Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

By now, if you have been here the last couple of Sundays, you are noticing

            that during the Epiphany season this year

                        the gospel readings have been from the Sermon on the Mount.

A major part of this whole liturgical season – 4 Sundays –

            is dedicated to and focused on chapter 5 of Matthew,

and there are still 2 more chapters for the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.

Typically folks tend to look at the Sermon on the Mount

            as the high point of Jesus’ message.

And so often these three chapters from Matthew’s Gospel

            are considered to be the summation of Christian moral teaching.

But if we stop there,

with that idea that the Sermon on the Mount is primarily about morality,

then we aren’t looking deeply enough at it.             No, no, no.

Let me remind you about the last verse from the Gospel reading last Sunday.

Jesus said,

            “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,

            you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Then in today’s reading starting with the very next verse,

            we have Jesus giving 3 examples in which he begins by saying,

“You have heard it said [this]…, but I say to you [something other]…”

and that “something other” than the familiar and conventional understanding

            goes beneath the purely outward behavior

based on law and commandments

            to what is far more fundamental and relational.

"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 or if you insult a brother or sister,

you will be liable to judgment;

and if you say, `You fool,' – if you demean and devalue your brother or sister –

you have made yourself liable to be thrown out into the garbage dump

            - that’s the hell fire mentioned in this verse: Gehenna                       

the Jerusalem garbage dump where there were perpetual fires.

In other words, pull someone else down,

            and you pull yourself down.

Anyone else – for they are all your brothers and sisters.

All relationships are on the line.

If one is angry with another, but without awareness of God,

                        and of the real nature of our relationship with one another,

            then that anger is arrogant, prejudiced and judgmental.

And it is self afflicting as a result;

            those attitudes of arrogance, prejudice and judgment

                        are self damaging spiritually, self afflicting.

In this passage from the sermon on the mount Jesus is saying

            that what you do to another, you do to yourself.

Later in chapter 7, verse 12, Jesus says,

            “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you.”

And, I will add, that is because what we do to others we do to ourselves.

Jesus caps off that Golden Rule by adding:

            “This is the law and the prophets.”

Jesus is talking to his disciples about a just intimacy in their relationships,

            what makes for a righteous intimacy,

                        an intimacy in relationships that is right with God,

                        that puts us into right relationship with God.

Back to Chapter 5 – verse 25

Jesus says, “Come to terms quickly with your accuser

while you are on the way to court with him…”

In other words,

            get into the just relationship before resorting to the law,

            before getting to the judge!

This is the righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.

Greater righteousness occurs outside the law, prior to the law.

            and that’s where personal responsibility lies.

The next example of

            “You have heard it said [this]…, but I say to you …”

                                    is about adultery –

This section of today’s reading is perhaps the most well known,

            especially for those who remember Jimmy Carter’s interview with Playboy.

You need to remember that he said out loud

            the truth of every human being.

And this reveals the fragility of marital faithfulness.

But in this context of the Sermon on the Mount,

            which is Matthew’s Gospel parallel of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai,

We need to remember this other verse from last week:

            “Think not that I have come to abolish/destroy the law AND the prophets,

            but to fulfill.”

                        to complete it, to bring the law to its fullness and its maturity,

                        exhibit its farthest reaching extent.

And the prophets, who continually were calling the people back to the law,

            used the basic, primal and fundamental relationship to talk about that –

                        marriage – the marriage between God and the people of the Covenant

                        and the violation of that marriage relationship in adultery.

Essentially all sin is adultery.

All sin is a form of adultery against God.

In the prayer book before the general confession,

            the deacon or priest who bids the confession says,

“Let us confess our sin against God and our neighbor.”

Our sins are violations of aspects of our relationships with others,

            but the primary relationship is with God, so God is listed first.

And God sees our relationship as so fundamental and intimate,

            that ANYTHING we do, say or think impacts that relationship.

“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees…”

Righteousness is the foundation, not the achievement.

It is not attained, but imbued.

Righteousness is not attained, but imbued.  It is given.

            If you don’t get in touch with that you are living in poverty.

God is love, and when we are baptized,

            we are baptized into Jesus and that agaph love.

The foundation of all human beings is  agaph love.

The inhibition of that agaph love in our lives

            is what invokes suffering in the world.  Can you see that?

But the recognition of the suffering and affliction is called compassion.

            When we recognize suffering and affliction, this is called compassion.

All right, now we can talk about what that means for us.

Time for personal reflection –

Think about this:

            What is your response to the issues that are currently of concern for you?

This can be either moral issues or relational issues or political issues.

Heaven knows we have an overabundance of that!

            Almost on a daily basis we see new issues of concern arise.

Actually we can see that all of our personal transactions are political in nature.

Let me clarify what is meant by politics.

The word comes from Greek and means literally “affairs of the cities.”

It can be defined as

            the process of making decisions applying to all members of each group.

It can also be seen as

            the study or practice of the distribution of power and resources

                        within a given community

            as well as the interrelationships between communities.

In other words, we can see that all of our personal transactions

            have a political element.

Well, what does that mean for us?  -- personal reflection –

Think about this: how is your response to the issues that are of concern to you             – either moral issues or political issues or relational issues –

how is your response obscuring the reality of the issue you are responding to?

            What is your motivation as you respond?

I use examples from the news about the travel ban

and about this weekend’s ICE raids and round ups of resident aliens.

            These were enacted with the statement that it’s for safety and security

                        -- a big concern for many.

If safety and security were the main concern,

            then maybe we should be focusing on gun violence instead.

But since we aren’t, then the issue can’t really be safety.

It seems that it is more about inclusion and exclusion,

            security, but at the expense of others.

But for us as individuals here in church today and in our daily lives,

            our security is an internal issue,

                                    not a refugee or immigration or deportation issue.

That is what the Sermon on the Mount is addressing.

It speaks to the internal values and how we treat others.

So again,

how is your response obscuring the reality of the issue you are responding to?

            What are your motivations as you respond?

Do we have ears to hear?

Or will we each hear in our own ways as we are accustomed and prefer to hear?

May I suggest that we first take account of ourselves

            regarding our own issues of violence and security.

                        How am I a violent threat to others?

See if this is helpful for personal self reflection:

Consider the issue of the vetting of potential refugee immigrants.

And another aspect of that consideration we may not easily realize

        is vetting by other countries of who from here can come to their countries.

We may not always remember but this works two ways.

            What would any country need to know about us

                        in vetting us to let us into their country?

            especially given the general negative impact they perceive on their culture

                                    by this country’s culture?

In a sense, today’s Gospel is about another kind of vetting.

            the vetting of both our behavior and our attitudes.

So what is your response to the issues most concerning you?

            And how is your response

                        obscuring the reality of the issue you are responding to?

We can each ask ourselves, “Why am I so upset?

            What is it that I am bringing to the issue at hand?”

As I consider myself personally, I find I keep coming back to an incipient fear

            that has to do with scarceness/scarcity

                        and the destructive effect that has on relationships.

In it is an attitude of poverty of resources,

            which leads to the sense of alienation and separateness.

This attitude of scarcity has a destructive result on relatedness.

           

Jesus is utterly not about that,

            because ownership was not an issue for him.

“Consider the lilies…” he says, “consider the ravens…”           

Therefore no exploitation is needed.  There is enough.  God provides.

So can we have compassion for others in their affliction

                        and where they need support?

The recognition of affliction is called compassion.

To repeat myself,

Our sins are violations of aspects of our relationships with others,

            but the primary relationship is with God,

And God sees our relationship as so fundamental and intimate,

            that ANYTHING we do, say or think impacts that relationship,

                                                                                    is adulterous.

But the fulfillment of the law and the prophets,

                        the righteousness that exceeds the religious experts,

            is not attained, but imbued, given, is the grace of our salvation.

If you don’t get in touch with that you are living in poverty.

Do you realize how vital and relevant the Sermon on the Mount is?

            especially for right now!

   

Advent 2 sermon: The Prophet John, the Baptiist

Advent is the season about preparation for what is coming,

and last Sunday Sabeth reminded us of three ways of Christ coming:

            as the baby in Bethlehem,

            as the Spirit of Christ with us,

            and as the final coming in glory and for the judgment that sets all at right.

This week it’s John the Baptist

            and his message about preparing the way for the Lord.

And we hear the quintessential Advent Gospel:

            “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

            Prepare the Way of the Lord!”

Advent just wouldn’t be Advent without John the Baptist.

His role in calling us to repentance is one very important element

            in our preparation to celebrate Christmas.

Amid all the decorating and putting up the tree and musical presentations

                        and shopping and baking

                                    and Christmas cards or email newsletters to send out,

            here is John the Baptist poking his head into the fun

                        with a cold-water reality check.

It’s not all about the baby Jesus and shepherds and angels.

It is about a self-reflective preparation for a coming encounter with Jesus.

John the Baptist is keyed into the message of the prophets about the Messiah

             a Messiah who is fearsome and powerful, violent in his coming.

As we heard from the Isaiah reading, a Messiah who will

not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide by what his ears hear;

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor/

                                                he shall vindicate the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

So John is preaching in the fiery style of the prophets of old,

            and no one escapes his critical remarks.

“You brood of vipers,” he calls the Pharisees and the Sadducees;

            now the Sadducees are the priests, the clergy,

            and the Pharisees are those known for their upright living.

You bunch of poisoners, he calls them,

            you poison the people with the way you practice your religion.

You are coming to me, John says, because you can feel the fire on your backsides.

Well then, bear fruit worthy of repentance.

            Rather than poisoning those you come in contact with,

            you are to be fruitful for them.

And the Baptist tells us how to prepare for the coming of the One

                        who will change everything for you.

            “I baptize you with water for repentance,” John says,

            “but HE will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

John is pointing to Jesus as a baptizer with fire

            and a winnowing fork and a threshing floor,

            implements for purging wheat from its chaff, stalks, leaves

                        and other detritus

            so that the only thing that is left is what is fruitful.

We are talking about a spiritual process

            that Jesus wants to accomplish in us,

                                    a process of purging, purifying, changing us.

We could look at Advent then as an exhortation to engage in a four week vigil,

            a spiritual exercise in watching, waiting and being willing to be changed,

                        being willing to get turned around, getting repentance.

This is where Advent can get serious if we are to pay attention

            to the Bible verses we had read to us this morning.

So let me help us all to do a little self-reflection here

            about what this might mean on a practical and personal level.

Jesus coming at us with a pitchfork or a flame thrower is a rather scary image,

            but that’s the way John the Baptist got folks’ attention.

Let’s look at another version of this: from the Gospel of John, chapter 15.

Jesus said,  

            "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.

            He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit.

            Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. …

            Abide in me as I abide in you.

            Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine,             neither can you unless you abide in me.

            I am the vine, you are the branches.

            Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit,

            because apart from me you can do nothing.

            Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers;             such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

            My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit

            and become my disciples.

            As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.”

Now I am no gardener,

but I do know the difference between trimming a hedge and pruning roses.

The idea with a hedge is that you trim off all of the branches and leaves

            along the sides and the top so that they are even.

But you shouldn’t do that with rose bushes.

There you need to cut each bush individually,

            checking each branch to see where to cut it,

            so that it will produce more blossoms.

From my own limited experience I know that each rose bush

                        is its own unique self.

And if you prune it correctly, you can coax a whole lot more out of that beauty.

In our case God is the one doing the pruning.

We don’t prune ourselves.

But we can cooperate.

That will make it easier on ourselves,

            because, as the old saying goes, what you resist, persists.

And if you ask me how do I cooperate with this spiritual process of getting pruned/purged/purified,

            well, what would you guess I might say.

One very good, and particularly advent-y way

            is to meditate:

                        to sit and do nothing

            so as to allow for God to work without interference.

That is one spiritual practice for cooperating with God’s grace and mercy

                                                                                                                        purifying us.

So what does this purging accomplish in us?

The chaff, the useless is removed.

What is fruitful, nourishing and life-giving is enhanced.

Think of what that means practically.

Think of it in terms of relationships.

Think about how that would impact the way we talk with each other,

                        - not just within these walls, but out there -

            how we see each other,

            what our attitudes and motivations are with each other,

            how we are with each other.

We would see the judgments and assumptions and stereotyping

            that have kept us separated and fearful of one another.

We would see how we use others, maneuver and manipulate

            for our own ends.

We would see how we discount others, turn a blind eye,

            how the heart is cold,

            or how we just plain fail to see how interconnected and interdependent

                        we all really are with one another.

This is the kind of self-reflection work that we need to do,

because we are each a different rose bush

                                                needing customized pruning.                        Right?

This personal work is important right now,

            not just as an Advent spiritual exercise

            but because of what is happening currently in the world around us.

The word to describe it that I hear most is “unprecedented.”

And people are scrambling into all sorts of actions.

I have been asked the question, “What do we do now?” a lot in the last month.

And I have been telling people not to let fear take over

                        or be their motivation for what to do.

The important thing is to respond, not react.

This is our course of action for whatever happens,

            whether we judge what has happened as favorable or a disaster.

Respond instead of reacting.

And in order to do that, we first must understand and see clearly

            that we do not have within ourselves

                                    or in any resource derived from the world

the knowledge, insight and understanding

            to do the work it will take for what we want to engage or change.

The sufficient knowledge we seek for an outcome that benefits all

            will come only through spiritual awakening.

If we can be a faith community in which this awakening is born,

            we will then know how to serve others in effective action.

It really is best not to go running off into action

            until spiritual awakening and knowledge have come to birth in you.

This birthing is not impossible, nor is it even difficult.

Meditate.

            Sit in silence

            awake, watchful,

            willing to sit in the fire of the Holy Spirit baptism

            until you can acknowledge what has been given you –

                        the inner spiritual healing,

                        the presence of Jesus which is the guiding and empowering factor

                                    for what the world needs,

                        waiting for the coming Christ to be born in you

                                                for the sake of the world.

This is important.

You have a role to play.

You can make a difference

            if you let God work in you

                                                for the sake of the world.

Reflection after Meditation for the Current State of Affairs

What do we do now?

I have been asked that question a lot in the last month.

I have been telling people not to let fear take over or be their motivation for what to do.

The important thing is to respond instead of react.

This is our course of action for whatever happens,

            whether we judge what has happened as favorable or disaster.

Respond instead of react.

But also first we must understand and see clearly

            that we do not have within ourselves or in any resource derived from the world

            to do the work it will take for what we want to engage or change.

The sufficient knowledge we seek for an outcome that benefits all

            will come only through spiritual awakening.

If we can be a faith community in which this knowledge is born,

            we will then know how to serve awakening in mind, body and spirit.

Then effective action in serving others will follow.

It really is best not to go running off into action until spiritual awakening and knowledge has come to birth in you.

This birthing is not impossible, nor is it even difficult.

Meditate.

Sit in silence with the simple universal intercession of the Prayer of the Lamb

            until you can acknowledge what has been given you –

                        the inner spiritual healing,

                        the presence of Jesus which is the guiding and empowering factor

                                    for what the world needs.