If you'd like to listen to a recording of my sermon from Sunday, October 17th, 2010, click on the following link to download the audio file:
http://www.box.net/shared/jup1qlszk6
If you'd like a copy of the manuscript, please contact me. I'm happy to provide manuscripts for those who ask.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Link to the audio file for my sermon from October 10th, 2010
If you'd like to listen to the recording of my sermon, "Thanks for Nothing!" from Sunday, October 10th, 2010 at Park Avenue Presbyterian Church, you can click on the following link and download the file.
http://www.box.net/shared/rzshopxdos
If you'd like a copy of the manuscript I used to preach from, please contact me. I'm happy to provide manuscripts for those who ask.
http://www.box.net/shared/rzshopxdos
If you'd like a copy of the manuscript I used to preach from, please contact me. I'm happy to provide manuscripts for those who ask.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Audio Link and Sermon Manuscript for World Communion Sunday, October 3rd, 2010
If you'd like to listen to my sermon from World Communion Sunday, October 3rd, 2010, please click on the link below to download the audio file:
http://www.box.net/shared/7xb0htfu0q
The semon manuscript I used to preach from is included below:
The Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time & World Communion Sunday; October 03, 2010
Park Avenue Presbyterian Church; Des Moines, Iowa
Texts: Lamentations 1: 1-6
Lamentations 3: 19-26 or Psalm 137
2 Timothy 1: 1-14
Luke 17: 5-10 *
--} Today is World Communion Sunday—celebrated by many Christians the world over. So think if you will, that our celebration of the Lord’s Supper serves as the great opposition for all that’s wrong in the world. Hunger. Warfare. Political advertising. Disasters. Consider the table as a place of uniting, a sacrament that puts US together with CHRIST for the sake of all that is good and right for the world. For me it’s sort of like the Psalmist’s promise in the 23rd Psalm—“thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” When we gather at table as believers… we gather being observed by the world. At least part of what we hope the world observes is God’s gracious care of us.
I think in a similar way Jesus in Luke’s gospel lesson offers us different orientation.
More often than not, we presume that the apostles in today’s reading are being greedy, saying to Jesus, “increase our faith.” Jesus’ response seems a quick punch—“If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” And before we ask ourselves about the power to uproot trees and plant them in the sea, perhaps we need to remember that no matter faith’s relative size to the mustard seed, planting a tree in the sea in any case seems like a pretty dumb idea. Jesus seems not to mince words; when they ask, “give us more,” he says quickly the equivalent of, “that’s dumb.”
But Luke takes the opportunity to connect verses 6 and 7 grammatically. Where often in a plain English reading, we’d be tempted to say that verses 5 and 6 and verses 7 through 10 are pretty unrelated, Luke connects them—intentionally—as if this is the real answer or explanation to the apostles’ question. “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’?”
Jesus is portrayed asking this question as if some of the apostles actually had slaves in their households. And while that may be a troublesome image of us in 21st Century America, it seems not to have the same challenges for Jesus and the apostles in 1st century Palestine. “Who among you would say…” and the answer is pretty much, “none of us.” The image Jesus uses is a “weird table,” much akin to us going out to a very nice restaurant, and when the server comes to take our order, we get up and seat the server at OUR table, taking his or her order and serving it before we get to have our meal. Who of us would do that? …none of us, right?
Jesus’ point is that it’s human convention to treat laborers appropriately—according to the relationships established for them. Everyone expectation is that the slave will follow the directions given; that’s what’s supposed to happen. A slave or servant doesn’t earn special significance because he or she has done what she or he was directed to do. Therefore, concludes Jesus, treat yourselves accordingly. Do what you’ve been asked to do, and don’t expect special treatment.
For me, the weird and intriguing part of the story is that the table Jesus asks about—the one with the master serving the servants—is exactly the kind of table I think Jesus has been teaching us about, the very table God promises is waiting for us in the Kingdom of God. This strange table, which everyone seems to reject (and for good reason) is exactly the kind of table we believe God has set for us—and yet, the story has us rejecting it! What’s wrong with this picture?
And maybe, that’s what we always say; “There’s just something “wrong” with this picture.” And often, we think the “wrongness” begins with the apostles asking Jesus to “increase [their] faith.” But let’s think about this just a bit further. Just what is it that the apostles have been asked to do as servants or slaves?
This request for an “increase” comes right after Jesus has told his disciples that they must “forgive” anyone who asks for repentance; not only once or twice, but seven times in the same day, if necessary. If that’s not a BIG enough order, that story comes immediately on the heels of the story of the rich man and Lazarus, where it’s pretty devastating what happens to those who don’t meet the challenges of the lifestyle of the Kingdom of God. “Increase our faith” may not be a request based on greed, but one that acknowledges the difficulty of living as a witness to the kingdom’s ways.
We often chide these apostles for their apparent greediness; perhaps assuming they are as interested in the wealth of supernatural abilities as the Pharisees were lovers of money and lustful after the lifestyles of those who had more and most. We chide the apostles for their apparent weaknesses—assuming they aren’t always the best examples of what it means to live by faith. But in this story, I think they surprise us; startling us with a difficult turn of events.
It’s not always the apostles, but more often you and I who wear the vestments of greediness. Oh we think we have better motives, or the fact that our “good motives” ought to get us free passes on our desires. But when it comes to being greedy, perhaps we ought to look no further than our Church. We lust after more members, more money, and greater worldly authority. We’d like bigger, newer, more accessible buildings; bigger endowments; and some way for someone else to pay the bills so we can give all our money to mission. Am I wrong? But that’s been the story of Christianity in the modern age.
The great churches of Europe sent out missionaries to defeat and conquer every corner of the world. And since the great industrial age, the dominance of the West—including America—has led to our preference for the ways of the modern western world over and against the poor of the second and third world. Our ways are better; our life, our freedom, our beliefs—are best. And we believe this in terms of politics, and it follows with religion. Jesus, I think, would teach his apostles and disciples that if anything, it should be the other way around—our religious affiliations should inform our politics; which means we are invited to see the world very differently. Perhaps, even going so far as to imagine the kind of world Jesus proposes in his question, “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’?” [None of us, I assure you! Am I right?]
So At the end of Luke’s story, Jesus’ answer to the apostles and to us is simple: “when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done’!” And at first, that sounds somewhat degrading to us. What? Us middle-class north American Christians treat ourselves or allow ourselves to be treated like some poor immigrant from Central America or Taiwan? But that’s not exactly what I believe Jesus has in mind.
Jesus has in mind our responding, not as people of privilege, but as people who do their jobs. In verse 10, the Greek verb “to order” or “commanded” is a word that also means “appointed” or “ordained.” As in, “when you have done all that you were appointed, or “ordained” for, …then say, “we have done what we ought to have done.” So that in the language of Luke’s story there’s another image—a different table, where the ones who have done what they were appointed or ordained to do, are welcomed at table together, perhaps even in the UNCONVENTIONAL manner Jesus suggests.
This isn’t the lifestyle of more, better, best—as in more members, more money, more success. This is the lifestyle established by Jesus, where followers are called not to places, positions, and abilities that “wow” others, but where we serve one another in love. Where we respond to the call and claim of the master—not in an attempt to curry more favor, but in an attempt to witness to the Kingdom of God. And that’s what we do when we gather around the table.
THIS TABLE, isn’t about “more, better, or most.” THIS TABLE is about the lifestyle of Jesus, who invites us into a new way of seeing the world. THIS TABLE is weird… because it asks us to give witness to the Kingdom of God before giving in to the conventions of the world. …Because it asks us to see the world through the lens of Jesus—and suddenly things can’t be the same anymore.
Ultimately, Jesus seems to ask the apostles and disciples to see the world differently. That they have enough faith, even to accomplish the hard things in life. That they have enough faith to do things that are simply unimaginable. That they CAN even if the world would have them—or have us—believe they or we can’t. Jesus would have us imagine a world where we can already leave convention and declare a new age. Are you ready for it? Who among us is ready to get out the apron, to don the uniform, to serve others as Christ has served us?
Today is World Communion Sunday. And when we join at table with our brothers and sisters around the world… how can we have it any other way—than considering ourselves servants of Jesus’ lifestyle. Share the feast; share the life.
--+ Brothers and Sisters, God sent God’s son, the Christ; and Jesus dares us, “who among you would say to the slave who just came in from the field, come here at once and take your place at the table?” I’d like to think that all of us would accept that dare—“we would!” That we might give witness to the ways of the kingdom of God. Here’s our opportunity as we share at Christ’s table. AMEN.
http://www.box.net/shared/7xb0htfu0q
The semon manuscript I used to preach from is included below:
The Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time & World Communion Sunday; October 03, 2010
Park Avenue Presbyterian Church; Des Moines, Iowa
Texts: Lamentations 1: 1-6
Lamentations 3: 19-26 or Psalm 137
2 Timothy 1: 1-14
Luke 17: 5-10 *
“The Weird Table”
--} Today is World Communion Sunday—celebrated by many Christians the world over. So think if you will, that our celebration of the Lord’s Supper serves as the great opposition for all that’s wrong in the world. Hunger. Warfare. Political advertising. Disasters. Consider the table as a place of uniting, a sacrament that puts US together with CHRIST for the sake of all that is good and right for the world. For me it’s sort of like the Psalmist’s promise in the 23rd Psalm—“thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” When we gather at table as believers… we gather being observed by the world. At least part of what we hope the world observes is God’s gracious care of us.
I think in a similar way Jesus in Luke’s gospel lesson offers us different orientation.
More often than not, we presume that the apostles in today’s reading are being greedy, saying to Jesus, “increase our faith.” Jesus’ response seems a quick punch—“If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” And before we ask ourselves about the power to uproot trees and plant them in the sea, perhaps we need to remember that no matter faith’s relative size to the mustard seed, planting a tree in the sea in any case seems like a pretty dumb idea. Jesus seems not to mince words; when they ask, “give us more,” he says quickly the equivalent of, “that’s dumb.”
But Luke takes the opportunity to connect verses 6 and 7 grammatically. Where often in a plain English reading, we’d be tempted to say that verses 5 and 6 and verses 7 through 10 are pretty unrelated, Luke connects them—intentionally—as if this is the real answer or explanation to the apostles’ question. “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’?”
Jesus is portrayed asking this question as if some of the apostles actually had slaves in their households. And while that may be a troublesome image of us in 21st Century America, it seems not to have the same challenges for Jesus and the apostles in 1st century Palestine. “Who among you would say…” and the answer is pretty much, “none of us.” The image Jesus uses is a “weird table,” much akin to us going out to a very nice restaurant, and when the server comes to take our order, we get up and seat the server at OUR table, taking his or her order and serving it before we get to have our meal. Who of us would do that? …none of us, right?
Jesus’ point is that it’s human convention to treat laborers appropriately—according to the relationships established for them. Everyone expectation is that the slave will follow the directions given; that’s what’s supposed to happen. A slave or servant doesn’t earn special significance because he or she has done what she or he was directed to do. Therefore, concludes Jesus, treat yourselves accordingly. Do what you’ve been asked to do, and don’t expect special treatment.
For me, the weird and intriguing part of the story is that the table Jesus asks about—the one with the master serving the servants—is exactly the kind of table I think Jesus has been teaching us about, the very table God promises is waiting for us in the Kingdom of God. This strange table, which everyone seems to reject (and for good reason) is exactly the kind of table we believe God has set for us—and yet, the story has us rejecting it! What’s wrong with this picture?
And maybe, that’s what we always say; “There’s just something “wrong” with this picture.” And often, we think the “wrongness” begins with the apostles asking Jesus to “increase [their] faith.” But let’s think about this just a bit further. Just what is it that the apostles have been asked to do as servants or slaves?
This request for an “increase” comes right after Jesus has told his disciples that they must “forgive” anyone who asks for repentance; not only once or twice, but seven times in the same day, if necessary. If that’s not a BIG enough order, that story comes immediately on the heels of the story of the rich man and Lazarus, where it’s pretty devastating what happens to those who don’t meet the challenges of the lifestyle of the Kingdom of God. “Increase our faith” may not be a request based on greed, but one that acknowledges the difficulty of living as a witness to the kingdom’s ways.
We often chide these apostles for their apparent greediness; perhaps assuming they are as interested in the wealth of supernatural abilities as the Pharisees were lovers of money and lustful after the lifestyles of those who had more and most. We chide the apostles for their apparent weaknesses—assuming they aren’t always the best examples of what it means to live by faith. But in this story, I think they surprise us; startling us with a difficult turn of events.
It’s not always the apostles, but more often you and I who wear the vestments of greediness. Oh we think we have better motives, or the fact that our “good motives” ought to get us free passes on our desires. But when it comes to being greedy, perhaps we ought to look no further than our Church. We lust after more members, more money, and greater worldly authority. We’d like bigger, newer, more accessible buildings; bigger endowments; and some way for someone else to pay the bills so we can give all our money to mission. Am I wrong? But that’s been the story of Christianity in the modern age.
The great churches of Europe sent out missionaries to defeat and conquer every corner of the world. And since the great industrial age, the dominance of the West—including America—has led to our preference for the ways of the modern western world over and against the poor of the second and third world. Our ways are better; our life, our freedom, our beliefs—are best. And we believe this in terms of politics, and it follows with religion. Jesus, I think, would teach his apostles and disciples that if anything, it should be the other way around—our religious affiliations should inform our politics; which means we are invited to see the world very differently. Perhaps, even going so far as to imagine the kind of world Jesus proposes in his question, “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’?” [None of us, I assure you! Am I right?]
So At the end of Luke’s story, Jesus’ answer to the apostles and to us is simple: “when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done’!” And at first, that sounds somewhat degrading to us. What? Us middle-class north American Christians treat ourselves or allow ourselves to be treated like some poor immigrant from Central America or Taiwan? But that’s not exactly what I believe Jesus has in mind.
Jesus has in mind our responding, not as people of privilege, but as people who do their jobs. In verse 10, the Greek verb “to order” or “commanded” is a word that also means “appointed” or “ordained.” As in, “when you have done all that you were appointed, or “ordained” for, …then say, “we have done what we ought to have done.” So that in the language of Luke’s story there’s another image—a different table, where the ones who have done what they were appointed or ordained to do, are welcomed at table together, perhaps even in the UNCONVENTIONAL manner Jesus suggests.
This isn’t the lifestyle of more, better, best—as in more members, more money, more success. This is the lifestyle established by Jesus, where followers are called not to places, positions, and abilities that “wow” others, but where we serve one another in love. Where we respond to the call and claim of the master—not in an attempt to curry more favor, but in an attempt to witness to the Kingdom of God. And that’s what we do when we gather around the table.
THIS TABLE, isn’t about “more, better, or most.” THIS TABLE is about the lifestyle of Jesus, who invites us into a new way of seeing the world. THIS TABLE is weird… because it asks us to give witness to the Kingdom of God before giving in to the conventions of the world. …Because it asks us to see the world through the lens of Jesus—and suddenly things can’t be the same anymore.
Ultimately, Jesus seems to ask the apostles and disciples to see the world differently. That they have enough faith, even to accomplish the hard things in life. That they have enough faith to do things that are simply unimaginable. That they CAN even if the world would have them—or have us—believe they or we can’t. Jesus would have us imagine a world where we can already leave convention and declare a new age. Are you ready for it? Who among us is ready to get out the apron, to don the uniform, to serve others as Christ has served us?
Today is World Communion Sunday. And when we join at table with our brothers and sisters around the world… how can we have it any other way—than considering ourselves servants of Jesus’ lifestyle. Share the feast; share the life.
--+ Brothers and Sisters, God sent God’s son, the Christ; and Jesus dares us, “who among you would say to the slave who just came in from the field, come here at once and take your place at the table?” I’d like to think that all of us would accept that dare—“we would!” That we might give witness to the ways of the kingdom of God. Here’s our opportunity as we share at Christ’s table. AMEN.
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