This is my first time tackling the text from Luke 17:5-10. I haven't had the chance yet to consult any resources, but I have to think that this is made up of two pieces of teaching from Jesus. Today, I'm focused on the first part, where the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith.
I wonder how often I've asked God for the very same thing. Be it in the midst of a crisis moment, in the course of a life-changing decision, when things are humming along fine and I'm tempted to trust only in myself, or the times in between, I have plenty of chances to ask God for just a little more faith.
Jesus' response is typically Jesus and feels like a non sequitur. "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed you could tell this mulberry tree to be uprooted and plant itself in the sea, and it would do it."
Ummm... thanks. I guess.
My gut is telling me that Jesus is saying, "don't worry about how much faith you have, just have faith." We don't need A LOT of faith, we just need some faith. Any little smidgen of faith is enough to carry us through. As a human being, I feel like I always need more, but Jesus seems to be telling me, "be content with the faith you've got, I'll carry you through."
That works for me.
September 28, 2010
September 27, 2010
I could do without the worthless part
In the Gospel lesson for Sunday, Jesus tells his disciples, "After you've done all that you were ordered to do, say, "We are worthless slaves, we have done only what we ought to have done."
Thank you Luke but I think I'll pass on this message from the mouth of our Lord. If had only said, "say, 'we have done what we ought to have done.'" I think I'd be OK with it, but it is that worthless slave part.
Did Jesus really think anyone was worthless?
Sure, people are, by and large, blind, stiff-necked, sinful, power-grabbing, and annoying, but worthless? No way. Can't buy it. I'll go without this week thank you very much.
Thank you Luke but I think I'll pass on this message from the mouth of our Lord. If had only said, "say, 'we have done what we ought to have done.'" I think I'd be OK with it, but it is that worthless slave part.
Did Jesus really think anyone was worthless?
Sure, people are, by and large, blind, stiff-necked, sinful, power-grabbing, and annoying, but worthless? No way. Can't buy it. I'll go without this week thank you very much.
September 23, 2010
Sermon for Philander Chase
Today the Church celebrates the ministry of The Right Reverend Philander Chase. St. Paul's in Foley, Alabama owes Bishop Chase an extra bit of gratitude because without him and his efforts to evangelize the West, we wouldn't be graced with the likes of Father B and Joan or John and Ruth. You see, in 1817, the West was Ohio and Michigan instead of California and Oregon. And as Diana Bulter Bass tells the story, “In 1818, less than a half-dozen clergy [Filander Chase among them] had organized the practically nonexistent church into a diocese; thirteen years later there were only 16 clergy serving 873 communicants in 31 functioning parishes. Much of this growth can be credited to the energy and vision of Philander Chase, [first Bishop of Ohio]. He preached all over Ohio, and he founded Kenyon College to provide Episcopal Ministers for the west. By the time [Charles McIlvaine was elected second bishop of Ohio], the church was still small, but Chase had laid a foundation for future Episcopal evangelization.” (Butler, 63).
Chase was born on a farm in Cornish, New Hampshire and raised in the Congregationalist Church that was prevalent in New England at the time. He studied top become a Congregationalist Minister at Dartmouth College when he stumbled upon a copy of the Book of Common Prayer. The folks at Lesser Feasts and Fast say that, “next to the Bible, he thought [the BCP] was the most excellent book he had ever studied, and believed that it was surely inspired by God,” which sounds a little self-serving to me, but he was confirmed 3 years later, so something must have happened in the reading of our Prayer Book.
Anyway, Chase's career in the ministry was one of a pioneer. His first call as a deacon was to the northern and western edges of civilization and he planted a parish at Lake George in New York State. After a stint in Poughkeepsie, New York, he moved with is wife to New Orleans where he founded the first protestant congregation in Louisiana – also the first of two churches he served which now serve as Cathedrals. Missing the children they left behind dearly, Chase and his first wife, Mary, returned to New England and served at Christ Church in Hartford, Connecticut, the second now Cathedral of his tenure.
Here's where I have to be careful because Bishop Chase's ministry begins what is, for me, the most interesting time in Episcopal Church history, the great battle between the High and Low Church Parties that took place between about 1800 and the end of the American Civil War. I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say that Chase never did fell quite right in the established parishes of New England, and was increasingly at odds with his High Church learning Bishop, John Henry Hobart, so he took a call to the frontier of Worthington, Ohio in 1817 and was elected first Bishop of Ohio, despite many protests in 1818.
Ohio was a vast mission field (between June 1820 and June 1821 the good bishop logged over 1200 miles on horseback) and was desperately in need of some infrastructure. Bishop Chase founded Kenyon College and Bexley Hall Seminary on Gambier Hill in Knox County Ohio in 1824. He left Ohio for other frontiers in 1831 and was elected as Bishop a second time in 1835, this time as the first Bishop of Illinois, where he again went about founding parishes, a college, and a seminary, and served there until his death on September 20, 1852.
His biography on the Kenyon College website finishes with a apt summation of his life and ministry, “Philander Chase spent his life hacking through the frontier wilderness missionizing and educating, as well as traveling throughout the country (and to England, twice) raising money to support his endeavors. Chase also faced the death of his wife, Mary, and of three of his children (two of whom did not see their first birthday), and he endured constant attacks of his enemies, and a life of dire financial straits, for both him, and his institutions. Nevertheless, Chase was able to overcome these hardships and achieve his goals of bringing religion and education to the west thus establishing himself as a seminal figure in the history of religion, education, and the American frontier.”
I think that it is the lead of their diocese's first Bishop that folks like Father B and John and Ruth and other great Episcopalians from Ohio are following as they live out the charge of Jesus to his disciples, “proclaim the kingdom of God.” Bishop Chase lived a life of proclamation in word and in deed, and I pray this day that we would learn from his example of whole life dedication and take on the task of reaching out to people who as of yet do not know the Good News of what God has done for them in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. May we be strengthened by the good bishop's example and filled with the Spirit to follow his example. Amen.
Chase was born on a farm in Cornish, New Hampshire and raised in the Congregationalist Church that was prevalent in New England at the time. He studied top become a Congregationalist Minister at Dartmouth College when he stumbled upon a copy of the Book of Common Prayer. The folks at Lesser Feasts and Fast say that, “next to the Bible, he thought [the BCP] was the most excellent book he had ever studied, and believed that it was surely inspired by God,” which sounds a little self-serving to me, but he was confirmed 3 years later, so something must have happened in the reading of our Prayer Book.
Anyway, Chase's career in the ministry was one of a pioneer. His first call as a deacon was to the northern and western edges of civilization and he planted a parish at Lake George in New York State. After a stint in Poughkeepsie, New York, he moved with is wife to New Orleans where he founded the first protestant congregation in Louisiana – also the first of two churches he served which now serve as Cathedrals. Missing the children they left behind dearly, Chase and his first wife, Mary, returned to New England and served at Christ Church in Hartford, Connecticut, the second now Cathedral of his tenure.
Here's where I have to be careful because Bishop Chase's ministry begins what is, for me, the most interesting time in Episcopal Church history, the great battle between the High and Low Church Parties that took place between about 1800 and the end of the American Civil War. I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say that Chase never did fell quite right in the established parishes of New England, and was increasingly at odds with his High Church learning Bishop, John Henry Hobart, so he took a call to the frontier of Worthington, Ohio in 1817 and was elected first Bishop of Ohio, despite many protests in 1818.
Ohio was a vast mission field (between June 1820 and June 1821 the good bishop logged over 1200 miles on horseback) and was desperately in need of some infrastructure. Bishop Chase founded Kenyon College and Bexley Hall Seminary on Gambier Hill in Knox County Ohio in 1824. He left Ohio for other frontiers in 1831 and was elected as Bishop a second time in 1835, this time as the first Bishop of Illinois, where he again went about founding parishes, a college, and a seminary, and served there until his death on September 20, 1852.
His biography on the Kenyon College website finishes with a apt summation of his life and ministry, “Philander Chase spent his life hacking through the frontier wilderness missionizing and educating, as well as traveling throughout the country (and to England, twice) raising money to support his endeavors. Chase also faced the death of his wife, Mary, and of three of his children (two of whom did not see their first birthday), and he endured constant attacks of his enemies, and a life of dire financial straits, for both him, and his institutions. Nevertheless, Chase was able to overcome these hardships and achieve his goals of bringing religion and education to the west thus establishing himself as a seminal figure in the history of religion, education, and the American frontier.”
I think that it is the lead of their diocese's first Bishop that folks like Father B and John and Ruth and other great Episcopalians from Ohio are following as they live out the charge of Jesus to his disciples, “proclaim the kingdom of God.” Bishop Chase lived a life of proclamation in word and in deed, and I pray this day that we would learn from his example of whole life dedication and take on the task of reaching out to people who as of yet do not know the Good News of what God has done for them in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. May we be strengthened by the good bishop's example and filled with the Spirit to follow his example. Amen.
there's a bathroom on the right
Credence Clearwater Revival has a song called "Bad Moon Rising" and in that song is a lyric that I will never hear correctly. "Don't go around tonight/Well it's bound to take your life/there's a bad moon on the rise" will forever end "/there's a bathroom on the right" in my head. I've heard it incorrectly for so long, that the right way just can't break in.
It is not uncommon to hear a song lyric incorrectly. Survey's, like this one at the Telegraph, are done all the time about the most well known mondegreens (a word I learned of just a minute ago).
Huge difference. Like bad moon/bathroom big. The love of money is NOT *the* root of all evil but *a* root of all kinds of evil. There are plenty of other roots of evil things; lust and pride, just to name a few from religion headlines this week.
And Paul's real life warning is not less true for those sins. In their eagerness to be rich (to get laid, to puff themselves up, etc.) some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. What it really comes down to, is that Paul is using wealth as an example of how pursuit of self-interests leads to death, while the pursuit of the kingdom leads to "life that really is life."
Which sort of life have you chosen? To misquote Moses for a moment, "I have set before you this day life and death. Choose the life that really is life."
It is not uncommon to hear a song lyric incorrectly. Survey's, like this one at the Telegraph, are done all the time about the most well known mondegreens (a word I learned of just a minute ago).
All that to say there is just such a minunderstanding/misquote in Sunday's lesson from 1 Timothy. We all know the line, "the love of money is the root of all evil." It get's quoted all the time. People are very careful to remind us that it doesn't say money, but the love of money. I'm grateful that they work so hard to get the first part right, but wonder why they then ignore the second half, which is misquoted over and over again. The line from Paul to Timothy actually reads,
"the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains."
*Huge difference. Like bad moon/bathroom big. The love of money is NOT *the* root of all evil but *a* root of all kinds of evil. There are plenty of other roots of evil things; lust and pride, just to name a few from religion headlines this week.
And Paul's real life warning is not less true for those sins. In their eagerness to be rich (to get laid, to puff themselves up, etc.) some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. What it really comes down to, is that Paul is using wealth as an example of how pursuit of self-interests leads to death, while the pursuit of the kingdom leads to "life that really is life."
Which sort of life have you chosen? To misquote Moses for a moment, "I have set before you this day life and death. Choose the life that really is life."
September 22, 2010
what is the rich man's sin?
If one is going to preach this parable as a story about social justice (which is a perfectly acceptable reading of the text) the first thing one must do is answer the question, "What is the rich man's sin?"
Let me go ahead and say that it absolutely cannot be the fact that he is wealthy. I know that this will get preached in enough mainline protestant churches this weekend to give it some credibility, but it just isn't true. And when the wealthy members of those churches get mad and start looking for a new place to worship, please let them know St. Paul's in Foley would love to get to know them.
Nowhere in the parable does Jesus say the man's wealth sent him to Hades. He does say that during his lifetime the rich man had received his good things, but honestly that could be said about a lot of people, rich or not. Instead, the rich man's sin is the chasm he dug between himself and Lazarus.
I am being very intentional in making it sound like the rich man made a very active effort to separate himself from Lazarus, which I fell comfortable saying because in the scene with Father Abraham, the rich man knows Lazarus' name. "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames."
His sin was not one of simple omission; ignoring the man at his gate while he lived lavishly. Instead, the rich man very intentionally dug a ditch between himself and a crippled beggar named Lazarus. And so, when the rich man died, the ditch that he had dug himself became a fixed chasm that could not be crossed.
The rich man got what he wanted, a life separate from the ugliness and sadness of the poor and needy, and he got it for all of eternity. The question this text raises for me then is the opposite side of the "rich man's sin" question, "what do I want?" Odd are, I'm going to get what I want, but maybe for a lot longer than I ever intended.
Let me go ahead and say that it absolutely cannot be the fact that he is wealthy. I know that this will get preached in enough mainline protestant churches this weekend to give it some credibility, but it just isn't true. And when the wealthy members of those churches get mad and start looking for a new place to worship, please let them know St. Paul's in Foley would love to get to know them.
Nowhere in the parable does Jesus say the man's wealth sent him to Hades. He does say that during his lifetime the rich man had received his good things, but honestly that could be said about a lot of people, rich or not. Instead, the rich man's sin is the chasm he dug between himself and Lazarus.
I am being very intentional in making it sound like the rich man made a very active effort to separate himself from Lazarus, which I fell comfortable saying because in the scene with Father Abraham, the rich man knows Lazarus' name. "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames."
His sin was not one of simple omission; ignoring the man at his gate while he lived lavishly. Instead, the rich man very intentionally dug a ditch between himself and a crippled beggar named Lazarus. And so, when the rich man died, the ditch that he had dug himself became a fixed chasm that could not be crossed.
The rich man got what he wanted, a life separate from the ugliness and sadness of the poor and needy, and he got it for all of eternity. The question this text raises for me then is the opposite side of the "rich man's sin" question, "what do I want?" Odd are, I'm going to get what I want, but maybe for a lot longer than I ever intended.
September 21, 2010
Moses and the Prophets
Moses and the Prophets is a great band name; unfortunately the only band by that name that I've found is kind of terrible. Anyway, that's not what this post is about. This post is about the Bible and how we use it.
In the great story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (another great band name btw), Jesus spells out clearly that the stories of the faith, especially those of the Prophets of God, are vital to our clearly understanding what it is we are called to do; how we are called to live as disciples.
And as if it weren't important enough coming from the lips of Jesus, he has these words coming directly from the Father of all the Israelites, Abraham himself. "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them."
It seems clear then that even as New Covenant followers of God, we should take a keen interest in the words that God has spoken through his prophets; words like remember and sabbath and justice. Words that are summed up well by the prophet Micah, "what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
We have Moses and the Prophets, we should listen to them.
In the great story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (another great band name btw), Jesus spells out clearly that the stories of the faith, especially those of the Prophets of God, are vital to our clearly understanding what it is we are called to do; how we are called to live as disciples.
And as if it weren't important enough coming from the lips of Jesus, he has these words coming directly from the Father of all the Israelites, Abraham himself. "They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them."
It seems clear then that even as New Covenant followers of God, we should take a keen interest in the words that God has spoken through his prophets; words like remember and sabbath and justice. Words that are summed up well by the prophet Micah, "what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
We have Moses and the Prophets, we should listen to them.
September 20, 2010
Sermon for Proper 20, Year C
“The children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” This is the explanation Jesus gives for what can only be described as the strangest parable he ever told. Eugene Peterson calls parables “narrative time bombs” because their meaning explodes forth long after the story is told. Some two-thousand years later, Biblical scholars are still waiting for the parable of the unjust or shrewd steward to crack open and share its wisdom because, on the surface, it makes no sense.
How on earth can Jesus tell a story that lifts up lying, cheating, and stealing as worthy virtues? It is just plain wrong, and so most of my “go-to” resources went with an Old Testament lesson this week, better ignore this text than get caught up in a trap of your own making. But that is just plan weak. If we ignored all the difficult texts in Scripture, there would be nothing left to read.
And honestly, how hard can the text really be? Jesus himself interprets the parable immediately, he blows up the time bomb before it even hits the ground. I tend to think that the explanation should be read in two parts, so let's look at them broken apart.
Immediately after finishing the parable, Jesus says to his disciples, “The children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” Shrewd is a particularly troubling word, one that we don't use much anymore. In my experience, shrewd carries a negative connotation, as if a person who acts shrewdly is one who outsmarts another to take away their money or their power. Foxes are shrewd. I'm not exactly sure, though, why it gets such a bum rap. The Greek word that Luke uses here is phronimos which is used by New Testament authors to mean “the quality of one's thinking resulting from insight” Synonyms include wise, intelligent, and sensible. What Jesus seems to be saying is that children of the world are wiser in their dealings with each other than are the children of the light. And, my friends, I'm afraid that statement is just as true today as it was two-thousand years ago.
In my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to study the shrewdest of all disciplines, Marketing Research, “the systematic and objective process of generating information to aid in making marketing decisions.” Systematic and objective... wise, intelligent, and sensible sounding enough. In that class we studied all sorts of marketing research techniques; the survey, the focus group, the experiment, the test market, and the most shrewd of all, observational information gathering. Consider, for a moment, that Winn-Dixie card on your key chain. Why do you have it? To get cheaper groceries, right? Of course, but why did Winn-Dixie give it to you? To give you discounts on your groceries? Absolutely not. To avoid giving discounts to someone too lazy to get the card or someone who lost their card or who can't remember their phone number from 3 houses and 5 years ago? An added perk, for sure, but not the main reason. The real reason Winn-Dixie gave you that card so that they could observe you. AHHHHH – how shrewd. Every swipe of that bar-code dumps every purchase you make into a database; a database shared by Winn-Dixie and probably Rite-Aid and Petsmart and maybe even the Foley Public Library. They do this because they know the best way to find out about your purchasing habits is to not let you know that you are being observed. Otherwise you might not use the card when you buy that second bottle of wine, the extra bag of chips, the play-do you didn't give to the kids because you had too much fun with it, or some other unmentionable items. Winn-Dixie gets to know you and your purchase making decisions through shrewd planning and wise execution. Oh, if only the Church would be so wise.
How do we get to know someone? Well, before the service we have an unidentified Vestry person (good thing everybody in the world knows what vestry means) in the Narthex (Another unintelligible word meaning the area just inside one of our four possible entryways) waiting to shake your hand and welcome you. After the service there is a guy in a dress and the still unidentified vestry person waiting to say “hello,” while a greeter stands next to a tiny table with a precariously placed notebook ready to take your name, address, and email if you make it that far and don't cause the book to fall the floor with a crash. We sincerely hope you will join us for breakfast or coffee hour, but by then you've made up your mind about us before we've even shown you our greatest talent, eating. If you did sign the book, you'll get a letter thanking you for joining us and inviting you to get to know us better, but as any marketing researcher will tell you, everything we've done to get to know you by that point has changed you in some way. Heisenburg's uncertainty principle states clearly that “to observe is to disturb.”
The children of this age are most certainly shrewder with this generation than children of the light, and it has nothing to do with getting after your money. What if the story of the shrewd manager has nothing to do with money and everything to do with how we reach out with the Gospel of Jesus, the Good News of God in Christ? What then does it look like for the children of the light, that is to say, you and me, to act shrewdly? At our meeting on Wednesday, Dr. Lawrence, principal at Foley Elementary gave a great vision. “What you are doing [in volunteering at the school] is ministry. You don't have a Bible in front of you. You aren't handing out tracts. You aren't praying with students, but you are creating relationships. And then, when that kid sees you at Wal*Mart or in the park and runs up to you arms wide open saying 'Hi, Miss Karla!' You have an opening, a chance to meet their parents and say, 'I volunteer at the school with my Church, St. Paul's Episcopal here in Foley, we'd love for you to check us out some Sunday.' You already have their trust because their child knows you and loves you; the relationship has already begun.” That, my friends, is shrewd. The lesson we learn from Jesus in this parable is that it doesn't matter if your motivation is to save souls, teach children, make yourself feel good, or by some crazy kharmic blunder help you odds at winning the jackpot in Biloxi – God will glorify himself by way of your developing relationships. So whether it is at Foley Elementary School or the Foley Women's Club or the Bowling Alley or Big Daddy's, the key is to tend to and develop relationships.
Which brings us to the second part of Jesus' explanation, “I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” The sad truth here is that all of us have made our friends by way of some percentage of our wealth having come from dishonest sources. It is unavoidable. If you take part in the modern commercial system, you are also taking part in its seedy underbelly. Investment firms unknowingly invested in African blood diamond mines. Clothing made by women working 16 hour shifts for less than a living wage. Cashiers stuck working 36 hours a week so their employer can get away with not providing benefits. We can't avoid our dishonest wealth and so we have two choices. We can hem and haw and wring our hands while feeling guilty about our role in the military industrial complex and its degradation of human beings and the environment. We can give it all away and sit in sackcloth and ashes while the unjust world economy continues to go on without us. All of that to say, we can do nothing of any real consequence. Or, we can follow the instruction of Jesus and use our dishonest wealth to make friends. We can share it with those in need. We can use its power to shop at places that respect the dignity of every human being and see God's hand at work in the world about us. We can cook meals and drive to appointments and send cards and make phone calls. We can join clubs and go bowling and eat at Big Daddy's. And we do it all by means of our dishonest wealth. And we do it all in the name of building relationships that are true and lasting and mirror the perfect relationship of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It is not a pretty picture that Jesus lays out for his disciples. He knows that despite his best efforts sinful people will continue to do sinful things until the day he comes again. He knows that his disciples and you and me will have to live in this world and ride the tide of shrewd marketers and unjust wealth. He knows that there is really no way around it. And so, he encourages us to redeem the system. Take its power away by sharing with those who are must vulnerable in the system; forgive debts, share resources, and build relationships. It is through those relationships that the Kingdom will grow causing more people to live the way Jesus would have us live, until that day when the choice between God and Mammon no longer exists and God and his Kingdom reign alone and God himself will welcome you into your eternal home. Do not be anxious about the mess that is earthly things, instead, rejoice in God's work at redeeming this mess for his eternal glory and hold fast on to those things that shall endure. Be wise, be shrewd, be blessed. Amen.
How on earth can Jesus tell a story that lifts up lying, cheating, and stealing as worthy virtues? It is just plain wrong, and so most of my “go-to” resources went with an Old Testament lesson this week, better ignore this text than get caught up in a trap of your own making. But that is just plan weak. If we ignored all the difficult texts in Scripture, there would be nothing left to read.
And honestly, how hard can the text really be? Jesus himself interprets the parable immediately, he blows up the time bomb before it even hits the ground. I tend to think that the explanation should be read in two parts, so let's look at them broken apart.
Immediately after finishing the parable, Jesus says to his disciples, “The children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” Shrewd is a particularly troubling word, one that we don't use much anymore. In my experience, shrewd carries a negative connotation, as if a person who acts shrewdly is one who outsmarts another to take away their money or their power. Foxes are shrewd. I'm not exactly sure, though, why it gets such a bum rap. The Greek word that Luke uses here is phronimos which is used by New Testament authors to mean “the quality of one's thinking resulting from insight” Synonyms include wise, intelligent, and sensible. What Jesus seems to be saying is that children of the world are wiser in their dealings with each other than are the children of the light. And, my friends, I'm afraid that statement is just as true today as it was two-thousand years ago.
In my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to study the shrewdest of all disciplines, Marketing Research, “the systematic and objective process of generating information to aid in making marketing decisions.” Systematic and objective... wise, intelligent, and sensible sounding enough. In that class we studied all sorts of marketing research techniques; the survey, the focus group, the experiment, the test market, and the most shrewd of all, observational information gathering. Consider, for a moment, that Winn-Dixie card on your key chain. Why do you have it? To get cheaper groceries, right? Of course, but why did Winn-Dixie give it to you? To give you discounts on your groceries? Absolutely not. To avoid giving discounts to someone too lazy to get the card or someone who lost their card or who can't remember their phone number from 3 houses and 5 years ago? An added perk, for sure, but not the main reason. The real reason Winn-Dixie gave you that card so that they could observe you. AHHHHH – how shrewd. Every swipe of that bar-code dumps every purchase you make into a database; a database shared by Winn-Dixie and probably Rite-Aid and Petsmart and maybe even the Foley Public Library. They do this because they know the best way to find out about your purchasing habits is to not let you know that you are being observed. Otherwise you might not use the card when you buy that second bottle of wine, the extra bag of chips, the play-do you didn't give to the kids because you had too much fun with it, or some other unmentionable items. Winn-Dixie gets to know you and your purchase making decisions through shrewd planning and wise execution. Oh, if only the Church would be so wise.
How do we get to know someone? Well, before the service we have an unidentified Vestry person (good thing everybody in the world knows what vestry means) in the Narthex (Another unintelligible word meaning the area just inside one of our four possible entryways) waiting to shake your hand and welcome you. After the service there is a guy in a dress and the still unidentified vestry person waiting to say “hello,” while a greeter stands next to a tiny table with a precariously placed notebook ready to take your name, address, and email if you make it that far and don't cause the book to fall the floor with a crash. We sincerely hope you will join us for breakfast or coffee hour, but by then you've made up your mind about us before we've even shown you our greatest talent, eating. If you did sign the book, you'll get a letter thanking you for joining us and inviting you to get to know us better, but as any marketing researcher will tell you, everything we've done to get to know you by that point has changed you in some way. Heisenburg's uncertainty principle states clearly that “to observe is to disturb.”
The children of this age are most certainly shrewder with this generation than children of the light, and it has nothing to do with getting after your money. What if the story of the shrewd manager has nothing to do with money and everything to do with how we reach out with the Gospel of Jesus, the Good News of God in Christ? What then does it look like for the children of the light, that is to say, you and me, to act shrewdly? At our meeting on Wednesday, Dr. Lawrence, principal at Foley Elementary gave a great vision. “What you are doing [in volunteering at the school] is ministry. You don't have a Bible in front of you. You aren't handing out tracts. You aren't praying with students, but you are creating relationships. And then, when that kid sees you at Wal*Mart or in the park and runs up to you arms wide open saying 'Hi, Miss Karla!' You have an opening, a chance to meet their parents and say, 'I volunteer at the school with my Church, St. Paul's Episcopal here in Foley, we'd love for you to check us out some Sunday.' You already have their trust because their child knows you and loves you; the relationship has already begun.” That, my friends, is shrewd. The lesson we learn from Jesus in this parable is that it doesn't matter if your motivation is to save souls, teach children, make yourself feel good, or by some crazy kharmic blunder help you odds at winning the jackpot in Biloxi – God will glorify himself by way of your developing relationships. So whether it is at Foley Elementary School or the Foley Women's Club or the Bowling Alley or Big Daddy's, the key is to tend to and develop relationships.
Which brings us to the second part of Jesus' explanation, “I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” The sad truth here is that all of us have made our friends by way of some percentage of our wealth having come from dishonest sources. It is unavoidable. If you take part in the modern commercial system, you are also taking part in its seedy underbelly. Investment firms unknowingly invested in African blood diamond mines. Clothing made by women working 16 hour shifts for less than a living wage. Cashiers stuck working 36 hours a week so their employer can get away with not providing benefits. We can't avoid our dishonest wealth and so we have two choices. We can hem and haw and wring our hands while feeling guilty about our role in the military industrial complex and its degradation of human beings and the environment. We can give it all away and sit in sackcloth and ashes while the unjust world economy continues to go on without us. All of that to say, we can do nothing of any real consequence. Or, we can follow the instruction of Jesus and use our dishonest wealth to make friends. We can share it with those in need. We can use its power to shop at places that respect the dignity of every human being and see God's hand at work in the world about us. We can cook meals and drive to appointments and send cards and make phone calls. We can join clubs and go bowling and eat at Big Daddy's. And we do it all by means of our dishonest wealth. And we do it all in the name of building relationships that are true and lasting and mirror the perfect relationship of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It is not a pretty picture that Jesus lays out for his disciples. He knows that despite his best efforts sinful people will continue to do sinful things until the day he comes again. He knows that his disciples and you and me will have to live in this world and ride the tide of shrewd marketers and unjust wealth. He knows that there is really no way around it. And so, he encourages us to redeem the system. Take its power away by sharing with those who are must vulnerable in the system; forgive debts, share resources, and build relationships. It is through those relationships that the Kingdom will grow causing more people to live the way Jesus would have us live, until that day when the choice between God and Mammon no longer exists and God and his Kingdom reign alone and God himself will welcome you into your eternal home. Do not be anxious about the mess that is earthly things, instead, rejoice in God's work at redeeming this mess for his eternal glory and hold fast on to those things that shall endure. Be wise, be shrewd, be blessed. Amen.
social justice
Though I disagree with him almost completely, I am grateful to Glen Beck for bringing social justice back into mainstream conversation. It has, I think, gone away as the Church has struggled with what makes their outreach ministries any different than the work done by any number of secular aid organizations.
It is a valid question, and one that has hit the Church at its core. How do we articulate our faith in the Triune God in an authentic way while living into the call to charity?
The 1 Timothy and Luke lessons this week are a chance to answer that question because you can't get out of Sunday with out discussing the sin of the rich man and Paul's admonishment to the rich.
In a rare sort of coincidence (rare because I rarely read full books) I am finishing up "Same kind of different as me" this week, a story that lives out this issue fully. It is gonna be an interesting week. I can just feel it.
It is a valid question, and one that has hit the Church at its core. How do we articulate our faith in the Triune God in an authentic way while living into the call to charity?
The 1 Timothy and Luke lessons this week are a chance to answer that question because you can't get out of Sunday with out discussing the sin of the rich man and Paul's admonishment to the rich.
In a rare sort of coincidence (rare because I rarely read full books) I am finishing up "Same kind of different as me" this week, a story that lives out this issue fully. It is gonna be an interesting week. I can just feel it.
September 16, 2010
what if it isn't about money
As I read and study for my sermon on the very difficult Shrewd Manager text, I'm realizing that everybody and their brother is taking this thing literally. Not that the story Jesus tells really happened, but that somehow he was talking about stewardship. Which makes interpretation really hard because we don't want Jesus to tell us it is OK to commit fraud.
But what if it isn't about money.
Parables are stories that tell a bigger truth.
What if our call is not to be crafty in our use of money, but crafty in our sharing of the Gospel? Crafty in the ways in which we meet people?
Pub theology anyone? Authentic relationship building? Coffee shop contact work?
What if the call is to use ALL of the resources available to us to spread the Good News of God in Christ? Honestly it seems like the only logical conclusion. Sometimes it really isn't about money.
But what if it isn't about money.
Parables are stories that tell a bigger truth.
What if our call is not to be crafty in our use of money, but crafty in our sharing of the Gospel? Crafty in the ways in which we meet people?
Pub theology anyone? Authentic relationship building? Coffee shop contact work?
What if the call is to use ALL of the resources available to us to spread the Good News of God in Christ? Honestly it seems like the only logical conclusion. Sometimes it really isn't about money.
September 15, 2010
things earthly
Today is September 15th, which for many of us is also known as the day that 3rd quarter tax estimates are due. I hate paying quarterlies. I especially hate that the first quarter payment is due on April 15th, which is the same day that any underestimates from the previous year are due, which is only two months (not a full quarter) away from the dates that 2nd quarter estimates are due.
I'm not sure yet what it has to do with the shrewd manager, but I'm certain that today is one of those "live out the Collect" days. Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things: about money, about power, about prestige, about stuff, about food, about clothing, about friendships, about illness, about any of that crap. Instead, help us to love things that are heavenly: relationships, justice, humility, peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and self-control.
Writing a four digit check to the federal government every two to four months is not my idea of a good time, it is the beginning of anxiety, but, on this day, I pray that my mind will be on things above and that the peace of Christ will rule my heart.
I'm not sure yet what it has to do with the shrewd manager, but I'm certain that today is one of those "live out the Collect" days. Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things: about money, about power, about prestige, about stuff, about food, about clothing, about friendships, about illness, about any of that crap. Instead, help us to love things that are heavenly: relationships, justice, humility, peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and self-control.
Writing a four digit check to the federal government every two to four months is not my idea of a good time, it is the beginning of anxiety, but, on this day, I pray that my mind will be on things above and that the peace of Christ will rule my heart.
September 2, 2010
choose life
"Choose life," Moses pleads on behalf of God, "Choose life."
It makes sense. Right? It should be a no brainer that we would choose those things that are good for us, those things that are God ordained. Walking in his way. Observing his commandments. Choose life. Of course.
And yet, inevitably we choose death. Each and every one of us. Yep, even me. We reject forgiveness and refuse to offer it. We harbor mistrust and lie, cheat, and steal our way ahead. We covet. We work ourselves like slaves. We forget the poor, the needy, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the imprisoned, the lonely, and the oppressed.
I'm trying, and often failing, to choose life more often. I think that's the charge of the disciple; always be striving for life. I think that is what Jesus is talking about when he suggests that we count the cost before following him. Because choosing life sometimes means choosing the harder part. It is a whole lot easier to wear blinders, get blitzed, and rock the party. It is hard to see the faces of the oppressed, to be sober, and to feel the pain in their eyes.
But that is life, messy as it is, and it is the choice that we are asked to make. Today, with God's help, I choose life. What do you choose?
It makes sense. Right? It should be a no brainer that we would choose those things that are good for us, those things that are God ordained. Walking in his way. Observing his commandments. Choose life. Of course.
And yet, inevitably we choose death. Each and every one of us. Yep, even me. We reject forgiveness and refuse to offer it. We harbor mistrust and lie, cheat, and steal our way ahead. We covet. We work ourselves like slaves. We forget the poor, the needy, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the imprisoned, the lonely, and the oppressed.
I'm trying, and often failing, to choose life more often. I think that's the charge of the disciple; always be striving for life. I think that is what Jesus is talking about when he suggests that we count the cost before following him. Because choosing life sometimes means choosing the harder part. It is a whole lot easier to wear blinders, get blitzed, and rock the party. It is hard to see the faces of the oppressed, to be sober, and to feel the pain in their eyes.
But that is life, messy as it is, and it is the choice that we are asked to make. Today, with God's help, I choose life. What do you choose?
September 1, 2010
a gallon of gas, a blow torch, and saltiness
Monday's post at draughting theology was #900. I had great plans to make it a "day in the life" post, but life got in the way and I forgot. So 900 and 901 have been posted, and now it is 5pm on Wednesday and 902 is still not written, but I think the "day in the life" gimmick is ready today.
But first. Before you read a re-cap of the last 36 hours of my life, consider adding two verses to Sunday's Gospel lesson. For some reason the RCL folks decided to skip out on verses 34 and 35 - the last two verses of chapter 14. "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
How does salt regain its saltiness? Only by the miracle of God's intervention.
Tuesday, 8:00am - arrived at the office ready for my weekly Lectionary Study and proceeded to spend 30 minutes listening as one of our group told us of his impending move to a new call.
8:30am - prayed and dove into a tough lesson from Luke 14. Decided that verses 34 and 35 were required reading.
9:30am - moved to the parish hall to help our Junior Warden replace a faucet, supply lines, and shut-off valves in the kitchen. The water, having been shut off for 12 hours, was still draining at a pretty rapid clip. Something was not right.
9:45am - found B knocking at the kitchen door. He'd been kicked out of his aunts house 30 miles away. He hitched a ride with a Sheriff's Deputy, had only the clothes on his back, an expired Driver's License, half a pack of smokes, and a work card for Thursday and Friday at Labor Ready. Oh, and he hadn't eaten in two days. Gave him some food meant for the local pantry and found him a place to shower, rest and regroup, and rest his head for the night.
10:30am - arrived back at the parish hall with sawzall, channel locks, plumber's putty, only to find the water still draining. JW leaves to buy new faucet while I cut old shut off valves off. Finally find second outside valve, get water stopped and begin to sweat on new valves.
11:45am - test new valves - leaking. Sprayed water all over the storage room for good measure. I leave to eat while JW cleans mess and installs new faucet.
12:30pm - re-sweat valves two more times, and finally get it right (we are not experts) get everything hooked up and cleaned up. Thank JW for his service and head to the office.
2:00pm - sit down at desk to write sermon for Wednesday Service on the Rev. David Pendleton Oakerhater.
2:30pm - find 2 women with 4 kids under 4 knocking on the side door. They've run out of gas. TKT has a gas tank at home. They play in nursery for a few minutes. Get the car started. Follow them to BP to fill up, wish them safety and God's blessing and return to desk for sermon writing.
3:00pm - receive phone call from the mom of a 4th grader who is struggling with the car accident death of a 12th grader (cousinish) who had taken the time to actually get to know her.
3:45pm - go to meet the 4th grader and try to fumble through questions like, "why her?" "Why so young?" "Did God make her suffer?" "Why does going to Church hurt people?" (Did I not mention that 4th grader was in church on Sunday for the first time in years and they left the house at 9:45am on Sunday not knowing the accident was happening as they drove to Church?)
5:00pm - arrive home exhausted. Do my best to put it all aside, hand it all to Jesus and enjoy the joys of my family. Watched Nadal really struggle through two sets while I looked at my calender to make sure I'm ready to go on vacation on Friday.
10:00pm - go to bed.
Wednesday, 5:55am - alarm clock rings.
7:30am - hit the road for Baptist Hospital in Pensacola to visit B2 who is looking at a long stay and no food or liquid by mouth for 2-6 weeks. Encourage. Encourage. Encourage. Pray.
10:00am - arrive at the office to put together Parish Emails and Sunday bulletin, and prep for sermon at noon. Find out TKT helped B get a place to stay for 7 days. Grateful for team ministry.
11:57am - While sitting in my chair in the Sanctuary W shows up (his fifth appearance in two weeks) and convinces a parishioner to get me so he can ask for $68 to get his driver's license back. "Secretary says you helped a guy get a place to stay for the week." Ugh. He leaves disappointed.
12:03pm - call on the Spirit to carry me through a poorly prepared sermon and a service that weighs heavy due to the previous 6 minutes.
12:27pm - find strength in the words of Eucharistic Prayer A.
12:36pm - find hope in the oil left on my thumb after laying on of hands after communion.
1:00pm - arrive home for lunch.
1:45pm - leave for the 12th graders funeral. A mob scene. Foley High School has 1700+ students and the largest funeral home holds less than 200. You can do the math. Make eye contact with the 4th grader, she is glad I'm there. Stand in the lobby, lift up prayers, and watch people. It is kind of what I do.
3:00pm - arrive at the office. Finish E-pistle, two bulletins, and juggling for daddy duty tomorrow.
4:30pm - pack up to leave.
4:31pm - remember tonight is youth group.
4:32pm - head the the chapel to prep for youth group.
5:00pm - begin writing this blog post
5:26pm - finish writing this blog post after many checks of my phone for the ongoing Tastycake conversation on my wall.
How does salt remain salty? How does it regain its saltiness? When does Pastoral Ministry Work become vocation? Only by the radical intervention of God. All thanks and praise to him for the saltiness to survive a wild 36 hours. And thanks to you, dear reader for giving me reason to write 902 posts.
But first. Before you read a re-cap of the last 36 hours of my life, consider adding two verses to Sunday's Gospel lesson. For some reason the RCL folks decided to skip out on verses 34 and 35 - the last two verses of chapter 14. "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
How does salt regain its saltiness? Only by the miracle of God's intervention.
Tuesday, 8:00am - arrived at the office ready for my weekly Lectionary Study and proceeded to spend 30 minutes listening as one of our group told us of his impending move to a new call.
8:30am - prayed and dove into a tough lesson from Luke 14. Decided that verses 34 and 35 were required reading.
9:30am - moved to the parish hall to help our Junior Warden replace a faucet, supply lines, and shut-off valves in the kitchen. The water, having been shut off for 12 hours, was still draining at a pretty rapid clip. Something was not right.
9:45am - found B knocking at the kitchen door. He'd been kicked out of his aunts house 30 miles away. He hitched a ride with a Sheriff's Deputy, had only the clothes on his back, an expired Driver's License, half a pack of smokes, and a work card for Thursday and Friday at Labor Ready. Oh, and he hadn't eaten in two days. Gave him some food meant for the local pantry and found him a place to shower, rest and regroup, and rest his head for the night.
10:30am - arrived back at the parish hall with sawzall, channel locks, plumber's putty, only to find the water still draining. JW leaves to buy new faucet while I cut old shut off valves off. Finally find second outside valve, get water stopped and begin to sweat on new valves.
11:45am - test new valves - leaking. Sprayed water all over the storage room for good measure. I leave to eat while JW cleans mess and installs new faucet.
12:30pm - re-sweat valves two more times, and finally get it right (we are not experts) get everything hooked up and cleaned up. Thank JW for his service and head to the office.
2:00pm - sit down at desk to write sermon for Wednesday Service on the Rev. David Pendleton Oakerhater.
2:30pm - find 2 women with 4 kids under 4 knocking on the side door. They've run out of gas. TKT has a gas tank at home. They play in nursery for a few minutes. Get the car started. Follow them to BP to fill up, wish them safety and God's blessing and return to desk for sermon writing.
3:00pm - receive phone call from the mom of a 4th grader who is struggling with the car accident death of a 12th grader (cousinish) who had taken the time to actually get to know her.
3:45pm - go to meet the 4th grader and try to fumble through questions like, "why her?" "Why so young?" "Did God make her suffer?" "Why does going to Church hurt people?" (Did I not mention that 4th grader was in church on Sunday for the first time in years and they left the house at 9:45am on Sunday not knowing the accident was happening as they drove to Church?)
5:00pm - arrive home exhausted. Do my best to put it all aside, hand it all to Jesus and enjoy the joys of my family. Watched Nadal really struggle through two sets while I looked at my calender to make sure I'm ready to go on vacation on Friday.
10:00pm - go to bed.
Wednesday, 5:55am - alarm clock rings.
7:30am - hit the road for Baptist Hospital in Pensacola to visit B2 who is looking at a long stay and no food or liquid by mouth for 2-6 weeks. Encourage. Encourage. Encourage. Pray.
10:00am - arrive at the office to put together Parish Emails and Sunday bulletin, and prep for sermon at noon. Find out TKT helped B get a place to stay for 7 days. Grateful for team ministry.
11:57am - While sitting in my chair in the Sanctuary W shows up (his fifth appearance in two weeks) and convinces a parishioner to get me so he can ask for $68 to get his driver's license back. "Secretary says you helped a guy get a place to stay for the week." Ugh. He leaves disappointed.
12:03pm - call on the Spirit to carry me through a poorly prepared sermon and a service that weighs heavy due to the previous 6 minutes.
12:27pm - find strength in the words of Eucharistic Prayer A.
12:36pm - find hope in the oil left on my thumb after laying on of hands after communion.
1:00pm - arrive home for lunch.
1:45pm - leave for the 12th graders funeral. A mob scene. Foley High School has 1700+ students and the largest funeral home holds less than 200. You can do the math. Make eye contact with the 4th grader, she is glad I'm there. Stand in the lobby, lift up prayers, and watch people. It is kind of what I do.
3:00pm - arrive at the office. Finish E-pistle, two bulletins, and juggling for daddy duty tomorrow.
4:30pm - pack up to leave.
4:31pm - remember tonight is youth group.
4:32pm - head the the chapel to prep for youth group.
5:00pm - begin writing this blog post
5:26pm - finish writing this blog post after many checks of my phone for the ongoing Tastycake conversation on my wall.
How does salt remain salty? How does it regain its saltiness? When does Pastoral Ministry Work become vocation? Only by the radical intervention of God. All thanks and praise to him for the saltiness to survive a wild 36 hours. And thanks to you, dear reader for giving me reason to write 902 posts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)