Continuing in Matthew 13, at the thirty-first verse, Jesus is like the sower in the last post. He is casting a lot of teaching. His Message, as expected, is heard by all, heeded by some, lived out by few. That was elsewhere Jesus' prediction as to people's reception of the message of the Kingdom.
Today he continues the mashal, or parable, method, giving us six parables teaching various things about the called-for Reign of God.
In the first two parables of the pericope, Jesus speaks of the mustard seed, a tiny seed which yields a tremendous plant at maturity, and he speaks of yeast, a small amount of which yields a great loaf. By these two parables, he teaches that small efforts can have huge, unexpected, unimaginable yields. Where the divine project is undertaken in seriousness, the possibilities are endless!
In the next two parables, Jesus speaks of an incredible treasure which, when discovered in a field, leads the finder to sell everything he has to buy the field. He then speaks of a merchant who finds one incomparable pearl and sells his existing inventory to acquire it. By these teachings, Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom is worth everything we have or will ever have. But it cannot be bought with any amount of money or goods; it can be purchased only with our lives. The price is high, it is worth it, but few will pay it. It means placing God's work ahead of every other value in life -- wealth, power, politics, prestige, success, and yes, even life itself. Any lesser surrender and we have not entered the Kingdom. Nevertheless, among our contemporary Christianities, there are more than a few opportunities to acquire bargain-basement religion in which one can pursue those false gods and still claim to be all for Jesus. But that kind of commitment cannot satisfy. Actually putting God's agenda in first place is a struggle, but brings us delight even in the midst of poverty and deprivation, serenity in the middle of strife and discord. It give us what Saint Paul calls "the peace which passes all understanding." And that is priceless.
In the fifth parable, which is thematically similar to the wheat-and-darnel story, the Master analogizes our faith life to a dragnet which catches every sort of sea creature, and then at the end of the age, angels cull out the unworthy ones and discard them. By this tale, Jesus sends us a clear message that how we live our lives matters, that there will be an accounting at the end, but in the meantime the faith community must be open to all sorts, and it is not our place to judge others. It would seem that my judicial licence and yours expired on the cross. We must be open and affirming, loving and forgiving, inclusive as our Saviour was.
The final parable is the story of a householder who shows that he is a Kingdom person by not only employing what is old but also what is new. This analogizes well our understanding that, even as faith is rooted in our ancient Tradition, it is also refreshed by our openness to new truth and new insights, as human knowledge increases now at an explosive rate. There is nothing in science or factual evidence that should ever be a threat to the faith. We continue to be faithful to the essence of what we have received from God's Word (Jesus), what we have from the Church's patrimony of two millenia -- including Scripture, the insights of the seven true Ecumenical Councils and the Fathers and Mothers. We are also open to the promptings of the Spirit as revealed in reason and lived experience of the Faithful. Our storehouse truly honours the old and the new, in the tension of holy discernment.
Monday, July 31, 2017
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Pentecost VI: Sowing
In 1919 the United States passed the Volstead Act, outlawing all liquor nationwide, and Prohibition began in January, 1920. Thereafter, the Crown Prince (future King Edward VIII) paid a royal visit to Canada, whose head of state is the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Whilst in Canada, the Prince chose to visit a pub near the southern border and there was taught a little ditty by the local patrons. Back in England, he sang it for his father the King who was delighted. The song is to the tune of the nursery rime Four and Twenty Blackbirds and went: "Four and twenty Yankees, feeling very dry, went across the border to get a drink of rye, and when the rye was opened, the Yanks began to sing, 'God bless America, but God save the King'."
You never know how something may be received, There were strong emotions on both sides of the Prohibition movement but in practice the prohibition was a disaster which resulted in thousands of illegal taverns (speakeasys), strengthened organized crime in our country, and wasted our resources. It was summarily repealed in 1933. Jesus, in his day, generated a variety of reactions. This radical rebellious rabbi was a great teacher, used the standard rabbinic techniques (gross exaggeration, pun, answering question with another question) and relied on mashal or parables. In John's late and a- historical gospel Jesus eschews parables but they are his stock-in-trade in the earlier, more factual gospel accounts.
Today he tells the parable of the sower who sows seed on various kinds of ground and which, of course, takes root in good soil. Uncharacteristically, Jesus "unpacks" this one for the disciples who are portrayed as rather dense in the earlier gospels, but get smarter with each succeeding gospel. For us it is obvious that the ultimate point is that Jesus' message, falling into receptive hearts, takes root.
He closes by saying "the one who has ears had better listen" (my translation). He is talking about hearing with compassion, hearing that leads to heeding and then to action. And Jesus says that thirty-, sixty-, and hundred-fold harvests are possible. Well, folks, there are no fertilizers or farming techniques that can do that! He is talking supernatural results for a church on fire for justice and the building of God's kingdom. Expect no less.
You never know how something may be received, There were strong emotions on both sides of the Prohibition movement but in practice the prohibition was a disaster which resulted in thousands of illegal taverns (speakeasys), strengthened organized crime in our country, and wasted our resources. It was summarily repealed in 1933. Jesus, in his day, generated a variety of reactions. This radical rebellious rabbi was a great teacher, used the standard rabbinic techniques (gross exaggeration, pun, answering question with another question) and relied on mashal or parables. In John's late and a- historical gospel Jesus eschews parables but they are his stock-in-trade in the earlier, more factual gospel accounts.
Today he tells the parable of the sower who sows seed on various kinds of ground and which, of course, takes root in good soil. Uncharacteristically, Jesus "unpacks" this one for the disciples who are portrayed as rather dense in the earlier gospels, but get smarter with each succeeding gospel. For us it is obvious that the ultimate point is that Jesus' message, falling into receptive hearts, takes root.
He closes by saying "the one who has ears had better listen" (my translation). He is talking about hearing with compassion, hearing that leads to heeding and then to action. And Jesus says that thirty-, sixty-, and hundred-fold harvests are possible. Well, folks, there are no fertilizers or farming techniques that can do that! He is talking supernatural results for a church on fire for justice and the building of God's kingdom. Expect no less.
Monday, July 10, 2017
Pentecost V: Legacy
The story is told of a retired gentleman hired as a Walmart greeter. He went the extra mile to meet and get to know customers and was very popular. His manager was extremely pleased, except for the gentleman's tardiness. Finally he called in him, complimented his work but said, "Martin, I understand that you were in the military. I must ask, what did they say if you reported in minutes late? "Usually," the employee replied, "they said, Good morning, Admiral. Can I get your coffee?"
In today's reading [Mt. 11:16 et seq.], Jesus is drawing fire from the Establishment. When John the Baptiser ministers under the Nazirite Vow, avoiding alcoholic beverages and fasting a lot, the powers that be called him a nut. When Jesus comes, drinking alcohol and partying with outcasts and sinners, he is accused of being a drunkard with bad associates. He can't catch a break!
His comeback, though, is perfect. Look at the results, he says, the same thing he told the Baptiser when he inquired about the nature of Jesus' ministry: Look around, lives are being changed! And they were the lives, not of the rich and famous, but of ordinary people like you and me. Jesus tells religious establishment types that hookers and tax agents are coming into God's Kingdom first!
An overview of the bible will confirm that God specializes in nobodies. Think of Moses and of David, ordinary people who are reborn to extraordinary work.
Jesus gives us a kind of formula of what they looks like. Come to me, he says, which means you must give up control, stop being the centre of your universe, and have me as your Saviour, not as your mascot. Take my yoke, commit to do Christ's work, build a new world in which God's will is done on earth as in heaven. I am reminded of a speaker who said when we Americans stand before the Throne of Judgement, we will not be asked, "How low were your taxes?" but "What did you do for the least?" Who's yoke are you bearing?
Learn, don't go around accepting what you have been told, investigate, be open, especially to new truths and insights from God. You will find spiritual rest, leave behind our culture's passion for self- absorption, where nothing is ever good enough. Lose your anxiety and live in trust of a God who accepts you just as he made you.
To follow Jesus' Agenda means leaving a legacy, as an individual, a church community, and in our society. Alfred Nobel was mistakenly reported as dead by a Paris newspaper when Alfred's brother passed on. The paper called Alfred, who had invented dynamite to enhance infrastructure work for a better world, a "merchant of death," because his invention had revolutionized warfare and made the killing of people possible on a scale never known before. Alfred was so taken aback, sorrowful for the misuse of his invention, that he created the Nobel Prize which has done so much good for many different disciplines, contributing to a better world. He wanted a better legacy.
What legacy will you leave behind, if any?
In today's reading [Mt. 11:16 et seq.], Jesus is drawing fire from the Establishment. When John the Baptiser ministers under the Nazirite Vow, avoiding alcoholic beverages and fasting a lot, the powers that be called him a nut. When Jesus comes, drinking alcohol and partying with outcasts and sinners, he is accused of being a drunkard with bad associates. He can't catch a break!
His comeback, though, is perfect. Look at the results, he says, the same thing he told the Baptiser when he inquired about the nature of Jesus' ministry: Look around, lives are being changed! And they were the lives, not of the rich and famous, but of ordinary people like you and me. Jesus tells religious establishment types that hookers and tax agents are coming into God's Kingdom first!
An overview of the bible will confirm that God specializes in nobodies. Think of Moses and of David, ordinary people who are reborn to extraordinary work.
Jesus gives us a kind of formula of what they looks like. Come to me, he says, which means you must give up control, stop being the centre of your universe, and have me as your Saviour, not as your mascot. Take my yoke, commit to do Christ's work, build a new world in which God's will is done on earth as in heaven. I am reminded of a speaker who said when we Americans stand before the Throne of Judgement, we will not be asked, "How low were your taxes?" but "What did you do for the least?" Who's yoke are you bearing?
Learn, don't go around accepting what you have been told, investigate, be open, especially to new truths and insights from God. You will find spiritual rest, leave behind our culture's passion for self- absorption, where nothing is ever good enough. Lose your anxiety and live in trust of a God who accepts you just as he made you.
To follow Jesus' Agenda means leaving a legacy, as an individual, a church community, and in our society. Alfred Nobel was mistakenly reported as dead by a Paris newspaper when Alfred's brother passed on. The paper called Alfred, who had invented dynamite to enhance infrastructure work for a better world, a "merchant of death," because his invention had revolutionized warfare and made the killing of people possible on a scale never known before. Alfred was so taken aback, sorrowful for the misuse of his invention, that he created the Nobel Prize which has done so much good for many different disciplines, contributing to a better world. He wanted a better legacy.
What legacy will you leave behind, if any?
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Pentecost IV: Mission
Jesus has been talking to his twelve apostles about mission. He calls them, ordains them, equips them, and sends them out. He also warns them of the dangers of the mission, as well as promising the reward of the just -- the satisfaction of doing right because it is the right thing to do, pleasing God whom we trust with our temporal and eternal destinies. How different from the rewards of our culture: the wealth, fame and power conferred by Empire and the economic engine driving it.
But what is mission? I believe Saint C. S. Lewis, one of the great Anglicans of the twentieth century, nailed it when he said our mission to make "little Christs," nothing more, nothing less.
A few days ago fell the traditional Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Now there is an "odd couple!" Peter taught that a convert must be circumcised, follow Torah (in its torqued-up version introduced by Jesus), and then accept Jesus as the newly-defined Messiah, in order properly to follow the life of a Christian. Paul, insisting on a private revelation, taught that gentiles were excused from the Law and its provisions, required only to trust in God through Jesus and thereby to be full Christians. That fundamental disagreement was painful and led to a whole lot of trouble. Peter insisted on "Temple government" which has continued in the church for almost two millenia, in the ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons; whereas, Paul's vision of "synagogue government," church rule by committees of old men, did not prevail. Yet, in 64 C.E. both Peter and Paul died in Rome, martyred for the Faith, for both had in common the conviction that God had entered human history in a unique way in Jesus Christ who brought a new radical way of living, loving, and serving others. For he challenged people to be about building the Kingdom of God on earth, so that God's will could be done here as it is in heaven. The task of spawning little Christs requires focus on basics.
A few days from now falls Independence Day, when we celebrate the benefits, prerogatives, and freedoms enjoyed by American citizens. Let us ask ourselves, as little Christs, whom are we to welcome? How does my attitude affect what I do in family, in church, in community, and in the wider world? Many churches this morning will conduct services that send the message that their worshippers are Americans who also just happen to be Christians. We must worship as Christians who also happen to be Americans! There can be no second-tier Christianity. It's like being pregnant: you are or you aren't, there is no middle state. In a culture that is focussed on suspicion, judgementalism, and division, on exclusion and kicking people out -- how will we foster the hospitality, welcome, and inclusion that Jesus practised?
In today's Tulsa World there is a photograph of our music minister, Rod Ruthrauff, along with my friend Rabbi Marc Fitzerman, and perhaps a dozen other protesters outside the Tulsa jail. I wish I could have been there with them on Thursday. I am so proud of Rod's witness as a true follower of Christ! These protesters were objecting to arbitrary deportations of people who are not criminal or detrimental to our American society in any way. I am sure some readers this morning wondered why a handful of people bothered to gather in protest, but I wonder, here in a city whose mascot is Jesus, why there weren't ten thousand Christians down there! In my mind there can be no morality, no merit in policies which target hardworking, taxpaying immigrants performing jobs no one else wants, who only need a green card, and deporting them for such as minor traffic violations, tearing their families apart, often sending people back to countries they don't even remember. What would Jesus say about that? How can such a policy be anything but immoral political pandering? We can do much better. The Gospel demands it.
But what is mission? I believe Saint C. S. Lewis, one of the great Anglicans of the twentieth century, nailed it when he said our mission to make "little Christs," nothing more, nothing less.
A few days ago fell the traditional Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Now there is an "odd couple!" Peter taught that a convert must be circumcised, follow Torah (in its torqued-up version introduced by Jesus), and then accept Jesus as the newly-defined Messiah, in order properly to follow the life of a Christian. Paul, insisting on a private revelation, taught that gentiles were excused from the Law and its provisions, required only to trust in God through Jesus and thereby to be full Christians. That fundamental disagreement was painful and led to a whole lot of trouble. Peter insisted on "Temple government" which has continued in the church for almost two millenia, in the ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons; whereas, Paul's vision of "synagogue government," church rule by committees of old men, did not prevail. Yet, in 64 C.E. both Peter and Paul died in Rome, martyred for the Faith, for both had in common the conviction that God had entered human history in a unique way in Jesus Christ who brought a new radical way of living, loving, and serving others. For he challenged people to be about building the Kingdom of God on earth, so that God's will could be done here as it is in heaven. The task of spawning little Christs requires focus on basics.
A few days from now falls Independence Day, when we celebrate the benefits, prerogatives, and freedoms enjoyed by American citizens. Let us ask ourselves, as little Christs, whom are we to welcome? How does my attitude affect what I do in family, in church, in community, and in the wider world? Many churches this morning will conduct services that send the message that their worshippers are Americans who also just happen to be Christians. We must worship as Christians who also happen to be Americans! There can be no second-tier Christianity. It's like being pregnant: you are or you aren't, there is no middle state. In a culture that is focussed on suspicion, judgementalism, and division, on exclusion and kicking people out -- how will we foster the hospitality, welcome, and inclusion that Jesus practised?
In today's Tulsa World there is a photograph of our music minister, Rod Ruthrauff, along with my friend Rabbi Marc Fitzerman, and perhaps a dozen other protesters outside the Tulsa jail. I wish I could have been there with them on Thursday. I am so proud of Rod's witness as a true follower of Christ! These protesters were objecting to arbitrary deportations of people who are not criminal or detrimental to our American society in any way. I am sure some readers this morning wondered why a handful of people bothered to gather in protest, but I wonder, here in a city whose mascot is Jesus, why there weren't ten thousand Christians down there! In my mind there can be no morality, no merit in policies which target hardworking, taxpaying immigrants performing jobs no one else wants, who only need a green card, and deporting them for such as minor traffic violations, tearing their families apart, often sending people back to countries they don't even remember. What would Jesus say about that? How can such a policy be anything but immoral political pandering? We can do much better. The Gospel demands it.
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