“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink…?” Jesus asked them.  It’s always embarrassing to give an answer to a rhetorical question!  But the disciples jump in head-first, before the words are barely out of Jesus’ mouth.  “We are able,” they say, even though they don’t really know what it means! 

With the onset of this Presidential Debate Season, questions of all kinds are being slung around out there!  As one news commentator said recently, “we’ve finally arrived at that time in the campaign, the time when everything’s gone crazy – nothing quite adds up – but we still have to report it.”   

At the Town Hall Debate, audience members asked questions to get information.  The candidates, however, took to asking questions of each other, mainly to emphasize their own conclusions.  The purpose might simply be to embarrass them, to deprive them of the power of feigning ignorance of the subject, or to provoke indignation.  Questions, in the Town Hall format provided some great theater and  rhetoric, but, I think we could say, had only a fleeting connection with providing information, or crafting solutions.

James and John only feign an opening question with Jesus, demanding actually, that Jesus do whatever they want!  “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”  They recognize that Jesus is on his way to being a king, though they’re a bit delusional about the kingdom!  When the other disciples get wind of James and John’s wheeling and dealing with Jesus, they’re angry and jealous mostly that they didn’t think to ask for glory first!

Fr. Andrew Greely wrote a short tale about this story, set in our own times, that goes like this:

Once upon a time, a widow in her early 70s began thinking about moving from the big family home to a smaller, more manageable residence. One day when youngest daughter was visiting and began playing the piano, the mom told her that when she did move, this daughter could have the piano.

 Now, when the other children heard this, they began to worry among themselves about how their mother would split up the family treasures. Several of them thought they should have been consulted about the piano. After all, they had children, who would like to have a piano.

 Eventually, the widow got wind of her children’s concerns, and decided to face the issue head on. She called them together and told them, in a gentle way, that her things were hers to decide how she wanted them distributed. What she did with these things had nothing to do with her love for each of them, and she was disappointed that they felt that was the case. She had promised the piano to their youngest sister because she was the one who had been most dedicated to practice and seemed to love music. She hoped they knew that she loved each of them, and that they would not consider who got what of her things as, the sign, of her love.

 After they left, the widow sadly wondered what more she had to do, to help her children know of her love for them.

It’s not a perfect analogy, and I’ll offer another in a moment.  But what it does do well, I think, is reveal the power of God’s unconditional love for us.  The widow is like God in that she loves all her children equally, even though the gifts we get in this life are not always equal.  The widow is also like Jesus, in that she contemplates what else she has to do besides teaching us, to get the point across about loving one another.  Jesus will do it, of course, by going to the cross. 

What the story misses, I think, is the cocky confidence of James and John in demanding places of glory, one at his right hand and one at his left, and, just how that might be destructive for all of us, and unable to sustain the way of “the cup” that Jesus is talking about. 

So, here’s another analogy.  Not a fairly tale, but a chilling real life account of an economic two-some wanting earthly glory, Hubbard and Dudley, who co-wrote a study in 2004, about why the economy was doing, so well (sic).  It was a defense, in part, against the concerns of people like Warren Buffet who had warned earlier that, “derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal.”  I’m quite sure Hubbard and Dudley could not endure – would be bewildered with – the question Jesus asks about the cup – if we could pose it to them.  They would not be deterred from their pursuit of glory.  Claiming their study was a neutral academic paper, they extolled the virtues of the housing bubble, that was destined to pop, and would come close to destroying the world’s economy, all the while pocketing millions in fees from the financial industry.  They didn’t ask permission, they just demanded their own glory, and took it.  Even today, long after the bubble burst, Hubbard continues to live off the fat of the bailed out banks and financial industry, in the form of consulting and research fees, as part of the 1%, and, indirectly at least, at tax payer expense – glory, glory, glory, all the time!   

But what’s really incredible, in this tall tale of fact that is stranger than fiction, is that, the presidential candidate who extols his business savvy as the cure for our economy, has gone to Hubbard with a question: Could you please write my “…Program for Economic Recovery, Growth and Jobs?”  In turn, Hubbard, is now named as the front-runner to be the next Treasury Secretary, should the Republicans win.

And, lest you think my aim is partisan, the tale continues, yet more bizarrely, for, the doors of glorious power swing open wide for both parties.  Top advisors, republican and democratic, continuously flow unashamedly between their corporate and financial 1% jobs, and key government posts, demanding ever greater glory for themselves, unfortunately at our expense and the good of a functioning democracy.  This same rush to glory, by insider corruption, lives comfortably within the current White House as well.  Timothy Geithner, who the President hired as his Treasury Secretary, came straight out of his job as head of the New York Federal Reserve, saying that it took an insider to know how to handle the market crash.  Geithner proceeded to lead the charge to rescue Goldman and other banks in the aftermath of the crisis, that they themselves had caused, instead of deregulating, breaking them up, or holding them accountable.  And here’s the final twist in this “bipartisan spirit informing the banking bailout,” the person who filled Geithner’s position at the New York Fed was none other than Mr. Dudley, of Hubbard & Dudley!  Back and forth they go, in their own self-glory, between Wall Street and the White House.
(see story published 10/19/2012 by http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/meet_romneys_economic_hit_man_20121018/ by Robert Scheer)

We want you to give us whatever we ask of you, James and John demanded – all the glory, without any of the pain or responsibility.  “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them,” said Jesus.  “…But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant…”  And so, the tales of glory are ever new! 

Of course, we all want success, and some money.  We are all angry with, and maybe even a bit jealous of, the Hubbard’s, Dudley’s and Geithner’s, the James and John’s, of this world.  This far along the way, we’ve come to understand a bit more of the dynamic of the 1% over against the 99% percent.  We are coming to see that, power and glory will seek their own level.  We can’t ignore that.  Not everything is politics, of course, but most everything has a political dimension!  It seems that we’re all either living within our entitlement, or scrambling to acquire the title to, enough to live on, and a piece of the pie.  Now, if we can just get past the mad scramble, to want to get from one to the other, to demand seats at Jesus’ right and left hand in glory, this either-or that is tearing us apart! 

Jesus has a third way.  By now, there’s lots of names for it: sharing, non-violent resistance, salvation through grace, faith active in love.  And Jesus’ question continues to point us back to the journey of the third way: “are we able to drink the cup that he drinks?”  Before you answer… give it some thought! 

One thing the cup does in the gospel story, is point us ahead to the Last Supper and the self-giving of Jesus’ life on the cross.  Lifted up in his glory, Jesus was crucified with two criminals, one on his right hand and one on his left.  The innocence of the crucified one, who was becoming a new kind of king, and his forgiveness of the repentant criminal at his right hand, signal our, pardon and freedom, which become tools for all – for a new life.  This third way is the most powerful of all because it is connected to the realm of God, is growing like a tiny mustard seed into the largest of shrubberies, here and now.  It doesn’t demand glory and power to dominate, or “lord it over” others.  It doesn’t plunder and make the world serve us, but recognizes the abundance of God’s gifts – the overflowing cup – and through us, enacts the generous sharing, in service to others, that Jesus celebrated.  This is the cup of holy communion, offered to us, which we drink at the table that is open to all.  Come to the banquet, for all is now ready.  

“Jesus, looking (intently) at him, loved him and said, ‘you lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the [church], and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”  Well, that’s what I wish Jesus would have said!  Unfortunately, he said “give the money to the poor,” not the church!  Sometimes pastors get a little mixed up about Stewardship!  So, it’s a good thing we discuss it in an intentional way today – so you can straighten me out! 

Whose gifts are we offering?  And to whom?  What is the mission plan God calls us to?  Jesus’ alternative-intentional-community that he was forming, addressed, and came to serve, all people, including the poor.  In the early church, according to the book of Acts, they made Jesus’ teaching a rule.  Believers joined “the Way,” as it was called, and had to sell all their possessions and offer it back to the leaders of the Jesus movement, to be distributed equally amongst all as any had need. 

For some, this will set off alarm bells of our national polemic on “class-warfare!”  Jesus and the early church, it seems clear, are advocating for a redistribution of wealth, which most Americans polled today, say, they’re against.  What’s clear, at least in this one gospel teaching, is that the barrier, the “one thing” that the rich man lacks, is sharing his possessions with the poor, according to Jesus.  I doubt Jesus would name it “class-warfare,” as it has been, in our current cultural discourse.  But Jesus weighs in heavily and often, on the issue of Mammon, or money, and comes down firmly on the side of, redistribution and sharing.  In his big picture, money is a tool for increasing human relationships of healing and love – rather than, love of money.  And in the Kingdom, or realm of God, that the rich man is interested in, true treasure is freedom from the want of privilege, and a joyous invitation to the egalitarian banquet celebration with the Messiah! 

Yet many are drawn to the popular and growing theology, called The Prosperity Gospel, where the treasure of the kingdom and realm of God is found through thinking positively and doing good – just the opposite of the counter-cultural life of the Way Jesus invites us to. 

The prosperity gospel, you could say, was alive and well in Jesus’ time, and long before him as well, in Hebrew culture.  Abraham was a blessed man before being called by God, rich by every measure of the many flocks and herds of animals, and large extended family and clan, that belonged to him.  This kind of wealth was a marker of a high status, being placed upon him.  The rich man who “ran up and bowed downed before Jesus,” also was considered blessed by his great possessions. 

The best, most popular proponent of the Prosperity Gospel today, is probably Joel Osteen.  In Houston, he heads the largest congregation in the country, boasting 43,500 in weekly attendance, almost double the next biggest mega-church.  So, who am I to criticize?!  And, I have nothing against him personally, it’s just that, in his latest book, as one commentator says, there’s hardly any mention of the gospels at all from the #1 Prosperity Gospel teacher.  Osteen’s idea is that “God wants to increase us financially,” which he illustrates in a personal story, how when

his father was “willing to go beyond the barriers of the past [by applying the principles found in his book], he broke that curse of poverty in his family.  Now, his siblings and his children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, are all going to experience more of the goodness of God because of what one man did” (p. 25), says Osteen.  

And a few pages later, even though there is no scriptural reference or theologian he refers to,

he is convinced [quote] “God wants to give you your own house” (p. 35).  The U.S. government and the banking system seemed to agree with Osteen, right up until the [Great Recession hit].  Now they’re taking away many of those houses.  But this doesn’t deter Osteen; [he’s sticking to his story, despite the many innocent victims who were following his script.]  (http://www.svchapel.org/resources/articles/22-contemporary-issues/620-joel-osteen-and-the-prosperity-gospel)

Jesus however, siding with the prophets, undid this age-old temptation that riches are a sign of prosperity.  When he wasn’t warning against the love of money and the unwillingness to share, he was lampooning it.  He told his disciples: “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”  The contemporary artist, Charles McCollough, depicted this saying, using a simple baked-clay medium, which shows two men dressed like rich Monopoly game pieces, one at each end of a terrified looking camel, as the first tries to push, and the other tries to pull it, into somewhere it clearly doesn’t fit – hilariously capturing Jesus’ joke! 

Jesus exposes the rich man’s status as being worth-less in the kingdom of God, who went away shocked and grieving, like a Bernie Madoff, whose Ponzy scheme came tumbling down.  For this rich man, Jesus even added an 11th Commandment, “you shall not defraud,” capturing the warning and outrage of the prophet Amos before him, that the wealth of the rich rulers in Jerusalem was inherently corrupt because it was gained at the expense of poor.  Jesus, who looked intently at the rich man, has nothing against him personally, indeed, loves him, it says, but sees the one thing he lacks, a self-awareness of his privilege to defraud others, which goes hand in hand with his unwillingness to share.

But, I also warn you from trusting me.  I am probably no better than the rich man or Bernie, socking my wealth away in savings for retirement instead of selling it and giving it to the poor.  I am rich, at least by any measure of the world’s standards.  I have “in so many ways,” as our Confession says, “caused or suffer brokenness: [by] envy, ambition, conflict, boasting, [a] hard heart, lashing tongue, [and] dishonor for the poor.”  Whose gifts are we offering?  And to whom?  What is the mission plan, God calls us to? 

The cartoon that Jesus draws us, of a camel, the largest of animals in Palestine, being pushed through the eye of a needle, is disarmingly hilarious!  “The disciples were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved’?”  Well, exactly, says Jesus, that’s the point, none of us can save ourselves.  “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” 

We want to mitigate the shock of this “camel thru the eye of a needle” cartoon, desperately trying to find a way to get into Kingdom of God, but the truth is that we all fall short.  Jesus disabuses us of the religious notion that we can earn our way into God’s good graces, either by our own hard work of doing good, or through our piously hanging on to honor and status before others.  To me though, this seems like very freeing good news, doesn’t it?  It relaxes us to be open enough to catch the vision and to see the egalitarian other-worldly pull of KoG. 

Following Jesus will not make us rich in possessions, or, as Joel Osteen insists, “help you get a good parking spot” when you’re out shopping for more stuff!  In Jesus’ alternative-egalitarian-banqueting movement, Jesus lifts up the poor, and brings low the rich, a most distressing counter-cultural message, and, I’m afraid, not what the American dream promises!  Following Jesus and living in the kingdom and realm of God, we find that families are no longer ordered by Patriarchy, race or class, sexuality or gender.  And trying to live that out in this interim time, may bring more push-back and persecution, than prosperity. 

Never-the-less, for the sake of justice and peace, Jesus invites us on this journey, on the way, following him.  The biggest shock is finding that it leads to the cross, of course, where Jesus backs up this teaching to the rich man, by giving up everything, his life, which births new life for us.  The biggest joy, though, is letting go of our daily need to justify ourselves, dying to this world of increasing injustice masked in false-righteousness, to be raised with the Christ, the new being, and to be freed to live right now, already, as if paradise has already arrived and been given to us, dining at this banqueting table.  Isn’t this the mission plan God calls us to!?! 

[Barking; Meowing…] 

I just wanted to welcome our special guests today!  Not all us speak the same language, you know! 

And, if I may be so bold as to point out the elephant in the room [pointing] – no, we don’t have any real elephants here today, but most of us are aware that we do have some cultural differences from our animals.  Some of us may walk a little differently than others.  Some have unusual fashion senses – I won’t say who! 

But we all have one thing in common here today, we are all creatures created equally by God.  As the story of Noah-and-the-Ark says, each of us “of every kind, of all flesh,” has been given “the breath of life.”  And every creature: wild and domestic animals, creeping and flying animals – oh yes – and humans, all were invited to enter Noah’s Ark.  All God’s creatures, animals and their people were saved, there was no distinction.  So, welcome aboard Noah’s Ark!

You may think we’re doing this because, as one congregant lovingly described us, this is the church where anything goes!  But that’s not it, not exactly, although that probably doesn’t hurt!  But mainly it’s because, God made each unique individual creature, with “the breath of life.”  And that consequently, humans are all less, without our pets and all animals. 

Three days ago on October 4th, we commemorated St Francis of Assisi.  His care for the poor, and for all animals as our “brothers and sisters,” back in the 12C, gave rise to a number of legends, which still speak powerfully to us today.  In a parallel age of great abandonment, killing and war, Francis stood as a person of faith for partnering together locally, to live in a No-Kill-Ark of Caring-Compassion for all animals and people created with “the breath of life.” 

One popular legend was the saving of a small Italian town that was being terrorized by a ravenous wolf.  Wolves of course, are actually very social creatures.  What we call packs, are their extended families.  This lone wolf, however, was abandoned and hungry, without its natural support system, and so he turned to preying on the town’s most vulnerable.  And St Francis took it upon himself to go into the woods to find the wolf. 

And as the legend goes, when he found him, he made the sign of the cross and commanded the wolf to come to him, and not to hurt anyone anymore.  And the wolf stopped growling, and closed his jaws, and lay down in front of him.  And Francis said, “brother wolf, you do much harm in these parts… and the people accuse and curse you… So, brother wolf, I would like to make peace between you and the people.”  And when Francis walked into town with the wolf by his side, the town’s people we’re astounded!  “And Francis made a pact between the people and the wolf, that because the wolf had done evil out of his hunger, the townsfolk had the responsibility to feed the wolf, and in return, the wolf would no longer prey upon them or their flocks.”  And finally, Francis gave the wolf a blessing as a sign of new life, a new beginning in its community, and in partnership with its people. 

Animals, it turns out, are pretty amazingly smart, in ways we may never be.  Remember when the Indian Ocean Tsunami’s massively destructive wave struck without warning the day after Christmas in 2004, mainly affecting Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand, and some 230,000 people suddenly, and tragically, died?  Yet in the months afterward it was discovered that, in the animal world, they somehow seemed to perceive its arrival, and got out of the way, even before it hit –  call it a keen sixth sense!  Elephants screamed and ran for higher ground.  Dogs refused to go outdoors.  Flamingos abandoned their low-lying breeding areas.  Zoo animals rushed into their shelters and could not be enticed to come back out.  It was nearly impossible to find any animals that didn’t survive! 

One couple that lived to tell about the tsunami, credited their survival to their animals.  Their dogs, who loved to walk on the beach every day, and always jumped at the opportunity, flat out refused to go to the ocean-side, on that morning of the tsunami, saving their lives.  Different language; different culture; unbelievable sixth sense, but creatures created and loved by God, and, like humans - animals are made with “the breath of life,” just like us.    

But our amazing domesticated animals also depend on us, for their survival.  They look to us for everything from food and shelter, to medical care and companionship.  They need us, as much as we desire their companionship and love.  Today we forge a new life-giving relationship between church and animal rescue alliance, we’re creating, you might say, our own neighborhood Ark.  On this Ark, the animals are seen through God’s eyes as our equals, our “brothers & sisters,” and  we are given the power and responsibility to reawaken their people, and to rescue and save animals on this Ark, a sign of a people-animal alliance, creating, like St Francis, a No-Kill Ark of Caring-Compassion.  Today is important because we have included in a very tangible way, our extended families of animals and their people, here on this Ark, a sanctuary and safe place, to get to know one another, that extends out into our community. 

In addition to St Francis, there is one other character who speaks powerfully to us today, the Good Samaritan.  The Good Samaritan that Jesus described, continues to raise-up our awareness to care for our fellow neighbor, without distinction, for everyone who has the breath of life.  And the Good Samaritan didn’t just stop with offering the man abandoned on the side of the road, a bandage.  But this kind of Samaritan person sees themselves as part of an Ark of Caring, taking time out, without a thought, from a busy schedule, and uses their personal resources, their animal, to carry the abused and beaten man, not leaving him abandoned.  And finally the Good Samaritan teams up with the nearest local agency, the neighborhood Inn and Rescue Center, and makes a gift to pay for lodging for the injured person!  This, says Jesus, is how to be a neighbor, and to love one another. 

Unity partners today with Famous Fido, to support one another in an Ark of healing and wholeness, care and compassion, in this neighborhood, and in all creation, forging a new alliance in a world of abandonment. 

So today, I invite you to do two things: One, reach out across the aisle and meet someone new here and at the luncheon to follow.  Because of our extended families, animals and their people, here today, it’s easier and more natural to introduce our households to one another.  And secondly, If you can, I invite all of you here today to support the ongoing work of Famous Fido by making a monetary offering in the envelope provided today. 

All of us are messengers, and this is another vital way we proclaim the news of our Saving and Caring Ark for all things with the breath of life.  A crucial difference in the culture of humans and animals is that we humans are the story-tellers.  We tell the story of our beloved animals, how they are welcome among us, {an amazing gift, intricately woven in to the fabric of all life from our creator God} and consequently how unacceptable it is to abuse, abandon or euthanize them.  We do this not only with our courageous words of support, and our loving care and concern for animal life in our homes and habitats, but also (like the Good Samaritan), with our financial resources.    

And finally, let me just say a word about how amazed I am with the passion that Gloria, the director of Famous Fido, has for her work of animal rescue and adoption.  She is definitely a Good Samaritan, and her love and commitment raise our awareness of the need for a No Kill Chicago for our animals.  As a person of faith herself, she has told me repeatedly how animals also have souls – in effect, are created by God with the breath of life.  Her voice and her organization have saved many pets that would otherwise have been euthanized.  She spends all she has to find good partners, and willing Inn-keepers in the community, to make sure the animals she rescues have permanent loving homes.  I’m looking forward to the ways Unity can partner with Famous Fido, not only in this celebration, but in the coming days and years. 

+ So, once again let me say, Welcome to God’s Ark of Caring-Compassion, where all are made equally with the “breath of life.”

+ God blesses all animals and their people, and we rejoice in the partnerships God is forging amongst us today, and look forward to where the Ark takes us in the days ahead.