September 30, 2007 at Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK

Amos 6: 1, 4-7 + Psalm 146 + 1 Timothy 6: 11-16 + Luke 16: 19-31

As the “Gospel of Radical Reversals” continues there are some disturbing revelations: The time before death is the time of repentance. The time after death is the time of consequences. Now Is that just a “matter of fact” statement that leaves you to shrug and say: Oh yeah, I know that?

Or is it a scare tactic that might mildly disturb two or three of the 1300 people who will be here this weekend? But we live with threats of danger these days, and the consequence of that is the hardening of our hearts It’s curious to me that one guy with explosives in his shoe can cause millions of people to walk through airport all over the world barefooted years after.

This parable story is not about the afterlife. What is said about the afterlife is said as a commentary on what is happening on this side of death. The point is: the way the world works is not the way God works. Our social arrangements are not in agreement with God’s plan or will.  Looking upon riches as a blessing is wrong. We need to stop thinking that way. It is dangerous. Looking around at all that we have should make us shudder and wonder: “What for?” Riches are a responsibility, not a blessing. They carry with them the obligation of imitating God’s behavior which is seen in the after-life scene of the story.

The real plan of God is to rearrange the goods of the earth so that everyone shares in them. God’s will does not support inequality and getting that point is a serious move toward the Kingdom of God. Abraham (a God figure) thinks that the rich man should have known that all along.

What he is really saying to that rich man is: “What is it you don’t understand here? You lived a life of luxury. You ignored Moses and the prophets. You paid no attention to the needs of the poor while you knew they were there. In fact, you even knew his name!” Now you act surprised and want someone to go to your brothers. You still don’t get it! They are sitting in the same church (synagogue) you sat in. They hear the same readings and revelations of God’s will. You think that they need something more spectacular. But that’s not the point. If like you they pay no attention to the Word of God, they will not pay attention to someone who comes from the dead. The problem is not that they don’t know. The problem is they know and yet do not care. They live with hard hearts and drink their wine. Nothing gets to them, and their self-imposed isolation is their destiny.”

My brothers and sisters; there are no excuses. Something more is not needed for us to change. There is enough already, unless it is a better understanding of God’s Word and Will. Bringing Abraham and Lazarus together is our goal and our mission. Translating this spiritual truth into social behavior is what we are doing as disciples of Jesus and why we are here.

On one side of the door, a rich person feasts. On the other side of the door, Lazarus starves. Who holds the key? Remember, doors are locked from the inside.

September 23, 2007 at Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK

Amos 8: 4-7 + Psalm 113 + 1 Timothy 2: 1-8 + Luke 16: 1-13

As I sat for several days with these verses from Luke 16, the G-8 Summit was concluding in Australia, and the media was highlighting international concern for the earth. Global warming seemed to weave its way in and out of every other issue. While there are some who insist the whole matter

is simply a media event, there are others who prefer to believe that this is all just a matter of climate cycles; but they are growing fewer in number and a bit less insistent in the face of scientific facts and reports, and our growing realization that as usual, the biggest impact will be felt by the most helpless and poorest of peoples. The statistics are staggering and disturbing. Most disturbing of all to me is that the underlying cause of global warming is the cooling of the human heart.  What else can account for the squandering of an environment that belongs to every living being. What else can account for our apathy toward the well-being of others.  Even scientists are beginning to speak about a “moral obligation” to care for the earth. If scientists are concerned about the morality of human decisions, how much more should disciple of Jesus Christ have this concern for practicing good stewardship not only of the earth, but for all who live on it. These good stewards would be the “children of light” spoken of in this Gospel.

The complexity of this parable makes it difficult to be absolutely certain as to what specific point Jesus is making. The reversals are surprising. The ending is incomplete since we have no idea how things work out for this steward or for the “master.” The parallel between Jesus and his works of mercy and this debt-reducing steward is interesting; but this dodges the issues of Stewardship that emerge boldly from this text. How Jesus used the parable is not clear. What Luke was doing with the parable is complex. What we do with it is another thing altogether. Spoken in this community in the early fall of 2007, the parable raises some troubling issues as we hear of a shrewd steward who chose to serve his own needs rather than the interests of his employer.

Proclaimed here and now, this parable is story about us, busy resourceful stewards whose track record in terms of the resources we have at hand isn’t anything to brag about; and God the master who may at any moment decide to call for an audit. We are beginning to wake up to the fact that some of our resources are not unlimited, and the supplies are running low. We like to talk these days about “rights”, and usually about our own. We talk about the right to life, but we too often limit that to questions of reproduction, war, or capital punishment. There is also a right to eat, to be clothed, to be sheltered,

and to be nourished by the beauty of this world of which we are a part. We don’t seem to ask any questions about how much and what quality of food we have a right to when others do not eat. How many changes of clothing do we need when others who have a right to be clothed go naked? How big a home do we have a right to when there more of us with no homes on this earth?

Our consumer society suggests we have a right to everything we can earn. But is that true? Our religious tradition raises some objection to this thinking and the behavior that comes from it. In a world of limited resources, how much do we have a right to?

The man in today’s reading is not condemned because of his economic privilege but because he used it only for his own advantage. Children of the Light are more than insatiable consumers. Our value is not found in the measure of our possessions. It is in the quality of our relationships, in particular in our relationships with our deprived brothers and sisters.

We are not called to disown the world because this world is where we belong right now. We are called to live in it gently, using what we need and sharing all we can. We are after all only stewards of the things we have. We will take none of it with us into the next life. We have not earned anything, because we did not call ourselves into this life nor give ourselves any of the opportunities that have come our way.

For the second Sunday in a row, the word “squander” appears in the Gospel. Last week an inheritance was squandered. This week the Master’s property is squandered. Both men ask the same question which perhaps we might ask ourselves: “What shall I do?”

September 22, 2007 At Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK

Sirach 3: 17-21, 30,31 + Psalm 68 + Hebrews 12: 18,19,22-24 + Luke 14: 1, 7-15

Often called the “Gospel of Great Reversals”, Luke’s Gospel stays true to form today. The liturgy’s first reading gives us the clue that unfolds the virtue of discipleship we ponder at this stop on the way to Jerusalem. Getting closer to the end, Jesus gets more intense, more pointed, more specific, and perhaps now raises the virtues that are most important.

It’s about humility today; that virtue we love to admire in others and struggle to find in ourselves. Perhaps the problem is that we so continually avoid truth. We love to fool ourselves, and the more we hide the truth from others, the more comfortable and safer often feel. That behavior is obvious from the highest levels of government to the simplest family homes. In fact, it probably would never be tolerated at the level of government if we were not already so skilled at hiding the truth at home.

Privacy is getting to be such a big thing with us that I couldn’t even find you in a hospital if you called for me and I misspelled your name at the information desk. We will not practice this virtue by denying the truth. The gifts we have are all real. Truth demands that we recognize the giver of those gifts. That truth demands that we put those gifts at the service of others not for what we might gain; but rather for the sake of those others

and the glory of the one who has given.

So the first place to look for the perfect example of humility is God. After all, what is “virtue” except the clearest reflection of divine life and divine qualities. The Son of God is the human example of the divine virtue of humility. He refused to cling to his divine status. He set aside every right and every shred of dignity. He humbled himself to the point of washing the feet of an ambitious, not too dependable group who followed him seeking glory, power, and influence. Finally, that action led to the greater act of humility: his death on a cross.

We gather here week after week under that reminder of humility with the expectation that our own minds will be open to the possibility of such humility toward one another. To do so will put us at odds with worldly wisdom which encourages ambition and assertiveness. I am beginning to understand this better and better in the latter half of my life, and I am beginning to see how important it is for younger people to learn this virtue early in life, and thereby saving themselves a lot of humiliation, disappointment, and failure. Humility is always about truth: the truth that what most people seem to be admired for is not really very admirable; the truth that what most people look to for satisfaction is not really very satisfying. What is truly admirable is to be less concerned about being admired. What is truly satisfying is to forego one’s own satisfaction and try to satisfy the needs of others.

Toward the end of this Gospel parable, Jesus suggests where we might go to encounter the presence of God. To the lowest place among the least is where we go. To the poor, the weak, the crippled, the blind and outcast: who according to Luke at the Blessed ones, not you and me. They are the gifted, for they are a gift to us by most closely taking on the image of Christ. These are the ones who will bless and gift us, not the other way around. This kind of thinking takes us deeply into the mystery revealed in the Gospel of Great Reversals. What Luke suggests is that more is required than a check in the mail or a hand-out. Hospitality is the exercise of this virtue and in the ancient language of this Gospel, Hospitality means “love of a stranger.” This is a big challenge to us in an age of boarder security and vicious immigration laws. When we keep the needy, the poor, the helpless away from us, we may be doing more than we think, and we shall be far from the truth and a long way from being humble.

September 9, 2007 at Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK

Wisdom 9:13-18 + Psalm 90 + Philemon 9,10,12,17 + Luke 14:25-33

It is important to notice that these words are addressed not to the disciples who have been information along the way to Jerusalem;  but to “the people” who are following along. As I said last week, the journey is near the end. There is a sense of heightened intensity. If anyone in that crowd is even thinking of discipleship as a way of life, Jesus makes it clear that anytime requirements of allegiance to Jesus collide with any other loyalties or commitments, God’s royal right to rule prevails.

A shift of loyalties is a mark of discipleship. Blood lines and that kind of family relationship is not as important for true disciples. There is a new family found in the company of those who do the will of God.

The call to carry one’s cross is not counsel to put up with life’s problems. It is a wake-up call to would-be disciples, that their lives will know the same rejection, mockery, abandonment, misunderstanding, and humiliation that simply goes with discipleship.

To make certain that we understand that this message is directed to us, Luke uses two parables about people like us: people with resources, people rich, like us here in Norman. He would have us understand that entering into the community of disciples is not like joining a health club or a country club. This is not an entertainment complex, where we gather when we feel like it. This assembly does not come together to feel good

nor have our comfortable lifestyles affirmed. The demands of Jesus cannot and must not be spiritualized away. They are real, concrete, specific, and hard. It means: to be a disciple of Jesus you must be willing to let go of what you value the most. Then he gives three examples; familial connections which for many probably mean power and security;

possession which may or may not be material goods; and one’s own life which may well mean one’s lifestyle with all of its comforts, pleasures, distractions, and entertainments.

For you and me, this Gospel boils down to this: If we want to take Jesus seriously instead of just tagging along, it’s going to take DESIRE. It cannot come from a desire to look good, feel good, or even a desire to save our souls. It simply must come from love. We will have to love Jesus more than anyone else or anything else, and that kind of love will make any sacrifice seems easy. It is also going to require KNOWLEDGE. We have to know what we are getting into, So, it means a little study, a lot of listening, some planning, and a thirst of knowledge.

It is also going to take COMMITMENT. No quitting when it gets tough, no whining, no going back is allowed.

So, at this point in the journey to Jerusalem, we might decide, calculate, or make up our minds if we want to go on. What’s it going to be for us?

September 16, 2007 at Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK

Exodus 32:7-11, 13, 14 + Psalm 5 + 1 Timothy 1: 12-17 + Luke 15:1-32

A couple of weeks ago, when I settled down with this Gospel reading, my first thought was to focus on the first two of the three parables. After all, we heard the third parable on a Sunday this past Lent. It also struck me that using the shorter option for the Gospel would jolt Deacon Byron since he knows without my sayings that I always prefer the longer option. You can never get enough of a good thing, even the Good News! Then some time passed and I continued to look at the whole text and consider who was being addressed with these parables. It is the good son. It is the Scribes and Pharisees, the good law abiding, faithful ones who are being told these stories. It is you and me, the people who made Mass attendance the priority of the weekend who are hearing this message. So, I decided we had better keep it all together and not skip the last story which brings it all home.

Back away from the specific details for a minute, and these parables start to talk about the “in” group and the “out group. That is how Chapter Fifteen starts, and that is how it ends. There is an “in group” who are usually at the table and welcome. There is an “out group” not so welcome or sometimes absent. In this biblical language, there are tax collectors and sinners: they are the “out group.” Then there are the righteous: (Scribes and Pharisees or the good son) who are the “in group.” Isn’t that the way it is most of the time in our lives. Whether it’s an issue of ideology, politics, religion, race, language, culture, or simply who sits where in the school cafeteria. We have our “in groups” and “the others.”

The Jesus of this Gospel confronts that business. God did not make things this way at the beginning. This kind of dis-unity is not in the divine plan of things, and Jesus has come to restore what is lost, heal what is broken, and unite what is divided. God’s will is Unity.

Think about the numbers in this chapter for just a minute. One Hundred is a whole number and so is ten. The numbers in ancient writings are often symbolic and the use of them reinforces images and the message. The flock has 100 sheep: but one is missing. Something is wrong here. There are ten coins; but one gets lost. The Shepherd must have that wholeness.

The unity must be restored no matter what the cost. The woman must have the whole set of ten. so everything stops until it gets back together.

What unites them is joy from the realization that things are the way they were meant to be. Creation is fulfilled. God’s will is satisfied. Things are good.

In the face of this however, something in our age makes us shrug and scoff at such insistence on wholeness. Our practical minds make no sense of looking for one when you have 99 or think it silly to waste precious oil to find one coin when you still have 9.  Lighting the oil lamp probably cost more than the value of the coin! An imperfect world has made us too comfortable with imperfection. We’ve just decided that loss is inevitable, and we don’t bother about it. The truth of loss has impressed us too much and taught us to accommodate too quickly. We have become numb to the pain of missing what was once part of our identity. We accept this as the normal way of things, but Jesus is not so resigned. He does not settle for this, and neither should we.

Into this comes parable three and a contrast of behavior in the face of loss. We have a choice in the face of our losses: anxious hope waiting for a reunion and wanting to miss no opportunity for it; or a smug and arrogant dismissal that just accepts the broken way things are without any desire to make it otherwise. There is nothing more crushing than simply writing someone off with the comment: “They’ll always be that way.” Nothing more hopeless than opting out of life by simply declaring: “That’s just the way it is.”

Jesus was not so resigned, and neither may his disciples be. If God desires unity, so must we. Until we do, there will be no Joy and no celebration that affirms the victory of God’s Royal Reign. If the finding of one makes the ninety-nine and the nine whole, then it is not just the good fortune of a shepherd or a woman. We must all gather. When sheep and coins are together neighbors and friends are brought in. Getting back what we have lost is our project. Those who are “out” must be brought “in”. It is the only way; it is God’s way and God’s plan for creation. Scribes and Pharisees couldn’t get it. Too worried about being or staying part of the “in group” they never reached out or made room for others. It cannot be so for us.