Living Generously

 

For those who have been astute you will have noticed that the past few months, liturgies have been designed for a season at a time with one bulletin for the three weeks: the past three weeks were focused on thanksgiving.  When looking at November I realized one liturgy would not fit all – today being special because of All Saints, the 22^nd because of confirmation  -- so I went looking for something to link everything together; and I found two bulletins from an old stewardship series.  The series focused on stewardship as a way of life lived from the Source -God- the creator and sustainer of life.  Today’s stewardship theme and bulletin cover is “living generously.”

Often when I read scripture, I come to it with an open a mind as possible. Once settled, I read the words of the selected Bible passage and see what grabs my attention and consider how the text speaks to me in that moment. Myself and others did that this week when contributing to the two-bit Bible study.

Another way to approach the text is with a theme in mind and see what the text says in regards to the theme.  With ‘living generously’ as a direction to add to the text – what a treasure trove!

GENEROUS:  a great multitude that no one could count; from every nation, all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne

GENEROUS: see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God

 GENEROUS: the Blessed are-s ... a generosity of living in spirit, heart, humbleness, patience, peace, faithfulness

 

In recent months, I have felt a little weird. I am an introvert and enjoy my bubble very much. I have enjoyed not going out to meetings and groups, and not running around picking up or delivering things here and there and everywhere.  What I find disconcerting is that avenues through which I have been generous -beyond financial gifts- have been put on hold or discontinued entirely. There was no baking of muffins for the Phoenix drop in centre, no quilting for CLWR; I have not made any prayer shawls; no volunteering to lead worship at Northwood, Bible Study at the Gladstone, and so on.  Outside of tithes and financial donations, what does it mean to live generously in a time of pandemic?

 

Years ago stewardship resources printed a story that many of you will have heard.  The story goes that a woman phoned her local church asking if they were accepting frozen turkeys to put in their holiday hamper outreach program. The church was and the woman dropped off the turkey – only for the church to find the sales tag still on it.  The turkey was 23 years old!

Not the best example of living generously.

 

GERNEROUS - This is All Saints Sunday, a day we remember those who have died in the past year and keep in our prayers those who continue to grieve. Many of those remembered today are people for whom you are grieving, only a couple of the names here are people who I personally knew and loved.  Living generously we create a space to hold each other: generously allowing freedom for tears, naming, remembering, being okay and not okay. Where else in the world can we share our inner griefs, mess of emotions, and dare to hope, drawing on the hope and faith of the community?

If we take a moment to consider the lives of our loved ones being honoured today, I imagine there lives shared a wealth of generosity; maybe not all the time but moments, in passions – generous in love, generous in friendship, generous perhaps in wisdom, humour, a helping hand.

One of the examples experienced at Resurrection -of a life living generosity- was that of John Labelle.

Consider the generosity of time, generosity of patience, generosity of passion, generosity of energy- to fight for veteran rights and pensions. Living generosity was taking what had been given to him and using it to make whole a section of God’s reign.;  giving not for ones own sake but for the sake of others.

 

GENEROUS:  a great multitude that no one could count; from every nation, all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne

Living generously is an attitude as expressed in Revelation chapter 7.  It is accepting and promoting, fighting for and supporting; understanding in the heart - that we are from every nation, tribe, people, language – all beautiful, all included, siblings of each other. Living generously is living out the attitude in thought, word, and deed; in whatever form is necessary.

 

GENEROUS: see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God

Living generously is part of our DNA as expressed in the letter of John.  Belonging, being children of God, being loved --- there is an expectation that we live from this love, generously sharing love with the whole of God’s creation.

 

GENEROUS: the Blessed are-s -the Beatitudes- are... a generosity of living in spirit, heart, humbleness, patience, peace, faithfulness.  This is living generously as described in the gospel of Matthew. 

And perhaps here is the nitty-gritty, the how-to, of living generously.  

As generosity goes, the list of Beatitudes, is rather short, but each one can be defined in so many ways.  For centuries commentators, theologians, and preachers have expounded on the meaning of each item in the list. By no means do I consider the list of beatitudes a complete list – I see them as an approach to life. When living into even just one of the blessed are-s, one is opened to an abundance of generosity.

 

Recently Reader’s Digest magazine collected stories about generosity – many are lovely instances of people living generously during COVID – delivering groceries, acts of kindness, supporting others. Some of the stories were older:

In August 2016, Cari and Lauri Ryding came home to find their rainbow flag had been stolen and their house egged. Anti-homosexual vandalism wasn’t at all what they expected in their close-knit Natick, Massachusetts, neighborhood. As it turned out, it also wasn’t what their neighbors expected. “We said, ‘Why don’t we all have the flags? They can’t take them from all of us,’” Denis Gaughan told the Boston Globe. Within days, the rainbow flag—the symbol of gay pride—was flying in solidarity with the Rydings on over 40 other homes in this family-friendly area. “One person’s act of fear and maliciousness created such a powerful statement of love,” said Lauri. “Love wins. We win.”       Source: The Boston Globe

GENEROUS – living generously is LOVE, love incarnate, love alive, God’s love - love for all, in all, though all.  As we look in to a continued time of ‘weird,’ take some time to reflect on living generously. At the heart of being generous is love. Love those with whom you live – be generous in patience, in understanding, in forgiveness.  Love those whom you know – be generous in keeping in touch, in checking in. Love those you meet – be generous in following COVID protocols, in politeness, in kindness. Love those whom you do not know – be generous in prayer, in action, in sharing the passion and gifts you have.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Counter-reformer within the Catholic church of the 16th century, developed a practice of Spiritual Exercises.  The exercises were based on the Gospels and focused on experiencing and living God.  Ignatius wrote a prayer of generosity - that I ask we pray for ourselves and for our community - that we may live generously:

Lord, teach me to be generous.

Teach me to serve you as you deserve;

to give and not count the cost;

to fight and not heed the wounds;

to toil and not seek for rest;

to labour and not ask for reward, except to know 

that I am doing your will.  Amen.

Stewardship is a way of life, lived from the Source – God- the creator and sustainer of life. Today’s text concludes with one more piece of generous living.

GENEROUS – in praise-

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen

Spoken Word: Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word

 

Lord keep us steadfast in your word

word - a noun-
a. single. distinct. meaningful. element.  ... of speech. or writing. used with others (sometimes alone)
word upon word - this is how we communicate:
articulating thoughts, telling stories, expressing feelings, teaching truths, passing on what matters, sharing the Gospel   - sharing The Word.
The Word – with a capital ‘W’
The Word – as in the word of the Lord; the law, a command; truth – the text of scripture
The Word – as in the Word made flesh; the Word embodied; Jesus
Lord keep us steadfast in your word.
 
What does this mean for us?
Reformation Sunday is here and the Word swirls in a mass of alphabet soup– we hear that:
the law  -the word- SPEAKS
it is SILENCED
it is WITHIN
it is WRITTEN
it is DISCLOSED
it is TRUTH
Reformation Sunday is here and the Word swirls in a mass of contradictory words.
What does it mean for us that...
God’s word is our great heritage and shall be ours forever.
The Word in the hands of Reformers through the centuries:
has been Spoken, translated, silenced
English reformer, Bible translator, and theologian Wycliffe – persecuted in life, a heretic and excommunicated in death.
English Reformer, Bible translator, and theologian... Tyndale – executed.
German reformer, Bible Translator, and theologian... Luther – excommunicated.
Czech reformer, writer, and theologian... Hus – executed.
A word to the wise – translating the Word, the Bible, has led to excommunication and execution more than once, more than twice, more than three times.
Word has it that bearing the Word ... is dangerous!
Catherine of Alexandria, Joan of Arc, Manche Masemola- take their word for it;
All women whose vocalization of the gospel -their preaching and teaching about Jesus – the Word made flesh - ended in their death.
I am at a loss for words to comprehend the need to kill someone because of words...
 a. single. distinct. meaningful. element. ... of speech. or writing.
Unless
Unless we are not speaking, disclosing, writing about household words
The Word must have power that causes those in power to use four-letter words because –
The Word is alive. You can’t kill something inanimate or dead. One is not terrified of something inanimate or dead. The Word must be living.
It is not two-dimensional on a page but is written on hearts that are three dimensional and pumping, read in actions speaking louder than words.
 
But louder than words means nothing if one is not as good as their word.
One need only hear the rhetoric, the so called ‘truth,’ as words fly by -butting, antagonizing, bullying- to kill, to silence, to end relationships; or cover them with so many words that people are lost in an excess of words: printed, videoed, and tweeted.
Words of treaties -the covenant made between two peoples – fade because one side sets the words on a shelf; saying mums the word
Until
Until voices are raised; threatened by the power of words, that were thought to be locked away- so take to lighting fires to burn the Word.
Words hurt. Words have power.
Words heal – truth and reconciliation the telling and hearing of stories; digesting each others’ words. Words that are every bit alive as the experience itself. Word embodied.
 
Spoken word artists know this; they don’t mince words.  They don’t read poetry, they bring life to each word – poems on steroids;
 the speaker is invested because each word matters, each word is birthed;
 each word is a living word.
 
We have these words- the Word- living word.
Word is living.
We know when it isn’t – when it is silenced: stolen by stroke, held captive by dementia; bullied -truth in bondage to fear. Words reduced to ... idle tales, unlinked memories, severed connection; engulfed in frustration,  sadness, loneliness...
 
A word of advice -for all- including persons of few words
What does this mean for us?
 Reformation is living Word, transformation is embodied Word
every word matters – the Word matters-
To spread its light from age to age shall be our chief endeavour.
In times of great change where words are weapons, where words are blatant lies, where words have no context, where words have lost their meaning
Re-invigorate word – the Word- our word.
It can be done. Word can change, take on new meaning; truth and understanding changes:
Awesome, awful, terrific, nice, prestigious
The definitions of which are opposite to their meaning a century ago
The same with:
Villain, Bully, harlot, silly, garble, artificial, nervous – are now the opposite of what they once were.
In other words,  it is not too late to live the Word of the text for today –
through you let Word:
SPEAK, be SILENCED, be WITHIN, be WRITTEN, be DISCLOSED, be TRUTH!
May the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart
Be your Word of mouth so compelling, so alive,
Embodied by Word – in the Word- be living Word.
To spread its light from age to age shall be our chief endeavour.
Healing Word. Reconciliation. Hope. Liberation. Freedom.
Every Word Matters.
Lord Keep us steadfast in your word –
so that when I come to the end of my chapters, the end of my words
Word has become actively lived:
That my words – heal more than they hurt
That word is embodied in action
That word spoken is truth - word that is not is silenced
That my prayer is beyond words
 
My legacy – when all that is left is a whisper of a voice,
A whisper – the Word breathed to those around me
The last breath of life given to the hearer
Received so that it might remain living word to once again be birthed...
may my last whisper, the last word be
‘I love you.’

Better Than Nothing

 Text:   1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10

 

As a school aged child, I had the pleasure of my grandparents living next door. After school my brother and I would walk home from the bus drop and would veer into grandma and grandpa’s house for cookies before reaching home.  Most days grandpa would ask, “What did you learn at school today?”  The general response was “nothing.”  When I graduated from my masters degree,  grandpa remarked at how impressive it was that one could achieve a degree having spent 20 years learning nothing.

 

Of course, I had learned many things over the years. On most days, however, when asked I really couldn’t recall what I had learn; or it was too difficult to articulate.  I can look back over the years, now, and I could go on and on about what I learned. While at school there was no time for this sort of reflection and seriously at the time it really didn’t matter to me.

 

I suspect that for many of us church is similar to my school experience. Imagine going home from church today and a grandparent, or housemate, or dinner guest asking you, “what did you learn at church today?” What would your response be?  ...Nothing?  Now think of all the times you have been to church, if you were asked every time you left – what would be the general response?

 

We have learned more at church then we realize. And today I am going to make it easy for you by giving you an answer:  Today I went to church and learned to write a letter. I went to church and learned to read/hear a letter.

 

Somewhere over my years at school I learned to write a letter, in fact a wide variety of different kinds of letters and templates – with salutations, punctuation, bodies, and postscripts. This morning we heard the beginning of Thessalonians, a letter read over five weeks in the lectionary. The letter to the Thessalonians, in Paul’s hand, is unique in form and substance compared to what I learned at school.

Today’s text – the opening portion of Paul’s letter-  is in three parts, including: a salutation, thanksgiving, with an emphasis on the gospel’s effectiveness. 

 

We hear the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. My guess is that we hear it as positive – but have never taken the time to investigate further. We have failed to realize that there is some important information to ferret out of this sunny intro; more depth than niceties  – it is a letter that could be read again and again.

It reminds me of a friend who is digging through old letters of one of her ancestors.  She is gathering information from the letters, then taking the tidbits of information and investigating other historical documents, to piece together a fuller picture of the life and times of this ancestor. It is fascinating!

We can do the same with Paul’s letter.

For me it is Paul’s enthusiasm -read between the lines-  joy inspired by the Holy Spirit; that captures my attention. This is the oldest letter of Paul’s in the Bible, written around 50CE. This is early in his ministry – having had some difficulty at Philippi, Paul went to Thessalonica and established a congregation there. This letter was sent to one of the first communities who accepted Paul and Paul’s telling of the gospel. I am sure that Paul had a special place in his heart for them, and that their actions -their faithfulness and witness to the gospel- buoyed him on in his adventurous and dangerous travels.

 

The letter is an encouragement to the people to keep on keeping on, by living as models of the gospel and godly-living. They are to continue exemplifying faith, love, and hope for new Christian communities, particularly important in the times in which they find themselves, an antagonistic environment with harassment common, and persecution a potential reality.  When I hear the letter – I hear the words – and I translate the letter to speak to our current time. What congregation would not welcome such words? To hear that they were a model of Christian living – showing the gospels efficacy through faith, love, and hope?

Looking at the statements in the text, we learn how to be such a Christian community. The learning points from the opening chapter of the letter are:

*greet one another in blessing, peace, and grace

* pray for each other and give thanks to God

* show commitment through faith, love, and hope

* pass on the gospel to others; others will follow, and imitate the lives of faithful Jesus’ followers

* remember that persecution is a real possibility

* be welcoming and offer hospitality

* leave idols behind

* serve God

We have learned far more then we realize being in church week to week.

That is why the learning points from the letter to the Thessalonians sound familiar. We have heard them before in a multitude of variations – in the Ten Commandments, through the prophets, in the life of Jesus, in pillars of the faith, Christian teachers and mentors.

 

Today I am encouraging you to go into the world with the learning points from the letter to the Thessalonians and with the intention be a model of the gospel’s effectiveness.

Even though it might feel like you know nothing, you have everything you need.  You are able to greet others with blessing, peace, and grace. You can pray for each other and give thanks to God.  If you choose, your life can model faith, love, and hope. You can be welcoming and offer hospitality.  You can do these things as an individual, and with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, engage your congregation – your faith community- to exemplify the gospel, leaving idols behind and serving God.

 

As a challenge I invite you to write a letter. In these times of COVID; in times of trouble, uncertainty, and immense change Christian communities could use a little love and encouragement to keep on keeping on.  Consider writing the letter with other members of your faith community – choose a recipient:  a family, specific members in the congregation, the church council, your congregation as a whole, a neighbouring church, another Lutheran church in your Synod, maybe your Synod office, or the National Office.  In writing, imitate Paul’s letter. Offer a pastoral blessing and greeting, enthusiastically encourage the recipient; note specific examples of their faithfulness, love, and hope; give thanks for their continued commitment and effort to living the gospel. Speak of Jesus and the promises that come in trusting and following. Remind the reader of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.

 

What did you learn in church today? ...  Let me write you a letter. I will show you.

In Physical Distancing - Thanksgiving

 

 

🙇Before I begin this morning – I want to acknowledge that the sermon began with a thought from Anna, submitted for our Two-Bit Bible Study – where she reflected on the physical distancing of lepers in relation to Jesus through that healing story.

 

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming and Jesus answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”   (Lk. 11: 20-21)

These words, from the Gospel of Luke,  follow the story of the lepers being healed. The words provide a lens to help direct our reflection on the story.  God is not coming with things that can be observed ... in fact the kingdom of God is among you.

Back in late March and early April, would the first words on our lips have been that the kingdom of God is among us?  I don’t think so.  I remember the early days of COVID as peculiar. Every day I went for a walk – an adventure – filled with new rules, navigating away from other people, moving to the road – watching for cars, choosing routes with less people, turning one’s head if one couldn’t distance, refraining from touching crosswalk buttons; being careful not to sneeze or cough, not greeting others to avoid contagion, being anxious or wary of who might be a virus carrier; wondering if the air was okay or if one had to distance from dogs or cats.  There was a whole mess of feelings -  walking was no longer a leisurely exercise, no longer a time to greet neighbours, and no longer a communion with creation.

Perhaps for the first time in my life, I have a sense of the mess of ‘feelings’ experienced in 1^st century Judea related to leprosy.  Lepers lived in colonies – communities outside of inhabited areas, in inhospitable places. They were sent away because leprosy was, is, contagious. Although still not known exactly how the disease is transmitted, until recently it was treated as a disease passed via physical touch. Those in leper colonies relied on friends, family, or others who would leave food or other items at the fringe of the encampment. From time to time lepers would leave the colony in  groups – like the ten we read of this morning- to gather alms and savage resources.  There are stories that lepers carried items with which to make noise, in some periods of history wearing bells, to warn people of their presence and to make people move away.  Physical distancing was the practice: lepers were not to approach the healthy, the healthy avoided contact with lepers.

In this story, we are told that the lepers approached Jesus, keeping their distance.  They called to Jesus and from a distance Jesus answered back ... no touching involved. Healing happened somewhere in the space between Jesus and the lepers -the kingdom came not in something observed. Jesus spoke words (words are not seen, but rather heard).  There was no outstretching of his arms in blessing or calling out to God or doves appearing in the sky.  No, just words spoken that said nothing about healing; “go show yourself to the priest” Jesus says. 

This is not an action easily done.  It is not just going and seeing a priest.  To see a priest would mean a ritual bath, admittance to the Temple grounds, an offering.  Before going -to be permitted in the crowds of the city of Jerusalem- would mean acquiring clothes to replace their leper rags. It would require the former lepers to integrate into societal ways of moving through the city streets to the Temple mount, acting in ways that many of them had not done for a long, long time. The lepers were use to avoiding, not touching, not communing with people – and now to maneuver through the narrow streets that went up to the Temple, unable to distance they would be touched and jostled in the bustle of the city--- how overwhelming. And to top it off, they could not return to their home, because their home was now off limits. They now had to physically distance from the people they had been living with, physical distancing from  all they had known perhaps for years, even decades.  

 I can’t imagine--- it is difficult just going for a walk now- where some people still distance, others do not, some wear masks outside, others push through or pass; can we touch; do we retain our bubbles, who is allowed in our homes, who is not; what church groups will start to meet face-to-face; with what are we comfortable, when are we not comfortable. ... some days such circumstances are overwhelming and exhausting.  Our current experience helps us understand a little more the story of the lepers, and former lepers.

Told to go show themselves to the priest, the lepers had a lot to prepare and to think about. There minds, I imagine, were overwhelmed by the tasks required to do as Jesus said. I wonder how far along the journey it was before the first leper noticed he was healed – this leper was one who would not be going to Jerusalem, as he was a Samaritan- the lepers had to walk past Samaria to get to Jerusalem.  Perhaps it is here on reaching what would be his place of reintegration into society that he noticed he was healed. Perhaps the others were still overwhelmed and preoccupied working out the to-dos of what would happen once reaching Jerusalem.  When the first leper noticed that he was healed he returned and fell at Jesus’ feet. This is certainly close proximity to another human being, and I imagine might have included touching Jesus’ feet – a sign of respect. That touch --- can you imagine reaching out to touch someone when you have not been allowed to touch another for a very long time? Those of us with parents or friends in nursing homes or hospitals, who have not had physical contact with their loved one, when once again you can touch – in small measure this is the leper’s experience. This action – the feeling of another so close- might cause one to weep, to grieve what has been, giving the broken heart a chance to heal; and a simultaneous rush of fear and gratitude. God is not coming with things that can be observed....the kingdom of God is among you.

Not coming in things observed. The kingdom of God is among you.

In physical distance – in words – in a returning of gratitude – in touch (well for us this year keeping in touch not actual touching). 

When I think of the physical distance between me and you, too often I fret about what we can not do. In doing so, I completely gloss over one of the messages in today’s gospel – the kingdom is among us, in the space between - healing happened despite physical distance and was accompanied by the sound of words. Kingdom was present in the relationship, lepers to Jesus, Jesus to the lepers.

This Thanksgiving I have a new found respect, joy, and gratitude, for those things which I can not see.

This is Thanksgiving Sunday and I am thankful that the gospel message is alive in our midst. The kingdom of God has been, is, and will continue to be among us.  With gratitude overflowing – I feel healing and experience relationship in that which can not be observed: in all the ways relationship has been fostered, grown, deepened; in words that travel via wifi from smart phone, to computer, to files saved in the cloud, the wonder of Facebook live, notes by email; in sharing the peace of Christ by looking into each others eyes, bowing, nodding, waving; in celebrating communion with you – shared in words here, repeated in our homes – eaten together yet physically distanced; in feeling God in moments of peace, in the heat of sunshine, in music that makes me cry, in poetry that sinks deep within, and in moments of a broken heart when I am in touch with the raw pain of others throughout the world. For the things which can not be observed...I give thanks for herein is the kingdom of God among us.

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming and Jesus answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”   (Lk. 11: 20-21)

 

 

Thou Shalt Not Talk More than You Act (Pent 18A)

 

Home.

Still in my pajamas, I would come downstairs in the morning. Pour a cup of coffee. Turn on the electric fireplace. Sit on my couch, feet tucked up. Read a simple devotion. Then reflect--- in the comfort and safety of home.  ...that was in April

Dressed for the day, I would come downstairs. Prepare breakfast. Open the front door and take a seat on the porch. Watch the neighbours and their dogs out for their daily walks. Have tea and pray ----from the comfort and safety of home.  ...that was in June

I have a hundred similar examples of enjoying spaces throughout the parsonage – throughout home. These spaces -and the idea of comfort and safety of home- was a foundation for my coping with COVID and attached protocols.   #stayhome – for me was okay, because home is a sanctuary.

I realize this is not the experience of all. I am blessed, privileged to have a generous landowner, landlord: you.

Tents appeared this week: one in the little park across Windsor St., one under a tree on the land where St. Pat’s high school was. In the news, buried in back pages of newspapers, or in snippets that slip by in online news feeds, one reads of: landlords seeking ways to remove tenants unable to pay their rent; tenants refusing to move or destroying rentals before being locked out; proposals made for affordable housing and cities choosing not to change bylaws or zoning restrictions to make it happen; deferred mortgage payment plans coming to an end; year end rent increases too much  for some as they struggle to find affordable living arrangements. All this is current news. And it is local news.

Today’s parable is about tenants, landlords, and property owners. This is our kind of language; this is the kind of world we live in. Some of us are tenants. Some of us are property owners. Some of us are landlords.

The parable of the tenants is the final parable in Jesus’ conversation explaining -answering the question put to him -by whose authority are you doing these things? Preaching, teaching, healing?  As all good parables do, these parables speak in many layers. The writer of Matthew, a Jew, pointedly speaks to his Jewish audience -his community- to question whether as a people in covenant with God are they taking the responsibility of the Law seriously?  Earlier we heard a portion of the Law read: what we call ‘the Ten Commandments.’  The Gospel points out that responsibility for adhering to the Law is vital for God’s kingdom to be present.

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they realized that Jesus was speaking to them.

This morning I realize that Jesus is speaking to me – us.

Regularly, I hold in my heart and prayers, parishioners who make monthly choices between phone/heat/food, so that rent can be paid. The Pastor’s discretionary fund has been used to help with initial costs of those entering into a new lease agreement. I have stood as a buffer between  landlord and tenant – as tenants, who feel unsafe, prepare to move out. I have been a data collector and character witness for tenants taking legal action against slum landlords.  Many times I have talked with social workers and other agencies about finding adequate and affordable housing. I have sat in what seems like forgotten wings of hospitals with the elderly – waiting months in shared rooms for a nursing home bed. I hold in prayer a large segment of the congregation who are housed, so long as employment remains steady and no disability claims occur. I hold in prayer another large segment of the congregation who are housed, so long as rent does not increase beyond what one receives for pension.

This morning I realize that Jesus is speaking to me – us. What pricked my heart was the combination of hearing the Ten Commandments, the talk of landowner and tenants, along with the realization by the Pharisees that Jesus’ was speaking to them.

In the parable of the tenants, everything is a mess!  The landowner leaves the country – not involved, kind-of involved, derelict, a large company or conglomerate? The landowner has ‘slaves,’ perhaps more commonly in our time landlord, building supervisor, or property manager---who seem to have no relationship with the tenants and go only when told to.  Then there are the tenants who make their living by receiving a portion of the produce of the land; is the percentage their getting enough to more than just survive on? Do they trust they will receive their portion and not be cheated? Do the middle managers make their money by taking from the tenants – remember the landowner has gone away?

When I hear this parable from the perspective of  landowners/landlords/and tenants --- every snippet of housing issues that I have encountered through pastoral ministry ring loudly in my ears.

The chief priests and the Pharisees realized that Jesus was speaking to them.

The realization was that they – although purporting to adhere and keep the Law- were not loving God and loving neighbour. The rules and actions of this group of  1^st century religious sorts was a whole lot of talk; talk about Laws, showing off how ‘good’ one was, but, accomplishing nothing to further the covenant made with God; to love God and to love neighbour.

As it turns to election time – in HRM municipality, in the US, recent talk of election in Canada should the Throne speech not have been accepted; there was a whole lot of talk ... talk...

Humans are all very good at ‘talk.’ Maybe in hindsight, one of the Ten Commandments should have been, Thou shalt not talk more than you act.

I am guilty of ‘talking’ more about adequate and affordable housing than acting.

If I put the commandments into the ring with the parable of tenants/landlords/and landowner – I have sinned, by omission and lack of action through advocacy, partnering with housing agencies, pushing housing as an election issue.  

Consider –

Thou shalt not kill: how many have died in our country, particularly over the last 6 months of COVID, because they have had no place to shelter, to stay safe, to wash their hands?

Thou shalt not steal: how many have had the possibility of home stolen because of lack of work and systems that are inadequately positioned to help those who fall through the cracks? Or how many of us have withheld, hidden, or complained about paying taxes – stealing from the parts of systems that do help?

Thou shalt not bear false witness: how many people have we judged or down-talked , perhaps as lazy, or labeled those people, or believe it as their fault, that the jobs worked do not cover the cost of living and paying rent?

Thou shalt not covet: how many times have we coveted what others have – bigger houses, stable jobs; or puffed ourselves up because we are fine—we have a roof over our head, why don’t you?

Although I could go on – you get the idea.  I have – we as a people- have talked more than we have acted. The gospel today calls us to quit our quarreling in the vineyard! Get your act together, whether tenant, landlord, or landowner –and be actively focused on the welfare of all parties involved. Be responsible by generously applying the Ten Commandments – doing everything in abundance that loves God and loves neighbour.

A number of years ago, Lutherans and Anglicans, participated in a joint assembly.  On the business docket for each National church body was a promise to address homelessness and precarious housing, to advocate for adequate and affordable housing across this country. In our hearts we have a vision of the kingdom where all are fed and housed. COVID has reminded us of our propensity to talk more than act, to quarrel in the vineyard, rather than getting to work on the problem ---not loving God and loving neighbour- This problem -not taking our responsibility for living and applying the Law – has us in a place of disarray; where not all have a place to call home.

And in times like these – home – is everything; a small piece of heaven.

 

Heavenly One, who although homeless at your birth, Made your home with us on earth, and thus marked each with divine dignity: imbue us with your mercy /inspire us to offer each of your children a safe home, that we may live on earth/as they do in heaven.  Amen.  

 ---Ray Simpson, Founding Guardian (for 2013 Joint Assembly, ELCIC/ACC)