sermon - Impossible love

Impossible Love

            The past few weeks, the New Testament readings have been from the Sermon on the Mount.  These are a collections of teaching given by Jesus which call us into a deeper spiritual way of living.  The Beatitudes begin the collection of teachings, and last week, we heard the teaching of the wise man building his house upon the rock.  Jesus is encouraging those that hear his words to also live them out.  Those that hear and do are like the wise man.  Those that hear but do not live out the word, are like the foolish man that builds his house upon the sand. 

            Today, we have another set of teachings, giving guidance to people in how to live specifically within their current cultural context.  Many of us have heard the saying:  an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.  If someone attacks you and it results in you losing an eye or a tooth, the punishment for that person would be the removal of an eye or a tooth.  Right, fair is fair.  You caused this harm to me, so the consequences are the same harm back to you.  We believe in consequences for behavior, but rather than causing the same harm to people, the consequences could be jail time, financial retribution, community service, some form of punishment, but other than the death penalty, we don’t inflict bodily harm back to a person that has wronged us.  

            So, when people come across this passage that we read today, if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, it just doesn’t seem right.  What do you mean, turn the other cheek?  I was just hit, I want justice.  But we have to remember the cultural context.  According to the Companions in Christ study on the Way of Forgiveness, turning the other cheek was not a sign of weakness, but rather a definite act of self.  People struck each other with the left hand, the left hand was considered unclean.  So, by turning your left cheek to someone, they would be forced to strike you with their right hand, which was a sign of being an equal opponent.  So, if a Roman soldier were to strike you, you would want to show that you are an equal and turn the other cheek towards him.  It was an assertion of non-violent power in a time where the people were feeling very powerless.

            If someone sues for your coat give them your cloak as well, and go the second mile are also nonviolent ways of asserting your power in a negative situation.  Depending on your wealth, you may only own a coat and a cloak.  Your coat was your outer garment and the cloak was your inner garment.  You may even use your coat at night for a blanket.  If someone takes your coat, and you give you’re your cloak, you are now naked.  In the cultural context, if someone sees another naked, it brings shame upon the person seeing you.  Roman soldiers were allowed to force people to carry their gear for up to one mile, but no farther.  So, by going the second mile, you were putting a Roman soldier into an awkward situation, and he could be punished by your actions.   All three of these teachings point out the injustices in the current system and expose them.  Giving power to the one being oppressed. 

            Okay, so examining things through the cultural context helps to make these teachings a little more understandable, but what about the next part:  Love your enemy.  This one can really hit home with us in today’s world.  Jesus, we know you are teaching about love, we know and understand that God is love, but this love that you speak of, is just too much, asking us to love our enemies is impossible love.  I cannot love the one that has caused great harm in my life, that has killed thousands of people, that seems to be a source of evil in this world.  I just cannot do it.  So why do you ask it of us? 

            Although Paul writes after the life and death of Jesus, Paul proclaims this:  overcome evil with good.  By at least trying to love our enemies, if at least by trying nonviolent ways of empowerment, we are not retaliating with greater force which is then met with greater force, snowballing the situation into even greater harm than with which it began.  We can play a role is escalating violence or we can play a role in calming the waters.  Remember, one of the Beatitudes is Blessed are the Peacemakers.  We are not to be doormats, allowing others to oppress us or walk all over us, but we have a role in how we allow situations to grow. Right, don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill? 

            So, on this day as we ordain and install our new leadership, these are good teachings for us to all follow, both the leaders of the church and the congregation.  There may be issues that come before us this year where we are ready to speak our mind, but we also need to remember that we are a community, which involves listening to the various voices and discerning what is best for the whole.  Jesus is teaching to a community, a community that he loves, a community that he wants to succeed in the harsh world in which they live. 

            We do want to be open and honest with each other, but we also don’t want to allow conflict to escalate.  It is a good practice to always honor each other, listen with respect, and agree to disagree.  

sermon - Souper Bowl of Caring

          A few weeks ago, we discussed looking for God in the world around us, and I sent you home with homework looking for kingdom of God moments.  Today, is a Kingdom of God moment.  Today, we take a cultural phenomenon, the Superbowl, and participate in a spiritual movement called the SouperBowl of Caring.  In the face of five million dollar commercials for potato chips, soda and beer, we take a step back and say not so fast.  We say, let’s not get caught up in this outrageous spending when there are some really important issues that need to be address.  Not so fast when there are hungry children right here in our own community.  I truly feel the Souperbowl of Caring is brilliant and God inspired and God at work.  It is a kingdom of God moment. 

            Today, I want to start with the passage from Isaiah.  Isaiah is talking to the people about a spiritual practice.  They have been taught that one of the ways to connect to God is to fast.  I don’t know if any of you have tried fasting, other than when our doctor requires it before blood work.  There are a variety of ways to fast.  One type of fast is to not eat for a day or for a set period of time.  Some practices allow you to have water through the day, some do not.  Some allow you to have a small meal at breakfast some do not.  Other types of fasts involve giving up a specific thing for a set period of time, such as the upcoming season of Lent.  People will fast from chocolate or soda. 

            Isaiah is calling into question the point of fasting.  He is questioning their motives, are they truly fasting to connect to God, or has it become a habit, something that is expected of them so they do it.  Well, Isaiah goes forward and explains what type of fast God is looking for.  God desires God’s people to be justice oriented.  To be aware of those that hunger, are homeless, and without clothes. 

 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

To be honest, this is the first time that I have made the connection to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25 to this passage in Isaiah.  Look back to our call to worship.  Jesus calls us to feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, because when we do this, we do it to him.  These are sacred actions.  And in doing them, we may have to fast, we may have to fast from something that we were going to do for ourselves.  If I give ten dollars to the food pantry then I might have to fast from two cups of coffee at the coffee shop.  I might have to sacrifice something I was going to do for myself in order to ensure that someone else is cared for.  That, according to Isaiah, is a sacred fast.  That according to Jesus is a sacred act since in doing so, we are directly connecting our action to him. 

            Isaiah continues:  if you offer your food to the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be like the noonday.

Does this sound at all like the season of Epiphany?  At all like last week when our children and youth shared about the ways in which we can let our little light shine? 

Offer food to the hungry and your light shall rise in the darkness.  Today, as we participate in the SouperBowl of Caring, we do so not as an act done out of habit.  We do it in response to a need within our own community, we dedicate it to Roxbury Social Services, we participate because our spiritual values are to partner with our community near and far, we participate because Jesus says when you do this to the least of these, you are doing it unto me. 

            Moving into the Beatitudes – each one of these could be a sermon unto itself.  This teaching is a snapshot of faithful living, of what it means to be a following of Jesus.  Blessed are the poor in spirit.  This might sound like blessed are the ones with little faith.  But rather, it is blessed are the humble, those that stay grounded, that don’t get overly caught up in themselves but are willing to listen to God. 

            Blessed are the ones that pay attention to who are the hungry, who are the ones that need housing, who are the ones that need clothing.  Blessed is the one that listens to where the hurts of the community are and seeks ways to provide for those needs.  Not to lift themselves up as something great, but out of faith, out of compassion, out of the spiritual calling that God has placed upon their hearts.  Makes me think of Mother Teresa.  She was indeed blessed as one poor in spirit.  She fasted from the luxuries of the world in order to be present with the poor of India. 

            One translation states:  this beatitude could be translated as:  blessed are the pure in heart.  Pure in heart, those that seek to connect to the teachings of God and infuse them into their lives, those that seek to see God in the world around them and participate in where God is at work.  Both the teachings from Isaiah and the Beatitudes require us to participate, to be active, to be listeners to the community and to God.  In a way, we can be seen as the electrical conductor transferring God’s love from one place to the next.  The more our circuits are open, the more that God’s love will pour forth. 

            So, as we gather on this communion Sunday, let us participate in the gift of bread and cup set before us, not out of habit, not because we always do it, but because God has called us into a fast of breaking the bonds of injustice and oppression, a fast of letting go of the clutter and noise of the world so we can be poor in spirit or pure in heart.  Today, we break bread and share the cup to be reminded of our call not just to worship our loving God, but to go forth, nurtured and fed so that we can serve.  Let us be strengthened this day, as we go forth to partner with our community near and far to joyfully share the message and love of Jesus.