October 15, 2017

“Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:1-14

“Too often, I think, the choices are to either condemn those who believe differently (or don’t believe at all) or feel like we are somehow being unfaithful by not condemning them. But keep in mind, we are not Matthew’s community; that is, we are not the minority tradition with little cultural power trying to make sense of our rejection and alienation. Rather we are disciples of Jesus who hear, even in this parable, the good news that God invites all, good and bad (Mt. 22:10), because God is a God of expansive love and radical inclusiveness. And we are disciples who see, especially in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, not only just how far God will go to make this invitation of grace but also and that God’s words of love and forgiveness are more powerful than any words of punishment, hate, or fear. And because we have seen and heard and experienced first hand God’s love, we do not have to call down God’s judgment but can trust the God we know in Jesus to care for those who do not respond to God’s invitation just as graciously as God has cared for us. We can, to borrow the words Paul writes in today’s second reading, “not worry about anything” – including when our loved ones don’t believe as we do – but “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let [our] requests be made known to God,” trusting that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus.”

If we can practice trusting God enough to resist condemnation but instead pray for our loved ones, we might find ourselves more capable of sharing why what we believe is important to us (rather than just insisting that believing is what matters). We might respect the questions, beliefs, and struggles of those we love. And we might offer our care and support in the name and example of the one who died rather than condemn and was raised to offer peace rather than retribution. And this patient understanding and loving support, as it turns out, may just be the most powerful witness we can offer.” (David Lose, “…in the meantime”, Preaching an Ugly Parable, October 6, 2014)

Walls divide people – that is their purpose. They are there to keep something in or out. On our highways, we put up walls to keep the noise out from surrounding neighborhoods. In marathons, runners hit “a wall” when they reach the end of their energy and strength. Others say they’ve “hit a wall” when their goals are blocked. Those of us who remember the 80’s remember the moment when the Berlin Wall was knocked down – the same wall that had divided East Berlin from West Berlin for 28 years. Even in the church, we have walls – walls of separation that is. Archeologists have uncovered an inscription from the outer wall of Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem, the Temple which was destroyed by the Roman army in 70 CE, 37 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. It carries a stern warning from the High Priest: “No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” How do we put up walls in the church? The un-churched tell us that they hesitate to come to church because they don’t know what to expect inside and behind these walls. They believe it is necessary to know the entire bible, or to have some demonstrated level of faith before they can join us for a service. Of course, we laugh at such thinking. We don’t believe that we are a secret society. But, in reality, we do have secret things we do, things like standing at certain times, secret titles like acolyte and lector; and secret memorized responses like “a creed”. And, most importantly, this secret act we call Holy Communion. As such, we thank Christ for His open invitation and limitless mercy and love – but then we invite that individual to learn the faith of the church.

You see, Christ the King has sent out the invitations, and decisions need to be made. Are we going to make light of the invitation, deciding that we have other “more important” things to do – and so, like the invited guests to the king’s banquet, we shame and dishonor the King? Or, are you and I going to assume the role of the servants, accepting the invitation to go out and seek to fill this sanctuary, and to show people that our walls are not there to keep people out. And, my friends, we do not go out just once, but as the text says, we are sent over and over and over again – every time we leave this sanctuary, this worship space, we are a people sent out – we are “Apostelos”, the “sent out” ones. Just like the Disciples transitioned from learner (disciple) to Apostles (those sent out), we go through the same transition. Let me ask you this question, when was the last time this sanctuary was filled? Why has it been that long ago, and whose fault is it? Oh we give excuses and we get excuses and all that excuses do is dishonor the King who has sent out the invitation to all people. In Ephesians 2:14 it says, “He (Christ) is our peace, He has made us all one people and has broken down the dividing wall…to reconcile us to God in one body through the cross…” In other words, Christ came to remove the walls of separation, all barriers, so why do we have a desire to wall our selves in, or wall others out? We need to be a part of the King’s Invitation committee – and no excuses will be accepted. And when invited, we need to come prepared to experience G-d’s amazing Grace.

Pastor Dave

What if Ananias and Sapphira Didn’t Hold Anything Back?

“But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!” Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.” Acts 5:1-11

The story of Ananias and Sapphira is a difficult, yet powerful story from the early church. The problem with our friends Ananias and Sapphira is, perhaps, that they wanted to receive a reputation for a greater personal sacrifice than they actually made. The church’s well-intentioned sharing of goods probably led to a considerable amount of subtle pressure on members to make donations. In other words, when one member, or several make significant donations and sacrifices to the church community, others will want to look as if they too can make such a sacrifice. So, perhaps Ananias and Sapphira got caught up in a band-wagon effect. The couple wanted to appear as outstanding church members, but they didn’t want to part with their possessions. In order to have both, they pretended to give the full price of the sale of their property to the Apostles. But they secretly kept part of the money for themselves, thus trying to deceive the community. But what if they had given everything to the community? And what if they did not lie to Peter?

It would seem that the reputation of Peter, his power and his faithfulness to the community would have spread mightily after this encounter. Acts 5 goes on to say that a great fear seized the church and all who heard of this account. If Ananias and Sapphira did not withhold anything from the sale of their property, they would have gone on to remain nameless and faceless among those who lived within the community of the believers following the Day of Pentecost. Could it be that, by their selfish actions, their sudden and shocking deaths serve more to embolden the power and position of Peter rather than if they had remained faithful followers? I think this is a fair question. Obviously, by being named as liars, and suffering the shocking judgment of Peter, the fear their story produces continues to have an impact within the church community – well, for those who even know their story. When we consider reading the Bible and taking the words and teachings of G-d seriously, we have stories like these that have the power to keep us up at night.

Pastor Dave