A Sermon for Thanksgiving Eve
November 21, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry
Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” (NRSV)
Ah yes, on Thanksgiving Eve, it is fitting to hear the story of the ten lepers and how they responded to God’s gift. In this story is a powerful, timeless message about gratitude that can enhance our Thanksgiving holiday and our whole lives if we are open to receive it.
Let’s begin at the beginning, shall we? Here we have ten people with leprosy, a terrible skin disease that causes limbs and digits to lose their circulation, deteriorate, decay and eventually fall off. Not a pretty picture, is it? What a terrible situation it would be to have this communicable disease! Not only would you experience the physical pain, but you’d also have the social stigma of being declared “unclean” and made to live outside the city along the Samaritan/Galilean border. Here, you would not only find Israelite lepers, but Samaritan ones as well, who were even more hated because they did not share the same religious values and they were of mixed heritage—and this was considered against God’s law. So in this story, Jesus is stumbling upon a group of people who are hurting, both physically and socially—abandoned by everyone they love.
And what does Jesus do with these ugly, limb-losing outcasts? Did he run away from them like everyone else did? That would be the logical thing to do. I mean, who wants to catch leprosy?
No, Jesus doesn’t follow the rules. He breaks them by coming into contact with the lepers. He breaks the rule of staying away from lepers AND he breaks the rule of staying away from Samaritans. In fact, by just speaking with them, Jesus goes against his entire tradition. His actions declare that ritual and ceremonial laws are not important issues before God. Jesus is demonstrating that God accepts each and every person, regardless of their situation, and invites us all into a relationship—a community of people in which compassion comes ahead of tradition. By healing them, Jesus pours God’s unmerited grace upon them. It must have been overwhelming for them.
But what happens to them when they see that their skin is restored and they are no longer plagued with leprosy? Doesn’t it make sense to go thank the guy who healed them, who gave them back their lives? At the very least, my mother would say, they should have send a thank you note!
What happened to nine of them, we’ll never know. They might have been so excited to be healed that they ran off to be reunited with their families and communities. All that this scripture tell us is that they didn’t bother to give thanks. They were given a miraculous gift of grace and they ran off with their gifts without so much as a thank you.
Ah, but one did. One man came back. He came back praising God with a loud voice. In my mind’s eye, he was also dancing—showing his thankfulness with great exuberance! Then, he prostrates himself before Jesus. This means he lays all the way down with his face in the dirt to show humility and gratitude. What an amazing display of thanksgiving!
Then, the gospel writer throws in this little zinger: “He was a Samaritan.” The guy an ancient audience would have voted least likely to succeed is the one who does succeed in thanking God. Who would ‘a thunk it? The one Samaritan in the bunch was the only one who came back to give thanks.
Jesus acknowledges this man and tells him “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” Your faith has made you well. So that must mean that giving thanks has something to do with faith and that the two of them together bring about wellness. The moral of the story, it seems, then, is that thankfulness is good for you.
Tomorrow, our country celebrates the national holiday of Thanksgiving. We have developed a tradition of thankfulness and feasting based upon the early European Pilgrims and their gratefulness for their survival in the new land of America, and for the kind hospitality of the natives. What the Pilgrims have given us is an awareness of how gratitude forms the basis of community and life.
Elie Wiesel, an award-winning author who survived the Holocaust, said, “when a person doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude.” Sounds pretty important, doesn’t it? But how can we find gratitude? how can we develop thankfulness? How can we be like that one leper and like the early Pilgrims who found a way to be truly grateful for the grace of God?
Gratitude, scientists tell us, is hard to hold on to over time. We can start out feeling very thankful for something and then it dissipates like the morning dew. Members of a newlywed couple, for example, may start out really delighted with one another, infinitely grateful for one another. And then within a few years, they do nothing but grumble and complain about the other—as if they were not a blessing to one another but just another burden.
This is bad news. We need gratitude and we need it to last. You see, science proves Jesus right by demonstrating that gratitude is good for us. It is essential for a happy life. In research done by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, those who kept a daily gratitude journal experienced higher levels of emotional and physical well-being.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been writing a lot of newsletter articles on gratitude recently. That’s because I keep discovering the amazing power of gratitude in my own life.
In a book by Tal Ben-Shahar called Happier, I read about a gratitude assignment and decided to test it out on myself. Ben-Shahar explained that you should get a notebook to be your gratitude journal and at the end of each day, reflect back upon the day’s events and write down five things for which you feel grateful. They can be anything big or small: a meaningful conversation, an important task accomplished, a good meal. It doesn’t matter what you write, just do it—every day. Five things and as you write them down, think about them and bring to mind the positive emotions associated with those things or events. It only takes 30 days to form a new habit so in a month, you can cultivate a stronger attitude of gratitude.
I am happy to report that it worked on me! I’ve always considered myself to be a thankful person and I give God thanks daily but this exercise really did make me more grateful. It makes my mind more alert to things for which to give thanks. In my down time, like as I’m driving home, I automatically begin thinking about what I’ll write in my gratitude journal and I don’t just think of five things, I usually think of at least 25. Still, I only write down 5 things a day and it takes less than 5 minutes to do at bedtime. I keep my little journal and pen right on the night stand so I won’t forget. It is extremely easy to do.
I got so excited about this exercise and the dramatic effects that it has, that I went out and got you each a gratitude journal! That’s right. We’re going to hand them out right now. I would like you to open to the first page and write the date at the top. Today is 11-21-07. Now quickly call to mind five things for which you are thankful and write them down so that they all fit on one page. When you’ve finished, turn to the next page and write down 11-22-07. Tomorrow night, I want you to write down five more things. Congratulations, you have just started a gratitude journal! And believe me, I AM going to be checking in with you to see that you continue this practice. I am eagerly anticipating your stories as you see what cultivating a deeper sense of gratitude will do for you.
This Thanksgiving, I’m here to tell you, we cannot afford to miss being thankful. Our hearts need gratitude—it is good for what ails us. Jesus knew this, the Samaritan leper knew this, the Pilgrims knew this and scientists know this. The question is do we want to miss out like the nine lepers or do we want to praise God with a loud voice and know that joy of being thankful for the grace bestowed upon us? It is my prayer that these little gratitude journals in your hands will be a spiritual tool to put you on the thankfulness track that you will cultivate a deeper attitude of gratitude that will transform you and those around you—not just this Thanksgiving, but always.
And now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
KEEP AWAKE
A Sermon for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost
November 18, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry
2 Thessalonians 3
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. (NRSV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
The passage from Second Thessalonians reminds me of the fable of the Grasshopper and the Ants. When the weather was fine, the ants did toil hard to obtain and store up as much food as possible that would sustain them during the winter months. The Grasshopper, watching the ants labor diligently only poked fun at them. The grasshopper preferred to waste time making music, dancing and enjoying the warm weather.
One ant stopped to ask the grasshopper, "Aren't you going to store up for the winter, what will you eat?" The grasshopper just laughed and said, "I do not need to work all day, I just want to dance and play." So the ants left the grasshopper alone.
When winter approached, as winter always does, the ants were deep underground with their summer's harvest. The grasshopper unable to find a blade of green grass, cried out at the entrance of the ants' underground nest. The ants' reply was harsh, “When the weather was fair and food was plentiful you wanted to play, now you must dance hungry to bed each night."
Regardless of which version you’ve heard, the story of the ants and grasshopper is clear. Idleness may be fun at the time, but it has its price in the end. We must work and prepare ourselves, so as not to end up being caught by surprise in the future.
I place this well-known fable in beside Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, because he is responding to reports that certain members of the new church at Thessalonica are starting to abandon their jobs in anticipation of the final judgment. They are hanging around laughing and talking, sure that they do not have to work, as the day of the Lord is going to happen at any minute, they think. Therefore, they feel that working is a complete waste of their time. Paul says that they are “playing truant,” that they are, in essence, playing hookie from work that must be done. So Paul reminds the church at Thessalonica that when he was among them his example was one of work, not leisure like these busybodies. He maintains that he did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it. Not only did he do the work of an evangelist, but he did manual labor to make a living as well.
Idleness was a grave sin in ancient Jerusalem. All citizens were charged with learning a trade, even the Rabbis were not paid for their teaching but earned their living at another occupation. A wise saying once stated, "He who does not teach his child to work, teaches him to steal." It was very important that all people be active in a trade—and not just any trade, but a trade that would enhance the life of the community.
We do not hear near enough about Jesus' trade as a carpenter. We know that he received this training from Saint Joseph and the bible doesn’t tell us what kind of carpenter he was, but legend holds that Jesus made the best ox yokes in all of Palestine. People came from afar to obtain his work. Of course, this should does not surprise us. Since Jesus was the son of God, I imagine anything he crafted would be the finest in all of Palestine. Nevertheless this legend demonstrates that Jesus not only had a trade but was well-practiced at his craft.
So Paul is found urging the believers at Thessalonica to do the same. He condemns the people who are content with their idle behavior. These busybodies seem to have more time to meddle in the affairs of others rather than see to their own work, and it is doing much harm. Paul points out that it is a great error and abuse of religion, to make it a cloak for idleness or any other sin.
Why is having a task to do so important? Why do Paul and Jesus require believers to keep their hand at positive work? Well, we have heard the saying that idleness is the devil's playground. People with not enough to do soon find themselves making sport and entertainment out of the affairs of others. These things are not conducive to religious life, they are not sympathetic to the Gospel. Both the New Testament readings of today speak to the need for people to continue living their lives in the manner which keeps them productive and witnessing for God. They cannot grow tired and weary and cease doing what is right, they must wake up and do the work of a true Christian for we do not know when the final judgment will be.
When faced with the question of the final judgment our response should not be fear or panic. When asked what he would do if the world ended tomorrow, Martin Luther responded, "I would plant an apple tree," signifying that the news of all things coming to an end should not cause us to lose hope nor act in a fashion that is out of our ordinary character. We should be able to act as we always act: with confidence and with hope.
I heard an old story about a man, who was negotiating to buy a house and bought it without even seeing it. He was asked why he took such a risk; his answer was, “I know the man who built that house and he builds his Christianity in with the bricks.” The Christian should be a more conscientious worker than anyone else. Do you build your Christianity into the bricks of your work? Does your faith reflect in the way that you do your job? Is your conscientiousness evident in the way you farm your land or labor in the factory or heal patients or cut hair or process data or teach students or answer telephones or raise your children? No matter what occupation you hold, you should be doing it with all your heart and soul and in doing such quality work, you are being a faithful witness to the Lord whom you serve.
Mother Teresa was a great example of such faithful witness through service. In 1970, Malcolm Muggeridge, a European TV anchorman, went to Calcutta to do a special documentary on Mother Teresa. When met first her, she was working out in the streets with sick and poor people in a ghetto like he had never seen before—amid stench, filth, garbage, disease, and poverty that was just unbelievable. But what struck Muggeridge more than anything else, even there in that awful squalor, was the deep, warm glow on Mother Teresa's face and the deep, warm love in her eyes.
"Do you do this every day?" he began his interview.
"Oh, yes," she replied, "it is my mission. It is how I serve and love my Lord."
"How long have you been doing this? How many months?"
"Months?" said Mother Teresa. "Not months, but years. Maybe eighteen years.
"Eighteen years!" exclaimed Muggeridge. "You've been working here in these
streets for eighteen years?"
"Yes," she said simply and yet joyfully. "It is my privilege to be here. These are my people. These are the ones my Lord has given me to love."
"Do you ever get tired? Do you ever feel like quitting and letting someone else take over your ministry? After all, you are beginning to get older."
"Oh, no," she replied, "this is where the Lord wants me, and this is where I am happy to be. I feel young when I am here. The Lord is so good to me. How privileged I am to serve him."
Later, Malcolm Muggeridge said, "I will never forget that little lady as long as I live. The face, the glow, the eyes, the love—it was all so pure and so beautiful. I shall never forget it. It was like being in the presence of an angel. It changed my life. I have not been the same person since. It is more than I can describe." By the way, after Muggeridge made those comments, Mother Teresa continued to serve in that sacrificial way until the end of her life nearly twenty-seven more years. Yes, I realized that you and I are not famous nuns working in India, but we too, can work with that kind of spirit, putting our whole selves into the work that we do.
The day of the Lord will come one day and we, like the ants in the story of the Grasshopper and the Ants, must be prepared. Since know not the day nor the time, Paul's advice is to keep ourselves active in serving the kingdom with our respective gifts, keeping awake and not becoming idle as people are prone to do. We must not only labor with integrity at our profession, but we are to practice our faith daily in order to be the best possible witnesses for Jesus Christ. And this will keep us from the dangers of being busybodies—of meddling in other people’s affair when we ought to be concentrating on our own lives. May we awaken to the work before us and may our hearts be motivated to bear the best witness for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
November 18, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry
2 Thessalonians 3
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. (NRSV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
The passage from Second Thessalonians reminds me of the fable of the Grasshopper and the Ants. When the weather was fine, the ants did toil hard to obtain and store up as much food as possible that would sustain them during the winter months. The Grasshopper, watching the ants labor diligently only poked fun at them. The grasshopper preferred to waste time making music, dancing and enjoying the warm weather.
One ant stopped to ask the grasshopper, "Aren't you going to store up for the winter, what will you eat?" The grasshopper just laughed and said, "I do not need to work all day, I just want to dance and play." So the ants left the grasshopper alone.
When winter approached, as winter always does, the ants were deep underground with their summer's harvest. The grasshopper unable to find a blade of green grass, cried out at the entrance of the ants' underground nest. The ants' reply was harsh, “When the weather was fair and food was plentiful you wanted to play, now you must dance hungry to bed each night."
Regardless of which version you’ve heard, the story of the ants and grasshopper is clear. Idleness may be fun at the time, but it has its price in the end. We must work and prepare ourselves, so as not to end up being caught by surprise in the future.
I place this well-known fable in beside Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, because he is responding to reports that certain members of the new church at Thessalonica are starting to abandon their jobs in anticipation of the final judgment. They are hanging around laughing and talking, sure that they do not have to work, as the day of the Lord is going to happen at any minute, they think. Therefore, they feel that working is a complete waste of their time. Paul says that they are “playing truant,” that they are, in essence, playing hookie from work that must be done. So Paul reminds the church at Thessalonica that when he was among them his example was one of work, not leisure like these busybodies. He maintains that he did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it. Not only did he do the work of an evangelist, but he did manual labor to make a living as well.
Idleness was a grave sin in ancient Jerusalem. All citizens were charged with learning a trade, even the Rabbis were not paid for their teaching but earned their living at another occupation. A wise saying once stated, "He who does not teach his child to work, teaches him to steal." It was very important that all people be active in a trade—and not just any trade, but a trade that would enhance the life of the community.
We do not hear near enough about Jesus' trade as a carpenter. We know that he received this training from Saint Joseph and the bible doesn’t tell us what kind of carpenter he was, but legend holds that Jesus made the best ox yokes in all of Palestine. People came from afar to obtain his work. Of course, this should does not surprise us. Since Jesus was the son of God, I imagine anything he crafted would be the finest in all of Palestine. Nevertheless this legend demonstrates that Jesus not only had a trade but was well-practiced at his craft.
So Paul is found urging the believers at Thessalonica to do the same. He condemns the people who are content with their idle behavior. These busybodies seem to have more time to meddle in the affairs of others rather than see to their own work, and it is doing much harm. Paul points out that it is a great error and abuse of religion, to make it a cloak for idleness or any other sin.
Why is having a task to do so important? Why do Paul and Jesus require believers to keep their hand at positive work? Well, we have heard the saying that idleness is the devil's playground. People with not enough to do soon find themselves making sport and entertainment out of the affairs of others. These things are not conducive to religious life, they are not sympathetic to the Gospel. Both the New Testament readings of today speak to the need for people to continue living their lives in the manner which keeps them productive and witnessing for God. They cannot grow tired and weary and cease doing what is right, they must wake up and do the work of a true Christian for we do not know when the final judgment will be.
When faced with the question of the final judgment our response should not be fear or panic. When asked what he would do if the world ended tomorrow, Martin Luther responded, "I would plant an apple tree," signifying that the news of all things coming to an end should not cause us to lose hope nor act in a fashion that is out of our ordinary character. We should be able to act as we always act: with confidence and with hope.
I heard an old story about a man, who was negotiating to buy a house and bought it without even seeing it. He was asked why he took such a risk; his answer was, “I know the man who built that house and he builds his Christianity in with the bricks.” The Christian should be a more conscientious worker than anyone else. Do you build your Christianity into the bricks of your work? Does your faith reflect in the way that you do your job? Is your conscientiousness evident in the way you farm your land or labor in the factory or heal patients or cut hair or process data or teach students or answer telephones or raise your children? No matter what occupation you hold, you should be doing it with all your heart and soul and in doing such quality work, you are being a faithful witness to the Lord whom you serve.
Mother Teresa was a great example of such faithful witness through service. In 1970, Malcolm Muggeridge, a European TV anchorman, went to Calcutta to do a special documentary on Mother Teresa. When met first her, she was working out in the streets with sick and poor people in a ghetto like he had never seen before—amid stench, filth, garbage, disease, and poverty that was just unbelievable. But what struck Muggeridge more than anything else, even there in that awful squalor, was the deep, warm glow on Mother Teresa's face and the deep, warm love in her eyes.
"Do you do this every day?" he began his interview.
"Oh, yes," she replied, "it is my mission. It is how I serve and love my Lord."
"How long have you been doing this? How many months?"
"Months?" said Mother Teresa. "Not months, but years. Maybe eighteen years.
"Eighteen years!" exclaimed Muggeridge. "You've been working here in these
streets for eighteen years?"
"Yes," she said simply and yet joyfully. "It is my privilege to be here. These are my people. These are the ones my Lord has given me to love."
"Do you ever get tired? Do you ever feel like quitting and letting someone else take over your ministry? After all, you are beginning to get older."
"Oh, no," she replied, "this is where the Lord wants me, and this is where I am happy to be. I feel young when I am here. The Lord is so good to me. How privileged I am to serve him."
Later, Malcolm Muggeridge said, "I will never forget that little lady as long as I live. The face, the glow, the eyes, the love—it was all so pure and so beautiful. I shall never forget it. It was like being in the presence of an angel. It changed my life. I have not been the same person since. It is more than I can describe." By the way, after Muggeridge made those comments, Mother Teresa continued to serve in that sacrificial way until the end of her life nearly twenty-seven more years. Yes, I realized that you and I are not famous nuns working in India, but we too, can work with that kind of spirit, putting our whole selves into the work that we do.
The day of the Lord will come one day and we, like the ants in the story of the Grasshopper and the Ants, must be prepared. Since know not the day nor the time, Paul's advice is to keep ourselves active in serving the kingdom with our respective gifts, keeping awake and not becoming idle as people are prone to do. We must not only labor with integrity at our profession, but we are to practice our faith daily in order to be the best possible witnesses for Jesus Christ. And this will keep us from the dangers of being busybodies—of meddling in other people’s affair when we ought to be concentrating on our own lives. May we awaken to the work before us and may our hearts be motivated to bear the best witness for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
Sunday, November 11, 2007
UP A TREE
A Drama for the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost
November 11, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." (NRSV)
The following is a dramatic presentation for the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost. It was written by Pastor Gentry and performed at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lansing, Iowa in a "tree" by Mr. Gene Scott.
Good morning! I hope you don’t mind this tree in front of me. I just had to come here and tell you my story and I wanted to tell it from this tree, I guess, because this is the place, the very place where it all happened. Oh, excuse me, I haven’t even introduced myself yet. I’m Zacchaeus, tax collector. Ah, well, I used to be before my life was changed.
So let me start at the very beginning. As I told you, I was a tax collector here in the city of Jericho. I worked for the Roman government—you know, the big occupying force that has taken us over here in Israel. They have really made our way of life difficult and they tax us so hard. We’ve all been grumbling about it. But I was offered a job to collect tax for the Romans. Sure, it’s a stupid job and it makes everybody hate you but wow, did they ever offer me a great salary. There is no way I could make that kind of cash doing anything else!
Well, needless to say, I took the job. I could not resist the money it would put in my pocket. And once I got into the work, I found out the whole system is totally corrupt and pretty much all the tax collectors skim a little off the top for themselves because who’s gonna point the finger? I mean, come on! They are all doing it. And Rome’s too big to know just how much they’re being cheated.
After being a tax collector for a while, I became very wealthy and very unpopular around here. People couldn’t stand me. Said I was a sellout. And they had even worse things to say about me that I wouldn’t dare repeat. I guess you could say I was kinda getting miserable. I really think I was lost. But I was sort of locked into that lifestyle and it’s pretty hard to get out once you’ve become a tax collector.
Then, all of a sudden everybody in town was talking about this Jesus guy from Nazareth. Who was he? I didn’t have any idea. Some kinda prophet, I guess. He had been roaming around the country with giant crowds following him all over. It sounded ridiculous to me. I mean, why would people want to traipse all through the desert just to listen to some teacher?
Last week, word was buzzing that the guy was heading to Jericho and that he’d be here that day. You know, I had pretty mixed feelings about it. I didn’t care all that much about hearing some religious teacher. It’s not like I was leading a moral life. I figured he’d condemn me for collecting tax for the Romans. But there was something kinda irresistible about him. Gosh, I don’t know what it was but when everybody else was getting so hyped up to see him, I got really curious.
I got so curious, in fact, that I came up with a plan. I decided I’d show up and just sneak a peak at the teacher to see what the fuss was all about. I figured he wouldn’t notice me in the big crowd. But when I got here, the crowds were so thick! It was outrageous. You might have noticed, but I’m not the tallest man, and...well, I couldn’t see anything through the mass of people that were gathering. I was so frustrated.
So I darted ahead. I may not be tall, but I’m pretty fast. And I’m pretty agile. So when I saw this tree, I jumped up and grabbed that low limb down there and swung myself up into this spot right here. Ah, this was the perfect spot. I could see the whole scene from here and I didn’t have to worry about getting trampled by the crowd. This is the main street of the city so we all knew that when the teacher got to Jericho, he would be coming this way.
Sure enough, he appeared on the horizon. He looked so normal, just like you or me or anybody else. What was the hype all about? I still couldn’t tell but I sure could see the crowds going nuts for him. And sure enough, he came right down the main road and right past my spot in this tree. He was so close I could have reached down and grabbed his head. But I stayed pretty hidden in the leaves of this sycamore tree and I was sure he couldn’t see me, especially with the distraction of the crowds.
Then out of the blue, the teacher turned and looked right up at me. Me! He saw me! I was terrified. But he didn’t yell at me or anything. He pointed at me and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” Did you catch that? He knew my name. I don’t know how he knew it, but he did. He called me by name and I felt so important. And not only that, but he’d invited himself to my house! He was coming to my house! Thank goodness my wife had cleaned the place up!
I scurried down from this tree and I was beaming that he had chosen me. It was the first time I’d felt happy in a long, long time. I don’t live far from here so we walked over to my place. The crowd hardly knew what to do. The people who know me twisted up their faces, like how does this guy rate? I could hear their fussing and grumbling.
“He’s a corrupt old tax collector!”
“What a sinner!”
“Why would Jesus be hanging out with him?”
The insults kept coming. Frankly, I didn’t know why this famous teacher was hanging out with me but I didn’t care. I was just so delighted that he was.
I don’t understand what came over me, but I was suddenly sorry for how much I’d been cheating the people of Jericho. I suddenly wanted to do God’s will. I can hardly believe it yet but I stopped and put my hands up and said to Jesus, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."
Four times as much! That is a pretty steep promise because I knew I’d defrauded lots of people. I was going to owe a lot. But I didn’t care anymore. I was so thrilled to have the attention of this remarkable man.
Then Jesus said to me, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
I was lost. I was so lost that I hardly knew what to do anymore. I’m sure you’ve felt that way at times. But I’m telling you, this Jesus doesn’t hold back his love. It seems like the more lost and wrong you are, the more he seeks you out.
He changed me that day. He changed me entirely and now I will never be the same. I can’t go back to tax collecting. I can’t go back to being a corrupt man. Now, I actually want to do God’s will. I want to be a person that I can be proud of—and that God can be proud of.
I know some of you today doubt God’s power. I know I did. You wonder who is within God’s power to save. There are so many people out there doing wrong things. I, myself, was a very bad man. And yet, Jesus singled me out and called me back into God’s fold. If he could save me, then I assure you, he could save anyone! I’m serious. I am evidence that God wants to save everybody. We’re all children of Abraham.
Last week, you had your All Saints Day celebration and it’s fun to think about all the saints who are doing God’s will and those wonderful saints who have gone on to be with God in glory. But do you think about the fact that there are saints like me? There are saints that don’t have a lick of good in them except the grace that God has given them. It is God’s all embracing love that transforms us into saints. So you can hold your heads up high and declare with me that you are a saint. So let’s shout it out together so we can really believe it: I AM A SAINT! I AM A SAINT! I AM A SAINT!
That’s right. Wow! I’ve gotta get out of this tree and go do God’s will. So long!
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
November 11, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." (NRSV)
The following is a dramatic presentation for the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost. It was written by Pastor Gentry and performed at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lansing, Iowa in a "tree" by Mr. Gene Scott.
Good morning! I hope you don’t mind this tree in front of me. I just had to come here and tell you my story and I wanted to tell it from this tree, I guess, because this is the place, the very place where it all happened. Oh, excuse me, I haven’t even introduced myself yet. I’m Zacchaeus, tax collector. Ah, well, I used to be before my life was changed.
So let me start at the very beginning. As I told you, I was a tax collector here in the city of Jericho. I worked for the Roman government—you know, the big occupying force that has taken us over here in Israel. They have really made our way of life difficult and they tax us so hard. We’ve all been grumbling about it. But I was offered a job to collect tax for the Romans. Sure, it’s a stupid job and it makes everybody hate you but wow, did they ever offer me a great salary. There is no way I could make that kind of cash doing anything else!
Well, needless to say, I took the job. I could not resist the money it would put in my pocket. And once I got into the work, I found out the whole system is totally corrupt and pretty much all the tax collectors skim a little off the top for themselves because who’s gonna point the finger? I mean, come on! They are all doing it. And Rome’s too big to know just how much they’re being cheated.
After being a tax collector for a while, I became very wealthy and very unpopular around here. People couldn’t stand me. Said I was a sellout. And they had even worse things to say about me that I wouldn’t dare repeat. I guess you could say I was kinda getting miserable. I really think I was lost. But I was sort of locked into that lifestyle and it’s pretty hard to get out once you’ve become a tax collector.
Then, all of a sudden everybody in town was talking about this Jesus guy from Nazareth. Who was he? I didn’t have any idea. Some kinda prophet, I guess. He had been roaming around the country with giant crowds following him all over. It sounded ridiculous to me. I mean, why would people want to traipse all through the desert just to listen to some teacher?
Last week, word was buzzing that the guy was heading to Jericho and that he’d be here that day. You know, I had pretty mixed feelings about it. I didn’t care all that much about hearing some religious teacher. It’s not like I was leading a moral life. I figured he’d condemn me for collecting tax for the Romans. But there was something kinda irresistible about him. Gosh, I don’t know what it was but when everybody else was getting so hyped up to see him, I got really curious.
I got so curious, in fact, that I came up with a plan. I decided I’d show up and just sneak a peak at the teacher to see what the fuss was all about. I figured he wouldn’t notice me in the big crowd. But when I got here, the crowds were so thick! It was outrageous. You might have noticed, but I’m not the tallest man, and...well, I couldn’t see anything through the mass of people that were gathering. I was so frustrated.
So I darted ahead. I may not be tall, but I’m pretty fast. And I’m pretty agile. So when I saw this tree, I jumped up and grabbed that low limb down there and swung myself up into this spot right here. Ah, this was the perfect spot. I could see the whole scene from here and I didn’t have to worry about getting trampled by the crowd. This is the main street of the city so we all knew that when the teacher got to Jericho, he would be coming this way.
Sure enough, he appeared on the horizon. He looked so normal, just like you or me or anybody else. What was the hype all about? I still couldn’t tell but I sure could see the crowds going nuts for him. And sure enough, he came right down the main road and right past my spot in this tree. He was so close I could have reached down and grabbed his head. But I stayed pretty hidden in the leaves of this sycamore tree and I was sure he couldn’t see me, especially with the distraction of the crowds.
Then out of the blue, the teacher turned and looked right up at me. Me! He saw me! I was terrified. But he didn’t yell at me or anything. He pointed at me and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” Did you catch that? He knew my name. I don’t know how he knew it, but he did. He called me by name and I felt so important. And not only that, but he’d invited himself to my house! He was coming to my house! Thank goodness my wife had cleaned the place up!
I scurried down from this tree and I was beaming that he had chosen me. It was the first time I’d felt happy in a long, long time. I don’t live far from here so we walked over to my place. The crowd hardly knew what to do. The people who know me twisted up their faces, like how does this guy rate? I could hear their fussing and grumbling.
“He’s a corrupt old tax collector!”
“What a sinner!”
“Why would Jesus be hanging out with him?”
The insults kept coming. Frankly, I didn’t know why this famous teacher was hanging out with me but I didn’t care. I was just so delighted that he was.
I don’t understand what came over me, but I was suddenly sorry for how much I’d been cheating the people of Jericho. I suddenly wanted to do God’s will. I can hardly believe it yet but I stopped and put my hands up and said to Jesus, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."
Four times as much! That is a pretty steep promise because I knew I’d defrauded lots of people. I was going to owe a lot. But I didn’t care anymore. I was so thrilled to have the attention of this remarkable man.
Then Jesus said to me, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
I was lost. I was so lost that I hardly knew what to do anymore. I’m sure you’ve felt that way at times. But I’m telling you, this Jesus doesn’t hold back his love. It seems like the more lost and wrong you are, the more he seeks you out.
He changed me that day. He changed me entirely and now I will never be the same. I can’t go back to tax collecting. I can’t go back to being a corrupt man. Now, I actually want to do God’s will. I want to be a person that I can be proud of—and that God can be proud of.
I know some of you today doubt God’s power. I know I did. You wonder who is within God’s power to save. There are so many people out there doing wrong things. I, myself, was a very bad man. And yet, Jesus singled me out and called me back into God’s fold. If he could save me, then I assure you, he could save anyone! I’m serious. I am evidence that God wants to save everybody. We’re all children of Abraham.
Last week, you had your All Saints Day celebration and it’s fun to think about all the saints who are doing God’s will and those wonderful saints who have gone on to be with God in glory. But do you think about the fact that there are saints like me? There are saints that don’t have a lick of good in them except the grace that God has given them. It is God’s all embracing love that transforms us into saints. So you can hold your heads up high and declare with me that you are a saint. So let’s shout it out together so we can really believe it: I AM A SAINT! I AM A SAINT! I AM A SAINT!
That’s right. Wow! I’ve gotta get out of this tree and go do God’s will. So long!
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
Sunday, November 4, 2007
ALL SAINT CELEBRATION
A Sermon for All Saints Sunday
November 4, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry
Luke 6:20-31
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. But woe to you, who are rich for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. (NIV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Throughout history, people have found it important to remember the dead. Archaeologists have revealed many different burial practices and tombs, which make statements about how ancient people mourned their deceased. Just south of here, you can visit the national monument of Effigy Mounds and see how the people native to this land would bury the dead in earthen mounds shaped like animals.
Modern tombs in the west are becoming more elaborate as people put special engravings and symbols on tombstones and decorate the sites with flowers, statues, wind chimes and other symbols. No matter what our cultural background, there is an innate need to memorialize the dead.
In the early days of Christianity, many people died as martyrs. They were killed for their faith in terrible ways. In 610 A.D., the emperor gave away the famous Roman Pantheon because he could no longer afford the upkeep. Pope Boniface was the recipient of his generous gift and he decided to rededicate it as a chapel for Christian martyrs. This finally gave the church a way to memorialize all those who had died for the faith and they would hold a celebration each spring.
This annual celebration grew and grew. After 200 years, it got so big that they found it could no longer be celebrated in the spring because they ran out of food for all the pilgrims. It was at that point that they switched the celebration to November 1—right after the harvest, so there would be plenty of food. They also began to celebrate all the saints, not just martyrs, and hence the name “All Saints Day” was born.
We just celebrated Reformation Sunday last week. On that date, we commemorate the beginning of the Reformation when Martin Luther posted the 95 thesis on the university door in Wittenberg. He posted it on the day before All Saints. The reason he chose this timing was that he knew there would be huge crowds coming for the celebration so his thesis would be read by a wider audience.
This tradition of celebrating All Saint’s Sunday continues and that’s what we recognize today. But just what is a saint? The word itself tends to be somewhat off-putting. We think of those paintings and stained glass windows of saints when we hear this word. We imagine people who look absolutely perfect and have that plate sticking to the back of their head, presumably a halo.
Well, as I look out across the church this morning, I don’t see any plates or halos on your heads but that doesn’t mean we’re not saints. No, not at all. We are saints! We are saints by virtue of our baptism. In Christ, we have been forgiven and freed to live the faithful lives to which God has called us. It is not our own doing or worthiness that makes us saints. It is Christ’s worthiness—given to us by grace.
This morning we have lit candles to remember the saints and many of you have named saints who have died and have gone on to be with God in glory. But we cannot forget that we are totally surrounded by the “great cloud of witnesses” the Bible talks about. This cloud of witnesses who help us along in our faith include those whose lives on earth are through but they also include those who fill the pews today. I want you to turn to the person sitting to your right and the person witting to your left and say to them, “Hi Saint!”
Wow, this church is just loaded with saints! What a great cloud of witnesses we are!
And for this All Saints celebration, the lectionary text for today gives us Jesus’ sermon on the plain to help give us a better vision of how we ought to live our our sainthood. Jesus says a lot in this complex passage, but what it really boils down to is that he tells us how to cling to God no matter what troubles or losses we face, and how appropriately to resist evil. These are shocking messages because they run completely counter to the way in which we think we ought to act if we are to do what is in our best interest.
The four beatitudes each in their way deal with a form of poverty. Beatitudes were common literary devices in the Jewish heritage. Blessing someone or celebrating the blessing of an action or lifestyle was a way of calling a profound spirituality into an everyday setting. “Blessed are you for caring for that widow in the village” was not just a kind thought. It implied that God would bless you for your generosity. In Jesus’ four beatitudes, he addresses real people in the Capernaum area. Often their crops failed. The fishermen didn’t bring home a catch. Illness spread without a cure. Early deaths left many widows and orphans. Hunger and sorrow due to circumstances beyond one’s control was common. And in their midst stood Jesus, who had experienced this personally. He also knew that God was closer to people in their poverty than he was to those who had abundance. For this reason, he who himself was poor, rejoiced with them because they depended so completely on God’s mercy and love.
Sometimes it’s difficult to relate to a story if you haven’t experienced something like that yourself. For example, think of Michaelangelo’s sculpture called the Pieta. It pictures Mary holding Jesus after the crucifixion on her lap, in her arms. Some people find this pose strange since it is never mentioned in the Bible. Still—this work of art spoke in a powerful way to women in the Middle Ages. Because of children dying in childbirth, from diseases, from accidents, it was highly unlikely that a mother in the Middle Ages reached old age without having held more than one of her dead children in her arms. This depiction of the Pieta for women was more powerful than the depiction of the crucifixion because it said, “here is something you know about. Here is death at a level of pain and sorrow with which you can identify.” Through this art, the tragedy of the crucifixion became real to them.
We in our modern world may find it hard to identify with the situation in ancient Capernaum—the audience to which Jesus was speaking. We don’t know their pain, sorrow, worry or loss. Yet, we do know about our own. We’re experts in that. We know that life can have its dead ends leaving us wanting. We also know that our loved ones who have gone before us in the faith, whose hopes are now fulfilled in ways we could never imagine, are beyond all pain, sorrow, loss, worry, illness and death. They are on the other side of poverty and the words of Jesus are not just empty talk—they are words of promise and hope. The fulfillment of these words will be ours as they are now already for our loved ones. The words of Jesus give us cause to thank God here and now already because the grace and love we poor sinners experience in having our sins forgiven and our future assured wipes all tears from our eyes. These blessings of Jesus’ are not just words—they are the reality upon which we live for we know God’s blessing and comfort in our times of deepest need.
The next section provides a more radical challenge to us—Jesus tells us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us. Oh, why does he always make it so difficult? If you read the internet forums and hear how people anonymously slander one another, how they talk about their political leaders, how they speak about people of other religious perspectives, you know our world is not prone to practice the words of Jesus.
So how do we possibly follow his teachings? And why? Is Jesus calling us here to become doormats for God, to allow people to walk all over us? This is not what Jesus is saying. Walter Wink, a New Testament theologian who has long struggled with these words of Jesus, says there is a big difference between saying “resist evil, but don’t react violently” and saying “just walk all over me, I’m not anything important.” For example, when Jesus says “turn to him the other cheek” or “give him your tunic as well,” he is saying, “don’t’ let your opponent dictate the terms of your opposition to him.” If he seeks to be inhuman, you have options. If the spiral of violence insists that each country develop more sophisticated weaponry to assure that the other has less, then consider new, more creative options. Jesus wants to break the spiral of violence by teaching us not to turn into the very kind of people we hate. Do not return evil for evil!
Of course, you and I know that people can literally lose their heads in practicing such nonviolence. However, it’s worth remembering that in the last decade, thirteen nations were involved in nonviolent revolutions, fully one-third of humanity. There are other ways to resolve conflict and Jesus knows it. We must be faith-minded enough to find these ways lest violence escalate.
These are the gifts given to the saints, those whose failures and miscalculations have been covered by the redeeming love of Christ. Today, our Gospel lesson asks that we remember all the saints and martyrs not because they were perfect people but because through Christ, in their poverty they have become rich, and in their struggles they have discovered the peace which passes human understanding.
And so today we celebrate all the saints. We celebrate the saints who have gone before us and who know dwell in God’s unending light. And we celebrate ourselves and the saints who share the pews with us today. Most of all, we celebrate the Savior who has made us all saints, Jesus Christ. We relish the powerful lessons he teaches us—how we can rejoice in our weakness and sorrow, how we can love even our enemies, how we can find creative alternatives to violence—at personal and national levels. How exciting that our sainthood is ongoing because of God’s work within us! How delightful that we can, indeed, change for the better! Let us recommit ourselves today to keep growing in our sainthood that God’s kingdom may, indeed, come. Amen.
And now, may the peace which passes all understanding keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
November 4, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry
Luke 6:20-31
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. But woe to you, who are rich for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. (NIV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Throughout history, people have found it important to remember the dead. Archaeologists have revealed many different burial practices and tombs, which make statements about how ancient people mourned their deceased. Just south of here, you can visit the national monument of Effigy Mounds and see how the people native to this land would bury the dead in earthen mounds shaped like animals.
Modern tombs in the west are becoming more elaborate as people put special engravings and symbols on tombstones and decorate the sites with flowers, statues, wind chimes and other symbols. No matter what our cultural background, there is an innate need to memorialize the dead.
In the early days of Christianity, many people died as martyrs. They were killed for their faith in terrible ways. In 610 A.D., the emperor gave away the famous Roman Pantheon because he could no longer afford the upkeep. Pope Boniface was the recipient of his generous gift and he decided to rededicate it as a chapel for Christian martyrs. This finally gave the church a way to memorialize all those who had died for the faith and they would hold a celebration each spring.
This annual celebration grew and grew. After 200 years, it got so big that they found it could no longer be celebrated in the spring because they ran out of food for all the pilgrims. It was at that point that they switched the celebration to November 1—right after the harvest, so there would be plenty of food. They also began to celebrate all the saints, not just martyrs, and hence the name “All Saints Day” was born.
We just celebrated Reformation Sunday last week. On that date, we commemorate the beginning of the Reformation when Martin Luther posted the 95 thesis on the university door in Wittenberg. He posted it on the day before All Saints. The reason he chose this timing was that he knew there would be huge crowds coming for the celebration so his thesis would be read by a wider audience.
This tradition of celebrating All Saint’s Sunday continues and that’s what we recognize today. But just what is a saint? The word itself tends to be somewhat off-putting. We think of those paintings and stained glass windows of saints when we hear this word. We imagine people who look absolutely perfect and have that plate sticking to the back of their head, presumably a halo.
Well, as I look out across the church this morning, I don’t see any plates or halos on your heads but that doesn’t mean we’re not saints. No, not at all. We are saints! We are saints by virtue of our baptism. In Christ, we have been forgiven and freed to live the faithful lives to which God has called us. It is not our own doing or worthiness that makes us saints. It is Christ’s worthiness—given to us by grace.
This morning we have lit candles to remember the saints and many of you have named saints who have died and have gone on to be with God in glory. But we cannot forget that we are totally surrounded by the “great cloud of witnesses” the Bible talks about. This cloud of witnesses who help us along in our faith include those whose lives on earth are through but they also include those who fill the pews today. I want you to turn to the person sitting to your right and the person witting to your left and say to them, “Hi Saint!”
Wow, this church is just loaded with saints! What a great cloud of witnesses we are!
And for this All Saints celebration, the lectionary text for today gives us Jesus’ sermon on the plain to help give us a better vision of how we ought to live our our sainthood. Jesus says a lot in this complex passage, but what it really boils down to is that he tells us how to cling to God no matter what troubles or losses we face, and how appropriately to resist evil. These are shocking messages because they run completely counter to the way in which we think we ought to act if we are to do what is in our best interest.
The four beatitudes each in their way deal with a form of poverty. Beatitudes were common literary devices in the Jewish heritage. Blessing someone or celebrating the blessing of an action or lifestyle was a way of calling a profound spirituality into an everyday setting. “Blessed are you for caring for that widow in the village” was not just a kind thought. It implied that God would bless you for your generosity. In Jesus’ four beatitudes, he addresses real people in the Capernaum area. Often their crops failed. The fishermen didn’t bring home a catch. Illness spread without a cure. Early deaths left many widows and orphans. Hunger and sorrow due to circumstances beyond one’s control was common. And in their midst stood Jesus, who had experienced this personally. He also knew that God was closer to people in their poverty than he was to those who had abundance. For this reason, he who himself was poor, rejoiced with them because they depended so completely on God’s mercy and love.
Sometimes it’s difficult to relate to a story if you haven’t experienced something like that yourself. For example, think of Michaelangelo’s sculpture called the Pieta. It pictures Mary holding Jesus after the crucifixion on her lap, in her arms. Some people find this pose strange since it is never mentioned in the Bible. Still—this work of art spoke in a powerful way to women in the Middle Ages. Because of children dying in childbirth, from diseases, from accidents, it was highly unlikely that a mother in the Middle Ages reached old age without having held more than one of her dead children in her arms. This depiction of the Pieta for women was more powerful than the depiction of the crucifixion because it said, “here is something you know about. Here is death at a level of pain and sorrow with which you can identify.” Through this art, the tragedy of the crucifixion became real to them.
We in our modern world may find it hard to identify with the situation in ancient Capernaum—the audience to which Jesus was speaking. We don’t know their pain, sorrow, worry or loss. Yet, we do know about our own. We’re experts in that. We know that life can have its dead ends leaving us wanting. We also know that our loved ones who have gone before us in the faith, whose hopes are now fulfilled in ways we could never imagine, are beyond all pain, sorrow, loss, worry, illness and death. They are on the other side of poverty and the words of Jesus are not just empty talk—they are words of promise and hope. The fulfillment of these words will be ours as they are now already for our loved ones. The words of Jesus give us cause to thank God here and now already because the grace and love we poor sinners experience in having our sins forgiven and our future assured wipes all tears from our eyes. These blessings of Jesus’ are not just words—they are the reality upon which we live for we know God’s blessing and comfort in our times of deepest need.
The next section provides a more radical challenge to us—Jesus tells us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us. Oh, why does he always make it so difficult? If you read the internet forums and hear how people anonymously slander one another, how they talk about their political leaders, how they speak about people of other religious perspectives, you know our world is not prone to practice the words of Jesus.
So how do we possibly follow his teachings? And why? Is Jesus calling us here to become doormats for God, to allow people to walk all over us? This is not what Jesus is saying. Walter Wink, a New Testament theologian who has long struggled with these words of Jesus, says there is a big difference between saying “resist evil, but don’t react violently” and saying “just walk all over me, I’m not anything important.” For example, when Jesus says “turn to him the other cheek” or “give him your tunic as well,” he is saying, “don’t’ let your opponent dictate the terms of your opposition to him.” If he seeks to be inhuman, you have options. If the spiral of violence insists that each country develop more sophisticated weaponry to assure that the other has less, then consider new, more creative options. Jesus wants to break the spiral of violence by teaching us not to turn into the very kind of people we hate. Do not return evil for evil!
Of course, you and I know that people can literally lose their heads in practicing such nonviolence. However, it’s worth remembering that in the last decade, thirteen nations were involved in nonviolent revolutions, fully one-third of humanity. There are other ways to resolve conflict and Jesus knows it. We must be faith-minded enough to find these ways lest violence escalate.
These are the gifts given to the saints, those whose failures and miscalculations have been covered by the redeeming love of Christ. Today, our Gospel lesson asks that we remember all the saints and martyrs not because they were perfect people but because through Christ, in their poverty they have become rich, and in their struggles they have discovered the peace which passes human understanding.
And so today we celebrate all the saints. We celebrate the saints who have gone before us and who know dwell in God’s unending light. And we celebrate ourselves and the saints who share the pews with us today. Most of all, we celebrate the Savior who has made us all saints, Jesus Christ. We relish the powerful lessons he teaches us—how we can rejoice in our weakness and sorrow, how we can love even our enemies, how we can find creative alternatives to violence—at personal and national levels. How exciting that our sainthood is ongoing because of God’s work within us! How delightful that we can, indeed, change for the better! Let us recommit ourselves today to keep growing in our sainthood that God’s kingdom may, indeed, come. Amen.
And now, may the peace which passes all understanding keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2007 Laura E. Gentry
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