The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost - October 23

Giving Thanks to God...  (with a nod to the Cubs)

Proper 25

Luke 18:9-14

“God, I thank you…” the Pharisee began.  You wouldn’t think that that phrase propelled him into a minefield.  But it did.  Sentences that begin “Thank God” often, I think, send us into minefields of misguided thanksgivings.

Those of you who regularly come to the Thanksgiving Day service know that I struggle with preaching on that day.  I find it one of the most challenging days to preach.

Not that we don’t all have very much to be thankful for. We do.  Not that we shouldn’t be thanking and praising God as long as we have breath.  We should.

It just seems like we so often thank God for the wrong things.  It’s tempting to thank God for all that seems good to us.  But we thank God for things that weren’t God’s doing.

A light-hearted example:  Tempting as it is, I don’t think it’s appropriate to thank God that the Cubs won last night. I'm celebrating, but I really don’t think God decides athletic contests.  Nor, even though it is very tempting, do I think it’s appropriate to thank God that the Cubs pushed politics completely off the front page of today’s Tribune.  Glorious as that is.

Staying somewhat lighthearted, I do think perhaps there are things to thank God for in the baseball playoffs.  Those of you who are on Facebook know that during the series with the Giants a friend of mine in San Francisco and I had a fun challenge going on Facebook.  I thank God for that friendship.  We are friends from college.  We don’t get to see each other often at all or really interact that much.  I thank God for the occasion of the playoffs as a time to celebrate and to live into our friendship a bit.  Those are thanksgivings I could offer even if the series had gone the other way.

Also, I think…  I haven’t had much time to reflect on this, but I think…  it is appropriate to thank God for those White Sox fans who understand that Cubs success is not a personal affront, and there are blessings to be found in shared joy.

More seriously, so often we do thank God for selfish things.  Things that we have gained at the expense of others.  Or we thank God for things that are ours just through good fortune, not divine providence.  And when we do that, thank God for selfish things, I think we do our relationship with God more harm than good.

Although we may not use the Pharisee’s words, we often express his sentiment.  Thank God I’m not like…

Given this minefield of potentially inappropriate thanksgivings, I’m always looking for tools to guide my thankfulness.  Here’s my latest attempt to help me offer appropriate thanksgivings to God.

I want to thank God for things that help me be a more faithful Christian, for gifts that make me more faithful.  I want to thank God for the ways God helps me live more faithfully among others in the world.

Thinking about all of this has reminded me of one of my favorite prayers in the Prayer Book, a general thanksgiving among the collected prayers in the back of the book (p. 836).  In one of its intercessions we thank God for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence upon God alone. 

There are two parts of this that are important.  Note first that the prayer does not thank God for calamities or disasters, even if those provide opportunities for spiritual growth.  God does not send hardship just to make us better.  The prayer talks of disappointments and failures…  those times when my own hopes have not been fulfilled or my own skills have let me down, when my personal expectations have been disappointed.  Thank God for the times those occasions of disappointment and failure have led me to acknowledge my dependence on God alone…  for the things that really matter in life.  Thank God for the reminder that only God can provide what really matters to me.

A few more examples.  Not so much thank God for all that I have been given, opportunities and material wealth, but thank you God, for putting it in my heart to use what I have been given to help others….  Thank you, God, for leading me to use what I have to help others in need.

Or, not so much thank you God for making me a citizen of this great nation.  But thank you, God, for inspiring the citizens of this great nation to inspire this nation to be a beacon of liberty, justice and peace in the world.

So what about that Pharisee?  It’s important to remember, that by the measure of his day, the Pharisee was righteous, fulfilling or exceeding the expectations of the Law of Moses for faithful Jews.  Better prayers might have been:  Thank God for giving me the Law of Moses to lead and guide me in the way towards righteous living.  Or, thank you, God, for giving me the faith and perseverance to pursue righteousness in my life.

A few more thanksgivings:  Thank you, God, for things that lead us to feel wonder and joy.  And, thank you even more for giving us the eyes to see you, God as the source of all that is beautifully, wondrous, and loving.

Thank you, God, for this sacred meal we are about to share.  For the way it brings us into communion and closeness with you and how it sustains us in our efforts to live faithfully in the world.

Thank you God, for those gifts that help me be more faithful, know you more deeply, and serve you more faithfully in the world.

There is one thanksgiving that is always appropriate.  It concludes that thanksgiving in the back of the Prayer Book:

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Amen.

The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost - October 9

All Ten

Proper 23

Luke 17:11-19

At the beginning of today’s Gospel reading, Luke explicitly reminds us Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem.  The cross is on the horizon.  These are things you need to know.

Luke also tells us that the setting for this particular story is the region between Galilee and Samaria.  In the border region between Jews and Samaritans.  Neither here nor there.  Neither homeland or foreign soil.  A place of uncertainty and danger.

As one commentator writes (HERE):  “The relationship between Samaritans and Jews at the time of Jesus was conflicted and sometimes violent. Centuries before this they had been one people, but changes and tensions wrought by exile and return put them at odds regarding beliefs about scripture, worship, what it means to be holy…”   There was a long history of hostility.

The story itself is straightforward.  Jesus heals ten lepers.  Only one, who happens to be a Samaritan, returns to give thanks.

Right there on the surface, the story offers us several messages:  Put aside prejudice, preconceived ideas about others.  For many Jews, it would have been inconceivable that a Samaritan could do anything commendable, much less faithful.  It also reminds us, simply, of the importance and value of giving thanks.  Thank God for God’s gifts and blessings!

But I think there is at least one more very important message in this story.  As I was reading and preparing this week, one passage positively jumped off the page at me.

“In any case, despite potential danger, and without asking anything about their loyalties, heritage, or intentions (will they perpetuate the hostility?), Jesus works healing for all ten -- including the Samaritan.”  Even in the midst of danger and uncertainty, without asking any questions in advance, Jesus heals all ten lepers.

He must have suspected that any number of them may be the hated Samaritans, but he doesn’t ask where they’re from.  He just heals all ten.

He undoubtedly knows that they won’t all show sufficient gratitude.  Still, he heals them all.

He doesn’t make them sign a cease-fire pledge before they can qualify for healing.  In fact, he doesn’t put any demands upon how they live their lives after they are healed.

He doesn’t ask how they got sick…  Maybe they aren’t all of them really that sick.  May one or two are trying to play the system.

Jesus simply heals all ten.

That’s noteworthy enough, but it’s especially remarkable given the unsafe and uncertain setting in which Jesus finds himself.

Surely that’s a lesson for us today.  What conditions or questions or qualifications do we require as individuals, or as citizen participants in our government, before we help?

The lepers, all of them, certainly have something to teach us in this story.  The Samaritan leper, in particular, offers us a model of faithfulness.  But maybe even more importantly, this story is about Jesus!  This story shows us something very important about Jesus.  About how Jesus’ love is offered unconditionally to us and how we, as the Body of Christ, are to offer the love and grace of Jesus to others.

I’m reminded of a collect (Proper 15) that we prayed back in mid-August.  It seems particularly appropriate for this Gospel passage…  addressing both the leper’s model of thankfulness and Jesus’ model of holy living.

Almighty God you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life:  Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.  Amen.

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As a lighter commentary on this Gospel reading, I love this video about a Newfoundland dog.  "If someone looks stranded or drowning, I simply try to rescue them."

The Twentient Sunday after Pentecost - October 2

Acting Faithfully

Proper 22

Luke 17:5-10

Remember, in this portion of Luke, Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem.  He is traveling towards Jerusalem and the events that will take place there.  And he’s teaching the disciples along the way.  Teaching them what they need to know for all that likes ahead.

In the midst of that teaching, that journey, the disciples turn to Jesus and say, “Increase our faith.”  Give us more faith.

One commentator I read had an interesting observation about this request.  Proximity to Jesus doesn’t ensure perfect or abundant faith.  These were the people closest to Jesus, who had been with him for some time.  They knew him.  They had seen and heard all that he had done.  But they didn’t feel like they had enough faith.  But maybe we shouldn’t be so anxious if our faith does not always seem to be perfect or full to us.  Don’t worry if your faith isn’t all that you think it should be.  That’s just how it is for us human beings.

The Greek word translated faith in this passage and in much of the New Testament is pistis.  It’s a general Greek word beyond its religious usage.  It can also be translated trust, confidence, or commitment.

We are so used to thinking of faith as belief, it’s hard to go beyond that understanding.  And belief is a part of what pistis implies, but not all of it.  This sort of faith is much more about action.  Belief, yes.  But belief that Jesus’ words are trustworthy to act upon.  It’s what motivates acts of discipleship.  It’s the confidence and commitment to act based on Jesus’ words and promises.

Today we are also so focused on quantity…  How much of something do I have or need?

Last week’s reading of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus urged us to not focus on quantity, quantity of money.   It’s not how much money you have or don’t have, Jesus said.  It’s what you do with it.

And this week Jesus seems to be saying…  it’s not how much faith you have or don’t have.  It’s what you do with it.

Here’s the heart of it for me.  What would you do if you had more faith?  The emphasis is on “do.”  Faith motivates action.  So what would you do if you had more faith?

And what’s really stopping you from doing whatever it is?  Go on out and do it, Jesus says.  You have enough faith to do pretty much anything.

I remember very little of the Greek I took in seminary.  But this week I read quite a bit from people who are good at Greek.  And Jesus’ words to the disciples are interesting.  That first phrase, where he says, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,” is a particular sort of grammatical construction in Greek.  It’s conditional with an implied positive result.  What the Greek actually says is, “If you had faith the size of a mustard see…  Which you do!”  It may not seem like much, but you have faith the size of a mustard seed.  And with just that much faith, you can work wonders.  You can do the faithful work you are called to do.

Why doesn’t Jesus give them more faith when they ask?  They don’t need more.

So no need to fret or fuss.  Just do what Jesus commands us to do.   Love your neighbor as yourself.

Like the disciples, we have enough faith to do what faithful people do.