Swarming Locusts and Vats Full of New Wine

 

Every week I send the lector the scripture passages, so they know what they are reading on Sunday. This week I loved Bob’s response: “Got it. Swarming locusts and vats full of new wine!” Doesn’t this describe life? Since the beginning, there have been the ups and downs of devastation and abundance that are out of human control. These things happen and indiscriminately affect those in their path.

To this, the prophet Joel speaks to the people, to us, repeating the words:

Do not be afraid. Be glad and rejoice. -Joel 2: 21

 

Do not be afraid – easier said than done –

In the wake of double hurricanes hitting the Floridian coast.

In the continued ravaging of war in Ukraine.

In the ever-escalating war in the Middle East.

In the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia.

In the stress of systems, institutions, and government.

In the increase of marginalized and displaced persons. …

Do not be afraid.

 

Be glad and rejoice – it is Thanksgiving Sunday-

For the beauty in the colours of autumn leaves.

For the nourishment of food and water.

For the blessing of fellowship and community.

For the comforts of home and shelter.

For the relative safety and peace across the country.

For the allowance to gather to pray and worship God.

Be glad and rejoice.

 

I have to admit there were a number of times this past week, when I realized I had tears in my eyes. I was overwhelmed by things from the realm of swarming locusts, that is things that brought worry, fear, sadness, hopelessness, no control; hurricanes, war, dirty politics, and the like. And then there were other moments where I was overwhelmed by things from the vats full of wine, that is something that brought life, wonder, joy, hope, love: rainbows, the Northern Lights, hearing miracle stories, the giving of gifts, the sharing of a meal.

 

The tears in my eyes, started last Sunday, from being overwhelmed by both the swarming locusts and the vats full of new wine, at the same time!

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land celebrated their Thanksgiving festival last Sunday and posted pictures on their Facebook page from their six congregations.

 

The churches each had a display of food items brought to be shared and distributed to those in need: rice, olive oil, and fresh produce. Children are seen at the front for a kid’s corner. There are readers and preachers.

The picture that touches me the most is a pastor, behind an altar which is decorated with bananas, grapes, tomatoes, eggplant, and cabbage. The pastor is presiding at communion and is holding a large loaf of bread. There is a seriousness about him, carrying the weight of a people who are scared, hungry, and in an uncontrollable situation, and, yet, the pastor’s face has a do not be afraid, be glad and rejoice depth to it.

The ELCJHL page says:

Despite the suffering of the last year and the current situation in the Holy Land, congregations came together this weekend to give thanks to God for all he provides. As the season of many important harvests begin we pray that the coming year will be one of abundance and peace.  -FB page ELCJHL Oct. 6, 2024

 

Coming together to give thanks to God and to pray for a year of abundance and peace. The ELCJHL shares this recipe for living the prophet Joel’s words do not be afraid, be glad and rejoice. Although not in the same extreme of circumstances, we understand the benefits of coming together to give thanks to God and to pray. We fear less, have more gladness, and feel like rejoicing (have gratitude) because we are engaged in faith community.

 

I often find that when I am overwhelmed phrases from hymns come to my mind; I might even catch myself singing them in a whisper. This week I had two phrases that I continually prayed, and eventually they melded together into a mantra like practice that satisfied my spirit’s need for prayers for the swarming locusts and praise for vats full of new wine; holding both kinds of prayers in tension, and embracing all together.

Today, I share this prayer with you as a living practice of the words of the prophet Joel, do not be afraid. Be glad and rejoice.

The two hymn lines are:

For the troubles and the suffering world and For the beauty of the earth.

Both tunes are very different and between them it takes a moment for the brain to remember the other tune. There is a rhythm that is created that overwhelms me more than the locusts and the wine. I enter into a place where abundance and peace seem quite possible no matter what is going on in the world. I pray you find the practice as overwhelming.

I will start. Please join in when you are ready. Note there is a pause to breathe and birth the next tune. We will close out the sermon praying.

 

For the troubles and the suffering world. Breathe. For the beauty of the earth. Breathe.

  …….repeat until…

...

Divorced from the Foundation of Creation

 

God. 

God is relationship.                                                                                                                

God in the act of breathing life created relationships.

God is in relationship with the void.

God is in relationship with water.

God is in relationship with earth.

God is in relationship with Tree and Plant.

God is in relationship with every wild animal, with every creeping thing.

God is in relationship with every animal of the field, with every bird of the air, with every living creature.

God is in relationship with man.

God is in relationship with woman.

 

Scriptures on this 20^th week after Pentecost have us considering relationship. The first and second chapters of Genesis present us with two different versions of the creation story. One is oriented from God’s perspective and God’s work through seven days, highlighting each day of creation in relationship to the day before. The story tells of water before grasses, grasses before animals, because one needs the other for its survival. The second story in chapter 2 is focused from the perspective of man where everything was created for man’s use: the garden, every fruit tree (save one), gold, precious stones, water of great rivers named by man, used by man, and ends with the creation of woman, man’s partner.

By the way I opened the sermon, you can tell which story I have a better relationship with. I understand relationship as crafted in the first story, where relationship starts with God, and God’s relationship with each creation. You have heard me preach many times on the theme of relationship. Relationship with God, with each other, and with creation --- for me this is the Law and the Gospel, as scripture speaks repeatedly, love God and love your neighbour. When humans get this relationship with God and each other in order, all of creation breathes easy. When humans fail in relationships creation groans. When humans get relation with God and each other in order, relationships will be whole. Creation will be whole, as in the beginning when God saw that it was good.

 

Now the Pharisees who approach Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, know the creation stories from Genesis, and the Law from Exodus and Deuteronomy with the commandments about relationship with God and commandments related to their relationships with people and animals. They come to Jesus to ask specifically about one kind of relationship, that of husband and wife, and push Jesus for his teaching on divorce.

The Pharisees who approach Jesus are cunning. They are not as interested in the answer, as they are in tripping Jesus up. This is evident when some of the Pharisees later approach Jesus asking to whom they should pay taxes, to Caesar or God? Here divorce was on their minds, for John the Baptist had recently been beheaded because he had angered Roman authorities by speaking out against the divorce of Philip and Herodias, so that Herodias could marry Herod. Tripping Jesus up would make for a bad relationship between Jesus and the Roman officials, the hope being that ‘the Jesus problem’ would disappear at the hands of angry Roman authorities.

Rev. Philip Ruge-Jones, Grace Lutheran, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, wrote commentary that suggests a deeper meaning, where the author of the Gospel compared the harm done by a husband divorcing his wife, as echoing the regular violence of Rome towards the people of the occupied area. Oh course, in this moment that went above the heads of those asking the question. Stuck in the mechanics of human transaction, their distaste for Jesus, they wait to hear Jesus’ words regarding the Law, a Law where divorce was initiated only by men. Wives, at this time, were at their husband’s mercy. Divorce meant being cast away. Everything was lost: the women was divorced of security, housing, children, family, future marriage, community, safety – for women a divorce was a living death sentence.

But Jesus, in the continuation of the story, is surrounded by people bringing their children to have Jesus lay hands on them. In Mark’s Gospel, being touched, the laying on of hands, is an act that brings healing and wholeness. Jesus welcomes the children – the lowest of the low--- and blesses them, affirming that to receive the kindom of God one must be as a child --- to them belongs the kindom. And in the action of welcoming and blessing the lowest human according to human standard, Jesus also welcomes the women who are cast out and all who are marginalized, those divorced by society.

Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees does not upset Roman authorities. The answer upsets the Pharisees. Jesus takes issue with the relationship the supposed righteous have with Law, as opposed to, the relationship they have with the actual people around them. Jesus takes issue with the relationship religious leaders have with the Law, as compared to their relationship with God.

 

The Gospel is not relegated to the past. Questions about divorce, in fact in some Church denominations, rules about divorce have affected many. But the conversation is bigger that spouses. Jesus’ in answering the question returns attention to creation, mentioning one part of the story brings to life the whole story. Jesus points back to God creating relationship.

When was the last time you did a relationship audit? When has the church, this congregation, done a relationship audit?

We are all divorced. We are all in relationships that are broken, separated, estranged, or tenuous.

We are divorced by never having started relationships.

We are divorced.

Divorced from the vulnerable and marginalized.

Divorced from community.

Divorced from neighbours.

Divorced from friends.

Divorced from family members.

Divorced from children.

Divorced from creatures (mammal, bird, fish, insect).

Divorced from Mother Earth.

Divorced from God.

Long ago, reads the letter of Hebrews, God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days God has spoken to us by a Son, whom God appointed heir of all things, through whom God also created the worlds. The Son is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.

God continually and repeatedly from the time of creation pursued and persisted in tending and furthering relationship. God became incarnate in Jesus, suffering and dying, not because God needed a sacrifice, but to show human beings to what extravagant lengths God will go to unconditionally love creation ---

And so, in relationship with God, as children of God, loved unconditionally--- to what extravagant lengths will you, will we, as a community of faith go to tend our relationships and move from divorce to partnership? Relationship is the foundation of God’s creation, woven into the very breath we breathe; shared breath, shared life. Today experiencing relationship in this place, hearing the Gospel, fed by God’s grace, we are new creations, in better relationship with God and each other than when we arrived. Let us go into the world whole, living relationally and in each footstep plant a furthering of God’s relational kindom. 

For the healing of the world. Amen.  

Asters: Persistent in Apocalyptic Times

 

The Michaelmas Daisy, aka a richly dressed dainty petaled flower with a golden eye.

Small in size it is wise, for it grows when others die;

The last pollen of the season, tasty feast for bees;

It brings the viewer to their knees,

A bevy of purple, a myriad of bloom, splendent abreast the goldenrod; Living reciprocity.

Manifesting virtues… Love, wisdom, faith, colour… a natural star.

 

September 29^th is Michaelmas, the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. The story is Archangel Michael at the height of a cosmic and epic confrontation between the forces of good and the forces of evil. It is a cinematographer’s bounty of vast scenes of war and conflict, fire and smoke, dragons and winged beings, armies traversing the heavens and the earth. It is a time of woe and fear.

 

Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae was interviewed on CBC radio during this past week.

Simply put, he said, “It’s a very tough time in the world.” We know, we have seen or heard the news of the rise of aggression and armed conflict throughout the world; scenes of war and conflict, fire and smoke, armies traversing high and low, a time of woe and fear. A time wherein conflict ravaged areas exponentially expand, devouring cities and peoples, destroying nations.  

Yet Ambassador Rae, did not leave the interview with listeners mired in the ‘tough times,’ he highlighted the work that the United Nations has and is accomplishing. To begin, the dragons of the world, are still at the table talking. Rae talked about the UN work reducing and forgiving debt, work in development particularly in impoverished areas, and the great work – teamwork- combatting gang presence and violence in Haiti. Optimistic despite the suffering and the troubles of the world, Rae shared what I call his star virtue for moving forward in troubled times; we need to remain PERSISTENT.

 

The apocalyptic prophet Daniel lived at a time, when simply put, “it was a very tough time in the world.”

Ancient Near East histories before Daniel’s time recorded war after war and recounted a land full of gods, where each nation ascribed to a god. The Assyrian conquest as record in 2 Kings asks if any nation’s god could deliver the nation from the strong hand of Assyria. There was an understanding that the gods participated in war, comprising of cosmic and epic confrontations between them and mirroring their battles in earthly realms. By Daniel’s time, it was no longer gods who waged war, but princes, who were powerful patron angels. Wars played out between nations’ patron angels and it affected people on the earth.

Chapter 10 of Daniel records the Persian period and the conquest of the kings who followed the reign of Cyrus, King of Persia. Chapter 11 accurately records Hellenistic history, including in verse 11 reference to Alexander the Great. This part of Daniel was written before 163 BCE and the death of Antiochus IV which was prophesied as the prelude to the end of the world.

The apocalyptic text of Daniel was written to a people in the path of dragons. In a time of great oppression, revolt, riots, and civil war. A time where high priests were removed, Jewish religion was outlawed and Zeus, along with the sacrificing of pigs, was added to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Optimistic despite the suffering and the trouble of the world, Daniel shared hope:

At that time Michael, the great prince…shall rise. … at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Dan. 12:1-3)

 

This text is the first writing of resurrection in the Bible and a reference to the ‘book of life.’ Many, not all, rise; some rise to everlasting life and some, to eternal contempt. Commentaries point out that only the very good and the very bad are raised; not everyone. There is an additional reflection that the wise will shine like stars, implying that the person is a companion of the angels.

At the time of the writing of Daniel his listeners would have been familiar with Greek legends. One legend was a story espousing beauty amidst the common where the ‘Starry Maid,’ Astraea, cried when she noticed there were no stars upon the earth. Her tears fell to the earth and sprouted as flowers that looked like stars, the autumn flower we know as asters.

 

250 years after Daniel, the apocalyptic writer of Revelation repurposed the language and images from the book of Daniel to speak to some in the Jewish Diaspora (people who had fled the First Jewish Revolt when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed) and congregated with others in the Seven Churches of Asia Minor; people who were heavily persecuted under the ruthless cruel tyrannical reign of Roman Emperor Domitian.

A war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back but were defeated, and there was no longer place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down.

The outcome of the war in heaven was the reason for the persecution and oppression of believers on earth, and yet, the optimism in the text is a voice that proclaimed,

Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down (Rev. 12: 10)

 

Apocalyptic texts are arrangements of extremes layered upon each other, written when, “it’s a very tough time in the world.” The texts are filled with utopian language of the promise of hope amidst the chaos of suffering and oppression, war and conflict, and judgement that separates the righteous and the wicked. Within the apocalyptic imagery there is hope for Restoration.  

 

Apocalyptic texts were forefront in my mind when CBC radio interviewed philosopher Todd May talking about his book, “Should We Go Extinct? A Philosophical Dilemma for Our Unbearable Times.” In an apocalyptic sort of way, he asks human beings to face this question.  

May posits that humans have lots to offer, but humans also cause lots of destruction. How does the scale of value balance out? While contributing value to the world by producing and infusing large degrees of happiness, meaningfulness, and creating and appreciating art/science/beauty and the richness of planet; while having vision for a future; and birthing culture and gratitude, humans generate and devise egregious amounts of cruelty, suffering, and devastation (in his opinion one need only consider factory farming and deforestation to get the point). Does human contribution of good into the world balance the moral scale of evil perpetrated by humans? His apocalyptic coloured philosophy ends with the hope of focused minds that open us up to possibilities, a willingness to try to make human existence more justifiable. The stars will be those who embrace change and generate virtue while living in and addressing the sufferings and struggles of the world.

 

Apocalyptic texts resonate when the world is …well… like it is now. Peril and forces beyond our control have humans searching for something: explanations, justifications, a long view that this shall pass; and glimpses of words, actions, or stories that kindle hope. Humans open their understanding to the possibilities of that which we do not see: heaven and hell, angels and demons, cosmic chaos and Creator; and the possibility of contributing value to a world yet to be.

The writer of Daniel, the author of Revelation, Ambassador Rae, Todd May describe what was, is, and is yet to be.  All commend us to be Persistent (wise) – meaning engaged in the struggle to balance out fear and peril with infusions of hope, appreciation, beauty, value, and at all times protesting the forces that defy God, the devil, and all empty promises.

In Daniel the fullness of promise is that: Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Dan.12: 3)

 

In the end

God’s tears shed in response to conflict in the realm of Angels,

in protest to the struggles and the suffering of the world,

Tears fallen through the heavens to the earth, stars.

Asters of purple Wisdom, manifesting virtues, Love and faith

Shining in apocalyptic brightness,

May we, bathed in God’s tears, be wise and lead many to righteousness.

Persistent -living reciprocity- Stars forever and ever …. Purple asters.

The Ministry of Holding Space

 

The Gospel of Mark is written in three acts: the first act in Galilee, the second has Jesus traveling about, and the third takes place in Jerusalem. Mark 9 is in the second act. The second act especially is written in individual moments or standalone events. There are independent stories of miraculous events and healings, discussions with disciples, and the sharing now and then of a parable. This section has us travel all over the map.

 

Our reading today first has us in Galilee with Jesus and the disciples. Jesus does not want anyone to know. Jesus and the disciples journey into the region away from the towns because Jesus has serious things to share with the disciples. Jesus does not want to be interrupted or overheard.

Secondly, the reading has us visit Capernaum. The disciples are with Jesus, and Jesus speaks with them. Different from the region of Galilee journey, here they are not alone. We know this because Jesus draws a child into their midst, which suggests there are others around too. It is okay for others to overhear the conversation.

 

What drew my attention this week was the use of specific places for specific tasks and ministry.

The second act of the Gospel of Mark illustrates that there are different messages and ways of communicating and or acting for various contexts and audiences. Individuals have an array of needs and are at unique points in their faith journey requiring intentionally focused care.

I had a conversation with a person this week who shared with me a profound “God-moment.” God appeared at an auspicious time for this person, in a moment of choice where choosing temptation would have been life-destructing. To get their attention God appeared in an over-the-top manner, that for most of us would be so bizarre and risqué we would not have seen God in it at all. Yet, for this person, their personality, this was THE way they woke up to God’s presence. Knowing the person, it made perfect sense to me that God’s specific message to them was delivered in the extraordinarily outrageous!

This week I also reflected on the conversations I have with people, specifically those I’ve talked with at the Loneliness Café. I get all kinds of ‘God questions’ or ‘Bible themed queries,’ theological questions and the like. Although the questions might be identical, the answer or reply has never been the same. In fact, sometimes my conversation with one person, would be the exact opposite of what I would say to another. What I have said to you, may not be what I have counseled the person sitting beside you.

I have my own way of teaching and practicing Lutheran theology. I have working definitions for sin, forgiveness, grace, the cross, kindom… these are descriptions that come from my core beliefs. But when in the world, although holding true to the core, how I express the message changes depending on the conversation, the context, the relationship, and where a person is on their journey.

 

With the rise of open conversations around mental health, more practitioners share ways that ordinary people can support the mental health and wellbeing of others. A highly recommended practice is to hold space for others.

PsychologyToday.com says that holding space is:

In addition to the safe environment and full presence, holding space involves listening attentively. The listener is present for the speaker’s experience, does not make the conversation about them, does not shut down difficult conversation, and does not shy away from strong feelings. 

-Psychology Today. Com May25, 2023

Likewise, HolisticeWellnessPractice.com says:

Show up for someone, be fully present, without judgement as you sit with that person through their difficult time – March 28, 2023 holisticwelnesspractice.com

 

The independent stories and miraculous events of Jesus’ ministry, as presented in the Gospel of Mark, demonstrate and embody holding space. In each healing, each casting out of demons, Jesus is present with the individual. No judgement. No conditions. Each context and experience are unique. You will recall a few weeks ago, some were healed by words sight unseen, others were physically touched.

Holding space --- Jesus takes the disciples aside, alone, to share information that will be challenging and difficult to digest. Jesus needs to provide a space where he can sit with the disciples without distractions. Where questions can be asked, where disciples can feel and process that Jesus is going to die to bring God’s kindom.

Holding space --- In Capernaum, Jesus creates and holds space in a conversation with the disciples, creating and holding space for the eavesdroppers in the room. By physically setting a child in the middle of the conversation Jesus expands what holding space means. In the safe circle of the disciples’ conversation, Jesus challenges those present and the listener to sit with and welcome the marginalized. In the 1^st century children were considered less than human, at best property. And here Jesus extends welcome.

 

Holding space --- I have never seen these words included in the job description of a pastor. Yet, most of what I do is a holding of space for others. Pastoral care visits, grief counseling, facilitating exploration in study groups, offering coffee and conversation, and sharing in worship and prayer.

 

In this specific space, during worship, although I move us through the liturgy it is not I that is entirely responsible for holding space. Holding space is a communal action and a communal ministry. This ministry requires a commitment from all of us: to show up, to be present, to welcome the child and the marginalized, to sit together, to listen, to pray, to sing, to share Christ’s peace – to be bodies that embody the Christ.

Sacred spaces. Communities that hold space are vital for the health and wellbeing of the wider community. This space is gift!

Thank you for holding space with me and participating in this ministry. It is a holy gift that you are giving to the world!

Holding space confounds and scares away some people. Over the 20 years I have served with you, there are those who have left because holding space was a foreign concept. Coming to church was understood and practiced as an individual pursuit, rewarded by personal acquisition whether in answered prayers, deeper faith, affirming beliefs, or accolades. Some people have left because they were not finding any personal value or reward. Missing the point, or choosing, to ignore that following Jesus is not about ME.

Our stories from Mark’s Gospel demonstrate Jesus holding space for the disciples, eavesdroppers, children, the marginalized. There are stories of Jesus holding space for himself – self-care, stepping aside – this action comes out of holding space for others, so that Jesus is able to continue to minister to and be in relationship with others. Jesus’ ministry for the most part is not about personal acquisition or storing up treasures for himself. Jesus’ life and death is about the other.

 

I am often asked, “What can I do? How can I serve?”

I believe that the single greatest ministry of a community of faith is providing a holy holding space for others.

Showing up for worship is ministry. And coming with an attitude and expectation, not to acquire value for yourself, but rather a perspective of holding space for others.

Consider ---

Today, you may not hear something you desperately wanted to hear, because you held space for someone else to hear what they needed to hear.

Today, you may leave without your questions or prayers answered, instead you held space for someone else to receive their daily bread.

Perhaps you will not hear something that challenges you, you held space for someone else who was challenged by what was said and it will change their life.

And you may leave feeling like you did not experience God today, remember you held space for someone else who did experience God.

 

As we hold space for each other, Christ is embodied and present. In this space through community, Word and Sacrament, grace washes over us, all of us – the whole space; and we are held in God's grace upon grace.

Healing and Wholeness - def'n - RELATIONSHIP

 

Ableism – Ableism is defined by accessliving.org as: discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior. At its heart, ableism is rooted in the assumption that disabled people require ‘fixing’ and defines people by their disability.

Today’s readings invite us to consider and wrestle with our bias and prejudice around ableism; to ponder that each of us is one accident away from possible disability; to acknowledge that aging changes what we can and can not do. We are asked to deeply think about what healing and wholeness are.

 

The Isaiah text shares a familiar passage, repeated throughout prophetic texts: the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be opened; the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. …the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the mute speak. Human interpretations of these images have led to conditions like blindness being seen as bad, a consequence of sin, at the very least, less than. Author Amy Kenny, who has a disability, wrote a book, “My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church” describing her experience of ableism in the church. She did not see herself as less than, she did not want or need prayers for healing.  She writes that the church because of its prejudice was missing out on the prophetic witness and blessing of disability.

 

If asked, would you agree or disagree with the statement: Blindness is something to be fixed.? Healed? I have met blind people who ‘see’ very well, with their ears and hands and intuitions. Ableism is the assumption of those who see with their eyes, that sightedness of the eyes is wholeness for the blind. The text from Isaiah helps solidify the assumption; the blind shall see.

 

Too often our idea of wholeness is equated or connected in our minds to a definition of perfection. What does it mean for something to be perfect. Perfection is a fickle thing, for it is based on perceptions, personal notions, or societal ideals of what ‘perfect’ is.

 

On that nice sunny warm autumn feeling afternoon this past week, I went for a run. It was wonderful, -dare I say perfect- both relaxing and rejuvenating. It was healing. It was exactly what my spirit and body needed. By this intro you would not have guessed that during the run I tripped and landed on the sidewalk. I skinned my knee and hand, road-rashed and bruised my shoulder. The run was not any less wholesome because I was hurt in the process.

 

There are many Christians who would describe Jesus as perfect. Jesus was also human. The Gospel for today suggests that while walking on earth, Jesus had some less than graceful moments; uncharitable even; others have called out Jesus’ prejudice. In the Gospel reading, healing and wholeness is found, not in the healings, as much as, in the heated conversation between the Syro-Phoenician woman and Jesus. The heated conversation is an open wound – where the woman is called dog. In the exchange of words, healing and wholeness arrive as Jesus’ perspective changes. Jesus is the one healed as his prejudice for this woman dissipates and he acts in compassion to heal her daughter. Jesus doesn’t become ‘perfect,’ but moves into a wholeness found in relationship and this new way of being changes Jesus’ approach to ministry. Jesus’ ministry journeys into wholeness as Jesus’ understanding of who is included in the invitation to God’s grace and unconditional love expands.

 

I read a commentary, that suggested that two very different healing stories are included here. The woman’s daughter is healed from afar at the request of the mother. The second has Jesus touching the deaf man and speaking to him. These two healing stories illustrate that faith journey, healing, is not the same for everyone. The stories and healings are distinct because each person has a distinct relationship with Jesus, with God.

I think about healing and wholeness in my work as pastor when called to pray, to visit the sick, and to be present in the ER. And then there are the times I have sat at bedsides of those who are 100% dying --- when a pastor is invited to come and pray, what kind of prayers do families want? What would you want me to pray for a loved one? Healing of the sick? Raising the dead? Safe passage?

My go-to is a prayer for healing to wholeness – in some cases the prayer is answered in bodily healing, for others it is the peace of death that comes through suffering, but far more often prayers for wholeness are answered in relationships – moments and miracles that happen between family members and friends at the bedside– miracles and moments that include forgiveness, confession, repentance, gratitude, remembrance, compassion, care, service, humility, love.

 

At our last National church assembly, the church received a report from the ELCIC Task Force Addressing Ableism.  In this report the Task Force wrote:

Disability is part of being human. It is a condition or experience from injury, illness, or a unique development which makes it more difficult for a person to engage in meaningful activity or interact with the world around them. Disability can be easily identifiable, invisible, temporary, and/or permanent and is not a fixed experience. Inclusion in our context is naming that all people are made in the image of God, and so living in relationship with each person as complete and valuable in and of themselves. Inclusion seeks to engage each person as they are in the whole of our church body and family. – ELCIC task force addressing ableism report 2022

Inclusion in our context is naming that all people are made in the image of God, and so living in relationship with each person as complete and valuable in and of themselves. Inclusion seeks to engage each person as they are in the whole of our church body and family.

The Task Force speaks of relationship – living in relationship the people of God are made whole. We are each valuable and complete as we are. We acknowledge that disability is part of being human. We are healed and whole when we are in relationship, being community, loving one another and letting others love us. Relationship in community has be think of two titles from authors writing about disability that speak to me about healing and wholeness:  Shane Clifton wrote, “Crippled Grace,” and Brian Brock wrote, “Wondrously Wounded.” As pastor, I listen and hear that which cripples and wounds. There are few in this community who have not been introduced to disability. We are a community of the wondrously wounded and expressions of crippled grace.

 

So, what do we do with the passages of scripture that have the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the lame walking, the mute talking? We can keep reading!

These passages do not end in the dualism, God’s grace comes in what follows. Unfortunately, what follows is not what has stuck in our minds or settled into our hearts.

Today we keep reading, God’s grace is found in what follows in the image of water in the desert. Augsburg’s Sundays and Seasons resource has this to say:

Isaiah’s images of water in the desert can help us parse the nuances of this issue. In places marred by drought, water breaking forth is wholeness and shalom; streams of water in the desert’s rainy season allow for life the whole year long. And yet deserts are vital ecosystems teeming with life, and we ought not make deserts into marshes; part of the wholeness of creation is a diversity of creation. Likewise, part of shalom in the human community is a diversity of ability. Creation models a good human life.

 

We are each made in the image of God and loved by God. We are valuable and complete as we are. We are a community who is in relationship with each other and this diversity makes us whole. We are healed through relationship with each other and God; we are wondrously wounded and are beautiful expressions of crippled grace.

 

 

We pray with a prayer written by Rev. Steve Hoffard on the occasion of a joint meeting of the ELCIC Task Forces on ableism; homophobia; racism.

 

Creator God,

You have formed every one of us in your image. All of us molded as a unique and beautiful part of your diverse creation…each of us equally loved, valued and precious in your sight.

As a church we recognize that truth and sometimes even proclaim it while sadly at the same time erecting barriers, sometimes unknowingly, too often even knowingly, to those who differ from us in anyway.

We know we have work to do. As members of the body of Christ, we are called to help each other be a better church, we ask that you come among us not only today but in the days ahead as we continue this work.

Inspire us with courage and creativity. Challenge us to new learning. Push us when we get stuck.

Help us to listen carefully to one another and to those who have been pushed to the margins and give us strength to carry on even when the work is hard. This we continue to pray until all are included and celebrated without exception ... without obstacles ... and without endless debate. In the name of the one who fully welcomes all to the table, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

-Rev. Steve Hoffard (on occasion of joint meeting of ELCIC task forces: ableism; homophobia, biphobia, transphobia; racism, white supremacy, and racial justice. Nov. 2021)

Labour Day: Mercy and Compassion

 

What great scripture texts to start off a new school year!

 

Deuteronomy has Moses speaking to the people, “I now teach you the statutes and ordinance for you to observe… observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples.”

Jesus debates with the Pharisees about the Commandments and quotes from Isaiah that the faithful have turned from God’s covenant to teaching human precepts as doctrines.

And we begin a month of readings from the Letter of James referred to by some as an instruction book for godly behaviour.

 

Each text introduces us to a faith community who has a set of teachings. The teachings include the Ten Commandments and interpretations of ‘love God’ and ‘love your neighbour.’ The teachings are being taught and passed from one generation to the next, and from faithful followers to seekers and new members. The faith communities are wrestling with their teachings and discerning how to live their teachings with moral and ethical integrity in their every day lives.

 

Writers of the texts share a concern that the world – with its powers and governance, attitudes and influence -- will swallow up faith community such that the community will succumb to the behaviours of their surrounding population and the dominate culture. Who then would teach ‘love God’ and ‘love your neighbour?’

 

The Letter of James (the brother of Jesus) received a bad wrap from reformers like Martin Luther, because of a lean towards ‘works righteousness’ rather than, as argued in Paul’s letters, justification through faith. Although such a debate may be the kind of hardy and heady thinking you like to participate in, this morning let us consider that both James and Paul, Jesus and the Pharisees, and preceding covenant peoples, have simply understood and articulated the theology differently. Varied theology does not change the fact that each group, as illustrated in the texts for the day, shares a basic principle: knowing God affects how faith communities live and the ‘how’ is noticed by the surrounding population.

 

What is great about the Letter of James is that it teaches faith communities how to discern what it means to be a Christian community in a troubled world. The Letter takes from the Hebrew scripture: the Torah, the prophets, the Psalms; it takes pieces from the Jesus’ tradition, from Matthew and Luke; it references Paul’s teaching. It takes a variety of perspectives and interpretations, from different times and places, and creates an instruction booklet of faithful living for the early Christian community in Jerusalem focusing the community on moral and ethical integrity and loving actions. The surrounding population notices their ethical integrity and loving actions; neither of which are received kindly. This faith community is at odds with the ideology and practices of the wider community. Shortly after the writing of this letter, James is stoned to death in the public square.

 

The Bible is abundant in illustrations of faith communities, God-followers, wrestling with how one lives a faithful life. No subject is off the table – favourites include money or wealth, wages, taxes, charity, social systems, tradition, war, power, civil and religious authorities…

These favourite biblical topics are front and centre still. As a faith community how are we to live?

 

It is Labour Day weekend. I have been thinking about unions and movements who have stood together to cause change in working hours, workplace conditions and safety, employee contracts and benefits. Community worked together for the common good and to realize social change.

I think about current employment of people I know who are stuck in part-time work without benefits, no job security, dodgy safety standards, no choice of schedule, doing work they are not trained to do. We live in a climate where a living wage in Halifax is $28.30 and minimum wage is $15.20. Is it not time for community to work together to realize social change?

 

Lenny Duncan a former ELCA pastor and racial justice advocate addressed a letter to members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America about the upcoming American presidential election. Ducan advocates that as a church the ELCA is perfectly placed to make a difference in the outcome of the election. It is time for the church to live with ethical integrity and loving action; to work together outside of political lines for the common good of the US and the world. He argues that there are four States with traditionally slim margins, that’s .3%- 1.5%. There are a lot of Lutherans in those states: Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. ELCA churches have a choice to teach, discuss, wrestle with issues, to invite neighbours and friends, to pray, to advocate for the community to vote – not for a party- but against totalitarianism, violence, coercion. It is guaranteed if the ELCA churches committed to this action, the surrounding people would notice.

 

It is easy to point fingers at examples in America. But I have also been thinking about the Lutheran World Federation, the ELCIC, and this congregation.

Does the surrounding population notice that we are a living faith community?

 

It is certainly noticed that Lutherans live out knowing God in the running of refugee camps and welcoming displaced persons; Lutherans are known for their emphasis on God’s grace and expressions thereof;

the Prime Minister’s Office knows us as a faithful living church because Bp. Susan, on our behalf, and with our Full Communion Partner, the Anglican Church of Canada, writes letters, advocating for justice on a variety of specific issues.

 

The Letter of James concludes chapter one, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the father, is this; to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Throughout the Bible the care of orphans and widows is the most ethical and virtuous of services. Orphans and widows represented the marginalized and the forgotten; both only survived through the mercy and compassion of others.

 

As I hear news from around the world, and look around Halifax, there is a growing population of marginalized and forgotten, individuals and groups who find themselves without status, resources, or options. These are the orphans and widows of today, ones who will only survive through the mercy and compassion of others.

And this is what the scripture texts are asking us to wrestle with…

 

I had a conversation with a person this week, who was adamant that faith, that knowing God, made me different; that it was obvious to them that faith influences how I see the world and how I live in the world. I have purpose and hope, a kindness; a grace. The same can be said for you.

 

The surrounding population notices: they notice open doors and conversation circles, prayer boxes and welcome tables. They notice our comings and goings, how we honour sabbath and God, how we treat each other and our neighbours. As we go ‘back to school,’ come ‘back to church,’ may we be teachable. Ready to learn, wrestle with, and discern how to live out knowing God through ethical integrity and loving actions. And may both our ethical integrity and loving actions realize the social change our surrounding society so desperately needs.  

Bread: for Famished Imaginations and Malnourished Dreams

 Earlier this summer I picked up and read the most beautiful book.

It was a neatly bound book, soft and velvety to the touch. Black in colour with the bold title “Black.” The book of poems were poems of George Elliot Clarke served as courses that opened like casserole dishes under lids of black paper, words scattered like salt on pages. The book was a feast for the eyes, filled with an aroma of words, the poetry food for the soul. I ate it up!

This said, although the poetry was edible, each mouthful tasty--- it did not necessarily mean each morsel was comprehendible. I tasted it – experienced it- felt it as part of me, but couldn’t explain all of it with reason or intellect, or statements.

 

Do you understand what I am talking about? Have you read or heard a poem or a hymn where it speaks to you, or it makes you feel something but you can not translate or explain what it means?

 

A few weeks ago, the Psalm for the day was Psalm 34. In that Psalm there is a line: Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. Consider for a moment what this line of poetry means. It is a morsel that has been shared through the centuries, incorporated into hymns, repeated in liturgies, and yet it is not easy to literally explain, for instance, what does it mean to taste God?

 

For a number of weeks, we have been hearing about Jesus’ miracles and teachings on bread as written in the Gospel of John. “I Am the bread of life,” Jesus says. At the end of the teaching, which we hear this morning, referencing eating and drinking Jesus’ flesh and blood, some of those following Jesus were offended saying, This teaching is difficult who can accept it? The offended left the group.

 

Really?!

We heard the line from Psalm 34: 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him?

Those who were following Jesus, those who found Jesus’ teaching difficult, those who were offended and left, knew this Psalm. They had heard and sung these ancient words. Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.

Are Jesus’ words not the same poem, an alternative verse, an interpretation, a continuation of the original poem? Like many phrases from the Psalms, like much of the rest of John’s gospel the statements are symbolic, metaphoric, poetic. What was it that was offensive?

 

Cindy S. Lee in her book, “Our Un-forming: De-Westernizing Spiritual Formation,” writes:

BIPOC communities may avoid imagination because we don’t want to be disappointed by a false hope. We have been disappointed and disillusioned so many times in our continual experiences of racism that a spiritual posture of imagination cannot be based on an empty hope (p69).

Perhaps the hearers of Jesus’ teaching (the followers of the Law, the Hebrew people, the Jews of 1^st century Judea) had been disappointed and disillusioned so many times that they had given up on imagining the coming of God’s kindom; they had lost hope. The oppressive Roman system had choked the people and charred hope. The people no longer cared to cook, to taste and see that the Lord is good, and rather chose to simply accept the tasteless gruel of Roman oppression and injustice. For Jesus to speak of God, kindom, and  covenant through an abundance of bread, with hope, and promise was too much; it was beyond famished imaginations and malnourished dreams.  

 

Do you ever find yourself bored with food, bored with figuring out what to cook? Do you find that you fall into a routine of a few dishes that you serve over and over – eating the same thing again and again? What do you do when you get stuck continually throwing together something simply because you have to eat?

Recently I heard a radio segment talking about the popularity of baking competition shows and channels like the Food Network. The guests talked about filling empty imaginations and building malnourished skills in the kitchen. The art of curating tastes and sharing recipes has awakened a movement of people, particularly young people to bake and to host dinner parties and gatherings around food. The radio guest suggested that in sharing and gathering, there is growing hope and connection and joy. There is abundance.

 

Bakers and chefs, poets and other artists imagine what can be. Their creations are much needed food, offered to hungry people and a famished world. I appreciate the recollection in the Gospel of John of Jesus’ teaching about bread. I am doubly appreciative that it is difficult. There is an abundance of bread, substance, to chew on and to continue to digest. Jesus continues to create – to imagine what can be- by interpreting the words of old, anew. Jesus plates the words by saying, The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

 

Peter, having eaten what Jesus is serving, and committed to receiving ongoing bread, responds to Jesus: To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Peter has experienced Jesus’ poetry, Jesus as the bread. Peter has been fed. Peter has come to believe – imagining more- through the experience of walking with Jesus the Holy One of God. Through the Gospel of John, we know that Peter doesn’t fully understand it all and doesn’t yet get what is to happen to Jesus. Regardless, Peter feels full and understands there is abundance to share; and so, he asks to whom shall we go?

 

Most of us have been well fed. We have digested God’s word, feasted on sacrament, tasted community, nibbled on hymns, and stretched our palates with challenging teachings. We are well fed and realizing that our prayer give us this day our daily bread, is answered we pray in a communion prayer, help us to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry. That is the “to whom shall we go.’ The hungry - those whose imaginations are famished, whose hopes and dreams are malnourished; those who have not tasted that the Lord is good.

 

How shall we go? The Letter to the Ephesians suggests the putting on of the armour of God. In a world inundated with unhealthy fast-food chains of war and violence, armour may not be the most wholesome of foods. If we taste and see around us, popping up in our community are small eating places with curated menus, local produce, craft breweries. In our community we can feast our eyes on murals and public art, hear the poets, song writers, and spoken word artists. The community – our neigbourhood- is hungry and is creating and searching for carefully curated experiences with meaning and purpose; nourishing imaginations, cultivating hope, sustaining dreams and possibilities.  

How shall we go? As chefs, bakers, poets, and artists! Creators! Wearing a chef’s hat of truth, mixing bowl of righteousness, paintbrushes and paints of the gospel of peace, an apron of faith, the rolling pin of salvation; pen, ink, and journal of the Spirit; and a personal outfit of prayer.

However it is that we can share our experience of the Holy One of God that is how we are to go. Not with answers or statements of fact, or reason; but with the experience of being full, of tasting and seeing that the Lord is good, that there is abundance and that there is bread that brings life! Bread that nourishes imaginations, fuels hopes and dreams, and satisfies the hungry heart.

 

May we be expressions of the Bread of Life, nourishing imaginations, fueling hope, satisfying the hungry heart- through us may our neighbours and the world experience and be filled with God’s abundant kindom.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in God.

 

 

In the Shadow of

 

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, begins a well-known poem by Robert Louis Stevenson.

When I think of Elisha the prophet this poem comes to mind. The second verse especially:

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow---Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;

For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.

 

Elisha was a protégé of the prophet Elijah, picked by Elijah to be his servant. Elisha followed Elijah as a disciple, to the very end of Elijah’s life on earth, when Elijah was swooped up in a chariot of fire. Elijah’s mantle fell to Elisha. The prophet Elisha had big shoes to fill. The funniest thing about him was the way he chose to be prophet, not at all like proper -or other- prophets. Elisha shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, with what today would be tik-tok worthy antics. Elisha’s medium is not words but a whirlwind of wonder-inducing feats. The book of 2 Kings begins with a barrage of miraculous moments:

Elish parts the waters of the Jordan river; adds salt to a spring to make bitter water sweet; conjures bears that maul 42 who tease him for being bald; uses music and word to fill a dry river bed with water; tricks the Moabite army with a mirage of blood red water; multiplies cooking oil enough for a widow to sell and pay off debts; prophesies that a barren woman (too old to have children) would have a son within the year – and she does; restores life to a child by breathing into his mouth and lying on him; throws a little potion of flour into poisonous stew making it safe to eat; feds 100 men with 20 loaves of bread and collects leftovers; heals a leper by commanding him to dunk in the river 7 times; recovers a lost axe head by making iron float; predicts the death and crowning of specific kings and movement of enemy troops; casts enemy soldiers into blindness; and repeatedly rescues King Jehoram from ambushes.

Elisha is an amazing sideshow that accompanies the rise and fall of kings during a time of ongoing conflict between Israel and Syria.

 

In, ‘The Message,’ Eugene Petersen writes this about the Books of Kings:

In the midst of the incredible mess these kings are making of God’s purposes, God continues to work [God’s] purposes and uses them in the work--- doesn’t discard them, doesn’t detour around them; God uses them. They are part of God’s sovereign rule, whether they want to be or not, whether they know it or not. God’s purposes are worked out in confrontation and revelation, in judgement and salvation, but they are worked out. God’s rule is not imposed in the sense that [God] forces each man and woman into absolute conformity to justice and truth and righteousness. The rule is worked from within, much of the time invisible and unnoticed, but always patiently and resolutely there. The books of Kings provide a premier witness to the sovereignty of God carried out among some of the most unlikely and uncooperative people who have ever lived.

Have you noticed these past four weeks in our discussion of prophets, that it is in the midst of incredible mess when they show up? The stories have prophets in their own unique ways addressing justice, truth, and righteousness, in their surrounding society. The prophet’s understanding of God’s rule and God’s kindom, is at work from deep within them and is made present, juxtaposed with the chaos in the world. At times their presence, God’s presence through them, is invisible and unnoticed because society has chosen not to look or listen.

 

What we learn in the Books of Kings is that God’s work is counter-cultural, assumes alternative forms of power, and offers a variant perspective on effective rule and practicing of kindom. Despite the flawed actions or inaction of human beings, God is not deterred. Continuing to work in the shadows of human power, God often seems silent and hidden. God’s power remains at constant work in the chaotic history of human empires and governments; prophets are present with words, actions, or the miraculous.

 

After the whirlwind of miraculous signs and wonders, Elisha’s fast growth as prophet, he disappears into the annals of history. Like the poem: And he sometimes gets so little there is none of him at all. Elisha is mentioned only once in later scripture, in Luke 4. In this instance he is spoken of in the shadow of Elijah. Jesus is speaking of prophets not being welcome in their hometowns and mentioning Elijah and Elisha doing wonderful works not among Israelites. Jesus mentions Elijah providing substance through a drought for a foreign widow, followed by Elisha providing healing for a foreign leper. Elisha is mentioned just this once; whereas Elijah is a prominent figure mentioned 29 times and alluded to a few more in Greek scripture; later yet Elijah is revered as prophet in Islamic tradition.

 

Elisha, despite all the amazing miracles he did, he remains in the shadow of Elijah. Perhaps this is the greatest part of story; the very thing we need to hear and digest. Elisha remains in the shadow of. Elisha’s name means, “God is salvation.” Readers are pointed to the fact that ‘God is salvation’ by the very name of the prophet. The prophet is working God’s work, not making a name for himself. The miracle is that God finds a medium, in this case a prophet, to be present among the people and the foreigners; bringing reprieve, hope, justice, and salvation. The prophet is in God’s shadow.

 

In the midst of the incredible mess the world is in today, patiently and resolutely present, God is at work. Although oft times invisible and unnoticed when beside the chaos of society, God’s kindom is in the state of coming. Reprieve, hope, justice, and salvation --- the miraculous --- are ready to be carried out by the most unlikely and uncooperative of people. I don’t know about you, but, I find it easy enough to label myself as ‘the most unlikely and uncooperative of people,’ especially if asked to entertain the notion that I carry the miraculous --- salvation, justice, hope, and reprieve. As a congregation, are we an unlikely and uncooperative bunch in bringing the coming of God’s kindom?

 

Elisha, as Elijah before him, lived a coming of kindom brought in the miracles of an abundance of water and food and healing and resurrection, present amid all peoples; resident and foreigner, us and them.

 

Elisha’s story reminds us: God is salvation. God is at work.

The Gospel account of the feeding of the 5000 has a coming of kindom, handed out by the disciples in the shadow of God – Jesus. Jesus is present in a continuing story of miraculous signs and wonders; bringing to resident and foreigner an abundance of water and food and healing and resurrection. In the midst of the incredible mess of 1^st century Judea and the Roman Empire, Jesus is not invisible or hidden to a group of disciples and a band of followers. Jesus is the coming of kindom --- carrying and working reprieve, hope, justice, and salvation. Miraculous!  This gift from God sits and works in the depths of the disciples and Jesus’ followers who work in Jesus’ shadow after his death and resurrection; into the early church and so on to today.

There were countless generations of unlikely and uncooperative people who carried life and God’s purposes working through them. It wasn’t about them and it not about us, God uses us -with our personalities and idiosyncrasies and talents – we are mediums for God’s message and agency. We carry reprieve, hope, justice, and salvation --- God’s very presence.

 

God under the shadow of your wings, in the shadow of Jesus,

Work the miraculous through us. Use our personalities, idiosyncrasies, and talents to be prophets – bearers- of reprieve, hope, justice, and salvation. We open ourselves to the coming of your kindom. May your kindom grow in midst of the incredible mess of society, grow with an abundance of water and food and healing and resurrection for all.

Amen.