"Deeper"

Ephesians 2:13-22

This month, as we worship, we are listening to stories from Scripture that shape our lives as disciples. We are asking how we can be good stewards of God’s gifts and people. We have looked at how we gather both as a community in worship and to bring together resources, and we have been encouraged to scatter beyond these walls to be good neighbors and to share generously what we have first been given.

Another dimension of our commitment to stewardship is depth.

Our Scripture today says, “[each of us is a member of the household of God] built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets….”

The apostles and the prophets are the people whose names we know from Bible study.

Prophets like Isaiah who said,

“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

and Jeremiah who promised, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

and Micah who asks God’s people, “what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

And apostles like Peter about whom Jesus says, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) Of course, it’s also Peter’s recklessness that shows us that discipleship is not about being perfect and getting everything right. And in whom we see the assurance of God’s mercy and forgiveness when we mess up.

Our foundation is built upon the experiences and words of these ancestors in faith and followers of Jesus. It has been tested and is solid and remains intact.

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish builders. He says,

⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Luke 6:47-49)

When a foundation is shallow, cracked or sunk, the integrity of its structure fails. It cannot bear the ordinary wear and tear of everyday life, let alone the challenges of sustained storms or trials.

Eleven years ago, the residents of a community in Iron Ridge in Lincoln County, North Carolina found this out the hard way. Torrential rains washed away a bridge that crossed a culvert to where 20 families lived. “After a couple of temporary repairs, a local contractor helped the residents restore the road to the way it had been.”[i] Last winter, it happened again and this time 25 families were stranded. The county put a temporary bridge in place, but it didn’t meet requirements, and they had to remove it. So, then they put in a footbridge. Residents had to park their vehicles on one side and walk or use four-wheelers to cross.

In the meantime, the crisis came to the attention of Mennonite Disaster Services (MDS) and Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR). The Mennonites had experience building bridges on private roads that had been washed out by floods and offered to come to Lincoln County to help, and they connected with Pastors Ray and Ruth Ann Sipe at Lutheran Disaster Response and the county’s Emergency Manager Mark Howell, who also happens to be an ELCA Lutheran. Together, with other partners, they were able to fund a new, larger and heavier bridge, built to support 38 tons.

The bridge opened on June 29 to the joy and relief of the residents. [ii]

The foundations of faith and trust led to relationships that literally connected people across obstacles and created new pathways.

As disciples, we are part of the household of God that is built upon the foundation of the prophets and the apostles. We have both a responsibility to see that it doesn’t erode or rust away into dust, and an imperative to trust its integrity. As our text says, God has placed Christ as the cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20)

Christ, not our efforts or accomplishments, is the cornerstone. And Christ is the one who has gathered us, and who scatters us, and Christ is the one who invites us deeper into faith and discipleship.

As we look ahead to a new year of ministry, and as we anticipate a new strategic plan and priorities for our work as a congregation and in our community, may we have confidence that we already have the foundation necessary to support robust ideas and to bear the weight of our work. May we have courage to step out in faith, test new directions and try out new possibilities, knowing we are following our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let us pray.

Good and gracious God,

Thank you for giving us faith built upon a firm foundation, strengthened through generations of faithful people.

Help us be good stewards of all you have first given us.

Deepen our own faith and give us courage to depend on you, listening to Your Word and your Holy Spirit.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

[i] https://nclutheran.org/special_posts/a-story-of-partnerships/

[ii] ibid

Photos by Mark Howell, Emergency Manager, Lincoln County

Lectionary 23B

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

Marcos 7:24-37

Oremos…

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

En el seminario, una profesora dijo una vez: “Lo que ves depende de dónde te sientes”. Y sus palabras permanecen conmigo hoy.

En el evangelio de hoy, nos encontramos con una mujer sin nombre, madre de un niño enfermo, griega, no judía. Y ella ha oído hablar de Jesús.

Podemos imaginarnos que ella ha escuchado historias de cómo sanó a un hombre con un espíritu inmundo en la sinagoga y al hombre con lepra (Marcos 1) o cómo los amigos de otro hombre habían hecho un agujero en el techo de una casa para traer a un hombre paralítico a Jesús. (Marcos 2) Quizás había escuchado cómo sanaba en sábado, desafiando las prohibiciones religiosas. (Marcos 3) O cómo había sanado a un hombre poseído por un demonio en Gerasene. (Marcos 5) Incluso había sanado a una mujer y a una hija pequeña como la suya. (Marcos 5)

Desde donde estaba sentada, desesperada por ver a su hija restaurada, vio la esperanza encarnada en Jesús, cuyo poder parecía traspasar todos los límites o categorías.

Pero en esta historia, lo que vemos, cuando Jesús se encuentra con la mujer, no es el Jesús compasivo o amoroso que conocemos, Aquel cuyas historias ella había escuchado.

Vemos a un hombre que está exhausto por las largas horas de viaje, las exigencias de ser un maestro y líder público, y soportar las críticas de los líderes religiosos.

Buscando un lugar donde esconderse, Jesús no puede escapar de la atención y las necesidades del mundo herido que lo rodea. Y responde con enojo, arremetiendo contra la mujer y llamándola con un nombre despreciativo.

Tal vez te puedas identificar con los momentos en que la ira se desata y la paciencia se agota. Y hablas sin pensar o alejas a alguien con tus palabras.Pero la mujer no retrocede. En cambio, desafía a Jesús a hacer algo mejor: a ser el Mesías, el Ungido que, según ella, tiene el poder de salvar, sanar y restaurar.

Ella me recuerda a los salmistas que claman a Dios en un lamento. Presentan su queja y luego le piden ayuda a Dios, nombrando las formas en que Dios ha liberado a su pueblo en el pasado, pidiéndole que sea el Dios que conocen de sus antepasados ​​y que haga las mismas cosas que ellos saben que Dios puede hacer.

Y al escuchar a esta madre, Jesús vuelve en sí. Escucha su lamento y su súplica de misericordia para su hija. Y responde que ella ha sido sanada.

La segunda historia del evangelio nos muestra que lo que Jesús aprendió de la mujer y su hija lo cambió. No solo en el momento, sino de manera permanente.

Esta vez, cuando un hombre sordo es llevado ante Jesús en la Decápolis, una ciudad bajo influencia griega que está habitada principalmente por gentiles, Jesús no lo despide.

En cambio, lo lleva aparte y lo sana.

La palabra que le dice al hombre significa: “Ábrete”. Y aunque sus palabras abren los oídos del hombre, los efectos de sus palabras llegan más allá de ese hombre.

Así como Jesús tuvo que abrir su corazón para responder a la mujer y a su hija, todos los que seguimos a Jesús tenemos el desafío de “abrirnos”.

A considerar

que vemos las cosas de manera diferente de los demás debido a donde estamos sentados, y que debemos abrirnos a nuevos entendimientos o perspectivas;

que tenemos algo que aprender de las personas que encontramos;

y que podemos tener partes de nosotros mismos que están cerradas, y necesitamos que Jesús nos sane.

No es un lugar cómodo.

Es humilde.

Cuando nos vemos reflejados en las historias de la Biblia, ya sean las parábolas que enseña Jesús o historias como las del evangelio de hoy, nos gusta imaginar que somos los héroes o al menos las personas que están del lado “correcto” del conflicto. Es una de las razones por las que resulta tan difícil leer la historia del arresto y la crucifixión de Jesús durante la Semana Santa; somos culpables de querer silenciarlo y somos cómplices de condenarlo a muerte.

Es difícil reconocer que podríamos reaccionar con el mismo desprecio que Jesús exhibe en la primera historia que escuchamos hoy. O que podríamos estar de acuerdo con los expertos religiosos que quieren mantener a todos en sus categorías y casillas restrictivas.

Y es aún más difícil vernos a nosotros mismos como los que todavía estamos aprendiendo y cambiando en respuesta a lo que Dios está haciendo en nuestras vidas.

La Buena Noticia de hoy es que Jesús es un modelo de lo que significa aprender y responder a los demás con amor y humildad.

Tenemos un Salvador, que es a la vez completamente humano y completamente divino, que conoce la tentación de alejarse de los demás y prestar atención solo a nuestras necesidades individuales, y que aprende de sus errores y sirve a los demás incluso cuando hay un camino más fácil que nos llama como el canto de una sirena. Este es el Jesús que encontramos en los evangelios, y que nos da la bienvenida al reino de Dios con perdón y misericordia, y el que encarna la esperanza cuando sentimos que no tenemos a nadie más a quien recurrir.

Gracias a Dios.

Amén.

Mark 7:24-37

In seminary, a professor once said, “What you see depends on where you sit.” And her words remain with me today.

In today’s gospel, we meet a nameless woman, the mother of a sick child, a Greek, not a Jew. And she has heard about Jesus.

We can imagine that she has heard stories of how he healed a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue and the man with leprosy (Mark 1) or how another man’s friends had cut a hole in the roof of a house to bring a paralyzed man to Jesus. (Mark 2) Perhaps she had heard how he healed on the Sabbath, defying the religious prohibitions. (Mark 3) Or how he had healed a demon-possessed man in Gerasene. (Mark 5) He had even healed a woman and a young daughter like her own. (Mark 5)

From where she sat, desperate to see her daughter restored, she saw hope embodied in Jesus, whose power seemed to cross all boundaries or categories.

But in this story, what we see, when Jesus meets the woman, isn’t the compassionate or loving Jesus we know, the One whose stories she had heard.

We see a man who is exhausted by the long hours of travel, the demands of being a public teacher and leader, and weathering the criticism of the religious leaders.

Searching for a place to hide, Jesus cannot escape the attention and needs of the hurting world around him. And he responds angrily, lashing out against the woman and calling her a disparaging name.

Maybe you can relate to times when anger runs hot, and patience runs thin. And you speak thoughtlessly or push somebody away with your words.

But the woman doesn’t flinch. Instead, she challenges Jesus to do better: to be the Messiah, the anointed One who she has heard has the power to save, to heal and to restore.

She reminds me of the psalmists who cry out to God in lament. They make their complaint and then they ask God for help, naming the ways God has delivered God’s people in the past, asking God to be the God whom they know from their ancestors, and do the very things they know God can do.

And listening to this mother, Jesus returns to himself. He hears her lament and her plea for mercy for her daughter. And he responds that she has been healed.

The second story in the gospel shows us that what Jesus learned from the woman and her daughter changed him. Not just in the moment, but permanently.

This time, when a deaf man is brought to Jesus in the Decapolis – a city under Greek influence that is mostly inhabited by Gentiles – Jesus doesn’t send him away. Instead, he takes him aside and heals him.

The word he speaks to the man means, “Be opened”. And while his words open the man’s ears, his words’ effects reach beyond that one man.

Just as Jesus had to open his heart to respond to the woman and her daughter, all of us who follow Jesus are challenged to “be opened.”

To consider

that we see things differently that others because of where we sit, and we must open ourselves to new understandings or perspectives;

that we have something to learn from the people we encounter;

and that we may have parts of ourselves that are closed, and we need Jesus to heal us.

It’s not a comfortable place.

It’s humbling.

When we see ourselves in the stories in the Bible, whether it’s the parables that Jesus teaches or stories like the ones in today’s gospel, we like to imagine we would be the heroes or at least the people who are on the “right” side of conflict. It’s one of the reasons it’s so difficult to read the story of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion during Holy Week; we are guilty of wanting to silence him and we are complicit in putting him to death.

It's challenging to recognize that we might react with the same disdain that Jesus exhibits in the first story we heard today. Or that we might agree with the religious experts who want to keep everyone in their constricting categories and boxes.

And it’s even more difficult to see ourselves as the ones who are still learning and still changing in response to what God is doing in our lives.

The Good News today is that Jesus models what it looks like to learn and to respond to others with love and humility.

We have a Savior, who is both fully human and fully divine, who knows the temptation to turn away from others and only pay attention to our individual needs, and who learns from his errors and serves others even when there is an easier way beckoning like a Siren’s song. This is the Jesus we meet in the gospels, and who welcomes us into God’s kingdom with forgiveness and mercy, and the one who does embody hope when we feel like we have nowhere else to turn.

Thanks be to God. Amen.