Oct 29, 2023 |
Sunday Sermon
|
Sunday Sermon
Well, here we are, once again: the Pharisees are plotting to
entrap Jesus. Last week, Brandon preached on the passage earlier in the Gospel
of Matthew, where the Pharisees ask Jesus, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the
emperor, or not?” Jesus replies, “Give to the emperor the things that are the
emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The passage concluded, “When
they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.” In the
intervening passage between last Sunday and today, the Sadducees take their
turn at trying to entrap Jesus. The Sadducees were a priestly sect that did not
believe in resurrection. They propose a scenario to Jesus. What if there are
seven brothers, each dies childless, each leaves his widow to the next brother.
In the resurrection, of the seven brothers, whose wife will she be? Jesus tells
them that not only do they not understand Scripture, they don’t understand the
power of God. I’ll leave the interpretation of this passage for another day. But,
just know that when Jesus tells the Sadducees, “God is not God of the dead, but
of the living,” the Sadducees are astounded.
Today, we hear the verses following the Seven Brothers story. Jesus has silenced the Sadducees and now the Pharisees are trying again. Jesus stumps them with a line of questioning about the Messiah being both the son of David and the one that David calls Lord. “The Messiah is both in the line of David and transcends his lineage” (Tim Beach-Verhey, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Volume 4, p. 216). The passage concludes, “No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.” First, last week, the Pharisees were amazed. Then, the Sadducees were astounded. Now, the Pharisees are speechless and done asking questions. Jesus has made his point. He is saying, “Listen to me. I speak with ultimate knowledge and authority. I am offering you Good News. Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s not a new message for Jesus’ antagonists, nor for his followers. The Old Testament passage this morning from Leviticus ends with these words: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” God’s loving message is as old as time. We are not fully loving God if we are not loving what God loves. God wants us to know that the path forward to healing this broken world is loving our neighbor as our self.
We can be overwhelmed by the divisiveness in Washington – the lack of moral character – the thirst for power that voids all desire to collaborate in decision-making. We can be overwhelmed by the wars in the Holy Land and Ukraine, the animosity, the depravity. Yet, we need to remind ourselves that living in the light of Christ has always been countercultural. The arc of the moral universe is long. Just as Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to remain faithful, we encourage one another to live as we are meant to live, cultivating the Kingdom of God, trusting that when we love our neighbor as ourselves, the seeds will grow, however long it might take to come to fruition.
I am serving on the Board of Trustees for Bexley Seabury Seminary. I was at a Board meeting a couple of weeks ago. Bishop Doug Sparks, Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Indiana, who is the President of the Board, told a story from his childhood. He is a twin. When he and his sister were four years old, their father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was placed in an institution where he lived for the next ten years until his death. Doug and his sister attended a Catholic School. He remembers the sadness and trauma of being teased about not having a Dad. Of course, his Dad couldn’t show up for any of those parent-child events at school. One day, when Doug and his sister were in 3rd grade, the priest came into the classroom and announced that he was taking Doug and his sister to see their Dad. Bishop Sparks talked about how amazing that moment was for him, the moment the priest named his Dad in front of the whole classroom. He made his Dad known. That’s how we love as Christ loves us. Upholding the dignity of every human being. Even more broadly, putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes. Always remembering that a person’s life experiences is the context for their beliefs and actions today.
Loving our neighbor as our self is not always easy. We have different personalities, different perspectives - at times strikingly different points of view. We come together in this faith community to support one another. We come together for forgiveness, renewal, refreshment, and inspiration to live our everyday lives in the light of Christ. Well, I do need to shake my head just a bit that after nine months of raising money to support the Walking in Love Capital Campaign, and just one week after a wonderful celebration of a successful campaign, I now have the privilege of kicking off the Annual Campaign. Just as a reminder, a capital campaign focuses on the longer-term needs of the church. With the proceeds of the Walking in Love Campaign, we will be able to address major infrastructure needs that come around once every 20, 50, or even 100 years. In addition, we will grow the church’s endowment funds to ensure the long-term health of the parish by generating investment income that will sustain the ministries of the parish for generations to come.
Though annually, we receive investment income from the endowment, and we have a few other sources of other income, 70% of our annual budget comes from our annual pledges. Our pledges ensure that worship, music, pastoral care, education, outreach, and fellowship will continue to thrive throughout the coming year. This is a pivotal year for us at St. Paul’s because we are losing two of our largest pledges due to life transitions, which amount to more than 10% of total pledges. I ask that you prayerfully consider your annual pledge this year to help us cover our annual operating needs: all ministries and programs, clergy and staff salaries, outreach to our community and the wider world, facility maintenance and utilities, and Diocesan and wider church support. We come here seeking God, desiring to understand how to live our lives with God, how to live as we are meant to live, loving our neighbor as our self. Living in gratitude for God’s love in our lives, we give to support the ministries, which nourish us individually and as a community. As always, I am so grateful for your gifts of time, talent, and treasure, and so grateful to be on this journey with you. Amen.
Today, we hear the verses following the Seven Brothers story. Jesus has silenced the Sadducees and now the Pharisees are trying again. Jesus stumps them with a line of questioning about the Messiah being both the son of David and the one that David calls Lord. “The Messiah is both in the line of David and transcends his lineage” (Tim Beach-Verhey, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Volume 4, p. 216). The passage concludes, “No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.” First, last week, the Pharisees were amazed. Then, the Sadducees were astounded. Now, the Pharisees are speechless and done asking questions. Jesus has made his point. He is saying, “Listen to me. I speak with ultimate knowledge and authority. I am offering you Good News. Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s not a new message for Jesus’ antagonists, nor for his followers. The Old Testament passage this morning from Leviticus ends with these words: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” God’s loving message is as old as time. We are not fully loving God if we are not loving what God loves. God wants us to know that the path forward to healing this broken world is loving our neighbor as our self.
We can be overwhelmed by the divisiveness in Washington – the lack of moral character – the thirst for power that voids all desire to collaborate in decision-making. We can be overwhelmed by the wars in the Holy Land and Ukraine, the animosity, the depravity. Yet, we need to remind ourselves that living in the light of Christ has always been countercultural. The arc of the moral universe is long. Just as Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to remain faithful, we encourage one another to live as we are meant to live, cultivating the Kingdom of God, trusting that when we love our neighbor as ourselves, the seeds will grow, however long it might take to come to fruition.
I am serving on the Board of Trustees for Bexley Seabury Seminary. I was at a Board meeting a couple of weeks ago. Bishop Doug Sparks, Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Indiana, who is the President of the Board, told a story from his childhood. He is a twin. When he and his sister were four years old, their father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was placed in an institution where he lived for the next ten years until his death. Doug and his sister attended a Catholic School. He remembers the sadness and trauma of being teased about not having a Dad. Of course, his Dad couldn’t show up for any of those parent-child events at school. One day, when Doug and his sister were in 3rd grade, the priest came into the classroom and announced that he was taking Doug and his sister to see their Dad. Bishop Sparks talked about how amazing that moment was for him, the moment the priest named his Dad in front of the whole classroom. He made his Dad known. That’s how we love as Christ loves us. Upholding the dignity of every human being. Even more broadly, putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes. Always remembering that a person’s life experiences is the context for their beliefs and actions today.
Loving our neighbor as our self is not always easy. We have different personalities, different perspectives - at times strikingly different points of view. We come together in this faith community to support one another. We come together for forgiveness, renewal, refreshment, and inspiration to live our everyday lives in the light of Christ. Well, I do need to shake my head just a bit that after nine months of raising money to support the Walking in Love Capital Campaign, and just one week after a wonderful celebration of a successful campaign, I now have the privilege of kicking off the Annual Campaign. Just as a reminder, a capital campaign focuses on the longer-term needs of the church. With the proceeds of the Walking in Love Campaign, we will be able to address major infrastructure needs that come around once every 20, 50, or even 100 years. In addition, we will grow the church’s endowment funds to ensure the long-term health of the parish by generating investment income that will sustain the ministries of the parish for generations to come.
Though annually, we receive investment income from the endowment, and we have a few other sources of other income, 70% of our annual budget comes from our annual pledges. Our pledges ensure that worship, music, pastoral care, education, outreach, and fellowship will continue to thrive throughout the coming year. This is a pivotal year for us at St. Paul’s because we are losing two of our largest pledges due to life transitions, which amount to more than 10% of total pledges. I ask that you prayerfully consider your annual pledge this year to help us cover our annual operating needs: all ministries and programs, clergy and staff salaries, outreach to our community and the wider world, facility maintenance and utilities, and Diocesan and wider church support. We come here seeking God, desiring to understand how to live our lives with God, how to live as we are meant to live, loving our neighbor as our self. Living in gratitude for God’s love in our lives, we give to support the ministries, which nourish us individually and as a community. As always, I am so grateful for your gifts of time, talent, and treasure, and so grateful to be on this journey with you. Amen.