March 23, 2014 GENESIS 12:1-4A

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. *** I think it would be hard to be Lot, to find yourself the afterthought of these four verses, verses where God speaks promises galore upon Abram, promises of land and progeny, of greatness and blessing, of a name so great that it is still remembered today. I think it would be hard to be Lot, for his place in the Biblical narrative to begin, “and Lot went with Abram.” I think it would be hard to be Lot, whose designation and description begin as the one who, ‘went with Abram.’ I think every time there are birthday party favors, or gifts to the siblings of newborns, we recognize that it is hard to be Lot. Every time in high-school, when I was routinely handed my friend’s boat of a purse because she had been asked to Two-Step, I recognized it was hard to be Lot. Or every time in college, when a boy came up to me, and said, “Hey. Are you Amber’s roommate?” I knew that is hard to be Lot. Or every time, in seminary, when friends could study Greek vocabulary for ten minutes and ace the test, and I spent hours, and often tears, just to pass, I knew what it was like to be Lot. It is hard to watch others be blessed and its hard to be the one who goes along with them. Still today, long after consolation prizes, after wing-woman status, after my school tests are done, I still find those Lot places hard, especially in the unexplainable ways, life is unjust. There is a part of me that cringes, when I hear the utterly American, Prosperity Gospel speech, that goes something like, “We are so blessed to have this house, this occupation, this meal, these children…” and while I agree these things can be blessings, I have a hard time because I think of the Lots among us. I think of the Lots who sleep in our park, or the Lots who have had no breakfast and are hungry for lunch, or the Lots who cannot bear children, or whose children or spouses have died, or the Lots whose jobs have disappeared, or who live in countries we call less fortunate, or even less Godly. To say one is blessed, seems to imply that God provides for some, and not for others, and I am uncomfortable with this type of predestination, or post-destination. I neither believe God is that selective with blessings, nor that we have the full capacity to distinguish God’s blessings. I think when we are naming blessings as something we get, rather than something given, we have gotten it wrong. It would be easy for Lot, and for us, to hear God blessing Abram as a list of gifts, ‘the gift of land, the gift of progeny, the gift of fame, the gift of power,’ and to miss the line that reads, “so that you will be a blessing.” It would be easy to miss the reason for God to bless Abram is that Abram might be a blessing. That receiving is not the ultimate end of blessing, but instead, that to give is the purpose of blessing. I think of our offering. Each Sunday we are to return to God a portion of the gifts God has given us. We are to take our blessings, and use them to bless others. It is not a collection plate, for the church to count up its blessings. It is an offering plate for the congregation to offer their blessings to God, and for the church to do likewise through its ministry. The blessing is the giving. I think of the AAUW women’s dinner honoring local heroes. The women honored were not those with the most blessings, the best job, the biggest house, the largest family, but those whom the community saw as being a blessing. Those who had given back. Likewise, when I look at Abram, and I look at lives as influential as our hometown heroes, or graces as small as birthday party favors, I notice that to be a blessing takes effort. It also takes us out of our comfort zone. Abram is called to leave every support he has, his country, his kindred, his house. Our hometown heroes spend much of their time in service to others. And if you’ve ever curled ribbon you know that party favors require small gestures of care. These are not blessings, which count what we have, they are blessings, which give what we can count. What counts as a blessing is the giving. (These are not blessings, which count what we have, they are blessings which give what we can count. What counts as a blessing is the giving.) And so in this way, I suppose Lot, was also blessed and a blessing. All we know of Lot in these first lines, is what he gave, his company. Lot went with Abram. Likewise, he must have given up the comfort of what he had. Lot gave, and his gift is the first we know of him. What an amazing way to be introduced. May we live lives, which rather than introduce our blessings, introduce our being a blessing. Though it is not easy to be the Lot, not easy to give up everything, and walk in the shadow of a friend, may we see the blessing in being the birthday party guest, in holding the purse, in being the roommate, the classmate, and those quiet hometown heroes and the ones that cheer them along. May our blessings be to be blessing.

March 16, 2014, Genesis 2:15-17, 3 - 7

March 16, 2014

Genesis 2:15-17, 3 - 7

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,[a] knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

***

You are a congregation that knows this text is not a simple as it seems. You know that a woman eating the fruit does not simply make women bad. You know that the first couple knowing they were naked does not simply mean sexuality is wrong. You are congregation that does not write off the snake as the evil one. You know this text, is more complicated than that. You too perhaps, have eaten from the tree of knowledge, the tree of good and evil. It is a part of life. It is a part of life, and a part of death.

God commands Adam, ““You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” God does not say, ‘if you eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.’ God says, “for in the day you eat of if, you shall die.” Eating the fruit is not an, ‘if,’ it is a, ‘when,’ and in that when, there is a little death.

I think this, ‘when,’ is for what we raise our children. The, ‘When you mess up, you will learn.’ It’s inevitable. In the same way, I think Adam and Eve eating the fruit, was inevitable. God planted the tree, not for temptation, God created the snake not for deceit, but for the moments that come in the growing up. It’s why NeverNeverLand only exists in Peter Pan, and the silver bells of Santa’s sleigh only sound for children in the Polar Express. It is a part of life, and it is a part of death. “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” It is inevitable, and I think perhaps, God planted and planned it that way. 

The snake already knew; the snake is the older sibling, the older friend. There is part of me that is still angry at Valerie Moczygamba for, ‘telling me about Santa,’ there is a part of me that grieved when Ashley Harrison wanted to play pretend and for first time, I was too old. There was a part of me that hated hearing, ‘the talk,’ because in those moments, something is surely lost. The garden becomes so much less simple, but it was never really simple. I was just living in a fantastical world. The snake, the older sibling, the older friend, our parents, just wanted to help open our eyes. The snake says, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The snake knows that God’s warning is not as simple and straight forward as it commands. The snake’s eyes have been opened. The snake knows that this death is a part of life, and it is what must happen for our eyes to become open.

And so Adam and Eve took the fruit, because they too saw, “that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.” There is something lost, but there is also something found. “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.” They realized life was not as simple as being naked in a garden. They knew what already was, but what they hadn’t known. They knew what God planned them to know, by planting the tree. This death is a part of life. We are not Lost Boys, with the chant, “never grow, never grow up, never grow up.” We are the children of God, whose eyes are to become opened to the knowledge that life is not that simple.

March 9, 2014, Matthew 4:1-11

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 

The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

***

In preparing this sermon, I didn’t get past the scripture’s first line all week. It reads, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” I don’t like the idea of the Spirit leading Jesus to be tempted by the devil, because it seems to imply that the Spirit leads us into temptation, leads us to the devil. It makes me wonder, is the Spirit leading us to the devil’s temptations of power and greed, like it does the Spirit? Does the Spirit lead us to consume more than our fair share to the detriment of those around us? Does the Spirit lead us to seek power over others? Does the Spirit lead us away from God? I had a hard time, thinking this was true. I like to think of the Spirit, as the one who leads us to do good, and who leads us closer to God. I don’t like to think of the Spirit testing us.  

My first three questions from Lectionary Bible Study were, “Why do you suppose the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness?” “Did the Spirit know there, Jesus would be tempted by the devil?” and “What does your answer about the Spirit’s intension say about your theology?” I got a bunch of different answers, both from that Bible Study. Mark suggested that the Spirit leads us into temptation where we can succeed, not where we will loose. This may be true, but I wonder about those temptations where we do loose. Though not Marks bent, I also resist the idea of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, of having to go through a hard thing, so you can become a stronger person, or even a stronger Jesus. I don’t like to think of the Spirit leading us into the hard and tempting thing. I don’t want a pastry set in front of me when I am hungry. I don't want drugs to be set in front of an addict. I don’t want a new relationship to form amidst a broken marriage. I don’t want the Spirit to lead me or others to these things, because even if we go through them, I am not sure we are stronger because of them. I imagine the addict will have an equally hard time the next time drugs are present. I imagine for the person in a troubled marriage, the new relationship will become only harder the more the marriage struggles, and I imagine, in simplest form, the hungrier we get, the more we will want a pastry. I don’t want the Spirit to lead us into temptation, even if we succeed. 

At the Pastor’s Group, when I brought up this line; they also felt it is was problematic. Another pastor gave an example with which I was a little more comfortable, despite its harshness. He said, “If a baby gets into a cabinet and drinks Drano, whose fault is it?” He said, “We would like to blame the parents, or perhaps the company, because we cannot blame a baby, whose fault it is neither, but the truth is, Chemicals kill babies. Sin exists in the world.” The devil was out there in the wilderness. Temptation is in the world. I believe this, I can see it in the world and I can see it in this text. The devil is there in the wilderness, and if the Spirit is leading Jesus to the wilderness, Jesus will be tempted by the devil. 

I began to wonder if it is important in that first sentence that the wilderness came first. It reads, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” I tend to think the Spirit, was leading Jesus into the wilderness first and foremost. Likewise, I look at the beginning of the temptation story, and before there was ever the devil, there were forty days, and forty nights, of time alone in a wilderness. Forty days and forty nights, which in Biblical terms, signifies a really long time. In that time, Jesus fasted. In that time, Jesus sought to be closer to God. In that Lent of his life, Jesus gave up all the common distractions of the world, and moved into a wilderness with God. I wonder if this is where the Spirit was leading Jesus, out into the wilderness. It just happens that in that wilderness, we are tempted. 

Liz Romvedt and I were talking about this text, and she said, when she was becoming certified to teach yoga, a woman asked, “Do we want to help our students by asking them questions about their demons during mediation?” The instructor answered, “If they will sit in silence, the demons will come by themselves.” If we give ourselves space away from the world, we both become closer to God, like we do in mediation, but we also become aware of our own demons. It reminded me of when I was talking to another friend and he said, “Safety first,” and I laughed, and said, “Safety third,” something I heard before, and then we tried to come up with what was one and two. I said, “Perhaps, joy first, and adventure second.” I later thought, I had named my temptations. I had named the things with which I fill my life, when I am too scared to sit with the demons of loneliness, and boredom. Instead the devil takes me up to a tall tower and says, “You can do all these things with all these friends, and travel all these places, and I jump off.” This Lent, I am going to try to pull back. I am going to try to remember the peace of God I felt in gardening alone. I am going to try to remember, the contented feeling of being home in Baker. I am asking the Spirit, lead me not into temptation, but lead me into the wilderness, and deliver me from evil. 

The Spirit is not leading us to be tempted by the devil. The Spirit is leading us to the wilderness, for forty days and forty nights, in the season of Lent. Yes, the Spirit is leading us where temptation lies, but also, where closeness with God lies. This closeness with God is the Spirit’s intention. 

Lent is a time of wilderness, and I wonder where God is leading you, is leading us, is leading Jesus. I wonder in this season, about the ways you will become closer to God. I wonder what temptations will come up and try to pull you away. But I give thanks, that the Spirit leads us away, to a time in the wilderness, to a time to become closer to God.

March 2, 2014, Proverbs 18

Proverbs 18 Sermon

An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends
and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, 

but only in expressing personal opinion. 

When wickedness comes, contempt comes also;
and with dishonor comes disgrace. 

The words of the mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream. 

It is not right to be partial to the guilty, 

or to subvert the innocent in judgment. 

A fool’s lips bring strife,
and a fool’s mouth invites a flogging. 

The mouths of fools are their ruin,
and their lips a snare to themselves. 

The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels; 

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

One who is slack in work

 is close kin to a vandal. 

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

 the righteous run into it and are safe.

The wealth of the rich is their strong city; 

in their imagination it is like a high wall.

Before destruction one’s heart is haughty, 

but humility goes before honor.

If one gives answer before hearing, 

it is folly and shame.

The human spirit will endure sickness;

but a broken spirit—who can bear?

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, 

for the ears of the wise seek it out. 

A gift opens doors; 

it gives access to the great.

The one who first states a case seems right, 

until the other comes and cross-examines. 

Casting the lot puts an end to disputes

 and decides between powerful contenders. 

An ally offended is stronger than a city;
such quarreling is like the bars of a castle. 

From the fruit of the mouth one’s stomach is satisfied; 

the yield of the lips brings satisfaction.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, 

and those who love it will eat its fruits. 

He who finds a wife finds a good thing, 

and obtains favor from the Lord. 

The poor use entreaties, 

but the rich answer roughly. 

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a sibling.

***

A few weeks ago I attended continuing education on the subjects of Church Conflict, and Dealing with Difficult Behaviors.  It was pretty fascinating to listen to stories and case studies, across dominations and faith traditions, from the rockies, to LA, to Canada, to the Deep South, and ourselves in Eastern Oregon, from rural landscapes, to urban cities, from pastors in their seventies and myself in my thirties, from big mega churches, to churches having split, to new churches and those whose history included early presidents. Yet, despite all these differences there were patterns in each conflict that related one church to the other, one rabbi to another pastor. I imagine the writers of proverbs at a continuing education of sorts, and when I read this text, I see those same issues and hard learned wisdom relating from their context a millennia ago, to our own today. 

In each case study there was miscommunication and often triangulation, and in those situations I can hear the writers of proverbs explain, “The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.” After hearing case study, after case study, it was easy to see how tempting gossip also affected the body of the church. That though for a moment, like candy, gossip can be a delicious morsel, it also can sicken the body, be it a church, or just a few people. It seems somewhat discouraging that a millennia later we are still dealing with the same issues, that we can’t just take the proverbs and follow them exactly. But I don’t think these were merely rules to be written and followed. Perhaps instead, they were written to tell us something about ourselves, and something about God. 

Sitting around our classroom tables, pastors and rabbis shared wisdom, and offered words to help move stuck congregations and people, toward situations of growth and learning. These suggestions included everything from do nothing, to meet for coffee, to seek advice from someone above you, to set boundaries, or simply to respond to e-mails to an overly needy person once a week. Advice came out of role plays, and drawings, and conversations, which seemed unapproachable for the pastor bringing the situation, until the collective gave words of advice. I wonder if the writers of proverbs also, saw the times when words can move stuck situations. The writer of proverbs knew that, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love life will eat its fruits.” I think the writers of proverbs, and the pastors around those classroom tables, knew the grace and love that words can bring. With their advice, they testified that words that bear good fruit that brings life to a congregation or individual. Perhaps, Proverbs was not written merely to be a set of rules, but to tell us something about ourselves and about God. 

From reading these proverbs, and hearing the wisdom of pastors at continuing ed. I can tell you something about ourselves, here at First Presbyterian, and this will tell you about God in our midst. In some of the case studies, conflict arose from one side having the inability to hear the other. Like the proverb, “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion,” congregations had become stuck and intrenched, and even split, over personal opinions. Likewise, in our own denomination, in our own Presbytery, churches have split over the national PCUSA’s opening up of ordination to pastors who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Yet, here in Baker City, at First Presbyterian Church, you have done nothing of the sort. You are a church that prides itself in its ability to agree to disagree, to love each other not only despite of, but because of your vast differences. As your pastor, I am proud to say that each week I preach to both those that believe in creationism, and those that find us the welcoming church in town to GLBTQ people. Our beliefs span the gamete  and I know of no other congregation with such a range of beliefs and such a deep compassion for one another. I remember when I first showed up, there was big debate, and after a tense session meeting, people who could have been named on opposing sides, called one another the next day, to express care. You know as the Proverb states, “An ally offended is stronger than a city; such quarreling is like the bars of a castle.” You know that quarreling with a fellow brother or sister in Christ will bar you in. It is in these places that the wisdom of Proverbs comes alive in this congregation, and through it comes the wisdom of God.

Likewise, you are a congregation who is willing to ask questions, and willing to be wrong, and willing to share grace when you were right. The other thing I like to tell people about our congregation, is how gracious you are. You have to be gracious to have a pastor in their first call. It means I am going to mess up, no matter my class rank at seminary, or my excelling during my time as a hospital chaplain, anyone doing something for the first time, is going to mess up, and I do, and you are so gracious with me. I feel forgiveness and understanding before I even ask, and I know this is not only to me, but I see you offer it repeatedly to each other. There are times, when you have sought out reconciliation with other person, even before I or others knew there was an issue. Your graciousness to one another is like the Proverb, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a sibling.” In this congregation, you seek to be reliable friends, as strong as siblings to one another, you often call yourself a family. When I presented my case study, the teacher has us draw pictures of the issue. One man drew a house, and in the house were some wavy lines of unrest, but the most remarkable thing to me, was that out of the chimney of the house was smoke from a fireplace. The classmate artist described what he heard as a church family, and the despite the issues of wavy lines, there was a way this church sat around a fireplace and was family together. We are like this as a church. We may have wavy lines, but there is warmth, and love in this place that surpasses all else. It reminds me of Genesis, where wisdom, a description of the Holy Spirit, is seen as a wind hovering and over the rippling waters of creation, hovering like the flames of a lit fireplace around the family of God. Proverbs can read like a list of rules, of which a millennia later, we are still trying to follow, but in itself best interpretation, it read like the people God struggling, and then finding the wisdom of God, in the love of the people of God.