Mary Anoints Jesus

My second "sermon" at Christ Church. Crafting the homily is a challenge. Always looking at the words. Is this what I want to say? Is this how I want to say it? This one was more difficult and I was more careful about what I was saying. I find this very difficult but fulfilling. Preaching though is not about quiet study and analytical thinking... it's not about contemplation and personal reflection.  

Delivery of the words and ideas is much more difficult for me. I didn't move away from the text much at all... in this regard I am woefully unskilled. I look up and am at a loss for words... I don't want to move away from the words on the paper in front of me. I guess this is a weakness that I need to overcome. It's a bit disheartening.

Isaiah 43 and today’s Psalm read like two sides of the same coin. Isaiah speaks to a people in exile, a people in captivity… removed from all they dream of and hope for... they couldn’t see God… But God sees them. “Do you remember how good you had it?” God says. “Well… forget about it… because I am doing a new thing!”

The Psalm is a song of thanksgiving for this promise spoken in Isaiah. I love the imagery of this psalm where it states, “…then were we like those who dream”… when a great and wonderful thing happens it’s like a dream… like it just can’t be real… This is what Isaiah refers to… something so great that it’s like a dream come true and Isaiah could just as easily be speaking to us, for in so many ways we live in a world of exile... where we sometimes experience the wilderness… and in the wilderness our hopes and dreams aren’t realized.

God’s new thing is about release, homecoming, and making the dry places bloom; it is so good it’s like living in the best of dreams.

There’s a person I run into nearly every day in one of the elementary buildings I teach in. He’s a good natured guy and a hard worker. We usually greet each other with, “how’s it going?” and when I get to it first he almost always says, “I’m living the dream.” I laugh every time he says that. I guess I’m easily amused because after a hundred times or so I still laugh. It’s funny… it’s a satirical commentary about work and career and so on. The point is that he isn’t really living the “dream”… the “dream” is just a fantasy… and I get that. The “dream job”, the “dream house”, the “dream car”, and dreams like this can offer us happiness… but it’s fleeting… eventually those dreams simply fade away. We chase dreams… and some dreams are worth pursuing… we should chase our dreams…. but I think we all understand that if we believe that lasting happiness or self-worth or real security is tied to a job or a home or a place or an accomplishment… we’ve been fooled. The narrative of the scripture is consistent on this score. But it’s also consistent in offering us this idea of a “new thing”… a better dream.

Paul speaks to us of “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead”. Last week we heard this from Paul, “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see. everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ.” The two ideas work together and they echo the passages we read today. Paul was among other things a focused human being…. Before his conversion on the road to Damascus he put great stock in his learning, his zeal, his accomplishments… his heritage… and his position. He was living “the dream”… the dream as he knew it. We read today that he left it all behind… threw it away even, because his eyes had been opened to this new thing that God had begun.

I’m going to tie this in with today’s Gospel passage because I think Mary was a woman who did not consider what lay behind. She understood what was to come.

Mary was the sister to Martha, and the brother of Lazarus. These three had a unique and special relationship with the Jesus. We know very little of this really. We know that Jesus at least on two occasions shared a meal with them at their house. They seemed to know Jesus. Maybe they were related. Maybe they were old family friends. We don’t know… but they occupy a special place in the Gospel narrative and in the tradition of the church.

Mary pouring costly perfume upon Jesus’ feet was a prophetic act, an act of faith and devotion. It was pure… it was lovely… it was touching. We’ve seen Mary before… where she took a place at the feet of Jesus while her sister worked and fretted, we saw her weeping but believing with Jesus at her brother’s tomb, and here we see her anointing Jesus for burial. She was misunderstood and criticized by her sister and the disciples but not by Jesus… who came to her defense. In this passage we see that she brought out this very expensive perfume in the middle of dinner (or after, I suppose) and poured it on Jesus’ feet. The amount, 300 denarii must have been shocking (I read that it was approximately a year’s salary for a common laborer) but more shocking I think was Mary letting down and wiping the Lord’s feet with her hair. This is something that just wasn’t done… under any circumstance. The level of this kind of devotion was just too intimate and personal. We can imagine the awkwardness that filled the room.

This wasn’t the only thing that filled the room though. It was also filled with the fragrance of the perfume. This sentence reads like a memory of someone who had been there and was reliving the evening and what Mary had done. I think it was also included because there was something wonderful that had taken place and maybe in that awkward space of a few moments… they all felt what Mary felt… they all saw what Mary saw… just before Brother Judas broke the spell.

Mary was a quiet martyr of the glory of Christ. She understood more than anyone who was with Jesus in those days what was to come and what it would mean. Her eyes were wide open… she was awake to a dream of God’s promise.

Most of the time, seeing God is a struggle… and at times a virtual impossibility. The nature of life, its ordinariness, its cares, and sometimes its pain, makes it difficult to see God. Maybe our chasing after some of the dreams life offers gets in the way as well. Seeing God is a gift. Seeing God is having our eyes opened to see what cannot be seen and understand what cannot be understood. Like Mary, and Paul, and Isaiah and Patrick… when we see God… when we really understand… it changes everything.

Mary’s act of anointing Jesus for burial was an act of costly self-sacrifice and of resignation… but also one of tender love and great hope. Mary believe what the Rabbi had revealed to his disciples even when they could not… that he would go to Jerusalem, be killed and buried. Did she also believe that he would rise from the dead? I think she understood clearly the risk in believing this. I think she believed that God was doing a new thing… and that Jesus was the one through whom the new thing would come… through death and resurrection. This is the message that the church has proclaimed in the world since… a message we proclaim every Sunday at Holy Eucharist… and now during Lent… working our way towards Easter… That in this life, where there seems to be so much hopelessness, there is great and living hope, where lack of faith is altogether too common, there are acts of extravagant self-sacrifice that scandalize and shame the temporary dreams presented by this world, and that in this cruel and cold culture… if we, like Paul, find a way to open our eyes to God… and lose everything to gain Christ, we will say “then were we like those who dream. Then were our mouths filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.”

Missional Approach

This is a short project I wrote up for a course on Missional Church.

A Project of God’s Mission: Christ Church in Austin, Minnesota

Context:

Austin is a “big” small town. We are approximately 27,000 people straddling Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota. We are 40 minutes away from Rochester and 100 miles south of the Twin Cities Metro Area. Our sister city is Albert Lea which is a short 20 minutes to the west. The Hormel Corporation, a Fortune 500 Company that is primarily a pork processing industry but which has diversified over the years, dominates Austin. Austin is the hometown of this large and prosperous corporation and is the home of its executive offices and also The Hormel Institute, a cancer research facility. From the 1920s on Hormel has dominated the town and have made itself Austin’s sole beneficiary. This has become the town that Hormel built.

The demographics of Austin have changed dramatically over the last three decades. Where we were homogenous we are now quite diverse and becoming more so. We have been a hard working meat packing town with social divides that ran rigidly along “who you were” in the Plant. Socio-Economic-Status is a dividing line in Austin. This is quite entrenched. Race is another dividing line. Quality Pork, a company serving Hormel, began recruiting and hiring in certain areas throughout the south some time ago. Many who came were of “Hispanic” or “Latino” decent and culture. New people, new language, and new culture clashed with a very homogenous white, Midwest culture. These barriers still exist. We have since seen African immigrants and some Karen people of Burma move to town to find work. The Hormel Institute and it’s Corporate Offices along with the Mayo Clinic have brought many nations to Austin and there are some really vital and good services that are beginning to erode those barriers.

A major challenge for a majority of people living in Austin is simply making ends meet. Although the current average household income in Mower County is $40,395 we have a poverty rate of just over 18%. Over 50% of children in public schools in Mower County receive free and reduced lunch. Many families are either not making it or are just making it. To be honest I just don’t really know the hopes and dreams of most people who live in Austin. I assume they are the same as my hopes and dreams. I want to be loved and to love. I want to have a job that is fulfilling and where I am respected and valued. I want to live in my own house. I want to be comfortable. I want to have friends and family who I can count on and who can count on me. I want to be entertained when I feel the need and I want to be able to get away from it all from time to time. This is the case with my friends, family, and colleagues and the neighbors who I’ve come to know. But for many these simple hopes and dreams are just out of reach in Austin.

There has been the challenge of addiction and drug use in Austin, especially among the younger population. I believe that in part this has been bred out of a sense of economic and financial insecurity. Our town is a town where there is a sharp and obvious line drawn between those who have and those who do not. Gangs have also been an issue from time to time with violence, suspicion, and racism breaking out, dividing neighbors and neighborhoods.

An Approach to what God may be up to:

I would like to use short passages of Scripture to frame the discussion surrounding God’s Mission in Austin Minnesota and the church’s part in that Mission. Episcopalians are woefully short on personal scriptural experience. There tends to be a “disconnect” between what we do as “church” and the narrative of God’s Story. Because of this I think our faith communities (Episcopalian) have a harder time understanding that we are doing God’s Mission. Our efforts of outreach and service are merely social programs. They lack the vitality of faith and love. They make us feel better because we do things for poor people or for “far-away foreigners”. This probably represents another bit of residue from our “establishment” pass.

I would like to think about “the other” and so passages of scripture that speak about the “stranger” come to mind. The stranger is the person who is not “us”. In Austin this makes real sense, as we are a community that is experiencing changes in demographics along racial/cultural lines. Strangers are people we do not know. They are neighbors waiting to receive us. They are “family members” waiting to meet us. We must seek and serve Christ in them just as we do so in each other.

Matthew 25.31-40

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

Gifted and Called:

If we are not joined up with God’s presence and movement in the local context then we are simply not the church of God in that locale. Together we are called and equipped to serve God’s Mission in the world. In Austin we must exercise the gifts the Holy Spirit has placed within us, and the variety of callings we embody, to serve our neighbors and community. Christ Church is made up of people from a variety of social, economic and cultural perspectives. We need to recognize and affirm those differences as a blessing from God. Each of us has a unique perspective in this community and has made connections to a wide margin of the people living here. This is a real gift that must come into play when we consider our place in God’s Mission in Austin Minnesota.

Participation in God’s Mission:

I recently took part in a webinar sponsored by the Episcopal Church Foundation called “Becoming Local: From Neighborhood Engagement to Neighborhood Church” this can be found somewhere on the ECF website though I haven’t found the link so I will include the link as an endnote to this “project”. This was a story told to us of an Episcopal Church in San Francisco called Saint Cyprian’s. It’s a wonderful story of one faith community’s effort to make sense of its decline. Essentially they sought the answers to what God was doing in community involvement and getting to know their neighborhood; in making real and vital connections to the world around them with no strings attached. The story of this community’s renewal seems to me to be a case study of a church that has become “missional”; they are real “People of the Way”. In any case the webinar offered some very helpful resources including an article by Roxburgh on the “missional church” that I would make use of with a faith community also struggling to understand what God was doing and how they fit into that story. This is the case with my local faith community/parish in Austin. We have struggled through a couple of decades of decline and business as usual. We have struggled to make sense of what God is up to within and without our walls.

I believe that before we can begin to understand what God is up to in our “neighborhood” we must understand who we are as a “faith community”. I would try to help breakdown and build up concepts and worldviews about what the church is and what the church isn’t. We are still holding on to concepts of “outreach” that are self-serving and pretentious. What we described in discussion as “Establishmentarian”. I would work with focus groups on these issues. I would concentrate efforts at leadership committees for sure (vestry and outreach committee). To this end I would engage these focus groups in “intensive” discussion of scripture and tradition. I would try to engage these groups in meaningful exercises that would shed light on these issues. I have included one “bible study” as an appendix that would work very well. These would be ongoing exercises or book studies. I would have to find a balance with this approach. Most people are not used to theology and find it tedious. Short 15-minute reflections with prayer included in a “business meeting” might be more practical. Coffee gatherings outside of church would be best. Envisioning must take place or anything that follows will be merely “projects” and things to do.

I think our first task in leading God’s people in discerning their participation in God’s mission is to help us see our neighborhood, our town, in the light of what God might be up to. One of the resources that were suggested in the Webinar was what is called “An Exegetical Walk”; an exercise for maybe an “outreach team” or a vestry committee to take part in. the exercise leads the person or group of people to take a walk in their neighborhood and asks them to observe and reflect of what they see and hear.  I modified this exercise to fit my local faith community and have included this document in the appendices.

One thing I might try is to provide a list of resources in the County ranging from emergency responders to schools, mental health facilities and practitioners to food shelves. Churches to service organizations, welcome centers to grocery stores, etc. I would ask the group to begin to visit or contact these resources; to understand how they function, what we can do if we need to refer someone to them, what kind of supports they need from the community, and other questions that occur to us. I have a hunch that it’s in a list of resources like this that we’ll find God at work. Making connections to these resources will give us a real keen understanding for the needs of the world around us.

Transfiguration

I preached at Christ Church for the first time today.
I came across Sufjan Stevens music in the process of preparing my homily. He wrote and performed this wonderful tune "Transfiguration". It's worth listening to.

Transfiguration Sunday 2013

Homily

Some years ago I took a road trip with my brother and brother in law and a few of the kids to Montana to fish the Madison and Gallatin rivers. We had a wonderful time. One day we moved our camp from just south of Ennis Montana down river to Quake Lake. On the way we decided to take a short cut.

We’re used to short cuts here in Minnesota and take them all the time... We never get lost.

We were using a map to navigate through the mountains in that part of the state but had left the main highway. We followed a substantial road up and passed a few side roads that were not on our map. The road began to narrow at some point so we stopped to discuss our situation.

I’m the cautious one and voted we back track and chose another route. My brother and brother in law thought otherwise so we went on. “It must go somewhere” is what my brother said. I wasn’t too sure.

Up and up we drove and the road became narrower and narrower until grass grew up between our wheels and the branches swept the sides of our vans. Then the road more or less became a rocky pathway. My brother in law, who was riding shotgun in my van, said to me, “Maybe we should turn around”. I stopped... a few moments later it started to thunder and rain... and then hail. It stopped we got out of the vehicles walked up the “road” about 40 yards to where it turned around. This was not a great mountaintop experience... though it became a pretty good story later on.

Today we hear of two extraordinary mountain top experiences.

In the first Moses ascends Mount Sinai and speaks face to face with God and brings back the Law. This is THE event... this is where and when Judaism is born... under the cloud and smoke of the mountain of God... Moses is the lawgiver who comes with his face shining... but it’s a grim passage set in a grim story.

The story of Jesus on the mount is not an epic story. It’s really wonderful and yet... it just seems out of place... a little too contrived or something. It comes out of the blue... then it just ends... seemingly, with no lingering effects. In this passage in Luke we’re told that the disciples are resolved to tell no one about what they’ve just experienced. In another Gospel Jesus tells them to say nothing until he is raised from the dead.

Peter gets a bum rap for his comments. They sound funny… as if he were putting his foot in his mouth… he was frightened and he didn’t know what else to say so he mumbles this weird incoherent business about building some shelters for Jesus and the other two men who’ve appeared with him. Peter was a devout Jewish man of the first century. He may not have been educated but he was literate and fluent in regards to his tradition, and the majesty and excitement of the moment were not lost on him. He wanted to build three booths... three tabernacles… probably thinking of the feast of tabernacles… a major feast commemorating the wilderness and the giving of the law and the Covenant. So Peter’s words may have been harkening back to what we heard in our first reading. He may have been thinking… this is it! He may have envisioned what the writer of the letter of Hebrews would write, “You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant…”

So I think Peter saw this as THE event. Here’s the kingdom! Clearly Jesus is being glorified… It is good that we’re here!

Poor Peter… he just hadn’t yet understood what was to come… or what would be involved after this mountain top experience. He didn’t or wouldn’t see the path that Jesus was on… or what it would cost. Peter is so much like us.

So what does this story mean for us?

Mountain top experiences are a part of our Human and our Christian mythos (mith-os). Actual, and figurative the “mountain top” is part of our language. We think of holy men and women who spent their lives in passionate devotion on the mountaintop, political heroes who spoke of the mountaintop, and adventures who were driven to reach the mountaintop. There is something in us which longs for the “mountain top”.

But mountaintop is about transformation. It’s about change, and in the context of our faith and hope, about becoming our true selves in God. From the beginning of belief we are on a path of transformation. It must somehow become an each and every day experience not just an occasional epiphany or a temporary transfiguration.

Moses and Jesus went up to pray... to converse with God... to touch God... and were transformed. They were changed. A life of faith is a life where we change “from one degree of glory to another”.

I’ve heard many times that change is good. In my experience I guess I would have to agree, but change is mostly not easy. This kind of transformation is intentional. It doesn’t happen by accident but happens through deliberate and meaningful living. It’s about turning to God and also to our neighbor. As we turn to God and serve our neighbor we are transfigured with Christ.

“See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

I love this passage from 1 John where the author writes, “...when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” God grant us eyes to see and ears to hear.

Amen.

Saturday Class

Today was a second face-to-face to finish up our course on the New Testament. A good course which raised some good questions. Today the instructor went back through the last five weeks of questions and spent time talking about the implications of context when reading the Gospels and the Letters.

The Gospels were written after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The church which had been largely Jewish tried to make sense of this in the light of the hope of a quick return of Christ who would establish the Kingdom of God. 

Paul was a Jewish man of the first century whose mission was to bring the Gentiles in to the community of faith. He wasn't converting them to Judaism but to Christ... but he wasn't tearing down Judaism either. 

This course could have gone on another few weeks easily.

I've now begun what is called, Deacon's Pastoral Care. This is modeled after Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) but clearly is a watered down version. Still it's going to take some time and effort. I appreciate the School of Formation's attempt to give us an experience that is practical and rigorous. We'll be writing up "verbatims" and also presenting a couple of "teachings" dealing with practical aspects of pastoral care as it might relate to deacons.

Advent 3, 2013

I preached today at Saint Paul's. I was pretty shaky. Everyone was really nice. I guess I was feeling a bit of pressure however it made me a lot more nervous than I wanted it to.
I think it's going to take some time and some hard work to get better at this. Having had no training beyond a public speaking course at WSU and having generally felt nothing but terror at the thought of standing on front of people to make a "speech" I'll have a lot to overcome. 
Deacons must preach... through actions but also through words. There's just no two ways about it. I like the idea of preaching and I have to say there's something about it I enjoy. 

Here's a few things I'll need to do:
Immerse myself in the material.
It's ok to be serious... use humor rarely.
Pauses are ok.
Rehearse.

Here's my Homily for Advent 3, 2012:

Advent 3, 2012 Homily

What are we waiting for? Who are we waiting for?

Advent is about waiting... and asking these two questions I think.

I saw the cover of the USAWeekend last week. In bold letters it read, “The End of the World is not Near”... with a subtitle that read... “You’re in Luck! From prophetic Maya calendars to killer asteroids, experts tell why you have nothing to worry about”.

I suppose this is good news of a sort… but we’re waiting for Christmas... not the end of the world. We’re in luck! The Lord is near.

Last Sunday we read that the “word of God came to John”... this is how the career of the prophet is typically announced in scripture. The word of the Lord came to Zephaniah as well.

Zephaniah proclaimed the end of the world and John makes it sound like we should be waiting for the end of the world. And at least some those who listened to him may have been earnestly waiting for it. John belonged to a long line of prophetic tradition in Jewish literature. He sounds a lot like many of the prophets we read in the Old Testament.

The themes they preached are the same. They preached basic justice. Prophets of God say things like, “If you have, share with those who have nothing and don’t live a lavish lifestyle while your neighbors are starving. If you rule do so with humility and don’t think others are less worthy than you. If you have a position of power and authority do your duty honestly and without cheating those you should protect… “, And so on. The third chapter of Zephaniah, from our readings today, proclaims that God will “save the lame and gather the outcasts”. Doesn’t that sound like Jesus? This message was the message that Jesus preached. It’s the message that Jesus lived. This kind of message is worth rejoicing over! But the prophets weren’t merely preaching a new and better ethical lifestyle. They were preaching the coming of the Kingdom of God. The message was this; the Kingdom of God is radically different than what you know. The Kingdom of God is otherworldly. The world where God reigns, is a world completely set to rights… and so on… their preaching really was the Good News.

But… we do have some very colorful and fantastic language concerning the coming of this Kingdom to deal with. That’s putting it nicely. Sometimes the language is really frightening. This “coming” might be called the Day of the Lord, or the Great day of the Lord... or even the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.

The book of Zephaniah begins this way… “I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord. I will sweep away humans and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea”. And likewise we read John saying, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” and he goes on about axes and trees being thrown into the fire… and we know he’s really talking about people.

Prophetic language is strong. It’s sort of a divine rhetorical device. It’s metaphor. It grabs our attention. People are like trees… but people will not be chopped down and thrown in a fire. I think that what the prophets were saying is that what we have now (the kingdom here in this world) will not do. It has to go. There is no room for it when the Kingdom of God appears. The two “kingdoms” cannot exist in the same place at the same time.

So… what are we waiting for?

Jesus came to bring a kingdom with him. We know now… being on this side of the story that the Kingdom he brought didn’t come with a sword. The kingdom would be realized in the community of faith living out the kingdom principles that have been preached for a thousand years or more and in following Christ who came as the “suffering servant”, the King who emptied himself even to the point of the cross.

Advent forces us to ask again… Who are we waiting for? Clearly we’re waiting for the celebration of Christmas but we’re not there yet.

John says, “...one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” This sounds apocalyptic... this must be for the Second Advent.

I’m not sure if that’s how the metaphor works. The Gospel accounts reveal that Jesus spoke to people where they were at and sometimes where they were at was not where they needed to be. Just read the Sunday Lectionary for the past three months. I think you’d agree that Jesus really did hold a winnowing fork in his hand. A few years ago a thought occurred to me... I wondered how I could possibly in good conscience try to convince someone to consider following Christ. I mean this could really cost. I’m still working through this. The words of Jesus feel like a winnowing fork sometimes... do you feel that?

I want to suggest that we are waiting for the Day of the Lord but that day has already come and... We are waiting for Christ who calls out to all who are heavy laden, because he will give them rest and who is also the Lord who stands with a winnowing fork in his hand and is already clearing his threshing floor.

Amen.

"On Call" mini-pastoral-experience

I’ve been helping out at Christ Church for the last few weeks as the “on call” go to pastoral resource person.

It’s been an interesting three weeks.

I got a call from the Altar Guild about someone leaving the candles burn down, a couple of email notices about parishioners who were in surgery or who were in the emergency room and a raft of calls and emails about a pretty serious “interpersonal problem” with a person who is new to the church and is “crossing boundaries” all over the place.

There was some good response to the issues on the part of some individuals, including me but there wasn’t a structural response by the community. The Rector not being there must have had something to do with that but my feeling is that if she had been there, there may have been even less of a “community response” and more of a “clergy response”. I think this is an area where our faith communities need to improve. There needs to be a better networking of members and better structures in place to help rally the members, or at least to keep the members informed when they need to be.

It was a good experience and confirmed to me that I’m on the right track and following God’s call.

Ordinary 27

Ordinary 27

Readings and Homily

1 Kings 17:8-16

The word of the LORD came to Elijah, saying, "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you." So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink." As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth." She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Psalm 146

Hallelujah!Praise the LORD, O my soul! *

I will praise the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, *

for there is no help in them.

When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *

and in that day their thoughts perish.

Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help!*

whose hope is in the LORD their God;

Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *

who keeps his promise for ever;

Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *

and food to those who hunger.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;

the LORD opens the eyes of the blind; *

the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

The LORD loves the righteous;

the LORD cares for the stranger; *

he sustains the orphan and widow,

but frustrates the way of the wicked.

The LORD shall reign for ever, *

your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.

Hallelujah!

Hebrews 9:24-28

Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Mark 12:38-44

Teaching in the temple, Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

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Psalm 146, appointed for today, gives us as clear a picture of God’s Good News as in any other passage of scripture. God is the God who cares for the stranger, sustains widows and orphans, feeds the hungry, opens the eyes of the blind, brings justice to the oppressed, and “the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down”. The imagery is just rich with God as defender, helper, protector, and comforter. These are the images that make our hearts sing. May God grant us an ever more expansive imagination so that we can take in the depth of this vision. It is radical and transformative. This is the consistent theme found in Holy Scripture... it is the theme of Jesus’ preaching and life on earth... it is the theme of the Kingdom of God... it is to be the theme of the “Community of God”, the church, which reflects the life and grace of Christ.

Jesus sits down opposite the treasury of the temple. The treasury is a decorative container where people would bring their contributions for the temple. There were a number of them spread throughout the temple. These “containers” were ostentatious... like everything else in the temple from all accounts. This was a beautiful place.

Jesus watches as people presented their “offerings”. Many rich people came by and dropped in large amounts of money... then comes this widow who throws in two small copper coins... “Then he called his disciples...” He seemed to be waiting for this moment. He tells them that she puts in more than all the others who have contributed because she gave out of her great need... in fact... she gave all she had to live on. End of story... I don’t know about you but I want to hear about how Jesus went to the widow and commended her for her contribution and encouraged her faith and her faithfulness. I want to hear about how Jesus commanded his disciples to give her what she needs to live for the next year... We don’t know what happens. We don’t know if Jesus spoke to this woman or if the disciples met her great need. Frankly I’m shocked... the more I think about this story the more I wonder. The disciples, and we... ought to be outraged... this poor widow just gave everything she had to live on... so... how is she going to live?

Elijah was a prophet of action... and in the passage from First Kings we read that God spoke to him and told him, “Go to Zarephath... I have commanded a widow there to see to your needs” and Elijah goes. He finds the woman gathering sticks for a fire and tells her to fetch him some water... “And while you’re at it make me a small piece of bread as well”. She tells him that she has just a little left and is now gathering a few sticks so that she can go home, cook a last little meal for her and her son... then starve to death. We know the story... how Elijah declares the “Word of the Lord” and her oil and meal last for many days for the three of them.

I wonder if this story occurred to Jesus as he watched the poor widow give away the last of her money... the only thing keeping her from possible starvation?

No doubt there are lessons here for us about giving. Maybe we are to be more like this widow who gives her last two cents for the sake of the kingdom? Maybe we need to consider the percentage of our giving and remember this poor widow who gave 100%? Clearly we need to do better than the many wealthy people Jesus watched give out of their great wealth.

I can’t escape the feeling though... that Jesus was doing more than merely contrasting the giving of the wealthy with that of the poor widow who gave everything. These people were giving to the temple, for the Temple, for it’s maintenance, and the continuation of the elaborate culture that attended the Temple.

Look at the context of this passage. It reads like vignettes from a “day at the Temple”. Jesus had been refuting the “scribes”, the teachers of the law and the religious leaders of the day and now he sat teaching his disciples in the Temple. He condemns the scribes as pompous and arrogant, watches the people contributing to the Temple Treasury, then later, when leaving the Temple, is more or less dismissive of the Temple... “Then Jesus asked him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’”

I want to suggest that Jesus is pointing out the failure of contemporary spirituality... that the religion of the day had abandoned the “weightier matters of the law” for an exacting subservience to ritual and the trappings of the Temple. I want to suggest that Jesus was pointing out that God is more concerned for the needs of this widow than for the beautiful Temple... that the Temple is not the heart of true worship and righteousness.

I think there’s a lesson about religion here as well. What is the nature of our religion? What are the hallmarks of our religion? Well... maybe “our spirituality” is better? Or maybe “our faith” is better? What about “our belief in God”? By “religion” we would mean the “entirety of our tradition”... so for us as Episcopalians it means our Book of Common Prayer, our church building, our Sunday Eucharistic Service, and a whole lot more I guess... but you get the idea.

Well... Jesus was pointing something out. He was pointing out where the religion of the day had gotten it wrong. It had gotten it wrong at least in part with this “picture” of a poor widow giving her last bit of copper, the last bit keeping her alive, to the Temple. The scribes, the wealthy, and the other worshippers ought to be taking care of this poor widow. I’m just not convinced that Jesus was pointing out this poor woman’s giving as a pattern for us to follow... (We’re not asking for people to give us the last of their resources... the last little bit keeping them alive are we? Now that would be a bold Stewardship campaign! Be like the poor widow and give to your church!) In the Letter of James we read, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” The world is a mean place... it glories in power, wealth, celebrity, and influence... at the expense of everything.

The heart of our religion is caring for those who need our help, those who are alone in the world... this is the Heart of the Gospel of God.

Amen.