Risk Management and the Faithful Christian

Matthew 25: 14-30

My investment manager, a devout Catholic, noted that in his circles of the shirtless and shoeless in sunny San Jose, it is well known that Matthew, of the Gospel fame, was the very first Christian Investment Banker.  His mantra, so says my friend, was ‘Short Moab, Long Jehovah’.  Who knew?  Some things they just don’t teach you in Seminary.

You see most of the time the Moabites and the Israelites didn’t see eye to eye, what with the Moabites worshipping that pagan god Chemosh.  That’s why, according to my friend, Matthew’s mantra was short Moab - not a great investment for the future, and long Jehovah – God.  This is a much more profitable investment in the long run. 

Today’s sermon is about money, investing and our giving.  No, we don’t always talk about money for those who use that as an excuse to disengage from the church.  Even though Jesus talked quite a deal about money….this is just one sermon out of 52 or it’s a mere 1.9% of the time to be exact, that we will talk about money. 

Today’s sermon also, and more importantly is about your faith in God and your level of trust and confidence that the Spirit of God is behind and evident in everything that we are attempting to accomplish at Wilton Congregational.  It’s about your belief that all of our outreach into the community fulfills Jesus’ command to ‘follow me and do for the least of these’.  It’s about a narrative.  God’s narrative and our call to be an active, contributing player within God’s narrative. 

Hear now the Parable of the Talents from the Gospel of Matthew, 25^th chapter.

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.

Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”

And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”

Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.”

But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.

For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

You always know that when a parable ends with the phrase ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ it means that someone, somehow made a very bad decision, chose the door with no prize behind it.  A verse like this makes you feel like you’ve just put on a scratchy burlap bag without any protective undergarments.  It brings great discomfort.   The third slave, who had been given only one talent, hid it rather than to invest it.  Some might think this is prudent but this doesn’t seem to be where Jesus is heading with the parable, so weeping and gnashing of teeth are in order for this slave.

We can look at this parable in many different ways.  It is the third of four stories which highlight how people should live until the ‘end times’ come.  It is very much a parable of judgment and our daily living. Two of the slaves acted with fidelity and confidence and showed some responsibility with what they had been given.  “Well done good and trustworthy slaves.”  

One, however, did not.  Bad move.  This parable shows us that God values fidelity of one’s commitment, not one’s accomplishments or accumulation of wealth.  It doesn’t seem to matter that one slave had five talents and one had two and one had only one.  That’s not the point.  They all received talent.  They all were expected to use their talents.

The point is, what did they do with their talents? How did they invest wisely what had been given to them?  The five and ten talent men acted in faith the one talent man was lead by his fear.  The first two men took a risk but the third didn’t.  It is said that ‘the greatest risk is not taking a risk at all’. [i]  The third man took did not risk his talent because of his fear.  That decision was the greatest risk of all.

All of us, whatever endowments we have been given, are servants of God and are expected to use our endowments for the betterment of God’s kingdom here on earth.      Jesus, in telling this parable to his disciples, who by the way were not rich people, knew that each person has their own capacity for giving.

For investing in the purpose of living Christ-like lives.  For saying, yes Lord, I believe.   Jesus calls us to be stewards who invest our money, our time, and our endowments, our talent in God’s mission and purpose.  He asks us to risk what we have so that his kingdom is accomplished in the here and now.

This year’s stewardship campaign is aggressive.  No doubt about that.  But it is that way because we believe so deeply in God.  It is aggressive because we are choosing to live into our faith rather than our fears.  It is aggressive because we are willing to take risk by hand and manage it.  Now is the time, this interim time, to invest in the mission of this Church because you have a vision.  “Following Christ, we cherish all by giving hope, healing, and help so that lives and communities may be transformed.”  Following Christ!

I believe whole heartedly that God is alive in Wilton Congregational and that God’s spirit moves deeply in each one of you to follow Christ.  I believe that you give care and hope to those who are disenfranchised or down on their luck.  I believe that you offer healing in this wounded world.  I believe that you help one another and others when one is in need, not because it makes you feel good or look good but because you truly are followers of the way, Jesus Christ and you believe.  It was so evident this past week when dinners were offered and home opened up to help other through this recent power outage.

Giving is a spiritual discipline that each one of us has the opportunity to experience and engage in.  Martin Copenhaver, Senior Pastor at the Village Church in Wellesley, Massachusetts, tells of an imaginary conversation he has where a congregant offers to underwrite the budget for the church for an entire year.  The only condition is that no one else can give that year that his is the only gift.  What Pastor wouldn’t want to jump at that?  In the end though, Martin could not accept this man’s generous offer because he knew it would deny all of the other congregants the spiritual discipline of giving.  Giving is so much more than merely money.  It is an endeavor that feeds our spirit, and grows our faith.

I give because I love God above all and I love and believe in the Church. I believe that Jesus has saved me…as corny as it may sound.  I have been lifted out of despair many times in my life and I am so thankful.  I give because God has been so good to me.  I give because when I do that I become less attached to my own self interest and greed, and more focused on God’s purpose.  Sometimes it’s real hard to crack open the safe, I’ll admit.  But I do it. 

This is my witness to you.  I’m giving to Wilton Congregational because the presence of Christ is palpable here and because I believe in you and what you are attempting to accomplish through your vision.    I have assessed the risks involved, and what I am able to take and I have made my pledge for 2012.  Please walk with me in this journey of faith and pledge as you are able.

Risk management for the Faithful Christian:  Pray!  Determine your risks.  Face your fears. Assess your faith; increase your faith.  Understand what God has done in your life.  Find a balance, stretch a bit more.  Take the risk and then pledge.  Give thanks and Pray!

This sermon was about money, investing and giving.  If you don’t like talking about money in church then, my friend, I’ll see you for the next 51 other sermons that you’ll hear from this pulpit. Those sermons too will also bear witness to the love of God through Jesus Christ.  Amen!

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[i] John Buchanan, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Volume 4, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, ed. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY. 2011

Modern Day Shepherds

Psalm 23

Modern Day Shepherds

Leaders in the 21^st Century

Henry Ward Beecher, prominent Congregational clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist once said this about the 23^rd Psalm,

“The twenty third Psalm is the nightingale of the Psalms. It is small, of a homely feather, singing shyly out of obscurity; but oh! it has filled the air of the whole world with melodious joy, greater than the heart can conceive.” Henry Ward Beecher, Life Thoughts[i]

Hear now, the 23^rd Psalm, King James Version…..

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:

for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

 and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.  Amen!

Beecher was right about the 23^rd Psalm, ‘it has filled the air of the whole world with melodious joy, greater than the heart can conceive’.  Who among us has not heard this Psalm and felt a sense of comfort, or joy, or perhaps even a homecoming of sorts.  It has been read at funerals, in nursing homes to dementia patients who, when hearing it, are able to repeat it word for word.  It has even been prayed in foxholes during World War II as one Vet told me, in the night of his terror when shells rained down around him.  It ‘sings shyly out of obscurity’ and we are the recipients of its beautiful song.

But it is not a Psalm of yesteryear.  It is not some ancient nostalgic poem that has just happened to survive the ages.  It’s based on the reality of our lives which makes its message timeless.  It addresses our need for peace and restoration, our need for guidance and God’s presence during those times of gloom and solitary confinement.  In it we recognize God’s abundance in our lives and are filled with gratitude that we will be the Lord’s for ever. 

It also addresses the strength of the shepherd and what a shepherd can do for a flock.  Shepherds are leaders who care deeply about how their flock is taken care of and lead.  The 23^rd Psalm is a model for leadership if we look at the tasks that the shepherd is asked to perform because what the shepherd provides is what leaders provide.  This is how we will approach this beloved Psalm this morning.

Modern Day Shepherds.  They are all over the world still, in Nepal and Peru and when you visit the Holy Land you will see that there are still shepherd there today.  They are not like you probably envision with a sweeping robe, or a tunic belted with rope.  They are likely to be on the side of the Judean hillside and be a member of a Bedouin clan, dressed in jeans, a leather jacket with a staff in one hand and cell phone in the other.  None the less, their job is taken seriously because their livelihood is dependent upon their flock.

And if you think that shepherding is a cushy job, one that’s unhurried or unrestrained by the influences of modern society, then please think again.  It is not.  I had many experiences the year that I lived in Israel and shepherding was one of them.  I learned that it takes insight, patience, and a willingness to know your flock – not just one sheep or goat, but all of them because so easily harm can come to them. 

Neot Kedumim (translated from Hebrew, ancient pastures) is a Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel near the town Modi’in.  It is situated on 635 acres of hills and valley with hundreds of Biblical and Talmudic plants, wild and domesticated animals, ancient wine presses, threshing floors and cisterns.  You can meander through the fields and hills admiring the natural plants and trees, or you can take part in programs which is what I did. 

When I saw a poster that advertised for a leadership seminar that included herding sheep, I thought, I’m down with that, I’m in!  And so a few weeks later twenty of us travelled to Neot Kedumim for the experience. 

The task of our shepherding experience was to get the herd of sheep from point A to point B over some rocky terrain and to keep the sheep, for ten seconds, from entering a large circle that was mapped out with rocks on the ground.  Then from there we had to shepherd them from point B to point C and herd them into another large circle and keep them in there for ten seconds.  More difficult than you think. 

Here is what I learned about leading a flock.  Your best position, most of the time is within the flock.  When you stand at the head of the flock you block their vision and you might even lose a few along the way because you can’t watch over them.  Who knows what kind of peril a sheep might fall into when you are not watching?

Sometimes though, you have to stand behind the herd to get them moving, but then you should gently move towards the center of the flock.  Smelly? Sure it’s smelly but then again how else will you know their animal nature if you are not among them?  And for heavens sake, keep moving!  If you don’t the flock will begin to happily graze or go off in different directions. 

Figure out who the lead sheep is, there is one in every flock, the one that the other sheep look up to.  Befriend that sheep, it will do you well.  Conversely, gently guide the stubborn one, there is always one of those in the flock too.

Communication is key.  You could hear us saying “yallah, yallah” which in Arabic means, let’s go, come on, let’s try to figure this out together.  Yallah!

Singing helps!  No joking!  There was a reason why King David, when he was just a shepherd boy, took his harp into the hills with him on those long days and nights with the flock.  It was not just for his own entertainment.

Prodding never works.  It just doesn’t.

Above all a shepherd needs to keep the vision or the goal for the flock in mind.  Sometimes the sheep just forget where they are headed and they need someone who cares for them to gently remind them in the journey ahead. 

This is what a shepherd does to tend to his sheep.  This is what we claim when we say, the Lord is my shepherd.  We ask God to keep us in line, on the right path, to keep us from harm and to feed us and to get us from point A to point B and beyond.  We ask God to gently guide our living, to “Be Thou My Vision”[ii] as the old beautiful hymn begins.

Modern day shepherds.  How are we as individuals and as a church called to be leaders, to be shepherds with our cell phones in hand?  How are we to ‘tend Jesus’ sheep, to feed his sheep’ (John 21: 15-17) as he asked Simon Peter to do and ultimately what he asks us to do?  This is what we are called to do.  He, of course, is our ultimate shepherd but we are to also take leadership in tending the flock until he comes again.

How can we help others repose near quiet streams and to negotiate the troubled times of their lives?  How can we help them to where they need to go? 

Later this morning you will vote to call a search committee.  These are leaders who have stepped up to the task of leading you, this congregation, towards your future.  They will guide you in however long it will take to call a new minister.  This is a task that will take their time, their energy, their love for this congregation and most importantly their love for God to discern who best will come to minister among you.  They will have the stamina to do what it takes for as long as it takes because they will have our prayers to lift them up.  

Finding the right pastor to lead you into the future, who will love you and nurture you, is crucial to the vitality of this congregation.  It will be this person who will shepherd you until Christ comes again.

Christ is our shepherd, we need nothing else.  In him our needs are met, our direction is clear and straight.  We have great abundance in him and our lives are blessed each day and every day because his love is endless. 

Amen.

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[i] Henry Ward Beecher, ‘Life Thoughts’, cited in ‘The Treasury of David’, 1:357.

[ii] Slane 10.10.9.10, Ancient Irish, Tr. By Mary E. Byrne.

All That Glitters

Exodus 32: 1-14

Golden Calf by Imago Amin

You’ve probably heard the saying in some form or another, “all that glitters is not gold”.  I remember taking a trip out west with my parents as a little girl and we went panning for gold in the California hills.  Of course it was all rigged and we really weren’t panning for gold we were panning for pyrite, fool’s gold.  I was pretty disappointed when I found out I wasn’t ‘rich’.  But it sure was glittery and pretty.  I wanted so much to be rich but was fooled by the shiny brite.  All that glitters is not gold.

Today’s scripture is about something that glittered and was made out of gold but was not worth its ‘weight’ in gold in God’s eyes.  Today’s scripture is also about patience or the lack there of on the part of the Israelites who by now had been without Moses for forty days and nights as he was consulting with Yahweh, God on the mountaintop out of view and receiving the Lord’s law.  Hear now from the 32^nd Chapter of Exodus the story of the golden calf…..

After the people saw that Moses had been on the mountain for a long time, they went to Aaron and said, "Make us an image of a god who will lead and protect us. Moses brought us out of Egypt, but nobody knows what has happened to him."

 Aaron told them, "Bring me the gold earrings that your wives and sons and daughters are wearing." Everybody took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, then he melted them and made an idol in the shape of a young bull.

   

All the people said to one another, "This is the god who brought us out of Egypt!"   

When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the idol and said, "Tomorrow we will celebrate in honor of the LORD." The people got up early the next morning and killed some animals to be used for sacrifices and others to be eaten. Then everyone ate and drank so much that they began to carry on like wild people.

The Adoration of the Golden Calf by Marc Chagall

You see at this point, chaos reigns supreme.  Their leader Moses took way too much time talking with the Lord and the people just plain old got tired of waiting.  They thought they had no God to worship, no leader to follow.  Aaron should have known better but he didn’t, in Moses’ absence he took the reigns and tried to placate the people.  But God caught notice of the anarchism, we continue…..

The LORD said to Moses:

Hurry back down! Those people you led out of Egypt are acting like fools. They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt. Moses, I have seen how stubborn these people are, and I'm angry enough to destroy them, so don't try to stop me. But I will make your descendants into a great nation.

   

Moses tried to get the LORD God to change his mind:

Our LORD, you used your mighty power to bring these people out of Egypt. Now don't become angry and destroy them. If you do, the Egyptians will say that you brought your people out here into the mountains just to get rid of them. Please don't be angry with your people. Don't destroy them!

Remember the solemn promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You promised that someday they would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and that you would give them land.

   

So even though the LORD had threatened to destroy the people, he changed his mind and let them live. Amen!

Moses had some power of persuasion with God and it worked.  It was not the first time that the Israelites showed their impatience or mistrust of Moses’ decisions.  Remember when they were quickly pulling out of Egypt and the army was in hot pursuit of them? They wished they were back in Egypt because they couldn’t get across the Red Sea quick enough.

And then, in the wilderness, their incessant complaining?  They were impatient because they couldn’t get the good cucumbers that they were used to in Egypt, all they received was manna.  And then they thought they would dehydrate but eventually got some water from a rock.  They just couldn’t get their needs met fast enough.

Now, they grew tired of waiting on Moses and his promises once again.  For too long he has been on Mount Sinai.  Long enough for the sun to set forty days and the moon to rise forty nights.  Their impatience grew to abnormal proportions until full anarchy ensued.  The virtue of patience goes right out of the tent flap windows.

 Moses Indignant at the Golden Calf by William Blake

We, as a culture, are not to far off from the Israelites, are we now?  We can relate.  Have you ever gotten impatient waiting for your Internet service to boot up?  That is me all over!  Or there’s a line at the Jiffy Lube instant oil change which makes your getting oil a two hour ordeal.  Or you send an important email but don’t get a response until a day later.  In this day of instant oatmeal and instant coffee this little spiritual nugget called patience has taken its leave. 

When God doesn’t seem to answer our prayers quick enough, when God seems up absent up in clouds on top of some mountain far removed from our reality we become disenchanted with the one who is supposed to answer all prayers.  So we lose our patience.  And we build our golden calves. 

The calves of technological conveniences, of overeating and drinking, of bigger and better, of cheap thrills - our idols take curious shapes and sizes and all of us are tempted by them.  They give us satisfaction and gratification, maybe even a false sense of security but they don’t give us what only God can give us and that is grace, joy and peace.  It’s just sometimes we have to wait.  And that’s ok.

There is a reason for this time of waiting.  As Rick Morley, an Episcopal priest says, ‘waiting raises faith to a profound trust that God is working and moving when things seem to be going no where[ii]’. 

Trust is what we need in the deepest, darkest valley – and light will come – be patient.

Trust is what you need when loneliness overcomes you – you are never alone – be patient.

Trust is what you need when you world has come to a screeching halt – the wheels will start turning again – be patient.

God is not silent, or absent, you are not in the dark, or alone, or at a stand still in your life.  God is working on it.  Trust in God’s extraordinary composition for your life.

Idols cannot get things moving again, only God can do that, and will do that.

All that glitters is definitely not gold, but all that is needed is accomplished in the one who created the gold.

Amen.

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[ii] www.rickmorely.com

Bread!

Luke 24: 13-20, 28-35
World Communion Sunday

I am the daughter of a baker.  My dad owned several bakeries in St. Louis, Missouri named Warner Noll Bakery.  Now there are many upsides and some downsides to being a baker’s daughter.  One of the downsides is that I never learned how to bake because I never had to.  Daddy always brought home all the baked goods that you can possibly imagine. 

Cream puffs, Danish, Lemon Coconut Cake, Gooey Butter cakes which tasted as good as they sound.  So I can appreciate good baking when I smell it or eat it.  One of the other downsides to always having goodies in the house was that there were always baked goods in our home!  Hence the life-time membership at Weight Watchers.

The upsides of being the daughter of a baker far outweigh (no pun intended) the downside however.  It was great fun to go to the baking plant and goof around in the back with the bakers.  It seemed that the rotary ovens always had something baking in them no matter what time of day or night.  And it was great fun to watch the huge, gigantic mixers that stood on the floor because they were so big.  The paddles of the mixer whirled and whirled round and round mixing the batter into a smooth and creamy concoction that would, wallah, turn into some sweet thing.

I realize now how really lucky and blessed I was because each Monday night Dad brought home a dozen brownies for us to eat, and throughout the week he came home with other coffee cakes and goodies.  Friday night was the BEST though because he would bring home chocolate covered doughnuts just for me so that I could get up on Saturday morning and have chocolate doughnuts while I watched Mighty Mouse cartoons.

The one other good thing…almost every single day Daddy brought home a fresh loaf of bread.  EVERY DAY!  I’m not sure that we ate the entire loaf each day but every night at supper there was a plate with a stack of bakery white bread on it and a plate of butter on the side.  Dad used to claim, “Bread is the staff of life!”

Bread IS the staff of life.  That is, bread is a fundamental staple in people’s diets.  It, in some way, guides us and comforts us, brings us back home again when we’ve been far out on a journey.  There’s nothing like a fresh and hot loaf of bread set out on your table to begin your meal.  Whether it’s slathered in butter or warmed herb infused olive oil, it’s comfort food that fills up your tummy and your soul. 

Each culture and tradition has its own special type of bread that they lovingly prepare.  Mahamri or Swahili Buns from Kenya, Naan and Chapatti from India, Banana and Pineapple Nut bread from the Caribbean, Pita from the Middle East, Tortilla’s from Chile and South America. 

No matter where you are on this earth sitting down at the table with friends or family, with a fresh hot loaf of your favorite bread is a delight, a symphony to your taste buds, a common link to one another in tradition.  Because who doesn’t like bread? 

Today’s passage is all about bread and some friends who sat down at the table to eat.  That night bread, for them, was to never be the same.  From the Gospel of Luke, the 24^th chapter,

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

This post resurrection story is a defining moment for these followers of Jesus.  A couple of Jesus’ friends, maybe disciples but just didn’t get named as one of the twelve, Cleopas and another were heading to Emmaus, just about a seven mile walk from Jerusalem out west.  It was late in the day and the sun was setting.  As they walked someone appeared.  Now, the Bible lets us in on the secret that it was Jesus, but the disciples didn’t know.  They just thought that this stranger was someone who hadn’t heard about all the recent activities and turmoil in Jerusalem, that is the arrest and execution of Jesus.

Because it was getting near evening the disciples were going to stop for the night and they asked Jesus to join them, his plan was actually to keep heading out.  But instead he stopped with them.  And they sat down at the table for a little supper.

On the table was a loaf of bread.  Jesus picked up the entire loaf and then he blessed it.  And when he broke the loaf of bread to distribute to his friends it was at that very moment that Cleopas and the other man recognized who this man was…it was Jesus.  And then just as suddenly as Jesus appeared to them on the road he vanished from their sight.  All they had left was the broken loaf of bread that Jesus had touched as a remembrance.  But really, they had much more.  They had knowledge and understanding and the promise of Jesus. 

They knew from the moment that they started talking with this stranger that their hearts were burning inside and when Jesus tore the bread into two pieces, and they heard Jesus’ blessing they knew that they were in the presence of the risen Jesus.  They recognized him.  Their old friend was back with them, all was ok.

Today is World Communion Sunday.  That’s why there is so many different things happening in our Sanctuary today; global music, different communion ware, our beautiful children baking the communion bread all show us how connected we are to people, other Christians around the world through the sacrament of communion or the Lord’s Supper.  Even our communion liturgy is different and Bethany will lead us.  Communion is a meal of sacrifice and love, forgiveness and hope for ALL people.

By sharing in the common wheat of the earth and grapes from the vine we share our common humanity with all Christians no matter what size the loaf is or what it tastes like or looks like.  We partake in the bread of heaven together as a sign of our unity and belief that Jesus died, rose, and will come again, simply put. 

But it is more than just that.  When we share in this bread we are recognizing the Christ in each other, the suffering that each of us have endured at some point in our lives and the hope of resurrection for each one of us not only in death but daily in the sun that rises.  Each new day brings expectation and hope. 

When we share in this bread we are saying to one another that I too have hungered in my life for love, for satisfaction, for acceptance, for abundant living.  I, too, want only the best in life which exceeds far beyond material goods.  These are the basic needs that men and women in Botswana and Bridgeport, Algeria and Alabama, Saudi Arabia and South Dakota yearn for…and you might wonder what we have in common with these people.  It’s much more than you think.

When we take this bread we see the other and we strive to love the other because that is what Christ calls us to do.  Each moment, each new day births expectation for a fresh start at becoming who we are and for fulfilling our greatest potential.

The refrain from our final hymn manages to lift me up and reminds me in a very joyful way of what this ‘Christianity thing’ is all about.  “Jesus lives again, earth can breathe again, pass the word around, loaves abound!”

Amen.

Water When You Need It

Exodus 17: 1-7

Moses Stikes Rock by Marc Chagall

“Strike the rock, and water will come out if it, so that the people may drink.”

We are sojourning in the Book of Exodus from the Hebrew Bible for a few weeks.  Exodus is about two very formative stories of the people of Israel.  In the first story in Exodus we hear about Moses parting the Red Sea and bringing the people of Israel out of the slavery and oppression of Egypt’s Pharaoh.  The second story in the Book of Exodus is about their desert wanderings and the happenings on and around Mount Sinai where God gives to them the means for becoming a monotheistic, ethical society through the Ten Commandments. 

But we are not there yet.  We followed them out of Egypt into the blistering sun of the Sinai hungry for food.  We heard their bitter complaints to Moses about being hungry and God gave them manna in spite of their complaining.  It is no wonder now, that, after all that manna they are thirsty.  Hear now our scripture from the 17^th chapter of Exodus. 

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’

So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’

Perhaps that’s a question we all have uttered at least once in our lifetime.  “Is the Lord among us or not?”  Or it might sound like, ‘where are you God when I need you the most?’, or ‘God has abandoned me, left me here to fend for myself’, maybe it might even sound like, ‘God are you listening?...are you with me?’  We always want to know that God is among us guiding us and leading us but, you know, there are times when it feels as if God is silent and the more words that we manage to hurl at God the louder the silence becomes.  We too wonder, ‘is the Lord among us or not’.  It’s an age old question that especially lurks in the arid moments of our lives.

Wandering in the wilderness of Sin now made the people of Israel thirsty especially after all of that manna.  They’re not long on memory here; they have already forgotten that God provided food for their hunger.  Now the thirst.  Makes sense.  Roving in the desert would make anyone thirsty especially if you have no bottled water, no canteens, no convenient open all night, 7/11 oasis on the horizon.  So the kevetching begins again.  They complain bitterly to Moses; they thought it better to have stayed in Egypt as slaves although really, they didn’t like that either.

Moses was clearly exasperated.  I’m sure God was too at this point.  The people sound like broken records.  Moses gets a little testy, ‘why do you quarrel with me and why do you test the Lord?’  He entreats the Lord for help, ‘what shall I do with these complainers, they are ready to stone me?’  His complaining, of course is just as loud as the people.  He struggles too with the lack of sustenance and God’s silence and perhaps even his trust that God knows what the plan is.

But the Lord had compassion, or pity or both and tells Moses to pick up his staff, the same staff that parted the waters, Moses was not too long on memory either. Pick up your staff and take a few of the elders and go over to this rock of Horeb.  I’ll be in front of you. I think we forget that amid the all of the complaining God is reassuring and says that the divine presence is right before them. 

And God delivers through a rock of all things, water to quench their thirst and to soothe their weary souls.  This has got to be the most unlikely place where you think they would find drink. 

A rock!  God delivers, God is to be trusted in the most difficult of circumstances.  And, to top it off, God delivers through a very unlikely source.  This is the miracle of God’s love that help and healing will come, that God has not abandoned us and that God has a playful and creative nature and will use the materials and peole at hand to provide for us. We see a lot of important things happened to the people of Israel in the desert and there are many good lessons for us.

When we utter the question, ‘where are you God’ we probably shouldn’t throw our hands up and walk away in disbelief.  Because God always does deliver.  It just may not be in a way that we recognize so quickly so be ready!  A parched life, void of sustinance, has a way that can narrow our vision towards blindness.  It just does.  You begin to see the glass as half empty rather that half full. 

When parched, creative possibility takes a nose dive far away from the quotidian patterns of life which renders us thirsting for answer, thirsting to be quenched, thirsting for God’s fulfillment, thirsting for water even if it comes from a rock.  But we can’t let that happen!

Water from a rock!  Imagine all of the possibilities that could exist for healing in your life if you could envision or accept the possibility that God could provide for you in the least likely places just like God did for the Israelites.  All you have to do is to be open, live with your arms outstretched rather than crossed in front of you.  Live with a colorful palette before you rather than solely a charcoal pencil.

It was Walter Brueggeman, theologian and scholar who said in his book “Finally Comes the Poet”, “Live always at the edge of creative possibility even in the face of serious prose”.  Life  always has enough serious prose, there is plenty of that to go around.  Our challenge here, that we learn from this passage, is that life can also be lived envisioning an alternative way, a creative way, a water from a rock when you need it, sort of way.  This, is of course, who Christ is too.  In the face of our personal oppression living water springs out of a manger to save and to heal and to soothe our souls.   

Moses Striking the Rock by He Qi

Life in the Spirit is to be open to the myriad of ways in which God can satisfy our hunger and satiate our thirst.  If God can bring water from a rock, then surely God can do anything. 

Amen.

Rev. Suzanne Wagner

Raining Bread

Exodus 16:2-15

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day.”  v. 4

I did not spend much time in last week’s sermon with the story of Moses leading the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt because I knew that this week it would serve as the context for our scripture.  We are spending just a couple of Sunday’s in the Hebrew Bible, particularly the book of Exodus which is rich with images of people and the patriarchs and how the Israelites struggled to become a cohesive tribal nation after the ravages of slavery and bondage under the rule of Pharaoh.  The scripture today shows us the ‘inbetween’ time of the Israelites from slavery to freedom.  The interim time was not easy as we will see, but they made it through with God’s help.

Finally, ‘let my people go’ becomes a reality.  Moses high tales it out of Egypt with the people of Israel but not without drama and hot pursuit.  Pharaoh, once realizing that he let all of his slaves go, reneges on his promise, he changes his mind.  This means only bad things for the Israelites.  Pharaoh mounts his chariot and all of the other army officers mount their chariots and take off after the Israelites. 

God protected them though.  God was with them in a pillar of cloud by day and by night.  But they still doubted, they still were afraid and they yelled at Moses while Pharaoh and his warriors were rapidly approaching.  “Moses, have you taken us out of Egypt to die?  What are you thinking?  Let us alone, we want the good old days back to serve the Egyptians, we were so much better off then than now”. 

Moses by Marc Chagall

Moses was firm though and he stretched out his hand above the Red Sea and the water parted and dry land appeared.  No more time to complain.  Across they went still followed by the Egyptians. But the wheels of the chariots got stuck and they sank in the mud.  You might say this was a divine plot for their salvation.  And when the Israelites were on safe land Moses stretched out his hand again and the waters returned gushing over the trapped Egyptians.  Not one remained alive.

God the merciful heard the Israelites cries of injustice and liberated them for a new life.  And yes, God dealt with evil, oppressive powers, as scholar Miroslav Volf says, ‘not because God gives people what they deserve, but because some people refuse to receive what no one deserves’[i], that is saving grace.  Perhaps we do not want to hear about our God in that way but something needed to be done to liberate the Israelites from their suffering and injustice.  God delivers them for a particular purpose, just what that purpose was though they didn’t know.       

For 430 years they had been enslaved by Pharaoh.  That’s one heck of a long time, approximately 14 or 15 generations worth of slaves.  They probably had gotten used to Egyptian ways, Egyptian food, Egyptian fashion, Egyptian idol worship to life as slaves. It is no wonder that once liberated, and in the wilderness left to their own devices, that they panic. 

It reminds me of the movie Shawshank Redemption, in my opinion one of the better movies ever filmed.  The character Brooks.  He’s finally released after a lifetime in Shawshank Prison.  You think it would have been a joyous time for him but he was old and had gotten so used to life behind bars that he could not function in the outside world.  He had changed, life and times had changed.  It was a major disorientation in his life and sadly, he did not make it in the outside world.  People get used to their surroundings and situations. 

Brooks - Shawshank Redemption

But the Israelites had a real chance here.  Even though they didn’t go from slavery and oppression to the land of milk and honey they had someone who would lead them during the in between time.  Wouldn’t that have been just grand to go from slavery to freedom?  No they spent a fare amount of time in the wilderness – 40 years or so in reality.  Tensions mount as they look back longingly and toward the future anxiously.  But they just weren’t there yet.

They were stuck in the wilderness of Sin, the hot, desolate, sandy, and repressively sunny Sinai.  It’s a place where ‘not a cloud in the sky’ does not mean some idyllic day but means the rays of heat from the sun pelt down upon you like razor blades slicing your already crusted skin. To this day it’s relentless.  Everywhere you turn the horizon looks the same.   

 Mt Sinai

They begin to kevetch.  Kevetch, kevetch, kevetch.  Complain, complain, complain, in Yiddish.  Moses, we are hungry.  Moses, we are thirsty.  Moses, we are hot and our skin is burning.  Moses, where are you taking us?  They were in a ‘zone of bereftness’ as Walter Bruggeman puts it.  They were in between knowing and unknowing, between one certainty and the next certainty. 

When you are in that zone of bereftness or the wilderness you feel anxious, deprived, with a sense of scarcity rather than abundance.  They were feeling a real sense of loss and familiarity.  For them while the old way was pretty bad, but at least they knew what to expect.  These times test your faith in God’s benevolence and omniscience.  It can rock your understanding of normality. 

Wouldn’t it have been nice if they had gone from generations of slavery, oppression and refugee status to the land of milk and honey across the Jordan?  That they didn’t have to take a very long detour around in the Sinai for 40 years.  We often want to skip right over the unpleasant nights of uncertainty or those parts of the terrain that are not flat and smooth. But where would there be an opportunity for learning?  For introspection?  For reevaluating, for getting in touch with their own customs and values again or for figuring out who they were and who their God was that they could trust?

I bet that some of you have had those wilderness experiences where you wonder what in the world the purpose is for your wandering.  Maybe you are just waiting for your next direction to appear and although you would not call it the wilderness it is a place of ambiguity and questioning. 

I too, had been there wrestling with God about why and why not, about when or how long.  I ended my last interim position in February.  February to August is a very long time without direction as to what’s exactly next.  Opportunities came but not all opportunities are the right opportunities.  While this time did not corrode my faith it did take it to a different level.  I had to go to a deeper level in my trust of God that things will work out, that there will be a place for me in ministry, that this time was an occasion for me to connect again with friends and the things I like to do.  It was a time to come to God on my knees, stop complaining and accept the manna that God rained down and the way in which it was provided to me.  And it sustained me.

There was a purpose for the Israelites wilderness experience that only God could see and envision.  Whatever the reason was, their exodus was not complete until all things were made ready for them.  And during that time God rained down life sustaining manna.  Perhaps Jesus had this story of the exodus of his people in mind from his Jewish tradition when he multiplied the loaves and the fishes for the hungry people that day on the side of the mountain, or when he taught his disciples to pray, ‘give us this day our daily bread’.  Daily manna is all you need and it will be deliciously abundant and grace filled.

You are a people of God and you too will be given manna during this interim time, it will rain bread until it fills your quest for the love of Christ and for the next chapter in your story.  It will be the manna of hope, of life, the manna of discernment, of living that will sustain you.  It will be the manna of ministry and love.  And one day you will not question this interim time.  You will not ask how will God provide for us you, will be able to say with absolute resolve, ‘we can witness how God provided for us and God can do it for you too’.  This is what faith and witness and our lives together  is all about.

Amen. 

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[i] Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace, 297-98.