A Sung Communion Liturgy for Christmas Eve

A Sung Communion Liturgy for Christmas Eve

(Tune: GREENSLEEVES)

Lift up your hearts unto the Lord. Sing unto God your praises.

We gather on this holy night. We gather at this table.  

Lift, lift your hearts up high! Sing praise to God, and glorify!

Praise, praise, the Prince of Peace, the Babe, the Son of Mary.

God breathed in us the breath of life. God gave the gift of Eden.

We turned away and sin was born; We sought for greener gardens.

Lift, lift your hearts up high! Sing praise to God, and glorify!

Praise, praise, the Prince of Peace, the Babe, the Son of Mary.

God called to us from age to age through messengers and prophets,

When we would not our hearts give way, the Word-made-flesh God sent us.

This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing;

Haste, haste to bring him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary.

O Holy God of power and might! Hosanna in excelsis!

Blessed be the one who in your name comes! Hosanna in the highest!

This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing;

Haste, haste to bring him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary.

The Word-made-flesh, Emmanuel; God, come to live among us!

He preached good news: the kingdom come! A light shone in the darkness.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through! The Cross be borne for me for you.

Hail! Hail, the Word made flesh; the Babe, the Son of Mary.

And on the night he was betrayed, Christ took the bread and broke it.

Thanking God, he shared this gift. “Remember, when you eat it!”

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through! The Cross be borne for me, for you.

Hail! Hail, the Word made flesh; the Babe, the Son of Mary.

He took the cup and raised it up. “My life I pour out for you.

From sin, set free! Remember me! We covenant anew.”

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through! The Cross be borne for me, for you.

Hail! Hail, the Word made flesh; the Babe, the Son of Mary.

Pour out your Spirit, Holy God, upon these gifts, and bless them.

Make them for us the Bread of Life, the Cup of our Salvation!

Raise, raise the song on high! The Virgin sings her lullaby:

Joy, joy, for Christ is born, the Babe, the Son of Mary!

Prayer after Communion:

Thank God for Holy Mystery; Body of Christ; the gift of life!

As we depart, let us take heart: God’s light will lead us always!

Raise, raise the song on high! The Virgin sings her lullaby:

Joy, joy, for Christ is born, the Babe, the Son of Mary!

Text: Beth Quick, 2013.

Refrain text, vs. 3-9: William C. Dix, 1865.

A Sung Communion Liturgy for Christmas Eve by Rev. Beth Quick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Sermon, "Advent Conspiracy: Worship Fully," Luke 1:46-55, Luke 2:8-15

Sermon 12/15/13

Luke 1:46-55, Luke 2:8-15

Advent Conspiracy: Worship Fully

            It might sound strange to say, but of our four Advent Conspiracy themes, the one I find the most challenging, personally, is this week’s: Worship Fully. I spend most of my time planning and leading worship. This week, Pastor Aaron and Laurel and I sat down to do some worship planning. And so here, in the midst of Advent, we were planning for January, and Lent, and Easter, and even worship themes through the end of June. It can be a little disorienting. And it can be a little challenging, while leading worship to actually just worship. One of my favorite things about pastoring at Liverpool as part of a team is that I have regular opportunities to not preach. Preaching is one of my favorite things about ministry, but I’ve found that regularly having a week where I’m not preaching helps me prepare spiritually better for the weeks I am preaching. On top of that, I’m blessed by Aaron and Laurel and their insights into the scriptures. It’s the same reason why I value our lay servants who help at our 8am service so much. Could one person lead the whole worship service? Sure. But aren’t we richly blessed by the different words and voices and prayers and forms of expression we use when together, we worship God.

What does it mean to worship fully? I believe it means giving our whole hearts to God in praise, prayer, studying the word, in acts of thanksgiving. The scriptures throughout remind us that the greatest commandments are to love God and love one another with our whole hearts. The Lord is our God, the Lord is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the core, the center, the meaning. We worship because God is God and we are not! We worship because God is love and we seek to love in response. We worship because as God chooses us, creates us, we in turn want to say that we’ve chosen God above all else. It is God who we promise to love with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. And because of that, and to show that, we love our neighbors, our fellow human creations. We worship because God is who God is. And we worship because we want to know this God, encounter this God, hear from this God, be moved by this God. That’s why we worship.

How do we worship? As you know we have a group of confirmands going through classes and one-on-one sessions with their mentors this year. They have a couple of essays to write, and some service projects to complete, but mostly, I consider the confirmation requirements to be fairly easy. Accomplishable. I followed a pastor once who required confirmands to pass regular tests, and if their grades were too low, they had to take them over and over until they achieved a high enough grade. It sounded pretty stressful to me, and a little unfair since adults joining the church didn’t have to do nearly as much! I think confirmation is vitally important – all of our faith formation activities are. But I’ve told the youth that with confirmation, like with most things in life, you get out what you put in. You can probably make it through confirmation here with some half-hearted efforts. And then joining the church family officially will probably feel a little half-hearted. But if you put your heart and mind and energy into confirmation, it just might be one of the best faith experiences of your life!

We get out what we put in. That concept works for worship as well. How do you prepare yourself for worship? How do you come to this space or other times and spaces of worship? Do you come expecting to encounter God? Do you come offering yourself to God? Expecting to learn? Expecting to be bored? Expecting nothing? And what do you bring to worship? How do you give your heart to God in worship?

            Have you ever taken a look at John Wesley’s Rules for Singing? Maybe you didn’t realize the founder of Methodism had rules – unless you took my John Wesley study this summer – but right in your hymnals each week you hold his rules for singing in your hands on page vii. He writes,

1. Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up and you will find a blessing.

2. Sing lustily, and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of it being heard, then when you sing the songs of Satan.

3. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, as to be heard above, or distinct from, the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.

4. Sing in time. Whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before, not stay behind it; but attend closely to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can. And take care you sing not too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from among us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.

5. Above all, sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this, attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve of here, and reward when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

Of course, we get a chuckle out of these. But especially #5 – what Wesley writes about hymn-singing is how I feel about worship. “Have an eye to God” in all we do in worship. Aim at pleasing God more than ourselves and more than others in worship. Offer our hearts to God continually. That’s worship.

            It is so easy for us to become consumers of worship just like we consume everything else. It’s easy for us to slip into a “the customer is always right” mindset when we’re worshipping, where we’re the customers and God is the salesclerk. Of course, I want you all to find our worship time together meaningful and engaging. But I want that because I want worship to be a place where God can transform your hearts and souls, where God can invite you into a life of discipleship and you can learn to be ready to respond, “Yes.” Worship is for God. When worship is about something other than giving our hearts to God, it is just another kind of idolatry. Worship is saying yes to God.

            We have two scripture readings today. One we read as a responsive litany in our Call to Worship – from Luke 1. This is commonly known as the Magnificat, for the opening lines of the words of the song Mary sings when she meets with her cousin Elizabeth shortly after finding out from the angel Gabriel that she is pregnant with a child from God. Mary has the opportunity to respond to Gabriel’s news in so many ways, all of which would seem justified. But Mary sings, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” In other words, “My soul exults God.” “My soul worships God.” Far from thinking about how this child she carries will impact her personally, even though her life has been in turmoil, her response to the news from Gabriel is to give herself completely to God and sing with joy, worshiping God for God’s goodness, God’s saving plan for the lowly, the oppressed, the overlooked. Mary doesn’t just say “yes” to God. She says yes with a song, with her whole heart, with joy.  

            And then today we get a sneak peek at the Christmas story. The shepherds have no idea what they’re getting into when messengers from heaven break open their night announcing the birth of a savior. But the shepherds don’t ask questions, even though they’re afraid. They just go. They say yes with their actions. And they make haste – they go quickly. They see and are amazed. And they tell everybody everything they’ve seen and heard and been told. And then they get back to work – but they’re praising and glorifying God all along the way. I’m struck by their willingness to get caught up in this story that must have seemed to strange to them. But they say yes, with their whole hearts, with utter joy.  

            As we approach our celebration of the birth of Christ, it can be easy to get caught up in the traditions that we love, the sights and sounds of Christmas, the pageantry, the beauty. We are surrounded by such beauty that it can take your breath away! But let us remember where every symbol, every song, every candle flame points us: they direct us to the manger, to worship God-in-the-flesh. To bring us to cradle so that we might offer our gifts to Jesus. To say, “yes, we’re in,” with our whole hearts. I promise, you’ll get out everything that you put in, and then some. And then some.

            “My soul magnifies the Lord.” “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!” Thanks be to God! Amen.  

             

Sermon, "Advent Conspiracy: Give More," John 1:1-18

Sermon 12/8/13

John 1:1-18

Advent Conspiracy: Give More

In my premarital counseling sessions, I sometimes use a resource called The Five Languages of Love, by Gary Chapman. Chapman argues that one of the reasons why we struggle in relationships is because we don’t realize that we’re speaking different languages from the people we love, and so we don’t realize that they’re telling us they love us, and they don’t realize that we’re telling them that we love them. We say, “I love you,” in different languages, Chapman insists, and only one of the five languages he describes is based on verbal communication. The languages of love he outlines are Acts of Service, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, and Gift Giving. My mom first introduced me to this book, after she’d been introduced to it by her pastor. She figured that between her four kids and herself, each one of us spoke in a different “love language.” And so while Todd, who understands Words of Affirmation best, might have said, “I love you,” to Mom, it would really have meant something powerful if they were accompanied by his willingness to do the dishes! And my brother Tim really appreciates a hug or a back rub. And my older brother wants your time – quality time. Me, my love language is Gift-Giving. Oh, you don’t have to buy me extravagant, expensive things. My favorite gifts are those that simply tell me that someone knows me well, or that someone was thinking about me. I love gifts that tell the story of a relationship, things that remind me of the giver when I see them. Usually, that “love language” that makes us feel most loved is also the language that we speak to others most often. I love giving people gifts, and anticipating giving a gift when I feel like I’ve found just the right thing. Chapman urges us learn each other’s languages, to speak not just in our own language, but in the language we know others need to hear, and to try to hear when others are trying to tell us they love us, even if they aren’t saying it in our primary language. And so, if I speak the language of Gift Giving, I can try to view Words of Affirmation as a gift, or someone’s Quality Time as a Gift. In essence, Chapman encourages us to be translators, so that we learn to speak love, and hear love spoken, in whatever language love is shared.

            This week in our Advent Conspiracy journey, the theme is right up my alley: Give More. That might seem like a conflicting message, since last week we were talking about Spending Less. The authors of the program write, “We know what you're thinking. “Wait, didn't they just say I should spend less, and yet here they are telling me to give more? What gives?” The most powerful, memorable gift you can give to someone else is yourself. And nobody modeled this more than Jesus. So what does this look like for you?” “The best gifts celebrate a relationship.” (1)

            Indeed, God’s best gift to us, the gift of Jesus, represents not only God’s dearest relationship, a parent giving a gift of their own child, but also God’s relationship with us, also claimed as God’s children, God’s beloved, as God becomes God-with-us, God-in-the-flesh, just to get closer to us, just to get through to us, just to love us more fully, in a way we can reach out and touch. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” This is the incarnation – God-made-flesh. A gift of presence. A gift that is personal. A gift that is costly – in fact, priceless. God speaks loves to us in the gift of Jesus. How do we receive the gift? How do we accept it? Are we getting God’s message?

            As we prepare our hearts to receive the gift of the Incarnation, the gift of God-with-us, the gift of the Christ-child, I’d like us to think about whether we’re hearing the language of love God is speaking to us in the gift of Jesus. Because I think some of our responses to God’s gift suggest we’re not speaking the same language. Sometimes we outright say “no thank you” to the gifts God seeks to give us. Have you ever refused a gift? Every year about this time a bake about a million cookies and send packages to friends from high school, college, seminary, and so on. One year, after I sent out some emails to get updated addresses, one of my friends responded saying that she didn’t really want any cookies. They would go to waste. I have to admit – I was crushed! I’ve moved on, but I’ve never forgotten that I offered her the gift that represented much more than showing off my baking skills, and she said, “No thank you.” Have you ever refused God’s gifts to you?  

            Sometimes we receive a gift from God but we don’t open it or don’t use it. Last week we talked about Black Friday – the busiest shopping day of the year. But another very busy shopping day is – the day after Christmas. That’s the day when everyone goes to the store to return gifts they’ve received the day before! Of course, sometimes sizes are wrong or things don’t work or duplicates were purchased. Perhaps we’ve all experienced receiving a gift we really didn’t want. A shirt that just isn’t your style. A gift card to a restaurant you don’t really like. But maybe we’ve also experienced the painful feeling of realizing you’ve given a gift that was unwanted. A gift you give and never see again! Sometimes this giving mishaps take place because the giver and receiver don’t really know each other so well, don’t have a clear picture of each other. Maybe you’re giving to someone you only know through work or school or in one setting. But God – God knows us inside out. God can’t give us a gift that doesn’t suit us. And God gives out of God’s own self the gift we have in Christ. A gift marked with our own name. This is not a gift to put on a shelf! This is not a gift to return to the store! The gifts God gives are meant to be used and opened.  

Our biggest misunderstanding of God’s gift to us is when we try to put a price tag on something that God offers to us freely. Any of you watch The Big Bang Theory? Eccentric physicist Sheldon Cooper hates exchanging gifts with people. Watch this quick clip: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9r0HW9X2Nc) Of course, we laugh at Sheldon’s behavior. He’s ridiculous, of course. But don’t we do just this with God? Don’t we turn God’s gift into an obligation, a favor, something we’ve bought, something we owe God for? If a gift comes with strings attached it is not a gift. And when we try to attach strings to God’s gift of Jesus Christ, to God’s gift of love, to God’s gift of grace, we’re turning God’s offering of love into an exchange of goods for a price. And that’s no gift at all. Costly but free. God offers us a gift. Let’s stop trying to figure out the rules, the strings, the obligations, the fine print.  

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” Thanks be to God for the gifts we have received. Let’s learn to speak this language of love, and give more, even our very selves, to God and one another. Amen.

(1) http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

Sermon, "Advent Conspiracy: Spend Less," Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon 12/1/13

Matthew 6:19-24

Advent Conspiracy: Spend Less

            This Advent, our theme for worship is Advent Conspiracy. The Advent Conspiracy is a movement started by some pastors a few years ago who felt like they were somehow missing Christmas – that the folks they served were missing Christmas – that our whole culture was missing Christmas. They felt that the way we prepare for Christmas would set us up for nothing but a giant letdown when Christmas day arrived. And so they crafted their Advent Conspiracy. They said, “We all want our Christmas to be a lot of things. Full of joy. Memories. Happiness. Above all, we want it to be about Jesus. What we don't want is stress. Or debt. Or feeling like we "missed the moment". Advent Conspiracy is a movement designed to help us all slow down and experience a Christmas worth remembering. But doing this means doing things a little differently. A little creatively. It means turning Christmas upside down.” You’ve often heard me describe Jesus as one who turns our world, our expectations, our assumptions upside down. So it seems only right that we think about how Jesus wants to turn our Christmas upside down too. (1) The Advent Conspiracy movement has four themes that we’ll explore in the next week: Spend Less. Give More. Worship Fully. Love All.

            The word conspiracy is something that can sound so sinister. We normally think of conspiring against. Two parties conspire against a third. But the broader meaning of conspiracy is a “coming together” of things. In fact, literally, con-spire means to “breathe with.” I really like that. That’s what I hope we’re doing this season. We’re learning to breathe with Advent. That’s our Advent Conspiracy.

            We start with thinking about “Spending Less.” And to focus us on this, we find ourselves in the gospel of Matthew, in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount. We looked at the Sermon on the Mount this summer, but we couldn’t cover everything, and we actually skipped right over these verses. Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” He talks about the eye being the lamp of the body, and needing that eye – how we see the world around us – being so important. And he says, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” I’ve always loved thinking about this verse, because I think it is a pretty verse that most of us know – and because we’re so familiar with it, we forget to think about it critically, and to think especially about what the verse doesn’t say. What it doesn’t say is: Where your heart is, that’s where you treasure is. No, but where your treasure is, there you will find what you really love. I think the order matters. Jesus is telling us that it is the evidence that determines where our hearts are, not whatever we pay lip service too. So, if we claim our hearts are with our families, for example, but what we “store up,” what we spend our time thinking about and worrying about and spend the bulk of our time doing is making sure we have enough money and stuff – well, what we “treasure” is actually where our heart is, no matter what we say, and not the other way around. So what do you treasure?

When I think about treasuring something, two images pop into my head: First, I think of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings, obsessed with, consumed by the One Ring – “my precious.” That’s treasuring something – the ring is the only Master Gollum serves, and indeed, his heart is with the ring, no matter how much he struggles to put his heart elsewhere.

            And then I think about my favorite line in the Christmas story, the story of Jesus’ birth, the story we’re longing to hear and tell already as we begin our season of waiting: When Jesus is born, and the shepherds hear the angels and arrive to greet the baby and they tell Mary and Joseph all that had happened to them, we read, “Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” What Mary treasures in that moment is every precious word and experience and part of the process that has brought her child – God’s child – into the world. And so indeed, because of what she treasures, her heart is full of love. What do you treasure?  

            We gather for worship a couple of days after the busiest shopping day of the year. But whether you shopped on Friday or are shopping some other time, probably most of us will be doing some spending on Christmas presents in the days ahead. I love shopping for people – I love giving gifts – but that’s next week’s sermon. But today, I want us to think about what we spend – and what we’re thinking about when we spend our money. We spend year round, of course. We buy things all the time. So when you’re spending, what is it, actually, that you’re trying to buy? Sometimes we spend money, buy things, because we have an actual need we’re trying to fulfill. We need food. We need sneakers. We need school supplies. We need supplies to fix a repair at home. But sometimes when we spend, we’re really trying to buy something else: a reprieve from our loneliness. A break from the boredom. Trying to earn someone’s affection or influence behavior. Trying to buy a bit of happiness, fill a bit of emptiness.

            Some of you might remember that last Lent I tried to fast, as much as possible, from spending money. And I was amazed at how many times I day I thought about buying something. It was kind of alarming. And I’d bet much more than 50% of those impulses to buy had nothing to do with something I “needed.” I often think of words from the prophet Isaiah: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” It seems silly, doesn’t it, that we would spend and spend on things that don’t satisfy us or the people we’re buying for. When we’re spending, this season, let’s think about this: What is it we’re trying to buy really? And what is it that we’re treasuring?

            Jesus says we can’t serve both God and stuff, God and money. Of course we mean to serve God. But Jesus says we better make sure that we’re taking a good look at what we actually treasure. Because that’s where we’ll find our hearts. Let’s make sure our treasure is worth what we’re spending.

            Amen. 

(1) http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

Reflections on a Black Friday

I remember how much fun my best friend in high school and I used to have taking my mom to work early on Black Friday, and then hitting the sales. We were more in the market for $10 deals, rather than big ticket electronics, but we always had a great time, and felt very adventurous. 

I know many folks are opting not to shop today (I'm too lazy to get up that early anymore!) and were very upset to see all the shopping deals yesterday. I get that. I delight in being able to spend the time surrounded by family on Thanksgiving, the chance to, for one precious day, cut away from the relentless pace of our world as a collective body, and say, "There are much more important things to do." I feel sad that we are eating away even at that small practice. 

But, I also think the issue is bigger than when we choose to shop, and so we need to think carefully about how we speak about what we see happening. I'm at a point in my life now where if I miss the sale price on Black Friday for something I want, I can afford to pay the higher price another day. I can afford to choose to shop locally instead of from big corporations. I can choose organic and whole foods over imported and processed items. And so I try to whenever possible.

But this hasn't always been the case in my family. In my Doctor of Ministry Research group, we've spent a lot of time talking about costs, and how the cost of things always goes *somewhere* when we are able to get something cheaply - it doesn't just disappear. But most often, the costs shift more and more to the poor - domestically and internationally - but become more hidden. Rarely do the most wealthy pick up more cost. For the cheap prices today (and every day), we perpetuate a system where the most vulnerable incur more costs - in low wage jobs, in lack of benefits, in organizing and labor rights power, etc.

We continue to live in a culture that says that all the items on sale today are valuable to have. A bigger (or super smaller) TV, headphones, tablets, smartphones, whatever. I certainly have many of these items! We create a culture that says these things are necessary. And then, we shame people, who are already struggling financially, for trying to fit in to the culture, and buy the things we've determined everyone must have - we shame them for trying to secure them at a cheaper price! 

When I think about the message of the gospel, the message of Jesus, I'm reminded that his message was so much more than opting out of a day of shopping (which I know you all know!) Jesus was about opting out of a whole system! Jesus was about opting out of the relentless culture of stuff, and offering a kingdom of God that said people were far more valuable than things, than status, than corrupt power. That true power comes from vulnerability, from service, from heading to the end of the line. And Jesus never communicated this message by shaming anyone - except maybe the rich and powerful and influential - to whom he simply to spoke the truth. 

Anyway, sorry for the rant. But I want to make sure that when we're shaking our heads at the commercialism of the day, we're doing it for the right reasons. Not because we can't believe "those people" are fighting over a good deal - but because we've created a culture where "those people," just like the rest of us, believe that these things will bring us life. That, indeed, is something to be sad about.

(This post was originally shared here on my facebook page with slight variations.)

A Sung Communion Liturgy for the Season of Advent

A Sung Communion Liturgy for the Season of Advent

(Tune: VENI EMMANUEL)

The Lord be with you as we gather here

Lift up your hearts unto the Lord your God.

For it is right to give God our praise.

Let us prepare our hearts for coming days:

Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

You created all things and called them good,

Made us like you, but we cast off your love.

You set us free and claimed us as yours,

Through sage and prophet spoke to us your word.

Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Holy God of power and might,

Bless’d be the one who comes in your name,

Hosanna in the highest, God!

Hosanna in excelsis.

Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Holy are you and blessed is your Son,

Jesus, the Light, your presence here with us.

You sent him in the fullness of time,

He came to preach good news to all.

Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

And on the night he was betrayed,

Christ took the bread, and unto you gave thanks

He broke the bread and shared it with friends.

“Take, eat, my body given for you.”

Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

After the meal he lifted up the cup,

“My blood, my life, I pour it out for you.

This covenant I make anew.

Set free from sin! Remember me!"

Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Spirit of God descend upon us now,

And make these gifts become for us.

The body and the blood of Christ

A holy, living sacrifice

Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Prayer after Communion:

We thank you God of Mystery

For sacred meal, community

Send us forth now to share your light,

Disciples of the One of Peace!

Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Text: Rev. Beth Quick, 2013.

Permission is given for free use of this hymn text with author attribution.

 
A Sung Communion Liturgy for the Season of Advent by Rev. Beth Quick is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Sermon, "Immediately: Jesus on the Water," Mark 6:45-52

Sermon 11/18/13

Mark 6:45-52

Jesus on the Water

            This week I took a 56-hour trip to Indiana and back to see my brother Todd in his first grad school theatre production, Anna in the Tropics. Before seeing his show on Friday night, we sat down for dinner, and he told my mother and me about different exercises he has to do in his classes. For example, in his movement class, he and his classmates have been working on physical expressions of emotions. They spent one class session practicing different types of crying – sobbing, wailing, keening. In another, they had to jump into imaginary boxes that represented 9 different emotions and instantly embody that particular emotion – surprise, disgust, anger, joy, and so on. In another class, they’ve been studying an acting method that involves trying to make your acting as “honest” as possible. And so the actors have to practice being as honest with each other as possible in class. This resulted in a classmate of Todd’s weeping while talking about her cat that died, Todd explaining, honestly, that he didn’t care about her cat that died, and the woman telling Todd, honestly, to get out of her sight! My mother, God bless her, soaks up every word Todd says about his experiences, but I can’t help but roll my eyes sometimes at the descriptions of these exercises. Still, they are all meant to help make an actor more honest and vulnerable on stage. Because the best actors stop being themselves, and start becoming, losing themselves into the roles they play. They have to be vulnerable and honest to do this, to let go enough to become someone else. And after seeing Todd’s first show, I found myself thinking that one of the actresses would have benefitted from some of the exercises that Todd was telling me about. She didn’t seem “honest” in the role to me – I never lost sight of the actress in the part she portrayed.        

Today we read a story in Mark’s gospel that is probably at least somewhat familiar to you. This is a story that appears in variation in all of the gospels – Jesus either calming the storm after having fallen asleep in the boat with the disciples, or Jesus walking on the water and inviting Peter to walk on the water as well, or, in Mark, this combination of both events. Walking on water, calming the winds.  In Mark’s gospel, this story appears right after the story we know as the feeding of the five thousand. We read that immediately after the meal is finished, Jesus gets his disciples into a boat and send them to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, while he remains to dismiss the crowd, and to spend some time in prayer by himself.

            After praying, Jesus looks out onto the lake and sees that the disciples are having a hard time navigating the windy weather. He begins to walk out onto the water towards them. Then, we get what I find to be the most confusing verse of the passage: “He intended to pass them by.” What? He sees them struggling, he’s going to the same place as they are, but he just plays to walk by them on the water to the other side? Isn’t that a bit strange? But, the disciples see Jesus, and they think it is a ghost walking towards them. I’m not sure if this is because the storm makes it hard to see Jesus, or they are so thrown by his walking on water that they assume he must be a ghost, or what. But they see him, and are not calmed by his presence, but terrified. Note, it isn’t the wind that causes them to cry out in fear – but the sight of Jesus walking on the water that fills them with terror.

            Immediately, we read, Jesus speaks to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Those are words we hear frequently in the scriptures – upwards of 80 times, more than a dozen of which are spoken by Jesus. Do not be afraid. He gets into the boats with them, and the wind stops. Mark tells us that they are astounded, and, peculiarly, that they are astounded because they didn’t understand about the loaves, and their hearts are hardened. In other words, their reaction to Jesus walking on water and calming the wind is somehow related to what they thought was happening when Jesus fed the 5000 with a few loaves and fish. How can they possibly relate? Mark says that the disciples have hardened hearts – the same language that is used to describe the Pharaoh when he won’t let Moses leave Egypt with the Israelites despite all of the plagues that have been visited on the Egyptian people. After this, after the passage we read today, we only find out that the disciples and Jesus finish crossing the sea and that people recognize Jesus at once and come to him for healing.

            I keep coming back to this phrase, “Jesus intended to pass them by.” None of the other gospels include it, only Mark, which makes me wonder if even the other gospel-writers weren’t sure what to make of it. And also missing from other accounts of this event – the connection with the feeding of the 5000. Mark is the only one who ties Jesus calming the storm with the disciples not understanding the miracle of feeding the crowds. This language of “passing by” occurs in a few other places in the scripture, most notably in relationship to Moses and Elijah, who throughout the New Testament are the two figures who represent the law and the prophets – all that Jesus comes to fulfill.

            In Exodus 33, just as Moses is about to start the final stretch, leading the Israelites toward the promised land, after such a long journey in the wilderness, Moses asks, begs of God: Promise that you’ll go with us. That you’ll be with us. That we’re not sent out alone. And then Moses says, “Show me your glory, I pray.” That’s a pretty bold request, isn’t it? And God replies, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The Lord.”” And while Moses is tucked into a cleft of a rock, God passes by him, and Moses is allowed to gaze on God’s back, God’s face being too much, too full of glory for a mortal to see.

In 1 Kings 19, we read about the prophet Elijah, who is being chased by those who would like to kill him for the prophecies, for the truths he’s been bold enough to speak. Elijah is ready to give up, and, after a time in the wilderness, he spends another night in a cave, when God tells him: Go and stand out on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. The text says, “Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.” And Elijah steps out to speak with God, and God tells Elijah what will come next, and who Elijah will pass his mantle to in order to continue his work.

These passages are known as theophanies. A theophany is one of those fancy church words that means a simple thing: A God-appearance, where the glory of God is revealed in a particular act or moment. You know the word epiphany – when something is revealed suddenly, when we have sudden clarity – a light bulb moment. A theophany is when God is suddenly revealed – when the presence of God in our midst is revealed. So when God passes by in the scriptures, it isn’t a sign that God is passing us by and moving on to something better, too busy to stop for us. No, in the scriptures, God passing by means God revealed. A theophany. In Jesus, we encounter the ultimate theophany – the ultimate revealing of God’s presence. In Jesus, we aren’t looking just at God’s back, or hearing God only in sheer silence, but encountering God face-to-face. God-with-us.  Jesus passes by the disciples – first in the feeding of the five thousand, and then as he calms the storms – something the disciples would know only God could do – and still, even though God is revealed, they don’t get it – yet. They’ve been longing for the Messiah, for the Savior. But what the disciples miss – both in the feeding of the 5000 and in Jesus calming the storm – is the impact of what they’re seeing – a theophany – God revealed in Jesus – they are encountering God-with-us in the person of Jesus. Their savior has shown up, been revealed for who he is – God in the flesh! And how do they react? Jesus passes by the disciples – and they’re terrified! Not by the storm – but by the tugging in their hearts and minds that maybe Jesus is really more than this cool guy they’re hanging out with. And when they get beyond their fear, their next reaction is to harden their hearts against what they’re experiencing.  

            In two weeks, Advent begins, and we’ll start singing carols about longing, waiting, hoping for, expecting our Savior to come to us again in the birth of the Christ-child. Do we know what to do with the Christ-child when he arrives? Sure, maybe with the gentle baby who we can cuddle, but who doesn’t talk yet. But we long for Jesus, in theory, not just as a child, but as the grown Savior, Son of God and Son of Man, who comes and tries to hand us a cross to carry as we follow him. Jesus has arrived, will arrive, is arriving now. What do we do now that Jesus has shown up? Now that Jesus is revealed, what happens? Like the disciples, our responses to God’s appearances in our lives are often either full of fear or full of hardened hearts! Jesus tells us again and again to let go of fear. We can’t soak in the glory of God when we’re afraid. And we can’t soak in the glory of God when our hearts are hardened against transformation. In Advent, when we sing, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus,” we’ll ask for God to “From our fears and sins release us.”

I think of all of those goofy theatre exercises in Todd’s classes, and I think about being vulnerable. Sometimes being vulnerable is a frightening act. Someone might hurt us if we’re vulnerable, hurt us badly. Sometimes we harden ourselves, our hearts, instead of becoming more vulnerable. But when he’s on stage, for a little bit, Todd stops being Todd because he so completely relates to the character that he’s become. Todd has to keep practicing until it becomes second-nature to him, a way of life as an actor.

And so it is with us. We’re called to imitators of Christ. To follow him. To live as he lives and love as he loves. To empty ourselves to be filled with Christ. To let the light of Christ shine from within us. To be known as Christ-followers by our ways of love. We can’t embody Christ, be the body of Christ, if we can’t be vulnerable, if we can’t let go of ourselves enough to put on Christ. We’ve got to practice opening ourselves up, being ready for God when God shows up, ready for the Christ we long for. Where have you seen God revealed – and how did you react? How will you react? Don’t be afraid. Let your heart be softened. For the glory of the Lord is revealed in our midst. God is passing by. And we don’t want to miss it. Amen.

Sermon, "Immediately: A Woman Healed, a Girl Resurrected," Mark 5:21-43

Sermon 11/10/13

Mark 5:21-43

Immediately: A Woman Healed, a Girl Resurrected

(Damsel, I say unto thee, arise!)

            Have you ever been trying to accomplish something, some task, and found that you were nearly constantly interrupted? Sometimes we want to be interrupted – I can’t tell you how many other things I can find to do while I’m supposed to be writing my sermon! But sometimes, just when we’re getting productive, just when we feel like we might actually start checking things off our to-do list, just when we feel like we’re “in the zone,” that’s when a stream of people knock on the door, or call on the phone, or just need a few minutes of your time. Interruptions!

            I think of learning, as a child, that interrupting is rude. This is an important lesson for children to learn, because children usually think of all of their concerns as demanding immediate attention. I want this and I want it now! My mother used to joke that my three brothers and I might not need anything from her for hours, but if she would take a phone call, talking to someone else, suddenly all four of us needed her time; all of us were interrupting her, seeking her attention. Think of the responses you might hear a parent give to an interrupting child: “Not right now.” “In a little bit.” “Just a minute.”

            Or think of the person who, when you see them, your mind races to find some way, some excuse, some ruse you can come up with to avoid interacting with them – because you know that you have only five minutes before you have to be somewhere and you know that conversations with this person never last for less than an hour. You know what I’m talking about! Where an interruption will turn into not just a pause in your day but a screeching halt?

            Today’s gospel lesson from Mark finds Jesus being interrupted while he’s on his way to resolve another interruption.           Jesus has traveled across the Sea of Galilee, and finds crowds waiting for him on his arrival. The crowds included a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, and perhaps one of a group that did not usually welcome Jesus and his way of teaching in the synagogues with open arms. But, Jairus, it seems, has no such qualms about Jesus, at least not in this case. His daughter is sick, and he knows, believes fully, that Jesus’ touch will heal her. Jesus doesn’t hesitate, but follows Jairus to his home.

On the way there, the crowds continue to follow him. One among the crowds is a woman suffering for some twelve years from hemorrhages. We read that she has seen physicians and poured money into her care without result. She tries to get to Jesus in the crowd, just to touch his clothes, confident she will be made well. She reaches him, and is healed immediately. Jesus knows he’s been touched – he can feel it. He looks to see who touched him. The disciples discourage him, wanting to get on with it, get going. But he stops, and takes the time to seek her out. When she comes forward, scared, and tells him what she did, Jesus says to her, with gentleness, “daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Then, while he’s still speaking, as if in rebuke for his taking time with the woman, people come from the Jairus’ house to say that the girl has already died, and not to bother with Jesus coming. Jesus simply responds, “Do not fear, only believe.” He proceeds as planned to the house, and entering, seeing the mourners, asks, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” Of course, they laugh at him. Surely, even without advanced technology, people could tell the difference between sleeping and death. Jesus sends them outside, and takes the child’s hand, and says, “little girl, get up.” And immediately she gets up. And they were all properly amazed.

We see Jesus as a healer again and again in the scriptures, and this passage gives us a healing and a resurrection. We are reminded of Jesus’ powerful ability to bring healing to our lives when we let him. But this text has a unique structure – a story within a story – a healing within a healing – and I think we can learn from the structure of the story itself – from the fact that Jesus heals one woman while on his way to see another. This is a story of Jesus being interrupted, and what he does when that happens.

            There’s a wise woman in this congregation who has told me that one of the things that frustrates her most is when people say they don’t have time to do something. If we want to do something badly enough, she insists, we’ll find the time. If we were being honest, we’d just say, “That’s not a priority in my life right now,” when we receive a request and our answer is going to be “no.” But, I suspect many of us – and I know I do this – opt to say: “I don’t have time.” I think we like the way that sounds better. It sounds better than saying, “this thing that you are asking me to do isn’t as important to me right now as other things I’ve chosen to do with my time.” When is the last time you told someone you didn’t have time? What were they asking you to do? Would it have been more accurate to say that something wasn’t a priority for you right then? I think about her words often, and try to remind myself of what I really mean when I think I don’t have time.

            I’m amazed, in ministry, at how often it is the gift of time that people find most valuable. I’ve shared with some of you that I spent time interning as a chaplain at Crouse while I was in seminary, working primarily in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the NICU. It took me a while to learn that parents of struggling newborns already knew I couldn’t fix their problems for them, even though I wanted to desperately. What I could do though, was give them my time – sit with them, without filling the time with clichés about their suffering. We fancy it up in the church by calling it the “ministry of presence.” Being there with someone. When one of us – pastors and lay people alike – spends time visiting a shut-in or hospitalized member of our church family – that time spent is so valued by the person being visited. Honestly, sometimes I find it embarrassing how thankful someone can be that I’ve spent thirty minutes or forty-five minutes of time with them. It makes me wonder what we typically communicate to one another if people feel like we’ve done something extraordinary when we give them a small piece of our time.

            One of the only things Jesus ever seems to ask of anyone for his own benefit is in the gospels when, just before he is betrayed and arrested, Jesus is spending time in the garden praying. Repeatedly, he asks for the disciples to stay awake, to remain with him. They can’t do it. They’re too tired or overwhelmed, emotionally spent. What Jesus wants is not that they solve his problems – they can’t. But that while he’s grieving what he must go through, he would be surrounded by people who love him. He wants their presence. Their time. Their company.

            In fact, how we are present or not present with one another, how we do or don’t see each other is the measure by which we are judged, Jesus says. Recall the parable of the sheep and goats. Notice, when Jesus talks about what separates the sheep from the goats, the king doesn’t say: You sent me food and drink, you sent me clothing. No, the exchange between the king and the people revolves around when they saw the king or failed to see the king in their interactions spending time with other people. It is the time spent visiting, the time spent caring for the sick, the time spent welcoming the stranger – face to face time – that Jesus notes as significant. In order to see Jesus in people you actually have to spend some time with them!

            Why is it that giving someone our time is so important? Why might someone be so thankful for forty-five minutes of our time? I suspect, it is as that wise woman has said: Our time says that something is a priority. And making something a priority says that that thing, whatever it is, person or event or activity – that thing is worth our time. That thing is valuable. And that is the key. That is what Jesus is about in his ministry – letting people know – particularly the ones who have been told otherwise over and over again through the actions of others – often through the actions of those claiming to be closest to God – letting people know that they are worth time. They are valuable.

            The question I want us to ask ourselves is this: What does the way we spend our time say about who we find valuable? Who do we consider “worthy?” Now, I’m suspecting for most of us, that our families and dear friends are near the top of our list. They’re certainly on the top of my list. But the scriptures remind us that we actually can’t pat ourselves on the back for that – even those who are evil, Jesus says, can take care of “their own.” Who else is worth your time? Who else have you made a priority? And perhaps, some harder questions: Are only certain people – certain kinds of people – worth your time? Who hasn’t made the cut? Jesus spends huge chunks of his time with the most vulnerable. He doesn’t have money to send them. He’s not adored by the poor, the sinners, the outcasts because he’s giving them things. No, he gives them himself. He gives them value and worth because he knows them and spends time with them.

Jesus’ ministry is full of interruptions. Everything we read about seems to happen when he’s on the way somewhere. He’s on his way somewhere else when he sees Zacchaeus in a tree and makes plans to eat dinner with him. He’s eating dinner with people when a woman anoints his feet with oil. He’s hanging out at a wedding when he’s called on by his mother to change water into wine. He’s in the middle of teaching when a man is lowered through the roof to be healed. He’s on his way to heal a sick girl, when he’s interrupted by a woman who needs healing and disciples who don’t consider the woman worth Jesus’ time. But Jesus always seems to have time. The woman is healed immediately. And a girl to be healed becomes a girl to be resurrected – but Jesus can do that too, and she gets up immediately. Because each person – two people, in this case, who were ritually unclean in one way or another – each person is worth it to Jesus. Valuable.

            You can rest assured that Jesus would stop in his tracks for you. Be interrupted for you. You’re worth God’s time, right now. Immediately. Who is worth yours? Who will make you stop in your tracks?

            Amen.

Sermon, "Immediately: Man with a Mat," Mark 2:1-12

Sermon 11/3/13

Mark 2:1-12

Immediately: Man with a Mat

            Today we’re beginning a new worship series, focusing on the gospel of Mark and theme of Mark’s often repeated word, “Immediately.” Back in June we spent a little time looking at this concept in Mark, when we looked at the story of Jesus calling the disciples. In that story alone, the word immediately occurs a handful of times – Jesus sees and immediately calls some of his first disciples, and they, in turn, immediately stop what they are doing and start following Jesus. I told you that Mark is both the oldest gospel – it was the first written of the four that are in our Bibles – and it also the shortest – where Matthew and Luke fill their stories of Jesus with details and verses, Mark always seems to take as few verses as he can to get his point across. I shared with you that Mark’s hurried nature and his nearly 30 uses of the word immediately suggest to us that Mark wants us to feel the immediate nature of the gospel – the good news that Jesus comes to share about repenting and experiencing the reign of God on earth is a message for right now – and that Mark wants our response to be pretty immediate – he’s given us all the information he feels he needs to repent and follow. If we believe what Mark says about Jesus, why would we wait? Act now, immediately.

            Throughout November, we’ll look at some of the stories farther into Mark’s gospel where the word “immediately” appears and we’ll try to figure out together what, in each case, makes Mark want to hurry things along. Today, we read a story about a man who was paralyzed being brought to Jesus for healing by some people. They have to lower him in through the roof since so many people have gathered to listen to Jesus teach, hearing he was back in town. In through the roof is the only way that can be found to get the man to Jesus.

            There’s a lot of information we don’t get in this story. We don’t know much about the paralyzed man, the man on the mat. We never hear a word from him or from the ones who brought him to Jesus. The text says four people carried his mat, but it sounds like there may have even been additional people involved in the effort to get him there – four of whom actually carry the stretcher.

            When Jesus sees “their” faith, we read, as in, the faith of the whole party of people who got the man to Jesus, Jesus forgives the man’s sins. He just announces it: “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Apparently there are some scribes there, educated Jewish men who acted as lawyers, interpreting and caring for the Torah – they’re there listening to Jesus too, and they question Jesus’ words in their hearts, thinking that Jesus is speaking blasphemy when he announce the man’s sins are forgiven. Blasphemy is an action which profanes or insults God, and claiming authority to forgive sins would have been seen as usurping God’s power to forgive. Still, this is the only time I can think of where the scribes are grumbling in their hearts instead of openly questioning Jesus. Jesus knows their hearts though, and asks them: What’s easier? To say, “Your sins are forgiven” or to say, “Stand up, take your mat, and walk?” We don’t know if the scribes would have had an answer to that question. But Jesus just continues on, saying that he will heal the man physically so that people will also know he has the authority to heal spiritually – Jesus can forgive sins.

            Jesus says to the man, “Stand up, take your mat, and go home.” And immediately, he does just that. In fact, as far as Mark records, he doesn’t say anything to Jesus, or anything in this whole scene! He is brought to Jesus by friends, he is healed and forgiven, although we know nothing about what sins Jesus forgave of his, and he goes home, all without a word in the story. And here, again in this story, a fairly unique response: everyone is amazed and glorifies God. At least here, at least now in the beginning of Mark’s gospel, even the scribes who had been questioning in their hearts seem to join in the rejoicing.  

We can imagine ourselves in many roles in this story – a scribe, a stretcher bearer, in the crowd. But first, today, I want us to think of ourselves as the man on the mat. Since we know so little about him, since he never speaks for himself, we can put ourselves into his position. How would it feel to be brought to Jesus? How would it feel to know that your sins were forgiven? How would it feel to have that forgiveness embodied in your own physical healing, complete and instant? This man’s life is changed in an instant. Immediately. Immediate is what Jesus wants us to know about his ability to heal our souls, forgive us, and love us.

            Today, on this All Saints Sunday, I want us to consider the people in our lives from the perspective of the man on the mat: Who carried our stretcher to Jesus? Who walked alongside of those stretcher carriers? Who was willing to remove parts of a roof in order to help you? Who moved out of the way inside the building so that mat could be set down, maybe a small role, but an important one nonetheless? What faces were in the crowd, looking on as you were carried to Jesus? Who had questions at first, but eventually gave glory to God because of how God has been at work in you? As we think over our lives, there are so many people that have brought us to the relationship with Jesus we have today, that have taught us, encouraged us, sometimes carried us, sometimes removed roofs for us, or sometimes even just made room for us at Jesus’ feet. These are the saints in our lives. These are the people that we honor today. The people that in some way have made space for us, who have looked out for us, who have carried us, who have loved us enough to make sure that we can be near Jesus, and experience the immediacy, the fullness, the completeness of what Jesus offers to us: healing, forgiveness, new life.

We are called, in turn, to remember that we can play this role for someone else. Where are we in the story where someone else is the man on the mat? What role can you play in making sure someone gets the gift of life Jesus urgently offers?

And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’ Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Sermon, "Kingdom Stories: Woes," Matthew 23:1-15, 23-24

Sermon 10/27/13

Matthew 23:1-15, 23-24

Kingdom Stories: Woes

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending time with my brother Todd’s girlfriend, who was home visiting from Indiana. Todd and Andrea moved to Indiana this summer so Todd could pursue his Master of Fine Arts in Acting at Purdue. Todd’s first production is coming up in a few weeks – he’s playing Santiago, a Cuban man, in Anna in the Tropics, which means he has to sport this lovely mustache for the next couple of months. I told Andrea at least she doesn’t have to worry about other women flirting with Todd – not with that mustache! Todd and I have long teased each other about our respective career paths. When I was in college, my major was pre-theology, a seminary prep curriculum. Todd always teased me about me majoring in-pre-the-study-of-God, theology’s literal translation. What’s pre-God, Todd would ask? But as an acting major, I told Todd he was just studying pretending and dress-up at the college level. Since Todd specializes in Shakespeare, you’re more likely to see him in tights than me in tights! We have an agreement though, since I’ve done some theatre and Todd’s done a little preaching – if Todd ever leaves acting to become a pastor, I have to leave ministry to become an actress, and vice versa – to keep things balanced.  

The word hypocrite is from two Greek words that mean “under” and “decide or judge” – so a hypocrite was a person who was subpar, below the radar, so to speak, when they were talking. In other words, someone who was presenting themselves falsely. Actually, the word hypocrite in Ancient Greece referred to stage actors! Stage actors were supposed to be hypocrites. The people who can dress up and play let’s pretend in order, actually, to reflect the sometimes unspoken truths of a society. Hypocrites in the best way. The word hypocrite gained a negative connotation when it was applied to people who weren’t stage actors, but who were behaving like actors, that is, presenting themselves falsely, pretending to be something they weren’t. Claiming to be one thing, and doing another. Hypocrisy.

About five years ago, a book called unChristian hit the circuits, being read and discussed by many pastors and churches. Unchristian shared the results of a study of perceptions held by 16-29 year olds of the church. The results were not flattering. A broad spectrum of young people described their encounter with Christianity as judgmental, only interested in converting people, homophobic, out of touch with reality, sheltered, boring, and, number one, hypocritical. Young people tolerate a lot – they’re so much more comfortable with diversity of all kinds than adults are – their world is and has always been multicultural and multiracial and multi-religious. But one thing that young people really grate against is hypocrisy. Lack of authenticity. I try to share this with people who want to work with youth ministries, or with people who assume that young people only respond to and connect with young adults, young leaders, young pastors. Young people aren’t looking for faith leaders who are cool, although kudos to you if you happen to be cool. They’re looking for real. Aren’t we all? Last week I attended the Drew Alumni Lecture Series, where one of my colleagues, Drew Dyson, said that in his research he’s found that it isn’t that young people find church so repulsive or distasteful. It’s that they just don’t find it to be anything at all. A declining institution that still doesn’t want to let just anyone be part of the community, young people find the church too hypocritical to even get stressed about.

Today, in our last week of our theme, Kingdom Stories, we read a selection from Matthew that is usually referred to as the Seven Woes. This passage from Matthew comes fairly close to the end of Jesus’ teachings. His parables have been increasingly pointed, and his interaction with the Pharisees have been frequent. In the chapter before this one, we read that the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus, and they, along with other religious leaders keep trying to tangle him up with questions they think he can’t answer. After a series of these interactions, Jesus unleashes on the Pharisees. He warns the crowds and his disciples against them. He tells them, “the scribes and Pharisees are in the line of Moses, and they know the commandments, so listen to them, and follow as they teach, but don’t do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” Jesus then continues on to accuse the scribes and Pharisees of several hypocritical behaviors in his words to the crowds. He accuses them of not practicing their own teachings. He accuses them of laying burdens onto others that are hard to bear, without offering to “lift a finger” to help ease the load. He accuses them of making a show of their faith. He says that they “make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.” Phylacteries were boxes that were tied to the arm and forehead that contained words of scripture in them, and fringes were part of a garment worn by Jewish men. The long fringes and phylacteries would be worn not by common people, but by the Pharisees, as a show of their devotion, and some of them made sure to have the largest phylacteries and the longest fringes, as if that made them more devout. Jesus insisted that it was actually a show of pride in their own piety, rather than an act of devotion to God’s word. And Jesus accuses the Pharisees of being obsessed with titles and positions and places of honor. Jesus warns the crowds and disciples that they need only one father and instructor and rabbi – Jesus. That’s just the beginning.  

Jesus next says “Woe to you” with seven statements, seven reasons, to the scribes and Pharisees – one of which we read in our text today – but one gives the sense of all of them – because each of the seven woes Jesus pronounces relates to hypocrisy:

1) The scribes and Pharisees taught about God, but didn’t love God, evidenced by their keeping others from entering the kingdom.

2) They preached about God, but converted people to a dead religion, making people “twice as fit for hell as they themselves were.”

3) They taught that oaths were binding if they were made on special, lavish, expensive parts of the temple, not the temple itself.

4) They neglected the most important parts of the law – practices of mercy, faithfulness, and justice, but obeyed – and insisted on everyone else obeying – minute details of the law – like tithing spices, but not being so concerned about poverty, health, welfare of women, children, orphan, foreigner, widow, etc.

5) They presented themselves as clean on the outside, but were dirty and corrupt inside.

6) They presented themselves as holy, but were full of wickedness and unholy thoughts, like beautiful tombs that cover decaying bodies.

7) They claimed regard for the prophets, insisting they would have received the messages and teachings of the prophets, and yet, they have murderous intents toward Jesus. (1)

Jesus says “woe” to you when you’re pretending to be something before God and one another that you’re not. Woe to you, hypocrites and blind guides. Notice, Jesus doesn’t say “woe to you” if you are “sinful” – if you’re a tax collector or prostitute or woman caught in adultery or Zacchaeus or a Roman centurion or a woman with many husbands or diseased person or a possessed person – all of the things that society would have named as woeful situations. No, Jesus reserves his scathing “woes” for the Pharisees and scribes – the most ostensibly religious people of the day – because their pretending to be holy while still failing to seek after God with their hearts is much more offensive to Jesus than never claiming to be holy to begin with.

What can we take from this? The easiest take-away is to think: Man, those Pharisees were really ba-ad. Jesus really told them! But as I’ve said before, one of our best strategies for reading the scripture is to remember that when Jesus is talking, he is talking to you, to me, about you, about me. What if you replaced “scribes and Pharisees” with your own name in this passage? Or filled in Jesus’ comments with words about your own life? Woe to you, Beth, you hypocrite, for you say this, but you actually do this. What woes would Jesus call out in your life?

The worst behavior, in Jesus’ mind, is when, by your actions, and not just your actions but your actions done in the name of God, you actually push others away from knowing God, make it harder for them to get to know God. It is one thing to choose for yourself to put distance between you and God, to put on a show for others and to pretend with God that you’re holier than you really are – as if God will buy that – but it is another thing entirely when our behaviors, our actions, don’t just fail to live up to Jesus’ description of discipleship but rather masquerade as discipleship that never touches our hearts or changes our lives - all while proclaiming to be Jesus-followers – it is another thing entirely when our putting on a good show of Christianity causes others to miss hearing the good news.

We’ve been talking about justice, about righteousness and getting “set right” with God, lining up our lives, our actions, our behaviors, our values, with those of God, so that others can see in us God-in-our-midst. We’ve talked about the good news that God’s kingdom, God’s reign is right here, right now, for us to live into with God. Our mission is to announce this good news and to help work for the continual unfolding of God’s realm in our midst. I think another way we can think of that good news – the coming of the kingdom – is that we experience God’s righteousness when we are real with God, and so in turn we are able to experience the reality of God. The kingdom of God is experiencing God’s reality for us right now. But you can’t experience God’s reality by being fake. Being sinful, Jesus can work with. Making mistakes, messing up, getting it wrong – God can transform that mess. But if you won’t stop pretending you’ve already got it all right all on your own, if you won’t stop faking having it together, if you won’t stop pretending, well: Woe to us, hypocrites. How can God show us the real thing if we insist our fake stuff is the real thing already?

Just following these “woes,” Jesus laments over Jerusalem with words of longing: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem – how often I have desired to gather your children together as a hen gather her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” Jesus is longing, like a mother hen, scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites though we may be, to gather us in, gather us up. Jesus is longing to be real with us. That’s what Jesus wants – the real us. The real you. The real me. Because that’s the way we can experience the real living God, the real life Jesus promises, the real reign of God in our midst. Let’s stop pretending. Jesus already knows who you really are. And he’ll take you anyway! Thanks be to God. Amen.        

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woes_of_the_Pharisees