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.

The Greatest Story Ever Told --Lent 5C---

It was the summer of ’89 at Lutheran Camp Edgewood.  It was the year that fellow counsellor TJ Woods and myself each had a plantar wart.  This meant that every evening after supper we had the pleasure of a 20 minute break --- we would go off to the camp nurse to soak our feet in salt water for 10 mins, pick away at the skin, re-doctor the spot with acid cream and clean gauze. The best part of the evening was the conversation while we sat on the picnic table waiting.  We shared a lot of intimate things about ourselves – we were after all picking at our feet; we knew things about each other that no one else found out about during the summer, and it was all because we sat and commiserated and listened.

In the 6^th century Pope Gregory took the stories of women from the Gospels, like the one we read this morning of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet, and conflated them.  The various stories were seen to be the tale of one woman and her encounters with Jesus:  the wild woman demon possessed and cured of 7 spirits, Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, Mary anointing Jesus feet and so on. To make matters worse Pope Gregory identified Mary - Mary Magdalene-  as a reformed prostitute.  And as is so often the case, art followed suit, the women who anointed Jesus’ feet is identified with Mary Magdalene; painted with fiery wild hair, an off the shoulder blouse, and jar of ointment.  Within Christian tradition two stereotypical kinds of women were born: pure like Mary the mother of Jesus or as Mary Magdalene had been, sexually sinful.

The reading of scripture has changed dramatically in some circles since the time of Pope Gregory.  Scholars have taken the time to study the stories and separate them out into individual units; individual experiences of women and Jesus’. Each woman – each Mary- has a story.

Consider the stories of the characters portrayed in scripture: the Marys, the other women, those healed. I have wondered about the perspective of the lesser known disciples, Bartholemew, Judas not Iscariot, Nathaniel, Andrew -what stories did they tell, sitting by the side of the lake while washing and picking at their feet; as they sat, commiserated, and listened. How would they have spoken about their encounter with Jesus? How did they reflect on Mary anointing Jesus’ feet? So sad we only get the insight of Judas.

Today’s reading gives us a small window into the world of Jesus’ close friends.  Jesus’ is at the house of his friend Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha.  In a bedroom community of Jerusalem, the location is ideal as a place to relax either coming or going to the big city. The biblical record has given more than one account of the hospitality shown by the family and the intimacy of the relationship with Jeus. One can only imagine what has been shared among the characters – the least not being Lazarus raised from the dead.

There is very little that I wouldn’t have done for my friend TJ over the summers we spent working together at camp: giving each other part of their time away from the cabin at night to blow off steam or relax, sharing portions of the dinner meal; covering for them; smuggling contraband; sticking up for each other.  I was thankful for our understanding of each other, mutual respect for our leadership styles when working together, accepting each other for who they were---   neither of us raised anyone from the dead--- yet, we would have sacrificed greatly for the other if the need had arisen. 

I think of Mary figuring out what she was going to offer as a thank-you for the intimate friendship, Jesus going beyond friendship and raising her brother.  I’m sure that you have been in relationships where you love, respect, are thankful – so much so- that you want to gift the person with something special. 

Mary has found a way to honour her friend. She uses what to most in her day was a costly jar of ointment; Lazarus and his sisters were fairly well off… ; to find an appropriate gift, not a token, but a gift from the heart -

And that is it, it is not about the cost of the ointment, but, rather, the anointing of the feet.

How many of you like your feet to be touched?  Or do you like to touch the feet of others? 

Not so much from my perspective, people touching my feet.

I wonder what Mary was thinking.  I would like to hear her story, not just the story that John records. John is so matter of fact --- each action symbolized an important point that his passion narrative was trying to impart: Jesus was at the house to remind everyone that Lazarus had been raised from the dead, the ointment was used to foreshadow Jesus’ death, a death that Jesus knows about, Mary prepares the body for burial – while the disciples are still wandering in the dark. What would Mary tell us about this intimate, grace-filled, overflowing thankful heart, encounter with Jesus?

Recently I have heard a lot of people mention how the church has significantly changed over the past few decades.  The change has happened since women have been ordained as pastors.  Now I am not suggesting that the change in the church has come solely at the hands of women priests, however, something happened over this time and I believe it started in the pulpit. Women craft and tell stories differently. Women preachers changed how experiences with God were expressed, relying more on intimate story rather than doctrinal truths-  This reformed the way everyone told God’s story. People, men and women, were given permission to share emotion, intimate details, one’s feelings and understandings.  Theological reflection was put into everyone’s hands and the tools were given to craft one’s own story.

Giving voice to the vastness of God through the ages, in our time, and in time to come is the point of our Lenten journey.  During the 40 days of Lent we have been told stories of hope, redemption, salvation --- the texts are pointing us to the Greatest Story ever told-  the discipline of Lent has been about sitting, commiserating, and listening (as if sitting beside the person telling the story); intimately getting to know God through the exchange of peoples’ experiences of God. Lent is a time in the desert, so to speak, where we gather manna- the pieces of bread, story, that have been shared from the past to move us in this time and place, into hopefully a brighter future.

 When pieces of manna are not picked up, when they melt in the sun or blow away in the wind – when we loss a person’s story or heaven forbid a peoples’ story – their experience of God- of Christ in our midst -  then we loss a piece of the truth.  Perhaps we do not fully understand God because we either have lost or silenced or failed to listen to pieces of the truth.

This week Kairos is pleading with church communities to sign a petition that has had little hype.  It is a petition to support recommendation #62 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – education for reconciliation.  The recommendation is for age appropriate school curriculum across the provinces which includes the stories of First Nation’s people and that of their land or territory. It means telling stories from both sides (and all the stories in between) of residential schools, reservations, and treaty making.

I wonder: why do we not fully understand God? What truths have been lost, silenced, or failed to be listened to…

At Progressivechristianity.org – the Greatest story ever told is told in a unique way.  This Lent one of the stories presents the Stations of the Cross with a twist. The stations of the Cross are interpreted in ways that connect each station with the universal human experiences of condemnation and suffering, grace and mercy. To walk these stations and contemplate them actively is to retrace the steps that lead to destruction of ourselves and others. It is also a chance for us to see that at every station, we could take a different turn, choosing life instead of death. The stations are a confrontation with the very worst of our human nature, but in squarely facing suffering and evil within and among ourselves, we can transcend it, and experience the life on the other side of the cross

Each station offers a scene from Jesus’ final days and invites the reader to enter it via an intimate telling of a story.  For instance:

At the station where Simon carries Jesus’ cross – the question asked, What crosses or burdens do you carry for others?; At the station where: Jesus falls- What hurts have you experienced?; Jesus crucified – when have you lost God.; Jesus dies – what part of you has died?

The idea is that our experiences in life connects us to God’s story.  It is important that we share our pieces of manna, our part of the story; we are to tell our stories because if we don’t the whole truth about God isn’t revealed.  The world will only continue to see in part.

Palm Sunday – the Three Days -Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter- best story ever told – is going to be shared here starting next Sunday. You are encouraged to share it. Invite others to hear the story as in the Gospels and through hymns; in greetings and cards; and through your articulation of life and death and life -including suffering, vulnerability, times when you are weak. And most importantly articulate the pieces that have carried you though; remember the intimate experiences – those pieces you share when washing and picking at feet – from these intimate moments grow great stories of resurrection and thanksgiving.