Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] August 28, 2022 “Least Expected” Luke 10: 25-37 – Common English Bible “A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?” 26 Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?” 27 He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”[a] 28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” 29 But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. 31 Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 32 Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 33 A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ 36 What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?” 37 Then the legal expert said, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (NOTE: This service is focused on kids and teens returning to school. Earlier we blessed their backpacks.) This is such a great story and has such a great ending – go and do the same. Show compassion. Have mercy. One way to look at this story is to ask: Who do you identify with in the parable? Which character in the story is you? Are you the legal expert asking Jesus how to get into heaven? Are you one of the thieves or bullies who beat up the traveler? Are you the priest or the Levite who passed by on the other side? Are you the Samaritan who responds with compassion? How about the guy in the ditch? What if you and I were that guy. The people Jesus told this story to, they were the guy in the ditch. They knew what it felt like to that guy. Or at least, the fear of what it would be like. Imagine walking to school and there’s this one block where the bullies always stand and harass kids, ready to pounce, especially on someone who’s alone. Especially someone as nerdy and shy as I was growing up. What would you do? A block away I’d start getting nervous, my heart would start pumping. I’d get red in the face. I’d better start planning a strategy. Should I take a longer way to school? But I’m running late. Should I try to run past them as fast as I can? But I look funny when I run so I’d probably just draw more attention. Should I get some friends and go together? But today I’m alone. The people who heard Jesus tell this story understood travelling through that dangerous area between Jerusalem and Jericho. It was full of robbers and thieves who beat up travelers and stole from them – think of them as road pirates. They’d beat you up and leave you for half dead. And the people listening to Jesus could all relate to questions like, when you’re out on that road alone, who will defend me? Who will help me? Who will pick me up when I get knocked down? Who will do those things when you’re all alone? The point Jesus is making is that it won’t be the people you expect. Jesus used the characters of the priest and Levite to make his point. They’re not bad people, but they are the people you’d expect to help you. Well, in this situation, imagine you’re lying on the ground, hurt, bleeding, and embarrassed, and then, thank God, here comes a teacher. The teacher will help me. But he just walks by. And then the principal. Yes, here comes my help! But she just walks by. None of your friends are around. You’re all alone. And then you see one of the bullies coming toward you. Oh no. I think to myself, just leave me alone. Go away. But imagine. He kneels down to brush off the dust. He extends his arm to help you get up. He helps you limp to the nurse’s office. He leaves you there and goes off to class but promises to come back and check on you later and help you get home. He even offers to walk to school with you the next day so the bullies will leave you alone – at risk to his own safety. Wow! That’s a lot! Right? I wouldn’t expect all that. He’s the absolute last person you would expect to help you. And that’s exactly the point Jesus is making. I would expect the teacher and the principal to stop and help, not the bully. Jesus likes to turn things upside down. What’s he saying? Don’t make assumptions about people. Don’t judge. The people who heard Jesus tell this story didn’t like Samaritans. Didn’t trust Samaritans. Had nothing good to say about Samaritans. Wouldn’t want to hear anyone else say anything good about Samaritans because there’s nothing good to say about a Samaritan. And who is the hero of the story? A Samaritan. Jesus likes to turn things upside down. Like who’s your neighbor? The people you don’t want as your neighbors. And love them as much as you love yourself. Don’t judge. Don’t make assumptions about people. And yet I do it all the time. If I were stranded along the road, I’d expect a guy driving a Prius with a bumper sticker – Save the Earth – to stop. I’d except a woman with a bumper sticker – Free Love – driving a VW bus to stop. I wouldn’t expect, nor maybe even want, the woman with a bumper sticker – go back where you came from – to help. In Jesus’ story, that’s exactly who stops. Jesus told the legal expert concerned about getting into heaven, be like the Samaritan – be like one of “those people.” The person you least expected had compassion. Go and do the same. Help anyone, friend or enemy, who is hurt. Do that instead of worrying about heaven. And if you do that, you will make it like heaven on earth.
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Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] August 21, 2022 “Why Wait One More Day?” Luke 13: 10-17 – Common English Bible Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 A woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and couldn’t stand up straight. 12 When he saw her, Jesus called her to him and said, “Woman, you are set free from your sickness.” 13 He placed his hands on her and she straightened up at once and praised God. 14 The synagogue leader, incensed that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded, “There are six days during which work is permitted. Come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath day.” 15 The Lord replied, “Hypocrites! Don’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from its stall and lead it out to get a drink? 16 Then isn’t it necessary that this woman, a daughter of Abraham, bound by Satan for eighteen long years, be set free from her bondage on the Sabbath day?” 17 When he said these things, all his opponents were put to shame, but all those in the crowd rejoiced at all the extraordinary things he was doing. Whenever I encounter this text, I think of Alice Farnam. Alice was a member of my church in Cleveland. She was famous for two things. She was the daughter of the architect of Archwood’s beautiful colonial style sanctuary where she sat every single Sunday under the high barrel-vaulted ceiling next to the tall plain windows that filled the room with light. More importantly, she was famous for bringing her homemade potato chips to every potluck. Alice was barely a hundred pounds, short and slender, and had been severely bent over for most of her life. Her 80-year-old body was so rigid that if you hugged her too hard, you were afraid of breaking her. She had to lean backward to look you in the face. To make her famous chips, she rode the bus to buy potatoes at the West Side Market a huge, hundred-year-old, open-air market crowded with people bumping into each other while they move among dozens of fruit and vegetable stands. Alice wasn’t very strong so she couldn’t carry a lot. She’d buy maybe 6 or 7 small potatoes, ride the bus a few miles back home, walk several blocks to her house, walk back to the bus, ride it to the market again, and slowly repeat all day. Then she used her gnarled hands to cut thin slices and put them in boiling oil. I can’t even imagine how much effort it took, but she didn’t do it for admiration or attention. It was a very laborious labor of love like few others would do and she was loved and appreciated in return. The bent-over woman at the synagogue that day wasn’t looking for attention either. She was simply among the faithful who went to the synagogue every sabbath. I doubt very many people ever noticed her in the crowd. She hadn’t gone there that day seeking healing. But for some reason, in the crowd, Jesus saw her. That’s all it says. Jesus “saw her.” He called her over, placed his hands on her, and said, “Woman you are set free.” She stood up straight and began praising God. Stories about healing in the Bible are complicated. Among other things, they often involve the tension of why her and not someone else. For example, why not Alice? How many times in 80 years of faithful church attendance had Alice heard the story of the bent over woman and wondered what that would be like? What would it be like to look someone straight in the eye? To drive. To swim. To have no more back and neck pain. We celebrate healing stories as wonderful acts of God even as we are confounded by such difficult questions as why God doesn’t act like that for everyone. But her healing is not the end of the story. For the first time in 18 years, the woman could stand up straight – maybe even raise her hands above her head in praise. But this miraculous act drew condemnation from the synagogue leader, who spoke to the crowd, not directly to Jesus, about how he broke the rules about sabbath. Faithful observance of sabbath meant there were 39 kinds of labor one should not do. Anything done to save someone’s life was permitted but rabbinic authorities were divided on whether non-life-threatening conditions were permitted – such as the condition of the bent-over woman or the man with a withered hand Jesus had also healed on the sabbath earlier in Luke, which drew condemnation, as well. And why these prohibitions? Because of the 4th of the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20 it says, “Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. Six days you may work and do all your tasks but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Do not do any work on it – not you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you. Because the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. This is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Once a week, rest is a sacred duty more important than even work. Think how radical that is. Rest is a holy activity, a gift directly from God. It’s not about rules. It’s love for us. But did you know there are two lists of Ten Commandments? There’s the one we’re most familiar with in Exodus tied to the creation story focused on resting on the 7th day because God rested. But there’s also a list of Ten Commandments in the Book of Deuteronomy, the same commandments, but with a different focus. In Deuteronomy it’s not about honoring the 7th day of creation but rather “Keep the Sabbath…You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That’s why the Lord your God commands you to keep the Sabbath day.” Sabbath is tied to freedom from bondage. When Jesus responded to the synagogue leader about sabbath, Jesus was talking about the 4th commandment in Deuteronomy because he described his actions as liberation. You are set free. He released her from bondage. By healing on the sabbath, Jesus wasn’t disregarding the importance of the Law. He wasn’t criticizing the observance of sabbath but that their interpretation was too limited. Sabbath, Jesus demonstrated, is to commemorate the freedom of slaves. Therefore, freeing this woman from her bondage is completely in line with the intention of the sabbath commandment. Yes, rest is a holy activity, a sacred duty. But it’s more. It is liberation from that which keeps you in bondage all week. Who holds you back? What holds you down? Take a day off from that every week. If only for a day, we are released from stress with the practice of gratitude in worship. If only for a day, we are free from domination by the people who control our lives by remembering we are the children of the Most High God, who desires our freedom. What more could we ask for? While all the action between Jesus and the synagogue leader is going on, the woman is off to the side, still in wonderment about how she can move her neck. Has the sky always been that blue? She could always hear the birds but now she can watch them flying by without moving her whole body. She can take a full deep breath again after nearly two decades. What had happened to her 18 years ago? Was it an accident? Some kind of illness? Jesus told her she was set free from your “sickness,” but that can mean a lot of things. Eugene Peterson described her as “twisted and bent over with arthritis.” But the original text speaks of her being afflicted by a spirit. What kind of spirit? Perhaps a spirit of grief. A spirit of grief over the loss of someone she could not bear losing 18 years ago, like a child. Perhaps a spirit of rage. A spirit of anger at something that was done to her. Or a spirit of guilt over something she had done to someone else. Or maybe a spirit of worthlessness. A spirit of insignificance after being condemned by harsh words or physical abuse. Feeling as though you have no value can physically bend you over, perpetually looking down not only on the ground but upon yourself. There are many spirits that can weigh us down. Well, from whatever spirit held her back from flourishing, Jesus saw her, spoke to her, and set her free. But, if only it had happened the next day. Jesus healed her on the wrong day. The religious authority asked, what’s your hurry? Why couldn’t she wait? Afterall, she had been bent-over for 18 years. Do it tomorrow when it’s legal. How often are people who seek their liberation told to wait or do it a different way? Has anyone ever asked you, “What’s your hurry?” A man in Texas wrote a letter to Dr. King that read, “All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but is it possible that you are in too great of a religious hurry?” But Dr. King noted that “wait” often means “never.” On April 3rd of 1963, a series of actions began in Birmingham, Alabama, to bring national attention to efforts to desegregate public facilities – lunch counter sit-ins, sit-ins at the library, kneel-ins at churches, marches on city hall and the county courthouse, and a boycott of downtown merchants. After every other legal avenue or attempt at moral persuasion had failed, all that was left was direct action. Eight clergymen responded by issuing an “Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense,” published in the local paper, which read in part, “We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But demonstrations to realize those hopes are unwise and untimely.” On April 10th the city obtained a state court injunction against the protests and two days later, on Good Friday, Dr. King was arrested for violating that injunction and placed in solitary confinement for 10 days. From the Birmingham jail he asked those eight clergymen why they deplored the demonstrations more than the conditions that made them necessary. Just like the synagogue leader. If he had only expressed as much concern for the woman as he did for the rule. Actually, however, he simply didn’t understand that it’s not a commandment to keep someone down with burdens but a commandment to help us stand back up with freedom. That’s what Jesus demonstrated. But the leader didn’t understand and instead criticized Jesus. By the logic of the synagogue leader, there had been 5,634 previously acceptable days to heal the woman. One more can’t hurt. We might tend to agree. That seems reasonable. Why can’t Jesus wait one more day? But if Jesus couldn’t wait, why would we? For example, what’s the rush with affordable housing? We have rules to follow. But why are the needs and fears of property owners of more value than the unhoused, than teachers and firefighters and students graduating from college who can’t afford to live here? What’s the rush with asylum seekers? Why can’t they wait? What’s the rush with climate change? As the temperatures rise to unbearable levels, as the seas rise to drown island villages, as forests burn and choke the air, what’s the rush? What’s wrong with one more day? Decades of one more day have shown us. Even as The Rev. Dr. William Barber asks these same questions, he can sympathize with the bent-over woman. He has the form of arthritis known as ankylosing spondylitis (ang·kuh·low·suhng spaan·duh·lai·tuhs) that leads to the fusion of the spine. It tries to close your chest cavity over time. Some days his eyes turn red and he loses his vision. Inflammation in his neck, spine, and hips causes immense pain throughout his body. To watch him move is to grimace in sympathy. And yet he’s everywhere all the time, relying on his old beat-up cane. He’s the closest we have to a modern-day Dr. King – a preacher, prophet, and prolific organizer. He started the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina in 2013 and this past June organized the Poor Peoples Campaign in Washington, DC. Holding up his cane, he says, “This has marched in marches, it’s been in the jailhouse, the White House, and Senate confirmation hearings.” And despite his body’s crushing pain, for the rest of his life he’s committed to continue to the cause of low wage people – Black, brown, and white – housing, immigration reform, Christian nationalism, and LGBTQ rights. He also always talks about health care access, grateful for his, and insists the United States needs a “heart transplant.” How does he keep going? He said, “If the pain says I can’t, even then I’m going to find a way to do something to be with those in this country who every day have inflicted upon them the restrictions of a democracy that’s full of the arthritis of inequality.” How can he do that? He said, “I was taught in my faith tradition that you don’t live life and rust out. You wear out. You fight on. You walk by faith and not by sight. You take the life you’re handed and make a difference with the life you have.” What does it say that Jesus didn’t delay? It says that the time for freedom for the oppressed is not tomorrow. The only day for liberation is today. No more excuses. Alice Farnam, William Barber, and the woman bent over for 18 years didn’t wait for better days. Whether we feel limited by pain in our body or a spirit of fear or a spirit of guilt or a spirit that says we lack worth, what are you waiting for? There is so much you can do. Why wait to act even one more day? Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] August 14, 2022 “Causing Division” Luke 12: 49-56 – Common English Bible “I came to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish that it was already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism I must experience. How I am distressed until it’s completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division. 52 From now on, a household of five will be divided—three against two and two against three. 53 Father will square off against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud forming in the west, you immediately say, ‘It’s going to rain.’ And indeed it does. 55 And when a south wind blows, you say, ‘A heat wave is coming.’ And it does. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret conditions on earth and in the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret the present time? It was five years ago that Rev. Traci Blackmon was invited to preach a Friday evening service at St. Paul’s Memorial Church. Rev. Traci Blackmon is a name you should know. She is the United Church of Christ Associate General Minister and a frequently sought-after speaker, especially about racial justice, which is why she was in Charlottesville that night. As she stood in front of these worshipers gathered from around the country, she joked it was the first time she had preached to a standing-room only crowd on a Friday night in church. They were there to counter a rally the next day by newly emboldened neo-confederates, neo-nazis, KKK supporters, and other white nationalists. A rally was called to “Unite the Right.” In response, a group of clergy gathered to offer spiritual support to counter-protesters and offer a clear message that Unite the Right did not speak for all Christians. Those who showed up believed that Christians and other people of faith can’t just stand around watching it happen. Rev. Blackmon encouraged the congregation. “When violence and hatred are flourishing, it is necessary for love to show up. When hatred is all around, when violence is the language of the day, when laws lack compassion and churches lose their way, then we who believe in freedom, who believe in God… we must question: Where have all the prophets gone? Here I am. A 54-year-old Black woman, coming back because the Klan is rising.” While she was preaching, outside the church windows, there were flickering lights in the distance. They were not streetlights, however, but tiki torches held aloft by white supremacists. When Rev. Blackmon finished her sermon, anxious volunteers told her about a teeming mob, about 300 strong, many in matching white polo shirts. They had begun by walking menacingly around a statue of Robert E. Lee screaming racist and anti-Semitic slogans but they were on the move and now, from across the street, they could now be seen cresting the hill and marching toward them. It wasn’t clear if they were coming to confront worshipers but inside the church they could hear chants like “you will not replace us.” Worshipers prayed, they sang hymns to drown them out, but the fear was real. Organizers told no one to leave and locked the church doors. Except one white supremacist had already come in and was live-streaming to his followers. After several hours of being confined inside the church, worshipers were escorted out the back to avoid attracting attention. Rev. Blackmon wasn’t having that. She and Dr. Cornel West resolved they would leave through the front but when they opened the door, she said, “All I could see, as far as I could see, were flames and people chanting ‘blood and soil’ and ‘Jews will not replace us’ and I decided this one time I might go out the back door.” Later that night, outside the church, Rev. Blackmon was interviewed live on MSNBC by Joy Reid. Right in the middle of the interview, someone pulled on Rev. Blackmon’s arm and all of a sudden, she was gone. Joy Reid was left wondering out loud on TV what was going on. “We don’t know what just happened.” Later she reported that Rev. Blackmon was whisked away for her safety. And she was OK. But how could she be OK? How can anyone be OK? And I think that’s the message Jesus is sending with his confounding words from today’s text from the Gospel of Luke. “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division.” At first glance, this text just doesn’t make sense. It feels completely out of place with the one we call the Prince of Peace. Just last week, just a few verses earlier in chapter 12, Jesus told his listeners “do not be afraid, don’t worry.” He called them his “little flock” and spoke of lilies and ravens and treasures in heaven. We think of Jesus saying, “bring the little children to me, do not hinder them, for to them belongs the Kingdom of God.” Over and over, those are the words we hold on to. Instead, in this passage he spoke these strange and offensive words: “from now on, a household will be divided – three against two.” Father against son, daughter against mother, divisions among in-laws. What did he mean? I think a key question we must ask is: Did he mean to deliberately divide people or is division a result of his message? There have been clues along the way. At the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah that he had been anointed by God to bring good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoner, liberation for the captive. We must realize that not everyone will hear that as good news. In fact, many will resist. Then Jesus proclaimed, “today in your hearing, this scripture has been fulfilled.” How’d that go over? At first, they were proud, boasting among themselves about Joseph’s son. Everyone exclaimed what a nice young man. But he should have quit while he was ahead. By the time he had finished talking, the hometown crowd was so enraged they ran him out of town with the intention of throwing him off a cliff. While they were arguing among themselves, Jesus passed right through the middle of them and off on his way. Mary knew the child she was carrying in her womb would upset the world. The hungry filled with good things isn’t going to please the rich walking away empty-handed. The powerful brought down from their thrones while the humble are lifted high are not going to sit around enjoying a new view of the world. They’re going to fight back. As you know, Jesus was often provocative, getting under the skin especially of the ones tasked with purity and making sure every “i” is dotted and every “t” is crossed. You don’t call religious people “hypocrites and broods of vipers” and expect them to respond by saying, “thank you!” Did Jesus come to cause division? Was that his intention? Or is it true that following Jesus can’t help but cause division? I’ll admit I would prefer if his message had been “I’ve come to bring unity among divided people.” That would make much more sense. That’s what we need right now. But you can’t bring unity without addressing that which divides us. Otherwise all we have succeeded in doing is keeping things as they are. For the comfortable, that’s not so bad. For those at the top, that’s terrific. But for Christians, followers of Jesus who came on behalf of people at the bottom, for anyone excluded, hated, or reviled, that is unacceptable. It’s not OK. Charlottesville was religious extremism on clear display – easy for anyone to denounce. Well, it should have been easy… While Charlottesville may have been five years ago, the ideology behind it is just as real and gaining power every day. It is fueled by an imposter masquerading as Christianity. This imposter is draped in innocent language about the founding of the United States as a Christian nation, the insistence that we are a nation not characterized by the separation of church and state but a nation in which the two are the same, seeking the enforcement of “biblical” laws by Christian judges, and descriptions of “real Americans.” There may be disagreement about some of these ideas, but let’s be clear it is not Christianity. It is Christian nationalism and it is growing in popularity and influence among much of white Christianity. You might hear it called religious liberty but its intent is Christian privilege. And when that privilege is questioned, cries of persecution. Charlottesville’s “You will not replace us” hides behind such slogans as “Take America Back for God.” It glorifies depictions of a “Warrior Christ.” And although it appears innocuous, it inspires violence – intimidation, harassment, and murder – such as
Christian nationalism creates a false idol of power. Christianity doesn’t need power. Its power is love. Christianity is a gospel of love – love for God and love from God, love for our neighbor – every neighbor, and even love for enemies. But love is never OK with suffering for some and victory for others. That is an absolute abuse of power. So therefore, Jesus asks, “Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt and confront!” That’s Eugene Peterson’s insightful translation of our passage today in The Message. Who wouldn’t prefer Jesus to smooth things over and make everything nice!? Instead, Jesus’s words are confounding and disturbing. They should cause us to pause, to ponder the meaning and implications. And it makes me ask: Is it divisive to call out Christian nationalism? But this distortion of Christianity is causing great harm and not only to people. It is a huge factor behind young Americans fleeing the church. It repulses young and old alike who will not stand for
Personally, if the alternative was that or nothing, I’d take nothing. I’d be the first one out the door of the church. I’d simply follow Jesus on my own. Perhaps find two or three to gather in his name. Thank God there are churches like this and Christians like you – not that we don’t have our own issues. We can’t forget to remove the log from our own eye before pointing out the splinter in our neighbor’s. On a steamy August evening in Virginia, Rev. Blackmon encouraged the congregation. We who believe in freedom, who believe in God, “when violence and hatred are flourishing, it is necessary for love to show up.” The emphasis is on WE. I can only conclude that following Jesus will cause division because it clarifies our values and makes us ask: With whom do you stand? It doesn’t require a mean spirit but it does require a choice and it’s not always easy. But we will never regret choosing love over power. Therefore, in the words of Sister Ruth Fox: May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] August 7, 2022 “Stuff and More Stuff” Luke 12: 32-34 – Common English Bible Don’t be afraid, little flock, because God delights in giving you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to those in need. Make for yourselves wallets that don’t wear out—a treasure in heaven that never runs out. No thief comes near there, and no moth destroys. 34 Where your treasure is, there your heart will be too. Listen to this story by Byrd Baylor: If you could see us sitting here at our old, beat-up, scratched-up, messed-up kitchen table, you’d know we aren’t rich. My father tries to tell us we are, but can’t he see my worn-out shoes? Or that my little brother’s pants are just patches sewn together? “You can’t fool me,” I say to him. “We’re poor. Would rich people sit at a table like this?” My mother pats the table and agrees with my father. “We’re rich because we sit here every day.” Now understand, I like this table just fine. My parents made it themselves out of lumber someone else threw away. They even had a celebration when they finished it. All I’m saying is, you can tell that we didn’t pay anything for it. You can tell that it didn’t come from a furniture store. It’s not a table where rich people would sit. Sometimes I think I’m the only sensible one in my whole family. So, I called a family meeting and told them the subject is money and that my parents don’t have enough of it. I tell my parents they should both get better jobs so we could buy some nicer things. And add, “I hate to bring this up, but it would really help if both of you had a little more ambition.” My father just smiles and asks, “How many people are as lucky as we are?” My parents have some strange ideas about working. They think the only jobs worth having are outdoors. They want cliffs or canyons or desert or mountains around them wherever they work. They want a good view of the sky. And they want to always work together. Their favorite thing to do is to pan for gold. They pile us in the back of a beat-up old truck and head for rocky desert hills or some narrow mountain gully where all the roads are eventually just coyote trails. They love to walk the wide arroyos where little flecks of gold are found. After a month or two out there, they always find a little bit of gold to sell, but it’s never made us rich. And as far as I can see, it’s just an excuse to camp in some beautiful wild place again. They also don’t mind planting fields of sweet corn or alfalfa. They like picking chilies and squash and tomatoes. They’ll put up strong fences or train wild young horses. But I’ve called this family meeting to say, “You could make more money working in a building somewhere in town.” “But,” he says, “our number one rule is that we have to see the sky.” “You could look through a window.” But they won’t even think about it. Do you see what I mean about being the only sensible one in this family? My mother hands my brother and I a pencil and some yellow paper. “OK,” she said, “let’s add up our assets. You be the bookkeeper.” We start with $20,000. That’s how much my father says it’s worth to him to work outdoors, where he can see sky all day and feel the wind and smell rain coming an hour before it’s really raining. He says it’s worth that much because, if he feels like singing, he can sing out loud and no one will mind. I have just written $20,000 when my mother adds, “You better make that $30,000 because it’s worth at least another $10,000 to hear coyotes howling back in the hills.” So, I write down $30,000. Then she remembers that they like to see long distances and faraway mountains that change color about 10 times a day. “That’s worth around $5,000 to me,” she says. I scratch out what I had written and put down $35,000. My father thinks of something else. “When a cactus blooms, you should be there to watch it because it might be a color you never see again.” He asks my brother, “How much would you say that color is worth?” “50 cents?” But they decide it’s worth another $5,000. So now I write $40,000 on the yellow pad. My father loves to make bird sounds. He can copy any bird, but he’s best at white-winged doves and ravens and red-tailed hawks and quail. He’s good at eagles too, and great horned owls. So, of course, he tells me to write down another $10,000 for having both day and night birds around us. I cross out what I had. The total is now $50,000. My mother asks me how much I’m worth to them. I suggest they could add another $10,000 to the list of assets. But my father said, “Don’t underestimate yourself. Remember how good you are at making lists for us.” He’s right. I am very good at making lists. Someone in this family has to. They end up deciding I’m worth about a million dollars. I tell them that’s a little high, but I smile and write it down anyway. Naturally I have to add another million for my brother, though at 7 years old, he doesn’t do much yet to add to our bottom line. And then I add one million each for my parents. So, I scratch out all the previous numbers and write 4 million, $50,000. My brother says we should add $7 for all the nights we get to sleep outside under the stars. We all agree that’s really worth more like $5,000. Then I decide I want to add $5,000 for the pleasure of wandering around in open country alone, free as a lizard, not following trails, not having a plan, just turning whatever way the wind blows me. Now my yellow pad says we have 4 million, $60,000. And we haven’t even started counting actual cash. But by then I realize the cash part doesn’t really matter. And I suggest it shouldn’t be included on our list of riches. So, I declare the meeting is over. The rest of them go outside to see the sliver of a new moon while I sit at our beautiful, stunning, hand-carved, homemade kitchen table. I think, no one can ever be rich enough to afford something as nice as this. This wonderful story is entitled The Table Where Rich People Sit. It’s so beautiful to watch the transformation of this girl – a literal revolution of her values, very much in the upside-down spirit of the gospel. A good illustration of Jesus’ teaching. Today’s reading is in the middle of a long section about money and possessions, about worry and greed. Did you know that if you removed all of Jesus’ references to money and economic issues, one third of the gospel would disappear? Jesus does not have an obsession with sex and sexuality, as many Christians would have you believe. But he does care a great deal about economic issues that affect our communities and our personal relationships with money – both of which are spiritual issues at heart. Last week you heard the gospel reading about a guy who told Jesus to tell his brother to divide their inheritance. Jesus asked, “Who am I to be your referee?” And so, he told a parable. A man had a big harvest and decided to tear down his barns and build bigger storage bins. He felt good about himself – now I can eat, drink, and enjoy myself. Take it easy. But, what we might think of as a very sensible idea, Jesus described as hoarding things for one self. Rather, he said, be rich toward God. And before we could argue the merits of financial planning, he continued, saying, “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 There is more to life than food and more to the body than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither plant nor harvest, they have no silo or barn, yet God feeds them. You are worth so much more than birds!” To which I say, “Yes, thank you Jesus. However, what about…” But he doesn’t bother to listen and just keeps going. 25 Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? 26 If you can’t do such a small thing, why worry about the rest? Well, yes that’s certainly true, but wait a minute Jesus. Listen. But he doesn’t. 27 Notice how the lilies grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. 28 If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, how much more will God do for you, you people of weak faith! But Jesus, this isn’t about weak faith. This is about being sensible. I have legitimate concerns. And yet, he just keeps talking. 29 Don’t chase after what you will eat and what you will drink. Stop worrying. 30 All the nations of the world long for these things. Your Divine Parent knows that you need them. 31 Instead, desire God’s kingdom and these things will be given to you as well. That’s the introduction to today’s reading. It’s as if he knew my discomfort and anticipated my questions. He said: 32 “Don’t be afraid, little flock, because God delights in giving you the kingdom. Don’t be afraid. OK. But then he said the most terrifying thing of all: 33 Sell your possessions and give to those in need. Make for yourselves wallets that don’t wear out—a treasure in heaven that never runs out. Where no thief comes and no moth destroys. Because 34 Where your treasure is, there your heart will be too. Jesus told the crowd, consider the ravens. Notice the lilies. He points to the grass in the field and exhorts his followers not to chase after what we will eat or what we will we drink, but instead, desire the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. But just when I think all the talk of ravens and lilies is lovely but silly, or at least impractical, there’s one more verse I want to add. It comes 14 verses later. Jesus said, “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be expected.” Sit with that for a few seconds. Jesus isn’t speaking spiritual-eze. “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be expected.” It’s not a judgment. It’s not “you bad people…” It’s not a even demand. It’s simply a statement, but I think even more so, it’s an invitation. His guide for living faithfully with money – the practical side of lilies and ravens and Solomon in all his splendor. Notably, it also isn’t about heaven. Jesus is talking about our real communities right here on earth and our personal relationship with money. Put another way, you could say he’s talking about our stuff. Because where your stuff is, there your heart is too. A few years ago, Art and I did the Marie Kondo thing. In her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, people are supposed to pick up every possession and ask, does this bring me joy? If it doesn’t, then donate it or throw it out. He was much better at it than I. When he wasn’t looking, I hid some things in a drawer, but not surprisingly, when we went through all our possessions in preparation for moving here, I didn’t want anything I had hidden away in a drawer. I just wanted to keep it. Why did I want to keep it? Instead, Jesus said, desire the kingdom of God – a world that is loving toward others as well as toward ourselves – and we’ll find we have everything we really need. Think about all our stuff, stuff that’s stuffed into corners and down in basements and up in attics and in all those storage locker places along the freeway so we don’t have to look at how much stuff we have… What if all our stuff has nothing to do with our heart? What if our stuff is just about… having stuff? And more stuff to go with it. What if all that stuff was really about fear, like the fear of missing out? And if we really thought about it, wouldn’t we be better off selling it and giving away the proceeds? To help people who actually need stuff? Once again, Jesus has this habit of talking about our real communities right here on earth and our personal relationship with money. And before we say, but what about… just imagine that it’s true, because… 25 Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? 26 If you can’t do such a small thing, why worry about the rest? Byrd Baylor, The Table Where Rich People Sit, Aladin Paperbacks, 1998 |
AuthorI love being a Archives
March 2024
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