Who Cares?

Text: Ruth 1:1-18

I’ve had a few weddings where a very brief quote from the book of Ruth was used for the scripture reading: “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

Beautiful sentiments, but all the more powerful because they were said by one woman to another woman—a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law.

The book of Ruth is a wonderful story about women who survive against the odds and against the way things are in their society. It also demonstrates a different view of the God of the Hebrew Scriptures—or Old Testament.

Elimelech and Naomi left Bethlehem in Judah and went, with their sons Mahlon and Chilion, to the land of their ancestors, to Moab, the land of their cousins—cousins with a tenuous and sometimes violent past.

There was no love lost between the people of Judah and the people of Moab. Here’s what the book of Deuteronomy says about their status: “No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the LORD, because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.”[1]

So, there’s lots of bad blood over a case of poor hospitality and then later over some angry rhetoric. Seems like there’s nothing new under the sun. But Elimelech, Naomi, Mahlon and Chilion went there anyway. Why? Because there was a famine in Judah.

There may have been a conversation like this before they left: “I don’t care that we’re enemies! Who even remembers what it was all about? They are people just like we are. When was the last time we had a battle? Nobody can remember anymore! They have food! If we go there we will be able to find food—and maybe more!”

No history of anger, hate, violence—or any kind of bad blood—should ever stop people from showing compassion and kindness to others. When we hold onto hate we forget that God calls each and every person precious. Each and every person is precious to God. Who cares? God cares!

So, they went to live in Moab and after awhile Elimelech died. Naomi’s sons eventually married Orpah and Ruth. Hmmm, a problem has cropped up! Mahlon and Chilion married women from Moab! They married women who were from a people who were enemies of the people of Judah. Even if things were now peaceful between their two nations and intermarriages happened often, they were still forbidden. But Mahlon and Chilion didn’t see enemies—they married people.

And then THEY died too. So there were three women with no means of support in the culture of either of their lands. Back then, when a man died, his brother was required to marry the widow in order to provide heirs for the dead brother! So Naomi, Orpah and Ruth were out of luck because they were now outside the system. Their life situation didn’t fit into the norms of how things were supposed to be.

Since there were no male relatives in Moab to care for Naomi and her daughters-in-law and do the right thing by providing sons for them, and since there was word that the famine in Judah had ended, Naomi decided to set off for home. Along the way she told Orpah and Ruth to return to their own families. She would live out her days in bitterness and poverty.

I’m sure this was a very difficult moment because Naomi cared about Orpah and Ruth. She called them daughters. Her affection for them went beyond the required, ‘You married my son so I will love you’ idea. She wanted them to be able to be cared for and supported, and she knew she couldn’t do that. She didn’t want the bitterness of her life to ruin their lives.

Though she convinced Orpah to leave and to seek the care of her mother’s family, Ruth was not convinced. She vowed to stay with Naomi no matter what.

Orpah wasn’t a bad person for going back to her home, and Naomi wasn’t a bad person for being bitter about her situation. But Ruth did something extraordinary. She took on the role that was reserved for men. She would care for her mother-in-law in the same way that a son would. She would never leave her. She would worship Yahweh, her mother-in-law’s God. She would learn the ways of Naomi’s people. She would become part of those people. Naomi and Ruth would live out the rest of their days connected to one another.

That was a big step of faith for Ruth because—for her—there was great risk in continuing this journey. “Leaving Moab, Ruth would face not only a language barrier, a food barrier, a social etiquette barrier, and a religious practice barrier; she would also face the constant subtle and not-so-subtle reminders that she was 'not one of us.’”[2] Remember that the people of Israel were forbidden from dealing with the Moabites.

The kind of love that Ruth and Naomi had for each other is called Hesed—that unconditional, life-affirming love that comes from God. It is the love that oozes through those two rules we’ve been given: Love God unconditionally. Love everyone unconditionally. [3]

Ruth’s decision to stay with Naomi has great significance, not just for the two of them. Ruth has been traced as the ancestor of David and Jesus, and her love for Naomi has been lifted up as an example for all to follow.

And who cares about all of this? WE should! Even though this story shows us that some things never seem to change—like hatred of “foreigners” and others who are different from us—LOVE can overcome our fears and our prejudices.

This story shows that the God of the Old Testament was not always pictured as a wrathful, vengeful God. This story demonstrates God’s compassion and calls us to reach beyond the boundaries of race and clan and kin and gender and sexual orientation and even beyond the boundaries of what some people call “normal families.” This story demonstrates what I’ve always known to be true—that sometimes your friends make better family than your relatives; that people can create their own families to love and care for one another and non-traditional families shouldn’t be criticized if they work.

God’s love is big enough for all of us, and at the table we ALL become one family. The love of Ruth for her mother-in-law, Naomi, is an inspiration to us. It calls us to CARE for one another and to remember that God’s love never leaves anyone out.

And Naomi recognized Ruth’s love, care and determination. “When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.” [4]

And next week we’ll hear the rest of this story. AMEN.

Endnotes:

[1] Deuteronomy 23:3-4 NRSV.

[1] Gary Charles, Feasting on the Word, quoted at

http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/november-1-2009.html

[1] Rev, Kirk Moore, at

http://unioncongregationalucc.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/sermon-whereveryougo/

[1] Ruth 1:18, NRSV.

Take Heart!

Texts: Psalm 34:1-8 and Mark 10:46-52

Some famous people in history have made comments that fit with today’s gospel reading. In the 17th Century Thomas Fuller said, “Seeing's believing, but feeling's the truth.” In the 19th Century Mark Twain said, “You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” And in the 20th Century Antoine de Saint Exupery said, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”[1]

So what does it mean to “take heart?” For Bartimaeus it means that although he’s an unimportant “nobody” to everyone else, he’s a very important “somebody” to Jesus.

This isn’t just another healing story, although it might appear that way. In the context of the greater story, Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus’ ministry is getting close to coming to an end. Hard times lie ahead, but the disciples certainly don’t understand that. They have been busy anticipating a glorious military or revolutionary victory and wanting to be sure they get to be recognized as VIPs when Jesus becomes the victorious new leader. They expect to defeat the oppressive Romans and usher in a new government of Jewish rule.

Where have they been all this time? What have they been doing instead of really listening to what Jesus has had to say all along?

Somehow, much of what has gone before, much of what Jesus has said and done, much of who Jesus is, has gone right past them. It's not much of a stretch to say that they have been, in their own way, blind.

We’re told that Jesus and his followers came to Jericho and now they are leaving Jericho. We can only guess that while they were there Jesus healed people and made a difference in their lives. So there’s probably an even larger crowd following him now.

And here they are, outside Jericho, where a miracle happened in the Old Testament—Joshua and his band marched around the city walls 7 times and blew their trumpets and the walls fell down. Jericho, though, is probably "a place full of violence and intrigue, with bandits and revolutionary groups within Judaism organizing resistance to Rome"[2]

Part of what’s going on in this story is Mark’s prelude to the long and central account of Jesus' passion and death in Jerusalem, another place of intrigue and revolutionary groups seething with anger at Rome. So we are to see that Jesus' journey was not a sudden departure from peaceful preaching in the countryside to the wild and dangerous ways of the city. There has been trouble brewing for some time now, and not just in Jerusalem.[3]

The Roman occupied territory is in political turmoil and it’s going to get worse. But on this day, as Jesus and the others are leaving Jericho there is an important encounter.

Because Bartimaeus was blind he couldn’t work, so he was relegated to the lot of being a beggar. He sat by the Jericho city gate—where the way is narrow and there's no way around him—with his cloak spread out to catch the coins tossed into it by passers-by who might take pity on him and throw him their spare change. It certainly wasn’t fair, but people discriminated against the blind in those days and the only thing they could do to earn a living was to beg for the mercy, kindness and spare change of others.

But, Bartimaeus, like everyone else, had heard the stories about Jesus of Nazareth. And when he heard people saying that Jesus was coming down the road, he shouted out in hopes that Jesus would notice him. The people nearby tried to shush him up—why would Jesus want to be bothered by a blind beggar, anyway?—but Bartimaeus persisted. Apparently HE didn’t think himself any less deserving of the Messiah’s attention than anyone else!

And we need to pay attention to what he shouts—“Jesus son of David, have mercy on me!” (“Son of David” is a messianic title—it’s the first time in the gospel of Mark anyone has called him that—other than the demons and his own disciples, that is—and Jesus has forbidden them to tell anyone who he is.) Now the secret seems to be out that Jesus is the messiah: and this blind beggar seems to have a better understanding of who Jesus really is than his own disciples, James and John.

Just as last week Jesus asked James and John what they wanted him to do for them. In today’s reading he asks Bartimaeus the same thing, “What do you want me to do for you?”

James and John wanted preferential treatment and prestige. Bartimaeus asked Jesus to let him see again.

Jesus told him, “Go, your faith has made you well.” And whether it was eye-sight or insight or both that Bartimaeus received, everything was different. He had thrown off his cloak when Jesus called for him—I can just imagine all the coins flying in every direction! He gave up his means of survival. Suddenly he had eyes to see and he never looked back! He followed Jesus on the Way.

For awhile now (according to Mark’s gospel), the disciples have been given inside information about Jesus’ fate, but they repeatedly show themselves to be blind. But now Bartimaeus, the blind man who can see, becomes a disciple.

The Twelve were insiders all the way, privy to Jesus’ painful disclosures about his approaching passion. But they heard all and heard nothing, saw all and still were blind, while a blind beggar had the vision to understand, throw off his cloak and follow.

Bartimaeus could probably have quoted Psalm 34…. “This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who hear him, and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in [God].” (Psalm 34:6-8)[4]

Remember the rich man two weeks ago who could not give everything up and follow Jesus? While Bartimaeus doesn't possess much, the little that he has, his cloak, is something that he needs to survive, and his casting it aside is a sign of his trust and his faith in Jesus. He knows that he won't need it again; he's confident that he won't be returning to his spot by the side of the road, begging in order to live. Bartimaeus is “Faith sit[ting], leaning forward, ready to leap at the opportunity to answer God's call whenever it might come, and it shows itself willing to shed whatever holds it back from the journey.”[5]

Bartimaeus was not afraid to trust Jesus and to ask for sight. The crowd tried to shut him up when he called out to Jesus. After all, he was only a beggar, he wasn’t important. (Once again, did no one notice that it was exactly the people like Bartimaeus that Jesus responded to?) When Jesus called for Bartimaeus to come to him, the people around Bartimaeus said, “take heart, get up, he is calling you.”

I’m not sure that was something they needed to say to Bartimaeus because he already had faith and he knew who Jesus really was. But “take heart” is a message to us. It’s a message of hope and a promise that we are heard just as Bartimaeus was heard.

“Take heart” is a call to all God’s people to put away our fears and venture out into new territory because God is with us in all our endeavors.

As the psalmist says, “I sought God, and God answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

Take heart! God will guide us. God IS guiding us. All we need to do is trust and have faith like Bartimaeus and be willing to meet Jesus and follow him.

Take heart! Our imagination doesn’t have to be out of focus!

Take heart! We are on the way! AMEN.

Endnotes:

[1] http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/october-25-2009.html

[1] Megan McKenna, On Your Mark: Reading Mark in the Shadow of the Cross

[1] http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/october-25-2009.html

[1] From “The Lord is Good” sermon by Rev. Sue Hamly, Oct. 29, 2006.

[1] André Resner, The Lectionary Commentary.

Enfolding Love

Today's sermon at Faith United Church, UCC, International Falls, MN

Texts: Genesis 2:18-24 and Mark 10:2-9

Marriage is almost certainly the most challenging relationship there is between people. And what the bible quotes Jesus as saying about marriage has been misinterpreted by people who don’t understand the Middle Eastern culture in Jesus’ time, or don’t want to admit that Jesus cared more about people and justice than he did about the established institutions of his day.

Here are some facts about life, marriage, and divorce in Jesus’ time:

First, marriages were not instituted by the couple falling in love. Marriages were arranged by the parents involved. So, for a man to divorce his wife was to dishonor his parents, who had chosen the wife and contracted for her purchase (bride money or dowry--remember, women were owned by their men). Divorce broke the 5th commandment to “Honor your father and your mother.”

Secondly, marriages were between two extended families, not two individuals. When a male from one family and a female from another family were offered in marriage, it was frequently for social, political, or economic reasons; and the two families became one united family. When a man divorced his wife, it split the family into two groups that usually ended up feuding. Bloodshed often followed.

Third, while Roman law allowed a woman to divorce her husband as well as a man to divorce his wife, Jewish law did not allow women to divorce their husbands. Only husbands could divorce wives.

Fourth, it was easy for a man to divorce his wife. In some periods of history, all he had to do was say three times, “I divorce you” and that was it. By Jesus’ time, a written statement saying “you are not my wife and I am not your husband” was all that was required.

And last of all, there was no welfare system, or safety net, in Jesus’ time. Divorce was extremely cruel to women and children because a woman had to be under the care of a man all her life or she and her children had no means of support. When a husband divorced his wife, she had five choices: she could try to get her father, brother, or other male relative to take her and her children into his home; she could prostitute herself; she could steal; she could sell herself and her children into slavery; or they could starve to death. No wonder Jesus prohibited divorce! It was a justice issue! [1]

The other thing going on in the first century was that there was that pesky command in Genesis that people should “be fruitful and multiply.” Men wanted heirs to pass along the family name and honor, and that definitely played a role in thinking about marriage and divorce, but it was also an issue of God’s imperative. God commanded people to “be fruitful and multiply.” If a marriage wasn’t going to be “fruitful” with children, that wasn’t just rotten luck—to some it was a sign that the relationship wasn’t blessed by God. And it was (of course!) generally assumed that a “barren” marriage was the fault of the woman.

If God wanted humanity to be fruitful and multiply and a marriage wasn’t producing children to carry on not only the family name and honor but also the name of the God of Israel, then why shouldn’t there be divorce?

So it’s not surprising that when Jesus was asked about divorce, he quoted from the book of Genesis about God’s purpose for marriage and what kinds of behavior best uphold that purpose. But then he quoted from the wrong chapter!

Jesus starts with the vitally important affirmation from Genesis 1 that all people—women and men—are made in God’s image. But when he wants to say more about God’s intention for marriage, Jesus doesn’t go to Genesis 1 (be fruitful and multiply); he goes to Genesis 2:18 where it says, “It is not good that the human should be alone.”

So, God creates us for community in enfolding love. To become more fully who we are, who God made us to be, we need to walk alongside another who will be with us for the long haul, who sees us at our best and our worst and will tell us the truth about both, who knows us deeply and loves us unconditionally, or as the rock band U2 says in their song entitled “One”: “We’re one/but we’re not the same/we get to carry each other.” [2]

Jesus’ statement that remarriage after divorce constitutes adultery should not be taken as a reason to tell women to put up with abuse or “go home and try harder.” Remember, the most common reason a man in Jesus’ culture would have wanted a divorce was if the marriage wasn’t producing children who could serve as heirs. Jesus’ word on marriage pulls the rug out from under that. because he says, in effect, that a man who leaves his wife in hope of finding another marriage “fruitful” with children shouldn’t have children at all. Women and men, Jesus teaches, aren’t for use as baby factories or tickets to respectability, and a relationship isn’t to be taken up or put aside with those things in mind. [3]

A positive understanding tells us Jesus is saying that a marriage, like any other relationship, shouldn’t be evaluated based on its perceived “fruitfulness” in terms of children, but instead on what Paul would call its fruitfulness in the Spirit. A relationship between two people that helps both live more fully in the world and in their identity and vocation as human beings made in God’s image is blessed by God. Other considerations are incidental.

In the first-century Mediterranean world, what Jesus had to say was liberating because it gave women a chance they wouldn’t have otherwise had. He sought to protect women in his time because they didn’t have the rights and privileges men did. Today we may need to protect some people from unhealthy, abusive relationships, and saying Jesus forbids divorce is not the way to do it.

We are all called to be in community with one another and that means healthy relationships, whether we are part of a couple or part of a larger group of family, friends, congregation or the greater community. The enfolding love found in healthy relationships has the potential to set us free for authentic right relationship with one another—each of us loved uniquely as God’s child, each challenged and supported to grow in community. AMEN.

Endnotes

[1] Adapted from Note #5503 from Judy Boli to “Sermonshop Sermons” on Ecunet.

[2] From Sarah Dylan Breuer, http://www.sarahlaughed.net/lectionary/

[3] Ibid.

Peaceful Productivity

today's sermon at Faith United Church, UCC, International Falls, MN

Texts: Proverbs 31:10-31 and James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a

Once upon a time there was a little girl who hated to do her homework. She had a rather comprehensive math test coming up and was feeling quite stressed. As you can imagine, she put off her studying until the last minute and then worked just hard enough to, hopefully, pass the test. That night, her father was going past her room just as she was saying her bedtime prayers, and this is what he heard: “Now I lay me down to rest, and hope to pass tomorrow's test. If I should die before I wake, that's one less test I have to take. Amen.” [1]

That little girl was hardly the woman described in today’s reading from Proverbs. But she is probably more like us than the wise and perfect wife whose “works praise her in the city gates.”

It’s good to know that we aren’t the only ones who don’t live up to those qualities of perfection defined in Proverbs. As I see it, only God can live up to the standards and ideals we just heard attributed to the perfect wife.

Here’s what the passage is NOT about: commentaries warn against allowing this passage to be used to abuse, control or put down women. The “ideal wife” is a standard that is impossible to live up to, and yet people throughout the ages have tried to emulate this image, or have at least believed that women ought to be able to achieve it. In fact, when I went looking for a picture to put on the screen for this sermon I found a so-called “Christian” web site that was all about the biblical mandate for women to be submissive to men.

When you look carefully at today’s passage from Proverbs, you see that the woman is doing all the work so that the man can have the prestige of sitting idly at the city gates participating in discussions with the elders of the community. Who wouldn’t like to have such privilege—either male of female? If a spouse did everything so that we could sit back & relax & discuss politics and community gossip, that would be the life, wouldn’t it? (On the other hand, it might also get boring, eventually.)

But if you look even more closely, it would appear that this husband has probably relinquished his power! His wife not only runs the household and teaches the children (wisely, you notice!) but she also runs the business and manages the real estate! And she’s good at it! She sounds a little like Super Woman. Has he given her all the credit, or is it a case of “behind every good man is a great woman” and she is letting him take the credit while she works behind the scenes?

Or is this a case of praising the wisdom of women and demonstrating that Sophia (Wisdom) is woman personified?

Whatever the case may be….. we can learn from this passage if we DON’T take it literally. The qualities of a capable wife, as listed in Proverbs, are actually the qualities of a capable Christian!

If we read this passage literally, it may sound like this woman should be—or should try to be—like Super Woman up there on the screen, but the text doesn’t say that this woman is working herself to the bone or driving herself into oblivion by putting others first. What she is doing is giving of herself for her family. In much the same way, we are called to give of ourselves for God’s family. And that doesn’t mean we should burn ourselves out. We come to worship each week—and participate in other activities of the church—to refuel and rejuvenate ourselves. If we don’t refresh our souls and spirits with God’s love and empowering strength, we won’t be able to serve others—wisely or otherwise.

Yet, productivity is a good thing. And productivity in the quest for peace is even better!

What wisdom do we glean from all this? James tells us to “show by [our] good life that [our] works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” When what we do is inspired by the wisdom that comes from loving, following and serving God, “a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”

There is enough misery, greed and jealousy in the world that we all should be inspired to be highly productive in working toward peace with justice. Technology has made our world too small for isolationism, nationalism, economic imperialism and religion-ism.

Christians aren’t the only people in the world and we need to understand that there are other paths to God—other faiths that seek to teach wise and compassionate ways to live and love. Within all faiths there are radicals, but the ones who are important are the ones who strive for peaceful productivity—seeking justice and equality for all the people of the world.

Anyone who criticizes people of other religions, needs to remember that “It is Christians who call God ‘rational’ who, in that God's name, have done a history-full of irrational things to other religions and [even] to Christians themselves. In times past, Christians drove Jews and Muslims out of Europe… slaughtered Jews in pogroms and Muslims in the Crusades. In the New World, Christians converted Indians at the end of a sword and persecuted gays and kept slaves and suppressed women… [W[hite Christians burn[ed] crosses in the front yards of black Christians—and then burned those black Christians themselves. Radicals of all faiths have sinned in the name of religion. If we, as Christians, want to begin a dialogue on the role of violence in religion, we need to cite some of our own sins as well as theirs… [and] we had all better learn to talk so Christian a language that there is no doubt about its meaning.” [2]

Jesus, who was always a Jew, embraced all the people, not just his own clan. In a similar manner, James tells us that “where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”

The qualities of a “capable wife” are those qualities showered upon all people by our generous and loving God. We cannot be God, but we can be God-like in our treatment of the other people with whom we share this planet. With grace and with “wisdom from above” we can be productive in working for peace with justice, remembering that God created all humankind in God’s image, and wisdom dictates that we serve God by loving our fellow human beings and by seeking to restore the unity that God intends for us all. AMEN.

Endnotes

[1] Note #9 from Judy Boli to “Sermonshop 2006 09 24” on Ecunet.

[2] Adapted from “From Where I Stand” by Joan Chittister, OSB, Sept. 22, 2006, Vol. 4, No. 21.

Wisdom vs. Fear

Today's sermon at Faith United Church, UCC, International Falls, MN

the Rev. Sue Judson Hamly

Texts: Proverbs 1:20-33 and Psalm 19

Before we get into the wisdom of the bible as found in Proverbs, here’s some conventional wisdom—or contemporary proverbs—you may have heard before:

1. If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out.

2. Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

3. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you a mechanic.

4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.

6. It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.

7. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.

8. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

9. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.

10. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.

11. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.

12. No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

13. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. (that’s my favorite!)

14. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.

15. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

16. Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.

17. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

18. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

19. Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.

20. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world. AND …

21. Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.

What wisdom do you pay attention to? What guides your life and your decisions? In today’s reading from the first chapter of Proverbs, we can gather that not very many people are paying much attention to God’s wisdom. This passage seems, to me, to be particularly appropriate this week.

At seminary we were urged to always preach with the bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. These days it might be more appropriate to say we should preach with the bible in one hand and the internet in the other if we want to relate biblical messages to the world around us.

Some things that happened in the past few days have led me to feel I could be in agreement with Wisdom who is crying out in the streets, intersections and at the city gates.

What utter craziness we had this week when many, many school districts refused to air the President’s speech to the nation’s school children and youth! How vividly I recall sitting on the floor of the El Dorado school auditorium watching John F. Kenney’s inauguration! It made an impression on me that I remember almost 50 years later! Why in the world wouldn’t people want their children to hear the President of the United States encouraging them to do well and stay in school?

One of my facebook friends posted an article telling of a school district in Texas that refused to show President Obama’s speech on Tuesday and then 2 days later loaded all the students up and took them on a field trip to hear a speech by former President Bush. Which one disrupted their schedule more? Do you think there’s some prejudice going on here? What about disrespecting the office of the President?

There was an exchange between another 2 facebook friends—one of whom used to live here and the other still does. The first one wrote, “My favorite quote from Texas (so far) is ‘You talk smart, you’re not from around here.’” The other friend replied that her son had had something very similar said to him in Kentucky recently.

Wisdom, who is always portrayed in the bible as a female figure, lives the calling of a prophetess, carrying her message—that is Yahweh/God’s message—into the very heart of the city of the people of God—in the squares and at the busiest corners. And the word that she delivers is one of distress. The people, it seems, have committed offenses particularly heinous to the practitioners of wisdom. Those offenses are: “being simple,” “scoffing,” and “hat(ing) knowledge.”[i]

Israel’s wisdom teachers have a deeply held conviction that a gracious God has placed at the people’s disposal the ability to understand what God wants them to be and to do. “God has created a world of order and coherence” and by studying nature and human nature in that world it is “possible to understand God.”[ii]

But it seems there are still people who are afraid of knowledge; afraid of anything or anyone different from them; afraid to learn; afraid to grow; afraid to get to know people they’ve been taught to fear. I’ve even heard it here. Some people are afraid of having homeless people in our building. Good heavens! This is a small town, it’s possible we might even know them!

The President’s address to Congress Wednesday evening concerning his health care plan is another crazy thing that happened this week. The speech wasn’t crazy, I thought it was excellent and intelligent! But the fact that he had to debunk a whole list of wild rumors was sad. I actually know at least one person who believes that there will be a panel of “non-medical people” who will make decisions that will prevent the elderly from getting health care if this plan is approved. Fear has been spread by those who want to prevent any health care reform from passing.

Why we wouldn’t want affordable health insurance for ALL the people is beyond me, but fear often trumps wisdom.

In Proverbs, the prophetess Wisdom has arisen to declare a word from God to which the people need to pay attention! “But the gist of that word is that the people are already closed to and ignorant of God’s will for their lives.”

What follows sounds like punishment from God for not paying attention, but really what happens is “that having had no use for God in their prosperous times, the people have no idea how to turn to God now that they are in great need.” [iii]

Our God is gracious and loving and that love extends to ALL the people, not just a few of us. Psalm 19 reminds us of that graciousness, compassion and generosity. God has created this incredible universe and “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork.”[iv]

The psalmist also tells us that God’s law is perfect, reviving the soul, and the decrees of God are sure, making wise the simple. There’s that wisdom again. We have no need to fear because God’s wisdom is right there in front of us. God calls us to choose wisdom over fear, and to open our eyes to the goodness of God’s people and God’s creation.

Fear calls us to hunker down while wisdom calls us to embrace change and grow in love. When we accept our role and identity as God’s creatures and live in trustful response to the gift of God, we can thrive in the glorious liberty of unencumbered creatures, loved and empowered by our Creator.[v]

God’s great wisdom calls us to give up fear and choose life and love—for self, for others and for God, who truly is our rock and our redeemer. AMEN.

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[i] Texts for Preaching, Brueggemann, COusar, Gaventa, McCann and Newsome Jr., Westminster John Knox Press, p. 505.

[ii] Op. cit., p. 506.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Psalm 19:1, NRSV.

[v] Adapted from Texts for Preaching, p. 508.

Surrounded by God

Today's sermon at Faith United Church, UCC, International Falls, MN

preached by the Rev Sue Judson Hamly

Texts: Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23 and Psalm 125

At first, today’s readings from Proverbs and Psalm 125 may sound rather harsh. And, indeed, some of it is. But they also contain great wisdom.

Have you been told before that your good name—or your reputation—is worth more than riches? It’s true. Being trustworthy and compassionate (that’s what “favor” actually means in this text) is so important in our interactions with others. And it doesn’t matter a bit to God whether we’re rich or poor. God made us all and God loves us all, no matter what!

Proverbs also tells us not to use the legal system to take advantage of those who are poor because God will always be on their side.

Psalm 125 seems to have similar things to say, but today I want to focus on one verse: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so God surrounds the people, from this time on and forevermore.”[i]

In ancient times, walls and mountains provided some safety and security for cities. You can get an idea from the picture on the screen.

So, as the mountains surround Jerusalem, in the same way God surrounds the people—now and always.

What good news that is!! Have you felt it? God’s love surrounds us, always and forever, whether we’re aware of it or not.

Yesterday afternoon I officiated at a wedding in the garden at the Holiday Inn. I told the bride and groom that they are surrounded by God’s love. As I said that to them I remember thinking to myself—“Gee, I’m already working on my sermon!”

But how true it is! We ARE surrounded by God’s love, everywhere and always. It’s like a safety net, reminding us that we’re never alone.

Today is a wonderful celebratory day—we have both of our sacraments in one service! We baptized two of God’s special children and in their baptism we are all reminded that God names and claims each one of us, surrounding us with God’s never-ending, never-failing love.

In a few minutes we will celebrate communion, the meal that symbolizes God’s love for us in the gift of Jesus Christ. At the communion table we remember that we are one body with all God’s people everywhere. This meal symbolizes God’s love through Christ who brought people together from all walks of life, abolishing classism, racism, sexism, discrimination and any other isms you can think of. Sadly, as human beings we’re not there yet, but God’s love calls us to keep trying until we DO get there.

At the communion table we are all equal, each receiving the same food as everyone else. What it means to us may be different, but we’re all beloved children in God’s eyes.

In baptism God claims us as God’s own—although we are already God’s much-loved children from the moment of our conception. But what is also happening in the sacrament of baptism is that the faith community—the local church—is surrounding the child and the parents with love and caring and a commitment to help each child grow in Christian faith. We pledge to love like God does, bringing these children into our family of faith, surrounding them with an outward and visible expression of caring, just as God surrounds them—and us—with an even greater love that can be felt if not always seen.

God integrates us all into Faith United Church, which is one expression of the body of Christ, called to love and serve one another as we love and serve God by loving and serving the world.

It’s so good to be surrounded—by our community of faith and by our loving, compassionate God!

May peace be upon us! AMEN.

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[i] Psalm 125:2, NRSV.

Be Love!

Sermon preached by the Rev. Sue Judson Hamly at Faith United Church, UCC, International Falls, MN on August 30, 2009

Texts: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 and James 1:17-27

I didn’t get around to reading Friday’s Daily Journal until yesterday and I was struck by the editorial cartoon, which in this case wasn’t really a cartoon, but a tribute to the late Senator Ted Kennedy.

I don’t know if you all know what an Obamicon is or not, but they were very popular around the time of the Presidential election last fall. There’s a website called “ObamiconMe” where anyone can go and make a picture into an Obamicon in red, white and blue hues. The original idea came from one of the Obama campaign posters.

The cartoon in Friday’s Daily Journal was done by political cartoonist, RJ Matson. It is a whole collage of Ted Kennedy Obamicons. This is what it looks like in color:

In today’s reading from the letter of James we heard this: “…those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed with their doing. ...Religion that is pure and unbridled before God…is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress…”

Of course Senator Kennedy’s life was not perfect, by any means—just as none of our lives is perfect—but Matson’s cartoon tribute to the much beloved senator reminds us of many of the things he did during his long career. I’ll read some of them to you: Hope, SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program), Title IX, Work, Health Care, COBRA, Minimum Wage, Fair Housing, Immigration Reform, Mental Health Parity Act, Civil Rights, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), Voting Rights, Education, Change, FEC (Federal Election Commission), WIC (nutrition program for women, infants and children), Progress and Liberal.

Whether or not you liked Ted Kennedy, he was a liberal Democrat who cared about the American people. He could inspire members of both parties and the things he did in his Senate career made a difference to millions of Americans. He was a doer. His love and faith led him to action, and that, says James, is what faith is all about.

James also said, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God…is this: to care for the orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Well, keeping oneself unstained by the world is a huge challenge, but caring for others may steer us in the right direction. Today the list of who we should care for is much longer. It would also include the poor, the unemployed, those who are abused, the homeless, people who are physically or mentally disabled and others who are marginalized by our society.

Unfortunately, not much has actually changed in regard to the marginalized since Jesus’ day. In earlier times in our nation’s history the Irish Catholics who came over here during the potato famine were called lazy, oversexed or criminals, just as the poor and various immigrant groups are described today! The same thing happened to Italian immigrants and each succeeding nationality that was “new” in our country. It’s the same old song, only in a different key. Why do we keep repeating the same prejudices, just applying them to different groups?[i] Why is it so hard for us to love or at least accept people who are different?

In today’s gospel reading the story is about Jesus’ disciples not following the Hebrew laws for cleanliness and purity, and not doing the “proper” ritual washing of hands and food before eating. They weren’t doing the “right” things according to the “right” religious traditions.

Have you heard anything like that in modern times? Is it any wonder that the words religion, religious and even Christian have come to have negative connotations for many people?

Jesus tells the picky Pharisees that it doesn’t matter what goes into the body—whether or not the proper rituals have been performed—but it’s what comes out that defiles a person and makes them unloving. He gives quite a list: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. How about our judgmental attitudes and comments and the hurtful things people say to one another? What about jealousy? Or revenge? Or one-upmanship?

In this story, as usual, Jesus is putting people ahead of the Law, and the Pharisees don’t like that one bit! The Pharisees think they have it all down-pat. Follow the rules; live your life by the law; don’t stray from the path, even to smell the roses! Jesus says there’s more to life than living piously. There’s more to life than following the Law so rigidly that you can’t hear God’s word, much less do it.

But how often do we hear the word of God and not do it? The still-speaking God calls us to love our neighbors—meaning everyone. Jesus always came down on the side of the oppressed, the poor, the outcast, the people with dread diseases, the prisoners, the unpopular, the unclean, the rejected, the inadequate…. We are called to follow Jesus—to be DO-ers and not just hear-ers of the Word.

In order to BE love, our faith should call and inspire us to do good works, not because we think that will “save” us (because it won’t—we’re already “saved” by God’s love and grace) but because in our faith we know God’s love and sense a responsibility to share God’s love in all that we do and all that we are. The good works we do are how we live out our faith.

Martin Luther didn’t like the book of James because he thought it was saying that one was saved through works and Luther knew that salvation comes through and by God’s grace—alone.

But "faith" and "works" are not opposed; they're not even disconnected. The truly wise, truly faithful individual is known not by what they SAY they believe, but in how they LIVE what they believe. Eugene Peterson says, "Wisdom is not primarily knowing the truth, although it certainly includes that; it is skill in living. For what good is a truth if we don't know how to live it? What good is an intention if we can't sustain it?"[ii]

How can we BE Love? By not holding grudges, by not being judgmental, by letting go of our prejudices, by accepting others as they are, by caring for those who need our help, by seeking equality and justice for all God’s people, by walking the walk and not just talking the talk, by being doers of the Word instead of just hearers.

“…those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.” And their “Obamicon” will look like this:

AMEN.

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[i] Susan Gabbard, Harrisburg, PA in “Lectionary Preachers Panel” on facebook.

[ii] Eugene Peterson, The Message, introduction to James, p. 1668.