Month: October 2023

Trick or Treat or Truth

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Year A1 Comment

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 NRSV

I will never forget the first Halloween I heard about the so-called “Hell Houses” or “Judgment Houses” that churches host during this time of the year. Have you heard of these things? It’s like a Haunted House, but instead of walking through rooms where people jump out and scare you dressed in spooky costumes, you walk through rooms staged to depict scenes of people being tormented for all of eternity for the poor decisions they made while they were living.

The first one I heard about had teenagers in one room who were being punished after they were killed in a car accident after drinking alcohol. Another room featured an atheist or maybe a Taoist or Buddhist. One room featured someone who had completed suicide. Another room had a woman begin tormented for choosing to have an abortion. Another had members of the LGBTQ community. And another room was filled with, I don’t know, I suppose the most popular hell-bound suspects: your fornicators, liberal preachers, democrats.

I first heard of the “Hell House” or “Judgment House” in October of 1999, which just so happened to be a very hellish period in my life. We had just purchased our first home that August. Six weeks later, it was flooded by Hurricane Floyd. Our children, who were 4 and 2 years old at the time and Lori were rescued by a boat, while I stayed behind cramming everything I could into the attic as the house filled up with water. We spent the next 6 months living (“surviving” would be a better word describe it) in a very small, very cramped and very cluttered FEMA camper which was parked our driveway. I had never been more stressed-out in my life.

Of course, upon hearing of a neighboring church hosting a Hell House, I preached a sermon against it. I said something like a colleague, Robert Lowery, recently said, and that is: “If the scariest thing you can come up with to frighten people this Halloween is your own theology, then you might want to rethink your theology.”

And at the conclusion of the sermon, I said something like this: “Now after hearing this sermon, if you still feel inclined to visit a Hell House, please don’t go to that church down the road that is hosting one. Just come on over to my house, and I will gladly let you walk through my Hell camper. And if you really want the fright your life, come next Sunday morning before church, when we are all crammed in there trying to get dressed to make to Sunday School on time!

I believe trying to scare people into joining a church or a religion with bad theology may be part of what Paul meant when he talked about his appeal not “springing from deceit or impure motives or trickery.”

Paul may also be referring to the type of trickery that some churches use to bait and switch and deceive; like churches who say all are welcome, but when some show up, they quickly discover that the grace they first experienced as a treat was only a trick.

Churches say: “come just as you are,” but after you come just as you are, you soon learn you are expected to become just as they are!

Churches host events like the one we are having this afternoon. They entice people in the community with candy, chili and a good time. However, they soon make it clear that if you’re not buying what they’re selling, you’re not truly welcome.

There is a video that went viral a few years ago of a homeless man who walked into to a Chick-fil-a in Tennessee asking if they had any extra food. The manager meets the beggar and says: “I will give you a hot meal, if you will pray with me.” The man agrees. The manager lays his hands on him and prays. And then gives him a sandwich.

Christians loved this video and shared it all over social media. [i]

But it is important to remember that Jesus never said: “Feed the hungry, if they will pray with you,” or “Welcome the stranger, if they will believe like you or learn your language” or “Give drink to the thirsty, if they will dress like you” or “Free the oppressed, if they will make a pledge and contribute to your budget.”

You may be surprised at the number of faith-based social service agencies whose promised assistance comes with some sort of string or trickery attached. “We will give you a hot meal and warm bed, but first, you need to sit and listen to a sermon.” “We will help you if we think that you are helping yourself, and that means believing the way we believe and worshiping the way we worship.”

I knew of one ministry to the homeless that would kick folks out of their program if they failed to turn in four consecutive worship bulletins from an pre-approved “Bible-believing church” they attended on Sunday. One day, I asked the director, “what if they are Muslim, Jewish, or an atheist?” He responded, and I quote: “We only help people who want to better themselves. So, we only help those who want to be Christian.”

The gospel truth is that Jesus said we are to love our neighbors as ourselves—period! No “if’s,” no “buts,” no strings, no tricks, no treats. Just love.  Paul writes we are to love others “as a nurse tenderly cares for her own children.” We are to care for others because they are God’s children who need care, not for any other reason.

In two weeks, we are going to have a Congregational Café to discuss ways we can be the church outside of these four walls, how we can go out into our city and our region to love our neighbors. I believe such discussion is important and necessary, as we must make certain our outreach is not some sneaky, tricky, deceitful church growth tactic. For one of the most disappointing things I’ve heard from church member after we participated in a service or mission project in the community is: “Well, preacher, we didn’t get any new members out of that.” Or “Well preacher, since we have started giving so much in our community, our offerings have not increased.”

This is why you will always hear me insist that we love our neighbors with our ecumenical and interfaith partners. Because, when we love our neighbors, we don’t do it to gain new members or to gain anything for ourselves. Our motive should only be love, just love. It can never be about our church. “Look at us.” “Don’t you want to come join us.” “Don’t you want to give to us.” It always has to be about love, and just love.

Sue Coleman sent me a wonderful quote this week to spark some thoughts for our Congregational Café that underscores this truth. In his book Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship, Gregory Boyle asserts:

“There is nothing more essential, vital, and important than love and its carrier – tenderness – practiced in the present moment. By keeping it close, just right now, we are reminded to choose connection over alienation, kinship over self-absorption.”

Boyle sounds a little like the Apostle Paul to me:

“But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.”

We love others for the same reason that God loves us, because others are dear to us.

In William Young’s book, The Shack, Papa, conveys the love of God when she says of every human she meets or recollects: “I am very fond of them.” Don’t you love that?

So, this afternoon, when we greet members from our community with chili and candy and a good time, we are not out looking to make some new converts or to get a new pledge to our stewardship campaign. We go out selflessly offering others the gift of our very selves. Why?  Because we are very fond of them, and they are very dear to us. We go out to meet some new friends, friends who may never visit one of our worship services, not even on Christmas Eve or Easter. We go to love the ones we will meet this day honestly, courageously, unconditionally and tenderly. And let’s hope we make a Jewish friend, a Muslim friend, a Buddhist friend, an agnostic or an atheist friend.

So today, although it’s almost Halloween, we are not about “tricks” or “treats.” We are about having the courage to be about “truth.” We are about honesty and integrity and authenticity. We are about sharing the good news of God’s grace and love and sharing ourselves simply because that is what Love calls and compels us to do.

Now, because we are being truthful and because we truly care, let’s always make it clear to those who may be interested in becoming a part of our church, that although they are invited to come “just as they are,” and although they are never expected to become “just as we are,” if they come, we really do hope that they don’t stay “just as they are.”

Let us set the record straight that the reason we are a part of this church, including the pastor, is because we are all hoping to change, to transform into people who love God, love others and love the planet more justly, more honestly and more boldly.

But it’s never our job to judge or change anyone. That’s always God’s job. And we pray God is currently judging and changing all of us. We are praying for a radical repentance that takes away all our prejudices, greed, apathy and selfishness, while filling us with more kindness, more mercy, more grace and more love to share with others.

We pray that if others choose to join our mission, God will bring us together in love, unite us by grace, change us with the truth, and then give us the courage to change the world. Amen.

[i] http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/most-popular/chick-fil-a-manager-prays-with-homeless-man-gives-him-warm-meal

Living in Amazement

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Year A2 Comments

 

Matthew 22:15-22 NRSV

The religious privileged of Jesus’ day were much like the religious privileged of our day. They believed they had somehow earned their high position at God’s table. They deserved the blessings of God. They were so devout, so pious, so “bible-believing,” they convinced themselves that they had God and the world all figured out and believed they possessed the keys to the Divine. They believed they were God’s gatekeepers and judges.

They looked at the rich, the powerful and the strong with favor. After all, like themselves, they were obviously blessed by God. And they looked down their noses with disdain at the poor, the disenfranchised and the weak. After all, they were obviously cursed by God. A curse they undoubtedly deserved. Probably because of their own sin, or because the sin of their parents. For whatever reason, the least of those in society deserved to be least.

They looked up at those who accepted their biblical worldview with respect. And they looked down upon those who disagreed with their views with contempt.

Because they believed they had somehow earned the right to be the judge, they were more than willing to stone adulterers, crucify heretics, mistreat tax collectors, banish lepers, oppress women, restrain the mentally ill, hinder children, ignore the bullied, even if the poor victim had been robbed, beaten and left for dead on the side of the road.

After all, these who are  least in our society are least for a reason. For whatever reason, it was very evident to them that God had not blessed them. And if God would not bless them, neither would they.

Then from Nazareth, a place from which no one good ever comes, comes this liberal, a radical rabbi named Jesus turning the religious leaders’ worldview upside down by identifying with the least—

         By traveling all over embracing lepers,[i] touching the unclean,[ii] welcoming children,[iii] eating with sinners,[iv] empowering minorities,[v] learning from someone of another faith,[vi] loving the foreigner,[vii] respecting sex workers,[viii] giving dignity to Eunuchs,[ix]defending an adulterer,[x] protecting the rights of women,[xi] bringing peace to the mentally ill,[xii] advocating for the poor,[xiii] feeding the hungry,[xiv] offering drink to the thirsty,[xv]blessing the meek,[xvi] and advocating for prisoners,[xvii] excluding no one, offering his body, his blood, his life to all.

The religious powers-that-be had about all that they could possibly stand.

“He’s destroying the very fabric of society. He’s making a mockery out of our religion. He’s hurting our traditional, conservative family values. He’s what is wrong with our country. And someone needs to put a stop to it.”

So, they plotted and they conspired, and they rallied their people, and sent them to entrap Jesus.

They were sly, and they were sneaky. They said to themselves, “We will soften him up first by showering him with a few compliments. And then we will get him.”

“Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. You eat with tax collectors, sinners and harlots. You love the good and the bad equally.”

But then, here it comes.

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

But Jesus doesn’t fall for it. Aware of the malice in their hearts, Jesus said:

Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ 21They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God, the things that are God’s.’22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

The question for us this morning is this: “Why were they so amazed?” What made them walk away astounded?

First, it’s important to understand why Jesus called them “hypocrites” right before he asked them to show him the coin them they used to pay taxes.

The image on the coin was Tiberius Caesar. And the title imprinted on the coin was “son of God,” as the Romans considered Caesar to be divine.

So, the Pharisees would have regarded these Roman coins to be idolatrous. So, simply by producing the coin, they show themselves to be hypocrites, breaking the first of the ten commandments.

Here they were, holier-than-thou judges, judging Jesus, and Jesus drives home the point that he made in his very first sermon: “Why do you seek to judge one with a speck in his eye, when you have a log in your own eye.”

I can imagine the faces of the religious leaders turning red as they realized that this one whom they were sent to entrap has now entrapped them.

But Jesus is not finished with them yet.

With one of the most well-known, yet most misunderstood quotes attributed to him, Jesus responds:

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.

I like to think that this is the moment when a light bulb came on for these religious leaders. This was the moment when the scales from their eyes fell. You could say “when they became woke”—wide awake to the amazing grace of it all.  For it was like Jesus asking them:

“Give to Zeus what belongs to Zeus and give to God, the creator of all that is, what belongs to God.”

And what would any good Jew say belongs to the Greek god, Zeus?

Nothing, of course. It all belongs to God. All that is, all that they had, all that they were, and all that they would ever have and ever be is but a gift of God’s amazing grace.

Suddenly, it occurred to them: All is gift. Therefore, all is grace. They didn’t do anything to earn the gift of life. Their life was an unearned gift of grace God, the world, and others did not owe them anything. The amazing grace of it all became amazingly clear.

It all belongs to God; thus, God alone is the judge of it all. They were in no position whatsoever to ever judge anyone. They did not own their faith, their synagogue, not even their own lives.

And, if just for a moment, they got it.

“Of course Jesus, that is why you do not show deference to anyone or treat anyone with partiality. We are all the same. We are all gifts of God’s amazing grace, rich and poor, Jew and Palestinian and even Samaritan, all beloved children of God. And recognizing this grace, we now have this holy compulsion to share grace with others, especially with those who need grace the most, especially with those whom society has deemed to be the least, those who have been erroneously taught their entire lives that that God doesn’t just disapprove of them but is actually against them, believes they are abominations.”

Matthew tells us that they walked away from Jesus in amazement. When they awoke to realize that all belongs to God, that all grace, that all is miracle, that all is gift, they left amazed by it, humbled by it, changed by it, and very grateful for it.

I believe there are basically two types of people in this world: the grateful and the ungrateful. I know that it’s not that simple, but I believe there is some truth to it.

I admire anyone who can go on a silent retreat for a few days. You may have heard of the monk who joined a silent monastery. The monks were to be silent 24-7, but at the end of each year the monks were able to go to the abbot and voice just two words. Two words a year. That’s all. At the end of the first year, the monk went to the abbot and said, “Bed hard.” At the end of the second year, the monk went again to the abbot and said, “food bad.” At the end of the third year, the monk said to the abbot, “I quit.”

To which the abbot responded, “I am not surprised. Ever since you’ve been here, all you’ve done is complain.”

Ungrateful people are most often the complainers. Ungrateful people believe that there is always something more owed to them. The world owes them. Others owe them. God owes them. If they have good health and great wealth, a nice home, they somehow earned it. And they have this tendency to judge others who have not achieved what they have achieved, do not believe what they believe, and do not live like they live. Ungrateful people are seldom content. No amount of money, no number of possessions is ever enough. Because of this, they are the least generous people we know.

They are the ones who feel entitled to take and use what is not theirs, whether it be money, land, or even another person. Furthermore, they become bitter when things do not go their way. When bad things happen, they bemoan, “Why me?” because they know they deserve so much better. And because they believe this, they are never surprised or amazed by anything good that comes their way.

On the other hand, grateful people understand that no one, not even God, owes them anything. They understand that they have done absolutely nothing to earn this gift we call life. And they certainly understand that they have not earned the right to marginalize anyone, for all people are God’s children.

Grateful people are content. They are fulfilled. If their cup is half empty, they live like it is running over. When someone asks them: “How are you?” they respond that they are doing better than they deserve. If they only have a few years on this earth, a few friends and a few dollars, that is ok, because that is a few more than they truly earned. Therefore, grateful people the most generous people we know.

Like the ungrateful, they also cry out: “Why me?” But they do so with amazement when the good things come their way. Because they know that none of it is deserved. They walk, live, eat, drink and breathe holy amazement, astounded by the mysterious, amazing grace of it all.

Thus, they have a passion, a sense of call, a divine desire to share grace with others, especially with those in this world who need grace. Because they have received grace freely, they share it freely. Grateful people are the first to forgive the sinner, give drink to the thirsty, share bread with the hungry, care for the sick, visit the lonely, offer friendship to a stranger, stand up for the marginalized and freely give their tithes and offerings to help make this world more just for all people. Grateful people embrace the grace of it all, and in response, grateful people just love. They just love the entire creation, every creature, every life. They live their lives doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly.

Matthew says when Jesus pointed out that it all belongs to God, that all is grace, all is gift, they walked away amazed. And this morning, as we begin to think about our financial stewardship as a church, may we do the same.

[i] Luke 17:11-19

[ii] Luke 8:43-48

[iii] Matthew 19:13-15

[iv] Matthew 10:13-17

[v] Luke 10:25-37

[vi] Mark 7:25-30

[vii] Luke 19:34

[viii] Luke 7:36-50

[ix] Matthew 19:12

[x] John 8:1-11

[xi] Matthew 19:3-12,  Luke 10:38-42

[xii] Mark 5:1-17

[xiii] Luke 16:19-31

[xiv] Matthew 14:13-21

[xv] John 4:11

[xvi] Matthew 5:5

[xvii] Matthew 25:36

Divine Expectations

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Year ALeave a comment

Isaiah 5:1-7 NRSV

This morning, I want to invite you to grab a jacket and go with me to a beautiful winery, high atop a mountain with a breath-taking 360-degree view stretching in all directions. As we arrive, our host leads us to a table overlooking the vineyard which has been planted on the hillside. A waiter brings us a mouthwatering charcuterie board filled with all kinds of goodness and a flight of their best-tasting wines. As we begin sipping our first glass, we notice a musician standing in front of a mic tuning his guitar.

The artist clears his throat and introduces himself:

“My name is Isaiah. Please allow me to share a love-song that I have been inspired to write and sing for you today.”

“Oh, how we love a love-song!” we say to one another as we sit back and eat a bite of cheese.

Isaiah begins singing with this soft, mellow, folksy voice…

My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill. 

“Ooooh, he’s good!” we say, as we take another sip of wine.

He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;

The pleasant voice of the musician is soothing to our ears. We are touched by the song’s lyrics describing the love and nurturing care of the beloved: “What a wonderful love-song this musician is serenading us with!”

But then, like a typical love song, there’s some heartbreak…

he expected it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.

“Well, that’s unfortunate. I wonder how that happened?”

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and people of Judah,
judge between me
and my vineyard.
What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes? 

Taking another sip of wine: “How disappointing! You work so hard. You give so much, all that you have and all that you are! You faithfully and lovingly do all that you can do! And for what? Heart ache. This is a sad love song.”

At that very moment, the singer’s face contorts, and in what seems like a fit of rage, he angerly hits the strings of his guitar causing his instrument to scream! The soft, gentle love ballad has become an ear-splitting, deafening heavy-metal hard rock anthem![i]

With a loud, shrieking, most unpleasant voice, the musician yells:

AND NOW I WILL TELL YOU
WHAT I WILL DO TO MY VINEYARD.

We are now nervously drinking our flights like they are shots of liquor, one after the other!

I WILL REMOVE ITS HEDGE,
AND IT SHALL BE DEVOURED;
I WILL BREAK DOWN ITS WALL,
AND IT SHALL BE TRAMPLED DOWN.
I WILL MAKE IT A WASTE;
IT SHALL NOT BE PRUNED OR HOED,
AND IT SHALL BE OVERGROWN WITH BRIERS AND THORNS;
I WILL ALSO COMMAND THE CLOUDS
THAT THEY RAIN NO RAIN UPON IT. 

We start bobbing our heads to the beat, trying our best to get into it, make the best of it, go with it: “Yeah, cut down the Vineyard! Down with the vineyard! To hades with the vineyard! Destroy the vineyard!”

But just when we get riled up, Isaiah begins strumming the guitar gently again. And back with his soft, folksy, pleasant voice he sings…

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
but heard a cry!

And suddenly, realizing that the musician was never singing about a vineyard; but lamenting the disappointment the people of God have become to God, lamenting the pain and suffering the people of God have caused in the world, we spit out our wine and choke on a piece of cheese!

What begins as an enjoyable “love-song” is quickly transformed into a harsh, allegorical anthem of judgment.

God, the creator of the vineyard, graciously and generously gave all that God had to give to ensure a fruitful harvest. No expense is spared in picking a good site, in preparing the land, in choosing the best plants, in protecting it from thieves, and in the processing of the grapes. But, in response to the boundless love of the creator, what the vineyard produces is “wild grapes,” or literally from Hebrew, “stinky things.”  God “expected” or “hoped for” sweetness, but all God received was bitterness. And consequently, there is catastrophic judgment.

It’s very important to note that in the theology of the Hebrew prophets, including Isaiah, judgment is always something that we bring on ourselves. I often hear people say: “I prefer the New Testament God over the Old Testament God. Less judgement!” However, God is never portrayed by the prophets throwing lightning bolts down from heaven in the way some ancient Greek god might do. Thus, judgment should never be understood as God’s need or desire to punish or get even with sinful humanity. God lovingly grants us freedom allowing us to make our choices. If we choose the way of darkness, then we will have to face the consequences of those choices. God, even in the Hebrew Bible, is always love, always generous, always gracious. That’s why the prophet’s song begins as a love song.

And in response to the love of God, what does humanity freely choose? Instead of the justice that God expected, God sees bloodshed. Instead of righteousness, God hears a cry. To emphasize this harsh truth, Isaiah uses a play on words. Instead of the “justice” (mishpat) that God expected, God sees “bloodshed” (mispach). And instead of “righteousness” (tsedaqah), God hears “a cry” (tse’aqah). Instead of the goodness, kindness, fairness, hospitality and equality that God expects the people to enact and embody, there is only cruelty, oppression and injustice that leads people to cry out for help.

The Hebrew word translated “cry” is notably revealing. When God’s people were being victimized by Pharaoh in Egypt, their response was to “cry” to God for liberation (Exodus 3:7). This word also occurs in 1 Samuel 8 when Samuel warns the people about the “justice” of the soon-to-be-established monarchy. As Samuel puts it, the “justice” of the kings will be nothing but oppression; thus, the people “will cry out” because of the king they have chosen for themselves. The warning from Samuel is that the monarchy itself will re-create the oppressive conditions of Pharaoh’s Egypt. And through his vineyard love song, Isaiah suggests that the worst has happened. God’s own people have chosen a political system that creates victims who are crying out for liberation.

The details of the oppressive conditions are evident as chapter 5 unfolds. The displacement of poor farmers from their land result in both homelessness and hunger (13). Greed and excess are supported by a corrupt legal system (23). And although it is the poor who are directly victimized, everyone eventually stands to lose when justice and righteousness are not enacted and embodied (15,16).

Violence, victimization, hunger, homelessness, greed, excess, corruption —Sadly, not much has changed, has it?

A prophet called Pope Francis recently challenged French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders to open their ports to people fleeing hardship and poverty. With words that sound much like Isaiah’s, he called for the Mediterranean Sea that so many cross to reach Europe “to be a beacon of hope, not a graveyard of desperation.”[ii]

He said that today the Mediterranean Sea “cries out for justice, with its shores that on the one hand exude affluence, consumerism and waste, while on the other, there is poverty and instability.”

Today, we know that our entire planet is crying out due to the selfishness and greed of a minority of the world’s population.

And somewhere in our world today, a parent is crying as a child dies every 4 seconds from causes related to hunger and malnutrition.[iii]

In the United States, the so-called richest country in the world, 58.5 percent of people experience poverty by the time they reach the age of 75.[iv]

Nearly 30 million people in the United States still live with no health insurance.[v] All the while, corporate executives make 399 times more money than the average worker.[vi]

Every year, proposed state and federal budgets seek to drastically reduce or eliminate funding for programs and services that tend to the essential needs of our most vulnerable, most on the margins, most threatened citizens: the working poor, the hungry, the homeless, the physically sick, the mentally ill, the disabled, the elderly, those in public housing and public schools, and those buried in debt.

Psychologist and prophet Mary Pipher pointed out the obvious when she wrote:

We have cared more about selling things to our neighbors than we’ve cared for our neighbors. The deck is stacked all wrong, and ultimately, we will all lose.[vii]

Yet, we know we can do better. We should do better. God expects us to do better. But tragically, instead of justice, God sees violence. Instead of righteousness, God hears the cries of victims (Isaiah 5:7).

Instead of protecting equal access to the ballot box, we chose to find ways to suppress the vote.

Instead of banning weapons of war, we chose to ban books.

Instead of finding ways to support schools serving low-income and marginalized students, we chose to close the schools.

Instead of building a bigger table, we chose to build a bigger wall.

Instead of making the gospel about good news for the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed, we made it solely about an individual’s ticket to heaven.

Speaking on the behalf of God, the prophet asks us to judge between God and the people of God (Isaiah 5:3). The verdict is clear. The question is not: “Why does God allow bad things to happen in this world?” The question is: “Why do we?”

To quote another prophet, in his acceptance speech for the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel reminded us:

We must always take sides.

Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.

Human rights are being violated on every continent.

More people are oppressed than free.

How can we not be sensitive to their plight?

Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere. There is so much to be done, there is so much that can be done.

One person—a Raoul Wallenberg, an Albert Schweitzer, a Martin Luther King, Jr.

—one person of integrity can make a difference, a difference of life and death.

As long as one dissident is in prison, our freedom will not be true.

As long as one child is hungry, our lives will be filled with anguish and shame.

What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them,

that when their voices are stifled, we shall lend them ours,

that while their freedom depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends on theirs.”[viii]

Jesus talked about vineyards. And one day, he referred to himself a vine and called his disciples the branches (John 15). May his gifts of grace mobilize us to bear fruit by caring for the lost, the least and the last among us. Amen.

[i] This thought was inspired from a sermon by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson http://dimlamp.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/sermon-12-pentecost-yr-c/

[ii] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bc-eu-rel-france-pope_n_650efd6ae4b060f32d3aa5cf

[iii] https://www.who.int/news/item/10-01-2023-a-child-or-youth-died-once-every-4.4-seconds-in-2021—un-report

[iv] https://confrontingpoverty.org/poverty-facts-and-myths/most-americans-will-experience-poverty

[v] https://www.moneygeek.com/insurance/health/analysis/americans-without-coverage

[vi] https://www.npr.org/2023/09/13/1198938942/high-ceo-pay-inequality-labor-union-uaw-workers

[vii] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20-3/commentary-on-isaiah-51-7-3

[viii] https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1986/wiesel/acceptance-speech/

How Are We United?

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Year ALeave a comment

Philippians 2:1-13 NRSV

It is World Communion Sunday, annually observed on the first Sunday in October to celebrate the unity of the world-wide Church. As a symbol of unity, Christians from all over the world come together this day to confess “Jesus is Lord” and to participate in the Lord’s Supper.

In the 19th century, our Disciples of Christ forebears Barton Stone, Thomas and Alexander Campbell were great proponents of such unity. They believed that, despite of our different nationalities, languages, cultures, races and creeds, this table, the bread and the cup, and the great confession of faith “Jesus is Lord,” unites us all.

So as a Christian minister, especially as a Disciples of Christ minister, I am supposed to stand behind this pulpit on this day and confidently announce that because we will participate in the Lord’s Supper this morning, and because we confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, we are united. We are in one accord with Christians from all over the world who are sharing in the same supper and making the same confession.

I suppose it is great, sentimental thought. It is a gushy, romantic concept. And it sounds like the responsibly religious thing to say on this World Communion Sunday. But, if I am to be honest this morning, I am not so certain I am buying it. Or I am at least struggling to believe it.

For example: are we really in one accord with the person or persons who, with obvious malice, continues to strip the flag from our church sign?

Or are we really in solidarity with the racist Christians who belong to the German National Democratic Party that is seeking to revive Nazism?

Are we on the same page with Christians in Russia, Uganda and Nigeria who are supporting laws that are brutally repressive to LGBTQ people?

Do we really want to brag about being on common ground with Christians in Jordan, Iran and Syria who have murderous hatred for the nation of Israel?

And are we unified with Christians, here in our own country, who harbor the same hate for Palestinians? Or believe that it is not only okay to discriminate on the basis of race, gender or sexuality, but out of fear and hate, believe it is their duty to God to do so? Do we stand untied with the Christians who marched in Charlottesville carrying tiki torches shouting, “Jews will not replace us,” or with the Christians who stormed the Capitol on January 6 carrying crosses or banners that read “Jesus Is Lord” while shouting, “hang Mike Pence!”

Are we really at one with the Christian TV evangelists who live in mansions they bought with money donated by the people they swindled, many of them poor?

Sometimes, I look at the actions of Christians around the world and think that I may have more in common those who do not profess any faith at all.

Like us, these Christians confess “Jesus is Lord.” Like us, they partake in the Lord’s Supper. And like us, they may even be partaking today on this World Communion Sunday, this very hour. But they are nothing at all like us. When they eat the bread today, it appears to be from a much different loaf. When they drink the juice or wine today, it seems to be from a totally different cup.

The truth is that there are many people in this world who erroneously only confess or claim to be Christian. In chapter seven of Matthew’s gospel we read Jesus’ words: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [I think we could add here: “Did we not take the Lord’s Supper together in your name?]  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

So, I must honestly confess that I really don’t want to united with some who confess Jesus to be Lord, and who share in the Lord’s Supper.

So, maybe our unity needs to come from another place.

In the newsletter, this week I made the suggestion that love of our neighbors can unite us.

For Jesus said:

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13).

In John’s epistle we read:

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

I believe God wants Christians around the world to unite today, not merely around a table or with a confession of faith, but by the Christ-like love we have for others every day. We are to love as God loves us, selflessly, sacrificially, unreservedly and unconditionally.  As the song goes, “What this world needs today more than anything else is love, sweet love.”

But here’s the problem with this “all-we-need-is-love” theology. It makes great gushy music, and it might inspire an inspirational sermon; however, the truth is: the love we have for others will never be enough to truly unite all Christians. Because, as much as we try to love one another, we will always fall short.

Our ego, our pride, and our is always getting in the way.

For example, “It is nearly impossible for me to stand up here this morning and preach “love one another” and not have some disdain in my heart for those Christians who do not love one another. Wasn’t the judgmental pride in my voice obvious a moment ago when I arrogantly suggested we were not united with, were better than, “other” Christians?

I sounded like the self-righteous Pharisee in one of Jesus’ parables who arrogantly boasted, thanking and praising God that he was not like the Tax Collector (Luke 18).

The truth is, when it comes to genuinely loving one another as God loves us, as hard as we might try, we all fall short.

         So, what is it that truly unites us as Christians? In 1 John we read:

God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, BUT THAT GOD LOVED US…Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.

It is not our love that unites us. It is God’s love that unites us. Christians all over the world are united by the truth that:

 Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God, as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

All Christians are united by the great truth that “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

The good news is that THIS is what unites us as Christians. God loves us despite our egotistical love and our judgmental love. God loves despite our arrogance and self-righteousness, and God loves us despite our hate.

Thus, the truth is that we do indeed have something in common with the malicious folks who keep stripping our flag of extravagant welcome. We have something in common with the racist, Neo-Nazi, German Christians, with homophobic Russian, Ugandan, and Nigerian Christians, with anti-Semitic Christians around the world, with hateful and fearful American Christians, and with those TV evangelists living their mansions who oppress the poor. And with our Christian neighbors who believe it is their God-given duty to discriminate against those who live and love differently than they do.

And 200 years ago, Barton Stone, Thomas and Alexander Campbell were exactly right. This table and our confession of faith “Jesus is Lord” unite us all.

We are united by this meal, representing the body and the blood of Christ, representing the very life of God lovingly broken and graciously poured out for all. Christians all over the world, with all our sin and shortcomings, share the same bread and the same cup and receive the same grace.

We are made one by the great confession that our Lord is Jesus, who was sent to save us, not because of our love for God, or for others, but because of God’s love for us.

The good news is that this not some great, sentimental thought or some gushy, romantic concept, and this is not just the responsibly religious thing to say on this World Communion Sunday. This is the gospel.