Lent 1C

Lucas 4:1-13

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

Oremos…Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestro corazón sean aceptables delante de ti, Señor, fortaleza nuestra y redentor nuestro. Amén.

Mi difunto padre era un admirador del teólogo británico C.S. Lewis. Lewis, conocido popularmente por los libros de Narnia, entre los que se incluyen “El león, la bruja y el armario”, también escribió un libro llamado “Cartas de Screwtape”. “Screwtape” es un personaje que Lewis presenta como un asistente de alto rango de Satanás, y el libro está compuesto por sus cartas a su sobrino “Wormwood” en las que guía al joven demonio e inexperto para que corrompa a un joven que conoce. Es un relato ficticio que muestra cómo Satanás, el adversario de Dios, intenta corromper a los humanos en cada oportunidad posible.

En nuestro evangelio, Lucas dice que durante sus cuarenta días y noches en el desierto, Jesús fue tentado o puesto a prueba por diabolos o “el diablo”. El diablo es un calumniador, un engañador y un mentiroso malicioso.

Ya sea Satanás o uno de sus sirvientes, este personaje emplea un arsenal de trucos para sembrar dudas, incertidumbre, miedo y desconfianza en cada oportunidad disponible.

Los Evangelios nos dicen que la prueba de Jesús tuvieron lugardurante cuarenta días, una descripción que se utiliza en las Escrituras para decirnos que estos eventos sucedieron durante un largo período de tiempo y una señal que nos ayuda a conectar la historia de Jesús en el desierto con la de los peregrinajes de los israelitas en el desierto durante el éxodo, y también con el viaje solitario de Moisés en el desierto del Sinaí antes de recibir los Mandamientos de Dios.

Seguir el llamado de Dios significa soportar tiempos de aislamiento, pruebas y dificultades. Es importante destacar que el Espíritu Santo está guiando y acompañando a Jesús durante todo este tiempo y, como él, no estamos solos para enfrentar pruebas y desafíos.

Si bien las pruebas y tentaciones de Jesús ocurren a lo largo de cuarenta días, Lucas nos habla de las tres pruebas finales que enfrenta y cómo responde a ellas. En cada ocasión, Jesús, un judío practicante y observante delTorá, recurre a su conocimiento de la Biblia hebrea, y en particular del Deuteronomio, y utiliza las Escrituras para rechazar las burlas del diablo, encontrando las palabras para expresar su confianza en Dios y su dependencia de Él para su identidad y su futuro.ⁱ

Si me detuviera allí, todo lo que podríamos escuchar es que necesitamos confiar más, o al menos memorizar más versículos bíblicos, para poder responder con la misma facilidad con la que lo hizo Jesús.

Pero yo no creo que eso sea todo lo que hay que escuchar.

Al final del pasaje, Lucas escribe que el diablo “se alejó de [Jesús] hasta un momento oportuno” (v. 13).

Al igual que los tiempos de aislamiento, pruebas y dificultades, la tentación es parte de nuestra vida como cristianos. En nuestro bautismo, prometemos renunciar al mal, al diablo y a los poderes de este mundo que desafían a Dios, se rebelan contra Él y nos alejan de Él.

Con estas palabras, reconocemos que hay fuerzas que trabajan activamente contra Dios, y que vivir como pueblo de Dios significará vivir en oposición a esos adversarios.

Una de las armas de nuestro arsenal es nuestra confianza en Dios. “La confianza está en el corazón de nuestra relación con Dios... [Pero] la confianza, como cualquier otra cosa, se fortalece con la práctica”ⁱⁱ

Ayer, me presentaron un himno que no conocía. Eso noes una sorpresa, pero me sorprendió saber que su autor enseña en el colegio de Brevard. En el himno “Dios está llamando a través del susurro”, cada verso pregunta si podemos escuchar la voz de Dios en lo que presenciamos a nuestro alrededor.ⁱⁱⁱ Y ayer, mientras leíamos el texto y cantábamos los versos, hablamos sobre las formas en que somos tentados, opuestos a prueba, a alejarnos de Dios.

Por eso, hoy, quiero compartir las palabras con todos ustedes. Mientras leen estas palabras, los invito a reflexionar sobre las formas en que somos tentados a alejarnos de Dios y cómo podemos resistir esas tentaciones.

El primer verso describe los suspiros profundos del Espíritu, la belleza repentina de la tierra y el silencio de la quietud, y me pregunto cómo llenamos nuestro tiempo, espacio y agendas con ruido y actividades apresuradas. ¿Con qué frecuencia me olvido de levantar la vista de lo que demanda mi atención y prestar atención a dónde está Dios obrando? ¿Cuándo he recibido el don de presenciar algo santo y lo he ignorado?

El segundo verso parece más fácil. ¿Acaso no queremos todos responder a los anhelos y oraciones de nuestros prójimos? Pero amar a mi prójimo significa poner el amor en acción. Son los amigos del hombre paralítico quienes cortan un agujero en el techo de la casa para que Jesús pudiera sanarlo (Marcos 2:4) y el buen samaritano quien venda las heridas del hombre herido y paga su alojamiento hasta que se recupere (Lucas 10). No podemos amar a nuestro prójimo desde una distancia “segura”.

Y luego el tercer verso nos invita a encarnar la alegría de la alabanza, a hacer ruido alegre. No es indulgente hacer música, cantar y bailar; las Escrituras están llenas de historias del pueblo de Dios cantando y proclamando con acción de gracias.

Pero en algún momento del camino, la mayoría de nosotros dejamos de hacerlo. Porque alguien dijo que no era bueno ser ruidoso, desordenado o peculiar Y la música, la pintura y el juego no son “productivos”. Pero los cielos pintados con la obra de Dios, las complejidades de nuestros cuerpos humanos y los campos cubiertos de flores silvestres dan testimonio de la obra continua de nuestro Dios creativo.

En cada paso, el diablo puede encontrar una oportunidad para ponernos a prueba, pero nosotros tenemos la oportunidad de notar la presencia de Dios, de habitaren la bondad de Dios, de maravillarnos ante el poder y la majestad de Dios, y de confiar en el amor constante y abundante de Dios por todos nosotros.

No tenemos que tener versículos de memoria o respuestas fáciles cuando somos puestos a prueba, tenemos el amor de Dios, profundamente dentro de nosotros, y el Espíritu de Dios llenándonos.

Así que, en esta Cuaresma, practiquemos juntos y profundicemos nuestra relación con Dios, para que nuestra confianza, que esta en el corazón de esa relación, sea fortalecida.

Amén.

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[i] David Lose. “Dear Working Preacher.” Luther Seminary. February 10, 2013.

[ii] ibid

[iii] Dr. Mary Louise “Mel” Bringle. “God is Calling Through the Whisper.” GIA Publications, Inc. 2006. https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_calling_through_the_whisper

Luke 4:1-13

My late father was an admirer of the British theologian C.S. Lewis. Lewis who is popularly known for the Narnia books that include “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, also wrote a book called “Screwtape Letters”. “Screwtape” is a character that Lewis portrays as a highly placed assistant to Satan, and the book is composed of his letters to his nephew “Wormwood” as he directs the younger inexperienced demon to corrupt a young man he knows. It’s a fictional account that shows how Satan, an adversary of God, attempts to corrupt humans at every available opportunity.

In our gospel, Luke says that during his forty wilderness days and nights, Jesus was tempted, or tested, by diabolos or “the devil”.  The devil is a slanderer, a deceiver and a malicious liar. Whether Satan or one of Satan’s minions, this character employs an arsenal of tricks to sow doubt, uncertainty, fear and mistrust at every available opportunity.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus’ testing takes place over forty days – a description used in Scripture to tell us these events happened over a long period of time, and a signpost that helps us connect Jesus’ wilderness story with that of the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings during the exodus, and also with Moses’ isolated journey in the Sinai wilderness before he received the Commandments from God.

Following God’s call means enduring times of isolation, testing, and hardship. Importantly, the Holy Spirit is leading and accompanying Jesus throughout this time, and like him, we are not left alone to face trials and challenges.

While Jesus’ testing and temptations happen throughout the forty days, Luke tells us about the final three tests that he faces and how he responds to them. Each time, Jesus, a practicing and Torah-observant Jew, draws on his knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, and particularly of Deuteronomy, and he uses Scripture to rebuff the devil’s taunts, finding the words to give voice to his trust in – and dependence on - God for his identity and his future.[i]

If I stopped there, all we might hear is how we need to trust more, or at least have more Bible verses memorized, so we could answer as glibly as Jesus did.

But I don’t think that’s all there is to hear.

At the end of the passage, Luke writes that the devil “departed from [Jesus] until an opportune time.” (v. 13)

Like times of isolation, testing and hardship, temptation is part of our lives as Christians. At our baptism, we promise to renounce evil, the devil, and the powers of this world that defy God, rebel against God and draw us away from God.

With these words, we acknowledge that there are forces actively working against God, and that living as God’s people will mean living in opposition to those adversaries.

One of the weapons in our arsenal is our trust in God. “Trust is at the heart of our relationship with God... [But] trust, like anything else, is strengthened through practice.” [ii]

Yesterday, I was introduced to a hymn I didn’t know. That’s not a surprise, but I was surprised to learn that its author teaches at Brevard College. In the hymn “God is Calling Through the Whisper” each verse asks if we can hear God’s voice in what we witness around us.[iii] And yesterday, as we read the text and sang the verses, we talked about the ways that we are tempted, or tested, to turn away from God.

So today, I want to share the words with all of you. As you read the words, I invite you to reflect on the ways in which we are tempted to turn away from God, and how we might resist those temptations.

The first verse describes the Spirit’s deep sighs, the earth’s sudden beauty and the hush of stillness, and I wonder how we fill up our time, space and schedules with noise and busy-ness. How often do I forget to look up from whatever is demanding my attention, and pay attention to where God is at work? When have I been given the gift of witnessing something holy and ignored it?

The second verse seems easier. Don’t we all want to respond to the longings and prayers of our neighbors? But loving my neighbor means putting love into action. It is the friends of the paralyzed man cutting a hole in the roof of the house so Jesus could heal him (Mark 2:4) and the good Samaritan bandaging the wounds of the injured man and paying for his lodging until he was well. (Luke 10) We cannot love our neighbors from a “safe” distance.

And then the third verse invites us to embody the joy of praise, to make a joyful noise. It is not indulgent to make music, to sing and to dance; Scripture is full of stories of God’s people singing and shouting with thanksgiving. But somewhere along the way, we mostly stopped. Because someone said it wasn’t good to be noisy or messy or whimsical. And music and painting and play aren’t “productive”. But skies painted with God’s handiwork, the intricacies of our human bodies, and fields that are blankets of wildflowers all testify to the ongoing work of our creative God.

At each turn, the devil may find an opportunity to test us, but we have an opportunity to notice God’s presence, to dwell in God’s goodness, to wonder at God’s power and majesty, and to trust in God’s steadfast and abundant love for us all.

We don’t have to have memory verses or glib answers when we are tested, we have God’s love, deep within us, and God’s Spirit filling us.

So this Lent, let’s practice together and deepen our relationship with God, that our trust, at the heart of that relationship will be strengthened.

Amen.

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[i] David Lose. “Dear Working Preacher.” Luther Seminary. February 10, 2013.

[ii] ibid

[iii] Dr. Mary Louise “Mel” Bringle. “God is Calling Through the Whisper.” GIA Publications, Inc. 2006. https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_calling_through_the_whisper

Epiphany 6C

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Jeremiah, whose words we heard in our first reading, was a priest of the tribe of Benjamin, from a walled town a few miles northeast of Jerusalem.

After the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel to Assyria in 721,

Judah, the southern Kingdom, was squeezed between Egypt to the south and Assyria to the north. They were afraid, assaulted by enemies closing in all around them.

As a prophet, Jeremiah was active from the 13th year of King Josiah of Judah around 626 BCE, through the rule of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.

King Josiah has been called Judah’s last pious King.

During his reign, Judah stopped paying homage to Assyria,

and sought to reestablish the empire of David and Solomon that had crumbled centuries earlier,

launching religious reforms that reaffirmed the covenant of Moses

and centralized worship of Yahweh in Jerusalem.

But those reforms died with King Josiah in 609 BCE.

When we hear Jeremiah’s words here, rebellions against Babylon by the subsequent kings have failed and the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, are advancing on Jerusalem.

Jeremiah continues to urge Israelites to return to faithful obedience to the covenant they have with God, and in these verses, we hear the prophet’s description of what disobedience will look like and the contrasting vision of what obedience will look like.

As we hear elsewhere in Proverbs and in today’s psalm, Jeremiah presents a clear choice to be made by humans,

a fork in the road,

where we can choose to draw near to God

or turn away from God.

Importantly, the choice does not change how God responds.

God refuses to turn away from us and continues to offer God’s people new opportunities to choose to live in relationship with the One who created and loves us.

But there are consequences for turning away from what God offers, and we hear those described here. Jeremiah describes those who trust in mortals, instead of God, as parched shrubs in the arid desert, and the psalmist describes them as chaff that is blown away in the wind.

In contrast, Jeremiah describes those who trust in the Lord as trees planted by water, fortified against heat and drought, flourishing and bearing fruit, an image that echoes the psalm.

The descriptions of trees planted by streams of water, full of green leaves and fruit, recall the first garden - Eden - in Genesis and invite us to remember that in the beginning, God gave life to creation, and God continues to nurture us for life in community.

Of course, then, as now, humans choose to turn away from God.

While I expect most of us easily hear the Law in Jeremiah’s words where there is a clear choice between trusting in ourselves or others or trusting in the Lord, I hope we also hear the Gospel. While the Law convicts us of our sin and shows us where we fall short of God’s commands, the Gospel is what tells us about God’s actions for us.

There is a promise here that even in the desert, relief will come, and life, although it may be difficult, will continue in the places that appear forsaken.  

And before anyone thinks that Jeremiah is promising a carefree life for those who trust God, he tells us that even when we draw near to God,

there will be times of scorching heat and drought –

times of challenge and even disaster.

The point isn’t that faithful people will be worry-free. The point is that God will be faithful. As one writer put it,

We as Christians are like trees, watered at baptism and not branches broken off from the main trunk, which is the cross of Christ.[i]

As both the psalm and this passage in Jeremiah continue, we are reminded that judgment is not ours but God’s (Psalm 1:6 and Jeremiah 17:9-10). The Lord will search the minds and hearts of God’s people, and the Lord knows the difference between the righteous and the wicked.

That’s important for all of us who get distracted by the human sinfulness we witness around us, who experience the temptation to look first at others, and not ourselves. “If I believe that God loves me [so much that I am forgiven and saved by grace through faith], then I have to believe that God loves everyone else like that [too].”[ii]

It's God’s promises, known in God’s Word and actions for us, that sustain us each and every day.

Let us pray…

Holy God,

You created the world and all that live in it.
You called us to trust you, and to put down our roots
alongside the life-giving stream of your Word. 
Help us follow Your Son Jesus faithfully,
and share the fruit of Your abundant mercy and love in the world.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[i] Sundays and Seasons, Day Resources

[ii] The Rev. Dr. Justin Nickel, Advanced Lay Ministry Intensive

Lectionary 32B

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

Marcos 12:38-44

Oremos…Que las palabras de mi boca y la meditación de nuestro corazón sean gratas delante de ti, Señor, fortaleza nuestra y redentor nuestro. Amén.

“No tengas temor”. (1 Reyes 17:13)

Estas palabras se repiten a lo largo de las Escrituras. Las escuchamos por primera vez cuando el Señor le habla a Abram (Génesis 15:1) y son repetidas, una y otra vez, por Dios y los enviados de Dios. La última vez es cuando Juan de Patmos relata haberlas oído dichas por “uno como el Hijo del Hombre” en Apocalipsis. (Apocalipsis 1:17)

Y una y otra vez, son seguidas por la promesa de que Dios actuará, que el reino de Dios vendrá, que Dios no ha olvidado las promesas de Dios a su pueblo.

Hoy escuchamos al profeta Elías decir estas palabras.

Elías había estado viviendo de la comida que le traían los cuervos y del agua de un wadi, o arroyo, pero el agua se había secado. Una sequía hizo que el agua y la comida escasearan.

Pero Dios envía al profeta a una viuda en Sarepta, un pueblo fuera de Israel, prometiéndole que lo alimentará. Cuando Elías se encuentra con la mujer, ella le dice que ella y su hijo solo tienen un poco de harina y aceite, y se están preparando para comer lo que tienen y luego esperar a morir.

En el mundo antiguo, la gente creía que el rey podía controlar la lluvia, por lo que una sequía era una señal del fracaso del rey. El rey también era responsable del bienestar de las viudas y los huérfanos, por lo que cuando la viuda le dice a Elías que ella y su hijo se están muriendo de hambre, es otra señal del fracaso del rey.

Pero Elías sabe que su confianza no está en los líderes del mundo, sino en Dios, y Dios lo ha enviado a la viuda. Confía en la provisión de Dios para él. Su confianza surge de su obediencia a seguir la dirección de Dios. Su obediencia surge de su confianza en la fidelidad de Dios a lo largo de las generaciones hacia el pueblo de Dios. Surge de saber que pertenece a Dios.

Entonces le dice: “No tengas temor”.

Y la jarra de comida no se agota, ni falta el aceite , y la viuda, su hijo y Elías comen muchos días más.

En el evangelio nos encontramos con otra viuda. No está en casa, sino en público, donando al tesoro. El tesoro era un lugar en un patio fuera del templo donde la gente podía hacer ofrendas voluntarias para apoyar el templo, como el plato de ofrendas que tenemos sobre la mesa aquí.

Jesús está en los atrios del templo, enseñando a una gran multitud y observando a la gente depositar sus ofrendas en el tesoro.

Y mientras observa, advierte a su audiencia contra los líderes religiosos que son como actores que desempeñan un papel. Saben qué decir y cómo vestirse, pero sus palabras y acciones son vacías. Dan desde un lugar de comodidad y tranquilidad, sin sacrificar nada ni arriesgar nada.

Cuando Jesús ve a una viuda depositar dos pequeñas monedas de cobre, les dice a sus discípulos que “[ella] ha depositado más que todos [los demás]”.

Jesús dice que el regalo de la viuda era un regalo sacrificial, no, como los regalos que muchos de nosotros hacemos, dando de lo que sabemos que podemos prescindir, sino dando de lo que Dios nos ha dado primero, confiando en la providencia de Dios para ella.

Estos personajes no nos dan un modelo fácil de seguir.

Elías y las dos viudas confían en la providencia de Dios. Su confianza surge de su obediencia a seguir la dirección de Dios. Su obediencia surge de la confianza en la fidelidad de Dios a través de las generaciones hacia el pueblo de Dios. Proviene de saber que pertenecemos a Dios.

Por supuesto, el mundo moderno tiene un mensaje diferente. Nos dice que somos responsables de asegurar nuestro futuro a través de nuestros propios esfuerzos. Almacenar, ahorrar y protegernos de nuestros enemigos. Mirar hacia dentro y poner nuestra confianza en los líderes que vemos en la plaza pública. El mundo nos pide que le demos a los humanos autoridad sobre nuestras vidas y nos enseña a ver el mundo a través del lente de la escasez y el miedo.

Pero Dios nos enseña que en Cristo no recibimos “un espíritu de esclavitud para volver al temor, sino… un espíritu de adopción”. El Espíritu da testimonio de que somos hijos de Dios. (Romanos 8:15-16)

Somos a quienes Jesús se dirige cuando dice: “³² No tengan miedo, manada pequeña, porque a su Padre le ha placido darles el reino”.

La Palabra de Dios nos invita a tener una visión diferente del mundo, donde nos sometamos a Dios y veamos el mundo como Dios lo ve, a través del lente de la abundancia y la obediencia.

La escasez no es una realidad del Reino; es una construcción humana que Elías rechaza y que la viuda en el tesoro del templo niega. En cambio, Dios nos promete la plenitud de la vida (Juan 10:10). Sus historias nos recuerdan que el “poder vivificante de Dios puede transformar situaciones de derrota, desesperación y muerte”.ⁱ

“El Reino -o Reinado- de Dios es una realidad que está más allá de nuestra percepción…”ⁱⁱ Y en lugar de tratar de controlarlo, diseñarlo o dominarlo, Dios nos llama a caminar en sumisión, humildad y obediencia, mientras esperamos su realización, en el tiempo de Dios, no en el nuestro.

Oremos…

Dios bueno y misericordioso,

Te damos gracias por nuestro pan de cada día,

por lo que necesitamos para vivir en la plenitud de la vida.

Ayúdanos a rechazar las cosas que no dan vida,

las cosas que nos separan de ti.

Enséñanos a confiar en tu provisión y en la vida que nos das.

Que tu Espíritu Santo nos guíe a dar generosamente de todo lo que tenemos.

Envíanos a compartir tu amor con todas las personas que conozcamos.

Oramos en el nombre de Jesús.

Amén.

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[i] Walter Brueggemann. Smith & Helwys Bible Commentary on First and Second Kings. 217.

[ii] Mike Breen. Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible. 3DM. Kindle Edition.

 

Mark 12:38-44

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.

“Do not be afraid.”

These words are repeated throughout Scripture. We first hear them when the Lord speaks to Abram (Genesis 15:1) and they are repeated, again and again, by God and those sent by God. The last occurrence is when John of Patmos recounts hearing them spoken by “one like the Son of Man” in Revelation. (Revelation 1:17)

And time after time, they are followed by the promise that God will act, that God’s kingdom will come, that God has not forgotten God’s promises to God’s people.

Today we hear the prophet Elijah speak these words.

Elijah had been living on the food that ravens brought him and the water of a wadi, or stream, but the water had dried up. A drought made water and food scarce.

But God sends the prophet to a widow in Zarephath, a town outside Israel, promising that she will feed him. When Elijah meets the woman, she tells him that she and her son only have a little meal and oil, and they are preparing to eat what they have and then wait to die.

In the ancient world, people believed that the king could control the rain, so a drought was a sign of the king’s failure. The king also had responsibility for the welfare of widows and orphans, so when the widow tells Elijah that she and her son are starving, it is another sign of the king’s failure.

But Elijah knows that his trust is not in the leaders of the world, but in God, and God has sent him to the widow. He trusts in God’s provision for him. His trust comes out of his obedience to follow God’s direction. His obedience comes from his confidence in God’s faithfulness throughout generations to God’s people. It comes from knowing that he belongs to God.

So, he tells her, “Do not be afraid.”

And the jar of meal does not get emptied, and the oil does not fail, and the widow, her son and Elijah eat for many more days.

In the gospel we meet another widow. She isn’t at home, but in public, donating to the treasury. The treasury was a place in a courtyard outside the temple where people could make freewill offerings to support the temple, like the offering plate we have on the table here.

Jesus is in the temple courts, teaching a large crowd, and watching people put their offerings in the treasury.

And as he watches, he warns his audience against the religious leaders who are like performers playing a role. They know what to say and how to dress, but their words and actions are empty. They give from a place of comfort and ease, not sacrificing anything, or risking anything.

When Jesus sees a widow put in two small copper coins, he tells his disciples that “[she] has put in more than all those [others].”

Jesus says that because the widow’s gift was a sacrificial gift, not, as many of us do, giving from what we know we can spare, but giving from what God has first given us, trusting in God’s providence for her.

These characters don’t give us an easy model to follow.

Elijah and both widows trust in God’s providence. Their trust comes out of their obedience to follow God’s direction. Their obedience comes out of confidence in God’s faithfulness throughout generations to God’s people. It comes from knowing that we belong to God.

Of course, the modern world has a different message. It tells us that we are responsible for securing our future through our own efforts. Stockpile, save and protect ourselves against our enemies. Turn inward and put our trust in the leaders whom we see in the public square. The world asks us to give humans authority over our lives and teaches us to see the world through the lens of scarcity and fear.

But God teaches us that in Christ, we do not receive “a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but … a spirit of adoption.” The Spirit bears witness that we are children of God. (Romans 8:15-16)

We are the ones that Jesus addresses when he says, “³² ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

The Word of God invites us to have a different vision of the world, where we submit to God and see the world as God sees it, through the lens of abundance and obedience.

Scarcity is not a Kingdom reality; it is human construction that Elijah rejects and that the widow at the temple treasury denies. Instead, God promises us the fullness of life (John 10:10). Their stories remind us that God’s “life-giving power can transform situations of defeat, despair, and death.”[i]

“The Kingdom - or Kingship - of God is a reality just beyond our perception….”[ii] And instead of trying to control it, engineer it or dominate it, God calls us to walk in submission, humility and obedience, while we wait for its realization, in God’s own timing, not our own.

Let us pray…

Good and Gracious God,

We give you thanks for our daily bread,

for what we need to live in the fullness of life.

Help us reject the things that are not life-giving,

the things that separate us from you.

Teach us to trust in Your provision and the life you give us.

May your Holy Spirit lead us to give generously of all we have.

Send us out to share Your love with everyone we meet.
We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

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[i] Walter Brueggemann. Smith & Helwys Bible Commentary on First and Second Kings. 217.

[ii] Mike Breen. Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible. 3DM. Kindle Edition.

Lectionary 26C

Luke 16:19-31

Especially after the difficulty of last week’s gospel in which a rich man commended his dishonest steward for his shrewdness, it is tempting to hear the story Jesus tells this week as either a straightforward parable of judgment or a morality tale about wealth and poverty.

The parable’s description of purple cloth and fine linen, the bosom of Abraham and the chasm separating Lazarus from the rich man is visually stimulating. We can imagine the scene, doubtlessly aided by art and literature that have illustrated the afterlife and the depths of Hades or hell.

One possible interpretation of the parable paints the rich man as, at best, obtuse and out of touch, or extravagantly self-absorbed and indulgent, and at worst cold-hearted and malicious, purposely ignoring the poverty and need on display at his gate. His lack of compassion condemns him.

Another possibility, especially when this text immediately is preceded by our first reading from Timothy that says,

the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from faith and pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Timothy 6:10)

is that this parable is a cautionary tale as we imagine how the rich man landed on the wrong side of the chasm, having excessively loved earthly comforts.

All of these interpretations usually also assume the poor man – the one called Lazarus – was virtuous. 

However, nothing in the gospel text tells us anything to support those assumptions. We know very little about either man - certainly nothing that allows us to measure their faith,

their piety

or their character.

So perhaps Luke – the only gospel writer who includes this particular parable - has Jesus tell this story for another reason.

Luke tells us that the rich man is tormented in death and when he sees Lazarus with Abraham, he asks them to intercede on his behalf and, when that fails, to go to his brothers so that they will not suffer the same fate.

Now the rich man isn’t especially likeable.

He doesn’t seem able to see Lazarus as anything other than as a servant or a slave – someone who’s there for his convenience and comfort.

He fails to understand either that Father Abraham is as much a father to Lazarus as to himself or that Lazarus is as much a brother as his own family.

He doesn’t recognize Lazarus’ own personhood.

But Abraham doesn’t refuse to comfort the rich man because he’s self-centered or entitled. Instead, he tells him,

“If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

Luke was writing some forty to fifty years after Jesus’ ministry took place and he was writing to believers. He knew first-hand the difficulties that the early church faced. He was writing after the deaths of apostles including Andrew and Peter and the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. He was writing to reassure them and encourage them to remain faithful despite the challenges erupting around them.

Two thousand years later, how often do we forget to listen to the words from God that we have been given?

And how often do we fail to trust in the one who rose from the dead?

Jesus, in this parable and throughout his ministry, points us back to Scripture.

The rich man, and for that matter the Pharisees listening to Jesus tell this parable, would have known the Torah, the Hebrew scripture.

They would have known the five verses in Deuteronomy that form the Jewish prayer called the Shema, an affirmation of faith recited in the morning and evening that says:

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.  ⁵ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  

⁶ Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.  ⁷ Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.  

⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead,  ⁹ and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.[i]

And they would have recalled the prophet Isaiah who said:

² Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. ³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. [ii]

And the prophet Jeremiah who declared:

⁷ Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.  ⁸ They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. [iii]

They had been given all the words and promises they needed to hear. Nothing Lazarus or Jesus said at this point was going to make a difference.

The rich man had trusted in his wealth and the Pharisees had placed their trust in their own authority, distancing themselves farther and farther from God’s Word and commands.

This lack of relationship with God is what forms the uncrossable chasm that now separates the rich man from Abraham and deprives him of the living water that would comfort him.

 Throughout Scripture we equate water with life whether it is in the creation story where “a wind from God swept over the face of the waters”[iv], wellsprings of water in Bethlehem or Samaria, or the baptismal waters of the Jordan River.

 Water is an earthly sign of what God is doing among us.

Today we are celebrating the ways that water and the Word come together in the sacrament of baptism as we welcome our newest sister in Christ, Charlee, into our family of faith.

Calling baptism “a grace-filled water of life” and a “bath of the new birth in the Holy Spirit” Martin Luther reminds us that, water – the most ordinary of elements - is made holy when it is placed in the setting of God’s Word and command.[v] It is God’s gift and action for us and it is transformational.

Baptized in Christ and united with Him, it is life in Christ Jesus where we “may take hold of the life that really is life” (1 Timothy 6:19) instead of placing our hope and trust elsewhere. Trusting in God’s abundant love and mercy for us, we live out our faith every day, and when we face difficulty and need reassurance, we return to God’s promises to us and God’s gift of Jesus, the one who has risen from the dead, for us.

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God, Thank you for your Son Jesus who rose from the grave for us. Thank you for the gift of your Word written onto our hearts. Thank you for the new life we receive by your mercy and love. Help us by your Spirit to focus on you and trust in you and your promises.  We pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

---

[i] Deuteronomy 6:4-9

[ii] Isaiah 12:2-3

[iii] Jeremiah 17:7-8

[iv] Genesis 1:2

[v] “Small Catechism”, ELW, 1165.

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany and Farewell at Ascension

Luke 4:21-30

Jeremiah 1:4- 10

In today’s gospel, as at the wedding in Cana that we heard about two weeks ago, Jesus is going to do what Jesus is going to do. He isn’t going to be about what his mother wants, or what people back home expect. Even when that causes disappointment and provokes anger. Jesus is following God’s Word, and his actions are grounded in the relationship that he has as the Son of God.

In the Old Testament reading from the prophets, the prophet Jeremiah also encounters God’s Word and it changes how he acts. God spoke to the prophet and when Jeremiah raised his objections and doubts about the work God was calling him to do, God reminded him that he has been known to God from the very beginning of his existence. And knowing Jeremiah as God did, God appointed him to go forth with God’s Word in his mouth and take it to the people in the nations and kingdoms of Judah.

We, like Jeremiah and Jesus before us, are known to God and chosen by God to be God’s presence in the world where we are. And today’s Scripture shows us how being known and chosen by God is very different from being known and chosen by the world or by other people.

From as far back as the ancient prophets, “people” will talk. Jeremiah feared that he could not speak for God because of his youth – whether in actual years, or his lack of experience or knowledge. I expect most of us have had the experience of “imposter syndrome” sneaks into our thoughts and we find ourselves wondering if we are enough; whether we can speak with clarity and authority, or whether we belong in the place and role where we find ourselves. And, even as a congregation, whether we matter because we are small. Here God tells Jeremiah, you are enough because you are mine.

Jesus was more unflappable. He knew how people are; he wasn’t surprised or thrown off when people questioned how he could have knowledge of God’s Word, whether that was because they couldn’t imagine that the son of a carpenter could be a teacher, or because they thought he had gotten too big for his britches, so to speak. This episode in the synagogue follows the temptations in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus had been tested by the devil and refuted false claims at every turn, trusting instead in God and God’s Word to guide him.

Throughout Scripture, people say one thing and God shows them another way to be because God knows the capacity God has created within us to be God’s people, made in God’s image and living out God’s kingdom here in this world.

As the Lord says when Samuel is meeting Jesse’s sons, looking for the one who is to be anointed king, “the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (1Samuel 16:7 NRS)”

And as we hear in Paul’s letter today, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

We trust that God will continue to reveal God’s purpose and future for us, because we trust who we know God to be, and here we are reminded too that God knows us and entrusts us to go into the world bearing God’s Word.

In 2014, you called me as your pastor and invited me into your lives to care for you and listened to me as I have preached and taught. I am grateful for the ways you have cared for me, Jamie and the girls and for your curiosity about our VW buses and four-legged companions. I love you and I am so grateful for the ways you have let me know you and your stories and the ways we have shared together in being Jesus to each other and to our community.

Even now as there are questions about what’s next for the congregation and what the next season of ministry may look like, the promises from today’s Scriptures center our lives going forward:

God knows us and entrusts us with the care for the world around us.

God says we are enough and claims us as God’s own.

And God believes in our future because God formed us and shapes us for our life together.

Remembering these promises, we recognize with the psalmist that our trust and hope is only found in God and find our comfort in God’s boundless love for us.

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God,

We give you thanks for your Son Jesus who comes into this world to reveal your Word and presence to us.

Thank you for the ways Jesus shows us that we are chosen by you and called to be your people, faithful to your Word.

Forgive us when we place more value on others’ opinions of us or doubt who you have created us to be and the gifts you have given us.

By your Spirit, give us courage to live out your Gospel and love in the world every day.

We pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.