Sermon: God's Beloved

Lectionary: Baptism of the Lord, Year C 

Texts: Isaiah 43:1-7; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Baptism of Christ

Today’s gospel reading began with “As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah.” (Luke 3:15 NRSVue) Through this verse we learn that the expectation for a Messiah was high. From what we have regarding the history and literature of that period, apocalyptic sentiments were heightened.

But this verse raises a question that is not answered by today’s gospel reading. The question is this: why did the people want to believe that John might be the Messiah? To come to some possible answers, we need to read the text that came before. Some of these verses were read during the Advent season, but it will be helpful to read them again to remind ourselves of the setting.

Luke 3:3-6 reads,

³ He [John] went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. ⁵ Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, ⁶ and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:3-6)

What is the region around the Jordan? The regions include Judea, Samaria, Perea, Decapolis, and Galilee. We don’t know for certain that John went to all these regions, but we have a pretty good indication that people from these areas heard about John and came to see and hear him. A key point to note about this is that the areas mentioned include Jews, Samaritans, Romans, Greeks, and other ethnicities that made up the Roman empire. The ancient Jewish prophets saw a time, often associated with an anointed one, when the nations would be gathered and come to Israel. What was happening with John at the Jordan may have been seen and interpreted as fulfilling what the prophets foresaw.

When John saw the crowd,

⁷ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:7-9)

The message John gives follows in the footsteps of the prophets of old. It is a message of repentance and judgment. It is a message where those opposed to the ways of God will be removed and an ideal society remains to be enjoyed by those who follow God. It is an apocalyptic message and a messianic message. And following in the pattern of the ancient prophets, the message is one where belonging to God is not based on one’s ancestry, ethnicity, or nationality, but on God’s selection and choice, which means belonging is open to all.

The people want to know how they can prepare so they can belong to this new society.

¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?” ¹¹ In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³ He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” (Luke 3:10-14)

The society John describes is not where everyone is identical. Each still has their role and purpose, but each exists for the greater good. Each member of society is looking out to make sure everyone else is taken care of. Taxes are collected, only as needed, in order to promote the common good. Self-interest and greed have no place in this society. Equitable justice is the principle on which this society is based. Once more, this vision of an ideal society reflects that which was envisioned by the ancient prophets. It was a society that God’s anointed was expected to inaugurate and preside over.

The stars were lining up[1], one might say during Epiphany season, for the appearance of God’s anointed one, aka the Messiah. Therefore, “The people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah.” (Luke 3:15)

But John dismisses their expectations about himself.

¹⁶ John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:16-17)

I would like to pause to make an observation regarding John’s attitude toward power and influence. John had a great deal of influence over the people. He may have had some degree of assumed power from his ancestry and ties to the priesthood, but he seemed mostly to be an outsider. Yet he wielded a great deal of power of the people. In spite of that, he knew his relationship with God and that any influence and power he had was granted by God. He knew that he was not and could not be the Messiah; that God had someone else in mind for that role. John did not try to hold on to his influence and power but pointed toward someone who would be greater.

We need to keep this foremost in our minds when we look at leaders, especially those who hold or claim to positions of spiritual and religious leadership. Self-aggrandizement is a key sign that they are probably not fit to be a leader. Those who seek position wholly or in part to increase their own power and influence are not following God’s way of leading. When we examine Jesus’ life and ministry, even as God’s anointed, the Messiah, he did not seek power or influence for himself. His work was entirely dedicated to empowering the powerless and restoring them as complete human beings in society.

We now get to the text where Jesus is baptized.

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22)

In Luke’s version of Jesus’ baptism, when Jesus is baptized, he is not recognized explicitly nor does John mount a protest when Jesus arrives. Jesus is merely one among the many whom John baptizes. Jesus does not draw attention to himself. The text notes the Holy Spirit descending as a dove and a voice from heaven. Did anyone else see or hear what happened? The gospels are ambiguous on this point. Jesus himself saw and heard, and the texts seem to indicate that John saw and heard also. But did anyone else among the people experience this anointing and inauguration of Jesus to public ministry? The answer is unclear.

A point to think about that we can draw from this is that even as Messiah, Jesus did not make any special attempts to draw attention to himself. Even as he went about in his public ministry, Jesus often tried to keep his works and preaching from becoming too public. Jesus did not want special treatment. He needed to live life as a human being experiencing the trials of life that go along with it. Unlike the other gods of the Roman empire, Jesus would experience the entire gamut of humanness and thereby qualify himself to be the prototype (as the epistle to the Hebrews puts it) for new humanity in a new society.

When the voice speaks about Jesus, one of the allusions is to text found in Isaiah 42:1-9.

¹ Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
² He will not cry out or lift up his voice
or make it heard in the street;
³ a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
⁴ He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth,
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
⁵ Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
⁶ I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
⁷ to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
⁸ I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
⁹ See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.

This is what it means to be God’s anointed, the Messiah. The influence and power of the Messiah will not be carried through physical force, military might, or political threats and favors. It will be through gentle and humble service. It will be through activity that seeks to bring justice where the powerful of the world have acted unjustly. It will be through activities that cause the world’s powers to eventually crucify him. It will be through the creation of a new society that continues to make peace and establish justice in the world, not by might but through love.

When each new individual joins this new society, one that is sometimes referred to as the global Christian church, when the Holy Spirit anoints this new individual, this is the path they are called to walk.

Each of us who have been baptized into Christ and received the Holy Spirit continue the work of Jesus Christ. We have been anointed as children of God to bring the good news to the poor, to open the eyes of the blind, to confront and correct injustices of the nations, and to identify as the body of Christ. Baptism is not primarily about “being saved,” particularly in the individual sense, but instead about joining the community and body of Christ and to be with and to work in harmony with all other members of the body.

When Jesus was baptized, he joined humanity. When we are baptized, we join Jesus in the new humanity that he began.

Bibliography

Bartlett, D. L., & Taylor, B. B. (2009). Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 1 (Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Dunn, J. D., & Rogerson, J. W. (2003). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Howard, J. K. (1970). New Testament Baptism. London: Pickering & Inglis LTD.

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[1] Metaphor definitely intended for the season of Epiphany.

Sermon: Beginning of Epiphanies

Lectionary: Epiphany 1(C)
Texts: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

The Nativity Creche is Wrong

There is a Christmas meme that has popped up in my social media feeds this season. If you’ve seen it, you will know exactly what I am about to describe where this is going.

The meme is a picture of a nativity set – the stable, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, and the magi – with a cat sitting in the middle of the set where the manger and Jesus should be. In the caption for the meme, a question is asked, “What is wrong with this picture?”

The obvious answer is, of course, “The cat.” But the humor and comedy is presented in the answer given, “There were no magi at Jesus’ birth.”

Now, there is plenty more that is inaccurate and “wrong” about the popular narratives of Christmas that we have been handed, but that is for another time. For today, we will focus on the arrival of the magi to honor Jesus.

In the Matthew account of Jesus’ birth and infancy, the magi enter a house in Bethlehem in which Mary and Joseph are living. Not some cave or a stable with a manger. And after the magi arrive and when they do not return to Herod, Herod orders the murder of all male infants under two years of age. Thus, we should understand that some time has passed between the birth and the time the magi arrive – as long as two years.

Epiphany Is Supposed to be Important

And that introduces us to the difference and separation between Christmas and Epiphany. Epiphany is supposed to be one of the most important holy days, holidays, or feast days in the Christian calendar, but in most of our experiences and memories, it is treated more as an afterthought to Christmas – the day when Christmas officially comes to an end. In churches that don’t follow the liturgical calendar, like the one I grew up in, Epiphany may not even be in their vocabulary.

Another interesting tidbit about Epiphany is that its official date falls on January 6. Which means it will occur tomorrow; not today. Today is the twelfth day of Christmas. But because Epiphany is so important, or because it is supposed to be, most liturgical churches move and observe it on the first Sunday after the New Year. Which it is today.

I became curious to see when Epiphany and Sunday coincide, and it turns out, not very often. The last time the two came together was in 2020. The next occurrence takes place in 2030.

Why is Epiphany Important?

Each Sunday during the season of Epiphany reveals something about Jesus and what he reveals about God and the gospel of God’s kingdom. The beginning of Epiphany starts with the arrival into Judea of non-Jewish seekers of God’s Anointed, the Christ. Next Sunday we remember the baptism of Jesus. The Sunday after that we will encounter Jesus performing his first sign. And so on.

Today we focus on the arrival of the magi to worship Jesus. The day of Epiphany, the day marking the beginning of the season of Epiphany, is considered one of the high holy days in the Christian calendar. It is on the same level as Christmas and Easter. So, what does this reveal about Jesus Christ that is so very important? The lections assigned for today give us clues that point in the same direction.

The Isaiah reading includes, “Nations will come to your light and kings to your dawning radiance.” (60:3) From the Psalm reading, we heard, “Let all the kings bow down before him; let all the nations serve him.” (72:11) The author of Ephesians wrote, “His plan is that the Gentiles would be coheirs and parts of the same body, and that they would share with the Jews in the promises of God in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (3:6) And in the gospel reading from Matthew we heard, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem.” (2:1).

Prophecy: descriptive, not predictive

It is easy and maybe natural, especially for modern Christians, including us, to interpret these and other additional texts and conclude that the older testament predicted the arrival and birth of Jesus. And in fact, that is what has happened.

Especially when reading Matthew, where the author uses phrases such as, “This fulfilled,” and points to a text from the older testament, we as moderns assume that this means that the older prophecies predicted what was going to happen in the future.

But that is not how prophecy in the Bible works. Prophetic oracles and texts found in the Bible are descriptive, not predictive. Even where the text could be seen as predictive, the timeframe for the prediction is short term, no more than a single lifetime in most cases.

Prophetic texts describe a better future, an idealized ruler, and how a fully reformed and restored people act toward one another. When seen this way, when Matthew and other writers say that Jesus “fulfilled” some prophetic text, what they mean is that Jesus fits the description of the idealized and better that was written and spoken about. They do not mean that the prophets anticipated a specific individual at a particular point in history.

This interpretation is prophecy needs to carry over to how we read and understand prophetic texts today. It cannot be overstated that we should not be reading prophetic texts and interpreting them as predicting specific events and persons in the future. I realize this is a very common way of reading and interpreting in certain traditions, and it is one that I was raised in. But in broader Christian history and in more mainstream biblical scholarship, that is not how biblical prophecy was and is understood.

“Chosen” does not mean better or more privileged

Another potential pitfall in interpreting prophetic texts is when we discern what it means for God to “choose” someone or a group of people. Who were chosen by God? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Israelites, David, and according to Paul, Christians, too, were chosen by God.

It is easy to then conclude that chosen individuals and groups are therefore privileged in some way. However, God chooses out of God’s own prerogative. According to the prophets, God often chooses those that have no merit of their own, and often the ones that are cast aside by peers and viewed as having no value or worth.

But it is natural, that after one is chosen by God, to assume that it is deserved and with being chosen, it brings special privileges. However, nothing more is deserved. And instead of privileges, it comes with responsibilities. God chooses so that those chosen by God will be God’s instruments in carrying God’s message to the rest of the world.

When one combines the misunderstanding of prophecy as predictive and the misunderstanding of God’s choosing as a deserving act, we end up with a toxic mix. When a person or a group interprets scripture as specifically predicting God’s selection of them, it is nearly impossible to avoid pride, arrogance, exclusivism, and intolerance that arises from the sense of assumed “specialness.”

It cannot be overstated that any choosing of God is for God’s purposes so that God’s grace, and mercy, God’s care for all the world, and God’s character of self-sacrificing love can be demonstrated through the ones God chooses.

Any attempt to use God’s choosing to acquire power and privilege, to assert power and control over others, to exclude and create hierarchies, to force others to believe and act in certain ways is wrong and entirely opposed to God’s ways.

God’s Ways

Psalm 72 reveals several ways that God expects God’s chosen ones to act. Among them: emulate God’s way of righteousness and justice (vv. 1, 2), show concern for the poor (vv. 2, 4), work for peace (v. 3), care for children (v. 4), and work to stop oppressors and oppression (v. 4).

When these things are done, then God is manifest among those who do not yet fully know God. This is the epiphany that attracts people to God. It is important to emphasize that the attraction is to God and not to the people or groups that are doing these things. As Christians and a church, our only concern is to demonstrate God to the world to bring people to the knowledge and love of God. We should be wary of any program or activity that seeks to promote our own existence. This goes against all types of branding and marketing maxims, but I believe that however well-intentioned they may be, they are still tools of this world. If we are faithful to God and seek to uplift God only, if God would like to bless us, God will. It is entirely God’s choice as to what people and groups God will use now and in the future.

Conclusion

On this day in which we commemorate and celebrate God’s epiphany of Godself through Jesus Christ, let us remember that we are merely tools that God has chosen to reveal Godself through. Too many times and for too long, we have thought of our specialness to God as something to be flaunted instead of something to accept with humility and awe. We have used our specialness to exclude, judge, and condemn rather than to accept, embrace, and include.

Let us commit to being epiphanies of God that point to God through our words, thoughts, and actions that imitate God’s love, mercy, grace, and justice.

Sermon: Are We Listening?

Lectionary: Advent 4(C)
Text: Luke 1:39-55

Visitation

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. Which means that at least for this hour, no matter what activities are going on outside of these walls, Christmas is still coming, but it isn’t quite here yet.

The signs of Christmas are everywhere, however. From the glittering lights to the window displays to the impossibly busy schedules and appointments to be kept, one cannot escape the anticipation of Christmas.

Another sign, especially in a household with children and grandchildren, may be the increasing count of gift-wrapped items under the tree. There are small boxes, medium boxes, large boxes, wrapped cylinders and awkwardly shaped items. With each additional item, the anticipation increases. Christmas is almost here, but not yet. We know Christmas is coming, but we must wait just a little while longer.

One of the key challenges I face, running a retail store, is finding boxes for odd shaped items – mostly pottery pieces. When we order and receive these items, we don’t receive them boxed individually. They come in shipping boxes, with boxes inside holding multiple pieces each. Then when a customer wants an item boxed and wrapped, we must sleuth out a box that is approximately the correct size and shape. Sometimes though, we end up having to build boxes from other boxes, or from larger sheets of cardboard that we cut apart and reassemble.

As I was thinking about today’s gospel text and the overall Lucan gospel from where it comes, I was struck by the irony of trying to fit gifts into boxes when the entire gospel message is about God not fitting into the boxes of human expectations of who God is.

On the other hand, putting gifts into boxes is a perfect metaphor of what humankind has been trying to do with God throughout history. We want a God who fits our understanding and expectations. We want a God that works according to our wishes and desires. We want a God who favors who we like and acts against those we don’t like. In short, we want a God we can control. We want a God that stays out of our lives until we need God to fix something. And then God can go back into the box.

(Cats love boxes, but even most cats can’t be forced into a box against their will.)[1]

Throughout most of history, human societies have had expectations about how God communicates to them. Humans developed systems and hierarchies of religions: religious traditions, ceremonies, rituals, and established roles to mediate deities’ communication to us and back.

In the opening chapter of Luke, we read about a priest named Zechariah. His pedigree is impeccable, traced back to Aaron, the original high priest of Israel. He is described as ministering to God at the temple, mediating between the people and God. If anyone should receive a message from God, it is Zechariah. And in fact, he does, but his response is that which doubts God’s power, and as a result is rendered unable to speak.

When the same messenger of God, Gabriel, announces an unanticipated and unexplainable pregnancy to Mary, she has questions, but she accepts that God can work outside of normal human experiences and even outside the normal laws of biology.

From the very beginning, the God found in our Bible often reverses human expectations. A younger child often becomes the one chosen to lead and carry on the promise of God’s blessings: among them, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David. While the society and literature is patriarchal, women are not always passive. Many feature prominently and there are several instances where they play a critical role in allowing the people to survive. This includes the Hebrew midwives in Egypt who saved their male infants, Miriam who saved Moses, the woman of Jericho who hid the spies, Deborah the judge and leader, Hannah who gave up her child Samuel to God, and Bathsheba who was the kingmaker for Solomon.

The gospel of Luke begins with a reversal. The expected communicator for God, Zechariah, is rendered speechless. Instead, prophecies and blessings are pronounced through the mouths of Elizabeth and Mary. Elizabeth is the first human individual (with help from her own unborn prophet John) to recognize Christ in Mary’s womb.

In response Mary’s opens her mouth to praise God. Whether or not she spoke the actual words of the Magnificat is debatable, but we can accept it as reflecting the kind of young woman Mary was. The Magnificat may have been composed following the pattern of Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel. Like Hannah, the mother of Samuel, Mary’s faith and strength of character reflected the attributes of the God they worshiped and served. While they were both humans and with all our shared weaknesses, they exhibited a unique steadfastness and determination to see justice worked out among their people. As a result, they were chosen by God to bear children that would go on to do great things. Samuel would go on to lead the Israelites and anoint their first two kings. And Jesus would become the Savior of all people.

But perhaps even Mary could not see how expansive and broad the gospel of Jesus Christ would be. The Magnificat ends with.

He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
remembering his mercy,
⁵⁵ just as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever. (Luke 1:54-55 CEB)

In the Magnificat, the promise of the Messiah, the Savior, is still found in a box limited to Israel and Abraham’s descendants. But when the Christmas story does come around, when Jesus’ birth is announced by angels to the shepherds, one of the angels says, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people.” (Luke 2:10)

In Luke’s gospel account, the first announcement of Jesus’ birth is not in royal chambers, not in the sanctum of the temple, not to nobles, not to priests, but to shepherds – laborers – in the fields. They were the first evangelists for and about Jesus. And the gospel they receive from the angel is not limited to just their tribe and nation. It is for all people: Jews certainly, but also for Romans and Greeks, for citizens and non-citizens, slaves and free, men and women, young and old.

God isn’t limited to communicating through what humans think are proper and established channels. God does indeed speak through priests and prophets, through pastors and theologians. God does speak through Christian churches and communities.

But what the Advent and Christmas stories tells us is that we should not try to place God in a box. Women were not the usual and expected spokespersons for God, but they are who God used to communicate the impending arrival of Jesus Christ. Shepherds were not expected to be apostles and evangelists, but that is who God used to announce Jesus’ birth.

Do we miss some of what God is trying to communicate to us because we limit the channels through which we hope to hear from God? We might, in theory, believe that God can speak outside of scripture, outside of pastors, outside of churches, and even outside of Christianity. But how open are we to hearing from outside the normal, established, and expected channels?

The gospel is a message that was first given to those in the margins, received by them, and spread by those in the margins. To tame, domesticate, and defang the subversive and dangerous power of self-sacrificing love, the established powers took the gospel and placed it into boxes that they could control. And so, it has continued to this present day.

Christians frequently speak about the impossibility of placing God in a box. Yet that is what we do, because that is what we want.

Churches have silenced women, and many still do. Churches frequently privilege the voices of those with wealth and status. Those on the margins are often “ministry targets” that are patronized, rather than voices that need to be heard.

Have we neutered the gospel by making it more comfortable for us? What do the voices in the margins say? Do we even know where to go to hear those voices? Can we listen without patronizing? Can we hear what God is speaking through communities and voices that are not like ours? Through voices that don’t belong to our tribe? Through voices that may not express the same faith, beliefs, or perhaps none at all?

We think we know what the gospel is. But do we really? If we haven’t taken the time to listen to those in the margins, to those who are victimized and oppressed, from those who aren’t like us, how can we be certain that what we think is the gospel is really the gospel to their ears?

During these final days of Advent and through the upcoming Christmas season, perhaps we should take to heart the saying, “Talk less, listen more.” Maybe we should take time to listen for the gospel found in unexpected places and spoken through nontraditional channels.

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[1] Random 3 a.m. thought, while working on this sermon with a cat sitting next to me.

Sermon: Joy and Judgment

Lectionary: Advent 3(C)
Texts: Zephaniah 3:14-20; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18

John the Baptist preaching in the desert

During this season, we wish one another “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Holidays,” or if you are on the other side of the pond, “Happy Christmas.” It almost seems impolite during this period to feel and express anything other than gaiety and happiness.

But for Christians who walk through the season of Advent, we are reminded that there is much wrong in the world, even when stores put cheery songs on repeat, where sparkling decorations and lights line the windows and streets, where parties and merriment fill our calendars.

We are halfway through this journey through the season of Advent. And today we remember joy. The difference in the color of the candle reminds us that there is a moment that defies the sentiment of the rest of the season. Joy can be experienced when darkness sems ever pressing against us, when ever present despair threatens to suffocate, and when dark clouds seem to obscure our vision.

Complicating this discussion of joy is another word that is usually seen as synonymous: happiness. Although superficially joy and happiness might appear to be the same thing and experienced in the same way, psychologists explain that there is a difference. Yes, they have similar properties, but there are significant differences. Cynthia Vinney, a psychologist writes in an article, “You can be happy but not joyous and vice versa.” (Vinney, 2024) In the same piece, she quotes several other psychologists.

“Joy is a deep primary emotion individuals experience when they feel truly connected in relationships, are in alignment with their values, and/or have a sense of meaning and purpose,” Lindsey Rae Ackerman, LMFT, vice president of Clinical Services at Clear Behavioral Health, explains. (Vinney, 2024)

A complex emotion, joy signals pleasure but can also come with “a combination of grief and gratitude,” says Daniel Boscaljon, PhD, cofounder of Alchemy of Love. “Joy is the ability to affirm the goodness of life even in the midst of sorrow.” (Vinney, 2024)

Conversely, happiness is “an emotional state that can occur through momentary experiences and is often dependent on external factors such as an achievement or gaining material satisfaction.” (Vinney, 2024)

The article continues to compare joy and happiness. Omitting further detail, the basic idea is that “happiness and joy are both pleasurable, but happiness is short-term, spontaneous, and tends to be linked to external factors. Joy is more long-term and tends to be linked to intrinsic factors.” (Vinney, 2024) Or in my words, happiness is mostly a reaction to what happens to you, whereas joy appears to be something you can choose and cultivate in your inner being.

Lending additional support to the concept that happiness is determined by outside factors is recent research into happiness. (Jade Wu, 2023) (Jennings, 2024) We have probably heard often a saying, “Money can’t buy happiness.” But the research shows that, in fact, there is a correlation between having money and self-reports of happiness. The usual caveats for research and statistics apply: correlation does not mean causation, it is based on self-reports, and the very definition of “happiness” is ambiguous.

Having covered some of the contemporary ideas about joy and happiness, we now turn to our scripture readings.

The Old Testament reading from Zephaniah is a conclusion to an oracle of judgment against Jerusalem. The portion we heard is where God promises to restore Israel and Jerusalem. In this restored community, false, violent, and boastful speech will be replaced by humility. Acts of selfishness and acts to gain and preserve power over others will be replaced by justice. The community rejoices because they no longer fear God’s judgment on their sins.

In our psalm reading from Isaiah, the lection omitted the first verse which once again alludes to God turning away from judgment against the nations, including Israel, and restoring Judah. The cause for God’s judgment against the nations is once again, injustice and oppression of the powerful against the vulnerable and powerless. An oracle about the “root of Jesse” arising to restore the nations is found immediately before the reading we heard. The result of God’s restoration of God’s community is joy, once more.

Our New Testament reading was from Philippians. This epistle is sometimes referred to as one of Paul’s prison epistles, since there is good consensus that Paul probably wrote this letter from a prison pit in Rome. This epistle exudes joy with nearly every verse. It is evidence that joy is something that cannot be diminished or destroyed by external circumstances. The writing is an exhortation to imitate Christ and Christ’s way of relating to and treating people. One of its messages seems to be that how you treat one another directly affects joy. When you are in right relationship with one another and with God, you grow joy. This message is really quite similar to what the Old Testament prophets spoke to their audiences.

And then we come to the gospel reading. The last verse included in our reading says, “With many other words John appealed to them, proclaiming good news to the people.” (Luke 3:18 CEB). The words John the Baptizer spoke to the people don’t really sound much like good news, but once we understand the context and patterns of prior prophetic oracles, we can understand how John’s words of judgment were seen and received as good news. John was preaching judgment as a necessary precursor to restoration of the community and its relationships with one another and with God.

As a related aside, I do think that John truly believed that judgment would look much like how earlier destruction and exiles of Israel occurred. Based on the categories of people that asked John, “What should we do?”, John believed all of humanity was under judgment – from those that had only a meager amount to call their own, to those who were taking advantage of their position of power and privilege, to those who through their official powers were abusing and oppressing other people – all were under God’s judgment.

But Jesus’ life and words showed the world something different about judgment. In the Gospel of John (not the Baptizer) chapter 3, we read the following,

¹⁷ God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him isn’t judged; whoever doesn’t believe in him is already judged, because they don’t believe in the name of God’s only Son.

¹⁹ “This is the basis for judgment: The light came into the world, and people loved darkness more than the light, for their actions are evil. ²⁰ All who do wicked things hate the light and don’t come to the light for fear that their actions will be exposed to the light. ²¹ Whoever does the truth comes to the light so that it can be seen that their actions were done in God. (John 3:17-21)

What we find here is that God is not like Santa Claus in the song Santa Claus is Coming to Town. In that song are found words,

He's making a list and checking it twice
He's gonna find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness' sake

The God that Jesus came to show isn’t like that. Humanity does their own judging. We already know when things are right or wrong with one another in the community. (Paul, in Romans chapter 1, agrees with John.) Jesus sets the example and standard for how to relate to one another, how to think about fellow human beings, and how to treat one another in love. Being afraid of God and judgment is a natural consequence of consistently and intentionally living against Jesus’ standard.

Conversely, those who are following the leading and empowering of the Holy Spirit to live according to Christ’s pattern will naturally come to the light. There is no judgment against those who live in the light. Those who live in the light have nothing to hide. Communities that strive to live to Christ’s standard have nothing to be ashamed of. There is naturally no fear of being found out. There is no judgment and that leads to joy.

As I often do, I want to emphasize the collective and communal aspects of what we have heard so far.

John (the Baptizer) was not just speaking against individual wrongdoing, but also against collective sins. When he exhorts, “Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same,” (Luke 3:11) he is speaking about our natural tendency to acquire and hoard. We fear that we might not have enough, so we try to ensure our own security by acquiring more than we need. When faced with needs of others, we excuse our not giving by thinking things like, “They don’t deserve it,” or, “I might need it more later,” or, “Someone else can help.” Self-preservation is a collective sin. It doesn’t matter how little or how much one has, it is a temptation that most of us succumb to.

When John says, “Collect no more than you are authorized to collect,” (Luke 3:13) he is speaking to the same tendency as before, but also to the temptation to take shortcuts, take advantage of loopholes, and bend rules to benefit oneself. We might excuse this with words like, “I work hard; I deserve it,” or, “No one will know,” or, “Everyone else is doing it.”

When John says, “Don’t cheat or harass anyone, and be satisfied with your pay,” (Luke 3:14) he is still speaking to the same human temptation to succumb to self-preservation, but also to self-aggrandizement. Those who have official powers can abuse the authority granted them to put others down and to belittle others to make oneself feel better about themselves. Same sort of excuses could be made to justify these actions. But additional excuses are also available, such as, “It’s legal,” or, “It’s not unlawful.”

When the entire community, a society, and a nation operates under principles of self-preservation, the ability to have and experience joy is diminished across the board. Conversely, when communities operate with compassion, love, and justice for all as their guiding principles, it increases the capacity for all to have joy.

The Season of Advent is one, a time for repentance. It is a time to look within, both individually and collectively, to return our vision toward Christ and to recommit ourselves to follow Christ more completely. But this is just not change in our philosophical or theological outlook, but a call to action. Can we be better at “letting go” of our desire for security and self-preservation? Can we be better at giving things away to those who are in need? Can we be better at doing what we can to change and reform systems that favor the already-wealthy, powerful and privileged? Can we be better at bringing justice to all and not favoring or disfavoring people based on their position in society?

When we work toward a more just community, society, and nation, we know that we are working toward bringing the good news, the gospel, to all. And in doing so, we know that there is no judgment against that. Whatever may be happening externally, joy and peace and hope infuses this kind of community.

The passage from Philippians continues,

⁸ From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. ⁹ Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9)

We cultivate joy by becoming more Christlike – through activities of love, compassion, and justice. When we are doing this as individuals and as faith communities, no matter what the world throws at us, together with Paul we can live joy-filled lives no matter what circumstances we face.

References

Jade Wu, P. (2023, November 10). Can Money Really Buy Happiness? Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-savvy-psychologist/202106/can-money-really-buy-happiness

Jennings, J. (2024, February 12). Does Money Buy Happiness? Actually, Yes. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnjennings/2024/02/12/money-buys-happiness-after-all/

Vinney, C. (2024, October 30). Experts Reveal the One Key Difference Between Joy and Happiness. Retrieved from Very Well Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/joy-vs-happiness-8724682

 

 

 

Sermon: Hope in Darkness

Lectionary: Advent 1(C)
Texts: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 21:25-36

I recently saw someone observe that Thanksgiving should be moved to October, when Canada has their holiday of the same name. Why? It could help spread out the number of preparations and activities that too often collide together. We might get a bit more breathing room. Instead of many folks traveling twice with only a few short weeks between, it could ease the burden of travel.

Some might object that, “Well, Thanksgiving isn’t a real holiday.” And it often does seem that way. I’m old enough to recall that even in my own lifetime, Thanksgiving was treated as a proper holiday, even by major retailers. We would get newspapers stuffed with Thanksgiving sales.

But no more. First, who gets the massive Sunday newspapers with inches-high stack of ads? And businesses, especially conglomerates and big boxes, realized that Christmas is a much more effective motivator for people to open their wallets and take out plastic to tap and swipe. Thanksgiving has become a day of gorging and watching football (okay, I don’t watch, but I hear many do). And then it’s off to continue the frantic preparation for Christmas with Black Friday sales.

But enter Advent. The Season of Advent. It is not just a day. Not just a short extended weekend holiday. It is a season.

I grew up in the part of the Christian world that had no idea what Advent was. After Thanksgiving, it was suddenly Christmas. We would immediately switch to Christmas songs (which did include Advent songs, but we didn’t know that). Sermons were often a series on various Christmas topics.

In recent years, churches like I grew up in have learned that there are these four weeks called Advent, but frequently they are still treated more like a countdown to Christmas (like Advent calendars with treats inside), instead of what the Advent season is intended to convey.

Some of you know this about me, but others probably don’t. And that is, one of my hobbies is tabletop role-playing games, where a group of people come together and basically play a version of grown-up imagine and pretend.

Now, it might seem almost trite, but I think one way of better understanding and experiencing Advent is to imagine and pretend that we don’t know about Christmas. It hasn’t happened yet. On this first Sunday of Advent, the texts we read tell us that things in the world are not going so well. We have promises that they won’t go on forever, but we don’t know when God will appear. We live in the in-between time. What are we doing?

In this season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is too easy to skip over the difficulties of life and what is happening around the world, in this nation, in our communities, and in our families, and jump straight ahead to the miracle of Christmas. However, the season of Advent tells us to pause, wait, and think. It invites us in to take on the roles of those whose tomorrow is uncertain, who face food and housing insecurities, who might be unsure of their status with governing authorities, and who might be fearful of having their families torn apart by circumstances and policies outside of their control. We are invited to contemplate their fears and longing and empathize with them.

For most of us here, who live in relative comfort and security, I don’t think we fully understand what anticipation and hope for a better future means. I don’t think we fully appreciate what deliverance from this life means. For most of us, the status quo is not that bad. As we experience the Advent season, we are invited to imagine a life and an entire community that is uncertain, uncomfortable, and fearful. We are invited to read Advent texts. Do they offer something different than what we normally hear? Can we hear hope, deliverance, salvation, and assurance differently?

Hope, deliverance, salvation, and assurance are not merely spiritual longings. They are not primarily about individuals. It is not primarily about me, an individual person, being saved so that someday I can go to heaven. It is about what is happening in the larger community and the world.

On this first Sunday of Advent, our text includes,

²⁵ … On the earth, there will be dismay among nations in their confusion over the roaring of the sea and surging waves. ²⁶ The planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken, causing people to faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world. (Luke 21:25-26 CEB)

We don’t commonly hear or use the word “foreboding”. Its definitions include “an omen, prediction, or presentiment especially of coming evil,” “a feeling that something very bad is going to happen soon,” and “a sense of evil to come.” This is the kind of time into which Advent speaks most clearly.

The reading continues, however,

²⁷ Then they will see the Human One coming on a cloud with power and great splendor. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads, because your redemption is near.” (Luke 21:27-28)

Verse 27 is often interpreted as the Second Coming event. But verse 28 indicates that whatever the Human One’s (or Son of Man’s) coming is, is still a sign for the future, a portent. Redemption is near, but it is not yet.

Jesus continues with a parable,

²⁹ … “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹ In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that God’s kingdom is near. ³² I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until everything has happened. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away. (Luke 21:29-33)

The season of Advent is a look back to Jesus’ time here on earth during the first century CE. It is also a look forward to Jesus’ anticipated return to earth at an unknown time in the future.

The readers and hearers of Jesus’ words in Luke would have thought most of it to have been fulfilled by the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE. The remaining piece would have been the return of Jesus, which they fully expected to occur in their lifetime. Yet here we are two-thousand years from that time.

The reading from Luke concluded with the following words from Jesus:

³⁴ “Take care that your hearts aren’t dulled by drinking parties, drunkenness, and the anxieties of day-to-day life. Don’t let that day fall upon you unexpectedly, ³⁵ like a trap. It will come upon everyone who lives on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Stay alert at all times, praying that you are strong enough to escape everything that is about to happen and to stand before the Human One.” (Luke 21:34-36)

The exhortation here is to remain alert and be prepared for Jesus to return.

Returning to my growing up years, one of the central theological themes driven home was “to be ready” and “be prepared.” Implied and emphasized, again, was for me as an individual to be personally ready through a personal relationship with Jesus. The repetition and emphasis gave rise to the sense that because the message was repeated, it must be difficult to get ready and remain prepared. An unspoken fear was always present with the question, “I am really prepared?” I’m sure invoking fear was not the intent, but that was what I experienced.

Now though, I realize that these words of Jesus were never directed to an individual person, but to a community of the faithful. There is something about having others to rely on, others to help keep watch, others to pick another up when one falls, that is heartening and hopeful. Being ready and prepared is not a solo effort; it is a team undertaking. I think that the modern idea of salvation as a solely individual decision, consumed with one’s personal relationship to Jesus, is a distortion of the good news of the kingdom of God. What I see in the Christian scriptures is salvation and life in Christ as teamwork, not an individual undertaking.

Therefore, Jesus speaks to his community. His admonition to his community is, one, to not become so comfortable with how the world carries on that we become dulled to the hope that is found in him. And two, conversely, don’t become so anxious about what is happening in the world that we lose hope that is fond in him. Together as a community, we can help one another remain alert yet not anxious.

Returning to the experience of role-playing games, when playing the game, it is often a bad idea to run off and try to face challenges alone. A few bad dice rolls and your character could fall, die, or experience some other bad thing from which they cannot return. But having other members of the group around you means they can resuscitate you, they can help take the hits so you aren’t taking all of them alone, they can fill in your weak areas with their strengths, they can take watch while you take some needed rest, and so on. It makes survival and achieving success much more likely.

Advent does lead to Christmas. And it leads to the return of Christ. Advent is a time of preparation. Yes, we can prepare to celebrate Christmas. But it is also a time when we as a community of believers take stock of the spiritual path we are on. It is time to review how we are doing together to manifest the kingdom of God among the community in which we live. Are we hopeful people? Do our actions reveal our hope? Do we express concerns about what is happening around us without succumbing to anxiety? Do we act upon these concerns, bringing people into the kingdom of God, and be a beacon of hope in the world?

The season of Advent is not just a countdown to Christmas. It is a time for us to be reminded that the world is not how things are supposed to be. The world is not the kingdom of God and never will be. The time is coming when the world will be recreated into something new. But we live in the in-between time. As a community, we prepare for that new kingdom by practicing what it will, at least partially, look like when the kingdom principles are lived out among us. In this in-between time we look forward to the kingdom by living hope. We live justice. We live righteousness. Not to be saved, but because we are already saved, delivered, and redeemed. We live a life that is both alert and awake to the realities of this world, yet not succumbing to anxiety and fear.

At the beginning of today’s worship, we lit the candle of hope. I believe that the light of hope is not a solitary flicker, but one that is meant to spread to all who are in community, as we walk the way of Christ together and encourage one another. We do not travel the journey of redemption and salvation as solo travelers. We do this in community with fellow travelers on the same journey.

May we be people of hope. May hope be not just spiritual aspiration, but a way of life that is seen by all around us. May that be the attraction to the kingdom and to Jesus Christ.

Sermon: Against the Powers of this World

Lectionary: Proper 29(B), Reign of Christ
Text: Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37

Christ and Pilate (17c. Flemish)

Jesus is often interpreted as being apolitical, avoiding taking sides in matters of civic debate. One might even point to today’s reading from John’s gospel as such an example – Jesus stepped around being identified as a political individual.

But a careful reading shows that Jesus does take a position. Yes, the position Jesus takes is neither for nor against Rome, at least in the usual sense, but he takes a third position that goes beyond normal human assumptions of politics and rule. I would even identify as Jesus being anti-political in his response. Jesus does not claim to be the king of the Jews. Thus, he is not specifically for the Jews, and therefore, he is not against Rome. But Jesus claims a kingdom. Therefore, he is simultaneously against all human systems of nations, states, rulers, and forms of governance. The kingdom of God is, in one sense, not in competition with human rule, but in simultaneously, completely against it.

As followers and disciples of Jesus Christ, those of us who claim to be Christians should have the same perspective on human systems of authority and rule that Jesus had. While we must live in the present world, we cannot hold and declare allegiance to any human ruler, state, or nation. If we seriously live out this principle, I suspect we will be looked upon with suspicion and could quite possibly experience some form of persecution. But most of us, me included, prefer a more comfortable and stable life and so we make compromises. We need to be reminded of Jesus’ words that his followers must “take up their cross daily” and “lose their lives” (Luke 9:23-24).

The last book of our Bible, which we call Revelation, was written to Christian communities that were tired of being looked upon with suspicion, experiencing difficulties in getting along with the rest of Roman society, their neighbors, and possibly experiencing persecution sometimes. The main accusation that is directed against these churches is that they have compromised. John, the Revelator, reveals to the Christian communities what is going on, both visible and unseen, and exhorts them to return to full, undivided allegiance to Jesus Christ and to him alone.

The gospel account of John does not have much to say about the description of the kingdom of God. However, the other gospel accounts contain descriptions, many which are couched in the language of parables. A summary of God’s kingdom from these texts is that it arrives quietly, subtly, and slowly; it is not accompanied by huge proclamations, power, might, or conquering; and it is most easily found and entered by those who in this world, are powerless, weak, humble, persecuted, marginalized, oppressed, victimized, abused. The entire concept of power is turned upside down in God’s kingdom: the servants are kings, the poor are wealthy, there is no hierarchy of power, those who give up their lives gain it, those who sought no recognition or reward receive them.

When some modern Christians envision Christ’s return and reign in power, they picture a conquering king, slaying his enemies and using a type of military power and might to destroy all who oppose him. There is a blood bath where power and authority are imposed, and fear is driven into any who might be wavering. Christ reigns with absolute authority that none dare question.

It is my emphatic belief that this is not the correct picture of Christ’s reign as king.

The reign of Christ in his kingdom is for him to serve all who are there. Power and authority are not imposed onto his subjects. Power is not used to coerce or intimidate. Authority is not used to invoke fear. The only power Christ has is the persuasive power of infinite love.

In the gospels, Jesus tells his hearers that the kingdom of God is already among them, and therefore also among us. Like the parable of the mustard seed, it may only be a sprout, but it has the potential to grow. But It can only grow when we are fully committed to the kingdom and Christ’s way of persuasive love. We cannot advance Christ’s work and grow his kingdom by employing the methods and tactics of this world. We should be cautious and skeptical about blindly adopting practices that might be successful in business, government, and other organizations. We need to ask the question, “What kind of power dynamics is assumed and promoted by this practice?”

As much as we might wish to see our church grow and the way of Christ embraced more broadly, Revelation offers yet another sobering insight: nothing that is formed by this world, governments and businesses, certainly, but yes, even churches, will never be transformed into the kingdom of God. Babylon, Revelation’s code for abusive power, is within all human-originated structures.

What all this tells me is that the kingdom of God cannot be identified by physical boundaries. It does not have visible boundaries. None of us can state for certain who is in and out. It is not limited to those who have and profess “correct” beliefs. It is far broader and more inclusive than any of us can possibly imagine.

That isn’t to say there is no boundary. The inhabitants of God’s kingdom, the New Jerusalem, must be protected from harm. Therefore, any who seek to use and abuse others are excluded from the New Jerusalem. Those who seek to have power over another are excluded.

Where does this leave us, we who live in the in-between, already in God’s kingdom yet still physically living in this world?

First it should give us hope. When we don’t see the world becoming more just and equitable, we don’t need to lose hope because we know that this world’s systems will never be transformed into the kingdom of God.

The flip side of this is a warning. We should not place our hope for a better future in this world’s systems. Christianity cannot be imposed into the world’s systems to turn them into a part of the kingdom of God. “Christianizing” power systems cannot transform them into God’s kingdom. In fact, doing this is very much the definition of Babylon.

This isn’t to say that we should give up on making this world a better place. We can and should do what we can to effect governance and policies that are more just and equitable, create a world that is more humane and livable, reduce fear and violence, and improve human relationships and acceptance of one another. We do this while cognizant that this will not transform the present world into the kingdom of God. Thus, we do not lose hope when our efforts seem so meager against a storm of opposition. But like Jesus, we bring compassion and relief wherever we are able.

On this Christ the King Sunday, we are reminded of what Jesus said.

“My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did, my guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here.” (John 18:36 CEB)

Take everything you know about how earthly kings, prime ministers, and presidents wield power. Turn that upside down. A powerless individual, at least in our eyes. That is Jesus Christ the King. He relinquished power and allowed himself to be crucified. That is our calling to follow Jesus as his disciples.

Take everything you know about the most powerful nations and empires and how they managed and maintained their power: the Roman Empire, the British Empire, the many other European colonizing powers, Japan, Russia, China, and yes the United States. Turn that upside down. Powerless nations and empires that wouldn’t last many days. Yet that is how the kingdom of God works: by giving away power so that more can be served and receive the benefits of the kingdom.

We must resist the temptation to see God’s kingdom and Christ’s reign as they are like what we know about kingdoms and kings. Doing so only increases our compromise into Babylon.

I suggest that like Jesus, we become anti-political against the powers of this world.

Sermon: The Eyes and Heart of Jesus

"Widow's Mite" by Tissot, James, 1836-1902

Lectionary: Proper 27(B)

Texts: 1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Mark 12:38-44

Our gospel reading describes a widow who comes to the temple to place a couple of small copper or brass coins into a box whose contents would be added to the temple treasury. Some commentaries describe this box as having been made to accentuate the sounds of the coins as they dropped into the box. It would be difficult to not notice coins being dropped into the box. And even a small amount would not escape notice. For the woman to drop in so few coins could bring about looks of scorn and derision, and she likely would have felt shame and embarrassment.

Perhaps she tried to conceal her identity as she gave, or to do it as quietly as possible. That is possible, but the text omits any mention of how she arrived and how she gave. I think that she would have tried to not draw attention, but the fact that Jesus noticed and that he pointed it out to the disciples would likely mean that they saw and heard the widow.

This story is frequently offered as examples of what faithful discipleship looks like. It is also used as an example of faithful and sacrificial giving to God. I think they are valid interpretations, but like I often do, I propose a different interpretation that I think better fits the context of the surrounding texts.

The text immediately preceding the story of the widow and her coins is words of Jesus giving warning about the legal experts of his time. Jesus says, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets. They long for places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off they say long prayers. They will be judged most harshly.” (Mark 12:38-40 CEB)

The individuals Jesus is warning against are the national leaders. They are legal and political leaders. They have high positions – they expect to be honored wherever they go. They dress accordingly so that they can be recognized. They are also religiously pious and go out of their way to declare their piety. Yet they are also avaricious and callous. Using their legal maneuvers, some of them may have found widows to be easy pickings. Jesus condemns those who flaunt their piety yet use their legal expertise to line their pockets with widows’ properties.

It is with this background that the rich, quite possibly an example of the legal experts Jesus warned against, appear at the temple. And the widow, perhaps one whose house had been lost to such a legal expert, also enters the scene. The rich give. The widow also gives. But the law does not require the widow to give. Rather, the law demands that orphans and widows be taken care of.

This scene is not primarily about giving, but about the failure of the rich to live up to the very law which they claim to piously follow.

The widow is not required to give, but she gives anyway. Why? Is it because of her faithfulness to God? Perhaps. But another perspective suggests that the teachings of these legal experts may be in play. Piety, regardless of wealth or social standing, was important to ancient people. Giving to God was a legitimate component of a pious life. It may be that giving was so emphasized that the poor felt obligated to give, even when they could not afford to do so.

It should be noted that the text does not have Jesus praising or condemning the widow’s act. Jesus simply sees and makes some factual comments. He does not provide an evaluation. Therefore, I think it is best to treat this as an observation and not turn it into an exemplary act.

When we continue to read past this story into the next couple of verses, the non-evaluation approach seems more appropriate.

“​As Jesus left the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What awesome stones and buildings!”

Jesus responded, “Do you see these enormous buildings? Not even one stone will be left upon another. All will be demolished.” (Mark 13:1-2)

We do not know precisely when Mark’s text was written. Many place it before the destruction of Jerusalem. In which case these words of Jesus could be seen as prophecy about the future. Or it could be that by the time Mark’s text was being put together, the writing was on the wall regarding Jerusalem’s future.

Another possibility is that Jesus’ words are recalling Hebrew history, where Solomon’s temple was destroyed. A key reason for the destruction of the first temple was also because the nation’s leaders failed to provide justice and care to the widows and orphans. According to Jesus, the future of a nation that fails to take care of its most vulnerable is judgment and destruction.

In our reading from the Hebrew scriptures, 1 Kings 17, we read about another widow. This widow is said to be from Zarephath, near Sidon. Elijah came to her during an extended drought, to receive food and water from her. She, too, was on her last meager bit of sustenance, and she too, gave what she had, first to Elijah who was a representative of God.

This could be seen as another story about faithfulness to God through giving. And this could be a lens through which the story of the widow at the temple could be interpreted.

But once more, there is another way of interpreting the story of the widow of Zarephath. And this one comes straight from Jesus. In Luke 4, as Jesus begins his public ministry, he returns to Nazareth and declares his mission statement.

¹⁶ Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read. ¹⁷ The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,

¹⁹ and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

²⁰ He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him. ²¹ He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”

²² Everyone was raving about Jesus, so impressed were they by the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “This is Joseph’s son, isn’t it?”

²³ Then Jesus said to them, “Undoubtedly, you will quote this saying to me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we’ve heard you did in Capernaum.’” ²⁴ He said, “I assure you that no prophet is welcome in the prophet’s hometown. ²⁵ And I can assure you that there were many widows in Israel during Elijah’s time, when it didn’t rain for three and a half years and there was a great food shortage in the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was sent to none of them but only to a widow in the city of Zarephath in the region of Sidon. (Luke 4:16-26)

First point to note is that Jesus’ mission is to be good news to the poor, the prisoners, to the blind, and the oppressed. What is missing is any notion of acquiring power, conquering, and ruling.

Second, when the people of his hometown expressed doubt about Jesus, Jesus’ response included a mention of the widow of Zarephath. Jesus does not say anything about the widow’s sacrificial giving. Rather, the point here seems to be about who God chose to work through to provide his prophet, Elijah, with support and sustenance. The point is also about who Jesus is sent to offer the gospel.

It wasn’t Elijah’s own people, the Israelites. It was, instead, a foreigner, a Canaanite. It was not someone who had the proper religious identity or beliefs. The widow was not a follower of Isarel’s God. But Elijah’s God, the God of Israel, chose a Canaanite, who worshiped some other god, to care for Elijah.

The same could and should be said of our God. Our God is not limited to working with and for those who profess the right name and those who claim to possess proper beliefs. Our God is not limited by race, ethnicity, language, culture or borders. God will choose to work with whomever is open and receptive to the mission of love and compassion for others. On the other hand, those who falsely claim piety to be seen and to gain human approval “will be judged most harshly”, in Jesus’ own words.

I see echoes between then and now in the depictions of human powers found in the Bible and what we see in our present day. We read about Jesus observing these powers at play in his time. We read what God values and desires to see among people. We, as the church, and therefore an embodiment of Christ in the world, have an obligation and responsibility to continue to see the world as Jesus saw it and to continue his mission of bringing justice and restoration to all peoples.

In closing and as our prayer, I will recite Psalm 146, which I see as an appropriate summary for today’s message.

¹ Praise the LORD!
Let my whole being praise the LORD!
² I will praise the LORD with all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
³ Don’t trust leaders;
don’t trust any human beings—
there’s no saving help with them!
⁴ Their breath leaves them,
then they go back to the ground.
On that very same day, their plans die too.
⁵ The person whose help is the God of Jacob—
the person whose hope rests on the LORD their God—
is truly happy!
⁶ God: the maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
God: who is faithful forever,
⁷ who gives justice to people who are oppressed,
who gives bread to people who are starving!
The LORD: who frees prisoners.
⁸ The LORD: who makes the blind see.
The LORD: who straightens up those who are bent low.
The LORD: who loves the righteous.
⁹ The LORD: who protects immigrants,
who helps orphans and widows,
but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn!
¹⁰ The LORD will rule forever!
Zion, your God will rule from one generation to the next!
Praise the LORD!