All to All - Loving God

Kelsey Harmon

5th After the Epiphany, Year B

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Emmanuel, Houston

Isaiah 40:21-31

Psalm 147:1-12, 21c

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Mark 1:29-39

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

    I have never given a sermon before, so bear with me, and I hope you all enjoy it. I am basing my sermon after a reading from first Corinthians, in which Paul is writing a letter to the church he created in Corinth.

Paul was told by God to go out and spread the gospel, and Paul had no problem in doing so. I believe he felt honored to do as God told him. Paul is now an apostle, who is writing a letter to his church to instruct them on how he was successful in creating the church there, partly because they’re having concerns of whether he is an apostle or not.      Paul doesn’t ask for a reward after preaching the gospel. Which, to me at first didn’t sound so surprising, I mean why would he? but that’s what  made people question Paul’s actually being an apostle. Preaching and not to getting a reward, people thought that was suspicious. But he was an apostle, because God came to him and sent him to share and spread the gospel. I think rather than a physical, monetary reward, Paul felt incredible inside with self-assurance.  He had a good feeling inside for doing as God told him.

God will not love us any more than anyone else if we proclaim the gospel, but he will not neglect us either.  Being a Christian, a follower of God, It’s not a pyramid where we’re trying to get to the top and then become God’s favorite.  There’s no game of favorites with God. Following God consists of what we think of ourselves and how we feel inside. Sucking up to a teacher may get a student a good grade, but God is not that teacher.  He is a teacher, but not that teacher. The reward Paul receives is knowing he did the right thing by obeying God. 

We do things our family or friends ask of us because we love our family.  I care what they think of me, I don’t want to disappoint them, for their sake.  God cares for us. So I think of how Paul responds to God’s request as how we relate to our families, it’s similar, we and Paul do as God would do asks us to do because it is the right thing. 

The other thing Paul said in his letter is that he became all things to all people.  I like to think of it as not just being a part of one clique at school, but all cliques, thus, making the barriers not in existence. Numerous people are friendly towards everyone. Therefore, they are liked by most, similar to Paul. Paul didn’t become like a Jew to make fun of the Jewish culture, not to be hypocritical, but rather to embrace other people and show his respect to them. He wasn’t disguising himself by surrounding himself with so many different kinds of people.

If my friends like country music, I’ll listen to it and like it if I wish to do so. I won’t pretend to like it.  A high school student who is all to all (traverses cliques) might do so to have more friends, to be on friendly terms with more people, to have more unity among the people of the school.

Paul too, changed how he was with different people. Paul was gifted with the fact that he was open-minded enough to approach so many different kinds of people.  Paul shared the Gospel’s blessings.  He thought he’d be closer to the people of God by sharing the Gospel.  He’d be a happier person and so share more in the blessings of the Gospel.  He’s not doing it for the money or for the attention. He’s doing it for God and the Gospel. 

Paul asked for no reward because he didn’t feel like it’d be the right thing to do. Paul lived be two rules…LOVE God and LOVE your neighbor. and that’s why he went out to share the gospel with all his neighbors. I am not saying we must all go out and force God’s word onto everyone we encounter with bullhorns in our hands, but just to love God and our neighbors. 

Knowing God, the Gospel, God’s love and redemption of the world, and coming into relationship with God through the gospel was salvation for Paul.  That was Paul’s reward.  That’s all he wanted. That’s why he was all to all, to help bring the gospel to people in order to bring them to God.  Amen.

Sabbath - Drawing Near to God

Brad Sullivan
5th After the Epiphany, Year B
Sunday, February 5^th, 2012
Emmanuel, Houston
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-12, 21c
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39     

    Did you notice how little healing Jesus did on the sabbath?  I realize there was a bit of controversy through Jesus’ ministry about his healing on the sabbath, but at least on this particular sabbath, he only healed two people.  There was the man in the synagogue we heard about last week who had the unclean spirit, and Jesus healed him.  Then, today, there was Simon’s mother-in-law.  Jesus didn’t heal anyone else until after sundown, until after the sabbath was over. 

            What was he doing the rest of the sabbath?  We know from last week that he taught in the synagogue, and from today, we know he went home with Simon and Andrew.  Presumably, he spent the rest of the time resting, keeping God’s law and observing the Sabbath. 
            The point I’m making is, Jesus would break the Sabbath if there was a need right there in front of him.  He’d heal on the Sabbath, but he didn’t go out looking to do so.  His Sabbath goal was Sabbath rest to honor God.  Drawing near to God was primary for Jesus, in his own life and in his teaching.
            Teaching this message of drawing near to God was Jesus’ primary ministry.  The morning after Jesus healed many in Capernaum, hid disciples wanted him to heal others, but Jesus said, “"Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."  Jesus came out to proclaim the message, "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news," which we heard earlier in Mark’s gospel. (Mark 1:15)
            In last week’s lesson, the people were astounded at Jesus’ teaching...even casting out the demon they called a new teaching, with authority.  Jesus’ message, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news,” was Jesus’ main focus.  He healed as well, out of love, but he didn’t let that get him side tracked, away from proclaiming the message.  He didn’t let the fame and adoration of the people stop him from proclaiming his message.  “Draw near to God,” Jesus said.  Not, “love me,” in an egocentric, cult of personality kind of way. 
            Draw near to God was also how Jesus lived.  First thing in the morning, after teaching and doing all these healings in Capernaum, Jesus went off by himself to have some time alone with God.  More important than being healed, more important than fame or glory, at least in Jesus’ mind, is drawing near to God. 
            As we heard in Isaiah, fame and power and glory are nothing.  “[God] brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.  Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.”  In other words, the great and powerful are still just people, and they will grow old weary and die, just like everyone else.  “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
            “Even youths will faint and be weary...” Sorry to bring that up on youth service Sunday, but, as Isaiah points out, “Even youths will faint and be weary and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.” 
            I was at a church conference some years back and heard tell of a pastor who never took a day off.  He worked 7 days a week, every week.  When asked about this, he said, “Satan doesn’t take a day off, so neither will I.”  Really, so you want Satan to be the model for you life?  Jesus took a day off.  Heck, even God took a day off. 
            So, following God’s command, God’s way of life, Jesus knew he needed time to reconnect to God.  Jesus knew he needed Sabbath rest.  Jesus knew that being with God was the deepest desire of his heart.  Jesus longed for God.  He hungered and thirsted for God.  This was not just because Jesus was God.  Jesus longed for God because he was human.
            “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long.” (Psalm 25:4)  “For God alone my soul in silence waits; truly my hope is in him.” (Psalm 62:6)  Jesus knew and lived and taught the truth of these words.  The truth of these words took primacy even to his healings and miracles.  The healings and miracles showed his power and love, and they may wow us, but his message was primary. 
            Repent and draw near to God, for the kingdom of God has come near.  How near?  The kingdom of God is among us and within us.  All we must do is turn around, over and over again, and draw near to God.  Slow down.  Stop.  Take Sabbath time and draw near to God.  First thing in the morning.  Last thing in the evening.  Throughout the day.  Pray.  Rest.  Renew your strength.  That’s Jesus’ primary message.  Find your true self as you reconnect to God, and then live out the life you have found.  Amen.

We don't konw. We believe.

Brad Sullivan

4th After the Epiphany, Year B
Sunday, January 29^th, 2012
Emmanuel, Houston
Deuteronomy 18-15-20
Psalm 111
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28     

            “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; those who act accordingly have a good understanding...” (Psalm 111:10)  I always thought this meant that if you were afraid of God, then you’d do what he tells you, and that would be the beginning of wisdom.  By obeying God, you’d eventually learn that God is good and you’d learn over time, not to fear so much as to love God.  The problem with that is that God’s first commandment is not “fear me,” followed closely by “love me somewhat.”  God’s first commandment is “love me.”  Fear me ain’t even a part of the commandments.

            The psalmist is not saying, “think of God as you would the boogeyman, for that is the beginning of wisdom.”  In Hebrew, the word fear is more like awe and respect, so thinking of God with love, awe, and respect is the beginning of wisdom, and those who act accordingly have a good understanding. 

            The first nine verses of the Psalm give examples of the fear of the Lord.  If we take fear mean abject terror, then the last verse of the psalm makes no sense at all.  “Hallelujah!  I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.  Great are the deeds of the LORD!  They are studied by all who delight in them.” (Psalm 111:1-2)  Those are the first two verses of Psalm 111, and they show love, awe, and respect for God in the praise they offer to God.  Reading or praying these verses, you catch a glimpse of the heart of the psalmist, a heart so full of love for God that it must be expressed in song. 

            I would think that such a heart would be wise, for such a heart would know full well the joy and richness of God’s love and the joyful life that comes from following God’s way of life.  We did not hear terror or fear in the psalmist’s words; we heard love, respect, and awe.

            Interestingly, acting out of fear can sometimes lead to the same conclusion as acting out of love, but in very different ways.  Look at Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, first, viewing the text with the understanding of God as boogeyman.  “I’m terrified of God, therefore I won’t eat food sacrificed to idols because if I do, God’s gonna sneak out of my closet at night and kill me.”  Ok, so we don’t eat food sacrificed to idols, but we live in abject terror of God which will eventually lead to anger, hate, rejection and resentment of God…not something I’d recommend. 

            So, let’s view Paul’s letter by treating God with love, awe, and respect as the beginning of wisdom.  “I know idols are fake and so this food sacrifed to them is just fine for me to eat.  It is, after all, just food.  So, I can eat this food, but God taught me to love my neighbor.  My neighbor doesn’t know that idols are fake so for his sake, I won’t eat the food sacrificed to idols.”  We end up with the same action, not eating food sacrificed to idols, but one is brought forth from fear, eventually leading to anger, hate, and resentment of God.  The other action is brought forth from wisdom, acting according to God’s command, acting out of love of another which leads to greater love, peace, and joy. 

            “The love, awe, and respect of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; those who act accordingly have a good understanding...” (Psalm 111:10)  The disciples found this to be true when they met Jesus, and when they saw the miracles he performed.  “They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching-- with authority!” (Mark 1:26ish)  Believing in Jesus perhaps because of witnessing his miracles and power, was for the disciples, the beginning of wisdom, followed by believing in his teachings, his way of life, and following him, acting accordingly and having a good understanding.

            Now, not everyone who saw, believed.  Some didn’t see Jesus to be godlike in his power, authority, and teaching, and so they didn’t believe in Jesus.  Some, on the other hand needed far less convincing than others.  Nathaniel, as we heard last week, didn’t need demons cast out, he just needed Jesus to tell him he saw him under a fig tree, and that was enough for him…although it did take more than simply believing his friend’s word.

            In our lives, we don’t get to see Jesus casting out demons.  We don’t get to hear him teach in person, or watch him heal folks, multiply food, or calm a storm with a word.  We don’t have that first hand experience, rather, we have the stories of those who did.  We hear about and read about Jesus’ acts, and what we find in those stories is also the effect Jesus’ actions had on those around him. 

            Like looking into the Psalmists’ heart when we read the words of Psalm 111, when we read Mark’s gospel, we see the hearts of those who had love, awe, and respect for Jesus.  We see the hearts of those for whom Jesus’ divine nature was revealed in the power and love of his miracles and teaching.  In hearing and reading the gospel stories, we see the hearts of folks who found the love, awe, and respect of Jesus to be the beginning of wisdom. 

            If only we could have been there.  If only we knew, right?  If only we had the first hand experience of the disciples in the ways Jesus was revealed to them.  If only I could see Jesus cast out a demon, then I’d have no doubt, right?  Then, I’d know.  Except, as Paul pointed out in his letter to the Corinthians, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8: 2ish)  We can’t know the truth about God in any scientifically provable way.  We can’t know if Jesus really is God.  Even if we saw Jesus casting out demons, we wouldn’t know.  We would choose to believe or not, based on how we chose to interpret reality.  Again, remember that some who saw Jesus casting out demons believed him to be doing so with evil. 

            And so, we can’t know in a scientifically provable way, the truth of Jesus.  Those who saw Jesus cast out demons didn’t know, either.  They saw, and they believed. 

            So, what does it take for us to believe?  Some of us have had our own experiences of God, ways in which God has revealed himself to us, or experiences which we have interpreted as such, and so we believe.  For some, belief simply makes sense. 

            On the other hand, some don’t have their own experiences of God, or haven’t recognized them as such.  Some of us have only the stories and witnesses of those who have gone before us.  Sometimes these stories are from scripture.  Sometimes these stories come from our family and friends.  We have the belief of those before us to guide us into believing.  We have the belief of those who have found the love, awe, and respect of the Lord to be the beginning of wisdom, and then we can let their belief guide us, until we have found truth there.  For some, belief has come to make sense over time.  For some belief came automatically.

            For some of us, we may still be struggling, hoping for an epiphany to give us enough certainty to feel ok about believing.  To those, I would say “keep wrestling.  Keep struggling.”  If you wait until you know, in order to believe, then you likely never will.  So keep acting as though you believe.  Worship, pray, study scripture, listen to the stories of your family and friends.  See if, over time, the love, awe, and respect of God proves to be the beginning of wisdom for you as well.

            In this season of Epiphany, of the continual revealing of Jesus as God, remember that none of us know.  Even those with our own epiphanies don’t know.  We believe.  Whether we believe because of our own epiphanies or because of those who have gone before us, the key is that we believe.  We believe in God, and we allow that belief to be real enough to change our lives. 

            We believe because we have heard the story of God’s love for us in becoming human, God’s forgiveness and redemption of all the world in dying, and God’s life and love which his invites us to share in his resurrection.  We hear that story and find it beautiful, and so we believe.  We hear that story and we find it to be more compelling than any other story we have heard, and so we believe.  We believe because we, like the psalmist, have found the love, awe, and respect of God to be the beginning of wisdom.  Amen.

           

Seeing Jesus, Being Jesus

Brad Sullivan

3rd Sunday of Easter
Sunday, May 8th, 2011
Emmanuel, Houston
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17
1 Peter 1:17-23
Luke 24:13-35

I love the story of the journey of Cleopas, his companion, and risen / disguised Jesus to Emmaus. One thing I just noticed in the story is that Jesus was going on.  They were turning in for the night, and Jesus was heading on.  Perhaps he had somewhere he needed to be?  I wonder, however, if he might have been testing Cleopas and his companion.  I don't mean that in a harsh or cruel way, but they had been his disciples.  They had heard him preach and teach about loving their neighbors and offering hospitality to others.  I wonder if he was seeing what they would do, if they would remember, and they did.  They got it.  They were living out the way of life he had given them, embodying his teachings.  We'll get back to that in a little bit.

As I said when I began, I love this story.  It’s exciting. It’s comforting. It’s confusing. It’s beautiful. These folks had the scriptures opened up to them by some guy they met on the road, offered hospitality to him, they shared a meal, and then, suddenly, there was God, there was Jesus sitting right before them.

How did they not know that it was Jesus beforehand? We don’t exactly know. Scripture says their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  Perhaps Jesus’ face changed in a similar way as it did during the transfiguration. Perhaps God put some mental block on them so that the whole time they were thinking, “who is this guy? It’s right on the tip of my tongue. He looks so familiar.”  These were Jesus’ disciples, but maybe they were kinda of like proto-Episcopalians and always sat in the back whenever he preached so they just never got that good of a look at him. We don’t know exactly how this story happened, we believe that it did.

On the day Jesus was raised from the dead, he appeared to his disciples, and there was something different about him and he could appear and disappear at will (which is really pretty cool, could get you out of some awkward situations, but it was still Jesus. It was the man whom they had known and loved and followed.

Not too long after Jesus appeared to his disciples, he seemingly left. Jesus ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to be with us. We believe Jesus will come again to complete the restoration of the world and make creation new. It might seem a logical conclusion then that Jesus is gone in the mean time. We’re waiting for Jesus to return, therefore he must be gone right now. Right?

One of the great things about God is that the flipside of the coin need not always hold. God knows everything. We have free will. The flip side of each of those coins contradicts the other, and that’s where the dog is buried. Jesus left. He ascended into heaven. Jesus is still here with us. That’s where the dog is buried.

So, if Jesus is still with us, and people sometimes encounter him as they are walking along, when have you encountered Jesus? By that, I don’t mean when have you seen the risen Jesus come down from heaven and show you the marks of the nails in some pre-second coming experience? Maybe such experiences can happen; they just aren’t what I’m talking about today.

I’m talking about something a little more spiritual and mystical. When have you seen God’s will or God’s word embodied in another person?

Bishop Doyle was here for Confirmation last Wednesday, and he talked about God’s will and knowing God’s will. That seems a pretty bold statement, “I know God’s will.” Then he reminded us that we’ve heard God’s will expressed time and again in Scripture. Love God. Love people. We heard God’s will expressed in the words of Micah, telling us to be just and merciful, and to walk humbly with God.

We hear of God’s will embodied in Jesus who was just and merciful, who walked humbly with God, loving God and people. During Jesus’ life on earth, God’s will and word were embodied in the particular person of Jesus of Nazareth, and God’s will and word were still present and active in the rest of creation, including other people. John the Baptist comes to mind as one example of someone in whom God’s will and word were present and active. So God was localized in Jesus and present everywhere.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus was still the one particular person whom he had been his whole life, the same person whom Cleopas and his companion encountered on the road to Emmaus. At the same time, after his death and resurrection, Jesus kinda went everywhere. Paul tells the Romans and the Corinthians that Jesus is in them. Jesus is in us. While still the particular person, Jesus of Nazareth, resurrected, Jesus is also within each of us. So, Jesus can be everyman or everywoman.

Jesus can be mom. That seems rather appropriate on Mother’s Day. The images of God as mother are well documented in Scripture. They are sparcely documented, but well documented.  There’s one, Isaiah 49:15, which I love: “Can a woman forget her nursing-child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”

The image of God as a nursing mother, and God giving birth to people and creation out of her womb is a beautiful image and one that’s sustained me greatly in some difficult times. So, Jesus can be mommy. Jesus can be daddy. Jesus can be everyone in the world while still being the particular person, God whom Jesus is.

So, with all of that being said, when have you encountered the risen Jesus? When have you encountered someone being just, merciful, loving, walking humbly with God? When has someone been forgiving towards you? When has someone been a light to guide you out of darkness?  When have your seen someone embody the teachings of Jesus, his word and way of life?  Considering that Cleopas and his companion embodied Jesus' teachings and way of life, I wonder if Jesus might have encountered himself in them.  

Jesus shows up quite a lot, doesn’t he? So, for a final thought for the day, think again about your life, but turn the question back on yourself. When have you been the risen Jesus for others? Amen.

Get up, and do not be afraid.

Brad Sullivan

Last Sunday after the Epiphany
Sunday, March 6th, 2011
Emmanuel, Houston
Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 99
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9

I’ve been meeting with a Rabbi for the last five months or so; we’ve been learning from each other about our two faiths, and one thing of which I’ve been reminded through our meetings is how vast and incomprehensible God is. God is beyond all our attempts at understanding, beyond our descriptions and conceptions. This is not to say God is unknowable; it is simply to say God is greater than we can conceive. We’ve been given glimpses of God through the Law, through the prophets, through Jesus.

As a vast oversimplification, we could say that a way of life was given whereby we can learn something of God and potentially live out something of the divine life here on earth. Depending on our approach, we could also simply be following a set of rules with little of God’s life entering in. So, as a vast oversimplification, we have the prophets calling us to remember not only the law but the purpose of the law and how by faith to live faithfully to God. Then, again as an oversimplification, we have Jesus as the embodiment of the law and the prophets, living out the life called for by both, and we have Jesus as God, that to which the law and the prophets were directing us.

Is anyone else confused yet? I’m guessing that’s how Peter, James, and John felt up on the mountain, largely very confused. It was probably very nice to see Moses and Elijah up on the mountain with Jesus. They were maybe a little star struck, but I’m guessing they were also quite confused, wondering what in the world was going on.

We have some of this confusion illustrated by Peter wanting to build three dwellings, one for Moses, one for Jesus, and one for Elijah. What Peter was actually wanting to build was three tabernacles, places for the three of them to dwell with God. There are two challenges here. One, God really wants us to build tabernacles in our hearts for him to dwell, and two by building three separate dwellings for Moses, Jesus, and Elijah, however, Peter was separating Jesus from the Law and the prophets when they really belong together. Jesus fulfilled the law and the Prophets. Jesus was God, to whom the law and the prophets direct us, and Jesus followed the law and the prophets in his own life. Doing so was how he, as a human being, maintained the tabernacle in his own heart for God to dwell. I realize there is an inherent contradiction in saying “Jesus is God” and saying “Jesus made a place in his heart for God to dwell.” I’m ok with that contradiction.

As Rabbi Annie would say, “that’s where the dog is buried.” It’s a Yiddish expression meaning “there’s the rub,” or “there’s the contradiction inherent in this situation.” Our whole faith is full of contradictions. Jesus is a human being. Jesus is God.

Jesus is both revelation and example. If Jesus was only a revelation of God, then we would be lacking a human example of living a life of faithfulness to God. If Jesus were only an example for us to follow, then we would be missing something of the revelation of God. So, we say “Jesus is God” and “Jesus made a place in his heart for God to dwell.” Jesus is both revelation of God and example of human life.

By listening to Jesus, we too can make places in our hearts for God to dwell. That was God’s response to Peter wanting to make tabernacles for Moses, Jesus, and Elijah. God interrupts Peter, tells him who Jesus is, God’s beloved son, and tells them to listen to him. Perhaps the parenthetical, unspoken portion of God’s message was, “No, Peter, you’re missing the point. You needn’t build tabernacles for the three of them so that they may dwell with me. Rather, build a tabernacle in your heart so that you may dwell with me.” Instead, God simply said, “this is my beloved Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

So we have in the transfiguration, a revelation of who Jesus is as God with God’s glory shining through him, and we have a revelation of who Jesus is as a human being, so familiar with the law and the prophets that he could have a conversation with Moses and Elijah just as easily as we could talk with one another right now.

So, we have this dual revelation on the last Sunday of the Epiphany, three days before we begin our Lenten journey. I find this rather helpful because Lent is a time when, more than any other time of the year, we are intentional about building tabernacles in our hearts for God to dwell. “Nearer my God to thee, nearer to thee, oh how I long to be nearer to thee.” The words of the old gospel hymn ring true at all times and especially during Lent, the purpose not being self abasement or really even self denial. The purpose of Lent is to draw nearer to God. The sacrifices we make or fasts we observe during Lent are simply ways of helping us clear out spaces in our hearts for God to dwell, that God may tabernacle in our hearts.

Clearing those places out is only one step, however, the other step being to listen to Jesus. Let’s start with the first words he said to Peter, James, and John after the transfiguration. “Get up and do not be afraid.” Those would be nice words possibly to paint on our ceilings above our beds so that we might see those words every morning when we wake. Get up and do not be afraid. We’re going to look at some other words of Jesus as well and see how they might help us build tabernacles in our hearts.

Jesus told a story, a parable of the prodigal son. The story was about a young man who basically told his father, “I wish you were dead, but since you aren’t quite dead yet, I want my inheritance now so give me my money.” The father does so, the son wastes all of the money and returns to his father to apologize and ask to be a servant in his house, but before the son even got there, the father ran out to him and threw his arms around him. The father didn’t chastise the son or seek vengeance for the hurt the son caused. Rather, he welcomed his son back with joy and love. God always loves us, even when we turn away from him, even when we hurt ourselves and others. God is always ready to welcome us back, to run towards us and wrap his arms around us. “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, rather than seeking vengeance. We would hopefully seek justice in our world, but rather than seek vengeance, he teaches us to love our enemies and pray for those who wrong us. God is merciful and just, and sometimes we’re going to need to depend on God’s justice rather than seeking vengeance on our own. Such is the love God wants us to experience and have in the world that we might increase and add more love to the world rather than add more hurt and hate to the world. “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

Jesus tells us that he loves us and will be with us always even to the end of the ages, and although he seemingly left us by ascending into heaven, Jesus gives us an assurance that he is and will be with us always by sending us the Holy Spirit, the comforter, the Advocate to be with us, to strengthen us, to guide us, to dwell within our hearts. When everyone else seems against us, the Holy Spirit can be for us, always drawing us nearer to God. “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

Just before Jesus’ transfiguration and shortly after his transfiguration, Jesus told his disciples that he was going to suffer and die, and we see in that a reminder that as Jesus suffered and died, so must we all suffer and die. We hope not to have an overabundance of suffering when we die, but all of us, one day will eventually suffer and die. These lives will end, and yet we look not only to Jesus’ crucifixion and death but to his resurrection, showing us that life does not end with our deaths, but that the resurrection of the dead is real. Life continues on with God even after our physical lives here on earth have ended. “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

We are taught to live with faith in Jesus, with faith in Jesus in this dual revelation of Jesus in the transfiguration, to have faith in Jesus as God, as the one through whom God’s glory shown in the transfiguration, and we’re also taught to have the faithfulness of Jesus, living out lives of law and prophet as Jesus did, living out the way he lived, faith in him as God and the faithfulness of him as a human being. “Get up, and do not be afraid.”

We also remember that God is beyond our comprehension, beyond anything we can possibly imagine, greater and vaster than we can begin to conceive, and yet this same God who is beyond our imagining is the same God who desires and promises to dwell in our hearts, and we’re invited to make places within our hearts for this vast incomprehensible God to dwell. “Get up, and do not be afraid.”  Amen.

Be Perfect, Everybody...

Brad Sullivan

7th Sunday after the Epiphany
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Emmanuel, Houston
Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18
Psalm 119:33-40
1 Corinthians 3:10-11,16-23
Matthew 5:38-48

Be perfect, everybody, you got that. Anything short of perfection, and you’re out. Perfection is a pretty tall order although as Garrison Keeler pointed out, Jesus was preaching this sermon on a mount, and here in Houston things are pretty flat, so it might not be quite as applicable to us here. Looking more seriously at the scripture, I don’t know that Jesus was saying, “be forever without fault or defect of any kind,” when he said to be perfect.

He didn’t actually even give the absolute command, “be perfect.” He rather said, “you will be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect.” Further, the word translated as perfect can also mean “whole” and “complete”. Be whole people. Be complete people, and in that way, perfect, as your heavenly father is whole, complete, perfect.

We tend to love trying to measure up to the sinless life of Jesus and then castigating ourselves for not measuring up. That’s not the point of this passage, to set some incredibly high bar of perfection in our lives which we can never attain so that we can then spend the rest of our lives feeling badly about ourselves.

Notice that everything leading up to this statement about perfection or wholeness was a teaching about how to love others. "You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also…” (Matthew 5:38-39) That’s a difficult saying, to be sure, I don’t know that Jesus is telling us to sit idly by while someone beats us to a bloody pulp. I don’t believe Jesus is telling people in abusive relationships to keep taking the abuse. Jesus isn’t telling us to sit idly by while people abuse others or to ignore injustice or violence. Jesus wants us to stand up for the victims of fear, injustice, and oppression.

He’s simply commanding us to do so in love. In the example he gives, Jesus is telling us to end a cycle of violence before it really gets going. Rather than fighting back when someone strikes you on the cheek (which will lead to both people being hurt and one person likely being substantially more hurt than the other), take a bruised cheek, and offer another one. See if that will end it. We’re not talking about letting someone keep knocking our teeth out. The image Jesus gives is one of a person full of peace and love such that being struck on the cheek doesn’t incite a violent response. Such a heart doesn’t seek vengeance. Such a heart doesn’t return evil for evil. Such a heart sees with compassion, even towards one’s enemies. A heart full of peace and love is a heart that is whole, a heart that is deeply rooted in God.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu who faced terrible violence in South Africa said of his ministry, “I wouldn’t have survived without fairly substantial chunks of quiet and meditation. The demands that are made on one almost always seem to be beyond one’s natural capacities. There would be many times when the problems, the crises we were facing seemed about to overwhelm us. There’s no way in which you could have confronted these in your own strength.”

In her book The Soul of a Leader, Margaret Benefiel writes about Archbishop Tutu and gives an example of Archbishop Tutu interrupting a cycle of violence. There was a terrible occasion, when security forces killed 38 people in Sebokeng, a black township of South Africa, in 1990. When word of the massacre reached Archbishop Tutu, he was meeting with his synod of bishops. “He left the meeting to cry and pray in the chapel, and then, feeling directed by God, returned to the bishops,” and urged them to “suspend our meeting, which had never happened before, and go [to Sebokeng].” All of the bishops unanimously agreed, and the next morning they left for Sebokeng.

When they arrived, they celebrated the Eucharist in a local church and visited the injured and the bereaved. Soon thereafter, a convoy of armored police vehicles with tear gas and machine guns appeared. John Cleary of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported what he observed:

I heard the archbishop say, “Let us pray.” Then the noise of the vehicles stopped. The crowd went quiet. There was no sound from the Casspirs, no sound of tear gas canisters. So I looked around and there, behind me, were the Anglican bishops of Southern Africa—black, white, coloured, old, young—standing between the crowd and the Casspirs, with their arms outstretched. In that moment, I understood a little about what the Christian vision for a new South Africa cost people. I’d never witnessed that sort of courage before.

http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=11625

Archbishop Tutu and his fellow bishops, their hearts full of peace and love, deeply rooted in God, met violence with prayer, and ended the cycle of violence. Look again at what Jesus preached to his disciples, "You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” I doubt Archbishop Tutu had the most warm and fuzzy feelings for the men who had killed the people of Sebokeng, but he had enough love for them to give them prayer rather than violence in response to their violence.

There is no way he could have done that if his heart was full of hatred. He had every right to be hateful toward those men, his enemies, but having that hatred for them would not have brought about a peaceful resolution. Rather than be full of hate, Archbishop Tutu and his fellow bishops were made whole, complete, perfect.

Jesus was right in telling us not to hate our enemies because we can’t deal with hate. Nowhere does scripture tell us to hate our enemies. Plenty says God will hate or does hate the enemies of Israel of the enemies of justice and mercy. So perhaps people extrapolated from those verses of scripture that since God hates our enemies, we should hate them too. "You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'” The problem we find is that when we hate, love is driven from us. When we hate, even justifiably, we are diminished. We become less of who we are, hatred takes over and fills in the places that once contained us.

How can God then hate evil and those who do evil and still be whole, complete, perfect, holy? Presumably, God can do whatever God does. Even saying God hates these things, however, may be to ascribe too human a character to God. God is. In the way of life given to us by God, we find something of what God is.

The Israelites were told in Leviticus to “be holy, for [God is] holy.” Then a way of life was described in order for the people to be holy. This way of life included things like: honoring ones parents, keeping God’s Sabbaths, leaving some of one’s crop for the poor, being honest in words and actions, not stealing, making sure workers had enough wages for their daily living, looking out for the disabled, seeking justice, not hating one’s family, not taking vengeance, loving one’s neighbor.

We see in commanding this way of life not only a beautiful way for us to live, but we are also given a glimpse into the nature of God. God desires for us love, peace, honor, care for others, justice, reconciliation. Evil, injustice, malice, heartlessness, ruthlessness…these things, therefore, seem anathema to God. So, we say God hates these things. God can. God can hate those things that are anathema to God. God can do so without being destroyed. God remains whole, complete, perfect in love. We cannot. We do not. When we hate, our love is destroyed.

How then can we remain perfect, whole and complete in peace and love, without hate? Jesus tells to do so by praying. One of my seminary professors, Bishop Mark Dyer told us of a practice of prayer which he does every day. He takes out his calendar in the morning and prays for ever meeting he is going to have, ever person he knows he’s going to encounter throughout the day. He prays for those whom he is looking forward to seeing and those who, as he puts it, “get [his] Irish up.”

We’ve all got the folks who drive us a little nuts. Pray for them too. Pray for friends and family. Pray for the annoying ones. Pray for the ones we hold as enemies. Pray for a heart full of peace and love, deeply rooted in God. Such prayers and such hearts will make us whole, complete, perfect, even as God is perfect. Amen.

We've got God right where we want him

Brad Sullivan

4th Sunday after the Epiphany
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Emmanuel, Houston
Micah 6:1-8
Psalm 15
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Matthew 5:1-12

I think it’s pretty safe to say that we, Christians the world over, and really people of any faith are generally searching after God. We’re seeking God to draw near to God and to be ever closer to God in our lives. At the same time, I think that we in the church (worldwide) and in other religions are sometimes maybe hunting or tracking God in order to capture him rather than merely seeking God. I picture a couple of hunters going through a forest tracking God and coming to the bush where they know God’s hiding and they say to each other, “alright we’ve got God right where we want him.” Then they pull the bush, and one of them realizes God isn’t there, while the other one is just totally clueless and picks up whatever happens to be there.

“I’ve got him. I’ve got God right here.”
“Um, dude, that’s a stick.”
“No it’s God, and you have to do what I say. Ooh, and God has to do what I say. I’m awesome.”

We see this happening in our passage from Micah. God says to the people of Israel:

"With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? …He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

We all know from Leviticus that there was animal sacrifice to make atonement for sin in ancient Israel, and Micah was referring to that sacrificial system. God is basically saying “enough already with the burnt offerings. Be kind and merciful and just to one another, otherwise your religious practice is rather false.” There wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with the religious practices of ancient Israel except for those who sought to control God through their religious practices rather than to be changed by their religious practices. If I follow the religious practice, then God must bless me and make me right with him, but that’s not going to do it for God. As Isaiah wrote, “…these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote”. (Isaiah 29:13).

Good religious practices become bad religious practices when we try to control God with them rather that be changed by them. We find this throughout the history of the church too, times when we’ve sought to control God through our religion. A great example is the selling of indulgences in the Roman Church centuries ago. People felt they could literally buy their way into heaven. The apostle Peter had been given the keys to the kingdom of heaven and if he forgave the sins of any they would be forgiven. So, as the religion progressed, the popes were understood as Peter’s successors. So if they forgave the sins of any they would be forgiven by God. Forgiveness of sin was needed to get into heaven, and it got to the point that if you gave money to the church, you could have your sins forgiven by the pope. Giving money to the church was a good thing, an act of charity, and it was seen as a sign of repentance. Having shown a sign of repentance, forgiveness was granted.

Unfortunately, the practice became a rule and so, in practice, you could literally buy your way into heaven, and God was understood to be bound by this. These were the rules we thought God had given, only God wasn’t really playing by those rules so he called on his buddy Martin and asked for a reformation. (Martin Luther, Protestant Reformation) Just when we think we’ve got God right where we want him, he escapes our clutches and leads us back into living lives of faith, mercy, justice, and love.

Paul was reminding the Corinthians of this in his letter to them. The Corinthians were divided as we’ve heard in recent weeks, and some of it seemed to be over their religious and non-religious pedigree.

“Paul baptized me.”
"Bully for you, I was baptized by Apollos, and he was much better than Paul, so much more eloquent. His recitation of the baptismal liturgy was flawless. God was obviously more pleased with my baptism than with yours.”

Paul is saying today, “hold on a second guys, if that’s the kind of thing God used in order to bless people, then none of you would have even been baptized. It’s not as though y’all were overly intelligent, or powerful, or particularly important by society’s standards. That’s not why God blessed you. God blessed you because he loves you so be grateful, and stop trying to control God. Stop quarreling about who’s better or more blessed.

This question about God’s blessing the question which Jesus was addressing in the beginning of the sermon we heard today. In Jesus’ time (and in our time) people assumed God’s blessing by prosperity, peace, large families, health, joy, a lack of tragedy or misfortune. The flip side is also true. People often assumed God’s blessing was withheld from those who weren’t healthy, and prosperous, or besought by tragedy.

Jesus says, “No, no. The ones whom we assume to be blessed by God are not the only ones who are blessed. Those who by all outward appearances, we would assume are not blessed: the poor in spirit, the meek, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, those who mourn, they are also blessed. Blessed as well are those who may have no outward sign of being blessed: the pure in heart, the merciful, the peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. All of these are also blessed by God. You may have your rules,” Jesus was saying, “about those whom you believe God has blessed, but God isn’t bound by your rules. God can bless whomever God wants to bless.

Of course we in the church then took Jesus’ pronouncement of God’s blessing available even to the unblessables, and we made new rules about it. If you want to be blessed by God, you better mourn. Remember, we’re Christians; we’re supposed to be downtrodden, so if you’re too happy, God won’t be. Dallas Willard points out the absurdity of turning the beatitudes into rules of blessedness in his book The Divine Conspiracy. If you’re not persecuted, you can’t be blessed. Wait, you’re not meet? You’re kind of bold and brave? Well, you can’t be blessed.

The beatitudes are not prescriptions by which God must bless us or ways in which we can manipulate God into blessing us. The beatitudes are rather descriptions of some of the ways in which God’s blessing is available to all, and our efforts at controlling God and forcing his hand are all for naught.

When we use our religions to try to force God’s hand or try to capture and control God, then our good religious practices become sticks by which we use to try to have people measure up or sometimes use to punish people for not measuring up. When that happens, God escapes our clutches leads us back once again to live as he intends us to live. God wants us to live lives of faith, justice, mercy, and love. Living lives of faith, justice, mercy, and love, we will find God. Oops, there’s another rule. Living lives of faith, justice, mercy, and love, we’re not going to capture God, we’re not going to contain God or control God, but we will be living the divine life, God’s life of love.

That’s what Micah was calling the people of Israel to do, to continue with the sacrificial system if so desired, but to live lives of faith, justice, mercy, and love. Paul was reminding the Corinthians that it didn’t matter who baptized them or how great they thought they were. He called on them to quit quarreling and to live lives of faith, justice, mercy, and love. Jesus was telling his disciples that it didn’t matter if they thought someone was bless or not, God’s blessing was available to all, so quit worrying about who is blessed and who is not. Rather, live lives of faith, justice, mercy and love. Live God’s life of love.  Amen.