August 14th, 2022

Sermon by Pastor Ron Nelson

August 14, 2022, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Turtle Island

JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES: “I CAME TO BRING FIRE TO THE EARTH.”

FORGET THOSE SWEET HOLY CARD IMAGES, YOU MIGHT FIND IN YOUR FAVOURITE BIBLE

STORE, WHICH HAVE HONEY DRIPPING FROM JESUS’ LIPS. JESUS WAS NO WIMP. JESUS WAS

NOT APOLITICAL. HE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN A ZEALOT, HE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR

MILITARY CONFLICT, BUT HE RECOGNIZED IT WOULD TAKE SPIRITUAL CONFLICT TO BE A

DISCIPLE.

IN OUR TRIP THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE THIS YEAR, WE HAVE PASSED A DIVIDING LINE, A

MEASURE NOT OF WORDS OR CHAPTERS, BUT OF INTENSITY. THE NEW TONE BEGAN IN LUKE

9:51, WHICH TRANSLATED LITERALLY, SAYS, “WHEN THE TIME CAME THAT HE WOULD BE

TAKEN UP, HE STEADFASTLY SET HIS FACE TO GO TO JERUSALEM.” NOT MUCH BEFORE THAT,

JESUS HAD TOLD HIS DISCIPLES THAT THE MISSION THEY WERE SHARING WOULD ENTAIL

SUFFERING AND DEATH. [LUKE 9:22-23]. SO, JESUS PURPOSELY SET OUT TO CONFRONT HIS

FATE IN JERUSALEM.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN TELLS US THAT WHEN JESUS DECIDED TO GO TO JERUSALEM, THOMAS

LOOKED AT THE OTHERS AND SAID, “LET US GO ALSO TO DIE WITH HIM.” YOU SEE, THEY HAD

NO REASON TO THINK THAT THE REST OF THE STORY WOULD BE A PICNIC: JESUS AND

EVERYONE IDENTIFIED WITH JESUS WERE HEADED TOWARD THE INEVITABLE CONFLICT WITH

THE RELIGIOUS AND CIVIL AUTHORITIES OF THE DAY. FROM THE BEGINNING OF SCRIPTURE

GOD’S PROPHETS ARE CHOSEN BY GOD OR JESUS TO BE THE CONSCIENCE OF THE PEOPLE.

THEY ARE TO PROCLAIM GOD’S WORD.

BY THIS STAGE IN JESUS’ STORY, JESUS KNEW FULL WELL THAT HIS MESSAGE THREATENED THE

POWERFUL PEOPLE. JESUS ALSO KNEW THAT SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION TESTIFIED THAT

PROPHETS NEVER FARE WELL WITH ANYONE WHOSE PLANS AND SCHEMES DO NOT PRIORITIZE

THE COMMON GOOD. YES, WANTING TO DO GOOD JUST GOES AGAINST THE GRAIN OF SO

MANY PEOPLE. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS WATCH THE NEWS.

>HOW ELSE CAN YOU EXPLAIN ANTIVAXXERS, FOR INSTANCE?

>HOW ELSE CAN YOU EXPLAIN PEOPLE YELLING AT NURSES AND DOCTORS?

>SHOOTING EACH OTHER IN THE STREETS ETC.

NOW, JESUS’ COMMUNITY TURNED PRIMARILY TO THE PROPHET ISAIAH TO HELP THEM

INTERPRET JESUS. ALL THE PROPHETS WERE JESUS’ FRONTRUNNERS AND THEIR LIVES

PROVIDED A GOOD FORETASTE OF WHAT HE WOULD EXPERIENCE AS GOD’S MESSENGER. BUT

INSTEAD OF THE USUAL ISAIAH, TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT JEREMIAH, THE “BEST” COMPLAINER

AMONG THE PROPHETS. MAYBE THAT IS WHY HE IS A FAVOURITE OF MINE? JONAH DID LOTS

OF WHINING ALSO, BUT I HOPE WE KNOW JONAH’S COMPLAINING WAS MORE OF A COMIC

RELIEF THAN SERIOUS PROPHECY. IN TODAY’S FIRST LESSON, JEREMIAH HAS BEEN DEALING

WITH A KING WHO WANTS TO KNOW GOD’S WILL, BUT HE LACKS THE COURAGE TO OBEY IT.

SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD POLITICIAN, EH? SO, JEREMIAH KNOWS AND TELLS HIS PEOPLE THAT

THEY ARE IN AN UNWINNABLE WAR. CHAMBERLAIN PROBABLY TOLD THE TRUTH AS WELL,

BUT I AM GLAD WE HAD A CHURCHILL. SO, AS WE HEAR IN OUR JEREMIAH PASSAGE, THERE

ARE GOOD REASONS WHY PROPHETS ARE OFTEN TEMPTED TO KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT.

THE OFFICIALS SAID TO THE KING, “THIS MAN [JEREMIAH] SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH.” NOW

THAT IS ONE WAY TO MAKE CERTAIN THE PROPHET DOES NOT DELIVER GOD’S WORD, JUST

KILL HIM.

OUR LOCAL MAYOR HAS NOT KILLED ANYONE BUT SHE SURE CAN SWEET TALK SOMEONE OUT

OF SAYING WHAT “HE REALLY THINKS.” YES, YOURS TRULY AT A CANADIAN CLUB LUNCHEON

DID NOT TELL HER WHAT HE REALLY THOUGHT. ROMERO, BONHOEFFER, MLK, TWO

KENNEDYS, DIED FOR THEIR BELIEFS AND IF “MY FRIENDS” ON THE RIGHT HAD THEIR WAY

TRUDEAU AND BIDEN WOULD JOIN THEM. JUST LOOK AT THE “HORN HONKERS’” PARADE

SIGNS.

JEREMIAH IS EVENTUALLY DELIVERED FROM THE OFFICIALS, BUT EVERY TIME HE OPENED HIS

MOUTH TO TELL THE PEOPLE WHAT GOD WANTED OF THEM, HE HAD TO REMEMBER HOW

CLOSE HE HAD BEEN TO BEING KILLED. IN FACT, IN CHAPTER 20 OF JEREMIAH, JEREMIAH

HIMSELF WISHED HE HAD NEVER BEEN BORN.

WHY WOULD ANY DECENT POLITICIAN WANT THE JOB? EH? SAD TO SAY MANY OF OUR

LEADERS WANT AFFIRMATION RATHER THAN REALITY.

JEREMIAH WAS PERSECUTED AND NEARLY KILLED FOR THE MESSAGES HE PREACHED. SO,

WHAT GIVES PROPHETIC PEOPLE THE DETERMINATION TO DEFY MORTAL THREATS? THE

MEMORY OF SOME OF THE “CLOUD OF WITNESSES” MENTIONED IN THE LETTER TO THE

HEBREWS TODAY, MAY GIVE US A HINT. REMEMBER JOAN OF ARC? HOW MUCH OF THE

STORY IS TRUE OR??? BUT FOLLOWING WHAT SHE DESCRIBED AS “VOICES”, SHE SAVED THE

REIGN OF KING CHARLES VII OF FRANCE, BUT ENDED UP BURNED AT THE STAKE ON MULTIPLE

CHARGES, INCLUDING HERESY [INTERESTINGLY HOLDING FAST TO HER EXPERIENCE OF FAITH

RATHER THAN OBEYING THE CHURCH AUTHORITIES WAS CALLED HERESY.] WERE THERE SOME

GOOD, KIND PEOPLE IN THE GOVERNMENTS AND CHURCHES WHO DID NOT TRY TO BEAT “THE

INDIAN OUT OF THE INDIAN” IN THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS? WE WOULD HOPE SO, BUT THE

MORE I HEAR, I AM NOT SURE. ALL KINDS OF THINGS WERE SAID ABOUT JOAN, INCLUDING

THAT SHE “DRESSED LIKE A MAN.” SHE WORE TROUSERS, CAN YOU IMAGINE? BUT LET US BE

CLEAR, LIFE THEN AND NOW ALWAYS COMES DOWN TO JEALOUSY OF RELIGIOUS AND

POLITICAL LEADERS WHO LOST/LOSE THEIR CAUSE TO PEOPLE LIKE A JOAN OF ARC. JUST

REMEMBER, WOMEN, PEOPLE OF COLOUR, NEW IMMIGRANTS, LGBQ, THE LIST IS ENDLESS OF

PEOPLE SPEAKING OUT AGAINST THE STATUS QUO. I HAD NEVER HEARD THE IDEA THAT JOAN

OF ARC WEARING MEN’S CLOTHES WAS ONE OF HER SINS? OSCAR ROMERO WAS KILLED BY

POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS WHO FOUND HIS DEFENSE OF THE POOR AND THE TRUTH

WAS A MORTAL DANGER TO THEIR RULE. MLK JR. PREACHING ABOUT EQUALITY AND JUSTICE

BROUGHT HIM MULTIPLE THREATS, BEFORE HE WAS ASSASSINATED.

EVERYONE WHO IS MOTIVATED BY WHAT HEBREWS CALLS “THE JOY THAT LAY BEFORE

HIM/THEM,” HAS THE CONVICTION THAT LIVING THE TRUE VALUES OF GOD, NOT SOME

INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH VALUE, IS WORTH “THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP.” THE TITLE OF

BONHOEFFER’S BOOK. YES, I BELIEVE THAT RELIGIOUS PEOPLE ACTING FOR THE COMMON

GOOD, HAVE TO BE INEVITABLY INVOLVED IN THE POLITICAL AS WELL.

MARTIN LUTHER DID NOT LIKE THE LETTER OF JAMES. BUT IT IS JAMES THAT TELLS US THAT

FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS A SHAM. THAT IS A BURDEN WE LUTHERANS HAVE TO BEAR. IF WE

IMITATE JESUS, WE MUST BE AWARE OF THE DIVISIONS IN SOCIETY THAT WE WILL COME INTO

CONTACT WITH AND THAT IN SOME CASES WE WILL CAUSE.

SO LET US GO BACK TO HEBREWS. “WE MUST RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE THE RACE THAT IS

SET BEFORE US, LOOKING TO JESUS THE PIONEER AND PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH.” BEFORE

ANY OF JESUS’ DISCIPLES SUSPECTED JESUS WAS DIVINE, THEY WERE CERTAIN HE EXPECTED

THEM TO INTEGRATE SOME OF HIS PROPHETIC CHARISMA INTO THEIR OWN LIVES.

THE AUTHORS OF HEBREWS AND LUKE BOTH TEAR INTO US FOR NOT BEING BRAVE ENOUGH

TO PROCLAIM EVEN THE SMALL BIT OF GOD’S WORD WITH WHICH THE SPIRIT HAS GIFTED US.

NOW WE KNOW WE ARE NOT “FULL-TIME” PROPHETS BUT AS OTHER CHRISTS WE

FREQUENTLY RUN INTO SITUATIONS IN WHICH WE SAY NOTHING, WHEN SOMETHING SHOULD

BE SAID. WE SHOULD NOT PRETEND TO BE OVERLY PIOUS, BUT ESPECIALLY AMONG FAMILY

AND FRIENDS NEITHER, FOR INSTANCE, SHOULD WE HESITATE TO CONFRONT RACIAL OR

PREJUDICIAL REMARKS. IT SEEMS THAT THE JOY OF AN EARTH ON FIRE WITH THE LOVE OF

GOD, AN EARTH ON FIRE WITH GOD’S JUSTICE, WAS THE VISION THAT DREW JESUS OUT INTO

THE WORLD. COULD IT BE THAT THE FIRES THAT ARE LITERALLY DESTROYING OUR PLANET

COULD MAKE IT WORTHWHILE FOR US TO TAKE SOME SMALL STAND ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS?

INVITING US TO SEEK INSPIRATION FROM THE CLOUD OF WITNESSES, FIRED WITH THE JOYFUL

VISION OF GOD’S REIGN ON EARTH.

MAY TODAY’S WORSHIP REMIND US THAT FAITH DEMANDS ACTION FOR THE COMMON GOOD

--- NO MATTER WHAT THE RISK.

JEREMIAH’S STORY IS TOLD IN TODAY’S FIRST READING. BECAUSE HE DARED TO SPEAK AN

UNPOPULAR TRUTH TO A DISINTERESTED AND HOSTILE PEOPLE, HE WAS THROWN INTO A

CISTERN AND WAS LEFT TO DIE.

IN OUR SECOND READING, THE AUTHOR OF HEBREWS TELLS OF THE MARTYRDOM OF JESUS

AND ENCOURAGES US TO BE STEADFAST IN OUR STRUGGLE AGAINST INJUSTICES.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE PRESENTS JESUS AS A REVOLUTIONARY WHO HAS COME TO SET THE

WORLD ABLAZE AND BE A SOURCE OF DIVISION.

NO MATTER HOW WE LOOK AT THESE THREE LESSONS, EACH OF THEM IS TELLING US THAT

FAITH IS A FIGHT FOR TRUTH, FOR JUSTICE, FOR MERCY AND FOR OBEDIENCE TO GOD AND

NOT THE RULERS OF THE DAY. SOME OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED CONFLICT AROUND OUR

FAITH. I DO NOT THINK ANY OF US HAVE PAID THE PRICE OF DISCIPLESHIP IN BLOOD AS MANY

HAVE DONE AND SADLY, STILL DO. HOW DO OUR CONFLICTS REFLECT WHAT JESUS TOLD US

TO EXPECT? ARE OUR EXPERIENCES MERELY UNCOMFORTABLE OR INCONVENIENT? DO OUR

LIVES REFLECT THE SERIOUSNESS OF OUR COMMITMENT TO THESE LESSONS TODAY? YES, IT

CAN BE JARRING TO REMEMBER THAT OUR DISCIPLESHIP CAN DISTURB OUR PEACE, AND YES,

EVEN DIVIDE US FROM ONE ANOTHER. WE CANNOT ALWAYS PREDICT WHEN OUR TESTS OF

DISCIPLESHIP WILL COME, NOR WHERE WE WILL CROSS THE THRESHOLDS THAT DIVIDE OUR

LIVES INTO BEFORE AND AFTER, OLD AND NEW. TODAY’S LESSONS INVITE US TO KNOW WHAT

IS WORTH LIVING FOR, OR YES, MAYBE EVEN DYING FOR, IF IT COMES TO THAT.

LEAD ON, O KING ETERNAL!

TILL SIN’S FIERCE WAR SHALL CEASE,

AND HOLINESS SHALL WHISPER

THE SWEET AMEN OF PEACE,

FOR NOT WITH SWORDS LOUD CLASHING,

NOR ROLL OF STIRRING DRUMS,

BUT DEEDS OF LOVE AND MERCY

THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM COMES. [ELW 805]

AMEN.

August 7th, 2022

Sermon by Pastor Ron Nelson

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 7, 2022 Turtle Island

THE REV. ROGER KARBAN SAID, “PRACTICALLY NOTHING IN SCRIPTURE WAS WRITTEN BY AN EYEWITNESS – NOT EVEN OUR GOSPELS.” ONLY AFTER YEARS, OR EVEN CENTURIES OF REFLECTING ON GOD’S ACTIONS IN THEIR LIVES, DID OUR SACRED AUTHORS EVENTUALLY COMPOSE THE WRITINGS THAT MAKE UP OUR SACRED SCRIPTURES TODAY. MANY OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THEIR STORIES, SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THOSE DIVINE ACTIONS, AS THEY WERE ACTUALLY TAKING PLACE.

SCHOLARS TODAY CONSTANTLY REMIND US THAT SUCH INSIGHTS PROBABLY DID NOT BECOME PART OF THEIR FAITH LIVES UNTIL FAR DOWN THE ROAD. AS WE GET OLDER, WE OFTEN SAY, “I DID NOT UNDERSTAND “THAT” THEN, BUT I DO NOW.” SO WE HAVE THREE LITURGICAL READINGS PLUS A PSALM EVERY SUNDAY TO HELP US FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR AUTHORS WERE CONCERNED ABOUT IN THEIR LIVES AND THUS WHAT SAME THINGS AND EVENTS ARE HAPPENING IN OUR OWN LIVES TODAY. IF WE ARE NOT PREPARED TO LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD, THEN OFTEN WE WILL NOT EVEN NOTICE WHAT IS TAKING PLACE IN OUR OWN LIVES. SO WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO NEVER LISTEN TO OR READ THE NEWS OR WHO LISTEN TO SOME ONE SPOUTING SOMETHING FROM AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE AND WE WONDER WHY WE HAVE PROBLEMS IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY.

I WAS TRAINED TO WRITE SERMONS WITH THE BIBLE IN ONE HAND AND THE NEWSPAPER IN THE OTHER HAND. ON ANY GIVEN DAY I READ AT LEAST TWO NEWSPAPERS. SO, LET US LOOK AT TODAY’S LESSONS. OUR AUTHOR OF WISDOM IS CONVINCED THAT ONLY THOSE WHO WERE ENSLAVED ISRAELITES, WHO WERE ANTICIPATING YAHWEH TO DESTROY THEIR ENEMIES, ACTUALLY INTERPRETED EXODUS CORRECTLY. HISTORICALLY, ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR OF EXODUS [NOT MOSES.], THE MAJORITY OF THE JEWS IN EGYPT ARGUED AGAINST MOSES.

IN OTHER WORDS, A GREAT SAVING EVENT IN JEWISH HISTORY STARTED OUT AS A HUGE AGGRAVATION. WE HAVE THE WRITER OF WISDOM POINTING OUT THAT THE LAST PLAGUE THAT TOOK PLACE AND UNFOLDED LIKE THE WRITER OF EXODUS HAD SAID, HAD BEEN TREATED SO BADLY BY THE MAJORITY OF THE HEBREWS THAT THEY ALMOST MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE FREE PEOPLE.

JUST THINK WHAT MANY PEOPLE STILL DO WITH THE NEWS OF THE DAY? THUS THE AUTHOR OF HEBREWS WANTS TO MAKE SURE THAT SUCH BLINDNESS NEVER HAPPENS TO US WHO FOLLOW JESUS. SO THE AUTHOR OF HEBREWS HAMMERS AWAY AT ABRAHAM AND SARAH’S FAITH. YOU SEE, IF ABRAHAM AND SARAH WERE THE FIRST JEWS, THEN, THEY DID NOT HAVE YAHWEH’S RECORD TO FALL BACK ON. THEIR FAITH HELPS THEM TO SEE YAHWEH’S HAND IN THE DAILY EVENTS OF THEIR LIVES. I HOPE WE DO ALSO. THEY DID NOT EMIGRATE FROM UR TO CANAAN SIMPLY TO ACQUIRE FOOD. THEY CAME BECAUSE, THEY FELT, YAHWEH HAD A UNIQUE PLAN FOR THEM AND THEIR DESCENDANTS. THEIR/OUR FUTURE WAS/IS SECURE WITH GOD, SO FAITH CAN LIVE IN THE UNCERTAINTY, AND EVEN THE AGONY OF NOW.

FAITH IS NOT ABOUT SALUTING A SET OF BELIEFS. IT IS ABOUT WALKING WITH GOD AND BEING A COMPANION, PARTICULARLY STANDING IN THE LOWLY PLACE WITH THE EASILY DESPISED AND READILY LEFT OUT. THINK ABOUT IT, ABRAHAM HAD NO CITY, SARAH HAD NO WOMB,

WE CANNOT DEPEND ON OUR RESOURCES BUT ON GOD’S VISION AND OUR FOLLOWING HER.

IN OTHER WORDS NOT OUR ABILITY BUT OUR AVAILABILITY. BOTH MOSES AND MLK SAID SOMETHING LIKE THIS, “I HAVE SEEN THE PROMISED LAND BUT I MAY NOT GET THERE WITH YOU.” NIEBUHR SAID, “NOTHING WORTH DOING CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN A SINGLE LIFE-TIME, THEREFORE WE ARE SAVED BY HOPE.”

JUST RECENTLY A FORMER HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATE HAS BEEN ASKING ME ABOUT HOW, WHY, WE CAME TO CANADA, WHICH WILL ALSO BECOME, WHY DID I BECOME A PASTOR?

I HAVE ALWAYS FELT IT WAS TOO PIOUS TO SAY, “BECAUSE GOD CALLED ME, BUT?” I HAD A CALL, AND CALLS TO OTHER CONGREGATIONS, WHICH WOULD HAVE ALLOWED ME TO STAY IN THE STATES BUT I ANSWERED THE ONE TO DRUMHELLER, AB. I/WE WERE NOT RUNNING AWAY FROM ANYTHING. I HAD RECEIVED MY HONOURABLE DISCHARGE FROM THE USMC ON FEBRUARY 19TH, 1965 AND I WAS ORDAINED ON JUNE 2, 1965. I DID NOT HAVE THE NEGATIVE FEELINGS ABOUT THE STATES THEN, THAT I DO NOW. SO, I CERTAINLY DO NOT PUT MYSELF AND ABRAHAM AND SARAH IN THE SAME SPACE.

JAN, JULIE’S MOTHER, AND I WERE ONLY 25, NOT 90 AND 100, LIKE SARAH AND ABRAHAM.

SO, I HAVE TO PUT MYSELF IN THE HANDS OF OUR SACRED AUTHORS. THEY WERE/ARE CONVINCED THAT FAITH ENABLES US TO NOTICE WHAT OTHERS IGNORE. THAT SEEMS TO BE WHY LUKE’S JESUS WANTS US TO BE CERTAIN ABOUT WHERE OUR “TREASURE” IS LOCATED.

AGAIN,

>I CANNOT PUT MYSELF IN A CLASS WHERE I “SELL MY POSSESSIONS AND GIVE ALMS.”

>I CERTAINLY DO NOT FEEL LIKE I AM SEEING JESUS IN MY LIFE.

>I CERTAINLY DO NOT FEEL I AM FOCUSING ON CARING FOR THE NEEDS OF OTHERS AND THEREFORE WILL BE EXPERIENCING GOD’S REIGN IN MY LIFE.

THE HISTORICAL JESUS PRESUMED HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD SEE HIM DURING HIS MINISTRY.

>NO, I HAVE NOT HAD ANY VISIONS.

JESUS SEEMED TO SAY OR AT LEAST IMPLY, THEY/WE WOULD ONLY BE FAITHFUL AND PRUDENT STEWARDS IF THEY/WE HAD A DIRECT CONNECTION TO HIM. YES, JESUS SEEMS TO SAY, DISCIPLESHIP IS EXTREMELY DEMANDING AND THAT HIS “KINGDOM” IS A GIFT WHOSE VALUE EXCEEDS ALL OTHERS.

>MORE IS DEMANDED OF JESUS’ DISCIPLES THAN OTHER PEOPLE.

I WISH I COULD JUST READ THE SHORT VERSION BECAUSE THE LONG VERSION EVEN TALKS ABOUT BEING BEATEN IF WE DO NOT DO OUR FAIR SHARE. AS I OFTEN SAY, “THAT IS BEYOND MY PAY GRADE,” FOR ME I HAVE TO HEAR WHAT JESUS SAID, “DO NOT BE AFRAID, LITTLE FLOCK.”

POPE FRANCIS SAID, “HUMAN BEINGS ARE SO MADE THAT WE CANNOT LIVE, DEVELOP AND FIND FULFILLMENT EXCEPT IN THE SINCERE GIFT OF SELF TO OTHERS. LIFE EXISTS WHERE THERE IS COMMUNION WITH OTHERS AND LIFE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH WHEN IT IS BUILT ON TRUE RELATIONSHIPS.” WHAT IF WE REALLY BELIEVED THAT?

>WHAT IF WE BELIEVED THAT WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR IN SHARING WHAT GIVES US SECURITY BECAUSE IT IS ALL A FREE GIFT IN THE FIRST PLACE?

>WHAT IF WE BELIEVED, LIKE ABRAHAM, THAT THE UNKNOWABLE FUTURE GOD OFFERS US IS WORTH MORE THAN THE PRESENT WE ARE USED TO?

>WHAT IF WE BELIEVED THAT LOVING RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE ONLY TREASURE THAT WILL NEVER WEAR OUT AND THAT OUR GREATEST POTENTIAL IS TO BE IN COMMUNION WITH ALL OF GOD’S CREATION?

>WHAT IF WE BELIEVED IN WHAT GOD SAID,/SAYS AND NOT SOME FEAR MONGERING POLITICIAN, WHICH IS WHAT YOU HEAR FROM THOSE USUALLY ON THE EXTREME RIGHT.

IT IS AMAZING THE AMOUNT OF THUGGERY AND INTIMIDATION THAT IS BEING USED BY THE DEMAGOGUES TODAY TO INSTALL FEAR IN US. THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM IS CELEBRATED IN TODAY’S SECOND LESSON FROM HEBREWS. AGAIN I REITERATE.

>HAD ABRAHAM LIVED IN FEAR, HE WOULD NEVER HAVE VENTURED FORTH FROM UR FOR PARTS UNKNOWN. HE HAD NO GPS. ALL HE HAD WAS HIS FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE TO THE GOD IN WHOM HE TRUSTED.

>HAD ABRAHAM LIVED IN FEAR, HE WOULD HAVE SHRUNK FROM HIS RESPONSIBILITIES AT SUCH AN ADVANCED AGE. HOW MUCH OF THIS STORY IS JUST A STORY, I DO NOT KNOW,

BUT THIS ABRAHAM IS THE PERSON WHO THE JEWS, MOSLEMS, AND CHRISTIANS REGARD AS OUR FATHER IN THE FAITH. IN ANOTHER PART OF HIS WRITINGS, THE AUTHOR OF WISDOM REFERRED TO FEAR AS “SOUL-SICKENING” AND “RIDICULOUS.” HE SAID, DO NOT SURRENDER TO FEAR.

TODAY, EACH OF US WHO HEEDS HIS WISE ADVICE AND WHO ADMIRES ABRAHAM AND SARAH FOR THEIR PIONEERING FAITH IS CALLED TO FOREGO THOSE FEARS WHICH, CRIPPLE AND STIFLE US, AND ROUSE SUSPICIONS AND SEPARATE US FROM ONE ANOTHER AND GOD.

>IF WE CHOOSE THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE, AND SETTLE FOR THE STATUS QUO, RATHER THAN EMBRACE THE UNKNOWN,

>IF WE FIND SECURITY IN SAVING RATHER THAN GIVING,

>IF WE PREFER THE LESSER RISK OF PASSIVELY WAITING FOR GOD TO EMERGE RATHER THAN THE GREATER CHALLENGE OF WORKING FOR THE REALIZATION OF GOD THEN WE HAVE PROBLEMS.

JESUS WAS FULLY AWARE THAT FEAR IS AT THE ROOT OF MANY HUMAN DIFFICULTIES.

WHY DO YOU THINK SO MANY POLITICIANS OPERATE ON OUR FEARS?

LOOK AT WHAT THE COVID DID, IT FOSTERED FEAR OF WANT AND SO SOME OF US HOARDED TOILET PAPER, CAN YOU IMAGINE? WHEN THE GAS CRISIS OF THE 70’S WAS ON, ONE PERSON WAS ASKED, WHY SHE LINED UP AT THE GAS STATION EVERY DAY, EVEN THOUGH SHE DROVE VERY LITTLE? SHE SAID, “BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT THE HOARDERS TO GET MY GAS.”

YES, INORDINATE FEAR OF GOD, ENEMIES AND THE LIST IS ENDLESS AND WE HAVE PROBLEMS.

JESUS CHALLENGED HIS DISCIPLES BY SAYING, DO NOT LIVE IN FEAR. OUR JESUS IN LUKE TODAY, SAYS, FAITH NOT FEAR IS TO BE THE GUIDING FORCE IN OUR LIVES.

>FAITH ENABLES US TO LIVE IN A CONSTANT ATTITUDE OF PREPAREDNESS, READY TO RECOGNIZE GOD IN OUR LIVES.

>FAITH KEEPS US AWARE,

>FAITH KEEPS US ATTENTIVE TO OUR RESPONSIBILITIES,

>FAITH PROMPTS US TOWARD MUTUAL LOVE AND SUPPORT OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

TODAY,

>WE ARE INVITED INTO THE FUTURE WHERE WE LONG FOR THE DEEPEST LEVEL OF OUR BEING.

TODAY,

>WE REALIZE WE WILL ONLY GET THERE BY LEAVING BEHIND OUR FEARS AND PESSIMISM.

>BY DONATING OUR RICHES,

>BY VENTURING BEYOND OUR NORMAL SURROUNDINGS,

>BY TREASURING OUR CONNECTIONS WITH ALL OF GOD’S PEOPLE,

>BY WATCHING FOR GOD TO SHOW UP UNPREDICTABLY AND IN AN UNFAMILIAR DISGUISE—

THOSE ARE ALL STEPS THAT WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE, TO BE IN COMMUNION WITH GOD’S CREATION. SO, AS AGAIN, WE PARTICIPATE IN OUR WORSHIP, INSTEAD OF GIRDING OUR LOINS AND DUSTING OFF OUR SANDALS, LET US PUT ON, METAPHORICALLY, OUR HIKING BOOTS AND LET OUR CELEBRATION LAUNCH US INTO THE VENTURE OF FAITH THAT TRANSFORMS HOPE INTO REALITY.

GOD SAYS, ‘HAVE NO FEAR, LITTLE FLOCK, HAVE NO FEAR LITTLE FLOCK, FOR THE FATHER HAS CHOSEN TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM, HAVE NO FEAR LITTLE, LITTLE FLOCK.’ [ELW 764]

AND WE ANSWER IN OUR LAST HYMN TODAY. ‘THE GOD OF ABRAHAM PRAISE! YOUR ALL-SUFFICIENT GRACE SHALL GUIDE ME ALL MY PILGRIM DAYS. IN ALL MY WAYS, YOU DEIGN TO CALL ME FRIEND, YOU CALL YOURSELF MY GOD! AND YOU WILL SAVE ME TO THE END THROUGH JESUS’ BLOOD.’ [ELW 831]

‘YES, SUMMER AND WINTER AND SPRINGTIME AND HARVEST, SUN, MOON, AND STARS IN THEIR COURSES ABOVE JOIN WITH ALL NATURE IN MANIFOLD WITNESS TO THY GREAT FAITHFULNESS, MERCY, AND LOVE. GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS! GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS!

MORNING BY MORNING NEW MERCIES I SEE, ALL I HAVE NEEDED THY HAND HATH PROVIDED,

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS, LORD UNTO THEE.’ [ELW 733]

July 31st, 2022

Sermon Bishop Larry Kochendorfer Synod of Alberta and the Territories It was one of those blessed summer holiday moments. Picture this: a marvellously warm, summer afternoon in my backyard. The grass freshly mowed; the garden of beans, peas, sunflowers, gladiola, potatoes, beets and carrots reaching for the bright, brilliant, warm sun; the perennials blooming majestically in pinks and reds and golds and purples; the hydrangea which had survived another Edmonton winter in our unheated garage was producing leaves and soon flowers would grace the branches; the birdhouse next to the garage was an active home with the parents constantly flying to and fro, busy with the activity of mouths to feed and chicks to raise; our grandchild playing contentedly, running back and forth in the backyard; an excellent book in my hands, a hat on my head, a cold beverage beside me, relaxed, content, several days of holiday before me – all was right in my world. I considered my life…my family…healthy and happy. And it was good. It was very good! “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” I grabbed another beverage and settled back on my plush, extremely comfortable, outdoor lawn furniture. Summer – with the family at relatives, or on a long-awaited post-pandemic trip, or just relaxing on the deck in the backyard – is a time for visions of contentment. I hope that your summer has blessed you with similar moments. If not on a beautiful beach, or hiking in the mountains, or kayaking on the nearby lake, then maybe when you witnessed your child graduate from university, or when you romped with a grandchild on the living room carpet, or when you were lazing around the backyard with good friends, or when you pondered your golf score – pleased to be only a few strokes over par. “Soul…relax, eat, drink, be merry.” This morning’s parable begins, not in contentment, but in a quandary. A rich landowner has a problem. The landowner has received a spectacular harvest, a harvest so great that he has nowhere to store all of the grain. “He thought to himself,” Jesus says, “he deliberated with himself…he had a discussion with himself, saying, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’” And then, still talking to himself, he says, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. He doesn’t just plan to build new barns to augment his old ones, he plans to tear down his old barns and to build new barns, huge barns…this was some harvest! If the rich landowner has enough from this harvest to need larger barns…to be tearing down the old and building new, larger barns…then the harvest must have been nothing short of miraculous. The rich landowner hasn’t just done well, he has done very well! Miraculously well! And still talking to himself, he says, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” We most often call this parable, name this parable, the parable of the rich landowner…but Jesus doesn’t. Jesus begins the story, not with talk about the man, but with talk about the land and its’ bounty. “The land of a rich man produced abundantly,” Jesus tells the hearer. What Jesus first noted is the miraculous barn-bursting harvest. A gift. A miracle. “The land…produced abundantly.” Recently I was visiting family in northwestern Alberta on the family farm. A farm of several generations now. A farm on which my elderly parents still live, and which my twin brother and sister-in-law farm, and now, farm with their son and daughter-in-law and family. The fields were lush and green. The rains in that part of Alberta have come at just the right times. The day my brother finished seeding the rain began. Ideal weather for germination, and growth, and hope-filled harvest. My father, perhaps the typical, stereotypical farmer, is never one to count the chickens before they’re hatched, never one to count the harvest before the crop is harvested and the grain dry and in the bin; or in a good year, a very good year, when the crop is harvested and augered on to the ground in an ever-growing mountain of grain when there is no room in the bins. The weather is never quite perfect for my father, the stereotypical farmer. “How are the crops?” I ask regularly. And he is never satisfied. There is always a need for a bit slower snowmelt in the spring or there has been too much snowmelt together with the spring rain. It has been too dry, and the crops are withering or its been too wet, and the crops are turning yellow. “How are the crops?” I ask. And in his telling of the weather, he isn’t complaining…no, not complaining if you listen closely. No, my father is telling the reality of farming, of planting seed and waiting and wondering and hoping…and trusting…that again a miracle will take place…that again there will be a crop to harvest. No, he isn’t complaining, he is affirming a belief, his trust, in the creator of all, who has provided and continues to provide…he is speaking the language of faith…of trust and belief in the wonder of the land which provides…a gift…a miracle. My father’s focus, his witness, begins with the creator, and with the land and its’ bounty. But not this rich landowner. Just notice how the blessings become a burden. The gift becomes a problem…a huge problem. And the story becomes not, “what a miraculous gift” and gratitude and thanks to the creator, but “how do I manage my miracle? What should I do? I have no place to store my crops. I will pull down my barns. I will store my grain and my goods. I will say to my soul, ‘relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” If we take a closer look at today’s text we will discover that this rich landowner uses “I” a multitude of times, and “my” several times, and even the word “you” refers to himself. All of the talk in this parable, thus far, has been the monologue of the landowner. He talks to himself, plans for himself, congratulates himself, celebrates himself. The rich landowner manages by “I” and “my.” It is only at the end, at the very end, that another voice speaks into the parable…the voice of God. This voice doesn’t accuse the landowner of injustice, or immorality, or even greed. This voice simply says, “You fool!” “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” End of story. In the Greek of this text this verse says something like this: “Fool, this very night they shall demand your life.” They. These things themselves…are the they. The landowner thought these things were his miracle – what am I going to do with my grain and my goods. He thought these things were his. Surprise! He was the thing to manage as they pleased. This parable tells the story…the irony of a landowner who thought he had so many things, only to discover that his things had him. That he had nothing…and that nothing was his. If your life is like mine, and like the rich landowners, we often think, we are managing our modern lives quite well…with all that we cannot live without…and all that the world, its media and management, tell us we must have to be successful, even to have an identity, only to discover that things are managing us. And it all becomes a monologue as we pat ourselves on our backs for our great progress, our miracles, our great work, our great contributions, our homes, our vocations, our health – our lives. And just when we get it all fenced in, hedged in, insured, locked in, there comes a voice from the outside, that intrusive, instructive, truthtelling voice – “these things you have prepared, whose will they be?” A voice…the voice…which states only the facts… “Fool.” Today, once again this voice speaks into my own false sense of security, my own smug contentment, and I am addressed, called “fool” by the One who is the source of all that I am and all that I will ever be. “Fool!” “Fool.” But there is more today…more for us who are caught up in this back-patting, congratulatory, self-centered, turned-in-on-self, I and my – this voice continues to speak words of grace, hope, new life, new beginnings into our lives…for us fools; this voice…the One who is the source of all that we are and all that we will ever be… speaks to us in the words of forgiveness following our own words of confession…of foolishness: “Almighty God, rich in mercy, abundant in love, forgives you all your sin and grants you newness of life in Jesus Christ.” And again, we will hear this voice…the voice of the One who is the source of all that we are and all that we will ever be…when we gather for a simple meal…for fools: “Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.” This is the voice of the One who is source of all that we are and all that we will ever be. Fool. Grace. Hope. New life. New beginnings. Mercy. Love. Forgiveness…as we move again and again, even daily, from “I and my”, to seeking to hear and know and follow; seeking to trust and believe and serve this One in our neighbour and in all of creation. Amen.