Year A Proper 21 2017 What Are You Doing?

Year A Proper 21, 1 October 2017

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“What Are You Doing?”

Philippians 2:1-13

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death--

even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Matthew 21:23-32

When Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

Collect: O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“What ARE you doing? Really, what ARE you doing?”

The Temple leaders could not take it any more. They were at the end of their rope. They sound all nicey-nice when they come to Jesus, but like with most stories, if we do not understand the context, we miss so much. If there were smiles, they were passive-aggressive veils of what they felt. This is not a pleasant scene in the Temple. This is the day after Jesus raising a fuss. Chapter 21 in Matthew begins with what we call the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, what we remember on Palm Sunday. “Hooray Jesus!” as he paraded into town.

But when he gets to the Temple and sees all the money changers ripping people off with EVERY TRANSACTION he gets a little riled, and cleans house, his Father’s House. Never forget that if you ask what would Jesus do, it just might mean turning things on their heads. (Things not people!) “Yikes Jesus!” people thought as he thrashed and flipped and caused a ruckus.

And then he goes on to heal folk, curing them of illness and disease. “Nice Jesus!” this one is a lot easier to deal with, they thought. So the officials waited till things calmed down a day.

It is in this context that people were confused. What ARE you doing? And WHO said you could do it? All the Hosannas and Hooray Jesus, Yikes Jesus, and Nice Jesus had people’s heads spinning.

So, Jesus, what are you doing and who said you could? The underlying worry here is Authority. How do we get it? How do we use it?

Last weekend, we had a great time at Shrine Mont. A big part of it was getting to know one another. Some of you have known me for years, and others just met me. And here we are in a relationship, one that requires great trust and responsibility. Why should you trust me? In the Episcopal Church, we have a network of accountability. I am priested, so I had to go through months and years of interviews and screening processes that were invasive and extensive. It is intimidating and daunting, and I am on this side of it. I also have the endorsement of the Vestry who spoke at length with me, and the Bishop who signed our Letter of Agreement saying I could start. I cleared a lot of hurdles to make it here. And all of that is a good thing. Potentially in our time together I could see you on the worst day of your life, when a tragedy has struck. I could see you on the best day of your life with the joy of a birth or a marriage. In all of those life-changing moments, I have to have a voice of calm authority for me to do what you, the Bishop, and I believe, God has called me here to do. Some of you will give me authority by virtue of the collar. Some of you will need to test the waters and see if I am “all that.” We all build trust in our own way. That is okay.

One time when I was newly priested I had a woman come to my office to ask my advice on a family situation, and I gladly met with her. The first thing she said was that I was her priest, and whatever I said to do she would do it. My response was, and I quote myself here, “Anything I say, huh? Okay. Do not ever say that to anyone.” I may have authority, but so do you. I am responsible for me, as you are for you.

When Jesus overturned the tables at the Temple, he rocked the status quo. One of my seminary professors put it this way, “Whenever there is conflict there will be change, and whenever there is change there will be conflict.” In the recent days, the conflicts that have happened have hurt this church. Let us be honest. There was a change, or I would not be here.

In all the conversations, some commonalities have come out. Some are upset with what happened. Some are upset with how things happened. Some took sides. Some took umbrage. All were affected. Too quote the great Jewish theologian Heschel, “Some are guilty. All are responsible.” That being said, all that is left to us is what will we do with what we have been given.

And that is where we find ourselves, exactly in the same situation that the Church in Philippi found itself. Divisions had formed, and people were clinging to opinions instead of each other, following their gut instead of the heart of Christ.

From the reading today: “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” The foundational word in Paul’s appeal to these fellow Christians is IF.

• IF there is encouragement in Christ
• IF there is any consolation in Love
• IF there is any sharing of the Spirit
• IF there is any compassion or sympathy

That is a lot of IFs. And if there is an IF, then there has to be a THEN. It is a conditional clause. If one thing is true, it leads to another. If it is not true, then the conditional, or second, statement is not true. Now these are NOT rhetorical:

• IS there encouragement in Christ? [YES]
• IS there any consolation in Love? [YES]
• IS there any sharing of the Spirit? [YES]
• IS there any compassion or sympathy? [YES]

Good. We are in agreement. If these are true, THEN...

• Be of the same mind
• Have the same love
• Be in full accord and of one mind
• Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit
• In humility regard others as better than yourselves
• Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others

Now brothers and sisters in Christ, I have had several one-on-ones these last few weeks, both here in Ashland and at Shrine Mont. People have been hurt. People have been smug. People have decided to be “right,” more than to be loving. How on earth can we get past this?

This is when I wished I played guitar. I wish I could play, and I also wish we all spoke ancient Greek. Because the way Paul got everyone to start to move back to a single mind, a unified perspective, was to start singing a song. A song they all knew. Who knows, maybe this was a song they had written in Philippi as a community when they went on a retreat the the Anatolian Peninsula’s equivalent of Shrine Mont. Paul started to list the lyrics so they would join in:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death--

even death on a cross.

Now do not let this messenger [me] distract you from Paul’s message. He is calling the Church in Philippi (and I believe the Church in Ashland, too) to take a step back and think again in whose name we gather, and maybe we can truly be little Christs, Christians, with one another, to one another, and for one another.

The song of praise continues:

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

This is how we are called to live. This is how to live a good life. This is what God wants, because this is what God is like. How can Jesus do what he does? By what Authority does he cleanse the Temple, heal the sick, parade into God’s eternal city?

His own.

I come bearing the Authority of the Bishop and as a Priest. Not daunting at all, is it? Try living up to it.

But Jesus was worthy of all honor, and glory, and respect. By what he says, speaking the Truth. By what he does, by humbling himself and serving all. By who he is, the only Son of the Father, eternally begotten of the Father.

After being confronted about his Authority, and because the Temple leaders were not willing or able to say if either he or his cousin John the Baptizer had any, Jesus tells a simple story.

Two brothers: one said the right thing but did not do ANYTHING, one said the wrong thing but then did the RIGHT THING. One had a sin of speech, one had a sin of leaving something undone. We all have a choice right now, of what we will do. We may have said the wrong thing and hurt someone, or we said the churchy thing and then did not act the Jesus way. That was then. What about now?

We are given this day. It is a gift from God. What will you do with it?

The past it is History, tomorrow it is Mystery, today is a Gift, that is why they call it the PRESENT.

You have the Authority of being St. James the Less Episcopal Church. As Spider Man has reminded us over the years, with Great Power comes Great Responsibility. I am in the same boat. Last week I asked the question on my board, “What do I need to know about Ashland?” This week I ponder,  “What do you Treaasure about St. James the Less Church?” I will learn from you Authority, about this town and about each other. And I hope you will learn from my Authority as well. It is mutual, and delicate, and the world is watching how, and maybe even if, we will do it. I know we can, will we?

Last we I asked us to take a step back and give each other the benefit of the doubt as a first step in rebuilding trust. This week I would ask you to use the gifts and power you have been given, not to push any agenda, but to serve one another like Christ did. Humbly, fully, lovingly. That is no small ask. But I trust that as Christ leads, so will we go.

Let us pray: Lord, you have given us more Authority than we often know what to do with, more responsibility than we often wield responsibly. Help us to be like your Christ, who humbled himself like unto a slave, and he loved us to death, even death on a Cross. May we go, and do likewise. Amen.