poor – Salvaged Faith

Let Go and Love

Posted on October 17, 2021Leave a comment

Text: Deuteronomy 15:1-2, 7-11; Matthew 19: 16-22

Over the last week or two, my husband and I have watched the first season of Netflix’s immensely popular Korean drama, Squid Game.

It isn’t a show I would recommend you run home and watch… it is incredibly and senselessly violent… but as I thought about our texts for this morning, I kept going back to the show’s premise.

456 players are invited into a game.

They are all drowning in debt.

Overwhelmed by what they owe.

And if they play and win six games, children’s games, they will receive the equivalent of $38 million dollars.

If they lose, they forfeit their life.

In an AP story about the series, Kim Tong-Hyung notes that the story is striking nerves in South Korea where debt is soaring:

“Many South Koreans despair of advancing in a society where good jobs are increasingly scarce and housing prices have skyrocketed, enticing many to borrow heavily to gamble on risky financial investments or cryptocurrencies. Household debt, at over… ($1.5 trillion), now exceeds the country’s annual economic output.”

You can’t help but notice those underlying concerns for a society on the brink because of debt as you watch Squid Game… televisions in the background of scenes echo these kind of sobering statistics.

And it isn’t just South Korea. Household debt in the United States just reached a new high at $15 trillion; the average debt among consumers is $92,727. This includes mortgages and student loans, as well as credit card balances… not all of which is unhealthy debt to carry. And yet the weight of those bills looms over us.

The players in the Squid Game are given a choice. They could live with the consequences of their debt or they could take a chance on a life where they would never have to worry about debt again.

But they would have to fight, and kill, and scheme their way to the top.

Unlike the show, where players are given a choice between life and death, scripture shows us a third way.

What if we were set free from the burden of debt… without having to harm or sacrifice or step on the lives of others?

If we go back to our text from Deuteronomy, that was God’s intention for human community.

Moses lays out what the ten commandments mean for their practical life with one another. We find instructions, laws, intended to help us love God, love our neighbor, and trust in God’s blessings.

And one of those rules is that every seventh year, the people were instructed to cancel all debts. Forgive the loan. Release the debtor. And if we read on through the end of the chapter, the call to set free any indebted servants or slaves.

This is because the burden of debt impacts not just the person who owes money, but their family for generations to come.

It impacts their dignity and their worth as a human being.

It creates classes and distinctions between us as people that are unhealthy.

As Lisle Gwynn Garrity writes in her artist statement, “the scheduled practice of releasing debts every seven years was designed to be both preventative and restorative. It prevented the wealth gap from growing beyond repair. It prevented systemic poverty from becoming strategic enslavement. It softened hearts turned cold and loosened fists clenched too tight. This practice of release reminds us that net worth is not synonymous with self-worth.” (A Sanctified Art)

I can’t help but think about the UAW strike at John Deere as I read those words. The reality is that there is a growing gap between the wages of workers and management. One of the primary concerns of labor right now is how to fairly share record earnings with employees and criticism over the drastic salary increases of the CEO.

Rules like these were intended to care for the dignity of each person and their relationship to the larger community.

But they were also a way to experience the continued blessings of God.

Just as God had set them free from the land of Egypt, so they were to set one another free.

Their communal economic life is to be rooted in freedom and stewardship and generosity. Rev. Pamela Hawkins writes, “Women and men are to embody God’s love for neighbors through practical, timely forgiving of debts and freeing of slaves, practicing a theology of liberation.” (CEB Women’s Bible, page 226)

And likewise, the people were called to be generous to those in need, lending freely to the poor. No matter if the person could repay. No matter if the year of jubilee was coming near.

The Israelites were called to freely give of their possessions, because as Elizabeth Corrie notes, “the land – and the wealth it provided – belonged to God. We show ingratitude when we refuse to share what was never ours to keep.” (CEB Women’s Bible, page 226)

We show ingratitude when we refuse to share what was never ours to keep.

Stewardship is the awareness that everything we have and everything we are is a gift.

A precious, precarious gift.

Not something to be hoarded but meant to be freely shared so that everyone we meet can receive these blessings of God as well.

But when we choose to play economic games that create winners and losers, the rich and the poor, slaves and owners… we have turned to a life of sin.

As Liz Theoharis puts it, it is, “…a sin against God if your brother or sister has to call out against you because you’re robbing their wages or because you’re not releasing their debts or because you’re making them slaves… the way you honor God is by how you care for yourself and your neighbor… There’s no way to be right with God if your neighbor is being oppressed.”

Which brings us to our text from Matthew.

A rich man approaches Jesus, searching for how to experience eternal, abundant life with God.

“Keep the commandments,” is Jesus’ answer… specifically all of the commandments that have to do with loving our neighbor.

Jesus doesn’t tell the man to say a particular prayer.

Or to focus on his own personal relationship with his Savior.

Jesus invites the man to take responsibility for the lives of his neighbors.

And while this man with many possessions replies that he has done this, Jesus pushes him further: “If you want to be complete, go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me.”

You see, I don’t think we can separate this story of the rich man from our text in Deuteronomy.

He is living in a day and a time when the practice of Jubilee… the seventh year releasing of debts was not being practiced.

And yet, the reality of God’s intention for our human community remains the same.

Our economic lives and our spiritual lives are one in the same and we honor God by how we care for ourselves and our neighbors.

We honor God by being generous with the gifts we have received.

We honor God by being responsible stewards of what was “never ours to keep.”

We honor God by letting go of what we think belongs to us so that others might have life and life abundant.

And this man didn’t know if he could let go.

In preparing for today, I came across a wonderful piece by Leah Schade called “I want Jesus to Let Me Off the Hook: The Rich Young Man and Me.”

She describes what she wishes she found in this text:

“I can follow Jesus’ prescribed sequence in reverse! 1) Follow him. 2) get my heaven-treasure. 3) Give some money to “the poor.” 4) Sell off a couple of things I don’t want at a yard sale. 5) go happily on my way…

But it doesn’t work that way does it?” Schade writes. “Jesus was specific about the order of those verbs: go, sell, give, receive, follow.”

It is in letting go, in giving, that we receive.

It is in holding our wealth and our ways loosely, that we discover immense riches.

When we focus our lives on the needs of others, we will discover the path to God.

Or as Theoharis put it, we can’t forget the content of the good news Jesus came to preach: ” and that is release of slaves, remission of debts, and the year of the Jubilee.”

As we studied this summer, the first Christian community tried to live this out. They sold their possessions and gave it all to the community and there was no one in need among them.

They came to experience the joy of a life where the blessings of God were shared by one and all. A life where they truly loved God and loved their neighbors every single day.

They let go of class distinctions between the wealthy and the poor.

They let go of the power that money holds over their lives.

They let go of the shame of having too much or too little.

They let go and released it all and they rested and trusted in God’s blessings that poured into their lives.

Where do we find ourselves in this story?

We find ourselves in a world filled with debt.

A world with huge economic and social disparities between the wealthy and the poor.

In the final episode of Squid Game… and don’t worry, it’s not a spoiler… one of the characters ponders a life of poverty and a life of riches:

“Do you know what someone who doesn’t have any money has in common with someone with too much money to know what to do with?” he asks. “Living is no fun for either of them.”

But honestly, it isn’t just about the rich and the poor. We find ourselves in a world in which we do believe our self-worth is tied in with our net worth and so we have leveraged our lives to gain an illusion.

Or as Leah Schade points out… “most of us are just ‘desperately faking middle class.’ Many of us are just one disaster, one health crisis, one pink slip… away from losing everything…”

Because that is the thing, right… the lesson from Deuteronomy… whether we are rich or poor, the debtor or the collector, the slave or the owner… is all a twist of fate.

We find ourselves in a life and death struggle to keep moving up, everyone so desperately clinging to what we have, and frankly, it isn’t fun for any of us.

But there is another way.

What must we do to have eternal life? Real, true, abundant living?

A life filled with joy and treasures and community and grace and love?

e need to let go of the power that money holds over our lives.

We need to let go of our shame and our anxiety, our guilt and our greed.

We need to let go of the idea that the stuff we have will save us.

And while it isn’t going to be a popular idea… we need to release the people around us.

We need to let go of the idea that another person deserves to be poor or that someone has earned their wealth.

We need to set one another free from our debts and labels.

We need repent of how our economic practices have kept folks in generational poverty and have created divisions between us.

Because we were all slaves in the land of Egypt.

We were all formed from the dust of the earth.

We all have the breath of the living God within us.

We need to discover what it means to truly let go and love our neighbors.

Maybe then, we will discover once again the blessings of God that are so richly poured out upon us all.

For when we go to the world…

When we give all we think we possess away…

We will find the joy of abundant life.

Not just for ourselves, but for everyone we meet.

Amen.

The Redemption of Scrooge: Bah Humbug!

Posted on December 2, 20181 Comment

Text: Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 1:46-47, 52-55

One of my favorite Christmas movies every year is that timeless tale by Charles Dicken’s – a Christmas Carol. For those of you who haven’t seen it or visited the story for a while, it takes place on Christmas Even. Ebenezer Scrooge is a wealthy and stingy businessman who has no joy in is heart.
And like the plot of most good Christmas stories… trust me, this same story can be found in just about every Hallmark movie out there… the poor soul who is greedy and unhappy and without love in their heart discovers the true meaning of Christmas along the way.
This particular story begins with three ominous words: Marley was dead.
Scrooge’s business partner had died and this particular Christmas tale turns into a ghost story – with Marley haunting him from beyond the grave.
Marley appears, restless, dragging along clanking and heavy chains that represent the greed he exhibited in his life. He cannot find peace and is doomed to carry those burdens forever.

In the gospel of Luke there is a parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
Lazarus is a poor man, covered in sores, who spends his days at the gates of the rich man’s house. But the rich man never finds compassion for this neighbor who is always within his sight.
Both die.
Lazarus is carried up to heaven by the angels and the rich man is carried to the place of torment. In his suffering, he begs for mercy and compassion, but it cannot be given. So he asks just one more thing – to be able to warn his family not to make the same mistakes that he has made.
Marley, too, is hoping that Scrooge might learn from his mistakes, repent of his sin, and find redemption before it is too late.
Unlike our gospel parable, Marley gets the chance to speak from beyond the grave. He sends three ghosts throughout the tale to help Scrooge discover that he is traveling on the wrong path. Over the next three weeks of the Advent season, we will hear the message that each has for Scrooge… and for us… so that we, too, can arrive at Christmas and learn how to keep it well.

What are these sins of Scrooge and Marley?
Simply put, they loved money more than they loved other people.

Like the rich man in Luke’s parable, they could not see the value of another human life beyond the economic value of how much money that person could make for them.
That word, economy, is the basis for where we begin our story.
Economy actually comes from two Greek words: oikos, meaning house… and nemein, meaning manage. It is a word to describe how we manage our household, our affairs, our own material resources.
When Scrooge is visited by Marley in the middle of the night, he cannot begin to understand why his partner has been tormented so. Together, they had been focused on wealth, counting every penny, looking out for themselves. By worldly standards, they were both economic successes.
“You were always a good man of business, Jacob!” Scrooge cries out.
And here, Marley is able to call out the error of their ways:
“Business!” he answers, “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business.”
Or rather, they were supposed to be.
But Marley and Scrooge had mixed up their priorities.
They were so focused on themselves that they never looked out for others.
They, like the rich man in the parable, didn’t realize that God’s economy has a different standard.
Our household extends beyond simply those who reside within the walls of our home, our community, or our country.
We are children of God, were are family of one another, God’s household encompasses our neighbors – rich and poor – stranger and friend.
And in God’s economy, how we manage our resources, how we value the life of another person, and the generosity of our hearts towards another human being are what matter.
Now, in death, Marley can see the plight of the poor… he hopes that Scrooge might see it before it is too late.

Dicken’s begins A Christmas Carol with the words, “Marley was dead,” and in so doing sets the stage for how redemption might appear in the life of Ebenezer Scrooge.
In the same way, our gospel stories begin with the introduction of someone who is going to forever change our lives. We are reminded of the promises of the past, the words of prophets like Isaiah, that a Savior is coming who will change the way we, too, see the world.
A young woman named Mary is visited in the middle of the night by an angel who announces that she will soon bear a child.
And Mary breaks forth into song, recognizing that this child who was to come would not only bring about redemption in her life, but in all lives, for all time.

Like Lazarus, in that parable of the rich man, Mary can see the plight of the poor and lowly. She has experienced it. And, she understands that God’s economy is different from that of the worlds. As her voices rises to the heavens, she tells of how God will bring about redemption by turning the economic values of greed and gluttony upside down.
“God has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty-handed. God has come to the aid of the servant Israel, remembering God’s mercy, just as promised to our ancestors…” (52-55)

When Scrooge looks out upon his neighbors with their generosity and singing and love for one another, his only cry is “Bah! Humbug!”
He cannot yet envision how God is working to create peace and justice for all people.
He cannot see the value of his own employee, Bob Cratchit, much less the others who inhabit his community.
As Matt Rawle writes in his book, The Redemption of Scrooge – “When prosperity becomes the only measure of a godly life, the poor are vilified, the less fortunate are assumed to be lazy, greedy, and apathetic… mission work becomes something done for the poor rather than an invitation for the voiceless to speak.” (page 27)
God’s salvation, God’s justice, God’s economy is bigger than how much money we have in our bank account.
After all, our salvation is not based upon a figure or a math equation, but upon the gift of a child.
The gift of a child.
It is not something we can earn or create ourselves. It is pure grace, freely given, bestowed upon the deserving and undeserving alike.
As Isaiah reminds us, this son who will be given to us, this Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal One, Prince of Peace, has come, will come, is coming to establish endless peace with justice now and forever more.
This peace is not something we can earn or buy.
But we discover it in the compassion we share with one another.
In the love we are shown by the kindness of a friend.
In the household we create when we see each person we meet as a child of God.
May it be so. Amen.

Under Dogs, Top Dogs, and the Kingdom of God

Posted on March 11, 20181 Comment

In 1887, a new term was coined in the English speaking world – the “underdog.”
This was the opposite of the top dog –the dominant person in a situation or hierarchy, the winner, the victor in a fight or contest of wills.
The term likely comes from the world of dog fighting, but soon the phrase was applied to politics, games, matches, and life in general.

We have seen the term “underdog” change from describing the outcome of a contest to the expectations for the outcome….
The underdog is the one who is expected to lose.
The underdog is the one facing the uphill battle.
The underdog is the victim of injustice who starts off at a disadvantage.
The underdog doesn’t have the power, the money, the strength, or the system on their side.

And our scriptures are full of underdogs:
people who march into battle with nothing but slingshots to face a giant…
people who head into the seats of power as prophets…
people who fight with trumpets instead of swords…
who are not afraid of what might happen to their own lives if they speak the truth…

Our gospel reading this morning is Luke’s version of the Beatitudes and in many ways, Jesus is calling the people of God to become underdogs.
Instead of aligning ourselves with the rich and powerful – those who have everything in this world…
we are called to become poor, hungry, and despised by the world.
We are called to side with the “have-nots.”

There we find the kingdom of God.
There we will be blessed.

We’ve been exploring throughout this season of Lent some of the superheroes that fill our cultural imagination. We’ve heard about Batman’s fight against evil, the way Spiderman tries to do what is right. Last week, we talked about how Wonder Woman offers a vision of unity.

A common thread of these heroes is that they side with the underdogs of this world. They help to bring justice to the oppressed, are strength for those who are weak, and offer protection for the vulnerable.

Our superhero this week, however, took a long time to understand this reality.
In a world of haves and have-nots, Tony Stark lived at the top of the heap.
Wealthy beyond measure, leading a successful technology company, everything he could ever want at his fingertips, there was nothing in this world that could stop him.

Had Mr. Stark been present in the time of Jesus he would have been the subject of those warnings towards the rich and well-fed, who think that life is all fun and games.

But something changed for Mr. Stark. During a demonstration of his latest weapons in some remote country, his caravan was attacked, he was captured, and he sustained life-threatening injuries.

But he put his knowledge to work and modified the weapons around him to not only create a battery that would keep him alive, but also a suit that would help him escape.

In the process, he realized that all his wealth and power was coming at the expense of other people. The weapons that made his company so successful were not always being used for good and just ends.

When he finally makes it back home, he holds a press conference and vows to change the way his company works.

I find it interesting how he even sits down, humbling himself, being real and authentic and inviting people to also sit down so they can chat.

His experience has changed him and he wants to change his ways and put his gifts to use for good rather than simply wealth.

But, Tony Stark doesn’t always get it right.

As he continues to work and develop the technology to become Iron Man, Matt Rawle reminds us in “What Makes a Hero?” that “he doesn’t quite overcome his human faults. He doesn’t always get right from wrong. He is phenomenally wealthy, but sometimes he exploits those who aren’t as fortunate. He has developed amazingly powerful weapons and armor, but he doesn’t always use those to fight for the purest of social causes.” (p. 79)

And perhaps that is because until the moment that he was captured and fighting for his very life, Tony Stark has never been an underdog. Even in that moment, he had all of the knowledge and technology that he needed at his finger tips in order to successfully get out of the situation.

Any other ordinary person would have been lost in such a situation.

Even when everything appeared to have been taken from him, Tony Stark still belonged to the world of the “haves.”

Even in that moment he appeared to have been blessed.

In our society, the language of blessing often points to those who have, not the have-nots.

We are blessed by children.
We are blessed by health.
We are blessed by friends and family.
We are blessed by wealth and possessions.

And yet, by claiming these things as a blessing can unintentionally say that those who are without such things are not blessed.

One of my best friends in the entire world struggles with infertility. She and her husband have been trying for years to have a child, including expensive visits to doctors in other states for treatments.

When those around them speak of the blessing of children, it is hard to not inwardly cringe and because it feels like the implication is that they haven’t likewise been blessed by God.

Many among us struggle with health concerns that seem to pile on top of one another. The language of blessing often makes them feel forgotten by God’s outpouring of blessings.

But this is because we have bought into the language of the world and not the language of God. We think that blessings are gifts of status… that blessings are rewards for good behavior… that blessings come as a result of who we are or how loved we are.

But Jesus turns our understandings of blessings upside down.

It is the hungry and the poor and the grieving and the weak who are blessed in God’s kingdom.
It is those who are without who are the closest to God’s love and power.

They don’t take for granted what God offers. They know its true value. And they know what it means to share.

Matt Rawle invites us to reject the way that society uses the language of blessing and instead to talk about gratitude and thankfulness for the gifts in our lives.

I’m thankful for my health today.
Even though I, personally, don’t have children, I can still be thankful for the opportunity to teach children and I’m unbelievably thankful for my nieces and nephews.
I’m thankful for the gifts God has given me like the ability to sing and preach.

This language leaves room for others, whether they have or have not, to also express their gratitude for what is in their lives in that moment.

Gratitude is a lesson that is sometimes hard for the “haves” of this world to express.

Tony Stark takes everything for granted. It is expected that people will adore him and that he will have everything he need.

It is also the reason it takes him so long to truly appreciate and learn to love his assistant, Pepper Potts.

Until he faces death and realizes that he has something different to offer this world.

One of the things we saw in that video clip is that in this moment Tony Stark begins to reflect upon his life and his relationships, even turning his eyes back to his father, wondering what he would have thought of all they had done. He had never thought to ask the question or to appreciate the role his father played in his life before this moment.

When we learn to be grateful for the gifts that have been given to us, instead of just accepting them as blessings – as rewards for what we have already accomplished, then we also learn how to share them with others.

One of the ways that Jesus calls us is by inviting the people of God to use their gifts and their talents for the sake of others.

It is not that the rich are forever condemned… but that they will always be outside of the Kingdom of God unless they let go of their status and allow the line between the haves and the have-nots to disappear.

In God’s Kingdom, that line fades into the distance.
The poor are blessed because the wealthy share.
The mournful are comforted because others offer comfort – like folks from our church did this weekend by hosting a funeral and a luncheon for a complete stranger.

As Matt Rawle points out, this isn’t because God is like Robin Hood, stealing from the wealthy and giving to the poor, but because God invites every one of us to share our very selves with one another. We all have gifts to offer one another that go far beyond wealth or power.

Iron Man’s suit is a tool of the “haves” that fights for the “havenots” – but the difference between Christ and Tony Stark is that Jesus doesn’t put on a suit in order to fight for us.

Jesus empties himself.
Jesus becomes like those he is saving.
Jesus dives into our suffering and hunger and pain.

And there, in the midst of our lives, we are blessed by the presence of Jesus who teaches us what the Kingdom truly means.

Sermon on the Mount: Blessed

Posted on January 22, 2017Leave a comment

This morning, friends, you and I find ourselves in a season called “Ordinary Time”

That is the actual liturgical name for this time in the church year: Ordinary Time.

And so, last fall, we decided to spend this Ordinary Time – this season between Christmas and Epiphany on the one side and Lent on the other to explore a sermon about ordinary things given to ordinary people.

Last week, we talked briefly about the calling of a few of the disciples – ordinary people, fishermen – and how they brought others along to follow Jesus. And they followed Jesus all throughout Galilee, where he taught in synagogues and proclaimed the Kingdom of God and healed people along the way.

And the crowds kept growing and people kept talking and inviting and bringing their friends and neighbors and siblings.

And Jesus looks around at all of those ordinary people who were following him that day – at the crowds of ordinary people – and goes up the mountain just like Moses and sits down to teach them.

In what we have come to know as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about the faith of ordinary people. In the gospel of Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7, we find Jesus using everyday, ordinary language to talk about how we should live out the laws of the Hebrew Scriptures, about how we should treat each other, about how we should share this good news we are finding. Over the course of these next few weeks, we might not always look at the sermon in the exact order Jesus did, but today we are going to start at the beginning.

And Jesus starts with what we have come to know as the Beatitudes.

A beatitude, a blessing, declares that certain people – based on their current circumstances, either are or will be blessed. Eugene Boring writes in his commentary on Matthew that “they do not merely describe something that already is, but bring into being the reality they declare.” (NIB, Vol 8, p 177) And these words are true not because of anything we have done to be in these circumstances, but because God is acting in the world, because Jesus has said it to be true. In fact, these are not even virtues or characteristics, like the fruits of the spirit, that we are supposed to strive towards or embody, they simply name the reality of real people.

Today, I want to lead you into a bit of reflection. I want to invite you, ordinary people, to find yourselves at the feet of Jesus hearing these words. I want to invite you to close your eyes and imagine yourself hearing that sermon for the first time. I want to invite you to ask where you are in this story. (NLT translation + “Blessed are”)

Blessed are those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

Blessed are those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Blessed are you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. ¹²Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

Where are you in these blessings?

Are you the poor? Are you mouring?

Are you the humble who are not only content with everything that you have but who are grateful for your abundance?

Are you someone who is hungering and thirsting for justice? Or the person who is showing mercy towards people who don’t deserve it?

Is your heart pure? Are you working for peace?

Are you someone who is living out your faith in such a way that people in this world turn against you because of that faith?

Then blessed are you. Blessed by God.

The question is, how are those blessings conveyed? How do we receive them?

Eugene Boring writes that these are both future promises, but they are also the lived realities of those who participate in the community of Christ. The mourning are comforted. Justice is realized. Those who seek peace find their place in the family of God.

And so we are invited not only to see ourselves as the ones who are poor or hungry for justice or mourning or merciful… as the people of God, as the Body of Christ, as the church that anticipates the Kingdom of God… we are also invited to see ourselves as ones who God uses to brings these blessings to others. This is what discipleship looks like… this is what the Kingdom looks like.

And this is why as we near the end of Matthew’s gospel we find Jesus, seated on the heavenly throne, ushering in the Kingdom of God. And he looks around at those crowds of people, those nations who are gathered once again at his feet. He looks around for the people who have done ordinary acts of faith and love and care. He looks around for the ones who have helped to usher in the Kingdom right here on earth.

Come, you that are blessed… for I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you cared for me, imprisoned and you visited me.

Church, this is our job. Our job is to be people who share God’s blessing with the world. Our job is to seek out those who are struggling and mourning, who are in pain and longing for justice. And we are to remind them they are not alone. We are to walk with them. We are to stand with them. We are to be the living embodiment of God’s will, a walking answer to the prayer that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. You and I, that is our job.

This morning, are you yearning for a blessing? Are you stuck and struggling and seeking God?

Then the good news is you are surrounded by people of faith, who are called by God to help bring about the kingdom. Thanks be to God. Amen.

J&MES: Preparation & Opportunity

Posted on September 13, 2015Leave a comment

We talk about preparation all the time.

Am I prepared for retirement?

Are we ready for school to start?

Are the teams ready for the rivalry game?

Or, the conversation around here lately… Are we prepared for Rally Day?

We want to be like those who seem to be the most prepared and we try to be part of that crowd by going to the best schools, practicing our hearts out with an instrument or a sport, working extra hours to get the big project done at work…

Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. (Seneca, ancient Roman philosopher)

LUCK is where PREPARATION meets OPPORTUNITY.

What kinds of opportunities are you preparing yourself for?

Are you seeking opportunities to serve God or yourself?

Are you seeking opportunities to be like Jesus, or the Joneses?

We might cry out that we will not forget God, that we will worship and honor Jesus, that all of our hearts yearn for God’s plans…

Yet what are we doing on a daily basis to prepare ourselves for God’s opportunities?

James writes his letter to the people of God because they have been so focused on:

what they want

and what they think

and what they believe that James no longer sees the word of God in their midst.

They have deceived themselves into thinking they were following God, when all of their preparations were merely distorting God’s word into something to suit their own needs.

And then… when God’s opportunities came along, they were not prepared.

Instead, they argued.

They argued about who was more important and who was right, rather than listening.

They argued about who was included and who could be forgotten, rather than reaching out.

They argued about how much time they had to put in and why it wasn’t their turn, rather than get their hands dirty.

And in doing so, they exchanged the gifts of peace and love for the desires and sin of this world.

You know what? We have, too.

We teach our children they deserve to have everything regardless of the cost.

We are quick to judge when we encounter someone with different political viewpoint (ahem, or different sports team) and make assumptions about their intellect.

We walk right by the neediest around us and put a check in the mail to make ourselves feel better.

We spend our days working hard so we can have the finer things in life and then are too tired to enjoy them.

We use and abuse one another so we can get ahead.

We ask the question, “how will this help me?” more than “how can I help others?”

Those words do not describe a people, a church, a nation that is allowing the word of God to prepare them for opportunities to be like Jesus.

God doesn’t want us to strive to get ahead of each other… God wants us to sit down and fellowship with our neighbors.

God doesn’t want us to be first… God wants us to be servants.

So the question is… what kind of preparations should we make in order to be more like Jesus on a regular basis?

What can we do so that we are lucky enough to be prepared when opportunities come along?

In James 2: 1-6, and 3:13, we reminded to be humble. We are called to stop showing favoritism to the rich, and instead to honor the poor among us.

A spirit of humility helps us to recognize we are not God’s gift to this earth – but imperfect vessels that the word of God can transform.

Humility means that we treat the love of God as a gift, not something we deserve.

Humility means that we make ourselves low so others might be raised up.

Humility means that we put another before ourselves.

Humility means that we are quick to truly listen to what another person has to say before we butt in with our own thoughts and feelings.

And when we are humble, then we are also lucky enough to be prepared when someone in need crosses our path and we can help them with compassion and dignity.

James writes in chapter 4:1 that the source of our conflict is our cravings. He writes that we waste our energy and gifts on things that aren’t good for ourselves or others.

I keep thinking about all of the bad habits in our lives that are wasteful. The things that merely satisfy a craving and aren’t preparing us to be obedient and merciful and genuine.

What if (and this is one I’m guilty of) instead of wasting our time following celebrities on social media, we sought out role models who are making a difference in the world?

What if on Monday mornings we spent less time trash talking about who won the big game, and instead we shared an act of kindness with our “enemy”?

What if the gossip at lunch on Thursday afternoons was replaced with brainstorming ways to help out with a community problem?

What if we spent a few less hours watching television and spent a few more hours volunteering?

All of these daily habits can cause a subtle shift in our lives, so that we are lucky enough to be prepared… and have the time and energy to respond when God’s opportunities fall in our laps.

We also can prepare ourselves by changing where we store our treasures.

James 5:1 cautions the wealthy that misery is coming upon them… the more we have, the more we have to lose.

And in striving to be financially prepared for our future, we are hesitant to respond when we see genuine needs around us. We close off our hearts and homes and lives.

We often cling so tightly to our stuff, our issues, and our solutions that we can’t open our hands to receive the amazing and beautiful gifts of God.

Let go. Open your hearts and your hands to welcome the word of God. And then live it out in every moment of your days to everyone you meet.

And when you do so, you will be able to embrace the riches of compassion and forgiveness, patience and joy, kindness and peace.

And we will also be in luck… because those treasures are exactly what we need when opportunities to be like Jesus come around.

This is a church full of doers and I know that so many of you work your tails off to be prepared, so that when the opportunities come around, and they do… you are prepared to take advantage of them.

We work so hard to get ahead.

But I want us to remind what James has to tell us about our preparations, in chapter 4:

“Pay attention, you who say, ‘today or tomorrow we will go to such-and-such a town. We will stay there a year, buying and selling, and make a profit.’ You don’t really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes… Pay attention, you wealthy people! Weep and moan over the miseries coming upon you. Your riches have rotted. Moths have destroyed your clothes. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you.”

James is warning us to stop putting so much stock in our preparations.

He reminds us that when we seek our own opportunities, we tend to forget what God wants for us.

Every day, God gives us opportunities to be like Jesus, to be God’s hands and feet in the world.

Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.

Are we prepared for what God has in store for us?

Two Texts: Pope Francis, the Environment, and Relationships

Posted on August 23, 2015Leave a comment

This summer, Pope Francis issued a letter to the world, “Laudato Si’” or Praise be to You which calls upon all people to care for our common home, our sister, Mother Earth.

And while it made the news this summer, one of the first thoughts I had was that, as United Methodists, we had a letter of our own like this about six years ago. In 2009, a pastoral letter was issued from the United Methodist Council of Bishops called: God’s Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action. (http://s3.amazonaws.com/Website_Properties/council-of-bishops/documents/grc_letter_english_1010.pdf)

If you would like to see or have a copy of our letter, you can pick one up at the table in the back as you leave today.

In both, we are reminded of the relationship between living organisms and their environment… that we need to understand our ecology: the interconnected system of water, air, soil, plants, animals, and ourselves.

From the fight over water rights in California, to our own conflict here in Iowa over nitrate levels, this summer has been full of stories about how the environmental choices we make in one location impact the whole of creation in another. And I’m not just talking about the decisions of a farmer. Each of them is simply responding to the demands of the market, which is impacted by our choices as consumers. We do not always appreciate how precarious the balance of our ecologies can be, until the weather and climate change.

As our Bishop’s letter states, “we no longer see a list of isolated problems affecting disconnected people, plants and animals… the threats to peace, people, and planet earth are related to one another.”

Or as Pope Francis writes: “the human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation…”

Everything… from the availability of quality water, to the loss of biodiversity, to the inequitable distribution and consumption of energy, violence, warfare… is interrelated.

And rather than debating the merits of specific proposals or policies, Pope Francis points us towards the foundation for a different way of being.

It all boils down to three relationships

Our relationship with God
Our relationships with our neighbors
And our relationship with creation itself.

So today, aware of the multitude of articles and stories this summer on climate change, water, drought, and the environment, let us explore the text in our scriptures that lays the groundwork for our ecology… Genesis One.

We learn in this story of a creative and life-giving God. Everything has a purpose. Everything is connected to another. The sun, moon, and starts give light and determine the seasons. The plants provide food for the animals, who provide sustenance for humanity.

Everything is a gift and nothing was made by our own hands.

Therefore, the foundation of our relationship with God should be one of gratitude.

Gratitude for every breath we take, every drop of water we drink, every creature in the multitude of this diverse, beautiful planet.

Our relationship with our creator is also fundamentally related to our relationship with the creation, because we are called to take care of this earth. Historically, we have heard verse 28 as the call to “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, over every living thing that moves on the earth.” We look at this image of the creation and our central image in it and believe the world revolves around us.

The language of dominion and subduing has led us to believe we are called to control and use and have power over the world. It is ours to do with it whatever our hearts desire.

But when we really look at these verses in context, I think we have been sorely mistaken.

The Hebrew word in this place is not so much the idea of dominion or rule, but rather that of holding sway over… influencing… guiding. Pope Francis holds both the Genesis 1 and 2 accounts together, reminding us our call is to “till and keep” the garden of the world…. We are to cultivate and work this creation… while at the same time caring for it, overseeing it, protecting it.

In my organic ministry class this summer, I have been reminded over and over again that any good farmer cares for the soil as much as they do what is planted in it. One must protect the earth in order to work it. And one must listen and pay attention to what the environment demands and respond accordingly if you ever want to influence what might grow there.

That is far different than a more domineering perspective…. a stubborn resolve to use the earth and grow whatever your heart desires whenever you want to.

I learned about this in my own garden this summer…. (talk about tomatoes)

Even if we stick with the language of dominion, the root of dominion is in the Lordship of God. We are to be lords as God is Lord over creation… in love, in creation, in fostering diversity, in nurturing life.

This earth does not belong to us. It is a gift. As we remembered two weeks ago when we recalled the Jubilee in ancient Israel, God tells us that the land is not ours… it is God’s and we are merely strangers and sojourners upon it.

Yet in God’s gracious and loving spirit, we are allowed to take and use what we need for sustenance. We are allowed to care for this earth, and pass its gifts down generation upon generation.

Because this planet belongs to not only Adam and Eve, but all descendants, all humanity, then our relationships with one another are intertwined with the gift of creation.

Just as every plant and animal, microbe and molecule is a gift… so too is every person on this planet. The very idea of Sabbath calls us to let the earth and its workers rest, so that all be renewed. And the promise is that even if we rest and cease working, there will be abundance and plenty. God will take care of us.

The gifts of this planet are to be shared. Not only with people of today, but future generations as well.

So that all might find joy. So all might be at peace.

Pope Francis begins his letter with a description of the type of lifestyle that people of faith should aspire to… a tribute to his own namesake, Saint Francis. “He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology… he was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature, and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace… Francis helps us to see that an integral ecology calls for openness to categories which transcend the language of mathematics and biology, and take us to the heart of what it means to be human.”

May we be people who are concerned for nature.

May we be people who always seek justice for the poor.

May we be people who are committed to society and work towards its common good.

And may we be people who find inner peace as we do so.

Amen.

Two Texts: Greece, Debt, and the Jubilee

Posted on August 9, 2015Leave a comment

2008 was a tough year for everyone financially. Wall Street had faltered, global markets took a tumble and nearly everyone felt the pinch. It was pretty much an accepted fact that there would be a long, tough, uphill battle to get back on track… not just in the United States, but globally as well.

Just one year later, when they had barely begun to recover, Greece admitted that they were a bit over-extended. The country had been “understating its deficit figures for years”[i] and they were having a really tough time getting back on their feet.

Just as measures were being announced to tighten the belt and get back on track, investors lost confidence in Greece, and in 2010, there was a huge pull of money out of the country. 8-10 billion euro worth of money. Some of this was from outside investors, but it also represents the wealthy of the nation who took their money out of the Greek system. As one analyst put it in February of 2010 – “If indeed the money rush out of Greece has commenced, then it is too late to save the country…”[ii]

This moment of crisis led to the first of two… and maybe now three bailouts by the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the Eurpoean Commission… bailouts that have come with conditions like budget cuts and tax increases that are the center of today’s controversy.

Since the beginning of the crisis, Greece’s economy has shrunk by a quarter. Unemployment is over 25%. Almost 2/3 of Greece’s debt today is now owed to the Eurozone bailout… money it doesn’t have to start paying back until 2023…. But also money in its current situation it is not likely to be able to pay back.

When I look to the scriptures for a word about debt and finances, one of the first places I turn is to Leviticus and the idea of the Jubilee.

Jubilee springs out of the idea of Sabbath or rest.

Just like every seventh day we are called to rest, every seventh year, was a Sabbath year. It was a call to let the land lie fallow, release the slaves and cancel outstanding debts.

And Leviticus chapter 25 lays out a vision for us of the Jubilee, that every seventh Sabbath year was a clean slate. Every fifty years, or once in every lifetime, a person would witness restoration. Debt would not last forever. “Economic relationships are never to be allowed to make life hopeless.”[iii]

Biblical scholars today aren’t sure that the Jubilee practice was every fully lived out or realized. But the vision of Jubilee is proclaimed by psalmists and prophets and echoed by Jesus Christ himself.

As our gospel reading this morning reminds us, Jesus began his ministry in Nazareth, with a reading from the prophet Isaiah..

“He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,

to proclaim release to the prisoners

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to liberate the oppressed,

and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The year of the Lord’s favor is the year of Jubilee.

So, how might we apply this concept of Jubilee to our lives today? What is God saying in the midst of not only the debt crisis in Greece, but in the midst of a global debt crisis, where the world’s developing countries are shackled by foreign debt they could never hope to repay?

First, debt is sometimes necessary and it can be sustainable.

As much as we might wish to live in a world without debt at all, it is part of our economic reality.

Sometimes debt is the extension of credit or the planned payment of something… like our home mortgages, car loans, or like when our congregation took on some debt when we put on the Faith Hall expansion. This debt comes from knowing that we could pay for the project, but we need some time to do so.

Sometimes debt is the result of falling behind. Even the ancient Israelites understood that one might fall into debt as a result of bad crops or poor decisions…

In our insert on the social principals, the very first thing we note as United Methodists is that some deficits, even as nations, are necessary.

But those debts need to be sustainable.

One fascinating aspect of the Jubilee system is that the amount of debt one could take on was proportional to the time left until the next Sabbath or Jubilee year, rather than based on your status or credit. Your debt was repaid by participating in the harvests to come, so if you had six harvests worth of work to give, your debt was greater than if only one remained.

We must ask ourselves if we are carrying sustainable debts and as we loan to others, we must be careful not to lend more than the other can bear.

I wonder, as the negotiations with Greece continue, what sustainability looks like and how the conditions that are put upon the debt help to create opportunity, or take the country farther from hope.

The second lesson of the Jubilee is that debt cripples families and communities. The Jubilee is necessary because without it, all hope would be lost for those who are caught up in the snowball of debt and repayment.

When the prophets and Jesus describe the year of Jubilee, words like release and oppression and liberation are uttered because debt has the power to destroy our ability to get out of it.

Our social principles and scriptures call us to have compassion on those in financial trouble, to reduce interest rates or to lend without interest at all so that our fellow human beings can survive among us.

This is not only a concern for those of today, but it is a concern for future generations. The Jubilee year was to be a guarantee that children would not suffer based upon the troubles of their parents or grandparents.

Our Social Principles call us to recognize that this is not simply a financial issue, but an issue of justice for those yet to be born… that future generations can by shackled… there is that language of imprisonment again… shackled by the burden of public debts.

One of the ways that we allow people and companies to be set free, today, from the burden of debt, is through the practice of bankruptcy. We allow them to wipe the slate clean and start over. We have now see it happen as well with cities.

One of the more fascinating questions in the air right now is what that bankruptcy would look like on a national scale and how it might help allow for a release from burdens. The Jubilee movement today, calls for the cancelation of debts of many developing countries that simply will never be able to repay their burdens.

Limited debt relief has been provided to some nations and places like Tanzania and Uganda have used the resources to double school enrollment, and Mozambique and Burkina Faso have used resources to meet basic needs and provide health care.

Lastly, there is an underlying economic principle that must be understood in order to make sense of the idea of Jubilee.

Nothing belongs to us.

This is contrary to everything we have been taught and the very structure of the world economy today, but it is the foundation of God’s economy…

Nothing belongs to us.

It’s all God’s.

Everything that is, was created by God.

And our use of the land, our relationships with one another… it is all a gift.

We are not owners of this planet… we are stewards and caretakers.

The vision of Jubilee was a call to remember that nothing we have belongs to us.

We might work the land, we might benefit from it, we might experience a measure of success, but our very presence in this place itself was a gift.

The ancient Israelites knew this first hand, because they had just escaped slavery in Egypt. They knew how precious the gift of land and blessings were. And in all things, they were called to remember that God had made them, God had saved them, and they were to share that gift with others.

In our Lord’s prayer, we pray for God to forgive our debts. To set us free from our mistakes, our sins, our failings, and our financial woes. We ask God to forgive us… as we have forgiven others.

God’s blessings and abundance are meant to be shared. God’s forgiveness and grace are meant to be shared. And as people of faith, when we face the world and its people, may the idea of Jubilee… the joyous good news for those struggling in economic trouble… guide how we reach out and work with those with the greatest need.

Amen and Amen.

[i] http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/business/international/greece-debt-crisis-euro.html?_r=0

[ii] http://www.zerohedge.com/article/run-greece-here-investors-pull-out-%E2%82%AC10-billion-troubled-country-crisis-escalation-here

[iii] Jubilee 2000, Sermon Helps, http://www.jubileeusa.org/faith/faith-and-worship-resources.html

Mercy Trumps Judgment

Posted on September 9, 2012Leave a comment

The UnitedMethodistChurch has a mission.

We have been called by God to make disciples of Jesus Christ FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD.

That last piece… for the transformation of the world… is a recent addition to our mission, but it speaks volumes about who we believe God has called us to be.

We believe that a church which shuts its doors to the outside world is a church that is dead and lifeless. We believe a church that is not actively engaged in mission and service is no church at all.

And we believe as United Methodists that God wants us to focus on four particular areas: to help combat the diseases of poverty, to engage in ministry with the poor, to create new places for new people in our churches and to help develop Christian leaders for the church and the world.

This is who we are as the UnitedMethodistChurch. We believe God uses everyday ordinary people to join in his work across the globe to bring the Kingdom of God into its fullness right here.

Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer together, we are asking for God’s kingdom to become a reality right here on earth AS IT IS in heaven. You are the hands and feet of Jesus for this broken world. Are you ready to get started?!

But before we dive in and get to work, I think that our scripture lessons for today offer a cautionary tale. In James and in Proverbs, we find that there are problems with simply looking down on those who are hurting and trying to give them a hand out. We can get so busy doing good things that we forget about our faith…. But more often, we get so focused on our faith that we forget about doing good things.

James finally whittles this distinction down to two words: Mercy and Judgment. And no matter what translation we decide to read James 2:13 in – the message is the same… Mercy trumps judgment.

1) What is judgment and why should we avoid it.

a) Judgement is our arbitrary assessment of other people… who is rich and who is poor, who is deserving and undeserving, what is important and deserves our time and what doesn’t… it all depends on where we stand and what we believe about ourselves. Even while we might look at our wealth compared to others in this nation and feel poor… we could look at all that we have in relation to most of the population of this world and realize just how rich we are. Who is rich and who is poor depends on where you are standing. Our job is not to judge another person based upon how we see them or based upon their relationship to us… but to see them through the eyes of Jesus.

b) when we place ourselves in the seat of judgment, we have elevated ourselves to God’s level and we can no longer see the fault and sin in our own lives. These verses from proverbs are warnings to the rich who have grown comfortable in their blessedness. They believe they are where they are because God is rewarding them for all the good they have done and can no longer see that they are agents of oppression and subsumed in their own temptations and sin.

c) this does not mean that we do not need to account for our sins. this does not mean that every wrong thing a person does is okay. What it means is that it is not for US to judge the lives of others. Our job is not to wave around signs and point out another person’s failings… our job is to walk with one another and let the Word of God transform each of our lives. God’s word alone can convict our hearts.

2) why mercy is better

a) to show someone mercy is to give them something they do not deserve. When we show mercy to the rich and poor, black and white, righteous and unrighteous, what we are doing is living out a simple truth – we are all the same. We are all sinners saved by the grace of God. None of us “deserve” it…

b) mercy is the work God calls us to. At worship this Wednesday we heard from Latin theologian Rene Padilla. He made a simple but profound statement. We are not saved by good works – we are saved FOR good works. Jesus Christ has saved us and freed us from our self-centered sin SO THAT we can be his hands and feet to care for this world. The Law of God helped us to see how far away from God’s intentions we had fallen… but the Grace of God gave us the freedom to get back up and to reclaim who we truly were meant to be.

c) over and over in the scriptures, we are called upon to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and in prison, proclaim the good news. This is our job… this is why we have been saved. This is the fruit of our faith, the evidence of our salvation, this is who we were created to be and what we have been gifted to do.

3) So I want to ask you a question: are you living a life of judgment? or a life of mercy? This is a very personal question… and once that I cannot answer for you. It is something that you must discover through prayer, through reading the scriptures and reflecting on the word of God in sermons and bible study.

But we can ask a larger question… Are we a church of judgment? Or a church of mercy?

James writes that faith without works is dead. In Matthew chapter 25 the sheep and the goats are separated by what they have done to the least among us. Proverbs tells us that those who are generous are blessed.

So, lets do a little inventory of our fruits.

1) PET Project – What about the story of Ventura? We helped raise funds to purchase seven of these personal energy transportation vehicles and he recieved one that year. Ventura lost the use of his legs after being shot twice in the spine. He has four daughters. With his physical challenges, he has been rejected by his family. His only income comes from selling gum on the street and charity. His P.E.T. has provided him transportation for the dirt roads of his community so that he can get to more places and he is thankful to be alive.

2) Women at the Well – Not only have we sent three carloads of clothes, toiletries, and luggage to Mitchelville for the Stepping Out clothes closet, but we have also built relationships. We spent time getting to know Outside Council chairperson Rev. Marlene Janssen. And this fall, we sent a group of ten people to worship with our sisters in Christ inside the walls. We want to continue this relationship by becoming a partner church and supporting the ministry with our dollars and cents as well. Our buckets on the table in the middle of the sanctuary are a fun way to begin this challenge.

3) Matthew 25 – Our church has been an active supporter of the Matthew 25 Ministry Center in Cedar Rapids. We have collected tools and games, school supplies and flower pots. But we have also travelled in person to serve lunches during the summer and we have welcomed Rev. Clint here as he shared the story of their ministry.

4) Youth and Mission Trips – Every week, this church opens its doors to youth in our community. They sometimes make messes and leave holes in the walls – but they need a place to call home and you have provided it. You have also helped to send them to three different states to be in service and to encounter Jesus. Their lives are full, rich, and blessed because of you and they have in turn been a blessing to others.

5) Community Food Bank and Clothing Closet – we regularly collect items for the food bank, the clothing closet in Williamsburg, and have helped to make sure that the shelves are full.

6) Meals on Wheels – We take our turn entering the lives of those in our community who need help by driving meals and checking in on the folks who recieve them.

7) Volunteerism – you serve at the hospital, with the library, you sing at the nursing home and read stories to children at school. You are involved with the Legion and the Lions club and all across this town and county, state and world, you are leaders – you are active – you are doing good works.

As a church, we have heard God calling us to reflect his light into this community. And we have responded. That huge list of good fruits tell the story of your faithfulness, your commitment, your generosity, your patience, your spirit of hospitality and grace.

And here is what I think is the most important part. You have not simply given money for people in need… you have spent time with these people. You have walked beside them. You have visited them and gotten to know them. You have built relationships.

I sat down for lunch last week with Pastor Dieudonne. As we all know, earlier this year the African Methodist Ministry at St. Mark’s came and joined us for worship. Pastor Deiudonne led us in the word and members of their church led us in song. This summer, we returned the visit and took a group from our church there to join them in worship.

Did you know that we are the ONLY congregation that has done that? We are the only church that has been willing to join them where they are and to put ourselves in their shoes for an afternoon as the guests, the ones who were outside of our cultural comfort zone.

I believe the biggest thing that separates an act of mercy from an act of judgment is a willingness to see someone as an equal. An awareness that you are not so different. The ability to move past a person’s race or class or status and to love them and to work alongside them to accomplish God’s work.

As Pastor Dieudonne and I talked, I learned that he has contracted malaria three times. He told me that every single person who is a part of their ministry has been affected by malaria. Every one of them has had a family member die from this completely preventable disease.

In fact, every 60 seconds, a child dies from malaria.

As United Methodists, we believe that mercy is our work to do. We believe that God has called us to serve him in our backyard and across the world. And as a global church, we believe that we can do something about that statistic.

When we started this effort a few years ago, it was called, “Nothing But Nets.” We partnered with the Gates Foundation and the National Basketball Association and and for $10 we encouraged people to buy a net for Africa and save a child’s life. You know what… it works. We have cut the death rate IN HALF….

And so now we are moving on to phase two: Imagine NO Malaria…. We believe that by the year 2015 – just three short years from now, we can completely end deaths from malaria. Our goal as a denomination is to raise $75 million dollars to fund mosquito nets, to create clean water supplies, to have on the ground training and to fund research for medications and disease prevention.

This effort is a part of our calling to combat the diseases of poverty across the world. You see, United Methodists don’t sit back and wait… we act. We stand up against injustice. We care for the least of these. We build hospitals and schools. We are the first on the scene when there is a disaster and the last to leave. We believe that we can not only do some good… but that we can actually make a difference.

And we do all of this because we believe that God wants to use us to truly change lives. God wants us to care and minister to all of our brothers and sisters in our backyards and around the world so that this planet will be better tomorrow than it was today.

God wants your time and your money and your energy… but most of all, God wants your heart. He wants you to accept the gracious gift of love that he offers and he wants you to pass it on to others… without judgment and without pity.

Amen and amen.