The God of Imperfect People

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
August 31, 2014

17 Proper A

"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Really Bad Day" is one of my favorite children's books.  Alexander wakes up with gum in his hair, and the day gets worse from there.  He trips on a skateboard getting out of be. There is no prize in his cereal box that morning. He doesn't get to sit by the window in the car on the way to school.  His teacher does not like his picture of an invisible castle which looks a lot like a blank piece of paper, and there is no dessert in his lunch bag.  His day gets increasingly worse until finally his mom makes lima beans for supper and there is kissing on TV.

The book and Alexander's day end with Alexander's mother assuring the little boy that everyone has bad days.  We all need to hear that message, as I am guessing we have all had terrible, horrible, no good, really bad days.  Peter is certainly having one this morning.  Last week, Peter was the golden disciple.  Peter correctly identified Jesus as the Messiah, the son of the living God.  In return, Jesus proclaimed that Peter was the rock on which he would build the church, and he gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Peter must be riding high.  But today, when Jesus tells the disciples that he will suffer, die, and be raised, Peter objects.  "God forbid it Lord!  This must never happen to you!"  The events Jesus describes cannot happen to the Messiah.  Messiahs do not suffer and are not killed, especially at the hands of elders, chief priests and scribes.  Jesus takes Peter down with the words "Get behind me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."  The disciple who was given the name Peter, or Rock, last week is now called Satan.  How can Peter possibly be of any use to Jesus when he has so totally misunderstood the Messiah.  Peter is having a terrible, awful, no good really bad day.

On the other hand, Moses seems to be having a lovely, if confusing day.  He is off beyond the wilderness where he encounters the living God who speaks to him from a burning bush and gives him specific instructions for what God wants Moses to do with his life.  Wouldn't we all love that kind of clarity?  However, Moses is not out beyond the wilderness on a personal retreat in order to have a deeper experience of God.  Last week, we heard the story of Moses' birth.  This week, we hear God's call to Moses.  But in between, Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew.  Moses is on the run from the Egyptians, who want his life.  Moses had his terrible, awful, no good really bad day, and that day sent him off into the wilderness where he encountered God, despite himself.  Out beyond the wilderness, knowing full well what Moses has done, God calls Moses to lead God's people out of slavery in Egypt and into the land of milk and honey.

Moses is understandably curious about who this God is who is calling him.  Twice in this passage, God says "I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."  This God is the god of the great heros of the faith, the God who promised Abraham descendants that would number the stars in the sky.  The only problem is that the descendants are now in slavery in Egypt, where they are suffering under great oppression. So, in order for God to make a great nation out of the descendants of Abraham, there must be some kind of intervention to get them out of slavery.  And that is God's plan for Moses.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob evokes memories of the great stories of the book of Genesis, like the promise of God to Abraham, the near sacrifice of Isaac, and the great love stories of Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Rachel.  But the equally true reality is that the God of Abraham is the God of the guy who passed his wife Sarah off as his sister, had a child with one of his servants when his wife Sarah could not conceive, and almost sacrificed his child on an altar.  There is not too much dirt on Isaac-his life was rather tame in comparison with his father and his son, but he did have trouble telling his sons apart.  The God of Jacob is the God of the guy who stole his slightly older brother's birthright.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who is also the God of Moses and Peter and us is not the God of perfect people by any means.  This is the God of infinite patience and creativity, who takes us as we are, with our gifts and our mistakes and shortcomings and uses us as God used Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Peter, and countless other men and women with countless other shortcomings to do God's work in the world.

On this Labor Day weekend, we ask God's blessing upon our work.  We ask God's blessing not so that everything we do is perfect, because that is not likely to happen.  We all have terrible, awful, no good, really bad days.  We ask God's blessing on our work, on our hands, so that our work is God's work in the world and a blessing to others, particularly when they are having a terrible, awful, no good, really bad day.  Just as God used Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel and Leah, Moses, and Peter to accomplish God's work in the world and to be a blessing to others, God will use us as we offer our lives and labor to God.
Amen.

Not a Problem to be Solved, but a Life to be Lived

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
August 24, 2014

16 Proper A

Calculus was not the best way to start my college career.  My apologies in advance to those of you who are mathematicians; the story is not pretty.  My high school transcript, test scores, and advisors all indicated that I was ready for Calculus.  They were all wrong.  The class started off alright.  I followed along well enough, learned how to work the problems, and survived the first test.  As the term progressed, however, I often wondered if we were all speaking the same language.  The situation was not helped by the fact that we were in a windowless basement room at 8 o'clock in the morning, but I am quite sure the material would have been equally unintelligible under more favorable conditions.

By the time we got to the final, let's just say that I really needed to do well on that particular test.  Our  textbook had the answers to the odd numbered problems in the back of the book, so I worked every odd numbered problem we had covered that term to prepare.  Every last one of them.  I was determined to conquer this exam.

When I looked at the exam on the day of the final, I honestly wondered if I was in the right place. Or maybe I had been given the exam for a different class by mistake.  The questions on the exam looked nothing like the problems I had worked.  The questions had more to do with theory than working problems.  I knew how to work the problems, not how the problems worked.  My heart sank.  The result was not pretty.

The disciples are given an equally baffling test this morning.  Their quiz starts out with a beginning of the term question:  "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  Jesus wants to know what other people are saying about him.  That is easy.  "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  So far, so good.  The disciples can work this problem.  But then, there is the follow up question.  Jesus asks the disciples "Who do you say that I am?"

My guess is that a very long silence followed that question.  The disciples stared at their feet, examined their fingernails, and got very interested in something on the ground, hoping that someone else would speak up.  But finally, Simon looks Jesus in the eye and says "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!"  Bingo!  The prize for having answered the question correctly is nothing other than a new name, the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and the assurance that the gates of Hades will not prevail.  Along with the keys, Jesus tells Peter that whatever he binds on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever he loosens on earth will be loosed in heaven.   That is a considerable amount of power, and the church has been arguing about that power ever since.

Shiphrah and Puah have a different kind of power this morning as we hear the story of the birth of Moses.  The situation of the Hebrew people has changed dramatically since we last checked in on them last week.  Last week, Joseph, the son of Jacob, grandson of Isaac, great grandson of Abraham, was ruler of Egypt.  Now Joseph's people are held in oppressive and brutal slavery in that very same land.  The King of Egypt is afraid that the Hebrew people will multiply, and in the event of war, join Egypt's enemies, and escape from Egypt.  But the more brutal the Egyptians made the lives of the Hebrews, the faster the Hebrews multiplied. So the King orders that all Hebrew baby boys be killed.  This morning, the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, use their power as midwives and refuse to let the Pharaoh cause the damage and destruction he desires.  These two women were hardly likely candidates to stand up to power and prevent the powers of hell from prevailing.  They were not politicians, royalty, or military leaders.  The two midwives are two ordinary women going about the work they have been called to do, delivering babies.  In the course of that very normal work, they are given the opportunity to stand up to evil, to close the gates of hell as it were, and make the kingdom of heaven a more present reality on earth.

When Jesus asks "Who do you say that I am?" I think Jesus cares just as much about the answer we give with our lives as he does the answer we give with our lips.  Interestingly, as we have done the work of discerning the work God is calling us to in the next couple of years, we have found energy around our formation as Christians and around possible new outreach initiatives, shaping the answer we give to Jesus' question with our lips and with our lives.  The apostle Paul calls us this morning to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, but that does not mean that our faith is a purely mental exercise.  Paul tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can discern the will of God- that which is good and acceptable and perfect, and present our bodies as a living sacrifice.  How are we called to use our power to close the gates of hell and make the kingdom of heaven a more present reality on earth?  How do we use our lives to answer Jesus' question "Who do you say that I am?" when confronted with the evil in Iraq and Syria, Ferguson, Beavercreek, and right here in Springfield?  Do we change the channel or close the webpage as I have caught myself doing time and time again when I could bear to hear no more?  Or do we, like Shiphrah and Puah, find a way to use our lives, our power, to make a difference in difficult conversations about race or religion or unequal access to opportunity?

Jesus calls us to answer the question "Who do you say that I am?" not only with our lips, saying the right words, but with our lives so that our lives work to make the kingdom of heaven more present here on earth.  The Christian life is not a problem to be solved correctly, but a life to be lived faithfully.  The Messiah, the Son of the Living God, expected that of Peter and the disciples and he expects that of us.

Amen.

Humble, Persistent, and Bold

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
August 17, 2014

15 Proper A

Some years ago, I ran into a former grade school teacher of one of our sons.  We were both at a reception following a funeral when we had one of those "Don't I know you from somewhere" moments.  About 15 years had elapsed since this teacher had taught our son, but during the year that our son was in her classroom, the teacher and I had an unfortunate disagreement over the way a particular situation had been handled.  If the teacher had 30 students a year, and 15 years had passed since we last encountered each other, then some 450 students and no doubt several disagreeable parents had passed through her classroom since we last met.  So, hopefully the teacher had forgotten our unpleasant encounter.  However, word to the wise-if you don't want your children's teachers to remember them, do not give them names like Slocomb and Caldwell!  And indeed, 15 years later, the teacher did remember our son.  Whether or not she remembered our disagreement, I will never know because if she did, she was gracious enough not to mention it.  Nonetheless, I felt a bit awkward to say the least.

Awkward probably does not begin to describe what Joseph's brothers are feeling this morning when they find out that the powerful ruler standing before them is actually the brother they sold into slavery.  While selling one's brother into slavery is not to be commended, little brother Joseph was a bit of a brat and a tattle tale, and was adored by his father.  Now, many years have passed and a famine has come upon the land.  Because Joseph had understood one of Pharaoh's dreams to mean that there would be seven years of abundance, followed by seven years of famine, Egypt had planned for the famine.  During the 7 plenteous years, one-fifth of the harvest was put in reserve for the famine to come.  When the famine arrived, Egypt was ready.  Not only that, but the Pharaoh had made Joseph ruler over Egypt.  When we catch up with Joseph and his brothers this morning, Joseph's brothers stand before him, unaware of his identity, in dire need of food to purchase and take home to their father and families.  While Joseph looks like the model of forgiveness and reconciliation in our lovely but somewhat gushy reading this morning, what the lectionary leaves out is the way Joseph treated his brothers the previous time they came for food.  The first time they came, Joseph, who is now in a position of great power, accuses his brothers of spying and has them thrown in jail for three days. Joseph holds his brother Simeon captive while the other brothers return home to their father and instructs his brothers to return with Benjamin, the beloved son since Joseph's disappearance.  Joseph has the money his brothers paid for the grain put back in their bags before they leave for home, and when they find it, they are terrified that they will be accused of stealing.  Joseph is in a position of great power which he does not mind abusing, and his brothers have no clue who he is. When Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers this morning, they are understandably mortified.  But Joseph explains that God has worked through their misdeeds so that now their family can be kept alive. And manipulative, bratty, tattletale Joseph demonstrates the mercy of God to his brothers.

Jesus is not at his best this morning, either.  Jesus is flat out rude to the woman seeking help for her daughter, not to mention arrogant and prejudiced.  The Canaanite woman cries out to him "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."  She clearly recognizes Jesus' great power, a power that can cure her daughter.  But in response to the woman's plea, Jesus completely ignores her.  When the disciples encourage Jesus to send her away so she will quit shouting at them, Jesus says "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  In Matthew's gospel, Jesus clearly understands his ministry as first to the house of Israel.  Only after the resurrection do we hear Jesus send the disciples out to make disciples of all nations.  The Canaanite woman is not of the house of Israel.  She is one of "them" and not one of "us," so she is not worthy of Jesus' attention.  This is not the Jesus we know, who's work we try to do, the Jesus who feeds the hungry and heals the sick, casts out demons, and works for justice and mercy for the poor and marginalized.

At the end of the story, Jesus says to the Canaanite woman, the very woman to whom he had just been so very rude, "Woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish."  Last week, we heard Jesus say to Peter, his own disciple, "Oh you of little faith.  Why did you doubt?"  Whatever Jesus' problem with the Canaanite woman might be, in the end, she is held up for us as a model of great faith, while Peter is left as a person of little faith.  So, perhaps it would behoove us to forget about Jesus' behavior for a moment and focus on the faith of the Canaanite woman.  What about her faith is commendable?

First, unlike Peter, who last week essentially said to Jesus "IF you are the Son of God, command me to walk out to you on the water," the Canaanite woman says "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."  The Canaanite woman, a  pagan and not a Jew, living in Gentile territory, recognizes Jesus and calls him by a title that is surprising.  How does she know Jesus is the Lord, the Son of David?  However, she came to have this knowledge, she is led to ask Jesus for mercy, for the unearned favor of God.  She recognizes Jesus' power and is humble before that power.

Secondly, her faith is persistent.  When the disciples want Jesus to send the woman away, she keeps shouting.  When Jesus makes the claim that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, she doesn't take "no" for an answer.  Her faith leads her to kneel before Jesus and say "Lord, help me."  Her faith is humble, but it is also persistent.  She keep after Jesus until he gives her the response she needs; she doesn't just give up and go away when Jesus ignores her.

Thirdly, her faith is bold.  When Jesus seems to be just flat out rude and says "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs," she is undaunted and dares to come back at Jesus with "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."  She is willing to argue with Jesus.  Her bold reply leads Jesus to respond "Woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish."  And her daughter was healed instantly.

While both Jesus and Joseph have power that they are not willing to use immediately to bring about healing and relief, the Canaanite woman and Joseph's brothers have a faith that is surprising.  Both are in great need, but know that they deserve nothing.  Both are persistent, coming back when either they need more food, or don't have the need for healing met immediately.  Both are bold.  Guts are required to return to the brother who has already accused you of spying and locked you in prison, and guts are required for anyone, much less a Canaanite, to approach the Son of David.  Perhaps the point of these stories is to hold up unlikely models of faith that call us to a faith that is humble, persistent, and bold.

  Amen.

The God of Abundance

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
August 3, 2014

The God of Abundance: 13 Proper A

By 8:30 on Wednesday morning, I had fielded four phone calls from people asking if our Food Pantry would be open that afternoon.  At 9 o'clock, a growing stream of volunteers began bringing case after case of food into the building and by 11 o'clock people were lined up well into the parking lot waiting for the pantry to begin serving.  Our volunteers are infinitely kind and patient, sitting with each client to get the necessary information, helping the clients pick out what they need when there are choices, and handing out the bags of groceries with a smile and a thoughtful word.  The workers are also hoping that the food will hold out until the last person is served so that no one leaves empty handed.  The vast majority of weeks, there is plenty of food and everyone is served.  But once in a great while, we run out.

So, when I hear the story of the Feeding of the 5000, my thoughts naturally turn to the Food Pantry.  We hear Jesus say "You give them something to eat" and we do.  Like the disciples, we know that the food we distribute does not belong to us. The food belongs to God and the people, and we are God's distribution mechanism.  We try to have faith that there will be enough food, even when we feel overwhelmed by the need, and generally there is enough.  Rarely is the equivalent of 12 baskets full leftover, but there is always more for the next week.  We can easily and understandably hear Jesus calling us to have a little more faith, work a little harder, and feed a few more people.

But to hear this story only as a call to have faith and feed people is to hear the story far too narrowly, both in terms of the Gospel story and in terms of our story at Christ Church.  Last February, while I was away, you began talking about ministry at Christ Church, ways to grow our ministry, and the direction you would like to see this church take in the next few years.  Conversations and surveys showed interest in new outreach ministries, more adult formation experiences, and more opportunities for fellowship.  Since May, we have had focused conversations about Adult Formation and Outreach.  As I have listened and watched this summer, I have heard a deep commitment to serving our community either by expanding and bolstering current outreach ministry, or developing new outreach initiatives.  Outreach is in our DNA here, and the desire to do more and serve better is a driving force.  But I have also heard a deep longing for more time outside Sunday morning for prayer, Bible study, conversation and reflection about our life of faith.  Turn out for some new experiences like Flash Mob Compline at City Hall plaza and a spontaneous gathering for lunch at National Trail Commons has been great.  Talk about developing Pub Theology for adults is animated, and energy around gathering for fellowship as the Body of Christ is high.  We know we are called to serve the community.  We long for a deeper understanding of how and why we do that as people of faith.

The story of the Feeding of the 5000 begins with these words "Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself."  Jesus has been hard at work teaching and healing, and he has just heard that his cousin, John the Baptist, has been beheaded by King Herod.  Only when Jesus had finished his time alone did he go ashore where the crowds were waiting for him.  The crowds had apparently gathered around Jesus so that Jesus could cure their sick, not so that Jesus would feed them. Jesus fed them because at the end of a long day, the people were hungry and there was no place to buy food.  The people were probably not without resources, just without food at hand.  The Feeding of the 5000 is less a story about curing physical hunger and more a story about Jesus taking time away, then re- engaging his work of healing and teaching through which the people encounter the God of Abundance.

This morning, we also hear about Jacob's encounter with God.  Jacob has sent his two wives, 2 maids and 11 children on ahead of him, in different directions.  What we don't hear this morning is that Jacob is waiting to encounter Esau, his brother who he cheated out of the elder brother's birth right some 20 years ago.  Last Jacob heard, 20 years ago, Esau was furious with Jacob and wanted to kill him. Jacob can only imagine that Esau's fury has multiplied with time, and Jacob is petrified.  He has sent his wives and children ahead with mixed motives: to protect them and to send Esau off Jacob's trail.  Jacob has also sent an abundance of gifts ahead for Esau, hoping to appease him and lessen his anger.  The Jacob who we find alone today is not the cocky, trickster Jacob.  This Jacob is terrified of meeting his brother, and he is alone in his terror when he wrestles with God.  As a result of that encounter with God, Jacob is changed.  Jacob limps away from his encounter with God, changed from the Jacob who would deceive his brother into the Jacob who will follow in Abraham and Isaac's footsteps.  Jacob is changed by his encounter with God, as I imagine the disciples and the crowds were changed by their encounter with God in the Feeding of the 5000.

When I sent out the Newsnote this week with the photo from our compline in front of City Hall, Bob Partlow, our former rector, emailed back to ask if a) we had really prayed compline, and b) if anyone had participated.  I emailed back and said that a)yes, we really did pray compline, and b) while all of us who attended participated, those who passed by participated primarily by staring.   Bob's response was that lives will be changed by our prayer, and my response to Bob was that the lives that will be changed may well be our own.

The gospel gives us permission to satisfy our longing for more time for prayer, Bible study, conversation and reflection even as we look at ways to better serve our community.  Jesus withdrew to a deserted place, and Jesus calls us to do the same.  Jesus then re-engaged his ministry to the crowds.  Jesus calls us to do the same.  Like Jacob, we will be transformed when we encounter the God of Abundance in worship, outreach, and reflection.  When we take the time to withdraw as Jesus did, our life together and with God will be enriched and our ministry to the world will grow deeper.

Amen.