Category: Homilies

Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

Many people go on eBay in search of precious items…and sometimes they are surprised by what they find.

• A man named Morace Park…a British antiques dealer…paid $5 for an old film container.
• When he opened it…he found a never-released Charlie Chaplain moved called “Zepped” worth $60,000.

 

Then there was Philip Gura…an American literature professor.

• He paid $481 for a photograph of poet Emily Dickinson.
• No big deal…you might say.
• Well…in fact it is a big deal.
• His photograph of Dickinson is only the second photo known to exist.
• He discovered it was priceless.
• Maria Ariz…a community nurse from New Jersey…
• Went on eBay and paid $16 for a pair of jeans.
• When she wrote the seller to ask about other sizes…the two fell in love.
• And then they got married.

 

Unexpected treasures:

• Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a tiny mustard seed.
• But once planted…it grows into the greatest of shrubs and provides a hospitable home for the birds of the air.
• Or it is almost invisible…like yeast.
• But when added to flour it has a powerful effect…causing a loaf of bread to rise.

 

Jesus described the kingdom of heaven as a set of unexpected finds:

• A treasure hidden in a field.
• A pearl of great value.
• A net that catches fish of every kind.
• He wanted his disciples to know that the kingdom is an unexpected treasure…hidden in everyday life.
• He wanted them each to see themselves as the master “who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
• To see the kingdom of God in both the new parables of Jesus and the old teachings of the Hebrew lawgivers and prophets.
• This acknowledgment of value in the new and the old fits the agenda of Matthew…the writer of the gospel.
• Who wanted to connect the ministry of Jesus to the history of Israel.
• Throughout his gospel he presents Jesus as a second Moses…
• Giving new laws and teachings to Israel and to the world.

 

Choosing the right prize is important because there will be a final reckoning.

• The parable of the net speaks of a separation of good fish and bad fish.
• “So…it will be at the end of the age” says Jesus.
• The decision to pursue the treasure of the kingdom of heaven has eternal consequences.
• The kingdom is a prize that changes a person’s life for all time.
• You must pick your prize well…Jesus pronounces.
• And pursue it with sacrifice…passion and purpose.

 

So…what are our treasures?

• Are they small but valuable?
• Unattractive but important?
• Old or new?
• Are they hidden in a field…or on eBay?
• Our treasures say a lot about ourselves and what we value.
• Jesus says elsewhere that “where your treasure is…there your heart will be also.”
• The treasures that we pursue in this life give the clearest indication of what inhabits our hearts.

 

My friend…Rabbi Naomi Levy tells the story of Beth and Eric.

• Rabbi Naomi was to officiate at their wedding.
• But a week before…it was all coming apart.
• When they met with Naomi…they could barely look at each other.

 

“What’s the matter?” the rabbi asked.

• After an awkward silence…Beth began sobbing:
• “Eric wants to wear red Converse high-tops with his tuxedo.
• He’s making a joke of our wedding.”

 

Then Eric blurted out:

• “What about the tablecloths! Tablecloths…tablecloths.
• I’m sick of hearing about tablecloths.
• Beth wants pink…my mother wants blue…and I’m caught between two bickering hens.”

 

Rabbi Naomi smiled.

 

• This was not the first time she had seen a couple get stuck in the trivialities of planning a day instead of a life.
• Then Rabbi Naomi said:
• “Listen…we can talk about the sneakers in a little while.
• But first…tell me again how you first met.”

 

A long awkward silence.

• Then Eric finally spoke.
• “I was at Starbucks and my eyes landed on this beautiful creature just sitting there drinking coffee and reading a book.
• And I thought to myself…if I could just get up the nerve to talk to her and she smiles back at me…
• I’ll be the luckiest guy in the world.”

 

Beth laughed and continued the story.

• “So…he comes up to me and he smiles at me and there is a giant hunk of food caught between his two front teeth.”

 

Rabbi Naomi remembers:

• “Now they both started laughing and suddenly Beth saw how red Converse high-tops actually kind of matched Eric’s quirkiness.
• And that it would not ruin the wedding if he wore them.
• It might even give it warmth and flavor.

 

“Next Eric said he was sorry he did not back Beth up on the tablecloths.

• And he admitted his mother has really bad taste.
• He said: ‘I know you want things to be beautiful.
• I so admire how you care about creating something special.’”

 

Before long…their laughter mixed with tears and their hearts softened.

• And Beth and Eric were back on the road to creating a beautiful life together.

 

We often become so obsessed with the “search” that we miss the “treasure.”

• We are so focused on the “net” that we miss the good we have collected.
• Beth and Eric got stuck in the details of planning a day instead of a life.

 

In the parables of the buried treasure…the pearl and the net…

• Jesus challenges us to see our lives and the world around us with eyes of faith.
• To recognize the many blessings and good things that are ours already.
• The “treasures” and “pearls” of lasting value are the things of God.
• The love of family and friends.
• The support found in being part of a community.
• The sense of joy and fulfillment found in serving and giving for the sake of one other.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

The American writer E.B. White…who wrote the children’s book Charlotte’s Web…once offered this observation:

• “Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better…but the frog dies in the process.”
• The same thing is true of the many parables Jesus told.
• Parables are a little like poetry or song lyrics in that there usually is not just one explanation of their meaning.
• And it is no secret that these interpretations can vary widely and wildly.

When reading and hearing parables we bring along our current condition and situation so that as we read the parable the parable also reads us.

• It speaks to us in ways that may be remarkably different from the way it speaks to other people.
• Because those other people are not experiencing anything like what we are going through now.
• It’s not that nobody knows what Jesus’ words mean in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares.
• It is that everybody knows what they mean.
• And each person has a different answer…even if the answer is a puzzlement.
• Parables…at least as Jesus used them…are not meant to provide us with one single truth to be adopted by all hearers.
• They are much richer than that.

 

In our reading today we have what is known as the parable of the weeds or tares.

• The tares and the wheat are growing together in the same field.
• Servants ask the landowner if they should pull out the tares…but the owner says no.
• It is better to wait until the wheat is ripe and then gather both the tares and the wheat at the same time.
• And only then separate them.

 

An experienced farmer knows that in its early stage of development…this weed…also known as bearded darnel…closely resembles the wheat plant.

• As the plants start to grow…hardly anyone can tell the difference…including knowledgeable farmers.
• Also…the roots of the tares and the roots of the wheat get intertwined as they grow.
• So…if you try to pull out just the tares…you will uproot the wheat too.
• And as a result…lose almost the entire crop.
• That is why you wait to harvest both wheat and weeds together.

 

The following is one of a hundred stories I could share with you.

• After all…this past June I celebrated my 49^th year in the ordained ministry in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church In America).
• His name was Bob Moore.
• He was sentenced to a correctional home for juvenile offenders in the town where I was serving.
• Knowing the director of the home well…I would often cover when they were short a house staff counselor.
• Bob was a tough kid…a real challenge…a weed!
• Just getting him to go to school…he was a tenth grader when he came to us…was a challenge.
• For three years we ministered to him.
• And gradually he began to come out of his wicked funk.
• He became part of the community and began to thrive and flourish.
• He was smart and talented and creative.
• Well…in his senior year he was named young man of the year by the State of Wisconsin’s Education Association.
• But wait…he was a weed and should have been removed.

 

We see here that the followers of Jesus who heard him tell this parable were confused and asked him to explain what he meant.

• So…Jesus provides an explanation that sounds as if it could be reduced to this single stark conclusion:
• Righteous people will be saved for residence in heaven while wicked people will go to hell.
• But the simplicity of that interpretation may be a good clue that Jesus is just giving his followers what the apostle Paul…in 1 Corinthians 3:2…calls “milk…not solid food”
• Because Paul’s hearers “were not ready for solid food.”

 

And we know from countless examples in the gospels that the disciples of Jesus often did not understand him.

• They were not ready for solid food.
• So…in Jesus’ explanation of this parable…it is fair to say that he was simply offering his hearers theological milk…not meat.
• Jesus reduced the parable to a two-dimensional story about heaven and hell.
• But Jesus’ parables are always richer and more involved than they at first seem.

 

Well…OK then…the world is full of weeds.

• In other words…there are people and powers who seem driven toward destructive ends.
• Not unlike the weeds in the farmer’s wheat field.
• How else do we explain so much of history…
• Which the great French philosopher Voltaire once described as:
• “Hardly more than the history of crimes”?

 

Like the weeds and wheat in their early stages…

• It is hard to distinguish who is in a full and healthy relationship with God and who is not.
• Put in terms of the heaven-hell division often drawn from this parable…
• It is hard to tell who is going to heaven and who is going to hell.
• Think about it.
• Most of us have been through a kind of living hell sometime in our lives.
• And we know others who are currently living in a hell on earth.

 

Well…it is not our job to draw conclusions or make judgments.

• As Christians…we are in the Grace…Forgiveness…No Judgement business.
• Not the judgement business.

 

What Jesus wants us to know through this parable is simply that we are responsible for our actions and thoughts.

• And that at some point we will have to explain ourselves to God.
• Our job…Jesus insists…is to open ourselves up to receive the grace of God so that…as he says…we may “shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father.”

 

The Bible contains history…poetry…allegory…metaphor and wonderful challenging stories that are to help guide our lives today.

• This is why Jesus insisted at the very beginning of his ministry that the kingdom of God has drawn near.
• And that we can live in that kingdom today.
• Even as we recognize that it has not yet come in full flower.

 

We will miss a lot of the beauty and challenge in the parables of Jesus…

• And his many other teachings if we insist that there is only one way to understand them.
• The word of God is deep and rich and worthy of our time.
• It is full of truth and beauty for you and for me.
• And we would do well to find out how others hear them.

 

Finally…let me say…that if I explained this homily to you…

• You might understand it better…but liked E.B. White’s frog…
• The homily would die in the process.

Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23

Every year…the national Future Farmers of America meets to announce the FAA’s “Star Farmer” award…given to only one of thousands of entrants.

• Last year…the honor went to Peter Bliss of Merced (Mer- ‘said), California.
• Bliss was honored for his 417-acre project farm…growing crops such as cotton…almonds and wheat.
• When he started the farm…he had only 30 acres he inherited from his grandfather.
• Young people like Bliss are crucial to the U.S. economy.
• It’s a well-known truth: No farmer…no food…no future.

 

Non-farmers tend to romanticize the farming life.

• But farming is not just about cows and plows.
• The hours are long and involve manual labor.
• Fields need to be plowed…crops must be sown and irrigation pipe needs to be moved.
• Crops are vulnerable to any number of diseases and might be ravaged by pests.
• Farmers are at the mercy of natural elements.
• One hailstorm can ruin a season.
• And if the crops survive disease…pestilence…drought and natural disasters…
• There is often only a small window for harvesting.

 

Then there are the animals:

• They need help coming into this world.
• They must be fed and medicated.
• Nursed and treated and given pasture.

 

Farming requires the patience of Job.

• Crops do not appear magically overnight.
• Jesus said: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies…it remains just a single grain…but if it dies…it bears much fruit.”

 

So…every farmer knows that if the mud’s not flyin’…you’re not tryin’.

• And the work is never done.
• Yet…despite the long hours and arduous work…most farmers would not leave the farm.
• For them T.G.I.F. is short for “Thank God I Farm.”

 

It is likely that the people who gathered around Jesus on the northern slopes of the Sea of Galilee were either farmers on break…

• Or people connected in some way to agriculture.
• 90% of the people in the ancient world earned their living by working the land.
• Galilee was no exception.
• This was an agrarian culture.
• And although many parts of Palestine were difficult to farm…much of Galilee was fertile and flat.

 

When Jesus spoke to the people…he told stories.

• And on this occasion…he probably saw a farmer sowing a crop of barley.
• Although Jesus grew up in a carpenter and stone mason’s shop…
• He knew farmers and he knew farming.
• The evidence for this is scripture itself.
• In fact…Jesus was so knowledgeable about agribusiness…he could have developed a college syllabus for farming.
• The syllabus is at the end of this worship text.

 

Jesus’ parable is a lesson about what plagues most of us:

• Developing the skill of managing the process.
• Initiating the production.
• Managing production and completing the task.
• Or…Jesus would have put it this way:
• Sowing…growing and mowing.
• The seed…the soil…the harvest.

 

A teacher at an elementary school asked her students to write an essay about what they would like to be.

• At home that evening…while grading the essays…the teacher read one student’s essay that made her start to cry.

 

Her husband walked in just at that moment.

• “What’s wrong?”
• “Read this. It’s one of my students’ essays.”

 

Her husband sat down and read:

 

• “I would like to be a television set.
• I want to take its place and live like the TV in my house.
• I would have my own special place.
• And have my family around me.
• They would take me seriously when I talk.
• I would be the center of attention and people would listen to me without interruption or questions.

 

“I want to get the same special care the TV set receives even when it is not working.

• I would have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work…even when he is tired.
• And I want my mom to want me when she is sad and upset instead of ignoring me.
• And I want my brothers to fight to be with me.

 

“I want my family to just leave everything aside…every now and then…just to spend some time with me.

• And last but not least…I want them all to be happy and entertain them.
• I just want to live like a TV.”

 

The husband looked up.

• “That poor kid. What horrible parents!”

 

The wife looked at him and said:

• “That essay is our son’s.”

This mom and dad discovered…to their dismay…

• That the love and relationship they are trying to nurture in their home is being choked.
• Choked by the thorns of so many hours in front of the television.
• And withering by a lack of attention and care for one another.

 

Today…Jesus reminds us to model the sower of today’s Gospel within our own homes and households.

• To sow seeds of encouragement.
• To sow seeds of joy.
• To sow seeds of reconciliation.
• To sow seeds in the earth of our own gardens.

 

Today…Jesus is asking us to do the patient work of realizing the harvest God has promised.

• Today…Jesus is asking us to trust and believe that our simplest acts of kindness and forgiveness may help the seed that recreates and transforms us.
• Today…Jesus is asking us to trust and believe that our humblest offers of help and affirmation may be the seed that re-creates and transforms our homes and hearts.

Jesus was so knowledgeable about agribusiness, he could have developed a college syllabus for farming, and it might’ve look like this:

 

• Farming 101: How to Plant Crops — Matthew 13
• Farming 102: How to Control the Weeds Among the Wheat — Matthew 13:24-30
• Farming 103: The Care and Feeding of Sheep — Matthew 18:10-14; Luke 15:1-7; John 10:1-18
• Farming 201: How to Tend a Vineyard — John 15:1-11
• Farming 202: Managing Human Resources — Matthew 20:1-16; Matthew 21:28-45
• Farming 301: The Care and Feeding of Shrubs and Trees — Matthew 24:32-35; Mark 4:30-34; 13:28-33; Luke 13:6-9
• Farming 401: Thinking Outside the Barn — Luke 12:16-21; Matthew 10:16; Luke 16:8-9

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Jesus said: “I thank you Lord of heaven and earth…because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.

• Why hide things from the wise and learned?
• Isn’t it the usual way of affairs for the wise and learned to know things that are simply beyond the grasp of little children?
• Isn’t it the other way around:
• Little kids cannot grasp things that learned adults can?

 

Well…there is a reversal going on here…typical of Jesus…typical of the Bible.

• Younger brothers are picked instead of the eldest.
• Infertile women give birth.
• The greatest shall be humbled…the humble…exalted.
• Whoever would be greatest must be slave of all.
• The hungry are filled…the rich sent away empty.
• The first shall be last…and the last…first.
• Itinerant fishermen are picked to be apostles.

 

Today…Christ extends his invitation to all his little ones who would regard it:

• “Come to me…all you who are weary and burdened…and I will give you rest.”

 

I would like to share with you something about a little one…a little-known American immigrant.

• His name was Korczak Ziolkowski.
• Korczak was born in Boston in 1908 to Polish parents and orphaned at the age of one.
• He spent his life being shuffled through a series of foster homes in poor neighborhoods.
• Though he never received formal art training…
• In his teens he worked as an apprentice to a ship maker…
• And began to demonstrate his skill in carving wood.

 

In 1939…Korczak moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota to assist in the creation of the Mount Rushmore Memorial.

• Less than a year later…Korczak’s marble sculpture of Ignacy Jan Paderewski…
• Pianist…composer and prime minister of Poland…
• Won first prize at the New York World’s Fair.

 

Shortly afterward…he was approached by several Lakota Indian chiefs who asked him to build a monument honoring Native Americans.

• Korczak accepted the project and began research and planning for the sculpture.
• Three years later the project was put on hold while Korczak enlisted in the United States Army.
• He was wounded on Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy.
• After the war Korczak moved back to the Black Hills and began his search for a suitable place for the monument.
• The Lakota considered the Black Hills a sacred place and wanted the memorial built there.

 

When completed…the monument…a three-dimensional sculpture of the Indian Chief Crazy Horse sitting on a charging steed…

• Will be the largest sculpture in the world.
• To put the size of the memorial in perspective.
• Just Crazy Horse’s war bonnet is large enough to contain all the presidents’ heads on Mount Rushmore.

 

Korczak died thirty-four years after starting work on the mountain.

• The statue far from being completed.
• His final words to his wife were:
• “You must finish the mountain…
• But go slowly so it is done right.”

 

The whole thing was absurd.

• A man with no money.
• No training and no heavy equipment.
• Decides to carve a mountain.

 

Korczak had galleries of critics who threw barbs and insults at him:

• “You are crazy…you are a fool…you will never do it.”
• But every day he climbed his mountain and with a chisel here…
• A blast there…he moved tons of stone as his dream emerged from the mountain.
• Korczak knew he’d never live to see his work finished but this was no reason to stop.

 

As he lay dying…he was asked if he was disappointed to not see the monument completed.

• “No” he said… “you only have to live long enough to inspire others to do great things.”
• And this he did.
• As the mountain took form…the masses began to dream too.

 

Today millions come from around the world to see Korczak’s Mountain.

• And a professional crew works year-round to move the dream forward.
• It is no longer a question of if the statue will be completed.
• Only when.

 

Korczak’s greatest legacy is not a public one.

• The massive stone mountain that he conquered.
• But the mountain he first conquered in himself.
• A mountain that he climbed not alone but yoked to Jesus.

 

There are moments in all lives…

• Great and small that we must trudge…
• With our Lord at our side yoked to us…
• Into infinite wilderness…
• To endure our midnight hours of pain and sorrow.
• The Gethsemane moments…when we are on our knees.
• That these moments are given to us is neither accidental nor cruel.
• The Spirit of the living God Melts us…Molds us…Fills us…Uses us for ministry in the Kingdom of God.

 

Like Korczak’s monument…our mission will not be completed in our lifetime.

• And in the end…we will find that we were never sculpting alone.
• Korczak said:
• “I tell my children never forget that we are not complete beings in ourselves.
• There’s something greater that moves us.
• I was never carving a mountain.
• But God was carving me.
• While God was yoked to me…he was at the same time carving me.”

 

Many try to shoulder burdens alone…

• Burdens that Christ would like to shoulder with us.
• Jesus said: “My yoke is easy…and my burden is light.”
• To be yoked with Christ is to allow him to share the burden of our daily lives.
• To allow him to take off our shoulders the weight of trying to solve our problems alone.
• Being yoked with Christ is one of the secrets of a full and productive life.

 

Jesus stands today with the yoke upon His shoulder.

• He calls to each one and says:
• “Come and share my yoke…
• And let us plow together the long furrow of your life.
• I will be a true yokefellow to you.
• The burden shall be on me.”
• “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” says Jesus…
• For I am gentle and humble in heart…
• And you will find rest for your souls.
• For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 10:40-42

To be welcoming is to exude a spirit of excitement and expectation.

• Welcomes are a smile…not a frown.
• Welcomes are open arms…not crossed ones.
• A welcoming spirit is positive and upbeat.

We experience this every day.

• When we were kids…and took the Chevy or Ford on a cross-country vacation…
• We stopped to take a photo at the state line where there was a huge sign that said:
• “Welcome to Wyoming”?
• The entire family was excited.
• Wyoming likes us!
• So how could we not like Wyoming in return?

Airports welcome us.

• Walmart welcomes us and even has greeters at the front door.
• A welcome is good news.
• We are accepted. We are wanted.
• More than that…here in Wyoming or at Walmart…everything will be done to make our vacation or shopping a save money…live better experience.

Hospitality is among the most ancient of human traditions.

• It’s about providing the essentials of life for another person.
• Especially another person who is on a journey.
• Food…water…a roof over one’s head.
• The offering of hospitality brings two people…guest and host…closer.

 

Most of us contribute to charitable causes.

• Especially those that aid the poor.
• We sign a check or click “enter” to send a contribution.
• But that’s not what Jesus recommends in our Gospel.
• Jesus says: “whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple…
• Truly I tell you…none of these will lose their reward.”

 

Jesus is saying:

• Get right in there and help God’s suffering children with your hands.
• That is our church’s slogan: “God’s Work…Our Hands.”
• Just a cup of water…how ordinary!
• But a cup of cold water handed over personally to a person who’s thirsty…that’s extraordinary!

 

Remember how Peter Falk’s character…Columbo’s MO…was to fumble around in his rumpled raincoat and smudged tie…

• Looking like the most incompetent detective ever.
• The perpetrator would relax:
• “I’ve got nothing to fear from this fool!”
• But then…as Colombo was leaving the room…
• He would always turn around and say:
• “Just one more thing.”

 

It was then that he would drop the critical question.

• The insignificant-sounding afterthought that sprung the trap.
• The steely logic behind the question would catch the perp unawares.
• And they would stumble into a contradiction that would incriminate them.

 

At the end of Jesus’ long list of parting instructions…

• It’s as though he turns to go away…then stops.
• But the “one more thing” he says is no trap.
• It is a vital word of instruction.
• Don’t shrink from offering a cup of cold water to “these little ones.”

 

He’s been telling the disciples what a tough world it is out there.

• They are going to be scorned and rejected in some villages.
• In other villages they will receive wonderful…spirit-filled hospitality.
• They will not know…as they enter the next village…what to expect.
• They need to trust God every step of the way.

 

And then Jesus says:

• “Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.
• And whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous.
• And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple…
• Truly I tell you…none of these will lose their reward.”

 

A cup of cold water seems like such a little thing.

• But it’s not.
• Cold water was a rarity in Jesus’ culture.
• He could have just said “a cup of water.”
• But he said: “a cup of cold ”

 

Well…most of us can get cold water whenever we want it.

• It’s as easy as taking ice cubes from the refrigerator.
• We have refrigerated water…water fountains and water coolers.
• Sit down in a restaurant and a glass of cold water just appears.

 

Yet…getting a cup of cold water in Jesus’ day was not so easy.

• There was no running water.
• No refrigeration.
• A household’s water came from the village well.

 

Early in the morning one of the women or girls walked to the well with a clay jar.

• Filled it and came back with it balanced on her head.
• She would place the water jar in a shady space inside the house.
• But as the hours passed it lost that cool…crisp…fresh-from-the-well taste.

 

By late afternoon.

• The time most thirsty dinner guests were likely to arrive.
• You were lucky if room-temperature water was what you had left.
• At that time of day…a room in a first-century Palestinian house…was hot.

 

If someone brings a cup of cold water to one of “these little ones” …

• One of Jesus’ disciples…whom he’s sending out to do God’s extraordinary work in ordinary ways.
• It means she got up…ran to the well…and came back with fresh…cool water.
• A special trip…a special effort…for a special person.

 

That’s what hospitality is.

• Last week we attended a memorial grave-side service for our beloved niece Kate in Wisconsin.
• Susan and I were house guests in my sister and brothers-in-law’s home.
• They made that extra effort.
• They went that extra mile to make it exactly right.
• Great food and a perfect bed and wonderful conversation.
• Oh…and cold water…what a joy!
• It was the acts of kindness Beth and John did not have to do.
• We did not expect it…but they did it anyway.
• That is what GRACE is!

 

So many gifts in this world are given according to the ordinary calculus of human values:

• An eye for an eye.
• You take care of me…I take care of you.
• You scratch my back…I scratch yours.
• You’ve done the work…you are entitled to be paid.
• A cup of ordinary water from the household jar.
• It is all anyone is entitled to.
• Oh…but cups of cold water are not so common.
• They are as rare now as they were in Jesus’ time.

 

A cup of cold water.

• Not just any water.
• Cold water.
• A gift nobody deserves.
• Because it is nothing but grace.
• It is free.
• It is priceless.
• It always has been.
• It always will be.
• We receive without price.
• Now…we give without pay.

 

We are alike in our thirst.

• We are alike in our need.
• And the only person who can quench that thirst is the one who offers not just ordinary water.
• But living water forevermore.

Matthew 10:24-39

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to this earth” we hear Jesus telling the twelve disciples in Matthew this morning.

• “I have not come to bring peace…but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father…and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law…
• And one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.”

 

Oh My…this is tough stuff!

• Breaking up of families.
• Not bringing peace to this world.
• But rather division and a violent sword.
• This is harsh.

I have seen these words of Jesus used to justify war or the breaking up of families because a parent is undocumented…

• Or because a family member comes forward about their sexual orientation.
• And the list goes on.

But here’s the thing:

• When we read the Gospels in their breadth and scope this message is so out of character for Jesus.
• The one who proclaims good news to the poor and who brings liberation for the oppressed.
• The one who commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
• To welcome the stranger.
• To feed the hungry.
• To provide health care to those who are sick.
• The one who sought to tear down walls that diminish.
• And who gave his life so that the world might be saved.
• Well…let’s take a closer look.

Our gospel this morning comes a bit after our Matthew reading we heard last Sunday.

• Last week we saw Jesus summoning the Twelve and commissioning them to continue his work in the world.
• And now today we hear Jesus telling the disciples about what it means to be a disciple:
• One who will bring the good news of Jesus out from the dark and into the light.
• One who will not just whisper Jesus’ good news but who will proclaim it for all to hear.

OK then…as Jesus explains this…he gives the Twelve a sharp warning about what they will face when they do follow Jesus in this good news work.

• And it’s not pretty.
• Just before today’s passage…Jesus says to the Twelve:
• “See I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves.
• Beware of those who will hand you over to councils and flog you in the synagogues.
• You will be dragged before governors and kings because of me.
• People will hate you because of my name.
• Some of you will be betrayed even by those you love.
• Even brothers will betray brothers.
• Fathers will betray children.
• And children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.”

Why? Because Jesus’ good news disrupts.

• It challenges the status quo.
• It is a threat to the Empire and those who hold power in it.
• And so there are going to be people who will get ticked off and will resist it… and often will do so with force.
• Being a disciple of Jesus is risky business.
• And this is what Jesus is warning the Twelve about.
• Jesus did not come to keep the peace.
• Rather he came to make peace.
• A kind of peace that would bring about the sword from those who found it threatening.
• A kind of peace that would cause divisions.
• Even among family members and friends.
• A kind of peace that would bring about Facebook wars and twitter trolls.
• Uncomfortable holiday dinners and changed relationships.

“But have no fear” Jesus says.

• “For nothing is covered up that will not eventually be uncovered…
• And nothing is secret that will not eventually become known.”
• And there it is…” the truth will set us free.”

Therefore…we should not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…we hear Jesus tell us.

• We should not fear what others will think of us…or what they will tweet about us…or how they will respond to us.
• Jesus urges us to only worry about how God sees us.
• For we are beloved.
• We are cherished.
• We are more valuable than many sparrows in God’s eyes.

“So” …Jesus concludes… “Take up the cross and follow me. Those who will find their life will lose it.

• And those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
• Jesus is saying that as followers…we must deny our old selves that make the Gospel centered on us while diminishing others.
• We must deny our constant desire to have power over others.
• We must stop trying to save our self-importance by striving to always be first.
• To be the most successful…to have the biggest home…to be the smartest…to be the most faithful.
• We must give up our need to always be liked by everyone.

This is our sin:

• We put God in our own image.
• We speak for God with our own interests and needs in mind.
• We make God look like us.
• We were made in God’s image.
• Not the other way around.
• What comes after Jesus’ death on the cross is the resurrection…New Life.
• To take up our cross means that something must die for new life to come about.
• To take up our own cross means we must follow Jesus’ way that sees the image of God in our neighbors and in ourselves.

And I think this is what Jesus was trying to convey in our passage in Matthew.

• This little triad was passed down from Miss Susan’s grandmother.
• And it is so simple.
• And through the years I have heard it said often.
• To follow Jesus and take up the cross means we must live our lives putting:
• “God first. Others second. Me last.”

Matthew 9:35 – 10:8

The 1963 movie Lilies of the Field…

• Obtained a groundbreaking Oscar for actor Sidney Poitier.
• The first African American to win the award.

 

The story is set in the Arizona desert.

• Poitier portrays an itinerant laborer named Homer Smith.
• Homer pulls off the road…looking for water for his battered car’s radiator.
• There…he discovers a group of impoverished nuns.
• Refugees from war-torn Europe.
• Now eking out a living from the dry soil.
• The Mother Superior believes Homer Smith’s accidental arrival is God’s answer to her prayers…
• For someone who will come and build a chapel of adobe bricks on the ruins of an earlier failed attempt.

 

Well…Homer sees it differently.

• He asks to be paid for some repairs he made around the primitive convent.
• And he Quotes Luke 10:7:
• “The laborer is worthy of his hire.”
• And Mother Superior responds by quoting Matthew 6:28:
• “Consider the lilies of the field…how they grow…they toil not…neither do they spin.”

 

As the story progresses…Homer ends up building the chapel.

• He finds a part-time construction job to help pay for materials.
• Like Mother Superior…he also has a dream.
• He wants to be an architect.
• But he exhausts himself with crushing labor in the hot sun.

 

A crucial scene comes when his dedication inspires many of the Hispanic day laborers in the region to donate materials and labor.

• This leads to a crisis for Homer.
• If he allows others to help…will it still be his accomplishment?
• His pride causes him to quit.

 

But then…he realizes his skills in design and supervision and motivation.

• The laborers gladly share the back-breaking labor.
• And so…this becomes both his triumph and the community’s accomplishment as well.

 

When the chapel is completed…Homer quietly drives off: (Singing Amen).

• Well…Homer becomes a figure in local legend.
• The new chapel becomes not only the home for the community’s life of worship…
• But also…the launch pad for schools and hospitals to be part of a growing ministry.

 

Homer Smith struggled with the idea of working with other laborers.

• OK then…if anyone could ever accomplish everything without the help of others it was Jesus.
• He was able to feed the multitudes by blessing and breaking bread.
• Healing? He did not even need to be present.

 

Matthew…in today’s reading…is describing not just days…but weeks and months:

• Journeys between cities and villages.
• Hours spent speaking and healing.
• There is no suggestion…as there are in other places…that Jesus failed in any way.

 

But Jesus compassion leads him to lament to his apostles that the work of the kingdom requires more workers.

• More laborers to bring in the harvest.
• The one who is more self-sufficient than anyone.
• Feels the need for collaborators.
• Which leads to the calling of the twelve apostles…the twelve collaborators.

 

Why twelve?

• I am not sure…but it seems that Jesus is drawing a parallel between the twelve tribes of Israel…
• And the twelve disciples.

 

During the era of the great prophets…

• The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and led their 10 tribes into exile.
• Later…the two tribes of the southern kingdom…Judah and Benjamin…
• Were led into exile by the Babylonians.
• A couple of generations later they were permitted to return to their homeland.
• But there was still a feeling of being incomplete.
• Ten tribes were missing.
• These twelve disciples were chosen to show that God’s kingdom is one of wholeness and homecoming.

 

Today…we as the Body of Christ are meant to represent wholeness and homecoming as well.

• We are complete when we are all together.
• Jesus referred to those of daily life in his teaching:
• Shepherds…sowers…day laborers…homemakers…lawyers…
• Scholars…the rich…the poor…
• Mothers and harvesters.

 

These are still part of our world…to be sure.

• But our daily lives also include marketers…programmers…truck drivers…mechanics…
• Professional athletes…broadcast television…smartphones…the internet…oh…and so much more.

 

Well…the teachings of Jesus still apply today.

• And we are meant to share the compassion of Jesus for these “harassed and helpless” sheep.

 

Among the twelve apostles?

• Militants like Simon the Zealot.
• A tax collector.
• Peter…the betrayer.

 

Perfection is not a requirement for membership in this body of Christ.

• Nor are our tasks meant to be equal in expenditure of energy or time of commitment.
• We do not have the same skills…the same outlook or the same politics.

 

In the movie…Lilies of the Field…there was the doubtful owner of a construction company who donated materials for the building of the chapel.

• And then there was the nonbelieving owner of the café.
• There were some who donated chandeliers and stained glass.
• Others became stained with sweat as they carried heavy loads up and down the ramps as the chapel was built.
• Mother Superior was the great overseer.
• And Homer Smith was the brains behind the operation.
• All had something to do.
• All were important workers.
• Some would be remembered.
• Others only recalled as a name mentioned in passing.

 

But they…like us…all have a part in the great work of Jesus…the Kingdom of God.

• We are called to great ministries.
• We are called to be collaborators.
• We are called to Call out new apostles.
• We are called to mentor each other.
• All together.

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

It began 5 years ago when Jerry…my 4 pm coffee buddy for many years…

• And a retired computer technician…met a young clerk at a 7-Eleven.
• He complimented her on the way she deftly handled a complaining customer.
• During their conversation…he learned that the young woman had dropped out of college…
• Because someone had stolen her laptop when she was taking online classes.
• Wanting to help her…he refurbished a laptop he had and gave it to her…gratis.
• She was able to go on and complete her associate’s degree in business.
• That was the beginning of his work as the “Tech Angel.”
• He collects broken laptops and computers.
• Repairs them and gives them to those in need.
• Over the last five years he has given away more than 300 computers…laptops and tablets to students and families.
• While his work often changes the lives of those he helps…
• The 76-year-old retiree benefits as well:
• “It keeps me busy…keeps me challenged.
• I’ve got the skill.
• I’ve got the time.
• I’ve got the resources.
• So…who wouldn’t do it?
• For me to spend my time productively to the benefit of others is my reward.”

 

Maria runs a small restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch.

• The place is her life.
• Her regulars are like family.
• I know because Susan and I were regulars.
• I know…because it was my second congregation to the one I served in Seminole Florida.
• I baptized and counseled and married and buried many of the regulars who ate there.
• Maria often struggled to keep her little café open.
• But she also saw the struggle of many families to put food on their tables.
• So…after she closed each day…she gathered up leftover food…soup and fresh bread and drove it over to a local soup kitchen for the evening meal.
• Thanks to the community…she is doing OK.
• So…she is happy to give back.

 

They have discovered the truth of the adage:

• If want to master something…teach it.
• So…these students…high school seniors at the church I was serving at the time…
• Carved out an afternoon a week to serve as tutors at a local after-school program for kids-at-risk.
• The smiles on these young children’s faces when they showed them the “A” they got on their latest math test…
• Or…writing assignment was the absolute best.
• But they soon discovered that their own writing skills had sharpened.
• And their ability to grasp the material in their science and math classes had improved also.
• No mystery…really.

 

Jane Hamrick…a disciple/member of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd…in Seminole Florida…was a firecracker.

• Jane made men’s ties.
• She would say:
• “Go over to JOANN Fabric and get the material you want for your tie.
• And I will make it for you.

 

And she always had…with her…hundreds of ties she had ready-made.

• In case you did not want to go to JOANNS.
• And she would take you out to the truck of her car.
• I was always embarrassed to go out to her car-trunk with her.
• Because I knew it looked like a drug deal was going down.
• I really should not have been concerned.
• Jane was in her 90’s at the time.
• And she would sell the ties for $15 or $20 dollars…I don’t remember.
• But all the money would go to Lutheran Services of Florida.
• Jane joined the Saints of Heaven a while ago now.
• What a joy she was.

 

And over the years…think about it.

• The woman’s groups that made and continue to do so.
• Quilts and prayer shawls and hats and blankets for babies.
• And the men…gardeners and fixers and builders for Habitat.

 

 

It’s that simple:

• To follow Jesus…as Matthew is called to do.
• It is a matter of acting out of the spirit of compassion and generosity as Jesus does in the Gospel.
• No matter what “booth” we work at.
• No matter what our skills.
• Our simple acts of charity.
• Our joy in giving and sharing whatever little we have.
• Our reaching out to someone whose needs are as great as our own.
• Are the “fringe of Jesus’ cloak.”
• That the poor…the sick…the troubled and hurting can grasp and be made well.

 

The Kingdom of God is within our grasp here and now.

• All we must do is be as merciful as we have been shown mercy.
• To love as we have been loved.
• To lift up as we have been grasped by God.

John 17:1-11

There is a cartoon of a man being rescued from a desert island that shows his rescuers asking the man about two buildings on the small island.

• “Oh” …he says…pointing to one building… “this’s my church.”
• “And” …he continues…a little sheepishly … “the other building is the church I used to attend.”

 

So…in the scripture passage we read today we heard that Jesus’ followers “will be one.”

• But then…just think of how divided Christianity is worldwide.
• People who keep track of these things say there are about 2.6 billion Christians in the world.
• If we look closer…we find Christians separated into Catholics…Protestants and Orthodox.
• But those divisions do not include everyone who identifies as Christian.
• And they do not begin to describe the loss of credibility in the institutional church.

 

For instance…Baylor University…a Baptist institution…tells us that Baptists divide up into 22 different denominational identities.

• And that’s just in the United States.
• There are more than 30 different Methodist branches just in North America.
• With the new Global Methodist Church added last year as a break-away denomination from the United Methodist Church…
• Because of that large denomination’s most recent schism.
• Lutherans? Well…about 150 separate Lutheran bodies globally.
• I could spend the rest of this homily listing hundreds of other branches and divisions within Christianity.
• I do wonder whether all that division breaks the heart of Jesus.
• Today…let’s take a few minutes to think about what Jesus meant when he asked his disciples…and his eventual followers…to “be one.”

 

It is my opinion that Jesus did not have in mind a single institutional church at all.

• Rather…he wanted his followers…to pay attention to his words and his mission and the meaning of his life and death.
• This is because Jesus knew that his own first followers were not all alike.
• Yes…his 12 disciples were all Jewish males.
• But Peter was not a duplicate of Nathaniel and Nathaniel was not a carbon copy of Matthew…
• Who was quite different from brothers John and James…the sturdy sons of Zebedee.

 

Jesus even had a follower who felt free enough to express grave doubts about Jesus’ resurrection…a man we call Thomas.

• Beyond that…Jesus had plenty of female followers.
• Many of whom exercised leadership roles.

 

So…can we find a way for all of us Christians to “be one” …

• Without being locked into a kind of soul-crushing sameness of worship style or institutional makeup?
• Yes…we can find such a way.
• We can hold to the center of our faith simply by recognizing the sacrificial way God graciously loves us.
• And by responding to that love in praise and gratitude.

 

As the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

• There are different gifts of the Holy Spirit…and we should respond to the gifts the Spirit gives us.
• Paul emphasized unity in Christ in his letter to the Philippians:
• “Let each of you look not to your own interests…but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”
• In the prayer we read from the Gospel of John today…Jesus asks… “that they will be one…as we are one.”
• In that phrase…just “as we are one” …Jesus is not saying that he is an exact replica of the God we call Creator or Father.
• Rather…he is saying they are one in purpose…one in spirit…one in love.

 

That is the beauty of true pluralism.

• Pluralism is a conscious…built-in decision and celebration of the benefits that come from having people together who are different.
• Diversity…by contrast…happens by chance.
• Pluralism happens on purpose.
• And it engages us in a deliberate recognition that strength for good can come out of differences.

 

OK then…Jesus wanted his followers united.

• Not in the language used to create dogmatic statements.
• Not in this or that architectural approach to church design.
• Not in worship style.
• But rather united in allegiance to Jesus the Christ…the savior.
• But rather united in allegiance to the good news.
• But rather united in allegiance to the loving God of all creation.

 

I will end with this:

A man was walking across a bridge one day and saw another man standing on the edge…about to jump.

• The first man ran over to him and said: “Stop. Don’t do it.”
• “Why shouldn’t I?” he asked.
• “Well…” the first man said… “there’s so much to live for.”
• “Like what?” was the response.
• “Well” …the first man said… “are you religious?”
• He said: “Yes.”
• “Me too” …the questioner said. “Are you Christian or Buddhist?”
• “Christian.”
• “Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
• “Protestant.”
• “Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”
• “Baptist.”
• “Wow. Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?
• “Baptist Church of God.”
• “Amazing. Me too. Are you Original Baptist Church of God…or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”
• “Reformed Baptist Church of God.”
• “Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God…Reformation of 1879…or Reformed Baptist Church of God…Reformation of 1915?”
• The potential jumper replied:
• “Reformed Baptist Church of God…Reformation of 1915.”
• Which caused the first man to say: “Die…you heretic” and he pushed him off the bridge.

 

Oh yah…humor hits us where it hurts.

• Because…at times…we have not understood the pain and anguish Jesus was in when…
• Right before he was hauled away to be crucified…
• He prayed that all his followers might be one.

He was not asking us to wear standard uniforms.

• Or to understand his multi-layered parables in only one approved way.
• Or to base our social witness to the world on some political party’s platform…
• Instead of on Christ’s own teaching.

No…he was asking us to be one in spirit.

• He was asking us to be one in spirit to love one another as he loved us.
• He was asking us to be one in spirit to the joy of sharing Christ to a wounded world in need of such wonderful…good news.

John 14:15-21

Remember the first time:

• You walked home alone from school.
• You are left alone at home as a child.
• You are allowed to be alone at home in the evening without a baby-sitter.
• Your parents are away overnight or for a weekend and the house is all yours.
• Strong moments…scary and exciting!

 

Remember sleeping away from home for the first time.

• The first dance.
• The first kiss.
• Learning to tie shoelaces.
• Learning to tell time.
• Learning something by heart.
• Learning the news of a death of a friend or parent or grandparent.

 

“I’ll never forget the first time I…” is followed by stories about getting the first real job.

• To being elected to an office at school.
• To finding out you are pregnant with your first child.

 

The moment when something of importance happens to you for the first or only time is a liminal moment.

• The phenomenon of liminality.
• Liminality and threshold moment mean the same thing.
• From the Latin root limin…meaning the centerline of the doorway.

 

Liminality is the moment of crossing over.

• It describes the transitional phase of personal change.
• Wherein one is neither in an old state of being nor a new state of being.
• And not quite aware of the implications of the event.
• All stages of life include liminality.
• Life is nothing but moments of crossing over.
• Stitching these moments together into the comforting quilt of wisdom is the task of one’s later years.

 

And this is where Jesus meets his disciples and us in John this morning.

• In a state of liminality.
• A threshold moment.
• A moment of crossing over.
• A state of being with Jesus physically.
• To a state of not being with Jesus physically.
• And so…Jesus gifts his disciples…he gifts us…with the comforting quilt and gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

The six of us met during our first semester at Luther College back in our freshmen year.

• We found ourselves sitting at the same cafeteria table for breakfast during our first homecoming.
• Thrown into the excitement and anxiety of the college experience…
• Our friendship helped us survive.
• We were three couples.
• David and Karen.
• Stan and Sharon.
• Chip and Susan.
• The three young women were roommates.
• We three men were their homecoming dates.
• Together…we made our way through the next four years of lectures…lab experiments…research papers and midnight study sessions.

 

The” brains” in our little group got all of us through our math and science classes.

• The thoughtful ones were able to translate philosophy into real English.
• The quiet members always knew the right thing to say when one of us was going through a rough time.
• The easy-going ones made sure everyone did not take everything…include themselves…too seriously.

 

We held one another up in the wake of rocky times in our relationships…

• Academic struggles and the joys and concerns going on back home.
• And toward the end of our college careers…we toasted grad school acceptances…first jobs and engagements and subsequent marriages.
• And oh yes…one of us entered the military and served in Viet Nam for several years.

 

Commencement marked a turn…not an end…in our friendship.

• We continued to be there for one another.
• In good times and bad times.
• Each couple always knew that help…support…a listening ear and understanding were only a phone call away.
• Always honest and frank.
• Always loving and forgiving.
• Never judgmental.

 

We celebrated one another’s threshold and coming of age moments.

• And more births.
• And more baptism.
• Graduations
• Supported one another as we coped with our experiences of death and loss.
• And…of course…we continue to remain on each other’s Christmas card list.

 

Last year we met at our college for our 50th reunion.

• But when we met in the college reception and reunion welcome area…we were not six…
• But five.
• Karen had recently joined the Saints of Heaven from Alzheimer’s disease.
• But despite our sorrow and morning…we picked things up as if we saw each other yesterday.
• You see…we all meet once a year at homecoming.

 

We are older…grayer and wiser since that first breakfast.

• But the experiences we have shared and the memories we cherish make our friendship as strong and as real as the morning it first took root a half century ago.

 

Shared memories are what bind us together.

• Shared memories are what bind friends together.

 

A similar memory binds us together as a Church:

• The memory we share and celebrate in the event of Jesus.
• A memory that is as real and as enduring among us today as it was for the Twelve that Holy Thursday night in the room in which the Last Supper was held.

 

The Spirit of truth…the Paraclete…is the creative…living memory of the Church.

• The Spirit/Paraclete unites us and energizes us as we come together to share.
• As we come together to relive and learn from our memory of the Risen Christ.
• Jesus…the wise Rabbi…
• The compassionate Healer.
• The friend of the rich and poor.
• The friend of the saint and sinner.
• The obedient and humble Servant of God.

 

The Spirit of truth…the Paraclete…is a living presence among us who makes of us a community of faith.

• A family…a circle of friends who offer Christ’s love…support and compassion to one another.