Part 3: The Three Days 2016 Not for Sale, the Greg Iles trilogy, and a Tree

EASTER SUNDAY

Lutherans around the world are in the middle of marking the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation.  This is a three year celebration, with Synods and congregations focusing on the theme: Liberated by God’s grace. The theme is divided into three specific convictions: Salvation is not for sale! Human beings are not for sale! Creation is not for sale!

Each sermon over the Three Days reflects on the not for sale theme, weaves in a trilogy of novels by Greg Iles, and binds the ideas together through the branches and roots of a tree.

Its that day! The day a miracle springs forth and accosts the senses:  the fragrance of lemon citronella wafts on the sunshine filled - springtime air, as pure waxy white petals appear, atop the ever green dark glossy leathery leaves of trees rising a hundred feet to reach the sun in the sky.  In the deep south on that spring day resurrection is for sure; the magnolias burst open in all the glory God could wrap into one blossom (twelve petals) intricately replicated a thousand times over on each tree. Blossoms, the size of a human hand, are in abundance. Creation dances --- life!

Following the novels, Natchez Burning and The Bone Tree, comes Unwritten Laws, the final novel of Greg Iles trilogy. It is not to be released until next year – all that has been said is that the characters have many prominent questions to resolve. The characters have been left in a mess:  relationships are broken, institutions and those who have promised to be protectors (like the police) are no protection, race wars and conspiracies of 40 years past, have opened old wounds – deep wounds that have been seeping poison for decades.  In a lost part of a Mississippi swamp, the Bone Tree continues to cough up the sins, the darkness, shameful actions, hate, even a crucifixion; leaving the participants to wallow in death, to count and bury the dead, and to grieve; really grieve all that has been lost.

The final question is: can the characters save the town of Natchez, neighbouring communities, and family relationships?  Is there a way out of grief this profound?  Will life -resurrection -spring from death?

Unwritten Laws -over night the rules changed. That’s what happened.  When the women went to the tomb and found it empty they were in an unmapped forest.  They were in an unwritten place: where was Jesus?  The fragrant spices were ready for anointing the body, the women were prepared to begin their process through grief, and now it is impossible. Where is Jesus and what is this babbled explanation from the men in white?

Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.

Unwritten Laws, what an appropriate title for Iles’ next novel.

 I imagine there will be time spent determining how to prosecute crimes committed recently and over 40 years– the KKK against black individuals and communities, those responsible for the death of JFK, the mafia’s part in all sorts of side gigs; and the culpability of individuals, as they did what they felt they had to do, to protect those whom they loved; and of course the outcome of the potential doctor-assisted-death charge that started the trilogy in the first place.  There are no laws in place to adequately face the magnitude and web of failures of people and systems as woven through the novels.

Magnolia trees are magnificent.  On a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, there were many on the walks I would take from the hotel.  I was so taken by their majesty  - and how the trees didn’t fit into my compendium and understanding of trees – so much so that on more than one occasion, I went up to a magnolia to touch it, smell it, feel it– to get a closer look; I was so in awe. The thick glossy smooth leaves reflected sunlight and they held a wonderful surprise, the underside was golden with copper coloured hair.  The last few flowers of the season were still pristine and solid with a hint of lemon. The fruit pods were like nothing I had ever experienced- the size of a mango; soft to the touch; with seeds like the innards of a pomegranate.

Still fascinated, I read that magnolias were created before bees! The tree’s flowers evolved to attract beetles as pollinators instead. Magnolias are elders within the tree world, hosting wisdom of the Word from the very beginning, “let there be and there was.”.

This morning at the tomb the Creator ventures into the unwritten ---  outside of the laws of nature and science as we’ve come to know them, or expect them to be – the Creator ventures beyond even God’s comprehension into a space of possibilities:  No laws?  All grace? Where abundant blossoms - flexibility, creativity- produce seeds of boundless hope, love, and joy.  A blank slate, a vast canvas where the lemon citronella fragrance expands, pushing out the Word, “In the beginning God re-created. The Word was with God and the Word was God.  And God saw that it was good.”

Overnight the world changed, from the cross event to a miracle: liberation.  This morning as we view the empty tomb, we are smacked in the face with a new life; abundant blossoms--- one with unwritten laws; resurrection --- and that means liberation.  It means that we have awoken in a world where Salvation is not for sale, creation is not for sale, human beings are not for sale –

-  if we choose to see this world and enter the possibility, these convictions are truth.  Or we can fall back into what was.

Magnolias of long ago, soaked in the sunshine of the Word and God-presence, and they flourished. Season by season the majestic presence they experienced was spread around the world with more than 200 species bursting God’s glory.  They were not afraid to adapt and grow – going to diverse climates and soils.  The flowers, always prized and praised, continued to tell the Creator’s story; the story of the miracle of life, of resurrection; of liberation --  in whites and pinks, yellows and purples.  Abundant blossoms followed by large velvety rose coloured fruit – fruit bearing lots of seeds; continues generation after generation.   

The women leave the empty tomb – liberated -  they run to the disciples; their story smelling of lemon citronella; in the telling the women blossom abundant life with a deep conviction that salvation is not for sale-

Resurrection- the scent carried to our time wafting on the sunshine-filled spring air…

…liberated by God’s grace;

And when this grace accosts our very depths, we become the magnolia about to burst forth the glory of God.

Thanks be to  God.

Amen.

Part 2: The Three Days 2016 --- Not for Sale, the Greg Iles trilogy, and a Tree

GOOD FRIDAY

Lutherans around the world are in the middle of marking the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation.  This is a three year celebration, with Synods and congregations focusing on the theme: Liberated by God’s grace. The theme is divided into three specific convictions: Salvation is not for sale! Human beings are not for sale! Creation is not for sale!

Each sermon over the Three Days reflects on the not for sale theme, weaves in a trilogy of novels by Greg Iles, and binds the ideas together through the branches and roots of a tree.

Below the thick 150 ft. canopy of feathery deciduous conifers, - below the Cypress- the moist humid air stands still above the greened waters of the swamp.  The ancient gentle giants - the trees, hung with pirates beard moss, silhouette in rows as ghosts floating in miles and miles of water; confined by emerging roots, in knee stubs seeking oxygen, there is no easy access and no quick way to escape.  This forest is ominous -- a place one could get turned around, lost; one tree looks like all the rest, and each with its 12 ft diameter hides what is beyond. The landscape hems in around those who dare to enter – those willing to face death; to work through grief- and it surrounds one in suffocating loneliness.

The second book in Greg Iles trilogy is titled, The Bone Tree. It continues the drama from Natchez Burning where Iles’ characters play on the civil rights stage where darkening drama includes violent race murders, conspiracy, the New Orleans Mafia, the KKK hit squad, JFK, FBI, Castro.  It involves a deeper unraveling of secrets and the body count rises as secrets can no longer be silenced through death. Time has come when this generation looks back 40 years and pushes their friends, families,  -all whom they know-  who lived through that time to come clean.  This generation wants the truth and the hope of freedom truth might bring.

People die for what they believe in.  People are willing to die to discover and tell the truth.  It is time for senseless killing to stop --- and if it is by death of a valiant few, so be it.

The secrets, as they are let loss, lead in one direction --- to the mysterious bone tree, a legendary killing site--- a hidden tree in a vast cypress tree forest – in the depths of a Mississippi swamp on the edge of a game preserve—concealing more than the remains of the long forgotten. 

In the inner folds of the trunk structure, much is hidden.  The heart of cypress trees are a place of refuge for animals who are hurt or waiting out a storm, some die, some survive; the sanctity of the quiet dry cavern is one of peace, death, and healing.  The Bone Tree, however, has lost any sense of sanctity- being used as a butchering ground and human bone depository.  The bone tree is most desecrated when history is told that a man was crucified upside hanging inside the tree, above the pile of bleached bones. Crucified by family because they thought he had turned on them; a warning that no one is saved. Crucified; crucified in the belly of a tree.

That family lost their soul.  In the darkest maelstroms of life, as described in the novel, souls are sold – by powerful men for audacious agendas, favoured jobs, and family protection- salvation seems to be up for sale.

This morning we stand in the dry cavern of the Bone Tree, looking on at a man hanging crucified. Crucified by his own people because they thought he had turned on them; a warning that no one is saved.  Crucified; crucified on the wood of a tree. 

It was a loss of soul, in the dark maelstroms of life, by powerful men with audacious agendas, favoured jobs, and a need to control the status quo by allowing one man -Jesus- to die to save what was.  In selling their souls they manipulated others to betray, to denounce, to leave, to taunt, to yell – crucify. 

There were some -although scared and confused- persevered beyond their capabilities to be present and experience the truth, no matter how dark, or dangerous the day became.  They stood watching.  They saw the Temple curtain torn in two. They experienced the darkness – the silence.

And they stayed to the very end --- because ---- because they had hope that something new was about to spring forth.  Could this death be the Word, that salvation is not for sale?

The haunting Cypress forest --- flooded, full of danger, with monster gators and poisonous snakes ……It doesn’t look like it today, but, in the swamp lies a miracle; in the rich nutrient debris, trees slowly grow that have a life expectancy of 600-1000 years. After a long wait, 200 years, the heartwood of the tree forms – a heartwood resistant to decay, prized around the world.  For today, we are left in the sanctity of the cavern -under the man crucified on the cross; the space made holy because of who he was. 

The Cypress has lost its leaves for the season  --- it is surrounded by mist and the smell of decay from the swamp, --- eerie, sighing of death … but, just under the water waits a miracle.

The Three Days 2016 --- Not for Sale, the Greg Iles trilogy, and a Tree

 

MAUNDY THURSDAY

Lutherans around the world are in the middle of marking the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation.  This is a three year celebration with Synods and congregations focusing on the theme: Liberated by God’s grace. The theme is divided into three specific convictions: Salvation is not for sale! Human beings are not for sale! Creation is not for sale!

Each sermon over the Three Days reflects on the not for sale theme, weaves in a trilogy of novels by Greg Iles, and binds the ideas together through the branches and roots of a tree.

In the coolness of an evening breeze, the ancient olive trees in the garden relax and turn their silvery evergreen leaves to dance in the moonlight; a reprieve following a day of hot sun; their leaves are whispering peace through the sound of their rustling. For centuries these trees have stood witness to the conversations and happenings of many the passersby.  On this night, melodies of Psalms float through the branches as Passover dinners come to an end and repose is taken with small groups of friends wandering through the garden.  The huge hollow gnarled trunks become the resting spot for Jesus and his friends as they sit awhile to pray.

Natchez Burning, the first book in a recent epic trilogy by Greg Iles, is a novel placed in the Southern United States – starting in Mississippi. The main character is the son of a beloved -now retired- family doctor; who as a lawyer is faced with his father being accused of killing, albeit doctor assisted death, of a black nurse who worked with him in his practice in the 1960s.

The situation becomes complicated as the doctor chooses to become a fugitive rather than tell a long story of how he was part of a past that is safer to be left un-recounted.

Natchez Burning is a novel that delves into an age both past and present --- of conspiracy, greed, the KKK and their vicious Double Eagle crew; war vets, power in government, corrupt institutions, killing, and racism, racism, racism.

Here the history of 40 years comes back to bite the participants in the senior years of their lives, pulling their children’s lives into danger as well.  Secrets let loss, secrets (in an effort to keep them quiet) are leaving a trail of blood. There is one undeniable fact: no one – black or white, young or old, brave or not – is ever truly safe when history, through truth seekers, unleashes its secrets.

Maundy Thursday is the night that we retreat to ancient history. We make a pilgrimage to the slave villages of Egypt; to a people preparing to leave oppression behind.  The ancient ritual of Passover is entered – so as to face the condition of humanity; slavery, racism, oppression – there are no secrets left undisclosed; the reality is from human experience, human history shows that people are for sale; but, the Word in the street, the Word as sandals are strapped to feet, the Word around the table; something new is about to take place, something new wherein perhaps human beings are not for sale.

A few thousand years later, we continue the pilgrimage of this night by entering the Passover meal as it is celebrated by Jesus and the disciples. Ancient history and ritual is lived as “the good, the bad, the ugly,” all is retold through the story and meal.

Jesus on this last night with the disciples, takes a step deeper along the path of remembrance, by bringing an intimate experience to the table to move the disciples from simple remembrance to something new wherein human beings are given worth.  Jesus lays aside his outer robe, and stoops to wash the feet of each disciple. Jesus’ action is saying: “yes we remember that once we were slaves, but, no longer; you are free.” Freed to set other people free.

Natchez Burning, is a novelled history that continues the pilgrimage of remembrance into recent times. It speaks to the brokenness of humanity; it addresses broken relationships, in this case of whites and blacks in Mississippi; and confronts issues of living in a world where people are for sale, including: their morals, dreams, ambitions, power, and their very lives.  It is a pilgrimage that has one wrestle with telling the truth – is it ever too late?  Should some secrets simply die with those who hold them?  Or is it time to open the secrets, to come clean, and change the way business and living is done?

Consider Jesus’ disciples, of all times and places- offering to wash the feet of family, friend, and enemy--- taking responsibility for creating right relationships and listening to the stories of history from the mouths of those who lived it, so that the generation of now, can be set free to move forward- for the healing of the world.

Washing of feet and the healing of this action, might be seen in the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – where the past is remembered, so that people can be set free.

Another example, as I wrote sections of this sermon, I had just finished listening to an interview on The Current with David Suzuki.  At 80 he is blunt!  One statement was directed to outspoken pessimists who have decided to do nothing in the on-going fight against global warming – he said: “If you really think it’s too late then shut the hell up and go away.”  He reflected, “What is that all about anyway?”  A total lack of hope, fatalistic thinking, creation in a form of slavery -an excuse to live large now because it is already to late to save the world? I translated Suzuki as saying- There is still time.  If we chose: Creation is not for sale. Creation can be set free.

Now is the time to pilgrimage through ancient history, to remember how it is that we have arrived at the now, and remembering---- to decide to live into something new.  Tonight Jesus is in the midst of ritual and at the table.  He takes off his outer robe and washes our feet.  It is a new beginning, where slavery is washed away, so that pilgrimage turns to a walk of freedom.

Tonight, in the Garden of Gethsemane, a group of faithful pilgrims will process through the olive grove to keep vigil and pray, before heading to the prison where Jesus’ spent his last night. While in the garden the olive trees will bear witness to their prayers.

These olive trees are not just any olive trees, the DNA of eight trees in the garden is identical – they are siblings all growing from clippings of a mother tree planted in the 12^th century.  A particular tree was chosen to be the mother tree, with roots that can live 2000 years, it is speculated that the mother tree “witnessed” the night of Jesus’ agony in the garden. 

What is the agony of this night to which the trees bear witness?  What are the prayers spoken under their branches?

Prayers for a humanity wrapt in slavery: growing racism, racial profiling, fear of terror attacks, human trafficking, missing women, domestic violence; addictions, rising apathy, pervasive pessimism.

Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

What actions will come from eating the Passover meal and having ones’ feet washed?

The courage to go beyond splashing the waters of lip service to the slavery of our time and to pause to listen to the stories of those in slavery, and to take off our outer robes to wash their feet. This is done, not that their feet are dirty, but, rather, a humbling of our hearts and a willingness to enter relationship.  May this be so.

 Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

As the meal is shared and feet are washed, we are liberated by God’s grace; grace to whelm our beings into action --- to bring to fruition a Jesus’-kind-of-world, where: Creation is not for sale. Human beings are not for sale. Salvation is not for sale.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

In the Garden of Gethsemane evening lingers on, and the darkness thickens.  The pleasant breeze in the trees quiets; psalms have ended and slumber is upon those in the olive grove.  Prayers have ceased, and the trees are hushed -frozen- by the presence of an angry mob; their peace whipped out of their branches and gone with the wind.  The mob did not hear the Word in the ritual, did not see that there is freedom from slavery; the mob had no time to listen to ancient history, to entertain the thought of something new- what Jesus was offering, had offered day after day in the market square-  a washing of feet so to speak; a Word kept whispering “you are free.”  The olive trees heard it, that was the peace they whispered in their leaves; the world is about to change – please let the world -humans and creation- be set free. Please…

But for tonight, freedom is hushed.

As Jesus is taken away, the disciples leave the garden, the trees silently cry…

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.