SERMON FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2012, LENT 4, YEAR B

PREACHED AT SAINT ANNE'S

Gospel Passage from the Lectionary: John 3:14-21

Karl Barth was one of the great theologians of the 20^th century.  

A giant among Christian thinkers. 

His writings and teachings have influenced thousands of pastors, scholars, 

and lay people who think deeply about the great questions of faith.  

In 1962, while Barth was visiting America for the first and only time, 

a reporter asked him how he would summarize his work --

-- 12 thick volumes of theology that had influenced millions.  

The great scholar thought for a moment, and replied in English:

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Sometimes the Bible can seem confusing, contradictory, 

full of ancient stories that need to be explained before they can make sense… 

if they ever make sense. 

But in some ways, the whole Bible is like the volumes and volumes of theological work written by Karl Barth, and others who think deeply about God and life and the meaning of it all.  

Words.  

Millions upon millions of words.  

Stories of people experiencing miracles… 

or deep grief and confusion when miracles don’t come…  

Stories of struggle, and hope for God’s justice… 

Recorded memories of the teachings of great, faithful leaders.  

Poems and proverbs… laws and statutes, 

and historical records of battles and wars and dynasties… 

of victory and defeat… of hopes and dreams and betrayal… 

of revenge and forgiveness…  It’s all there, and much more.

But if you want to summarize it all, I think the best thing to say would be:

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

The Bible is a love story. 

It’s the story of God’s great love for the world -- the WHOLE world.  

God is crazy in love, head-over-heels in love, with you… and you… and you…  with all of us, and the whole world and everything in it.

When you read any one little part of the Bible, 

it’s easy to find sections that are about judgment, and exclusion. 

Violence and condemnation are definitely in the pages of the Bible.  

Because it is a collection of writings gathered from thousands of years, 

telling of many diverse experiences and understandings of God, 

in many times and places.

And even with all that, the far greater number of words in the Bible are about God’s steadfast love, which endures for ever… 

About God’s grace and mercy to the people in distress… 

About God’s compassion and forgiveness, and God’s promise of blessing.  

God’s continuing, unfolding plan for the salvation -- 

the health and wholeness and life -- of the whole world.

My Old Testament professor at United Seminary, Carolyn Pressler, 

used to say that too often, people use the Bible as a weapon. 

They look in the Bible for those relatively few passages that are about condemnation and judgment and damnation, 

and they get out their exacto knife, 

and they cut out those passages away from their greater context, 

and they wad them into spit balls -- or even bullets --  

that they launch at the people they think are “other.”

For example, the famous verse that is part of our gospel passage this morning.  John 3:16. 

So famous that at sports events, or on hand-painted highway signs, 

you’ll see just that reference: John 3:16.  

I guess if you don’t know what it means, you’re “out” already.  

People of a certain age, and a particular Christian culture, 

memorized that verse in Sunday School.

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.

When it’s held up at ball games, I always read it as a word of judgment.  

You better believe, or you will perish.  

Quick, right over the “God so loved the world” part, 

on to the “believe in Jesus or else” part.

What about John 3:17?  

“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.”

The faithful people who wrote the Bible, 

with the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 

were constantly grappling with the great mystery of God’s unconditional love.   

A love so great that somehow, some way, 

God was going to make it possible for everyone to have life.  

God wants to save the world.

I think Christians spend too much time and energy trying to draw dividing lines, 

and dwelling on the “judgment and exclusion of others” parts of the Bible, 

and not enough time and energy living into the mystery of God’s love.

What if we read:  

For God so loved YOU that he sent his Son… 

not to condemn YOU, but that YOU may be saved.  

That YOU may be whole, and healed, and know that you are loved…  

So that YOU may be an agent of salvation -- 

an agent of health, wholeness, healing -- for others, 

in this world that God loves so much..

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

It’s a children’s song, 

simple, unencumbered by judgment about anyone else’s salvation.  

And it says pretty much all we need to know.

Lenten Soul Food

For this post I have borrowed from a column that appeared in St. Anne's monthly newsletter, The Announcer, in Lent 2011.  The Church Lady used to write about all sorts of things that people had questions about -- red doors, or children in church, or "Who Is Saint Anne Anyway?", to name a few.


If you have questions you would like answered by the Church Lady, please send them to saintannesmn@gmail.com, and they will be forwarded to the Church Lady. She may allow me to post them here on my blog.


                                                                    Blessings, Lydia +

Dear Church Lady,

I know Lent is supposed to be about self-denial and fasting.  Is it OK to enjoy good food, even during Lent?

Signed, Foodie

The Church Lady replies:

First of all, dear Foodie, Lent is not “about” self-denial and fasting. It’s about forming habits of humility, generosity, and love. Self-denial and fasting are two spiritual disciplines that people have found helpful for thousands of years. Other disciplines include prayer, study, giving, and acts of kindness.  These and other disciplines are tools for us, to help us become better disciples.

If you want to know more about fasting, check out the book Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life  by Marjorie J. Thompson, or the mid-20th century classic, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster. Both have wonderful short chapters on the spiritual benefits of fasting.

But your question was really about food. And YES! It’s OK to enjoy food during Lent. There are even traditional foods associated with Lent.  

• Pretzels are a non-fat bread, first created by monks, who shaped the dough to resemble arms crossed over the chest in a traditional prayer posture. 
• Hot Cross Buns are sold around the world during Holy Week.  
• Simnel Cake (recipe below) is traditional for the 4^th Sunday in Lent, called “Refreshment Sunday” or “Mothering Sunday.” Coming approximately halfway through the 40 days, it is a small break from the rigors of Lenten discipline, including fasting. In medieval England, it was a day to honor Mother Church, Jesus’ mother, and all mothers. Servants were given the day off to visit their mothers, and the story goes they took this sweet treat with them.  

And let’s not forget time-honored tradition of church suppers during Lent!  St. Annians enjoy wonderful food on the Wednesdays of Lent, when we gather for supper, classes, and Holden Evening Prayer. The meals are simple -- soup, bread, fruit -- but hearty and delicious.  At a recent Wednesday, Mitzi Addis’ Turkey Chili (recipe below) disappeared in a hurry.

You can find lots of good “Lent-approved” recipes in the St. Anne’s 25^th Anniversary Cookbook, now discounted to $10. 

SIMNEL CAKE

For the 4^th Sunday in Lent

¾ c butter

2 c sugar

4 eggs

2 c flour

½ t salt

grated peel of 1 orange

½ c raisins

1 can (12 oz) almond filling (may use almond paste instead)

Preheat oven to 300.  Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, beating well.

Combine flour, salt, orange peel, and raisins.

Add to butter mixture and beat lightly to combine.

Spread ½ of batter into prepared pan.  Spread almond filling over, then spread with remaining batter.

Bake at 300 for 1 hour.  Dust with powdered sugar, or make a thin icing of powdered sugar, vanilla or almond flavoring, and milk or water.  Drizzle icing over when cool.  Cut into small bars or squares (it’s very rich).

SOUTHWESTERN TURKEY CHILI

from Mitzi Addis

1 pound ground turkey

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

1 cup of chopped red pepper

3 cloves minced garlic

2  16 oz cans diced tomatoes with chili spices

2  16 oz cans black beans

1  16 oz can kidney beans

1  16 oz corn with bell pepper  (Mexicorn)

1 Tbsp. Oregano

1 Tbsp. Ground Cumin

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. Allspice

Cilantro as a garnish - optional

Sour Cream as a garnish

Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese as a topper - optional

Place all the beans in a colander and rinse and drain.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat a little vegetable oil (1 tbsp).  Add onions and celery and lightly brown, stirring frequently.  Add the ground turkey.  Cook over medium-high heat, breaking up pieces until no longer ping.  If brown bits form on the bottom of the pan add a little water (1 tbsp. at a time) and scrape up the browned parts.

Stir in the pepper an garlic and continue to cook about 10 minutes stirring frequently and adding small amounts of water to bottom of pan to keep the brown bits from burning.

Stir in tomatoes, beans, corn, oregano, cumin, salt and allspice.  Reduce heat, cover pot and simmer 25 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serves 6 to 8 as a main dish or more as a side dish.

Faithful Anger

SERMON FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2012 -- Third Sunday in Lent, Year B

Gospel Text: John 2:13-22

Steven Slater was a flight attendant with Jet Blue airlines.   Trained in every aspect of taking care of passengers’ needs, Slater knew how to respond politely even when under stress, even when dealing with rude, drunk, or unruly passengers.  

Until August 9, 2010, when Slater lost it.

Accounts differ, but Slater claims that a passenger’s rudeness and refusal to remain seated was just the last straw.  He responded with profanity, then ripped off his tie, grabbed two beers, activated the emergency exit chute, and slid down, shouting “I’ve been in this business 20 years, and that’s it, I’m done.”

The story touched a chord with working Americans, dealing with stress and job anxiety.  Many news outlets called Slater a “folk hero.”  Some admirers set up a Facebook page, and more than 11,000 people posted their support.  “Well done Steven.”  “You are brave!”  “You should have taken the whole beverage cart with you!”

One person posted: "Congrats on a job well done Steven. Probably just as well you're not a pilot, though."

In today’s gospel we have a story of Jesus getting angry.  Acting outrageously and destructively.  This is not “gentle Jesus, meek and mild.”  This is Jesus on a rampage -- insulting, shouting, overturning tables and driving people and animals out of the temple with a whip.

Imagine the headlines -- Son of God Snaps, Lashes Out in Anger.  Galilean Turns Folk-Hero.  And the Facebook postings:  Well done, Jesus! Those moneychangers had it coming.  You are brave!  

And this time, the admiration would be well-placed.  What makes Jesus’ anger different from Steven Slater’s? 

I guess people liked what Slater did because it was outrageous, and he acted out the anger and frustration that many people feel -- at their jobs, or in their families -- but don’t express.  But then it started coming out that maybe the original story wasn’t quite true. Passengers on the plane said they didn’t witness any other passenger being rude, just Slater’s crazy tantrum.  Several people remembered him being rude and unprofessional on other flights they had taken.  His family and medical history came under public scrutiny, as people chose up sides as to whether his anger was justified or inappropriate.

And then, when all was said and done, he had lost his job and faced criminal charges.  

Was it worth it?  He had made his point… but what point?  His tantrum was about perceived personal insults, and his actions may have made him feel better for a moment, but achieved no lasting change.  They were just part of a culture of rudeness and anger.

When Jesus was angry in the Temple, he was protesting a system of injustice and greed that corrupted even the worship in the temple.

In one sense, there was nothing wrong with animals being sold, and with money changers being present.  Animal sacrifice was a normal part of the religious practices of the time, going back to ancient traditions, set down in the laws of Moses.  People needed animals for sacrifices.  The people traveled from all over the realm, and needed to exchange currency for the coin of the region.  So far, so good.  But greed and lust for power had crept in, as it too often does, and corruption had become normal.  Animals that people brought themselves were inspected by the priests, and almost always found to be blemished -- unfit for sacrifice, so they had to buy “perfect” ones from the local vendors.  Price gouging was normal.  Exchanging money was expensive, with the money changers taking a large cut.  What should have been a service to those coming to worship was instead an opportunity for cheating and abusing.

It’s unlikely that Jesus one day just snapped.  More likely he had noticed a system of injustice and took the opportunity to make a public statement, in a fashion that could not be ignored.

His anger was not about personal insults.  It was not a stunt to make himself feel better by thumbing his nose at authority or by drawing attention to his own cleverness.

John gives us this story at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, to make it clear that Jesus has divine authority, and that he speaks for God.  Jesus is powerful and assertive.  He follows courageously in the tradition of the great prophets, who expressed God’s righteous anger -- and he asserts his divine identity, as God’s Beloved, calling the people to worship in Spirit and in truth.

* * * *

What makes us angry?  Do we waste our anger on petty, personal affronts, or do we aim it toward systems and situations that reduce the dignity of our fellow human beings? 

Do we get agitated over our own wounded pride, or are we passionate about justice for all?

Joy Mead, of the Iona Community, writes:

People who are angry at injustice are compassionate people: they are filled with passion and they do not make docile citizens: angry people (slaves and free people) forced the end of slavery in the British empire; angry people (men and women) won the vote for women; angry people (black and white) brought an end to apartheid in South Africa. Angry people can change the rules … Compassion enlivens and empowers the heart and mind so that with an informed anger we ask questions.*

Listen to this hymn text by John Bell and Graham Maule, also of the Iona Community:

Inspired by love and anger, disturbed by need and pain,
Informed of God's own bias we ask God once again:
"How long must some folk suffer? How long can few folk mind?
How long dare vain self interest turn prayer and pity blind?"

…
"Where are the fruits of justice? Where are the signs of peace?
When is the day when prisoners and dreams find their release?"

…
"When will the wronged be righted? When will the kingdom come?
When will the world be generous to all instead of some?"

God asks, "Who will go for me? Who will extend my reach?
And who, when few will listen, will prophesy and preach?
And who, when few bid welcome, will offer all they know?
And who, when few dare follow, will walk the road I show?"*

The scripture today is not a license to act outrageously in public, or to lash out in anger whenever we want to make a point.  But it is a reminder that part of our divine imprint is God’s compassion -- God’s “passion with”-- God’s deep desire for justice.

The Jesus we see today in the gospel is not “gentle Jesus meek and mild.”  He shows us the face of God who is not tame … Who cannot be contained in convenient categories we construct… Who is not just our God, but the God of all …  Who cares deeply about justice and righteousness --and seems, throughout the scriptures, to have a strong bias toward helping those who are downtrodden and oppressed.  Who spoke through prophets of old and who still speaks through those who dare to challenge injustice, or advocate for the disadvantaged, or risk everything to say clearly: this is not fair, this is not right, this is not good.

May we who follow him learn from his example how to be humble about our own place in the world, and constructively angry about the world’s injustice.

Amen.

*The quote and excerpts from the hymn text were found in This is the Day: Readings and meditations from the Iona Community, edited by Neil Paynter.  2002, Wild Goose Publications.