Pentecost 16 & Narrative 4: The Liberation Business*

*Alluding to Rob Bell's comment in Everything is Spiritual: "God is in the liberation business."

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

Psalm 25:1-9

Philippians 2:1-13

Matthew 21:23-32

Narrative: Exodus 14:10-14, 21-29

First Lesson: Ezekiel 18:1-4; 25-32

Challenges:

If there was a passage in scripture that seemed to support “works-righteousness” this must be it.  “When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die.” Seems pretty clear cut to me.  If you come from a tradition like mine (Lutheranism), you might be tempted to disregard this text and quickly show how it’s not right. I encourage you to wrestle with it a bit first.  Ezekiel’s words are part of Holy Scripture, we consider them inspired by the Holy Spirit.  That means they deserve at least some consideration.

Opportunities:

This could be a great opportunity to talk about the power of “blame” in present-day America. We are always looking for someone to blame, for the person who is “at fault.” This is certainly true when there is a disaster, either natural or man-made.  Who is to blame? Democrats and Republicans both have their ideas of who is to blame for the “state of our nation.”  When it comes to issues of race and inequality, there are plenty of opinions of who is to blame. I believe that this passage from Ezekiel can help us to step away from the “blame game” (which can be very exhausting anyway) and look at our own actions.  Instead of blaming others, we can use our energy to look at our own lives.

Good News:

The excellent commentators on the “Sermon Brainwave” Podcast of “Working Preacher” fame made an excellent point a few months ago. I’m paraphrasing, but they basically said that if you are asked a theological question where you don’t have the exact answer, start talking about the character and nature of God.  Verse 32 provides this for us. God says, “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live.”

It is good news to me to know that God is not just itching to blast us and will be somewhat disappointed when we turn away from our sins. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, God is just itching to forgive us and have a relationship with us. This is a theme that will resonate throughout all of scripture: in both the Old and New Testament (“…there is more joy in heaven when one sinner repents…”) and it shows us the character and nature of God.

Second Lesson: Philippians 2:1-13

Challenges:

Challenges? Can there be challenges in Philippians 2, quite possibly the best chapter in the entire New Testament? (Okay, okay…we can say tied with the best Chapter in the New Testament with about a dozen other primes candidates).  Could there be any challenges here other than suppressing the urge to spend half-an-hour looking at how amazing this is in your sermon?

Okay, one challenge I can think of: Paul’s statement: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What does that even mean? What does that look like? This is especially true because Paul also says that it is “God at work in you, enabling you…” to do all of those things.  So is it up to us or up to God? The answer is…yes.

Opportunities:

I strongly encourage you to check out John Dickson’s book, Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love and Leadership that looks at the idea of humility as a tremendously important virtue.  Dickson talks about how Jesus Christ and Paul created a “humility revolution” that changed the world.  In the ancient world humility as not considered a virtue, it was actually considered a weakness.  No one wanted to be humble, let alone a leader.

We are so used to a worldview where we give value, or at least lip-service, to the idea of a humble leader, that we can miss the true impact of what Paul is getting at here. 

As Dickson says, “…just as astonishing as the early description of Jesus as “God” is the fact that these first Christians could in the same breath say (or sing) “God” and “cross.” The idea that any great individual, let alone the Almighty, could be associated with a shameful Roman crucifixion is just bizarre….What we read in the above text is nothing less than a humility revolution. Honour and shame are turned on their heads.  The highly honoured Jesus lowered himself to a shameful cross and, yet, in so doing became not an object of scorn but one of praise and emulation.”  (Dickson, 109)

Dickson is very clear to say that being “humble” does not mean thinking less of yourself than you ought, or of beating yourself up or denying your talents. Instead, it’s about using your power to help others.  He says, “Humility is more about how I treat others than how I think about myself.” (Dickson, 25). This matches the example of Jesus perfectly. Jesus was not one to beat himself up or to deny who he was. Instead, he used his power for the benefit of others.

Good News:

First of all, the fact that Christ did all of the things listed in the “Christ Hymn” for humanity is good news in and of itself. The thought that he did this FOR ME is altogether life-changing. I often site the amazing words “For you,” that are said during the distribution of communion (“The Body of Christ, given FOR YOU…The Blood of Christ shed FOR YOU…”) and I will often say that Jesus died on the cross because he knew that 2000 years later we (and I’ll say the individual names of those around me) would need a savior.  I know that we in the Lutheran Church try to get away from a “personal” understanding of salvation, but I think we often go too far.  As Mark Allan Powell says in his book Loving Jesus, our relationship with Jesus is person…just not private.

Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32

Challenges:

With texts like these, it is all too easy for many Christians to jump to conclusions and say that this is an “Anti-Jewish” text. “You see,” the logic might go, “The Jews are like the second son who says that he will go and then doesn’t. The Gentiles (you know…you and me) are like the first son who says he won’t go, and then does.” This logic is flawed on many levels. The point of this story has nothing to do with ethnicity. Instead Jesus is comparing different groups WITHIN the Jewish context. He’s talking about the difference between religious leaders and “sinners” (i.e. tax-collectors and prostitutes).

We Christians should always be on the look-out for the slightest hint of anti-semitism in our proclamation.  You might not even mean to speak against the Jews, but your words could be interpreted that way: be careful!

On the other hand, there is an equally tempting mistake to make with passages such as this.  We often look at the acceptance of tax-collectors and prostitutes and thus assume that there is no need of any kind of “repentance” or “change” in the lives of people who come to God. I believe there is no need for these things to occur for God to love you, but God wants more for you than to have you remain in a situation that is less than what you were made for.

Opportunities:

This passage seems to have more challenges than opportunities.  From a parent’s point of view, I would much rather have my child say “no” and then do what I want (instead of the other way around), but of course it would be even better if I could get a “yes” and follow through, it would save quite a bit of hassle. But that’s the point, isn’t it? That if God is our parent, God really much have an amazing sense of patience and love.  Otherwise, we’d all be in big, big trouble.

As another opportunity: this is another example of Jesus squaring off in a “battle of words” with his religious opponents. It’s as if he’s having a verbal fencing-match and he totally cleans the floor with his enemies.  If you were painting a picture with your words here, that could be a good analogy to use.

Good News:

If you come at this lesson from the point of view of the religious leaders, it might be hard to find some good news indeed! But if you look at it from the point of view of the tax-collectors and prostitutes, this story is a very happy one.

Narrative: Exodus 14:10-14, 21-29

Challenges:

There is the issue of God’s slaughter of the Egyptian Army. Was it necessary? Could God have found a peaceful solution? How does this story mesh with our view of Jesus Christ and his teachings?  Again, don’t just discard this story or the point it is making because it doesn’t mesh with your own theology. 

Opportunities:

There's an excellent sermon by Martin Luther King Jr. on this story that can be found by clicking HERE.

This is an action-packed, vivid story.  You can really play up the sights and sounds that must have been present in this overwhelming experience.  The roaring water, the blustering wind, the thundering chariots.  Paint a picture with your words. Perhaps you could imagine yourself in and amongst the crowd of Israelites…what were people saying (or screaming) what was it like to know that Pharaoh’s army was just behind them?

Having listened to the excellent “I Love to Tell the Story” podcast on the Working Preacher website, I became thoughtful concerning something they said.  How many Egyptians did the Israelites kill?  None. Not one. The LORD did the action. In other words, no LORD, no dead Egyptians. Moses can wave his hand and his staff as much as he wants but it won't make any difference without the power of God.  In a world filled with “holy warriors” it’s important to remember that this is a story about GOD AT WORK. It’s not about us getting enough weapons to fight and doing the killing ourselves: we leave any of that up to God.  

Also, it is important to note that while God is the one at work fighting for the liberation of the people, the people have something to do as well: they have to “go into the sea” as verse 22 says. They are filled with fear right before this: they are ready to blame Moses when Pharaoh’s chariots arrive…but now they need to walk between two giant walls of water in order to find safety. How could they be sure that the water would stay back? How could they be sure that they would be safe? They couldn’t. So, there’s something to encourage, and disappoint, both adherents of both a “decision theology” as well as those who favor the opposing view. Is it up to God or the people? It’s up to God…but the people don’t just sit there.  It’s up to the people…but they can only go through the sea because of God’s action.  This story, like so many others, provides a great tension that gets a person thinking.

Good News:

As Rob Bell says, “God is in the liberation business.”  This story bears this out.  The People of Israel are ready to head back into slavery…and certainly complain about their situation, but God does not abandon them. In fact, because of what God did through Moses, the people found it within themselves to head across the Red Sea. 

Pentecost 15 & Narrative 3: Destroyed but not Defeated

Jonah 3:10-4:11

Psalm 145:1-8

Philippians 1:21-30

Matthew 20:1-16

Narrative: Genesis 39:1-23

  

First Lesson: Jonah 3:10-4:11

Challenges:

The book of Jonah has become one of my favorites in recent years: excellent story-telling, amazing theological points, and humor.  It’s short enough that it can make an excellent preaching or bible study series.  It is an excellent Old Testament example of the wideness of God’s mercy. What’s not to like?

At the same time, I remember hearing this particular part of the story (basically Jonah 4) and being totally puzzled.  It just didn’t make sense to me.  Why would Jonah care about this silly bush?  Why would he be “angry enough to die.” It’s like the story took a strange turn at the end.

Of course now I know that Jonah is full of hyperbole (exaggeration to make a point).  The ending is SUPPOSED to be weird: that’s the point.  But it’s important for me to remember that not everyone will see that right off the bat.  It will take some explaining, especially if your lector (or reader or minister of the word or whatever you call that person) doesn’t get the hyperbole and “silliness” and reads this very, VERY seriously. 

Opportunities:

So, I just finished talking about the challenge that comes with the hyperbole and silliness to this story.  It’s a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity too.  You can really play up Jonah’s “drama queen” or “drama king” delivery). How over the top can you be in reading his lines when you rehash the story?

Also, in fairness to Jonah, you can talk about how absolutely awful the Assyrians were.  Large conquering empires are rarely (if ever) known for being humanitarian organizations, but the Assyrians took empire to a new level of destruction and death. 

Historian Gwynn Dyer has this to say about them:

“It was a society almost gone made with militarism, and for the next 12 centuries it waged endless war against its subject peoples and its neighbours.” Pg. 161

“[It] became a one-dimensional monster, constantly at war and terrorizing the whole Middle East in order to ensure a constant flow of booty and tribute to its treasury.  There is even speculation that it deliberately  held its provinces in a loose grip in order to encourage revolts that would give it an excuse to conquer and loot them again.  Whole populations were deported amid appalling massacres and resettled far from home in punishment for rebellions, but perhaps also in fulfillment of the empire’s need to repopulate other devastated provinces…its kings and commanders deliberately cultivated a reputation for extreme cruelty as a means of cowing their opponents in advance.  Indeed, we know of the Assyrianss addiction to sadism (the phrase is not too strong a word) mainly from their own inscriptions; they boasted about it.” (pg. 162)

From War: The Lethal Custom by Gwynne Dyer (New York: Carol and Graff Pub., 1985).

I think Jonah’s lack of enthusiasm at the lack of divine destruction rained down upon Ninevah makes a bit more sense when you get to know the Assyrians.

Good News:

Ninevah survives this story, as does Jonah. There doesn’t have to be any destruction…and there is still a relationship between God and Jonah. I could see God just giving up on this reluctant (although ridiculously successful) prophet.  Instead, God takes the time to have another conversation with him.  The fact that this story ends with an open question…a question that is easily given to the audience, makes it a very potent one.  We are invited to think about what has just happened, and even more to consider the character of God.

This story has a good ending…unless you’re the bush.  If you’re the bush you’re dead and nothing can be done...sorry.

Second Lesson: Philippians 1:21-30

Challenges:

Wait, a Second Lesson that’s NOT from Romans? Did I really read that right? It can’t be…

Okay, there is one thing. I remember having a conversation with a person who was dealing with clinical depression, had just lost a loved one, and had read this passage. They found themselves thinking that this passage was pointing toward the value of suicide, so that they could go and be with God.

Needless to say, this conclusion is WAY out of context, scary, and was in great need of more conversation and correction. At the same time, this reminded me that unintended “meanings” to any text are out there and we preachers should be thoughtful about that.  I don’t believe that Paul had a “death wish” or is advising suicide: not in the least!  Just be aware that there are people who will hear this text in a variety of unintended ways.

The idea of the “privilege” of suffering for Christ is a very important and good one: but also needs to be spoken of wisely.  It’s not a “privilege” to be abused by a spouse, parent, or teacher, or ANYONE for Christ.  You might not be going anywhere near there in your sermon, but I bet someone in your congregation will be…

Opportunities:

While the parallel is not exact, Paul’s comments in verses 21-25 remind me of his words in Romans 14:8: “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” 

I really like the idea of the fact that the church in Philippi can live a life worthy of the gospel and not be intimidated by their enemies.  It reminds me of a great quote from Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea: “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”  The enemies of the church in Philippi could destroy them: have them all humiliated in the eyes of the world (but not in their own eyes) and killed.  But that would not be defeat. As Paul says, ‘to live is Christ and to die is gain.’

When Paul says “striving side by side” you have a really good ‘teamwork’ image: a sports team or a military unit, firefighting team, ship’s crew, or something similar. This could be a great chance to talk about your audience in a similar way. How do they work together? Even if they don’t do it well, perhaps you could ‘speak them’ into that reality.

Good News:

It might not sound like good news that suffering is a privilege, but I think it can be.  Quite often we look at good things (“blessings” if you will) as a sign of God’s favor. Even now, thousands of years after the book of Job was written, we quite often think, “Well, he/she must have done something to deserve that bad stuff!” 

Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16

Challenges:

As the commentary from my excellent study bible (The Access Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press) says very succinctly, “Jesus’ parables, as well as divine grace, continue to challenge conventional views.” REALLY!?!?! This is one of those parables that makes no sense: and that’s the whole point. If you’re preaching on this it’s important to make that clear! And what’s more, the chances of you preaching to people who are most likely to take the side of the first laborers (they are the ones who often show up to worship, after all), you’ll have some explaining to do.  I don’t think that using guilt or “brow-beating” your people is right or even helpful.  Lure them in…

Opportunities:

“It’s not fair!” How many times have we heard that (or said it).  This parable reminds me of an exchange between two characters in C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. A man (or “ghost”) who travels from Hell to Heaven meets a murderer there.  He’s outraged (“I wouldn’t have believed it. It’s a fair knock out. It isn’t right, Len, you know.”) that this man is in heaven.  It’s not fair! He wants his “rights.” The murderer tries to tell him, “I haven’t got my rights, or I should not be here.  You will not get yours either.  You’ll get something far better.  Never fear.” (The Great Divorce, Harper Collings Edition, 2001, pgs. 26-28)

Good News:

“It’s not fair!” Indeed it isn’t: and thank God for that.  It all seems to be about mindset. It we see ourselves as the laborers who have been working a long time, we can ask God to help us to change our hearts so that we are glad of all of those who have come into the vineyard after us.  Or, perhaps we can start to see ourselves as some of the last laborers to show up.  Not only could that be helpful, it might also be more accurate than we can imagine. Even better, wherever we are in the spectrum, perhaps we could look at the vineyard work as something more that drudgery.  As the writer of Ecclesiastes says, “…moreover it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in their toil.” (Ecclesiastes 3:13)

What if we approach vineyard work, no matter when we go on the clock, in that way?

Ultimately, I’m not JUST a Christian or a disciple of Jesus because of the eternal reward (although I’m not complaining about it either…). I’m a Christian because following Jesus is the best life I can find. (Not easiest, or calmest…best).

Narrative: Genesis 39:1-23

Challenges:

I’ll talk about this more in the ‘good news’ section, but we need to be careful about a simplistic look at this story.  “Oh, well, things were hard for Joseph, but God was with him and it all turned out okay! The same thing can happen to you! Turn that frown upside down!”  Sometimes we do the right thing and it leads to no earthly benefit.  Sometimes doing the right thing gets you killed (literally).  I’m not saying God doesn’t look after us or help us or guide us or any of that. We just shouldn’t be trite about it. First of all, a trite approach is not biblical. Second, it will not stand up under the tests and rigors of everyday life.  Trite platitudes look good and might make you feel warm and fuzzy, but they fade quickly!

Opportunities:

“Potiphar was cool and so fine, but his wife would never toe the line: it’s all there in chapter 39 of Genesis..” So says Andrew Lloyd Weber in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. If you are like me and site athletic or movie examples quite often in your sermons, here’s a chance to use a piece of pop-culture that is less stereotypically “guy” friendly (although I know lots of guys who like musicals…they just don’t like to admit it). 

Here’s a story I’ll be using on Sunday: I know of a family (who will remain nameless...and no, that doesn’t mean it’s MY family), I know of a family that was having trouble at the dinner table. Their young daughter was getting into arguments with her dad night after night as the family sat down to eat (it really, REALLY isn’t my family, I promise).  The arguments almost always came down to semantics rather than substance. Being a thoughtful person who strived for perfection in just about everything, the dad decided to start recording the dinner table conversation so that he could learn more about the arguments and how to stop them.

After recording a whole week’s worth of meals, he discovered that the arguments had miraculously stopped. It was amazing! But what had changed? He soon discovered that his daughter’s conversation had remained the same: it was HIS reactions and comments that were different. Without realizing it, he had changed his demeanor and approach, knowing that he was being recorded.  It was a very important moment for him.

John Wooden, the legendary college basketball coach once said, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” (this, of course, applies to women as well).

Joseph was put into a tricky situation, where it seemed like no one else was watching (although you could argue that Potiphar’s wife would probably have trouble keeping their potential liaison a secret).  He was able to stay full of integrity.

Good News:

The good news here is tricky. Yes, it is true that God was with Joseph in prison and helped him. That’s certainly good news, but I don’t think we should automatically consider that we will always be directly “rewarded” for our moments of character. If anything, we might have to suffer MORE because we are full of integrity, rather than less. At least in the short run.  But people of God are much more that ‘short run’ people. We are called to see the ‘long game’ or ‘long run.’ You might be reading this blog only for the Narrative Lectionary (which is totally cool, by the way) but take a look at what Paul has to say in the Second Lesson from Philippians: “living is Christ and dying is gain.” Or what Paul says in Romans 14:8: “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”  May THIS attitude govern our actions and worldview.  That way we will not be tyrannized by our circumstances.