dom of St. Paul's words in Romans for the 21st century. They also embrace the gospel lectionary text in Luke 10 about our sisters in faith: Mary and Martha. If you are around at 10:30 am, why not stop in and join us? I am hoping that the newly refashioned band will play a little bit as Sue joins the ranks of Between the Banks - we'll be simple and folkie this week - but fun, too. We'd love to see you.I have been reading the new biography of Dietrich Bonheoffer by Eric Metaxas called Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy – and it’s pretty good. Does anyone know who Bonheoffer was?
• A German theologian-preacher of privilege who found himself not only moved to follow Jesus in bold new ways through his experiences in the African-American churches of New York City’s Harlem, but also a leading opponent of Hitler and the Nazis, too.
• In fact, because his faith in the Word of Christ becoming flesh was so profound, during the 1930s he collaborated with others to assassinate the Fuehrer – which landed him in priso
n and eventually the hang man’s gallows.
I found something Bonheoffer wrote in a letter to his brother in 1936 right on the money:
If it is I who determine where God is to be found, then I shall always find a God who corresponds to me in some way – who is obliging – who is connected with my own nature. But if God determines where he is to be found, then it will be in a place which is not immediately pleasing to my nature – and which is not at all congenial to me. This place is the Cross of Christ – and whoever would find Jesus must go to the foot of the Cross as the Sermon on the Mount commands. This is not according to our nature at all; it is entirely contrary to it. But this is the message of the Bible – not only the New – but also the Old Testament. (p. 136)
Now I share this with you today because, in our fourth reflection on St. Paul’s letter to the Romans and Christ’s counter-cultural words to both Mary and Martha, Bonheoffer articulates the challenge clearly: everywhere we look there is sin and confusion right alongside the invitation of grace. Peterson’s reworking of Romans 3 puts it like this:
There's nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. We've all taken the wrong turn; all wande
red down blind alleys. No one's living right; I can't find a single one. Our throats are gaping graves, our tongues slick as mudslides. Every word we speak is tinged with poison. We open their mouths and pollute the air. We race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, don't know the first thing about living with others and never give God the time of day.
Oh man, can my boy Paul cut to the chase, yes? Like Bonheoffer said if it is we who determine where we’ll find the living God, we’ll always go to the easy and simple places – cheap grace – rather than the foot of the Cross. And THAT is why there is all this SIN talk in our lesson – language that has never been easy to grasp – but is all the more perplexing in our fast-paced, market-driven world of quick fixes and non-stop comfort. For St. Paul – and all who seek to follow Jesus passionately in any generation – sin means something very clear and mostly has nothing to do with our garden variety failings, peccadilloes and the like.
• In fact, our obsession with sexual innuendo, petty offenses and sordid gossip is mostly a self-distraction that keeps us from really dealing with sin and the challenge of the Cross.
• So let me try to share three key, inter-related truths with you from our texts about: sin, God’s nature and
how it is we renew our connection with God and put sin to rest.
Because, you see, that’s what all this sin talk is all about: helping us find God’s way back into lives that are in balance, harmony and relationship with God and one another. In Paul’s context, sin is what it means to be out of covenant – in broken relationships with God and our community – which means we need to understand covenant before we can really grasp what’s at stake in sin, yes?
So, what do you recall about God’s covenant with Israel? What does it mean? What does it look like?
• A covenant is a sacred contract and promise between God and God’s people, right? And there are always three parts in a covenant – God’s promises, our individual promises and our promises as a community – so there are promises and responsibilities.
• And all of the promises and responsibilities – between the sacred and the ordinary – are intended by God to keep us all in a healthy and holy relationship. The Old Testament uses two words – just and righteo
us – to describe those who keep and strengthen the covenant while those who break it are… sinners. Ok? Is that clear?
• A German theologian-preacher of privilege who found himself not only moved to follow Jesus in bold new ways through his experiences in the African-American churches of New York City’s Harlem, but also a leading opponent of Hitler and the Nazis, too.
• In fact, because his faith in the Word of Christ becoming flesh was so profound, during the 1930s he collaborated with others to assassinate the Fuehrer – which landed him in priso
n and eventually the hang man’s gallows.I found something Bonheoffer wrote in a letter to his brother in 1936 right on the money:
If it is I who determine where God is to be found, then I shall always find a God who corresponds to me in some way – who is obliging – who is connected with my own nature. But if God determines where he is to be found, then it will be in a place which is not immediately pleasing to my nature – and which is not at all congenial to me. This place is the Cross of Christ – and whoever would find Jesus must go to the foot of the Cross as the Sermon on the Mount commands. This is not according to our nature at all; it is entirely contrary to it. But this is the message of the Bible – not only the New – but also the Old Testament. (p. 136)
Now I share this with you today because, in our fourth reflection on St. Paul’s letter to the Romans and Christ’s counter-cultural words to both Mary and Martha, Bonheoffer articulates the challenge clearly: everywhere we look there is sin and confusion right alongside the invitation of grace. Peterson’s reworking of Romans 3 puts it like this:
There's nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. We've all taken the wrong turn; all wande
red down blind alleys. No one's living right; I can't find a single one. Our throats are gaping graves, our tongues slick as mudslides. Every word we speak is tinged with poison. We open their mouths and pollute the air. We race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year, litter the land with heartbreak and ruin, don't know the first thing about living with others and never give God the time of day.Oh man, can my boy Paul cut to the chase, yes? Like Bonheoffer said if it is we who determine where we’ll find the living God, we’ll always go to the easy and simple places – cheap grace – rather than the foot of the Cross. And THAT is why there is all this SIN talk in our lesson – language that has never been easy to grasp – but is all the more perplexing in our fast-paced, market-driven world of quick fixes and non-stop comfort. For St. Paul – and all who seek to follow Jesus passionately in any generation – sin means something very clear and mostly has nothing to do with our garden variety failings, peccadilloes and the like.
• In fact, our obsession with sexual innuendo, petty offenses and sordid gossip is mostly a self-distraction that keeps us from really dealing with sin and the challenge of the Cross.
• So let me try to share three key, inter-related truths with you from our texts about: sin, God’s nature and
how it is we renew our connection with God and put sin to rest.Because, you see, that’s what all this sin talk is all about: helping us find God’s way back into lives that are in balance, harmony and relationship with God and one another. In Paul’s context, sin is what it means to be out of covenant – in broken relationships with God and our community – which means we need to understand covenant before we can really grasp what’s at stake in sin, yes?
So, what do you recall about God’s covenant with Israel? What does it mean? What does it look like?
• A covenant is a sacred contract and promise between God and God’s people, right? And there are always three parts in a covenant – God’s promises, our individual promises and our promises as a community – so there are promises and responsibilities.
• And all of the promises and responsibilities – between the sacred and the ordinary – are intended by God to keep us all in a healthy and holy relationship. The Old Testament uses two words – just and righteo
us – to describe those who keep and strengthen the covenant while those who break it are… sinners. Ok? Is that clear?Now there are a number of covenants made between God and God’s people in the Old Testament and each helps us understand something about God’s nature and that is what makes Israel special – or chosen – you know? Through Israel’s history, we see God’s faithfulness over and over again; Israel breaks covenant time and again but God always returns to bring healing and hope to sinners.
Are you still with me? Do you hear what I’m saying? Israel’s unique role as “chosen people” according to St. Paul is that we learn about God’s grace and faithfulness in the midst of failure, breaking covenant and sin.
A quick survey of some of the important covenants make this clear: do you recall the first covenant mentioned in the Bible?
• Genesis 8 and 9 speak about God’s covenant with Noah and his family: the rainbow is the sign that God will never again send a flood to destroy creation and God offers a blessing to everyone – Jews and Gentiles – that we should be fruitful and multiply as we
live in harmony with one another.
• Then there is the covenant with Abram in Genesis 17: if Abram follows and trusts God – first in a journey and later in many other challenges – God will make him the father of many nations – particularly a chosen nation of God’s unique people in Israel.
• This covenant is amplified through Abraham’s children – Isaac and Jacob –and then deepened with Moses. Do you recall what was at stake for Moses? This is the foundation of Torah – the Law – the commandments for holy living and right relationship that were created after God liberated the suffering people from slavery in Egypt.
• There is also a covenant made with David – who becomes king – that promise that in return for protecting God’s people in Israel and helping them live according to the Law, David’s family will always be the rightful rulers of the land.
And how did all this covenant keeping go? Do you recall times when God’s people broke the covenant? Hurt one another? Worshipped idols or served other lords? That’s what Paul’s list of Hebrew Scriptures is all about in our reading: mostly taken from the poems and prophets of Israel, Paul uses the Old Testament texts to show how time and again the people of the Covenant broke their promises to God. Here’s what I mean:
• “There's nobody living right, not even one who is righteous,” is a paraphrase from Ecclesiastes 7: 23.
• “There is nobody who knows the score, nobody who is alert for God. They've all taken the wrong turn… and all wandered down blind alleys” comes from Psalm 14: 2-3.
• Their throats are gaping graves and their tongues slick as mudslides” is in Psalm 139: 4. “Every word they speak is tinged with poison for they open their mouths and pollute the air” is in Psalm 10:7.
• “They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year and litter the land with heartbreak and ruin” is taken from Isaiah 59: 7-8. And “don't know the first thing about living with others? They never even give God the time of day” is from Psalm 35: 2.
Do you see what Paul is doing? He wants everyone to understand that sin is breaking covenant – and everybody does it! Those who have had a unique and special covenant with God – Israel – sin as much as those who have always lived outside the ways of the Lord which leads him to cry out: It should be clear to everyone… that we are ALL sinners – everyone one of us – in the same sinking boat with everyone else! Even our historic and unique relationship with God cannot separate us from the fact of sin.
Let me pause for just a moment to see if we’re still on the same page. I’ve just tried to summarize two key ideas: sin has to do with breaking relationship with God and one another – breaking covenant – and everyone does it. Are there any thoughts or questions here?
So
where’s the hope in what Paul teaches? Where is the gospel – the good news – our way back into relationship and covenant with God and one another? Cut to the story of supper at Mary and Martha’s house where Martha works and works and works – all for a good cause – but winds up anxious and exhausted. In fact, her busyness and attention to all the details of hospitality distract her from the very presence of the one she loves – Jesus – and she ends up experiencing none of the joy the feast aches to provide.
• But let’s not compound the problem by scolding Martha, ok? That happens all too often in sermons about this text – Mary is the wiser because she sat at the feet of the Lord blah, blah, blah – but she didn’t pitch which is just unfair and unrealistic.
• And many of the women here today – and some of the men, too – know that you can’t have a feast if everyone just sits around watching football. Or doing Bible study. Or waiting for Jesus.
So my hunch is that this isn’t about scolding Martha, but as Kate Huey of the United Church of Christ suggests this could be part two of the lesson begun last week in the sto
ry of the Good Samaritan. In that story the emphasis was upon hearing the Word of God and making it flesh – and that is part of the equation. Today we hear about how it is equally important to wait and listen for the Word of God, too, so that we might truly hear and experience God’s grace.
How does the Hebrew poem go? To everything there is a season…? A time to be born and a time to die? A time for war and a time for peace? A time to plant and a time to reap? So, too, with our covenant relationship with God and one another: there is a time for taking responsibility for our actions – a time to do justice, share compassion and walk in humility – and a time for quiet reflection.
Even a time in the quiet of our hearts to confess: I can’t fix things, Lord. I can’t make myself right, I can’t consistently love others the way you do… I need help. I need forgiveness… I need a fresh start. Do you hear what I’m saying? Does that make sense? Kate Huey goes on to write:
Are you still with me? Do you hear what I’m saying? Israel’s unique role as “chosen people” according to St. Paul is that we learn about God’s grace and faithfulness in the midst of failure, breaking covenant and sin.
A quick survey of some of the important covenants make this clear: do you recall the first covenant mentioned in the Bible?
• Genesis 8 and 9 speak about God’s covenant with Noah and his family: the rainbow is the sign that God will never again send a flood to destroy creation and God offers a blessing to everyone – Jews and Gentiles – that we should be fruitful and multiply as we
live in harmony with one another.• Then there is the covenant with Abram in Genesis 17: if Abram follows and trusts God – first in a journey and later in many other challenges – God will make him the father of many nations – particularly a chosen nation of God’s unique people in Israel.
• This covenant is amplified through Abraham’s children – Isaac and Jacob –and then deepened with Moses. Do you recall what was at stake for Moses? This is the foundation of Torah – the Law – the commandments for holy living and right relationship that were created after God liberated the suffering people from slavery in Egypt.
• There is also a covenant made with David – who becomes king – that promise that in return for protecting God’s people in Israel and helping them live according to the Law, David’s family will always be the rightful rulers of the land.
And how did all this covenant keeping go? Do you recall times when God’s people broke the covenant? Hurt one another? Worshipped idols or served other lords? That’s what Paul’s list of Hebrew Scriptures is all about in our reading: mostly taken from the poems and prophets of Israel, Paul uses the Old Testament texts to show how time and again the people of the Covenant broke their promises to God. Here’s what I mean:
• “There's nobody living right, not even one who is righteous,” is a paraphrase from Ecclesiastes 7: 23.
• “There is nobody who knows the score, nobody who is alert for God. They've all taken the wrong turn… and all wandered down blind alleys” comes from Psalm 14: 2-3.
• Their throats are gaping graves and their tongues slick as mudslides” is in Psalm 139: 4. “Every word they speak is tinged with poison for they open their mouths and pollute the air” is in Psalm 10:7.
• “They race for the honor of sinner-of-the-year and litter the land with heartbreak and ruin” is taken from Isaiah 59: 7-8. And “don't know the first thing about living with others? They never even give God the time of day” is from Psalm 35: 2.
Do you see what Paul is doing? He wants everyone to understand that sin is breaking covenant – and everybody does it! Those who have had a unique and special covenant with God – Israel – sin as much as those who have always lived outside the ways of the Lord which leads him to cry out: It should be clear to everyone… that we are ALL sinners – everyone one of us – in the same sinking boat with everyone else! Even our historic and unique relationship with God cannot separate us from the fact of sin.
Let me pause for just a moment to see if we’re still on the same page. I’ve just tried to summarize two key ideas: sin has to do with breaking relationship with God and one another – breaking covenant – and everyone does it. Are there any thoughts or questions here?
So
where’s the hope in what Paul teaches? Where is the gospel – the good news – our way back into relationship and covenant with God and one another? Cut to the story of supper at Mary and Martha’s house where Martha works and works and works – all for a good cause – but winds up anxious and exhausted. In fact, her busyness and attention to all the details of hospitality distract her from the very presence of the one she loves – Jesus – and she ends up experiencing none of the joy the feast aches to provide.• But let’s not compound the problem by scolding Martha, ok? That happens all too often in sermons about this text – Mary is the wiser because she sat at the feet of the Lord blah, blah, blah – but she didn’t pitch which is just unfair and unrealistic.
• And many of the women here today – and some of the men, too – know that you can’t have a feast if everyone just sits around watching football. Or doing Bible study. Or waiting for Jesus.
So my hunch is that this isn’t about scolding Martha, but as Kate Huey of the United Church of Christ suggests this could be part two of the lesson begun last week in the sto
ry of the Good Samaritan. In that story the emphasis was upon hearing the Word of God and making it flesh – and that is part of the equation. Today we hear about how it is equally important to wait and listen for the Word of God, too, so that we might truly hear and experience God’s grace.How does the Hebrew poem go? To everything there is a season…? A time to be born and a time to die? A time for war and a time for peace? A time to plant and a time to reap? So, too, with our covenant relationship with God and one another: there is a time for taking responsibility for our actions – a time to do justice, share compassion and walk in humility – and a time for quiet reflection.
Even a time in the quiet of our hearts to confess: I can’t fix things, Lord. I can’t make myself right, I can’t consistently love others the way you do… I need help. I need forgiveness… I need a fresh start. Do you hear what I’m saying? Does that make sense? Kate Huey goes on to write:
If we don't stop not just sometimes but regularly – and just sit and listen, like Mary at the feet of Jesus – how can the Stillspeaking God get a word in edgewise over the beepers, cell ph
ones, voicemail, text messages and tweets, television and radio messages that bombard us? How can we tend to our internal lives like careful gardeners who spend time nurturing new growth, pulling weeds when necessary, and gently showering the thirsty green plants with refreshing water?
I like to think about what Jesus may have been saying to Mary there in the living room, while Martha banged around in the kitchen, annoyed at her sister not helping her. Maybe he was reciting one of the psalms of his people, our ancestors in faith. John Michael Talbot's translation of Psalm 131 might express something of what Jesus intended for Mary (and Martha!) to hear: "O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes fixed on things beyond me; in the quiet, I have stilled my soul like a child at rest on its mother's knee; I have stilled my soul within me. So Israel, come and hope in your Lord; do not set your eyes on things far beyond you; just come to the quiet. Come and still y
our soul like a child at rest on its daddy's knee; come and still your soul completely."
The wisdom that St. Paul shares – the gospel of God’s grace that he proclaims – is that only when we come to this quiet place of opening ourselves to the Lord and recognizing that we cannot make things right all by ourselves are we set free from the lordship and bondage of sin. When we are humble and quiet – knowing our need and asking for God’s help – then God who is always faithful forgives and renews and heals.
St. Paul would say that in this the covenant is rectified by trust: trust in God’s faithfulness and trust in the grace-filled presence of Christ and his Cross. In this there is both the hearing and the doing of the Word – grace and responsibility – forgiveness and right relations. And wonderfully in the new covenant there is simplicity, too. The Old covenant is not gone – it is honored and abides in Judaism – but the new covenant which we affirm in Jesus is simple – and the last place we would turn all by ourselves.
You see, we like to be in charge – in control – strong and assertive – while the way of Jesus and the Cross will have none of it. “Keep your demands and obsessions and ad
dictions,” Jesus seems to say, “keep them as long as you think they help, but know that you can’t fix the world – your family – or even yourself all by yourself. My way is about letting go – opening your heart so that there is room for God – giving to receive – forgiving to know pardon – and dying to find eternal life.”
And when you are ready – and only when you are ready – I will be there in the still small voice inviting you to pray with me at the foot of the Cross:
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.
That’s the way this works my friends. So, beloved in Christ, let those with ears to hear, hear…
ones, voicemail, text messages and tweets, television and radio messages that bombard us? How can we tend to our internal lives like careful gardeners who spend time nurturing new growth, pulling weeds when necessary, and gently showering the thirsty green plants with refreshing water?I like to think about what Jesus may have been saying to Mary there in the living room, while Martha banged around in the kitchen, annoyed at her sister not helping her. Maybe he was reciting one of the psalms of his people, our ancestors in faith. John Michael Talbot's translation of Psalm 131 might express something of what Jesus intended for Mary (and Martha!) to hear: "O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes fixed on things beyond me; in the quiet, I have stilled my soul like a child at rest on its mother's knee; I have stilled my soul within me. So Israel, come and hope in your Lord; do not set your eyes on things far beyond you; just come to the quiet. Come and still y
our soul like a child at rest on its daddy's knee; come and still your soul completely."The wisdom that St. Paul shares – the gospel of God’s grace that he proclaims – is that only when we come to this quiet place of opening ourselves to the Lord and recognizing that we cannot make things right all by ourselves are we set free from the lordship and bondage of sin. When we are humble and quiet – knowing our need and asking for God’s help – then God who is always faithful forgives and renews and heals.
St. Paul would say that in this the covenant is rectified by trust: trust in God’s faithfulness and trust in the grace-filled presence of Christ and his Cross. In this there is both the hearing and the doing of the Word – grace and responsibility – forgiveness and right relations. And wonderfully in the new covenant there is simplicity, too. The Old covenant is not gone – it is honored and abides in Judaism – but the new covenant which we affirm in Jesus is simple – and the last place we would turn all by ourselves.
You see, we like to be in charge – in control – strong and assertive – while the way of Jesus and the Cross will have none of it. “Keep your demands and obsessions and ad
dictions,” Jesus seems to say, “keep them as long as you think they help, but know that you can’t fix the world – your family – or even yourself all by yourself. My way is about letting go – opening your heart so that there is room for God – giving to receive – forgiving to know pardon – and dying to find eternal life.”And when you are ready – and only when you are ready – I will be there in the still small voice inviting you to pray with me at the foot of the Cross:
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.
That’s the way this works my friends. So, beloved in Christ, let those with ears to hear, hear…
credits:
3) Cross in Fine Art: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/patterns-and-symbols-or--the-cross-joan-dorrill.html
4) Broken Covenant: www.chgs.umn.edu/museum/responses/bak/gallery2.html
5) Covenant Sign: http://www.markmallett.com/blog/?p=88
6) Secret of Passover and Abstract Art:http://godssecret.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/abstract-art/7) Mirta Benavente: http://en.artoffer.com/Mirta-Benavente-1/Image-Large-View/?imagenr=51552
8) Mary, Martha and Lazarus: http://jameswoodward.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/mary-martha-and-lazarus/
9) Mirroed Tree: http://aflowofvirtue.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!EFDD94E72421D5C1!2404.entry
10) Solitude: http://imagiverse.org/interviews/markvasconcellos/solitude.htm
11) William Coombs: http://art.spirithit.com/11677718.html
12) Symphony of Peace: http://www.lenneastudio.com/5
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