Living the Essentials

 

PROPERS: PROPER 19, YEAR B

TEXT:       MARK 8:27-38

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024.

 

ONE SENTENCE:        The Gospel call is to a life of sacrifice and humility, and not a cudgel to overwhelm those we perceive as enemies.

 

 

            The gospel lesson from Mark has Jesus in the northern region of Israel, in the community of Caesarea Philippi, teaching his disciples with these words:

 

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

 

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            Tim Alberta is the son of an evangelical Christian pastor. He has written a book entitled, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory – familiar words borrowed from the Lord’s Prayer.

 

            The book is a 400-page withering critique of the world he knows well – the evangelical church in America.  He questions its embrace of hard-right conspiracies and the politics which go along with those conspiracies. All of this displacing the gospel.

 

            He contends that the evangelical movement has discarded the essential teachings of Jesus in pursuit of conquering the culture, the nation, and the world. Power has become the primary motivator behind that movement. Conquest at all costs. No matter what principals must be sacrificed.

 

            His words are an exhaustive and valid critique. He supports them with in-depth illustrations from coast-to-coast. Much of the evangelical church has lost its way.

 

            But I’m here to say we have, too.  It is not just our evangelical brothers and sisters who have gone astray.

 

            We support a mainstream religion which comforts all and offends none. It does not challenge us or our culture. I recall when we, as a church, were proud to have four members of the Supreme Court and a President. We saw ourselves as the established church. We were interested in dominating culture, too. Those were heady times.

 

            It is important to remember that Christianity started as a profoundly counter-cultural movement. Outside of culture. In opposition to established religion. Our messiah butted heads with religious leaders. He fed the hungry. He ate with sinners and tax collectors.  He forgave prostitutes. He said his kingdom is “not of this world.” He died a criminal’s death.

 

            He taught us that true faith is practiced with welcoming the alien, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, forgiving again and again and again, being humble, sacrificing and not conquering.

 

            Christianity is a way of being not a means of conquest. Our kingdom, our true home, Jesus tells us, is not of this world.

 

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            I have long contended that the church went off the tracks when Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in 313 AD.

 

            From that time has flowed catastrophes such as the Crusades, the Inquisition, the religious upheavals and wars in Europe, the Salem Witch Trials and others.

 

            It is time, once again, for the church to be a movement outside of the culture, and not a movement to conquerculture. 

 

            If the world is to be changed (and it will), it will be by our example. As the hymn says, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” Our power is in forgiveness. Our gift is generosity. Our currency is love… for everyone.

 

            We should be prepared to sacrifice, not win… to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

 

Testimony Down Through the Millennia

PROPERS: 12 PENTECOST, YEAR B

TEXT:       1 KINGS 19:4-8   

PREACHED AT TRINITY, MOBILE, ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 2024.

 

ONE SENTENCE:        The wonder of God’s movement is recounted again and again in the stories of faith history.       

 

            Three weeks ago, I participated in the ordination and consecration of the Reverend Dr. Dorothy Wells Sanders as the XI Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi.

 

            It was a remarkable day for a number of reasons.  A fresh start for my home diocese. New leadership. And the consecration of the first African American woman as the Bishop of Mississippi.

 

            More than a thousand people participated in the joyous service. For me, one of the high points, was the sermon by the Reverend Teresa Frye Brown, Bandy Professor of Preaching at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta.

 

            Dr. Frye Brown’s sermon got me thinking. Those reflections have ruminated and rattled through my mind in the past three weeks. I wonder: Do we sometimes lose sight of the forest because we are focused on the trees?

 

            Our lectionary is partially responsible. Each week, we focus on particular passages of scripture. And the cycle repeats every three years. Today we are focusing on Proper 14, Year B.

 

            Part of the responsibility of our limited vision is the ease with which we hear these passages. We dismiss them as soon as we walk out the door of the church.

 

            I have long contended that the story of scripture is much greater than the sum of its combined parts. While we may focus on a single story… a parable… or pericope, we lose sight of the truth that flows through the recollections of 66 books – beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation.

 

            Dr. Frye Brown reminded me of that fact. She said we need to remember that throughout history, God has done amazing things.

 

            Today we focus on a brief passage having to do with the Old Testament prophet Elijah.  It is said that Elijah is the second greatest figure of the Old Testament – second only to Moses.

 

            We have a tiny fragment of Elijah’s story today; the miraculous appearance of a cake of bread and a jar of water – brought to him in the wilderness by the hands of an angel.

 

            That’s profound enough. But reviewing the whole span of Elijah’s ministry, we see him bringing about the surprising work of God again and again.  He does so against all odds and all enemies – bringing judgement and new life in his wake.

 

            He is finally taken up to heaven outside of Jericho by fiery horses as his successor cries out, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and their horsemen!”

 

            That’s just the story of Elijah. Read it and be amazed. But over the thousands of pages of scripture we see again and again God’s surprising movement through history. The creation of the world, however it came to be. The gift of a child to an old man and woman and the birth of a covenant. The first Passover in bondage in Egypt.  The liberation of a captive people.  The stunning scene of the Red Sea divided so the Hebrews can go through on dry land.

 

            The gift of manna in the wilderness – a story we heard last week. A young boy slaying a mighty warrior with a slingshot and a rock. On and on. Daniel facing lions. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking through a furnace without being singed.

 

            And that’s just a portion of the first 39 books of scripture. Look at the stories of the last 27 books – the New Testament.  A miraculous birth. A young rabbi raising the dead.  Turning water into wine. Feeding 5,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish. Calming the sea in a storm. Casting demons into a herd of swine. Standing silent before the power of Rome… going to his death… and rising from the grave.

 

            And that does not even touch the wonderful stories of Paul, the greatest Christian missionary.

 

            The 21^st Century mind might dispute these and say they are not true or that they never really happened.  Fair enough.

 

            But think of this:  These stories reflect the way people for 4,000 years have experienced the God we worship today. They have told and written these stories again and again… around campfires… with other searchers… in synagogues… and in churches over the millennia.  

 

            Who are we to question the truth which flows through these ancient stories?

 

            Instead, we should anticipate that same God’s movement in our own lives. 

Need versus Wants

PROPERS: 11 PENTECOST, YEAR B

TEXT:       EXODUS 16:2-4, 9-15; JOHN 6:24-35

PREACHED AT TRINITY, MOBILE, ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 4, 2024.

                   

ONE SENTENCE:        Our needs today are to be touched by God.   

 

The Israelites were angry.  Today, we would say they were hangry – both hungry and angry.

 

Moses had led them out of the relative security of Egypt. Sure, they had been slaves.  Yes, they had tasted the lash from harsh taskmasters.  And they had had to make bricks without straw.  But, as they said elsewhere, “we ate our fill of garlic and leeks.”

 

They had left all that behind for this.

 

This was the wilderness of Sinai.  I’ve been there.  It is harsh – a desert that is barren, rocky, and without any resources. They could not go down the street to McDonald’s. They were hot, dusty, tired, thirsty, and hungry. Understandably.

 

It is to that bitter deficit that the Lord brought his next wonder – manna.  Each morning, a flakey-like substance would appear on the ground.  The people would gather all they could eat for the day.  It would not keep to the next. What was needed for that day would be provided.

 

And there was more.  In the evening, the camp would be covered with quail.  The people would eat meat each day.  Their needs would be met.

 

Genuine needs being met.  The Wilderness was being tamed. God had responded. The essentials were provided.

 

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            That is the Old Testament reading, from Exodus. Consider now the gospel reading – from John.

 

            Jesus has miraculously fed the multitude – some 5,000 people, aided only by a boy with five barley loaves and two fish. The multitude’s hunger had been sated – at least for the time being.

 

            Having fed and taught the people gathered on the hillside, Jesus was done. He got in a small boat and traveled a short distance to regain some privacy. But it was not to be.

 

            Portions of the crowd had followed him. They wanted more – more bread, more fish.  Even though their basic needs had been met, they wanted more.

 

            Jesus knew better.  “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”  The bread which he now offered was different – it would fill the soul, not the gut.

 

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            I wonder how many of us can really identify with the Israelites in the wilderness, being truly hungry?  And I wonder how many of us identify with the people of Galilee, yearning for more, though their essential needs had been met?

 

            We have gotten confused over the years – needs versus wants. There is a difference, and it is well-represented by these two snapshots from scripture. I suspect that most of us confuse our wants with our needs.

 

            What we offer here – at this table – responds to our needs. As Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 

 

            It is that sacred bread which we consume again and again – nestled in our heartfelt prayers – that can address our hearts’ needs and thirsts.  This little morsel of bread, consumed in our hearts and wrapped in our prayers, can begin to address our needs.

 

            The people who followed Jesus across the sea said, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 

An Inclusive Realm

PROPERS: PENTECOST DAY, YEAR B

TEXT:       ACTS 2:1-21

PREACHED AT RESURRECTION, STARKVILLE, ON SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2024 

 

ONE SENTENCE:        The Spirit moves through the complexity of the world.      

 

            In his 1869 book, “The Innocents Abroad”, the legendary writer and wit Mark Twain observed, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

 

            Twain was writing of his experience traveling abroad to Europe and the Holy Land aboard the steamship Quaker City and various other means of conveyance.  Thankfully, for our purposes here today, his grand trip culminated in his visit to the Holy Land.

 

            I made my first visit to Israel in 1994.  Since then, I have led 13 groups to Israel, Jordan, and most recently, Egypt. Mark Twain never wrote truer words than those just quoted.

 

            After my first trip, I returned to Starkville and Church of the Resurrection to share my experience.  We had a potluck downstairs in the parish hall. I shared slides and tried to convey my deep impressions. Parishioners seemed genuinely appreciative of having flesh put on biblical stories.

 

            I was struck by the complexity of the world and of that land.  That has been revealed to us in spades since October 7. The visual images and tactile touch of places like Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, Megiddo, Qumran, and Masada were overwhelming and deepened my faith.

 

            And then there was Jerusalem. I read a book many years ago entitled, “Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths.”Jerusalem is the nexus of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A visitor can easily see – in one view – the holiest site in Judaism, the holiest site in Christianity, and the third holiest site in Islam.

 

            In a mile-square walled city, the narrow, steep, and winding streets cry of history. Though leveled and rebuilt many times over the millennia, the city takes your breath away. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Wailing Wall, and the Dome of the Rock. It was here that the Temple Stood.  It was here there Jesus was crucified and resurrected.  It was from here that Mohamed began his night flight to Mecca.  

 

            It was an eye-opening experience – horizon-broadening. Islamic minarets with their calls to prayer were ubiquitous. Hasidic Jews were plentiful, with their long beards and broad-brimmed black hats.  And Christians – what diversity!

 

            I decided on that first trip that I needed to share that experience with others. The places we visited were important, but the essential message was the complexity of the world, of politics, and of religion.

 

            We are used to Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Catholics, and a few more.  It is not nearly that simple in Israel – the birthplace of our faith. The Christians there are Coptics, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopians, and many, many others.  “White-bread Christianity” is a small slice.

 

            It was into that milieu that the disciples emerged from that locked room on that first Christian Pentecost.  Hear the account:

 

“Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 

 

            The upshot of all this is that the message of Christian hope is for all people, not just those who look like us.  It isfor us, and for those people we see starving in Africa… for those who are struggling for survival in Ukraine… for those dying in Israel and Gaza… and for those people we see on the streets of Starkville.

 

            The message of this Pentecost Day is this:  The Spirit is alive in each of us.  And it is seeking to spread good news to those around us, and to those far away.

 

            We are the earthen vessels of that spirit. It is trying to get out. It is our task to be the modern-day Peter and other disciples who ventured into the city square – and into the lives of others – and share the life-changing news of God’s love. Even into a complex and challenging world. 

The Immanence of God

 

PROPERS: 7 EASTER, YEAR B

TEXT:       LUKE 24:44-53 (From the Feast of Ascension three days before)

PREACHED AT RESURRECTION, STARKVILLE, ON SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2024 

 

ONE SENTENCE:        The Ascension which we embrace today is Jesus’ ascension into our hearts.  

 

            The Feast of the Ascension was this past Thursday. Sadly, I had ascended to Fairhope.

 

            It is one of the chief feasts of the church year.  It commemorates Jesus’ ascension into heaven. It holds a special place in my heart because it was on that feast day that I was confirmed into the Episcopal Church 54 years ago by Bishop John Allin.

 

            You know the rest of the story.

 

            Our modern sensibilities, informed by science, cause us to wonder about the ascension.  What was it really?  Our understanding of the cosmos is informed by many things – including the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb telescope. Both of those space platforms peer billions of years into the depths of the universe. And the appearance of the Aurora Borealis the last two nights has only highlighted that wonder.

 

            The cosmology of Jesus’ time understood things quite differently.  There was no knowledge of the massiveness of the universe.

 

The view of creation in that time was quite simple. There was the earth on which people walked. There were the pillars of the earth, which held the world up.  There was the great firmament which served as both the sky and the barrier to prevent the waters high above from cascading into our world.  God dwelt above the firmament and the waters.

 

            There is not much mention of the ascension in scripture.  There is brief mention in Acts, a little in Luke, and none in Matthew, Mark, and John. But it was very clear that the early church believed that Jesus was above all the human chaos of this world.  After all, that is the dwelling place of God.

 

            I think there is something more significant here.  It is something that is more transformative than a God that is high above this world.  It is a concept that we all knowand is much more pertinent to us than an ancient and dated cosmology.

 

            In a March 22, 1959 sermon in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said something quite profound.  It applies to Jesus, Abraham Lincoln and others. It related to the assassination of Indian pacifist Mahatma Gandhi. Hear his words: “The man who shot Gandhi only shot him into the hearts of humanity.” He became more powerful in death than he was in life.

 

            Jesus’ continuing presence is like Gandhi, only much more so.  For thousands of years and millions of lives, Jesus has been crucified and ascended into the hearts of men and women around the world.  His continuing presence is much greater in our lives than the ancient cosmology of heaven above and earth below would suggest.

 

            The God we proclaim is not imaginary, distant and unreachable – as Soviet astronaut Yuri Gargarin alleged.  Instead, we worship a God who is immanent – a God who manifests himself in then daily wonders of this world, and in the bread and wine we share today. 

 

            Be aware that the God we worship is as close as our prayers. Come to the table and feed on his bounty.

An Open Door

PROPERS: 6 EASTER, YEAR B

TEXT:       ACTS 10:44-48

PREACHED AT THE 8:00 AM SERVICE AT RESURRECTION, STARKVILLE, ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024 (The 10:30 service was Youth Sunday)

 

ONE SENTENCE:        Regardless of our pride and territoriality, the Kingdom of God is open to all people.

 

            There is a joke that comes in various versions that has St. Peter escorting a newcomer around the streets of heaven.  He comes to a sizeable mansion and asks the newcomer to be very quiet.  The newcomer asks why.  And St. Peter responds, “That’s the Baptists (or you can say Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, etc.) and they think they are the only ones here.”

 

            That joke is funny, but it contains a lot of truth.  A lot of churches think they have a corner on the truth.

 

            I remember when I was rector here, we placed an ad in the Starkville Daily News.  It was an ad that had been developed nationally and was thought-provoking.  It emphasized the human aspect of Jesus, keeping in mind that we profess belief in a fully human and fully divine Jesus.

 

            The ad was summarized with this line: “Don’t worry about your doubts. Jesus had them, too.”

 

            It set off a firestorm in a local church.  The pastor preached a series of sermons of how we were wrong and maybe even heretical.  I was mentioned by name in the sermons.

 

            Clearly, he was of the opinion that we were not of the heavenly bunch.

 

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            It’s nothing new.  The controversy about who’s in and who’s out goes back to at least the early church… and maybe even before among the Jewish community.

 

            We really don’t see much of it in the lessons, but the first lesson – from Acts – is the heart of it.

 

            Peter had been asleep on a rooftop in Joppa – a community north of modern-day Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean Coast.  He had a dream or a vision which featured a sheet being lowered from heaven. On the sheet were various animals, reptiles and birds, clean and unclean. A voice told Peter, “Get up, Peter.  Kill and eat.”

 

            But Peter being a faithful and observant Jew declined to eat the unclean animals. “Lord, never.” The voice from heaven responded, “What God has made clean you must not call profane.”

 

            Shortly, Peter was called to the house of the Cornelius the centurion.  Cornelius wanted him and his whole household to be baptized.  But there was a problem – a problem not previously encountered.  They were pagans, and not Jews. They had none of the marks or rituals of being Jewish. The leaders of the church in Jerusalem would object.

 

            Peter reflected on his dream. “What God has made clean you must not call profane.”  He baptized Cornelius and his household.  They broke the barrier; they became the first non-Jewish Christians.

 

            Even though it was clear to Peter at that point, it was not resolved. Adhering to the Jewish Law continued to be an obstacle for a time. It was not until later – a council in Jerusalem described in Acts 15 – that the matter reached some resolution.

 

            No doubt, other controversies would follow. But Peter’s words speak to us this day: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality.”

 

            Wrap your minds around that. No partiality. Between you and me.  The person you dislike the most. The stranger on the street. Your Ole Miss cousin. The homeless man that wanders University Avenue. Republicans and Democrats. People with your political views and people with the exact opposite.  You and they are accepted.

 

            Keep that in mind the next time someone cuts you off in traffic or breaks in line at Starbucks. Peter’s dream lives today. We are all children of God. 

Trimming the Vines

PROPERS: 5 EASTER, YEAR B

TEXT:       1 JOHN 4:7-21; JOHN 15:1-8

PREACHED AT RESURRECTION, STARKVILLE, ON SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2024 

 

ONE SENTENCE:        The pruning we experience in life, when we are conducive, is to bring about a more Christ-like life.

 

            Nora and I are celebrating our 50^th wedding anniversary this summer.  We know that milestone calls for a special celebration – so we are taking a trip.

 

            We’re going to California for two reasons. The first, which is secondary in terms of priority, is to visit our 27^thMajor League ballpark, Oracle Park in San Francisco.  We will see the Giants play the Toronto Blue Jays.

 

            But the real reason we are going to California is to return to Sonoma County.  We’ve been there four times and we love the area.  It is home to dozens of vineyards and is the source of some wonderful pinot noirs and zinfandels.

 

            The guides talk about the dozens of “microclimates” which exist in the area, nurturing the thousands of acres of vineyards.  These different microclimates produce a wide variety of grapes which, in turn, produce a wide variety of wines.

 

            Their farmlands are so different from ours. Ours tend to be flat; spread out.

 

            Their fields always grab my attention:  The acres and acres of gently rolling hills covered with row after row of grape vines.  Each vine is suspended from a trellis. Those grapevines has been gently and lovingly tended during the fallow season, aimed at yielding a bounteous crop of grapes.

 

            The guides tell me if the vines were not trimmed… if they are allowed to grow unfettered… they would soon be a massive thicket of useless vines. Sometimes fire or storms burn or strip the vines traumatically. But they return – always.

 

            In order to grow and produce, the vines must be trimmed – cut back by hand, vine by vine.

 

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            If you have noticed, Jesus speaks in metaphors – images that are familiar to his listeners.  The gospels are full of those images.

 

            The mustard seed. Many aspects of seed – falling to the ground and dying; bringing new life; casting them among thorns and on rocky ground. The weeds and wheat. The vineyard. Lilies of the field. Plucking heads of grain. The bread of life. Good and bad fruit. The cast net. Yeast. Flour.

 

            Any similarity in those?  Yes, agriculture.

 

            The Israel of Jesus’ time was an agricultural culture. Everyone was connected to the soil – even if they were one-step removed, just consuming wine or olives.  The images that Jesus used were familiar to his listeners.

 

            So, today we have his teaching about vine – and his being the vine.  The vine, in his teaching, is the source of life, the connection to the Holy. He says that through him is our connection to all others.

 

            The challenge for us is to be productive.  We are to bear fruit for the kingdom.

 

            Like the growers in Sonoma County, he is interested in the productivity of the branches.  And if the branch is not producing good fruit, it is cut from the vine – and becomes fuel for the fire.

 

            I don’t know about you, but looking back over my life, I can see various ways in which I have been trimmed. Not all pruning has been of divine origin. Some of that trimming has been painful and is characterized by struggle. Other trimming has been subtle; maybe a simple redirection. 

 

            The challenge has been to grow and be productive regardless of the origin or nature of the pruning.

 

I would produce very little fruit if I had not been trimmed.

 

            I could bore you with the details of how I have been trimmed, but I suspect you have your own examples.  You can look back on your own life and see where unproductive or even destructive branches have been trimmed.  Perhaps the trimming was painful or subtle. There are probably as many ways of being trimmed as there are people here today.

 

            And I suspect my trimming will continue.  It needs to continue. I suspect your trimming will continue, as well. For better or worse, it is part of life.

 

            In being trimmed in the future, we are called to move more closely to vision of life articulated by John in his first letter, and our second lesson today: “The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”

 

            That is the purpose of our trimming. Our trimming can be so that we may be productive for the Kingdom of God and its manifestation here on Earth.