Readings for August 14, 2016, The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C

• Hebrews 11:29-12:2  
• Luke 12:49-56

Cleansing Journey, Rev. Kinsey
The Hebrews list of faithful witnesses in chapter 11 is a long and detailed one.  Cain and Abel, Noah and his family, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Joseph, Moses and the Israelites escaping slavery in Egypt, and Rahab.  “Time would fail me,” says the writer of Hebrews, “to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtha, of David and Samuel and the prophets.”  Although, unable to hold back, he tells little bits of their witness as well, just to wet our whistle.
 
“Therefore,” this Jewish-Christian writer concludes: “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” 
 
Amy-Jill Levine notes how unusual the list is, naming three general characteristics these faithful all have in common: 1) a near-death experience; 2) the ability to see the future and act faithfully in light of that knowledge; and 3) an alienation from the people of their generation.  These are not the usual suspects, but are, says Levine, “heroes portrayed as outsiders and non-Israelites.”  And these heroes and their unusual characteristics, would set the tone for all the followers of Jesus, all the faithful, who commit to the journey we are called on as disciples.
 
On the Youth Mission Trip to Iowa this past week, our theme was, God’s call to discipleship.  Our Youth helped lead worship last Sunday at the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Dubuque, who hosted us, proclaiming the call story of Peter and Andrew, James and John, who left their boats and nets on the Sea of Galilee to immediately come and follow Jesus.  As followers on a mission, our Youth’s journey included a trip downtown, to the Dubuque Rescue Mission.  This Benedictine founded non-profit, houses some 45 men seeking recovery and safety from homelessness and addiction, and employs them in their kitchen and public meals program.  The small but talented staff of 5 helps them get back on track in their calling in life, sometimes a re-baptism by fire, but always renewing and life-giving. 
 
Ashley, the program director, shared pieces of her call story, and how she came to work there.  As a recovering alcoholic herself, she can relate to the clients she works with.  But it was her faith in Jesus’ message of love and transformative justice, that really led her to find her journey fulfilled, at the Rescue Mission.  You could see it come alive as she proudly showed us the painting, done by one of their own clients, no less, that was hung in the Chapel.  It was a modern-day depiction of Jesus combining a number of gospel stories: the healing of the paralytic, feeding the 5,000, the Good Samaritan, among others – all clothed in contemporary clothing, mostly people of color, except for the white police officers, warily overseeing what Jesus was doing, as Ashley noted.  It was a large and striking painting.  You could tell this is a story she liked to tell, and had probably recalled with many other volunteers in the past, drawing out the parallels to our own situation and time. 
 
And our Youth were encouraged to see how the Great Command – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and your neighbor as yourself.” – was foundational to all our callings.  A calling by God is always centered on this greatest commandment, as Pastor Emily reminded our Youth, and whether our call is an action, attitude, or way of being: it always centers on loving God, by loving others and loving ourselves.
 
This is an important message for all of us, living, as we do, in a culture that prizes winning above all else.  How else to explain our Presidential election contest that drags on and on, officially, for an entire year, but more and more, begins unofficially as soon as the previous one concludes, an unending 4 year reality show, turning a state-by-state primary season into constant national news, and a one day national election, pumped up on steroids by corporately controlled news departments across the country, into a frenetic never ending race, by holding up a false binary choice of win or lose, as if our very souls depended on it, though all too often, it has little to do with our daily struggles and life-long faith journey, being tested as they are, with a whole host of decisions, which in their dilemma’s and diversity are often by their very nature, un-winnable.  No, not everyone can be President, not everyone can be an NBA world champion, not everyone can be a billionaire – no matter how hard you try.  But that doesn’t make us losers! 
 
Instead, we can see how the perseverance of our faith journey is an asset for living in this world, because faith sees that we are not called to be winners at the expense of others losing.  Baptized into Christ, we understand and become one with the saints, whose faith comes from, a near-death experience, first of all; and two, called to a journey of faith with the saints, we see the future that God is calling us to, and have the support of a community of faith to get there; and thirdly, as outsiders to this culture of winners vs. losers, we may experience alienation, a separation from the world, as a consequence, even as we have our eye on the prize.  Or – as our Youth are learning – loving God, and our neighbor as ourselves, requires commitment, which calls us to a work we haven’t done before, even as it makes a difference in the world, in a good way, whether at the Rescue Mission, or in so many other ways, in our lives. 
 
“I came to bring fire to the earth,” said Jesus.  “51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” 
 
“Jesus warned that those who make a commitment to him will be persecuted,” as Alan Culpepper says, “that a commitment of faith also means …that moral responsibilities must be taken with even greater seriousness… [so that as] our commitment to Christ shapes our values, priorities, goals, and behavior, it also forces us to change old patterns of life… Some of the most unexpected crises we face come from the opposition of others when we set out to do what we perceive to be the good, moral, and right thing to do. Jesus himself knew how devastating such crises can be, and he warned his followers to be prepared to encounter them also.”
 
Of course, Jesus doesn’t advocate conflict just for the sake of conflict.  But he is suggesting, I think, that on our faith journey, we will inevitably encounter it.  On this side of the grave and gate of death to eternal life; in this struggle to enact justice; in this world where the kingdom of heaven has not yet fully arrived on earth, we will encounter conflict and division, if we commit to be his followers. 
 
Fire can be either divisive, or purifying, in scripture.  Jesus was to baptize with the Holy Spirit, and with fire, as John the Baptist witnessed and proclaimed.  And Mary, Mother of Our Lord – whose commemoration day is tomorrow, BTW – was warned by Simeon that the 8 day old baby Jesus, even as he was blessed in the Temple, was “destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and [would] be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (2:34-35). 
 
Our faith journey is not always an easy or smooth ride.  Its commitment does not erase conflict, but often brings it on.  “Smile, Jesus loves you,” may be a popular bumper sticker.  But it is not the kind of ‘Minnesota-nice-love’ Jesus had in mind when teaching his followers the Great Command. 
 
Our faith journey as disciples, though, is the road to authenticity, and the way to ultimate and everlasting peace.  So “let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,” as the writer of Hebrew says, “looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, [who] has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”  

Readings for August 7, 2016, 12th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 19C
Sacrament of Holy Baptism

• Genesis 15:1-6 and Psalm 33:12-22  
• Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16  
• Luke 12:32-40

Journey, Pastor Kinsey
Abraham and Sarah were just pretty much minding their own business.  They were doing just fine.  Well off by every standard of the day.  An abundance of crops, livestock, and land, lacking only one thing.  Abraham and Sarah, though part of a big clan, had no children of their own. 
 
And when Abraham’s mother and father died, God came to Abraham for the first time with a promise: if you go from your land, to the land of Canaan, I will make of you a great nation; will bless you; make your name great; and in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed, through your children!
 
“So Abraham and Sarah went!”  And their willing response to God’s word was ever after praised.  This was the first example of their great faith – their trust and loyal response to God’s Word of promise. 
 
So they gave up their assurance of what they already had, which was much, for a journey in faith, to some place brand new and unknown!  Or as the writer of Hebrews puts it, their “faith [was] the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” 
 
It was a big promise from God – Abraham and Sarah would be given a new land, that all the families of the earth would be blessed through them, and their children would be, as numerable as the stars in the sky!  But the blessing was not yet fulfilled, a promise that was still to come.  It was a future promise.  But it was backed up and assured by God, in the present!  And remember, they had it very good where they already were.  Although, perhaps there was something in their lives, something unseen, that compelled them to be open to the call of God. 
 
So, like Adam and Eve, they left their Garden of Eden, only to find that in Canaan, there was a severe famine in the land.  And so, they headed south, to Egypt, where they could find food.  But since it was a foreign land, Abraham was worried about their status there.  In a form of human trafficking, he could be killed by authorities, and Sarah could be taken.  And it is this fear that causes Abraham to cook up a story with Sarah.  Since they are, actually, half siblings, he asks her to emphasize that part, and leave out that they are married. “Say you are my sister,” says Abraham, “so that it may go well with me because of you – a woman beautiful in appearance – and that my life may be spared on your account.”  (Shades of Patriarchy – but that’s a topic for another day!)  And sure enough, Sarah is noticed by the highest authorities and desired by Pharaoh himself, who intends to take her for his wife.  Meanwhile, it does “go well with Abraham.”  He is not only ‘not killed,’ but is blessed with more livestock and servants. 
 
Where was Abraham’s faith in God, on his journey to Egypt?  Did he not trust anymore that God would bless those who blessed Abraham and curse anyone who cursed him?  What would you and I have done, I wonder?  How are immigrants and sojourners in this country endangered by us, and how could we make it more safe for them?
 
But God has plans for Abraham and Sarah.  God has promised them, and will not forget!  And so God rescues them by “cursing,” if you will, the Pharaoh, sending some type of affliction, which tips him off to Abraham’s scheme.  And the next thing you know, Abraham and Sarah are being escorted out of the country.  A quick ending, but, it could have been much worse.
 
Where is God calling you to go?  What new thing  is God inviting you into?  What new land, new job, new relationship, new journey is on your horizon, that may be tugging at your heartstrings?  “For where your treasure is,” Jesus said, “there your heart will be also.”
 
And the writer of Hebrews says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” holding up Abraham and Sarah as models of the faith for us. 
 
In these days, we have a crisis of faith, and who our models for the journey should be.  Because, we have a crisis of where our treasure is.  And, because we cannot trust that our treasure might be invested in something we cannot see!  In this most litigious country on earth, some say, our laws and relationships, more and more, are built on proving that the truth must be tangible and visible for all to see. 
 
I have a friend, who was steeped in this way of thinking, a very bright guy, who went to the best schools, had multiple degrees, and was moving up the ladder in his field, but had never thought about the unseen in his life – he was spiritual, but not a church-goer.  ‘How do you know something unseen is real,’ he asked.  ‘Give me an example.’  I told him, this is the way I think of it.  Think of one of the most common experiences we humans have.  Falling in love!  You can’t see love, but if you’ve ever experienced it, you know how real it is!
 
Today, we all have the chance to witness, God’s love, poured out through the Holy Spirit, in the baptism of Erin, our sister in the faith.  As we ask God’s blessing on the water that will wash and cleanse, restore and save Erin, we will know and see by faith, the gift of grace poured out on her – even as all of us who are already baptized, who are on the journey, know the assurance of what we hope for, and the conviction of things not seen, to be true and real. 
 
God has blessed us.  Even when we don’t tell the whole truth, even when stretch the truth, thinking we are protecting ourselves from a risky situation – called to new lands, on a journey where we’ve never been before, afraid of those who have power over us – even then, when we falter in the faith, God is still with us, and the love of God looks for a way to redeem us, open a window, bless us, and wash us clean again. 
 
Even as Erin came to us searching and questioning about things not seen in this life, this journey we’re on, it was the beginning of faith, a seed beginning to sprout, an openness to a word, the word that calls us forth out of comfort to a foreign land, the word that whispers in our ear that for all the blessings we might have now, something unseen is missing, something better, something greater than this obvious banal thing, something better that transcends myself, some kind of real authentic life, a power, a ground of being, deeper and wider than this routine one that we lead, the same old routine that may be comfortable, but suddenly may just drive me nuts if I do it one more day!  Because, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Indeed, by faith our ancestors [Abraham and Sarah] received approval.”  And, “by faith,” as the writer of Hebrews continues, “we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.” 
 
I believe that the real world has not yet been fully seen – made from the invisible – the world we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer, a hope that is more real than what it is we have thus far created, as the children of God: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.”  That is my conviction – the hope of Jesus and the disciples.
 
Today, at this font, we see that which is unseen, in the love and desire of God to claim and name Erin Louise in baptism.  Faith is the journey we take when we trust in God to lead us, and we don’t always know where it will take us, but we trust God is blessing us, and that we may be a blessing to others. 
 
In this 1st of 2 Sacraments in the Lutheran church, we are assured that God is present, welcoming us on a journey of faith that never ends.  “By water and the Word God delivers us from sin and death and raises us to new life in Jesus Christ.” …And we are made sojourners together, “and joined in God's mission for the life of the world.” 
 
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  And so we risk losing our old lives, in exchange for something far better, a life in Christ, a life of wholeness and salvation, in the promise of God’s love.  

Readings for July 31, 2016
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost | Lectionary 18

• Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 and Psalm 49:1-12 
• Colossians 3:1-11  
• Luke 12:13-21

"Rich Toward God" by Pastor Kinsey
“Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher! …All is vanity.  …I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.” 
 
I don’t know if we’re really all that scandalized by this message in our day and age?  Isn’t this really a very modern cynicism that filters into all our thinking?  The writer of Ecclesiastes has been nicknamed, ‘the Teacher,’ or as Martin Luther called them, “the Preacher.’  Most Chicagoans are probably not all that fazed by this Teacher-Preacher!  We are a city of the big shoulders, a hardy breed.  We are the windy city, and we laugh at the cold and snow of winter.  We have endured 2 Daley administrations.  We live in neighborhoods where the El trains rumble by our living room windows every 8 – 12 minutes.  And the curse of a goat guarantees Chicago’s north side baseball team will never again win the pennant… or can they?!  Our favorite disciple is probably Thomas the doubter, the last holdout of the Disciples to believe in the resurrection.  Vanities are just part of who we are! 
 
Certainly, there is no other book of the bible like Ecclesiastes, with its doubting and seemingly dour message.  And it’s no coincidence that in our entire 3 year lectionary of worship readings, this is the sole passage we hear from Ecclesiastes! 
 
Throughout its twelve chapters, The Teacher-Preacher, continues to return to this theme of “vanity, vanity, all is vanity,” detailing their sense of skepticism and  meaninglessness found in, our work, our intellect, in law and order, and pretty much everything else, that any of us, would expect, to provide joy, and meaning, or rewards, in our lives. 
 
It is hard to capture the true meaning of the Teacher’s use of “vanity.”  The word, Vanity, or hevel in Hebrew is difficult to translate, but means something like, a “breath”, a “vapor,” or a “puff of air.”  All is transitory, we’re unable to grasp it!  But in describing what is vanity, the Preacher is a hard nosed realist, a pragmatic theologian from Jerusalem – or the Windy City – and is not going to be taken in by any Pollyannaish fancies that paste over the truth.  The Teacher is neither an Epicurean or Hedonist, like those then, or today, who pursue pleasure more than spirituality or justice.  Nor is the Preacher like the famous poet, Horace, of his own time, from whom we get, “carpe diem – seize the day.”  Robin Williams, you might remember, made carpe diem famous in the film, Dead Poets Society.  Though we tend to forget what comes after that: “seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the next.”  Horace, and his crowd, were cynical that there was anything more to this life, and so we should scale back our expectations; we should take pleasure in what we have, and face the fact that death is the end.  ‘Seize the day’ for them meant mostly to pursue those things which avoided pain, fly under the radar, be satisfied with whatever simple things you can find, don’t feel guilty for taking it, or that your neighbor goes without, because that’s all there is to life.
 
But that’s not the conclusion the Teacher in Ecclesiastes comes to, despite his cynical nature of the vanity of all things.  The Teacher is not despairing of life itself, but in the human activity that cannot be counted on to save us.  In this, he reminds me of Martin Luther, who at first, worked hard to please God and to justify himself, but realized that all our works are, a hevel, a vaporous puff of air, that cannot gain God’s approval or satisfaction – what he called “works righteousness.”  And only at the end of his rope, when Luther let go of that pursuit, in the so called Tower experience, as he read Paul’s letter to the Romans, did he discover the free gift of God’s Grace, in Christ Jesus.  And this opened a whole new door for Luther to find hope, and the courage to live.  So too, the Teacher-Preacher, finds human striving, a vaporous, shallow, puff of air.  The toiling we do is gone before you know it.  And the gift of life from God, is all we have. 
 
After Luther’s insight and transformation, he developed a teaching that helped shape and transform the Reformation for centuries.  He taught that God calls each of us to have more than a job, more than a toiling at meaningless work just to put food on the table, but God calls us to have a ‘vocation,’ that which we were created to do, that satisfies our talents, that we might play a part in society that edifies and builds it up. 
 
Are you stuck in a job you hate?  Do you feel you are toiling endlessly for nothing, but even more afraid of losing the paycheck?  Afraid of leaving or losing the job you have now during these difficult times to find the “vocation” or job you love.  But how can we not reflect on what it is that God wants us to do?  What is my calling?  What is my true vocation?  What gives you meaning in the workplace, at home, volunteering in the community – beyond the, “vanity, vanity, all is vanity” feeling? 
 
Some are able – perhaps with the help of family or friends’ – to pursue that new vocation or job that you’ve always thought about, or to go back to school, or to start up a new business, or to volunteer at the place that gives meaning, and perhaps even brings joy and satisfaction.  While some, can mostly never count on a leg-up, or “knowing someone,” who can get you a job, at all.
 
In Jesus’ parable of the Rich Fool from the gospel reading today, the rich fool is only concerned about his own welfare, bottling up the bounteous grace God blessed him with, in newly built overflowing barns, all for himself, thinking it will be his own private salvation.  And then he puts his feet up so that he can, “eat, drink, and be merry,” in total isolation or accountability to the world!  But as it turns out, says Jesus, this is a vaporous vanity, which he loses in an instant! 
 
In Ecclesiastes, the Teacher, also advocates “eat, drink, and enjoy,” but in exactly the opposite way of The Rich Fool, in Jesus’ parable.  The Preacher is not advocating hedonism, but is turning everything over to God, taking a leap of faith, knowing that our striving and toiling cannot justify a life of leisure like the Rich Fool thinks he deserves.  
 
The Teacher-Preacher is advocating a coming to the eschatological banqueting table, something like the open table celebrations Jesus hosted!  A realist-sharing, here and now, an enacting of the gracious heavenly gift of salvation, and the realm of God, as we do every week at the communion table.  “I know that there is nothing better for [those who toil],” says the Teacher, “than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; [for] moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil, [everything they work at and do].  I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him,” says The Preacher. 
 
To eat and drink and take pleasure in all our toil, and work, is easier said than done, of course.  But it is true that, as Professor Walter Bouzard says of Ecclesiastes, “our vane lives find their meaning in Christ.”  And “our hope… is that our life is hidden with the resurrected one, with Christ in God.” 
 
Let us not store up treasures for ourselves, but let us live richly toward God, as Jesus said, who apparently learned from the Teacher-Preacher, how critical this lesson is – a bit of wisdom we Chicagoans cannot hear too often.  With the Teacher, the cynic-realist, and with Luther, we plant our faith, and plant it firmly, in the free gift of Grace from God, which we know in Christ Jesus, our Teacher-Preacher.