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Pentecost 11 August 28, 2011

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Beth Crane

Pentecost 11 Proper 17A RCL August 28, 2011

Exodus 3: 1-15
Psalm 105: 1-6. 23-26. 45c
Romans 12; 9-21
Matthew 16: 21-28

Last Sunday, our first lesson ended with the Pharaoh’s daughter adopting Moses. Much has happened between last Sunday’s reading and what we heard this morning. Moses had been living in the palace. One day, he went out to see what was going on with his people. Even though he had been adopted by the king’s daughter. He still identified with his own people, the Hebrews. He saw the hard labor his people were forced to do. He also saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man, and he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. The upshot of this is that the Pharaoh finds out and is looking for Moses to kill him, so Moses runs away to Midian.

Reuel, the priest of Midian, places Moses under his protection. Moses marries Zipporah, Reuel’s daughter, and keeps the flocks. One day, while he is at work as a shepherd, he sees a bush which is burning but is not consumed by the flames. He turns aside. God usually calls us right in the midst of our usual activities, but we need to make ourselves available to God. We need to turn aside, as Moses did, so that God can speak to us.

God calls to Moses, and Moses says, “Here I am.” Herbert O’Driscoll wisely asks how many of us can say that we are fully present, fully in this moment. So often we are thinking of what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. How important it is for us to be fully focused in this moment.

God calls Moses to set God’s people free. We can’t help but think of our modern hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who set his people and all of us free. We are still working on our internalized racism. Moses asks the usual question, “Who am I to do this amazing thing?” And God tells Moses that all-important thing that we need to remember: God will be with us to help us do what God is calling us to do, no matter how inadequate we may feel to carry out God’s call.

In the section of Romans which we read for today, Paul does a wonderful job of reminding us how to be a true Christian community. “Let love be genuine. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with mutual affection. Rejoice in hope Be patient in suffering. Persevere in prayer. All of us have been through various kinds of suffering. The cross and Easter teach us that new life can come out of death and suffering. Help those in need in the community. Extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you. Echoes of the Beatitudes  Don’t be arrogant. Associate with the lowly. Live peaceably with all, If your enemies are hungry, feed them.. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing so you will heap burning coals upon their heads.

Returning good for evil can have amazing results. Treating those who have injured us with respect, being generous to those who wish us ill, giving food and water to our enemies, all these things can transform people and situations.

As we turn to the gospel, we recall that last week, Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was, and Peter said, “You are the messiah, the son of the living God.  But now, Jesus is talking about the fact that he is going to suffer and die. And Peter can’t accept that, “God forbid it, Lord, This must never happen to you!” And Jesus says that very difficult thing, “Get behind me, Satan.” He tells Peter that Peter is putting a stumbling block in his way, an obstacle. We have to remember that Jesus is fully human. He has thought about this. He  Has asked that old question, “Why me?” The question Moses asked, the question we all ask when we know we have to face something we would give anything not to have to face. But he knows he has to do this. And the fact that Peter doesn’t get it means that he is alone in his understanding of this and that Peter is making it harder for him.

And then he says that haunting thing: “If any want to become my followers,   let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. “  If we want to follow him, our hearts and lives have to become Christ-shaped. His values and his vision have to become our values and our vision. We have to let him live in us and we have to live in him. We have to let go of the controls and let him take over.

This reminds me of a story which you may have heard before, If so, I apologize, but I love this story. A man falls over a cliff, and, as he whizzes down the precipice, he manages to grab a little shrub. He is holding on for dear life and he yells, “Help!” My favorite prayer. Anyway, a voice answers, “Yes, my son.” And the poor guy is petrified and he says, “Who are you?” And the voice says, “ I am God.” And the fellow says, “Oh, thank you, I’m so glad you answered. Please help me. I can’t hold on to this shrub forever.” And God says, “I will help you, my son. But first, you have to let go,” And, after a bit of silence, the fellow shouts out, “Is there anybody else up there?”

Let go and let God. Not any easy thing to do. Being a Christian can be costly in various ways. Following Jesus has a price. We don’t like to talk about those things, but it’s true. That’s what Jesus is talking about today.

We are dealing with a very loving God, and, when we do let go and let God lead us and guide us, truly amazing things happen. God guides Moses and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the people are set free. Whenever we let go and let God, we become free from whatever binds us. When we let go and let God, vengeance and hatred can evolve into God’s shalom.

One small but powerful thing we can do, something that is in the spirit of today’s lessons, is to think of someone who is a problem to us, someone we are mad at or someone we think is going down the wrong path, or someone who has injured us or has hurt someone we love, and just pray this simple prayer, “God, surround _______ with your love” That’s all. Just that. No prescriptions for what God should do. Just, “God, surround ____with your love.”

We can also pray this prayer for those we love the most. It places everything in God’s healing hands.

                    Amen.

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Pentecost 9 August 14, 2011

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Beth Crane

Pentecost 9 Proper 14A RCL August 14, 2011

Genesis 45: 1-13
Psalm 133
Romans 11: 1-2a, 29-32
Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

This morning, we continue with the story of Joseph. We recall that Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, who envied him because their father, Jacob, loved Jacob best and gave him an extraordinary coat. When Jacob reached Egypt, he rose to an important position second only to the Pharaoh, and he man
aged all the business of the kingdom on the Pharaoh’s behalf.

The Pharaoh had had a dream which signified that there would be seven years of good crops and seven years of famine. Under Joseph’s direction, grain had been saved from the seven good years to carry the kingdom through the famine.

The famine also affected Canaan. Jacob sends his sons to buy food in Egypt, but he keeps his beloved Benjamin with him, for he fears for his safety. The brothers arrive in Egypt.  They come before the powerful man who is in charge of selling the grain. Joseph recognizes them, but they have no idea who he is.

Joseph accuses them of spying. The brothers tell him their family story. They tell about their old father, who is waiting at home with their youngest brother. They tell how another brother was killed years ago.
Joseph nearly breaks into tears in front of them. He puts them in prison. Three days later, he tells them that they can have grain if they will leave one brother as a hostage and bring their youngest brother back to Egypt.

The brothers are scared, and they speak in their own language, thinking no one can understand them, since Joseph has spoken to them through an interpreter. Of course, Joseph understands every word. The brothers are saying that none of this would have happened if they had not sold Joseph into slavery. Again, he has trouble not bursting into tears.

Simeon remains as hostage, Joseph instructs his steward to place the money that the brothers have brought to pay for the grain on top of their packs. At their first stop, they find the money. This puzzles them. When they get home, they tell Jacob the whole story.

The famine continues, and now they have to return to Egypt with Benjamin. Once again, they meet with the governor. They have brought back the money that was left in their packs plus additional funds to buy more food. They have also brought a small present from their father.

This time, the governor, Joseph, invites them to a meal at his home. They introduce Joseph to Benjamin and give him their gift. Joseph has to leave to collect himself. At the meal, the brothers notice that they are seated in order of their ages. Also, Benjamin gets an especially large portion.

They set off for home, but Joseph has set a trap, He has instructed his steward to place Joseph’s cup in Benjamin’s pack. The steward catches up with the brothers, accuses them of stealing his master’s cup, and finds the cup in Benjamin’s pack. They all go back to appear before Joseph. He says that Benjamin must stay. Judah offers to stay instead. He explains the whole story to Joseph, emphasizing that, if Benjamin does not go home, it will kill Jacob.

Now Joseph begins to break down. He tells them that he is their long-lost brother. He tells them not to be distressed or angry with themselves for selling him into slavery. He says, “God sent me before you to preserve life.” He tells them to go home and bring back their father and the whole family, and they will live in peace under his protection and will have plenty to eat. The brothers go back to Canaan and tell Jacob this tale of incredibly rich blessing. Jacob can’t wait to go to Egypt and see Joseph and Benjamin again.

What a beautiful story! Herbert O’Driscoll writes of the tale of Joseph, “One of the loveliest things in life is to encounter a person who has every reason for being bitter and vengeful, but who refuses to be either. Instead, they remain generous, forgiving, accepting.” Joseph refuses to hang on to any resentment about what his brothers did. He and God have worked it out.

Paul, a Roman citizen, a Jew, a Pharisee who now follows Jesus with all his heart and soul and mind and strength, makes it clear that he knows that God does not reject his people just because they are not following Christ.

In the gospel, Jesus tells us that it is more important to pay attention to what goes out of our body than what goes into out body. Dietary laws are not as important as the attitudes with which we speak.  Are we speaking love and peace, or are we speaking hatred, dishonesty, and other negative thoughts and feelings?

Jesus meets a Canaanite woman. Her daughter is ill. She needs help. Jesus at this point is misunderstanding the scope of his ministry. He thinks he can help only the Jewish people. She begs him. He gives a distinctly unloving answer: “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She is not deflected from her mission.  She refuses to be excluded. “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.” Coolly, calmly, with laser focus, she becomes the agent through whom Jesus realizes his ministry is to all people. “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Jesus is fully human as well as fully divine. He thinks his ministry is limited. This Canaanite woman is not one of God’s chosen people. He should not even be speaking to her. She is a woman and she is not a Jew. But he does respond to her, and she becomes the teacher! And he has the humility to learn from her!

Joseph has a deep faith. He could have consumed himself in hatred of his brothers. But no, he saves his whole family. Paul knows that God loves all people. Jesus could have just walked past this woman. He didn’t. She could have been crushed by his sharp remark. She was not. He could have been too arrogant to listen to her point. He was not. She leads him into this powerful truth about his ministry. All of these wonderful holy examples, Joseph, Paul, and the Canaanite woman, show us  the kind of courage and compassion we are called to show forth in our lives and journeys. May God give us the grace to follow their example.    Amen.

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