The problem with the wealthy

I recently read that people define 'wealthy' as anyone who has more money than they do. This could include those who have impressive "toys" or even those who don't have to worry about paying the rent or buying groceries.

To someone who can't pay the rent reliably each month, I am wealthy.  To me, someone who can maintain two homes without financial strain is wealthy, although even I recognize that these folks are just moderately better off than I am.  The truly wealthy don't even think about money.  Ever.

Which is exactly the situation in which what the rich man in Luke's story found himself.  He was overwhelmed with wealth in the form of an over the top bumper crop requiring the building of additional barns to hold it all.  He was set!  No worrying over next year's harvest.  No skimping on bread baking.  In fact, if the harvest was sold judiciously, he could 'eat, drink and be merry' which is exactly the conclusion he arrived at.  Many a business owner would probably have made a similar decision.

And yet!  That very night, his 'soul was required of him' or to put it bluntly, he died.  Now who was going to get all that grain?  What good did it do him in the last analysis?

Perhaps you are of the persuasion that a punitive God struck him down because of his decision.  I won't argue with you but the scripture does not say that, and that interpretation misses the main point Jesus is making throughout this section of Luke.  Jesus isn't worried about how much you have; Jesus is concerned about how you decide to do what you do with all that wealth.

Are your values God centered?  Are you a part of bringing in the kingdom by being a part of the mercy, grace, forgiveness, healing, invitational, generous kingdom which is breaking out wherever Jesus is?  Have you been turned upside down and inside out by the mercy of God in Jesus?

Is your wealth your security or is it your Lord, Jesus?  Are you honoring the transient and dishonoring the Divine?  Are you hoarding the transient and ignoring the Divine?

Our rich farmer could have purchased burlap bags, filled them with grain and given them away, thus orchestrating an abundant harvest for the whole village.  He could have sent every farm worker home with double his wages and shared his bounty.  He could have set up a storage unit for the whole community as a hedge against the famine that was sure to come at some time.

Instead he kept it all for himself and thought himself safe from hunger for years to come.  He was secure.  He could relax.

He would turn to God another year.  Or not.  Jesus warned him.

Oh yes.  What is the problem with the wealthy?  No one thinks they are truly wealthy; no one sees himself in the story of the man with the barns.  Everyone thinks that next year they can turn to God.

Jesus warns us as well.

A matter of perspective

In a movie watched long ago and whose name is long forgotten, a candidate for political office said, "What makes a living wage depends on whether you are the one paying it or the one receiving it."

Of course we know this to be true; it matters whose shoes you are wearing.  Or, in this case, whether you are the man in the ditch, or the traveler on the road.  It matters whether you consider yourself an important person, with an important job, with 'solid' moral standards and standing in the community, with a reputation to consider....or, if you are one of the anonymous ones, a person who would be painted in sepia tones, one of the folks whose name is never called out from the  podium for an honor.  It matters whether you consider yourself a person who gives to others, a source of charity, one of the generous ones.......or if you know yourself to be a receiver of the generosity of others.

It matters, although I don't think there is a definitive logarithm which can predict our behavior from bank balances or societal norms.  Sometimes the wealthy are generous and the poor stingy. But I think that what you think about yourself does matter when making decisions about strangers in a ditch.

So when Jesus spins the parable about the Good Samaritan*, we often feel hard pressed to explain the reaction of the priest and the Levite who chose to ignore the man in the ditch.  We might suspect that (quoting Dr. Seuss) that their hearts "were too sizes too small"**- although their lack of care and compassion might be chalked up to the bewildering need they met at every turn of the road (or standing at every street corner with a cardboard sign).  We are loathe to hold them too accountable for we have been them at one time or another, and for what we thought were good reasons.

Notice that Jesus doesn't condemn either because this isn't a story about judgment.

It is a story about mercy.
Not reason nor moral superiority, not use of wealth nor good 'up-bringing'.
It is a story about mercy.

Apparently mercy is the name of the road on which one discovers the 'kingdom of God'.

*the gospel of Luke, chapter 10
** How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Where is your faith taking you......day 2

"Let us go to the other side"  Jesus is full of big plans.  He is taking his message to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, even though that is really, really foreign territory.....possibly hostile.

So the disciples push the boat out of the shallow water and start to row.  These are experienced seamen.  Several of the disciples were fishermen by trade.  They knew this sea; they knew how to handle a boat.

They also knew how nasty the Sea of Galilee could get when a storm blew in; deadly even.  So it would prove to be.  While Jesus calmly slept with his head on a pillow (such an interesting detail that Mark throws in) the wind picked up, the waves picked up, the boat started rocking, the rowing got harder.  Soon the waves were crashing over the sides; the boat was being swamped and in light of the disciples' shouted distress, I would imagine that the danger was real.

They were frightened.  Right down to their toes.  It is not unusual in such a situation to look to your left and to your right to be assured that everyone was working as hard as they could for the sake of all.  No slackers allowed when all their lives were on the edge.  So, you take the darkness, the middle of the sea, the roaring wind, the crashing waves, and the very real danger of dying, and it shouldn't surprise any of us that they turned to a sleeping Jesus and shouted.......

"Do you not care that we are perishing?"  they might have just as easily have said, "Why aren't you scared?"  or " Get up and help!"  or many other things but this is what is recorded.

We watch in our mind's eye as Jesus throws off his sleep, opening his eyes, becoming aware of the storm.  He stands and talks directly to the danger that surrounds them - he commands the wind to quiet and the water to be at peace.

He asks, 'Do you not trust me?'  'Have you so little faith?'

At this moment we forget all about the original mission of the mustard seed, to be a part of the growing of the Kingdom of God.  At this moment, we forget about the need to get to the other side where the other people live and where people are waiting for the liberation that Jesus brings.  We turn this entire story into a discussion of faith:  How much do you have?  How can you get stronger? You might even talk about a terribly frightening time in your life when your faith was tested.

All well and good, but that makes the story about you in your personal life, and not a story about being a disciple who is called to bring Jesus to people in scary places.  It becomes a story about you and not a story about all of the other people Jesus loves and who need to know the power of his presence.

Of course they were scared.  Anyone would be.  Yet they traveled with the Lord of Sea and Sky and the kingdom awaited.

Mercy and grace.....grace and mercy

Jesus announces the inauguration of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of Mercy and Grace.  

What does this means?  Let me get you started:

Mercy:  you do not get what you rightly deserve

Grace:  you get what you would never in your wildest dreams deserve

Certainly there are justice and judgment as well.  Without justice there could be no mercy.  With justice there would be less need for mercy.

Likewise judgment.  Judgment is the mirror into which Grace looks.  Without judgment, who would ever figure out that what they were receiving was grace?

Mercy and Grace are just two words to help define Jesus who was Love Poured Out for the sake of the world.  That's the Kingdom of God at its core.  Still interested?

"You are the salt of the earth"

Before we begin taking bows for this accolade, perhaps we should be clear about what salt is all about.

Let's start with table salt.  Makes stuff taste good, especially chicken soup.  Too much contributes to high blood pressure but it is critical for continuing health.  Around the world, various compounds are added to salt as an easy delivery system for iodine, folic acid, iron and fluoride which address a variety of health issues.  It can preserve fish and meat, it can purify water.  In the Old Testament, it was offered as a sacrifice.

The salt trade was an important source of wealth especially during the Roman Empire when 'salt roads' were built to get the commodity to the market.  Now a days, a salt road means safer driving in the northern climes.

You are the salt of the earth.  So which one is Jesus pointing to?  Purification?  Sacrificial offering?  Chicken soup seasoning?  Road salt?  Valuable commodity?

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of heaven.  It is a place where the poor in spirit are blessed and the meek inherit the earth.  It is a place like none we know now; for many of us it is a place where we would like to dwell.  That is where the salt comes in.

We are to function like salt - bringing a new taste, a better taste to the world we all know.  We are to protect the weak as a preservative and offer ourselves as a sacrifice when necessary.  We are to be purificators - focused on living as Jesus' followers, insisting on the right and the just.  It won't take a whole lot of us to make a difference in the world - a difference that can bring health and wholeness.

Being salt in Jesus' eyes equals being that bit of seasoning which can turn a dull dish into a delicious one.  We are to be the active ingredient in this world to carry the truth of the world that is coming.

We are to follow 'on the way' as children of God, our own salt road which will bring the treasure of heaven to those who join us.

So, what happens when salt loses it saltiness?
Exactly.

....when I am good enough

Oh wow!  That's too true for words.  The kingdom of God will be ours when we are good enough.  How we hold onto this.....as if our lives depended on it.

Now, I'm a Lutheran and we pride ourselves (which might be a problem in itself) on preaching grace.  It is by grace you have been saved, not by your own works.  Jesus as the Son of God is God's gift to all of creation for the sake of creation.  Jesus' death points to the death dealing commitments of the current creation and his resurrection is the last word on who is in charge.  Life will be the last word, not because any of us deserve this wondrous gift of life with God but because God wants it to be that way for us.

See, I get it.

Until I don't.  Until the average attendance at church declines and I think I must solve this problem.  Until I avoid speaking with someone because I behaved badly the last time and I am embarrassed to face up to that truth.  Until I look in a mirror and rain down criticism on myself for not being perfect.  Until....I breathe my next breath.

We are strivers for sure....and that's not a criticism.  It is what works in this world most of the time.  It keeps us moving forward and working at improving ourselves and things around us.  Until...it becomes the source of our pride and our energy is expended in self-congratulations instead of building community.  Until we turn towards God and say, "Don't worry.  I've got this.  I can do this.  I'm good."  Then down the rabbit hole we slide again.

God created this world out of God's desire for this world.  It was God's gift to humankind.
God sent Jesus into this world out of God's desire for this world.  He was God's gift to humankind.
God is present among us as the Spirit because of God's desire for this world.  The Spirit is God's gift to humankind.

God invites us to live in the light and life of divine glory because that is God's desire for this world.  It is God's gift to humankind.  Gift.  Absolute gift.  To everyone.  You.  Me.

It is a radical gift that will bring about radical change.  You are already good enough.  God says so in Jesus Christ.  Some days that alone is too much for us to bear.

....but without the traffic jams

It is hard to hold onto a belief in a kingdom to come.....a world that is divinely formed by, in and with the Spirit.....a community of grace.  It is just hard to believe that it just might be so some day.

Most of the time we think of the kingdom of God as this world minus the traffic jams, and cancer, and probably wars and child abuse.  But the kingdom that Jesus keeps talking about where the meek will be blessed and the hungry full is too good to be true.  It is beyond....beyond here, beyond our imagination, and beyond our ability to bring it into being.

Which, I guess, is a good place to start.  We cannot bring this kingdom into being.  Jesus did.  In his body, among us, and for our sake.  Jesus was the opening.  God hides in, with and under Jesus and together they break into the world we know and begin to bring into being the kingdom where God's way is the only way.

So we 'watch' as Jesus feeds 5000 with a meager lunch and heals a man born blind and walks on water (why not?  If you can heal a man born blind, what is walking on water?).  We certainly know we can't do these things and so we are faced with at least two possibilities:  the stories are exaggerations because nothing like that can occur in the world as we know it.....OR.....Jesus has access to a world beyond this one.  It is a world where God's rule is absolute: not in a power hungry sense but rather in an 'absolutely best case scenario' sense.  Or as the Bible is wont to say, a place and time where we will live in God's glory.

My guess is that you have (at one time in your life) experienced this time and place where the demands and brokenness and rejections and hurts of this world fall away and you are infused with the power of life and light.  For a moment you glimpse the better you and a purity of oneness with the world or your family or possibly even your God.  For a moment you don't even need to breathe.  For a moment you experienced God and the kingdom God invites you into.

Then we move back into this time and this place and seek to see the Lord's face again, to taste the power of God's presence, to be the better you that you glimpsed.  It is here that believing in a kingdom to come is so difficult.

Don't let go of the vision, the hope, the promise that Christ brings to us.  Seek after the face of God like you'd seek after a great deal on a new car...because in the end the car will rust and the kingdom will be yours forever.

Blessed are those who mourn.........

.......for they will be comforted.  Matthew 5.4

Now, that's a promise.  When you are sitting in the darkness of grief, knowing for certain that comfort is coming may be hard to believe, but it is at least something to hold on to. God's comfort in the face of our grief as a very real blessing.

But there is more.  Jesus is not just teaching about our personal faith life; he is teaching about the kingdom of heaven (other gospels use the phrase kingdom of God but Matthew prefers kingdom of heaven).  Jesus is laying out before his disciples and potential followers the dimensions of the kingdom Jesus is creating even as he sits teaching the crowds.

These crowds are well aware of the kingdom in which they currently live.  They understand the power of the ruling Romans, their oppressive taxation system, the tendency of their own people to take advantage of fellow Israelites, and the terrible toll that life itself takes on a body.  Jesus is announcing the intervention of God in this system through Jesus.....and in Jesus....and the establishment of a new kingdom with new ways of being.

In this kingdom, God blesses a series of behaviors and attitudes. Kingdom behaviors include those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful.  These are the folk you will find in God's kingdom. At the same time, those who seek the kingdom of heaven will become those who are poor in spirit, mourn, etc.

So this mourning is rooted in a larger picture.  Jesus is calling out to those who mourn the system that oppresses and destroys.  These mourners are crushed by the evildoers and the powerful elite whose actions lead to the kind of mourning that all families know.  They mourn the very presence of such evil in the world. In God's kingdom, those who have been oppressed will see freedom; oppression will not have the last word.

Perhaps that is the most helpful of images when dealing with the Beatitudes.  They are about who gets the last word - and what that last word will be.

Jesus tells the crowds the last word is blessing...God's blessing... and it will include those who know no blessings today.

Blessed are the poor in spirit........

It's Beatitude time again, that time in the cycle of our Sunday gospel readings where we wrestle with Matthew's massive teaching block known as the Sermon on the Mount (because Jesus went up the mountain and sat down to teach).

The Sermon runs from chapter 5 through chapter 7 of the gospel of Matthew.  It begins with a series of pronouncements known as The Beatitudes.  A beatitude is an announcement of blessedness.....ergo, 'blessed are the poor in spirit.'  A whole series of human conditions are covered by these verses 5.1-11.  Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted ones.

So you and I need to uncover what it means to be blessed, and then we have 8 other conditions to figure out as well.

Some Bible translators decided that 'happy' would convey the core meaning of the Greek word markarios. That translation has gone out of favor.  Some have suggested the word 'luck' since in 21st century America our closest concept to receiving a blessing is to have good luck.  Luckily (ha!) none of the Bible translations took up that 'lucky' suggestion.

Commentators wrestle with this word because most of our English words lack the understanding that this blessedness is deeply rooted in our relationship with God.  One cannot be blessed apart from God. In fact, the 'happiness' we experience is because we are in right relationship with God.  So perhaps a better translation would be 'blessed [by God] are' the poor, the meek, etc.  God favors certain human actions; certain human actions are consistent with the kingdom of God and how it operates.

The second concern is how to interpret this blessedness.  Is it an experience of the present or is it a hope for tomorrow? Is Jesus trying to tell us that the poor in spirit are content now?  or that they will be content one day?  Are the Beatitudes an announcement of reassurance to those who experience these sometimes dire circumstances that God's favor is with them [in spite of apparent evidence to the contrary]?  Could they be requirements for participation in the reign of God?

Oh, we love to quote these pithy statements, but I have to confess, they are challenging for preaching.  It took me all this space just to explore the meaning of the word 'blessed.'  What am I going to do with 'poor in spirit'?