Lent - Year C -- 2016
Indexed by Date. Sermons for Lent Year C
Deuteronomy 26; 1-11
Psalm 91
Like 4: 1-13
Lent is one of those church seasons that doesn’t elicit a great deal of excitement. “Oh yippee, Lent is here”.
Historically, during the season of Lent people have traditionally “given up” something “good” - “tasty” - “fattening” - “wasteful” - “time consuming” - “bad for us.” One of my colleagues reminded me a few days ago that “giving up something” for Lent is about discipline. Far too often we let the tail wag the dog rather than the other way round. When we give something up for Lent we we take control of at least one thing and discipline ourselves with respect to it.
Lent can also be a time to “take something on” that can be just as much of a discipline as giving something up. To be real you have to chose something you don’t already do. A few years ago I had my confirmation class pick a senior in the community and be their “church friend”. They were supposed to pick someone they did not know well and would not be visiting already- not their gramma!
The popular phrase “pay it forward” speaks of living in gratitude, not by giving back to those who were generous to you but being generous to someone else because you were a recipient of generosity. Such generosity makes people uncomfortable, but it can become infectious and result in a tsunami of gratitude and generosity. And that’s a good thing.
The ritual outlined in the passage from Deuteronomy is an “official” thanksgiving type ritual designed to take place in corporate worship. In the text it is given to the people to follow BEFORE they have entered the land of promise. They were learning how to model thanksgiving BEFORE they had the first harvest.
In the temptation of Jesus passage we have Jesus wrestling in the wilderness with what shape his ministry will take. There are many ways to look a this passage but the tempter is crafty - he’s not concerned about chocolate or single malt scotch or an expensive sports car but exactly what it is that Jesus will do to inspire people to follow.
How will he use his power? Will be pull food out of thin air just to meet the people’s needs for physical nourishment? Will he jump off the roof just to force God to catch him and prove the truth of an obscure biblical verse? Will he sell his soul for popularity?
There are q couple of stories in the gospels about Jesus doing miraculous things with food (or wine) but it seems that Jesus was very clear that this was not done with the idea that he wanted people to flock to him instead of the first century equivalent of Jimmy Cook’s Independent or Hantsport Pizzeria. It wasn’t about Jesus saying, “look at me, look at what I can do for you if you follow me”. He was not selling mutual funds and a wealthy retirement, he was offering a relationship with God and with all of creation based on gratitude and on true worship of God.
As you know I love crime dramas such as CSI and Criminal Minds. When they have a suspect in their sights the agents and officers often have to remind themselves to follow the rules designed to protect people from unreasonable police actions. I am sure law enforcement officials are sometimes tempted to break those rules - which could result in a piece of evidence being thrown out of court but which might save a life.
As a church we may be tempted to take the easy way - the way of forgetting that all we have and are comes from God and we are to first and foremost be people of gratitude.
We may be tempted to do what is needed to be popular but give the people the spiritual equivalent of junk food when what they need is a well rounded and balanced eating and exercise plan. We may be tempted to throw caution to the wind and try everything going because “something has to stick” and God wont let us fail. Or we may be tempted to sell our souls in the hopes of ensuring our success that way. Because some group or another is raising money this way or attracting people that way, does not make it right for us as God’s people. That takes discernment and often a conversation to figure out the differences.
We need to decide who we are and whose we are and then determine our mission and ministry based on that - trusting in God who is the source of all that we have and are and who walk with us every day.
Amen.
Genesis 13: 1-6
Psalm 27
Luke 13: 31-35
Every so often you see a picture on the news or in the paper; someone has sighted a red fox. They are beautiful creatures but they also have the reputation of being sly, cunning and having the ability to outsmart any opponents and get the grub. If you keep animals such as chickens or pet rabbits in outdoor pens, you don’t want to see a fox! .
Foxes are also common in literature and film. The animated cartoon The Fox and The Hound tells the story of completely unlikely companions: Copper, the hound dog and Todd, the fox.
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus is warned by some Pharisees, widely thought to be in league with the cruel King, that the king wants to kill him, so he had better steer clear of Jerusalem. In Jesus’ reply he refers to Herod as a “fox”. It seems clear that he is not willing to alter his agenda for his own personal safety; he is not going to be outfoxed or manipulated by the king or this group of Pharisees.
Jesus laments the whole situation: how he had so much to give and how, like the prophets of old, he was being rejected at every turn. As we just heard, it broke his heart.
On a fairly frequent basis I talk to parents who are as pleased as punch over their children’s achievements; I see them especially at graduations and award ceremonies as well as at weddings. They sit there teary eyed and ask themselves questions such as: Where did the time go? How did that toddler get to be old enough to have a grown up job and get to work on time without his mom to wake him up? (My mom was amazed that I was never late for my 8:30 am classes when I went to university.) Or, how did the two tots who could not even share the same playground equipment ever fall in love and agree to marry?
However, on occasion the questions are very different. A young offender or young adult is brought up on charges of a criminal nature and sitting somewhere in the courtroom are parents who are wondering what happened to their sweet child. Yesterday I listened to the CBC’s interview of Sue Klebold, mother of one of the two shooters who killed 13 people in addition to themselves who struggles with how her child became a mass murderer. All parents whose children land in serious trouble may ask, “We taught our child better than this” or may ask, “what signs did we miss?”
Some, instead of abandoning their child, are there, walking with their child as he or she takes responsibility for what has been done.
In today’s passage Jesus is lamenting the tendency of “Jerusalem, ” which is a metaphor for all of his people, to ignore the prophets and the preaching that would steer them toward God’s path of justice and righteousness. Jesus was not the first prophet to be ignored, he knew too well.
He is talking about a generations old rut that the people have gotten into - the rut that says “we know already” and “we do not have to listen to anyone” and “this situation is definitely someone else’s fault”. Perhaps Jesus lament can be summed up in the words of Pete Seger, “when will they ever learn?” He longs to gather his people together as a hen would gather her chicks; under sheltering, protective wings.
One of the beauties of scripture is the great number of images used to describe divine love, care and strength. Not long ago we sang, “I will bear you up on eagle’s wings” as a response to the Psalm of the day and we celebrated God’s promise that we can have the strength to soar with the strength of an eagle.
The image in today’s gospel is down to earth and homey; unlike the mighty eagle the average barnyard chicken is small and can barely fly, but if we assume the chicken is a weakling we are very wrong. There are stories circulating on the internet of hens who died in brush fires but saved the lives of their chicks by sheltering them under her wings. If you have ever been attacked by a chicken you know how strong they can be! Animal love for offspring can indeed be as fierce as that of humans. So Jesus is using an image of strength and fierce love and we see the equivalent of a parent’s lament for a child who has wandered from the good path.
The people of Israel had been called by God long before to follow in trust and they would be God’s people. As a result they would become a light to the nations.
Abram was a very patient man, an example of faith and perseverance. Today’s older testament passage is about the giving of the “original” promise to Abram that his children (his biological children - not his adopted ones) would number more than the stars. That’s a lot of children!
I had a woman in my congregation a few years ago that had 16 children - she had a fair chance of that many descendants but when Abram received this promise he was already an old man and he and his wife had NO children. ZERO. ZIP. ZILCH. Sari’s biological clock has long since struck midnight. Yet, despite all that they had going against them, we are told that he believed and trusted. We are told that his trust was “counted as righteousness”.
Abram trusted the promise and lived into the promise. He travelled and he followed God’s leading and eventually Isaac was born; the first of his many descendants; the fulfilment of the promise.
As you know, human beings have the tendency to take credit for all of our good fortune and blame everyone else for our misfortune. Oh yes, then when we are given bad new, we shoot the messenger! Jesus refers to the prophets being “stoned” - and just to be clear, that’s not the kind of stoned that comes from marijuana, medicinal or otherwise. Israel’s prophets who delivered bad news did not fare well.
In the season of Lent we are called to trust in God’s promises and to live our life in faith. Like the people of long ago we are called to listen to the challenging message of the prophets, not just the biblical ones, who call us to reassess our actions and lifestyles in the light of God’s call and promises.
In my “pastoral record book” I keep an old church bulletin which depicts a completely dry Niagara falls and the explanation on the back notes the future which may include what we now call “climate change”. It is a sad irony that this prediction has come true. Now everyone is talking about climate change and what we can do to stop it from getting worse.
So we are at the second week of Lent and we have the message of God’s care for us with the kind of fierce love a parent has for a child. We have the reminder that God’s promises can be trusted. But we also have the call to follow in the ways of faith and righteousness. When we stray we are not loved any less but our lives are far less than they God’s intention for us.
We can learn from the ancient Israelites that promise also means responsibility; we cant just take and take without giving back.
Let us rest in the promise of God’s love and care for us but let us also go from here to live in responsibility with regard to the promise. We are God’s people’ let us be messengers of this Good News to everyone we meet.
Amen.
Isaiah 55: 1-9
Psalm 63
Luke 13: 1-9
I’m Hungry, But Not for Any of That!
What would you do for a pair of Air Jordan Retro sneakers - if you were a 17 year old? You could ask your parents for the approximately $245 CAN price. You could get a job and save the money. You could respond to a listing on an internet classified ad and then pull a gun at the seller and demand them for free. Apparently that is exactly what happened when a 17year old pulled a gun on a 39year old seller in Brooklyn , NEW YORK (as opposed to Brooklyn NS) just this past month. The seller retaliated by running the teen down with his SUV, pinning him against a fence and severing his arm. The teen is in hospital charged with robbery and does not yet know if the arm re-attachment has been successful and the seller is in jail charged with attempted murder - ALL OVER A PAIR OF SNEAKERS.
Many of us have probably spent time hunting for “a certain item” for a Christmas or birthday gift; it tool GREAT effort to find it. I hope you were not tempted to steal it!
What drives us 21st century humans to get sucked in by the dog eat dog world of giving our lives over to getting more and more of the things that cannot make us happy. Like the carefully engineered junk food on which we spend so much; their hold in our lives can never be filled. We want more and more and the craving is never satisfied!
Have you ever been sitting around in the evening or on a stormy day watching tv perhaps and deciding that you were hungry, went to the kitchen to get a snack, but after looking through your full fridge, freezer and cupboards decided that you weren’t hungry for “any of that”?
Have you ever had a great desire to buy a certain something and you focussed all your savings and budget on that one item but not all that long after you finally had it in hand, you realized that you weren’t as thrilled as you thought you would be. It might be a version of “buyers remorse, ” but the solution you came up with was to “upgrade” assuming you just needed a better more expensive model.
It’s not just in our fast-paced, technologically heavy, two career, over scheduled, influenced by an increasingly consumer-driven and secular society and high debt families that people have woken up one day to discover that, like Esau, they sold their soul for a mess of pottage. This seeking fulfilment in things that just can’t deliver it is not new; it’s as old as civilization itself; the resistance against it, as old as spiritual awareness.
The passage from the prophet Isaiah and the related Psalm for today both address this theme. They speak of joy and praise but also of fulfilment of our true needs. They proclaim that it is only in God that our true fulfilment can be found; only in the things of God can we find our true purpose in life.
The Isaiah passage, at least, was written in a time of transition and restoration. The people had been in exile; they had been refugees. Now they were returning home and their spiritual leaders were asking them to start off on a good foot. They were to focus on the things of God and not on all of the distractions that the world offered to them.
A large part of the point of today’s passage from Isaiah is that the life with God is not something that only the rich can have; it is offered to rich and poor alike. The life of God does not operate by the same standards of success the rest of the world operates. It has nothing to do with the kinds of effort on which we feel compelled to concentrate the rest of the week. Slow down and receive it as a gift.
All too often we don’t realize our values have become skewed until there is a crisis or when it is too late.
“Cat’s In The Cradle” is a Harry Chapin song about a dad’s longing for the time he wasted at work while his son was growing up. Now that he has more time, he finds that his grown son is just like he was, has no time for him and it makes him sad!
Modern families, in the past generation or two, have tended to focus much more on the children than in my generation and this usually means accompanying them to various weeknight groups and on weekend activities. One mom said of her exhausting pace, “I don’t worry about my kids because I know where they are all weekend and who they are with - they are with us. They will be grown and gone soon enough”. Can we say that this is not a good thing? Yet this “family” time has replaced many volunteer hours that community groups enjoyed a generation ago. The “real” world still exacts the full attention of the parents Monday to Friday, perhaps even more-so.
This passage proclaims that true life and health can be found in the life of faith. The time of Lent calls us to step back, and to ask ourselves what it is that takes up our life’s energy. We are called to ask, “is it worth it?” A few years ago a friend of mine did some soul searching and applied for a similar but less demanding job so he could slow down a little and he felt the $10,000 a year pay difference was well worth it.
What is it that is our life focus and is it capable of meeting our needs?
Some people are so intent on getting what they want they will do whatever it takes to meet their goals. Whether it be that stressful supervisory job with the accompanying raise, a certain level on Farmville or Candy Crush or the lottery jackpot that will change everything!
The life of faith calls us to focus on enjoying the blessings of God, sharing with others and giving thanks. Perhaps sharing with others, in some way, can become a family activity and you can teach your children to be giving as well as spending time with them. There are many children and families who live in poverty, for whom their job and all their efforts does not provide what is needed. There are others who can rearrange their priorities of time and money to share at least something with those who need the cup of cold water, the litre of milk, the bowl of cereal, or the good breakfast so that they will have enough energy to do what they need during the day.
Surely God’s people need to be concerned about the growing gaps between rich and poor to do something about it! Surely we can proclaim that a lot of the things that society tells us are important are really just distractions and get in the way of life, love and true community.
Living a life of faith and generosity will give us far more satisfaction than seeking to get as many toys as we can for ourselves and our family. Let us live so that we can say we trust in God and not the dollar and our own abilities, as great or as feeble, as they may be.
Amen and thanks be to God.
2 Corinthians 5: 16-21
Psalm 32
Luke 15: 1-3, 11b-32
A Dramatic Mononogue
Allow me to introduce myself - My name is Miriam and I have been married to Jacob since we were old enough to be wed. We had three daughters and then two fine sons. Our family was large and rambunctious, the only way a family should be, really, but was I ever tired at the end of the day! All of that grinding of flour and bread-making and all of those diapers. I am glad it was our daughters who were older because boys never help mom in the house! And they make so much work!
All of them are grown now and the grandchildren are nearby, in the village. We are as happy as an elderly couple can be with more years behind them than in front of them, but there was a time when I thought we would not live to see our grandchildren.
Let me tell you our story. Some would call it the family scandal!
I said that I, no we, had two sons. One was hardworking and was always there to help Jacob with the chores. That’s Andrew!
I think he was just weaned when he wanted his own calf to raise and look after. He carried water to it and he made sure his coat was brushed. Even when it was almost ready for market it was so tame it could have made a good house-pet, if a family of seven needs a five hundred pound flatulent pet in a small windowless house! He did a man’s work in the fields long before his bar mitzvah!
The other one, well, what can I say about Simon? Simon was always different. He did not much like getting his hands dirty. He didn’t much like school either. He loved leisure . I think if party planning was a career, he could do that and would actually work at it, but we are farmers and raise cattle and that is hard and dirty work. It’s good, honest work though and has fed our family well and a number of others, I might add. We knew Simon was unhappy and dissatisfied. But I didn’t expect what happened when he became a man.
The day after his bar mitzvah he asked Jacob if he could have a word with him and then, just like that, he said, “I’m leaving Dad, I want my inheritance”. I WANT MY INHERITANCE! Do you realize what it was that he was saying? He was telling my Jacob, the man who has loved his sons, and his daughters, with all of his heart, that he wished for him to die! He wanted nothing more to do with us! “Drop dead Dad. I’m out of here.”
The thought of that day still brings tears to my eyes. Now grown men don’t cry but I sure did. Even as Jacob called his manager and pulled together enough money to cover what would have been Simon’s inheritance I could see that his heart was breaking. It was as if Simon had ripped it out with his bare hands. His son. “Drop dead Dad”.
Then he left us. He took his clothes, some food and a sack FULL of money and left. We stood there, in silent embrace, as he disappeared in the dust on the horizon. We did not eat much supper that night and as Jacob and I lay on our sleeping mats, night after night, in silence, we waited in vain for sleep to come.
Every time a trader came to buy an animal or to sell us things we could not make ourselves, we inquired of him. It was not hard to get news; a boy from a good Jewish family in a far off land sticks out.
He had a following, of young men eager to help him spend his money and young women who liked expensive gifts.
As the months wore on we developed a new routine, the girls, Jacob, Andrew and I. We had one less mouth to feed but the house was so quiet. Andrew was quiet and sullen. Invariably, after a caravan had been and gone he would say, “so what has the boy wonder been up to this month?” I wish he could have known how much Simon was missed, and loved, but Andrew was so angry, so resentful.
The neighbours laughed at our scandal, I just know they did.
Every day, when he did not have to be in the fields Jacob would look off into the distance and I cold see the longing in his whole body. It was, as if, he expected him to appear on the horizon.
Then, the stories we heard started to change. One day we were told the rumour was that the boy had spent all of his money, his new-found friends had deserted him and he was feeding pigs. FEEDING PIGS - our boy - feeding PIGS. Apparently his boss even found him trying to eat the carob pods he grew for the pigs - and then I knew how desperate he was. Those things are fit only for pig food.
After that news ALL my husband did was - get up and go to the road and watch - come back and go to bed. I would sometimes persuade him to eat a bowl of soup while he stood there but sometimes he said he just wasn’t hungry. I was afraid for my Jacob. I was afraid that he would not live to see his grandchildren; I wondered how much his heart could take.
One day I was making bread (I still made a lot of bread) and I heard a shriek - if that was what you could call it. I looked in the direction of the noise and I saw my husband pick up the hem of his robe and run. My Jacob was RUNNING. Boys run. Men do not run!
I looked again and then I saw him. He was dirty, very dirty. He was thin, very thin, but a mother knows her boy, and I guess a father does too; it was Simon!
Almost before I knew what was happening they were embracing and there were tears of joy and Jacob was saying, “never mind son, never mind”. Jacob called for a robe and a ring and sandals. Then he called the herd manager and told him to prepare the fatted calf for a feast. The fatted calf, the one we keept in the yard and feed the best of grains.
I knew what he meant when he said that our son had been dead and was now alive. I knew what he meant. I knew how he felt for I felt it too. I embraced the both of them and our tears ran down our cheeks like the tears of children. They were tears of joy.
The musicians arrived and the neighbours and the invitations went out, “Come, revel with us in our good fortune”. Simon was back.
Then Andrew came in from the fields. He had no tears of joy! Once he found out what was going on he turned red in the face and he had an argument with his father.
My husband pleaded with Andrew a long time until finally he just repeated, “son we have to celebrate, a lost child has come home.” “Son, if you don’t come in, it’s your choice, but you are the one who is missing out!”
I believe with all my heart that God was at our party. Lots of people were scandalized by Simon’s behaviour when he left. Lots were scandalized that Jacob welcomed him back with such open arms. I don’t think God was worried about that!
I think that what broke God’s heart the most was the fact that Andrew never really joined the party. Perhaps, since he became a father himself has learned that love is better than hate. I think he has learned how heavy grudges can be to carry around. I hope so.
Some of the good religious folks still don’t treat Simon like they used to but I think some see it - I think some of them realize there is more joy in forgiveness than there is in self-righteousness.
Now don’t get me wrong, those things he did, were not good things and the ones we don’t know about by now we don’t want to know about - that’s not the point.
I talk to my friends about love and grace. None of us are perfect, even if we look it. God sees our heart, Andrew’s stony and bitter heart was as sinful as Simon’s rebellious one - the important thing is that Jacob loved them both. Maybe they are a little less judgmental and resentful when someone else gets a break that they wanted.
What’s a few cattle when we can have a relationship of grace? What’s a few cattle when you and your family are in the same house but have no relationship?
I pray for both my sons. I give thanks to God that Simon is home. I pray that Andrew will, one day, truly understand but it’s all I can do. I love them both. All of our children are welcome in our home.
I must get back to the oven - the bread will be done. They are all invited to supper - with all of those children around there’s going to be a lot of bread disappear.
Life is good.
Isaiah 43: 16-21
Psalm 126
John 12: 1-8
When Angela, the secretary, was typing the bulletin she asked me if she had read my writing correctly when she saw the sermon title. I thought it as a cute play on words because of the phonetic association with the term “nerd”. Apparently the word “nard” has a modern meaning and it refers to a certain kind of person. Angela Googled the word and found the same information you could find in any Bible dictionary - an aromatic ointment derived from the spikenard plant. One of its most common uses was to anoint the dead for burial. She also found an entry in the “Urban Dictionary” - an online repository of slang terms and modern language. Apparently, these days, a nard is, among other things, “a round, fat person who resembles a chicken nugget”.
In many ways you could say that, like last week’s passage, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, this week’s message is also about the expression of forgiveness and love in extravagant gestures.
You may have noticed that when one follows the “lectionary” the chronology of the passages is sometimes mixed up. They jump around because the lectionary is focussed on the journey from expectation to fulfilment - from the first Sunday of Advent to the last Sunday of Pentecost, the Transfiguration. Today, so close to Good Friday, we are focussing more and more on the cross, but the introduction to the event recorded in today’s passage wants to make sure that we know who these “hosts” were and where we had encountered them before. Since we often deal with only one passage or event at a time, this is very helpful.
It seems that Jesus, Lazarus, Mary and Martha were friends. It was not unusual for Jesus to visit with them for meals, for fellowship, and to relax.
All ministers need friends - people with whom they can be their normal, flawed and vulnerable selves. I suspect that this is the same for all people in public life, all people whose lives are often lived in a “fish-bowl” These places are those where they don’t need to put on a mask and they can just “be”.
In the midst of a busy, and no doubt stressful ministry, Jesus needed friends, a place to go where he could just be himself. This house was one of those places. VAs far as Judas is concerned, when we read this story we have to remember that the author was writing it after the fact, after the crucifixion> It was not an unedited diary, and he knew what Judas was going to do. He knew Judas was the betrayer. While it must have made looking back at events like this with impartiality, difficult, these asides help us to discern what meaning these events came to have in the early church.
There are always people who like to spoil a good thing. There are always people who are “wet blankets”, who like to rain on your parade. There’s always an excuse why something, particularly something celebrative, should NOT be done. (My “spell checker” tells me that, celebrative isn’t a real word, but I used it anyway!)
This gospels tell us that Jesus knew what was going to happen as they approached the Passover; he knew that the authorities, afraid of his popularity and power, would try their best to silence him. To use another biblical image, Jesus had seen the writing on the wall.
Because I have allergies and sensitivities to scents I am the last person who would buy anything with a smell. I find it very annoying that stores place the perfume counter close to the front door. I quickly pass through or, if I can, I use another door. Apparently marketers do this because perfume is often an “impulse” purchase. scents. Even if I liked it, I think I would find most of it too expensive.
Judas complaint reminds us just how extravagant this display of love really was! He claims that it could have been sold for 300 denarii. 300 denarii. 300 denarii.
Converting currency thse days depends on the going exchange rate but after the passage of 2000 years, how are we to make any kind of comparison? Of course the “value” of 300 denarii depends on who you were, or rather what social station you occupied. The term “expensive” is always relative.
In Jesus day, if you were a landowner, it could get you the labour of 300 grape pickers for one day; or 1 grape picker for 300 days. Considering that no one was allowed to work on the Sabbath and there were probably o day or two here and here where there was no work to do, it was a year’s wages for a common labourer. It was a minimum wage “salary” for the average Joe. It was supposed to support a family for a year. It really wasn’t much considering the cost of things but that kind of work was all that was available and if you wouldn’t work for it, there was someone in the unemployment line behind you, who would! There were no luxuries at a denarius per day.
John Gospel Writer tells us that the same Judas who used to steal from their common purse, was upset that this stuff was not sold and the money given to the poor! Reading between the lines, it seems that John Gospel Writer doubted that if the jar of Nard had indeed been sold, it would all have benefited the poor.
That being said, it is Jesus’ response that is of significance. “I’m dying. There will always be poor people but I’m not going to be around long”.
Too often people get a “call from the hospital” and have to drop everything and book a ticket home before it’s too late. The trip they thought they couldn’t afford now becomes a necessity! Astute people give their loved ones flowers while they are still alive instead of waiting till they have died.
Just how do we budget and prioritize limited funds and limited time? Is wasting money on something frivolous, ever right?
There are so many needs in this world and we have made many strides in medicine in the last decades. Cancer research is making new strides all the time. I read somewhere that if Terry Fox were diagnosed with bone cancer in 2016, not only would he not lose his leg, but he probably would not die from it. BUT, that is because of that young man who spent his last year running the equivalent of a marathon every day and the cancer research funded by the yearly “Terry Fox Run” inspired by his “Marathon of Hope”. Given the importance of obvious benefit of cancer research, it could be argued that we should give all of our “cancer concerned” dollars to research! It makes economic sense to me. The researchers can’t do it without us.
But, turn on the TV and you see a commercial for the “Children’s Wish Foundation”, a Canadian charity that grants wishes to seriously ill children and their families. In the last year available for viewing on the Canada Revenue Agency website this charity spent almost $14M granting seriously ill children and their families, “wishes”. Many times the wish involves a trip, with the whole family, to a place such as “Disneyland” Some wishes are very different. One child, I read about on the charity’s website was given the opportunity to meet the real live “Spiderman” and help him free the kidnapped Captain of the local NHL hockey team.
I won’t go on, because this is not intended to be a promotion of that particular charity, but only to show that sometimes the extravagant, the impractical, and even the wasteful is exactly what is needed. Sure, cancer researchers could use the money but the fulfilment of these wishes are next to priceless for them and their families.
Jesus is telling us that the poor will always be with us, NOT, as a teaching that we should not work to eliminate poverty, on the contrary, but so that we don’t use it as an excuse not to so something else beneficial for someone. He is telling us that we should be extravagant in our faith expression, not to count the cost to determine if it is “worth the effort”. We should put all that we have into living out our faith.
I think this passage piggybacks nicely on the one from last week about the extravagant love of the father in the parable for his son who certainly did not deserve it.
In theological circles there are various theories in relation to what it really means when we say that “Jesus died for us”. Did die as a substitute for our punishment? Was that Jesus’ destiny from the get go? Was he the supreme moral influence? Was his death just the logical consequence of a life of challenging the status quo? Was Jesus goal to get as many people into heaven as possible or was his goal to show people how following the ways of God would bring the world closer to God’s vision of creation?
I’m some ways it really does not matter how you answer that question. For each of the above scenarios this passage calls us to give with our whole hearts, our souls, our emotions, our whole selves. Are we more concerned with how to derive some benefit from it, or are we willing to just give, because we feel drawn to do so.
The Jesus we follow gave everything to show us the ways of God. What other response could we have. Be a nard, live out your faith with extravagance.
Amen.
Psalm 118
Luke 19: 28-40
March 20, 2016
In 2014 the Royal Canadian Mint issued a commemorative “Twonie” 2 Dollar coin Canada has no more $2 bills copying the iconic WW II photograph which depicts a small boy running after his father who was marching with the rest of his regiment down the main street of New Westminster BC. The photographer set up his camera and waited for the right moment to take the perfect picture. Then he changed his mind and took another, similar, but very different picture. Instead of focussing on the long column of soldiers there real action is up close, near the front. A young boy ran out to greet his father, who was one of the soldiers. The photograph depicts the moment when the dad shifts his rifle to his other hand and extends his right hand to his son. You can even see the smiles on the faces of the soldiers immediately behind him. It became one of the best known pictures of the war from the “home front”.
It’s a common occurrence for parades; small children, and others, run out to join people they know; wanting to join the parade, to climb on a float, to be part of the action!
As far as parades are concerned, there are advantages and disadvantages to being either a spectator or a participant. If you are a participant you can’t see the whole thing; if a spectator, you never get to blow the horn of the fire engine and scare the school bully or your Gramma; you don’t get to throw candy out the window and you don’t have all your friends and perfect strangers waving back at you.
Everyone loves a parade whether its as simple as the Hantsport Parade, or the Apple Blossom Parade or the Rose Bowl Parade! Almost everyone, that is!
On the day of the “original” Palm Sunday Parade there was no parade route posted on the first-century equivalent of the Jerusalem Post nor on the city’s Facebook Page. The only preparation of which we are aware was for Jesus to send his disciples to a certain place to get a donkey. The only thing they needed to say was, “the Lord needs it”. Remember that!
I gather that palm branch waving and spreading cloaks on the ground was not an entirely unheard of thing. I read somewhere that this was done to signify the arrival of a person of royal blood or great power.
1,500 years later, more or less, legend has it that Walter Raleigh laid his coat on a puddle so that Queen Elizabeth could walk over it and not get her pretty feet wet or dirty.
This day though, the one they were proclaiming in this way was NOT riding a fine war horse, with the accompanying battle-dress, he was riding a lowly, skittish unproven donkey.
The prophets had talked about it. The people had expected it for generations upon generations. And, here Jesus was, on that day, actually doing it. He was riding into town to great praise and adulation and we are told that some of the Pharisees wanted it all to stop; they wanted him to silence the crowds. . After all, it does not take much to start a riot; a little emotion and a few loudmouths. Sometimes a good leader can calm down the crowd and persuade them to disperse without violence. Sometimes his kind of leadership is the only thing that can prevent a full scale disaster.
Some of the Pharisees had fundamental theological difficulties with what Jesus was teaching. It may simply have been that they were afraid of Jesus. The whole community lived on a razor’s edge between safety and disaster. Clearly the Pharisees did not want trouble; they did not want to rock the boat or the apple cart; the Romans were watching. Jesus’ reaction to their request for silence is very interesting: Jesus is reported as having said, “if they were silent the stones would cry out.” Remember that too!
The people are crying out in praise. Another Gospel story tells us they were crying “Hosanna” which means “save us!” Jesus’ response told the Pharisees that even if the people were to be silenced, the most inert, most silent part of creation, THE STONES would cry out in praise to fill the resulting silence. It must be wonderful to have that kind of support. It’s the kind of support politicians dream of.
Then on Friday the people, presumably some of the same ones, were whipped into a frenzy and shouted to have this same man crucified. What changed?
Well, Jesus failed to deliver on their expectations. The disciples had a hard time understanding that Jesus was after more than the kind of political transformation the people thought they had been promised and they travelled with him day in and day out. But Jesus did not want to be a king that took power by force and kept it through violence, fear and intimidation; that was the way of the Roman Empire, not God’s.
So I think that what happened was that the people waving their palm branches were not really interested in joining the parade if Jesus did not meet their wishes and expectations .
Just look at elections and how we treat politicians who fail to deliver on their promises; look at how we treat politicians who fail to meet our expectations.
So, here we are, at the beginning of Holy Week. We have a choice. Join the parade and follow the procession to its destination or stay and wait for the next reason to cheer or jeer.
As I said before Jesus wanted and needed a donkey -he didn’t send for a horse. When we get to Jerusalem will we be of use to Jesus or will we be supporting and looking for the King on the horse. Will we be looking for something impossible from Jesus or willing to give our all to and for Jesus?
These are the questions of Holy Week. These are the questions that should be on our minds as we leave this church this . morning. Are we sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone who will deliver what we want or are we ready to step off the curb and follow Jesus to the bitter end?
The stones will cry out if we won’t - When the world fell silent on Friday the loudest sound might well have been made by the stone as it was rolled across the entrance of the tomb. Will you be there to hear it?
Amen!