Sermon: The Trickster Jesus Trips the Trap

The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade, Ph.D.

Nov. 10, 2013

Luke 19:27-40

[View the recording of this sermon here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bgGDLEyXYA]

What a terrible conundrum the Sadducees have posed here.  If I were a person who had been widowed and remarried, this text would be very troubling for me.  They say we’re supposed to be reunited with our spouse in heaven, right?  But what if you have loved and married two people who tragically died before you? Who would you end up with in heaven?  How would you choose?  What a terrible conundrum the Sadducees have presented to us.  It seems to leave us with no way out.  In fact it may even plant the seed of a desperate notion – perhaps it would be better for there to be no heaven at all.  Perhaps it would be better if there was no resurrection.

This is exactly what the Sadducees want you to think.  They are trying to get you to doubt the resurrection.  Because they have a great deal at stake in convincing you that, a) the resurrection does not exist; and b) it makes no difference in this world, even if it does exist. 

But be careful – this is a trap!  

And like a clever animal in the woods, we must find out where the trap is, avoid the tempting bait, and trigger it to snap on itself without catching us in its deadly grip.  Jesus, being the clever Brer Rabbit that he is, the cunning trickster Bugs Bunny, is going to show us exactly what the Sadducees are up to. 

Chomping on his carrot and walking nonchalantly around this trap hidden in a pile of words, Jesus shows us that this riddle really isn’t about marriage at all.  The Sadducees have posed a puzzle that actually has nothing to do with marriage.  It has to do with protecting their own power, and trying to get rid of that meddling trickster rabbi.  Let me explain.

In Jesus’ time, and in some cultures today, women were viewed as property to be bought and sold.  Marriage for them is not the way we understand it.  For us, it’s a mutual relationship between two equal partners who choose each other.  In Jesus’ day men from each family made the decision about the fate of the women and bargained with each other over the bride price, the dowry.  Once the financial arrangements were made and the wedding ceremony complete, the wife became the property and responsibility of the husband.  But according to the law given by Moses, who tried to put some protections in place for the wife, if the man died and there were no sons able to take care of the woman, the brother of the deceased was obligated to take her into his home so that she would not be left on the street.  He had to marry her, and she was now the his responsibility.

In this twisted scenario posed to Jesus, however, the Sadducees present a situation where the second brother dies and she becomes the next brother’s wife. And he dies and she becomes the next brother’s wife, and so on down the line.  It’s like a bad joke on the Hollywood musical – “One Bride for Seven Brothers.”

Tell us Jesus, the Sadducees hiss, whose wife will she be in heaven?  Or rather, whose problem will she be in the afterlife?  You want people to believe in the resurrection?  You want people to believe in heaven?  Then try to solve this riddle, Jesus.

It’s like a tense courtroom drama, and everyone gathered around is on the edge of their seat to see if Jesus can answer the riddle.  Now why do you suppose these 1^st Century lawyers are posing such a convoluted question to Jesus?  What could possibly be their motivation? 

All along the Gospel of Luke these lawyers have been after Jesus, challenging him, trying to trip him up and expose him as a fraud.  They really think they’ve got him now.  They think they’ve found the perfect way to get him to admit that the resurrection is neither real nor true.  Because if the resurrection is not true, then Jesus is a sham.  The trap is set, the jaws are ready to snap shut and shut up this rabbi for good.  Will Jesus take the bait?

But once again, the lawyers have made one fatal mistake.  They think that the realm of the resurrection, what we call heaven, is just going to be a continuation of what we have in this realm on earth.  They assume the relationships of power and the systems they have firmly established in this realm will carry over into the next.  They assume a continuation of a system where women are considered less than men, where the wealth of a nation is concentrated into the hands of a select few; where people of their nation, culture or religion are considered superior to everyone else, and thereby are permitted to do whatever they wish, no matter who it hurts. 

And why wouldn’t they want this arrangement to continue in heaven?  It’s one that benefits them.  They win, they have the power and money and authority to make all the decisions.  And they’ll do anything to keep this rabbi from messing with their cushy arrangement.

But once again, Jesus is too clever for the lawyers.  Jesus takes their riddle – their convoluted conundrum, their legal system that confuses everyone and tries to trap people with words and keep them in bondage – Jesus takes it all and flips it over, turns it inside out. Like the trickster turning the tables, Jesus cleverly avoids the trap and snaps it shut, empty of its prey.

He teaches them that in God’s realm:

women and men are equal, women will no longer be property traded among men;

the rich are emptied and the hungry are filled;

the ones who are laughing all the way to the bank while so many people cry in desperation will find the accounts empty and the poor finally having what is owed to them for their hard work and toil.

The resurrection, Jesus teaches them, is not about God’s blessing the rich and powerful in heaven.  It’s about God’s reversal of the status quo already happening on this earth, and the reign of the elite coming to an end.  The rich have stolen and hoarded God’s blessings on this earth, and God will not allow that to continue.

So who doesn’t want a resurrection?  The ones who like things the way they are.  And they don’t want YOU to believe in the resurrection either.  Because then YOU will challenge the way things are.  So far they’ve done a pretty good job in confusing people about heaven and making them think that the resurrection has no effect on this earth.  The philosopher Sören Kierkegaard once went through the streets of a city asking people if they believe in the resurrection.  Most of them said yes.  But then he asked them, what difference does the resurrection make in your life?  The majority answered . . . not much.  The most it did was to give them a vague hope that maybe they would live on a cloud somewhere and be free from pain and worry when they die. 

Not that this isn’t a comforting and pleasant thought.  But what Jesus is trying to show us is that the resurrection has implications right now.  Because Jesus was resurrected, is resurrected, it means that the way things are is already being changed.  The proclamation of Mary and John the Baptist and the prophets before them and all the prophets since are already having an effect in this realm. 

The mountains are being laid low, the valleys are being lifted up, the twisted and rocky paths are being made smooth;

The poor are claiming their rights as human beings; women are claiming their rights as full citizens; races are claiming their rights as children of God.

The Sadducees want desperately for this not to be true.  Read the Gospel of Luke when you get home – you’ll see that the only things they care about are the accumulation of wealth, the amassing of power, and their ability to make decisions that benefit themselves, no matter the costs to others.

Doesn’t this sound similar to the very situation we have today? 

Where women are still regarded as less than men in much of the world, and in this country earn 75 cents to a man’s dollar.

Where the wealth of nearly every nation is concentrated into the hands of a select few.

Where the people of one culture or religion or race or nation or corporation consider themselves superior to others and give themselves permission to do whatever they wish, often using the convoluted conundrum of the legal system to justify their claims and seize what they want.

The Sadducees of our time will do anything to confuse you, and keep you quiet so that they can continue to do as they please.  They are trying to convince you that Jesus’ resurrection is not real, and that it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans this side of the afterlife.

Don’t be fooled.  Jesus has already proven the Sadducees wrong, uncovered the fallacy of their assumptions and their logic, and revealed the trap for what it is. 

In fact, the Trickster Jesus has already tripped the trigger, and the trap has snapped shut.  But it wasn’t empty.  Jesus stepped into that trap himself, knowing full well what he was doing.  The Sadducees, together with the scribes and Pharisees and the Roman government and military - all the power-brokers of their day – thought they had Jesus right where they wanted him on the cross – the most deadly trap of all.  

They thought they had taken care of Jesus for the last time on that cross.  They thought they had gotten rid of that meddling “wascawy wabbi” for good!

But when the women go to the tomb expecting to find a corpse and anoint his body – the trap is empty for good.  

God – the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Jesus - is the God not of the dead, but of the living.  For in God, all of them are alive.

You, too, are alive!  You have been made alive through your baptism into Christ.  You don’t have to let yourself get caught up in ridiculous word-puzzles meant to make you doubt the significance of Jesus for your life and for our world.  And you don’t have to worry about who you will spend eternity with.  The resurrection is so much more than we can even imagine with our mortal minds.  You can be assured of Jesus’ promise that you will be like angels and that you are children of God, because you are children of the resurrection.  Amen.

Sermon: Beatitudes, Not Platitudes

“Beatitudes, Not Platitudes”

The Rev. Dr. Leah Schade, Ph.D.

Text:  Luke 6:20-28

Nov. 3, 2013

[The video from this sermon can be found at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wmjdLiPDBA]

These teachings from Jesus about blessedness are some of the most famous and well-loved.  But what I’ve noticed is how easy it is to handle them as trite clichés.  For every one of these beatitudes there are corresponding platitudes.  For example:

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

To which some people respond – “Ah yes, money can’t buy happiness” and “The best things in life aren’t things.”  How easy it is to say to those in financial poverty:  “Don’t worry about being poor now, God is going to bless you in heaven!” 

Doesn’t quite cover the rent, does it?

The same with:  “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.” 

How easy to say to those who suffer from malnutrition and food poverty:  “Just wait.  Your time is coming.  The trickle-down effect will find its way into your hungry mouths eventually.”

Doesn’t quite pay the grocery bill, does it?

And on this All Saints Sunday when we remember those who have passed into eternal life, our eyes filled with tears and our hearts choking with grief, we hear these words:  “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”

In our culture that fears death and cannot tolerate deep mourning, this teaching is often reduced to:  “Oh, you’ll get over it.”

I don’t know about you, but I need something more.  I’m not content to just gloss over these words and skip out to brunch.  I need a deeper understanding of what Jesus’ teachings really mean for me, for our society, and for our church.  I would guess that you, too, are longing to know what Jesus’ teaching means for yourself, for our congregation, and, most importantly – for our future.

So let’s go a little deeper into this text to understand the words, to wrap our heads and hearts around Jesus’ profound teaching, and to listen carefully to what they are speaking to us across the centuries.

The poor.  The hungry.  The grieving.  Let’s take a moment with each of them.

The poor.  The word in Greek is ptochoi (p-toe-koy). It literally means “poor people.” Religion scholar Richard Swenson points out that the word contains a verb: “ptuo,” (p-tu-oh) which is Greek for “I am spitting.” The English cartoon sound, “ptooey,” comes directly from this verb.[1] In other words:  Blessed are the spat-upon.

Some of you may be familiar with the superstitious practice of spitting to ward off evil spirits or outcomes.  Swenson tells of a Jewish mother who, whenever she heard that misfortune had befallen someone, would ritually spit three times, acting automatically to protect her children and her world from the danger and evil that stalk us all.

In other words:  Blessed are the people who are made into warning signs of the possibility of catastrophic collapse, of abject failure, people who are weary of the phrase, “There but for the grace of God….”

What does it look like for a church to welcome the spat-upon?  If theirs is “the Kingdom of God,” what does that look like?

I’ll tell you what it looks like.  It looks like the passing of the peace in this church on a Sunday morning.  We have people in this church who for various reasons have felt spat-upon by the world.  Either because of their lack of income, or the mistakes they’ve made in the past, or because of their sexual orientation, or their race, or because of their age or health.  But in this space all of them are claiming their rightful place in the sanctuary of God’s house.  Welcoming the spat-upon sounds like their voices singing and making joyful noises unto the Lord.  It feels like hugs with people who are normally looked down on in our society.  It looks like relief and joy on their faces, knowing there is at least one place, one church, where they are welcomed, valued, and treated as a full-fledged member of the church of God. 

In other words, a Beatitude Church is a church that welcomes all people.  United in Christ is a Beatitude church!

How about the hungry?  The Greek word is peinao (pay-na-oh).  It’s not just feeling hungry because you skipped lunch.  This is the kind of hunger that causes suffering, and the kind of suffering that causes hunger.  It points to a deeply broken system that allows certain members of society to be so financially destitute that they cannot provide for their own basic needs – food, housing, clothing, and access to resources such as clean water and medical care. 

Jesus contrasts this with the word chortazo which means “to be filled.”  What does it look like for a church to bless and fill those who are in desperate need?  What does it look like to be a Chortazo Church?

It looks like the front of our narthex with baskets filled with items for local food pantries.  It looks like people taking grocery bags to be filled with Thanksgiving items to give to local families in need this holiday.  It looks like a crowd of people walking through the streets of Milton to raise awareness and funds for the hungry through the CROP Walk.  It looks like folks volunteering to help serve and make dessert items for the monthly meal at St. Andrew’s in Milton.  In other words, a Chortazo church is a church with lots of opportunities to bless and fill the ones who are hungry.  United in Christ is that congregation – a Chortazo church!

And that leaves us with the grieving.  Klaio (clie-oh) in Greek.  What do we do with loss?  How do we as a church handle sorrow?  You’re seeing it today.  We are lighting candles, reading the names of those who have died in the last year.  It’s these kinds of rituals that help us to remember the ones who made us who we are.  You can take a walk up through the cemetery after church today and remember the saints who founded this church, who looked at this field in the 1800s and saw a vision of ecclesia plantanda – the church planted. 

Not one of those original founders remains.  Every one of them was mourned as they passed into eternal life.  But the church held that grief, comforted those who mourn, honored those lives, and sustained the work of this congregation to this very day.  What does it sound like to have the weeping of those who are in deep sorrow transformed into gelao [hard “g” ge-lah-oh]:  laughter? 

It sounds like a gaggle of teens gathered for a youth lock-in in September, the smoke from their bonfire wafting over those grave stones in the distance.  It sounds like a baby’s cries or a 6-year-old forgetting to use his inside voice, interrupting the quietness of our worship service as if to say, Here I am!  I am a little saint of God that needs all the love and understanding of the grown-ups around me, even if I get on their nerves sometimes. Later this month it will look like our youth buying presents for children in need with money from the Rich Huff Fund. In a few weeks gelao will sound like children raising their voice in song for our Christmas pageant, and playing silly giggling games at the New Year’s lock-in.  Their laughter peals out across the centuries, greeting the sounds of the weeping of their ancestors as if to say:

“Take heart!  Your grief is not in vain.  Look at what your life has meant.  Look at what your faithful ministry has planted!  Those who go out weeping with their seeds will return rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves!”  We are the harvest!  United in Christ, we are the Gelao Church!

The poor, the hungry, the mourning – all of them are welcomed and transformed in the Beatitude Church.

And there is one other blessing we don’t want to forget:  “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven.”

These two verses encompass all the previous verses we just discussed.  The poor, the hungry, the grieving: they have all experienced being excluded, reviled, defamed, and yes, even hated.  And yet, impossibly, Jesus proclaims that when you find yourself among those excluded and hated, you are to rejoice and leap for joy.  How can this be?  Is Jesus really so naïve?  How can he make such an imperative command to “Rejoice!”

The key is in the reason Jesus gives for the ability to rejoice – misthos, which means “reward.”  Jesus says, “For surely your reward is great in heaven.”  Sometimes that verse is translated, “Your reward will be great in heaven.”  But Jesus is not talking about pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by.  No, he’s talking about right now, right here, heaven is giving you - equipping you - with what you need. 

At this very moment: God is working on your heart and your mind, moving you through the process of grief so that you can metabolize the loss and find your way in the world.

 

At this very moment: God is working on your heart and mind, moving you to not only feed those who are hungry and provide for their immediate needs, but also to confront the very system that sets up these injustices in the first place.

At this very moment:  God is working on your heart and mind, moving you to not only embrace the ones who are spat upon and avoided in this world, but to stand with them in solidarity to say, “This is a beloved Child of God who has much to teach us about what it means to come into God’s presence with gladness.”

At this very moment: God is equipping this church to reach out to the hated, the despised, the lonely, the grieving, the hungry, the poor, the shamed, and the shunned.  In this very place, God is creating and equipping the Beatitude Church.  Brothers and sisters of United in Christ – you are the Beatitude Church.

Blessed are you!  Blessed are you for your witness of Jesus’ love in this world.  Blessed are you for the church universal.  And blessed are you for the Kingdom of God!  Right here, right now, at this very moment! Amen!

---

[1] [Swenson, Richard, “Commentary on Luke 6:20-31”; http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1851]

Video: Sermon for Reformation Sunday: You Don't Need a Ladder to Get to God

This sermon was preached at United in Christ Lutheran Church on Reformation Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013.  The video can be watched on Youtube by clicking on the following link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPalf3pkCnA

Sermon: Wrestling with God

Sermon -- The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade, PhD
Oct. 20, 2013
“Wrestling with God”
Genesis 32:20-32

This passage from Genesis about Jacob wrestling with the mysterious stranger at the river is one of my favorite stories from the bible. I think the reason that it’s always resonated with me is because my maiden name is Jacobs, so I always felt an affinity for the character of Jacob in the bible. And this passage about the mysterious wrestling match has always been important for me because there have been times in my life when I’ve felt like I’ve been wrestling with myself, or my past, or even God.

I liked this passage so much, in fact, that I actually wrote paper on it for my Old Testament class in seminary. In my research for the paper, I examined the original Hebrew text and found some interesting things about word-plays used in the passage. But before I get into that, let me give you the backstory leading up to this event.

If you’ll recall, Jacob is a man of cunning and trickery. From the moment he emerges from the womb, grabbing the heel of his twin brother, Esau, he always seeks to gain the upper hand in life through underhanded means.

 He went after his brother’s birthright and the blessing from his father that should have been for his older brother, both times using dirty tricks. Then he has to flee from his home to escape the murderous anger of Esau.

He finds himself alone in the desert and dreams of a ladder or stairway to heaven with angels going up and down upon it. And in the dream, God promises to be with him no matter what and eventually bring him back to his homeland.

Jacob goes onto the country of his Uncle Laban where he marries his daughters, Leah and Rachel. [See the connection here? Leah married Jacob -- Leah Jacobs. My parents were pretty clever. And my daughter’s name is Rachel. See we keep it in the family!] Jacob eventually acquires great wealth while working for his uncle. And then he feels the call from God to return to his home country. And Jacob is still up to his old tricks when preparing to meet Esau. He divided his entourage in two to protect at least half his property from his brother, whom he fears might seek revenge. Then he sent “gifts” of flocks ahead as a buffer between him and Esau.

So up until his wrestling match at the river Jabbok, Jacob’s methods of avoiding direct confrontation and outsmarting his opponents have been successful, garnering him women, children, and material wealth. But here is what Jacob is about to find out: The very God who enabled Jacob to achieve such success requires more. During that fateful night alone beside the river, Jacob finally faces the darkest parts of his personality, the fears about his past, and confronts the future that God has destined for him.

Now here’s where the interesting word-plays come into the scene. There are three of them. Let’s start with the words Jabbok/Jacob. Jabbok is the name of the river he is about to cross. And the Hebrew verb y’baq, means “to wrestle”. And both are twists on the name, “Jacob.” Jabbok is the river that is considered to border the frontier to the land promised Jacob and his ancestors -- the land of Canaan. So the setting is crucial to the upcoming event.

It is significant that Jacob deliberately sends his family and possessions across the river. It signifies that Jacob is separate from “the tangible evidence of [his] blessing, “ (Weis, p. 106). He is isolated from his identity which puts him in a state of vulnerability. It parallels his situation at Bethel, but this time he is choosing to be alone. He’s not running away, he’s going back. And he chooses to go alone. This shows that he is willing to face his destiny without any help or protection.

Now there is actually some debate among scholars about just who it is that Jacob wrestles. 

Some scholars say it is just a river demon. Some say it’s an angel sent by God to test Jacob. There is even the possibility that Jacob is actually wrestling with himself, which plays off of the twins theme between him and Esau. There is certainly deliberate ambiguity in the text. Jacob was certainly feeling some guilt and fear about his past. The two figures are of equal strength. And the blow to the hollow of his thigh is a dirty trick - one that Jacob himself might use. This theory has some interesting implications as well. The nation of Israel has a history of wrestling with itself, as well as with outsiders. The tribes often fought among themselves, to which Jacob’s internal battle may allude.

But of all the possibilities as to who the stranger might be, I find that of God to be most interesting, and most consistent with future Biblical interpretation of the text. But why would God want to attack Jacob and wrestle with him? Why would God oppose Jacob coming back home, back to the land promised to him? Well, if we look carefully, we find that the attack of God is actually the encounter that Jacob himself sought. And it became the gift of grace that Jacob so desperately needed.

How does this grace come to Jacob? It comes in the form of a new name. And that leads us to the second word play. God gives Jacob the new name, Israel. The Hebrew word is yisre’eli, which has several meanings:
“May God contend.” “May God rule.” “Persevere.”

This name is appropriate on so many levels. Jacob persevered with humans and prevailed. He persevered with God and received a blessing. Even with that excruciating injury, he would not let go without wrestling a blessing from God. And this name has significance for the Jewish people, for history has shown that just as their forefather persevered with humans and with God, the Chosen People will do the same.

And that brings us to the third word play, which is on the name Jacob gives that place by the river -- Penuel. The Hebrew root is panim, meaning “face”. This works on several levels. First, Jacob is coming face-to-face with his brother Esau. Second, he is coming face-to-face with the sins of his past. Third, and most importantly, he is coming face-to-face with God.

Remember when Jacob demands a blessing from the stranger, he asks Jacob’s name. This is not a chance question. It was intended to remind Jacob of another time when Isaac, his father, asked his name. And Jacob, the deceiver, answered, “Esau.” Now, before God he admits who he really is, all his sins, all his arrogance, all his deception. And it shows that he is repenting, making a decision to turn away from his deceptive ways. (Homgren, p. 9).

And, Jacob is showing a different side of himself to God. So God responds by giving Jacob a blessing - not one stolen from his older brother. But a genuine blessing. And yet, this blessing does not come without pain. Jacob sustains an injury to his groin which will have long-lasting effects. Remember, Jacob struck others where they were most vulnerable. Now God has struck him in his most vulnerable spot.

From now on, he will walk with a limp, signifying that he can no longer stride with arrogance, but must take his steps with humility. It also means that he can father no more children, indicating that his ability to accumulate wealth is coming to an end. And it is a visible reminder to all who see him that he is a man who finally submitted to God.

As is often the case after an epiphany, the change is not fully realized right away. Remnants of the person’s old ways remain. Jacob is still not completely mature. He tries to appease his brother with gifts and flattery, and lies about his reason for not going to Seir with Esau to cover up his intention for returning to Canaan. Only in the ensuing years will Jacob grow into his new maturity as a man of God.

Now there are several lessons we can draw from this story. And depending on where you are in your life, where you are in your faith journey, you may find one lesson resonates more for you than another. So I’m going to lay them out for you and you see which one speaks to you at this stage of your life.

Hope comes in the morning. 

There will be many times when we face “demons” or mysterious forces whom we cannot see or identify. Fighting in the dark against an unknown adversary is a common experience of humanity. Yet time and again, we somehow survive the battles and look back in awe at the blessing that came out of it. Remember, “At the very hour when Jacob might have been most discouraged about himself and his situation, a new day dawned,” (IB, p. 728). Which leads us to another lesson we can learn:

Blessing can emerge from pain.

Many people endure deep pain, suffer physical, mental and spiritual woundedness, and bear the scars of life’s “wrestling matches.” And sometimes there is a tendency to misdrect the anger, pain and negative feelings. But it is actually God whom you should confront when you suffer. Only God can truly handle our grief and transform it into something useful and meaningful. Jacob was willing to learn what God might do with a man who is lame. To learn that may be the last and greatest lesson for many a human soul.” (IB, p. 729.) Whatever your pain is, wherever your wound lies, wrestle with God about it and don’t let go until you get a blessing out of it.

And finally . . .
Don’t be afraid to come to Penuel, “face-to-face.”

What is it, or who is it, that you have been avoiding? As we see from Jacob’s history, using questionable means to attain what we want and avoiding direct confrontation with someone or with God can mean not only risking what you already have, but can stunt your spiritual growth. This applies not just to individuals, but to communities as well. Especially as a church, we can be encouraged by this text to grapple with our human differences and seriously wrestle with the world in which we live. Because when we do this we will be spiritually alive and find ourselves encountering God. (Weis, p. 109.)

This story can even be seen as foreshadowing the struggle Jesus faced at the moment of his demise. Like Jacob, Jesus was separated from his companions and alone when he was attacked by the Romans and Jewish religious leaders. Who knows what demons Jesus may have faced when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he hung on the cross, when he hovered on the precipice of death itself. But on the third morning, he, too, rose from the struggle triumphantly. And like Jacob, he had the wounds to show for it.

Coming to Penuel means coming face-to-face with yourself --- being honest with yourself, others, and God. There was honesty in Jacob’s struggle -- which is what God was looking for. This direct honesty is what God wants from us, too. If you want to receive a blessing, you must be honest - especially with God! Short cuts and tricks are not the way to receive God’s grace. And evading the consequences of our sin will only make the inevitable more painful. God cannot be conquered - to think otherwise is a sin of extreme hubris, or pride. Yet we are not to run away from meeting God face-to-face - this is a sin of cowardice.

Wrestling with God requires that you be vulnerable and honest. Yes, it may injure you. It will certainly humble you. But it will also transform you, change you. And you will receive the blessing that you need. Do not be afraid to come to Penuel. Because that is where you will encounter the grace of God. Amen.

Sources:

Holmgren, Frederick C; “Holding Your Own Against God”; Interpretation, Vol. 44, January, 1990
Weis, Richard D.; “Lessons on Wrestling with the Unseen”; Reformed Review, Vol. 42, Winter 1988

From Cosmos to Atoms: Religion and Science Meet

Fourth Sunday, Seasons of Creation Year C (Universe)

The Rev. Dr. Leah Schade, PhD

Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 148; Colossians 1:15-20; John 6:41-51

In 7^th Grade science class our teacher wanted us to learn about the solar system.  

So he gave us each a bag of Styrofoam balls, some wire, and a diagram of the planets orbiting the sun.  In a few weeks each of us had created homemade Milky Way solar systems.  

I marveled at the simple, yet elegant design of what I saw in those diagrams: all the planets knowing their place, following the path, circling around and around endlessly.

Then our next assignment was to learn about atoms.  Remember the parts of the atom?  Protons and neutrons made up the nucleus, and the electrons sped around the nucleus in endless zipping orbits.  

It suddenly clicked for me – the parallel between the two models.  And what really blew my mind is that one was so huge – the universe - it overwhelmed me; and one was so small – an atom -  it could fit inside my body a billion times over.

And then I read the words we recited today in Psalm 148:  Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise God in the heights!  Praise God, sun and moon, praise God, all you shining stars!  

The psalmist did not have an electron microscope, but if he did, he might very well have added:  praise God you atoms!  Praise God, protons and electrons, quarks and dark matter.  The patterns of the universe reflect each other, magnify and concentrate each other all at the same time.

Some Christians will tell you that science and religion are incompatible.  Some scientists will tell say that science and religion contradict each other.  But our passages in Scripture for this Sunday show us that, in fact, science and religion are not so far apart after all.  The highest levels of science and the most intense levels of mystical religion share much in common.  Particle physics, astrophysics, cosmology are fused with an almost religious-like mysticism that causes many scientists to simply stand in awe of what they observe. Eric Jantsch was an astrophysicist wrote in his book The Self-organizing Universe (Pergamon; 1st edition, 1980) that that God is the mind of the universe – the self-organizing principal of cohesion and organization that evolves as the universe evolves. It is the mind in all things, in the fire, in the ecosystem, in the amoeba, in the galaxies, and in us.

The passages in the scripture readings echo this concept of the wisdom/mind of the universe.  Proverbs personifies Wisdom as a woman who works alongside God before time even began, helping to organize the universe in all its splendor. The Creation story in Colossians is a cosmic story that shows Christ present with God at the beginning, and that Christ’s presence dwells in every aspect of the universe.  How can that be?  How can Christ be present in all things?  Remember the Big Bang theory taught in science class? 

That supernova had a life, death and resurrection, in that it birthed the elements of the universe as it exploded. Its death brought new life – helium, hydrogen, the beginning of galaxies. This means that Nature itself contains this imprint of the crucified and resurrected Christ – a death that brought new life. Thus Christ is in every place, in every creature.

And what does this Wisdom have to do with us?  Wisdom intimately forms every aspect of the elements, matter and energy itself.  Dianne Bergant observes:  "From the pathways of human society, she transports her hearers to the primordial arena of creation.” [1]  Wisdom beckons people to follow her, to learn from her, to feast at her table.  Wisdom formed earth, water, plants and animals. Wisdom formed you, and invites you to learn all you can about the wonders of God’s creation.  You want to be a scientist and be a Christian?  There is no conflict.  Watch, observe, learn, offer hypotheses, create theories.  Carl Sagan once said that human beings are the way the cosmos becomes aware of itself.  You are one expression of the universe becoming conscious of itself.

 

It’s no surprise, then, that the Cosmic Christ becomes Jesus of Nazareth, God Incarnate, God of the Flesh, God the Human Being.  The Gospel text from John illustrates the sensuous particularity of Wisdom-Christ’s teachings.  Jesus said:  “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” Bread is so tangible, so earthy, so incarnational.  Smell a loaf of freshly baked bread and think of the memories that are evoked for you.  

Grandma’s kitchen, a favorite corner bakery, an aunt’s house at the holidays, all remind us that love is often expressed by the labor of our hands meant for the hunger of our mouths and bodies.  The same material that makes up the stars in the heavens is the same as the atoms that make up the bread that nourishes your body.  It is all imprinted with the mark of the Cosmic Christ.

Nowhere is this more real than at the Eucharist, at Communion where the cosmic and the particular come together. Think of the doxology we sing or speak at the time of Holy Communion:  “Holy, holy, holy Lord, Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.” Doxa means glory, radiance, beauty – it is a cosmic word; it is the radiance that permeates all things. Hildegard of Bingham says that there is no creature that does not have a radiance. A tiny single-celled sea creature, an elephant, a redwood, a baby.  Even the atoms of the universe contain photons – radiance, light rays! The glory of God, the radiance of the Cosmic Christ is, literally, in all things!

 

Every person is a unique expression of that radiance – there is no one else in the history of the universe who was you, or is you, or ever will be you. When that bread is put into your hand, you hear the words:  “The body of Christ given for you.” 

You – a being of light, an expression of God’s consciousness, a student at Wisdom’s table.  You, too, are the Alpha and the Omega. You are the first and last you. And you are precious, cherished by the Wisdom, the Beauty, the Mind of God who beholds you and loves you – right down to your smallest atoms.  Amen.

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[1] Dianne Bergant, Israel's Wisdom Literature : A Liberation-Critical Reading (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1997), 83.

Waking Up to Confront the Storm

Third Sunday, Seasons of Creation Year C (Storm)

The Rev. Dr. Leah Schade, PhD

 [This is part of a four-part series of commentaries for the lectionary series "Seasons of Creation."  You can find this commentary and others in the series here:  http://www.letallcreationpraise.org/commentary-on-the-season-of-creation-in-year-b.  You can also find resources for sermons, liturgies, hymnody, devotions and other Creation-centered worship ideas at:   http://www.letallcreationpraise.org and http://www.lutheransrestoringcreation.org/.]

Job 28:20-27; Psalm 29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; Luke 8:22-25

When I was a child I looked forward to thunderstorms.  At the first rumble of thunder and crack of lightning, my father would call my three siblings and me out to the porch swing where we all cuddled under the blanket and sang the songs he taught us.  As the rain came down in sheets, bathing the green yard, we were bathed in the warmth of a father’s love singing “Down in the Valley.”  There was a feeling of peace in the midst of the storm.

 

The writer of Psalm 29 seems to have a similar positive experience with storms.  While there is certainly awe of those mighty energies of nature that can break trees and cause the wilderness to shake, there is also a feeling of comfort hearing the voice of God over the waters.  The psalmist recognizes that nature gives testimony to God’s ultimate power over the forces of nature.  In the temple of Earth, all say, “Glory!” – both human and other-than-human.

 

Insurance agencies and power company crews have a less positive view of these energies of nature.  Interestingly, when major weather events happen they are called “acts of God.”  But the attitude is not necessarily one of reverence.  When those broken trees fall on houses and cars, snapping lines strung between poles and cutting off electricity, very few are saying “Glory.”  More likely they are cursing or lamenting the destruction left behind.

Something has happened to the quality and quantity of storms in the last few decades, however, that has fundamentally changed the nature of these weather events.   In an interview with Bill Moyers on climate change, scientist Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, described the situation: “2011 was an all-time record year in the United States, for example. We had 14 individual climate and weather related disasters that each cost this country more than $1 billion. That was an all-time record, blew away previous records. And in 2012 we had events ranging from the summer-like days in January in Chicago with people out on the beach, clearly not a normal occurrence, an unusually warm spring, record setting searing temperatures across much of the lower 48, one of the worst droughts that America has ever experienced, a whole succession of extreme weather events.” (http://billmoyers.com/segment/anthony-leiserowitz-on-making-people-care-about-climate-change/)

 

Are these really “acts of God”?  Or should they be described as “acts of human-induced climate change”?  How easy it is for some to wave away these new climate realities as just “part of the natural cycle of the earth.”  But the refusal to recognize that climate change is caused by humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels that leads to greenhouse emissions that warm the planet and cause untold counts of destruction and suffering is actually a form of evil.  Ecotheologian Cynthia Moe-Lobeda calls it “systemic evil” that enlists the “over-consuming class” of society in its never-ending greed for more, at the cost of untold suffering of billions across the planet (Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Resisting Structural Evil:  Love as Ecological-Economic Vocation, Fortress Press, MN, 2013).

So what is the voice of the Lord saying today, in the midst of these catastrophic weather events and the climate crisis?  Where is Wisdom-Sophia when we need her most?  At a time when our little boat of Planet Earth is more threatened than it has ever been – by a storm of our own making – it appears that someone is blithely asleep on the deck below.

 

The reading from Job reminds us that God’s wisdom is sometimes hidden.  There is a mystery, a profound unknownness to the inner workings of God’s mind, so to speak.  And, according to verse 28, the way to access that wisdom is through fear of the Lord and departing from evil.  The Hebrew word for fear in this passage is yi’rah, meaning fear, reverence and respect.  The problem with the corporations who profit so mightily from our addiction to fossil fuels is that they have no fear of the Lord.  In fact, they think of themselves as gods, and, indeed, appear to have the power to affect wind and water just as much as God.

 

The preacher of today’s readings may want to give the congregation an example of someone or some entity departing from evil because they finally “get it,” grasping the import of their decisions and actions.  Moe-Lobeda’s book gives excellent examples of individuals and groups of citizens who are, in a sense, waking up to the reality of the state of our planet.  They are realizing the way in which our purchases and choices of energy sources are connected with the storms and droughts that ravage our communities and lives.  They are rousing from sleep, as it were, and finally taking up the work of rebuking those economic systems that cause the raging wind and waves.  Perhaps that is one way to understand the story of Jesus being roused from sleep to calm the storm.  It may be that his actions were a kind of parable:  “The kingdom of God is like waking from sleep to confront the storm.”  Perhaps the Jesus we seek is within us, just waiting to be roused from sleep to rebuke the forces that are causing the raging wind and waves. 

 

 

Verse 24 of the First Corinthians passage reminds us that we are called.  In what way do we understand our calling as Christians to stand up together to confront the storm of systemic evil and call for another way to live?  It can feel intimidating to stand up to the mighty Goliaths of industry who laugh at our tiny, insignificant voices.  To paraphrase verse 26, many in the environmental movement are neither powerful nor of noble birth.  Aside from the handful of celebrities who lend their name-recognition to the cause, the majority of those who work in the environmental movement are ordinary citizens, many of whom had never been politically active, but now are compelled to do something to respond to threats to their children’s and community’s air, water, land and public health.  And those individuals are often despised and publicly derided by bloggers and pundits directly or indirectly paid through polluting corporations.  Yet we have faith that the actions of those who are “low” will “reduce to nothing things that are.”  And as Christians, we proclaim this action as initiated by God and ultimately giving glory to God.

The good news for me as a Christian environmental activist who is storm-weary from skirmishes ranging from confronting fracking to standing up to a proposed tire burner in my community, is that ultimately the powers that think themselves greater than God will fall just as easily as the waves and wind before the hand of Jesus.  Internally, the storms that rage in me are just as answerable to the command of Jesus.  With one cry to the Master, the wild waves and wind always calm themselves in his presence, and, once again, I experience peace in the midst of the storms.