HOPE

Advent: For many people these are the busiest few weeks in the year, for the church this is the beginning of the New Year.

Advent is a time of waiting, a time of remembering, a time of anticipating the coming of the kingdom of God. That means time to reflect on God and on our lives. Just as at New Years’ in the beginning of January, people reflect on the year past and the year to come; this is time to reflect on life and faith.

This passage is one of hope; hope is the theme of the chapters 40-66 of the book of Isaiah. The people in exile are anticipating their return from exile; then the final chapters, including the passage read today, reflects the struggles of those returning from exile, those who were able to stay in Israel, and those of neighbouring nations who settled form other places after Jerusalem was conquered in 587 BCE.[i]

This passage is written as poetry, it is a lament about the state of the world, and God’s apparent disinterest in God’s people and what is and has been happening to them. Laments are not formal arguments; they are poetic protests against pain and appeals for intervention. [ii]
God, why don’t you come in all your glory and do something, surely you can do something amazing enough that everyone will recognise how powerful you are, and then they will treat your people, us, in the way we should be treated. God, can’t you see the world is a mess, people don’t believe in you anymore, and there is fighting and conflict and children grow up in violent households and others perish because of poverty. God we have seen you do amazing things, like the exodus, like the resurrection, so come on, show us what you are made of.

But you don’t, so people continue on their own way, what else can we do when you hide yourself from us; of course we will do the wrong thing, we need you to be with us for us to live the right way.

Do you ever feel like having that conversation with God, or even parts of that conversation?

God where are you?

God why don’t you do something?

We know you can do more than this, don’t you care about us?

Don’t you care that the economy is collapsing?

Don’t you care that our superannuation funds are dwindling?

Don’t you care that we are sick; that our children are hurting, ill, broken?

Don’t you care God?

Where are you?

Why do you hide from us?

That is lament; telling God how much pain you are in, how you feel abandoned, betrayed, alone.

The opening prayer, the plea that God tear open the heavens, and make the mountains quake, are indicative of the magnitude of change that the author is looking for; nothing less than a major intervention in the world. When we look at the world around us, at some people being paid millions and others dying for want of basic food and clean water; a major change is needed: an intervention, an intrusion of God into the world.

But notice the change in the lament in verse 8, now God is ‘our father’; and we are the work of God’s hands.

What does it mean to be clay in the hands of the Master Potter? I am told that when working with clay, the clay has a life of its own. There is interplay between the potter and the clay, a working together, a reshaping. We are people made by God, in Genesis it says we are made in the image of God.

Do we want God to intervene in the world?

To intervene for our own benefit, so our lifestyle improves; or so that hope is spread throughout the earth?

God has intervened in the world, in creation, in creating humans in the image of God, through the prophets, in the lives of people, in the coming of the baby Jesus, in his life and death and resurrection, and in the Holy Spirit; God has and is and continues to intervene in the world.

We have much to be hopeful about; not winning the lottery; but life full of hope; hope of justice, hope of peace. Our lives are drenched by God’s love.

When we live knowing we are cradled and held in God’s love, we need not live in fear of God. We need not live in fear of the second coming, the apocalypse or the end of the world. In spite of our sins: greed, pride, war, jealousy, apathy…., we need not live in fear of God; only what we might do here and now and in the future.

Sometimes we want to yell at God, to ask why and how and when. The act of prayer, for that is what talking with God is, is a sign of hope, a sign of faith. We are people of hope, hope founded in our relationship as part of God’s creation. Hope based on a loving creator; hope based on redemption through Christ Jesus; hope lived through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Advent: a time of waiting, a time of remembering and a time of anticipating the coming of the kingdom more fully.

We wait for the coming of Emmanuel.

What do you hope for? What is your hope based on?

Enya track: O come, O Come Emmanuel

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[i] Elna K. Solvang http://www.workingpreacher.org/default.aspx

[ii]  Elna K. Solvang http://www.workingpreacher.org/default.aspx

The Kingdom of Heaven

Sermon

This is the last Sunday of the Church year; next week is Advent, and the beginning of a new Church Year. Each year is assigned one of the gospels, and we have been reading mainly passages from Matthew’s Gospel this year. Next year it is the Year of Mark.

The three parables that precede this one (The Talents, Bridesmaids, Unfaithful and Faithful Slaves) all stress waiting for and preparing (or not) for the return of Christ. This parable takes listeners forward to the moment the Son of Man comes in glory (v. 31).[i]

This morning we will take a quick journey from when Jesus enters Jerusalem in Chapter 21.  You can follow in the Bible if you like, or look at the timeline on the screen. 

Chapter 21 begins with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the passage we traditionally read on Palm Sunday. Jesus enters the temple, and removes those selling and buying in the temple and overturns the table of the money changers. The blind and the lame came to the temple to be healed, and the chief priests and the elders question Jesus authority.

·         Chapter 21

o   Entry into Jerusalem

o   Cleansing the temple

o   Authority questioned

o   Parables about authority and obedience

·         Chapter 22

o   Parable of the wedding banquet

o   Questions about taxes and resurrection

o   The greatest commandment

·         Chapter 23

o   Woe to the scribes and Pharisees

·         Chapter 24

o   [on the Mount of Olives]

o   The end of the age and destruction of the temple

·         Chapter 25

o   The parable of the ten bridesmaids

o   The parable of the talents

o   The Judgement

·         Chapter 26

o   Plot to kill Jesus

o   Passover

o   Arrest

So this whole long section is between the entry into Jerusalem and the Passover.

As this is the Sunday where we think about the Reign of Christ, I wondered about leaders we have had visit recently. Queen Elizabeth was in Australia recently, what kind of Kingdom does she rule over? In some ways she has minimal authority, in that Australia has an elected Government. This past week President Obama of the USA has been visiting, and much of his visit revolved around ‘security’ issues. Visiting defence bases and discussing an increase in training of US forces in the Northern Territory.

What kind of Kingdom does Jesus rule over? What are the main issues he discusses with his disciples in theses final chapters?

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.” Matthew 22:2

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids^* took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.” ^*Matthew 25:1 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;” Matthew 25: 14

What can we glean from these stories?

The wedding Banquet is about people who are too busy, too wrapped up in their own work and lives to respond to the King’s invitation. Those in the Kingdom are the outcast – the people of Matthew’s community were outcasts in Jewish society, and often excluded from their families for following Jesus.

The Bridesmaids knew the bridegroom would come. Tradition has it that the groom would go to the bride’s house and come to an agreement with the Bride’s father, then bring the bride to the groom’s place for the wedding.  It could sometimes take a while at the Bride’s house, so delays happened.

The parable of the Talents follows straight on from the Bridesmaids.

In looking at the parable of the talents there are a few different interpretations. What if the third slave is standing up to the master for wanting a profit at other people's expense? He tells his master that he knows he is a hard man reaping where he does not sow. Standing up to those who are oppressive, greedy, or manipulative does not necessarily win you friends or fame or fortune. The other thing that this man says is that “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man….; so I was afraid,” Matthew 25: 24-25. How often do we act out of fear?

Then the passage we heard read today. “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.” This Passage; known as the Judgement or the sheep and the goats. It is one of the better known passages in the Bible, but I suspect one of the more controversial among scholars.

Does this refer to all nations or to Gentile nations? Is it about Gentiles who give assistance to Christians – the least of these? The sheep seem oblivious to the ways in which they served Jesus, and goats did not realise they had not served Jesus, so where does that leave us. One interpretation is that if we transformed by God, then we live out our faith. The sheep represent those who are interested and aware of the plight of others; the goats those whose eyes are closed to the life of people around them.

“The followers of Jesus continue today to "do acts of love and compassion not to earn a place among the righteous sheep or even a place in heaven but in response to what God has already done for us in Christ," for "we are compelled to love others because we know no other way to respond to God's amazing love" (New Proclamation 2008).” [ii]

We can think of the Kingdom of heaven as something we enter after we die, we can think of the kingdom of heaven as some future experience, or we can think of the kingdom of heaven in our midst.

These passages challenge me to be aware of the signs of the kingdom around me. They remind me of the way that surprises us at times. The theme for Synod this year, and for the next few years, is ‘On new and Risky paths’. It seems to me that being a follower of Jesus is risky, it means taking a risk of being with outsiders, because we are outsiders; it means taking a risk in opening up our lives to the transformation of God, because then who knows what could happen.

The kingdom of heaven is like shoots coming out of the ground; we can nurture them or tread on them. We can feed them and protect them or pull them out. Where do you see the kingdom of heaven?

The 3^rd slave hid his master’s money, by the way one talent was more than a slave would earn in 15 years. He hid the money because he was afraid – are we afraid of God, afraid of trying something new in case we fail?

The kingdom of heaven is seen with eyes of faith, not of fear; the kingdom of heaven is seen and is at work in places we might not think to look.  Over the next few weeks as we travel on our journey through advent, I want to encourage you to be aware of the green shoots of the kingdom of heaven in your midst. We will hears some stories from the Christmas Bowl, stories of the amazing changes to people’s lives that come from vision, care and work of many people. But I also want you to look around Engadine, and listen in the news for local places that are part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Advent is about “the promised inbreaking of God's reign into the powers of this world and the fulfilment of that promise begun in God's incarnation in Jesus.” [iii]

The kingdom of Heaven is good news – “especially to those on the fringes of society. This rule welcomes those who have no status and seeks to serve others rather than exploit them.” [iv]
A poem:

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey

Where do you see heaven on earth?

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[i] Alyce M. McKenzie is Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. McKenzie's column, "Edgy Exegesis," is published every Monday on the Preachers Portal..

[ii] Kathryn Matthews Huey  ; http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/november-20-2011-reign-of-chr.html

[iii] http://www.gbod.org/site/c.nhLRJ2PMKsG/b.3784805/k.D1A1/Worship.htm#top

[iv] Op Cit Edgy Exegiesis

Beatitudes: challenge and comfort

This week I have borrowed heavily from others.

The beatitudes, with all those statements about being ‘blessed’, seem like a nice, sweet, poetic reading. The beauty of the language can lull us into letting the words wash over us without penetrating. Our familiarity can mean the words don’t jar, confront or comfort us.

In the first century there were some rules that you lived by. Honour and shame were important concepts.  The esteem in which you were held depended on your family, your patrons and your clients. The less important your family, the less important you were.  Social connections were important. As members of the early church found out following Jesus’ way of inclusion and equality, meant that many were disowned by their family. And the family had little choice; otherwise they would all lose face in this culture. But what happens in that kind of culture when you don’t have family connections? Life is very hard.

What was so shocking about the Jesus way? Just look at the beatitudes[i].

These are statements that encourage and honour:

• reconciliation and peacemaking rather than revenge
• meekness rather than engaging in contests to gain honour
• being pure in heart which changed the understanding of purity, and therefore many of the purity codes were not held by the early Christians.
  
  

If we look at the last 2 verses, that may give us a picture of what was happening to the early church.

5:11 "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 Blessed are you when …, not blessed are the persecuted; blessed are you when you are persecuted. Being looked down upon, left out, treated badly, killed, tortured; these things were part of the experience of people in the early church. 

Matthew notes that a crowd followed Jesus up the mountain to listen to his teaching.  Jesus doesn’t teach life is fun, that you will gain status, good jobs, a long life or any other things we might consider blessings.

Let us take a quick look at each of the beatitudes.[ii]

5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The poor in Spirit, this is a strange phrase for modern ears. It means something like “People who are humble in their spirituality who acknowledge that they don't have all of the answers and therefore they are willing to look to God for guidance.”

5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Comforting those who mourn seems logical to us. But this does not only refer to those who grieve a loss. This is also for those who mourn their sinfulness, and for those who mourn the state of the world that leaves people living in poverty, homeless or oppressed.

How often do we mourn the state of the world? Not get angry and rant, but mourn deeply?

5:5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

The meek, this does not mean weak, or cowardly. Meekness conveys humility, total surrender to God, or one who is economically and socially powerless.

5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Righteousness is not aspiring to holiness and piety. Righteousness is about doing what is right by God. Hunger and thirsting for righteousness is pursuing social justice that works for the reconciliation of all God’s creation.

5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Mercy here isn’t about forgiveness. The suggestion is that the ‘Greek word used here denotes one who is generous in doing deeds of deliverance whether that be releasing one from bondage, healing, or giving to those in need’.

5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

This was written in a time very different to ours. Purity was shown by external behaviour, public prayer, temple sacrifices etc. Jesus is saying that purity is about our inner orientation to God; a relationship with God that allows for God to transform us.

5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

People who are oppressed will often respond with rebellion and violence, just look at what has been happening in the north of Africa recently.  It is easy for us to try and be in situations of control or power over people we deem to be our enemies. These may be people of different cultures, religions or social status.  Here we are reminded that forgiveness and living in peace are part of the way of Jesus.

5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

5:11 "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

These last two beatitudes remind us of what happens when we stand up for social justice, for the rights of others, and the need for policies that are life-affirming. When people stand up for the rights of refuges and asylum seekers; when people question the ongoing participation in war; when people demand a way of living and working that allows for dignity for all; then there will be some who revile us, call us names, put us down. I know people, both ministers, who were threatened with death during the anti-apartheid era in Australia.  When we and others stand up for justice, not retribution, but justice, there will be some people who feel threatened. Here Jesus is saying this is what will happen to his followers. How long since we have been threatened because of our stand on issues of justice or poverty?

A quote that sums this up:

“What Jesus is saying here is that we are meant to be the poor in spirit, full of humility and wonder. We are to be willingly emotionally exposed and open enough to fully mourn, mourning the state of the world, the failures and losses of our brothers and sisters, and the loss of our own innocence. We are the ones who are to be meek, not seeking power by dominating others but attaining true power which is only found in the weakness and vulnerability of the cross of Christ. We are to hunger and thirst for righteousness, yearning for what is right, holy, and good from the deepest part of our souls. We are to be merciful not ruthless, pure in heart not corrupted, peacemakers not instigators, the persecuted instead of the persecutors, and reviled and despised not honoured and exalted.”[iii]

The beatitudes turned the accepted wisdom of the day on its head. Those who are called blessed by Jesus were the people considered to be unblessed and unblessable; Jesus shows that there is something about the kingdom of God that means a radical inversion of accepted cultural norms.

What is this saying to us on this All Saints Day? We are all saints, we are all God’s children, we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, and we are called to live by these challenging and comforting beatitudes. An attitude of openness to God and others; an attitude of grace, peace, mercy and hope; an attitude of thinking the best about another; working for peace and justice for all of God’s creation.

What is the challenge and the comfort for you in the beatitudes today?

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[i] These ideas are from http://www.sarahlaughed.net/lectionary/2005/01/fourth_sunday_a.html

[ii] http://www.inclusivechristianity.org/resources/The+Beatitudes.pdf

[iii] http://www.rickmorley.com/archives/1107