Year A Proper 25 2023 Legacy

 Year A Proper 25, 29 October 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Legacy”

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.

Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

Matthew 22:34-46

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet”’?

If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Sermon begins:

Very few of us, so very few of us, know what our legacy will be. That is probably a good thing. If we knew, we would be frozen to inaction. We would either be overwhelmed by what was expected of us, or more likely, we would see that our greatest impact was behind us and we are already on the downward slope.

I most often speak about our Gospel reading. Look through my sermons, and that is where I spend most of my time amongst the lectionary readings when I preach. But today I am so drawn to Moses, and his peering into the Promised Land without going over.

It is heartbreaking, and yet apt. It was time for him to pass the reins and let go. For most leaders, we tend to stay on too long. We need to hear with the same clarity that voice that called us, the voice that is telling us that it is time to go.

In the last few months I have repeatedly had people mention to me that something or other was my legacy. Unless you know something I do not know, my time here is far from over. As I preach today, hear that first. MY TIME HERE IS FAR FROM OVER, good Lord willing. God is not finished with any of us, yet. Thanks be to God!

But Moses knew that his time was over, and he had laid hands on Joshua for him to take up the mantle of leading the tribes of Israel. A few interesting things in the passage I would like to point out.

The Torah, what we call Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, are the first five books in our Bibles. They are also known as the 5 books of Moses. I do need to point out that today’s reading from Deuteronomy contains Moses’ death, so the name, Five Books of Moses is at least, in part, a euphemism. Hard to include your own death in a book with any credibility of what is to come after your demise. The other funny thing in this passage is the contradiction to what I laughed about last week.

Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

Last week God promised Moses that if he saw his face he would surely die. So once again, instead of being too literal on this, I hope we will embrace this with a bit more open grip than to take it literally. This is a euphemism for the nature and depth of Moses’ spiritual life. This was not a literal description, unless it happened on the Mount of Moab when he did die at 120. And if it was, then how would he write about it???

But instead of looking at the holes, let us see what Moses did leave behind.

First and foremost we have his work. He was called to lead God’s people out of slavery into freedom. He performed signs and wonders given to him by God, and accomplished the promise that had been made.

He delivered the judgment of God in the 10 Plagues against Egypt, culminating in the gleaning of the firstborn amongst all of Egypt and Egypt’s flocks, up to and including the Pharaoh’s firstborn son. 

He delivered the instructions of God in the 10 Commandments, which to this day give us a foundation of knowing if we are in good relationship with God.

But most importantly he delivered his people to their inheritance. After hundreds of years, God’s promises were fulfilled. He delivered on God’s promises, and his job was done. After 120 years, and remaining “unimpaired and his vigor unabated.” Not bad for 120. 

Moses’ work was mighty, but we cannot skip over the Gifts of God. To be on the receiving end is no light matter. Think on that from what is said…

Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses… He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

God blessed him to be a blessing, as God does each of us. Moses had the faith to handle these awe-some gifts. And I mean that word in the old meaning, FULL OF AWE. While Awesome, the works of power were also AWE-ful. I would not want the responsibility to do what was asked of Moses.

The wrath of God is no joking matter. In our Sunday School class this morning we look at the three fold nature of God’s Salvation: Judgment, Forgiveness, and Teaching. Salvation requires us to know that we are in danger, and without judgment we cannot know. If there is a lion lurking in the underbrush, we want to know it's there. Salvation without forgiveness means that God lets the inmates run the asylum. Salvation without teaching means that once again we are left to our own devices.

God saved Israel’s children and brought them into relationship. There was much judgment, in Egypt, in the Wilderness, and on Sinai. There was much forgiveness along the way as well. And God’s teaching, the Ten Commandments and all the laws surrounding them, are still instructing us to this day. And more importantly, the relationship that they enabled.

The Work of Moses was mighty! The Gifts to Moses were Awful and Awesome. But the lasting thing that is most striking was the Relationship Moses held with God. 

Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated.

And…

Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

God held the burial of Moses, and made sure his body was cared for. Moses died on command, it says, having lived a life unimaginable. He died with all his senses and full of vigor. And his relationship was intimate, even being described as face to face.

It was a model for all the prophets to come. And remember, a prophet is not a fortune teller, but one who speaks for God. The Good. The Harsh. But always the Truth.

The idea of the spokespersons to come, whether judges or prophets, this idea of being in relationship with God and even the Spirit of God being on them was prominent in their mind. Moses began that for all that were to come. 

But not just for them. People thought Jesus a prophet before they saw him as the Messiah. And that is why some were coming to him asking about the greatest of the Laws.

One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Jesus did not come to work magic or miracles. Jesus did not come to amaze or amass followers. Jesus came to show us a way to restore Eden, to walk with God, to talk with God, and live in harmony and Grace with one another. That is the point of the Laws. That is the purpose of the Prophets. We cannot make it more clear. And it makes these simple statements all the more necessary.

The truth is right there. Will we live into it? Moses’ Legacy is still with us, his work, his giftedness, but most importantly his relationship with God. May the same be said of us. Amen

Year A Proper 24 WED 2023 Lawful

 Year A Proper 24, 25 October 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Lawful”

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 12:1-14

At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.’ He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’

He left that place and entered their synagogue; a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?’ so that they might accuse him. He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.’ Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

I won’t say that those who fixate on what is “lawful” have misplaced priorities, but I have heard this joke:

A very successful lawyer parked his brand-new Porsche in front of the office, ready to show it off to his colleagues. As he opened the door, a truck came along, and completely tore off the driver's door! The attorney immediately grabbed his cell phone, hit speed dial for 911, and had a policeman there in 3 minutes. Before the officer had a chance to ask any questions, the lawyer started screaming hysterically. He had just picked up the Porsche the day before, and now it would never be the same, no matter how good a job the body shop does.

After the lawyer finally wound down from his rant, the cop shook his head in disgust and disbelief. "I can't believe how materialistic you lawyers are," he said. " You are so focused on your possessions that you don't notice anything else."

"How can you say such a thing?" he responded indignantly.

The cop replied, "You didn't even notice that your left arm is missing from the elbow down! It must have been torn off when the truck hit you."

"OH, NO!" screamed the lawyer in shock. "Where is my Rolex?!?"

Last Sunday I mentioned that the people trying to catch Jesus over the taxes question asked if something was “lawful.” Lawful is such an interesting word. If you are busy keeping the law, you can miss the spirit and intent of said rule so easily. Being lawful is not the point, righteousness is. And as Jesus came to teach us, our righteousness is found in our faithfulness, not our lawfulness.

Jesus’ disciples were hungry and plucked the heads of grain to eat. It was the Sabbath. But the Pharisees, who were playing self-righteous games of gotcha were there to condemn.

Then they asked about curing somebody on the Sabbath. Once again, they were trying to have adventures in missing the point. It is not about the when but about the what. God wants us to do good. The point of the Sabbath was not a time period but rather about God having the lead role in our lives. We set aside a day to remind us that God is in control and we can be faithful. It is not about “Thou shalt not!”

We do not avoid doing good just because it is the Sabbath. Sabbath is a time out from the ordinary, not from avoiding everything, even the good or necessary.

The irony here is that the “work” that was to be avoided on the Sabbath included walking, but here the Pharisees are following Jesus and his disciples around. I guess that part did not count when playing Gotcha.

So when you think about obeying the law, think of why we do it, not whether we are keeping the law or not. It is so easy, too easy, to put the cart before the horse. Amen

Year A Proper 24 2023 What Can People See?

 Year A Proper 24, 22 October 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“What Can People See?”

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Exodus 33:12-23

Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have said to me, ‘Bring up this people’; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.”

The Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Show me your glory, I pray.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” And the Lord continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”

Matthew 22:15-22

The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

Good morning!

I have always been fascinated by our reading from Exodus this morning. Moses prays to see God in God’s glory, and because of his faithfulness, God rewards Moses with his desire. But there is a caveat that I have always found, well, laughable.

God says:

“[Y]ou cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live. See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”

God loves Moses so much Moses can see… God’s backside. I love that God protects him. I love that God puts up his hand to prevent Moses seeing God’s face. But for the life of me, I must admit that I am still little boy enough, that this passage makes me giggle. And it probably always will. God forgive and help me.

But it fits so well with our glimpse into the nature of Jesus and who he would have us be. We see people being deceptive and polishing apples instead of speaking plainly and into the truth.

The passage opens with the intent of the Pharisees. The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. Very clearly they wanted to get Jesus, to con him into saying something silly or stupid. It was an unanswerable question the way it was asked. Like when on the stand in a divorce and the attorney asks, “When did you stop beating your wife?” You cannot answer that question without sounding guilty of something. 

But they start in buttering up Jesus, thinking flattery will distract him, and it also makes the people think they are with them and Jesus whom they love.

“Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.”

They then move into the trick, the con. It slides in so easily.

I remember one time I was in New Orleans with some folks and we were walking back to our hotel after a night out. The guy I was walking with was in his early 20s and I was about 30. A stranger comes up to us and says to my friend, “Hey, I gotta question for you.” I told my friend to keep walking.

But my friend did not listen. He stopped and engaged with the man. I started shaking my head. He should have listened. The man says, “I bet you $5 I know where you got your shoes.” 

My friend laughed, saying, “You could not know that.”

The man said, “Then it's an easy $5 for you!”

So, again I said, “Walk away, come on.” But my friend pulled out his wallet, showing everyone around us where his wallet was, and pulled out $5. I decided to let my friend learn a lesson.

My friend says, “Okay, where did I get my shoes?”

The man said, “That I do not know. But I see them, I know where you got your shoes. You got your shoes right here on your feet in New Orleans.”

My friend laughed, and said, “You got me!” And handed the man $5. I hope that he was never that gullible again.

People see us in so many ways. My friend was seen as a mark, and that night he was. The religious leaders so Jesus as a likable and popular rube from the backwater of Galilee, missing the street smarts of the Holy City, dealing with power and prestige and corruption.

So they brought out their unanswerable question.

“Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”

But Jesus did not play their game. It says he saw their malice. So, he asked for a coin. (Notice he did not even have a coin to his name.) And he is handed a denarius, the coin that was a day’s wage for a laborer.

“Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

The word used for the head on the coin is actually icon. Icon, picture, image. If an image is on it, it is the one’s whose image is there. It says that the sneaks trying to get him were “amazed.” It was pretty amazing. He danced through the rain drops and came out dry.

Jesus was not the rube they took him for. But in his response, he says something that is even more important.

When I look in the mirror, I see what I look like. I see where I missed shaving. I see where I did not get my hair gel right and I have a lick sticking up that shouldn’t be. I see where wrinkles are coming in that were not there so long ago. I too easily see a deficit where no one else might notice. 

But if I look deeper, if I look with the eye’s of faith, whose image is on me? If Caesar’s image is on the coin, whose image am I made in?

Biblical scholars, if you remember back to the very beginning when God sets out to make the capstone of creation. From Genesis 1:27…

    So God created humans in his image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them.

If the image connotes belonging, my friends, God’s image is on you. Woven up and down your DNA, male or female, it does not matter. God’s image is on you.

That is a huge statement, much bigger than the Gotcha question that started it all. Friends, as we ponder our worth, we must ponder our maker and the image we are made with, and “give unto God’s that which is God’s.”

This is far too often the throwaway line in this story, but all the meaning is packed therein.

When Moses asked to see God, God had to protect him. God sheltered him in a rock, put his hand up to block his face and shield his glory. But in Jesus, the fullness of God was revealed and accessible to all. 

When people see us, I pray that they see who we are, and more importantly, whose we are. When people saw Jesus, for those who looked in faith, they saw who Jesus truly was. As it says in Colossians 1:15-19

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,

for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, 

things visible and invisible, 

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—

all things have been created through him and for him. 

He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

He is the head of the body, the church; 

he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 

so that he might come to have first place in everything. 

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 

and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, 

whether on earth or in heaven, 

by making peace through the blood of his cross.

For in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. And as we are also in God’s image, Jesus came to help us do the heavy lifting. We need to clean house. We need to air out the rooms, and clean out the closets. We need to shampoo the carpets. We need to make ready for not just a royal visit, but we are about making a home for God to dwell. Jesus came to enable God to maybe be pleased to dwell in us, too.

And when we do that, we live into Jesus’ instructions, to “give unto God that which is God’s.” Amen

Year A Proper 23 2023 Of Barcodes and Expectations

 Year A Proper 23, 11 October 2020

St James the Less at The Cathedral Shrine of the Transfiguration, Shrine Mont

“Of Barcodes and Expectations”

Collect: Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 22:1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to the people in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Many are called, but few are chosen. We see a two-fold judgment happening in the story today. First, there is judgment for those that downplayed the invitation and did not come to the Feast. Those who deemed it beneath themselves to even care were the first rejected. Then, when the doors were open to any and all, the ones who did not put in any effort were not welcome either.

We either shout hurrah, or wince at this. And being a person attempting to be a good Anglican I want to find a middle way.

If you were given tickets to a concert, and not just that, but VIP passes to get you backstage to meet the band, you would feel very good, right? It is pretty cool. That is, if you like the band. And let’s say you do, they are your favorite band. You would be pretty excited. And the days leading up to the show, you might even tell people how lucky you are and how cool it is, and your friends would celebrate with you and be excited for you. 

But the day of the show you stay in your pajamas, you don’t even shower, and you just bum around all day. And when it is close to the concert you wonder if it is worth even going. Getting the tickets was the honor anyway, right?

NO! It is not enough to be invited. The invite is not the point. The concert is the point. And to go to the concert one has to show up! You have to go to Will Call and get the tickets. And when we go to something nice, we do what we have to do for the occasion.

I went to a beautiful wedding last weekend and it was wonderful getting together with everyone dressed up looking good. Our efforts made the event all the more special. 

If I was still in my bathrobe, unwashed when I walked into the VIP area with the band at the concert, I would expect someone to say, throw the bum out. Jesus’s story is exactly what I just described.

Showing up is a start. We all are invited, and all are allowed in. But we need to put in something. Comb our hair at least. Put on the best that we have, no matter how meager. The most humble offering of a beggar is worth more than the nonchalant cast-off of the rich.

Jesus tells stories for us to see something clearly by shifting our perspective. Jesus is talking about Grace here. What is given, and what our response should be. One of the great problems of the modern church is that people have not been given the understanding and expectation that we are trying daily to be more and more like Christ. We have been sold a consumerism in our Christianity that clings to passing feelings, and making us “feel good.” One poet likened our modern discipleship to “a cup of warm milk or a nap in the sunshine.”

Christlikeness. Will any of us get there on this side of heaven? No! Of course not. Do we try? Yes! Of course we do. So often people think that coming to church is like getting your card swiped when you go to the Y or a gym. They scan your barcode and let you in. Now that that is done, does that count as going to the gym? No. That is getting in the door. Going to the gym is working out. The barcode is the beginning but not the intent. 

Being a Christian, by calling oneself one or being baptized into the faith is like getting that barcode scanned. So many in the pews have never tried to learn and grow and be like Christ. They never “made it to the gym” even though their barcode may get scanned every week. Showing up is good. Showing up is the start. But just showing up is not the intent or the reason that Jesus gave his life.

Jesus came to show us the Way. That is what the early Church was even called, The Way. Jesus came to show us how to love God in our everyday, walk-about, work-a-day lives. And he paid the price to show us how much we are loved so it would be clear that we could do everything that he promised. 

While showing up may be a start, that is not all. Being ready is requisite. We have to put some skin in the game. And where we start and who we are might determine what we bring to the show. In today’s reading we see one of the late invitees castigated. I want to read it again to be clear:

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

This sounds so exclusionary, at first glance. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a saint of the last century and executed by NAZIs, explained things that look like this as Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace. Cheap Grace would say, do not bother. God will save me no matter what I do. I am free to do whatever so I do not have to respect it. Costly Grace understands that it is free but that is so costly as to be priceless.

The one who showed up, not appreciating the gift that was set before them, did not go home and grab their best, whatever that was. They came, uncombed, unkempt, unappreciative. A taker, not one who was grateful. And the King, while gracious, calls his guests to be likewise. What does it say to the host to show up to their child’s wedding feast while wearing the clothes that you just cut the grass in on an August afternoon? What does it say about you? Not much either way.

We wouldn’t do it to a human, especially a King, why would anyone think it is acceptable to God?

I see this parable being about Grace, the nature of it, the cost of it, the price of it. When we live by Grace (that only comes from God through Christ), we live graciously. We say thank you. We give our best, not to pay for anything but rather to show how much we appreciate it.

There is a wonderful book on how the British Empire abolished slavery. Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas is about William Wilbeforce, the member of the British Parliament who made it his life’s work to remove the stain of slavery from the British Empire. It is a great book, and Wilbeforce is a profound force for good in human history. He was a devout Christian who claimed nothing but his relationship with Christ to be worthy of honor. Though of no rank other than a being a Member of Parliament, he was buried in Westminster Abbey out of acclimation, devotion, and respect from royalty and the people alike. 

In the epilogue, the story was told of the emancipation of the island of Jamaica. They were free as of midnight July 31, 1834. But rather than celebrate, the formerly enslaved people climbed the mountains so they could look to the east early on that first day of August 1834. They stayed up all night praying and singing. As the glow stretched over the horizon, they waited in anticipation. The day they had all awaited had finally come. As they sang in the dawn, they showed that they understood the gift that they had been given. They had no fine robe to put on, but they had themselves. They had their song. They gave the best of what they had. They sang in the dawn and praised the God that made them. The same God that William Wilbeforce praised as he worked for the freedom of all God’s children. The same God that we worship today. They came dressed in their song!

Friends, all are welcome. Few understand the price that was paid for you to be free. As it says on the Korean Conflict Memorial, “Freedom is not free.” Show up. Make an effort. Be worthy of the price that was paid for you to be here today. And let us in each of our lives, sing in the dawn praising God. Many are called. Few are chosen. Amen

Year A Proper 22 2023 Blank Pages

Year A Proper 22, 8 October 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Blank Pages”

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either

desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and

giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our

Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 21:33-46

Jesus said, “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press

in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent

his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying,

‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and

get his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard

comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the

vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is amazing in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the

kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest

him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Friends, God did not create us to destroy us. God did not create us to make us suffer. God

did not create us to worry in the dark. God made us as a “part of God's creation, made in

the image of God.” That “means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to

reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God. [Book of Common Prayer, 845] That is all,

by the way, directly from the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer.

And when God spoke to us, God did not speak to us in stereo instructions. Do this. Then

this. Then that. We are a story telling creature. We see our lives as a story. We learn and grow

from stories, fiction or nonfiction, and it comes as no surprise, when God came in human

form he was a teacher and story-teller.

Even in the Ten Commandments, the list of instructions is couched in a story.

Then God spoke all these words:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the

house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

In other words, “This is why I have the authority to say these things to you. Remember

where you started. See how far I have taken you. Listen to me!”

When we think on our lives, we see them in a narrative. I first remember paying particular

attention to this after a commentary in Times Magazine back in 2000. It was after the sinking

of the Kursk Submarine, and the sailors who sat in the dark dying, and one of them took

his final moments to tell the tale. Scribbling in the dark, what he said literally is true for so

many of us metaphorically. "I am writing blindly." Lieutenant Captain Dimitri Kolesnikov

wanted his wife, and history to know the story of what 23 of the 118 men suffered in their

final moments. And so he wrote it down. And now, 23 years later, thousands of miles away,

we envision what it may have been like in the cold and dark. [Link to article]

We tell our tales to know that we are not alone. We listen to stories to know we are not

alone. But even more, we share stories so that we can change the ending while we still

have time. Such is the Kingdom of God.

Friends, Jesus told his story of the Rebel Vineyard to hold up a mirror to the religious

leaders who had strayed so far from God’s intent. He told the tale to those listening so

that they would know that they had an alternative. His tale was written down so that we

too could learn and grow and change. We cannot say we were not warned.

He told a story because that is how we drink in the world, for good or bad.

Sometimes, when something happens to us, we see it in a narrative when it is just a

stand-alone happening. We see causation. We seek blame. But sometimes it just is. The

light turned green because it was time for the light to turn green, not because God was

smiling on you. We had a car accident because the road was slick, not divine punishment.

We see narrative where there is none in the causation, but the ramifications do become part

of our story.

St. Paul tells his story couched in the deep story of Judaism. He followed all the rules. He

had done everything “right.” But in his story, he saw that what he had held so dear was

meaningless. The rules he held so dear was nothing, NOTHING, compared to the One

he now held dear. His story had changed.

Whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More

than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing

Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard

them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…

We let go of what came before. We run after what lies ahead. It is a part of so many stories.

Watch almost any Romantic Comedy. At the end of the story someone is running. They

have caught a glimpse of a different life, one with love in it that they want and currently

do not have. This Rom-Com Run is nothing in comparison to what St. Paul is talking about.

St. Paul had a new hope that his relationship in Christ enabled. The BCP again…

The Christian hope is to live with confidence in newness and fullness of life, and

to await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of God's purpose for

the world. [BCP 861]

Even in our visioning of the future, we see it in a story. Our hope is vested in a story.

Even our grief, which is so profound and painful at times, is us letting go of the story we

have told ourselves about the way that things would be.

We are a narrative creature. We see our story and we are the hero of it. That is not just okay,

it is the way we are wired.

One time in graduate school, we had a writing assignment to tell our story. The only parameters

were that we had to tell it in such a way that was true to us. I was serving as an associate

pastor at the time, and I was in charge of the Christian discipleship programs, so I had lots

of arts and craft supplies in my office. I just happened to glance around and noticed that

there was a stack of blank journals, no lines, about 50 pages each, sitting on my shelf.

I had the time and energy to be creative, so I wrote my story as a Children’s Book, drawing

the pictures and coloring them in, and everything. When I shared it in class, one of the people

in class mentioned that she had a favorite part. I asked, curious. She loved that there were a

lot of blank pages at the end of my story, that my story is not over yet.

And friends, as long as there is breath in our lungs, as long as a heart beats in our chest, our

story is not over yet. There are still more words we can say. There is still more love we can

share. There is still some way that we can fold ourselves into God’s story and God into ours.

The blank pages are yet to be.

Even in the dark in the Kursk, there was a story to be told. This captain knew that they had

no hope of being rescued, but he did not give up on being human and having his story live

on. 

When we give up our hope we give up on God. “Behold, I am about to do a new thing!

Now it springs forth! Do you not perceive it?” [Isaiah 43:19] If it was true for Isaiah, it is

true for us. Our story is interwoven with others’ stories. We are not alone.

Because we live in narrative, we live in relationship. There were all kinds of relationships

in Jesus’ parable. Paul makes claims on his readers because of their relationship to him. 

And if you feel like God has written you off, and there is no hope, remember that even

Jesus was written off. By the pharisees. They had no respect for him. And after he died, he

was written off by everyone. Even the ones who loved him the most. But even here, even

when all was hopeless in the story, there was a hint that the tale was not over. The prophecy

held true. 

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is amazing in our eyes’?

When everyone and everything tells you that you are worthless or that your story is over,

Jesus is there to whisper, “But wait, there’s more.”

I believe this story. I believe when days are dark. I believe it when I am on top of the world.

My story has HIS-story, or better yet, I am a part of HIS-story so my story has not and will

not ever end. And there is so much yet to come. Amen