Radically Loving God - A sermon of the festival of St. James the Greater

This past Sunday, I was blessed to have the honor to preach at St. James Lutheran Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI.  St. James is my home congregation.  They sponsored my throughout seminary and were home to both my ordination and my wedding.  They are a loving and welcoming congregation and I could not ask for a better congregation to call home.  Below is the sermon I preached for the celebration of their Saint Day.   

Pentecost 9 - July 29, 2012

2 Samuel 11:1-15

St. James Lutheran, GPF

Have you ever known someone that you thought the world of and believed that they would go far and do all these great things only to have them fall into a self-destruct cycle leaving you watching and silently screaming “no!”? 

That’s how I feel when I read this story about David.  You see, I am fan of David, the underdog who went far, the psalmist and musician described as being after God’s own heart even though he was far from perfect. 

At the beginning of David’s story, he’s got a lot going for him.  He is anointed by Samuel to be the person who would follow Saul on the throne even though he was the youngest, and probably the most insignificant, of Jesse’s sons.  Through the power and wisdom God gave him, David defeated Goliath and was victorious on many fields of battle.  David showed mercy to Saul, his nemesis, when he had the opportunity to kill him and when Saul and Jonathan died on the field of battle, David showed the people what it meant to truly lament a great loss…but it gets a little rocky after that.

When David was having the Ark of the Lord brought into Jerusalem, there’s a snafu when he decided to have the Ark carried on a cart instead of the poles that God said the ark had to be carried on and a priest ends up dead after getting zapped while trying to steady the ark on the cart.  So this delayed the arrival of the Ark into Jerusalem for three months.  Once it got there, David danced with great joy…much to the dismay of one of his wives.  Then David decided that it was time to build God a house to replace the tent that God had been dwelling in with the Ark of the Covenant since Sinai, a tent that allowed God to go where the people went.  And while his intentions were great, in a way…the timing wasn’t right and it seemed to be more about David than about God. 

And after this, it seems that David gets back on the straight and narrow.  He was victorious in battle over the Philistines and showed compassion to Jonathan’s last remaining son, who had crippled feet.

And then we get to this mornings reading and as we watch the scene play out reactions range from “bad move, David,” to “really?”  to “no! don’t do it!”  to “sigh” while David slides further and further into self destruct mode.  And then we sweep the story under the rug and jump right to Nathan reading David the riot act and David repenting. 

But it’s not that easy

It’s not that easy because then we ignore the sins of David…First, David took advantage of Bathsheba, possibly raped her, when he should have been on the field of battle fighting with his men.  Then, when Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s child, he tried to cover it up by doing everything he could to force Uriah to go home and sleep with his wife…ignoring the fact that when the Ark of the Lord was present on the field of battle, soldiers were forbidden to have sex…and when Uriah proved himself to be faithful to his requirements as a soldier, David did the most despicable thing he could think of, he had Uriah killed so he could take Bathsheba as his own wife and save both he and Bathsheba from being stoned to death for their adultery.

And in all of this, the only two words that Bathsheba voices are “I’m pregnant.”  She has no voice when David lays with her, she has no voice when her husband is killed and David takes her as his wife…she has no voice when the child she bore as a result of the adultery with David died.  She only gets those two words. 

So, we’re faced with a story of power and privilege and what can happen when those two things are taken advantage of. 

Last week in New Orleans, the youth that I serve in Lawrence saw the reality of power and privilege as we drove through the 9^th ward, and as we walked down Bourbon Street.  In the lower 9^th ward, we were witness to the neglect facing the Vietnamese neighborhood we served in, whose homes still bear the scars of Katrina, whose doors still bear the X and codes indicating how many people were found in the house and the condition of those people while in more affluent parts of town you couldn’t even tell a hurricane had hit.  And on Bourbon Street, we encountered women who make their living in so called Gentleman’s clubs.  Reactions to these two experiences were completely different.  In the 9^th ward, there was silence as we passed homes with mold on the exterior siding and others without roofs.  On Bourbon street, there were gasps and one of the youth even instructed the others not to look, inadvertently insulting the strippers we passed.  In both cases we talked about power and privilege.  We talked about how a lot of people had left New Orleans after Katrina to restart their lives, but others had no choice but to stay in those moldy, damaged homes.  We talked about how some women do choose to make their living by taking off their clothes for men, but that others are trapped in the sex industry and to get out would be to risk their lives. 

It is the same power and privilege that fuels this story about David, who though he was originally described as a man after God’s own heart, was no man after God’s heart in these destructive acts. 

But here is the thing that makes totally no sense…probably because it’s not supposed to make sense…while God did not let David off the hook for his sins and indiscretions, God still remained faithful to the promises that God had already made to David.  When God revealed to David that he would not be the one to build God a house, God also promised to give David honor, to give him a house…a dynasty, to give him an heir who would take the throne after him.  And God was faithful to these promises to a very imperfect man.  In fact, God was so faithful to these promises that God made David to be the ancestor of one born to an insignificant peasant girl in first century Palestine….one who would be full of grace and truth and would truly be after God’s heart all the while causing trouble left and right.  One who would eat with the strippers and the tax collectors, touch the unclean and heal them on the Sabbath.  One who was not afraid to call folks out for their abuses of power and privilege and who went to the cross so that the debts created by our sin would be forgiven and expunged from our records.

David was an imperfect person.  He was a much bigger scoundrel than we call him on.  But God showed love and faithfulness to David and used both his gifts and his failings to bring about something better for this world…a savior.  If you take a look at scripture, the people who God works through the most are most often the biggest screw ups, the most broken, and the least perfect.  And it doesn’t make sense…but, if you think about it, God doesn’t really make sense.  God’s best and most fruitful works have come from the most broken and most insignificant people, from poor widows and dirty fisherman, from former persecutors of the church and crooked tax collectors, from womanizing kings and unknown peasant women.  Our God is a God who takes people who are flawed and broken and uses both our gifts and our failings and makes beautiful and amazing things grow from them.  He’s done it with you, and he’s done it with me and God will continue to work in ways that don’t make sense to us which leaves us with only one option, to throw our hands up in the air, to stop rationalizing and to accept God’s amazing and radical love for us, we saints and sinners, we broken and flawed people.  We children of an amazingly radical loving God.

To NOLA and back: Reflections on the National Youth Gathering

I've been trying to put my thoughts together about our trip to the National Youth Gathering these past couple days...but for some reason, my mind just keeps going back to the statistics
- walls for 3 homes built
- over $400,000 donated to build wells around the world (that's 160 wells!)
- 1193 pints of blood and 509 heads of hair donated
- 400 service projects completed

When 33,309 youth get together to be little Christs for the world, a LOT can happen. 

The 2009 National Youth Gathering had a positive economic impact of over $42 million on the city of New Orleans.  I'm guess this gathering will have a similar impact. 

Beyond all the stats we do know is one we will never know...and that it how many lives were changed during the ELCA National Youth Gathering.  Sure there are the lives of the participants and the adult leaders who were behind all these statistics...but what about the lives of the people we met in the streets of New Orleans, the lives of the children we played with and read to, the lives of the people whose schools now have a brand new coat of paint on the walls, the lives of the families who homes we built, the lives of those who will receive the blood that was donated or the wigs created out of the hair donated. 

There was a lot of love in New Orleans last week as thousands upon thousands of ELCA Lutherans descended upon that great city and got to work breaking down walls and making a difference in the lives of people we met and in the lives of people we will never meet.  We were truly God's hands and feet in the City of New Orleans. 

But the most poignant moment of the gathering, for me, was the moment that those 33,309 youth plus adult leaders and volunteers stopped for a moment to pray for the victims of the shooting in Aurora, Colorado and for the shooter.  In that moment, that out pouring of love and the echos of the Amen that rang throughout the Superdome (...sorry, the Lutherdome) was so powerful that it could have only come from God. 

I boarded the bus for the trip home on Sunday afternoon very proud to be a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  It was a blessing to see so much love poured out on the city of New Orleans, so much hospitality showered upon us, and to see how visible God was in changing the youth that attended, filling them with the Holy Spirit who gathered us together for this event and then scattered us to our hometowns to begin the work the needs to be done there...to be done here. 

I am very much looking forward to the next gathering in Detroit in 2015.  It is a city of resilient people who are fighting to keep their hometown alive and vibrant.  There have been great strides in this with the increase in community gardens that were once vacant homes, in young adults moving into the city to revitalize it, and in people who believe in the spark that Detroit has always had within it.  There is a lot of need in Detroit, though, and I look forward to the impact that 35,000 teenagers can have on what I believe is the greatest city in the US.

Rainy Day Reflections

It's been a while since I have been blessed to wake up on a rainy day.  In fact, it's been a while since it has really rained here so that in itself is something to celebrate. 

As we near our departure for the National Youth Gathering, I have been thinking more and more about what I would like to see happen on this trip.  Having experienced two other mission trips (but never ever having been to the Gathering before) I have come to learn that God always exceeds my expectations because God is pretty cool like that.  To see how youth can be so changed after only one week continues to amaze me and it is big reason why all the details and the planning are worth it...to see how God has worked in the life of a youth or an adult and changed them forever for the better. 

So my hope and prayer for the Gathering is that the youth will be open to God's work in them and through them to be God's hands and feet in the world and that they will experience something that they never expected. 

If you're interested in following our journey in New Orleans next week, you can follow me on twitter @pstrinrbyslprs or you can follow the gathering #cwts12

Thankful Thursday

Recently, I had my annual staff evaluation.  I really appreciate evaluation time because it gives me the opportunity to get honest feedback which I know is given with love and from the perspective of folks who want me to continue to grow and mature in the gifts that God has given me.  One part of the evaluation is a self-evaluation, which is the hardest part of the evaluation process because it means that I need to be honest with myself about my growth areas.  This is normally a good thing, but if you know me really well, you know that I am already pretty hard on myself (which is, in itself, a big growth area) which makes self care a struggle when you toss and turn at night over very minor things which no one else is going to remember in a couple hours...except for me, of course.  I'm getting better at this.  Having a life-partner who constantly reminds you how great he thinks you are, and yet is willing to call you out when that is necessary, is a very helpful thing for someone like me.

So I've been thinking of ways that I am good at self-care.  Or ways that I am getting better.

One way is in the wellness quest.  I'm getting better every day at getting exercise in and keeping better track of what I eat (though, honestly, the monthly work day is a free for all lunch day because you simply cannot turn down any of the delicious food that the church ladies have made...and that's all there is to it. ). 

Another way is in my attempts to take time every day to be thankful.  I'm not the best at weekly thankful Thursday posts, but God knows when I thank her for the gifts she has given me and I continue to strive to make sure that folks around me know how thankful I am that God has placed them in my life...and that's what matters.

But since it's Thursday, here are some things I am thankful for that I wish to share with you:
- For Lutheran's singing in harmony (I may be biased, but we do it the best)
- For Legos
- For Workday lunches
- For the Communion Coffee and Workday folks
- For folks unafraid to dole out hugs during the passing of the peace
- For being reminded that God loves me
- For being reminded of how precious life is and how God is present in each moment of life
- For exercise and for rest

Wellness update

Yesterday was my second session with Manon. She is my physical trainer...and she's really good at getting my rear in gear. And boy do I feel it today!  There I muscles I am working now that I had allowed to get lazy while other, bossier, muscle groups took over. 

That ended two weeks ago when I discovered my trapezius muscles again. 

They're yelling at me again today...and I don't mind one bit.  I enjoy the fact that I am learning how to use my body properly in order to maximize my health and wellness goals.  In just two weeks, my posture is better, my feet are not as turned out, and I'm more motivated to get moving just about every day (and the two pounds I have lost are a bonus!).  I still really dislike the treadmill, but thanks to a kindle, and amazon prime membership, and unlimited free streaming of Glee episodes, it's bearable for 30-45 minutes, 4 times a week. 

The best part about working with Manon is with her being aware of my travel schedule in the next couple weeks, my exercises can be tailored so I don't have to pack a bunch of stuff to keep up with the routine (all I need to take to NOLA and Detroit is 1 resistance band...score!)

On the diet end, I'm doing really good and have been doing a lot better at keeping the stress eating at bay.  My big success here is to carry healthy snacks with me and to have them in abundant supply at home so that they are easy to access.  This also means that the unhealthy snacks are off the shopping list.  Surprisingly, Chris doesn't mind this as much as I thought he would since he is also on a health quest to gain muscle mass.  Also, we have discovered how yummy Quinoa is!  And a lot easier to make than I thought (hooray for rice cookers!).  Next time we get some I'm going to try a quinoa and black bean recipe I got from a lady from church.  Looks like it would go well with Tilapia or Flounder (or on its own if it's just me eating it...I don't know if Chris believed me when I told him how much protein is in quinoa). 

Also on the wellness quest topic. I finished the Hunger Games series...totally different ending than I thought it would be. But, I read three for fun books in a month, which is HUGE for me. I'm really close to 10 books read this year, which is something I don't normally do, and I think it's great.  I'm moving on to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, but will need suggestions after I am done reading that book.  So please, provide suggestions...

So things are looking up.  I have more motivation and am in a place where slacking off isn't an option if I want to accomplish the goals I have. 

How the Spirit Moves - A sermon for July 1

I struggled with a sermon text in a way that I never have before. How to preach on a text when God is never mentioned, when all the text is is a sample of true lament being read to an audience who lives in a culture that no longer knows how to truly lament. 

I needed to write something. Anything. And so I did.

But the Holy Spirit would not let me preach what I wrote.  She made me preach something else. And it was all Spirit. I did nothing but give voice to the words God put in my heart. 

The text of the sermon I wrote is below. The sermon I preached was recorded here. It is titled Lament.

July 1, 2012

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

In 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill which created a mandate for each following President to declare a National Day of Prayer.  This date was originally intended to be picked by each President, but in 1988, it was permanently set as the first Tuesday of May.  The National day of Prayer had its origins in 1775, before the Declaration of Independence was even signed.  It was declared by the Continental Congress and was described by George Washington as “a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, to acknowledge the gracious interpositions of Providence; to deprecate [to pray or intreat that a present evil may be removed] deserved punishment for our Sins and Ingratitiude, to unitedly implore the Protection of Heaven; Success to our Arms and the Arms of our Ally” 

Subsequent National Days of Prayer have been declared in times of crisis by Presidents John Adams and Abraham Lincoln, who wrote: “...it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord."

In essence, National days of Prayer were intended to be days of humility and national lament, to re-declare our dependence on God in all manners and forms that God is called upon, and to ask God’s continued guidance and healing.  And according to Wikipedia, the National day of prayer is now celebrated by folks going to courthouses, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, with luncheons, picnics, concerts, etc.  But those events have never been on my radar. 

Sure, I see the national prayer breakfast on the news and hear about who gets to speak at that each year…but I don’t think that the National day of prayer is held to the same importance that it was in 1775 or even 1952.  Partially because our religious demographics have changed and the number of folks proclaiming atheism or agnosticism have increased greatly.  But I also wonder if we have, as a country, have become so caught up in waging moral and ethical wars on each other, many in the name of God and country, that we have forgotten the lessons of events like Pearl Harbor and 9-11 which, for a little while, brought this country together to lament and to rebuild, to stand united instead of divided.  

We can certainly look to David as a reminder of what it means to lament in the midst of loss and division.

David had just returned home from battle against the Amalekites and had been there for two days when men approached him and informed him that Saul and Jonathan died in battle against the Philistines.  Jonathan had been killed by the opposing forces, and Saul, when he realized that the battle was lost, he fell upon his own sword after his servant refused to run him through with it.  This is not the version of the story that David hears, however.  Upon hearing that Saul and Jonathan are dead, David tore his clothes and began mourning, and fasting, and praying for Saul and Jonathan.  During this time, David meets an Amalekite soldier who tells David that it was he who killed Saul, not Saul who killed himself.  This information does not bode well for the Amalekite, who soon after meets his own death for claiming to have killed the Anointed of the Lord.  This part of the story was not included in our reading, however, just the information about David’s return and the lament that he teaches the people. 

David’s lament over the deaths of Saul and Jonathan is beautiful in its poetic nature, if not unusual in its content. 

There is amazingly unexpected mercy for Saul in David’s words.  Saul, who had invited David into his home to play the lyre and soothe Saul’s often frayed nerves, had attempted on many occasions to kill David, especially as Saul’s paranoia increased in his later years.  And yet David speaks words of genuine grief over this man’s death.  David recognized and respected greatly the nature of Saul’s title as the Anointed of the Lord, a title the two men shared as Kings of Israel.  When David was given the chance to kill Saul, he backed down and refused to do it, showing mercy to Saul who had shown David little mercy.  And now, with genuine emotion, he mourns Saul’s death, knowing that this was the Lord’s Anointed who had died, and knowing that this meant defeat for Israel. 

And then there is David’s lament over Jonathan, a man whose love to David passed that of women.  David and Jonathan had been wonderful friends for a long time and, in fact, they entered into three covenants together.  It says in I Samuel that Jonathan loved David as he loved his own soul, protected David from Saul’s many attempts on his life, and even ceded the throne to David even though Jonathan was the rightful heir according to what was expected among men.  So we see David not just mourning the death of the Anointed of the Lord, who was also David’s greatest enemy, but he is also mourning the death of his most beloved friend.    

Both men died in battle, both men were swift and strong on the field of battle.  But as we know all too often to be true, the weapons of war often perish.  And so, though divided in life, Jonathan and Saul did not die divided, they died together on the Mountain of Gilboa.  O, how the mighty have fallen!

God is never mentioned in David’s lament, which is unusual considering other biblical laments like our psalm this morning “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!”  That being said, there are glimpses of God within the lament over the loss of Saul and Jonathan.  There is mercy proclaimed to one who showed no mercy to David, who in the midst of paranoia and jealousy attempted to rob David of his life. There is even a hint of forgiveness for Saul for his lack of mercy.  There is also healing that comes from words of lament spoken over the death of a beloved friend…this mercy, forgiveness, and healing are things that God brings to us in the midst of crisis and loss.

In a short period of time, we here at Trinity have experienced a lot of loss.  Friends have moved, other friends and family members have died, and in the midst of all this loss, David’s lament and the lament of the psalmist become our laments.  And just as in the laments of David and the psalmist, within our laments, we hear the voice of God speaking of healing, mercy, and forgiveness.  And in this, we can stand united, knowing that when we lament and go to God for healing, God will be there to grant it to us.