First Sunday of lent ...what does that mean?

Today is the first Sunday of Lent….What does that mean?  What are the traditions?  Where do they come from?  Do they mean anything relevant today and what do they really have to do with the Gospel?  Let us start with the font of all knowledge Wikipedia.  Wikipedia is not the most reliable of sources but, when doing research, it is an easy place to start.

Lent (Latin: Quadragesima - English: Fortieth) is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar of many Christian denominations that begins on Ash Wednesday and covers a period of approximately six weeks before Easter Sunday. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, atonement and self-denial. This event, along with its pious customs are observed by Christians in the Anglican, Calvinist, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic traditions. Today, some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe the Lenten season.

Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the tradition and events of the New Testament beginning on Friday of Sorrows, further climaxing on Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday, which ultimately culminates in the joyful celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence. Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional, to draw themselves near to God. The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ's carrying the Cross and of his execution, are often observed. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches remove flowers from their altars, while crucifixes, religious statues, and other elaborate religious symbols are often veiled in violet fabrics in solemn observance of the event. Throughout Christendom, some adherents mark the season with the traditional abstention from the consumption of meat, most notably among Roman Catholics.

Lent is traditionally described as lasting for forty days, in commemoration of the forty days which, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent, before beginning his public ministry, fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by the Devil. In most of the West, it begins on Ash Wednesday. Different Christian denominations calculate its length differently.[1]

For us we add the Lenten wreath each week we put out a candle in hopes of eliminating injustices in the world and brining those issues to for front of our prayers and reflections; Poverty, Hunger, Equality and Justice for all people, Peace and the last candle is for the earth itself. Each candle snuffed out is a bit of the spirit of Christ that is snuffed out when we choose to look away, do nothing or claim helplessness. 

We often proclaim the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila here to help us to remember and carry the sacredness of the injustices in this world in ourselves daily.

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which Christ looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which Jesus walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which all are blessed in the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are the body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which Christ looks

compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

To be Christ’s Body in this world could be a challenging, daunting, even an impossible task. But if we read Teresa’s prayer carefully even if we can only look with compassion we are being Christ in this world.  If one can Just move their very soul to see the world as Christ does then, with practice, the rest will come.  We have to grow and evolve into the spiritual beings we are meant to be, and this only comes with practice, intention and ritual.

Today’s reading is full of ritual and intention. Jesus was baptized.  A Ritual that All Christians are familiar with.  Dock Hollingsworth of the McAfee School of theology explains how he finds relevance in this reading as a person who was raised Baptist.

The Greek word is baptizo, which means either to “dip” or “submerge.” There is nothing like hooking your listener early in the introduction to a sermon by saying “the Greek word is . . . ,” but my Baptist heritage has much invested in the translation of this word. Because of my Baptist heritage, (Professor Hollingsworth goes on to explain), every time I have seen someone baptized, they go all the way under the water and come up drenched. Now I know that the way I grew up seeing baptism has surely had more effect on me than the Greek verbs but in either case, when I hear the verse, “And just as he was coming up out of the water . . . ,” my imagination conjures the image of Jesus coming out of the river Jordon soaking wet from head-to-toe.

That image, informed by my tradition and confirmed by the Greek verb, is also a symbol of full commitment. In a story with all of the grandeur of the opening heavens and the descending Spirit, I just can’t imagine Jesus any way but fully drenched. There is something about an image of Jesus with his clothing stuck to his body and his hair matted to his face that says, “I’m all in. This is a wide-open full bore commitment to my purpose in life; this is a head-to-toe, sopping wet, full commitment to the kingdom of heaven and my part in it.”[2]

This is an image of initiation that is literally all in.  Now I know the word initiation may sound strange here but in Mark’s Gospel, that is exactly what this is.  This is Jesus’ first step into his ministry or his initiation of his ministry.  This is the beginning.  A radical Beginning at that.

We here at MCC/United Church of Christ use the word Radical with some sense of comfort but there are some who may find the word disturbing, challenging, or even scary. Some people are “careful, prudent, and orderly. I want to be perceived as having my act together—a person of dignity and moderation—not as some radical.”[3]

Some people think radical people are those fanatics who dress up for sporting events, go out to set Guinness records or they are the people who are driving electric cars and planting draught tolerant gardens with native plants.

Even a Dock Hollingsworth, who is an assistant Dean and Professor of supervised Ministry admits; “While I love to see a good radical every now and then, I have always favored balance, order, partial commitment to several worthy causes that might help the human condition a bit. To my thinking, it is better to not cause a stir, not be too sold out to anything, not to be so fully committed to any cause that I might look foolish. Then I look up and see my Lord at the beginning of his ministry, coming up out of the river Jordan soaking wet—all in.” This “all in” Look and feel takes a dramatic turn as the Holy Spirit Comes into the story.

The story moves quickly from John Proclaiming a Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and announcing “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.  I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1; 7-8)

Dr. Cameron Jorgenson who teaches theology and ethics at Campbell University Divinity School tells us that after John Proclaims One greater than I is coming, “Then something unusual happens. The “one who was to come” does come; Jesus goes out to John and requests baptism as well. When Jesus comes up from the water, the heavens are torn open, the voice of God speaks a blessing, and the Spirit descends on him like a dove”[4] This is where we first see the Trinity Creator, who tears open the heavens, Jesus the begotten one and the holy spirit descending in the form of a dove.

This is a very abrupt and intense story everything is happening with an urgency. John Appears in the desert, John Proclaims and Baptizes, Jesus arrives and is baptized.  Interesting there is no dialogue between John and Jesus, just then the heavens are torn apart and the dove arrives.

 Cameron goes on to Observe; “After this stunning self-revelation of God, something equally shocking follows. We are told, “And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan” (1:12-13). This Spirit—the one with whom Jesus would baptize, the one who descended upon him like a dove—is now driving him toward an encounter with Satan in the desert.”[5]  There is that urgency again, he is driven out into the desert…it is not a casual stroll.  Would you like to come to the desert and meet Satan?  There doesn’t seem to be an option it is a primal urge essential to the ministry of Christ.  

Yet something doesn’t feel quite right.  What is this need for speed that Mark seems to want to convey and what has he done to our concept of the spirit of God being this gentle dove? “After all, we know that a dove is a symbol of peace and tranquility. We release them at weddings and the opening ceremonies of the Olympics as an expression of joy and celebration. The dove carries an olive branch, for goodness’ sake! But here this very odd dove leads Jesus into the wilderness for a tête-à-tête with Satan. What kind of dove is this, anyway? Perhaps that is the very question this passage hopes to provoke.”[6]

While Jesus teaches us that God is a loving Parent who is being revealed through Christ; “the Spirit remains a mystery over which even the earliest generations of Christians puzzled. This manifestation of the Holy Spirit at Jesus’ baptism suggests that the Spirit is like a dove, the same bird that gave hope to Noah as the waters receded by suggesting that new life on earth was beginning to flourish.”[7]

The dove suggests the giver of Life, the sustainer (as it has been referenced here at MCC/United church of Christ many times).  This is the dove that gently guides and comforts us while we are on our path. Yet there is more to the spirit than companion and comforter.

Dr. Cameron goes on to remind us:

 The symbol of the dove contains a grave temptation, however. One might mistake its gentle coo for weakness and imagine that the bird of peace is the kind of bird that can be domesticated. One might even presume to cage it or train it to sing on cue. How mistaken we would be, were we to assume that the dove comes in peace—if by peace we mean that it comes for our comfort.

The dove came in the midst of great distress to Noah, who had been tossed by waves and surrounded by destruction for far too long. The dove didn’t come to rescue Noah; it came as a sign of hope. In the same way, the Spirit does not preserve Jesus from discomfort. In fact, the message of the Gospel of Mark is that the Spirit leads Christ into the desert, empowering him for what he would face. The Spirit does not promise us freedom from all affliction, but instead promises comfort and the fruits of the Spirit’s presence—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control—in the midst of great trials. This is the message of Exodus, Psalms, and the Gospels. God doesn’t simply alleviate pain; God joins us in our place of suffering and walks with us, enabling us to make the journey.[8]

This is a wild and reckless spirit that cannot be contained nor controlled.  It will protect us as best it can but more often than not it will lead us into what challenges us, what will force us to grow, what will help us to walk the walk of Christ in this world today.  Bob often refers to the spirit as the mischief maker…the wild grace of God running amok on earth.  Leading us into all sorts of situations and changes we never could have for seen.

“It has been said that Celtic Christianity was fond of another symbol for the Holy Spirit: the wild goose. Perhaps they were onto something. Although the work of the Spirit is oftentimes subtle, softly present like the dove, sometimes the wild goose shows up and demands undivided attention.”[9]  I like that image I grew up with Geese.

Canadian Geese or Canadian Honkers either way they are a creature one must learn to, um , share space with if you will.  Often times the Geese will decide they need to move from one lake or pond to another and they will not hesitate to just walk into the road.  They expect the world to stop for them and we often did…moving slowly….Honking  our car horn as the geese walked slowly sometimes stopping to confront and hiss at a car before getting out of the away.  If they had Goslings then you had to wait for they would not move till all the little ones were where they decided they were going!  Maybe the image of the Goose is a good one of the Holy Spirit in all its unpredictable Grace.

The Celts “rightly recognized that there is nothing placid about the workings of God. When God shows up, water turns to wine, a box lunch feeds a multitude, a dead child is raised to life, a blind man sees, a leper is healed and restored to the community, a shameful past is named and transformed, a persecutor of the church is converted into its greatest missionary, and a baptism reveals the very nature of God.”[10]

So we take this time called Lent to seek out the Holy Spirit, each in our own way.  Take up a daily reading, maybe give up something we love, maybe seek out a new art form that will allow us seek to understand what God is moving us toward.  The spirit of God is always with us but…you have to feed it, nurture it and respond to it.

You see in that prayer of Saint Teresa of Avila the very first gift of Christ is that we are is to look out on the world with compassion. Compassion, accordion to Miriam Webster, is to see one in distress and want to alleviate it.  This is a time to nurture the sacred in order to eradicate the cynical.  To allow our eyes to be open…once we do that the wild spirit will keep us moving onto paths we never saw coming into ministries we never thought we would do and into some of the most unexpected places.

Remember “Within the breast of that meek and holy dove beats the heart of a wild goose, and we ought not be surprised if we hear it honking.”[11]

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[1] Wikimedia Foundation Inc, Lent, February 15, 2015, accessed February 16, 2015, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent.

[2] David N. Mosser, The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2012 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011), 63.

[3] Ibid., 64.

[4] David N. Mosser, The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2011 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010), 252.

[5] Ibid., 253.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid, 253.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid., 254.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid., 254.

Mathew2:1-12: Taking an alternate Path

Taking an alternate Path

So let us review today's Gospel….how many were there….3?  It doesn't say that.  What were they Wise men, Kings Astrologers…It doesn't say that.  Wait I know one many know the answer to what were their names…

“Melchior, a Persian scholar; Caspar, an Indian scholar; Balthazar, an Arabian scholar… many Syrian Christians name the Magi Larvandad, Gushnasaph, and Hormisdas… In the Eastern churches, Ethiopian Christianity, for instance, has Hor, Karsudan, and Basanater, while the Armenians have Kagpha, Badadakharida and Badadilma and many Chinese Christians believe that one of the magi came from China…”[1]

We three Kings of orient are….Wrong….Um we three wise men….astrologers…..sages….mages…Magicians….  Maybe.  What do we know about these three guys who come from the east?  Well we know they are described in the Greek as Magi these are men most likely of the Zoroastrian tradition an early Monotheistic faith that had its origins inpre-historic Iran that had influence as far as China and Japan.  “According to Richard Foltz the roots of Zoroastrianism emerged from a common prehistoric Indo-Iranian religious system dating back to the early 2^nd millennium BCE”[2]

Does all this matter?  Are the Facts important…in this case no!  It is about the story, and the Journey.  We assume 3 Magi because there are three gifts given and so I am going to roll with that.

Melchior a Persian Scholar I imagine came from a Tehran his Journey would have been over 40 days this is a calculation done at 10 hours a day walking which is highly unlikely considering midday heat and companions and setting up camp and tearing down camp.

Caspar an Indian scholar I like to say he came from Madhya Pradesh India his Journey would be (at the unrealistic rate of 10 hours a day) 126 days and finally we have Balthazar supposed to be an Arabian scholar in that case he would have been the closest but if he came from the far east deep in china his journey could have taken up to a year and a half or more…..

So we have three men who are educated and read the skies for signs of things to come and omens of things to watch for they see something in the sky that foretells of the Child who is to be the king of the Jews and so the furthest one out sets off on his trek much before the others.  Therefore, as he went along he must have told others what he saw in the sky and those that choose to believe him (as he was a figurehead of some kind) they followed him.  His party grew as went along adding the other two figure heads as he journeyed helping them interpret what it was they saw in the sky.

Ernest L. Martin describes the caravan this way as they had an audience with Herod;

These Magi came from the east bearing rich gifts for the newborn king. They could not have been reckoned as certain classes of sorcerers and confidence men who roamed the Roman world under the name “Magi.” Herod and all Jerusalem would hardly have been troubled by what they considered impostors. But if the Magi had come from the court of the Parthian kings who employed Magi in the religious affairs of their government, or from the respected Magus colleges of the east, then that would have been a different matter in the view of Herod and the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem.

In order to have an audience with Herod and for him to have members of the Sanhedrin (the Supreme Court of the Jews) to hear the interpretations of these Magi must show that they were held in high esteem by the people of Jerusalem. In their deportment, it was customary for the Magi to dress in magnificent priestly attire to indicate their professional status. In presenting themselves before royalty the historical records show that the Magi did this with pomp and circumstance. 4 In traveling or on official business in areas where their influence was felt, it was normal for the priestly Magi to proceed in a processional mode with various ranks of them appropriately positioned in the caravan. This must have been the manner in which they approached the city of Jerusalem to present their gifts to the newborn king of the Jews. This would account for the respectful attitude of Herod and the Jewish authorities to them.[3]

So they all come bearing these gifts, for one who they believe is royal born. And so there are theories as to what these gifts represent “The theories generally break down into two groups: All three gifts are ordinary offerings and gifts given to a king. Myrrh being commonly used as an anointing oil, frankincense as a perfume, and gold as a valuable. The three gifts had a spiritual meaning: gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death.”[4]

I am sorry if there is disappointment here but I say, assuming the story is true, the meaning of the gifts are most likely just ordinary offerings for the birth of royalty.  So imagine the shock when this entourage arrives at a simple country house and find an unassuming girl and her husband a carpenter. Can you imagine the shift there?

Can you imagine these High Priests who are revered by kings and leaders, who can interpret the stars and who respect the Hebrew scholars and religious texts: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for form you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” (Mathew 2:6)  These studied men, these well-traveled, worldly, rich men find the simplest of people with a child that in no way will be brought up or trained to be a King as they have understood.

This is where, and why I have titled this “Taking an alternate Path”, you see in the meeting of the Christ Child their realty of how the world works, of how the stars align, of who is worthy of royal honors…it all shifts.  Reality is turned upside down and instead of saying well this can’t be…we read something wrong…this peasant cannot, nor never will be a King at least not in any way that they comprehend and yet they present their Gifts.

These men, I choose to believe, are humbled and awe struck, what has been their way of thinking and believing is shifted, a new reality is opening up before them and they have yet to see what it means.  The scripture says at just seeing the house they are overwhelmed with Joy.  Before they even get in the door something is happening, something physical and as they enter they see the mother and child and they fall to their knees and pay homage opening their treasure chests and presenting their gifts.

This is not ancient hospitality nor the rules the world traditionally abides by, Andrew Arterbury, a professor at Baylor explains;

Ancient hosts also were obligated to meet their guests’ needs by supplying them with necessary provisions. Upon their guests’ arrival, meritorious hosts fed strangers an initial meal and at times provided them with lodging without asking their guests questions about their identity or place of origin.

In addition hosts would often provide them with water for cleaning their feet and with new clothes if they needed them. Then, after the guests had finished the meal, hosts finally were free to inquire about their guests’ identity, home region, and travels.”[5]

The imagery here is intensified when it is juxtaposed against tradition.  For one Joseph and Mary would never even anticipate a visit from a group as big and famous as these guys probably were and in no way could they even begin to provide what traditionally is given.  There are new ways of being beginning to be expressed before Christ message is spoken Kings are bowing to peasants.  The host is being offered Gifts with no expectation of Hospitality.

The “wise men” are warned in a dream to take a different path home.  But they are already on a different path.  The meeting of the low born king, the peasant king, who overwhelmed them with Joy, to whom they knelt before expecting nothing.  There are no alliances made, there is no political or religious relationships established what was imagined to be a king has now changed the meaning all together.  They are on a different path.

After their dream they probably left in haste realizing that their lingering presence would arouse suspicion and place the child in danger...which it already had.  So they journeyed the long journey home 40 days, 80 days, and a year to a year and a half.  All the way home they had to study and ponder what did this all mean.  How their understanding of the world could be so reversed by one child astounded and confounded them. They are literally taken on an alternative path through this intentional encounter with the peasant King.

A friend of mine, Judith Favor, shared a poem and some quotes on Journeying from Mark Strand’s; Chicken, Shadow Moon and More, and though this story is about a physical journey it becomes a spiritual journey for the 3 Magi and their entourage and for us.

A journey continues until it stops

A journey that stops is no longer a journey

A journey loses thing on its way

A journey passes through things, thing pass through it

When a journey is over, it loses itself to a place

When a journey remembers, it begins a journal

Which is a new journey about an old journey

A journey over time is different from a journey into time

An actual journey is into the future

A reflective journey is into the past

***

A journey always begins in a place called here

Pack your bags and imagine your journey

Unpack your bags and imagine your journey is done

***

If you're afraid of a journey, don't buy shoes[6]

I have said this many times…being a Christian is about telling the story.  Engaging the story and journeying with the story.  That means living the story of Jesus in our hearts and on the road.  You see many of us the story of the Magi can be relevant.  I actually believe for all of us if you just engage the story. Don’t worry about the facts.

You see our lives changed when we met a different understanding of Christ.  When, many of us learned, that not only could we be loved by God but that we are most enthusiastically loved by God, by Christ and that through the Life of Jesus we are taught how we are to Journey in this world.

We are invited to an alternative path an alternative Journey…it is not done in a day or a year but over many years over a lifetime.  As we are on our own Journey, each one unique onto itself, we discover that the Journeys and stories of Christ change in our heart, Shift our perception and in return they will again change our Journey.

In many ways it doesn’t matter if this story or any of the stories are true for we have chosen to live as a people of faith.  We have chosen to listen, study, and incorporate these stories into our lives.  We have chosen to take an alternative path, a path that in the end, leads us home, home to Christ, Home to Love and Home to our own selves.

So on this the first Sunday of a new year I wish you a safe Journey.  May it be filled with wonder and awe, may God grant you a few surprises, and when difficulties arise know you are not on the journey alone reach out to a fellow traveler seek support from the people here around you.

Blessings and a very happy healthy year.

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[1] Wikipedia, Biblical Magi, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi#Names (accessed December 30, 2014).

[2] Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Zoroastrianism, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism#cite_ref-15 (accessed December 29, 2014).

[3] Ernest L. Martin, Who were these wise men?, http://www.askelm.com/star/star002.htm (accessed December 30, 2014).

[4] Wikipedia, Biblical Magi.

[5] Andrew Artebury, Entertaining Angels:: Hospitality in Luke and Acts, http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/53378.pdf (accessed December 30, 2014).

[6] Joseph Shore-Goss, Via Stillpoint as Shared by Judith Favor, http://revjoeshore.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=13 (accessed December 30, 2014).

Sermon Mark 1

Sermon Mark 1:1-8

Today we have our favorite Wildman emerging from the dessert proclaiming the coming of Christ and offering baptism for the forgiveness of sins. According to the new world encyclopedia;

“John was a Nazirite/Nazarite from his birth (Luke 1:15)—refraining from wine and other strong drink—and the synoptics agree that he spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judea, in the wilderness between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Matt. 3:1-12). The Gospels add that he led a simple life, clothed only with camel's hair and a leather girdle around his loins, and eating little more than just locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4). The early church fathers John Chrysostom (347-407 C.E.) and Saint Jerome (c. 347-120 C.E.) believed that John had been brought up from his infancy in this manner, as Matthew 11:18 describes.” [1]

The leather strap was practical and basically saying he was dressed for hard labor and or work of some kind. The image at the start was of how to gird your loins in case you ever find the need. This says to me that there is work to be done and it is not light or easy.

I think what cries out to me today in this voice crying out in the desert. Saying “prepare the way” or “Make ready the way” or even more relevant “clear a straight path.” Make yourself easy access for the Lord who is to come into your life. Do not set up obstacles. Do not make the road turn sharply and unexpected, keep your path free of stones and rubble that may make it difficult to traverse. This season is a gentle reminder of why we choose to live a Christian life and how we are to go about doing it every day not just for the holiday season.

John is an interesting character and one who is spoken off fondly. Fred Craddock, a teacher and preacher of the utmost magnitude. , he was actually named by Newsweek as one of America’s top preachers, is a Bandy Distinguished Professor of Preaching and new testament Emeritus at Candler School of Theology. He has written several books including Preaching which was a textbook in my homiletics class. This is what he says about this John;

There was something persuasive about him. Persuasive I think in his character; the rough grain of his character shown through clearly. And being in his presence made a radical difference. Luke says that huge crowds came and asked John. “Well, what are we to do in the view of the coming of God’s Christ?” and he said, “If you have two of anything, share one with

Someone who is poorer than you are. If you have two coats, you don’t need two coats. Give one of them to a person who is Cold and poor.”

Soldiers came, Roman soldiers came to hear him preach and at the end of his sermons, the soldiers gathered around and said, “Well, what are we to do?” And john said, “Don’t be violent. Don’t intimidate citizens. Don’t throw your weight around to subsidize your salary; be content with your wages.”

Tax Collectors came, surprising a lot of people. They lingered when the crowd began to move away and they asked John, “What are we to do?” And he said, “Do not collect any more tax than is your due. Don’t add on anything; keep yourself free of graft and corruption.” John talked to them real straight and apparently they wanted to hear it because they kept coming. [2]

Of course this is only part of a full length sermon on John but I believe Fred’s point is clear. Johns preaching and teaching were dangerous. He is asking people to prepare themselves inside and out for who is about to come. Get ready, do not cheat your neighbor; do not bully a friend nor a stranger. Do your job and do it well but, do it honestly and do not seek to raise yourself up by immoral means. Get ready for something is coming, someone is coming great than I. “One whom I am not worthy to stoop down and untie his sandals.” Here John is stating that though he is a voice of God calling out, next to Christ, he is less than a slave for it is the slave’s job to untie the masters’ shoes.

But I wonder what voices are crying out today as the voice of John. Where are the cries to make our path less cluttered and easy to travel so that when the Christ comes we are easy to find? Might it be the voice of the ecumenical aids association who applauds a new agreement that will allow access to generic formulations of LPV/r in countries accounting for 98.9% of children living with HIV?

Maybe it is the voices of the Immigrant worker or their children who have lived in this country for years in fear of deportation taking jobs that pay less than minimum, accepting less than standard living situations in just the hope they may become American citizens.

I wonder if it is the voice of the democratic movement in Hong Kong who fear Chinas communist regime and the loss of freedom that they have known all their lives.

It may be the voice of children right here in our neighborhood who the only Christmas they may know is the one being thrown by the North Hollywood recreations center. It may be those at triangle square who have no family and the only gift and acknowledgement they will receive for the Holidays is a scarf made by one of our hookers. (It is always good when we mention Hookers in a sermon).

The voice in the desert is the voice of those living at Las Memorias who can’t go home because of stigmatization and fear. The voice calling out is the voice of the marginalized, the hungry, the disabled, and the lonely.

If one just takes the time to listen one can still hear that voice crying out …crying out see I have sent you a messenger and it is right here. Right now! This is the voice of many crying out asking us to feed the hungry, visit the lonely, and to seek justice alongside those who are seeking it for themselves.

Yes we often hear this message as a personal one but it is also a global message. The messages of the voice crying out has been coming down through the years. Every day, every generation, every century, the voice in the desert has continued to cry out.

Here is a quote for you;

“Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away; and if they could, they would still be destroyed -- chased and hunted down as long as fun or a dollar could be got out of their bark hides, branching horns, or magnificent bole backbones. Few that fell trees plant them; nor would planting avail much towards getting back anything like the noble primeval forests. ... It took more than three thousand years to make some of the trees in these Western woods -- trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and singing in the mighty forests of the Sierra. Through all the wonderful, eventful centuries ... God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempests and floods; but he cannot save them from fools -- only Uncle Sam can do that.” [3]

Now who was this voice literally crying out in the wilderness? Anyone? John Muir literally a voice crying out in the contemporary wilderness and yet no one paid much attention till recently when days became dyer.

John the Baptists voice has been embodied in others as well. In the voice of Saint Francis;

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is discord, harmony;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. [4]

A simple beautiful prayer and yet it can be disturbing. How you may wonder. This prayer is seeking to be the opposite, to break in and disrupt the norm. Where Hatred and Anger are the rule bless me lord that I may be the voice of Love and understanding when, perhaps, at that moment, none is desired.

The prayer says Lord when everything is in chaos and seems to be going wrong bless me that I may be the bringer of Truth and Light. Yet in those moments of Chaos and pain and darkness how often is it that the voice of reason is drowned out, beaten up or even Killed. Nelson Mandela who stood as a voice crying out was imprisoned for 27 years for speaking the truth.

There is always a voice crying out and when there isn’t sometimes we are called. Sometimes we are called to stand with people in need of Justice; “ Hands up don’t shoot”, “I can’t breathe” or the old standard “out of your homes and into the streets!” These are cries for Justice, cries for equality and we can all respond. We can respond by peacefully marching. We can respond by lighting candles and we can respond with prayer.

Speaking of movies, I want to give you another quote, I know I am using a lot of quotes today but I feel they are relevant, so here it is; “ ‘ There are some upon this earth of yours,’ returned the spirit, ‘who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, Pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.’ ”[5]

There are many things on this Earth done in the name of Christ or Christianity, or in the name of the Prophet Mohammed (May peace be upon him), or Yahweh or Buddha….you name it and humanity has committed atrocities in the name of the religion that have nothing to do with religion. In the case of the previous quote we hear the Ghost of Christmas present stating that places being closed on Sundays, mainly those that feed the poor, have nothing to do with the spirit of Christmas nor care for the poor.

John the Baptists voice is still ringing out in the desert, Prepare ye the way. But how will you prepare the way. This month has been hard. Bad news in the headlines, Teachers stabbed, bombs planted, children shot. Yet and Yet Johns cries are being answered. Every day through charity, compassion and yes even justice.

A classmate of mine, Rev. David Miller, who serves the UU fellowship of San Dieguito said this in his Facebook post yesterday;

Today I worked hard to digest the incredible dichotomy coming through social media and the news. This included the deep pain being felt by so many overwhelmed with the need for reflection and action in a torn and hurting country/world and the intense desire to offset that with some sort of joy, connection and community. It mirrors what is happening in my own soul and I am feeling the tug of war that pulls me in one direction or another. How can we live balanced lives when so much is happening to throw our balance off, how can we address all the imbalance while trying to maintain our equilibrium?

I have always seen the holiday season as a time to bring us together in shared ritual and reminders of what can be best in us all and this holiday season we do that in the context of Ferguson, New York and countless other tears in our communal fabric. I will read what so many others are writing, I will do what I can to act where I can, and I will and I must not lose sight of that which is joyful, that which connects me, and that which must continue to breathe hope into a tired and at times overwhelmed soul. [6]

I believe David sums up some of the overwhelming emotions that arise when one seems to be bombarded with bad news everywhere and all the time. If you are feeling overwhelmed get out! Go to a movie. Read a book. Sit, be still, light a candle and put on some Christmas music.

If you just take the time to breathe into the season. Go downtown or walk around your neighborhood take in the lights. Greet your neighbor or a person on the street with happy holiday. Just offering a bit of the love that is this season, and it will come back to you, is all one truly needs to do to answer the voice in the desert.

In the news this week there was a story of the boy with cerebral Palsey who had is custom made wheel chair stolen, but thanks to a Good Samaritan and a good company they are replacing the chair in two days. In skid row anywhere between 5 and 8000 people are served every day with medical needs, food, shelter and clothing. We are collecting toys for the kids in North Hollywood who may not have a Christmas except for the celebration at the Recreation center. The socks for the homeless. The hats and the scarves we made to go out. All of this is answering that cry in the desert.

So Let us prepare the way for the Lord in your Heart, Mind and in your actions this year. Do not let the world get you down but choose to respond with care and compassion and through it all care for yourself physically and spiritually.

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[1] New world encyclopedia, John the Baptist, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/John_the_Baptist (accessed December 3, 2014). http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/John_the_Baptist

[2] Fred B. Craddock, The Collected Sermons of Fred B. Craddock (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 112.

[3] John Muir, Our National Parks (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1901).

[4] St Francis, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace (Ann Arbor, MI: Word of God, 1975), 229.

[5] Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol and Other Writings (London: Penguin Classics, 2003), 78.

[6] David Miller, “Facebook,” entry posted 12/4/2014, http://https://www.facebook.com/david.miller.5648137.

Two Commandments…I can do that! Mathew 22:34-46

There was an entertainer in the ‘80’s in Detroit that I truly enjoyed.  She had this song that went I’m so happy I could blank…The car blew up.  The dog ran away the bills are piling up and there’s just no way to pay but I’m so happy….

As I reflect on today’s Gospel I first cannot help but think upon what it is in response too.  The Sadducees have just tried to trip Jesus up on the law asking about marriage in heaven and the resurrection. (Mathew 22: 23-33)  So The Pharisees figured they would have their turn, remember they are seeking an excuse to have Jesus shut down.

So the Pharisees have a lawyer ask him a question on the greatest of the law.  When we think of lawyers they may have a better profile then they had in the past, or not.  We often think of TV lawyers such as Perry Mason, or maybe even the current Annalise Keating in how to get away with murder.  Or perhaps with current events our thoughts go to Ted Olsen and Davis Boies our Marriage equality super lawyers.

Here the term lawyer has a specific context.  This Pharisee who is also a lawyer is only a lawyer for Jewish and temple law.  His concern is not about Roman law nor is he concerned with anyone who is not of the Jewish faith. “Pharisees claimed Mosaic authority for their interpretation of Jewish Laws, while Sadducees represented the authority of the priestly privileges.”[1] Forgive my Wikipedia reference, but it is true the Sadducees represented the rich and the elite or the politically influential.  Whereas the Pharisees represent the common people.  The reason I point this out is so you can see the two groups who are often in opposition to each other are working towards the same goal…eliminate Jesus and his movement!

Now when the Pharisee asks “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  He is really hoping to trip Jesus up in a big way for you see in modern times when we think of the law we think of the Ten Commandments but when a Pharisee reflects upon the law he is looking at Probably 613 commandments.[2]  These commandments come from Leviticus, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Kings.  These commandments refer to the worship of Yahweh, The temple and the Priests, Sacrifices, Vows, Ritual Purity, Tithes and offerings in the sanctuary and about 20 other categories.

Dan Clendenin clarifies this even further he states;

The "holiness code" in Leviticus specifies in minute detail clean and unclean foods, purity rituals after childbirth or a menstrual cycle, regulations for skin infections and contaminated clothing or furniture, prohibitions against contact with a human corpse or dead animal, instructions about nocturnal emissions, laws regarding bodily discharges, guidelines about planting seeds and mating animals, keeping the Sabbath, forsaking idols, tattoos, and extensive decrees about sex. Leviticus 18 codifies about twenty types of (un)lawful sexual relations.

           Some of these ancient commands seem self-evident. We gladly follow them today and neglect them at our peril. Honor your parents. Take special care of the poor, the blind, the deaf, and the alien. Don't steal or lie. Don't have sex with your parent, your child, or an animal. Don't cheat your employee or your customers.

           But side by side with these timeless truths are other commands that are lost to a different time and place, and we feel no compunction in ignoring them today — don't mate different kinds of animals, plant your field with two kinds of seeds, cut the hair at the sides of your head, or wear garments made of two kinds of materials. Similarly, we rightly ignore some of the punishments for breaking these "laws," like the death penalty for cursing your parents or adultery.

Scholars debate how much or how little ordinary first-century Jews concerned themselves with maintaining "ritual purity" by obeying the holiness code in Leviticus, but the Pharisees about whom we read so much in the Gospels certainly did. And so in the Gospel for this week a Pharisee who is described as an "expert" in the law "tested Jesus with this question: 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?'" (Matthew 22:36).

Dan Clendenin Goes on to ponder;

           Maybe this was a trick question designed to trap Jesus. If he privileged a single commandment, didn't that mean he neglected others? How dare he imply that we can wink at some of God's laws! Or if he suggested that all the commandments were equally weighty, didn't that contradict common sense? Surely a tattoo (Leviticus 19:28) isn't as morally weighty as child sacrifice (Leviticus 18:21)! Or maybe the expert was posing an honest inquiry: "Lord, so many commands! How should we understand them all? Are some more important than others?"

           Buried deep in that holiness code was one, single command, Leviticus 19:18, that Jesus said was more important than the 611 other commands. Jesus responded that the most important commandment is this: "'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength' [Deuteronomy 6:4]. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself' [Leviticus 19:18]. There is no commandment greater than these." The questioner liked Jesus's answer and affirmed that these two commands were "more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."[3]

So here is Jesus, who they believe they will trip up because there are so many laws and yet Jesus answers promptly with Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love your God with all your Heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”  Quick and easy answer…right???

How easy is it to love God with all your heart, soul and might? I am sure you have heard me say, and I said it often when I worked with hospice, it is okay to be angry with God.  It is also okay to struggle with what God has placed on your heart.  The problem is sometimes we allow the anger to consume us instead of allowing us to reach an understanding or forgiveness.  Sometimes we allow the struggle to become the thing, the reality, instead of allowing ourselves to learn and grow.

So Jesus is not only answering the question legally but I believe in his ministry of words and deeds he is challenging us through this scripture here and now. One of my favorite scenes in Jesus Christ superstar is the agony in the garden.  We have a Christ portrayed as very human asking …then shouting at God tell me why I must die! I have heard so many people say “God will not give you more than you can handle”  I am sorry to say it, but I must ask, with freedom of choice how much of our own suffering has God given us, or is it just the way the world works and God is with us through it all?

I tend to believe the latter.  In other words…I am not saying all that befalls us good or evil as it may be perceived is brought on by ourselves, yet I do not believe that God is a mighty puppeteer controlling all that does happen.  Therefore when we get angry with God because the car blew up and the Dog ran away etc. It’s okay to get angry with God…Heck I would even venture to say it is okay to get angry with God with all your heart, all your soul and all your might.

 The trick is to move through that and come to the other side.  The trick is to know there are things we have no control over. And after we are angry, and after we have struggled, then we can turn and say I can’t do this!  I can’t get rid of this anger. I can make no sense of this!  God into your hands I place this.  God made us to be fully human and fully alive and part of that fullness is there are moments when we do not Love God or worse yet there are moments when we feel we are not loved by God.  In both of these the assurance and the understanding come through our faith and the lessons that Christ has taught us.

Speaking of lessons Christ has taught us brings me to the second part of today’s Gospel that I want to focus upon.  Jesus says the second greatest law is this “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” Leviticus 19:18.  Yep taken right out of those 600 and some commandments.  Again Jesus is making it clear and easy how to follow God.  I’ll just love you as I love and care for myself.  You see, this is easy, easy because I love you all, and I know how to love and care for myself perfectly all the time.  The pastor stated very sarcastically!

Okay who here can honestly say they love themselves all the time.  How many times have I gotten up and looked in the mirror and said to myself I could have done better, I should be better, and God help me I am no better!  Can I say it again….we are Human… we are made human and being human we are flawed and we do not care for ourselves the way we should, therefore by deduction, I definitely do not always care for my neighbor the way I should.

Actually how should I care for my neighbor and who is my neighbor? Now there is a question often asked.  In Bread for the Journey Henri Nouwen reflects upon the Good Samaritan and states;

“Love your neighbor as yourself” the Gospel says (Matthew 22:38). But who is my neighbor? We often respond to that question by saying: “My neighbors are all the people I am living with on this earth, especially the sick, the hungry, the dying, and all who are in need.” But this is not what Jesus says. When Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:29-37) to answer the question “Who is my neighbor?” he ends by asking: “Which, … do you think, proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the bandits’ hands?” The neighbor, Jesus makes clear, is not the poor man laying on the side of the street, stripped, beaten, and half dead, but the Samaritan who crossed the road, “bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, … lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him.” My neighbor is the one who crosses the road for me![4]

That is interesting…what do you think about that?  Actually let me break that down further for you.  Your neighbor is the one you believe hates you, despises you, has nothing in common with you, and someone you would never talk to; yet….they would cross the road to help you.  Your neighbor is the one you least suspect and out of those least suspects, your neighbor is the one who would cross the road to help you no matter who you are.  So how do you know who that is?  How do you know who your neighbor may be? Simple answer is you don’t. Therefore, since you don’t know who your neighbor might be…to be on the safe side…we must treat all as our neighbor.  We must become the man who no matter what will cross the road to bandage and care for the stranger because we must assume they would do that for us.  If we are willing to do that for someone who we don’t know and perhaps even fear how much more should we be willing to do that for each other?

The other side of that is being the good neighbor when the Samaritan does come along.  When someone offers help, a kind word, or a smile…how do we respond?  When the stranger, the one who challenges our well taught prejudices and fears offers a kind gesture do we respond with kindness or suspicion? To make it a little broader when we hear of pain or trouble on the other side of the world do we judge by categories or do we take to heart the pain and suffering of all involved and pray for peace and understanding?  When we here people speaking in fear and anger of marriage equality do we pray that their hearts may soften to the loving word of God or do we condemn them as bigots and hate mongers?

Jesus gave a clear and concise answers to today’s challenges right?  I say no! Jesus knew that these commandments though they may sum up all of God’s law are anything but clear and concise.  Every day we are challenged by what it means to love God with our whole heart, our whole soul and with all your might or mind depending on which translation you read.  We, as humans, do not know what is best for us, let alone how to love and care for ourselves. So how, in all of God’s names, are we to love our neighbor as ourselves?  Honestly? I wouldn’t want to be cared for by another if it depended upon how well I cared for myself.

So where do the answers to all these questions and challenges rest.  Where can I learn to care for myself in such a way that is pleasing to God?  In such a way that I wouldn’t terrorize a stranger? How do I become accepting and caring of the one I most fear? I can’t, not alone, I must engage in prayer.  I must develop spiritual practice, a daily seeking of a life closer to God.

Thomas Merton Said; “In order to find God in ourselves, we must stop looking at ourselves, stop checking and verifying ourselves in the mirror of our own futility, and be content to be in Him and to do whatever He wills, according to our limitations, judging our acts not in the light of our own illusions, but in the light of His reality which is all around us in the things and people we live with.” - From “No Man is an Island”[5]

 It is through a life lived with compassion in action.  It is through a life lived with a spiritual practice that you are comfortable with, that draws you closer to God.  Your Knitting on the loom can become a simple spiritual practice by saying a short prayer with every loop.  Jesus come closer.  A morning walk can be a spiritual practice by repeating the same simple prayer with every step.

Some need a quiet time to center themselves to connect to God others may need a big noisy crowd.  Each of you need to find your own way to connect to God every day.  The thing that we often forget is like the fish in the water asking; what is the ocean?  We are literally swimming in God all we have to do is take time to pay attention.

The more attention we pay to God around us and through us, the better equipped we will be to recognize God.  We will be equipped to recognize God when we are challenged by who is my neighbor.  We will be equipped to recognize God so that we can Love God with our whole hearts, soul and mind even in the most challenging time.  We will be equipped to follow two simple commandments.

Two commandments?  I can do that; through the grace of God and only by the Grace of God, amen!

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[1] wikipedia, Pharisees, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees (accessed October 20, 2014).

[2] Gospel Outreach Ministries online, The Law: All 613 Commandments, http://www.gospeloutreach.net/613laws.html (accessed October 20, 2014).

[3] Dan Clendenin, Humanizing Holiness:Are Some Commandments More Important Than Others, http://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20081020JJ.shtml (accessed October 20, 2014).

[4] J.M. Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith (San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1997), sec. July 20.

[5] Qoutes from Thomas Merton, http://www.octanecreative.com/merton/quotes.html (accessed October 20, 2014).