Sixth Sunday After Easter, Year C
John 14:23-29
I want to take a second here to acknowledge all the moms with us, Happy Mother’s Day. Looking at the readings for today, before even knowing that today was going to be Mother’s Day, I had started thinking about the Gospel reading in relation to what could be described as behaving ourselves, pretty appropriate I’d say, talking about behaving ourselves or good behavior on Mother’s Day.
When I started thinking about the Gospel reading I was reminded of some of my classes as a philosophy student at the University of Rhode Island, specifically I was reminded of the work of Michel Foucault. Michel Foucault was a French philosopher who died in the 1980’s. He is known for his work having to do with power relations. In his work he talks about how different social institutions are at their core about exerting power over people, all the institutions that make up our society, according to Foucault, are concerned with control and dominance. In his book Discipline & Punish he discusses how knowledge equals power. As an example of this he uses the idea of the panopticon, a prison structure that allows the prisoners to be seen at all times but does not allow the prisoners the ability to know whether or not they are being observed at any given moment. The idea is that the prisoners live in a constant state of uneasiness unsure if they are being watched, and because of this they behave. The idea that someone might see what they are doing, the idea that someone might know what they are doing should influence their behavior, knowledge of their behavior is thus translated into power over them, translated into control and domination. According to Foucault’s thought people act the way we do because of power relations, because we have been manipulated to act in a certain way, because, whether we are aware of it or not, we are controlled to act as we do.
As Christians we have to disagree with this idea that what we do is a product of someone or something else controlling or forcing our actions. As Christians our actions should not be forced or be the product of manipulation, but they should be our own. I am not claiming that we act or make decisions without any influences over us, that would simply be untrue. There will of course always be countless factors influencing our decisions and actions, what I am saying is that ultimately we make the decisions ourselves. Except in extreme circumstances, we are not forced or coerced into acting or deciding.
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus tells us that “those who love [him] will keep [his] word”. Jesus gives us a basis for our action in stark contrast to that given by Foucault. When we act it is love that guides us, not power that dominates and controls us. Certainly, Christianity has not always gotten this right. Indeed, there are many instances where we have gotten this wrong, where we have forced our ideals and beliefs upon others. And while these have been done with good intentions, with the salvation of the other in mind, it is ultimately not how we are to act. Jesus tells us that we do not follow him because we are forced to. No, we follow Jesus because we love him. It is our love for Jesus that makes us want to follow the way he has set before us. It is this love for Jesus that pushes us to become his disciples. Christianity is about love not about domination and control.
So we act how we do, we follow Christ, not because the Church or scripture or anything or anyone else tells us that we must do so, but rather out of our love for Christ. In thinking about this I am reminded, appropriately enough for today, of my Mom. Growing up there were plenty of times when my Mom sought to influence my behavior. Some of these times she would act more in line with Foucault’s thought, telling me that I had to do something or another, usually with consequences if I failed to do so or did otherwise. This happened quite a lot actually, and sometimes I would do as she wished and sometimes I wouldn’t. There was another way, however, that my Mom influenced my behavior, and still does. Growing up, my Mom modeled certain ways of behavior, or would teach me appropriate ways of acting in different situations. She wouldn’t try force me to act in these ways, but she told me or showed me that they were right and good ways to act. My love and respect for my Mom, made me realize the rightness of what she showed or taught me, and this love and respect influenced me to follow her examples and teaching.
The main difference between these two types of ways that my Mom has influenced my behavior is in their long-term effects. I cannot tell you how many times I was told to make my bed when I was growing up, but regardless of how many times she told me to do so I rarely make my bed. On the other hand, I grew up watching my Mom interact with family and friends and seeing how much she cared and loved for them, and that has stuck with me, that has shaped who I am and who I strive to be.
This is why Jesus does not say, as Foucault might suggest, ‘you will keep my word, or else’, but rather that those who love him will keep his word. It is through love and not through force or coercion that we are truly shaped and formed by Jesus’ word. Over the past two years that I have been at St. Paul’s with you all, I have heard Fr. Sloane talk about metanoia a number of times. If you don’t remember, metanoia is the Greek word for repentance. As is the case with most translations, our word, repentance, does not capture the fullness of metanoia. Metanoia is not just saying “oops, my bad, I’m sorry” and then continuing on like nothing has happened. Metanoia speaks more to a changing of mind, a reorientation, and as Christian’s that reorientation is a reorientation towards Christ.
Metanoia is not something that can be forced, something that can happen through control and domination, it is something that happens through love. If we are to truly reorient ourselves towards Christ we must do so freely, and we are able to do this because of our love of Christ. To keep Jesus’ word means that we are constantly reorienting ourselves towards Christ. In keeping his word we are not seeking to avoid or gain anything, but out of our love of Christ we are recognizing that he will not lead us astray, we are recognizing that following him is simply the right the to do.
I want to end here by thanking you all for over the past two years helping me to better understand what it means to reorient myself toward Christ. I want to thank you all for welcoming me into this family and sharing with me the love that you have for Christ. I have learned a lot in my time here, but what will stick with me as I enter into ordained ministry in a couple of weeks is the love of Christ you all share, the reorienting and focusing on Christ that continues to happen in this parish day in and day out and how you show that in your lives and ministries. Thank you so much. Amen.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Senior Sermon at VTS
Thursday of IV Lent Year C
Exodus 32:7-14, John 5:30-47
If you were to find a collection of the rules for Calvinball you would see that the primary rule of Calvinball is “the following rules are subject to be changed, amended, or deleted by any player(s) involved. These rules are not required, nor necessary to play Calvinball”. To explain, Calvinball is a game from the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes, that Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, often play together. The game, much like everything else for Calvin is based on his own imagination and his efforts to distance himself from what’s really going on around him, to distance himself from reality. In one comic strip Calvin even says “reality continues to ruin my life”. You see, Calvin cannot handle reality and thus he has an imaginary tiger for a best friend and creates games like Calvinball that constantly change so that he is always able to be in control. Calvin creates and lives in a world where he can define and shape everything.
In today’s reading from Exodus we see something similar, although not quite as humorous, with the Israelites having cast an image of a calf for themselves to worship. Moses had left the people to meet with God on the mountain. And when he was delayed in coming back down the people decided that they could not wait for Moses to return to them, so they had Aaron cast them the calf. They did this to try and shape their reality, to try and control their reality. Like Calvin, they were uncomfortable with how things were so they began to create their own rules, create their own game.
Jesus tells us of something similar in today’s Gospel reading, we’re told of another way of trying to control and shape our reality. Jesus says, “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him”. Jesus comes firmly grounded in truth, not trying to reshape or control reality, but to show us what is real, what is true. This truth was too much for many in who heard it, recognizing this Jesus told them that they would not accept him and the truth he brought. Those who could not accept Jesus, he told them, were more likely to accept those who come in their own names, those who come with their own messages and understandings, those who come not grounded in God, but rather grounded in themselves and their own understandings and constructions of reality, of truth.
In both of these readings we see examples of people playing Calvinball. In each reading people desire to control and contain that which is greater than they are. They are seeking to create their own games that they can easily control the outcome to. The Israelites did it with their golden calf, and when we, or anyone else, come in our own name’s and not the Father’s we begin to create our own games and rules with our testimonies and ideas. In Jesus we have an alternative to all these feeble attempts to
construct and control our surroundings and the world we find ourselves in. In Jesus we see a truth, a reality greater than any games or rules we create ourselves.
When we take part in idolatry, whether it be through making golden calves or placing too much stock in our own words and ideas, we are doing nothing more than playing Calvinball. And while we may have fun or be comfortable we are only deceiving or distracting ourselves from what is really going on. To use the words of today’s Gospel reading, when we take part in idolatry, when we play Calvinball, we are accepting glory from one another, from ourselves. Jesus, however, tells us not to do this, rather if we are to truly believe, he tells us that we need to seek “the glory that comes from the one who alone is God”. If you were at Morning Prayer or are following the daily office on your own you’ll remember that in today’s Gospel reading Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow him, if we do this we are seeking glory from the one who alone is God, if we do this we cease to play Calvinball.
Exodus 32:7-14, John 5:30-47
If you were to find a collection of the rules for Calvinball you would see that the primary rule of Calvinball is “the following rules are subject to be changed, amended, or deleted by any player(s) involved. These rules are not required, nor necessary to play Calvinball”. To explain, Calvinball is a game from the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes, that Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, often play together. The game, much like everything else for Calvin is based on his own imagination and his efforts to distance himself from what’s really going on around him, to distance himself from reality. In one comic strip Calvin even says “reality continues to ruin my life”. You see, Calvin cannot handle reality and thus he has an imaginary tiger for a best friend and creates games like Calvinball that constantly change so that he is always able to be in control. Calvin creates and lives in a world where he can define and shape everything.
In today’s reading from Exodus we see something similar, although not quite as humorous, with the Israelites having cast an image of a calf for themselves to worship. Moses had left the people to meet with God on the mountain. And when he was delayed in coming back down the people decided that they could not wait for Moses to return to them, so they had Aaron cast them the calf. They did this to try and shape their reality, to try and control their reality. Like Calvin, they were uncomfortable with how things were so they began to create their own rules, create their own game.
Jesus tells us of something similar in today’s Gospel reading, we’re told of another way of trying to control and shape our reality. Jesus says, “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him”. Jesus comes firmly grounded in truth, not trying to reshape or control reality, but to show us what is real, what is true. This truth was too much for many in who heard it, recognizing this Jesus told them that they would not accept him and the truth he brought. Those who could not accept Jesus, he told them, were more likely to accept those who come in their own names, those who come with their own messages and understandings, those who come not grounded in God, but rather grounded in themselves and their own understandings and constructions of reality, of truth.
In both of these readings we see examples of people playing Calvinball. In each reading people desire to control and contain that which is greater than they are. They are seeking to create their own games that they can easily control the outcome to. The Israelites did it with their golden calf, and when we, or anyone else, come in our own name’s and not the Father’s we begin to create our own games and rules with our testimonies and ideas. In Jesus we have an alternative to all these feeble attempts to
construct and control our surroundings and the world we find ourselves in. In Jesus we see a truth, a reality greater than any games or rules we create ourselves.
When we take part in idolatry, whether it be through making golden calves or placing too much stock in our own words and ideas, we are doing nothing more than playing Calvinball. And while we may have fun or be comfortable we are only deceiving or distracting ourselves from what is really going on. To use the words of today’s Gospel reading, when we take part in idolatry, when we play Calvinball, we are accepting glory from one another, from ourselves. Jesus, however, tells us not to do this, rather if we are to truly believe, he tells us that we need to seek “the glory that comes from the one who alone is God”. If you were at Morning Prayer or are following the daily office on your own you’ll remember that in today’s Gospel reading Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow him, if we do this we are seeking glory from the one who alone is God, if we do this we cease to play Calvinball.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Seventh (penultimate) Sermon at St. Paul's K Street
Year C, First Sunday of Lent
Luke 4:1-13
If you are familiar with the story of the Israelites then today’s Gospel will probably evoke the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness before coming into the land that was promised to them through their ancestor Abraham. Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days, the Israelites wandered the wilderness for forty years. The Israelites made their way into the wilderness after God saved them bringing them through the Red Sea, Jesus was led into the wilderness after his Baptism by John in the Jordan. The similarities between the two stories are clear, and so are the differences. And the difference between the two experiences of wilderness is very important, the different experiences show two very different ways of approaching the wilderness.
As we heard in today’s Gospel Jesus is tempted by the devil in three different ways. First, the devil tempted Jesus by playing off of his primal needs, Jesus had been without food for forty days, he must have been pretty hungry. Then the devil moved onto to tempting Jesus with things beyond his primal needs, he tempted him with power, power over all the people and kingdoms of the world, and then with power over death. In all of these temptations, Jesus resisted, Jesus remained faithful to God.
The Israelites on the other hand, while they wandered the wilderness they may not have been tempted explicitly by the devil, but regardless they grumbled against God, they questioned God, they did not remain faithful to God. In the book of Numbers we hear that at one point in their wanderings the Israelites began to complain because they had no meat, God had been providing them with manna, bread from heaven, but that was not enough, they wanted more. This is just one story of the Israelites grumbling against God in the wilderness, there are plenty more. The Israelites could not be content with what God gave them, and so they wandered the wilderness being kept from the land promised to them through Abraham.
The difference between these two experiences of the wilderness is faithfulness to God. In the story of Jesus’ temptation Jesus remains faithful to God in the face of all temptations. Jesus remembers that we need the nourishment of the word of God, that God, and only God, is to be served and that we are not to test our God. The wandering Israelites forget these things, and thus had a completely different experience of the wilderness than Jesus did.
The time that the Israelites spent in the wilderness served as a punishment, keeping the generation that grumbled against God from seeing the Promised Land. For Jesus however, the time in the wilderness served to strengthen and empower his ministry. The verse after what we heard in today’s Gospel reads, “Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country”. Jesus did not grumble, Jesus did not question, Jesus did not lose faith. Jesus resisted temptation and being ‘filled with the power of the Spirit’ was able to go on and complete his ministry.
Nowadays we are less likely to find ourselves in actual wildernesses but we certainly find ourselves in situations and times that can be understood as a type of wilderness. Times in our lives when we feel lost or out of control. Times in our lives when we feel like we are doing nothing but wandering around with no idea of where we are headed. Times in our lives when we are confronted by temptation after temptation after temptation. We may not be able to relate to the experience of Jesus in the wilderness or to the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness on a literal level, but I’d be surprised if there were many of us here who could not relate on a metaphorical level. These forays into the wilderness of uncertainty, of fear, of temptation, of doubt are a common part of the human experience.
These two different experiences, that of Jesus and that of the Israelites, have a lot to say to us when we find ourselves in our own wildernesses. We can enter these wildernesses faithful that God will see us through, or we can enter these wildernesses and grumble against God. Grumbling against God in these situations, losing faith, giving in to temptation, will lead to us feeling punished, and while we may come out of this wilderness we will come out bitter and separated from God. If, however, we remain faithful, if we go through these wildernesses aware of God’s loving presence with us, if we keep God before us in these times we can come through stronger and closer to God and more able to witness to the love of God.
One of the things that I love about St. Paul’s, one of the things I have appreciated over the past year and a half I have been here with you, is the importance of the sacraments in the life of this parish. Every day you can come here and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. No matter what is going on outside of those doors, you can come here experience God’s loving presence. The other week there was more snow on the ground then there has been in I do not how long, and before Sunday on the news there was a long list of cancellations, mainly secular institutions but there were a fair number of churches on that list as well. That did not stop St. Paul’s parish though, I admit I did not make it in that morning, but I heard that a hundred people were here. No matter what is going on outside St. Paul’s parish and your commitment to sacramental worship are a constant reminder that God is with us.
This commitment to sacramental worship is great way to enter the wilderness of our lives in the knowledge and love of God. By coming to this altar, by receiving the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ regardless of whatever may be happening around us, we are maintaining our faithfulness to God while we wander the wilderness of our lives. Another way that we do this is as we enter this season of lent many of us take on different disciplines and practices. These disciplines serve to bring us closer to God and in doing so they prepare us to enter any wilderness faithful to God.
As we deepen our relationship with God, whether it be through sacramental worship, personal disciplines or any other way we are more able to face the trials and temptations that the world has for us and we are more likely to come through them stronger and as a living witness to the power and awesomeness of our God. As we come closer to God we are able to enter the wilderness not like the Israelites, grumbling and feeling punished by God, missing out on what God can do for us, but as Jesus entered the wilderness, aware of the priority of God in our lives and resolved to come through the wilderness and show forth the love of God.
Luke 4:1-13
If you are familiar with the story of the Israelites then today’s Gospel will probably evoke the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness before coming into the land that was promised to them through their ancestor Abraham. Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days, the Israelites wandered the wilderness for forty years. The Israelites made their way into the wilderness after God saved them bringing them through the Red Sea, Jesus was led into the wilderness after his Baptism by John in the Jordan. The similarities between the two stories are clear, and so are the differences. And the difference between the two experiences of wilderness is very important, the different experiences show two very different ways of approaching the wilderness.
As we heard in today’s Gospel Jesus is tempted by the devil in three different ways. First, the devil tempted Jesus by playing off of his primal needs, Jesus had been without food for forty days, he must have been pretty hungry. Then the devil moved onto to tempting Jesus with things beyond his primal needs, he tempted him with power, power over all the people and kingdoms of the world, and then with power over death. In all of these temptations, Jesus resisted, Jesus remained faithful to God.
The Israelites on the other hand, while they wandered the wilderness they may not have been tempted explicitly by the devil, but regardless they grumbled against God, they questioned God, they did not remain faithful to God. In the book of Numbers we hear that at one point in their wanderings the Israelites began to complain because they had no meat, God had been providing them with manna, bread from heaven, but that was not enough, they wanted more. This is just one story of the Israelites grumbling against God in the wilderness, there are plenty more. The Israelites could not be content with what God gave them, and so they wandered the wilderness being kept from the land promised to them through Abraham.
The difference between these two experiences of the wilderness is faithfulness to God. In the story of Jesus’ temptation Jesus remains faithful to God in the face of all temptations. Jesus remembers that we need the nourishment of the word of God, that God, and only God, is to be served and that we are not to test our God. The wandering Israelites forget these things, and thus had a completely different experience of the wilderness than Jesus did.
The time that the Israelites spent in the wilderness served as a punishment, keeping the generation that grumbled against God from seeing the Promised Land. For Jesus however, the time in the wilderness served to strengthen and empower his ministry. The verse after what we heard in today’s Gospel reads, “Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country”. Jesus did not grumble, Jesus did not question, Jesus did not lose faith. Jesus resisted temptation and being ‘filled with the power of the Spirit’ was able to go on and complete his ministry.
Nowadays we are less likely to find ourselves in actual wildernesses but we certainly find ourselves in situations and times that can be understood as a type of wilderness. Times in our lives when we feel lost or out of control. Times in our lives when we feel like we are doing nothing but wandering around with no idea of where we are headed. Times in our lives when we are confronted by temptation after temptation after temptation. We may not be able to relate to the experience of Jesus in the wilderness or to the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness on a literal level, but I’d be surprised if there were many of us here who could not relate on a metaphorical level. These forays into the wilderness of uncertainty, of fear, of temptation, of doubt are a common part of the human experience.
These two different experiences, that of Jesus and that of the Israelites, have a lot to say to us when we find ourselves in our own wildernesses. We can enter these wildernesses faithful that God will see us through, or we can enter these wildernesses and grumble against God. Grumbling against God in these situations, losing faith, giving in to temptation, will lead to us feeling punished, and while we may come out of this wilderness we will come out bitter and separated from God. If, however, we remain faithful, if we go through these wildernesses aware of God’s loving presence with us, if we keep God before us in these times we can come through stronger and closer to God and more able to witness to the love of God.
One of the things that I love about St. Paul’s, one of the things I have appreciated over the past year and a half I have been here with you, is the importance of the sacraments in the life of this parish. Every day you can come here and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. No matter what is going on outside of those doors, you can come here experience God’s loving presence. The other week there was more snow on the ground then there has been in I do not how long, and before Sunday on the news there was a long list of cancellations, mainly secular institutions but there were a fair number of churches on that list as well. That did not stop St. Paul’s parish though, I admit I did not make it in that morning, but I heard that a hundred people were here. No matter what is going on outside St. Paul’s parish and your commitment to sacramental worship are a constant reminder that God is with us.
This commitment to sacramental worship is great way to enter the wilderness of our lives in the knowledge and love of God. By coming to this altar, by receiving the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ regardless of whatever may be happening around us, we are maintaining our faithfulness to God while we wander the wilderness of our lives. Another way that we do this is as we enter this season of lent many of us take on different disciplines and practices. These disciplines serve to bring us closer to God and in doing so they prepare us to enter any wilderness faithful to God.
As we deepen our relationship with God, whether it be through sacramental worship, personal disciplines or any other way we are more able to face the trials and temptations that the world has for us and we are more likely to come through them stronger and as a living witness to the power and awesomeness of our God. As we come closer to God we are able to enter the wilderness not like the Israelites, grumbling and feeling punished by God, missing out on what God can do for us, but as Jesus entered the wilderness, aware of the priority of God in our lives and resolved to come through the wilderness and show forth the love of God.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Third Sermon at Emmanuel Church in Cumberland RI
Third Sunday after Epiphany Year C
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 & I Corinthians 12:12-31a
Nehemiah was the cupbearer of the Persian King Artaxerxes. If we were to have read the beginning of the book of Nehemiah we would have heard that Nehemiah was a fairly happy guy. However, when he heard of the state that Jerusalem was in after the exile, he was so grieved that Artaxerxes noticed the change in his cupbearer and sent him back to Jerusalem to restore the city’s walls so that Jerusalem could be returned to her former glory. What we heard today comes from after these walls have been rebuilt. Nehemiah’s love for God and his grief over the dilapidated condition of Jerusalem moved him to return to Jerusalem and enabled him to inspire the Israelites to rebuild the walls regardless of any opposition they faced. We hear that after the wall was rebuilt, all the people were gathered together, and Ezra read to them the law.
Now, this is where it gets interesting for me. You see, after the law is read to all the people, and after it is explained to them, the people begin to weep. Jerusalem is being restored to her former glory, the Israelites are free to return to their homeland, things are going pretty well, weeping is not the response that I would expect. So when I read this I wonder, why do the people weep when they hear the law? What could lead them to this response? Do they weep at the restrictions being placed on them by the law, for instance in Deuteronomy 14:21 the law says that they should not “boil a kid [a baby goat] in it’s mother’s milk” which would have been explained to them as meaning they shouldn’t mix meat and dairy, I mean, I might weep if I was told I couldn’t have a cheeseburger ever again. Or more seriously, could they have been weeping at the beauty of God’s will expressed through the law, seeing beyond cultic rituals and rules to the love of God expressed in the law?
I was talking with a friend yesterday about this reading and he put forth the idea that the people are weeping because in the law they hear of God’s love, in the law they hear that they are God’s chosen people and they do not believe themselves to be worthy of this. They are weeping at their unworthiness in the face of God’s love.
I wonder, how many of us here can relate to this?
How many of us question whether or not we are worthy of love, not only God’s love, but even the love of other people?
How many of us ask ‘why me?’, not in the face of adversity but in response to a love we don’t think ourselves worthy of. In the face of such great love that we cannot even begin to understand how we could be worthy of it. I get an idea of this in thinking about my family. In thinking about the love that my parents have for me, the love that my aunts and uncles have for me. No matter how awesome I may think I am it’s easy to question whether or not I’m worthy of the degree of the love they have for me.
How much greater must this doubt be when thinking about God’s love for us? How could we ever be worthy of that?
We get an answer to these questions in today’s reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In this passage Paul fleshes out what he means when he talks about the Body of Christ. If you were here when I came this past summer you’ll remember that I preached then on the Body of Christ, how all people are unified in Jesus Christ. How through our faith in Jesus we become the Body of Christ and are thus adopted as children of God.
Being the Body of Christ has a lot to say to these questions of doubt that arise in the face such great love. Being the Body of Christ answers the question ‘why me?’. Because God’s love is not given because we deserve it. In fact, any question of worth does not even come up. Through our adoption as children of God, achieved by our Lord Jesus Christ, we receive God’s love without any question of whether or not we deserve it, without any questions regarding our worth. We receive God’s love simply because we are God’s children.
It is through our becoming members of the Body of Christ, becoming children of God that we can answer these questions of doubt, but being a member of the Body of Christ has implications for us. In today’s passage from First Corinthians we hear about these implications. And what sticks out to me from this, no doubt because of the recent earth quake in Haiti, is the verse, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it”.
In the past two weeks since the earthquake hit Haiti there has been a great outpouring of support and aid from both the secular and religious world. This is a wonderful thing and it is very important, especially in situations such as this and it speaks to what Paul is saying about the Body of Christ, about how when one suffers all suffer. We, as members of the Body of Christ, are giving not to receive anything back, but in recognition that as long as our Haitian brothers and sisters are suffering, we all are suffering alongside them.
This verse that stuck out to me, doesn’t end in talking about how we share in suffering though. You’ll remember it goes on to say, “if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it”. This verse stuck out to me not only because of the line about suffering and recent tragedies but also because of this line about rejoicing and something I saw on Emmanuel Church’s facebook page. An event was advertised on this page labeled as a ‘guerilla ministry event’ where people met up and went to watch a member of this church coach a JV team at Cumberland high school. I don’t know much about these ‘guerilla ministry events’ but if they are all like this, they seem like natural things for members of the Body of Christ to be doing. For, in supporting and caring for each other in these and other ways, you are honoring each other and rejoicing together.
This verse that I’ve been talking about aptly sums up the implications for us as members of the Body of Christ. We are so linked up in the lives of each other that when one suffers we all suffer, and when one rejoices we all rejoice. This is because when we say that we are members of one holy catholic and apostolic Church, when we say that we are members of the Body of Christ, we are not just paying lip service to some ideal about unity. We are truly one through our faith in Christ.
Nehemiah told the Israelites not to weep, but rather to “eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared” he also told them, “do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength”. Throughout Paul’s writings we hear much the same thing. We need not weep before God in fear of whether or not we deserve God’s love, as God’s children we can rejoice in the knowledge that we receive God’s unconditional love unconditionally, we receive this love no questions asked. And as God’s children we are called to share in the lives of all our brothers and sisters, we are call to share in their suffering and to share in their happiness. So rejoice and “do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength”.
Amen.
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 & I Corinthians 12:12-31a
Nehemiah was the cupbearer of the Persian King Artaxerxes. If we were to have read the beginning of the book of Nehemiah we would have heard that Nehemiah was a fairly happy guy. However, when he heard of the state that Jerusalem was in after the exile, he was so grieved that Artaxerxes noticed the change in his cupbearer and sent him back to Jerusalem to restore the city’s walls so that Jerusalem could be returned to her former glory. What we heard today comes from after these walls have been rebuilt. Nehemiah’s love for God and his grief over the dilapidated condition of Jerusalem moved him to return to Jerusalem and enabled him to inspire the Israelites to rebuild the walls regardless of any opposition they faced. We hear that after the wall was rebuilt, all the people were gathered together, and Ezra read to them the law.
Now, this is where it gets interesting for me. You see, after the law is read to all the people, and after it is explained to them, the people begin to weep. Jerusalem is being restored to her former glory, the Israelites are free to return to their homeland, things are going pretty well, weeping is not the response that I would expect. So when I read this I wonder, why do the people weep when they hear the law? What could lead them to this response? Do they weep at the restrictions being placed on them by the law, for instance in Deuteronomy 14:21 the law says that they should not “boil a kid [a baby goat] in it’s mother’s milk” which would have been explained to them as meaning they shouldn’t mix meat and dairy, I mean, I might weep if I was told I couldn’t have a cheeseburger ever again. Or more seriously, could they have been weeping at the beauty of God’s will expressed through the law, seeing beyond cultic rituals and rules to the love of God expressed in the law?
I was talking with a friend yesterday about this reading and he put forth the idea that the people are weeping because in the law they hear of God’s love, in the law they hear that they are God’s chosen people and they do not believe themselves to be worthy of this. They are weeping at their unworthiness in the face of God’s love.
I wonder, how many of us here can relate to this?
How many of us question whether or not we are worthy of love, not only God’s love, but even the love of other people?
How many of us ask ‘why me?’, not in the face of adversity but in response to a love we don’t think ourselves worthy of. In the face of such great love that we cannot even begin to understand how we could be worthy of it. I get an idea of this in thinking about my family. In thinking about the love that my parents have for me, the love that my aunts and uncles have for me. No matter how awesome I may think I am it’s easy to question whether or not I’m worthy of the degree of the love they have for me.
How much greater must this doubt be when thinking about God’s love for us? How could we ever be worthy of that?
We get an answer to these questions in today’s reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In this passage Paul fleshes out what he means when he talks about the Body of Christ. If you were here when I came this past summer you’ll remember that I preached then on the Body of Christ, how all people are unified in Jesus Christ. How through our faith in Jesus we become the Body of Christ and are thus adopted as children of God.
Being the Body of Christ has a lot to say to these questions of doubt that arise in the face such great love. Being the Body of Christ answers the question ‘why me?’. Because God’s love is not given because we deserve it. In fact, any question of worth does not even come up. Through our adoption as children of God, achieved by our Lord Jesus Christ, we receive God’s love without any question of whether or not we deserve it, without any questions regarding our worth. We receive God’s love simply because we are God’s children.
It is through our becoming members of the Body of Christ, becoming children of God that we can answer these questions of doubt, but being a member of the Body of Christ has implications for us. In today’s passage from First Corinthians we hear about these implications. And what sticks out to me from this, no doubt because of the recent earth quake in Haiti, is the verse, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it”.
In the past two weeks since the earthquake hit Haiti there has been a great outpouring of support and aid from both the secular and religious world. This is a wonderful thing and it is very important, especially in situations such as this and it speaks to what Paul is saying about the Body of Christ, about how when one suffers all suffer. We, as members of the Body of Christ, are giving not to receive anything back, but in recognition that as long as our Haitian brothers and sisters are suffering, we all are suffering alongside them.
This verse that stuck out to me, doesn’t end in talking about how we share in suffering though. You’ll remember it goes on to say, “if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it”. This verse stuck out to me not only because of the line about suffering and recent tragedies but also because of this line about rejoicing and something I saw on Emmanuel Church’s facebook page. An event was advertised on this page labeled as a ‘guerilla ministry event’ where people met up and went to watch a member of this church coach a JV team at Cumberland high school. I don’t know much about these ‘guerilla ministry events’ but if they are all like this, they seem like natural things for members of the Body of Christ to be doing. For, in supporting and caring for each other in these and other ways, you are honoring each other and rejoicing together.
This verse that I’ve been talking about aptly sums up the implications for us as members of the Body of Christ. We are so linked up in the lives of each other that when one suffers we all suffer, and when one rejoices we all rejoice. This is because when we say that we are members of one holy catholic and apostolic Church, when we say that we are members of the Body of Christ, we are not just paying lip service to some ideal about unity. We are truly one through our faith in Christ.
Nehemiah told the Israelites not to weep, but rather to “eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared” he also told them, “do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength”. Throughout Paul’s writings we hear much the same thing. We need not weep before God in fear of whether or not we deserve God’s love, as God’s children we can rejoice in the knowledge that we receive God’s unconditional love unconditionally, we receive this love no questions asked. And as God’s children we are called to share in the lives of all our brothers and sisters, we are call to share in their suffering and to share in their happiness. So rejoice and “do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength”.
Amen.
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