FALL 2022 PREACHING SERIES 10: Disciples Live as Stewards

We continue our Fall preaching series on DISCIPLESHIP, the tenth part entitled: DISCIPLES live as stewards.

Disciples who live as stewards care for God’s creation and all the resources entrusted to them. The call to stewardship means receiving gifts gracefully, nurturing their growth, and sharing them with others. The call to stewardship is the call to take care – of people, places, talents, and skills we have been given to share.

Like the stewards in the parables of Jesus, we have been entrusted with God’s gifts in the expectation that we will allow them to thrive and multiply to the benefit of all. We are called to be stewards with our whole lives – stewards of our work and of our world around us. In fact, our preaching series this coming Lent will focus on being better stewards of creation!

The Old Testament reading today is from the book of Malachi. The Hebrew word mal’ak means messenger— very similar to the Greek word angelos (“angel”) in the New Testament. We cannot know whether mal’ak is intended as a proper name, Malachi—or it simply means messenger. Scholars are divided on that matter.

We do know that this book was written after the Jewish people returned from the Babylonian Exile and rebuilt the temple, but probably prior to the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah. The book of Malachi was placed at the end of the Old Testament so that it would appear right before the book of Matthew.

This book is composed of six dialogues or verbal controversies, bracketed by an opening verse at the beginning and a Godly challenge at the end. The snippet that constitutes our lectionary reading is part of a larger section that constitutes the sixth controversy. That section begins with a reminder by the Lord that the people said:

It is vain to serve God;

What profit is it that we have followed his instructions?

They complained,

Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up;

Yes, they tempt God, and escape.

In other words, they are wondering out loud, why follow the Lord? What’s the point? It seems as if the wicked get away with all the bad that they do, why shouldn’t we act like that too? In other words, they are really questioning why they should be good stewards! Why not just take and use everything as if it’s all theirs without considering the consequences?

Today’s Gospel from Luke prods us to focus on the big things, on predictions that seem to be apocalyptic in nature. But when you read Jesus’ words correctly in Luke 21, you realize that it was not the distant horizon of history that was supposed to occupy our minds, but times and events much, much closer to hand—in Jesus’ case, the events in question were quite literally within the reach of his arm to the spot where Judas stood.

For Jesus, his words would have almost immediate resonance when one of his own friends would betray him to the authorities. But the rest of the disciples would not exactly have to wait until the roll was called in order to experience moments of truth and terror when they, too, would have the choice to stand firm for their Lord or not.

Too often we think that passages like this one are meant to make us starry-eyed surveyors of distant horizons. Actually, they were meant to inspire discipleship and faithfulness over the long haul and in all the tough circumstances we’d face long before The End would come.

As someone once put it, Jesus was not training short distance sprinters but long-distance marathon runners who could carry his message far and wide for a long while to come. What’s more, in and through it all we are being reassured: God will be faithful. Jesus by his Spirit will give us the words to say.

How ironic that a passage that makes some people unsettled—even as the disciples were initially unsettled to hear Jesus predict the destruction of the Temple—is actually meant to settle us in our faith and re-assure us. It’s also instructive that we may need the power of that reassurance sooner rather than later in our lives. That may not be an easy message to hear, but it is one we may need to hear anyway.

That’s really the message of stewardship. While we surely need to be concerned for the future, we also need to be attentive to being better disciples here and now. In my tenure as you pastor, I have spoken many times of our responsibility for each of us to do our part … Some respond well, unfortunately others do not – the numbers speak for themselves. I underline again, that our good stewardship not only helps us to prepare a better future, a better parish, a better Church, a better world for our children, but helps us build up the kingdom of God here today.

In that spirit, I’m happy to invite XX, a member of our Finance Council, to share with you the highlights of our annual report. Please listen carefully because as disciples, as disciples who are called to be good stewards, and as we enter this season of giving, we are all called to respond fully and generously.

RSM

FALL 2022 PREACHING SERIES 9: Disciples are Prophets

We continue our Fall preaching series on DISCIPLESHIP, the seventh part entitled: DISCIPLES are prophets.

A prophet is a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God. Surely some of you are already thinking, how can I be a prophet? I’m having a hard enough time just being a simple believer – and you want me to be a teacher or proclaimer of the will of God – forget it!

Many people think of prophets as fortunetellers who predict the future. In reality, they are much more like social critics or op-ed writers. They challenge political and religious leaders and their people to do what God wants them to do. They frequently attack political and economic elites for not taking care of the poor. They even criticize foreign entanglements and wars. And they frequently do it with harsh words.

I think that in a way, prophets do speak about the future by reminding the people of their time that should the positive and necessary changes not happen here and now, today, there will be consequences, even negative ones in the future. In a real way, prophets challenge us to see the big picture.

The Old Testament reading today tells us the tragic story of the martyrdom of a mother and her seven sons – tortured for not breaking their faithfulness to God’s law. Listen again to their conviction:

You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life,

but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.

It is for his laws that we are dying.

Theologically, the major aspects of the second book of Maccabees that resonated with Roman-era Christians and medieval Christians were its stories of martyr-ology and the resurrection of the dead. Christians often gave sermons and comparisons of Christian martyrs to the Maccabean martyrs, along with the hope of an eventual salvation – underlining their belief in the resurrection.

The Maccabean faithfulness to their belief in God’s law directed their actions, guided their words, and gave them the courage to face the consequences of their actions, even and including torture and death. Unlike many who would change with every wind and whim of the temporary trends and leaders of the times, these Maccabean martyrs saw the big picture and kept their eyes on the goal.

Today’s Gospel from Luke is the story about the Sadducees questioning Jesus about the resurrection. The Sadducees weren't really concerned about how to word the wedding vows. They were using the wedding example as a way to discredit Jesus' teachings. The Sadducees appear as opponents of belief in the resurrection, a doctrine which was held by Jesus, and ridiculed it by citing a possible, but far-fetched case, which makes nonsense of it. The Sadducees are part of a trend of trying to trap Jesus at this point in Luke's gospel. We even read further on in Luke:

From that point on, the chief priests, the scribes and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him (19:48).

So, as he teaches in the Temple, various groups come to try to trap him with questions about his authority, about paying taxes, and now, about resurrection.

Remember, the Sadducees are different from the Pharisees. They didn't believe in the Resurrection, and so they were “sad”. And Jesus counters their attempt to trap him with a scriptural story that affirms that which they did not believe: the reality of the life to come, but one in which current relationships take on a different form. He exposes them to the bigger picture.

What is our bigger picture? What are the things that we hold on to dearly? Are we like the people in the time of Maccabees who switch and sway with the temporary trends of the times, the newest fads, the cliché words, movements and thoughts, or our lives grounded in the big picture and the promise of Jesus?

As disciples, as disciples who are called to be prophets, that’s our task … to teach belief in and proclaim that our goal is heaven … resurrection and life forever with Jesus and all the saints.

My friends, let’s be prophets!

RSM

FALL 2022 PREACHING SERIES 8: Disciples Forgive

We continue our Fall preaching series on DISCIPLESHIP, the seventh part entitled: DISCIPLES forgive.

Disciples forgive people who harm them and seek forgiveness when they harm others. Learning to forgive begins with first recognizing that I am a sinner and that sometimes my actions hurt other people. I must start with seeking forgiveness. Then, when I am forgiven, I know love and I can learn to practice forgiving others. Forgiving others for their sins against me requires great love and a lot of practice. I’m not sure about you, but for me, this is the greatest ask of being a disciple … forgiving!

Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness.

Just as important as defining what forgiveness is, though, is understanding what forgiveness is not. Experts who study or teach forgiveness make clear that when you forgive, you do not gloss over or deny the seriousness of an offense against you. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or excusing offenses. Though forgiveness can help repair a damaged relationship, it doesn’t obligate you to reconcile with the person who harmed you, or release them from accountability.

Instead, forgiveness brings the forgiver peace of mind and frees him or her from corrosive anger. While there is some debate over whether true forgiveness requires positive feelings toward the offender, experts agree that it at least involves letting go of deeply held negative feelings. In that way, it empowers you to recognize the pain you suffered without letting that pain define you, enabling you to heal and move on with your life.

The Old Testament reading today from the Book of Wisdom may help us further in that it gives us a description of God. The passage tells us what kind of a God God is, and perhaps more so even what kind of people we should be. The picture of God found in this text is amazing:

He is merciful to all and overlooks people’s sins.

He spares all things, he who loves the living.

He corrects little by little those who trespass

I wonder sometimes how many people reading or hearing these lines could say, in all truth: This is exactly how I perceive God … It seems to me that so many keep away from God… fear him… do not trust what these texts say of God and have an entirely different picture of God … why?

Today’s Gospel is the familiar story from Luke. It’s about Zacchaeus, whose name means righteous, which is pure irony in this story. Luke describes him as the sort of sleaze ball person that we love to hate. He says that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. That is, he was a Jew who collected taxes for the Roman oppressors. So, he really was a traitor to the political cause.

Luke also says that Zacchaeus was wealthy. And surprise, surprise, how did a Roman tax collector get wealthy? By extortion and embezzlement. By taking advantage of the elderly, by exploiting the working poor, and by taking care of his cronies. There's an unspoken assumption of corruption here. Zacchaeus is a man who deserves our disdain.

Zacchaeus was not only corrupt and rich, he was physically short. When Jesus passed through Jericho, he was eager to get a look, so he did something utterly undignified for a man of his station. He ran ahead of the crowd, climbed up into a tree, then waited for Jesus to pass by. Imagine a powerful lobbyist in Washington doing something similar during a presidential parade.

When Jesus reached that spot, he looked up, saw Zacchaeus, and told him to come down. He then invited himself to stay with Zacchaeus: I must stay at your house today. And so, Zacchaeus climbed down and welcomed Jesus gladly.

The response of the crowd was predictable. Luke says that they began to mutter. 'He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.' And so, Zacchaeus defends himself before the hostile crowd. He says that he'll give half of his possessions to the poor, and that he'll repay fourfold all the people that he's cheated. That would surely be a long list of angry tax payers. Read in this way, Zacchaeus is a sinner who repents and is converted on the spot. He promises future reparations.

But there's another way to read this story in which Zacchaeus isn't a sinner who converts, but rather, a saint who surprises. He doesn't make promises about the future, rather, he defends himself and shocks the crowd by appealing to his past.

In this reading, Zacchaeus is a hidden saint about whom people have made all sorts of false assumptions about his corruption. And so, he defends himself: Lord, I always give half of my wealth to the poor, and whenever I discover any fraud or discrepancy I always make a fourfold restitution. The crowd had demonized Zacchaeus. Jesus praises him as "a son of Abraham."

In this instance and others, Jesus calls out good people who are bad and commends bad people who are good. So maybe the story is not about a sinner who shocks us by repenting, but about the crowd that demonizes a person it doesn't like with all sorts of false assumptions. Maybe it’s really about being slow to judge, especially when we don’t have all the facts. Maybe it’s about checking in on our own predetermined judgments and being open to the truth as to who people really are …

The despicable Zacchaeus is the generous one. Here, Jesus is once again turning our world upside down, confronting us with our assumptions about who is good and who is evil and demonstrating for us the tricks we play in our minds before we treat one another — one way or another. Like the crowd murmuring about Zacchaeus, it is easy to be blinded by our prejudice or microaggressions of 'those people' and find ourselves accusing the very person or people we should be emulating.

There is no doubt that we have all been guilty of it … and all of us are called to ask forgiveness for not seeing people as God sees them, for not treating people as God would have us treat them, for not emulating the God who overlooks people’s sins and is kind and merciful. Perhaps this week, in addition to our challenge to ask for and give forgiveness, we are reminded to be saints who surprise rather than merely sinners who repent.

Disciples know Jesus.

Disciples know the Bible.

Disciples know the Christian faith.

Disciples make faith a way of life.

Disciples worship God.

Disciples are witnesses.

Disciples love and serve their neighbor.

Disciples forgive …

Let’s be better disciples!

RSM