NOTE: Here are my worship notes for Sunday, November 17th. Many thanks to Working Preacher and David Lohse for the closing idea.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
I LOVE bookstores – all kinds
of bookstores – from independent operations that keep alive our tradition of
creative thinking to those big old warehouses that offer used books, magazines
and graphic novels to new readers. I
love to browse within them for an hour or two when I have down time and often
try to strike up a conversation with the proprietor – especially if I am in a
new town. You can learn a lot about what
is going on in a community just below the surface in these places because book
sellers usually know how to listen.
· + They have to
listen to their customers to stay alive in a shrinking market place.
They have to know how to listen to the culture for emerging developments
in the realm of reading to stay ahead of the curve. And they have to listen for what is important
to the people in their town in a way that cuts below the obvious;
because, you see, most independent bookstores also function as places where
people can come to think out loud in safety and comfort.
· + People matter in
these places – time is honored, too – in ways that encourage slowing down to
listen to what is really important. And
when that happens the people who show up in these places talk about what is important
to them personally and politically – artistically and ethically – and if you
hang around long enough you begin to get a picture of what matters to a
community’s intellectuals. Granted, this
is a discrete cross section of the public – if you want to know what matters to
the average working person you have to hang for awhile in Dunkin’ Donuts – and
I like to do that, too.
· + But the thing
that is unique about bookstore conversations is that they tend to
articulate trends taking place in our culture rather than merely
recycling popular reaction. Do you know
what I’m saying? The best bookstores create
a space for people to explore ideas that are bubbling up from below rather than
just latching on to the bandwagon of the most recent craze. To be sure, that happens, too – think 50
Shades of Grey or Harry Potter or the Left Behind series – but even fluff can
open up deeper conversations about what is important to the body politic in the
right context – and THAT is what intrigues me about these bookstores. They cultivate an environment that encourages
reflection rather than reaction.
The German theologian and
philosopher, Paul Tillich, often spoke of the way a culture’s art unmasked its
deepest values. His experience was
rooted in WWI where he served as an army chaplain. After the devastation of that horrible war,
Tillich was stunned that both the German Church and the government refused to
consider what was happening to the German people as a consequence of the
war. There was rampant hunger, there was
profound despair, there was massive unemployment and social chaos yet both
institutions refused to recognize this reality. They preferred to blame others
for their own sins and focus on foolish distractions rather than confront and
solve the social problems of their era.
Despondent and confused,
Tillich found himself turning to the avant garde
· + In Lenox there’s
Matt’s wonderful bookstore, right? In
Portland, ME there is the exquisite Longfellow Books. In Brattleboro there are five – that’s right,
count them – five independent bookstores.
And in Great Barrington we just stumbled on The Book Loft.
· + When we were
recently in Cleveland I came away with three new surprises along with an interesting
conversation with the owner about what is happening with the renewal of that
great but troubled city.
And in one of the books I
bought there I found this quote from the Bard of Vermont, the great Frederick
Buechner, who wrote: “Whenever you find
tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay close
attention.” That is exactly what today’s
readings encourage us to do: pay
attention to what is broken and wounded within and among us because it is in
those places that the Lord most aches to become real.
INSIGHTS
Look at what both the poetic
prophet Isaiah and the Man for Others Jesus have to say about tears and
brokenness. Isaiah, sharing
wisdom in about 539 BCE, is talking about what happened after the faithful of
Israel returned home to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. When
they got home, the city was in ruins and the Temple had been desecrated and
destroyed. There was famine
and disease alongside heartache and despair.
In ancient Israel only one in four live births made it into
adulthood. Countless women were wounded
and died during childbirth, too.
And as pleased as the exiles
were to finally return to Jerusalem, it was a grim home-coming. What’s more, the devastation served as a
reminder of Israel’s sins and selfishness:
remember the destruction of Jerusalem came as a consequence of
neglecting the poor and arrogantly trying to pit Babylon against Egypt. It back-fired and the best and the brightest
of Jerusalem were taken away in chains.
Seventy years later, a humbled and diminished nation wonders how to
start again to which the poet Isaiah tells them three things.
First, it is God’s desire and hope to forgive and
renew the people. I don’t know why Christian preachers have obsessed on
God’s wrath as the dominant theme of the Sacred, but they have it all
wrong. God’s heart is NOT about eternal
punishment and damnation, but rather grace and healing. Isaiah first tells us:
For I am
about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be
remembered or come to mind. But
be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create
Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and
delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the
cry of distress.
Rejoicing,
renewal and revival are the dominant themes in both the Old Testament and New
and one of our jobs is to make sure THIS truth is heard amidst the clutter of
our culture and the mean-spirited carping of some preachers. I think that is one of the things that makes
Pope Francis I so attractive: he is all
about mercy and grace and healing.
· + Did you happen to catch what the Pope’s emissary said
to the American Catholic Bishops Conference last week? It was
brilliant. He said: You must forsake preaching any
ideology – the Holy Father wants more compassion – and less arguing about
abortion, same sex marriage and contraception.
· + Then he added that the Bishops need to become pastoral
in their work and live in ways that emphasize simplicity and holiness rather
than wealth and power. “This is the sure way to bring our people to
an awareness of the truth of our message.”
We must be about tenderness for those who weep, forgiveness for those
who are wounded and hope for those who are in despair.
In this he sounded a great
deal like the Protestant theologian, Karl Barth, who near the end of his life
said that the greatest threat to the truth of Christianity did not come from
atheists or enemies outside our doors, but rather from the “practical atheists
who exist inside the church… those who acknowledge God’s existence, yet go
about life as though God doesn’t exist.” Those who speak of God on Sunday, but
do not live with mercy, truth or hope for the rest of the week: they are the
real threat. So, first Isaiah reminds us
that the way of the Lord is about joy and healing.
Second, he points to those places of human suffering
that continue to oppress people as the locus of God’s deepest attention. This is where
the upside down truths of the kingdom will be encountered – when we notice and
respond to the suffering – God’s promises becomes flesh.
No more
shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old
And let’s pay careful attention to these
words because they are still viable when they call our attention to infant
mortality among the poor – life cut short for the elderly because of inferior
or inadequate access to health care – absentee slum landlords – paying
immigrant labor less than a working wage – racial and sexual exploitation – gun
violence.
· + Jesus was explicit when
he taught that whenever one of the least of these my sisters and brothers are
wounded or defiled, we are doing it to God.
Remember the lesson in Matthew 25:
when did we see you, Lord hungry and not feed you, thirsty and ignore
your need, homeless and walk the other way?
· + What was his reply? Whenever
you did not care for one of the least of these my sisters and brothers… you did
it unto me. This is not about making us
feel guilty or ashamed, beloved, rather it is a call to action. You want to taste and see the blessings of
the Lord? Then you need to be in contact and relationship with real people who
are hurting.
In the gospel lesson for today from
Luke, Jesus continues to be clear: the
pain and suffering of life are not going to go away; so rather than run away
and hide, enter it and embrace it in solidarity and I will be with you.
All these sufferings will give you an
opportunity to testify… that is to make my love and grace flesh… I will give
you words and wisdom that none can oppose… and by your endurance you will
strengthen your souls.
The second insight has to do with
finding God in solidarity with human suffering:
it is upside down and doesn’t make human sense, but is the way of the
Lord. When we join others in compassion,
God is present and strong.
And that points to the third insight: God’s way is greater than our comprehension. We love linear logic. We celebrate the bottom line. We more often than not want things to make
sense. To which the poet Isaiah says: God’s love is bigger than our sense – and
brings a healing and restoration better than anything we can dream up all on
our own.
Before
you call I will answer, while you are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed
together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent—its food shall
be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
· + Are you grasping this truth?
God’s grace is NOT predicated on how we pray or what we do – it has
almost nothing to do with our comprehension – and everything to do with what we
really need. I will bring enemies to share a
common table – I will not let the serpents control but make them eat dust –
while those who were once ferocious become peace-makers.
· + Let’s play with this for a moment and tease out some of its
deeper wisdom: can you name some of our
real life enemies? And what would it
mean if they found themselves sharing a common cup? Eating at the same table? Talking together about what is most vital in
life?
· Most of us can’t
imagine that happen, right? But
apparently God can – and does – and keeps imagining ways for the wolf and lamb
to feed together and the lion to eat straw like the ox. God’s imagination is saturated with grace –
not progress or bottom lines – but peace – and hope – and compassion.
CONCLUSION
Three insights or truths for our hearts
and minds: God’s way is always about
healing and hope, God’s way invites us into compassion and solidarity with
human suffering, and God’s way is often beyond human comprehension and thank
God that is true! So let me ask you to
try something on for size:
· + The poet Isaiah was
talking to frightened, hurting and confused people. He was assuring them that God’s nature is
grounded in grace not punishment. And he
was inviting them to rebuild the temple from the ashes so that all people –
Jews and Gentiles, clean and unclean – would have a place to practice and
celebrate their commitment to the way of the Lord.
· + This rebuilding of the
Temple was a public work – a visible and tangible sign and symbol of the
people’s devotion to the way of the Lord – it was a work of liturgy. Some of us know that the word liturgy comes
from the Greek leitourgia and means
the work of the people. Well, some
scholars suggest that in addition to liturgy being the work OF the people,
liturgy ALSO means the work FOR the people – a way of making their commitments
flesh in public.
· + I think of the
challenge to bake 400 pies as liturgy – a work FOR the people – or the CROP
Walk or our upcoming Thanksgiving Eve concert.
It is a public work done by and for the people of the Lord. Are you with me? Do you see where this is going?
Well, earlier this week I read an
article by preacher David Lohse who described an art project by Candy Chang
that holds some promise for us. It seems
that after the death of one of Chang’s beloved friends, she used her skills as
an artist and designed to transform a broken down house in that neighborhood
into a “public chalk board where she invited people to respond to the
question: before I did I want to…” Isn’t that fascinating? She transformed a disserted and ugly building
into a public work of hope and beauty.
Lohse continues saying: “The answers the people wrote were poignant,
honest, tender, funny and insightful.”
· + So he wondered what it
would be like if during the Advent and Christmas season, when so many people
feel beaten down and depressed, we shared a public work of liturgy with the
wider community by installing a chalk board outside our Sanctuary where people
could write their prayers.
· + Our question could be
something like: I need someone to pray
for… We don’t need to know the answers – Jesus asked us to trust him to that –
all we are to do is be open, creative and present to the suffering of those all
around us.
· + So what would happen if we did that – if we put up a
chalk board with the question, “I need someone to pray for… “– and then
promised that each week those prayers would be lifted up and addressed during
our Sunday worship?
When I listen to what is going on just below the surface – in bookstores
or Dunkin Donuts, in my own heart or the lives of my family – I hear the sounds
of anxiety and busyness. I hear a people
burdened and confused. I hear parents doing
the best they can but afraid for the well-being of their children. I hear the elderly fretting about the days to
come. And the sandwich generation
wondering how in God’s name they are going to hold it all together. And, at the same time, even in the midst of
those words, I hear the promise of God:
Behold I
am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be
remembered or come to mind. Be
glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create
Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight…and even in the midst of trial
and fears… I will give you an opportunity to testify to my grace.
Perhaps
now is the time for us to share some liturgy with Pittsfield – a public work
grounded in hop and grace – wouldn’t that be incredible? Think about beloved and we’ll talk more soon…
CREDITS:
4) wallsfx.com
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