Reflection on Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16 (NRSVue)

[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1 “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Reflection

“Well, that’s a wrap!” the farmer said as all of us kids jumped down from our seats on the bean bar and headed toward the farmer.  If you have spent any time in the Midwest, you know what bean barring is.  But, if you have not, it is when a soybean farmer hires a bunch of cheap labor, usually tweens and early teens, straps some bucket seats to a metal bar on the front of a sprayer, and the kids use guns connected to herbicide to shoot weeds in the bean field like first person action video game.  It is fun, and it is hot and sweaty and miserable.  Did I say shooting stuff is a lot of fun?  Plus, you get paid!

So, as we came up to the farmer, he handed out our checks for the summer.  I tore mine open and saw that I had made enough to buy the combination TV and stereo that I had been eyeing in Wal-Mart for months.  I was excited.  But when I looked over the shoulder of my friend, the farmer’s son, I saw that his check was double mine!

“I don’t understand, why is Joe’s check so much more,” I asked the farmer out of earshot of the others.  “I worked hard all summer!” 

“Of course you worked hard.  I paid for your work.  Just remember that Joe helps me take care of the pigs each and every day.  He did a lot more work than you.”

Of course, I made sense.  I was still a little jealous that I did not live directly on the farm so that I could work every day and make even more money.  But I no longer felt like I was treated unfairly.  I got paid for my hours, which were many, and Joe got paid for his, which were a lot more.  It was fair.

Now, what would have felt unfair is if Joe would have looked over my shoulder and saw that my check was the same amount as his, even though he put in many, many more hours.  He would have rightly been upset with his father.

You see, in our culture there is this basic math that says if you put in the time, you get the reward.  This is the basic eye for eye math that most of us inherently understand.  Some work equals some money.  You give a gift; I give a gift in return.  If a toddler bites you, you bite them back.  If someone steals a car, they owe you a car or something of equal value.  If you take a life, you lose your life.  Our criminal laws function this way, with lady liberty holding the scales of justice, balancing everything out fairly; not too much, not too little.

There is also noble math like: the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.  This is where a single soldier lays on a live grenade to save a whole group of his friends.  That is noble math indeed.

All of this is to say, that there is this basic math…these basic equations and laws of life…that allow us to get along and thrive.  This math almost seems like it is woven into the fabric of our very existence.  And I think that is why it feels so unsettling when God does not seem to understand how this basic math of life works.

Remember the story that Jesus told of the shepherd who leaves 99 sheep in peril while he goes to find one sheep (Matthew 18:12-14).  It is a story of weird math.  It teaches that in God’s kingdom, the needs of the one lost sheep can, shockingly, outweigh the needs of the many sheep. 

And, what about the person who is forgiven “seventy times seven” times for the same hurtful offense; forgiven over and over again (Matthew 18:21-22)?  It does not seem to make any sense, but in God’s kingdom the scales of justice sometimes lean dramatically to one side.  And that is just not how the math of the world works.

But it does not stop there.  Jesus even upsets the basic math of hard work! 

In today’s gospel story there is a vineyard owner who needs some day laborers to go trim his vines.  So, he goes to the end of the Home Depot parking lot and hires a bunch of guys at $12 an hour to work for an 8-hour shift.  They jump in the back of the pickup and go off to work.  A few hours later the vineyard owner sees that he could really use a few more men.  So, he goes back to the same Home Depot parking lot and hires more guys.  They jump in the back of the pickup.  Remember when we could ride in the back of a pick-up?  We cannot do that anymore.  There is no more laughing at Bill as he clings on for dear life after falling backwards off the tailgate.  Safety first and all.  Back to the story, the vineyard owner does this again and again.  Even at the very end of the day, the vineyard owner hires some guys who still had not been hired by anyone else.  At least they might earn a few bucks for the day.

Now, at the end of the day, the first guys that worked all day got paid $96 in cash for their 8 hours of work.  That is a meal and part of the electric bill right there.

Did I multiple right?  12x8=96?  As most of you understand about me; there is a reason I became a pastor and not an accountant.

In any case, the guys who worked all day got paid $96; the price that was agreed.  But here is the kicker in the story; the vineyard owner also gave the guys who worked just one hour $96.  Wait a second here.  12x1=12.  They should have gotten $12!

This is the exact same scenario that we talked about before where my friend theoretically looks over my shoulder and sees that I was paid the same as him, even though he worked a lot more through the summer than I did.

Now, I realize that I took some liberties with this ancient story.  We all know that Home Depot had not yet established its home renovation dominance in the world and that Bill would have been falling off the back of a donkey and not a pick-up truck. 

But what was not exaggerated was the vineyard owner’s total disregard for the math of hard work.  The guys who worked the day away in the hot sun earned $96.  Those who worked only one hour in the cool weather of the early evening also earned the full $96. 

This story of unfair wages is what the kingdom of heaven looks like according to Jesus?  God’s kingdom is a place where the hard workers are given the same as late comers?

This is bad math.  This is simply unfair.  How can that sort of math possibly be good for this world?

Here is what I fear.  I fear that if God uses this type of math, God ends up looking weak.

It is a weak god who allows the lazy to thrive.  “Don’t worry if you don’t want to come to work on time.  Come at the end and it will all be fine.”  Should not a strong God be holding firm to principles of hard work.  In the real world, you deserve what you earn.  Fair wage for fair time is the bedrock of a thriving economy.  Hard work and an eye for an eye…do you not remember those values, God?  Strong gods reward hard work: “God helps those who help themselves” and all that. 

Strong gods hold to their principles.  Strong gods care about those who follow the rules and do not break them.  Strong gods reward those who deserve rewarding.  Strong gods do not let everyday people trample on them, spit on them, and take advantage of them.  Strong gods do not allow themselves to get strung up on a cross to die.

Using the voice of the vineyard owner, Jesus answers our objections.  Jesus puts us in our place rather us putting God in God’s place.  Using the voice of the vineyard owner, Jesus says to those of us who worked hard the entire day: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?  Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?”

“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?”  We have heard this sentiment in the Bible before.  God basically said the same thing to the prophet Jonah who did not want any mercy shown to the evil and corrupt Ninevites who turn back to God after the deadline.  Jonah just knew that God was “gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment” (Jonah 4:2).  The idea that God does not follow the rules of this world infuriates Jonah.  The idea that God does not follow the rules of this world, the rules of fairness, the rules of the strong, sometimes infuriates me.

But Jesus says, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous” (Matthew 20:15)? 

The word for “envious” here is a fascinating word.  It is literally translated as “evil eye” or more to the point: “greedy eye.”  Through the voice of the vineyard owner, Jesus says, “Or do you have a greedy eye because I am generous” (Matthew 20:15)?

That cuts to the truth really quick.  When I saw what Joe made in comparison to my check out in the field, I was jealous.  I had a greedy eye.  When we see people who do not deserve to be rewarded getting something good, we think, “Where’s mine?  Don’t I deserve more?  Why are you making them equal to me?”

A truly strong God is NOT the god who easily punishes, easily dismisses, and easily disregards others.  That sort of god is unable to see the workers at the end of the day who desperately want to work, but no one hired them.  That sort of god cannot have compassion because that sort of god does not see and does not want to see.  That sort of god would not seek the lost, jump on a grenade, or go to a cross.  The truth is that it is easy to dismiss, ignore, and cut people away from our lives.  That is not a strong god.  That is a god who is like us.  That is the lazy god.  That is a god who does not want to put in the hard work of picking up broken people.

The God who is truly strong is the God who forgives again and again and sticks it out.  A truly strong God sees the ones who have been forgotten.  A truly strong God goes after the one whose life is a mess and no one knows what to do with them.  A truly strong God goes to a cross to die for sinners like you and like me.  A truly strong God is a God who shows mercy. 

The kingdom ruled by Jesus Christ, works with a whole different system of math.  It is a math that desires “mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13, and Matthew 12:7).  It is a math that will go and save the one, even though there are many.  It is a math where all are created equal and given equal worth; there is no need for you to first earn your worth.  It is a math that can save a wretch like me.  It is a math that can look at the sinner…the lost cause…and see a future.  It is a math that looks nothing like our own because, in this math, one person’s death on a cross balances the scales and pays for the sins of the entire world.  Jesus gave “his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

There was once a man who stole a church’s Sunday collection as it sat in the back of the church.  It was thousands of dollars.  In retaliation for the theft, the church decided to pay all the man’s bills for the next few months.  The man and his financially struggling family were emotionally overcome by the mercy that the church showed.  And, when I say overcome, I mean more than the tears that were shed; and a lot of tears were shed.  I mean that the mercy of Jesus Christ literally took control of that man’s life, and his life was changed, forever.  He became one of the strongest, most compassionate leaders of that very church. 

At the time of the theft a befuddled reporter asked, “Why did the church do such a thing for someone who hurt them?”  A member of the church simply answered, “Are we not allowed to be generous?  We believe that the mercy of Jesus Christ can save the world.”

How is that for faith?  How is that for backwards math?

Never forget, you were saved, not by the math of this world, but by the math of mercy.  It is the math of the one you follow, the one who saved you: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reflection on Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew 18:21-35 (NRSVue)

21 Peter came and said to [Jesus,] “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

  23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him, 25 and, as he could not pay, the lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions and payment to be made. 26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Reflection

“How often should I forgive?  As many as seven times?” (Matthew 18:21)

“Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22).

Seven is a lot if you think about it.  If the restaurant messed up my order seven times in a row, I wouldn’t be going back.  In fact, if they messed it up three times in a row, I would be done.  I do not think that I am alone.  In our culture we have the notion of “three strikes and you are out.”  It is a baseball metaphor, translated over into our culture and our laws.  If you break the same law three times, you do not get another chance.  You will have to do the jail time or pay the fine.  There is no more forgiveness. 

Considering that, seven is a lot.  In fact, the same way that the number three just feels right in our culture for the amount of chances someone gets to get it right, so too seven felt right and complete in Peter’s time.  Seven was the magic number.  Seven meant wholeness.  Six felt like it was seven’s younger brother, and eight was seven’s older sister with makeup pancaked all over her face; just being way, way over the top.  Seven felt just right.

So, Peter offers that maybe seven times should be the amount of times that a person should forgive someone who hurts us and then comes back seeking forgiveness.  It makes sense.  It seems generous even.

Jesus disagrees.

“Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22).  As if seventy-seven times was not bad enough, it is possible that is an incorrect translation.  The true translation might actually be, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22).  In case you are wondering, that is 490 times that you need to forgive the same person. 

This is not the first time that forgiveness for 490 times can be found in the Bible.  In Genesis 4:23-24, Lamech, a murderous person, declares that if his ancestor Cain was avenged seven times by those who would harm him, surely God would avenge him seventy times seven times: that is 490 times.  Jesus is intentionally drawing our minds to Lamech when he talks about how many times we must forgive.  It is like saying in our own time that God can even forgive Hitler.  God can even forgive Lamech.  Jesus is proposing a shocking amount of forgiveness.  But sometimes we need a shocking amount of forgiveness.

That makes me remember a young woman at a funeral.  As most of you know, I prefer that a family member or a friend offer up the eulogy instead of myself.  After-all, it is family and friends who know their loved one the best.  And at this funeral a daughter offered to speak the eulogy for her father. 

As she walked up to the front of the funeral home, she was dressed well in a business suite and had the demeanor of a manager or CEO.  One of the first things that she mentioned was that just ten years prior she probably would have walked up there, dirty, in tatters of clothes with deep sunken eyes.  “I was doing everything I could to ruin my life” she said.  “And more to the point, I was actively working on ruining my father’s life.  I was stealing again and again to support my terrible habits.  I even stole my late mother’s anniversary necklace from my father’s nightstand and sold it that very night.  But, no matter how many times I stole and said I was sorry, my father never gave up on me.  Like Jesus, he forgave and forgave and forgave again.  One day it finally clicked, I stopped my destructive ways, and my father helped me get back on my feet.  For that…”  She broke down into tears.  Through the tears she finished, “For that I will forever be grateful.  I hope that I can become even a fraction of the kind of person that he was.”

I do not think that anything better could have ever been said about someone at a funeral than what was said about her father.  He was forgiving in the way that Jesus meant forgiveness.  Whether or not to forgive is not a question followers of Jesus think about.  Forgiving 490 times means that we live a life where forgiveness is simply a given.

Forgiveness seems to be a given for God after-all.  How many times did God’s people fail and God allowed them to try again and again?  I have not counted, but it must be hundreds, if not thousands of times.  For God, forgiveness is a given in life.  1 John 1:9 reinforces this truth about God: “If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Forgiveness is a way of life.  Forgiveness came from Jesus’ lips as he hung on the cross at the very end of his life, his enemies surrounding him with scorn: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Love like that, forgiveness like that, is deep and powerful and eternal.  Forgiveness is the heart of God.  Forgiveness is the base of existence upon which we stand.

I think that is why the parable that Jesus tells about the king who forgives a slave is so powerful.  In it a slave falls to his knees and begs for mercy when he finds out that all he has will be sold to settle his enormous debts with the king, even his wife and children will be sold.  Matthew 18:27 reads, “And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.”  The king showed the man forgiveness.

That would have been a nice story about forgiveness if it stopped right there.  But this is not a nice story, and it does not stop there.  You see, the Bible says “that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’  Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’  But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt” (Matthew 18:28-30).  The king was not very happy and “handed [the slave] over to be tortured until he would pay this entire debt” (Matthew 18:34).  Then Jesus comments, “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart” (Matthew 18:35).

Just the other day, someone asked me about this very verse with trepidation.  “I have a hard time forgiving someone who hurt me.  Is the Lord angry with me?  Will I be punished?”  When the story is about us being forgiven, it is one of the greatest, most joyful stories in the Bible.  But, when we get to the part about forgiving others, the story can get…well…as a classmate of mine always said, “that was uncomfortable.” 

Here is the thing.  If forgiveness is the very foundation of our lives upon which we stand, then refusing to forgive while standing on forgiveness is kind of like living a lie, is it not? 

Let us see if this helps.  I once heard about a quilting group that loved to get together and make quilts for the homeless throughout the world.  It was a wonderful group with a wonderful ministry.  They would place the quilts over the backs of the pews one Sunday each year before the quilts were sent away so that those beautiful, patchwork creations could be appreciated and covered in blessing and prayer during worship. 

Well, there was one member of this group who came every week, sat on a folding chair in the middle of the quilters, and very obviously and intentionally did not quilt.  She sat and complained the whole time while everyone made creations that would keep people warm.  “Why would anyone take so much time for a homeless person?  Just buy a cheap blanket at the Dollar General.  It will be just as warm.”  And if she was ever asked to help grab some more strips of fabric for someone she would act as if bringing over the fabric was like pulling the Titanic up from the bottom of the sea.  Most of the time she would just pretend like she did not hear the request.

“Why are you even here if you don’t like quilting?” one of the quilters finally asked.

And I think that forgiveness works much the same way.  Why are we a part of a forgiveness group, Christianity, if we have no interest in forgiving?  Christians gather in forgiveness so that they can go out and forgive.  It is that simple.

So, yes, sometimes it is hard to forgive.  And yes, the people do not deserve to be forgiven.  But Jesus did not forgive us because we deserved it.  Jesus forgave us because Jesus is forgiving.  Therefore, we do not forgive because someone deserves it.  We forgive because forgiveness is a part of who we are; it is who God created us to be.

And who knows, maybe one day someone will stand up at your funeral and say that they are where they are in life because you never gave up on them and you were always ready to forgive.  And standing beside you, looking down on the scene, God will say to you, “Well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

Reflection on Genesis 1:1-2:4a and John 1:1-5

 

John 1:1-5 (NRSVue)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.

Reflection

There is one thing that I want you to remember about God who was the creator of both the widest expanses of the universe and the creator of the tiniest mammal, the Etruscan shrew, weighing just 1.8 grams.  I want you to remember that God looked at everything that God had made and saw that “it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). 

That means that the light that God created is good; just ask those lost at sea.  Light is a very good thing to see when lost at sea.

That means that the moon that God created is good; just ask the astronauts who landed on the moon.  They were quite happy to find that the surface did not consist of quicksand.  The moon is good.

That means that even the mosquito that God created must be good in some inexplicable way; just ask the frog who especially yearns to taste the red-filled juicy ones.  As much as I hate to say it, even the mosquito is good…for food.

And if the mosquito was created good, that means that the other bloodsucking jerks in your life must have been created good as well.  Jesus taught us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).  Jesus did not simply pull that idea out of thin air.  The idea that even our enemies are worthy of love and worthy of time dedicated to them in prayer is fundamental to the very fabric of creation.  People may act in junky ways, but God does not create junk.  Therefore, we do not ever get to treat them like junk.  No matter what junky things they might have done, we do not get to treat them like junk.  They are not junk.

God does not create junk, and followers of Jesus do not get the luxury of forgetting that.

Liam was eight years old and, unfortunately, he was convinced that he was junk.

He was not fast like Jordan. He was not funny like Maya. He was not good at drawing like Emma. And he definitely was not brave like his little sister, who climbed trees like she had wings.

One Saturday morning, after a week of feeling like he messed up everything he touched, Liam sat on the back steps of his house and kicked at the dirt. A cloud of dust puffed up and clung to his new white shoes.

“Figures,” he muttered. “I’m made of dust; it might as well stick to me.  I’m just dust. I’m nothing special.”

His grandmother, who had come outside to water her tomato plants, heard his muttering. She set down her watering can and sat beside him.

“What’s this about dust?” she asked.

Liam shrugged. “The Bible says God made us from dust. And dust is… nothing. It’s junk. I’m junk.”

His grandmother casually reached down, scooped a handful of the dry earth, and let it sift through her fingers.

“Do you know what this dust can become?” she asked.

Liam shook his head.

“With a little water, this dust can become clay. Clay can become a pot that carries water. Clay can become a bowl that feeds a family. Clay can become a lamp that brings light. Dust is only junk if nobody touches it. But when God touches dust it becomes something good; it becomes something with a purpose.”

She looked in his eyes and said, “God has touched you with divine fingers, shaping and molding you into a person with purpose.”

Liam looked down at the ground again. “I’m pretty sure I mess up too much.”

Grandma leaned closer. “Liam, listen to me. God never created junk. Not ever. When God made you, it was not a mistake. God is shaping you into a masterpiece even now.”

She pointed to the tomato plants—green, tall, full of fruit.

“Do you know what these started as?” she asked.

“Seeds,” Liam said.

“Tiny seeds. Smaller than your fingernail. But God made them good—and they grew, full of juicy, wonderful goodness. And you are made good. You are growing to be full of goodness just like these tomatoes.”

Liam was quiet for a moment. Then he scooped up a handful of dust.

“Maybe I’m not junk,” he said softly.

His grandmother whispered, “You’re God’s dust, sweetheart; molded and shaped for a purpose.”

Liam tucked the handful of dust into his pocket as if it were treasure. He felt better.  God had made him good.  God was still shaping him into something good, to do good.  He could live with that.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that “God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”  But it is Genesis 2:7 where God is described as creating the first human in the same way a potter fashions some pottery from the dust. “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).

Just as a clay jar is created and shaped to hold precious water, we too are shaped and created by God for a purpose.  John 1:3 tells us that the Word, the wisdom of God, brought “all things…into being, and without him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness” (John 1:3-5). 

We are created for life.  We were created with light.  Even science tells us that we were created from the dust of stars.  We are created with light, to be light, to be goodness.  The wisdom of God, the Word of God decided that it would be good to create you.  You are created good so that you can create goodness.

Have you ever thought about that?  Have you ever considered that all you create is for the purpose of goodness, just as God created everything to be good?

What I mean is that God created us good so that we might create goodness wherever we are found in the world. 

The reformer, Martin Luther, taught this very thing.  He said, “The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”

Godly artists create works of art that draw us toward goodness and love.

Godly bread makers create bread that nourishes and feeds the hungry.

Godly law enforcement keep the peace in the most merciful and good way possible.

Godly teachers create an environment where children can find and use the good gifts that God placed within.

God created you good so that you might create goodness.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it” (John 1:5).

We are created for goodness.  That idea is what troubled Alfred Bernhard Nobel late in life.  As a young man, Alfred became fascinated with nitroglycerin, a dangerously unstable explosive. He spent years experimenting until he discovered how to stabilize it, eventually creating dynamite in 1867. This invention made him one of the wealthiest men of his time.

But his success came with tragedy. In 1864, an explosion at the family’s factory killed his younger brother. The personal harm that his creation caused haunted him for years.

Late in life, Alfred read a premature obituary published by a French newspaper that mistook him for his deceased brother. It called him “the merchant of death” for creating explosives used in warfare.

Inspired by his many letters with Catholic pacifist Bertha von Suttner, Alfred chose to include a Peace Prize in his will.  In it, he directed that his fortune be used to establish prizes for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and, most surprisingly, peace. He could not undo the creation of explosives, but he could use the fruit of that creation to make an award that sought to advance peace.  God created Alfred good so that he might create something good.

God does not create junk. 

God created us good and created us for goodness.

God saves us out of God’s own goodness.

And, just maybe, when God looks at what we create and the goodness that our creation spreads into the world, God will look at our creations and say, “Your creations are very good.  You are very good.  Now rest in the goodness of my arms.”

Reflection on Romans 12:9-21

Romans 12:9-21 (NRSVue)

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers.

  14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 Instead, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Reflection

“Get behind me, Satan!” (Matthew 16:23).  That is what Jesus tells Peter when Peter suggests to Jesus that sometimes love has too steep a cost.  As Jesus describes his upcoming pain, death, and resurrection, Peter’s mind is fixated on images of Jesus suffering, being mocked and being publicly shamed in Jerusalem.  Peter is horrified by the idea that Jesus will be killed.  And Peter hasn’t even heard about the cross yet!  It is too much.  Sometimes love has too steep a cost, Peter is convinced. 

Sometimes love has too steep a cost, I am convinced on most days to tell you the truth.  Allowing myself to be hurt again by a person after my heartfelt attempts to love them have soured terribly seems to be too steep of a cost on most days.  Can’t we intensely dislike our enemies…my mother taught me to never hate…but can’t we really, really, really not like our enemies?  In the least, can’t we just ignore those who hate us? 

Sometimes love has too steep a cost.  If I stopped and helped every person who seemed to need it, I would never get anything done.  There just is not enough time for love; not the kind of love that Jesus shows the whole world on the cross.  Can’t I just love those close to me…the ones who love me?  Isn’t that enough.

I am with you Peter, sometimes love has too steep a cost.  Enemies do not need to take up space in our lives.  We can use our precious time to simply love those who love us back.  And neither I, nor Peter, can fathom that love might lead all the way to death.  “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you” Peter protests with genuine love for Jesus dripping from his lips (Matthew 16:22).

And to both Peter and myself Jesus literally shouts, “Get behind me, Satan!  You are a hindrance to me…” (Matthew 16:23).

Now, I have been shouted at by my dad.  I have been shouted at by my Grandma.  I was once even shouted at by my substitute music teacher because I was committing the terrible sin of singing with my hands behind my back rather than on my lap.  That shouting was bad enough.  Can you imagine being shouted at by the Lord? 

“Get behind me.”

It is strange, but that shouted rebuke from Jesus’ lips has been repeating over and over again in my mind, as if God needed me to understand something deeply.

“Get behind me.”

“Get behind me.”

“Get behind me.”

And then it dawned on me; these words are not a rebuke.  Jesus is literally telling me to get behind him, to walk behind him, to follow him, to love like Jesus.

In another flash of insight, I remembered that 31 years after Jesus was crucified, Peter too was crucified.  Apparently, he had learned to love like Jesus.  Maybe I can learn to love like Jesus as well.

When the Apostle Paul thinks about Jesus’ life and death, he too is captivated by the love.  The healings, the feedings, the protection of the lowly against the powerful, the love of enemies, the forgiveness of those crucifying him while he hung on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34), and, of course, the acceptance of Paul as an Apostle even though he was a dangerous and unlikely choice.  All these images of Jesus’ love just had to be on Paul’s mind as he tried to teach the divided community of Rome love is the answer.  Love like Jesus.

Paul teaches that love is:

holding fast to what is good;

love is caring for one another;

love is outdoing one another in showing honor;

love is never failing to serve the Lord;

love is rejoicing in hope;

love is being patient;

love is persevering in prayer;

love is helping the needy;

love is showing hospitality to strangers;

love is blessing those who hate you and refusing to curse them;

love is rejoicing with those who rejoice;

love is weeping with those who weep;

love is living in harmony with one another;

love is striving to not be arrogant;

love is associating with the lowly;

love is not claiming to be wiser than you are;

love is not repaying anyone evil for evil;

love is living peaceably with all;

love is feeding your enemies when they are hungry;

and love is giving your enemies something to drink when they are thirsty.

Love does not look like being overcome by evil.  Love is overcoming evil with good.

“Get behind me, Satan!  You are a hindrance to me…” Jesus said as he overcomes evil with good (Matthew 16:23).

“Follow me and do not be a hindrance to my love.”  Follow and help.  Love like me.

Now, I do not know about you, but I am pretty sure I just physically cannot remember that list about love that Paul gives us.  I am lucky to remember to put on my shoes and bring my worship binder with me on Sunday mornings.  There is no way I will remember that list of 20 examples of love, great as it is.  Sorry Paul.  I have read about your life, and I am not certain you remembered your own list either.  Just how many travel companions had to “part ways” with you?

I guess all of us are hypocrites, even Paul, but there was nothing wrong with what he preached.  Still, it is a long list.  Do you know what helps me to remember what love looks like?  Stories.  Stories help me remember, and this week I have been hearing lots of stories about love, just as Paul described it.  And all these stories revolved around one person: Dolly Parton.  Dolly is a saint with God now, but her stories of love remain.

Before I continue, I just want to say that my ten-year-old puritan self would be horrified that I would be including Dolly Parton in a sermon.  In my holier than though ten-year-old eyes I could only see someone who dressed like a tramp and was arrogant enough to name an amusement park after herself.  Now, as an adult, I have heard Dolly’s story, and I have concluded that ten-year-old Jira might have been a jerk.  Maybe, he had some learning to do about what love looks like.

For example, Romans 12:10 tells us to “Outdo one another in showing honor.”

As you may know, Dolly’s father, Robert Parton, was intelligent and hardworking, but he never learned to read or write. Rather than being ashamed of her family’s poverty, Dolly honored her father by speaking of him with affection and respect. In 1995, she started the Imagination Library, sending free books to children, partly in honor of him. She said that hearing children call her “The Book Lady” meant more to her father than her fame as a singer. Since the start, the program has given away hundreds of millions of books.

In Romans 12:13 Paul tells us to “Contribute to the needs of the saints.”

As you may remember, in 2016, devastating wildfires swept through the area where Dolly grew up. Loving the people of her impoverished home, she established the My People Fund and contributed to their needs by provided monthly payments to families who had lost their homes. More than $12 million was distributed.  That sounds a lot like contributing to people’s needs.

In Romans 12:15 love looks like “Weep-ing with those who weep.”

Dolly grew up in a one-room cabin as one of twelve children. Her song “Coat of Many Colors” tells the true story of her mother sewing a coat from scraps because the family had little money. Children painfully laughed at her and her coat, but the song remembers the love in that gift.  Dolly used her music to identify with people who struggle, grieve, or feel overlooked.  She wept with those who weep.

Romans 12:18 tell us to “Live peaceably with all.”

Dolly wrote “I Will Always Love You” when she decided to leave Porter Wagoner’s television show and pursue her own career. Instead of ending the relationship with anger or resentment, she wrote a song expressing gratitude and affection. The song became one of the most famous farewells in music history in which she chose honor and peace during a difficult separation.

In Romans 12:16, love teaches us to “not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.”

Even after becoming wealthy and famous, Dolly invested in her home region through scholarships, literacy programs, jobs, and community support. Her early Buddy Program, which rewarded students for finishing school, helped dramatically reduce dropout rates in her county.  She often said that success only matters if you can help others.

Those who knew Dolly described her as someone who brought joy, kindness, and hope into the world—qualities that closely resemble Paul’s vision in Romans 12 of a life shaped by Jesus’ love.

Was she perfect?  Of course not.  But Jesus chooses imperfect people like Dolly, and Paul, and me, and you all the time.  Jesus chooses imperfect people to touch others with a divine love that is perfect. 

That love would do anything to bring those who are lowly and depressed and sinful back to life.  That love would go to the cross.  And that love entices us to get behind Jesus and follow. 

That love draws us into a way of life that truly believes that the good life looks like one in which God empowers us to “love like Jesus.”

Reflection on Romans 12:1-8

Romans 12:1-8

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

  3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

 

Sermon

Go Down Again by Wisecarvers

(Performed by Higher Ground)

 

No eloquent prophecy, or fancy miracle for all to see,

Just the words, “Go down seven times”,

So as Namaan made his way, into the Jordan River that day,

I can’t help but think what was on his mind.

 

As he slowly reached the water’s edge, it rushes in over his head,

He looks to see if the curse has washed away,

Ooh, does He say…

 

I keep going down and getting back up,

But I see no change, I feel no touch from you,

Lord, where could you be,

This water’s dirty and it’s cold,

But there’s healing in it so I’m told,

A miracle, but I’ve yet to see,

But I’m staying here until you’re through,

Until I get a hold of you,

I’m gonna keep believing but until then,

I’m gonna go down again.

 

I know what I feel deep inside,

I’ve heard your voice a thousand times but now,

That seems so long ago…

 

Ooh, I’m now still trying to believe,

That somehow you’re listening,

But I would like a sign so I could know,

Ooooh, surely there’s hope left yet,

You wouldn’t just forget,

I’m fighting on my knees to get to you,

So this is what I’m gonna do…

 

I’ll keep going down and getting back up,

’Til I see a change or feel a touch from you,

I know you’re hearing me,

This place is lonely and it’s cold,

But it’s Holy Ground so I’m told,

The secret place where you will meet with me.

 

So I’m staying here until you’re through,

Until I get a hold of you,

I’m gonna keep believing but until then,

I’m gonna go down again. . .

I’m gonna go down again. . .

I’m gonna go down again. . .

In one sense, that is worship.  Worship is coming back time and time again, hoping beyond hope that God will finally hear us and hold us and heal us.  Like Namaan, who keeps going back down to the waters, seven times in all, hoping to feel a touch from God and see a change in the dreadful condition of his skin, we too come back to the waters over and over again until God shows us mercy. 

Just the other day I stumbled upon a man on social media who absolutely did not believe in God, had never been raised in a Godly household, and had never said a single prayer in his life.  Even so, he decided one day to do an experiment.  He decided that he would start living his life as if he did believe in God.  He decided to pray and talk to God several times a day (especially while riding his bike to work).

He would intentionally take time to notice people in need and help in some way, by giving food or a gift card. 

He would read the Bible every day, starting with the stories of Jesus in the gospels. 

And he would start going to church and start asking questions.

It started off a little rocky, especially the going to church part.  He tried talking to a priest who was preparing to walk up the aisle to begin worship.  He was told that there was no time to talk.  He was dismissed by another pastor who was suspicious of his intentions.  Yet, he persisted with prayer, reading the Bible, and helping others.

After a single month of his daily experiment, in fact, just two days ago, he posted a video showing him in tears.  It had just dawned on him that God loved him so much, that Jesus would die for him.  With tears flowing, he kept fluctuating between saying sorry to God for all the terrible things he had done and thanking God for such love that would go to the cross to save someone like him.

The man had finally been shown the truth about God.  God’s is merciful. 

In Romans, the Apostle Paul says things like, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy,” and also says, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone…” (Romans 12:1 and 12:3).  Whenever talking, Paul always starts with God’s mercy.  Paul always starts with God’s grace.  For Paul, the basis of our worship is always first reflecting on the goodness of God and the love of God found in Jesus Christ. 

So, we do that.  We come each week and hear about the mercy of God again and again, allowing these scriptures of mercy that we hear again and again to become a part of our daily lives until it breaks through our disbelief and our anxiety and our struggles.

“Still Waters” by Leanna Crawford

Great Aunt Maurine said at a hundred and three

Write scripture on your heart for when you need it
'Cause anxiety hates Psalm 23
So just say it to yourself 'til you believe it
And I'm feeling like I'm needing it right now

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want

He leads me by still waters 'til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend
Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters, I'm safe

Lord, I believe You can set me at ease

Turn this broken piece in me to peace and quiet
I know there's power in Your word
So I'll say it over and over 'til my soul's reminded

Oh, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want

He leads me by still waters 'til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend

Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters, I'm safe

Still waters run through any valley I could find

I'm laying fear down here at Heaven's riverside
Your word has been true in every season of my life
I believe, yes, I believe still waters run through any valley I could find
I'm laying fear down here at Heaven's riverside
Your word has been true in every season of my life
I believe, yes, I believe

Oh, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want

He leads me by still waters 'til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend
Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters I'm safe

Whenever God’s mercy has proven to be true and we see it in our daily lives, faith comes flooding into our souls and we believe.  It drives us to give thanks again and again in a repetitive chorus that thanks God for showing us goodness and mercy.  That is worship.  But worship does not stop there.

The Apostle Paul says, “on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,” and he says that presenting our bodies as living sacrifice is our “reasonable act of worship” (Romans 12:1).  So, worship always starts with hearing about God’s mercy and praising God for that mercy, but it does not stop there.  The song continues.  The worship does not end.  Worshipping God follows us out the doors of the church.

We had a professor in our pastoral training who famously asked, “What is the longest part of the worship service?”  Most people answer with a knowing moan, “The sermon.”  As a kid, I loved my pastor’s sermons.  He was imaginative and engaging.  I did not learn well.  But I always got antsy during the eucharistic prayer.  That thing can go on and on and on.  But our professor dismissed all those answers as wrong.

“The longest part of the worship service is the sending.  A worship leaders says, ‘Go in peace and serve the Lord,’ we say, ‘Thanks be to God,’ and then we go out and serve for the next six and a half days.  That is the longest part of our worship.”

“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship” (Romans 12:1).  Hearing the word of God does something to us.  It transforms us.  It changes us from worldly people to people who care about the world, just like Jesus.

Our encounter with God does something to us.  It makes us care about others.  It makes us stick out our necks for other people who cannot speak for themselves.  It makes us into people who care about justice and mercy.  It makes us like Moses who transformed from a bumbling public speaker to a prophet who demanded that Pharoah let his people go.

Go Down Moses by The Lower Lights

When Israel was in Egypt's land

Let my people go
Oppressed so hard they could not stand
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

No more shall they in bondage toil
Let my people go
But let them come with Egypt's spoil
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

The LORD told Moses what to do
Let my people go
To lead the Hebrew children through
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land

Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

As Israel stood by the waterside
Let my people go
At God's command it did divide
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

Oh let us all from bondage flee
Let my people go
And let us all in Christ be free
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt's land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go

The woman that I talked to this week is no Moses, leading a whole nation of people to freedom, but she is no spiritual lightweight either.  Moses had gifts of leadership given to him by God, and she has other gifts that God has given.  Paul says that “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8).

If I had to label the woman’s gift, I would say that she is a disciple of “noticing.”  You see, the woman owns a little boutique, and just the other day a customer came in, looking around aimlessly, and she noticed that the young woman had tears as she looked through the items. She asked her what was wrong and the young woman said that it was the anniversary of her husband’s death, and as if that weren’t bad enough, she just found out that her sister has cancer.  For two hours this woman noticed and listened, and shared God’s concern for the young woman, and then took the time to pray with her.

The woman told me, “This is why I refuse to go work somewhere else where I could make a lot more money than I do in my shop.  If I went somewhere else, I wouldn’t have time to notice people.  It wouldn’t have time to listen to people.  I wouldn’t have time for people.” 

And this is this woman’s spiritual worship.  This is her sacrifice.  This is how she takes that mercy that she has been shown by Jesus and uses it throughout her week.  This is how she worships during the “sending” portion of worship. 

And this is the shape of your worship as well.  We see God’s mercy.  It heals us and makes us well.  It gives us faith.  And it transforms us so that others can be made well.  It transforms us so that the terrible waves and wind of life can be transformed into calm waters of faith for them as well.

It is Well by Bethel Music

Grander earth has quaked before

Moved by the sound of His voice
And seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard

Through it all, through it all

My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well, with me

Far be it from me to not believe

Even when my eyes can't see
And this mountain that's in front of me
Oh will be thrown into the midst of the sea

Through it all, through it all

My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well, it is well

So let go my soul and trust in Him

The waves and wind still know His name

So let go my soul and trust in Him

The waves and wind still know His name

So let go my soul and trust in Him

The waves and wind still know His name

The waves and wind still know His name

It is well with my soul

It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul
It is well with my soul (it is well, it is well, it is well)
It is well with my soul (it is well, it is well, it is well)
It is well with my soul (it is well, it is well, it is well)
It is well, it is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

'Through it all, through it all

My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
It is well, it is well, it is well
With me"