Excluded...Shutout

Is everyone included in God’s forgiveness? Is there anyone you believe doesn’t deserve God’s forgiveness and love? Who wouldn’t be welcome to come and worship here with us in this sanctuary? Who would be excluded, shunned, shut out?

At first read of the gospel lesson it sounds as if Jesus is excluding the Canaanite woman because she’s a foreigner. He tells her that he’s come only for the lost sheep of Israel… “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

That sure sounds to me like exclusion. Why did Jesus say that? And if meant it what was he doing in Tyre and Sidon? Maybe he was looking for the lost sheep of Israel there.

A question that came to my mind was this, “Can God’s mind be changed?” Are there examples in the Bible of God’s mind being changed?

The reason I ask is this, if Jesus is the Son of God, and God the Father and God the Spirit are One and God is love and Jesus has already helped the lost children of Israel by feeding them bread and fish and his words…and he healed the centurion’s servant, who were both foreigners, then why not heal this poor woman’s daughter?

This is Matthew’s gospel and maybe he included this story because there was a problem that could only be addressed by showing how Jesus came to accept the fact that God’s Kingdom was truly for all, Israelites and Gentiles.

However you may want to interpret Matthew’s gospel Jesus did in fact grant her request. Because of her faith, and her persistence, her daughter was healed.

As I read this I think back to Moses’ and God’s conversations in the wilderness. How many times did God want to erase the whiners and complainers from the face of the earth and yet as Moses counseled against it? God relented and let them live. Maybe not all of them lived but my point is Moses argued for leniency and God listened and changed his plan.

That’s one example. There are others in the Old Testament stories. God being the great I Am and Jesus being one with God then I believe God can change his plan. God can learn from his creation.

If God can learn then shouldn’t we also be able to learn, from God and his creation? Maybe I should say if God is willing to learn then shouldn’t we also be willing to learn and change our minds?

Maybe we don’t intentionally exclude folks from worshiping with us but look around. Who’s missing? It looks as if we’re missing a whole generation.

Do they feel shunned, excluded, shutout? How can we know for sure unless we sit down and have a one-on-one non-judgmental conversation with them?

Friends, it’s not just Walnut First Presbyterian Church that’s experiencing this. It’s a large number of churches in quite a few denominations.

The Canaanite woman came to Jesus for help. At first he was reluctant. Then he, because of her faith, healed her daughter. Her directness, her faith, changed Jesus’ mind.

David Lose in his blog this week says that maybe each of us should sit down with one of the missing generation and ask the difficult question, “What needs to change in Sunday worship to make it more meaningful to you and your family?”

This isn’t an easy thing to do because we’ve worshipped like this our whole lives and it’s been meaningful for us so why not for the next generation and the next one after that?

What does this have to do with today’s gospel lesson? The Canaanite woman because of Jewish law was unclean because she was a Gentile. She took a chance when she approached Jesus.

We have been given a commission by Jesus to go make disciples. It’s hard to make disciples when we see the same faces in worship every Sunday. And, by the same token, it may be hard for those we’re supposed to be reaching out to sit here and not understand what we’re doing.

Why’s this important? It important because I think you all care. Not just because you don’t want to see this church close its doors but because you genuinely care for the folks who are missing.

Friends, we can’t wait for them to come to us and ask us to heal them. We need to meet them where they are and listen…and learn from them…because they’re smart and they have much to teach us. And the other part of it is this, “Where did Jesus go to find the missing?” He went to the people. He ate with them. He talked with them. He listened to them. He healed them. He learned from them.

So, my friends, join me this week in asking the hard questions and then listening as they answer. You all have friends of that missing generation you can sit and talk with.

May God grant us his grace and peace this week as we go further into this journey.

Why?

The question before us this morning isn’t how Jesus was able to walk on the water but why did Matthew think it was important to include it in his gospel. The people of Jesus’ day didn’t have any doubts that God could do things that no one else could do. They accepted that and they didn’t worry or think about how God did what he did. God did what he did and they were to pay attention.

So why did Matthew tell this story to his readers? Could it be that he wanted people to know that Jesus could do things that were beyond anyone’s understanding?  Could it be that he wanted folks to know that Jesus did and could do things no one ever expected could be done? Could it be that he wanted everyone to see that, where Jesus was concerned, what looked like failure or catastrophe to ordinary people, like the disciples and you and me, wasn’t.

The disciples were in a boat that was about to be swamped by the wind and the waves. They’d been tossed about for some time it sounds like. And then early in the morning they looked and saw a figure walking across the water…and they were scared.

Do you think that Jesus knew the disciples were going to be in trouble even when he sent them out alone across the water? Do you think maybe he was preparing them for his eventual departure and his final command to go to all nations, make disciples, and baptize them in the name of the Triune God?

Do you think the disciples thought about this later as they worshipped in their house churches and struggled to follow in the ‘Way’ of Jesus? Do you think they compared their boat to the new and struggling church? Maybe not.

So, good friends, do you get the ‘Message’ for us in the gospel lesson today? Don’t you feel sometimes that we are sometimes sent out alone to make disciples and baptize? Don’t you sometimes think that the wind and the waves are too much? Don’t you sometimes wonder, “Where is Jesus when we need him?”

Maybe that’s part of God’s plan. Maybe God wants to see if we’re going to rely on our own wits to make disciples and baptize or if we’re going to turn to God in faith and patiently wait for him to assure us that it’s all right, to not be afraid, to trust in his Son.

So many times we read this gospel lesson and are in awe of Jesus’ ability to control the wind and the waves and we miss the real point of the lesson. It’s not about Jesus’ power. It’s about the fact that he has compassion, he cares. He cares enough to come to us in the storm.

Why’d he walk on the water? Maybe it was the best way for Jesus to take care of the disciples in the situation they were experiencing at that particular time.  Aren’t we all in the boat with the disciples? Aren’t we all ready for Jesus to come to us and give us a hand?

I’d hope we are. And if we are, then don’t you think we should be prepared to take risks, like getting out of a boat in the midst of the wind and the wave, to try new ways to be the church where we are, to try new ways to build community, to try new ways to share our faith and bring our friends to come and know Jesus as we do?

Friends, just like you need to keep your eye on the ball when you’re playing catch so we need to keep our focus on Jesus as we step out in faith to this work we’re all called to do.

Sometimes, when we get outside of our comfort zone we’re going to fail. And then when we cry out for God’s help we might hear the words, “You of little faith. Why do you doubt?” God’s hand will lift us up out of our failures and walk with us as we try something different. Maybe it will work and maybe it won’t.

The important point to remember that God is always beside us. God always cares no matter what predicament we get ourselves into. All God asks is that we have faith.

Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.

The Leftovers

The bits let over, what of those? Pieces left strewn around, no longer required. A plethora of scraps, yet Christ leaves none discarded but calls for all to be gathered in, saved and treasured.

Baskets filled with an extravagance, excess cherished. Symbolism that can only be imagined. A hungry crowd, a boy’s packed lunch, a great big picnic. People fed and still enough to go on sharing the blessing, abundance, and grace of God. Spill the Beans, Issue 12

The leftovers, pieces of pieces, what good are they? They’ve been handled by others. Who knows what kind of germs they harbor? Who knows if they washed their hands or not? Who would want the leftovers?

I’ve read this story before. I remember my grandma telling me this story in Sunday school. I remember thinking how could Jesus bless five loaves of bread and two fish, feed the people and still have twelve baskets full of leftovers. Some think that because the boy gave up his lunch to the disciples the others there felt guilty and gave up some of theirs too.

That’s cool, but what about the leftovers they gathered up? What did Jesus expect them to do with the leftovers? Matthew doesn’t tell us that.

If we read ahead the disciples get in a boat and leave Jesus to go away by himself. What did they do with the leftovers?

What do you do with leftovers? Do you keep leftovers? Personally I love leftovers. Some dishes just get better as they age a little while in the refrigerator.

But what did Jesus have the disciples do with the pieces of the pieces? What would you do if you had 12 baskets of leftover fish and bread? You’d have to do something with it because it wouldn’t be long and the fish would begin to smell bad.

Some would focus on the miracle of feeding 5,000 men plus women and children with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. But the lesson could be about what happened after, with the leftovers.

Think about what we do when we have leftover meat from the Antique Walk or leftover dressing or pies from the Supper. We give it away. We share our excess with those who can use it. Well, some of us can use it and some of us just have room in our frig’s for extra food.

Anyway, we share and maybe that’s what Jesus’ disciples did with the leftovers. And maybe that’s the real lesson here for us today, sharing the leftovers.

So, that leads me to this. What do we have leftover that we can share? And who would we share it with?

Today we celebrate and remember the Lord’s Last Supper. Today we break bread that someone brought and is sharing with us and we serve each other the cup and the bread. We share.

We share when we invite friends over for lunch or coffee or conversation. Last week we heard Jesus talk about what the kingdom of heaven was like. Maybe the kingdom of heaven is in these everyday things that we share in community with our neighbors and the strangers who come knocking on our doors. Maybe the kingdom of heaven is discovered and shared in even the tiniest crumb as much as in the whole loaf of bread.

So, maybe, the miracle is in the everyday sharing, the everyday feeding, the everyday conversation.

Maybe the miracle is in the leftovers that we often don’t see much value in. What are you going to do with the leftovers you have?

Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.

The Kingdom of Heaven Is...

Why did Matthew write this scripture we heard read today and have Jesus tell so many different stories about what the kingdom of heaven is like, like a mustard seed, yeast mixed into 60 pounds of flour by a woman, a buried treasure in a field, a priceless, one-of-a-kind pearl, a fishing net full of everything.

I believe Jesus for sure knew what the kingdom of heaven was like because he’d been there or was there. He did say the kingdom of heaven was near. So why did he use these metaphors to describe the kingdom of heaven?

To begin with a mustard seed is small. It’s easily lost in the soil if you drop it. And that little bit of yeast the woman mixed into 60 pounds of flour can’t be separated from the flour after the woman has kneaded it into the batter. A treasure that’s buried in a field, possibly by someone a long time ago, can’t be seen because it’s buried. Priceless pearls aren’t seen every day. They’re very rare. And a net cast into a lake can’t be seen as it’s dragged through the water.

Similarities between these different examples might be how they accomplish the work they’re intended for without anyone noticing. The seed’s buried in the ground being changed into a plant that will emerge. The yeast is buried in the flour mixture and only after being allowed time to work will it transform the flour mixture into a fluffy loaf of bread. The treasure buried in the field does no one any good until it’s found and dug up. That priceless pearl may be buried in a pile of ordinary, everyday pearls and its value isn’t noticed until it’s brought into the light of day. And that net being dragged through the lake buried by the water is absolutely worthless until it’s trapped all it can hold.

Could it be that the kingdom of heaven is hidden, buried in our souls, in our lives, so well camouflaged we don’t even notice it?

And yet, when we do discover the kingdom of heaven we realize we’ve found a treasure. A treasure of so much value that we willingly give all we have just to have it.

Some folks are out searching for the kingdom of heaven because they know it’s what they desire above anything else in their lives. Again when they find it they willingly give all they have, all they are, to acquire it.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that God’s love, peace, and grace are for everyone, all people and now we’ve heard how the kingdom of heaven is like a huge net that’s being drug through a lake until it’s overflowing with stuff and then brought in and the stuff of value is separated from the junk. Imagine the kingdom of heaven right here, right now available to everyone and when it’s full God reels it in and sets to work separating the valuable from the trash.

So, what do you think? Have you seen and or experienced the kingdom of heaven? Or has it been so well hidden, you’ve never even noticed it?

Maybe the kingdom of heaven is kind of like the blind men who encountered the elephant and began to each give their own description. Every one of them touched the elephant in a different place and therefore their testimonies weren’t the same. Yet they were all touching the same elephant.

Could it be the kingdom of heaven is different for each of us because we encounter the kingdom in different places, at different times, and, maybe even, in different ways?

That may be the answer to why Jesus used so many different metaphors to describe the kingdom of heaven.

Don’t you wonder if the kingdom of heaven is made of so many layers and dimensions that it would be and is impossible to define? It will probably remain a mystery, a phenomenon, for all of us until the curtain is lifted and Christ comes again in all his glory.

In the meantime maybe we should pay more attention to the things, and people, around us. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll catch a glimpse of this kingdom Jesus described.

Thanks be to God for granting us his grace. Amen.

God Throws His Seeds, His Blessing, His Grace Everywhere

Who here this morning has had a yard so full of weeds that they killed all the weeds and started all over trying to get good grass established? Quite a few I imagine.

So, what was the process like that you used to get your new lawn? Did you try more than one? How long did you work before you were satisfied with the results? Or are you still working on it?

When 'L' and I bought our place the lawn hadn’t been sprayed for weeds for a few years. There were bare patches where nothing grew. Yet, there were places where dandelions and plantain and wild violets…oh, I can’t forget the creeping Charlie. They were all thriving in the environment of our yard.

So, I did what I knew to do, I sprayed and then I sprayed some more and then I sprayed even more. And then we pulled and dug weeds out of the flower beds.

Then I raked and bought bluegrass seed and carrying the bag I’d reach in taking hands full of seed throwing them in a semi-circle as I walked the grid I had laid out in my head. And I waited for rain. The next year I did it again. And the next year I did it again. Finally it began to look like a lawn.

But there was a place where, no matter what I did, no grass seed would or could grow. That was underneath the purple maple tree.

Eventually I gave up trying to grow grass there and planted hosta and bleeding hearts and lilies and such.

You would think that the job would be done at some point but it seems like there’s always a dandelion or violet or creeping Charlie that sneaks in and so I spray.

And every so often I get my bag of seed, I’ve learned that I need grass that grows best in shade, and I throw hands full of seed on the thin places. And some gets in the flower beds where it grows very well. I only wish it would do that in the thin places.

So, today’s gospel lesson has Jesus telling the folks gathered on the beach a story about a farmer going out to sow seed in his field.

Even though Jesus is talking about a farmer sowing seed the people understood that he was really talking about something else.

Let me pause here and ask you why Jesus came to Israel and to whom did he come to preach and teach? He came to save God’s chosen ones, the people of Israel.

So, those listening to him teach, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the Levites caught on right away that he was talking about God’s Word, God’s Love, God’s Grace being offered to everyone. Jesus was saying that God wasn’t being exclusive, he was spreading his kingdom, his good news everywhere so everyone had a chance to receive his love.

That didn’t sit well with the religious folks of Jesus’ day. They couldn’t believe that God was offering his grace to the Gentiles, the foreigners and aliens of the land.

So, was this a new tenet Jesus was preaching or not? I don’t think so. Many times in the Old Testament we find God’s grace falling on those who weren’t God’s chosen ones. In Isaiah 55 beginning with verse 10 we find this,…“¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Go clear back to Genesis and read about God creating this universe, this world and everything that we can see and everything we can’t see. How did it come to be? God spoke and his voice boomed throughout the universe and it just was.

God is generous, and extravagant. Think about this for a minute. All the people in the world, what do you believe they were created for and where did they come from…all the people? If we believe that God created everything and everyone then doesn’t it make sense that in God’s kingdom all will be invited?

So, God’s grace, God’s Word, God’s Love is sown everywhere giving everyone a chance to receive it all. God doesn’t care where it lands. Just like the farmer throwing the seeds scattering them on rocks, on poor soil, in the weed patch, and on the good soil so God scatters his grace.

Now, what do you think our friend Paul had to say about this? Go to his second letter to the Corinthians chapter 9 beginning with verse 6. He says, “⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰ Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

¹² This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³ Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴ And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

There’s that word ‘generosity’ again. And Paul adds the word abundantly. God blesses us with abundance so we can be generous in return scattering our blessings wherever, to whomever God puts out there for you and me to encounter.

So, my good friends, God in his mercy has blessed us with his abundance and his grace. What do you think he’d have us do with it after hearing these scriptures today? Bury it in the ground? I don’t think so. Let those who have ears to hear, listen.

Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.           

Square Pegs and Round Holes

Jesus and John the Baptist were two very different people. Those who knew both of them couldn’t believe they were cousins. They were almost exact opposites. One lived a very simple, almost austere, life and the other enjoyed being with folks at parties and interacting with people eating and drinking rich food. Jesus seemed to always be with people who weren’t very likely to associate with those Jews who followed the Law to the letter.

     Even though they were so different, even though they both preached about repentance, people had trouble understanding they were both preaching about God’s kingdom. One was the ‘messenger’ and the other the Messiah. One was a square peg and the other was the round hole. Folks couldn’t see how they could get the two together. So, they had questions. They just didn’t get it.

     Both John and Jesus had a message from God for the people. Some got it and quite a few didn’t. They were so used to listening to the leaders of the Temple about keeping the Law down to the last little letter that they couldn’t believe that Jesus’ “yoke” could be any easier.

     If it was easier it couldn’t possibly be right. It has to be hard to a Jew, to be perfect, to be holy. Some folks believe the same thing about being a follower of Jesus. It has to be hard to follow Jesus. It has to be painful to be perfect. We have to jump through a lot of hoops to be holy. It can’t be fun to be a follower of the Way. Not everybody can do it.

     Go back to the beginning of the gospel lesson you heard today. Jesus is talking about children playing their games in the street. They played their songs but some children didn’t come out to dance. They sang funeral songs but no one came to mourn.

     I could say something similar. I preached a message of repentance but no one repented. I preached a message of loving neighbors and still there are neighbors who aren’t loved. I preached a message about peace and yet there’s war, between countries, between neighbors, between brothers and sisters.

     Jesus prayed to the Father and gave him praise because he was glad that the smart, powerful people didn’t get his message but the common, little people did.

     Who gets the message from God today? Is it the wise and learned or is it those we don’t pay attention to as we go about living our lives?  Are we trying to follow all the commandments in the Old Testament, doing it the hard way? Are we asking those others to do it our way or do we trust God to show us the way? Are we expecting everyone to be like us? Are we trying to get square pegs to fit into round holes?

     Is there only one way to know and follow and do God’s work? Maybe we’re the ones who aren’t getting it. Maybe we’re the ones who are wrong. Maybe there’s another way or maybe there’s more than one way to be a true follower of Jesus. Maybe our yoke is heavier than it should be.

     So, what are we going to do? What are you going to do? Are you going to keep trying to get every one to conform to your way of thinking? Are you expecting everyone who comes through these doors to be just like you or me? Are you still teaching the same way you did 25 years ago and expecting those listening today to get it? Are you playing the same song and complaining because no one’s dancing to your music?

     Friends, it’s time to open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to God’s Message of repentance and love. It’s time to admit to ourselves and others that we don’t have all the answers, that maybe we’ve been wrong. It’s time to stop talking and listen to ‘others’ concerns and questions.

     If we’re the square pegs and we encounter some round holes it’s about time that we sit down and listen to each other and see how it’s possible to coexist. Maybe it’s time to put some radii on our perfect 90 degree corners.

     Friends, it’s time to take off the old yoke that has become so burdensome, that has been chafing our shoulders and put on this ‘yoke’ Jesus is talking about. It’s time to trust God and let God show us the way.

     It’s time to simplify our lives. It’s time to listen to the others. It’s time to help and love the others, even if we don’t understand their lifestyle. It’s time to quit trying to make them life us.

     In life just like in our world there are many different kinds of people and personalities and shapes. There are some who are triangles. Some who are squares and some who are circles. And then there are those who are really different, they’re trapezoids and ellipses. Where’d they come from?

     All of us have been given gifts from God. This I believe. All of us, I believe, are expected to use our gifts to the benefit of those who live around us.

     So, as I mentioned at the beginning of worship this morning, take some time to pray and listen for God’s prompting this week. Pay attention to how God is working all around you. And at the end of your day reflect on you noticed God helping you with this holy work you’ve been called to.

          My friends, Jesus’ yoke is light and easy, try it on and give God your thanks and praise for the grace he shows you every day. Amen.

Welcome! Come, All You Who Thirst!

Who would ever think that a cool, refreshing bottle of water would be just the thing to offer someone in welcome? This bottle is nothing special. It’s just a thin plastic bottle filled with clean, filtered water. And yet there are times I would gladly have paid money for one cool bottle of water.

On the farm, in the days before nitrogen fertilizers and herbicides and insecticides, I would get off the tractor and drink straight from the end of the tile line. The water was so cold and so good and so refreshing. It was way better than the water in my thermos jug sitting beside my feet on the tractor.

Living here in Iowa we always have a well of water to draw from. We don’t worry about the wells running dry very often. Our well on the farm never was in danger of running out of water, even on the driest, hottest summer day.

Yet, I’ve read that only 1 in 6 people can count on having water so readily available to them. Over 80 per cent of the people in the world would give anything to have just a little of the water we have available at our fingertips.

One small glass of water seems so insignificant and yet it can mean so much to someone somewhere else in the world.

So, when Jesus says, “…if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward,” you can begin to understand what it means to offer hospitality to these little ones he’s talking about. 

Jesus is saying that, to him and to God, it’s important that we help those who’re without resources, even if it’s just a bottle of water.  But, I think, there’s more to it.

I think he’s telling us how extremely important it is to be hospitable. By helping someone, you and I may very well be welcoming angels into our midst. But we don’t do it just to have angels be our guests, we do it because we care and we can’t bear to see someone die of thirst. It doesn’t seem like much but to the one whose tongue is parched it’s a lifesaver.

So, let’s take this one step further. What do we do for the person who’s thirsting for righteousness? How do we quench that thirst? It’s probably going to take more than a cup of water.

For example, what about the person who’s the next thing to being homeless who’s being taken advantage of because they suffer from some form of mental illness? Think how important one small act of kindness is to them. Maybe 5 minutes of our time to listen to their woes. Maybe just a kind word or a hug or cup of coffee is all they need to lift their spirits. And they may just give you an opportunity to tell them about Jesus and God’s love.

Think about what it does for you when someone pops over with a fresh, homemade strawberry pie with whipped cream on top. You may have been having the worst day but the sight of that person and that pie made you forget about, at least for a while, all that had gone wrong with your day.

What’s it feel like when someone comes over and puts an arm around your shoulder and tells you how much they love you? That’s what a cup of cool water is like for that one who’s dying of thirst. That’s what it feels like to someone whose days hold no joy when someone tells them they love them and couldn’t imagine life without them. That’s what it feels like when they learn that God loves them that much too!

Maybe they’ve never had anyone tell them that, ever! Can you imagine never being told you are worth something? Then to have someone quench your thirst for love with the story of God’s love for the world through Jesus Christ. Imagine what that must be like.

My friends, we’re blessed and our God begs us to share what we have with those who have nothing. As far out as this might seem to you imagine yourself in their spot. Imagine what it would feel like to you to have someone share a little of what they have with you when you have nothing.

It’s kind of like having someone reach out their hand to save you when you’re drowning and you just know there’s no way you can save yourself. Just one act of kindness and hospitality can do that same thing.

Thanks be to God for reaching out to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.