Well, aren’t you all glad you came to church this morning? If you were looking for cheerful readings ....this Sundays lectionary was not it. Isaiah with his doomed vineyard, Hebrews with the recitation of those who perished through faith, martyred through mocking and floggings, chains, imprisonment, stoned to death, killed by the sword and last but not least , sawn in two.
And what are we to make of the Gospel this morning? ..Jesus seems to be a wee bit cranky in this Gospel..... “ I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it was already kindled”......What happened to the gentle Jesus .. who told us “blessed are the peacemakers”.. sitting quietly with Martha and Mary... telling us do unto others, as you would have done unto you.... you know ..........the Jesus of the Sunday School song... Jesus Loves me, this I know, cause the bible tells me so.......... You know.... the nice.........easy going.......turn the other cheek Jesus...
It occurs to me thats how we like to portray Jesus... , this portrait is ever so much easier to deal with,,,, doesn’t require any work or effort on our part, cause than He can be what ever we need him to be... we forget that this man went to Jerusalem, was tried, convicted and was crucified. And that didn’t happen because he was just a really nice guy... it happened because he was a threat to the status quo... He was preaching and teaching a radical reordering of the world as it was. And that can be pretty scary and threatening... it was then..... and it still is today.
Jesus had “set his face to Jerusalem” as Luke told us earlier... and this Jesus has no patience with those who didn’t grasp the urgency of his life’s work....... Jesus is saying Listen to me.........Listen to me.... I don’t have much time left..... it won’t be an easy decision to follow me ..... don’t think that I have come to bring peace to the earth... no I tell you, rather division.
And Jesus was right wasn’t he? History is littered with the evidence of those divisions.... Holy Wars, Slavery, Civil War, genocide, world wars,... in the churches we fight over who can be ordained, or married, or receive communion. All you need to do is read the newspapers, listen to the news, or participate in social media. At times we seem more divided then ever. Family members, friends and communities are at odds over the burning issues of the day... gun control, abortion, healthcare, discrimination, immigration and how much or if we even should help the poor and needy.
I have a friend who will tell marvelous, heart-warming stories of love and redemption and finish them by saying “the Gospel of the Lord”... because her stories were good news.... but where is the Good News in todays Gospel? Where is the love and redemption to be found.... what is the good news today for you and for me?
But maybe, just maybe, the “good news” I’m trying to find ..... is not there in the way I expect it or want it to be...... I’m looking for the “nice guy” Jesus, the easy, comfortable Jesus......because it is to just uncomfortable otherwise.... for me and for you.
Jesus is telling you and I that it Is “crunch time” as Walter Bruggerman calls it, time to take a risk, time to decide whose side we are on ...... are we with Jesus or against him. And the decision to follow Jesus , the decision to follow God’s rule rather than the worlds brings risk and danger, then and now.
It’s not easy to stand up for what is right versus what is easy or expedient. In my own life I am passionately in favor of gun control... but I have never spoken or shared that conviction (until now obviously) because members of my family would think I was wrong, or foolish or just misguided and uninformed...... So it has been easier for me to keep my views to my self..... and what frightens me about that is this.........if I am willing to keep silent on this issue, what other issues am I willing to keep silent on to because I don’t want to upset the status quo or because I am afraid of what others might think.......or say.....or do to me.
Jesus said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"
Our present time is one where where food assistance for the poor will cease to exist for a record 48 million people needing our help, our schools are underfunded and overcrowded, basic healthcare and clean water is not available for many, violence and war is the norm, and where discrimination and hatred for “the other” still thrives and exists in our world, our country and our communities....
In Hebrews today we hear about the prophets and martyrs who died “for faith” and doing what was right...... and today there are still prophets and martyrs who have suffered for their faith and for their absolute conviction that the Kingdom of God was not limited to a select few. Martyrs such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer who died in a Nazi concentration camp for standing up to Hitlers evil.......Jonathan Myrick Daniels, whose martyrdom we remembered this week on August 14th.... he died for standing against racial discrimination and hatred in Selma, Alabama... and the prophet Martin Luther King, who died for speaking out against racism, discrimination, war and poverty.
It’s crunch time, time to decide... are we on God’s side? or the side of the status quo... Will we stand for what is right and good, or what is easy and safe?
As I have thought about what to say today and struggled to write this sermon. the words “the fierce urgency of now” kept rattling around. I found where that quote came from and no surprise it was Martin Luther King.
Dr King started with the Gospel of John:
let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day. We can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate. As Arnold Toynbee says : "Love is the ultimate force that makes for the saving choice of life and good against the damning choice of death and evil. Therefore the first hope in our inventory must be the hope that love is going to have the last word."
We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity. The "tide in the affairs of men" does not remain at the flood; it ebbs. We may cry out deperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: "Too late." There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. "The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on..." King was speaking of Viet Nam War, but his words still ring true, and echo the Gospel message today....
Listen to me.......
The Gospel today is telling us that we have to chose... today’s message is not comfortable to hear,..... nor is it safe..... or easy....
And maybe, that’s the Good News today.. that we have this chance, this moment to accept the urgent and passionate challenge of todays lessons and stand with.....and for .........the poor, the marginalized, those who suffering discrimination or hatred for who they are, the hungry, the sick, the homeless and those in prison.....
At the end of this service I or one of the other Deacons will stand in your midst saying ........ Go in Peace.... we are not telling you to go out and have a nice day.... you are being sent out into the world to “love and serve the Lord” .... when you hear those words today ....... let us take those words as a urgent reminder .........and a challenge to go out these doors armed with the love that has been given to us so freely to do the work that God has given each us to do.
Amen
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