Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] November 19, 2023 “Because of You, Our Church Changes Lives” Matthew 25: 14-30 – Common English Bible “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was leaving on a trip. He called his servants and handed his possessions over to them. 15 To one he gave five valuable coins,[a] and to another he gave two, and to another he gave one. He gave to each servant according to that servant’s ability. Then he left on his journey. 16 “After the man left, the servant who had five valuable coins took them and went to work doing business with them. He gained five more. 17 In the same way, the one who had two valuable coins gained two more. 18 But the servant who had received the one valuable coin dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. 19 “Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five valuable coins came forward with five additional coins. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five valuable coins. Look, I’ve gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Excellent! You are a good and faithful servant! You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.’ 22 “The second servant also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two valuable coins. Look, I’ve gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done! You are a good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.’ 24 “Now the one who had received one valuable coin came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man. You harvest grain where you haven’t sown. You gather crops where you haven’t spread seed. 25 So I was afraid. And I hid my valuable coin in the ground. Here, you have what’s yours.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You evil and lazy servant! You knew that I harvest grain where I haven’t sown and that I gather crops where I haven’t spread seed? 27 In that case, you should have turned my money over to the bankers so that when I returned, you could give me what belonged to me with interest. 28 Therefore, take from him the valuable coin and give it to the one who has ten coins. 29 Those who have much will receive more, and they will have more than they need. But as for those who don’t have much, even the little bit they have will be taken away from them. 30 Now take the worthless servant and throw him out into the farthest darkness.’ “People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.” Let’s just be clear up front. This is a terrible parable. Or it sure ends like one. Why would Jesus say these awful things? Or did he? Before judging this as a terrible parable, perhaps I should give Jesus a break and ask Matthew – why did you put these terrible words into the mouth of Jesus? Did Jesus say these things? You may have heard of a group called the Jesus Seminar – a group of scholars in the study of the historical Jesus who built on the work of previous scholars. I respect and mostly trust their words of wisdom. These scholars notably went through all four gospels plus the Gospel of Thomas to determine what Jesus undoubtedly said, what he may have likely said, what he didn’t say, and what he undoubtedly didn’t say. Each word or phrase was printed in corresponding red, pink, gray and black. There are shockingly few words in red – like love your enemies, meaning Jesus undoubtedly said it. More are in pink, which means Jesus would have likely said it or something similar – “Don’t fret about your life, what you’re going to eat and drink.” Even more are in gray, words, in their opinion, Jesus didn’t say but are perhaps in the spirit of his teaching. But the vast majority are words they assert Jesus did not say, put in his mouth by the gospel writers who represented different perspectives and different traditions. It wasn’t done with malice. We all tell stories that advance our point of view – as each gospel writer did. Plus, these were all oral stories not written down until decades later. During the time Jesus walked the earth no one was recording what he said because no one knew what would happen to him. So, according to the Jesus Seminar, very little was undoubtedly said by Jesus. But, I was quite surprised to see that these scholars think Jesus likely did say today’s parable or something similar. Without, however, the offending verses at the end. “Those who have more will be given more and from those who don’t have, even what they have will be taken away.” That may describe how it really is in the world – rich getting richer – but it’s hard to believe, and it’s unlikely, Jesus would say such a thing as a promise of punishment. Maybe about hypocrites whom he regularly called broods of vipers, but he reserved those words for religious authorities and legal experts, not ordinary people trying to survive. Such harsh words are consistent, however, with Matthew’s penchant for stories about final judgment, along with threats of outer darkness and the weeping and gnashing of teeth. It’s not only unlikely Jesus said that but highly doubtful. Of course, we can’t go around picking and choosing what we like. Seminar scholars cautioned: beware of finding a Jesus who says only the things you want Jesus to say. Very true, because there are things Jesus said that I would prefer not to hear – things that challenge my point of view, things that challenge my privilege. Whenever we get too comfortable or complacent, Jesus calls us to change our hearts and lives. But back to the parable, without that terribly offensive ending, there is wisdom here to explore. The master gives the first servant five talents. Let’s see, I’ll take singing, dancing, fiddle-playing… but maybe I should ask for talents in accounting and financial planning because Jesus isn’t talking about talents in the way we think. A talent in this context isn’t a skill or special ability, it’s explicitly about money. And a talent, Greek for talanton, isn’t just a valuable coin given at the end of a day’s labor. According to my study Bible, one talent is worth approximately 16 years’ worth of wages for an average worker.[1] According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary in San Diego is $69,337. Of course, remember that this is a story and not a literal description of a real transaction, but in this parable, that would mean the first servant was handed the equivalent of $5.5 million to handle – which he then doubled. And the second servant $2.2 million – which she doubled. But the third buried 16 years of salary, $1.1 million, in a hole, accusing the man of being wealthy through ill-gotten means. Harvesting crops he didn’t plant. Maybe it’s true that he’s a no good SOB. But behind it, this servant was afraid of failing. Therefore, he put nothing at risk so he wouldn’t fail. Which is how he failed. He failed by doing nothing. Doing nothing so nothing will be lost. That’s not you. That’s not this church. Rather, because of you, our church is changing lives. You might think that sounds overly dramatic, but here’s a couple of examples:
Correction: Because of you, our church is changing lives. Back to the parable of the talents. The third servant doesn’t trust himself, perhaps because he’s been told he is worth-less than the others. Theologian Eduard Schweizer says the one who won’t risk also doesn’t trust God. After all, is Jesus really talking about the power of investing in the market or the wisdom of a good business venture? Or is this a lesson that God multiplies all gifts entrusted to us when we use them – true of money, and love, as well as talents like singing, dancing, fiddle-playing, using your leadership, cooking, being good at taking care of the details behind the scenes, and every other skill and ability that each of us have to invest in the common good. Like the third servant, it’s easy to get caught in fear and therefore, put nothing at risk so we don’t fail. It’s safer to do nothing so nothing will be lost. Except that’s how he lost everything. Rather, invest everything into loving – with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Your time, talents, and treasure without fear. Because then, only then, can they be multiplied. [1] Different sources cite different numbers ranging from 15 to 38 years’ worth of average salary
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Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] November 12, 2023 “Yes I Can. No, You Can’t” Joshua 24: 1-6, 14-23 – Common English Bible Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders of Israel, its leaders, judges, and officers. They presented themselves before God. 2 Then Joshua said to the entire people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates. They served other gods. Among them was Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. 3 I took Abraham your ancestor from the other side of the Euphrates. I led him around through the whole land of Canaan. I added to his descendants and gave him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Mount Seir to Esau to take over. But Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron. I plagued Egypt with what I did to them. After that I brought you out. 6 I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. The Egyptians chased your ancestors with chariots and horses to the Reed Sea. 14 “So now, revere the Lord. Serve him honestly and faithfully. Put aside the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt and serve the Lord. 15 But if it seems wrong in your opinion to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Choose the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But my family and I will serve the Lord.” 16 Then the people answered, “God forbid that we ever leave the Lord to serve other gods! 17 The Lord is our God. He is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. He has done these mighty signs in our sight. He has protected us the whole way we’ve gone and in all the nations through which we’ve passed. 18 The Lord has driven out all the nations before us, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.” 19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve the Lord, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won’t forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you leave the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn around and do you harm and finish you off, in spite of having done you good in the past.” 21 Then the people said to Joshua, “No! The Lord is the one we will serve.” 22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” They said, “We are witnesses!” 23 “So now put aside the foreign gods that are among you. Focus your hearts on the Lord, the God of Israel.” This is finally the end of our great sweep of history. Today’s text has neatly summarized our readings since the beginning of the summer – from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, through slavery and the Exodus. The people are now firmly established in the Promised Land and it’s already nearly the end of Joshua’s life. Who was Joshua, again? We mentioned him only briefly before. Soon after leaving Egypt, Joshua led the wandering Israelites to victory when they were attacked by the Amalekites, a detail I wouldn’t blame you for not remembering, but you might remember how Joshua led them to victory. Was it his brilliant strategy? Not really. When Moses held up his arms, the Israelites began winning the battle. When he put them down, they began losing. So, when Moses was too tired to hold them up anymore, two men stood alongside him and held his hands up in the air and that’s how Joshua was victorious. That is this same Joshua. Post-Ten Commandments and golden calf debacle, 40 years later, Moses stood on top of a mountain and finally saw the land they had been traveling toward stretched out as far as he could see and then he died on that very spot. It was now up to Joshua and Caleb to lead the people into the land. Why those two men? According to scripture, they were the only two who never once doubted. All those complaints about food and water and the lack of watermelons and weren’t there enough graves in Egypt that we could die in comfort – Joshua and Caleb were selected to lead the people into the Promised Land because they were the only two who didn’t complain on the way and believed that one day they would indeed reach the Promised Land. They believed God would provide. Joshua and Caleb were also the only two people alive who had once been slaves in Egypt. To be clear, along the way, every single other person that escaped Egypt died. Which, along with Moses not entering, seems quite unfair, but as I’ve said before, our call is faithfulness to the journey, not the destination. But first, wait a minute. All the people died along the way? How many would that be? I’ve never really given this any thought because storytelling deals with the search for meaning, not a recitation of “facts.” So first, how many people escaped from Egypt? As I try to imagine a group of people crammed up against the edge of the Reed Sea before it opened up so they could walk through on dry ground… What seems reasonable? A few hundred, a thousand or two? Or as I imagine how many people were camping at night under the stars or how many voices were demanding water or complaining they are hungry… 5,000? And then I think, how many quail descended at suppertime every night… Are we talking about maybe more than ten thousand dead birds – every night? Night after night for 40 years. Well, according to Exodus 12: 27, the number who escaped was 600,000 men, plus women and children. The Book of Numbers reports 603,550, which one scholar estimated at 2.5-3 million total men, women, and children. So, let’s use a conservative number. Imagine moving the entire population of San Diego, 1.4 million people, to Sacramento, not up the freeway, but first by going to Las Vegas, through the Salton Sea, then San Francisco, back down to Yuma and over Los Angeles before getting to Sacramento. Enough water in Barstow for 1.4 million people and everywhere else in the desert. But along that zig zagged way, all but 2 of 1.4 million San Diegans lay dead, bodies littered all along the way, although they would have been buried. Paints a different picture, doesn’t it! While in the meantime, tens of thousands of babies were born who grew up and had tens of thousands of more babies. I have to say, I can’t quite get past a million dead quail every night for 14,600 nights or the logistics of just leftover quail bones. And the sewage… But, OK, I’ve gone down a rabbit hole. The logic of a story isn’t as important as its lesson. And so, back to today’s story. Of all the people who now stood in front of Joshua, none had the personal experience of freedom from slavery, though they would have heard the stories of their parents and grandparents. They wouldn’t have known how hard it is to maintain and sustain a covenant relationship with God through hunger and thirst and never having a place to rest that night that we can finally call home. Joshua was concerned they didn’t really understand what was expected of them as the people of God now that things were “easier.” Talitha Arnold, the pastor of the United Church in Santa Fe, said that if she was were to be as blunt as Joshua when presenting parents with the choice to baptize their child, she would get rid of the wimpy declaration from our Book of Worship: Do you promise to grow with this child in the Christian faith and offer them the nurture of the Christian church.” Instead, “I’d ask them, in front of God and the whole congregation, “Do you promise to get them out of bed, dressed, and here every Sunday morning for the next 18 years, even when you’ve had a long week or you’d rather sleep in or there’s a soccer match or when this darling infant has grown into a surly, tattooed teenager who thinks church is dumb?”[1] Or how about a membership vow like this: Instead of the theological niceties like fellowship and supporting one another on a shared discovery of our spiritual gifts, how about “Can you stick with this church when it doesn’t feel as interesting anymore; and can you promise not to complain when a request for money to help fix the roof comes right after a special offering for hurricane relief during a pledge campaign for the next year that comes just as someone asks you to help move tables for the upcoming rummage sale – for which you are supposed to both provide items and buy someone else’s discarded items; and can you commit to forgiving the minister for a few bad sermons in a row, or worse, an accidental unkind word; can you stick with people who sometimes get on your last nerve; and can you remain faithful through nearly two years of services on Zoom instead of in person? That’s a real one, isn’t it? Imagine someone who wishes to join the church, fully considers the depth of their commitment, and stands up for the membership ceremony and answers the questions, “Yes, I can,” imagine the minister saying, “No, you can’t. You will fail.” And she walks away and you’re left standing in front of the congregation unsure what to do other than sit back down… But will you stand back up and exclaim, “Yes, I can.” And now, you are ready. Faithfulness to God is easy when things are going our way, when we like how things are going, but not so much when things keep getting harder, our losses are piling up, and God feels very distant. Faithfulness to God is not easy when things are not going our way. And so, the people are finally living firmly in this place that once was just a promise. These are much easier times. So, I’m curious about the urgency to Joshua’s question. Once and for all, he urges, choose this day whom you will serve. Perhaps he could have said, “Choose every day” because no decision is ever done and over at the moment it’s made. We grow and change. The people around us grow and change – sometimes into even more difficult people. Us too. But perhaps choosing this day is knowing we must yet choose a thousand more times in our lives. But choose what? Events in the world that are both good and horrible can instantly change our trajectory. Make your lifetime choice to go deeper each day instead of going on to the next thing. When we say, “this is too hard” or “this is no fun anymore,” make your lifetime choice to choose this day not go somewhere else but to go deeper into the communities to which we belong and into God’s very self. The faith journey is not so much forward to something – like a promised land or heaven. The faith journey is a call deeper within someone – deeper into our God, to deepen our love for neighbor without giving up self, to deepen our love of self without becoming self-centered. But without going deeper, we risk the instability of shallow faith. And how will we handle it when things keep getting harder, our losses keep piling up, and God feels very distant? Choosing to go deeper may be very difficult to embrace for people who are goal oriented, success-driven, motivated by results. How do you measure, how do you win a trophy for depth of spirit and kindness and love? It may be difficult for those who think self-sufficiency means I can do this all by myself. It may be difficult for people always seeking an ever-elusive happiness that it seems like everyone else is enjoying. These are examples of “gods” we must give up. These are the gods that compete with our God. And so, choose this day whom you will serve. Joshua says, as for me and my house, we will choose the Lord, the God of Israel. And if we choose God, what then? For the last several months I have been hearing God calling us to three things: a deeper faith, deeper relationships, and a greater impact. Deeper faith through means we have yet to fully explore, but one has been this deep dive into the great sweep of history we have explored since this summer. I hope we understand these stories better than we have before. Deeper relationships with others in the church, with our neighbors around the church and around our homes, with God, a deeper relationship with Jesus and the Spirit. Our All Generations events and weekend at Pilgrim Pines were examples. And I hear God calling us not to more things but to the things we do with greater depth, which is how we have greater impact, all of which is dependent on deeper faith and deeper relationships. You don’t seek greater impact first. It’s too soon for me to ask, can you commit to a deeper faith? Or can you commit to pursuing deeper relationships? And can you commit to having a greater impact? It’s too soon to ask because you might too quickly answer Yes, I can and I would have to say, No, you can’t. Not until we fully grasp what God is calling forth from us. But I’m excited to find out with you. [1] Talitha Arnold, “True Grit,” The Christian Century, October 23-November 5, 2008 Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] November 5, 2023 “Ten Texts That Shape My Life” Some Bible texts change us when we hear them, at just the right time, and shape us to the core. I came home from work one night during college very distressed. It was probably midnight but before going to bed, I read this text and it changed my life. I had been struggling with coming out and these words provided me with reassurance. In a moment of recognition, I knew what I must do. It’s been one of my favorites ever since.
This past week I tried to compile a list of my 10 favorite Bible passages. Ten texts that have shaped my life and faith. It was a real challenge. I could only get it down to 104. After our discussion at Lunch and Lectionary, I had to change it to 106. But perhaps I could find my top 10 themes in the Bible. Here’s what I came up with. Your list will likely be different. #1 - It all starts with this: Life is a gift from our Creator and God is the source of our very breath.
Skipping all the way to the great escape from Egypt, we’ve been learning how God provided the Law as training for freedom that emphasized our relationship with God and how we are to treat our neighbors. And so theme #2 - God’s hopes for us, especially how we treat people who are vulnerable: like widows, orphans, and immigrants.
Theme #3 – God calls each of us to answer – or not. We know a lot about Moses reluctantly saying yes.
A recurring theme in the Bible is encouragement. Reassurance for the weary. So, theme #4 – When we feel low and afraid, God provides strength, comfort, inspiration, and hope. God may have repeatedly gotten really, really frustrated with humanity, but God never stopped loving.
As we transition to the New Testament, theme #5 – Jesus was sent by God to build upon the Law and prophets and call us to change our hearts and lives. Jesus offered his life as a model of sacrificial love for all. He invites us all to the Kingdom of God, the image of a feast that includes anyone who has ever felt like an outcast. It’s a vision of a world shaped by love and equity among poor and rich. For some reason, that really upset religious people – then and now.
Who was Jesus? #6: He was perfectly ordinary. He got tired, irritated, hungry, and needed to be left alone – and yet, perhaps the most amazing thing of all, he always found a way to show compassion and offer a path to forgiveness when our actions hurt other people or ourselves. But #6 is also – Jesus was extraordinary in ways we can’t explain. I can only embrace the mystery of his touch as a healer. His ability to work a miracle simply with words. How, I don’t know. I leave that to faith.
So, what happened? Theme #7 – Jesus was executed by a toxic collaboration of religion and Empire. Jesus dared to confront those in his own religious tradition to return to the best of their shared tradition.
But also understand, they lived under the stress of occupation by the violent Roman Empire and both sides were frightened of his message of inclusion and ability to heal and perform miracles and gather disciples. So, together they preferred to enforce violence rather than practice justice.
But God had the final word that death does not win and so on the third day,
But he left them behind and in the aftermath, men, women, and children gathered new communities to continue the presence and ministry of Jesus, a new Body of Christ in the world, to bless it. Theme #8 is how through the Holy Spirit, everyone – then and now – has a gift by which we contribute goodness to the world. Two of my absolute favorite verses in the Bible:
Likewise, theme #9 is how the Spirit enacts unity and equality among people of all genders, races, nationalities, abilities, orientations, and anything and everything else that separates us. Which, for whatever reason, also seems to upset some religious people.
In the end, #10 – it’s all about love. Our love of God, God’s love for us. Our love of neighbor, self, and enemy. Love is the point of our faith. And if it’s not, what’s the point? They will know we are Christians by our love. And without it, we will continue to watch people in America flee a Christianity that bears no resemblance to the kind of love Jesus practiced. Bottom line for us as Christians and as a church:
Are we clear? Because without love, we are nothing but noise. So, my 10 themes: #1 – Our very breath is a gift from God #2 – Treat vulnerable people like God hopes we will #3 – God calls you and I to personal responsibility #4 – When we need it, God provides strength, comfort, inspiration, and hope #5 – Jesus calls us to change our hearts and lives #6 – Jesus was perfectly ordinary and extraordinary #7 – The collaboration of religion and state is dangerous. But God does not allow such evil scheming to win #8 – The church exists to bless the world with gifts the Spirit gives each one of us #9 – The Spirit establishes equality in the church even when that isn’t experienced in the world #10 – The point of it all is love. And without love, what’s the point? And whenever necessary, return to theme #5 – Jesus calls us to change our hearts and lives. What are your 10 favorite verses? Or what are 10 themes from the Bible that shape your life? |
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