Lilies Are Bad Enough at Easter

Matthew 6:24–34

No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.

I miss the word Mammon. 

I think it helps keep Jesus’ words at arms length.

Don’t serve Mammon? 

Right, wouldn’t think of it. 

Mammon, sounds like a monster on Star Trek. 

MAMMON, ONE EYED RULER OF THE ZARONQ DYNASTY ON THE PLANET PHORTAK.

No, you can count on me, never will serve Mammon, the ugly brute.

Money?

Not so good.

I liked the suggestion of my Methodist colleague - that verses 24 and 34 seem key in interpreting this pericope. He, of course, did not use the word “pericope,” he’s well into his fifties, and such terminology is a bit elusive for him now. . . but I digress.

Mammon.

Money.

Two masters.

Serve one. 

Today’s trouble is sufficient.

A couple things:

1. How do we NOT worry?

What do we make of the fear mongering all around us.

I am struck that - for many years I have sought to not participate in the rampant fear mongering in our politics and our culture - probably since the fear mongering of a certain president who just turned 100. (Speaking of which, when he died, the day of his funeral was a state holiday in Wyoming. . . . hmmmmm) 

Here is what is striking - given that I’ve considered turning to fear a mistake for most of my adult life,
Why is it that I find myself thinking and saying “I’m afraid that. . .”

Why is it, that fear is our default setting when addressing our world???

I went to text study in another state yesterday. As we spoke, it seemed that folks were quite reluctant to name worry or fear as a sin. 

I guess I am too.

2. I’m thinking that this is one of those texts where one can preach themselves into a corner. I expect that there is homiletical fruit in messing with this part of Jesus’ words:

But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

We who know well that our membership in the Kingdom is a gift of God’s grace might want to run from this, but I wonder if that doesn’ t mean that this is exactly where we have to go with this text. 

I’m not sure what to do with it . . . but I think this striving might well need a gracious re-interpretation in the lives of our hearers. And perhaps our own.

We had a snowy Sunday - and thus lower attendance last week. (I wish I had remembered this line by Willimon - who said “I love preaching on snow Sundays because you weed out the idly curious from the truly committed.”) I kind of suspect that the truly committed, upon hearing this part of the Sermon on the Mount will have one of two reactions. 

Either 

a. wish they did a better job of striving for the kingdom

b. are exceedingly glad they do such a great job of striving for the kingdom

Sort of two different homiletical issues, isn’t it?

And what of the idly curious? Aren’t they going to hear this and wonder at how they can join in the striving?

I’m afraid that’s the homiletical issue for this Sunday.
Do not worry. . . 

He Can't Be Serious

MATTHEW 5:38–48

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; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

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, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

A text like this can seem sort of inviting for preaching. 

Or maybe not.

I’ve looked at some interesting - and not so interesting - stuff. . . had some good preaching ideas, and abandoned them. And most of all, wondered what to write for this post (which I planned to post DAYS AGO).

Looked at an article on M L King. (Wow he used big words in his speeches. Several syllables. Today he’d be called an elitist!)

I’ve wondered a bit at the significant events in the Middle East. 

Probably not a preaching subject, really, for the call to love your enemies. 

But then again, the way many in our communities construe reality. . . 

In a sort of interesting read, titled “Resisting the Human Need for Enemies, or What Would Harry Potter Do?” - Mary Hess speaks to our culture’s construction of an enemy centered way to live. In the opening paragraph, she suggests that: 

“from the advent of original sin we, as broken human beings, find ourselves continually turning away from our God by creating objects of hatred.” 

That, I think is nice. 

She goes on to name some realities in our world:

“a vast media landscape strewn with productions that create and depict enemies, and then proceed to "bring us along for the ride" as those enemies are confronted and overcome, thus giving us the vicarious pleasure of "victory over."” 

And, here, I think, is an interesting conclusion from this analysis. . . 

...more and more of our emotional experiences are being trained in these narratives to expect such resolutions, a training that becomes particularly harmful in contexts that are not so simple.

(One would probably have to like Harry Potter as much as I do to find this article all that profitable, but I did like it.)

I suspect that it might be important to note that it is in this context, where we have become a distressingly enemy centered people, that we are preaching this section of the Sermon on the Mount. 

And it seems here in Matthew, that Jesus won’t have it.

Loader says this: 

It is a travesty to read "love your neighbour" as implying: hate anyone else, or, at least, your enemy, but that was how some then took these words and the practice is alive and well and informs what gives us a buzz in much entertainment at all ages. Whether within the marriage, family, the street, the community, or internationally, choosing to write people off is destructive for us and others. 

How about this for a sermon title? Jesus as buzz-kill!!!

Willimon preaches on this text - and has a few things that make me think. This line speaks to how Jesus’ call is quite counter the siren song of regarding the enemy as one to be destroyed. . . 

If anyone thinks that Jesus' good news makes sense the way we make sense, that notion is destroyed by the time we arrive at Matthew 5:45-48, Jesus' command to love our enemies. 

The opening line of that paragraph sings.

Later in the sermon Willimon says an interesting thing

I heard the great scholar of world religions, Huston Smith, list what he considered to be the unique, distinctive characteristics of the various faiths. When he got to Christianity, Smith simply said, "Forgiveness. Forgiveness of enemies. This is the very strange notion that makes the teaching of Jesus distinctive." 

Distinctive. Adventuresome. And difficult. 

Yet, with God, all things are possible, even obedience amid a society of vengeful, violent, retributive people like us North Americans. Early Christian missionaries were clear, in their sermons, that Christians' miraculous ability to love their enemies and to pray for them was irrefutable proof of the power of Jesus and the truth of the Christian faith. 

I’m reluctant to speak of the “uniqueness” of Christianity, but perhaps, this is the place to bring it up? ! ?

I can’t find it, but someone I read spoke of how a number of recent writers, summing up Jesus - that none of them mentioned love your enemies. Makes sense to me.

(FOUND IT!)  Love Your Enemies by Warren Carter Word & World Winter 2008 “Given the saying's authenticity, what might the historical Jesus have meant by this instruction? Interestingly, while many assert the saying's authenticity, it often plays little role in reconstructions of the historical Jesus. Fine studies of the historical Jesus by John Dominic Crossan,11 John Meier,12 and William Herzog,13 for example, give it either little or no attention. Ben Witherington's survey of "the third search" for Jesus, covering the work of some twenty scholars of the historical Jesus, does not list either the Matthew or Luke reference in the index.” 

Let me conclude with a great story Willimon uses in his sermon - and an addendum, something I’ve heard him do with this story when he’s re-used it of late. 

One Sunday, after I had preached upon another text in which Jesus commands us to forgive, a person emerged from church and accosted me at the door with, "Do you mean to tell me that Jesus expects me to forgive my abusive husband who made my life hell for ten years until I finally had the guts to leave him?" 

I immediately moved into my defensive mode with, "Well, er, we only have twenty minutes for a sermon and I can't appropriately qualify everything here, and I do believe that spouse abuse is a terrible evil, but, er, this is the sort of odd thing that you would expect Jesus to say. He did say that we ought to forgive 'seventy times seven.' And that's a great deal of forgiveness. And he did say to forgive our enemies and I can't think of a worse enemy for you than your ex-husband, and...." 

She drew herself up to her full height, took a deep breath, and said, "Good, just checking." 

God give me the grace, as a preacher, not to try to protect others from Jesus. 

That’s how he ended that sermon in the journal Interpretation, January 2003.

I’ve heard him suggest this: 

That as that woman walked off, it was as if the Holy Spirit said to me: “you look at that woman and all YOU see is a victim.
I see someone with whom I’m going to change the world.”

Amen!

Tough Choice

Matthew 5:21–37

You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one. 

I find our first lesson for Sunday has one of the interesting, interesting lines for preaching. 

“Choose life.” 

Seems pretty simple to me. 

What would you choose?

Of course, the real problem is in the follow through, isn’t it?

Pretty straight forward - “choose life.” Whoops, you’ve chosen something else. Doh!

Forgiveness, grace, invitation. Choose again.

Now, the Gospel text seems quite something else.

if you are angry. . . if you insult. . . if you say. . .  everyone who looks ...with lust has already. . . If your right eye causes you. . .  if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off But I say to you

He means it. He doesn’t mean it. He means it, he doesn’t mean it. Hemeansithedoesntmeanit. 

Does one need, first, to decide if Jesus does mean these exhortations? Sometimes the answer is more complex than yes or no, (which is sort of something one might well not want to say out loud, given verse 37 and all, but I digress)

Among the odder things that knock about in my brain lately, is the strange confidence I hear people express in the law. I have tried to think of a term for this. If antinomianism is lawlessness, what is a term for this strange love of the law? 

Philonomianism? - yes, I know, the law is good. I know, Psalm 119 says some pretty dang nice things about the law. . .  “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long.” Let me respond with Galatians 5, “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

I also know that Luther had some pretty nice things to say about the law. If I remember correctly, he says something in Bondage of the Will, to the effect that apart from the Gospel, the law is the greatest of God’s creations. . . 

But Philonomianism - as I am naming it here- is a most perplexing ignorance at how the law so regularly gets out of hand, and sooner or later, the tail wags the dog. (among other things, HIPAA rules sort of show that, don’t they?) Is this part of what is going on here? 

“Hey, really go for it. Cut off your hand if it does something bad! Then notice that you are still no closer to the kingdom, though you are maimed."

I think it is possible to read the text this way.

I like David Lose’s take in his “Dear Working Preacher” article this week. It is sort of David’s signature move, it seems to me, to look at a text and say, “that looks like its about x, most think its about x, but really, its about GOD!”

Once again, that reading seems to work.

The law won’t do.

The law can’t.

It gets out of hand.

For that matter, so do you.

Don’t throw out the law. Don’t imagine you’ve followed it simply because you haven’t been thrown in jail this week. Follow the law. It is what you are to do. Do so better than anyone. 

Love God.

Love your neighbor.

Its as simple as that.

Choose life.

Doh!

Anybody Got a Light?

Matthew 5:13-20

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Ever read the prayers that are posted by the Vanderbilt Divinity Library?

They can be nice.

Here's one for this week. . . 

     Perfect Light of revelation,

      as you shone in the life of Jesus,

       whose epiphany we celebrate,

      so shine in us and through us,

     that we may become beacons of truth and compassion,

   enlightening all creation with deeds of justice and mercy. Amen.

http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/prayers.php?id=17

I do wonder at what sort of Salt and Light we are to be. At how that might be lived. At why we're so much more often something quite less tasty than good spice, something quite less illuminating than clear light. 

Rolf Jacobson had an interesting comment last week on the workingpreacher podcast. He told of someone - their substitute organist - who came to their parish because a person had commented, I believe in a criticism - "those are the Lutherans, that's where they all think they're sinners." This sounded so honest, and different to the organist that (I think this was a woman) she started attending there. 

Salt. Light. 

Maybe not what people think it is.

Maybe the preaching task this week - is to announce it (AGAIN!) 

You ARE the light of the world

You ARE the salt of the earth

I attended a continuing ed event back in my youth, the late 80's I think.

The small group facilitator I was with would have us preach extemporaneously a bit on a story. 

He would say: "You are a Doctor of the Word!
                     Preach to me Doctor!"

And so, I say to you who are salt and light and are called to announce this saltandlight-ness to a congregation. 

Preach it Doctor!