Lectionary 33 A - Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 25:14-30

The servant who is given one talent believes his master is harsh, reaping where he did not sow and gathering what he did not scatter, while the first two servants take advantage of the master’s generosity to the benefit of both master and servant. It could be that the one talent servant reaps what he sows and gets the harsh master he imagines. Even so it hardly seems fair that from those who have nothing even what they have will be taken away. On the other hand the image of God as a harsh master can be found throughout the scriptures and would give us good reason to fear judgment and bury our lives in rigid rules not risking anything lest everything be taken away. But there is a more profitable image of God as one whose “slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” compassion compelled him to reap the harvest of our sin that he did not sow and gather those scattered by their own rebellious will. To live that vision means we take advantage of God’s generosity and risk the kind of things Jesus did by investing the five and two and one talent of the Gospel in our everyday and everywhere so that in the end God might reap a harvest of abundance beyond our one talent servant imagination.

Lectionary 33 A - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

"Thief in the Night"

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

“Therefore encourage one another” seems uncharitable at best given the impending doom everyone except the Thessalonians will experience when the “will come as a thief in the night” comes as a day of the Lord from hell. Surprise! And doesn’t the idea of an eternal from the beginning plan to make the biggest surprise of human history sudden destruction bother you? Even the most vicious small g god humans have invented can do that. So what if the surprise “thief in the night day of the Lord” is mercy not judgment? And staying sober is living in the light of radical love, the kind of eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners life that got Jesus killed so that the destiny of humanity would be salvation and not wrath. Now that would be a surprise, wouldn't it? 

Lectionary 33 A - Psalm 90:1-8, 12

Psalm 90:1-8, 12

The Lord “our refuge from one generation to another” also knows our secret sins. No wonder the psalmist rightly fears God’s indignation. We prefer anonymity where sins are concerned and even though we suspect others are as consumed by sin as we are we like to believe no one suspects the same of us. But the Lord knows the things we hide even from ourselves. The memories that still make us shudder with shame. A lifetime of things done and left undone, said and left unsaid set before the Lord in whose anger “all our days are gone and our years come to an end like a sigh.” But the truth about us is not as great as the truth about God “our refuge” who knowing us full well still satisfies us in the morning with unfailing love teaching us the gift of each day so that our hearts weighed down by sin might be lightened by wisdom. And if by God's unfailing love we were made more wise we would no doubt spend less time with secret sins and more time dwelling with the Lord.

Lectionary 33 A - Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-28

Zephaniah is very popular with the “Save Fort Worth” people that sometimes spend the weekend standing on Sundance Square street corners warning of impending doom for having too much fun. I must admit I don’t find much worth saving in Zephaniah’s graphic description of the day of great distress and anguish. The violence visited on people just like you and me and our children and the image it evokes of God acting out of a fit of jealous rage is offensive. Of course God has every right to punish people resting “complacently on their dregs” who treat God with disdain. You’d be jealous too and might be tempted to express your righteous indignation violently. But that would be wrong wouldn’t it? We might even call it sin. So how is it sin for us to kill someone who treats us with contempt while God can destroy a whole city; men, women, children, animals and call it justice?  And even if the Jerusalem elite were worthy of the most dreadful death the Babylonians didn’t discriminate as the guilty and innocent shared the same fate. Of course years later the Persians did the same thing to the Babylonians. And so the story goes. Maybe the prophetic word is about the destruction we visit upon each other from Cain and Abel to the Holocaust. So even if the faith of Zephaniah requires him to give God the credit it’s always humans who do the dirty work.

Lectionary 32 A - Matthew 25:1-13

Matthew 25:1-13

I think the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids should be called the parable of the tardy groom. And what about the bride waiting at the altar? I bet she was more than a little upset. “Midnight? Really?” Of course none of that is the point of the parable, well, except the tardy part. Mathew’s community is wondering what happened to Jesus. After all he said “this generation shall see my return” (Matthew 24:34) and that generation is almost all dead by the time this parable is written down. So the point of the parable is verse 13 and none of the details really matter except as a promise and on the flip side a warning. If you are awake and waiting faithfully you are wise and it doesn't matter how long it takes for the groom to arrive because your invitation is as good as gold. But if you grow tired of waiting and doubt the promise you are foolish and your lamp will go out and you’ll be left in the dark. So what does it mean for us over 2000 years later? I suppose the message is the same since we neither know the time or the date of Jesus’ return. But maybe more importantly the message is for us to use our waiting time wisely as Jesus will say at the end of this chapter. “When I was hungry you fed me, in prison you visited me, naked you clothed me, a stranger you welcomed me, thirsty you gave me drink.” We don’t just sit around in the glow of our lit lamps and sing Kum by Yah. We wait by living into the charge that is given to the baptized when the baptismal candle is presented. “Let your light so shine before others that they will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” So let’s get busy waiting.

Lectionary 32 A - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Thessalonians were worried that those who died before Jesus returned would be left behind. Paul assures them that God has everything under control and whether one is awake or asleep at the time of Jesus’ coming their hope of salvation is secure. I don’t believe Paul is any more informed than I am about the details and even though he shares his version of the timeline his point is verse 18. “Encourage one another with these words.” The words he meant as encouragement are that those who have died will be included in the future final feast. We don’t worry about the same thing as the Thessalonians trusting that our loved ones are already with the Lord. We even imagine how they are spending their time. Grandpa's gone fishing. Unfortunately these encouraging words have been used to support a less than encouraging theology where a select few are caught up in the clouds (rapture) while the vast majority of people are left behind to endure horrors beyond imagination, although humans are pretty good at imaging and inflicting horrors on each other. I think the true horror is that rapture theology makes the God of grace look like every other god humans have created in their own image. So maybe the encouraging word for us – who no longer worry about where our loved ones are – is that a God who would suffer and die for humanity is not a God who thinks like we do.

Lectionary 32 A - Psalm 70

Psalm 70

The psalmist hopes that his rescue would be pleasing to the Lord which displays a radical confidence in the gracious mercy of the Almighty Big G God. The small g gods always ask, “What’s in it for us?” They have no time for the poor and needy and only provide salvation for those who can pay. But the Big G “God is Great” listens to the laments of the lowly. The Big G God helps those who cannot help themselves and delivers those who have nowhere else to turn because it is pleasing to God. Or in other words it is for God’s sake that the sake of the poor and lowly gets a hearing in the halls of heaven and we would do well to pay attention to the people God attends to for when God determined to enter fully into human history it was through the life of one who may have prayed this psalm more than once. That God entered the psalm of lament may be the biggest thing about the Big G God. No. It is most definitely the Biggest Thing about God.

Lectionary 32 A - Amos 5:18-24

Amos 5:18-24

This text should bring a permanent ceasefire to the worship wars that often consume the church. Contemporary vs traditional vs blended vs emergent vs whatever will come next. Projection screens or hymnals? Long teaching sermons or liturgical based sermons? Narrative lectionary or Revised Common? Communion every Sunday or less often? Arguments over hymns or styles of worship are intensely personal because, well, they are personal. But in all the arguments I've never heard anyone ask about God’s preference. That’s not to say personal preference doesn't have a place in the pew or the pulpit only that God doesn't care about what we think about worship when we argue about it. But more to the point when what we like or dislike about worship takes center stage in our spiritual life we act in opposition to what pleases God and therefore our worship is no longer worshipful. That is because it is all about us and God desires us to think about others in the same way God does. We cannot do the work God intended the church to do if all our work is centered on the way the church works. I could quote endless scriptures on that topic but this one will do. The song that God loves is the hungry belly filled and the parched throat quenched. The melody that makes God smile is the laughter of the oppressed set free and the sigh of the outcast welcomed as friend. So by all means seek out worship that pleases you but only if it inspires you to worship in the way that pleases God which, I’m sorry to say, has almost nothing to do with what pleases you. Ouch or Amen? Or both?

The Feast of All Saints - Matthew 5:1-12

Matthew 5:1-12

On All Saints Sunday we will sing these lyrics to the tune of Wild Mountain Thyme (Lord of the Rings) “There are saints who light the darkness and the world cannot contain them for the love of God sustains them and they will never be forgotten; we are blest to have them with us and we praise the God who made them. There is no way to repay them and so we simply do applaud them as they shine like the sun.” (John Ylvisaker – Shine Like the Sun) The saints who light the darkness are ever close in our memory and yet always beyond our imagination as they dwell in the place of perfection while we struggle (hopefully well) in the place of “not yet.” By that I mean we can sense the saints who light the darkness when our hearts and minds quicken as we anticipate joining them in the future final peace. Even so in the here and now we are the poor in spirit, mourning meek who hunger and thirst for things to be more just and fair and right than they are. But before we claim the gifts of being “blessed are you…” we are duty bound to confess that we are not passive participants in the things that are less than blessed. Hating violence we none-the-less revel in a really well produced shoot em up on the silver screen. Desiring equality we still cling to positions of power. We are less than merciful, hardly pure in heart and believe peace can only be achieved by an aggressive posture backed up by the ability of our firepower to shock and awe. I am not playing politics. I am suggesting you and I live in the difficult “not yet” place where “blessed are you” is not as neat as the beatitudes. So what do we do? Maybe we begin by applauding the ones we cannot repay because we believe they made it to the other side despite the fact that they were no better than we are. Which means the one who deserves our applause is the God who made them.

The Feast of All Saints - 1 John 3:1-3

1 John 3:1-3

The hope that purifies is that we are what God says we are, beloved children. I know the analogy to human parenthood falls short of the glory of God but when I consider that God loves me in the way that I love my children, Joshua and Mary Ruth, I am purified from all that would make be believe I am less than I am; a beloved child of the Creator of the universe. The love God has for us cannot be eliminated by all the things said and left unsaid, done and left undone that limit our response to that love in the same way that not a day goes by when I don’t marvel in the miracle and give thanks for the gift of my children. This is the hope that purifies; God giving thanks for the miracle and gift of the child that is you.

The Feast of All Saints - Psalm 34:1-0,22

Psalm 34:1-10, 22

“Taste and see” is an odd turn of the phrase. How is tasting seeing? On the other hand see and taste is not uncommon for someone who is familiar with the culinary arts. I can taste a recipe before I open the pantry and put a pan on the stove. In the same way we are able to bless the Lord at all times even when times are less than blessed when we anticipate that one day we will be delivered from all trouble. That is not to say the troubles of the day are not difficult only that we believe deliverance will be the last word for us which is to say trouble is temporary and delivery is eternal. Even so we do endure the present in such a way that we don’t look for relief from the here and now terrors that truly terrify. We would like to taste and see today even if we have a reserved seat at the promised future feast. More to the point when we are blessed to experience the angel of the Lord encamped around us we are called to increase the size of the circle by making every effort to be a refuge and relief for those who taste only bitter tears and see nothing but suffering. 

The Feast of All Saints - Revelation 7:9-17

Revelation 7:9-17

These words were written to encourage and comfort people who were suffering terribly for the sake of the faith. Let’s put aside the thought that Revelation is a road map through Divine destruction with promises of paradise for a select few and consider that the God who wipes away the tears of a multitude too great to count might not want to eternally poke everyone left behind in the eye. So maybe within the narrative of a persecuted people there is a word that speaks to all of humanity created in the image of the holy. There are innocents who suffer all of life as a great ordeal starving for food or shelter or affection. Will God wipe away their tears? There are those less innocent who scarred by neglect or abuse suffer the great ordeal of lives doomed to misfortune and out of their pain visit it others. Will God wipe away their tears? There are those not innocent at all but acting out of selfish interest suffer the great ordeal that looks like prosperity but lacks love and mercy and kindness and if they knew how impoverished they were perhaps would weep as well. Will God wipe away their tears? Can God wipe away the tears from every eye and still be a God of justice? I don’t know but I hope so and not because I need a happy ending to the sad human story but because I believe and hope God does.

Reformation Sunday - John 8:31-36

John 8:31-36

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose; Nothing don’t mean nothing honey if it ain’t free” (Janis Joplin – Me & Bobby McGee) is a great line until she sings “I’d trade all my tomorrow’s for a single yesterday” which is to say a freedom of nothing left to lose that is inextricably bound to the past is no freedom at all. “We are descendants of Abraham” depends on the past in a way that the God of Abraham never intended for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a God of the living and not the dead (Matthew 22:32) So these words spoken to those “who believed in Jesus” were meant to move them from the single yesterday into the tomorrow that Jesus came to establish. “If the Son has set you free you are free indeed.” We might be tempted this Sunday to claim we are descendants of grace and have never been slaves to the law but that would not be the truth. We justify ourselves by our piety and heritage and interpretation of the scriptures in the same way other traditions justify themselves by claiming to be more faithful and true than we are. I’m not saying we should stop singing “A Mighty Fortress” or embossing our bulletins with Luther’s seal or wearing red on Reformation Sunday. But continuing in the word for us means we allow the Word to shape us so that reliance on the past is not as important as living into the future in such a way so as living Christ means we trade yesterday for living tomorrow today. 

Reformation Sunday - Romans 3:19-28

Romans 3:19-28

God is the one who is just and the one who justifies; period, end of sentence. So why do we work so hard for what is none of our business? I don’t mean sin, we don’t have to work at disobedience or doubt or self-centeredness or disregard for the needs of others or neglect of the planet or any of the ways we are guilty of being less than human. No, sin is all about us, which is why the just one who justifies the creation gone its own way enters the fray to contend with the inevitable consequence of human rebellion, death. Faith does not activate or complete what God has already done in entering the human story. Faith means we enter God’s story in the Christ and stop working for what is already ours because we no longer doubt what is beyond our comprehension. We are already justified, made right with God, because God won’t have it any other way which means we are free to be fully human.

Reformation Sunday - Psalm 46

Psalm 46
To “be still” in the presence of shaking earth, falling mountains and roaring seas is not the natural response to natural disasters unless “being still” is fainting dead away. The uncertainty of nations in uproar and falling kingdoms typically lead us to circle the wagons and prepare for the worst by doing our best to make sure our piece of the earth doesn’t melt away. But the command is to “be still” while God does the heavy lifting of breaking bows and shattering spears. Being still in the face of personal and collective calamity only happens if we stand still on the foundation of faith which is the “know that I am God” part of the equation. So being still doesn’t lead us to know God as much as knowing God allows us to be still.

Reformation Sunday - Jeremiah 31:31-34

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The days are surely coming… when Lutherans might give up celebrating Reformation Sunday because it’s all about us and remembering Martin Luther and the 95 thesis as a festival liturgy is not as important as embracing a new covenant where confessing Christ is the common denominator that erases denominational lines. But the days have not surely come and every brother and sister teaches the knowledge of the Lord in her or his own way insisting that compliance to human traditions has divine meaning that is superior to all others. Now I’m not suggesting that we should not remember the past or celebrate the gift of our heritage but the days envisioned by Jeremiah can only come when the knowledge of the Lord unites the least and the greatest in a way that overcomes our natural tendency to divide and conquer. In the meantime Lutheran’s will sing “A Mighty Fortress” this Sunday and wear red (like a Lutheran version of St. Patty’s Day) and claim that grace was a Lutheran invention. Okay I apologize for that last sentence even if it was fun to write. When Jeremiah’s vision is fully realized the divisions of the past will disappear into the day that will surely come where all people will be full of the knowledge of the Lord and act accordingly.

Lectionary 29 A - Matthew 22:15-22

Matthew 22:15-22

This text is not about taxes. There were no options when Rome demanded it’s due and lawful or not the tax collector didn’t care what you think as long as you paid the bill. So Jesus isn’t making a statement about the separation of church and state or the two kingdom principle or anything remotely political. He is turning the table on hypocrites who aren’t interested in his answer as long as it traps Jesus and gets him killed. But their trick question gets a trick response and they go away marveled even if they were cursing under their breath. When we try to trick Jesus into taking sides by using any word about Jesus to support one political position over another we are like Pharisees making a deal with the devils of their day (Herodians) in order entrap Jesus. That’s not to say the scriptures don’t encourage all kinds of things that may or may not be emphasized on one side of the political line or the other. But Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (John 18:26) and is apolitical. In the end all of our life belongs to God whose image is imprinted on our hearts and the only thing lawful for us is the law of love.

Lectionary 29 A - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

“We always give thanks for you…” It think it is the most important element of pastoral ministry – especially when the ministry is not pastor or parishioner pleasing. That is because God has called both parishioner and pastor into a relationship for the sake of the Gospel so that their mutual work of faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope might be made known in the Macedonia and Achaia and the other places of our day and age. Truthfully we cannot serve the living and true God unless we turn from the idols of judgmental attitudes, personal preferences and intransient positions. It does not mean we agree on everything or one side always has to give in to the other or that the way to an attitude of gratitude will be easily achieved. It does mean we accept and acknowledge that we are all equally and dearly loved by God and act accordingly.

Lectionary 29 A - Psalm 96:1-13

Psalm 96:1-13

Trees shout while the sea thunders and the fields rejoice and all creatures sing the refrain, “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.” The new song that the whole earth sings is prompted by the promise to judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with truth and equity. That is not good news for everyone as being judged in truth is a problem for those who prefer to live lies and despise righteousness. But for those who despite their sinfulness are drawn to the beauty of God’s holiness being judged with equity is an invitation to finally be free of the laundry list of all that diminishes life and makes us less than human. 

Lectionary 29 A - Isaiah 45:1-7

Isaiah 45:1-7

Cyrus the Great was good to all the gods who had been displaced by the Babylonians returning “the images of the gods… to their places and I let them dwell in eternal abodes.” (The Cyrus cylinder 538 BC) Granted he hoped for something in return. “May all the gods whom I settled in their sacred centers ask daily of Bêl and Nâbu that my days be long and may they intercede for my welfare.” But he was especially kind to the exiles from Judah and not only sent them home but funded the rebuilding of the temple and the reestablishment of sacrifices according to the Law of Moses. Not that he gave the God of Israel sole credit for making him “Cyrus, king of the world, great king, mighty king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters...” But then Cyrus didn’t know he was a pawn in God’s game and that the little “g” gods couldn’t hear or answer any of his prayers. The lesson of Cyrus is that God’s good and gracious will is done with or without prayer (Luther’s explanation to the 3^rd petition of the Lord’s Prayer) so that sometimes even less than pious people perform holy acts. 

Lectionary 28: A - Matthew 22:1-14

Matthew 28:1-14
The lesson of a parable is in the punch line and this one has the perfect set up. Just when we think the story is over - with a happy ending for the people of the streets no less - Jesus throws a sucker punch and the poor schmuck with the rented tux is throw out into the proverbial place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. And since kingdom parables are always about the nature of God the tossed out wedding guest without a suit and tie presents us with some difficulties. Which is to say can we trust that God’s invitational love is unconditional or is there a value added tax to the free gift of grace? There were no instructions as to attire for the good and the bad that were gathered as it appears as if the blanket invitation was for the sake of the king who was upset (and embarrassed?) by an empty hall at the wedding banquet for his son. We tend to be troubled by the one thrown out thinking it unfair but if we think about the king in the story it changes our perspective. What if the parable punchline reveals a God who is more inclusive than we are? What if the one not well dressed was wearing a tux and objected to the good and bad hanging out together at a royal wedding? Maybe what made the servants originally invited not worthy is that they refused to accept an invitation from a king who was willing to invite whoever as long as the hall was filled. Which may mean heaven is crowded and hell is a lonely place.

Lectionary 28 A - Philippians 4:1-9

Philippians 4:1-9

“Do not be anxious about anything” is a tall order in a world where anxiety producing events abound. From Ebola to the Islamic State to the persistent drought in California to ice caps melting and ocean temperatures rising to Russian aggression in the Ukraine to a weakened world economy the worry list goes on and on. But truth to be told we are fragile creatures on a fragile planet and we have in many ways always been at risk. Which is why Paul follows up “don’t be anxious” with an exhortation to give God your anxious thoughts through prayer and petition trusting that God is intimately aware of our deepest needs. “The Lord is near.” And if we follow his advice in the second chapter of this letter – let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus – then our minds let go of anxious thoughts in favor of the things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It's not simply the power of positive thinking. It is the peace of God that dispels anxiety when one realizes the Lord is near and has written our names in the book of life with a permanent marker. So do not be anxious about anything is not simply the power of positive thinking – it is the faithful response to trusting one's heart and mind is guarded in Christ Jesus.

Lectionary 28 A - Psalm 23

Psalm 23

Goodness and mercy following us all the days of our life is a good thing – a really good thing – but we have to slow down so that the goodness and mercy can catch up with us. That means we have to be satisfied with the Lord as our shepherd and not be distracted by the seemingly greener pastures that tempt us from the other side of the fence. So to be satisfied with still waters means we allow ourselves to slow down and be comfortable with what might appear to be “less than” in the midst of a culture that is never satisfied and always seeks to super-size. It means that the table “prepared for us” does not deny that the table is set “in the presence of my enemies” but rather trusts that the light of the Lord will illuminate the darkest valley especially if that valley is death itself. In the end the rod and the staff that comforts us is the cross upon which the Good Shepherd died for the sheep in a religious culture where sheep did the dying every day to make up for sins of shepherds. Which is to say "the Lord is my shepherd. I shall lack nothing."

Lectionary 28 A - Isaiah 25:1-10

Isaiah 25:1-10

Isaiah imagines God will dine on death and swallow it up forever while the vast multitude of “all peoples” feasts on Chateaubriand and toasts God with a well-aged Cabernet. “Cheers!” It is a universal dream for all who have lived in a city of rubble or a ruined town – whether literally or figuratively. By that I mean we might not experience the physical destruction of our cities and towns but still live ruined lives behind high walls or experience relationships reduced to rubble while appearing to have all things under control. Either way the promise is the same. God will deal a death blow to all that diminishes or dominates or disgraces the gift of life and love. When we live into the promise of God’s intimacy with death (I will swallow it up forever) and us (I will wipe away the tears from your eyes) we are set free to live the future mountaintop feast in our present valley of famine. Which means God is already wiping away the tears from our eyes even if our feast is not yet.

Lectionary 27 A - Matthew 21:33-46

Matthew 21:33-46

Since the text says Jesus is talking about “them” we can safely assume he is not talking about “us.” But then the living word, sharper and more active than a two edged sword, (Hebrews 4:12) doesn’t let anyone off that easily. In many ways we are like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They were well versed in scripture and loved the law that revealed the way of the Lord. They were familiar with the pattern of religious ritual that gave shape to their every day and marked the passing of the seasons. They trained up their children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6) so that when it came to the time of their passing God would not abandon them to Sheol. Jesus, the self proclaimed rock rejected, threatened the very fabric of their religious life and no matter how Matthew remembered it the pious people of Jesus’ day believed they were serving God by wanting to arrest Jesus and make him conform to the faith of his forebears. So what might that say about the “us” that objects to being identified with “them”? We have ways set in stone that elevate human traditions to divine status. We judge others by their ability to conform to the pattern of our faith. We might be well meaning but that doesn’t mean we aren’t misguided. The good news is that the stone over which we stumble and the rock that crushes our personal preferences is the precious cornerstone that for the sake of those outside the faith would have us give away the vineyard in obedience to the heir who owns it.  

Lectionary 27 A - Philippians 3:4-14

Philippians 3:4-14

Like the apostle Paul I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh. Born to Lutheran educators, baptized in my first month, memorized the liturgy before I could read, confirmed by my thirteenth year, graduate of a Lutheran grade school, high school, college, and seminary and served as a Lutheran grade school teacher, youth director and pastor. I know we’re saved by grace but surely a Lutheran pedigree like that counts for something? Of course it does and in many ways it is the reason I am able to press on to take hold of the Christ who took hold of me through the water of baptism and the faith of parents and teachers. Paul considers confidence in the flesh as loss but clearly values the heritage it represents as well as the brothers and sisters according to the flesh for whom he would sacrifice his salvation. (Romans 9:3) So while we place no confidence in our religious pedigree we are grateful for the formation that does not happen without the family of faith. 

Lectionary 27 A - Psalm 80:7-15

Psalm 80:7-15

The psalmist must not have read Isaiah who lays the blame for broken walls on the “pleasant planting” that produced sour grapes. There are times when we can clearly identify the cause and effect of choices made or delayed but there are just as many times when “Why, O Lord?” has no obvious answer. We cannot endure for very long with “Why, O Lord?” and so when the walls of our security have been broken down and the pleasant planting of our lives ravaged by calamity we cry aloud with the psalmist. “Restore us, God Almighty!” “Return to us, God Almighty!” “Look down from heaven and see!” Which is to say even when are no satisfactory answers to “why?” we trust the Lord still tends the vine of our lives.

Lectionary 27 - Isaiah 5:1-7

Isaiah 5:1-7
God’s lament sounds familiar because God’s sad song is so often ours as well. We invest time and energy and emotion into relationships that fail to produce hoped for results. Of course when human relationships go sour we say “it takes two to tango” while Isaiah envisions all the blame on the vineyard God planted. It is true that sowing wild oats (grapes?) is common enough to be cliché but Israel, a small country situated between hostile empires, can hardly be blamed for trying to survive the place of its planting. Maybe that was the point all along. Trusting God was not supposed to be like all the other nations who sacrifice everything, including their first born, to appease the blood lust of their gods. The people of God were to reflect the same sort of care to the widow and the orphan and the sojourner as God showed them. The fruit of righteousness was never meant to be about the sacrifice required by law but rather the law of living by love. In that respect God the gardener was all alone so I guess it does take two to tango after all.

Lectionary 26 A - Matthew 21:23-32

Matthew 21:23-32

During his last week in Jerusalem Jesus flips the tables of the temple money changers and turns the tables on the chief priests. He is one tricky Messiah and I imagine he smiled when he asked the elders about John the Baptist knowing full well the trap he was setting. Of course they will have the last laugh on the Friday we call “Good” but then maybe their answer “we don’t know” leads Jesus to forgive them for not knowing what they do (Luke 23:34) even though the Gospel of Matthew believes they knew exactly what they were doing. “Let his blood be on us and on our children.” (Matthew 27:25) The story of the two sons that follows the Q&A might be read as the cliff notes of the more well-known “son” story. (Luke 15) In the same way that the son who ran away comes home the unwilling son becomes obedient. And the stay at home son who says “yes” hits the snooze and sleeps in when it’s time to work. The bottom line is those who were out are in and those who were in are out but only so far as they continue to resist the One whose authority is a higher power.

Lectionary 26 A - Philippians 2:1-13

Philippians 2:1-13

The whole of the scriptures is expressed in Philippians 2:5-11 and if all we had was this ancient creedal hymn it would be enough to reveal the mind of the Divine. In Jesus it is God who is emptied into all of humanity and in servant form suffers a dreadful death designed by the children created in God’s own image. How is it possible that the church has such a sordid history of not finding any consolation in this expression of ultimate love, no compassion, no sympathy, demanding like minds be bound by hard cover catechisms where right belief matters more than loving fellow believers, let alone the world Jesus died to save? The promise is every knee will bow and every tongue confess that the Jesus emptied, serving, suffering and dying for creatures who could care less was what God was about all along. Being of like mind means be like Jesus who never met a sinner he didn’t love to death.

Lectionary 26 A - Psalm 25:1-9

Psalm 25:1-9

David trusts that the rebellious sins of his youth will not be remembered by the Lord and I have no doubt that the same applies to the sins of one’s middle age as well. That is because the Lord, who is our all day long hope, does not need to be prompted to remember great mercy and love for that is the character of the One who erases the record of everything about us that makes mercy necessary. Now if only we could do the same for others, and God help us, for ourselves. But the truth about us is that shame is our constant companion and we live with the memory of rebellious ways and youthful sins revisiting ancient history as if it happened yesterday. So maybe the instructions sinners need most is a lesson on forgiveness where charity begins at home.

Lectionary 26 A - Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

So what gives? Didn’t God commission Moses to set in stone the small print following the second commandment? “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me.” (Exodus 20:5 & Deuteronomy 5:9) Or what about the good news / bad news of Numbers 14:18? “The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, BUT he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.” On the flip side of the covenant coin both Jeremiah (31:29-30) and Ezekiel preach personal responsibility. Whoever does the crime does the time. So which is it? Jesus trumps both sides in favor of neither (the man born blind story in John 9 – “whose sin is it?”) and negates the conditional clause (neither this man nor his parents sinned) in favor of the gift of sight revealing the works of God. The work of God is this: the One who knew no sin (and I’m just guessing here but his Abba was pretty much perfect too) was made to be sin so that those who are in bondage to sin (parent and child) might be set free. So turn to the God who takes no pleasure in the death of anyone and live. 

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Lectionary 25 A - Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16

The kingdom of heaven is always a contradiction of common kingdoms that operate according to survival of the fittest where the winner is the one who dies with the most toys. So the all-day workers sweating in the sun obviously deserve more wages than the slackers who spent all but the last hour of the day playing 42 (the official domino game of the great state of Texas) in the marketplace. You can bet that the next time the master went looking for workers the marketplace had become a right to wait state and expecting a day’s wage for working one hour was the new normal. That is why the kingdom of heaven is like something that is never done in common kingdoms. Apparently God doesn't get how incentives work. But then the parable is not about the workers or even the wages. It’s about the landowner which means it’s about God and in this parable God gets to do whatever God wants to do which in this case is do something we would not. Surprise.

Lectionary 25 A - Philippians 1:20-30

Philippians 1:20-30
To live a life worthy of the Gospel is more about embracing grace than adherence to the law although there are always consequences for less than Gospel worthy ways of living. But as those who “are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves” we understand living a Gospel worthy life is always a work in progress. So we bear with each other recognizing that all “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and depend wholly on the mercy of God. Which means the Gospel way of living is to strive together side by side so that our mutual love and affection for one another bears witness to the God who loves all people equally.

Lectionary 25 A - Psalm 145:1-8

Psalm 145:1-8

“One generation commends your works to another” is the way the faith has been passed down through the ages so that the ancient story of mighty acts and awesome works is not lost. More than myth the ancient story is retold in the living language of the generation entrusted to bear it into the infinite future. Granted, the “passing on” generation always hopes that their way of telling the story will be as enduring as the story itself and that the generation “receiving” the gift will not throw away the wrapping. But the truth is “the Lord gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” is the same for every generation, whether it's recounted on a Kindle or a scroll. 

Lectionary 25 A - Jonah 3:10-4:11

Jonah 3:10 - 4:11

Discussions of the Book of Jonah often focus on the detail of the “whale” and whether someone could be swallowed up and survive. Those who read the story as literal truth do so out of reverence for the scriptures as the source and norm of all doctrine and faith and believe if you doubt the literal truth of one story all the other stories are called into question. Those who read Jonah as a parable or allegory also reverence the scriptures as the source and norm of all faith and doctrine and believe a story does not need to be literally true to be true. The point of this story, which I am quite willing to swallow as literally true, is in chapter four. Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because he knew God would be merciful and forgive the enemies of Israel and that was “very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry.” (4:1) God provided shade to cool Jonah’s jets but then struck it down to make a point and Jonah sitting in the sun and lamenting the burned up bush was “angry enough to die.” (4:9) With or without the big fish story this is the part of the text that is literally true about us especially when like Jonah we care more about the bush of our own understanding than the “great city” of fellow believers whose fish story may be bigger or smaller than ours. 

Holy Cross Year A - John 3:13-17

John 3:13-17

“God did not send the Son into the world to condemn it” but apparently the church didn’t get the memo. We've copyrighted the Son and condemn anyone who does not buy into the franchise. On the other hand John 3:18 (…those who do not believe are condemned already) seems to give us permission to divide the world into us and them. So what gives? Is there a password to paradise or not? Whenever I ask that question I hear my teacher and mentor The Reverend Doctor Walter Bouman saying “that’s the wrong question.” Which is to say we tend to rush to the end of the story without considering the narrative. God’s intention to not send the Son into the world to condemn it is first and foremost a statement about God. Every two bit small g god knows how to put on a light show and beat down the peasants into submission. The big G God of Israel abandons the place of power to make a small hill outside an insignificant city of an occupied nation the location of suffering that will be salvation for the world. What we do with that doesn't have anything to do with God’s intention even if our acceptance or rejection holds consequences that trump God’s desire. The world gets condemnation. We invented it and have spent considerable time and energy finding ways to be creative in our cruelty. God is not the one who condemns. We are. But God offers a way out of our inhumanity by meeting the world at its worst and letting the world’s way condemn the Son sent to love. So the choice we are given is to believe that in the end the way of love will overcome the condemnation that comes naturally to us. 

Lectionary 24 A - Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew 18:21-35

This is a troublesome text in that it appears that the “sin-ee” (aka the one sinned against) is at the mercy of the sinner even though the sinner is the one who needs to be forgiven. Even more troubling is that Peter doesn’t ask more questions once Jesus multiplies Peter’s seven times sin to infinity and beyond. (77 or 70 times 7 is Jesus math which always equals always) So what if the sin is always the same sin? At what point do you say the one who is asking for forgiveness is just getting permission to sin again? Hello. Doesn’t Jesus know about codependency? I’ll ask forgiveness for that last remark. Sorry for taking a parable to places it was never meant to go. The bottom line is this. Jesus commands the church that bears his name to consider forgiveness asked for forgiveness received period end of sentence. Where the parable draws the line is that there is a consequence for forgiveness withheld which once again places the burden on the sin-ee and not the sinner. But that’s the way Jesus rolls. That is not to say we cannot forgive, and love for that matter, from a safe distance. Jesus said to pick up our cross but he does not mean we should be crucified.

Holy Cross Year A - 1 Corinthians 1:18-24

1 Corinthians 1:18-24
The world doesn’t care about the message of the cross and thinks weakness just means you are that much easier to kill. For most of our history the church has mimicked the way of the world protecting its place of privilege in pious language that masked the holy war of words and/or weapons that it waged against any and all opposition. Those days are almost behind us, thank God, which means we might be able to reclaim the foolish message of the cross where loss is gain, weakness is strength, and death is life. It does mean we will have to give up our duplicitous nature where we try to walk in the way of the cross without giving up at least a toehold in the way of the world. Jesus said it this way, “You cannot serve two masters.” (Matthew 6:24) So let’s just confess that we would have preferred a stronger Savior and because of that are always tempted to recreate God in our own image. The Good News is that we were created in God’s image and whenever and wherever we reclaim our divine DNA the foolish church that proclaims Christ crucified is the saving power of God for the world

Lectionary 24 A - Romans 14:1-12

Romans 14:1-12

I think vegetarians might have a quarrel or two with the apostle Paul over who is weak after all it's not easy to be vegetarian at a Texas BBQ joint. Thank God for pickles! Of course vegetarians take a little bit of ribbing in Texas but maybe not the same as in the early church where “you are what you eat” were fighting words. Centuries of animosity between Jew and Gentile did not disappear overnight. If anything the differences that could largely be avoided through segregation were now inescapable. So Paul reminds them that they are no longer defined by their personal piety for they belong to the Lord who welcomes Jew and Gentile alike. That is the part we miss when we elevate one form of piety above another without recognizing that the only question that matters is does it please the Lord. Of course what really pleases the Lord is when we live in harmony with one another which in the end is the highest form of praise. 

Holy Cross Day Year A - Psalm 98:1-4

Psalm 98:1-4

The psalmist praises God for the victory that vindicates a small nation planted between empires that is always at the mercy of the bigger kids on the block. We can sing the new song of salvation because God remembers God’s same old song of steadfast love and faithfulness even though we change our tune time and time again. If God were to give up on us the song would cease and God’s victory would fall on deaf ears. That means the marvelous thing God is able to do is transform tone deaf people into voices that harmonize with the One who is blessed by the joyful noise of shared song. 

Lectionary 24 A - Psalm 103:1-13

Psalm 103:1-13

This is a “bless the Lord, O my soul” psalm for all who are weighed down by the debt of their sin and held captive by the bill come due that cannot be repaid. That is not to say we do not need to hear God’s accusing voice or consider the anger of the Lord. No, our rebellious ways grieve God in the same way that a child’s willful act of disobedience troubles a parent. But God has determined to put aside righteous wrath in favor of mercy and compassion for God’s own sake because God’s soul is blessed when ours are set free. That is not to say we are set free to continue grieving God and add to our deficit.  As the apostle Paul says it is for freedom that we have been set free (Galatians 5:1). The gift of beginning each day with “bless the Lord, O my soul” is to be embraced by the steadfast love that knows no limits remembering anew the benefits that bless us and heal us from the dis-ease of our sin. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Holy Cross Day Year A - Numbers 21:4-9

Numbers 21:4-9

I was bitten by a Coral Snake at Camp Lone Star, LaGrange, Texas, not because I complained against the Lord but because I was foolish and tried to pick up what I thought was a Texas Banded King Snake. There should be a rule or at least a helpful saying to prevent a college kid from Chicago from messin with Texas. Duh. “Red and yellow kill a fellow. Red and yellow venom lack” One wild ride to Brackenridge Hospital, Austin and a round of anti-venom later and I was as good as new which is more than I can say for the poor snake. The wilderness wanderings of Israel describe a difficult relationship between “You shall be my people” and “I will be your God” (Exodus 6:7). Both parties grow weary of each other on multiple occasions but of course “I will be your God” always has the last word. Which is to say “You will be my people” is “red and black venom lack” while “I will be your God” is “red and yellow kill a fellow”. The good news for the foolish and rebellious alike is that “I will be your God” continues to bear with “you will be my people” so that in the end the complainers and the foolish might go free.

Lectionary 24 A - Genesis 50:15-21

Genesis 50:15-21

This is the happy ending to a story that began with a sibling rivalry that led to violence and treachery and a father’s broken heart. It is as much our story as it is theirs. Like Jacob favoring Joseph because he grieves the death of Joseph’s mother Rachael we often do not anticipate the chain of events that follow in the wake of our grief. While Joseph can’t be blamed for being thrown down the well it was his boasting that pushed his brothers over the edge. We often speak in ways unbecoming without considering others. The violence and deceit that broke Jacob’s heart is the tragic consequence of jealously unchecked. This too is our story as from Cain and Abel to the present human beings would seem to be predisposed to violence. But the happy ending is our story as well. Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons before he dies and maybe repents of that colored coat and the misery it brought.  Joseph humbled by his journey from favored son to slave to master of Egypt’s grain surprises his fearful brothers and the family torn apart by deceit is restored in shared tears. It might read like a fairy tale but the truly happy ending to this story flows from a Father’s broken heart over his children’s warring madness who showing no favorites takes on the form of a servant to suffer the harm of the cross in order to preserve more than just “a numerous people.” It is God’s hope that knowing what we know we would be more inclined to live the end of the story than the part that comes more naturally to us. 

Lectionary 23 A - Matthew 18:15-20

Matthew 18:15-20

The Matthew 18 step by step process for promoting harmony in the church is often cited but rarely followed, at least in the order Jesus intended. More often than not we stop speaking to the one who has offended us while “venting” to one or two others who then spread it around the church until it gets back to the source of the sin. Along the way some will side with the sinner and the church becomes embroiled in a conflict that was originally a private matter between two people. Meanwhile the pagans and tax collectors look on and laugh and wonder why in the world anyone would want to belong to such a dysfunctional family. But maybe that is where the trouble starts for us. We all say the church is made up of sinners but then seem surprised when members of the church sin against each other. Let’s just own our dysfunctional status and agree that conflict in the church is the inevitable result of putting sinners in the same room and expecting them to get along without telling the truth to each other. But Jesus hopes that his love for us will lead to our loving him and our loving him will inevitably lead to loving the other sinners in the room enough to do a difficult thing. And so the reason you go in private to the one who has sinned against you is because you love Jesus and Jesus loves the dysfunctional family that bears his name.

Lectionary 23 A - Romans 13:8-14

Romans 13:8-14

It is not a debt we care to own up to as loving neighbor as yourself is not as sweet as it sounds. First of all we hardly love ourselves although we like ourselves well enough to fulfill desires as if they were needs. We almost always neglect the “neighbor” as defined by the parable of the Good Samaritan and avoid contact with them when we can. We don’t even fully love those who love us and withhold a certain amount of capital in reserve fearful that full commitment may mean bankruptcy. That’s the truth. Fear drives the process and love demands more than anyone is willing to pay. If it came easy we’d be better at it and the Bible wouldn’t have to talk about it so much. But as it is we are reluctant to love fully, especially when it means we have to sacrifice time or energy or pay real dollars on the debt. There are some who recklessly disregard conventional wisdom and even if they had a rainy day fund would have spent it long ago on the needs of others. We call them saints and most of them are dead or in prison or live in ways the rest of us do not care to live, thank you, very much. They do inspire us, though, don’t they? Maybe enough to put ourselves on a payment plan to pay down the debt of love we can never repay. For the Jesus who inspires saints to live with and love neighbors not like themselves died to save us all and pay the debt of love the law demanded.

Lectionary 23 A - Psalm 119:33-40

Psalm 119:33-40

The way of the Lord is life in all its fullness but it doesn’t come naturally. Our hearts are more inclined to unjust gain and the falsehood of fooling ourselves with excuses. That is why the psalmist prays to be taught the ways of the Lord and led in the paths of righteousness and turned from falsehoods that promise much but deliver nothing. The Lord’s reproach is the truth about us which is good enough reason to dread it. But then there is life on the other side of a just judgment which is why in our inmost being we long for the law of the Lord that is life.

Lectionary 23 A - Ezekiel 33:7-11

Ezekiel 33:7-11

God gives Ezekiel an incentive to warn the wicked, “you will surely die” by tying the prophet’s fate to speaking the difficult word of warning. The “prophetic” voices of our time need no such encouragement to preach against wicked behavior. Many of them make a lucrative career out of warning others although they spend most of their time preaching to the choir. There are some who risk ridicule by standing on street corners on a Saturday night warning wicked movie goers and weekend revelers of the error of their ways although personally I think they are misrepresenting the Jesus who ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. The trouble is warnings fall on deaf ears without the benefit of a meaningful relationship and party poopers on street corners have little chance of saving anyone save those who already considered themselves to be saved. But the Lord’s lament, “as surely as I live I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked” is not the same as “turn or burn” as the warning “why will you die?” is not so much a threat as it is an invitation to live. That is because the Jesus who spent a good bit of time cavorting with sinners decided dying for them was the only way the wicked and the ones who warn them would have a chance to live.