Tag: Kingdom of God

When Jesus Starts a Fire

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Year C2 Comments

Luke 12:49-53

When we first hear Jesus ask in Luke 12, “Do you think I have come to bring peace on the earth?” I think most of us instinctively want to answer, “Yes, of course! That’s exactly why you came and why we are here! We have come into this sanctuary to escape a stressful world so Jesus can bring us some of that peace that the world cannot give.”

For that is the Jesus our supposedly Bible-believing culture has taught us to expect: the good shepherd Jesus who lays us down on green grass beside still waters; the gentle, mild, inoffensive Jesus who smooths over conflicts and calms everybody down.

We were taught about the Jesus who tells you to keep your voice down, to stay in line, to be respectable, to obey the rules, and to keep the peace. The Jesus who pledges allegiance to the flag, prays before the football game, never risks an argument at the dinner table, and keeps his sermons short so we can get home for lunch.

It’s the Jesus of softly lit stained-glass windows, your children’s Sunday School coloring books, and on the expressway billboard. It’s the Jesus our culture has been marketing for generations: the Jesus who prays for political leaders instead of confronting them’ the Jesus who offers his disciples comfort without challenge, personal salvation without public solidarity, and tragically, peace without justice. It’s a Jesus who never gets upset and overturns a table. He never angers the authorities and never divides a household. It’s a Jesus that God sent to earth and had crucified as an atoning sacrifice, not executed by an unholy alliance between an authoritarian government and sick religion. It’s a Jesus who died for human sin, not because of human sin and the evil systems those sins created.

However, for those of us who might not call ourselves “Bible-believing,” but who actually open and read the Bible, it’s obvious this is not the Jesus standing in front of us in Luke 12. Luke teaches us that the Jesus we have been sold is a complete fabrication of a church that has for far too long traded the gospel for a seat at Caesar’s table.

The real Jesus, the one we meet here in the Gospel of Luke, is not here to hand us a sedative, he’s here to hand us a cross. He’s not here to calm the waters, he’s here to stir the waters until the entire ship turns toward love and justice. The Jesus we meet here is aflame with holy anguish. He’s fierce and fired-up, on a furious mission to change the world. He’s not an accessory to the empire as we have been duped to believe; he’s a threat to it. He’s not patting Rome on the head, telling it “to keep up the good work and know we are praying for your success.” He’s announcing a new reign that will outlast every empire’s rise and fall.

In agony, Jesus proclaims, “I came to bring fire to the earth, and oh how I wish it were already kindled!”

Jesus is talking about a revolution!

Eugene Debs, a political activist and trade unionist of the 19th century, called Jesus “the world’s supreme revolutionary leader, the champion of the downtrodden masses.” Lincoln Steffens, a journalist of that same time, called the teachings of Jesus “the most revolutionary propaganda” he ever encountered. I love the way contemporary writer John Eldredge describes the Jesus of culture vs. the Jesus of scripture saying: “We’ve made elevator music of Jesus! We’ve made Him the most boring, bland, blah person [in the world]; when he was the most revolutionary man [in the world].”

And here’s the thing: if we’re going to follow this Jesus, if we are to call ourselves disciples of this Jesus, then we must see ourselves as revolutionists. And we should feel the same agonizing fire burning in our bones when the world blesses war, justifies genocide, hoards wealth, and “liberates” the capital city not for poor people, but from poor people, and calls it “peace.” Because a holy fire has been ignited in us, a fire that refuses to settle for the inevitable woes of a country run by greed and violence with an immoral agenda propped up by a fictitious Jesus, even if it costs us relationships.

This is the fire that Jesus was talking about in Luke 12. It’s not the cozy fireplace kind of fire. It’s the fire of purification. It’s the fire that burns up injustice, lights up the lies we’ve been living under, and exposes the truth.

And here’s the thing about fire. Fire never leaves things the way it found them. Fire changes everything it touches. Jesus didn’t come to add a little moral flavoring to an already comfortable society. He came to set the whole thing ablaze to destroy all that is corrupt so all that is good can shine even brighter.

So, when Jesus asks, “Do you think I have come to bring peace on the earth?” He’s warning us that if we’re serious about following him, we then we will stand up and speak against the status quo, and doing so never happens without disruption and division.

But preacher, c’mon, Jesus talked a lot about peace. Didn’t he say: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.” Isn’t that why we pass the peace every Sunday after we sing the doxology? That’s the best of this service!

Yes, but Jesus also said, “But I don’t give you peace as the world gives you peace.” Jesus doesn’t give peace as empire defines it. His peace is not the polite quiet that comes from ignoring injustice. It’s not the family harmony that’s created by never bringing up the truth. No, Jesus brings a peace that the world cannot give. It’s a peace that can only come through the fierce, unrelenting work of justice.

This is not the peace of passivity, as John Dear reminded us in March. It’s the peace of nonviolent resistance. It’s the peace that says, “I will stand in the way of violence, even if it costs me everything.” The peace Jesus gives is the peace of the cross.

It’s not the kind of peace that sends you home from church for a Sunday afternoon nap. It’s the kind of peace that makes attending next Sunday’s ministry fair a priority, a peace that is continually asking, “what is my part in this struggle?” And it’s the peace that never normalizes the violence and injustice of this world

Two weeks ago, after a man, who fell victim to those in power who question science and vaccines, fired 500 shots at the Center for Disease Control across the street from Emory University where my son is employed, I was disheartened to hear a CNN reporter repeat the following assertion: “This is just the world in which we live.”

We live in a culture that says violence is inevitable, that wars will always come, that poverty will always be with us, not as a challenge to be confronted, but as a fact to be accepted. It tells us mass shootings are just “the new normal,” and climate collapse is just “the cost of progress.”

But Jesus comes today with another message. With anguish in his heart and fire in his eyes, Jesus says: “Don’t you fall for it! Don’t consign yourself to the inevitability of the violence of this culture of greed and sick religion! Don’t hand your conscience over to the empire!”

Jesus says: “Come and take up a cross and join another way. Come walk the road where you truly love all people as you love yourself. Come walk the road where you speak truth to power even when power hits back. Come walk the road where you risk the wrath of your own family if they’ve chosen the safety of silence over the risk of love.”

Jesus warns: “Your family will say you’ve gone too far. They’ll say you’re out of line, and some will cut you off for it. But this is what it means to follow me. To be woke when others have chosen to sleep. To be fired up when others have grown cold. To live by the ethic of God’s reign when others have bowed to the culture of violence. To let a fire burn in you so all that remains is love. And let that love, fierce, bold, and unafraid, be the sign that the reign of God has come near.

This is a call to vigilance. To live every day as though the kingdom is breaking in right now—because it is. To act every day as though nonviolence is not just an idea but the only way—because it is.

This is not the hour for lukewarm discipleship. This is the hour to join hands, to take up the cross, and walk straight into the struggle, knowing that on the other side is life: life abundant, life eternal, life together in the reign of God.

So, if you’re tired of watching world leaders stand under a banner which says “pursuing peace” but remain committed to authoritarian violence, let the fire burn.

If you’re tired of politicians who can find trillions of dollars for war but not a dime for poor people, let the fire burn.

If you are tired of people saying they are pro-life while they vote to take away healthcare and food from the poor, let the fire burn.

If you’re tired of wages that will not sustain life while billionaires get richer, if you’re tired of the earth gasping for breath while the oil companies count their profits, if you’re tired of schools closing while prisons keep expanding, if you’re tired of living in a world that is against diversity, equity, inclusion, equality, democracy, and liberty and justice for all, let the fire burn.

If you’re tired of the lie that nothing can change, let the fire burn.

Let it burn until it dissolves the chains off the prisoner and melts guns into garden tools. Let it burn until it scorches every policy that denies food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, health care to the sick, and dignity to all sexualities, genders, and races.

Let it burn away every lie we’ve ever heard about a fictitious Jesus offering peace without justice and grace without a cross.

Let it burn away all the comfort we have wrapped ourselves in while our neighbors suffer.

Let it burn until we rise up from the ashes of this empire’s false promises and walk together toward the Beloved Community.

So let it burn. Fan it. Feed it. Fuel it. Follow it. Until the world is so ablaze with God’s love that no darkness can remain, no lie can survive, and no one can mistake the peace of empire for the peace of Jesus ever again.

Amen.

A Vision of Heaven

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

Revelation 21:1-6a

Well, as someone who loves you and is concerned for your well-being, I need to ask you, “How are you doing?”

“Well, preacher, how do you think we are doing!”

“We are living in some very uncertain days. These are some very dark times. We are living in the shadow of grief and despair. Our entire future is in doubt. We are anxious, as there is so much to fear. People have rejected the gospel, the good news towards the poor, the immigrant, all who live on the margins.

And there’s this narcissistic, authoritarian tyrant in our land. And people we know and love, are bowing down to him. They are not just defending him, but they seem to worship him. He spews hate, and the people cheer! He threatens anyone who is against him, and the people love it!”

Of course, I am talking about Caesar Domitian, that ruthless ruler of the Roman Empire who persecuted Christians in the first century. And I’m imagining a conversation between the Christians who lived during that time in Ephesus, and a concerned preacher named John, the author of the beautiful letter of hope that we call Revelation.

Imprisoned on the island of Patmos for offending the powers-that-be by preaching the inclusive good news of the gospel, John writes a powerful letter of encouragement in which he describes the divine culmination of all that is, a heavenly vision to hold out for and to work towards—a beautiful vision of a new heaven and a new earth and a holy city; where, in the end, all who thirst for peace and justice and love will drink from the spring of the water of life.

Now, to be honest (in a way that may be offensive to some), the promise of going to heaven one day to live forever and ever and ever and ever has not always been appealing to me. I have never desired to live in a mansion or walk on streets of gold. Because I seek to follow Jesus who intentionally identified with the poor, such opulence turns my stomach.

Floating on a cloud playing a harp for all of eternity has never sounded like good times to me. Furthermore, I have always been leery of Christians who seem to make going to heaven one day the whole point of what it means to be a Christian. That sounds rather selfish to me. And when I consider the selflessness of Jesus, the words and works of Jesus, I believe that type of theology misses the whole point of what Christianity is all about.

Consequently, I believe the vision of heaven in Revelation (while it might be our eternal home) it’s not so much our future home, as it is our present purpose. It’s not so much our final destination, as it is our daily goal. It’s not so much where we are going when we die, as it is what we are called to create while we are alive. It’s God’s vision of what the world should be, could be, and will be. It’s the vision of the kingdom of God that we seek to prophetically proclaim. It’s the vision of life that we are praying for and working toward until it fully and finally comes on earth as it is in heaven.

It is the vision we are called to live into no matter the outcome of Tuesday’s election, as we know that the status quo is not the divine destiny. The current darkness of hate and division, even if it grows darker, is not the holy purpose that God is calling every human to and leading the entire creation toward.

What does heaven, this holy purpose look like?

We are called to live into a vision of a world where no one is thirsting for their lives to matter, where no one is treated as second-class or is ever called “garbage.” In the twenty-second chapter, in rich, symbolic language we read that the water of life which quenches all thirst is a mighty river flowing, bright as crystal, from the very throne of God, accessible to all in the middle of the holy city’s main street!

What does heaven look like?

On both sides of the river, again, accessible to all, we read there is a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, and the leaves on the trees have the power to heal the nations, bringing an end to all war and violence, greed and oppression, sickness and disease.

What does heaven look like?

We continue reading that nothing accursed will be there. There will be no more hate; no more bigotry; no more ugliness; no more name-calling; no more racism and sexism; nothing that is vile, foul, or evil.

What does heaven look like?

Here’s my favorite part: Heaven looks like the servants of Christ, all the saints of God, gathered around the throne worshipping together. The good news is that we don’t have to only imagine heaven or just read about heaven. The good news is that we have seen heaven. We have experienced heaven.

For what does heaven look like?

Heaven looks like Coretha Loughridge. Heaven looks like a saint who faithfully and courageously lived into the vision of heaven as she answered a call to ministry during a time when most believed that God only calls men to such a vocation. Undeterred by the prevailing sexism of the culture and attacks from misogynistic bullies in the church, Coretha not only faithfully served as a pastor and as a regional minister, she taught, modeled, and exemplified the radical inclusivity that we see worshipping around the throne in Revelation, encouraging countless other women to follow in her steps.

And the good news is this saint of God, is still encouraging and still inspiring the church to stand up today for the rights of women in a patriarchal religious culture where men seek to subjugate women, objectify women, control women, tell women what they need, whether they like it or not.

What does heaven look like?

Heaven looks like Dorothy Watkins. Heaven looks like this saint who lived into the vision of heaven by teaching us that when grief casts a dark shadow in our world, when the dark clouds of despair appear our world, when it seems impossible see any path forward, we can carry on knowing that the darkness will not overcome us.

Dorothy became well-acquainted grief at a very young age when she experienced the untimely death of her father who died when he was only 34 years-old and was subsequently sent to live in an orphanage. Then as an adult, Dorothy lost her husband, like her father, before he turned 40. She later lost her stepson Daniel, and then lost her granddaughter Christy in a tragic car accident.

The miracle was that though the darkness overshawdowed her, it did not defeat her. With faith Dorothy persevered, as evidenced through her selfless service with Fairview Christian, Euclid Christian and First Christian Church, and through her dedicated work as an accountant with Herb Moore and the Lynchburg Covenant Fellowship. Dorothy’s light shined in the darkness teaching us that no matter how dark the world seems, faith will not be dimmed. Hope will not fade. And love will never die.

What does heaven look like?

Heaven looks like Linda Cox. After teaching for Lynchburg Public Schools, Linda and Bryan moved to Northern Virginia in 1974 for Bryan’s new job. At the time, public schools were not hiring, so she interviewed for a teaching position at the Catholic School where she was asked how she felt about teaching black kids. Linda’s response was beautiful, saying: “kids are kids.”

“Kids are kids” –a simple, but at the same time, a profound vision that is perhaps most needed in a world where there are powers that seek to divide us and keep us afraid of one another. A beautiful, holy vision needed today where the children of God are dehumanized, referred to as “vermin,” “an infestation,” “dogs,” “aliens,” “low-IQ,” “low-life,” “bimbo, “human scum,” or “theys” who are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

I love how Revelation describes the divine human destiny. In Revelation 7, we read where every person is present—all nations, all tribes, all races, and all languages. Puerto Ricans are there. Haitians are there. Mexicans are there. Venezuelans are there. Palestinians are there. All ethnicities, all languages, all people are there, and all means all.

What does heaven look like?

Our holy purpose looks like diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our divine destiny that we are praying for, working toward, and fighting to create, is a world where “kids are kids” and there not distinction between male and female, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, as all are one. Our present purpose is what Jesus taught, modeled, and embodied, and it is what the saints of God we remember this day lived.

And now, as someone who loves you and is concerned for your well-being, (it’s me now, not John) I need to ask you, “How are you doing?”

“Well, preacher, with a holy vision of a new heaven and new earth, how do you think we are doing!

We are living in some uncertain days. These are some very dark times, but our future is not in doubt, thus we have nothing to fear. For our hope has been revealed. We’ve seen our destiny. We have been shown our purpose. We have heard our calling; thus, echoing the words of Bishop Steven Charleston, a Native American elder and citizen of the Choctaw Nation, whose people have endured days much darker than we have:

When they hate, we will love!

When they curse, we will bless!

When they hurt, we will heal!

Because we are servants of the light!

And we are not afraid of the darkness.

We will carry on with our work as stewards of the Earth and all her children.

When they divide, we will unite!

When they rage, we will calm!

When they deny, we will affirm!

We will simply be who we are, for that is what the Spirit has created [and destined] us to be.”

Amen.

 

Commissioning and Benediction

Envisioning the divine destiny of this world, having received a revelation that the saints of God have shared and share this day, may our faith, hope and love be a beacon for others who feel as though darkness has engulfed them.

Let’s go and be who we are, the people the God has created, Christ has called, and the Spirit has destined and is leading us to be. Amen.

A Prophetic Response to School Shootings

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

Isaiah 35:4-7 NRSV

It was around 600 BC when a dystopian 1930’s-like dictator named Nebuchadnezzar was on a mission to make Babylon great again by building and renovating tall buildings. His armies invaded and occupied Assyria, Egypt, and Palestine, destroying Jerusalem. Judah had three kings during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign who were either taken as hostages or killed. The entire territory was desolated, and the Jewish people were exiled.

I imagine it was difficult, if not impossible, for those in exile to see any light in the darkness. And it was easy for them to resign themselves to the belief that things could not and would not get any better, to acquiesce to despair.

It is in this fearful time and dark place that a prophet named Isaiah reminds people of faith that they are called to speak out proclaiming words of courage to those with fearful hearts (Isaiah 35:4).

The phrase “those with fearful hearts” only scratches the surface in describing the people’s despair. Anathea Portier-Young, Professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School, points out that a more literal reading the Hebrew language is: “ones whose hearts are racing.” Isaiah calls people to proclaim a word of hope to people “whose hearts are racing.”

Perhaps we have all experienced something of what this professor describes when she writes:

The heart races. A hormone we call adrenaline or epinephrine courses through the bloodstream. It stimulates muscles, directs blood-flow, and accelerates metabolism. At the same time, it causes the senses to close in — the field of vision narrows and the world becomes strangely quiet. It is a stress response. It might energize the body for battle, or to run away. Or it might mimic paralysis.[i]

The Jewish people who had been terrorized by Nebuchadnezzar and forced into exile certainly knew something about this.

And today, the students and faculty of Apalachee High School, along with their families and friends in Georgia, tragically know something about this, along with every child in our country who has experienced active shooter drills teaching them to first run, then to hide, and then to fight, when someone with a gun comes to the school.

Every parent who has a school-aged child and every person who has a heart, knows something about a racing heart every time we are alerted with breaking news of another senseless school shooting.

And, like the Jewish people in exile, it has become difficult, if not impossible, to see any light in the darkness. We acquiesce to the despair, calling it “the new normal.” Even people of faith have no faith that things in this life can be any better, thus many have placed all of their faith and hope in an afterlife.

The only reason many folks are in church this morning is to make preparations to leave this God-forsaken earth for heaven, not to be inspired to do something to bring heaven to earth.

So today, perhaps more than ever, we need to hear a prophetic word, at least as much as the Jews in exile needed such a word. We need to hear someone like Isaiah calling faithful people to stand up to proclaim some prophetic good news to those today whose hearts are racing.

To understand the prophetic word that people of faith are called to proclaim today, it might be helpful talk about what the prophet does not say we are to proclaim.

Isaiah does not say: “Tell those with racing hearts that you are sending them your thoughts and prayers.”

Isaiah does not say: “Tell those with racing hearts that you hate what happened, but such evil is just ‘a fact of life.’”

Isaiah does not say: “Tell those with racing hearts that we live in a dangerous world full of ‘sick and deranged monsters,’ and instead of making common-sense laws to prevent them from attaining weapons of war, we actually need to make such weapons more accessible, even to our children, to protect us from the danger.”

The prophet doesn’t say: “Tell them that this is just the way it is, and things are not going to get any better, so we just need to accept it. Gun violence will always be the number one cause of childhood death in our country. We had 1,708 mass shootings last year, and we can expect more next year. This is the new normal, and there’s really nothing we can do about it, except to arm ourselves, lock our doors, continue to put our children through active shooter drills, maybe get them some bullet-proof back-packs, and display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.”

And Isaiah doesn’t say anything close to: “Tell the people that the reason they live in so much fear is because they have taken God out of their schools.”

In fact, the prophet says the exact opposite.

The prophet says:

Have courage and take heart because God is here, right here. God is coming to put things right and redress all wrongs. (Isaiah 35:4 The Message).

What bothers me the most about the state of the church today is not that the church has a difficult time articulating the prophetic good-news. It is not that it has clouded or even lost the message. What troubles me the most is that the church often proclaims a message that is the exact opposite of the good news that we are called to share, the antithesis of everything that the prophets proclaimed and Jesus taught, modeled and embodied.

Instead of loving our neighbors, we preach take care of yourself.

Instead of welcoming the stranger, we preach building a wall.

Instead of healing the sick, we preach denying their healthcare.

Instead of forgiving the sinner, we preach throwing rocks.

Instead of treating the poor like they are blessed, we preach treating them like they are cursed.

Instead of standing up for the marginalized, we preach calling them abominations.

We choose to favor the rich over the poor, greed over generosity, judgment over forgiveness, selfishness over sacrifice. We choose to embrace a lie and reject the truth. We choose the arrogant, the proud, the condescending and the self-important, while rejecting anyone who comes close to embracing a way of service and humility.

And instead of protecting our children, we’d rather protect our second amendment right.

Instead of sharing hope in God’s restorative justice, we’d rather share gloom and doom, hell, fire, and brimstone.

The message we proclaim is the exact opposite of the message of the prophets and Jesus. And this is why I don’t hesitate to say that the message that is proclaimed by many churches today is “anti-Christ.”

Anne chose to read this prophetic passage this morning using The Message translation of the Hebrew, because the NRSV translation we usually read translates the Hebrew word naqam into the English word “vengeance.” Verse 4 reads in the NRSV: “God will come with vengeance.”

Like Anne, I have a difficult time linking “vengeance” with the good news of God’s presence. To be honest, I almost chose not to preach this passage this morning when I first read it in the NRSV, as I choose to believe that God’s dealings with creation is restorative, rather than retributive.

This is why it is always good to take a close look at the original language when studying scripture. Biblical scholar Hendrik Peels points out that the Hebrew word translated “vengeance” in the NRSV literally means “the restoration of justice.” Thus, the meaning of the word is closer to what we call “restorative justice.” It means setting things right.

Isaiah is calling faithful people to proclaim to those with racing hearts: “Have hope for God has not abandoned you. This world is not God-forsaken. God is here with you, and God’s restorative justice is on its way. God is here working in our world, creating and recreating. God is addressing and redressing everything that is wrong in the world making it right.

Isaiah is saying to tell the people with fearful, racing hearts: “Be greatly encouraged for violence is not the new normal. Resignation to despair is not a fact of life. It does not have to be this way! For God is here! Justice has arrived! Love is coming, and love will win!”

With rich poetic language, the prophet says to the people with racing hearts: “Eyes that have been blinded will be opened.”

I hear:

Eyes that have been blinded by selfishness and greed will be opened! because I know that some of God’s people, some faithful disciples, who are shining a light.

Deaf ears that are unable to hear voices of mercy and peace will be unstopped! because I know some of God’s people who are proclaiming the truth.”

People who are feel paralyzed and powerless to bring about change will leap like deer all the way to the ballot box! because I know some disciples who are out in the streets preaching hope.”

Tell the people with racing hearts that those whose voices have been silenced by the loudness of hate, fear and privilege will break into song! Because followers of Jesus are going to be louder. Voices will be raised demanding that legislators enact common sense laws to protect all people society, especially those who are most vulnerable.

Tell the people with racing hearts that justice is coming like springs of water bursting forth in a wilderness! Streams of justice will flow in the desert!” because people are answering the call to heed the message of the prophets and to follow the non-violent, peace-making way of Jesus. People are speaking out passionately and prophetically with beautiful words of hope and transformation.

We are prophetically proclaiming to the people that when the scriptures talk about being born again, it applies to the entire creation!

“Hot sands will become a cool oasis and thirsty ground a splashing fountain, and even the jackals, even creatures regarded as lowliest of creatures, will have fresh water to drink. Barren grasslands will even flourish richly!”

Because no matter how bad things seem, we will never give out while working as God’s prophetic agents of restorative justice in this world. We will never give in to the darkness that surrounds us, and we will never give up on love and the power that it has to transform the world!

[i] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-23-2/commentary-on-isaiah-354-7a-3

When It’s Okay to Vacay

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

Mark 4:26-32 NRSV

Jesus said: The way the Kingdom of God happens, the way love wins and justice prevails in our world, is like someone scattering seeds on the ground, and then, lies down and goes to sleep. Then, while they are not paying any attention to it, and are unable to explain it, the seed sprouts and grows. The earth produces “of itself.” The seed produces “of itself.”

I think it is hopeful to consider the Greek word translated “of itself.” The word is automatos. Sound familiar? It is where we get our English word “automatically.”

And for emphasis, the Greek places the word in the beginning of the sentence. When we scatter good seeds: “Automatically, the seed grows. Automatically, the earth produces. Automatically, the Kingdom of God happens.”

In miraculous ways that we cannot begin to understand, when we plant the right seeds, the Kingdom of God automatically happens.

I love Martin Luther’s interpretation of this parable. He said:

After I preach my sermon on Sunday, when I return home, I drink my little glass of Wittenberg beer, and I just let the gospel run its course.

In other words, after working with God scattering some good seeds, proclaiming the gospel that Jesus taught, enacted, and embodied, Luther knew he could take some time off, enjoy a Sabbath, or possibly, take a little vacation.

Because Luther knew that the power of his sermons to create a more just and peaceful world was not based on the power of his theological acuity, the eloquence of his words, or in his gifts as a community organizer. No amount of charisma or art of his persuasion could plant the gospel in such a way that it would grow, expand, and transform into something that looked like the Kingdom of God. That was only something that only God could do, organically, mysteriously, and miraculously. All he could do was scatter some good seeds.

This explains how I could go to the beach with my family last week and do absolutely nothing for seven days and still call myself a faithful disciple. And it explains how you can take a vacation too without the guilt of thinking you need to be doing more to make a difference in this world!

Now, I know telling you to “take a vacation” flies in the face of what you usually hear me say from this pulpit on Sunday mornings. And for that, perhaps I should apologize.

Since I have been your pastor, you could argue that you’ve only heard me preach one sermon. And that is: “We’ve got some work to do!”

If you were here a couple of weeks ago, you heard me say that God does not work alone in this world. Since the very beginning, God has called human beings to accomplish God’s divine purposes for the world. And I said that when God calls, God calls us to do some pretty big things! My sermon even inspired Johnny Louthridge to challenge Ken Burger end all wars and to bring peace on earth.

On Trinity Sunday, I called being a disciple of the Triune God a “dance”—a beautiful dance of selfless, self-expending love. God calls us to enter that dance, to get busy answering the call to love this world! On Easter Sunday, I said: “For Easter to happen, for love to win, for justice to prevail, we need to pick up and carry a cross!”

Attempting to make a difference in this world as a preacher, I am afraid I may have given the impression that it is up to us to do good in this world, or good will not be done. Through my sermons, you may have heard the blasphemous belief that we are the saviors of the world, that it is up to us, and only us, to set the world right, or the world will be lost.

This “only-I-can-fix-it” mentality can be very dangerous, not only to ourselves, but ultimately, to the world.

It is what causes preachers to burn out and followers of Jesus to check out. We look at the overwhelming gravity of the world’s problems, at all the violence and greed, the injustice and inequity, and we say: “There’s just no way we can make any real difference.” So, we throw our hands in the air and give up. Some take even a permanent vacation from church.

So, please forgive me if you heard me say that God created the world and then left it all entirely up to us. Pardon me if I have ever sounded like our country’s Deist founders who believed that God created the universe and then went on some cosmic vacation.

There’s a famous account of the great prophet, Sojourner Truth, while she was listening to a speech one day in 1852 by a despairing and nearly burned-out Frederick Douglass, who was questioning if slavery could end without slaves resorting to violence. From the audience, Sojourner Truth interrupted Douglass by shouting out a rhetorical question: “Is God dead?” Douglass said her interruption was like someone throwing a brick through a window!

Truth had faith that God had a central role in the quest towards the abolition of slavery. Truth believed that God not only created the world, but God is still creating. God not only sent and resurrected Jesus, but our God is still resurrecting, and is still sending God’s self through God’s Holy Spirit. Our God is not dead, inactive, or ineffective, but very much alive, active, and ever victorious!

And because of that, the good news is that we can go on vacation. Because God is continually acting, we can relish times of inactivity, reflection, and the good grace of doing absolutely nothing.

We can spend a lazy day, or seven, at the beach, because God’s reign in the world is growing and will continue to grow, day in and day out, year after year.

But there’s an important caveat for the faithful disciple who wants to take a break. There are a few terms and conditions we must consider. There’s an acknowledgement box that needs to be checked. And I know how most of us like to skip over all those words, scroll quickly down to the bottom so we can check the box and move on. But it’s important for us to take some time and actually read the terms and conditions that apply.

The problem with too many Christians today is that they’ll put their hand on the Bible to be sworn into public office and never open the Bible and read it!

It’s only okay to take a vacay, if we’ve been working with God scattering good seeds. We don’t get to take a vacation if all we’ve been doing is working against God sowing bad or mean seeds: seeds of division, seeds of fear, and seeds of hate.

And the good news is that if we are working with God sowing good seeds, they can be the smallest of seeds, like the mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet it grows and becomes the greatest of all shrubs which puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.

Did you hear that?

Disciples are those who do something, even a little something, to cultivate structures and systems that provide shade, shelter, protection, and healthy living environments.

This is what working with God looks like in this world. And notice that this is not the first time we read about birds in this fourth chapter of Mark’s gospel. We read in verses three and four that the seeds that fall on the path are eaten up by birds that were hungry. Is it possible then, that those same hungry birds are the ones who will be able to make their nests in the shade and protection of the large shrub produced by the mustard seed?

The Psalmists certainly understood that the provision of protection, especially for the hungry and the poor, is paramount to the purposes of God. Listen to this prayer for those in power recorded in the seventy-second Psalm:

May [they] judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May [they] defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor… May [they] be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth… For [they] deliver the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. [They have] pity on the weak and the needy and save the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence, [they] redeem their lives; and precious is their blood in their sight”(Psalm 72:1-6, 12-13).

The psalmist’s prayer underscores that “working with God” means working for a justice that emphasizes the well-being of the entire community, with special attention on behalf of the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized. “Working with God” means working to protect the least of these from being overpowered, exploited, or rendered landless, homeless, and destitute.

The psalmist prays that those with political, social, and economic power will be especially attentive to bring justice to the poor, to defend the cause of the poor, to protect the poor, and to crush those who would oppress them.

This is why we are working to charter a bus to Washington on June 29 to stand with the Poor People’s Campaign. Bishop William Barber compares this event to the march on Washington on January 6, 2021, saying:

We’re marching on Washington with a spirit of resurrection, not of insurrection—a non-violent resurrection of unity, not a violent insurrection of division.

In other words, we’re marching to combat hate, division, and an extremist political agenda by scattering seeds of new life, seeds that will sprout opportunity for people, especially poor people, to live lives that are protected and enabled to thrive.

We are scattering seeds to sprout: living wages for low-income workers; healthcare for all people; environmental justice; a ceasefire and humanitarian relief in Gaza and an end to genocide worldwide; just immigration laws; the restoration of the rights of women; adequate and affordable housing; a fully-funded public education; and full and expanded voting rights.

And when we do this work, when we get in lockstep with God, when we join that dance between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, when we pick up and carry a cross, when we pray with the Psalmist, doing what we can individually, democratically and ecclesiastically to scatter seeds of justice, seeds of equity, seeds of mercy, and seeds of peace—because they are good seeds, because they are holy seeds—the fruits that God will produce from those seeds, the fruits of “love winning” and “God’s kingdom coming,” will be automatic!

The hungry will be filled with good things.

The lowly will be lifted up.

The mighty will be cast down from their thrones.

And then, we can rest from our labors.

We can take a vacation.

We can enjoy a sabbath.

And if we want, even this very afternoon, we can sit back with Martin Luther and sip a cold beer.  Amen.

Christmas: Can You See It?

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Advent and Christmas, Sermons Year BLeave a comment

Isaiah 2:1-5 NRSV

Isaiah 2 begins:

The word that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Now, let me ask you, who in the world talks that way?  We would say, “The word that Isaiah heard…” Not “The word that Isaiah saw…”

What does it mean to not just hear a word, but to see a word? What would it mean to say: “That’s why I go to church on Sunday morning, to see a word.”

The word “see” here means much more than merely reading words on a scroll. It implies that the words are literally brought to life.

In chapter 1, Isaiah graphically paints a portrait what he has seen in the world: it is a detailed, dark scene of violence, war, corruption, dishonesty, unfaithfulness, oppression of the weak, and trampling on the poor.

The people worship. But their religion is sick. They pray, and they give. But God is not having it. Their prayers are not heard, and their gifts are not accepted.

Then, chapter 2 opens as though Isaiah is starting all over with a new, fresh canvas – or you could say, God is. Isaiah sees people of every nation going to the Mountain of God, including those who were enemies of Israel and Judah and being completely transformed by God’s love.

Can you see it?

Isaiah can. And the transformation is nothing less than miraculous.

They shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.

The transformation that the love of God creates is a complete reversal of the way things currently are in the world. That is why it is so difficult for us to see.

Living in a world that is in perpetual war, where innocent hostages waving white flags are gunned down, living in a world where children regularly practice hiding in their classrooms from active shooters, it is hard for us to see any possibility of this world being at peace.

But what is important for us to understand is that Isaiah’s image of swords turned to plowshares is not Isaiah being naïve. For Isaiah is no Pollyanna Prophet. Isaiah is a realist. Isaiah had this gift to see the world as it really is, and as it actually will be.

His vision of the world in Chapter 1 is as real as the evening news:

Corrupt deals by those whose heads are sick, whose hearts are small, who have no truth in them from the soles of their feet to the top of the heads. They love a bribe and run after gifts. They do not defend orphans nor listen to widows. They pretend to worship God, but their worship is in vain, and their country is desolate. This is reality.

Then, in chapter 2, Isaiah has another vision which is equally real.

Weapons of war are turned into agricultural tools. Death-dealing images are turned into food-producing, life-giving images. This is not wishful thinking. This is a promise. This is reality. This is truth. The scene in Chapter 2 is as real as the scene Chapter 1. Isaiah saw it. He believed it. The question is, can we see it? Do we believe it?”

I believe President Dwight Eisenhower may have seen it. In one of the most prophetic of all presidential speeches, Eisenhower once said,

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

         Like Isaiah, I believe Eisenhower saw the Word of God. The question is can we see it? Do we believe it? Are we praying today for Israel and Russia to see it. For our country to see it?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this Word could somehow be made flesh to dwell among us to show us the precise paths we should follow, the narrow but abundant way we could live?

I think it is more than interesting that Isaiah suggests that for people to see the Word, they need to climb the mountain of God to allow God to teach them or show them. For Matthew says Jesus climbed a mountain, and there he taught us to see a world completely re-created by the love of God.

A world where the poor are blessed, mourners are comforted, the meek are rewarded, and those who thirst and hunger for justice are satisfied. A world where those who need mercy, receive it. Those who want peace, find it, and the pure in heart, (what do they do?) They see God.

The question is, can we see it?

Maybe our hearts are not pure enough to see it—too filled with the darkness and despair of the world. I believe this is why we need to continually return to the mountain, to sit at the feet of the Word made flesh, to be taught how to see it, to believe it, and thus how to live it, to be it.

To be light and salt. To love our enemies and to pray for those who do us harm. To forgive seventy times seven, to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to give the very shirt off our backs. To do unto others as we would have them do unto us, to always speak the truth, to never judge or demean another. To avoid greed and materialism and hypocrisy, and more importantly, to be doers of this Word and not hearers only.

With its ornaments and bright lights, December may be the most visual time of the year. Everywhere we look, light pierces the darkness. Yards that would otherwise appear dreary and dead, come to life with evergreens, colorful decorations and bright lights. Like the downtown bluff walk, the whole world is transformed.

This should remind us that one of the most important things we can do during this season we call Advent is to help others visualize a world transformed by Christmas.

How? By going to the mountain to sit at the feet of Jesus so we can walk with others in the Light of the Lord.

And there lies the key to seeing anything – light.

If there is not a considerable amount of light in a room, or even outside, our vision is significantly impaired, and the older we get, the worse it gets. That is why the 21st century technological advance that for which I am most appreciative is the little flashlight on my cell phone.

This is why I love the tradition of the Advent wreath. Christians everywhere prepare for Christmas by lighting candles to celebrate the Light of the World who has come to shine light into our darkness. We believe by going to the mountain to sit at the feet of Jesus, by not only hearing, but seeing, then doing his words, we are allowing this Light to get brighter each week changing the way we see ourselves and this world forever.

Looking at the world in the Light of Christmas means believing God is here with us and has identified with us by becoming flesh to dwell among us. God shares in our joy, but God also shares in our suffering.

Looking at the world in the Light of Christmas means believing that the Word that was made flesh is still very much a part of our lives shining light in the darkness.

Looking at the world in the Light of Christmas also means believing that God is always working to transform the world bringing order out of the chaos, triumph out of defeat, joy out of sorrow, and life out of death. God is always working all things together for the good and uses people like you and me to accomplish this.

What this world needs today is more believers. I am not talking about those who merely believe in God. I am talking about those who believe the gospel truth that God is doing, even today, a new thing in this world. This world needs more believers who believe that the Kingdom of God is really coming, and the will of God is being done on earth as it is in heaven!

Advent is the time to allow the Light of the World to adjust our focus and to sharpen our vision, to remind us, that because the Word was made flesh, we have been given the grace to see the whole creation in a brand new light. Misery becomes opportunity. Strangers become family. Enemies become friends. Everyday becomes gift, a fresh, new canvas to recreate a brand new world!

A world where no child goes to bed cold or hungry, no child knows foster care, and no child ever fears being shot in their classroom—A world where everyone is paid a living wage, healthcare is accessible to all, education is equitable for all, as every life is valued—

A world where people of all creeds and all cultures live peaceably, harmoniously, graciously, side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, hand-in-hand—

A world where the distorted morality is restored. Sick religion is healed, and all that is broken is remade—A world where the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see and the outsider is included. It is a world where walls come down, chains are loosened and all are free. Hate, violence, wars, corruption, division and bigotry pass away. All of creation is born again, and liberty and justice fully and finally comes for all.

A world where all will know that into the world’s night, a Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will never overcome it!