Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] September 25, 2022 “It’s Really That Simple” Luke 16: 19-31 – Common English Bible “There was a certain rich man who clothed himself in purple and fine linen, and who feasted luxuriously every day. 20 At his gate lay a certain poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Instead, dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 “The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 While being tormented in the place of the dead, he looked up and saw Abraham at a distance with Lazarus at his side. 24 He shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I’m suffering in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you are in great pain. 26 Moreover, a great crevasse has been fixed between us and you. Those who wish to cross over from here to you cannot. Neither can anyone cross from there to us.’ 27 “The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my father’s house. 28 I have five brothers. He needs to warn them so that they don’t come to this place of agony.’ 29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They must listen to them.’ 30 The rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will change their hearts and lives.’ 31 Abraham said, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, then neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” Last week’s parable of the dishonest manager was perplexing. It was unclear exactly what Jesus meant so I encouraged us to lean into the discomfort of not knowing. Since he taught by use of parables, perhaps it’s better to not be sure what Jesus is saying than to know exactly what he’s saying. Because the point is to make us think. However, that was last week, this is today. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus seems so straightforward, what else can we say? But let’s see. Context: In response to the perplexing parable of the dishonest manager, Luke told us that the Pharisees sneered because they were “money lovers.” But if they sneered at that story, they’re really not going to like the follow up. Jesus began, “There was a certain rich man…” A good story set up. Like, “once upon a time.” But with just one introductory word, rich, I can imagine hair rising on the necks of these already sneering men. Jesus describes a man who wore purple, something only the very wealthy could afford, wearing fine linens every day, something meant only for special occasions, and feasting luxuriously every day, something meant only for feast days. He’s not just rich. He’s the owner of a $150 million yacht obscene-rich. And at his gate, lay Lazarus. By the way, this is the only time Jesus told a parable that used anyone’s name. And FYI, this is not the same Lazarus Jesus raised from the dead. It’s a common name which, in Hebrew, means God is my only help. And how very true that was. Perhaps he’s a former servant who’s outlived his usefulness, no longer any good to the rich man. Or perhaps, as Eugene Peterson puts it, he is someone “dumped at the gate” of the rich man. Regardless, he’s suffering and so desperate, dogs lick the sores which cover his body. That’s quite a vivid image. This is not a cute puppy showing love. It’s a description of his extreme, you might say obscene, misery. When they both die, the rich man is buried. What happened to Lazarus? Was he just tossed aside? But then comes the great reversal of fortune. Lazarus is carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man is tormented, thirsty, suffering in flames. But notice, the rich man still treats Lazarus like a servant. “Go fetch me some water.” Abraham told him, you’ve already had yours. “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received good things, whereas Lazarus received terrible things. Now Lazarus is being comforted and you are in great pain.” Whether or not he realized the error of his ways, he doesn’t beg for mercy, just water. To his credit, he does want to spare his brothers the same fate – maybe because they are just as callous as he was. But, Abraham told him, you heard the prophets your entire life exhort you to care for widows and orphans, the poor, strangers and foreigners. You knew the right thing to do. It didn’t have to be this way. And if you didn’t listen to Moses and the prophets then, why would your brothers listen now? They’re not going to believe someone who returns from the dead. For the rich man, the parable ends with no happy reunion, no sudden realization, no Hollywood ending. Now, the sneering Pharisees might have scoffed that a man so rich is just a caricature, yet still have been offended. However, for those in the crowd listening to Jesus tell the parable, they may have cheered on with a sense of satisfaction. Finally, justice. Is that a good thing? Satisfaction in an afterlife. Is that something we should desire? I suppose we first have to ask if we believe in an afterlife. What do you think? Modern, educated people tend to dismiss the ideas of heaven and hell as antiquated. That doesn’t mean that modern educated people have any less interest in ideas about what happens after we die. Is there an afterlife? And if there is, is it the same for everyone – whether you lived a good, wicked, or unremarkable life? I’d love to know the answer. The Bible doesn’t give just one answer to that question. For millennia, Sheol was the answer. When people died, they went to Sheol – literally the place of the dead – with no judgments attached. That was it. Life was simply over. There’s something satisfying about that kind of simplicity. But humans always want to make things more complicated! Ideas began to evolve. Dr. Amy-Jill Levine lays out[1] some of them, such as in the Book of Daniel, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.” That’s not fiery torment, nor does it imply everyone but “many.” Around the same time, the Wisdom of Solomon states, “The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God and no torment will ever touch them. The ungodly will be punished as reasoning deserves.” No eternal fire. Just reasonable punishment. Like a time-out. Or bed with no dessert. Fire and brimstone sermons would be modified to “You’ll be reasonably punished” sermons. Centuries later, the Pharisees taught, “every soul is imperishable, but only the soul of the good passes into another body, while the souls of the wicked suffer eternal punishment.” Good souls pass into another. That sounds a little like reincarnation. And a little like divine karma. But remember: karma isn’t a punishment imposed; it’s a consequence. John the Baptist was a member of the Essene community and as a North Dakotan, I like what they had to say: “for the good souls there is an abode reserved beyond the ocean, a place oppressed neither by snowfall or storms nor burning heat but is refreshed by the ever-gentle west wind blowing from the ocean.” Sounds like San Diego is heaven! And, “The wicked are banished to a gloomy and stormy dungeon, full of never-ending punishments.” Winter in North Dakota for eternity. About 200 years before Jesus, Greek culture began influencing Judaism’s ideas about an afterlife in ways that still influence popular culture – heaven with pearly gates or the fires of eternal damnation. Eventually, all sinners dangling in the hands of an angry God. But Levine asks, “What purpose does eternal punishment serve, other than certain revenge fantasies?” Or attempts to control people’s behavior. And yet, doesn’t justice have to be found somewhere? And if not in this life, then when? Sometimes I wished I believed in a literal hell full of thirsty racists. And a section for email scammers chained to iPhones with never ending alerts. And people who took their $150 million super yachts to the grave with them but are confined to an area of water only the size of a bathtub. Hey, if there’s no justice in this life, why not? And if not fiery torment, then isn’t it reasonable to wish that at least some people will wake up from sleeping in the dust to eternal contempt? Or that good people will all live with an ocean breeze in a San Diego that has enough affordable housing? More to the point, should a rich man who wears purple and fine linens every day, and eats like every day is a feast day; should he face consequences? But not because he was rich. Being rich wasn’t the issue. The issue in this parable are consequences he faced because every day he stepped over a poor man at his gate covered in sores without offering the very care demanded by the prophets. He could have done something. Anything. Whereas last week’s parable was perplexing, Pat Wahlen said this one’s simple. Am I wrong, she asked? It simply says, “If you have money, help others.” Sermons are supposed to be longer than six words, but yes. This parable is not about how to gain eternal rewards or to avoid eternal punishment. Like many parables of Jesus, this is how you have a meaningful life today, which is to bring the kingdom of God a little closer for everyone on earth, as it is in heaven. One cannot have a meaningful life today without attending to the suffering that surrounds us. In the Book of James it says, “Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this life by learning all the right words but never doing anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?” And isn’t that simply the message of the parable? It’s not about consigning the rich to hell or presuming that Lazarus was justified simply by being poor. The point is to listen to and follow the instruction of our faith – from Moses to the prophets to Jesus – today. Not in some hereafter. One of my favorite lines about a progressive Christian faith comes from UCC pastor Kenneth Samuel: No pie in the sky by and by when we die. But something sound on the ground while we’re still around. It’s more than a “meaningful” life but one where our heart is changed into a deeper, more sacrificial, God-loves-us-enough-to-expect-more-from-us kind of life. Yes, it really is that simple: If you have money, help others. And if you don’t have money, help others. [1] Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi, HarperOne, 2014
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Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] September 18, 2022 “A Perplexing Parable in a Baffling Book” Luke 16: 1-13 – The Message “Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses. So he called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You’re fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.’ 3-4 “The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve lost my job as manager. I’m not strong enough for a laboring job, and I’m too proud to beg. . . . Ah, I’ve got a plan. Here’s what I’ll do . . . then when I’m turned out into the street, people will take me into their houses.’ 5 “Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 “He replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ “The manager said, ‘Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now—write fifty.’ 7 “To the next he said, ‘And you, what do you owe?’ “He answered, ‘A hundred sacks of wheat.’ “He said, ‘Take your bill, write in eighty.’ 8-9 “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.” 10-13 Jesus went on to make these comments: If you’re honest in small things, you’ll be honest in big things; If you’re a crook in small things, you’ll be a crook in big things. If you’re not honest in small jobs, who will put you in charge of the store? No worker can serve two bosses: He’ll either hate the first and love the second Or adore the first and despise the second. You can’t serve both God and the Bank. Of all of Jesus’ many strange, confounding, and perplexing parables, this is the strangest, most confounding, most perplexing, and most outrageous of them all – or at least in the top ten. But this is a real doozy to which many of the scholars who help preachers work through these texts have said, “Good luck.” As you heard read, the master praised the crooked manager because “he knew how to look after himself.” Or the more traditional form: The master praised the dishonest manager because “he had acted shrewdly.” What do you think Jesus would have said about Fred? Fred promised God, “I’ll sell my house and give all the money to the poor, if you solve my problem.” One day he realized he would have to make good on his promise, so Fred put his house on the market with the caveat – anyone who bought the house would have to take his cat too. He listed the house for the sum of $1. The cat came along for the bargain price of $100,000. When the house sold, Fred promptly and proudly gave the entire proceeds to the poor. He had promised nothing about the cat. He was just being shrewd, right? But it is wealth gained by dishonest means! You mean to say Jesus doesn’t care? Our Lunch and Lectionary group wrestled with this text on Thursday. As you can imagine, we had a lot of questions. But we had an interesting insight. We talked about people who come up with so many different scams, like the emails that pretend to be the pastor asking you to buy gift cards because of some kind of emergency. Who comes up with these ideas? Well, we thought, the text says, “I want you to be smart in the same way – but for what is right.” As it claims, “Streetwise people are smarter than law-abiding citizens. Use every adversity for creative survival, concentrate on the bare essentials. If you do, you’ll live, really live, and not be complacent or just get by on good behavior.” OK, so I think I understand a little piece of what Jesus is saying. “Be as smart as the scammers but for good.” But even if that’s what it’s saying, I still don’t know what we’re supposed to do with it. And maybe that’s the point. C.H. Dodd defines a parable as “a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.” So, another way to say it, a parable is a story to which listeners can easily relate. It welcomes us in, then takes a strange turn, and leaves us with enough doubt so as not to know exactly what to do with it. And therefore, it causes us to think. There’s not always a moral at the end of a parable. Sometimes that frustrates us. There’s supposed to be moral at the end of a story – something that wraps it up in a big bow. Parables defy that expectation which is why after preaching for 30 years, I can always find something new for today. So, context. The parable of the dishonest manager is right in the middle of a whole bunch of other parables and teachings about wealth and poverty involving tax collectors and sinners and Pharisees and legal experts. Verse 14 that immediately follows says, “The Pharisees heard all this and sneered at Jesus.” They sneered because, they loved money; they were money-lovers; they were obsessed with money. The very next parable, which we’ll hear next week, is of what happened after a poor man named Lazarus and a rich man died. I want to make it clear, Jesus doesn’t condemn people for having money. He invites us to have a proper relationship with it. To those obsessed with money, he often invited them to give it away for their own good because it was their obsession. Jesus said, it’s impossible to serve God and money equally. Money is meant to serve God, not God to serve money. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Money is the root of all evil.” But that’s not what the Bible says. “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” In Second Timothy it says, “Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal.” Remember, Jesus relied on wealth, especially of women, to support his ministry. But into this mix, somehow, today’s parable seems to praise those who obtain wealth through dishonest means. That seems like an especially disconcerting message as we present Bibles to elementary school children and encourage them to read it. Perhaps it should come with caution tape around it. Think about it. Sometimes the Bible is violent. It seeks retribution against enemies, portrays a God who is vengeful, celebrates conquerors, and praises immoral victories. And no matter how cute the animals going two by two in the ark might be, everything else drowned in a great flood sent by God. The Bible includes stories that are inappropriate for children, like Ruth uncovering Boaz’s “feet” before they were married. There’s enough in it that it should probably be banned from libraries for explicit content. The Bible tells of a worldview we don’t believe in and represents, without question, cultural norms on things like women and slavery that we find appalling. The Bible, the most recent part of which is 2,000 years ago, is so far removed from us that it doesn’t understand the world we live in. The Bible often leaves us offended, with more questions than answers, more confused than confident. And frankly, the Bible is often boring. Forget the sleeping pill. Turn to First Chronicles. The 27th chapter tells us that “The 8th army commander for the 8th month was somebody whose name I can’t pronounce from some group I’ve never heard of from some place that may not still exist.” And for some reason, this is Holy Scripture. Ultimately, however, the Bible tells us of a God who doesn’t give up on us no matter how willful or clueless humans are. And ironically, despite thousands of years between then and now, the Bible does in fact understand the complexity of our world. The more things change, the more they stay the same. And it does challenge us to confront the cultural norms we find appalling today. Indeed, the Bible does often leave us with more questions than answers, more confused than confident, but that’s good because it’s not a book of rules but a collection of books written by people who are as confused and as hopeful as we are. People who believe there is more to this world than what we can see. One of the best things the Bible teaches is that in our age instant everything, time is eternal and we are part of continuing generations. We don’t know how or when, but a life of faith is to do our part to make things right from whatever wrong was done in previous generations so that we keep moving forward, through the teachings of Jesus and the grace of God, to the vision of a world where the wolves will lie down the lambs, and a little child shall lead us. We never give up hope. Sometimes the Bible gets a little too personal and maybe Jesus talks about money a little too much, but he never stops asking us to find a satisfying life through generosity, to always care for widows and orphans, whomever they are in our world today, and welcome strangers and aliens, from wherever they come in every age. In the Bible, we are confronted us with our faults and failures and leads us to find value in our faults and failures because everything that happens can lead to good. Even the crucifixion of God’s own child. The Bible teaches that no one is ever too far gone, nothing we’ve done is ever so awful, that it can’t be redeemed by grace. Not because of the things we do to make up for it. It accepts our simple asking for forgiveness as enough. There is mercy. There’s also accountability. There is reconciliation. There’s also repair to be made. Yet, bottom line there is always the possibility of rehabilitation and restoration. Always, always, and always, there is the opportunity to change. If there wasn’t, we would only become angrier and more distant from one another. That’s good for no one. So back to our children. As I think of the world they are growing up in, full of anger and hatred and often a feeling that some people are beyond help because of their beliefs or actions, we need people who will never give up on our neighbors. We can be angry and disappointed. But no one is ever so far gone that what “they’ve” done and especially what we’ve done can’t be redeemed and used for good. Because, as Paul told the Romans, there is nothing in all of creation that will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. And love. That’s really the continuing and repeating story of the Bible. And we know how messy and wonderful and awful and beautiful love can be. I’m grateful that my job requires me to wrestle with some of life’s most perplexing questions and find meaning. I’ll admit to having a sometimes love/hate relationship with the Bible. Hearing the Bible used against you as a weapon will do that. But I can’t imagine basing my life on anything else because it provides a structure and framework against which to ask questions about life and how to live. To take what gives life and leave the rest behind. I encourage you to give it a try. Read a little bit; something simple. Don’t start at the beginning and try to read all the way through. You will lose interest at the listing of the 8th army commander for the 8th month, if not before. Start by reading just one gospel – try Luke. You won’t understand everything. I don’t. Then Matthew. Then Mark. If you have a question, ask me. Join us on Zoom on Thursday for lunch and good conversation. But let me assure you: In this baffling book, being perplexed by what it says is much better than knowing exactly what it says. Why else would Jesus have used the method of perplexing parables to tell his story. It means we can keep learning and growing. We will keep growing in understanding. Though, I’m not sure I will ever understand how wealth gained by dishonest means is a good thing. And not knowing, that’s OK. Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] September 4, 2022 “How Do You Change Things You Don’t Control” Philemon – Common English Bible From Paul, who is a prisoner for the cause of Christ Jesus, and our brother Timothy. To Philemon our dearly loved coworker, 2 Apphia our sister, Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church that meets in your house. 3 May the grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 4 Philemon, I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers 5 because I’ve heard of your love and faithfulness, which you have both for the Lord Jesus and for all God’s people. 6 I pray that your partnership in the faith might become effective by an understanding of all that is good among us in Christ. 7 I have great joy and encouragement because of your love, since the hearts of God’s people are refreshed by your actions, my brother. 8 Therefore, though I have enough confidence in Christ to command you to do the right thing, 9 I would rather appeal to you through love. I, Paul—an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus— 10 appeal to you for my child Onesimus. I became his father in the faith during my time in prison. 11 He was useless to you before, but now he is useful to both of us. 12 I’m sending him back to you, which is like sending you my own heart. 13 I considered keeping him with me so that he might serve me in your place during my time in prison because of the gospel. 14 However, I didn’t want to do anything without your consent so that your act of kindness would occur willingly and not under pressure. 15 Maybe this is the reason that Onesimus was separated from you for a while so that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave—that is, as a dearly loved brother. He is especially a dearly loved brother to me. How much more can he become a brother to you, personally and spiritually in the Lord! 17 So, if you really consider me a partner, welcome Onesimus as if you were welcoming me. 18 If he has harmed you in any way or owes you money, charge it to my account. 19 I, Paul, will pay it back to you (I’m writing this with my own hand). Of course, I won’t mention that you owe me your life. 20 Yes, brother, I want this favor from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 I’m writing to you, confident of your obedience and knowing that you will do more than what I ask. 22 Also, one more thing—prepare a guest room for me. I hope that I will be released from prison to be with you because of your prayers. 23 Epaphras, who is in prison with me for the cause of Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as well as my coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. 25 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. You just heard an entire book of the Bible, the shortest – just 25 verses. It’s a letter written by Paul to Philemon (phy LEE mon) about Onesimus (o NESS ih muss), a human being who is the property of Philemon. It’s unique among all the New Testament letters because it is written to one person instead of to a community, such as the Ephesians or the church in Philippi. Though this letter was written to one person to address one issue, it was intended for the whole church that met in Philemon’s house to hear it. It may seem quite obscure about an issue that was unique to its time, but it’s actually a rather beautiful description of what it means to be “In Christ,” as a person and as a church. Paul is fond of the phrase “In Christ” and uses it a number of times – such as when he told the Galatians, “In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, In Christ there is no male or female, In Christ there is no slave or free.” In this letter, Paul offers a very concrete way for Philemon and Onesimus to live “In Christ.” But it depended on Philemon. Therefore, Paul used his masterful rhetorical skills, attempting to persuade Philemon to accept Paul’s request. 1)He began by calling Philemon “dear friend” and praising him about all the wonderful things he’s heard about what Philemon is doing. Flattery is a good place to start. 2)And while he praises Philemon, Paul calls himself “just an old man” despite his exalted stature in the Church. 3)Then Paul gets down to business by telling Philemon he could simply command him to do what he’s about to ask, but instead he wants to appeal to him on the basis of love. With a voluntary good deed, you can be a hero! 4)And the issue? Onesimus, a slave who ran away from Philemon, whom Paul calls “my child,” “my own heart.” He “rightfully” belonged back. 5)But first, Paul praises Onesimus for being so “useful” to him in prison. It goes without saying, though he kind of does, Onesimus has been more useful than Philemon. Like, hint, hint, where have you been? 6)And then the big ask: I could have kept him here, but “take Onesimus back, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a dearly loved brother. Welcome him as you would welcome me.” Remarkably, Paul makes himself equal with Onesimus. 7)Paul promises, “I’ll happily pay you if Onesimus has caused you economic hardship.” A nice promise, followed by, “I won’t say anything about how much you owe your life to me.” Subtle, right!? 8)Paul concludes by praising Philemon again. “I’m confident you will do as I ask.” Remember, you can be a hero. 9)And finally, prepare a guest room for me, which means, I’ll be back to check on how you’ve done with my request. 10)And one more thing. He adds greetings from people who know Paul sent this letter. Message: others are watching you too. There’s often a fine line between masterful persuasion and master manipulation, but behind it is the bottom line for Paul: this is what it means to be “In Christ.” We have to remember that Paul and this community were not in positions of power except among themselves. They were a distinct minority in the Roman system of power and values, which included that some people were free and others were unfree. Domination was practiced by force, by violence… Or simply by the inertia of “this is how it’s always been done” – sometimes more powerful than any other influence. While Jesus often provoked authorities intentionally, decades later, this minority didn’t want to draw attention to itself or rock the boat and catch the eye of the Roman authorities. It was understandable self-protection. Preservation. And yet, to be “In Christ” is to be different. They couldn’t help but live in direct contradiction to some values. In a culture that valued power over, the early church practiced equality. Not only that no one is better than another but that no one shall exercise domination over another. Notably, of men and women, until they unfortunately began to mimic the culture around them. But Paul’s message to early Christians: Those who are In Christ are not to practice power over each other, whether free or unfree. From my place in history, I wish Paul had gone further and made a clear case that slavery is evil. It might have been “legal” in the Roman Empire, but among Christians I wish he had said it must be absolutely forbidden. One cannot be “In Christ” and own another. It is the greatest betrayal of being “In Christ” that the church ever had anything to do with slaveholding or the justification of slavery – the remnants of which we still see today in movements for white supremacy. But my wishing that Paul had not accommodated the slavery of his day is like what will be said of me 100 years from now. I wish David would have said, I wish he would have done… For example, most of my ministry has involved some form of food outreach – collecting food or funds for hunger centers and food pantries, working at or hosting shelters for unhoused people in our church, and here, the food distribution in the parking lot, Uptown… If I can criticize Paul for accommodating slavery in his time instead of condemning it, in a hundred years I might well deserve criticism for accommodating the unequal world we live in. It may be asked of the church 100 years from now, how could you prop up such a system? The church should have been upending inequality, not helping to perpetuate it. Just like I ask of our forebears 150 years ago, how could you help the government run Indian boarding schools. 150 years from now people will be asking of the church, why didn’t you do more about climate change? But how can we change things we don’t control? Here’s what Paul did. With one personal letter treasured by the church, Paul abolished hierarchical relationships. Well, one relationship. But he modeled the radical abolition of unequal relationships. And not just that Onesimus would be equal spiritually but, as Paul was fond of saying, “in the flesh.” How can we change things we don’t control? We start one relationship at a time. How can we change things we don’t control? Not by forcing ideas upon people but, like Paul, by masterful persuasion. Paul could have told Philemon what to do but instead loved him into changing his thinking. People won’t agree with what we think are great ideas unless they first know there is a great love. Practice love until love is received. And then work for change. How can we change things we don’t control? By joining forces. Not every movement for equality succeeds, but no movement began without someone daring to say, “why don’t we…” One dream shared becomes a vision and we know that a people without vision will perish. We start change by speaking up among the people with whom we are “In Christ.” That’s something we can do. We can choose the power of good even while mired in systems of domination. In 1985 Riverside Church in New York City became the first Open and Affirming congregation in the UCC. My church in Denver was #71, six years later. It took years, one at a time. One relationship at a time. Not by shame but by the persuasion of love. Today, by declaring our vision of equality In Christ, there are over 1,700 Open and Affirming churches - about 40% of the UCC and growing faster than ever. Antoinette Brown was ordained by the Congregational church in South Butler, New York, in 1853. The UCC claims her as the first ordained woman in modern history. She quit 10 months later and became a Unitarian. She was not shown a lot of love. It took many more years, but slowly, one courageous woman at a time, now more than 50% of pastors in UCC churches are women. And a small, slowly growing, number who are transgender. One relationship at a time, not by shame but by the persuasion of love, a movement of people In Christ are changing the world. During Paul’s time, the Christian minority walked a fine line between two worlds. Christians are not a minority today and increasingly it feels like some of them want to practice a form of dominance over everyone else. Feels like it and some downright say it out loud. It’s not biblical, it’s an ideological power grab. Within this environment, our voice as progressive Christians can feel pretty small at times, but we have Paul’s clear call. As I read the letter to Philemon, to be In Christ means:
To deconstruct is not to destroy people, consider them enemies, or shame anyone into change. It is to love people. How do we change things we can’t control? In Christ, one relationship at a time. How do we change things we can’t control? In Christ, by the persuasion of love. How do we change things we can’t control? In Christ, by joining together. And as we change ourselves, the love of Christ will speak louder than any words. (we sing the following:) So, sing a new world into being, sound a loud and hopeful theme, find a tune for silent yearnings, lend your voice and dare to dream. Sing a new world into being. |
AuthorI love being a Archives
March 2024
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