Things that Endure

The Collect for today, printed in your Scripture insert and prayed following the singing of the Gloria in Excelsis, tells us not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly. We are placed among things that are passing away, that is, among material things, but we are to be mindful of things that endure.  What endures is love, the love and compassion of God and the love of neighbor.  Everything else is temporary.

You and I often get caught up in, and are overburdened by all the terrible things that occur in our country and around the world.  Think about the wars in the Middle East, refugees from Syria and elsewhere, cyber attacks that breach supposedly secure records of governments and corporations, identity theft, the polluted water in places like Flint, Michigan, the political polarization in Congress and throughout our culture.  With these issues and others like them we can say along with the prophet Jeremiah that our joy is gone, grief is upon us, and our hearts are sick. 

Then, due to the ongoing recovery from the recession of 2008, we learned last week that the economy has improved and median income has risen to levels not seen since 2006.  Median income rose just over 5 percent; there was a decline in the poverty rate; and more people had health insurance coverage. That’s the good news, but the reality is that a vast number of our citizens continue living below the poverty line.  As Jeremiah asked, “Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?” 

Within the context of Jeremiah’s sense of grief and our current reality of political uncertainty, polarization, race and economic disparity, we turn to Jesus’ parable of the dishonest manager and focus on what it means.  Many people in the crowd that gathered around Jesus were poor and oppressed by the rich ruling class.  Jesus spoke to them about “dishonest wealth” and the contracts negotiated and signed by a manager who acted on his master’s behalf. 

The parable makes the point that the way of the world is based on being shrewd or pragmatic.  In the story the rich man got rich by making sure that his actions would add to his wealth, and therefore his success.  He saw that his manager was squandering his property so he asked for an account.  In a sense he wanted an audit.  So the manager, knowing that he was being fired, wanted to incur success with those who were indebted to him.  He thereby forgave a large portion of their debt.  As the text says, “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.' He said to him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' Then he asked another, `And how much do you owe?' He replied, `A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill and make it eighty.'  In other words, the debtors who owed the master were asked by the manager to record false payments. The manager’s actions were dishonest.

The rich man as master was also concerned about his own wealth.  So, when he found out what the manager had done, he said he would have done the same thing and he commended the manager.

At this point, with the implementation of the manager's strategy, the story becomes ambiguous.  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 owed?  There is no clear answer to these questions, and the text is inconclusive.

What is clear, however, is that Jesus wanted the crowd to understand that financial resources are God’s gift; they belong to God.  The material goods of life -- wealth, property, 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.  As the parable says, "If you have not been faithful with dishonest wealth, who will entrust you with 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 property and other possessions.  We are to be faithful and diligent as an act of 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 about us?  Will our efforts make the world a better place to live for the next generation?  Will more people have better nutrition, housing, education, and health care than they have now?  Do we spend time and energy in improving our community for those who are less advantaged?

           

After thinking about his plight, the manager announced a decision about his future.  He devised a strategy that would ensure that, as he said, "people may welcome me into their homes."  It was a strategy designed to prevent him from becoming a social and economic outcast. We don’t know whether it led to a sincere transformation and a renewed understanding of what he had to do to serve those in need.

What is clear for us, however, is that regardless of what we possess, what we have and how we use it, says a lot about our relationship to God and to our fellow citizens.   We are not to be anxious about earthly things, money and possession, but we are to love things that endure, things that are  heavenly.  What this really means is that we are to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  This is the love that endures.  Amen.

Overflowing with Faith and Love

For many of our churches the Sunday following Labor Day is referred to as Homecoming Sunday.  Vacations are over, schools and colleges are back in session, summer is coming to an end, and the daylight hours are getting shorter.  Church choirs are reconvening and supporting congregational singing.  Sunday School registration and classes are getting underway, and fall programs are being planned and announced.  It is time once again to pay attention to what God is doing and how God’s concern for the human community and the earth we inhabit affects all of us.

It is no different here at All Saints’. We are glad you are here with us; it is a joy to have our choir in procession again, and today in honor of the 15^th anniversary of 9/11, they will be singing an anthem titled “Christ in the Rubble, a hymn for the dead and the bereaved, for the rescuers and for the world.”  During coffee hour following our service I invite you to remain with us downstairs for a brief discussion of several things that are planned for this year.  Among them are an explanation of ChurchTrac, our online data management system, and a proposed brief 2^nd Sunday program series.

God’s grace and love are the subject of the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin in the Gospel of Luke.   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 the sheep, or the questionable act of pursuing one sheep while leaving open the possibility of the other 99 sheep straying and also getting lost.

Imagine, would a shepherd leave 99 sheep to graze in the wilderness while going off to find one that was missing?  What was he thinking?  If all the sheep had 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, no protection.  If the shepherd left the flock and predators attacked, how many more sheep would be lost?  However, the shepherd was single-minded in his search for the one sheep that had gone astray.

A second story in this passage concerns a lost coin. It is about diligence and persistence in searching.  The coin was known to be in the room; it was only hidden from view.  The woman who looked for it lit a lamp, took a broom and swept the house until she found it.  Then, when she found the coin, she was filled with joy and thankfulness.  She 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 might move us to ask whether God is as reckless as the shepherd, failing to ascertain the cost of losing more sheep while going after one that was lost.  Or, is God as spontaneous and generous as the woman who found her lost coin?  The point of these stories is that God is faithful, generous, compassionate and persistent.  What is lost, or hidden from view, will not stay lost or hidden forever.  The parable of the lost sheep is a reminder that the community of God's people must be concerned with those who are lost, unattached, or not reached by God's steadfast love.  The lost coin tells us that if a woman will act with such diligence, so will God's search be diligent for those who are lost. 

Jesus came to save the lost -- lost sheep, lost coins, lost sisters and brothers.  Everyone who is neglected or shunned aside by society, some people we have given up on and labeled as lazy, uneducated, or worthless; and all the people who are alone, feeling bereft or unloved.

These brief parables illustrate what it means to overflow with faith and love. They are about learning how to find, seek, sweep up, and rejoice. The invitation is not about being rescued by God from our human fate; it is about joining in the community to seek, find, welcome, and celebrate!  "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

The Letter to Timothy picks up on the Gospel theme and reminds us that, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”   Sin is about “seeking our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation.”  In other words, whatever alienates or separates us from God is sinful.

Paul, writing this letter to Timothy, knew he was a sinner.  He had been "a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence," a sinner who finally received God's mercy when he became faithful.  He was "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."

All of us are invited to receive God’s grace and love regardless of the circumstances of our lives. It is up to us to offer thanks to God and to invite others, friends, neighbors, and any we know who have not been with us recently, or who are lost, to come together as we gather at the Lord’s Table. We are invited each week to celebrate and give thanks to God by sharing in God’s heavenly banquet.  God’s grace and mercy are overflowing with faith and love for everyone.   Amen.

Refreshing our Hearts in Christ

This morning there is an insert in your service bulletin about an online course titled “Bridging the Political Divide.”  It is a free course offered by the noted Christian author and teacher, Parker Palmer.  Parker points out that we are living in a polarizing and contentious election season, and he invites us to examine how we might respond to the issues with “grace and grit.”

The course is about developing relationships in the midst of our current divisions that are governed by compassion and reconciliation.  Relationships and true discipleship are central values in the life of the Church and in the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus invites those who would follow him to change their relationship with others.  He wanted his followers, and he wants all of us, to embody the goodness of God by living with forgiveness, compassion and generosity.  As he said, “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

The pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., William Lamar, has written, “In this week’s Gospel text, a thick throng is following Jesus.  We do not know what conversations are taking place in this group, a group enamored with Jesus for reasons both substantial and fleeting.  Maybe the journey is punctuated by the silence that often seizes us when we are in the presence of people possessed by notoriety or infamy.  We don’t know.

“We do know that when Jesus speaks he tells them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even life itself, cannot be my disciple.’  They must be stunned by the challenge.  The word translated hate does not mean anger or hostility.  The implication is rather that when conflicts arise as a result of discipleship – and arise they will – discipleship must be chosen over all human relationships.  The choice is a hard pill to swallow, but at least with Jesus there is truth in advertising.”

The text warns us about taking our Christian life for granted.  Jesus said that to be his disciples we need to "count the cost."  He gave an analogy from ordinary life.  You would not begin a major construction project without having a reliable estimate of cost.  Nor would you go to war without considering the size of your forces compared with those of the enemy.  The point Jesus made is emphatic: neither should you take on Christian discipleship without considering what it will mean. 

It turns out that becoming a disciple is not so much something we do as something Jesus does in us.  Jesus begins to open us to a love so profound that it reorients every dimension of our lives.  All our previous assumptions about our relationships, our possessions, even our most intimate identity, are put in question.  Once we have glimpsed the treasure of this love, we dare not let anything stand in the way of its fulfillment.

Jesus made a provocative statement at the end of our gospel reading:  "None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."  Perhaps this statement was not so much about whether we own our possessions as it was about whether our possessions own us.  When people who are adequately educated and relatively comfortable refuse to provide a reasonable path to citizenship for 11 million immigrants who live and contribute to our economy, and when they demand lower taxes at the expense of such basic needs as education, nutrition, housing and health care, then we are in the danger that Jesus warned about. 

Another dimension is added to these practical applications in Paul’s letter to his friend, Philemon.  His letter was also addressed to Philemon’s church.  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.”

The central point of Paul’s letter concerns his adoption of 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  makes an appeal to Philemon to accept him no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother in Christ.  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.”

The commitment required for discipleship, and receiving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ are sources of hope and joy.  We should all “refresh our hearts in Christ.” 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.”  Amen.