Pentecost 19

Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church
The Reverend Martha Frances
Year B, Pentecost 19, Proper 23
15 October 2006

Text: Mark 10: 17-27 [28-31]
Other Readings: Amos 5: 6-7, 10-15; Psalm 90: 1-8, 12; Hebrews 3: 1-6

"Jesus, looking at him, loved him." What an amazing statement! As is often the case in stories of Jesus, he is going about his business-here, setting out on a journey-when this man stops him & asks a hard question: "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And when Jesus gives him the first answer, he plays the "Yes, but. . . " game. You probably know how it goes: "Yes, I know all that, but I already follow all the commandments. I haven't even defrauded, & that wasn't even in the original 10. But I'm still not sure of my salvation. I wonder if I've done enough. What else, Master?"

I'd likely be angry or at least exasperated if this man stopped me on the way to an important meeting or on my day off as I set out on a holiday. I'd probably snap at him, "We'll talk about it when I get back. I'm too busy right now."

But Jesus, looking at him, loves him. Jesus is not only patient & tolerant. Jesus really sees this man & his sincerity, even beyond the interruption & his "Yes, but. . . ." Jesus loves him; wants a relationship with him. So Jesus tells him, not what he wants to hear, but what he needs to hear. Jesus tells him to get rid of those things holding him back from total commitment to God, & then he invites the man to follow him.

Listen to the verbs Jesus uses to answer the man, this man of many possessions. First, Jesus says, "go & sell." Jesus tells the young man his possessions stand in the way of his following Jesus. He's got too much baggage. The old saying goes, "You can't take it with you," & Jesus is telling the man he can't take a U-Haul if he's going to travel with Jesus. Jesus is preaching to me here: I have the 1st book I ever owned! When I moved 3 years ago, I got rid of many of my books, but somehow, I still have an amazing number to pack & move this time. How does that happen? Jesus might just tell me to sell my books; I wouldn't like that. I have some possessions I'm mighty fond of. What possessions do you have that you don't really want to let go of? Are they keeping you from really following Jesus?

Next, Jesus tells the man to give the money to the poor. Almsgiving is a basic discipline for the Jewish community, & providing for those with fewer resources is incumbent upon Christians also. Over the years I've discovered that those who are most concerned about whether the particular poor they give to are worthy are those whose giving is certainly not cheerful & often has strings attached. A gift is freely given, a difficult concept for some folk. When I was vicar at Lord of the Streets, tracing the giving pattern of our often homeless parishioners was a humbling experience. Some of them tithed on their day labor jobs or even on what they were able to panhandle. We couldn't have operated LOTS on what they contributed, but their spirit of giving is reminiscent of the widow's mite we'll hear in a couple of weeks; they give generously & regularly.

Today marks the beginning of our fall pledge campaign, & our stewardship committee has chosen the intentional connection between the spiritual disciplines we've been studying & our financial commitment to Hope. Throughout the year, we will look at what kind of stewards we are of our time & talent, of our resources & outreach. In order for our vestry to plan responsibly for next year's budget, however, we need to consider prayerfully what we are able to give faithfully to this commitment for 2007. We're asking all our parishioners to take a look at our resources & make a realistic estimate of what we can contribute for the ministries of Hope & then faithfully fulfill that commitment. In order for Hope to fulfill our obligations & provide adequately for the ongoing spiritual needs of those already here as well as those we hope are attracted to our parish family, we must all ponder what we are able to give & then stretch to give a bit more. However, since 33 of the 58 pledges for 2006 are currently behind, we're scrambling to pay this year's expenses, so a realistic estimate for next year is most helpful. Of course, if you are able to catch up on your pledge or contribute extra toward the end of the year, we urge you to do so. You may consider the church budget discretionary giving, but those paying the bills pray that you consider your pledge obligation seriously.

Many of us have only to look at those who lost everything last year in Katrina or Rita to be reminded just how blessed we are, even if our resources haven't stretched as much as we'd like in order to meet expenses this year. The holy habit we are highlighting today is tithing, the traditional biblical measure for commitment to God & the earthly communities dedicated to God's work in the world. Some of us already tithe & may even give more than 10% to the church; others have a way to go to grow into a tithe. That's exactly what we ask you to consider: what increase can you make each year until you can give a 10th of your resources? Jesus asked the young man to give all his possessions away; we're encouraging 10%! Please take this request to God in prayer & make your pledge accordingly.

Now look back at the grammar of the biblical story: the next verbs Jesus uses are really compelling ones. He invites: "Come; follow me." Now we've hit on what the story is certainly about! Jesus is inviting the man to discipleship. He's already told the man to get rid of what's holding him back-to be generous with his possessions-& now he asks the man to be his disciple. What an opportunity! To walk with Jesus; to take that journey with him. At first, I think I'd really jump at the chance. But Jesus tells the man-& tells us-that in order to walk with him, to be disciples, we must get rid of whatever holds us back. Each of us has begun that journey, else we wouldn't be here today. What might it take for us to further follow Jesus? We might make a commitment to worship with the community each Sunday except for emergencies. Perhaps we have grown in our spiritual lives enough to be ready to come to Bible study, join a group in the church community to whom we can be accountable as well as support the others in their ongoing journey. What does following Jesus really mean about our financial priorities-our giving to Hope & also reaching out to make regular contributions outside the parish? How does Jesus call you to "Come, follow me"?

What happened to the man who had approached Jesus? The Gospel tells us he was shocked & went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Do you think Jesus loved him any less because he wasn't able to let go of the possessions what tied him down? No, there isn't anything the man could do to earn Jesus' love. Jesus loved him regardless. That's God's grace. But Jesus must have been unhappy when the man wasn't able to let go of those things which separated him from Jesus.

As is often the case, Jesus begins talking to the crowds & then gives added instructions to his disciples. Jesus provides a striking image for those closest to him. He tells them a camel could go through the eye of a needle more easily than a rich man can enter God's kingdom. What a silly picture! But we get the idea, don't we? Does this mean the rich are cursed & there's no chance for them to be disciples? That's what the passage from Amos seems to say this morning. But no, Jesus doesn't mean that God's reign excludes anyone. Jesus doesn't close the door to anyone. We close our own doors when we aren't willing to let go & let God. What possession or behavior is more important to us than our relationships, especially the one with Jesus? What is it in your life which is in danger of becoming your god? How are you tempted to close the door to Jesus' invitation?

I'm very thankful for wealthy people. Some of them kept the doors open at Lord of the Streets. We don't have folks here at Hope to whom we can turn to get us over the hump; we're pretty much ordinary working people who must open up our pocketbooks & wallets & contribute to Hope as well as to ministries like Lord of the Streets. As Jesus says in today's lesson, "for God, all things are possible." Our question today is not what others have to give or give up in order to follow Jesus. The real question is what stands in our way of walking daily with the Master. What do you need to let go of in order to more fully follow Jesus? For some of you, you've been letting go for a long time, & this is just a reminder to continue to keep your fists unclenched & be generous in every way possible. For others, you may not have ever considered what is standing in your way of discipleship. May we all pray for each other as we grow in Hope.

Pentecost 17

Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church
The Reverend Martha Frances
Year B, Pentecost 17, Proper 21
30 September 2006

Text: Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48
Other Readings: Numbers11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29; Psalm 19:7-14; James3:16-4:6

What a rich collection of Bible stories we have today! Sometimes I wonder what scripture I can possibly preach on, but these readings are so vivid I hardly know where to start. Preachers often begin their sermons with the closing verse of today's psalm. I, too, plead to God when I preach, "Let the words of my mouth & the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O God."

The amazing story in Numbers from the Hebrew scriptures attracts my attention today. The Israelites are grumbling again, weeping & wishing to be back in Egypt. They seem to have forgotten being slaves in Egypt under increasingly oppressive conditions when they wept, begged, & pled for deliverance. God had heard their moaning & groaning & gone to quite a bit of trouble to produce a burning bush, a series of 10 plagues to get Pharaoh’s attention, a Passover dinner eaten on the run, & a rather elaborate parting of the Red Sea, topped off by the drowning of Pharoah's army. Not exactly good news if you were one of Pharaoh’s Egyptians, but it would make quite a movie, perhaps starring someone like Charlton Heston.

Now the rabble is out in the desert. Rabble paints vividly how unruly these folks are on their journey to the Promised Land. They don't like life in the desert at all or the boring manna God has given them to eat, & it's all Moses' fault. So what does Moses do? He blames it on God, of course! Our translation merely says Moses was displeased. He sounds more than displeased to me! Other translations say he was troubled & grieved, finding the whole interchange disgraceful. So he tells God what he thinks. He gripes & complains to God that he's not strong enough to care for all these people by himself. He tells God, "If this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them. I don't wanna live; I want die. I'll go out & eat worms!" Can't you just hear Moses' whiney little voice? And I'll be he stomped his foot, too. Stirred up quite a bit of dust!

We can learn several things from this conversation between God & Moses. First, Moses doesn't picture God the way we moderns usually do. Moses sees God as a mother. Moses complains to God, "Who do you think I am? Am I their mother?" "No! You are! You conceived these ungrateful wretches. You gave birth to them. Why am I responsible You're their mother. Now you be their mother & feed them. Moses recognizes that only a mother's love can be as deep as God's. That in itself is truly phenomenal.

But there's more. Can you believe that Moses would talk that way to God? Do you often yell at God like that? Now occasionally, I get angry when I think I'm getting a raw deal, & sometimes I even tell God what I think. But I seldom let God have it the way Moses does here. Moses must really believe God loves him like mother & that God is big enough to take this tantrum & still love him. Moses begs God to put him to death, asking it as a favor because he feels his burden is too heavy. Even when Moses is deeply troubled, he trusts God's love enough to tell God what he really feels.

In addition, we learn that even though Moses is whimpering & childish in his complaints to God, God provides a plan to solve Moses' problem, or at least to lighten Moses' load. God tells Moses to find 70 leaders among the people & God will empower them to help Moses lead the people. We don't know exactly what it meant that God granted the 70 elders part of Moses' Spirit, exactly what they prophesied, or how it helped Moses, but clearly, God's action took some of the pressure off Moses. In today's world, we call that "delegating responsibility." Moses didn't have to do all the work himself. He could share the burden with the natural leaders in the camp, & God empowered them for leadership.

Certainly, in our ministry here at Hope, we all need to recognize our own call to do part of the work & trust that God will share the necessary Spirit so the Gospel is spread much farther than one or two of us could share it. Working together on the BBQ yesterday is an example, & we all need to allow God to use our time, talent, & treasure to continue to grow this parish for the glory of God & the strengthening of this community. Isn't it incredible how we can all pull together for an event & grow closer in the process? And even when I act childish, whining & fussing, God listens to my plea & does for me what I cannot do for myself. God does that for you, too. We just have to trust that God is in charge & then let go & let God.

Notice that God gives some of the Spirit to a couple of leaders who don't even come to the meeting. We have to remember that God empowers people to do ministry even when they don't come to Hope. God can work even through those people who don't follow directions & orders. Here we see Moses' wisdom. Moses doesn't stop them from prophesying. Moses says that he wishes all God's people were open to the Spirit like these men are.

It is here that we move over to the Gospel for today. We're told that John asks Jesus the same question. The disciples have seen someone casting out demons in Jesus' name even though he isn't one of their group. John wants to forbid him from using Jesus' name. John wants to keep control, to keep the Gospel for a select group. Sometimes we meet people who think their way of loving & following God is the only way. Usually, they mean that if we don't agree with them, we are wrong. Have you ever been accused of not being a real Christian? Have you ever accused someone else of that-even in your thoughts? What does Jesus say?

Jesus forbids them from stopping the renegade healer. Jesus is wise enough to realize that if the healer is using Jesus' name, he must believe in Jesus' power & will not be Jesus' enemy. Of course, the disciples have just returned from a mission when they were unable to heal the way this outsider can, so they're probably quite jealous. It's not fair for this guy who's not even one of Jesus' regular disciples to be able to do what they can't do themselves. But Jesus utters a wise statement: "Whoever is not against us is for us." Jesus tells us we need to trust the Spirit where it lands & to include everyone. It's not easy to include everyone, is it?

How does Jesus say to treat others? He says to attend to their needs; to give them a cup of water to drink. At Lord of the Streets, we knew that we must fill our folks' tummies along with giving them soul food. We'll be exploring in the next several months ways we can help feed those who are in need. Here at Hope we offer several groups & opportunities for feeding souls: Sunday Bible study, Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Daughters of the King, & periodic study groups like the Bonhoeffer group going on Wednesday nights now. Jesus says we need to be good examples to the little ones, the new Christians, & not make things harder for them. He says to accept all who want to come, to help them find the proper book in church & come over for coffee hour after church. Remember that Jesus says, "Come to the banquet! Don't leave anyone out!"

Also, Jesus didn't mean literally that we should cut a hand or foot off or pull our eye out either. That part of today's Gospel used to really bother me. I don't like pain, & the worst maiming I've done to myself is having my ears pierced. Now I know Jesus was talking about the defects of character which cause me to stumble. My shortcomings started out as the defense mechanism I used to cope with life. When did they quit working for me & begin to work against me? I don't know. All I know is that eventually, they became unhealthy. For example, my hard work quit being a way to get valuable tasks done & began to be the way I proved that I was worth something. I still find myself very proud of the hand or foot that can accomplish hard work so people will think I'm great. Furthermore, I can't get rid of defects of character by myself. I can't always see those faults myself, so I have to meet regularly with a spiritual director or a sponsor to help me find them & be willing to let go of them. Then, I have to be entirely willing & ask God to remove them.

And what do I get for all that letting go & letting God? I get to enter the kingdom, the reign of God. I get an invitation to the heavenly banquet. I don't earn a place at the party; God has a place for me already. God has a place for each of you, too. We can't have a banquet alone. We're in this together. And we must be about the business of broadening God's invitation to others to come to the banquet. We come to the banquet table every time we share Eucharist with one another-Eucharist means "thanksgiving." At Christ's banquet table, there's no place for weeping & whining & wishing God had left us in Egypt as slaves. When we seek first God's kingdom, we will find the door is already open, we'll be given our place at the table, & our only appropriate response will be "Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia."