Laurie's Sermon for October 19th 2008

The Voice of Promise
Exodus 33:12-23; 34:1-9

One time I received a card from a dear friend during a trying time in her life. It was a Winnie-the-Pooh card, but not the Disney variety. It was part of the ‘Classic Pooh’ collection, the kind with the drawings similar to the ones in Milne’s original books. Pooh and Piglet are walking in the woods, and it looks like it is dusk. The bear is leaning sideways to reach down to grasp Piglet’s paw and Piglet is having to reach way up high to hold on to Pooh. The caption on the card said the following:
“Pooh?”
“Yes Piglet?”
After a pause, Piglet responds, “Oh nothing, I just needed to be sure of you.”

There are various times in our lives when we need to ‘be sure of’ another’s presence. When we are lonely, when we are frighten, when we are facing an unknown future or maybe when trying to repair a broken relationship. There are times we need to know we are not alone, that someone is with us – even if they are doing nothing but simply being there, it is important to feel the presence of another. There are times we need to ‘be sure of’ God as well.

The happenings of this passage Jim and I read this morning are the result of Moses’ request for proof of God’s presence. As I mentioned earlier, Chapter 33 is mostly a record of Moses’ pleas for forgiveness and pleas for God’s presence. God is angry with his stiff-necked people and is ready to forsake them all and start over again with Moses’ descendents only. Moses does some smooth talking and God decides to not give up on the people and go with them as they continue their trek to the Promised Land. However, before the journey can begin, fences need to be mended and a right relationship restored and this begins with a new set of tablets containing the laws for how to live as a community with one another and with God.

In chapter 34, God has some instructions to Moses as to how to return to the mountain for this renewal of the covenant. He is to follow these exactly so that he may encounter God safely. God created the first stone tablets and wrote on them. This time, Moses has to make his own tablets and bring them up for God to write on. God then tells Moses the time and place he is to be as well as where all the people and herds are not to be. Verse 4 says that Moses follows all the directions and climbs up to meet God.

Just before receiving these instructions, at the end of the previous chapter, Moses asks what seems like an odd question that really sets the rest of Chapter 34’s renewal of the covenant in motion – he asks to see God’s glory. Moses has already been told back in chapter 3 that no one can see the face of God and live, but still he asks to experience a revelation of God, to experience the glory of God. The underlying desire here is that Moses is wanting to ‘be sure of’ God, to have proof that God’s presence can be seen or felt or heard.

Don’t we also have this desire at times, this need for reassurance that the clouds that may engulf our lives in doubt and fear also contain the presence of God? It is not that we always must see or hear something to believe it nor is it that our faith is lacking. Like Piglet, we just need to be sure of another being with us, to be sure of God.

This meeting with God is what is fascinating to me. God agrees to grant this request for proof, but God does so very carefully. God protects Moses by giving very specific instructions when God says: "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy… Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen." You can hear in this reading the inspiration for the first part of the hymn Rock of Ages – Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. No one can see Yahweh and live, so there is a cleft in the rock in which Moses is to be hidden and covered by God’s hand.

If we then skip over to verses 5-9 in the next chapter, this theme of God’s proclamation is continued. Moses is now on the mountain enclosed in the midst and literally the mist of God. The narration says the Lord descended in a cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name ‘the Lord’. You may remember that in Exodus chapter 3, Moses asked God what the divine name was and God’s answer was not a proper noun, but a verb – “I AM - tell them I AM has sent you”. Here in verse 6 the same verb is used to proclaim the divine name. “The Lord, the Lord” is what most of our English translations use and what we heard this morning. However, what is found here is the exact form of the same Hebrew word as appeared in Chapter 3. This makes the disclosure that much more personal in its tone. Instead of “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious”, as if a third person is listing the attributes, the Hebrew text reads, “I AM, I AM a God merciful and gracious.” This hearing heightens the awareness that the reality of Yahweh’s presence is in Yahweh’s very being.

This double emphasis of the divine name has been described by some as saying not just I AM, I AM, but saying I AM and this is how I AM. I see this idea relating in essence, “Who I AM is how I AM in relationship with my people” because God then proceeds to list several characteristics of God’s essence. God’s very existence or being is relational in its nature. Emmanuel is God with us, Jesus Christ is, was, and will always be God with us. This self-disclosure can be seen as the highest utterance of revelation. To quote Walter Brueggemann’s take on this text, “No where before has anyone been privileged to hear directly a disclosure of what is most powerful and definitional for God’s own life.”

These characteristics or attributes are the explanation, the true revelation of the content of God’s name “I Am” and thus the fundamental nature of God’s being. God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, steadfast love, faithfulness, and God keeps this love for thousands of generations and forgives sins, but the consequences of sin cannot be wiped clear and will often affect several generations. John Calvin sees this as saying “There is only a moment in his anger, but life is in his favor.” Here, God is saying that though God does require judgment, God’s clemency can and will surpass any verdict or sentence of guilt.

There are two final thoughts I want to bring out this morning involving Moses’ response to this divine revelation of character. It says in verse 8 that Moses “quickly bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.” Moses’ immediate response is to worship. Think for a moment on this question – do we worship because we have had a proof of God’s presence in our experience, or do we have such an experience through our worship? I believe the answer to both is YES! These are interrelated.

Worship should be our immediate response when we have experienced the glory or goodness of God in some fashion in our lives, and too worship is often a place where we may encounter God in such a way. The danger comes when we take the two to extremes. If we only worship when we experience a cloud-filled revelation of God in our lives, I imagine very few of us would be worshipping very often. By the same token, if we feel that our Sunday worship should be a catalyst for experiencing a greatly moving revelation week in and week out, we are probably often disappointed.

You see worship is both a response and an experience, a giving of us to God and a receiving of God’s gift to us. Our God is a relational God and we are a relational people. Still, for most of us, the earth does not tremble and shake every Sunday morning and that should be OK. But if we will learn to listen closely throughout the entire week, we may discover there are a lot of little tremors that we often miss. And the only way to truly listen is one, to be quiet ourselves and two, to spend time in God’s presence.

This doesn’t mean we need an hour of prayer time, us talking and jabbering to God, each day. Doing that would be hard for most of us…I know I run out of things to say pretty quickly. We need to remember that if we are talking about strengthening a relationship, we cannot do all the talking, we need to spend a lot of time listening. Even taking 10 minutes, sitting still and quiet, imagining ourselves resting in God presence is a start to realizing that that Presence is always with us, wanting to be noticed, remembered and relished.

One final great morsel from this passage is in the last part of verse 9 when Moses asks Yahweh to go with the people, to forgive them, and then requests that Yahweh “take us for your inheritance.” Moses does not ask God for an inheritance, nor does he ask for possessions or wealth or comfort. Instead Moses asks to become a part of that which God possesses. The prophet here does not want the jeweled ring left in a will, he wants to be one of the jewels that becomes a living a dynamic part of God’s will, a permanent possession of God, by God. This is another way of insuring that God’s presence will remain with the people. Most treasured inheritances are not carelessly handled or forgotten; they are protected and kept safe and remembered – exactly how God looks upon us.

There are a lot of little parts to this portion of scripture, but I do believe the common thread of relationships holds these parts together. This same thread can be seen woven throughout the entire book as well as the entire Bible. We speak today of being in relationship with God more than having God’s presence with us, but there really is no difference in the two as far as I can see. Our relationship with God makes us who we are and God’s revelation, both in Exodus as well as in Jesus Christ, is our experiencing how God has been, is, and will continue to be in relation to us. Thus, we respond to this knowledge with worship and the prayer to be maintained as one of God’s chosen possessions. We can be sure of God because we know not all, but at least something of how God is in relation to us. Let us lift our hearts up to the Lord in thanksgiving and praise because God’s voice is truly one of promise. Amen.

Laurie's Sermon for October 5th 2008

What Kind of Tenant are You?
Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

The Gospel of Matthew has more of a “hell and damnation” streak in his theology than the other gospel writers of Mark, Luke and John, and this “hell and damnation” streak is found in many of the stories about Jesus that he tells. Today’s is no exception. Here we have another parable about a vineyard that, when we really consider its surrounding context and storyline in Matthew’s writing, also is better understood as an extended metaphor because there can be little doubt toward whom Jesus directs this story. He clearly bases it upon the Isaiah passage that those hearing would have known well, but as usual adds a new twist.

This is the 2nd of 3 parables that Jesus tells in the midst of a public confrontation with the scribes and the Pharisees. The broader context of the chapter is important. The chapter opens with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem of Palm Sunday, which no doubt perturbed the Jewish religious leaders. His next act is the cleansing of the temple where he causes a really big stink. Then, he leaves town for the night. The next day as he heads back into town, he gets hungry when he sees a fig tree, but it has no fruit at all, so he curses it and it withers. He then goes to the temple and has the audacity to allow the blind and the lame and children – all of who were not welcomed in that holy space because they were less than whole – to come to him so he can heal them. This gets the crowd’s attention and they see him as a prophet. The Pharisees and scribes challenge his authority, so he fires back with the trio of parables, all aimed in their direction. After these, each group of religious leaders will try to entangle Jesus in several debates. All of this leads to the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Just because the context may make this story seem to have a simple understanding, like any part of the Bible, it can also speak to us and/or condemn us today.

Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 33 "Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants1 to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 41 They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "' The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;1 this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

As you have already heard, this passage was not just one of Jesus’ random teachings, it was deliberately directed at Jerusalem’s religious elite and comes in the midst of the deepening conflict between Jesus and his main detractors. With each move he makes starting with his entry into the city, the tensions increase, tempers rise and plots thicken. The intensity of this growing conflict cannot be underestimated and Matthew, as I mentioned, pulls no punches in his condemnation theology here. These tenants, these religious leaders, are not just lazy or kind of selfish, they are murderously wicked! As opposed to Isaiah’s version, the grapes, the common people, are not the problems, they seem to be producing as they should, or at least as well as can be expected based upon who is over-seeing their growth. Jesus openly accuses the religious leadership of killing off the prophets of old and even foretells his own pending demise when he tells of the rejection of the servants and the son. So, he says the landowner has no plans to plow the vines under again, instead the vineyard, the kingdom of God, will be taken away from the evil doers and given to someone else.

Now, there has been debate as to whether the “someone else” is the church as a whole or the new Christian leadership emerging. Jesus doesn’t seem to make this particularly clear and I think it is instructive for us to read both into the meaning. It is easy to see that the word ‘fruit’ is one of Matthew’s favorite ways to describe good works or doing God’s will. As every day, ordinary Christians, we each have a responsibility to produce fruits for the kingdom. These fruits are not what save us, they are instead the response we make to the knowledge and understand of the salvation already given to us in Christ. We must remember, we are not saved from anything, we have been saved for something important, for service to God. Those of us who are in positions of leadership of any kind I think have even more responsibility – that for our own produce as well as guiding the growth of others. With either case, our production is often better when we pool our resources and our labors and work together.

This is a good text for us to consider as we enter stewardship season, a time to take stock of all that we have been blessed with, not just as individuals but also as a congregation. The fall can be seen as more than just the start of school and the all important football season, but as the time of harvest, the time of thanksgiving. As a session, we will begin looking toward priorities and budgets for our particular part of the vineyard. We need prayerfully to do the same individually as we consider our commitment of time, talents and treasure in response to God’s abundance. This morning is also World Communion Sunday, a day set aside for us to not just remember that we are part of a much larger tapestry, but to celebrate the diversity in the body of Christ and realize the impact that our fruits make upon other and God’s full creation nearby and far abroad. So this morning, keep these two ideas – stewardship and world community – in your minds as we take a hard look at who we are right now, whose we are at all times and who we are called to become by our Lord.

You’ve heard the background, the context to this story’s original setting, but now let’s extend this allegory or metaphor to our day and time. The fruit of the vine can be seen as our life’s work, but it can also be seen as the essence of who we are more in line with Isaiah’s meaning. Is our fruit false; looking realistic, but being made of plastic and silk and not edible? Do we talk a good word, but fail to follow up and keep that word? Do we claim God’s grace, blessing and love, but fail to share this treasure with others? Is our fruit actually what God wants us to grow? We may have a bountiful harvest of red grapes, but what if it was really white grapes we were supposed to be growing?

While we do need to consider what type of fruit we are producing for God’s kingdom, what really needs to be examined is considering what kind of tenant we are. It is easy to look at those wicked tenants of Jesus’ day and not see any resemblance to ourselves…after all, who have we murdered lately? But it cannot be that easy, because Jesus taught that intent and inward desire were as dangerous as actions. Let’s think about it, why were these tenant so wicked, what was the underlying condition that cause their actions and reactions? I think we will find they are the same underlying conditions that often seduce us – the conditions of greed, power, pride and selfishness.

Those first tenants had become deluded about their own importance in the scheme of things and about to whom true ownership belonged. The reckoned they owned the religion of Abraham and Moses, not God. They controlled the temple, the law, the gate of fellowship, not God. They alone possessed true understanding and knowledge, not God. When messengers came to remind them who was in control, who they were accountable to, they couldn’t bear the thought that they were not in complete control. They didn’t want to lose their power over the people, their pride of being seen as elite and righteous. Thus, it was easier to get rid of the messengers than it was to look in the mirror and see the distorted image of God looking back.

We may not have physically killed any prophets, but have we mistreated any messengers of God? Have we been confronted by those who speak the truth in love and refused to even give an ear? Or, have we seen a perceived messenger coming toward us and ran to hide from or avoid the encounter? God doesn’t just send weirdo prophets that eat bugs and don’t bathe…God sends next door neighbors, little children, family members, strangers, even enemies and disputes. That conversation you have been dreading…that picture on the front page of the paper that haunts you…that message you fail to return…that stranger in need…that difficult customer you avoid…that mirror you steer clear of…that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach – any of these and all of these could be messengers or messages sent to remind us we are not in control, we are not the owners of this entire wide world or even our own little private world.

Knowing we don’t own this world doesn’t mean we are not still responsible for the care and upkeep of all of creation. God, in his grace and love, has given us everything we have. God wants us to be happy, to have full and joyful lives, enjoying the beauty and blessings with which he surrounds us. We just need to remember, these are gifts on loan. None of it is truly ours – everything belongs to God from our possessions to our churches, our talents, our faith, our programs and mission, our lives. What we do with the things we have received is our gift back to God.

But too often our biggest sin is the sin of forgetting. We are the stewards of riches which belong to the Lord of creation. Like anyone put in charge, as stewards, of what belongs to someone else, if we have it long enough, and especially if we have not often been called to account, we are easily tempted to imagine that we own it outright and that we can do as we please with it. [http://www.beswick.info/rclresources/27A9399OS.htm] Walter Brueggemann writes, ““Thou shall not covet" is economic policy. When you get into a safe place you will become greedy. Your stuff will make you forget that it is all a gift!” In this Gillespie County [Kimble County] vineyard we are pretty safe, we are fairly comfortable so we need to take stock of ourselves and ask…are we being forgetful? Has God tried to call us to an account, to collect the fruit of our labors, to remind us that we don’t own it all only to find that we have ignored the messengers? Have we moved our focus from service and caretaking to instead opt for a consumer attitude for everything in our lives, including our worshipping communities?

I think it is true that stewardship is less about possessions than possessiveness. Where we place our trust tells our true story and flavors the fruit we produce. In Galatians, Paul tells us that the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. These are fruits that have no real monetary value, but in terms of the credit card commercial each is “priceless”. Have you thought of these as gifts from God that we are called to return to God through showing them to each and every person we encounter…not just the people we like?

This leads to what Jesus called the Greatest Commandment and to what I believe is a true guide to understanding what kind of a tenant we are…love of God and love of neighbor. When these are our two main foci, self-interest, greed, pride, and power cannot even register on our radar screen, because they all involve the “me point of view”. Our point of view must always begin outside of ourselves. We cannot truly love God without loving our neighbor and I would extend that to also apply to loving God’s creation.

The choices we make, the actions and reactions we display all reflect the image of God that we carry within us. And there is no better place to take account of the image we project than this table set before us. We are not the owners of the table, we are not the gatekeepers or the policy makers or judges…we are the guests, invited to share in the life of Christ in a tangible way through bread and cup. And today, we share in this life with all those who profess Christ, who try to be good stewards and return their lives to God. The thing to remember is that none of us is perfect. We all fall short; we all stumble in our motives and actions. But here, we are beloved and we are forgiven, we are strengthened and we are renewed. Today, by remembering that we are but a tiny part of the whole body of Christ, we are encouraged to reach out across borders and barriers of race, culture, and nation and embrace our sisters and brothers in the faith through that Great Commandment. It is not easy, because it is costly.

So, exactly what does it cost us to come to this table as an honest steward, as a good tenant? It costs us losing our pride, our greed, our control, our judgment of others as we give ourselves back to God. What we do present to God uses the currency of love, humility, and compassion. God placed us as stewards of His precious vineyard and it cost the Father the life of his Son. When we are honest with ourselves…the price is no less for us. The question is, are we willing to pay in full? Amen.