Tuesday, August 31, 2010
August 25/29 - Pentecost + 14
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Mysterious, marvelous chocolate factory
5 golden tickets to tour + lifetime supply of chocolate
As expected, tickets go to those w/ $ & resources to buy candy bars in mass quantities & up odds of finding ticket
With 1 exception
Charlie, poor kid,
Lives with his mom, 4 bed-ridden grandparents (in same bed!);
struggle financially;
socially – doesn't fit in, laughed at b/c he can't take part in Wonka-mania (only 2 candy bars throughout contest)
Day of the big tour comes
– and although all 5 have tickets,
entrance is secured,
you see them pushing & shoving for position
– Nevermind that they're all gonna get the same tour,
all have equal access,
they want to go in 1st!
Same behavior throughout the tour, selfishness, greed, etc.
We witness same kind of behavior all around us -
waiting for a plane;
in line at grocery store;
driving on the road;
camping out for tickets; or best spot in line the day after Thanksgiving.
Reveals our desire to be 1st;
We place ourselves over others,
as though our time or money was more valuable or important than someone else's.
Selfishness & greed play out all around us
– corporate decisions that play hard & fast w/ ethics & legality
– and excuse selves b/c what they want is more important than others;
than what is right;
than what is fair.
We put our needs, our desires 1st,
A sign & symptom of our underlying human nature,
our sinful selves.
Not new – to fictional world of Willy Wonka or our 21st C society –
Jesus points it out in gospel too.
The setting is the sabbath dinner, thrown by leader of the Pharisees.
Everyone there knows there's a place for them,
that there's food enough
– yet like kids in Willy Wonka,
when it comes time to sit down,
racing for position,
for best seat in the house.
It's about connections,
who sits next to who,
networking,
proving to everyone else where you rank in the order of things.
You see it in the guest list too:
Pharisee invites the elite,
the important,
the influential,
the powerful,
the wealthy
– the people who have something to offer in return,
maybe an invitation to the next big dinner party,
a chance to meet someone else who might give you a leg up.
Both are about “what's in in for me” mentality
Jesus calls them – guests & host – on it.
To the guests, he says,
"Try to exalt yourself, you'll be humbled;
humble yourself, you will be exalted."
To the host, "Are you giving something in order to get something? Looking for a payback? That's not the way it's supposed to be."
Back to Willy Wonka & kids on the tour.
We see Jesus' words in action:
4 selfish kids get humbled 1 by 1 – result of their own behavior.
They have this amazing opportunity given to them,
the tour, the lifetime supply of chocolate, this once-in-a-lifetime event
– and they blow it, because they want more.
All except for Charlie
– poor, downtrodden Charlie –
who was just happy to be there,
looking w/ eyes of wonder, amazement, surprise at this marvelous, magical world;
who knew he didn't have any reason to expect or deserve to be there;
not worried about anyone else, just thankful for what he's been given,
And who comes to find out at the end that it's even better than he dreamed!
Willy Wonka wants him to come and live with him,
to learn from him,
to take over from him when he's gone
– to do what he would do,
to care for the Oompa Loompas,
to continue his amazing vision
We tend to act like the other four kids, but God created us to be Charlies!
We are all invited to this amazing chocolate factory t
hat is the Kingdom of God,
where nothing is quite as it seems,
it's not what we expect,
but beyond our wildest imaginations and dreams.
We may think we are entitled
– but over time, we come to realize that we are recipients of a tremendous gift
– one we can't earn (who we know, $, IQ, car, house, job, achievements),
one we can't really deserve
– but invited still to come and live in the Kingdom of God,
to walk with Jesus, who says, “it's all yours, Charlie!
I want you to learn from me,
to do things my way,
to share this amazing gift with others..."
Because in God's kingdom, there aren't just 5 golden tickets.
There's an infinite supply – enough for everyone!
And because we know our place is already secure
& that there is enough for everyone,
we don't have to hoard them
or push & shove for 1st in line.
We live with Jesus,
who hands us a Golden Ticket and then a handful more
and tells us to go give Golden Tickets to everyone we meet
– to invite everyone to a world that isn't just pure imagination,
but is God's amazing vision for what will be,
where everyone is included,
and there are no bad seats
– because every seat in God's kingdom is the best seat in the house.
And at this meal,
the host comes and serves us,
not just candy & chocolate,
but his very self,
his body & blood,
given for us,
at the table where there is always room for one more.
And so we go, sent to the Charlies of the world,
the ones Jesus says can't possibly repay
– the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
the homeless, the mentally ill, the convicted criminal,
Anyone who feels like an outcast
– anyone who stands outside looking at the chocolate factory,
longing to come in and see what's inside,
wondering if there's a place for them...
Jesus sends us to them with a Golden Ticket
and this message,
"Come on in!
Jesus himself invites you.
He's reserved a place just for you
– and guess what? It's the best seat in the house!
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
August 18/22 - Pentecost + 13
Old Testament reading & Gospel linked by idea of sabbath
what people can/can't; should/shouldn't do
Leader of synagogue has a strong sense of what sabbath was for
– a letter of the law kind of guy,
And law says,
Remember the sabbath day & keep it holy;
The law says,
it is a day set aside for God – so you shall rest & do no work.
Strict rules around this – what constituted work, what was allowable.
Not to observe it properly was a big no-no.
Then there were the people of Israel Isaiah speaks of.
Again, they understood the letter of the law.
They followed it in form,
felt that they were fulfilling their religious requirements
– but clearly not!
God accuses them of trampling the sabbath,
pursuing their own interests on God's holy day,
going their own ways,
serving their own interests
& pursuing their own affairs
which is not just to say they did as they pleased,
but that others were hurt in the process
– they weren't attending to the needs of the hungry and afflicted.
The deeper meaning of sabbath was lost for both the leader & the Israelites...
the idea of sabbath as gift;
as an opportunity for rest, renewal, restoration of relationship
- 1st & foremost w/ God,
and secondly w/ each other.
2 ditches
Sabbath/Sunday as dour day of obligation
(ex. Puritans – no work, but no fun either!);
pure religious obligation that becomes a burden.
Going to church is one thing,
but to set aside an entire day as holy,
as centered on God;
a day when we deliberately disconnect in large part from the world
& deliberately seek to reconnect w/ God – yikes!
Alien, foreign concept.
We tend to fall in the other ditch
– where the sabbath
(Sunday for most Christians)
is just like any other day
– Go to church (maybe)
and then we pursue our own interests & own affairs
- running errands,
- going shopping,
- cleaning up the house,
- finishing homework that's due 1st thing Monday morning
– and we tend to head into the week almost as stressed and overwhelmed
as we ended it on Friday (if you have a Monday -Friday kind of job!)
But sabbath isn't supposed to be either of those things.
It's not a joyless day of boredom & obligation,
nor is it a day just like all other days w/ a little God sprinkled in.
God intends sabbath to be a gift,
a day of being set free,
of being restored.
Gospel shows us one clear example:
Crippled woman,
who came to synagogue on the sabbath for who knows what reason
– her own sense of religious obligation, routine, companionship, inspiration?
But not expecting to meet Jesus;
not expecting him to pick her out of the crowd & call her over;
not expecting him to say,
“Woman, you are set free from your ailment”
and yet feeling it happen as he spoke the words,
as he laid his hands on her,
immediately able to do what she hasn't done for 18 years
– stand up straight,
able to look at the world around her from a new perspective,
not having to crane her neck to see up,
not tied to looking at the ground, at people's feet,
but being able to look at them face-to-face
and immediately praising God,
recognizing that this is what sabbath is for
– for connecting with God,
for acknowledging the One who set her free,
to rejoice with the community gathered around her
as they joined in prayer and praise and worship
for the wonderful things Jesus was doing
– esp. this wonderful thing,
this amazing healing that happened right before their eyes!
That's really at the heart of the sabbath
– it is a gift from God to us,
a chance to rest
(an obligation, actually);
an invitation to trust God more than ourselves
– that God can & will guide & provide for our needs
even if we take a time-out from “doing” once a week
(which is part of what was going on in the Isaiah reading);
an opportunity to remember together
all of the ways that God has and will set us free
from all the things that bind us, that hold us down
– whether they are physical or spiritual or relational;
a chance to celebrate &
to share God's promise of deliverance with all that we meet,
so that together,
we might recognize & acknowledge the One who does all this
and rejoice together,
praising and worshiping God,
and so be drawn back into restored relationships with God and with each other...
Amen.
August 11/15 - Mary, Mother of Our Lord
Fan of music
earliest memories are of singing
as a baby
Sesame Street records that told a story, that invited us in – to sing along, to dance, to laugh, to imagine we were there with them, that we were a part of whatever was going on
So it makes some sense that I would like musicals.
The Sound of Music, West Side Story, Singing in the Rain – where the story is told through song & dance
know some spoken quotes, but can sing whole songs
But not everyone likes musicals – they require a certain willing suspension of disbelief.
Really, who responds to a situation by bursting out with song out of nowhere? And dancing too!
Everything flows naturally – song, dance, countermelody, everyone knows what to do; People don't do that in real life.
But that's kinda what happens here in the gospel -
Mary meets angel Gabriel, who tells her she's gonna have the Son of God, the one who will be the savior of his people.
And Mary, young, teenage, unwed Mary, says, “Okay! Sounds good to me!”
& off she goes to visit relative Elizabeth
and Mary, well she does what anyone of us would do -
she starts to sing!
Luke says, “and Mary said...”, so maybe she herself did not actually start to sing
says this amazing poem that has since been set to music countless numbers of times; it's been used in evening prayer for centuries
have it memorized from the Holden Evening Prayer version -
“My soul proclaims your greatness, oh God,
and my spirit rejoices in you.
You have looked with love on your servant here & blessed me all my life through...”
And like much good music in my life, it has sunk down in me.
It reverberates long after I stop singing it
It echoes; It wells up; It sings itself within my heart and my mind
Like those Sesame street records of old, like the musicals I have come to know & love, it has taken up residence within me; it invites me in – to sing, to pray, to enter into Mary's story & hear it, to sing it as my own
It does it the way all good music does
without my even really noticing it
I know the words, but I don't give them much thought
Except once in a while
like when they show up in the lectionary
and I read them instead of singing along
and I realize again that these words of Mary are not just a song of praise
they are a song of sedition
they are words that could get a young, teenaged, unwed mother-to-be killed
Because this is not just a song between a young woman & her God
It is not just a song about their personal relationship
This is not just a song that gives thanks to God for doing great things for Mary,
for looking on his lowly servant with favor & blessing her
Mary goes on to sing this song of a God who turns the world upside-down
God shows strength with his arm
God scatters the proud
God has brought down the powerful & lifted up the lowly
God has filled the hungry, but has sent the rich away – empty.
This is not a sentimental little song you'd find printed on the inside of a Hallmark card
This is a protest song!
This is a song against the powers that be!
Sing these words in the midst of an oppressive regime,
and you're likely to find yourself accused of treason or rebellion or worse!
And read the words to this ancient Christian anthem
even in a democratic nation proud of its unalienable right to free speech
and you might start to get a little uncomfortable.
Not because you are worried that you'll be hauled off to jail
or accused of stirring up rebellion,
but because you start to wonder whose side God is really on
because you get to thinking about who the proud are in this world
who the powerful are
who the rich are
And it might dawn on you
citizen of the most powerful country of the world
resident in the richest nation on the planet
as it stands here near the beginning of the 21st century
after the birth of this savior we have so longed for,
and you start to realize that the people Mary is singing about God overturning
are people like
us.
This colossal role reversal that she celebrates –
that the church has celebrated down through the centuries –
that Christians have celebrated in the millennia since Luke 1st wrote this gospel down –
This is a role reversal that will upend not just those people we choose
It's a role reversal that will upend us too.
It'll pull the rug out from under our feet.
It'll take away our certainty about all of those things we have used to make us feel confident
to make us feel secure
to make us feel safe.
This song,
springing forth from the mouth of a young, teenaged, unwed mother-to-be,
sings of the end to life as we know it.
But it sings of a new beginning
The beginning
Of life as God has intended it to be since the beginning of time
Where the valleys are filled and the mountains are made low
Where the crooked are made straight and the rough ways smooth
A new beginning
Where the hungry are fed
And the lowly are lifted up
Where the imbalances and injustices of our world are made right
And it starts here & now
as God chooses the young, the insignificant, the vulnerable
to bear the only Son of God,
to bring forth the Savior of the world,
and she breaks forth in song
Reminding herself, reminding us of what God has done
and is doing
and has promised to do
in a world that needs to be –
not turned upside down –
but finally, amazingly
turned right-side up
through the grace and love of God
entering the world
in lowliness
in poverty
but in great,
unending love.
May this be the song of our hearts
It is calling for us to enter the story
and make it our own.
Amen.
August 4/8 - Pentecost + 11
"Jesus is coming – look busy!" bumper sticker
Reminds me of elementary school –
teacher leaving the room for whatever mysterious reason;
no teacher's aides;
leaving us w/ instructions to work on something productive
– reading assignment or math worksheet or spelling words
We'd start off okay – but the longer she was gone, the more we lost focus
→ we'd start to whisper & talk & giggle
& then if she was gone even longer – some sort of fun & games
– fairly harmless, up out of our seats, etc...
If we were smart, we'd post a lookout to stand at the door & watch for the teacher's return – and when she'd come - it was “the teacher is coming!”
and we'd scurry back to our seats,
trying to look busy,
like all along we'd been doing what she told us to do
– b/c we didn't want to get in trouble
Sense of this in the gospel reading
We could read it that way - “Jesus is coming – look busy!”
Jesus says to early disciples,
“be dressed for action & have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return... so they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks”
Maybe not so hard for the 1st disciples as Jesus says this – he's still w/ them
And just like teacher leaving the room
– easy to keep focus at first;
easy to remember what he had told them,
to live a new life,
to do the kinds of things that he had done,
to focus on being ready for his return.
And they expected him to return right away, any day now.
But by the time the author of Luke collected these stories & wrote them down,
it'd been a while since Jesus had died & risen & ascended to God's presence,
and it got harder and harder for the early church to know exactly what they should do;
how to act & live as they waited – maybe he wasn't coming back!
Harder to be dressed for action, to keep the lamps lit, to stay awake & alert
And if it was hard for them
– how hard is it for us, 2000+ years later,
to have a sense that Jesus is coming back
& that he's left us “homework” to do while he's gone
And who wants to do homework anyway?
I was thinking & wondering
– what if we really believed & lived as though Jesus could come back at any moment
– today or tomorrow or next week or next month
- what would be different about how we live our lives?
- What would we change?
- How would our church be different?
- Where would we (individuals/church) put our focus? Our time? Our energy?
It's not about fear or threat.
Right at the beginning of this lesson, Jesus says to his listeners
– to us –
“Do not be afraid...”
Do not be afraid,
for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom...
And that kingdom is what we are waiting for
Jesus talked a lot about it coming near – yet it's not quite here yet
Already but not yet.
Jesus inaugurated it
– he ushered it in, but it's not here in its its fullness yet.
But the kingdom of God is something to celebrate,
not something to fear!
Kingdom of God = rule or reign of God;
it's the place where God's will is done.
Our call while we wait for Jesus to come
is to be dressed for action that helps to bring God's kingdom near -
where the hungry are fed,
the stranger welcomed,
the hurting are healed,
the poor lifted up...
(you've heard this from me before!)
It's the place where it's not so scary
to think about selling our possessions
and giving alms to those in need,
because we know all of our needs will be taken care of.
That's what we are getting ready for
– that's the way we are called to live now,
to practice now -
So when Jesus comes, we will know we've been part of the preparation
and we won't have to worry about looking busy,
even though he comes unexpectedly,
because we've been waiting and working with him all along.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
July 28/August 1 - Pentecost + 10
House Hunters TV show
Shows people – a couple, a family, a single person starting out – all looking for a new home
lay out where they're coming from, what they are looking for, then follows them on the hunt
Almost everyone looking for a bigger place – more bedrooms, bigger garage, more closet space, bigger yard – b/c they need more room to hold all of their stuff!
Andy & I watch b/c it's fun to see all the houses & try to guess what they'll pick; but also b/c we can relate
We know the feeling of wanting more space
We have a good-sized house next door – yet we have grown to fill the space – and now we feel like we're running out of room, esp. with a baby on the way
Maybe you know the feeling? Stuff squirreled away in the attic, basement, garage, closets; stuff in boxes from our last move (3 years ago!), stuff we got for our wedding (5 years ago!) that we've never used
Know I'm not alone
self-storage units; shows, books, websites abound about how to declutter, how to organize our lives – it's a multi-million dollar industry
And go look behind the curtain in the Auditorium (Harvest Festival donations)
& just like in Wizard of Oz, you'll see the truth revealed:
we have more stuff than we know what to do with
Not a new problem
Jesus told our story 2 millenia ago in this parable
the story of a rich man who one year had a phenomenal year
a bumper crop
a crop that was beyond anything he'd ever seen (or else his barns would've been big enough already)
a crop so abundant that he didn't know what to do w/ all of it
Surrounded by so much that he says, “what should I do? I don't have space for it all!”
Solution: build bigger barns (the ancient equivalent to renting a storage unit)
Now, he says to himself, I'll have enough room for everything; I'll have plenty for the future – it's early retirement for him! He's set for life
Except something is missing – his whole thought process centers around himself: What should I do? I will do this. I will tear down my barns; I will build bigger ones – I, I, I...
fooled into thinking that life is about his stuff; that his stuff will secure his future
That's really the problem – not that we have so much stuff (although we could certainly stand to get rid of a lot of it – and we'd probably never even notice!)
- but it's what our stuff stands for.
Think our stuff will give meaning to our lives,
will grant us security or status or significance
and we know it isn't true;
We know our stuff won't make or keep us happy.
But stuff is seductive, it's sneaky
- & we keep falling prey to the idea that bigger is better,
that more is better.
And then Jesus comes along & reminds us that it isn't true
Tells us that there is another option
“Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions,” Jesus says.
Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions...
and in this reminder, we hear an echo of something Jesus said somewhere else:
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Jn 10:10)
He came to give us abundant life
– and then tells us that's not the same as having an abundance of stuff...
Jesus has been teaching about abundant life all along the way,
even as he is headed to Jerusalem and the cross –
you didn't forget that that's where this is all headed, did you?
Abundant life that comes through things like
loving God with heart, mind, soul, strength,
and our neighbor as ourselves;
like putting aside distractions and anxiety and choosing the better part;
like centering our lives in prayer;
learning to come to God with everything we need, big & small,
learning to depend on God as our loving parent
It's these types of things that make for a life rich toward God,
a life that becomes filled – abundantly – with more than just stuff
but with the deeper, simpler stuff of life – God, relationships, time
Jesus came to give us an abundant life; let's not let our stuff get in our way.
Amen.
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