Living the Lord's Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

We live in the age of “How to” and DIY. A quick search on Google comes up with 6,230,000,000 responses to the prompt How to. That’s almost 1 per person on the earth! If you narrow it down a bit and ask “How to Pray” you get a much more manageable 141,000,000 responses. And add Christian into the search parameters and you get narrowed down to 13,300,000. That’s roughly 1 for every 18 and a half self-identified Christians in America.

Apparently how to pray is as big a deal now as it was in Jesus’ day! In our scripture lesson this morning the disciples, we will say the 12 though it might have been the 72, are gathered around listening to his teaching. One of them is bold enough to ask “How should we pray?” It’s a question many of us have asked before or had asked of us.

I remember asking my mother how to pray when I was small. Her response was to teach me the “Now I lay me down to sleep.” You know that one right?

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my Soul to keep

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

I’ll confess to having a VERY hard time sleeping that night! When I taught this prayer to our kids I changed the last words to God keep me safe through the night, and wake me with the morning light. Still a bit cheesy, but hopefully less scaring.

This disciple wants to know how to pray. Jesus and the disciples have been in synagogues in this gospel so presumably they have been in worship services and heard the priests and Rabbis pray and teach. They may even have parts of scripture memorized to pray such as “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One!” From Deuteronomy 6:4

 But they want to know how Jesus, their rabbi wants them to pray. John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray, so why wouldn’t Jesus do the same thing.

I wonder if the disciples expected Jesus to give them something to memorize, perhaps some magical incantation of words that would allow them to be heard better than the next poor sap. I wonder if this disciple wanted to be sure he was doing things right, decently in order, perhaps even the first Presbyterian found in the bible!

But Jesus’ response in Luke is far from any of those things. Jesus responds by giving more than just words.

This prayer in Luke is different from the one we find in Matthew, the one we usually pray every Sunday morning. This prayer is short, to the point, and one might even say pointed. This prayer is not a formula, it’s not a set of magic words, it’s not even a how to guide really. It’s a way of life!

Jesus begins by making an amazing request to God. He says, when you pray begin with Father, hallowed be your name. I’ve always been told that this phrase is a descriptive phrase, reminding God that you know God is holy. But I no longer think that is the case. I think it is a request. God, make your name hallowed here on earth! Make your name Holy by bringing about your kingdom. That’s the request of this prayer. God, make this world your own.

How will we know that this prayer is being answered, listened to, affective? We, and all others, will be given our daily bread. Enough for now, just like the manna in the wilderness. Just enough to sustain us for the day, no extra. What happened when people stored up the excess? It rotted. It was no good. God’s kingdom allows for food for today, each time a new day begins.

The next part gets even trickier. Forgive us our sins, Okay that I can ask for. I need my sins to be forgiven, and surely a holy God would do that. But the next part can make you stumble. “For we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.” No that’s a tall order.

But that’s what it takes to live the Lord’s Prayer, to be a part of Your Kingdom come. We must be willing to and then actually forgive everyone indebted to us.

I read several stories of forgiveness, some that shocked me, some that brought me to tears, some that honestly made me angry. I’ll share just one with you this morning.

In Iran, it is standard practice for families of murder victims to oversee the execution of murderer of their family member. They are also given the choice to pardon the offender. Such was the fate of a young man who had already served seven years for killing 17-year-old Abdollah Alinejad in a street fight, according to The Associated Press.

In May 2014, Samereh Alinejad watched as a noose was slipped around the neck of Bilal Gheisari, her son's killer. This was her chance to have the vengeance she'd waited seven years to have. Instead, she and her husband stepped forward at the last minute and removed the noose from his neck. Gheisari's death sentence was commuted and he will finish serving a 12-year prison sentence instead.

As WM Paul Young says in his book the shack ““Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person's throat......Forgiveness does not create a relationship. Unless people speak the truth about what they have done and change their mind and behavior, a relationship of trust is not possible. When you forgive someone you certainly release them from judgment, but without true change, no real relationship can be established.........Forgiveness in no way requires that you trust the one you forgive. But should they finally confess and repent, you will discover a miracle in your own heart that allows you to reach out and begin to build between you a bridge of reconciliation.........Forgiveness does not excuse anything.........You may have to declare your forgiveness a hundred times the first day and the second day, but the third day will be less and each day after, until one day you will realize that you have forgiven completely. And then one day you will pray for his wholeness......” 

When we acknowledge God’s Holy Name, when we accept our daily bread, when we ask for forgiveness, as we have already offered that forgiveness to others then we ask to not be brought to the time of trial.

That’s a whole lot to digest isn’t it? Living the Lord’s prayer allows us to live lives that free not only ourselves, but others as well! That’s what spreading the kingdom of God on this earth is capable of doing.  And when the kingdom comes, when God’s kingdom comes, our boldness, our shamelessness will pay off.

Jesus says that a neighbor will give you something essentially to shut you up! When you bring a request to God, bring it like someone raising attention to a need. Create a disturbance until those in power bring you what you need, otherwise no one will get any rest!

As Jill Duffield says “Be as in your face, uncivilized, uncouth, socially embarrassing as these two. This is no “Excuse me sir, do you have any Grey Poupon?”

Have you ever prayed like that? Boldly, fiercely, and perhaps embarrassingly?

Perhaps you should. Perhaps we all should. Crying out to God with our needs is not a shameful act, the scripture today talks about praying boldly, but a better translation is with shamelessness. Pour out you needs before the Lord and I promise things will happen.

Ultimately God can’t keep from giving compassion to creation, even as messed up as we are. God gave us Christ, the ultimate example of compassion. On the strength of God’s love our petitions are heard.

But prayer is not just a laundry list of wants and needs. It is part of a fuller and complete relationship with our creator. Prayer is not designed to bend the will of God. Prayer is meant to bend us to the will of the creator. By coming into a closer relationship with God we begin to follow God’s will in not only our actions, but our requests as well.

So what does it look like to live where a people live the Lord’s prayer? I’d say we look no farther than the Psalm for this morning. Psalm 85.

85:1 LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

85:2 You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah

85:3 You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.

85:4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us.

85:5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

85:6 Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you?

85:7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.

85:8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.

85:9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

85:10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

85:11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.

85:12 The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

85:13 Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.

May it be so my friends. May our living of the Lord’s prayer help make it so.

The Better Part

Luke 10:38-42

Yesterday was our one day VBS. So let me begin by saying thank you. Thank you to each one of you who helped out with this event, from planning, to cooking, from watching kids, to cleaning up, from ordering Pizza to playing games, from crafting to horsing around you all made VBS a wonderful, if exhausting day.

I noticed somethings yesterday that made me think of the scripture I just read. I noticed that some people were really big on relationships. People crawled around on the floor with the kids, even when it wasn’t what was “called for” I also noticed people hoovering around like worker bees, quick to clear off tables and throw away trash. The balance of these two was evident. Things went fairly smoothly, as smoothly as anything does when children are involved!

People were using their gifts and talents to accomplish a common goal. It was fantastic and I am grateful. Everyone did their job and encouraged one another, so good on you.

But as we see in today’s Gospel lesson, this is not always the case in the church or in the Christian community.

Jesus and his disciples are traveling, something they do a lot in the Gospels, and they come to Bethany, the home of Martha. Every time I’ve read this scripture I instantly get the image of Jesus and twelve other uninvited guests popping up at Martha’s door asking for food, shelter and company. However, I looked at it again this week and I realized something. It might not have been Jesus and the 12. In fact, it was more than likely not that group. Just a few short verses earlier we are told that Jesus is talking with the 72 about their successful mission out into the world. Nowhere does it say that Jesus dismissed those other 60 disciples before heading to Martha’s. It is very likely that instead of a group of 13 Martha opened her door to 73 or more!

And now I begin to understand a little bit more of Martha’s anxiety. She is a woman of hospitality. She has been doing the service and table service in her community. The word used to describe her service is the same word used elsewhere to speak of the angels ministering to Jesus during his time in the wilderness. She’s been doing ministry, faithfully. And now she is called upon to bring hospitality to this multitude.

After having had a day of hospitality for 11 kids, that was expected and anticipated, I have a greater respect and admiration for Martha than ever before!

She pulls herself together and begins preparations. But something is bothering her.

I wonder if it’s just a little nagging feeling at first, you know, one of those whispers from the devil on her shoulder. “Why isn’t Mary helping me out?” Perhaps Martha even dismisses it for a little while, after all Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, the words used to describe a disciple, so Martha must understand that Mary would be focused on Jesus. But over time the little pain of unfairness begins to grow. Why am I slaving away and she does nothing? Doesn’t she remember what it’s like around here? Why won’t she get off her duff and do something?

Eventually Martha can’t take it anymore and throws her kitchen towel down on the counter and marches into the living room to give Mary and good talking to.  But the first person to meet her eyes is not Mary. It is Jesus. Martha takes a deep breath and decides to talk with him about everything.

At this point the human development/counseling student in me wants to shake her. “Martha,” I want to say “Don’t do it! If you are having a problem with Mary, go to Mary directly, don’t use a go between. That’s triangulating, and its supremely unhealthy!” That’s never the best way to handle conflict I yell at the page. But despite my protesting, Martha always goes on with her next words. “Jesus, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”

Martha, Martha, Martha. You Jan Brady of the Bible. Jesus turns to her and says “You are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be take away from her.”

Often after hearing these words I think of Mary sitting there smiling that younger sibling smile. Those of you with younger sibling know the smile I’m talking about.  That “ha ha, you got in trouble” smile. But more study of this text has helped me view Jesus’ response in a different light.

Jesus isn’t saying “Martha, you are a failure, Mary is the good sister.” Jesus is not pitting these two women against each other. That’s 2,000 years of church history pressing down upon Martha and Mary’s relationship.

Jesus says you are worried and distracted by many things. What things? Its not the ministry, after all she’s done this. Yes, 73 visitors is a lot, but when hospitality is your gift, it’s just what you do. No, Martha is not distracted by her tasks or by her ministry. She is distracted by her sister. Specifically, by what her sister is not doing.

We see this far too often in the Christian community. We have a tendancey to judge one another by our own callings or standanrds. One church may have a calling to minister to youth and have a thriving youth and young adult program. But what will we hear about that congregation? That they are all flash and enetertainment, no substance. Or that they only care about the young people and do nothing for their third agers.

Another church may have a calling to a certain forgein mission field that they support faithfully sending short and long term mission groups and supporting schools and clean water initiatives. What do we hear about that congregation? Why don’t they help with those in need in their own back yards? Why do they send all of their money and prayers overseas when there are Americans who could use it?

Yet another church may be heavly involved in the “Black Lives Matter” movement, spending time, energy and resources to make sure that the issue of racial inequality is not sweapt under the rug. What do we hear about that congregation? Don’t they know all lives matter? What makes them any more special? Why can’t the church stay out of politics and stick to caring for their own?

My friends, we are far too often distracted by what others do, or don’t do, and by doing so we, like Martha, miss out on the better part.

What is that better part? One commentator says “Mary and Martha cannot be about the better thing that means who is better, who acts better, who can be better.

The better thing is the invitation to believe that you are who God sees you to be.

And that is precisely our problem. An inherent, systemic, omnipresent, ingrained, intrinsic, dysfunctional, disturbing belief that not all are worthy of God’s regard and love. The conviction, as Paul Farmer says, “That all are not equal in God’s eyes. That all are not made in the image of God.”

This untruth, this vicious lie is what keeps us at odds with each other. This keeps us distracted rather than really looking at the world the way Jesus ask us to look. Think about it. The world said let women be silent. Jesus appeared first to the women and then to the twelve. The world says get even, or better, ahead. Jesus says turn the other cheek. The world says take care of number one. Jesus says love your neighbor as yourself.

The better part, my friends, is embracing the “present and not yet” kingdom of God. It is opening our hearts, our doors, our arms to those in need of hospitality. It is listening to the voice of Christ in their voices as they lament their suffering or celebrate their healing. The better part is seeing the child of God, not only in the mirror, but in every face we see.

When we can choose the better part, when our hearts are concerned not about what others do, but about what God calls us to do, we become the hands and feet of Christ. We become the living embodiment of the Holy Spirit. We become the family of God.

The Good Samaritain

Luke 10 The “Good Samaritan”

I will start this morning with two confessions. 1, I didn’t write this sermon until late Saturday night, because I couldn’t figure out just what I wanted to say vs what God wanted me to say, and that place is a scary place to be for any preacher. 2, I was tempted to hang a sign on the door this morning that said “No services today. Go to Church Street, or any other church, and BE the church, loving on neighbors in unexpected ways.”

However, with a session meeting today, I thought that might be a bad idea, especially without session approval, so instead, I went this morning to the 8 am Church Street Service and this is what I learned.

We all are hurt and grieving, this week, it’s just louder than normal. We all are at a loss of words, not knowing what to do to make the violence that besets our nation god away. We say love is the answer, but what is love, and how do we show it?

We are all tiered, weak and worn. And this is not a new thing. This pain, this separation, this discomfort and alienation are not new. They’ve been going on for millennia

The issues we face today, the issues of racism, of hate, of murder and violence, they are nothing new. We are still walking on the same road to Jericho, the same path filled with thieves and murderers, but now we’ve gotten so used to it that doing anything other than keeping our heads down and passing by is out of the question.

As I’ve look at this passage and remembered back to all of the sermons I’ve preached and heard preached on it, I realized that the focus has almost entirely been given to the Samaritan. We are told to be like the Samaritan, providing aid when needed. It brings us to a safe reading of the text, a helped that guy with a flat tire? You’re a good Samaritan. Bought someone a bottle of water, you’re a good Samaritan. This really oversimplifies what’s going on and leads us to see the text as a do good deeds text, instead of the life changing story it really should be.

Today I want us to look at this text from a different angle. Today, don’t picture yourself as the good Samaritan. Today imagine you are the wounded person on the side of the road.

You have been traveling a dangerous path one known for its thieves, its murders, its dark side. You have the car doors locked and you are trying desperately to make it through. But you get stopped by a red light. Someone pulls up next to you and before you even know what’s going on they have dragged you from your safe car, taken everything you had, beat you and left you for dead.

You hear footsteps and look up. Through your blurry vision you see a politician. Here is someone who knows the laws of the land, has prided themselves on taking care of the less fortunate. But one glimpse of you and the politician crosses the street.

You swoon and when you recover see someone else approaching. A teacher, a Sunday School teacher in fact. Surly this good person will show you kindness, after all they have taught many people the rules of faith. But they too walk on by you without an offer of help.

You hear footsteps one more time, and this time you don’t even raise your head, what’s the point really? The suddenly the footsteps stop. A hand touches your neck, searching for a pulse. A rag begins to wipe up some of the blood from your face. A call is made to 911.

You look up into the face of your savior. And standing before you is the person you least want to help you. The last person on earth you even want to touch you. For some that would be an HIV positive gay man, for some a member of Al-Qaeda, for others a tattoo covered chain smoking biker, or perhaps a convicted felon, or a child molester. That one person, who the thought of them makes you ill, is the only one willing to offer you mercy.

Now then, when we are at the point of death a lot of our prejudices go by the wayside. This week in a county west of Dallas Texas an officer was watching a group of inmates in the county courthouse. They were behind a locked door; he was in the hallway facing them. He slumped to the ground and the inmates realized something was wrong. They began yelling and screaming. They kicked open the locked door and managed to get to the officer. The officer, who by the way had keys to their shackles and a pistol on his hip. They laid him on the floor and made so much noise that other officers who were upstairs in court building came running. The inmates could have been shot, they could have been in a ton of trouble, they could have escaped. But instead they acted to save this officers life.

It's a good story. It’s a moment where things could have gone wrong, but didn’t. It’s also important to note that the first thing the jail did was to reinforce the cell door that the inmates broke to make sure it couldn’t happen again.

When the lawyer in our scripture asks Jesus “Who is my neighbor?” I don’t think he would have put these inmates in that category. But I’m sure Jesus would.

Friends, when I’m really honest with myself, I see the church in all of the characters in this parable. I see us walking through the dangerous Road to Jericho every day, wondering waiting for the thieves to strike. I see us walking past the wounded, maybe pausing long enough to pray, but not much more. I see us wounded ourselves, hoping that someone else will come along and ease our suffering. There are times, glorious times when we come together and really do the hard and honest work of loving our neighbor. And there are times when someone else is the neighbor, but they bring the wounded to us, the church as an innkeeper, to bind up, to care for to nurse back to health.

In my heart of hearts, my broken hear this week, I see our country as the wounded bloody mass on the side of the road. We are beaten, tiered, torn. What will the church do to be a neighbor to this wounded nation? What will we, the people of God do while blood is running in the streets?

How will we respond? Will we pause to pray, but not to get our hands dirty? Will we walk past thinking “Thank God it isn’t me or mine” or will we begin the difficult painful process of acknowledging the problems and really dedicating our times, talents, whole selves to the healing process?

Hard Things

2 Kings 5:1-14

Life is hard. It’s a phrase we hear often, or at least various versions of those words. “My life is hard.” “Adulting is hard.” “Being a kid is hard.” “being a parent is hard.” “breathing is hard today.” When I get overwhelmed by the whole life being hard thing, I remember a sign that my 4^th grade teacher had in her room. It read “We can do hard things.”

We can do hard things. Each and every day we stumble, struggle and pull our way through hard things. I think some of that fight is what keeps me motivated. It’s hard, but once it’s done I’ll feel a sense of accomplishment, I’ll know I’ve “made something of myself.”

In today’s scripture lesson there are some people who do some hard stuff. But they are not the ones we tend to focus on. This story is remembered as the time Naaman took a bath, at least by those of us who learned it as small children. The message to me was always “Be clean, be pure, be obedient.” Funny how as an adult those are not the truths I find in this passage at all.

In fact, the more time I’ve spent looking at the scripture the more I realize that it’s not really so much about Naaman, as it is about those around him.

Scripture tells us Naaman is a “big man on campus” sort of fellow. He is a warrior for the king of Aram, enemies of the Israelites, by the way. He is the right hand man of the king and things are going well for him, except for one small problem. He has leprosy.

Leprosy is the name given in biblical times to all sorts of skin diseases, from eczema to flaky skin to rashes to the disease as it is known today. According to the Israelite tradition, Naaman would have been exiled from the community until he was healed. But remember, he’s not an Israelite! These same rules don’t apply. He’s continued about his work, but he is getting fed up with this issue.

The more he complains and suffers, the more his household becomes unnerved, to the point where a young slave girl, one from Israel, gets the nerve to speak up and offer a new plan of action.

What a brave, hard thing she did! She spoke up for the prophet of her God. She gave voice to the healing powers her homeland proclaimed. She spoke the Lord’s words in a foreign land.

How often do we let words of comfort, encouragement, even healing or salvation die on our tongues because we are afraid of the reaction? How often do we know that healing is available, but don’t offer it out of fear or rejection, fear of humiliation, fear of retribution? It’s hard!  But this girl knew she could do hard things.

After meeting with the king Naaman goes, not to the prophet, but to the King of Israel! That’s how we know Naaman was a big deal, and knew he was a big deal. It’s like approaching the president for an appointment with the presidential dermatologist! It’s over kill. To us it seems hard, but to Naaman it was how things were done. The king had authority in his country, surely this king had the same control over his healers.

After the kings own existential crisis, he sends Naaman on to Elisha for healing. And Elisha refuses to play into this power play. He sends out a servant and says, wash in the river Jordan 7 times, and you will be healed.

No pomp, no circumstance, just a simple bath in a muddy river. It’s a simple thing to do. But Naaman is insulted. Naaman is a big man, and he expects his healing to be a big deal. This simple washing bit is too simple, too beneath him. It’s not the show he’s brought all these goods to pay for!

While life is hard, and can be hard, its often the simple things that trip us up. The simple things like saying thank you when someone holds open a door, or the simple act of passing that kindness onto another. A simple smile or greeting can change a person’s morning, but we too often think of it as wasted energy. The simple acts of a cup of cold water on a hot day, or a meal to eat, even if it’s just a burrito, these are life changing, life giving healing acts. They are simple, and perhaps that’s why we have a hard time doing them.

Naaman does not want to do the simple because it seems like not enough. But God does not turn his back on Naaman, and god does not turn God’s back on us.

God does not leave us bereft of support when tragedy does strike; rather, God employs ordinary people to act in extraordinary ways.

In this cases Naaman’s servants stretch out an olive branch to him. They say “If it had been hard to do you would have done it. What keeps you from trying something so simple?” Naaman realizes he really has nothing to lose, and goes and bathes as instructed. And he is healed.

When Naaman was able to trust, to accept the simple instruction “wash and be clean” he was healed.

He was healed.

He returns giving thanks and praise. He returns asking more about this God who has changed him. He returns to offer thanks and praise. He returns completely healed, a new man, with skin like a young boy.

The slave girl, Elisha, the river Jordan are all set apart, not because they are intrinsically unique, but because God is at work through them, in all their particularity, for the good of Naaman.  For the good of an enemy of Israel.

That’s an oddity. God’s grace extending beyond the chosen people? But it did, and it does. Grace is offered to all. It’s a simple thing really, but we try to make it so hard. God loves the world, not just certain segments of that world. Not just North America, not just the Middle-east, but the world!

So we too are called to love the world. To reach out with these simple gestures of hope, kindness, faith and generosity. Reaching out a helping hand to a member of a different race, culture or religion does not require that one check one’s traditions or faith at the door in the interest of meeting that person on so called “neutral ground.” The slave girl and Elisha are able to help Naaman by drawing on the resources their religion and culture provide, not by setting them aside or kicking them away.

We are called to acts of justice and mercy in response to the grace we have received from God through Christ. Nothing more, nothing less.

Is it hard? It can sure seem that way. And we can do hard things. But sometimes its as simple as a cup and some bread. Sometimes its as simple as a shared meal. Sometimes its as simple as open arms. And we can do simple things too!

Friday Five: Celebrations

From 3dogmom@ Revgalblogpals: It’s the time of year when celebrations abound: graduations (the end of that season), weddings, anniversaries, family reunions, and more. I’ve just officiated the blessing of my sister-in-law’s recent marriage, an event that incorporated a variety of celebrations within the celebration. Fun stuff, all around!

The season notwithstanding, causes to celebrate can be found in our daily/weekly/monthly lives, too. For today’s FF, share with us five things you are celebrating these days!

Celebrating is a hard thing for me to do in general. I guess its that idea of letting "the world" know what you value and putting it a risk publicly. You know, the whole counting the chickens before they hatch kind of mindset. I'm trying to get over that by keeping a daily log of gratitude, but making it public still causes some anxiety.

Here goes!

1) My wonderful husband who keeps me from wallowing too much!

2) My parents, who love me and my family with a fierceness that I aspire towards

3. My precious son, who loves to play with his sisters, even if that means being "pretty princess wy-wy"

4) The family worship space at our GA this year! It was amazing! My three loved it, and it enhanced our worship experience.

5) My middle child, who just turned 8. She is pure Joy and excitement all of the time!

Bonus* My eldest child (on the left) who is making 11 look so grown up! I celebrate her amazing ability to make people feel listened to and appreciated for who they are!

Naaman Sermon from 2013

2 Kings 5: 1-14

Did you have a favorite board game growing up? Guess Who is a favorite game at our house. Some of you may be familiar with this game. Each player has a board that looks like it is filled with doors and behind each door is a picture. Each player chooses who they will be and the other player gets to ask 5 yes or no questions to figure out who their opponent is. The questions are often, do you have blue eyes or do you have brown hair. The winner is the one who first correctly identifies the other person. This game was a favorite of mine as a child too! It teaches children to ask questions, to see that people may be similar, but not interchangeable. All in all it’s a good game.

But the more often we play this game the more I find that I want to change things about it. For example, there are not enough women. There are not enough people of different ethnicities. And while you see an image of the people you don’t know who they really are. It doesn’t really show us their identity. You can’t tell just by looking if Joe is a single parent of three, one of which has special needs. You can’t tell if Debbie is a cancer survivor on her way to her next check up.

We have to learn to look beneath the surface to see who people really are and to learn what they really need.

Identity is something that is at the very core of who we are as human beings. We are more than just our occupations, our hair or skin color. We are more than the sum of our various parts. But identity is something so many in our world struggle with, seeking to find their place in a chaotic society.

In the lesson from 2 Kings this morning we have to look closer than outward appearances. At first glance we have a high ranking solider, 2 kings, a prophet and some slaves. With this list of characters one expects the action to really happen with those in power, the kings and the officials, and if we are listening only to them we miss where God is at work in the scripture. It’s through the cast of supporting characters that the work of God becomes known.

Naaman is a high ranking officer in the Aramean army. He is described as a great man, a mighty warrior, but he has fallen victim to leprosy. Leprosy was a huge issue in biblical times. It characterized a host of skin diseases from what we call leprosy now to eczema or rashes. This disease often led to being cast out from among the people. So here we have a high official with the disorder. No doubt there was panic in the household. This kind of thing could ruin the reputation of anyone and Naaman was enjoying being on top. We are not told how many cures he tried, how often he was kept awake by fear, but the issue was serious enough that the slave girl heard about it.

This brave young girl stepped up and offered healing words to someone out of her “sphere of influence.” Naaman, under normal circumstances would not have noticed the girl. She was after all a slave girl, taken from Israel in the Aramean victory. There was no reason for her to share with her captor this good news. But she did. She knew that there was a prophet in Israel who spoke the word of the Lord – Elisha – and she knew that God was in the business of wholeness and restoration. So the slave girl told her mistress about Elisha. Something in her led her to speak of the prophet of God and the healing possibilities.

How often have we been nudged to give words of healing to another, but stopped short? What is it that stops us? Is it doubt? Is it fear? Is it a lack of understanding our own identities? I’m sure that each of these plays a small part in it. By speaking up this girl took a small step that began the journey that would alter and indeed save Naaman’s life.

Naaman went to his king and requested to go visit this prophet for healing. In that time, people believed that if one army defeated another, that army’s god had also defeated the other.  So it was incredible that Naaman would seek the help of a God who apparently couldn’t defend his people.  Of course Naaman didn’t yet know that God works in unexpected ways and shows up in unexpected places. Naaman must have been very important to the king for he agreed and sent a letter to the king of Israel explaining what he wanted to happen. Naaman brought an enormous amount of wealth with him to the king of Israel. It is not clear from the story if it was given by the king or from Naaman himself, but the intent is clear, these items will pay for his cleansing. Naaman was a man of the world and knew the way the world worked. He wanted to make sure there was no reason to deny his request. Naaman did everything in his power to secure healing.

In his power. Power had become a key point in Naaman’s identity. He was a powerful mighty man and he approached another king with the words of his king and treasure to assure he would be listened to. If we had any doubts about Naaman’s reputation the reaction of the king of Israel should clue us in.

When the King heard of Naaman’s request he tore his own clothing. He was convinced this was a military ploy to take him out of what power he has left. He was worried this was a way to begin fighting between their two nations once more. This king’s identity is also found in power, but he had learned that his power could be taken away.

When we place our identity in things like rank, power, prestige we will spend most of our time and energy to preserve those things. To be on top, the top of the class, the top of the pyramid, top dog, top gun these things are goals, glorified by our society. Yet once you attain these heights you must spend time looking over your shoulder waiting for someone to attempt to knock you back down.

Elisha, the great prophet who had picked up the mantel of Elijah, stepped forward and told the king to let Naaman come and see that there is a prophet in Israel. And so the King agreed.

But while Naaman was on his way a messenger was sent out to him. Naaman was not happy with this news. He expected at least a little special treatment from the prophet. Naaman’s pride was wounded by the low-key, if not outright rude, reception he received from Elisha. Naaman clearly had an idea of how things would play out and was angry that the prophet didn’t make a big production out of calling on God. He was a big man, important, wealthy; a big deal should be made to save him.

What’s worse, all that the servant told him to do was go dip in the Jordan River – that muddy insignificant creek – 7 times. What junk.  What insult.  Just wait till the King of Aram hears how his favorite general was treated!  Naaman turned to go.
 Naaman couldn’t see the God might just work in a different way.

Naaman was so upset by the simplicity of the prophet’s directions he almost missed out on the opportunity for healing. It again took the words of servants to tell him to try even though it is unexpected.

His servants called out to him –if the prophet had asked you to do something great, wouldn’t you have done it?  This is such a simple thing – why not do it?”

And that was the exactly the issue.  There was not spectacle, no magic, no pomp.  It was too simple.  It was too easy. It was too good to be true.

Naaman had built an identity for himself of power and prestige and he expected others to respond to it. Elisha does not play into Naaman’s ego. Neither does God.

It was so unlikely – a slave girl has an important message for her master, giving him the information to get the thing he most desired.

It was so lowly – not a king, not even a prophet, but a servant gives him the message that can heal him.

It was so improbable – a dirty creek, not a mighty river, is the means to his healing.

Naaman saw the wisdom in his servant’s words.  There really was nothing to lose.  And if this worked…
He dunked down in the muddy waters – once, twice, three times…seven times.  And when he came up on the seventh time – he was healed.
            And more than just physically – because Naaman knew in that moment that God was God.
 God had opened the mouths of the servants and the heart of Naaman to the real possibility of healing, and once Naaman was healed he then professed faith in the only God, the God of Israel.

It’s a powerful story, taking twists and turns that would not have been expected. And it leads Naaman to a new identity, that of a child of God. You see my friends, that is the identity that we need to claim in ourselves, that is the identity that we need to recognize in others, that is the identity we need to help others see in themselves. We are children of God, joint heirs to the servant’s kingdom.

Here in an act strikingly similar to the sacrament of baptism Naaman begins to see his need for God and responds with a profession of faith. This moment was not the end of Naaman’s journey, but rather the beginning of his new identity, his new life in God.

Are we, like Naaman, looking for God in all the wrong places?
 Are we looking for fireworks and miracles, and miss the little daily ways grace comes to us?
 Are we expecting mighty prophets (or preachers) when God sends servant girls, and apprentice disciples, and healed demoniacs, - and us - to spread the good news?
 We find God in the unlikely, unexpected places when we open ourselves up and look beyond our expectations.
 In the words of a slave girl and a message from a prophet, and a dip in muddy water,
In the song of a expectant mother and a baby wrapped in swaddling and the shepherd’s story,
In the cry from a cross and an empty tomb,
In water poured over a baby’s head,
In a bit of bread and sip of wine,
In a listening ear, and a burden shared,
In laughter, and a child’s joy,
 In the words of a holy hymn or even song on the radio that touches your heart,
In the smallest moments, the simplest things,
God speaks healing in our souls.

When we look beyond the goals and dreams of our society, when we set aside the roles assigned to us, when we seek to see ourselves as children of God, nothing more, nothing less, we begin to change. It is the beginning of our journey to healing and wholeness. We will be made new.

With this new identity may we boldly proclaim the good news, just as the slave girl and the servants proclaimed it. May we claim our identity today and help lead others on their journey. Amen. And Amen.

Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

A sermon based on Luke 7:36-8:3 (Cumberland Presbyterian Church aka CPC; Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, aka CPCA)

There are so many things that I love about this passage of scripture! I love the amazing act of worship the woman completes, letting Jesus and everyone else present know the extent of her devotion to Christ. I love that Jesus points to the faith of an unnamed woman and says, this is what it looks like to be healed! I love that Jesus takes the important act of a dinner party to turn the expectations of his host on their head.

I had originally planned to address them all, but that sermon would have been entirely too long! And that was before General Assembly.

General Assembly was a wonderful experience, a chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones; a chance to see what’s happening in the denomination and celebrate good news; an opportunity to see that Cumberland Presbyterians are not just from one corner of the US but cross international boundaries. GA was all of those things, to everyone who was not on my committee!

I served as the acting Chair of the Committee on Theology and social Concerns/Unification. The long and short of that is, all the hot button issues came through my committee and I was in charge of making sure we came to as close to a consensus as possible.

Oh how I longed to be on the Children’s Home committee, who finished by 2 pm Tuesday. Or even the Stewardship committee who had everything signed by 9 am Wednesday morning. Instead I was chair of the committee that worked until 7:30 Wednesday night and then met again Thursday morning for reviews and edits!

Most of what we dealt with was fairly straightforward. There was an amazing sense of the Holy Spirit at work as we heard about Unification efforts between the CPC and CPCA. I was encouraged by the work being done in both denominations. We read difficult, but wonderful papers on Homelessness, and the churches response and on Discrimination as a justice issue. We talked about their eye opening nature and got very excited about passing them on to the church as a whole.

Two Memorials were brought to us concerning our relationship with other denominations that are often perceived as more liberal than the CPC. These memorials sought to alter our ecumenical relationships. I’ll admit to being nervous about discussing them, but it was obvious that the members of the committee saw clearly that cutting the CPC off from other denominations would be a mistake.

The biggest issue that we dealt with came from a resolution presented by a commissioner on the floor of GA. It was titled “Resolution of Repentance, Apology, and Resolve” and from the moment it was read it caused a firestorm of conversation, dislike, confusion, and anxiety. The resolution named many acts throughout the history of the CPC denomination that have oppressed, hurt, damaged our brothers and sisters in the CPCA church, including allowing the division of the two churches in an effort to maintain a “separate but equal” kind of church.

And as I stood there, listening to whispers of outrage around me, I thought of this scripture.

I saw this known sinner, this unnamed repulsive woman, not fit for polite society, sneak into the room and begin to pour out a sacrifice of thanksgiving at Christ’s feet. I watched her bath his feet with her tears, dry them with her hair. I watched her bowing in front of him with no shame, only gratitude and recognition of the forgiveness she had received.

But all around her were those who couldn’t see the forgiven nature. All they saw was her past, her sin, her unworthiness. They stood their judging her and wondering why Jesus was putting up with her. Simon, the host of the party, even puts Jesus down for allowing her to touch him at all.

 And then we hear Jesus’ words. ““Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”

But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little. This phrase doesn’t mean that Simon, or any of the other Pharisees present that night had not sinned, or had sinned very little. It means that they had been forgiven little, because they had not realized their need for forgiveness. They could not appreciate the joyous worship of this woman, because they themselves were blind to their own need for repentance, for apology, for forgiveness.

As my committee considered this resolution, this uncomfortable resolution I heard many things. I heard “It’s not my fault their denomination faces prejudice.” “I didn’t have slaves.” “As far back as we can find on my family tree we never owned slaves.”  “I don’t benefit from anything that happened so long ago.”

I also heard “I am glad to read these words.” “A recognition and apology from this church are long overdue.” “I am humbled by the realization that I have benefitted from the sins of those who came before me.”

As a committee we bowed before God together. Some of us on our knees, we asked for guidance, for open hearts, for God to work even if we made the wrong choices. Then we came back together and voted to send the resolution on to a permanent committee, because we didn’t have faith that our fellow CPC members would be able to see what we had eventually all seen. We didn’t trust that others would agree that we needed to offer this apology. That we needed to open ourselves up to the possibility of being hurt and recognize that things are not as they should be, and promise to try our best to do better.

We asked the GA to pass it along. We were wrong. But thank God, that God is faithful. Thank God my friends that God listens to and answers prayers. We asked God’s will be done, even if we had made the wrong recommendation. And it was.

From the floor of GA came the request to pass the resolution. From the other members came the challenge to apologize to our brothers and sisters. And together we asked for forgiveness from God and from the CPCA.

Together we bowed at the feet of Jesus. Together we humbled ourselves in an act of service. Together we took the position of servant, a place that others might look down on us for being, and we thanked Jesus for forgiving us.

Our eyes were opened to the sins that have lingered, and we can rejoice in our forgiveness. We can offer love from a place of humbleness. And we can commit to going forward building relationships one on one and denomination wide.

 “Let it be resolved, that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church repent and seek God’s forgiveness for the many ways we have benefited from, participated in, condoned, and been blind to our role in racism, oppression of our African American brothers and sisters, and all forms of brutality; and be it further

Resolved, That the Cumberland Presbyterian Church apologize to our African American brothers and sisters, seek their forgiveness, and work to restore the broken relationships our sin has caused; and be it further

Resolved, That the Cumberland Presbyterian Church commit itself to preach the Word of God without compromise, and that we resolve to “oppose, resist, and seek to change all circumstances of oppression-political, economic, cultural, racial, by which persons are denied the essential dignity God intends for them in the work of creation (COF 6.30). We seek to promote reconciliation, love and justice among all persons, classes, races, and nation” (COF 6.32)

May it be so, may it be so.

(full text of resolution printed below.)

Whereas, we Cumberland Presbyterians are considering the call of God to “Go” during this 186th meeting of the General
Assembly; and

Whereas, Jesus sent the twelve with these instructions: “As you go, proclaim the good news. The kingdom of heaven has
come near. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” (Matthew 10:7-8); and

Whereas, we seek the healing of our divisions as Cumberland Presbyterians; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was founded in 1810 in Dickson County, Tennessee, USA, and grew rapidly
in a nation that endorsed, participated in, and benefited from the practice of enslaving African men, women and children
who were brought to this nation through the brutal trans-Atlantic slave trade; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was inconsistent in its condemnation of American slavery as an institution
-- an institution that condoned the buying and selling of persons made in the image of God; an institution in which African
American families were often separated, and individuals were beaten and abused in body and mind; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church often condoned the segregation of its African American members into separate balconies, congregations, and classes because of the influence of cultural ideas of racial superiority and inferiority; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church refused to allow its African American members full and equal membership
following emancipation and the end of slavery; organizing instead separate congregations, presbyteries, and other judicatories
that were denied representation in the General Assembly, and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church encouraged and supported the organization of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church in America (originally the Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church) in 1874 in order to avoid the difficult work of
integration, and to avoid offending its members who continued to hold fast to ideas of racial superiority; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was complicit in accepting Jim Crow segregation, lynching as a means of social control, economic oppression of freed slaves, and denial of educational opportunities; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America have both suffered
from their separation, a separation that is harmful to the witness of the Church and a denial of our oneness in Christ; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church laments the loss of friendship, gifts and graces from which our life, worship,
witness and service would have been enriched had we not been separated all these years; and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church affirms the providence of God, whose purpose it is “that the whole creation
be set free from its bondage to sin and death, and be renewed in Jesus Christ” (COF, 1.15); and

Whereas, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church acknowledges our ongoing need for repentance, so that “In response to God’s initiative to restore relationships, (we) make honest confession of sing against God, (our) brothers and sisters, and all
of creation, and amend the past so far as is in (our) power.” (COF, 4.07); therefore, be it

Resolved, that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church repent and seek God’s forgiveness for the many ways we have benefitted
from, participated in, condoned, and been blind to our role in racism, oppression of our African American brothers and sisters, and all forms of brutality; and be it further

Resolved, that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church apologize to our African American brothers and sisters, seek their
forgiveness, and work to restore the broken relationships our sin has caused; and be it further

Resolved, that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church commit itself to preach the Word of God without compromise, and that we resolve to “oppose, resist, and seek to change all circumstances of oppression -- political, economic, cultural, racial, by which persons are denied the essential dignity God intends for them in the work of creation (COF, 6.30). We seek to promote reconciliation, love and justice among all persons, classes, races, and nations: (COF, 6.32). (Quoted in the Resolution Marking the 50th year since the end of World War II, by Japan Presbytery of the CPC)