FIFTH WEDNESDAY IN LENT

FIFTH WEDNESDAY IN LENT

Last night I heard a story about Bishop Desmond Tutu.  When I first met him he was just the father of a student at Berea College and the friend of a friend of mine Father Henry Parker.  Since then, like a lot of other people, I have only seen him from afar.  But on one of his trips he was being shuttled from an airport by a driver.  Suddenly from the back seat there was this quick request to stop.  On a freeway, the driver wondered whether there was something wrong with the Bishop, or had they left something at the airport, or some other unmentionable need for urgency.  As he maneuvered the car to the highway shoulder, he looked over his shoulder and asked what the emergency was.  With his trademarked twinkle in his eye, he said, it was time to PRAY.  The Bishop’s practice is to pray four times a day.  Somehow with him it’s easy to see how in the midst of a traffic clogged drive to an engagement, the praying of the daily office takes precedence.  In my public contacts with him he has almost always been bubbly and light hearted in his comments, but beneath the surface and embedded in the words is a deep understanding of his continuing relationship with God.

Luke 11:1   He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said  to  him, "Lord,  teach   us   to   pray , as John taught his disciples."  2  He said  to  them, "When you  pray , say:  Father, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come.   3  Give  us  each day our daily bread.   4  And forgive  us  our sins,  for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted  to   us .  And do not bring  us   to  the time of trial."

How often do you pray? 

Is it regularly scheduled?

Is it daily?

How can the church help you with your prayer?

How can we help each other with our prayer?

Fourth Sunday in Lent 2013

To hear the sermon (https://soundcloud.com/tigerowl/lent-4clc) How many have never heard this Biblical Story before?  How many of you have already determined who the bad guy is, or who is the good guy, or who might be the disappointed guy? Actually the young man did commit some significant errors in judgment.  The first sons in families were to be the dutiful beneficiaries of any wealth accumulated by the family; it was called a birth rite.  Along with the birth rite went a great deal of responsibility.  The eldest son was responsible for the family and its future.  Which means at the death of the father, the eldest son was responsible for his mother, any unmarried sisters and at least to maintain a place for and respect for his younger brothers.  Should something happen to him, the next brother in line was expected to stand up and be responsible for the entire family.  So this younger brother had broken the tradition in his culture by asking for a portion of his father’s wealth as his inheritance. It is a surprise in a Middle Eastern story that the younger son speaks first. He is out of his place already! What he speaks is even more astonishing. He is basically telling his father to “drop dead.” All Eastern commentators on this story acknowledge that the son’s request is totally illegitimate. It is an unthinkable request. A father only gives the inheritance in death. The father should explode with anger at such an inappropriate request. He does not explode. He grants a request that was completely unimaginable in his time. Such is the nature of the father in the story. This is a very unusual father! (Jensen in Bailey’s book, Finding the Lost: Cultural Keys to Luke 15) [p. 172] Do you understand what kind of difficult decision the father had to make when the request came from his younger son?  He too had to break tradition.  He made some judgment of what would be a fair share of the family wealth to allot to this determined young man.  In doing so, the father put the whole of the wealth of the family at jeopardy.  There was a certain amount of the family wealth that was no longer available for investing or buying seeds for crops or expanding a business.  Is there any wonder that the older brother was just a little upset that he had not been consulted in this radical change in the culturally proscribed way of doing business? Do any of you know the definition of squandered? squandered  past participle, past tense of squan·der (Verb) Verb 1.   Waste (something, esp. money or time) in a reckless and foolish manner: "entrepreneurs squander their profits on expensive cars". 2.   Allow (an opportunity) to pass or be lost.

dis•so•luteˈdɪs əˌlut(adj.)

1.   indifferent to moral restraints; given to improper conduct.

Origin of dissolute:

1350–1400; ME (< AF) < L dissolūtus, ptp. of dissolvere to dissolve

One interesting piece to discover in working on this sermon was how often the Biblical passage is quoted as a supporting definition for both of these words.  One wonders who began using these definitions of wild living to define the activities of this younger brother, or were the words of the older son more of a contributor the definition that we now give to the younger son’s activities, when he says ‘15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!'  It would be interesting if we could use one of those television detectives to discover the truth of this time away from home.  My simple question would be if the older son was home attending to the business, how would he know what his brother was doing?

Is there some cultural bias in the way we treat the younger brother? Mark Allan Powell, a Trinity Lutheran Seminary Professor, has done some cross-cultural studies with this text. In his books, Chasing the Eastern Star: Adventures in Biblical Reader Response Criticism and in What Do They Hear? Bridging the Gap Between Pulpit and Pew, he asked 100 Americans to retell the story in their own words, all 100 recalled “squandering his money.” Only six mentioned the famine. When he did the same thing with 50 Russian students, 84% mentioned the famine. 34% mentioned squandering.  Powell writes, “The younger son is typically portrayed as foolish in Eastern cultures and as wicked or immoral in Western ones” (What Do They Hear?, p. 19). This difference in emphasis also comes up in how the groups understand the conversion that takes place. Westerners tend to emphasize the reforming of the younger son. The turn-about happens when he decides to make a change in his life. The story is interpreted more from the viewpoint of the son.

Easterners put more emphasis on recovery. The lost was found. The dead is alive. The estranged family member is back home. The story is interpreted more from the viewpoint of the father. (p. 24) What Powell found even more interesting is the way Tanzanians responded. After reading the story, Powell asked, “Why does the young man end up starving in the pigpen?” About 80% answered: “Because no one gave him anything to eat.” For these Africans, the story “is less about personal repentance than it is about society. Specifically, it is about the kingdom of God. It contrasts the father’s house with the far country. The father’s house is the kingdom of God that Jesus keeps talking about, but the far country is a society without honor.” (pp. 26-27)

All of these are reasons given in the text, but the background of the reader tends to make one more predominate than the others.

So where does that leave us today, when we represent 23 countries and multiple languages, and eastern, western and African cultures?  In this Lenten season I have asked the question of myself and of you, is there something in our lives where we need to reassess by stopping what we are doing and turn around and do something different?  Is there a direction that we have traveled that is proving unproductive and we need to stop and go in a totally different direction.  Like the younger son, who reassessed his condition and determined that he would be better off as a hired hand working for his father than he would be by staying in the place and condition that he found himself struggling to live.  Sometimes that is called repentance.  Perhaps it is as simple as working at restoring a broken relationship.  In our expectations of a new beginning, we should not expect a party or a banquet when we act on the change.  But what kind of relationship might we achieve with each other and with the community if we were known as a church family that is capable of throwing a party when the spiritual and biblical lost are found and restored to the family of God.  Who knows, it might be a serious banquet, all to the Glory of God.

AMEN.

Thanks again to Brian Stoffregen.

FOURTH WEDNESDAY IN LENT

For Lent, I have been thinking a lot about the church and church members.  An eternal question comes to mind about how much we ask of members.  Do we ask to much or too little?  More importantly what do we ask of ourselves as members of God’s family.  In the last two Sundays we have read from the end of Luke 13 and the beginning of the same chapter.  How might a passage from the middle of the chapter guide your meditations this week.

Luke 13:18   He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it?  19  It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches."  20   And again he said, "To what should I compare the kingdom of God?  21  It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."

We all take on roles in the living of life in God’s Kingdom.  There are times I feel like I am newly planted seed.  I hope that I might be the seasoning that can assist the congregation in this season of transition.  What role do you play in God’s kingdom?  Are you seasoning or are you the flour or the leavening?  Please share your thoughts….

Rich Stewart

To hear the sermon see  http://soundcloud.com/tigerowl/

Last week, I spoke of the division of Chapter 13 into three parts. I thought that the end of this chapter 13 was difficult to understand, but the front part, being read this week, is just as difficult. Brian Stoffregen a long time computer friend and Biblical scholar has described this part of our Gospel lesson in the following way…”In part one there are two different examples with nearly the same “punch line” are given. The first example is offered by someone in the crowd; the second by Jesus. In the first, the untimely deaths of the Galileans were human-caused. In the second, the untimely deaths of the Jerusalemites were nature-caused. Note that in the first one, Jesus’ question refers to their “suffering,” although the “mingling of blood with their sacrifices” probably implies death. In the first example, Jesus refers to the Galileans as “sinners.” In the second, the Jerusalemites are called “offenders.””

He continues, “There are some similarities in the two examples. Both refer to Jews, although “Galileans,” living some distance away from the holy city, might be viewed as less pious than those living in the city. Jesus concludes both examples with exactly the same words: “No! I am saying to you, unless y’all would be repentant, you all will likewise perish.” The examples of untimely deaths are about “them”—“those other people.” Jesus’ exhortation is addressed to “you” (plural). We might take the plural “you” (as well as the image of the fig tree which frequently represents Israel) as a corporate need to repent and bear fruit. What sins have we committed? How do we repent of such wrongs? How do we begin to bear the proper fruit? We may be looking at our family, our congregation, our city, state, or government.

Last week I spoke in the sermon about the increasing challenges we are facing as a congregation, not only in the process of seeking a new pastor, but in maintaining the ministries of outreach and support for our members and members of the community in a time of intense cutbacks. I have a cousin who lives and works politically in Washington. We talked last week about the death of her father and his burial in Arlington on Thursday, which I could not make, but we also talked about the challenge of serving you and this community. I spoke about my letter writing to our legislative representatives, and my encouraging you to join me. That is when the Baptist, legislative activist, lobbyist, governmental policy wonk swung into action. She said my letter ought to be public and I ought to call it a press conference with the real people of Upper Darby. In calling the press, it offers the politicians public face time and makes it politically costly for them not to come and meet with folks who don’t wear suit jackets daily and wear flags in their lapel button holes. I’m glad she’s the extrovert and I am quite comfortable being the introvert.

We got into a short but intense conversation about the Washington blindness to those who don’t make appointments or offer contributions. We didn’t use the word but the intent crossed my mind as I reread the Gospel and its call for REPENTANCE. Luke/Acts, who have a common author, mentions repentance 14 times in the author’s writings. Combined, Matthew, Mark and John mention repentance only 10 times. Luke ends in the 24th chapter with Jesus’ concluding words in this gospel, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” [24:46b-47].

What is repentance in our day? In the context of our worship services we have a confession of our sins. Out loud we are very general in our offerings of confession. But when I sit down, when I make time and take time to be serious in my time with God, I can be much more specific. It is more than a promise to God to “NOT DO IT AGAIN”, but it can be more like an adjustment in our lifestyle that says, I have to act differently, I have to respond differently, I have to alter my lifestyle to be more responsive to --- Now I stop there because it would be easy to say that our repentance is directed toward God or Church or our activities, and yes I have been asking for people to step forward and assume more responsibility as the lay members of the congregation. You may have been asked by council members to be available for specific responsibilities in the process of calling a new pastor or taking on responsibilities in the running of the church, but I don’t want to limit our repentance to just those things that take place in the midst of this fellowship. ---- We may need to be responsive to our spouse, our children, our relatives, our neighbors, maybe even our jobs, our co-workers, our clients, the people we serve. Our need for repentance may be much broader than what happens in church. We are Christians, faith Believers, God searchers, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

That may be the Lenten discipline that is called for in our lives to see ourselves not as singular parts of many relationships or family units or job cohorts, but as living witnesses of the Power of God in today’s living. As the congregation reassesses its ministry and plans for new leadership, are we assessing our roles in being a disciple in God’s Family? Lent is the time for us to reassess, to repent, to change directions to alter our lifestyles.

That process all fits with the final part of today’s Gospel message. Are able to do some self-pruning at this time of the year? This is the time of the year when the vine dressers are roaming through the vineyards to cut back the vines and trim the plants to get them ready for a new growing season. The trimming allows the plant to concentrate its growing strength in parts that are already strong and have produced fruit. The trimming allows more sunlight to nurture the plant as it grows, but all that work is done in the midst of the winter when the vine dressers have to endure the cold, the snow, the freezing temperatures, to enable the plant to be fruitful come spring and summer. We may be a part of a personal self-examination during this Lenten season. Once again I will encourage you to spend some time with God. In these times when the days are growing longer, we can prepare for the ministry and the lives that will be to the Glory of God.

AMEN.

Thanks to Brian Stoffregen.

Sermon Lent 2 [a week late]

To hear the sermon see http://soundcloud.com/tigerowl/lent-2nd-sunday-christ

Dear friends, we have three rather distinctive lessons given to us today. Maybe I didn’t work hard enough this week, but I had difficulty seeing them linked together in one message.  It’s almost like they are separate acts in a long running play and the author forgot to put together a coda or that final epilogue that pulls the story together.  Or maybe it’s just that I have seen two great movies this past month in LINCOLN and LIFE OF PI.  They both are captivating stories so if you watch the Oscars tonight you might get a glimpse of both.

ACT 1.  Abraham had been promised to be the father of a great nation.  He knew that he was already an old man.  His wife Sarah had not produced a child, a male child, let alone any heir.  He had relations with one of his slaves; remember that this was culturally acceptable in his time.  This relationship had produced a child, but not an heir.  Yet in his vision, he has heard God tell him that the child of his slave is not his issue.  This has got to be one of those times where I have to set aside my 21^st century sense of right and wrong.  I have to ignore a prejudice of God toward the relationship of Abraham and his slave that the child is not being his issue and thus not an heir.  God continues in the vision that Abraham is to count the stars. If he is able to do that, the number will equal the number of his descendants.  I keep having to tell myself that this IS ABRAHAM’S VISION.  There is nothing that says this is the WORD of GOD.

Actually the lesson for this congregation on this day may be in the second half of this passage from Genesis.  I brought you out of Ur of Chaldea.  I have given you land to possess.  I will give you work to do and I will make a covenant with you.  I will be your God and you will be my people.

In many ways twenty years ago, a new pastor came to this church.  There was a change in style of worship, there was a change in the emphasis of ministry, there was a call for the ministers, that is, the people in the pew to see that the kingdom of God was not necessarily up there, but right down here.  The mission field was not in some far off place, but it was literally and figuratively across the street. 

That ministry has borne fruit and still exists and calls for this congregation and the institutions it has formed to continue to be a point of outreach to a community that continues to change and challenge the resources of this congregation.  I keep asking you to look on the back cover page of the bulletin to note that you are the ministers of this congregation.  You are the ones who provide the ministry of outreach and internal service to the members of the congregation and the community.  I really see my task as one of continuing to motivate you to be the ministers, to provide the service or support those who do.  In many ways you may need to make covenant with God, that not only has he placed you here in this ministry, God covenants with you to provide the pathways that will make for support of the ministry.

Act 2 from Philippians:  Perhaps I found a connection between the lessons, but I will try to walk the fine line between advocacy and political activity.  I have in some minute ways described the ministry that this congregation is directly involved in providing.  Increasingly I am being confronted by the ways that the services that were supported by community and governmental resources are continually being tweaked, cut, or curtailed.  Recently, we were informed that Job Corps will not be having registrations at the church until funding is restored.  They are unable to place applicants in programs with the diminishing funds. 

We see food insufficiency on a weekly basis by the number of people who use Phil-abundance and the additional number people who ask us for information on emergency food supplies.  Unlike the letter to Philippi, I don’t want to presume that the decision makers on budgets are enemies of the Cross of Christ, but their decisions do have negative effects on significant numbers of people we serve.

I think that like the opening line in letter to Philippi I want to invite decision-makers to spend an hour on Friday mornings to observe food insufficiency in this micro setting.  I would invite them to define entitlements to those who stand in line in the cold for over an hour, even when they know that the serving starts at 10:30 am.

Even with a letter of invitation I know that “…our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”  But Luther nearly 500 years ago said that the members of the church are still citizens of society and that we have responsibilities in both realms.  I’m not saying how you write to those who make decisions, but I am asking that you join me in letting them know what we see in our neighborhood, and in the world we serve.

Act three. Luke 13.  We will see an earlier part of this chapter next week.  In all reality Jesus is confirming that he is on a path to Jerusalem to die.  He knows that Herod wants to kill him, but there is ministry to be done, while he is on the way.  ‘Demons and cures are on the agenda for today and tomorrow and the third day I will finish my work, HERE.’  He is bound and determined to get to Jerusalem to fulfill the prophecy and there is nothing any of us can do to stop him.

Maybe it’s here that my mind takes a turn away from a direct relationship to the lesson and move to a slightly only related issue.  The lesson reads: “See, your house is left to you.”  I want to address some issues of this house.  In October in closing out the ministry of your pastor, there were some arrangements made that gave the congregation some debt and the church council suggested a special offering on the third Sunday of the month to address that financial concern.  That concern still faces the congregation and your leadership.  In the midst of this winter season the furnace which looks like it was installed before my boys were born and they are 42 and 37 decided that it was going to have some major problems.  One that is identified is that there is a steam leak that is going up the chimney.  The fissure is not fixable.  It means that the furnace needs to be replaced.  We are getting bids for its replacement, but we need to see if we can get through the winter season before that happens.  This is not the kind of unit that someone has just waiting for us in a warehouse.

Remember this is our house that has been left to us.  It is used nearly six days a week.  We are unable shut down the church for a week.  Every day there are children in the after school program, there are folks coming to learn English.  There are parenting classes, church meetings, etc., etc.  And we have yet to tell you what the overall cost will be, but begin to think 5 figures.  We wish it was as easy as replacing a phone system or a new computer, it’s not.  In the midst of our challenges, there is still ministry to be done.

So there it is a three act sermon.  In part one: we are challenged to see the growth of the church through the vision of Abraham, who says that it is a message to him from God.  In part two we are called upon by your preacher to see what you can do to assist with the ministry needs that are always ringing the bells at our doors.  And you are being asked to contact our governmental and community leaders, to see that we are a place that provides services for the needs of the communities for which they are called to serve.  In act three, there are some hard realities that we face to meet the demands of ministry as it presents itself at 7240 Walnut Street. 

Maybe this three act ministerial reflection will stay with you as you do your mid-week Lenten devotion or as you walk the Stations of the Cross.  We have thirty days to go.  'Blessed is the one who comes, prays and walks in the name of the Lord’.  AMEN.