August 25th, 2013 Luke 13:10-17

LUKE 13:10-17

¹⁰Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." ¹³When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

¹⁴But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." ¹⁵But the Lord answered him and said,

"You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?"

¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

***

            It’s hard not to be like the leader of the synagogue. I have heard myself make the same arguments about the lack of Sabbath. I have grumbled about the youth’s sports schedules, which seem so pervasive, that church life often gets the short end of the stick. The youth are unable to commit to PYG events, not knowing if there is a game, and their parents miss a meeting because a game came up. Both the PYG and their parent run ragged, from over-commitment and a feeling of responsibility. I myself, have no one day where I do not check my e-mail, and often, I also reply on my days off. Sometimes…, okay oftentimes, doing a fair bit of work. I give myself a grief trip, but it seems just easier to get stuff done. Likewise, my days off loom with the call of chores on a never-ending list, of which I am sure you can relate. Somehow God was able to create the whole world in six and then rest, and I can’t even take one day when we have lot less work to do. Sabbath is no longer observed culturally. Growing up in a big city, in the time I did, I don’t remember anything ever being closed. The only time I really ever thought about Sunday being a time off was those annoying Blue Laws, when I lived in South Carolina, where you couldn’t buy wine or alcohol on Sundays. Didn’t they know for us church workers, Sunday was not the Sabbath? I know, for many of you, if a cow is calving, or the field is ready for harvesting, it cannot wait; nature does not come on a schedule.

            Still too, I look at the working poor, in restaurants, and in stores, and I wonder if they get a day off, a day to rest and to be with family, or are seven days, and multiple jobs, barely enough to make ends meet. Sabbath becomes an issue of justice, rather than choice in these circumstances. Perhaps it is these more venerable for whom the leader of the synagogue is sticking up. He is referenced in Deuteronomy,

“Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you,” (Deuteronomy 5: 13 - 14).

            I notice the part of the law that reads, “as well as you.” The law seems to be written to the owner, in protection for the poor. So the slave, the resident alien, and your children and animals shall rest, as well as you. I understand why the leader of the synagogue finds it important to stick up for the oppressed.

            As your pastor, I too worry, when I see you so worn out from a myriad of commitments. I so deeply want for you to have a time away, a time to be, rather than a time to do. I want us to be able to notice the presence of God, to feel surrounded by that presence, to reflect on that presence, to rejoice in that presence. I want us to have that feeling you get when you’ve climbed a mountain, and without anyone telling you, your whole being knows to stop, and sit, and look out over the trees and the lakes, and to watch a bird soar, and then when you feel ready, you get up, and start again. I want there to be a day like that for us each week. I want there to be an hour like that each day. I want there to be times of prayer like that throughout the day. Maybe that’s the goal, but it’s also wishful thinking, and perhaps not realistic in today’s society.

            And this is where Jesus’ reinterpretation comes in. He says,

"You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?"

            For Jesus, Sabbath isn’t about recreating a day of rest like in the book of Genesis. For Jesus, Sabbath is about honoring God. Jesus references Deuteronomy also,

“Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day,” (Deut. 5: 15).

            For Jesus, the Sabbath is about remembering when God brought the slaves out of Egypt. Jesus compares the Israelites slavery, to the slavery the crippled woman. He compares the Israelites freedom from slavery, to the crippled woman’s freedom from illness. Jesus debates, “Ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham,... be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" What could be more fitting, than to free someone from oppression on the Sabbath, just as God had freed the Israelites? What could be more fitting than to do God’s work on the Sabbath? For Jesus the Sabbath is a call to honor God, be it in rest, or in doing God’s work.

            And I wonder, if we could be likewise. I wonder, if there is work we do that sets others free. Is it the work of our teachers in their classrooms, taking the time and energy to bend down beside a desk and show a lost kid the way. Is it the work of our ranchers, making sure they are there when the calves are born, finding a mother for a calf whose mother has died. Is it the work of our lawyers representing each person and making sure they are supported and have a fair trial. Is it the work of farmers, caring for their crops, and the land they occupy, a hard work, that people might not hunger. Is it our firefighters battling blazes, keeping fires from homes, and prescribing burns, that our communities might be safe. Is it our foresters taking the time to plant again. Is it our mom and dad’s traveling to sporting games, to cheer their kids on, and to get have that half hour in the car, where they hear about the lives of their teen. Is it our retirees who volunteer and take time to serve breakfast to middle schoolers, to bag backpacks for little kids, to build homes with habitat all of over the country, to go to Lions meetings, or support the arts in our community. Is it your pastor, who takes a quiet afternoon outside, to sculpt a sermon and reflect on God. Is it the way we do the simple things, the to-do list things, that has us stop and say hello in the grocery store, or simply hold the door for the next person coming in. Is it the way we cook a meal, or clean the house, or fix something that broke, that welcomes and invites our families to find the comfort of home. Each day, all seven of them each week, we have the opportunity to do work that sets others free. Each day, all seven of them, we have the opportunity to do the work of God. Each day, all seven of them, can be a Sabbath.

            When Jesus said his point, “all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.” I think the crowd might not be all that different than our culture today. I am sure they too knew, how hard it is not work on the Sabbath. I am sure there was water to fetch, people to feed, and animals to care for on the Sabbath in Biblical times as well. Part of me wonders if you in your pews are rejoicing a little, from the lifting of the hard and fast rule of rest on the Sabbath, the hard and fast rule that seems a condemnation of practicality. I wonder which is harder, to take one day of rest, or to make each day, a day of God’s work? Neither are easy, but only one is really possible.

            But perhaps you too are a little intimidated with the idea of attempting to honor God every day in all we do. Maybe instead how Jesus honored God in his work is why the people cheer. The Scripture says, “the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.” It is not easy to honor God in our work, and here Jesus was doing so. It’s not easy. We have bad days and good days. It’s not easy, we get tired, and worn out, and sometimes we do simply need a nap, a day of rest. But sometimes, Sabbath comes, and we are able to honor God by setting another free. And I pray that just like crowd around the synagogue, that there is cheering when it happens. The people of God are rejoicing at all the wonderful things you are doing. 

August 18th, 2013 Luke 14:1, 7-14

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LUKE 14:1, 7-14 

¹On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

⁷When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.  ⁸"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; ⁹and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place', and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. ¹¹For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

¹²He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

SERMON (PASTOR) 

            We’ve been hosting a lot of funerals this month in our church. Funerals for people who grew up in this sanctuary, funerals for people who long ago were Sunday School teachers, and funerals for people who had nothing to do with our congregation. It strikes me that none of these faces had been in our pews in a long, long time, or perhaps ever. This is not to say anything against them; some had moved, others were sick, and still others knew God outside of church. It is to say, instead, something about ourselves, something about our congregation, something about us as hosts. When I look at this parable, I almost prefer we didn’t know those who have died, because we are our best hosts, when we host those we do not know.

            When I think of Peggi Timm, and all she gave to our church, and our community, it seems the least we can do, is show up for a service, and provide breakfast for her friends and family. In no way, does it even close to repaying our debt to her, but in some ways it feels as if we are attempting. When I think of Kathy Kirkpatrick, or Rob Burgess, I imagine the energy and excitement they, as youth, must have given to this congregation, just as our youth did last week during their Triennium presentation.  It seems small to give back to them through our services, our baked goods, and setting out our good silver. I think of Steve Boyd, and I immediately picture Ruth’s faithful church attendance week after week. It is as if coming to honor Steve, we attempt to pay our respects, to give back. Of course we should be faithful to children of the faithful.

            But part of me prefers the others, the ones we don’t know, because when I look at this parable, I realize we are our best hosts when we host those we do not know. I smile and I think of Woody Woodcock saying he did not need a pastor’s visit when I called. I think even more of the opportunity we had to do his graveside service. We were able to give to someone, who can not repay us. Likewise, the next funeral is for a congregation members’ friend’s father. Who, was described, with a caveat, as one who didn’t go to church much, but had faith in God. There is no caveat required, this is what we do, it is a gift to us to serve, because we are our the best hosts when we can host those whom we do not know.

            I have seen you do this so many times in the last few weeks. You have baked, and cooked for those you never met, because someone called and asked, because we are the church, and this is what we do. You have sat in pews in this sanctuary and others, and listened to services which have gone on too long, and you were patient, because even though it was the fourth, or fifth service this month, it was that family’s hour, and we are the church, and this is what we do. You have come in from out of town, babysat at the drop of hat, and greeted mourners so beautifully that their children felt comfortable in our unfamiliar preschool room, because we are the church, and this is what we do. You have showed up and set tables, and poured punch, and slaved over dishes, because we are the church, and this is what we do. You have come to meetings after receptions, and wrote grants after funerals, and preached for your pastor, and taken youth on trips, because we are still the church, and this is what we do. We do what Jesus instructed, we host those who cannot repay us, we care for those whom we do not know, and in so doing, we glimpse the kingdom.

            In the kingdom we will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous, we will not only be repaid in full, but beyond our wildest measure. In the kingdom, all our debts will be forgiven, and we live in abundant grace. In the kingdom we, the blind, the crippled, the poor in spirit, will come and be welcomed, as the honored guests. There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve the host’s reception in the kingdom. Likewise, there is no sin so great that excludes us, or anyone from the table. All we can do is have faith that God is head of the church, and this is what Church does. God hosts us all.