT WITHIN YOU

Christ calls us all to leave the luminance of the mountain encounter, return to the valleys of life, and tend to the needs of our brothers and sisters there.  Christ calls each of us to re-form and re-model our notions of scarcity and abundance in order to better serve the entire family of God.  Christ confronts each of us with opportunities for metamorphosis through interpersonal encounters in which we stoke the divine spark of light within each other.

One author (Marianne Williamson in her 1992 book A Return to Love) has written poignantly addressing our ambivalence about fully living and loving with this God-ignited, transfiguring light within us:

 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Or, as Christ says, ““You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:14-16).

AMEN. 

“In God We Trust” – really?!

Today we remain on that hillside along the northern part of the Sea of Galilee somewhere near Capernaum, listening to our rabbi deliver his ‘sermon from the mount’ to us, giving us the preamble to the constitution of a new church, a new covenant that he brings as the Word of God incarnate. 

In the portion of his sermon that we heard last week, our Lord challenges us with his game-changing use of love in the face of fear – compelling us to opt out of a spiral of retributive violence and into redeeming process of restorative love.  Rather than worrying about self-preservation, Jesus commands us to perfectly love each other as God love us, exhibiting a charitable and sacrificial love to everyone, including strangers and enemies… even if it costs us our own life, as it did him.

This week, the challenge from our Lord is no less provocative… he’s challenging us again to faithfully examine our relationship to God and to Mammon.

1909 painting The Worship of Mammon by Evelyn De Morgan

The Greek work mamonas (μαμμωνάς) calls to mind more than just wealth, the term is connotes greedy pursuits and concern with worldly riches.  Indeed, our relationship with money and riches is often the subject of our Lord’s lessons – he has more to say about it than many other topics.  This is not surprising since money represents value and power and Christ’s kingdom is established on counter-cultural notions about what and who is valued and how power is to be used and shared.

Recommended blog read (http://www.godmammon.com/2007/04/welcome-to-god-mammon.html).  “According to Jesus, God and Mammon are 2 masters. You can't serve both. But, Jesus praises the shrewd money manager, and lauds those who grow their wealth in his parables. Huh?... This blog seeks to make sense of what the Bible says about money and wealth.”

Some of you already know that Jesus doesn’t preach against money or wealth itself as if it’s inherently a problem.  What he’s constantly calling our attention to is how materialism seduces our affections and attention away from charitable and self-sacrificing love toward God and neighbor, and how wealth is to be shared in our common life together. 

Surely, Jesus was preaching to many people who had very little… if fact, it’s likely that a good number of them actually grappled daily with the realities of finding food for their families and struggling to maintain dignity in the moment, much less hope in a better day.  We could, this morning, continue to explore how this sermon/message might have been heard by people in such dire circumstances back then, as well as how people in similar circumstances today – in developing countries, in rural or inner city poverty, etc. – hear good news in this part of his sermon. 

However, this morning, know that ‘people of means’ also were hearing Jesus’ message.  In the Gospel lesson today, by talking about adornment with clothing while invoking Solomon’s grandeur as well as contrasting service to God with service to our pursuit of wealth, the Spirit is clearly speaking to us who live with material abundance all around us, yet often suffer from a sense of scarcity.

(image from United Methodeviations blog: http://doroteos2.wordpress.com/2009/05/29/in-god-we-trust-in-church-we-dont/)

In God we trust

We need look no further than the money on our pocket right now to remind ourselves of our often convoluted relationship with Mammon.  On the very currency that we carry and covet is printed “In God We Trust.”  Really?! 

“In God We Trust”  You might expect this powerful statement of faith to appear on large, symbolic monuments or church buildings… but we’ve chosen to weave it into the very fabric of our daily concerns, having it revealed every time we transact business/commerce, as if to suggest that each exchange of monetary value we engage in is also interconnected with our faith or religious values.  Really?!

In a more critical mood, I might wonder if the printed motto should more accurately say, “in God we want to trust… but in the gold standard we really believe.”  Or, “because we believe God is on our side, we expect we should be rich.”

If you look into the history of how this motto migrated from a phrase in our national anthem in the 19^th Century to being imprinted in the mid-20^th Century on the most basic commodity that is traded and shared among us, you’ll discover that the placement of this statement of faith on our money was not without controversy.  And, whatever religious convictions this symbolic act might have originally been meant to reinforce, it has certainly come to represent a troubling struggle for most of us – how to truly trust in God’s providence while also focusing so much on our own desires toward gaining more worldly wealth.

Our individual desires for more power, control, and comfort in our lives can seduce us away from our Christian call to care for our neighbors, especially the ‘least of these.’  Through the temporal distractions that wealth can provide, we can be tempted into believing that we’ve somehow ‘earned’ the right to be self-indulgent or that we’re in charge of our own destiny. 

And, more insidiously, worship of Mammon can become an addiction that spirals us to very dark places of desperation when we begin falsely believing that our deepest well-being and satisfaction can be achieved if we only possess ‘more.’  Jesus warns us against being possessed of this hopeless state of being.  We can’t be devoted to truly serving God while also worshipping the illusory promises of wealth.

So, it’s not really the wealth or money that’s the issue, it’s the character of our habitual attitudes and priorities – how and why we ‘spend’ our time and talent.  Are we participating with Christ in the growing of our true family under God based on charitable and self-sacrificing love, or are we seeking to establish our own kingdoms?

Recall again the motto on this dollar bill – In God We Trust.  Really?!  Do we really trust God?  Do we have faith that God is ultimately in control and that we can safely offer/surrender all of who we are and our needs to God’s mission? 

 

My own lack of trust…

Examining my own life, some of my habitual priorities and behaviors certainly don’t suggest that I truly believe that God is trustworthy.

I’ve been tempted and seduced into putting myself into the center of the garden, believing that because I’ve eaten from the tree of knowledge I’m somehow more wise or capable that I really am – like I’m the only one who is keeping it all together and making things happen. 

If it’s gonna get done right, or done at all, I need to do it.  No one is looking out for me except me.  In the end, it’s up to me.  “God’s not going to pay my mortgage or put food on my table,” says the doubting, self-centered inner voice.  As if that justifies my willingness to turn away from trust in what God does provide and expect in return.

I worry about money – how much to I ‘need’, where more is going to come from, will it be enough… now and in retirement.

I prioritize pleasing myself more than pleasing God in how I use time and treasure.

I get anxious trying to manipulate and control time… wrestling and bargaining with my calendar and the clock to fit in everything that I believe needs to get done in a logical, efficient order… again, seeking to satisfy my own needs more than serving our Lord.

And, so, you start to see the problem that Jesus is addressing in his sermon.  What begins with some simple realities about basic responsibilities can turn into worship of idols other than God and worries about things that are ultimately unsatisfying and beyond my control anyway.

And where are you?  Several verses before what we heard this morning, our Lord points out that “where our treasurer is, there our heart will be also.”  If we were to make your calendar/schedule public… if we were to publish your bank records and credit card statements… what would they reveal about your priorities, which master you’re serving, and where do you place your trust?

Recalibrating

Our other lessons today can help us recalibrate our attitude and attention.

The Psalmist today calls me / us to humble serenity – don’t try to be more than we really are… keep our feet on the ground and our soul content with a quiet heart with hope in God. (Psalm 131)

Paul, in what we heard from one of his letters to the Corinthians (1 Cor 4:1-5), sings a similar tune of humility and focus: we’re servants Christ and stewards of God’s wisdom, not Masters of our own fortunes, nor judges of others.

The prophet Isaiah has God reminding us that even when we wonder where God is amid our mortal concerns, God is always with us, looking out for us like a compassionate parent… who even has our names tattooed on the back of his own hands.

And, in his popular Bible paraphrase called The Message, Eugene Peterson renders part of the Gospel lesson this way, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes…. What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. … Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”

If you’re putting cash in the offering plate today,

or the next time you have paper currency in your hand,

pause and remember our Lord’s life.

Re-read the motto we’ve put our symbol of wealth

“In God We Trust”

Jesus is challenging us to believe that.

Examine how we’re focusing our attention and utilizing our resources.

Worship more than worry.

And, be awake and alert in our relationships with others.

Whose goals do we have in mind?

What love is motivating us?

In whom do we place our trust?

AMEN

Love, not perfection

a 'perfect' red rose budding through

the January snow on the side of my home

In the readings we’ve heard this morning – some of God’s instructions to Moses as recounted in Leviticus as well as Jesus’ instructions to disciples as recalled by the author of Matthew – our calls to love and perfection seem clear.  

Love and Perfection as divine dance partners might seem folly upon initial consideration.  If perceived of as a pure virtue or idea, love might seem perfect… but the reality of how most of us experience love is more emotionally messy and prone to imperfection.  And, perfection, if imagined as a static state of being that is without flaw doesn’t really leave mortals much room to operate.

God says to Moses, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”. (Lev 19:1-2, 18)

Jesus says to his disciples, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” and “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. (Matt 5:48, 44).

Indeed, it would seem that we’re being told that we ought to be holy and perfect, and that we must love everyone.  If we don’t take a more critical examination of what is meant by this, we might be tempted to dismiss it as unrealistic sentimentalism – sounds great, but I’ll never be perfect… and I surely can’t love everyone.

What we should consider this morning is that the Hebrew and Greek words translated as holy/perfect and love in these passages are less about actually achieving a flawless state of being and more about maturing through a process of justification or sanctification through the continual expression of a special sort of affection toward our sisters and brothers, joined as we are in God’s family through and with Christ.

HOLY / PERFECT

In Leviticus, this passage we’ve heard is from a section of this book of law known as the Holiness Code.  Contain herein, including a recap of some of the most well-known biblical ‘commandments,’ are ethical instructions to the people of God about how to live toward God’s own holiness, a more perfect union that God intends for/with us – a reunion of relationship with God and with our neighbors as one holy family. 

The word herein that is translated as “holy” refers to differentiation or separation from the profane, movement away from conditions and situations that are considered unclean (things that taint our perspectives and threaten to separate us from faithful and loving relationship with God and our neighbors), and towards the purity of the divine. 

And, in the context of the Gospel reading from Matthew, the word translated as ”perfect” might more comprehensively be read as meaning to be mature, complete, or inclusive in steadfast faith and love.  Also note that in Luke’s version of this sermon, he has Jesus saying, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)

In other words, we can hear that to “be holy” or to “be perfect” is to be faithful in moving away from situations that separate us from God and towards conditions that cultivate more inclusive, mature relationships with our blessed kindred in Christ. 

‘Holy’ and ‘perfect’ speak about a process more than a product… a way of becoming, not a finished state of being.

Ok, so what does it really mean to be more holy and perfect like our God?  This is where the instructions about special affection – love – toward our neighbors are illustrative.

LOVE

In their contexts - in the time of Moses being told to love neighbors and in the time of Jesus telling his followers to love their enemies – as well as in our own time, the idea that we should actively and affirmatively ‘love’ strangers or people who seek to do us harm is provocative to say the least. 

First, let’s be clear what type of ‘love’ we’re dealing with.  The words translated as “love” (Hebrew: אהב  Greek: ἀγάπη) in both of the readings today are neither referring to sensual or erotic affections, nor to merely civil or virtuous friendship.  In Greek, the type of love being referred to here is known as agape, which is describing an intimate bond that inspires charity and sacrifice, often in familial relationships.

So, we’re not just being called to be nice to people.  We’re being told to be sacrificial and charitable in our bonding with strangers and enemies just as we would for the loved ones in our own family… because this is the sort of love that God has for all of God’s beloved family.

What does expressing this sort of love toward others actually look and sound like in action? 

In context of the Holiness Code from Leviticus, it might initially sound a little like we’re simply to be nice – we’re told not show favor to any one sort of person, nor be slanderous, hateful, or begrudging.  But there’s more to exemplifying this sort of holy agape.  We’re also instructed not to hoard our resources selfishly, but to be charitable and share some of them with those in need.  We’re told to be honest in our transactions and not to swindle others for our own gain or take advantage of the weaknesses of others for our advancement.  In short, being loving to neighbors and strangers is an active process, not just a passive state of mind or heart.  Our actions toward others should be characterized by an unbiased altruism, mercy, compassion, and truthfulness.

In the context of Jesus’ sermon [from the mount] to his followers, to express agape toward your enemies is an even taller order than the ethical commands in Leviticus.  First, he makes it clear that it’s not sufficient to simply return love in-kind to those who express love to you – that’s easy.  And, Jesus moves beyond previously held notions about who was worthy or clean enough for God’s love by proclaiming that God’s love rests upon the good and bad alike.  Let me repeat that.  God’s redeeming love is offered to everyone under the sun; therefore, so should our charitable and sacrificial affection be offered to everyone - the good and bad, the pure and unclean alike. 

Second, Jesus also calls us to something even more profound than ethical behavior in his instructions about how we are to express agape toward our enemies and those who aim to hurt us.  Rather than return violence with any form violence (and eye for an eye), he instructs us not to cooperate with harm of any kind and, in fact, to wield our love in a way that neutralizes or reverses any spiral of violence. 

To be clear, he’s not telling us to roll-over and passively surrender to or accept harm or abuse.  Neither is he telling us to defend ourselves in a traditional way.  Rather, he’s telling us to affirmatively and assertively return love when confronted with anger, hate, and persecution… not just to stand up stoically in the face of opposition; but to actively become even more humane to those who attempt to dominate us or strip us of dignity or humanity. 

Some have called this “non-adversarial defiance” or non-violent resistance.  And, it’s more than that.  More than just resisting underlying patterns of dominance and hostility in win-lose paradigm, Jesus is calling us to move beyond any tit-for-tat temptations based on retribution or retaliation (Exodus 21, Leviticus 24, and Deut 19) into a way of being – a perfect and holy process – that redeems humanity and restores goodness through a radical giving of ourselves with the faith that we’re loving more perfectly with Christ.

This is about far more than being nice those who are mean to you.  Jesus’ call to love our enemy is a provocative, alternative way of living in which preservation of our own life does not take precedent over growing toward holy and perfect love.  This about opting out of worldly wisdom based in self-preservation and into divine wisdom about redemption and salvation through self-giving love, even in the face of violent death.  Even when nailed to the cross and hung up in naked humiliation before his tormenters, Jesus prayed for those who did this to him – “forgive them Father, they don’t know what they’re doing.” (Luke 23:43)

(pause)

Clearly, I’ve spent more time on the topic of love than on perfection. I believe the Word of God does to.  I don’t believe we’re being called to perfection in the way we traditionally hear that term.  This isn’t about eventually getting everything ‘right’ or being flawlessly ‘right’ – our call is to be in holy, right relationship with God and others through a process of loving that is actively seeking to repair what is broken, especially in the midst of countervailing forces that want to keep us apart and break us down.

So what do you leave this morning hearing in your heart?  Reflect on who you enemies are – who seeks to do you harm.  What would it look or sound like for you to move out of having to defend yourself against them and to move into actions that will change the game – moving us toward hope instead of fear?  If Jesus were to walk with you this next week, where would he point you toward more love, rather than perfection? 

I close with author Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of part of today’s Gospel lesson:

You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

AMEN.

God’s merciful blessings – fool’s gold?

  

(art: http://www.laurajamesart.com/religious.htm#)

We’re about at the midpoint of Epiphany season, a time we consider Jesus’s manifestation of God in our world (from the Greek epiphania).  We’re celebrating what his incarnation means to all of creation and recounting the significance of major events in his life.  After his birth, we heard of his baptism and then of his gathering of apostles.  Today we find ourselves on a hillside – a mount - somewhere likely along the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee listening to our Lord as he begins a famous sermon by offering a preamble for the constitution of the church as his body.  Before he really gets into his sermon, giving us ethical instructions, he clarifies for us who is already beheld and beloved in the eyes of God and what we can expect as part of that family. 

(anecdote about my readings the Beatitudes last year, as one of my first diaconal services, to fellow pilgrims from a cavern opening on a mount/hillside along a road in Capernaum)

·       home territory of several of the apostles

·       near sites of the Sermon on the Mount, metaphors involving fishing, walking on water, calming the storm, feeding thousands with fishes and loaves, etc.

·       a beautiful and unique place that is fed and drained by the Jordan River and still vital as a water source for modern Jerusalem

Let’s remember that we’re common Jews – rural poor and some trades people - in the Galilee about to listen to this prophetic rabbi who has a reputation for performing miracles and stirring up controversy, and who some of us believe is the chosen messiah who will liberate us from our current conditions under Roman rule and restore us to new life as God’s favored Israel. 

Probably, some of us are harboring resentments toward our fellow Jews who have cultivated status and power by aligning themselves with the dominant Roman rulers; and we’re waiting on the day that we will have such prestige and worldly wealth.  Yet, what we hear from Jesus this day has strong echoes of what we’ve heard from the ancient prophets Isaiah and Micah – a reminder that God is not pleased when we believe we’ve ‘made it to the top’, achieving status and stature, at the expense of compassion, mercy, justice toward others, especially those considered ‘least’ among us.

In today’s OT reading, the prophet Micah (likely a contemporary of Isaiah, who we’ve been hearing a lot of lately) presents a courtroom scene in which God is the injured party who brings a case against his people, Israel.  Micah is writing during a time of relative peace between periods of major invasion and devastation in which God’s people have become complacent, adrift in idolatry and material obsessions, and corrupt and exploitative to the point that leaders are manipulating economic systems to their advantage at the expense of vast numbers of people who are becoming more impoverished and displaced. With all of creation as his witness, God challenges the people to demonstrate cause for their loss of faith and attentiveness to their covenant, citing some of the major ways God has demonstrated fidelity to the covenant.  In an attempt to satisfy their aggrieved God, the people offer greater piety, ritual observance, and costly animal and human sacrifices.  The passage ends with the prophet saying that what is good to God is not transactional ritual offerings (we can’t ‘buy’ God’s favor), but rather offering ourselves as living sacrifices through consistently behaving in ways that honor justice, loving kindness to neighbors, and humility before God.

Jesus’s preamble to his sermon on the mount furthers this message with more explicit explanation that what is held in esteem in corrupt worldly systems is not what is blessed and honored in God’s kingdom. And, Jesus makes the provocative point that living into this kingdom will, in fact, be costly in a worldly sense. 

Micah says that God requires us to, “do justice.” Jesus Christ affirms that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are honored / have God’s blessing.

Micah says that God requires us to, “love kindness.”  Jesus Christ affirms that the merciful, pure of heart, and peacemakers are considered God’s children to whom God delivers mercy. 

Micah says that God requires us to, “walk humbly.” Jesus Christ affirms that the poor in spirit, who mourn, and who are considered meek are, in fact, inheriting God’s very kingdom.

Conventional wisdom of the worldly systems in Micah’s time, and during the period that our Lord delivered this sermon in the Galilee, and arguably in our own time now, revere the financially independent, the emotionally stoic and sure, those who are politically savvy and respected, and wealthy enough to perhaps offer some financial charity to those ‘less fortunate’ and less worthy of worldly fame and honor.  Worldly wisdom points toward value in scarcity by gaining ‘real’ gold for jewelry as a sign of your success and possibly sharing some of it only after you have enough for yourself.

Not to say worldly success is bad, per se (certainly not if it’s put to good use), but this isn’t necessary for God’s favor; and, in fact, success predicated on notions of scarcity often distract us from the generosity God wants us to live into.  We’re told that God’s blessings are already with those who are weak, who struggle, and who are unsure yet faithful and loving.  Godly wisdom points us toward making faithful and loving use of what the world otherwise considers fool’s gold.

Jesus knows that Godly wisdom is counter-cultural and costly.  Yet, he assures us that when we follow divine wisdom, and are persecuted, mocked, and reviled, we’re in good company – fellowship with faithful prophets who speak Godly truth to worldly power, even to the assumed religious establishments of their days, in the spirit of justice and mercy.

Paul keeps this good news alive in what he writes to the church in Corinth, which is struggling to maintain focus on divine wisdom in the context of seductive systems of esoteric knowledge, urban sophistication, and emerging internal divisions/factions in their church community.  Paul knows that following Christ can seem as foolish as paying attention to pyrite rather than ‘real’ gold.  He invokes both the ancient words of Isaiah and then Jesus’s beatitudes in what we heard from his letter today…

“[God] will destroy the wisdom of the wise…. For… in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe…. not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Cor 1:19, 21

(pause)

As we take a moment to let our minds and hearts absorb the implications of this consistent message being preached across these scriptures, about conditions and situations that God considers blessed in his kingdom and expectations God has of our behavior – all of which run counter to what the world seems to expect of as valuable, allow me to say a little something about pyrite, or ‘fool’s gold’ as it known.

I remember being given a delightful chunk of pyrite by my grandmother many years ago.  As a child, I had no appreciation of how valuable this material was in comparison to ‘real gold’ in a worldly sense.  I considered it a precious token of my relationship with my grandmother.  For a long time I kept it in special, prominent place on one of my shelves.  People would occasionally say things like, that’s just ‘fool’s gold… it’s not worth anything.”  Nonetheless, when I looked at it, it seemed valuable and miraculous to me – a beautiful golden surface seemingly magically emerging from a clump of otherwise uninspiring rock.  And, it reminded me of my grandmother’s unconditional love for me. 

In fact, unlike the ‘real gold’ that we use to store value by turning it into bullion to keep in vaults as guarantee for our wealth or to adorn ourselves with as signs of status, pyrite is a very abundant, practical, life enhancing substance.  It can serve as an ignition source because it sparks when struck against iron; it’s been used in radio receivers and other electronics because it’s a sensitive detector; and I’ve read that it has been proposed as a low cost mineral component of solar panels.  What the world might label as substance that only fools would consider golden actually has practical value and merit because of its affordable, easily shared, more universal applications.

So, do we consider Godly wisdom like fool’s gold?  If we’re really honest with ourselves, do we believe in the truth and value of the counter-cultural expectations of God spoken of by the prophets and lived as an example by Christ?

What would our lives look and sound like, what would our church community be doing more or less of, if we lived further into this Godly wisdom?  Do any of us quietly consider this path too costly and rather foolish in the end?

Remember, we heard today, that “God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor 1:25)

God’s requirements as summarized by Micah, and God’s blessings as affirmed by Jesus, have been given to us in love through relationships that don’t represent wealth on Wall Street, but hold divine value in God’s kingdom family.

·       Blessings are not things we earn or achieve.  God already considers blessed those who conventional wisdom says are the least among us and those who hunger and thirst with them for justice and shared mercy.

·       Walk humbly with God, deeply aware that it’s not all about you, that you’re ultimately not in control, and that everything you have and are is inter-dependent with God and your neighbors.

·       Do justice – hunger and thirst for what is right.

·       Above all, love kindness - show compassion and mercy toward others… as our creator, redeemer, and sustainer does toward us.

AMEN.

St. Paul's 2020 - come and see!

(delivered Sunday, January 16, 2011 to the community at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Manhattan, KS before their annual parish meeting)

Come, Holy Spirit, on this day of our annual parish meeting, and on the eve of a day when our nation remembers a contemporary prophet of social justice; take our lips and speak through them; take our minds and think through them; and take our heart and set them on fire with love for your work.  AMEN

“What are you looking for?”

“Where are you living?”

“Come and see.”

These two questions and one instruction/invitation from today’s Gospel lesson are profound… and particularly poignant today as we gather for our annual parish meeting – a time when we consider where we are today, who we aspire to be in the future, and begin making decisions to help us get ‘there.’  I wonder what the St. Paul’s community of 2020 will look and sound like?  What all can happen in the next 11 years through this community?

It’s fitting that today’s Gospel was set-up by hearing the salutation/greeting from one of Paul’s letters to the early emerging church in Corinth.  In his salutation to this earlier counter-cultural church community that was growing in into the fullness of their future, we hear reassurances from Paul that we can heed today as we enter our annual meeting and envision our own future:

-          our gathering here is linked to the larger church of Christ, with all who believe;

-          Christ guides our wisdom and our words when we gather in his name; and

-          and our community is blessed with many spiritual gifts.

As we hold these truths – that we’re a living part of the larger body, Christ is guiding us, and that we have many gifts – let’s consider the provocative and inspiring questions being raised in the second part of the Gospel passage.

In the first part of John, the author is making the case for Jesus as the Word of God living among us and setting the stage for the implications of this incarnation.  God’s very Word – God’s creative essence – has come among us to repair our relationships and pave the way toward a church that more fully incarnates God’s will for creation.

In today’s reading, you get the sense of a torch being passed to a new generation – a new race beginning, as a revered leader who has nurtured quite a following himself becomes very convinced and convicted upon encountering Jesus and begins pointing passionately beyond himself and explicitly toward this beloved Lamb/Son of God as the way forward into a new kingdom.  Something miraculous begins happening as seemingly unlikely or ‘unqualified’ characters are called into following Jesus and he begins commissioning them to lead us toward a new way of living in community. 

In our passage this morning, Andrew, upon his mentor’s urging, begins to literally follow Jesus – to walk with him.  Soon, he’s doing more than just walking curiously with Jesus, he’s inspired to recruit other to come along and he begins with inviting his brother (who we know as Peter).   And, if we read the next few verses, we’re told that within another day, a Galilean named Philip begins to walk with Jesus and is then inspired to invite along an initially hesitant and suspicious friend, Nathanael, who is also soon swept up like the others into the ways and vision of this messianic teacher, Jesus.   

And so it goes – both the original and our contemporary Christian community is built through vision, curiosity, experience, and invitation.  Jesus leading the way, and then family member to family member, friend to friend, neighbor to neighbor, the invitation to “come and see” and share in a vision is extended with a captivating sense of curiosity and grace.   

How are we participating in this ancient process here in our own community?

In gathering people to carry out the work of justice and love in God’s name, Jesus doesn’t begin with doctrinal statements, marketing schemes/brochures, or slick stump speeches – he begins by dignifying and honoring the natural curiosity and deeper needs of the other person by engaging in a relationship with them through a simple, yet loaded question, “What are you looking for?”

What are you looking for?   What a wonderful way to begin any relationship.  Are we asking this enough of each other?  Of our family, friends, and neighbors here in Manhattan?  Asking this of each other and of people who have yet to become of part of our church community sets the tone and example that we’re truly interested in each other – we want to really know the deeper needs and aspirations of our fellow people. 

We might hear or answer that question with personal and immediate concerns of what we seek, or needs we have in our lives right now – revealing what we’re hungry for today and what will nourish us in this moment.  We also might approach the hearing or answering of this question in a more future-oriented way, focusing on a vision of something yet to be true that inspires us, draws us forward, and motivates and sustains us over the longer term. 

This simple question can invoke powerful, transformational passions in people… particularly in times of trouble or change.

Tomorrow, as a country, we’re called to remember the vision and leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..  Like John the Baptist, and Jesus, Dr. King led during a time of struggle and was masterful at tapping into latent hopes and dreams of what people were really looking for.  He, like our biblical prophets, was bold in proclaiming his vision of Christ’s kingdom of justice and love that he, and many others, were looking for.   We don’t even need to recite all the words of his famous ‘sermon’ in D.C., – merely invoking “I have a dream, today!” quells up powerful, motivating emotions in many of us.

In asking his followers “What are you looking for?” Jesus, too, was tapping into creative passions and talents that were just waiting to burst forth the new life and energy.

What is it that each of you is looking for?  Why are you following Jesus here?  What dream or vision do you have of our possible future together?  What bold new realities might we all be looking for that we haven’t realized yet?

Another leader in the era of Dr. King, Robert F. Kennedy, once said, “The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of bold projects and new ideas.  Rather, it will belong to those who can blend passion, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the great enterprises and ideals of American society.”

This brings us to the second question, “Where are you staying/living?”  Or, in today’s colloquial language, before following something or someone new, we might hear someone ask “Where are you coming from?”   In asking Jesus this question, we can imagine that Andrew wasn’t simply seeking to know literally where Jesus would rest his head that night… rather; we can hear Andrew wanting to know what world Jesus was living in?  From what sense of place was he operating and to where might Andrew might be led if continued to follow this teacher?

We should be asking ourselves the same thing.  Where are we are we coming from today when we talk to people about our church family at St. Paul’s? 

If we answer factually, with attention to the immediate, we might note the evolving demographics of our community (e.g., predicted patterns in enrollment at K-State or enlistment at Ft. Riley); or the trends here at our parish in the larger church over the last ten years with regard to average Sunday attendance, composition of membership, stewardship, etc.; or cite some of our favorite features or traditions of our parish today.  In other words, we might simply describe our circumstances today – where we find ourselves at the moment.

If we engage that question the way I believe this Gospel passage is encouraging us to, we might pause and reflect on where we’re ultimately coming from as members incorporate of Christ’s body and the universal church – what we believe our ultimate mission to be, beyond our present circumstances or situation.  Though we might say we’re in/with Christ, that definitely doesn’t mean we’re standing still.  We’re called to move with, to follow Christ’s example in the world, proclaiming by our words and example the Gospel of our Lord, seeking to love and serve our neighbors, and striving for peace and justice, respect and dignity, within our community among all people.  That’s where we’re coming from.

Given this, whether much attention is given to it in today’s annual meeting, or whether this becomes a longer-term, on-going dialogue among our parish family, it’s prudent to continue to honestly ask ourselves, where are we coming from and what are we really looking for… and compare our answers to the vision and example of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  In what we say and do in the Manhattan community, in how we cultivate our time, talent, and treasures, are we a serving as a Christian family and way of living to which we are eager, with Christ, to invite people to “come and see”?

“Come and see.” Surely the early disciples didn’t quite know what they were getting into, when they accepted this invitation.  There might have been some anxiety about the risk of venturing into something new and unknown.  Yet, this warm invitation captivates our imagination and reassures that we’re not alone -- come (with me/us) and see (let’s see/realize this together).

Like our ancestors, who were hoping that following this messianic teacher would lead them to a better place, are we hoping that following Christ here in this church home will lead us toward a better life with each other?

If you imagine, right now, asking your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, classmates, etc. to “come and see” what we’re up to in God’s name here at St. Paul’s, are you excited?  nervous? hesitant? confident? 

If you’re on fire with love for this place and can’t wait to have more people join us on this journey with Jesus, be bold in evangelizing for us – ask people what they’re seeking and invite people to “come and see” what we’re up to here that can nourishg them.

If you have any hesitations about inviting people into our family – perhaps because you fear we’re not as welcoming as we could be to certain types of people; or maybe you’re worried that we don’t offer the things that newcomers are needing or looking for; or maybe you’re concerned that we’re not yet ready for a bunch of new people; or you’re quietly anxious about how our parish family might change if we invite more neighbors in who don’t look, sound, or think like you do.  If any those things resonate with you – take heart.  Realize that you’re in good company - the earliest disciples struggled with these same concerns (cite the believers in Corinth to whom Paul was writing).  And reassure yourself that this is the work with Christ – this is what Jesus asks us/his followers to do – to go out, beyond the bounds of any existing congregational family, and grow God’s family in Christ’s name.

So, as we head into the annual meeting today… wonder with me, are we asking ourselves big enough, bold enough questions where we’re coming from and what we’re looking for in our life together at St. Paul’s?  What would motivate and inspire more of us more often to follow the example of Jesus in inviting more people in our community to “come and see” what we’re up to in God’s name?

I wonder about St. Paul’s eleven years from now – Epiphany of 2020.   Who is here worshipping with us in this building?  Who in town identifies as a member of our church family?  How are we known and recognized as a Christian community in Manhattan?  What types of people – from what cultures, ages, races, stations in life are engaged with us in building toward the kingdom of God?  What types of additional missions and ministry programs are we supporting in 2020? 

What are you looking for?  Come and see.

Quoting again from the modern words of Robert Kennedy, although I can easily imagine Jesus our Christ saying this as well to his early followers: “There are those who look at things they way they are, and ask why… I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”

Where are coming from here at St. Paul’s as people of God?

What are we looking for as Christians?

What is our dream for this church?

Come and see!

It is Christ who invites us today and every day to keep asking these questions of each other and extending this invitation in His name. 

AMEN.