Lectionary 11A

Exodus 19:2-8a

Matthew 9:35 - 10:8

Let us pray…

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.  

Today’s gospel text is from Matthew 

and as we read Matthew alongside Exodus this morning, 

it’s helpful to remember that in his narrative, 

Matthew casts Jesus as a new teacher, like Moses. Matthew’s mainly Jewish audience would have recognized the parallels that Matthew draws between the two men.

 

It’s here in Matthew’s narrative that we get five speeches or discourses by Jesus, mirroring the early tradition that attributed the first five books of the Bible to Moses. 

While the Pentateuch begins with Genesis and the creation stories, 

in Matthew, Jesus’ first discourse is the Sermon on the Mount, and the second discourse begins with the naming of the apostles 

that we have in our text today.

 

But before that happens, we meet Jesus as he’s traveling around Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and healing women, children and others with a host of afflictions. 

 

And as he travels, Jesus encounters more and more people whom he says are “like sheep without a shepherd.” (v. 36) 

 

We don’t know where the shepherds are, 

or why they have deserted the people, but like Jesus, 

we know that “sheep without a shepherd” are vulnerable.

 

Earlier in Scripture, in the Hebrew Bible, the psalms describe God’s people as sheep and the Lord as our shepherd. (Ps. 23) and declare that “The LORD is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.” (Ps. 95:7)

And then, the prophet Ezekiel warns Israel that their shepherds are neglecting their care for God’s people, their flock. The prophet told the people that the God of Israel would be their true shepherd. (Ezekiel 34)

 

Luke’s gospel tells the parable of the shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the one who is missing. (15:1-7) And in John’s gospel, Jesus says, “I AM the good shepherd.” (John 10)

 

Throughout Scripture, the message is clear: shepherds are the ones who lead and care for God’s people.

 

But when Jesus sees the crowds following him, he realizes that 

the people who had called themselves shepherds 

have abandoned God’s people, 

leaving them without green pastures or clean water 

or protection against predators or evil. 

And Matthew says Jesus is moved with compassion for the people. (9: 36)

 

But before we go any farther in the gospel text, 

let’s go back to the Exodus text. 

 

There, we hear a conversation between God and Moses after the people of Israel have reached the wilderness of Sinai. God recalls God’s covenant with God’s people. 

 

We can understand “covenant” as another word for “relationship”. Keeping God’s covenant is about living in relationship with the God who created us and loves us.

 

As God recalls this covenant or relationship with God’s people, 

God tells Moses to remind the people 

“how [God] bore them on eagles’ wings….” (19:4)

 

And while the hymn “On Eagles’ Wings” beautifully captures this imagery and that of Psalm 91 of our being carried upon eagles’ wings to safety, and sheltered by God, I couldn’t help but also remember the scene in The Hobbit when Bilbo, Thorin and company are fighting the Wargs and the Great Eagles swoop in and rescue them from the fiery cliffs. 

 

Whatever image appeals to you, 

what we witness is an awesome, majestic power.

 

God, whose creative power is responsible for the whole earth (v.5), and who calls us beloved, bears or lifts us up. (v. 4)

 

And to make it even more dramatic, the Hebrew word used here (nasa/nasah) is also used to mean that our sins are taken up or forgiven. 

 

In God’s majesty and divinity, 

God rescues us from bondage,

forgiving our sins 

– those things that separate or draw us away from God,

delivering us into the shelter of God’s love,

and inviting us into covenant or relationship with God.

 

Both God and Jesus both respond to God’s people because of the steadfast, faithful and everlasting love they have for us. (Psalm 100) 

 

 

Remember how Matthew’s narrative patterns Jesus’ ministry after Moses? 

 

Earlier in Exodus, Moses, with encouragement from his father-in-law Jethro, had given authority to trusted elders in the community to help him lead.  

And, here in Matthew, Jesus names the twelve apostles and shares the mission of proclaiming the Good News with them. 

 

And now, 

rooted in the relationship we have with God, 

confident that we are loved by God, 

we too are sent out to do the work that we find Jesus doing in Galilee – the proclamation of the Good News.

 

Like Jesus, and Moses before him, 

none of us can do this work alone. 

 

And thankfully, we won’t.

As we are reminded in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. (5:5) 

 

We are being led by the Holy Spirit, 

and given authority from God, as followers of Jesus, 

to share the transforming power of God’s love in our lives, 

to tell what we know 

and to bear witness to the ways that God has lifted us up 

and freed us to live as God’s beloved in the world.

 

A few weeks ago, at the closing worship of our North Carolina Synod Gathering, Bishop Hartner put it this way:

If we try to go it alone, we won’t get very far; we won’t have what we need. But when we recognize that we are co-missioned, that we are tasked with collaboration, we will have everything that we need.

 

As we look ahead to where God may be leading our congregation next, my prayer is that we will be bold in telling our stories of what God has done for our congregation and for us individually. 

And as we listen well to each other and to our neighbors, 

may we notice where God may be inviting us into ministry together, all for the sake of the world.

 

Let us pray…

Holy God, 

We give thanks that you rescue us and deliver us from the things that would separate us from you and your steadfast love.

We give you thanks for your Son Jesus who shows us how to invite others to accompany us and work together for the sake of the world you love. 

Help us live in relationship with one another and with you, living out our covenant as your beloved community.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

El Sexto Domingo de Pascua

I first preached this sermon in Spanish; the English translation is below.

Hechos 17:22-31 

Juan 14:15-21

Oremos…

Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestros corazones sean aceptables ante tu vista, Señor, nuestra fortaleza y nuestro redentor. Amén.

 

Esta primavera he estado dirigiendo un estudio bíblico sobre los Hechos de los Apóstoles. Cada semana hemos prestado atención a lo que Dios estaba haciendo a través de las personas en la iglesia primitiva; hemos aprendido cómo y por qué las historias de los Hechos han ayudado a la iglesia cristiana a recordar su propósito e identidad durante dos mil años; y considerando sobré cómo se manifiestan hoy la fe y la vida cristiana.

 

Hechos retoma la narración justo donde termina el Evangelio de Lucas, pasando rápidamente de la resurrección al Día de la Ascensión, comprimiéndolos primeros cuarenta días de la temporada de en un solo capítulo.

 

Y entonces Jesús desaparece de la vista, y la historia se centra en sus discípulos y en la obra que ellos realizan en Su nombre.

 

Un tema central de los Hechos de los Apóstoles es la manera en que Dios iba abriendo espacio para que sucedieran cosas nuevas, comenzando con Pentecostés y continuando con el ministerio de los discípulos, un ministerio que cruzo fronteras y llevó el Evangelio —las Buenas Nuevas del amor de Dios y del perdón del pecado— a todo el mundo.

 

Los discípulos están enfocados en hacer aquello que Jesús les enseñó.

 

Nuestro Evangelio de hoy es tan solo una parte de esa enseñanza. Forma parte de lo que se conoce como el “Discurso de Despedida”, el cual tiene lugar la noche en que Jesús es arrestado, en la víspera de su crucifixión y muerte.

Jesús les está diciendo a los discípulos cómo se ve el amor. En esta ocasión, se trata del amor hacia Él: su Maestro, su Amigo, su Salvador y Señor. Y Él afirma que amarlo significa guardar sus mandamientos.

 

Recuerden:

Jesús acaba de darles el “mandamiento nuevo”, aquel que revisitamos cada año el Jueves Santo, durante la Semana Santa:

 

Un mandamiento nuevo les doy: que se amen los unos a los otros. Así como yo los he amado, también ustedes deben amarse los unos a los otros. De este modo todos sabrán que ustedes son mis discípulos: si se aman los unos a los otros». (Juan 13:34-35)

 

El discipulado es amor a Dios, amor mutuo entre nosotros y amor al mundo en el que vivimos, respiramos y existimos. (Hechos 17:28)

 

No consiste en intentar ser «lo suficientemente buenos». No se trata de seguir los estrictos códigos domésticos que escuchamos describir a Pedro anteriormente en su carta.

Ni siquiera se trata de no cometer errores o de no hacer lo que Dios nos dice.

Afortunadamente, Dios ha dicho que nos perdona cuando nos equivocamos.

Dios conoce el historial de la humanidad, y esta lejos de ser perfecto.

 

Seguir los mandamientos de Dios es amar.

 

Una de las formas en que amamos a Dios es amándonos los unos a los otros: Ver lo que Dios está haciendo en la vida de las personas que nos rodean y sentir curiosidad por sushistorias.

 

Amarnos los unos a los otros significa escucharnos mutuamente y aprender unos de otros cómo Dios ha transformado la vida de cada uno de nosotros.

 

Significa reconocer los dones que Dios nos ha dado a cada uno y ver cómo cada persona usa esos dones para transformar la vida de quienes están a su alrededor.

 

De esta manera, somos llamados a encarnar el amor de Dios cuando Jesús ya no está visible ante nuestros ojos.

 

Otros aprenden acerca del amor de Dios al experimentar ese amor a través de nosotros.

 

Y, a menudo, nuestras acciones hablan más fuerte que las palabras; sin embargo, en su carta, Pedro nos anima a todos a estar siempre dispuestos a dar “razón de la esperanza que hay en [nosotros]…”.

 

Al igual que los discípulos en el libro de los Hechos, tendremos oportunidades para contar a otros lo que Dios ha hecho; o tal vez ellos nos pregunten: “¿Por qué vas a la iglesia?”, “¿Cómo afrontas los momentos difíciles?” o “¿Dónde encuentras esperanza?”.

 

He compartido cómo Dios me trajo de regreso a la iglesia cuando era una joven adulta 

cómo confiamos en que Dios se encargaría de guiar nuestros siguientes pasos cuando fui llamada al ministerio, en una época en que mis hijos aún asistían a la escuela; y

cómo mi familia y yo hemos afrontado diversos desafíos de salud.

Existen otras historias; del mismo modo que cada uno de ustedes tiene sus propias historias sobre cómo Dios ha obrado en sus vidas.

A menudo digo que “Dios se queda con todos los verbos”, pues la única manera en que logro dar sentido a mi propia historia es observando cómo Dios obró —en su propio tiempo y a través de otras personas— para traerme hasta el día de hoy.

 

Nuestras historias —nuestras experiencias al ver cómo Dios cumple sus promesas de acompañarnos y de ser nuestro defensor o auxilio—son la base de nuestra esperanza en Cristo, quien murió y resucitó por nosotros. 

 

Al escuchar hoy las Escrituras, podemos tener la certeza de que estamos siguiendo los mandamientos de Dios cuando amamos bien y compartimos estas historias —y nuestras propias vidas— los unos con los otros.

 

Oremos.

Dios, bueno y misericordioso:

Te damos gracias por tu Hijo Jesús, quien vino al mundo y nos mostró lo que es el amor.

Ayúdanos a amarte a Ti, a amarnos los unos a los otros y a amar al mundo.

Ayúdanos a reconocer cómo te manifiestas en nuestras vidas y cómo nos acompañas cada día.

Gracias por tu amor y tu perdón,

que son la fuente de nuestra esperanza en Cristo.

Oramos en el nombre de Jesús.

Amén.

Acts 17:22-31

John 14:15-21

This spring I have been leading a Bible study on the Acts of the Apostles. Every week we’ve been paying attention to what God was doing through the people in the early church, learning how and why the stories in Acts have helped the Christian church remember its purpose and identity for two thousand years, and considering what Christian faith and life look like today. 

 

Acts picks up where Luke’s gospel ends, moving quickly from the resurrection to the Day of the Ascension, compressing the first forty days of the Easter season into one chapter. 

And then Jesus is out of sight, 

and the story focuses on his disciples 

and the work they are doing in His name.

 

A major theme of the Acts of the Apostles is how God was making room for new things to happen, beginning with Pentecost and continuing with the disciples’ ministry that crossed boundaries and took the Gospel - the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness of sin – to the whole world. 

 

The disciples are focused on doing what Jesus taught them. 

 

Our gospel today is just a piece of that teaching. It is part of what is called “the Farewell Discourse” that happens on the night Jesus is arrested,

on the eve of his crucifixion and death. 

Jesus is telling the disciples what love looks like. This time it is love for him, their teacher, their friend, their Savior and Lord. And he says that loving him means keeping his commandments. 

 

Remember, 

Jesus has just given them the “new commandment” that we revisit every year on Maundy Thursday during Holy Week:  

 

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

 

Discipleship is love for God, for each other and for the world where we live and breathe and have our being.  (See Acts 17:28)

 

It is not trying to be ‘good enough’. It isn’t about following the strict household codes that we hear Peter describe earlier in his letter. 

It isn’t even about not making mistakes or failing to do what God tells us. 

Thankfully God has said God forgives us when we mess up.  

God knows humanity’s track record and it’s far from perfect.

 

To follow God’s commandments is to love. 

 

One of the ways we love God is to love each other:

To see what God is doing in the lives of the people around us

and be curious about their stories.

Loving each other means listening to each other and learning from each other how God has changed each of our lives.

It means recognizing the gifts God has given each of us 

and seeing them use those gifts 

to change the lives of the people around them.

 

In this way, 

we are called to embody God’s love when Jesus is out of sight.

 

Others learn about God’s love by experiencing God’s love through us. 

And, often, our actions speak louder than words, but in his letter, Peter encourages all of us to be ready with “an accounting for the hope that is in [us]…” 

 

Like the disciples in Acts, we will have opportunities to tell others what God has done, or they may ask, “Why do you go to church?”, “How do you handle hard times?”, or “Where do you find hope?”

 

I have shared 

how God brought me back to church as a young adult; 

how we trusted God to sort out the next steps when I was called to ministry when my children were still in school; and 

how my family and I have faced health challenges.

There are other stories, 

just like each of you has stories of how God has worked in your lives.

 

I often say “God gets all the verbs” because the only way I make sense of my story is to see how God worked in God’s own time and through others to bring me to today.

Our stories – our experiences of seeing God fulfill God’s promises to accompany us and be our advocate or helper – are the basis for our hope in Christ, who died and was raised, for us.

 

Listening to Scripture today, 

we may be confident that we are following God’s commands when we love well and share these stories and our lives with each other.

 

Let us pray.
Good and Gracious God, 

We give you thanks for your Son Jesus who came into the world and showed us what love is. 

Help us to love You , each other and the world. 

Help us recognize how you show up in our lives and accompany us every day.

Thank you for your love and forgiveness, 

that is  the source of our hope in Christ..

We pray in Jesus’ name. 

Amen.

Lectionary 10B

Marcos 3:20-35

I preached this sermon in the Spanish service; the English translation is below.

Oremos…
Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestros corazones sean aceptables a tu vista, Señor nuestra fuerza y nuestro redentor. Amén.

Una de las formas de estudiar la Biblia es participar en una práctica llamada "vivienda en la palabra". Es similar a otra práctica llamada "Lectio Divina". La idea es leer el texto como si fuera la primera vez:

Escuchar las palabras;

Prestar atención a las imágenes y a las frases;

Escuchar lo que se destaca para ti en esta lectura y observar lo que es nuevo para ti.

Es una buena práctica porque a menudo llegamos al texto con suposiciones. Si hemos estado mucho en la iglesia, creemos que sabemos lo que dice el texto. Y algunas historias a menudo se repiten, por lo que creemos que conocemos el significado.

Pero la Biblia es una "palabra viva" y el Espíritu Santo está activo.

Y somos seres humanos que cambian todos los días, por lo que incluso si hemos escuchado un texto antes, ahora somos diferentes y podemos escuchar algo nuevo.

Digo todo esto porque esta semana, escuchando el evangelio y mirando hacia atrás en cómo he predicado estos textos antes, escuché algo nuevo. En el pasado, he predicado sobre Jesús y su familia, y sobre lo que significa blasfemar al Espíritu Santo. Esta vez, escuché sobre el hombre fuerte.

Y al escuchar de nuevo, creo que el hombre fuerte es Dios.

Escuche el versículo veintisiete de nuevo:

... Nadie puede entrar en la casa [de Dios] y saquear la propiedad [de Dios] sin atar primero [a Dios]; Entonces, de hecho, la casa puede ser saqueada.

Y eso me hace preguntarme,

¿qué significa "atar a Dios"?

¿Cuáles son las formas en que intentamos contener a Dios?

¿Para limitar lo que Dios está haciendo?

Hay un artista llamado David que dibuja dibujos animados sobre la fe y Dios, y uno de sus dibujos animados muestra a una persona que empuja un cuerpo grande, puedes ver los pies y una de las manos, en una caja etiquetada como "TEOLOGÍA".[i]

Con demasiada frecuencia, tratamos de obligar a Dios a entrar en nuestras cajas, nuestras categorías y nuestra comprensión, pero Dios es demasiado grande para eso.

Cuando permitimos que nuestras ideas definan a Dios, en lugar de al revés, estamos limitando a Dios. En efecto, estamos "atando al hombre fuerte". Y
permitiendo que la casa de Dios sea saqueada;
permitiendo que el amor de Dios sea llevado y se imponga a otros como un avaro con su dinero, en lugar de dejar que fluya abundante y espléndidamente.

Hacemos esto de manera grande y pequeña:
cuando usamos el nombre de Dios para decir que alguien no es bienvenido ni amado;
cuando sugerimos que alguien debe cambiar para ser aceptado;
cuando insistimos en que nuestro camino es la única forma correcta.

Cada vez que caemos en el hábito de considerar el mundo como blanco y negro, o binario, y no permitiendo la posibilidad de más.

Dios es más grande.
Y afortunadamente, Dios es más fuerte que nosotros, y será triunfante.

Por nuestra parte, estamos llamados a estar unidos en Cristo, porque somos hermanos en Cristo, y somos más fuertes juntos.

A finales de mayo, participé en la reunión del Sínodo de Carolina del Norte; En el escenario principal, había una obra que fue comisionada para la reunión. El artista compartió estas palabras sobre la obra que presentaba una cruz plateada con un corazón rojo en su centro.

El artista y pastor Paul Birkedal escribió:

[La pieza de la cruz superior] está bordeada por tres hilos de yute individuales con un solo hilo en el medio bajando como si del cielo para tocar el corazón. En una inspección más cercana, uno podría ver la curva de hilos externos como las manos para acariciar o bendecir el corazón al igual que el amor del creador por el Hijo. Las otras piezas cruzadas están bordeadas por hilos trenzados de yute. Esto representa la participación de nuestra implicacion en la cruz de Cristo y de la fuerza que nosotros, como amado de Dios, recibimos mientras trabajamos juntos como el pueblo de Dios.[ii]

Esta vez, escuchando el evangelio, no escuché solo una persona de la Trinidad: Jesús el Hijo, el Espíritu Santo o Dios, sino cómo los tres están presentes y trabajando, y cómo debemos trabajar juntos como el pueblo de Dios, unidos y no divididos.

Oremos…

Poderoso Dios,

Gracias por tu amor ilimitado por tus hijos.

Gracias por tu presencia permanente y por la fuerza que nos das para vivir, unidos por tu amor por nosotros.

Ayúdanos a ser instrumentos de tu paz y misericordia en un mundo dividido.

Oramos en tu santo nombre,

Amén.

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[i] https://nakedpastor.com/products/god-box-cartoon-1?variant=34479267512487

[ii] “We are More Than Victorious” Synod Gathering Bulletin Cover Art on Mixed Media, Based on Romans 8:35-39 with Emphasis on v. 37 

Mark 3:20-35

One of the ways to study the Bible is to engage in a practice called “Dwelling in the Word”. It is similar to another practice called “Lectio Divina”. The idea is to read the text as if it is the first time:

To listen to the words;

To pay attention to the images and to the phrases;

To hear what stands out to you in this reading and notice what is new to you.

It’s a good practice because often, we come to the text with assumptions. If we’ve been in church a lot, we think we know what the text says. And some stories are often repeated, so we think we know the meaning.

But the Bible is a “living Word” and the Holy Spirit is active.

And we are human beings who change every day, so even if we have heard a text before, we are different now and may hear something new.

I say all this because this week, listening to the gospel, and looking back at how I’ve preached these texts before, I heard something new. In the past, I have preached about Jesus and his family, and about what it means to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. This time, I heard about the strong man.

And in listening anew, I think the strong man is God.

Hear verse 27 again:

…no one can enter [God’s] house and plunder [God’s] property without first tying up [God]; then indeed the house can be plundered.

And that makes me wonder, what does it mean to “tie up God”?

What are the ways that we try to restrain God?

To limit what God is doing?

And when we hear the verse this way, does it help us to understand the futility of trying to bind up God?

There is an artist named David who draws cartoons about faith and God, and one of his cartoons shows a person shoving a large body – you can see the feet and one of the hands – into a box labeled “THEOLOGY”.[i]

Too often, we try to force God to fit into our boxes, our categories, and our understanding, but God is too big for that.

When we allow our ideas to define God, instead of the other way around, we are limiting God. We are, in effect, “tying up the strong man.” And

allowing God’s house to be plundered;

permitting God’s love to be taken away and meted out by others like a miser with his money, instead of letting it flow abundantly and lavishly.

We do this in big ways and small:

when we use God’s name to say someone is not welcome or loved;

when we suggest someone must change to be accepted;

when we insist our way is the only right way.

Whenever we fall into the habit of looking at the world as black and white, or binary, and not allowing for the possibility of more.

God is bigger.
And thankfully, God is stronger than we are, and will be triumphant.

For our part, we are called to be united in Christ, because we are siblings in Christ, and we are stronger together.

At the end of May, I participated in the Gathering of the North Carolina Synod; on the main stage, there was a piece of art that was commissioned for the Gathering. The artist shared these words about the piece which featured a silver cross with a red heart at its center. Pastor Paul Birkedal wrote:

[The upper cross piece] is bordered by three single strands of jute with a single strand in the middle coming down as if from heaven to touch the heart. On closer inspection, one might see the outward strands curve like hands to caress or bless the heart as does the love of the Creator for the Son. The other cross-pieces are bordered by braided strands of jute. This represents the participation of our involvement in the cross of Christ and of the strength that we, as God’s beloved, receive as we work together as God’s people.[ii]

This time, listening to the gospel, I didn’t hear only about one person of the Trinity – Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit, or God, but how all three are present and at work, and how we must work together as God’s people, united and not divided.

Let us pray…

Mighty God,

Thank you for your boundless love for your children.

Thank you for your abiding presence and for the strength you give us to live, united by your love for us.

Help us be instruments of your peace and mercy in a divided world.

We pray in your Holy Name,

Amen.

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[i] https://nakedpastor.com/products/god-box-cartoon-1?variant=34479267512487

[ii] We are More Than Victorious” Synod Gathering Bulletin Cover Art on Mixed Media, Based on Romans 8:35-39 with Emphasis on v. 37

Christ the King Sunday (Domingo de Cristo El Rey)

Mateo 25:31-46

I preached this sermon in the Spanish service; the English translation is below. 

Oremos…
Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestros corazones sean aceptables a tu vista, oh Señor nuestra fuerza y nuestro redentor. Amén.

En el Evangelio de hoy, escuchamos sobre ovejas y cabras y si fuera agricultor, tal vez tendría más información sobre lo que separa a las dos. Pero no soy agricultor. Y no creo que Jesús hable sobre ovejas y cabras porque quiere que nos convertamos en expertos sobre animales de granja. Entonces, en lugar de pensar demasiado sobre las diferencias entre las dos, dirigí mi atención a cómo los dos grupos son iguales.

Cuando el rey le dice a cada grupo lo que habían hecho, no hay argumento ni protesta. Es preciso. Saben lo que hicieron, o en el caso del segundo grupo, lo que no hicieron. Pero ambos grupos preguntan: "¿Cuándo fue que te vimos?"

A medida que pasamos por la vida, ¿con qué frecuencia nos sorprenderíamos también nosotros si nos dijeran que Dios hubiera estado allí con nosotros?

Declaramos rápidamente que todo en la creación pertenece a Dios, pero a menudo, en la práctica, respondemos como si Dios fuera un relojero divino, poniendo las cosas en movimiento y observando desde la distancia, en algún lugar en los altos cielos.

Acabo de terminar de leer la historia de los niños "El Jardín Secreto " que cuenta la historia de una niña que es enviada a vivir con un tío en Inglaterra y mientras vive en la gran casa grande, descubre dos secretos. El primero es un jardín que había sido abandonado, y el segundo es un niño, su primo, que también había sido abandonado. La madre del niño había muerto cuando era muy joven, y su padre había sido abrumado por el dolor y el miedo y lo abandonó al cuidado de los demás.

Creo que a veces pensamos en Dios así, como un Padre distante o ausente, y olvidamos que Dios está con nosotros todos los días.

Pero, en nuestras vidas de fe, estamos en relación con Dios, y las demandas de la relación aparecen. Requiere presencia.

Afortunadamente, hay un final feliz para la historia de los niños, y tenemos una feliz confianza de que Dios tampoco nos abandona.

La segunda forma en que los dos grupos son los mismos es que ninguno pensó mucho en cómo habían tratado a las personas a su alrededor.

Solo podemos adivinar por qué un grupo eligió alimentar a los hambrientos, calmar la sed del sediento, dio la bienvenida al extranjero, vestía a los desnudos, atendió a los enfermos o visitó al prisionero.

Una interpretación esperanzadora es que el primer grupo estaba haciendo lo que era natural para ellos, como un árbol que tiene buenas frutas. No se les ocurrió examinar por qué hicieron lo que hicieron.

Y de la misma manera, solo podemos adivinar por qué el segundo grupo decidió no cuidar a sus vecinos. Recuerdo la idea de "pecados de comisión" y "pecados de omisión" y nuestro rito de confesión donde confesamos "hemos pecado contra [Dios] por lo que hemos hecho y por lo que hemos dejado de hacer". Uno podría adivinar que realmente no vieron a las personas o sus necesidades.

Martin Luther describió a nuestro estado como pecadores diciendo que "[el hombre] está tan curvado sobre sí mismo que usa no solo bienes físicos sino incluso espirituales para sus propios beneficios y en todas las cosas busca solo a sí mismo".

No es extraño que en esa condición luchemos por ver a otros o reconocer sus necesidades.

"El mas pequeño de estos" (v.45) son aquellos a quienes ignoramos, pasamos por alto o incluso rechazamos.

Si bien esperamos ver de inmediato a nuestros vecinos como hijos queridos de Dios, confesamos que a veces no lo hacemos. Las palabras de Jesús ayudan a dirigir nuestra atención hacia ellos y abrir nuestros ojos para ver a Jesús en ellos. Cuando entramos en una relación con nuestros projimos, comenzamos a presentarnos el uno al otro. Y es en la comunidad y la relación, que aprendemos las historias de los demás y reconocemos las necesidades que existen.

Y así, en lugar de sorprendernos, podemos preguntarle a Dios: "¿Cuándo fue que te vimos?" con curiosidad y asombro,confiando en que hemos visto a Dios en los rostros de los que conocemos.

Hemos visto a Dios en la mujer llevando de una maleta con todo lo que posee por la calle helada en Fleming Street y en el hombre que sostiene su letrero de cartón cerca de la carretera interestatal. Hemos visto a Dios en las salas de espera en el hospital y en el centro de detención. Hemos visto a Dios en los rostros de las personas que reciben paquetes de ropas nuevas en los centros de hospitalidad para los refugiados. Hemos visto a Dios en los projimos que recibirán nuevos abrigos de invierno y las bendiciones en cajas esta Navidad.

Al entrar en las próximas temporadas de Adviento y Navidad, que veamos y preguntemos dónde más, y en quién, podemos ver a Dios.

Amén.

Matthew 25:31-46

In today’s gospel, we hear about sheep and goats and if I were a farmer, maybe I’d have more insight into what separates the two. But I am not a farmer. And I don’t think that Jesus talks about sheep and goats because he wants us to become experts about farm animals. So instead of thinking too much about the differences between the two, I turned my attention to how the two groups are the same.

When the king tells each group what they had done, there’s no argument or protest. He’s accurate. They know what they did, or in the case of the second group, what they did not do. But both groups ask, “When was it that we saw you?”

As we go through life, how often would we, too, be caught by surprise if we were told God had been there with us?

We are quick to declare that everything in creation belongs to God, but often, in practice, we respond as if God were a divine clockmaker, setting things into motion and watching from a distance, somewhere in the lofty heavens.

I just finished reading the children’s story “The Secret Garden” that tells the story of a girl who is sent to live with an uncle in England and while she is living in the great big house, she discovers two secrets. The first is a garden that had been deserted, and the second is a boy, her cousin, who had been deserted, as well. The boy’s mother had died when he was very young, and his father had been overwhelmed by grief and fear and abandoned him to the care of others.

I think sometimes we think of God like that, as an aloof or absent father, and we forget that God is with us every day.

But, in our lives of faith, we are in relationship with God, and relationship demands showing up. It requires presence.

Thankfully, there is a happy ending to the children’s story, and we have a happy confidence that God does not abandon us either.

The second way the two groups are the same is that neither gave much thought to how they had treated the people around them.

We can only guess why one group chose to feed the hungry, quench the thirst of the parched, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, tended the sick or visited the prisoner. A hopeful interpretation is that the first group was doing what came naturally to them, like a tree bearing good fruit. It didn’t occur to them to examine why they did what they did.

And likewise, we can only guess why the second group chose not to care for their neighbors. I am reminded of the idea of “sins of commission” and “sins of omission” and our rite of confession where we confess “we have sinned against [God] by what we have done and by what we have left undone.” One might guess that they didn’t really see the people or their needs.

Martin Luther described our state as sinners saying that “[man is] so curved in upon himself that he uses not only physical but even spiritual goods for his own purposes and in all things seeks only himself.”[i] It is no wonder that in that state we struggle to see others or recognize their needs.

“The least of these” (v.45) are those who we disregard, overlook or even dismiss.

While we hope we would immediately see our neighbors as beloved children of God, we confess sometimes we don’t. Jesus’ words help direct our attention to them and open our eyes to see Jesus in them. When we enter into relationship with our neighbors, we begin to show up for each other. And it is in community and relationship, that we learn each other’s stories and recognize the needs that exist.

And so, instead of being surprised, we can ask God, “When was it that we saw you?” with curiosity and wonder, trusting that we have seen God in the faces of those we meet.

We have seen God in the woman pulling a suitcase with all that she owns down the frosty sidewalk on Fleming Street and in the man holding his cardboard sign on the median near the interstate. We have seen God in the waiting rooms at the hospital and at the detention center. We have seen God in the faces of the people receiving Fresh Change bundles at hospitality centers for refugees. We have seen God in the neighbors who will receive new winter coats and the blessings in boxes this Christmas.

As we enter into the coming Advent and Christmas seasons, may we watch and wonder where else, and in whom, we may see God.

Amen.

[i] Luther’s Works, vol. 25, p. 345, see also pp. 291-92.

Lectionary 33A

Matthew 25:14-30

Remembering that God is always the actor in Scripture, we read Matthew’s text and ask, “What does this parable tell us about God?”

I don’t think it works as allegory. It falls apart if the Master is God because the one slave describes this Master as “a harsh man, reaping where he does not sow and gathering where he does not scatter seed.” (v. 24). Maybe that could be dismissed as the slave’s perception or misperception, but, upon his return, this Master rebukes the slave and orders him “thrown into the outer darkness.” (v. 30)

The first problem we have with identifying the Master of the parable as God is that everything in creation, and everything we reap, belongs to our Creator God.

And the second problem is that just a few chapters later, Jesus promises his disciples, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (28:20) And later still, we have Paul, too, who teaches that “[nothing] in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

So, if it’s not allegory, I wonder, why does Jesus tell this story?

I wonder if Jesus tells this parable because he knows how often we look at what we have been given through a lens of scarcity and fear, instead of abundance. And he wants to remind us of the vision God has for God’s kingdom.

The first two slaves take what is given to them and they find ways to increase the extravagant abundance. But the third slave buries what he was given, refusing to do anything with it. He is filled with fear.

This month, I have been spending time with Psalm 5 and particularly with a paraphrase written by Nan Merrill in her volume titled Psalms for Praying. Her words came back to me as I read the parable. She writes,

Lead me, O my Beloved,

in your mercy lighten my fears;

make my way straight before me that I may follow.

For there is no truth in fear; it leads to downfall;

it opens the door to loneliness; it speaks not with integrity,

but out of ignorance.

“There is no truth in fear.”

Merrill says fear speaks out of ignorance and not out of integrity. I’d add that fear squelches imagination, compassion and ultimately, mercy.

If you haven’t been at the Wednesday night Oasis this past two weeks, you’ve missed Pastor Jonathan’s introduction to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his writings.

You can listen to the podcast episodes on Ground Up Faith, but to summarize, Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran theologian and teacher in the 1930s, as Hitler was rising in power. He criticized Hitler, which as you can probably guess, isn’t the way to gain a dictator’s favor. In 1930 Bonhoeffer came to the United States, but he returned to Germany in 1931 and continued his opposition to Hitler and Nazi power. He became a professor in the underground seminary, training pastors for the confessing church. And in 1938 he traveled again to the United States and relative safety, but almost immediately, he returned to Germany.

Returning to Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer said,

 

I must live through this difficult period in our national history along with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people…

I wanted to retell that piece of Bonhoeffer’s story because today's gospel is a parable that invites our response.

Both Pastor Jonathan and I have spoken often of faith as something we live out in community. It is never a solitary, private thing that’s only about me, my Bible and Jesus. 

When we are living out our faith, and we respond in fear, we take the gifts that God has given us, we take the ways God has equipped us to bear God’s love to our neighbors and we bury them.

Surely, we think, it is safer to do nothing, to hold onto what we have and wait. Nothing will be gained, but nothing will be lost either.

Except it will. Our complacency – our failure to imagine a different future and our failure to act with compassion – exacts a cost from everyone who needs mercy right now.

For the beloved people who need to know the extravagant love of our generous and life-giving God, it costs them hope. It costs them love. It costs them faith. 

I’m not saying that God can’t still act. Surely, God can and does.

And I’m not saying that faith comes from us. It is in Christ alone.

But God uses us, the Church, to show the world who God is. God uses our hands and feet and hearts to bear witness to God’s love.

And when we allow fear to paralyze us and choose safety and security over compassion and mercy, we reject the gifts God has entrusted to us for the sake of the world. We reject the invitation to participate in God’s kingdom and make that kingdom a reality here on earth.

Our fear curves us in on ourselves – turning away from the opportunities to show others how God so loves the world – and it’s that curving in on ourselves that Luther calls sin,
sin that separates us from God.

And what’s astonishing to me is that when we sin,

God doesn’t call us worthless and throw us into the outer darkness.

Do you know what God does?

In that same paraphrase of Psalm 5, Merrill writes, “tears from your Heart fall on those separated from You by fear.”

When God sees what we have done, God weeps.

The God who sees his Son Jesus crucified weeps for us and continues to call us beloved children of God and entrust kingdom work to us, calling us to respond faithfully with compassion and mercy.

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God,

Thank you for showing us how much you so love the world.

You wept for your crucified Son,

and you weep for us when we turn away from you.

Draw us to You, confident in your love.

Help us live out our faith in words and actions that reflect the extravagant grace you give each one of us.

Empower us by your Holy Spirit to share your compassion and mercy with the whole world.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.