August 29, 2004

Sirach 3:17 – 29 + Hebrews 12:18-24 + Luke 14:7-14

The first reading this weekend guides us through another reflection from the lesson Jesus gives to those who would be his disciples during this Jerusalem journey.

Remember, Jesus himself was schooled in rich tradition of Wisdom.

Ben Sira wrote first in Hebrew, and his grandson translated the work into Greek.

It was a summary of Hebrew tradition written to keep the faith alive among those who were in exile, isolated from their roots and Hebrew companions.

The Greeks had no specific word for “Humility.”

Every one of their words that related to the idea

had some sense of passivity, weakness, or feebleness.

The Greeks regarded the whole idea of humility as a weakness,

and they held it in contempt.

In contrast to that culture’s perception, Ben Sira would have Hebrews see humility is a virtue, a strength to be cultivated in life as a way of drawing near to truth.

In fact, as time passed, the prophets began to use that virtue in their description of the Messiah. Even in the psalms, virtuous people are described as being humble, and the evidence of humility is trust in God, knowing that God is the source of all greatness.

The Jesus of Luke’s Gospel, headed for Jerusalem has already put his trust in God. He is man entirely in touch with the truth of who he is and who God is.

Still in contrast to the idea of humility the Greeks proposed, Jesus shows us that this strength, this virtue, this quality of a disciple’s life is an active, positive, cooperative trust solidly set upon hope in God.

Jesus and his disciples know the truth about themselves and their God.

They know who they are and what they are.

They know where they are,

and they simply embrace the truth of their trust and hope in God.

The illustration of this that Jesus uses speaks to guests and to hosts.

He proposes a social system without reciprocity.

That divine suggestion flies in the face of most of what we do and why.

Jesus proposes for disciples behavior that is fit for the Kingdom of God.

In the Kingdom, God is the host, and everyone is invited.

Behavior in that Kingdom finds everyone seated together.

There is a leveling of the things that separate people.

Only those stand out who think they are different or better than another.

The humble find their sense of self and their identity in God,

not in comparison with another like themselves.

This is a very important thing for disciples of Jesus to understand.

The consequence of finding one’s identity in God is service, not power.

There is no one freer in the entire world than the humble.

They do not cling to fame or fortune,

because they know that these things

stifle depth and growth in wisdom and in holiness.

Luke suggests in the words of Jesus,

that humility is not pretending that one is “not worthy.”

Humility is facing the truth that all is gift,

and the only proper attitude is not pride, nor arrogance, nor feeling special;

but simply Gratitude.

Luke suggests that the proud think they are worth more

because of their achievements, their status, their power, their wealth,

all of which they may have; but the proud miss the point.

All that stuff is for the service of others and nothing else.

The people around the humble table are people who in truth, need to be there.

We who have set ourselves on the road to Jerusalem as disciples of Jesus

never forget the truth that all this stuff we have is not ours,

and we are not better than anyone because of it.

We cannot ever forget that what we have is there

because we have been chosen by God to be instruments of God’s love,

of God’s mercy, and of God’s goodness.

This is the truth that bears fruit in Humility.

This is the virtue of a disciple, and it is how disciples of Jesus will be known.

August 8, 2004

Wisdom 18:6-9 + Hebrews 11:1,,8-19 + Luke 12:32-48

Fear or Faith.

It is one or the other in the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The story of fear opens the Old Testament

so that the story of faith can be told.

It begins with a couple who are afraid,

afraid of God, afraid to trust, afraid even to obey.

Their fear leads to violence, and one of their children kills the other.

It is a story told again and again in the human family.

Fear leads to violence.

That first story of fear however, leads to the next story of faith,

and we have heard something of it today so that we might better open our hearts

to the lesson Jesus offers us along the way of his journey.

That second story is again about a couple.

This time it is a couple of faith not of fear: Abraham and Sara.

They are the risk takers, who live by faith, not by fear.

Unafraid, Abraham leaves his homeland for a place he’s never been.

Unafraid, old, and thinking they are finished with life;

they conceive life because they are not afraid.

Unafraid, trusting that God will provide all things, Abraham risks,

not just life in a new land, not just conceiving a child,

but he even risks that child in moment of faith

that is as much a test of God as it is a test of Abraham.

There is yet another story of faith to be told.

It is the story of our lives in this place, in this time.

It is a story shaped by the Rabbi, Jesus,

the one who teaches us during his journey how to make our own.

Each of us in here writes the verses of our story every day of our lives.

It is either a story of fear or of faith,

and our story like Abraham’s will be illustrated by how we use what we have.

It will tell of our trust in God, and it will measure our faith.

If we are afraid to follow Christ, it will never be a story of faith.

If we are afraid to love, to give life, to accept God’s gift, it will never be a story of faith.

If we fear to give up, do without, or give away anything in our lives because it is the right thing to do, because God asks it of us, we shall not have story of faith.

In just a few moments we are going to stand and profess our faith.

Thirty minutes later when we leave, the rest of the world will know how much faith we have by how we live the rest of the week.

The faith of Abraham, which is the faith of Jesus

is not a creed, a set of rules, dos and donts;

it is not a theological concept to be studied in books.

It is a relationship, a relationship to be lived.

This kind of relationship is what “love” means.

Different from affection, sexual attraction, and sentimentality,

this “Love” – God-style.

It is a gift in the context of a relationship that allows for risks in the face of fear.

It is what makes marriage a sacrament – a holy union,

because it rests upon faith that allows for no fear.

It is a love that lets two people set aside their fears and take the risk of forever.

The fear of the future, the fear of being a mother or a father,

the fear that they might find someone else and leave,

the fear that love might grow cold must be replaced by faith.

This is the faith Jesus calls forth from those who would be his disciples.

That is the faith that led him to Jerusalem and sustained him

through all that would happen there.

It is the faith we must have if we shall be with him in the New Jerusalem.

August 1, 2004

Ecclesiastes 1:2,2:21-23 + Colossians 3:1-5,9-11 + Luke 12:13-21

Several weeks ago, our church began to walk with Jesus toward to Jerusalem.

It was the Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary time, to be exact; and since then we are making our way through Luke’s Gospel from Chapter Nine to Nineteen as Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem. Along the way, in the genius of Luke’s plan, Jesus instructs his disciples and forms them in the values of true discipleship. We pause today in that journey to hear a story about Jesus being drawn into a family dispute, and the discussion that comes from that dispute puts before would-be and wanna-be disciples a clear lesson on foolishness.

We are left to wonder about ourselves: how wise we are or how foolish. We are left to wonder about the power of greed, that constant yearning for more that creates false worth, and topples authentic priorities. We are called by Jesus to a kind of Wisdom that places value on who people are and what they can become rather than on what they have. This Gospel is about Wisdom, and those who would follow Jesus learn to be wise and find by that Wisdom true riches. Wisdom becomes the great treasure, the greatest wealth, the fondest possession.

The wise then stand in contrast to the foolish. The wise possess a reverent and respectful vision of the world that challenges narcissism, and the “me-first” foolishness that considers others only have one’s own needs and wants have been satisfied. The wise know the truth about what they have and who they are. They never think that what they have should give them privilege, power, or influence.

They always remember that privilege does not come without responsibility, and there are no rights in this life without duties.

There were some in that crowd who heard what Jesus said and surely grumbled. “There he goes again, warning us about our possessions. Why doesn’t he talk about the law and keeping the Sabbath and sex like the other rabbis? Why doesn’t he stick to religion and leave economic life to us who know more about it?” They were right, of course. He did talk more about the danger of wealth than anything else; and I think it’s because in the course of one’s life, more temptation and more harm come from failure here than anywhere else. Most of the people he spoke to and called into discipleship were not going to commit murder, adultery, or robbery. But everyday, they had to face the temptations of greed and selfishness. So, he did not exactly fit in, this pilgrim headed to Jerusalem with all it’s wealth, power, and privilege. Along the way, he taught us about Wisdom; a kind of Gospel Wisdom that leaves us to stand in this world like foreigners who do not quite speak the local language. The language of consumption is not ours. The economics of power and privilege is not ours either.

This weekend and next, while walking with Jesus we get a chance to wonder about true Wisdom and the power of greed. Practically speaking it means the next time we walk through a store or through the mall and think of buying something, we might ask: Do I need this?

Those who are growing in Wisdom will ask the deeper and harder question:

“What will this do to me?”

“How will this affect my life, not today, but next month?”

“Is desire to have a sign of growing greed?

“Am I really defined by what I own?”

“Am I just building bigger barns?”

“Am I Wise or am I a Fool?”

There are no foolish disciples of Jesus.