A Dwelling Place for God

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
July 19, 2015

11 Proper B

At Pub Theology earlier this month, the discussion topic for both the adults and the youth was the idea of  home. Both groups had great discussions, but the youth really dug into the topic. What makes a place a home?  How do we know we are home?  One of the youth suggested that home is where his bed is.  After two weeks away from home last month, I can understand that thought, for sure.  But what if we move our bed.  Is the new place home just because our bed is there?  Probably not.  We thought about those things that we miss when we are not at home.  What makes us homesick?  Some of us miss our families, or our routines, or the way we fit in at home. We wondered if more than one place could be home at a time.  We thought and talked and pushed on the idea of home until one of the youth finally said to me "Can you pick an easier topic next time?"

This morning, we find David settled in at home, enjoying his house and a rest from all his enemies around him.  Sitting in his lovely house of cedar, David realizes that while he has a lovely home, God is living in a tent.  David should not have a nicer dwelling place than God has.  So, David decides to build God a house.  That is the way Scripture tells the story.  But personally, I think David is tired from all his work defeating his enemies and working to create a united Kingdom.  David remembers well all the times that God has moved among the people, led them in battle, and taken them to new places.  David is tired, and figures that if he builds God a house to live in, God will have to stay put for a while, and David can take a break!  But that's just my version of the story.

Whatever David's motives, God is not flattered by David's desire to build God a house.  God reminds David that God is a God on the go.  Rather than David building a house for God, God will build a house for David, on whose throne God will establish a kingdom forever.  This house will not be a made of cedar, but of the offspring of David.

David's offspring do rule Jerusalem for about 400 years. But even before that kingship ends with the Babylonian exile in 586 B.C., prophets believed that God's promise to David would be fulfilled through the gift of a Messiah.  As Christians, we believe that the promise made to David this morning is fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

When we catch up with Jesus today, we find him out among the people.  The Messiah, the anointed one of God, is not found in a house, but out in the villages, cities and farms, teaching and healing all those who came to him.  This is the same Messiah who, in Matthew and Luke's gospels, says "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."  And in the same gospels, when told that his mother and brothers have arrived to see him, Jesus says "My mother and brother are those who hear the word of God and do it."  Whatever Jesus' idea of home might be, it does not seem to involve his family or his bed.  As the one we believe to be the promised house of David, built by God, Jesus does not stay put anymore than God does.  Jesus is clearly the Son of the God who is on the move!

So what might "home" mean for us as Christians?  The writer of Ephesians says "So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.  In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God."

Much in the same way that gospel logic proclaims that the last are first and the first are last, the rich are poor and the poor are rich, and the insiders are outsiders and the outsiders are insiders, I wonder if gospel logic tells us that for followers of Jesus, home is not about where we live, but where God lives.  As Christians, we believe that Jesus is Emmanuel-God with us.  Christians are no longer aliens or strangers, or in other words we are no longer not-at-home, because together we are a dwelling place for God. What makes home is God dwelling in us-God with us.  We come to this place, this wonderful, beautiful building, to be fed and nurtured, but not to live.  We come here to be fed and sent out into the villages, cities, and farms, or their equivalent in our own lives.  Home happens where ever we are, because God dwells in us and goes where we go.  Home happens because we are members of the household of God and members of Jesus family, because we hear the word of God and do it.  What David did not know, that Jesus teaches us, is that we do not need to build God a home. We are God's home.

                                           Amen.

The Bold Power of Faith

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
June 21, 2015

7 Proper B

When Don and I left graduate school at Vanderbilt, we moved to Sylva, North Carolina where Don had a job teaching philosophy at Western Carolina University in the near by town of Cullowhee.  These are tiny towns that most people have never heard of, nestled in the mountains, where the economy is largely driven by the University.

Western Carolina University has a football team, the Catamounts, that some followers of football, especially southeast conference football have actually heard of.  People have heard of this football team, not because they are a football power house, but because they are the team the big schools like to play for homecoming because a victory is pretty much assured.  Western Carolina puts themselves through this because the money is good for playing teams in the southeast conference.  So tiny Western Carolina with its not-very-accomplished football team plays power house teams like Auburn and Alabama.  The comparison could be made between these games and David and Goliath.  The only problem is that this underdog almost never wins.

Underdog stories are popular stories when the underdog wins.  By and large, we love stories where the smallest or least likely team or candidate defeats the giant school or the well financed opponent.  But the reality is that real David and Goliath stories are rare.  In the story of David and Goliath, David, the young shepherd boy, tells Saul, the King of Israel, that David will go and fight Goliath.  Goliath is an enormous, powerful and experienced warrior.  Western Carolina vs. Auburn.  David makes his appeal to Saul and says "The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the bear and the paw of the lion, will save me from the Philistine."  Saul relents and allows David to go, probably because everyone else is afraid to volunteer.  David refuses the armor Saul offers because David could not walk in all that gear, and then David goes off to slay Goliath.  Which David does.  One shot of David's slingshot and Goliath is dead.

So, is the message here that, with God's help, the little person always wins?

As much as that might be a nice thought, the evidence is really to the contrary.  The little team doesn't always win.  In some cases, the little team rarely wins.  But to put it in a more meaningful context, only occasionally does the underdog win the election, the more socially just but less popular view prevail, or the smaller company prevent the buyout by the larger one.  Even more pertinent and pressing-attempts to have meaningful conversations about gun violence and racism feel like David in the face of Goliath.  On the rare occasion that the underdog does prevail, we get so excited that the victory is all over the news, books are written and movie deals are sought.  But that is rare.

If the beloved story of David and Goliath is not just about the underdog winning, with God's help in this case, then what is the story about?

In the gospel reading, the disciples and Jesus are crossing the lake when a great windstorm produces such huge waves that the disciples are afraid the boat will be swamped and they will all drown.  While the disciples are wringing their hands in panic, Jesus is asleep in the stern, apparently unconcerned about the impending disaster.  The disciples wake Jesus up and say "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"  Jesus wakes up, probably yawns and stretches, then says to the wind and the waves "Peace.  Be still."  And the wind and the waves calm.  Then Jesus says to his disciples "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"  And the disciples say to each other "Who is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?"

There are several interesting twists to this story.  First, Jesus says "Why are you afraid?"  He does not say "There is nothing to be afraid of."  The difference is huge.  The storm is truly fierce.  The disciples might really drown.  That is scary stuff.  There is clearly something to fear.  But Jesus wants to know why they are afraid, and suggests that the answer to the question "Why are you afraid" is because they have no faith.

Secondly, the disciples are professional fishermen when Jesus calls them.  They have spent a lot of time on the water.  At this point, they are probably still much better at catching fish than they are at being disciples.  So, in theory at least, they have the skills to read the winds and the waves and know how to handle a situation like this, or better yet, avoid it in the first place. But in their fear, they forget.

Lastly, who in Hebrew scriptures is more powerful than the wind and sea?  God.  God separates the land from the sea in the story of creation.  God asks Job "Who said to the sea ‘Stop here and go no further?'" The answer, of course, is God  In the Hebrew scriptures, God has control over the wind and the water.  By commanding the wind and the waves to be still, Jesus is showing his disciples in the most clear way possible that he is God.  If the disciples had faith, they would not fear.

I believe that the story of David and Goliath is also about fear.  Unlike the bigger, stronger, more experienced warriors, David is not afraid to take on Goliath.  But David's courage comes not just from his belief that God will save him.  Hear what David says to Saul "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I want after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth, and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it.  Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumsized Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God" Only after David has put forth his own credentials, does the young shepherd say "The Lord who saved me from the paw of the bear and of the lion will save me from the hand of the Philistine."

David is unafraid because he trusts both God and the gifts God has given him.  David has a very accurate and much practiced shot.  He also remembers the ways God has helped him in the past and trusts that God will do so again.  He knows that with his skill and God's help, he can defeat Goliath.  The disciples trust neither their own skills as fishermen who must continually contend with wind and waves, nor do they trust God, and they are paralyzed by their fear.  The David and Goliath story does not tell us that even the very well practiced underdog will always win with God's help.  We know that is not true.  But, when we hear about David and Goliath together with the story of Jesus calming the sea, we hear a new story-not about the underdog winning, but about the crippling power of fear and the bold power of faith.  This week especially, given the tragedy in Charleston, this new story gives us courage to engage the difficult conversations we so desperately need to have and solve the difficult problems we so clearly need to solve.

Amen.

Thirty Minutes

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
June 14, 2015

6 Proper B

Since we hear this morning about the call of David, the youngest and thus least likely of Jesse's sons to become King of Israel, I'd like to take a moment for some shameless bragging about some of our youngest parishioners.  Saturday a week ago, three of our acolytes served at the Cathedral with the Bishop for the service where Jennifer and three others were ordained to the diaconate.  The folks at the Cathedral were a bit surprised at the age of our acolytes and they were equally surprised at the very fine job they did, making all the Christ Church folk there quite proud.  Last Sunday, four of our youth along with two adults, stood in front of this congregation and spoke eloquently about the their experience at Procter Camp has deepened their faith.  Rob Konkol, the Director of Procter Camp and the counselors were quite moved by the testimony of our campers.  Later that morning, I asked four of the youth if they would help serve lunch to the Procter Staff and they could not say "yes" fast enough, always willing to help.  In a few minutes, we will recognize the accomplishments of our parishioners who have graduated from high school and college this year and hear about their plans for the future.  And later this morning,  the youth will gather for Pub Theology, which involves pizza, chocolate, and picking my brain dry with some seriously intense conversation about life, the church, and God.  We have amazing youth at Christ Church, all with deep faith that plays out in a deep commitment to God and the church.

This morning, I imagine Jesse is equally proud of his young son David as David is chosen by God to be the King of Israel.  God's choice is surprising, since David has done nothing to prepare for a career as King of Israel.  David has been out tending sheep, not gaining military, administrative, or economic experience.  The gardener in Jesus' parable is probably also proud of his harvest, even though the gardener apparently has no clue as to how the seed became a great harvest.  Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is like seed that is scattered and grows, almost magically and without any further effort on the part of the person who scattered the seed.  I have tried gardening that way, and I can tell you, nothing magical happens in my garden!  Jesus also tells us that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed-the tiniest of all seeds that grows into the greatest of all shrubs, and that growth seems to just happen.

From Jesus' parables, and the story of young David, we could easily think that our readings today tell us that the Kingdom of God will grow in our midst without any effort on our part at all. Jesus first words in the gospel according to Mark are "The Kingdom of God has arrived.  Repent and believe in the Good News."  The message seems to be that the Kingdom of God has already arrived, the seeds have been scattered, the leaders have been chosen, so all we need to do is sit back and watch the show.

However, I think that is a bit like thinking that our children will grow up to be faithful Christians without any effort on our part.  Our children, who are already quite faithful Christians, did not come to that faith on their own, nor will their faith mature on its own.  Our children and youth have parents, grandparents, teachers, Sunday School teachers, camp counselors, friends, and many other people in their lives who nurture them and help their faith develop.  The seed in Jesus' parable did not actually grown on its own, either.  Soil, rain, and sunshine nourished that seed so that the seed would sprout and grow, even if the farmer did not understand exactly how that happened.  The farmer did not need to understand exactly how the seed became a great plant in order for the plant to grow.  The farmer just needed to be willing to plant the tiny seed.  And David would become a great king, but not without some help and a lot of learning along the way.  We will hear more of those stories through out the Sundays this summer.

I wonder if the willingness to scatter the tiny seed, or to be anointed king of Israel, without really understanding what will happen is the heart of these parables.  I wonder if the mystery of the Kingdom is in what happens when we are willing to offer what we have, even if what we have seems to be way too tiny or we think we are way too young, or too old for that matter, to do any good.  Perhaps the mystery of the kingdom is how God does such incredible work with what we offer.  The sower had faith that the seed would grow, he knew not how.  David had faith that, despite his age and lack of experience, somehow he would become the king God called him to be.  What would happen if, rather than say "I only have 30 minutes, which is not enough time," every one of us sowed our 30 minutes together.  That's exactly what happens when we need to unload trucks carrying 3000 pounds of food for the Food Pantry.  A whole bunch of people show up and offer their 30 minutes and an enormous task is accomplished in 30 minutes because a dozen or so people refused to believe their 30 minutes were too tiny to matter.  Or what would happen if, rather than each person thinking that his or her one little voice won't make a difference, we all actually do offer our one little voice to speak out against injustice, not knowing what will happen, but trusting that God will take our voice and make a difference?  Jesus' parables tell us that, in the economy of the Kingdom of God, when we all offer to God that which we have, even if what we have seems as tiny as one seed, God will do amazing work.  In the economy of the Kingdom of God, no offering is too small for God to use.

Amen.

General Convention's Action on Marriage

Yesterday was a great day at General Convention and for the Episcopal Church.  Not only did the House of Deputies vote to concur with the House of Bishops on two resolutions making marriage equality the reality in The Episcopal Church (TEC),  the action was taken with great respect for those for whom this action causes pain and distress.  Before each vote was taken, the House of Deputies was called to prayer by our chaplain, the Rev. Lester MacKenzie.  Before each vote was announced, the President of the House of Deputies, the Rev. Gay Jennings, asked that there be no applause or cheering when the vote was announced out of respect for those who disagree.   And when the votes were announced, which were overwhelmingly in favor of marriage equality, there was respectful silence in the House.  When 2000 people (deputies, alternates, and visitors) are silent, the silence is palpable.

The resolutions clearly make marriage equality the reality in the Episcopal Church.  Yet, both resolutions make space for those who disagree.  Even though the Supreme Court decision has made marriage equality the law of the land in this country, the Episcopal Church is made up of churches in 17 different countries.  For deputations from some of those countries, as well as some in this country, this action is a very painful move on the part of the Episcopal Church and they will go home to unhappy congregations.  So, we rejoice with those who rejoice, but we weep with those who weep as brothers and sisters in our common faith.

For more on the nuances of each resolution, I encourage you to visit www.opensourcetheology.blogspot.com.  Don was on the special legislative task force on marriage and posts his thoughts there about the resolutions.

Today, our attention turns to the budget of The Episcopal Church for the next three years, and to the response of TEC to the Israel-Palestine conflict.  Both should be interesting and intense discussion.

Your continued prayers are appreciated!
Blessings,
Charlotte