To Those Who Have, More will be Given and to those who Have not...

 

Isaiah 6:1-8, Matthew 25:14-30

            This passage from Matthew is the second of three which contain very hard sayings.  All three talk about a coming judgment time in which some are chosen, and others are rejected.  The passage before this talks about the young maidens who weren’t ready for the bridegroom who were then rejected.  Today’s passage seems to say that those who do not take risks, who do not use the money and talents which God has given them to further God’s kingdom, they will be kicked out.  The passage that follows this in Matthew is the very familiar passage that was preached on last week and it will continue to tell us ways in which if we are not prepared, if we do not risk what we have to the furtherance of God’s kingdom by giving to the less fortunate, visiting the sick and imprisoned, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, that we will not be accepted on that fateful judgement day.  Instead we will be “thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Matthew’s gospel says in so many ways that if the works we perform don’t measure up, we can say goodbye to God’s kindom, and hello to the fiery pits of hell.  Uncomfortable?  You bet.  These sayings of judgment are hard. 

            It’s not that it’s a totally unreasonable story.  To those to whom God has given much, much will be expected.  Those who have skills in building, organizing, healing, teaching; those who have resources such as time, money, energy: God will ask more from them than from those who have less skills or talents, money or time: those who are poor.  And we can live with this.  This shows compassion and understanding – how can those who have little be expected to give much?  But then we hear in this parable “from those who have little, even what they have will be taken away.”  And that is a lot harder to swallow.  The man with the one talent didn’t misuse the money.  He didn’t throw it away.  He didn’t spend it.  He held on to it and returned it in full to his master.  And yet it was taken from him and he was punished.  It feels completely unfair. 

            I will say, though, it seems to me that this story does give a generally accurate description of life here and now.  Another way of saying this might be, “Those who are most in need are the least likely to get what they need.”  Those who are most in need are the least likely to get what they need.

            For example, as we’ve been studying in our anti-racism group, people who have just been released from prison need most work and housing to turn their lives around.  But as you know, one of the questions in many states, on any job application or housing application is “have you ever been arrested for a crime?”  And if you have, chances are you will never see a decent job from the inside.  We understand this, we understand the fear of those doing the hiring.  But it is an example of the reality that those most in need are least likely to get what it is that they need. 

            We know that poor people looking for jobs struggle to find places to live, places to bathe – both of which, again, make it very difficult to get work.  Struggling to obtain food can be a full time job all in itself, and so they also lack the time and often the resources needed to even FIND the jobs.  Often they live far away from a center of town where work might be more available.  How do they get to where the jobs are without money to travel, places to type up applications, etc.?

           Closer to home, I have a very good friend who struggles with clinical depression.  There are times when she is so down that she cannot get out of bed.  It is during those hard times that she is least likely to get the support she needs from her friends.  When she is depressed, her friends sometimes have a hard time being around her because she brings everyone around her down too.  It is hard to want to support her when nothing they do seems to help, and when she is unable to return any energy herself.  It’s understandable.  But it adds to her depression as she feels useless and unwanted by those closest to her.  She is least able to get her needs met when she is most in need.

            Similarly, I cannot tell you how many times I have bought lunch for friends, had church people over for dinner, fed those who do not need me to do that.  But if a really poor person, someone who is really hungry, asks for food, how much harder is it to feed that person a really nice meal?

           Another example: we generally respect our friends and colleagues.  We respect their ability to do what is best for themselves.  They don’t actually NEED our respect, but they have it.  A street person, on the other hand, a person most in need of being treated with humanity, is least likely to receive common courtesy, let alone respect.  We often don’t even pay them the respect of acknowledging them with a hello or a smile.  Let alone answering their request for money, with a simple response of one kind of another.  When we do acknowledge them, we tend to fail to treat them as the full adult human beings they are.  We say we’d like to help, but we don’t trust them with OUR money.  They need our respect, need us to trust that they are capable of deciding what they need most to make it through each cold and lonely night.  They need our caring, but more often they get our judgement.  The poor also need the dignity that comes from being able to work and support themselves.  But while most people would be willing to hire a neighbor teenager to do some chores for us like mow the lawn, if a person who looks poor asks for work, we don’t trust them to do it!  In part I think we don’t trust them BECAUSE they are so needy.  Those who need are the least likely to get what they need.  “To those who have, more is given.  To those who have not, even what they have is taken away.”

            The examples go on and on.  The man in Matthew’s story with the one talent needed courage, he needed faith and reassurance.  He did not have these resources, and so he hid.  When the master returned, instead of being given what he needed, he was thrown out and whon he had reason to fear and mistrust the master.  Hard.  Especially if it means the unfairness of this world will just be increased in the next.

            But you know, I cannot accept this face-value reading of the master in Matthew’s story being God.  The God that I know in the New Testament especially is not greedy and angry with those who don’t make God richer.  The God I see in those around me and who was with us in Jesus is not a reverse Robin Hood who takes from the poor and gives to the rich.  The God I know does not go away without instructions and then return a long time later to punish those who did not read God’s mind about what they were being asked to do.

         Instead the God that I know is the God of love.  The God I meet in Jesus is one who gives and gives, especially to those who lack and are poor.  The God Jesus talks about never leaves, but is with us always, guiding, holding, comforting us along our paths.  And the God of the Gospels is selfless, even to the point of knowing that the cost for his love for us, the cost of his speaking up and stepping up will be his own death.  And even then that same God’s love does not stop but grows and grows to the point at which it overcomes even death and returns again and again with open arms still full of love, hope and grace.  The God we worship and trust is the God who invites us to become a part of creating God’s kindom of family here on earth – invites us, calls us, wants us to work with God to bring a heaven to earth.

        And this to me is where we come back to Matthew’s story.  Because in order to be a part of bringing heaven to earth, we do have to risk all that we have been “lent” by God.  And remember, that is everything we have – all that we have is God’s -entrusted to us for us to be good stewards over.  Like those in the story, we are lent the resources, the talents – all that we have – to use for the betterment of all God’s people.  And in order to be a piece of God’s kingdom, we have to trust God, depend on God, use what we have been lent to serve in gratitude the God who “gave” us everything!  God’s kingdom is here and now.  Do you see it? 

      Like the man offered the one talent, we limit our ability to be part of that kingdom.  I believe the master in Matthew’s story, then, is about how we sometimes envision God, how we try to make God a reflection of who we are, making God in our image, an image of a fearful, greedy, angry populace.  And when that is our image, we exclude ourselves from the life God offers by being fearful, not risking what we have been offered in order to help and serve and care for others.  We are fearful that in risking we will lose all, that in sharing there will not be enough for us.  We imprison ourselves when we choose not to see God’s light, God’s miracles, God’s beauteous renewing of creating each and every day.

            The slave with the two talents and the slave with the five talents saw and believed in a master who was loving and good.  They risked because they trusted.  And in return, they found the love they expected, they were met by a grateful, affirming, generous and loving master, and they shared in God’s kingdom.  The slave with the one talent didn’t just have less.  He chose to see and believe in a harsh master, a master who took what was not his.  As the slave with the one talent said, “I knew you were a harsh master, gathering where you did not plant, and reaping where you did not sow.”  The slave with the one talent put himself out of God’s kingdom by believing that he was out; stuck, helpless, and living under a cruel master.  He ran, out of his fear, into a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth which he created himself through his own beliefs.

         As loving and merciful as God is, this is a choice we make.  Do we choose to hide and protect what we have, believing in a God of wrath who is jealous, angry, greedy, and who just takes and takes from us?  Do we see a God whom we cannot possibly please, and therefore do we stop trying?  Do we see a God who leaves us powerless in a world of crooks and con artists?  Do we choose to live in our own hell of fear, distrust, emptiness and loss?

        Or do we see the God of love?  Do we see a God who has given us everything that we have?  Out of gratitude and joy do we then help to build the kingdom of God for ourselves and others here on earth?  Do we offer those in need the things that they need?  Giving more to those who have not, than to those who have?  In God’s kingdom, here and now, we can offer an unhoused person food or even a couple dollars without fear or loss.  From that place of trust and faith, we can risk inviting someone who needs work to come and trim our bushes or paint our garage.  We can stop and say a kind word to someone who is alone.  We can even take a few minutes to listen to someone’s story.  And through it all, we can choose to see God’s miracles working in those situations.  We see God’s love holding us and each other.  We can live day by day on God’s grace and witness to the living fact that God does provide and care for God’s children.  Out of our abundance, we can be part of creating abundance for others as well, taking what is in front of us and multiplying it.  We are invited and we can be God’s ling and loving kingdom on earth today.

           That’s not to say it’s easy.  From those who have, much is expected.  It will seem to take us more, perhaps, than those who “have not” to feel God’s kingdom around us.  We will need to give more fully in order to be part of God’s kingdom.  But it is there for us, waiting, calling, wanting.

            A young boy and his grandmother were walking along the sea shore when a huge wave appeared out of nowhere sweeping the child out to sea.  The horrified woman fell to her knees, raising her eyes to the heavens and begged God to return her beloved grandson.  And amazingly, another wave reared up and deposited the stunned child on the sand before her.  The grandmother looked the boy over carefully.  He was fine.  But still she stared up angrily toward the heavens.  “When we came,” she snapped indignantly, “he had a hat!”

            Which God do we see?  The God who saved  the child?  Or the God who did not rescue the boy’s hat?  Which world do we choose to be a part of?  A world in which everyone else is out to get us and we just have to hold on and take care of our own by burying what God has given us, keeping it away from the eyes and concerns of the world?  Or a world in which, when we share and give and love, God gives back ten-fold?  God invites us to be part of God’s new and glorious creation.  God wants us to be part of the kingdom here and now.  God hopes for us to trust, and love and live and be joyful.  God calls us to be God’s heaven on earth and to share it with others.

            We pray, God, that a little at a time, you would lead us to risk and enter the kindom which you have prepared for us and which is, by your great grace and love, all around us, all the time.  Amen.

Rendering Unto Caesar

 

Matthew 22: 15-22

     What do you all think about this passage from Matthew?  How do you understand it?

I want to start by telling you that the commentaries all seem a bit confused by the passage - many ignored it completely, others said opposing things about it. 

That being said, there are some basic things that all the commentaries I read agreed on.  It is clear that the Pharisees in the story are trying to entrap Jesus with the question of whether or not they should pay taxes to Caesar.  If Jesus were to have answered yes, the people should pay taxes, then the nationalists, the Zealot movement of the Jews would have become very angry because they believed that Israel should be separate from Roman rule and should not have to pay taxes to the Romans.  Additionally, the coins that he was discussing all lifted up Caesar as a deity.  So honoring this was against Jewish religions (after all, thou shalt have no other gods before me).  As a result, the pharisees should not have had any of these coins with them or it would have been considered as going against Jewish belief and Jewish law. 

But in the face of that, if Jesus answered that they shouldn’t pay the tax, he faced the possibility of arrest by the Roman government.  At this point in time, every year a census was taken, and this particular census tax had to be paid with the Roman coin to Caesar.  Because this was such a hardship on the Jewish people and a grave injustice, it is this very tax and the rebellion of the Zealots in AD 66 which led to the disastrous war that destroyed the temple (where they believed God lived) and therefore Judaism as they knew it by the year 70.   Matthew wrote his gospel sometime after this and he was looking back on the results of this as he wrote the story.                 

Because of this history many commentators believe Matthew was trying to convince his readers that they should have just paid the tax, no matter what the hardship, and that if they had done so, the temple and Jerusalem would not have been destroyed.  Other commentators point out that in this story Jesus is entrapping his entrappers. In response to their question, he asks the Pharisees for a coin which they give him.  Roman coins contained the image of the emperor on one side ‑ at this time the infamous Tiberius, with the inscription "Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus" ‑ and on the other his title "Pontifex Maximus" (which means high priest). Since Matthew locates this incident in the temple area, the questioners are discredited from the start, because they have carried the image of a pagan emperor into the temple.  Therefore, according to these commentaries, Jesus is confronting their hypocrisy in having the Roman coin in the temple which is firstly, supposed to be about God and not about money, and secondly is a place for the Jews and therefore certainly not a place where money from the oppressing Romans would be acceptable.  Jesus is trying to entrap and point out the hypocrisy of the people.

Still other commentators say that the point here is that the Kingdom of God is much bigger than Caesar, much bigger than taxes and that everything that is owed is owed to God.  Biblical Scholar Sarah Dylan Breuer puts it this way, "What belongs to God is everything.  And if we really take seriously the claim that God is rightful Lord of the earth and all that is in it, the world and all people in it, over what is Caesar a rightful lord? Nothing. Squat. Nada."  Therefore what do we “owe” Caesar?  Nothing, squat, nada.

But we know that life is not that simple.  If we don’t give to “Caesar” or our government something, if we don’t pay our taxes, our country can’t function.  We need our roads and our firefighters and our schools. And we know that things in this life “belong” to more than God.  My food, my clothing, my house, yes, primarily they belong to God.  But at least temporarily they also belong to me.  And I keep them and take care of them by participating in a culture which requires things from me in return - work, taxes, contributions of time and energy.  This is how our culture functions.  And it is interesting to note that in the happiest countries in the world, part of that happiness equation is that people feel good about contributing to their cultures, to their societies through their taxes.  They remember it as an honor to be able to give, rather than seeing it as a burden.  This is such a different attitude than we have here, isn’t it!  We know that the very richest people, people who have way more than they could possibly need, still do whatever they can to AVOID contributing, having forgotten that it is a gift and privilege to give back.  Are there things we disagree about the government money being spent for?  I can’t think of one single person who is completely happy about how the government money is spent.  No matter what “sides” you are on, we will never be completely happy.  But this, too, is part of what it means to be in community.  We will not agree with everything, ever, in any kind of group, in any kind of society.  But hopefully we will find some things that we do agree with.  And we can agree that as members of our culture, we should give back and give to those who are most in need.

This was not the case at the time of Jesus, by the way.  It was different because the Romans were completely oppressive and demanded a religious fidelity to Caesar, one that went against everything Judaism spoke against.  And yet, it is in this context that we still hear Jesus say to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.  And we are left to wonder what exactly he meant by this.  We are told that they went away amazed.  Jesus side-stepped the trap, expertly, truthfully, but in a way that just left the listeners unsure.  “As wise as serpents and as innocent as doves”.  He doesn’t tell them what to do.  He doesn’t tell US what to do.  He leaves us to ponder in our hearts, but more, to pray, to ask God directly for direction, for guidance and for wisdom.

Ultimately, this is a conversation about what values we choose.  Those of the world, or those of God.  But I’m not going to explain that for you.  This is something you have to work out on your own.  Instead, I want to say that whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Your actions have consequences and they are farther reaching than you know.  So I want to tell you a story about consequences and choices for you to ponder.

“Good morning,” said a woman as she walked up to the man sitting on ground. The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life. Her coat was new. She looked like she had never missed a meal in her life. His first thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so many others had done before..

"Leave me alone," he growled....To his amazement, the woman continued standing.  She was smiling -- her even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"No," he answered sarcastically. "I've just come from dining with the president. Now go away."  The woman's smile became even broader. Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand under his arm.

"What are you doing, lady?" the man asked angrily. "I said to leave me alone.

Just then a policeman came up. "Is there any problem, ma'am?" he asked.

"No problem here, officer," the woman answered. "I'm just trying to get this man to his feet. Will you help me?"

The officer scratched his head. "That's old Jack. He's been a fixture around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?"

"See that cafeteria over there?" she asked. "I'm going to get him something to eat and get him out of the cold for awhile."

"Are you crazy, lady?" the homeless man resisted. "I don't want to go in there!"

Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up. "Let me go, officer. didn't do anything."

"This is a good deal for you, Jack" the officer answered. "Don't blow it."  Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner. It was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived.

The manager strode across the cafeteria and stood by his table. "What's going on here, officer?" he asked. "What is all this, is this man in trouble?"

"This lady brought this man in here to be fed," the policeman answered.

"Not in here!" the manager replied angrily. "Having a person like that here is bad for business.."

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. "See, lady. I told you so. Now if you'll let me go. I didn't want to come here in the first place."

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled. "Sir, are you familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?"

"Of course I am," the manager answered impatiently. "They hold their weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms."

"And do you make a goodly amount of money providing food at these weekly meetings?"

"What business is that of yours?"

“I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company."

"Oh."

The woman smiled again. "I thought that might make a difference." She glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a giggle.

"Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?"

"No thanks, ma'am," the officer replied. "I'm on duty."

"Then, perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?"

"Yes, ma’am. That would be very nice."

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel, "I'll get your coffee for you right away, officer."

The officer watched him walk away. "You certainly put him in his place," he said.

"That was not my intent. Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this."  She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him intently. "Jack, do you remember me?"

Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes. "I think so -- I mean you do look familiar."

"I'm a little older perhaps," she said. "Maybe I've even filled out more than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that very door, cold and hungry."

"Ma'am?" the officer said questioningly. He couldn't believe that such a magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

"I was just out of college," the woman began. "I had come to the city looking for a job, but I couldn't find anything. Finally I was down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked the streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get something to eat."

Jack lit up with a smile. "Now I remember," he said.. "I was behind the serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something to eat. I said that it was against company policy."

"I know," the woman continued. "Then you made me the biggest roast beef sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into trouble. Then, when I looked over and saw you put the price of my food in the cash register, I knew then that everything would be all right."

"So you started your own business?" Old Jack said.

"I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that, with the help of God, prospered." She opened her purse and pulled out a business card. "When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons. He's the personnel director of my company. I'll go talk to him now and I'm certain he'll find something for you to do around the office." She smiled. "I think he might even find the funds to give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get on your feet. If you ever need anything, my door is always opened to you."

There were tears in the old man's eyes. "How can I ever thank you?" he said.

"Don't thank me," the woman answered. "Thank God who led me to find you."

Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance before going their separate ways. "Thank you for all your help, officer," she said.

"On the contrary, Ms. Eddy," he answered. "Thank you. I saw a miracle today, something that I will never forget. And, and thank you for the coffee."

In the book, Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson tells the story of helping a man who was clearly extremely mentally ill who was put on death row for an incident that ended with the accidental killing of a cop without the circumstances of the incident or his profound mental illness and years and years of abuse being taken into consideration. Bryan Stevenson talked about his visit, as a lawyer, to the prison where the guard treated Mr. Stevenson with extreme cruelty and abuse, undoubtedly because he was an African American lawyer.  Mr. Stevenson, though, came to help this inmate and after working with the system he had to go and see the inmate one more time.  He saw that the horrible, cruel, abusive guard was there again.  I want to read to you part of what transpired after that. (For copyright reasons I'm not including this here, but it is pages 200-202).

The guard’s witnessing of the work Mr. Stevenson did changed him.  Stevenson’s actions were for the inmate.  They were not intended to help the guard.  But they did.  His actions had long ranging consequences.  Ours do too, though we rarely are given the chance to see what they are.

In today’s scripture Jesus took the coin and asked whose image was on it.  Caesar’s image was on it, so Jesus said return the coin, therefore, to the one to whom it belongs.  But to take this a step further, whose image is carved onto you?  We are made in the image of God.  Therefore all that we are is owed and should be returned to God.  We are called to give God everything, including all of who we are, because everything belongs to God.  That means when we give our money to taxes, we are called by our faith, by our God to do so with an eye to serving God’s people, all people, with those taxes.  When we vote, we must do so with an eye to serving God’s people, all people with our elected officials and our propositions.  When we eat our food, when we bathe, when we drive our kids to school - we have to do it all - everything with an eye to serving God’s people, ALL people with those actions.  Everything else is to be subordinate to God, everything else.  And we are called to remember that in all that we do.  Amen.

Living and Giving as the Saints

John 5:24-27

Joshua 3:7-17

 There once was a strongman at a circus sideshow who demonstrated his power before large audiences every night.

Toward the end of one performance, he squeezed the juice from a lemon between his hands. He said to the onlookers, “I will offer $200 to anyone here who can squeeze another drop from this lemon.

A thin older lady hobbled up the stage. She picked up the lemon and clamped it between her two frail, boney hands. She squeezed. And out came a teaspoon of lemon juice.

The strongman was amazed. He paid the woman $200 but privately asked her, “What is the secret of your strength?”

“Practice,” the woman answered. “I have been treasurer of my church for forty-two years!”

The Wired Word had an article entitled “25-Year- Old Makes All He Can, Gives All He Can” that described a young man who, rather than volunteering for things like the peace corps, felt the way he could best give to the world was by making as much money as he could and giving almost all of it to charities.  It described the fact that most people say the best thing they could do would be to save a life, and yet it is within our power to do exactly that: to save lives through our donations of money to charities that provide medical necessities, food, shelter, clothing, jobs, opportunities.  Sometimes these services are offered over-seas so they feel so far away that we don't see them, but the opportunities to give and to really make a difference for others are there.  But people in the United States do not give much.  Percentage wise, we donate very little of what we believe we have "earned" through our work to the service of others.

            Today we honor the Saints, we remember the people who have gone before us who have created the way for us to be who we are and to do what we do and to live the way we live.  Today is also the day that is scheduled for our Stewardship sermon.  It is probably the sermon of the year I hate to give most, as it often becomes a lecture and a begging for money to support church programs in a diminishing community.  But I found that as I thought about All Saints day and Stewardship, that there was a deep connection between the two that is providential, at least.  While these two things may seem to have nothing to do with each other, in fact they are deeply related. 

            We as a culture focus a great deal on what is new and exciting.  We are thrilled with the latest technology, the newest iphone, the latest gadgets.  We like the comforts that our homes now have that we couldn’t imagine having when we were kids.  Personal computers, phones we can take with us anywhere with apps that tell us where our kids are at any moment or what the score is in an on-going sports game, or when and where the next earthquake will take place at any time.  We love our machines - dishwashers, clothes washers, coffee makers, microwaves.  We are thrilled to have seat warmers in our cars and hundreds of channels on our TV sets, and international music channels in our cars.  We depend on our GPS systems and we love our pads, our Kindles, etc.  Maybe you don’t use all of these new gadgets, but I am certain that everyone in here uses at least some of them.  We want to move forward in these ways, and we should. As we talked about just last week on Reformation Sunday, change is imperative and a calling from God to seeing in new ways, growing more deeply in our faith and our commitments, being the church this day in this world.

            But we also lose something by a focus on what is new and innovative and amazing when we fail to also learn the lessons from our past, when we fail to find value in honoring what was, when we fail to lose connection with tradition, with history, with the things our ancestors valued and held dear.  In failing to honor what went before we lose deep values, we lose the lessons learned from history, and we often lose a sense of meaning and purpose.  Life becomes so much about NOW that we fail to care for the future, or respect and value the past that has made us who we are.    

            Sometimes, in the midst of the fast-paced changes of society, the rituals and traditions can bring a comfort, a stability that would not otherwise be found.  But it is more than that.  Mitch Albom in his book, Have a Little Faith (New York: Hyperion, 2009) shares about Rabbi Lewis, when he lost his young daughter to an asthma attack found

“The very rituals of mourning that he cursed having to do – the prayers, the torn clothing, not shaving, covering the mirror – had helped him keep a grip on who he was, when he might have otherwise washed away.  He told how the words of the Kaddish made him think, ‘I am part of something here; one day my children will say this very prayer for me just as I am saying it for my daughter.’  His faith soothed him, and while it could not save (his daughter) from death, it could make her death more bearable, by reminding him that we are all frail parts of something powerful.” (182)

Mitch Albom continues, “..ritual was a major part of the (Rabbi)’s life.  Morning prayers.  Evening prayers.  Eating certain foods.  Denying himself others.  On Sabbath, he walked to synagogue, rain or shine, not operating a car, as per Jewish law.  On holidays and festivals, he took part in traditional practices, hosting a Seder meal on Passover, or casting bread into a stream on Rosh Hashanah, symbolic of casting away your sins. 

Like Catholicism, with its vespers, sacraments, and communions – or Islam, with its five-times-daily salah, clean clothes, and prayer mats – Judaism had enough rituals to keep you busy all day, all week, and all year.

I remember as a kid, the (Rabbi) admonishing the congregation – gently, and sometimes not so gently – for letting rituals lapse or disappear, for eschewing traditional acts like lighting candles or saying blessings, even neglecting the Kaddish prayer for loved ones who had died.

But even as he pleaded for a tighter grip, year after year, his members opened their fingers and let a little more go.  They skipped a prayer here.  They skipped a holiday there.  They intermarried (-as I did).

            I wondered, now that his days were dwindling, how important ritual still was.

            ‘Vital’, he said.

            But why?  Deep inside, you know your convictions.

‘Mitch,’ he said, ‘faith is about doing.  You are how you act, not just how you believe.’ (p.44)…”My grandparents did these things.  My parents, too.  If I take the pattern and throw it out, what does that say about their lives?  Or mine?  From generation to generation, these rituals are how we remain…connected.”

We too, honor the past, we honor the saints who have gone before in part by keeping alive the things that they valued and also by giving to the causes and purposes that they valued.  We honor our parents, our grandparents, our ancestors in the church by honoring Church, by valuing it enough to keep it vital and alive, with both our money and our service. 

We also honor them by remembering the sacrifices they have made.  I’ve found myself thinking this week especially about the women who sacrificed health, community and sometimes their lives in order for us to gain the right to vote.  We honor them by using that right that they won for us by voting and remembering their sacrifice.  We honor the work of the civil rights movement by working to make racism a thing of the past, by encouraging our communities to grow in diversity, inclusion and belonging.  We honor those who served in WWII by making sure it never happens again that some people are not seen as full human beings or treated with less than full humanity.

I believe God puts us here, in this place, at this time and in community, for a reason.  We retain purpose through everything that we do, through every interaction we have, through every choice we make.  We also are called to serve and to give not out of obligation but out of gratitude, out of love for God and God’s people.  Until we are called home, we are invited, every day, to find in what ways God calls us to be God’s people.  And we honor what has gone before us by continuing to seek those purposes and reasons out.

These can be hard values to retain in a society that is increasingly about the comforts of “me”, of “I”.  If something does not serve us NOW, we tend to turn away from it.  And giving to others?  That can be especially difficult when we are told that we deserve everything good we can get for ourselves at this moment, NOW.  There was a wonderful article posted recently in a colleague’s blog that was called “7 reasons Church is not for you”.  It went on to list all the things we complain about in church – the music, the preaching, the staff, the communication, the building, the pastor, and the people including the visitors who sit in our pews and come with different ideas and ways to live or dress or be.  It talked about how we expect things to please us, to serve us, to entertain us, to be what we want and when they aren’t exactly to our liking we just don’t choose it.  The article ends with these words, “Sometimes we forget why we are ‘The Church’ in the first place. Sometimes we treat the church like all the other things we consume daily in our lives, and so we try to shape and form the church in our own image. We want a church that meets our preferences, like personalized settings on our computer. Yet, despite all that – despite us – God is still using The Church for God’s purposes.  God is still doing God’s work in world, with or without us.  Sometimes we just need to be reminded of that.  Sometimes we just need to hear again: Church isn’t for you. You are for the Church.”

There is a praise song that often echos in my mind entitled, “Let them see you” by JJ Weeks Band.  The lyrics are:

Take away the melodies

 take away the songs I sing

 take away all the lights

 and all the songs you let me write

 Does the one I am today

 say the words you need to say.

 Let them see you, in me

 let them hear you, when I speak

 let them feel you, when I sing

 let them see you,

 let them see you, in me.

 Who am I without your grace?

 another smile, another face

 another breath, a grain of sand

 passing quickly through your hand

 I give my life, an offering

 take it all, take everything.

 (chorus)

 With every breathe I breathe

 I sing a simple melody

 but I pray they'll hear more than a song,

 In me, in me

 Let them see you, in me

 let them hear you, when I speak

 let them feel you, when I sing

 let them see you,

just let them see you, in me

 let them see you.

We serve God with all we are, all we give, and all we do.  I would challenge each of us to consider that when we think we are done or finished, that we are not honoring the call God gives us to show our gratitude and love of God, we are deciding that God is done with US, and God is NEVER done with us.  God is all about giving your life purpose and meaning, from day one to the day you die.  We honor the saints by living their legacy, giving as they gave, serving as they served, in whatever capacity we can, from the beginning through to the end.

Two men were marooned on an Island. One man paced back and forth worried and scared while the other man sat back and was sunning himself.  The first man said to the second man, “Aren’t you afraid we are about to die.” “No,” said the second man, “I make $10,000 a week and tithe faithfully to my church every week. It’s Stewardship Month at my church. My Pastor will find me.”

So much can be done with what is given out of gratitude and in a spirit of love.

Amen.