Sunday of Christ the King 26 November 2017

           

Matthew 25:31-46

31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

"Lord, when was it that we saw you…”

·       The passage we’ve just heard is sometimes referred to by Biblical scholars as “Matthew’s Apocalypse.” These 15 verses carry a particular message about judgement, one that only Matthew’s Gospel has. The form of the passage is called “apocalyptic”, a peculiar way of writing that’s found in some books of both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. (The book of Daniel or the book of Revelation, for instance.) This sort of literature is usually written in times of trouble or persecution for the God’s people and are usually done to give comfort and hope to those people. The symbols are often weird and troubling to the reader and we might have difficulty distilling comfort and hope from those writings.

·       In this passage, the righteous “sheep” receive reward and the “accursed” “goats” receive punishment, both because of how they acted. There is no mention of faith or grace or anything like that; just what they did or didn’t do.

·       Whom does this action or lack of action effect? Those who are poor – hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, a stranger – are the ones mentioned. Yet the king calls them the least of these who are members of my family. Are they the world’s poor… or are they the followers of Christ? Matthew says the king gathered all the nations before his throne for judgement. The title “the nations” implies the world of the Gentiles. By extension, the members of Jesus’ family would be his disciples and the nations would be judged on how they received Jesus’ disciples.

·       This may be new to a few of us. To those who heard it from Jesus’ lips, it would be hope and comfort. It would also place the disciples in a certain position to the rest of the world.

·       Simply put, the world could encounter Jesus Christ through them.

·       This is true today as well. We’d hope that all the world could encounter Jesus Christ in us who are his modern day disciples. This also means that we can encounter Jesus Christ in each other… and in disciples we don’t even know. How those around us treat us is not something we can control. How we treat others is certainly something we can control.

·       This apocalyptic passage from Matthew places the tiny, every-day things we do into the great plan of God for all of creation. It boggles the mind, doesn’t it? Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, visiting the prisoner are raised from simple good manners and kindness in everyday things to participation in spreading the Gospel.

·       This is not new. This is found in today’s Gospel and it has been echoed down through the years by teachers of the Faith.

·       Here’s one from a few year ago: “He came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other [men] the kind of life He has…  Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

·       And again from the 1500’s: “[A]s our heavenly Father has in Christ freely come to our aid, we also ought freely to help our neighbor through our body and its works, and each one should become as it were a Christ to the other that we may be Christs to one another and Christ may be the same in all, that is, that we may be truly Christians…” Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian (1520)

·       And from the poetry of the early church:

I met a stranger yest’re’een;
I put food in the eating place,
Drink in the drinking place,
Music in the listening place;
And, in the sacred name of the Triune,
He blessed myself and my house,
My cattle and my dear ones,
And the lark said in her song,
Often, often, often,
Goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise;
Often, often, often,
Goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise.

·       In our own day, we might ask where we could find Jesus. Matthew has both the sheep and the goats ask the same question when faced with the judgement of the Son of Man on his throne. I began with that question and I’ll end with it. The answer is "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Or we might say “Right in front of you.”

"Lord, when was it that we saw you…”

The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost ---- 19 November 2017

Matthew 25:14-30

14 "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, "Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' 21 His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, "Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' 23 His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, "Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' 26 But his master replied, "You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Well done, good and trustworthy slave… …enter into the joy of your master

·       All this talk of weeping and gnashing of teeth does not seem like good news, which is what the Gospel is supposed to be. Yet there may still be some good news here once we unpack some things.

·       Talents are not what we might think they are. We know we all have talents – things like cooking, sewing, knitting, baking, cutting hair, growing plants and flowers, athletics, singing, making faces, building snowmen, or keeping track of the game while napping.

·       However, these are not the talents being given out in today’s Gospel reading. A “talent” is a measure of weight, roughly 60 to 75 pounds in Jesus’ time and place. When used in an economic way, a talent was could be 20 years wages for a farm worker, so the slave given five talents received a sum somewhere around 100 years’ pay for a farmhand. The “slaves” who were given stewardship of the money were not field slaves as we might think of slaves. In that time, slaves were often given responsibilities in households and businesses and were often trusted to raise, care for, and educate the master’s children. They could have their own money and some even owned slaves themselves. Slavery was rather different then, but it still meant that a person was owned by another and it’s still quite distasteful to us.

·       Enough of a history lesson. The master leaves and puts his three top slaves in charge of sums of money with the expectation that they will manage it properly, which means turn a profit.

·       Two do just that and are complimented, while the third simply returns the coins after digging them up from where he hid them. We all know what happens then.

·       This parable is one of return and preparation again. The characters in the parable are not all that pleasant. The master is a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed and the third slave was fearful and maybe rightfully so. The first two slaves make all kinds of money… for their master. We don’t know how they made that money. Honest or shady? Just or exploitive? Who knows? That’s focusing on the stage dressing rather than the play. The parable asks this: what place does God’s grace have in your life?

·       First off, let’s remember that we are saved by grace as a free gift from God. This isn’t something earnable, buyable, or sellable. It always remains a free gift. This is reflected in the charge given to the three servants when the master goes on a journey. The first two do something with what they’ve received and are complimented and told to enter into the joy of your master. The third is not complimented and is tossed out on his ear.

·       Worse than that, he is thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is not unemployment and poverty; this is an apocalyptic removal to the outer darkness, a rejection put in vast, cosmic terms.

·       Although the parable is pointing to the return of Christ and the judgement of all creation, there is a point of good news for us today. Why was the third man tossed out? Because he didn’t make use of the gift he was given. Is this an acknowledgement of the person’s refusal to respond to the gift of grace in how he lives? That is one possible explanation. To refuse to live a graced life because of fear of the giver of grace could be called a rejection of grace. To figuratively dig a hole and hide the grace a person has been given is a shame and a rejection of the gift.

·       The first two used what they were given and were not only complimented but told to enter into the joy of your master. This goes far beyond any reward for faithfulness or success. It sounds like an invitation to family, to become part of the household of the master, in a place far beyond that usually held be a slave. This is a level of acceptance equal to that of the rejection of the third man in the outer darkness.

·       The third man fearfully acted to preserve the gift he’d been given, without a thought of anything more. He preserved what he had and didn’t use it or to use what the narrative gives us, invest it.

·       For us, grace goes far beyond our daily lives and our great or meagre talents for doing things. Whether one, two, or five talents, we have all received a share that has been given freely. Grace is our salvation and our hope. Grace is our motivation and our energy. Grace is our intimate connection with our God, our invitation and route to God’s own life. Simply put, grace isn’t a little prayer you say before a meal, but a way of life.

Well done, good and trustworthy slave… …enter into the joy of your master

The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost ----- 12 November 2017

Matthew 25:1-13

1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, "Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise replied, "No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, "Lord, lord, open to us.' 12 But he replied, "Truly I tell you, I do not know you.' 13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. 

·       We’ve reached the point in the Church year where we hear a lot about the end of things and the coming of the Kingdom.

·       We may even consider heaven in that mix. We are talking about the Kingdom of Heaven after all. We might even wonder what it might be like.

·       When I was a young boy, thunder was something frightening to me. My grandmother said it was just the angels rolling the beer barrels in heaven. I didn’t question whether or not the angels drank beer; the answer was sufficient for me. Why would I question my grandmother?

·       Later on, in seminary, one of my professors said he had a good idea about heaven. He said the best expression of what heaven was like was found in a TV commercial of the time. In that spot, a little boy walks toward a house as an older woman opens the door. Immediately the little boy is swamped by a tremendous wave of puppies who do what puppies do to little boys – namely, knock him down and jump all over him while he laughs uncontrollably.

·       This is all very cute and fun to think about. Still, we are faced with the Scriptural words about being prepared for the Kingdom. Matthew relates the parable of the so-called foolish and wise bridesmaids who are waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. I’m sure you know that this reflects the marriage customs of the Jewish people of Jesus’ time. We have to look at the story from that point of view. The bridegroom is on the way and the bridesmaids wait with lamps lit. As the delay becomes longer, they all doze off. Note well: they ALL doze off. When the bridegroom is announced, some are ready and some are not. Before we get all in a knot about why the prepared five didn’t share with the others, remember – it is a parable and sharing is not the focus; the focus is preparation.

·       Do we prepare by staying awake and scanning the horizon of our times for signs of the coming of the Bridegroom, whom we know to be Jesus? Should we prepare by staying in a bunker we’ve built “just in case”? Should we scour the Bible for hints, clues, and suggestions about when all this will come to pass? Ultimately, should we live in fear of the Kingdom of Heaven?

·       Living in fear is not the way to go. It robs us of any possibility of progress or action or direction. Shutting ourselves up in a cave or a bunker hasn’t worked for other groups that have tried that over the years.

·       Even studying the Scriptures for the day and the hour of Jesus’ return will not help, since Jesus himself said he did not know, that only the Father knows.

·       So what are we to do? We all know the answer: we’re to be about the business of the Kingdom, the Kingdom that is already here, although not quite yet; the Kingdom that is already among us, yet is still to come.

·       It sounds contradictory and it can be confusing. Probably the best way to say it is to acknowledge that Jesus brought the Kingdom to us in his life among us and now we await the fullness of that Kingdom.

·       In short, the prophet Amos tells us what the business of the Kingdom is. Amos tells the people of Israel that God is not pleased with their rituals and observances, but God would be pleased if the people would let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

·         Paul writes to the Thessalonians about this as well, calming their fears about the coming of the Kingdom. He tells them to share his teaching on this and encourage one another with these words.

·       When all this will happen or what it will look like is completely unknown. We know however that the reality we live now is nothing less than the grace and mercy of the Kingdom of God. The reason is –to use Matthew’s example- the bridegroom is always close at hand. This is our hope for the present and for the future. Even if the course of the future is unclear, it is still our hope. As Paul would say Therefore encourage one another with these words.

·       Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. …let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. This is the Kingdom of heaven present now and our work, today and tomorrow and the next day, for (we) know neither the day nor the hour. … with or without the beer barrels and the puppies 

Sunday of All Saints ---- 5 November 2017

1 John 3:1-3

1 See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Beloved, we are God's children now

·       When we come to this point in the year, the weather has turned a bit colder, the leaves have fallen, the harvest is in or is being taken in, and chocolate and all sorts of candy is on sale in the big stores.

·       The festival of All Saints is melancholy one. For most of us, it has two meanings. Some of us remember the multitude of un-named saints, those faithful folks who will never have a festival of their own on the church calendar. Look through the beginning of the hymnal or service book sometime and you’ll see quite a few names listed there with a day of celebration.

·       We could even say After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.

·       This time of year also reminds us of those we have lost, who have passed beyond the veil as my Irish ancestors might have said. Of them we might say Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. The accent in that statement is on the words “will be”, for when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. When the fog finally lifts and we see our Saviour and the revelation is complete, we will be changed. Really, how could we not be changed?

·       We live now in an odd, in-between time. The burden of loss is often fresh and the memories thick. We wait to see what the future will bring and we live by faith because we don’t know what is to come.

·       What is our comfort now, here, today? What can we learn from the saints on the Church’s list and saints un-named? What might we take from the sadness of the loss we feel?

·       Here the words of one who called himself John: Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. In the middle of our sadness, in the middle of our change of seasons, in the middle of remembering so many who are gone, the Word of God tells us of our real identity, the identity we share with those we call saints and those we call beloved. We remain God’s children and we can rejoice – loudly or quietly or even sadly – that we have the lessons and the example of the ones who have walked with us for so much of our lives. They ARE God’s children… and so ARE we.

·       John’s letter is clear; there is no pussy-footing around: Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. The words are a reminder we need now and again… and maybe daily. As a congregation we don’t have to look off into the distance for a “someday” when we have enough people, enough resources, or enough of whatever we might name in order to be a church that better reflect what we think we should be.

·       In truth, it is today that we can know and believe that we already are what God has called us to be – children of God. We are not perfect at being God’s children; we all know that. There is always room to grow and become more of what we already are. To become what God wishes us to be, it pays to see and remember what we already are: Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed.

·       What has been is remembered, whether that past is the inspiration and example of the great saints of our church, the love we’ve known with those who have left us but have not left our memory, or the sacrifice of those who have stood Between their loved homes and the war's desolation. (These are not my words; I’m quoting a later verse of the national anthem of the United States.) What will come will come. Today, despite fears, uncertainty, or troubles, we are children of God. Already… today… right now.

·       See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. … Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed.