The Jacob Chronicles 1: Cheated

 

The Jacob Chronicles: Cheated

A Sermon by Brent J. Eelman

Genesis 25:19-34

19 These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore
them. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Every Sunday morning, our family would go to church.  My mother would take the four children and we would sit in the same pew every Sunday (2^nd row from the back on the right side of the aisle).  Truthfully, as a child, it was the longest hour of the week.  My mind would often wander when I sat in the congregation during worship, especially the sermon. For some reason preaching just didn't hold my attention. Consequently, I devised a host of different ways to get myself through the 30-minute sermon.

·      I would count the number of tiles in the ceiling.

·      I would take the bulletin and fill in all the O’s and zeros with a pen.

·      If I began to fidget too much, I would soon feel my mother’s hand on my knee.

·      And if I continued to squrm my mother’s hand would soon deliver the infamous “church pinch” to settle me down.  

I found the worship to be painfully dull apart from singing the hymns. But as I got older, I began to read the stories in the Bible. Something just didn't connect! They were great stories! David and Goliath was a fascinating story for a young boy to read. It spoke to me and said that a youngster like me could make a difference and didn't need to fear the “giants” (and bullies) who threatened. I grew to love the stories of the Old Testament. 

·      Adam and Eve

·      Cain and Abel

·      Noah and the flood

·      Moses and the snakes

·      The Golden calf

·      Saul and David

·      Solomon and the Construction of the Temple

·      And of course, Jacob and Esau.

 

 I wondered how the preacher could take such fabulous narratives and make them boring!

Later, in college, I discovered the Danish Philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard.  He gave voice to my thoughts about the Old Testament.  He wrote:

“Let other complain that the age is wicked; my complaint is that it is paltry; for it lacks passion. Men's thoughts are thin and flimsy like lace, they are themselves pitiable like the lacemakers. The thoughts of their hearts are too paltry to be sinful. For a worm it might be regarded as a sin to harbor such thoughts, but not for a being made in the image of God. Their lusts are dull and sluggish, their passions sleepy...This is the reason my soul always turns back to the Old Testament and to Shakespeare. I feel that those who speak there are at least human beings: they hate, they love, they murder their enemies, and curse their descendants throughout all generations, they sin.”

The stories in Genesis have all the components of good drama. There is nothing dull about them. They are filled with:

·      romance,

·      conflict,

·      lust,

·      war,

·      humor,

·      and perhaps, most interesting…..sin.

 

During the next 6 weeks I will be preaching using the stories in Genesis about Jacob and his extended family. His importance to the Old Testament cannot be overstated. Jacob was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. These engaging stories reveal a great deal:

·      about human nature,

·      about God,

·      about relationships,

·      and about spiritual development. 

 

They are also contemporary stories, and it is not hard to place ourselves in the midst of them and understand our own lives in terms of them.  That is my intention for the next 6 weeks.  I want us to experience these ancient narratives as contemporary drama.

I

Let me retell this story of Jacob and Esau as though it occurred today.  It is about a squabbling family: The Abrahamson family: Isaac and Rebecca and their two sons, Esau and Jacob.  We might use the word “dysfunctional” to describe it. In our day, they would be referred to a family therapist.   I imagine her report might read something like this:

 

“ Case # 3244. The Abrahamson family is highly conflicted. The primary reason for the referral to therapy was because of an intense conflict that developed between the two sons: Jacob and Esau. They are fraternal twins, but there is little similarity, physical, psychological, or social.
Esau is muscular, ruddy and large boned. His preferences are for physical work and he enjoys the outdoors. He has a high need for immediate gratification and often makes poor choices because of this. He has a quick temper and often threatens violence. He recently threatened his brother's life claiming that Jacob cheated him out of his birthright. 

 

“Jacob has finer physical features. He appears to be somewhat introverted. Nonetheless he practices risky behaviors, relying on his intuition as a guide. He prefers domestic environments and eschews physical labor. He is an accomplished cook and is more intelligent and craftier than both his father Isaac, and his brother Esau. 

 

Jacob also has several pathological personality traits. His personality has not matured. He is highly self-centered and believes that the world exists for his needs only. He is also sneaky and manipulative.  This appears to be the source of the conflict. Jacob has a vivid imagination but has not found a productive use for it. He is also narcissistic, and I fear this will impede any maturity or psychological development. It is apparent that he indeed cheated his brother on several occasions. 

 

“The conflict between the two siblings is exacerbated by poor parenting. Both parents play favorites with their children. Isaac, the father, outwardly favors Esau. Esau is the natural heir of Isaac's possessions and family stature. Esau is aware of this favoritism and plays on it, often bringing his father game from his hunting to curry favor. Isaac also has a lot of unresolved personal issues. He appears to have endured some type of trauma as a child. This trauma is related to his relationship with his father, Abraham. It has impacted Isaac's social interactions. Consequently, Isaac is withdrawn both emotionally and spiritually. Although he comes from a very religious family, he rarely speaks of this, which indicates some type of religious trauma or abuse. His life is also complicated by his progressive blindness. 

 

Isaac is of low/average intelligence, but he is able to function in his reasonably unsophisticated world, but complex situations, especially relationships, bewilder and frustrate him. He shares this with his son Esau. 

 

Rebecca, the mother, is quite intelligent and seems to be the unacknowledged leader of the family. In order to survive in this patriarchal culture, her intelligence is often manifest in passive and manipulative behaviors. She favors Jacob and shares these characteristics with him.

Isaac and Rebecca seem to have a working relationship, but it is neither developed nor intense. Rebecca became pregnant with the twins at a later age and had a very difficult pregnancy. Part of the family legend is that the conflict between Jacob and Esau began in her womb, causing the difficult pregnancy. Rebecca, despite her cunning and often manipulative behavior, is quite devout and spends a great deal of time in prayer and reflecting on spiritual matters. 

 

One might conclude from this analysis that the Abrahamson family is highly dysfunctional, and that conflict will continue unless there is some intervention. There is a strong possibility that this conflict could even become violent. All of this is fueled by Isaac's poor health and questions surrounding the family inheritance.” 

 

Do you get the picture? Why is this story so important? I have updated the events and even made them modern in terms of psychological theory, but the question remains: “So what? One more dysfunctional family!”  The biblical answer is: this is the foundational family for the history of Israel….

And they are a mess!

II

This story, and the ones that follow are important for our generation because they reveal a great deal to us about God. The events are like a soap opera, with one exception. God is the primary player in this drama.  

 

In this narrative, we discover that God is not bound by human weakness and inabilities. God uses:

·      dysfunctional families,

·      immature and self-centered young men,

·      manipulating spouses,

·      and hard-working stiffs

    to accomplish God’s purposes. 

 

God's choice of people, to be God’s people, does not make always sense to us. (There must have been healthier families around... why didn't God choose them?) This quality of God is both mystifying and hopeful! Why does God choose whom God chooses?

But then, consider Jesus. He picked some very ordinary individuals to lead an amazing revolution of the spirit. Fisherman! Tax collectors! Harlots and outcasts! This is the story of God that is revealed to us in the pages of the Bible. It is a strange and intriguing story – a very human story. But most importantly, it is a story of hope!

·  It is hopeful because it reveals that human beings have the capacity to change and grow. We can mature and our lives can be purposeful.

·  It is hopeful, because it tells us that God can take the most messed up family, and bring forth from that family leadership that makes a difference in the world.

·  It is hopeful because it says to every person who comes from a dysfunctional context... “You can rise above it.” 

 

It also reminds us to be careful in our judgments of others. God sees people differently!

                                         III

Finally, this narrative reveals the way that God works in the lives of individual human beings. It reveals that God does not accept the limitations of custom and norm. God disregarded the patriarchal culture of that day. The instrument of God’s plan and intention was not Isaac, but Rebecca! 

 

The custom of that day would bestow everything on Esau, (the family blessing and the inheritance,) because he was the older, albeit by a few minutes. God is neither a respecter of patriarchal human tradition nor custom. Jacob, the second son, received the birthright. 

Most importantly, it reveals that amidst the soap operas of our lives, with its intrigue and craziness, there is purpose. God is working toward an end that we may not perceive. God may be calling you or me to a task that we may not understand nor believe is possible. This is the significance of “the Jacob Chronicles.” A spoiled brat, a self-centered, “momma's boy”; a kid who people thought would amount to nothing... becomes the parent of 12 tribes and a nation that would bear his future name: Israel. 

 

This transformative history begins in this mixed-up mess of a family.  The next five sermons will take us on a journey where we see God at work in the lives of families and individuals:

·      Shaping them.

·      Changing them.

·      Interceding in their lives.

·      And calling them. 

 

But today the story is about a muddled mess of a boy, in a dysfunctional family. It is the story of that same boy cheating his older brother. That is where it begins... yet it ends in hope...

Consider, your beginning... your family of origin, your current context, your secret sins, and flaws... they are the strands that are woven into the tapestry of your personal story. It is purposeful and indeed, it too, will also end in hope... by the grace of God. Amen.

 

Stormy Weather

 Stormy Weather
A Sermon by Brent J Eelman
Preached at Harmony Presbyterian Church
Fort Collins, CO. April 24, 2022


Isaiah 43: 1-3a 

But now thus says the Lord,
    he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.

 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Mark 4: 35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”  And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.  A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

We have seen a great deal of stormy weather during the last two weeks.  Not necessarily the rain storms that we have been hoping for, but rather powerful winds with gusts over 60 miles per hour.  That coupled with the low humidity and drought has also created additional hazards for many farmers, ranchers and homeowners.  As recently as yesterday there were more than a dozen wild fires burning in Colorado.  I really don’t like this weather and there is a part of me that is whining, wanting a few nice days and a break for this “stormy weather”.

“Stormy Weather” is the title of an old jazz standard, but the song is not about the weather, it is about life. Indeed weather is often a metaphor for our experience of life itself.  Do you remember the lyrics?

    Life is bare, gloom and misery everywhere, stormy weather
    Just can't get my poor old self together
    I'm weary all the time, the time
    So weary all the time, stormy weather.

There are storms in life!  Though we may be fearful, we are not alone in the midst of them. Today I will look at the storms that often blow through our lives:  1) first, in terms of the story of Jesus and storm at sea. 2) Then I will look at the storms that often hit our lives. 3) Finally, I will conclude with a message about discipleship.

I

The story of Jesus and the storm at sea is a primal narrative that expresses human hopes and fears. My grandfather was a sailor in the Dutch merchant marine in the early 1900’s. When I knew him, he was quite old and very religious, but one time I got a glimpse of his chest while he was shaving and realized that he had a huge schooner ship tattooed on his chest; perhaps a sign of earlier times. My father told me the stories of how his sailing friends would come over to their home in the Netherlands and they would tell stories of the sea late into the night. As a young child, he often hid under the table so that he could listen to the sailors tell the tales of the sea. There were stories of exotic places; stories of humorous events, but also stories of near disaster.

But there was another story that seldom was told on those occasions. It was not my grandfather’s story, but my grandmother’s. She would wait on the tiny Dutch island in the North Sea, for months, sometimes years for her husband, Simon, to return. Tales would come in about storms and other disasters that occurred on the sea, but there would be no word until his ship sailed in. I cannot imagine the anxiety with which she lived. She ultimately had a nervous breakdown and required hospitalization.  Her physician recommended that my grandfather give up his life on the sea.  But there is a strange irony in that situation. The sea provided the family with a livelihood. It gave them the means to buy shelter and food. But the same sea also was a raging beast that could bring disaster and death at anytime.

Four of Jesus’ disciples were fisherman and were dependent upon the sea for their living. The sea also provided the ancients with a means of transportation from one place to another. But the sea could at any time become a ravenous beast. We have no record of the ancient Hebrew people being able to swim and so if the boat was capsized, it would mean certain death. Storms at sea were frightening and consequently the disciples were panicked. Jesus was sleeping! What an amazing gift to be able to sleep during a storm. But the disciples didn’t appreciate this and they screamed at him: “Don’t you care about us? We are all going to die?” (This is really a dumb question…. Of course he cares. He is literally in the same boat!) Then he calms the storm, looks at them quizzically and asks: “Don’t you have faith?”

Mark told this story in his gospel because he wanted to establish from the very beginning that Jesus was the Son of God. He wanted to show the amazing things that Jesus could do. In the process he also told the story of humanity caught in the midst of the storm. The disciples acted all too humanly and without faith. They were afraid. Mark is telling us that the opposite of faith is not doubt, it is fear!  Theirs was a fear that controlled them.  They believed there were going to perish. What a contrast this is to Jesus. He wasn’t afraid… he could sleep during a storm.

II

The destructive winds that we have experienced for the last two weeks are not the only storms in our lives. There are more significant storms that threaten the little boat that we know as life. There are waves that smack into us, jarring us and raising fear within us. There are events that cause us to realize that we are mortal.

• We are still in the midst of the pandemic.  A virus that has taken nearly a million lives in this country and has upset the rhythms of life.  The last 28 months have hit our society like a tidal wave and have produced a deep seated anxiety.
• We are in the midst of the first major land war in Europe in 80 years.  The reality of nuclear weapons contributes to the storms of anxiety that are engulfing us.
• The pandemic coupled with the war in Ukraine have upset supply chains and the availability of resources and food.  
• We also are in the midst of the storm of social and political unrest.  This storm has divided families, and has shattered friendships.  It has also divided communities and churches.  
• These storms have us asking,  “Does God care?”

How similar we are to the disciples, wondering if the sleeping Jesus cares about us, forgetting that he is with us. Here is the good news:  Just as Jesus was in the same boat with those disciples, God has cast his lot with humanity. He is with us.  If you can excuse the cliche, God has chosen to be in the same boat as us.

There are other storms that hit us personally.  There are the developmental storms that we experience when the little boats of our lives threaten to capsize. It can be the storm that is rooted in our personal identity. There are different times in our lives when we confront the question, “who am I, and why was I created?”

• At times this question hits us like a storm.
• Suddenly the job doesn’t give us the pleasure that it once did.
• Suddenly we no longer get the same satisfaction out of our hobbies.
• Something feels missing.
• Our toys, be they the new computer or the red sports car, just don’t have what it takes to lift our spirits.
• Who are we?

This I believe is a question of faith, and when we battle the elements of this storm, we often feel all alone and abandoned… Where is God? Why is this so painful? And then we realize that the faith we once knew is there, asleep in our soul.  It is awakened, and we hear the words: “I was with you always. I am here.”

There are also the storms that hit us with tragic personal events.

• It might be the loss of a loved one.
• It might be a tragic event or accident.
• It might be an illness that has afflicted you or someone close to you.
• It might be a broken relationship.
• It might be an event that shakes the easy peace that we enjoy so much. 

Once again we ask, “Where is God?” Fear holds us in its grip and we realize that fear, not doubt, is the opposite of faith.  These are lonely times. These are times when feel rejected, unloved and uncared for: Our desperate prayer might be,” Don’t you care about me God?” “Can’t you see that I am sinking?”

Jesus was there on the boat with the disciples… the spirit of Christ is with us in the midst of our storms. We read that God sheds a tear for the tiny sparrow when it falls from the nest. God’s tears mix with ours in our pain. He is with us and will not jump ship. 

III

Let me conclude with a word about discipleship. The church, the Christian community, is called to represent Christ to the world.  Indeed we are the body of Christ. The story of the ship caught in the storm gives us a unique insight into our calling as a community of faith.  Listen carefully: we need to learn to sleep in the midst of the storm.

The Christian community needs to be a calming presence amidst the panic and fear that grips the world. Sadly, tend to be an argumentative presence.  We need to be a calming and reassuring presence.  Jesus showed phenomenal strength by sleeping during a storm. Can we show that same strength?  

One of the major influences on my thinking about church and leadership is the late Edwin Friedman. He was a rabbi who brought a systemic vision to congregations and leadership. One of the terms that he coined was “non-anxious presence.” Leadership, he maintained, in this age of anxiety and fear, is manifest in being present to the anxiety, but not controlled by it. Jesus, on the boat, modeled this. We should strive to be that presence. This requires two things.

First it requires us to be present with people when they are afraid. It requires us to be present when the storms of life hit them. Presence is healing, and it has the power to calm storms. When I was a teenager and my uncle died, my father was crushed at the loss of his youngest brother. When he got that bad news, my older brother just held my father in his arms. It was an event that impacted me.  My father was a seminary professor and a respected theologian. What could a teenager say to a theologian at the time of death? But holding him.. be present was healing.  We need to be present with people in the storms of life.

Second, we need to keep our focus, because that is the source of our calm. Our focus is our faith in Christ and the belief that our lives are in God’s hands.  We need to reaffirm that regardless of what happens, God is with us, and that the resurrection is the final word in all things. If that is our focus, if that is the content of our faith, we will be able to sleep during the storms…and truly represent the Christ in this age.

There will be stormy seas for all of us. There will be waves we ride that will threaten our very being. Know that just as Jesus was on that boat with his disciples, he is also with you in the midst of your storms. With that assurance, let us go forth in Christ’s name, into this world, filled as it is with storms, fear and panic.  Let us calmly and assuredly proclaim this good news. Amen.

Count it All Joy!

 Count It All Joy
A sermon preached at the Installation of Judith Dwyer
Northampton Presbyterian Church
April 3, 2022

James 1:2-4   

 My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance;  and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

 

Philippians 4:4-7

 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Members of the Presbytery of Philadelphia; members and friends of Northampton Presbyterian Church, friends and family of Judy, and you, Judy Dwyer:  Rejoice in the Lord! Again, I will say it. Rejoice!

 
Those words of the Apostle Paul were written to the church at Philippi.  It is one of the later letters of Paul and reflects a pensive, mature, and reflective individual.  Facing the possibility of his own crucifixion, he was looking back on his life and reflecting on what was important and what was not.  As he wrote or dictated those words he was in a Roman prison.  He was likely shackled to another prisoner, thus limiting his mobility and any sense of privacy.  It was a miserable circumstance, and yet the words flowed from his pen, “Rejoice!”  

The letter of James declared to the early Christian communities, “whenever you face trials of any kind, count it all joy…”.  This was a time of oppression, deprivation, and hardship for the early Christian community.  It was a time of martyrdom for many who would read or hear these words of James, “whenever you face trials of any kind, count it all joy….”  

This afternoon, I, first, want to reflect on our own context in terms of these admonitions to joy from James and Paul.  Second, I want to examine the nature of joy within our lives and ministry. Third, how does the admonition to joy speak to the church in 2022? How does it speak to Northampton Presbyterian Church?  How does it speak to Judy Dwyer?  

I

Fifteen years ago, Judy began to struggle with a sense of call to the ministry.  She was working with me and others at Abington Presbyterian Church.  I went back and looked at some of my sermons and notes from that period of time.  What was consuming most of our time back then?  What was keeping us up at night?

• Building renovations
• Stewardship Drives
• Youth programs
• Mission trips
• Proofing the bulletin
• Updating the web page
• Session meetings
• Committee meetings
• Organizing and reorganizing the deacons
• Visiting the sick and the shut-ins
• Meeting and sometimes cutting the budget.  

You get the idea…. Oh yes, at least once or twice a month there was the complaint about the condition of the bathroom, a matter of pastoral importance!  It all seemed so important then.  

At that time our congregations were getting older and smaller, yet sadly, much of our ministry was spent doing “event planning” and tending to the trivial.  We clergy would get together and compare calendars (our “busy books”), often moaning, (but really bragging) about how busy we were….And we were.  It was in this context that you, Judy, began to sense a call to ministry.  I am not sure what your vision of ministry was, and I am not sure it even matters.  You are not called to ministry to deal with the challenges of 15 years ago. You are called, educated, and ordained to minister in this moment and this time.  The challenges are wholly different.  A great deal has changed.  

Two years ago, we found ourselves in the midst of a pandemic.  A virus, one of the smallest biological entities in creation, attacked humanity and wreaked suffering and death throughout the earth.  In response to this pandemic we shut down. This was the responsible thing to do.  For churches it meant that we no longer gathered together for worship.  Congregations developed “Covid Response Teams” that made decisions about:

• opening and closing worship.  
• How to worship.
• Whether to wear masks.
• Whether to sing or not.  
• How to respond to the latest wave of infections.  

The techies in the congregation soon developed online worship, virtual meetings, classes and the like. We began to suffer from “zoom fatigue” and developed YouTube worship syndrome (worshiping in pajamas with a cup of coffee, a donut and siting in a recliner!).  All this, we hoped was a temporary response, and we would get back to “normal” some day.

The reality is that we will not return.  This little virus has held up a mirror to our society and to the church and has dared us to look at who we are.  It has opened up some of the ugly realities that we have hidden for a long time.
The realities of racism, long covered up, has reared its ugly head.  We have seen it overtly manifest in the streets of Charlottesville.  But its systemic realities touch almost all areas of our lives including our congregations.

• We have a political process and politicians who are more concerned with sound bites,  “gotcha” moments, and getting elected or re-elected, than with the hard realities of governing.  
• We have gross inequities in healthcare that have been laid bare by this virus and the system is nearly broken.
• Economic inequities were exposed by the virus.  We declared some laborers as “essential workers,”  but treated them as expendable, failing to compensate them with a living wage and healthcare benefits.
• We have an epistemic crisis where we are silo’d in our media echo chambers, watching and listening to one view of things and condemning any diverging view as falsehoods.
• We are experiencing wild fires in the west, tornadoes in the center, hurricanes and tropical storms on our coasts.  They are more prevalent and severe than ever. Sadly, we are divided about the nature of the realities of our changing climate.  
• We are experiencing the first major land war in Europe in 80 years, with the potential of spiraling into a nuclear holocaust.  Ironically, in a survey done on Feb. 9th, only 34% of Americans could even locate Ukraine on a map!

What is that old “Chinese curse?”  “May you live in interesting times.”

Things were different, Judy, when you struggled with your sense of calling to the ministry….  But this is precisely the world in which you are called to minister.  This is the world that Northampton Presbyterian Church is called to be the body of Christ, a community of healing and reconciliation.  These are, indeed, interesting times….but they are our times, and by the grace of God, they are good times!
    It is a good time to be a pastor!
    It is a good time to be the church!
Rejoice in the Lord! Again I will say it, Rejoice!  As you face these trials, count it all joy!  
 

II

There is an irony in Paul’s admonition to rejoice.  As I mentioned, he wrote or dictated his letter to the Philippians while in a Roman prison.  He was likely facing his own death by crucifixion.  He was probably shackled to another prisoner to bar escape.  As he wrote this letter, he was involved in an introspective evaluation of his life, in which he concluded that much of it was a big waste of time.  His words were, “all these things I count as loss….”  

His congregations were about to enter a period of persecution and I suspect that Paul intuitively realized this. And yet…. And yet…. He admonished his readers to rejoice.   His words have the authority of one who suffered pain and endured life in the midst of a time of historical discontinuity, (not unlike what we are experiencing today!).

It is fair to ask, why and how should we experience joy in our time?  What was the foundation, the truth if you will, of Paul’s admonition to joy?   Given his circumstances, his words seem almost inappropriate and delusional.   

At the heart of Paul’s world view was a belief that the Resurrection of Jesus was a moment that revealed the future.  Creation, the world itself was in the travail of birthing a new order.  The immediate future may hold suffering, even death, but the ultimate future was the victory of life itself and all that is good.   While human existence may at times be puzzling, indeed an insoluble mystery… Paul lived with the assurance that this mystery ended gloriously.   So with shackles on his legs and wrists, he could “rejoice!”
 

III

Contemporary ministry is hard.  From the luxury of retirement I observe my colleagues carrying the burden of the challenges that have arisen.  If the truth be told, I am somewhat envious.  Why? This is an awesome time to be a pastor!  It is a time to rejoice.  Why?  

•  All the “administrivia” that consumed pastors for decades has also been exposed and we have a clearer understanding of what is important and what is not.  We need the guts to say with the Apostle Paul, “all these things I count as loss.”  Literally garbage!
• It is a time for pastors to wear the mantle of the prophets in our pulpits, speaking the truth with love to our congregations.  
• It is time to expose the lies and falsehoods that have been masquerading as truth in our world.  
• It is a time to use the fabulous seminary education we have, encouraging our congregations to think theologically and realistically about the world.
•  It is time we stop being mere ecclesiastical managers!
• It is a time for congregations to become communities of reconciliation, bringing together those who have been divided by ideology, class, race, gender, and all the other things that divide us.   
• It is a time to take to heart the words and actions of our Lord who blessed the peacemakers, healed those who were ill, and welcomed those who were alienated from society’s mainstream. Do the same in Christ’s name!
• It is a time for congregations to fulfill that great end of the church, to “exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.”  This transactional world needs to see communities that model  the grace of God, the love of Jesus Christ, and indeed are communities of the Holy Spirit.

The pastor in me is envious of the immense challenges and opportunities for ministry that clergy and congregations face.  These are, indeed, interesting times!, They are exciting times!  It is time to be bold in ministry!

Judy,  you have been called, set apart, and nurtured to be a minister to this congregation, this community of faith, this people of God.  Be that minister, and count it all joy.

Members of Northampton Presbyterian Church, you are a community of faith, called by the Spirit, to witness to the Kingdom of Heaven and the grace of God to the world outside these walls.  You have called Judy to lead you as together you fulfill this sacred task. Allow her to be your pastor.  Give her permission to preach the truth. Do not tie up her time and energy in that which is trivial and ultimately unimportant. Be gracious when she stumbles… pray for her.  

Rejoice in the Lord! Again, I will say it. Rejoice!  …. Indeed, count it all joy!  Amen.

You Are Worthy!

You are Worthy
A Lenten Sermon by Brent J. Eelman
 

March 20, 2022
First Presbyterian Church
Fort Collins, CO

Luke 13: 1-9
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.  Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.  So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Former president, Harry Truman, was not known for his gentle language. One time a woman complained to Mrs. Truman saying: “Can you tell your husband to stop using the word manure.” Mrs. Truman immediately replied: “Dear, it took me twenty years to get him to use that word!”  I fantasized about titling this sermon: “Spreading Manure,” but didn’t, fearing that it might confirm what a number of people think, that we clergy are in the business of spreading some type of holy manure. 


The title does, however, make sense in context. The text this morning is the parable of the “fruitless fig tree”. The tree did not bear any fruit and so the owner asked the gardener to cut it down. Why should this tree consume the time and resources of the orchard? It was neither worth the time and effort.  Not worthy!
The gardener responded to this request by pleading on behalf of the tree, asking that it have one more chance to bear fruit. “I will spread manure around it, and then we shall see.” If it doesn’t produce then, I will cut it down.”

This morning, I want to first look at this relatively simple parable within its context.  Why did Jesus tell the story? Second, I want to look at the dynamics within the parable.  Third, I want to explore what it says to us.

I

The context of the parable is two questions that were asked of Jesus. They were trick questions. Those who asked them wanted to know where Jesus stood on some of the burning issues of the day in Jewish society.   The first question was about about Pilate.  He was a ruthless governor.  He crucified 250 thousand Jews!  He had little regard for Jewish religion and their customs and had the temerity to mingle the blood of those crucified with the sacred sacrifices that were offered in the Temple.  This was an ugly sacrilege!  Jesus was asked, “Did it happen to them because these Jews were worse than others?”  In other words, “Did they have it coming?”

The second question dealt with a disaster that occurred.  A tower fell on a crowd killing eighteen people.  Were those victims the biggest sinners in Jerusalem?  Is that why it fell on them?  Tsk, tsk….. They should have behaved better!

These were philosophical questions, and they would reveal where Jesus stood on some of the burning issues of his day. They were looking for Jesus to condemn the Roman authorities. They were looking for him to draw some type of cause and effect between a horrible accident and the behavior of those who were victimized. 


Jesus answered with one word, “no.” Then he added a caveat: “if you don’t repent, you will meet with disaster.” The questioners were concerned about the sins and the behavior of others. They were ever so willing to examine other people’s lives and condemn their actions. But it was a smokescreen for avoiding an examination of their lives and their own sin and their need to change.  Jesus saw right through it.

Clergy are often asked questions about some of the burning issues of the day. “Pastor, what do you think of Putin.” Or “What is your position on critical race theory?” or “What do you think about the war in Ukraine? Whose fault is it?” All of these are important questions, no less profound than the ones that were put to Jesus about the events of his day. But there is a temptation within these questions. We can focus all our moral indignation on the events and people of the world so as to avoid looking deep into our own hearts. Speculating about the evil of others has a way of taking the heat off of ourselves and our need to repent, to change. It has a way of becoming the foundation of self-righteousness.

II

But the text does not stop with Jesus short answer. He continued with a parable. A parable was a story from common experience that was used to illustrate a divine truth. Parables are dynamic and can be interpreted from a number of perspectives. This is true with the parable that Jesus told to his questioners.

The story came from agriculture. It is about a fig tree, something which was common in the Mediterranean. The tree did not bear fruit and so the owner wanted to get rid of it.  This was a simple economic decision. Why waste time, effort, and resources on something that does not produce? 

The gardener, however, interceded and asked for one more year. Not only one more year, but he offered to give it extra care, spreading fertilizer around the roots so that it might be nurtured into producing fruit. Against his better judgment the owner agreed. Then the story ends. Jesus’ audience would know that the tree should have been cut down. They also knew that the gardener was going the second mile to ensure the survival of this worthless tree. But if they were listening… those gathered would also know that the tree of which Jesus spoke , was in fact them.  If we listen to the text, we also know it is about us, you and me. 


This was a parable of judgment and those listening would know it. They would know that Jesus was talking about them. In this parable Jesus told them: “Why are you worrying about the souls of others. If you do not produce, your own soul is in jeopardy.” But they would also hear an additional message… one that would strike them as strange, perhaps even wasteful. A message that was ultimately hopeful.  The tree was given another opportunity to produce. Not only was it given that opportunity, it would be nurtured.  In the eyes of the gardener, the tree was worthy of the extra time and effort.  Ironically, those who were listening, those who tried to entrap him, were also worthy of Jesus’ time and effort.  You and I are worthy also…

• not because we are good,
• or nice,
• or thoughtful,
•  or religious,
• or even Presbyterian!  

No!  We are worthy in Christ’s eyes, because we are.  This is a parable of life: your life! My life!


I was young when I went off to college.  No, I was the right age, I was just young and immature. It was my first time on my own and I was enjoying my new found freedom.  There were parties every weekend and all types of distractions from academic pursuits.  I was passing and wasn’t in any danger of failing, but I was merely drifting.  I was young and immature.  One day I received a note in my campus mail (email would not exist for another 25 years!) from the chair of the philosophy department.  We had met at some function a few weeks before.  The note said that he would like to meet with me and he included his office hours.  

I had no idea why he wanted to meet with me.  He had a reputation of being an erudite intellectual.  Students humorously suggested that he went to school with Socrates and Plato.  In short, he could be intimidating.  I went to his office and nervously sat in the chair along side his desk.  He peered at me through his glasses and said, “You are not working up to your potential.”   

The way he said it went right to my heart and I knew he was right.  That day began a decades long relationship.  He offered to become my advisor.  He met with me once a week for an hour.  During that hour we would discuss philosophy, politics, theology, and literature.  He supervised an independent study for me and guided me in my choice of seminary and following that, graduate school.

 “You are not working up to your potential.”  What a blessing Dr. Barth was to my life.

I have often wondered why he took the time with me.  He didn’t have to do that.  Why did he take an interest in a slacker who was content to just get by?  Why did he become the mentor who helped to shape the direction of my life? Why?  Was I worthy of the time and effort that he took with me?  Was I worthy?  At the time, I thought not.  Yet, I must confess, his efforts made all the difference in my life.

We understand this parable of the fig tree. It is the story of the employer who has an employee who doesn’t produce. He looks at the record and determines that this employee should be fired and so he goes to his manager and tells her to let the employee go. But the manager responds: “Let’s keep him for one more year.” That in itself is an amazing statement, but she goes further: “Let’s make sure that he gets additional training and has every opportunity to succeed at the job.” Do any of you know an employer like that? In this day of cost analysis and outsourcing, who can afford it… and that’s the point. God goes the extra mile for human beings: for you and for me. God does not deal with us on a cost/benefit basis. God wants us to bear fruit in our lives and will even go the extra mile so that we do. The bottom line is that there is no reason for God to do this; none at all. But God does!  In the eyes of the Divine, we are worthy of the time and effort of redemption….  Even unto the cross. 

III

This is, for us, a parable of grace; amazing grace. The fertilizer is the symbol for grace. It nurtures us with a another opportunity at life. It is amazing grace that goes beyond reason and sense, but that is the nature of Divine love. 


This is how God in Christ relates to us. The God proclaimed by Jesus is one who loves creation; one who loves us and is willing to go the extra mile so that we may bear fruit in our lives, even the extra mile that leads to the cross at Golgotha. But behind this story is a judgment. The tree is given another year.. and we don’t know how the parable ended, but we can surmise that if there were no figs in the following year, the tree would be cut down. (But maybe not!!)  What does this say about our lives? Does it not challenge us to examine our lives, to ask the hard question of ourselves: “Am I bearing the fruit in my life, that my creator desires?”  It challenges us, but also assures us that we are worth God’s efforts of redemption. 


The temptation of modern Christianity is to pose questions about the fate and sins of others. The easiest sermons to preach are the ones where we stand in the pulpit and blame the world’s problems

• on the democrats,
• the republicans,
• the old,
• the young,
• the lazy,
• the arrogant,
• women,
• men..            

Pick your group. There is enough culpability to include everyone. That is the easiest message to preach. The harder one is the one that looks deep into our own souls and asks the questions about who we are, the lives we are living and our own need for repentance and change. The harder message is to look at how God has been active in our lives. What is the fertilizer of grace that has been spread so that you may grow and bear the fruit of righteousness? 


There is an expression, “Why send good money after bad?” Most of us know what means.. why waste time, energy and resources on something that has no record of producing and seems like a bottomless pit for our resources, (like my first car). Yet this is precisely what God has done for you and for me. Let’s not focus on the sins of the other guy. Let’s look at our own lives and offer thanks for the grace that God has given so that our lives may bear fruit.

There is a second challenge in the parable.  We can identify with the fruitless fig tree, but we are also called to be the gardener.  Others are worthy of our time, our efforts, and our resources.  As parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, friends, and neighbors, we need to find ways to communicate to our children that they are worthy of our love, worthy of a future, not because they are bright, smart, good, well behaved, etc…… but because they are.  Sometimes when they are most unloveable, most difficult… it is precisely the time they need to experience our love and our grace.  We are called to nurture the next generation, (and future generations!) like the gardener nurtured the unproductive fig tree.

We are called to be the gardener because others are worthy:

• the homeless,
• the depressed,
• the hurting,
• the arrogant,
• those who agree with us and those who don’t,
• the argumentative and the passive,
• those for whom life comes easy, and those who struggle,  
• those who are like us, and those who are different,
• those we love and those we call enemies.  

We are called to be the gardener in the lives of others…. All are worthy.  This is the good news of the Gospel!  Amen.

"Snake Bit" March 14, 2021 Sermon

 Snake Bit
A sermon by Brent J. Eelman
First Presbyterian Church Clarks Summit
March 14, 2021 

Note:  This manuscript is edited for oral delivery and consequently does not honor all the rules of proper grammar.  Please forgive!

Numbers 21:4-9
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea,[a] to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous[b] serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous[c] serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

John 3:14-21

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

“Snake bit!”  It is an expression that we use when something we thought was well planned, just goes haywire.  I personally associate the term with two types of experiences: family vacations, and church youth work trips.  

Thirty five years ago, I was a young, eager, and ambitious minister serving a small town congregation in Wisconsin. We had a confirmation class of 8 students and that June, following their confirmation Sunday, we planned to go on a work trip to southern Colorado.  I managed to borrow a passenger van.  We needed another chaperone for the female confirmands, and a young woman in the church came highly recommended.  It was a 2 1/2 day trip, stopping on the way at churches to sleep for the night.  

It was just outside of Denver that the van started to act up.  Something was wrong with the fuel line.  There was a strong odor of gasoline as the van chugged and stopped.   I managed to get to a service station to see if they could fix it.  The confirmation class waited in the van along with the chaperone.  When I walked back to the van, I saw that she had pulled out a cigarette and was smoking.  8 confirmation students who were semi-serious about the commitments they made to Jesus and the Church, suddenly had faces of spiritual dread.  A few were praying.  

It never got better than that. 3 days into the camping experience, one boy developed acute appendicitis and I had to drive the van through narrow mountain roads with him writhing in pain.  He had emergency surgery and was flown home.   The work camp finally ended and we were driving home.  It was in the plains of Nebraska that I noticed a large black funnel like cloud in the distance.  I estimated it was about 20 miles away.  I thought that we could out-run it and make it to the next town about  5 miles away.  We did.  Just in time.  We ran into a house and into a basement of some family in Nebraska, just as the tornado went by.  We introduced ourselves down there in that basement, and they were quite hospitable, considering the circumstances.  They were Methodist, as I recall.  The trip was snake bit!  

But trips and journeys sometimes are.  Consider the Hebrew people’s journey in the wilderness as it is recorded in the Bible.  Right after they are freed from Egypt and are pursued by the Egyptian army, they find themselves with their backs to the Red Sea and the army closing in.  They immediately say to Moses, “Why have you brought us out here, only to be slaughtered or drown?  Slavery wasn’t so bad!”  

Then they are at Marah and the water is bitter.  “What shall we drink?”  God provided water.

Then they begin to complain about the lack of provisions.  “We wish we were still in Egypt.  We had meat then.”  God responded with quail and manna.  

In Rephidim, they run out of water again and get into a row with Moses, questioning his leadership.

At Taberah, the people start complaining about the manna.  They are tired of eating it.  

Then Moses sends spies to check out the Promised Land and their report is that the inhabitants of the land are so big that they would destroy them.  

You get the idea.  This was not a joyous experience.  Poor Moses… the people whined and complained all the way to the Promised Land.  Our text this morning states “and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.” One could say that their journey was snake bit.  

And then it happened.  Real snakes!  Poisonous snakes! Real snake bites!  People died.  Once again the complaints start and Moses intercedes on behalf of the people.  This time the command from God is strange.  Moses is instructed to make a likeness of the snakes and put it on a pole.  If the people look at it, they will become immune to the venom of the snakes.  

It seems a strange command, but no stranger than how we reacted to small pox in the 18th century.  Onesimus, a slave to the minister, Cotton Mather, told him of the traditional African prevention for small pox.  He explained to the famous preacher the process of variation, where some of the infection was introduced into the body through a small break in the skin. It was the beginning of small pox vaccine.  Later it would become safer when cow pox, a variant of the virus was used.  The idea is the same.  Experiencing the evil whether looking at it, or introducing it into your body was the beginning of overcoming it and moving past it.   

But the Hebrew people were not merely looking at a snake on a stick.  God was calling them to look at and acknowledge the venom of their own disobedience and evil.  It was the first step of healing and fullness of health.  They needed to see and acknowledge the venom that was destroying them.  

When we gather to worship, one of the first things that we do is acknowledge our sinfulness in the prayer of confession.  We figuratively look upon the venomous serpents that threaten our lives, our sinfulness, and own it.  In the process of owning it through confession, we are freed from it.  

We, too, have been on a journey through a wilderness: the wilderness of this pandemic.  We entered this journey unprepared and like the Hebrew people, we murmured and complained.  

“We have no toilet paper!”  That was the cry during that first month.  Then it was the closing of businesses, stores, and other enterprises that we enjoyed.  We resisted and fought with authorities (and even the science) as we journeyed through a strange land.  We resisted mask wearing.  We insisted on our “freedom.”  We got sick, and many died.  Let us be honest: we have suffered harder than any other nation, not because the disease is more powerful here… no.. it is because we are who we are.   Nearly 30 million cases and 530 thousand deaths.  More casualties than any war we have been in, with the exception of the Civil War.   The last 12 months have been truly snake bit!

I believe that the miracle vaccines are paving the road to health and recovery, but full recovery (the recovery of our collective soul) will necessitate us looking at the serpent coiled on the pole.  We need to look at, acknowledge, understand, and repent from the sinfulness that we have wrought upon ourselves in the midst of this pandemic.   

Following the demise of apartheid in South Africa,  Dullah Omar, the minister of justice stated that
“a commission is a necessary exercise to enable South Africans to come to terms with their past on a morally accepted basis and to advance the cause of reconciliation."   

The new government of South Africa established a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” as a means to deal with the evil of racial apartheid.  The first step was to tell the truth, to look at the serpent of apartheid and acknowledge its evil reality.  Healing and reconciliation required telling the story of evil and its resultant suffering and owning it.  Only then could the weary nation move forward.

The journey of this pandemic has surfaced a number of evils that haunt us.  
    Racism,
    inequity in our health care system,
    our justice system,
      and our educational system.
    A disregard for truth  

It has also revealed the ugliness in our collective soul as we fight with each other instead of the pandemic.  We have heard the cries of the politicians that it is time to move on from this, time to work together.  We won’t, we can’t…. unless we can summon the moral courage to acknowledge the truth of who we are, the truth… the truth…. We need to look at the serpent of our own evil as it dangles on the pole of our denial.  We need to look hard if we are to live.  

The lectionary has paired this text with a portion of the 3rd Chapter of the Gospel according John.  Most of us know by heart John 3:16.  But the two verses that precede that are:
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Jesus was referencing the cross.  He would be lifted up on the cross, just as the serpent was held up by Moses.  This, the cross, would bring healing, hope, indeed life itself.  

The cross is such a strange symbol of faith.  It was an instrument of execution.  A religion that had people wear a guillotine or electric chair as a piece of jewelry would be regarded as downright weird.  That is the irony of our faith.  We have sacralized a symbol of evil and death and have discovered that it is the door to hope, healing, and life.  But we need to own it.  We need look at it.  We need to see our own evil, our own sinfulness in it.  It is us.  

The 17th century hymn writer, Isaac Watts, wrote a hymn that shook the religious establishment because his lyrics were a complete break with traditional hymnody.  He wrote a hymn in the first person that placed the singer before the cross.
    When I survey the wondrous cross
    On which the Prince of glory died,
    My richest gain I count but loss,
    And pour contempt on all my pride.

In the act of surveying (staring at the cross), staring at the reality of human evil and sinfulness, he could begin to let go of the past and move forward toward wholeness and salvation.

This past year, this Covid year, has been snake bit.  We are journeying through a wilderness that is new, dangerous, and treacherous, only with the hope that someday it will be over and we will arrive at some type of normal…. A normal we have not seen yet, indeed a Promised Land opened to us by the miracle of vaccines. Our journey, heretofore, has been snake bit.  As we begin the process of vaccination and immunization, let us also acknowledge the need for a spiritual immunization.  It begins with staring at the serpent of our own sinfulness on the pole of our own pride and denial.  It begins with owning the truth of who we have been and who we are.  Doing so, with the hope of genuine reconciliation.  It begins with surveying the cross that still hangs over our life…..
 

and heals.
 

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

This is the Good News.  Amen.

Holy Exhibitionists

Holy Exhibitionists
A sermon by Brent J Eelman
First Presbyterian Church, Clarks Summit
November 8, 2020

Preacher's Note:  This sermon is punctuated and formatted to aid me in delivering the sermon from the pulpit.  Please be gracious, it will not always conform to academic standards. 

 
Amos 5:18-24
Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
    Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light;
19  as if someone fled from a lion,
    and was met by a bear;
or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,
    and was bitten by a snake.
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,
    and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
    I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
    I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

 
Matthew 25:1-13
 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids[a] took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those bridesmaids[ got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other bridesmaids[ came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

When a Presbyterian pastor moves to a new church, they are often examined by the new presbytery.  These examinations can be quite rigorous and stressful.  When I was moving to Texas, I was told that the presbytery there liked nothing more than to get their hands on a “Yankee pastor” and grill him like they would a barbecue a steer.  With that warning, I prepared for my exam, going over the finer points of Presbyterian polity and recalling some of the more controversial questions that might be asked of me.  I reviewed the theories of atonement, the sacraments,  and the main points from the Book of Confessions.  I also memorized different things that might be asked of me including the Great Ends of the Church.  The examination proceeded quite well and then I was asked, “Please list the Great Ends of the Church?”  I smiled, because I was ready.  I called upon my memory and spit back the answer:  “The Great Ends of the Church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and… and….and…..”     I forgot the last great end of the church.  

It was one of those classic moments of brain freeze.  Try as I might, I could not remember that last great end.  I must have looked pathetic, because my examiners were appearing quite pleased with themselves.  They were going to let me wiggle like a worm on a hook for while… finally I broke the tension and said…. “I forgot.”  I forgot.   They passed me in spite of that omission.  I forgot the last great end of the church….   I now believe the church at large has also forgotten this great end or purpose.  The final great end of the church is to “Exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the World.”   The church needs to embody this ideal more than ever!

This morning I want to look at how this great end charges the church to act in the face of the growing incivility within our society. We are called to  Exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.  I will deal with this charge in order:  First the kingdom of heaven.  Second, the world, and third, becoming “holy exhibitionists.”  

I.

The Kingdom of Heaven:   When we speak about heaven and the kingdom of heaven, we usually are thinking about a place, a place where we will go when we die.  We picture stars in our  crown, ivory palaces, and streets paved with gold.  Personally, I am hoping that when my earthly life is completed, I will find a resting place there, with good fly fishing and a jazz combo playing bebop.  But when Jesus referred to the “kingdom of heaven,” he was not referring to a place.  Bill Carter’s sermon series on the tough parables of Jesus underscore this.  Consider the parables:  

• “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.” (Matt 18:23).  
• “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner hiring workers.” (Matt 20:1)
• “…tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. (Matt 21:31).
• "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.” (Matt 22:2)  
• And then there is the text for today: “"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.”   

These are some of the most confounding teachings of Jesus, and we reduce these parables to little morality lessons at our own peril.  When Jesus taught about the kingdom of heaven, he was not referring to a place. He was announcing an event.  It was an event that was revealed in his presence and ministry. The kingdom of heaven is an event that is breaking into human history and manifesting itself in specific moments in our lives: moments of grace, kindness, love, hope, and justice.

The parable for today about the wise and foolish bridesmaids is about an event, the coming of the groom.  Jesus was telling his listeners to not only be prepared for that event, but also to shine a light upon it so that all may witness it.  Be prepared to shine a light on those moments when the kingdom of heaven manifests itself in the moments of our lives.  Moments when prophetic justice, the grace of God, love, kindness and hope manifests themselves:
These are moments:

• When the hungry are fed;
• When those who are “different” are included;
• When the poor and the oppressed can live without want or fear;
• When workers in the vineyards of life earn enough to live;
• When hated Samaritans bring comfort and healing to those who despise them;
• When the widow, the orphan and alien are treated, not as a burden but with the dignity demanded of one made in the image of God.  
• When “the least of these” are valued as sisters and brothers and treated as such.
• When “justice rolls down like waters; and righteousness like an overflowing stream.”  

This is the kingdom of heaven that our Lord proclaimed.

II

The World.  There are a bunch of elephants in the room and we should identify them.  The first is the recent election.  It has revealed that we are a bitterly divided nation where incivility reigns.  Our divisions are not merely political.  We are divided in numerous other ways that have hardened into partisan enmity.  Consider:

• We are divided regarding our understanding and trust of science and expertise.  
• We are divided regarding our hopes.
• We are divided about the nature of patriotism and what it means to love our country.  (And I believe that both sides dearly love our country!)
• We are divided racially and by racial attitudes.
• We are divided economically.
• We are divided educationally.  
• We are divided by our hopes.
• We are divided by our fears. (And this election was more about fear than it was about hope!)
• We are divided by conspiracy theories.
• We are divided over the very nature of truth.

We can argue that we have always had our differences, but the only time they have hardened into the grievances and enmity we now experience was 160 years ago in the Civil War.   Our current differences have broken out into episodes of incivility ranging from murdering demonstrators, to storming state capitols armed with military grade weapons, to arguments and fistfights over mask wearing.  Families have disowned members over political differences, and if we do manage to have holiday get togethers there will be tacit agreements to hold a truce and not discuss things of substance…. We can’t even talk about the weather, because of the controversy over climate change!  This is us.

The election has concluded, but I fear it will not end the divisions that stain our common life. Kindness, grace, and civility have fled from the public square. The lights have gone out on the “shining city upon the hill.”  

The other elephant in the room is the pandemic.  On Friday, we experienced 132,797 new cases of Covid-19, a 57% increase over a 2 week period.  We also had 1,223 individuals die from Covid-19, a 12% increase over 2 weeks.  The projections look grim. To date we have had 9.8 million cases and 237,000 deaths. (To give you some perspective on this, we lost 292,000 soldiers over a four year period in WWII.)  The current models are predicting between 160-250 thousand additional deaths by the first of February.   

One would think that a common enemy would unite a country.  Sadly, we are equally divided about responding to these grim statistics.  All of us are tired of it.  We are tired of masks. We are tired of social distancing.  We are tired not singing in church. We are tired of not getting together with friends and family.  We are tired of this… But the virus is not tired.  And it is exposing not only our physical vulnerabilities, but our spiritual brokenness.  We lack the collective will and resolve to respond effectively to this pandemic. We refuse to pull together to beat this plague.  We are paying a severe price in terms of human life, for our division and lack of civility.  This is our world.

III

Into this world we are called to be Holy Exhibitionists:  The church is called to exhibit the kingdom of heaven to this world.  I am convinced that this is why the church exists.  We were created by God for a moment like this.  The brokenness, violence, and lack of civility cry out, pleading for a better way.  This is the moment to which we have been called… to exhibit the kingdom of heaven to our broken world.  We are called to model something better.  Mahatma Ghandi once admonished a missionary, “If you would only come in the spirit of your master, Jesus, you would be irresistible.”  This is the challenge the church has in this uncivil world.  It is not impossible.

My congregations have been good teachers for me.  The church that I served in Watertown, NY was a unique mix of people.  It included the mayor of the city and his main opponent.  It included officers and enlistees from Fort Drum, and those who resented the presence of the fort.  It included the director of the Development Authority who was responsible for creating a landfill, but also people in the adjacent community most affected by that landfill.  It was a fascinating place to be doing ministry because all of these people would show up for worship and sit together in the same sanctuary.

It also included two women.  Lynne, a physician’s wife was the president of the local Planned Parenthood chapter.  Anne, another woman in the congregation was the founder and president of LifeRight, a group that opposed the legalization of abortion.  They were both individuals of conviction. Both of them were not only present every Sunday, but they also team taught in our Sunday school.  My daughter, in 4th grade, was blessed to have them as her Sunday school teachers.  I remember asking Karen what she thought about these two women.  “Who do you think is right?” I asked.  

Karen thought for a moment and then responded, “They both are.”  

Karen’s response reflected a truth that both of these women expressed with their lives. Truth is found in relationships of love, care, and friendship. It is discovered in the give and take of ideas, and a mutual commitment to the truth. It expresses itself in the grace that was modeled by Christ; grace that affirms the other as a child of God, even when we don’t agree.

A year ago, Atlantic Monthly, did a feature article on Watertown, and specifically the role the Presbyterian Church played in fostering an atmosphere of civility.  Anne was quoted as saying: 

“I have opinions, but somebody else might also. I could learn from that person, and that person could learn from me.”   

There is not a more divisive issue in our society than abortion, and they had polar opposite viewpoints… but they affirmed that there was something greater than their own opinions, something greater than ideology, something greater than political and social differences, and that was friendship born of humility and grace.
 

Do you remember Jesus:

• when he sat and broke bread with pharisees,
• when he engaged with scribes and sadducees in discussions about the moral and spiritual life;
• when he forgave those who thrust him on the cross to kill him.  

The kingdom of heaven is like this.  It isn’t easy.  It is often messy.  It challenges us to think about what we believe is true and right. It challenges our priorities, proclaiming to us to seek first this kingdom of heaven, even in our differences.  

The church of Jesus Christ was called for this moment in history.  You, as members of Christ’s church, have been called to exhibit to a broken, divided world, the Kingdom of heaven.  It is not easy.  It is as messy, as confusing, and as challenging as the parables that Jesus taught.  This community of faith is called to the holy task of engaging with each other in a spirit of love, a spirit of community, a spirit of inquiry, a spirit of truth…. To engage with each other over our differences… to listen and learn from each other…. To discover ways to fulfill the prophetic vision:  

…letting justice roll down like waters,
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
We are called as ‘holy exhibitionists” to demonstrate this to the world.  Amen.