Listening to God’s Word

In today’s Gospel from the 16^th chapter of Luke, Jesus tells the story about a rich man and Lazarus, who was a poor person.  The rich man had no particular name.  The poor person’s name, Lazarus, means “God helps.”  The rich man was obviously very wealthy; he dressed in royal purple, wore fine linen clothing, and feasted sumptuously every day.  Outside the gate to his house and property, the poor man Lazarus begged for food that would fall from the rich man’s table.  He was also covered with sores, perhaps it was leprosy,

A seminary and college chaplain colleague and friend, Mark Harris, who is an Episcopal Priest, poet and writer, wrote an article about this parable in an issue of The Christian Century, September, 2001.  He said that this parable is not a morality tale.  It is rather a tragedy and “tragedy is closer to the truth of the Gospel than any morality play.  What is deeply troubling about tragedy is that it involves more than our individual will to action, or our intellects; it involves character flaws so grave that they permeate the actions of complete families and whole communities.”

This tragic situation of Lazarus begging at the rich man’s gate, and the rich man ignoring his presence, continued until both the rich man and Lazarus died.  Then, there was a reversal of fortune.  Lazarus ascended to reside at Abraham’s side.  Abraham, you recall, was the founder of God’s covenant people.  During his lifetime Abraham had also been rich and well off.  However, he was obedient to God.  The rich man had not been concerned about the poor, and he overlooked Lazarus whenever he passed through the gate of his property.  When he died, the rich man  “was buried in Hades, where he was being tormented.”  Hades is the dwelling of the dead.

In death the rich man looked up and saw Abraham “far away with Lazarus at his side.”  He called out asking for mercy, but Abraham said, “Remember that during your lifetime you received good things, and Lazarus received evil things.”  So now, it was Lazarus who was comforted, and the rich man was in agony.   The tables were turned, the rich man was powerless and dependent.  During his lifetime his actions had lacked compassion and they were hurtful to others.  In death there was no second chance.  Moreover, a great chasm has been fixed; there was a gap so wide between the two of them that it could never be bridged and no one could cross it.

Mark Harris commented, “The rich man doesn’t get it: it is not that he screwed up by not helping Lazarus while they were both alive; rather it is that he could not hear, or did not listen to, Moses and the prophets, who had a lot to say about justice, the poor and those in need.  He had what Jesus in other contexts calls ‘hardness of heart.’”

What did the rich man do?  Knowing that he could do nothing for himself, he asked for help for his five brothers so they would not enter “this place of torment.”  Abraham responded and said, you had Moses and the prophets but did not listen to them.  Your brothers also have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.  And if they don’t listen and repent, “neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

Mark Harris wrote about the meaning of this tragedy. “The tragic flaw in all this is that the rich man suffers from a deep spiritual deafness, an inability to hear and listen to the call for mercy and justice, or even the practical plea for just plain bread and some salve for the sores the dogs lick.  His heart is hardened.  Everything else in this drama is the unwinding of that fact.”

What you and I need to understand about this story is that it is not simply about the rich man and Lazarus; it is about all of us.  “The effect of any good tragedy is that it transfers to us, the audience…. We see our own hardness of heart in the behavior of the rich man and in Abraham and Lazarus as well, who seem disinterested in the plight of the five brothers and of the rich man. “

Prophecy in the Old Testament challenges the people of God, those who adhere to the covenant they made with God, to live faithfully in a future based on the call of God, and not to live with blind acceptance of corruption, violence, greed, or self-interest.  Jesus in the Gospel parables proclaimed a message about seeing a new and better world because of the grace of God and the hope given us by the Holy Spirit.

When Luke writes in his gospel that if the rich man’s brothers “do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead,” he is pointing to the fact that we have Jesus’ own resurrection.  If our hearts are open we shall know the gift of God’s grace and love.  As you know, when I preach a sermon I usually begin with a prayer:  “Open our hearts, O God, enlighten our minds, and kindle our spirits.”  We pray in this way so we can hear and act faithfully in response to the word of God as it has been given to us in both the Old and New Testaments.

Jesus’ resurrection, however, is nothing more than a cerebral nod to God unless we respond to the call of justice for the poor.  Responding to the cries of the poor for mercy, food, clothing, shelter, education and health care matters.  Our spiritual hunger depends on it because by feeding the needs of the poor we feed our own hunger.  We have God’s word through Abraham, Moses and the prophets, and we have the knowledge of Christ’s resurrection and God’s saving grace.  It is not enough simply to listen to these stories; we must become engaged with courage and active involvement to fulfill God’s call to us.  Amen.

Responsible Stewards

The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah is one of my favorite books in the Bible.  Jeremiah is a realist and makes no excuses in his day for the Israelites who have turned from God and have forsaken the poor.  It is evident that much of what he says has implications for our lives today, so many centuries later.

Jeremiah said, “My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.”  The people had provoked Jeremiah to anger.  They were worshiping foreign idols, and Jeremiah echoed the cry of the poor: "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."   He then explained the reason for his grief and absence of joy: “For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.  Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there?  Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?”  

When we hear and learn about the carnage and senseless shootings at the Washington Navy Yard last Monday, and also take into account the great number other shootings and tragic deaths that have occurred during the last few years, we are all hurt and mourn the loss of so many lives.  Our joy is gone and our hearts are sick.

Jeremiah’s grief turned inward and he shared the depth of his own soul: “O that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!”  This is true empathy. The Prophet understood the plight of his poor neighbors and mourned because no constructive action was taken to make things right and save the poor in their distress.  Today, we wait for constructive action on the part of our Congress to assure everyone’s safety.

The Prophet asked, “Is there no balm in Gilead?”  Gilead was located in a mountain area near the Jordan River and was known as a place for medical care and healing.  Jeremiah questioned why there were no physicians in Gilead.  Furthermore, if God is not present in the midst of human suffering, there is only hopelessness.  Jeremiah’s “joy was gone, grief was upon him, his heart was sick.”

As we sang before the gospel reading,

Sometimes I feel discouraged
And think my work's in vain
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul

Jeremiah grieved because of the plight of his people. Centuries later Jesus told a story about how difficult life is because of the reality of God.  Our world is filled with doubt and unbelief, as well as with false gods as in the time of Jeremiah.  But like it or not, God is deeply involved in the life of the world.

The gospel parable about the dishonest manager raises questions about how we use our time, our possessions, and our money.  For example, will our efforts make the world a better place for the next generation than it has been for us?  Will people have better nutrition, shelter, education, health care and safer communities than they have now?  Do you spend some of your time and energy in improving your community for those who are less advantaged?

           

The parable of the dishonest manager is about a confrontation between a rich man and the manager of his property.  The result of the confrontation is the firing of the manager who was not very astute in managing property.  Our tendency is to interpret this as an indictment of the manager's dishonesty.  The manager's real failure was his inability to function responsibly and faithfully.

As a result of being fired, the manager was forced to make a decision about his future. "What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me?  I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.  I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes."  The manager knew that the loss of his job meant a change in his social status.  He refused to endure the disgrace or humiliation of becoming a laborer or a beggar.  So, in response, he devised a strategy designed to prevent him from becoming a social and economic outcast.  He wanted people to “welcome him into their homes.”

At this point, with the implementation of the manager's strategy, the story becomes ambiguous and hard to understand.  What precisely does the manager do with the rich man's debtors?  Does he unscrupulously reduce the debtors' liability, thereby cheating the rich man while currying his own favor?  Or, does he judiciously deduct the interest payment from the principle that is owed?  There is no clear answer to these questions, and the text is inconclusive.

"Summoning his master's debtors one by one, the manager asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  He answered, 'A hundred jugs of olive oil.'  The manager said to him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.'  Then he asked another debtor, 'And how much do you owe?'  He replied, 'A hundred containers of wheat.'  The manager said to him, 'Take your bill and make it eighty.'  The master commended the dishonest manager for acting shrewdly in resolving a crisis and using what was at his disposal to prepare for the future. 

The point of this story is that the material goods of life -- property, wealth, possessions, money, -- are to be included in the discipleship of Christian living.  To squander possessions, as the dishonest manager did, is to place in jeopardy a person's access to anything truly valuable.  "If you have not been faithful with dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?  And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?"

The parable warns against being overly zealous in the management of our possessions.  We are to be faithful and diligent in service to God.  If wealth begins to take on a life of its own, independent of God and perhaps even replacing God, then all is lost.  God alone must be served.  "You cannot serve God and wealth."

What matters in all of this is that we are to be responsible stewards of everything God has given us.  It includes the resources we have, both financial and material; it involves the way we work to care for the poor in our communities and nation and help to lift them out of poverty; and it requires the adoption of ethical policies to assure a safe environment and an adequate quality of life for our children and for future generations.  Amen.

Joy in God’s Mercy

Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a place that is desolate and in ruins?  Have you seen the pictures of Damascus and the damage that was done not just to the thousands of people that have been killed, but also to buildings and their surroundings?  War zones, whether in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, or anywhere else, are upsetting and horrible sites

It might have been something similar to this in Jerusalem during the time of the Prophet Jeremiah.  God was angry and vengeful because the people had turned against him.

God spoke through Jeremiah and said, “my people are foolish, they do not know me; … they have no understanding.  They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good."  The people had turned against God, the earth was a waste and desolate, there was no light, the birds of the air had fled, the fruitful land was a desert, “and all the cities were laid in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger.”

What are the people to do?  How can they cope with such a disaster, with such horror, evil acts, and resulting desolation?

Here in the United States, there are individuals, towns and cities like Detroit that are also suffering.  Look at the people who have lost their homes and possessions because of hurricane Sandy and the fires along the Jersey Shore, or the torrential rains and floods in Colorado.  You might know someone who is suffering from a disaster.  Many of our citizens have lost everything and have to spend weeks and months waiting for insurance claims to be processed.  And if they don’t have access to the resources needed to rebuild, they undoubtedly feel bereft, desolate, and isolated.  They give up and struggle just to survive.

Have you ever been in a position when you just felt like giving up?  Perhaps you know someone who was unemployed and kept looking for a job without success, so they finally felt a sense of resignation and quit looking.  There are far too many people like that in our society.  Their unemployment benefits have run out, the economy has not yet fully recovered, and they are not equipped for the skills that are needed in today’s job market.

There are many situations in which people have to face what seem to be insurmountable challenges because of circumstances beyond their control.  Whether devastation because of war, natural disaster, or personal loss, it is a monumental struggle to find hope and strive for constructive change.

Paul, in his Letter to Timothy, relates an account about his own experience.  Paul had been "a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.”  He was a sinner who received God's mercy when he became faithful and "an example to those who would come to believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life."  Paul discovered that the grace of God "overflowed…with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." 

God’s mercy and Paul’s rejoicing in the faith are reflected in the two stories in Luke’s gospel about the lost sheep and the lost coin.  Jesus told these stories to reveal what God is like, how God acts toward those who are lost, and how we are called to act.  Luke used the familiar metaphor of the shepherd for God and stressed the shepherd's concern for the lost sheep.  The shepherd's search was more important than the sheep's foolishness in being lost, or the value of sheep, or the questionable act of pursuing one sheep while leaving open the possibility of the other 99 sheep straying and also getting lost.

Do you think a shepherd would leave 99 sheep to graze in the wilderness while going off to find one that was missing?  He would probably lose his job.  Had all the sheep been enclosed in a fenced field it would have been a different matter.  But these sheep were in the wilderness where there were no fences and no protection.  The one sheep that was lost may have fallen off a cliff or been devoured by a lion.  If the shepherd leaves the flock and predators then attack the flock, how many more sheep might be lost?

The story would be more plausible if the shepherd moved out briefly in different directions and kept returning to the flock to make sure the 99 remaining sheep were safe.  But in the story the shepherd was single-minded in his search for the one sheep that had gone astray.  Jesus used this story to make the point that “there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

The second story is about a lost coin.  It focuses on the need for diligence and persistence in searching.  The coin was known to be in the room; it was only hidden from view.  The woman lit a lamp and swept the house until she found it.  Then, when she found the coin, she was filled with joy and thankfulness and invited her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her.  In this way, Jesus said, "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

These two stories, Paul’s own experience, and the Jeremiah’s prophetic warning raise some questions about God.  Is God vengeful in allowing horrendous violence and evil on so many communities and individuals?  Is God as reckless as the shepherd, failing to ascertain the cost of losing more sheep while going after one that was lost?  Is God as spontaneous and generous as the woman who found her lost coin?  When you feel lost or alone, do you have any idea that God is searching for you?  What is your understanding of God?

Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus want us to know that God is faithful, concerned, compassionate and persistent.  When devastation and tragedy result from evil acts and other disasters, it is our human responsibility to right the wrongs that confront us.  When someone or something is lost as in the parable of the lost sheep, we are reminded that the community of God's people must be concerned with those who are not reached by God's steadfast love for whatever reason.  The story of the lost coin tells us that if a woman will act with such diligence, so will God's search be persistent for those who are lost.  How real will be the joy when devastated life is restored and when those who have been lost are recovered.

Jesus came to save the lost -- lost sheep, lost coins, lost sisters and brothers.  Everyone who is neglected or cast aside by society, those people we have given up on and labeled as lazy, uneducated, or worthless; and all the people who are alone, feeling bereft or unloved, and those people who are searching for identity, meaning and purpose, are the ones whom Jesus has gone looking for.  He looks back at us to see whether we, like Paul, are following him.

Jesus wants us to know what happens every time someone is found who had been lost.  There is joy in heaven.  When the lost sheep was found the shepherd had an excuse to throw a party.  When the lost coin was found, friends and neighbors were invited to rejoice.

When devastated cities and towns are rebuilt and people live with justice, peace, and compassion for one another there is joy in heaven.  All of us are invited, and we should also invite our friends, neighbors, and anyone we know who is lost, to join us every week in sharing the joy of God's mercy and love.  Amen.

Refresh Our Hearts

The Sunday following Labor Day has become the traditional time for church congregations to gather once again for the fall, winter, and spring seasons.  We have had a hot and stormy summer but now is the time to refresh our hearts and share the faith in everything we do in the name of Christ for the common good. 

Our choir has returned from its summer recess, and so we join again in singing the Gloria in excelsis following our opening Collect.  We have prayed asking God to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit so we may perfectly love God and magnify his holy Name.  In our worship, through our prayers and hymns, we offer praise and thanksgiving to God for all the gifts we receive.

In today’s first reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah we heard a story about going to the potter’s house where the potter was working at his wheel.  “The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.”

Have you ever worked with clay and experienced what it’s like to throw a pot, add color and fire it in a kiln?  It is wonderful to watch how clay is transformed into a beautiful vessel.   At Rhode Island College a new Art Center has been under construction and some of it is opening this year.  I walked through it on Friday.  It contains a large studio for ceramics, and other studios for metalsmithing, woodworking, jewelry design, printmaking, and sculpture.  It is fascinating to see how works of art are created.  Painting a landscape or portrait on canvass; glass blowing; making stained glass; forming pots, tea kettles, vases or cups out of clay; playing a musical instrument; or constructing a building from an architect’s drawing, are all ways of creating something good from the raw materials God has provided. 

The word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah telling him to go to the potter’s house.  His visit there reflected the Lord’s desire to do to the nation of Israel what the potter did with the clay that was spoiled.  He would “pluck up and break down” a nation that is evil, but he would “build up and plant” a nation or a kingdom if it turns from evil and amends it ways.

Jesus also talked about creating what is good.  He used the image of a tower and asked, if you intend to build a tower, would you not first sit down and estimate the cost?  Or, if you are laying a foundation would you do so without intending to complete the project?  Jesus applied this analogy to discipleship.  It is the same theme as in Jeremiah: a commitment is required to create a work of art, and a commitment is required to follow Jesus and work for the common good.

Then, in writing a personal letter to his friend, Philemon, Paul’s own experience as a prisoner adds another dimension to these practical applications.  Paul’s letter to Philemon was also addressed to Philemon’s church.  The letter begins with a greeting of grace and peace from God and the Lord Jesus.  Paul writes about praying “that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ.”  Then he refers to the joy and encouragement he has received from their love “because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed.”

Paul then gets to the central point of his letter.  While in prison he adopted a child, Onesimus, who had been “useful” to him.  Onesimus had been a slave to Philemon and had run away.  While visiting Paul in prison he converted to Christianity, so Paul in his letter makes an appeal to Philemon to accept him no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother in Christ.  Paul asked that Onesimus be welcomed in the same way that Philemon would welcome him.  Moreover, if Onesimus had wronged Philemon in any way, or if he owes anything, it should be charged to Paul’s account.  Then, he wrote, “let me have this benefit from you in the Lord!  Refresh my heart in Christ.”  I know “that you will do even more than I say.”

In the conclusion of his letter Paul added a paragraph we did not read this morning.  It is a greetings from his fellow workers, and a final benediction, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

These three accounts about the potter creating something good, the commitment required for discipleship, and receiving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, are filled with hope and joy for all of us here at All Saints’.  This is the time of year when we should all “refresh our hearts in Christ” as we renew our life together in this place.  We have much to do as we work, in the words of the Prayer Book, “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” 

Here is a list of a few of the resources we have and things we are doing.  We have a wonderful ministry and outreach on behalf of the arts.  Our sacred space includes historic stained glass windows and beautiful woodcarving.  We share our sacred space with the Hispanic Lutheran congregation, La Iglesia Luterana.  We are in the midst of planning a youth arts festival later this year with the New Urban Arts Collaborative and the RiverzEdge Arts Project.  The Rhode Island College Chorus will hold their fall concert here next month. We hope it will be followed by an African Dinner prepared by several of our parishioners.  The food that is donated and purchased, prepared and served through the City Meal Site reaches out to our most needy citizens.  And the Eucharistic meal of bread and wine we celebrate each week is a foretaste of God’s heavenly banquet.  In our ministry of service and outreach we offer hospitality and give thanks to God for the gifts we receive.

All that we do reflects the commitment we make as disciples of Christ, following Jesus’ command to love God and care compassionately for everyone we meet.  As Onesimus was received as a brother in Christ by Philemon, so do we receive all who come here as sisters and brothers in Christ.  And, as Paul wrote in his letter, let us “refresh our hearts in Christ.”  It is our joy, fellowship, and service in thanksgiving to God.  Amen.

Stand On Common Ground

This past week we observed several events that took place recalling the memorable March on Washington in 1963.  There have been gatherings in Atlanta; on the Washington Mall where the President and several others gave speeches at the Lincoln Memorial; and there was even a brief march here in Providence, last Wednesday.

In an essay titled “Remembering the Power of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Words,” Clayborne Carson, professor of history at Stanford University, and the founding director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, wrote the following:

When I participated in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, I was fortunate to witness an exquisite example of Dr. King's oratory, but I did not then understand the full meaning of King's concluding "I Have a Dream" speech.  Only after his widow, Coretta Scott King, chose me to edit her late husband's papers did I begin to appreciate Dr. King's most famous speech in the broader context of his life and times.  In cogent, metaphorically rich passages, his speech expressed the universal longing for freedom and justice.

Dr. King's visionary ideas remain relevant a half century since his death.  Because of the expanding breadth of his vision, he remains an inspiring symbol for history's greatest freedom struggle--that is, the long and continuing efforts of the majority of humanity to overcome oppression based on class, race, ethnicity, gender, physical disability, and sexual orientation.  Dr. King saw a "Promised Land" awaiting not only black Americans but "all of God's children" struggling to be "free at last."

It was a pleasure to notice that some young people were present at these events.  One of the young children who spoke at the Lincoln Memorial last Wednesday referred to “stand your ground’ laws and said we should instead stand on common ground.  This was an impressive and cogent remark.  It reflects what Jesus was about in our Gospel today as he, in the parable of the wedding feast, turned the prevailing practice of exclusiveness upside down.

When Jesus was at the house of a leader of the Pharisees he noticed how the guests chose places of honor.  He responded by telling a story about guests at a wedding banquet.  The point of the parable was that “all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."  Then he said to his host, "When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

All of us are the same in God’s sight.  It does not matter whether one is rich or poor, or the color their skin, or their gender or physical state.  What matters is that we understand and behave as people on common ground.  We are united as one people, all are God’s children, and we are called by God to live as “members one of another.”

The theologian Walter Brueggemann reminds us that Jesus used “a social occasion to show that what the world honors is not what is valued in the new order of God—an order engaged on behalf of the poor, crippled, lame, and blind, those whom the world devalues.”

 The Letter to the Hebrews echoes this theme when it says, “Let mutual love continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.”  As Brueggemann comments, “The imperative is to reach outside the zone of social safety to the “others,” “strangers,” and “prisoners,” exactly those whom we might think defiled.  Real defilement is in the violation of promises of fidelity and love of money.”

Then, in our reading from the Old Testament, Jeremiah focuses on the trouble we humans have brought upon ourselves so much earlier in our history: “Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?”  Jeremiah’s point was that the people had neglected to pay attention to what really matters.  He asked, “Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods?  Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.”

Have we as a nation forsaken our common purpose?  We need always to be reminded of the things we do to separate us from our fellow brothers and sisters.  Denying the right to vote because of onerous identification requirements, or paying subsistence wages to workers in many very profitable corporations, are just two examples.  Any policy that discriminates, any action that pits one person above another, any law that gives preference to one individual over another, violates the law of God’s love for all people.

When you and I gather for worship we use the Book of Common Prayer.  It is common in the sense that all people throughout the Anglican Communion around the world share in a common act of worship, of praise and thanksgiving to God.

When a child tells us that standing on common ground is more important than “standing on your [individual] ground” that is a message worth practicing.  Amen.