Show up!

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
January 7, 2024

The Feast of the Baptism of Jesus 

          On Ash Wednesday each year, we have a special service for children and their parents.  The service is not the one from the Book of Common Prayer, which, while meaningful for adults, really doesn’t work for 6 year olds.  Instead, we look at the ashes and pretend to make little humans with them, using our imaginations to blow the breath of God into the ashes the way we are told in the book of Genesis that God created humans from the dust of the earth and blew the breath of life into us.  Then, as in the other Ash Wednesday services, we are marked with the ashes in the sign of the cross.

          I ask the children whether they pack or buy their lunch and if they pack their lunch, how they know which lunch is theirs.  They know which lunch or which backpack or which jacket is theirs because it has their name on it.  When we are baptized and anointed with oil in the shape of the cross, or when we are anointed with ashes on Ash Wednesday, that is Jesus’ name being written on us in divine permanent marker.  We belong to Jesus.

          This morning, we hear the voice of God claim Jesus as God’s own beloved son.  The account of Jesus’ baptism in Mark’s gospel is so short that we read the account of John the Baptist from the second Sunday of Advent in order to have a gospel reading of more than two sentences!  But I am glad that we hear about John the Baptist again this morning because the contrast between John the Baptist and Jesus is fascinating.  We hear John the Baptist’s job description-to baptize for the forgiveness of sins.  We watch as all the people flocked out to the wilderness to be baptized.  We have a visual for what John was wearing-camel’s hair with a leather belt.  We are told, but would prefer not to taste, John’s diet of locusts and wild honey.  And we hear John’s words about the one who is coming after him.  In this short passage, we learn quite a bit about John the Baptist.

          What do we know about Jesus in this passage?  Next to nothing.  In Mark’s gospel, Jesus emerges from Nazareth to be baptized with no mention of his birth or childhood.  We have no clue what Jesus wore or what he ate and he says nothing.  He just shows up.

          Because Jesus was willing to show up and be baptized, three astonishing things happen.  First, the heavens are torn apart, the very heavens that God created.  Then the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove.  This is the same spirit or breath of God or wind from God that swept over the face of the waters at creation.  That spirit infused Jesus with God’s presence.  Lastly, a voice from heaven said “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”  In case the open heavens and the dove are not enough to connect Jesus with the Creator, God makes it very clear with God’s own voice, the voice that called creation into being, the voice of the Lord that the psalmist tells us is a powerful voice that breaks the cedar trees, splits flames of fire, and makes Lebanon skip like a calf.  The voice of God makes things happen.

          Jesus’ baptism is all God’s action.  Jesus just shows up, open to God’s action.  The God who created the heavens landed on Jesus and claimed Jesus as God’s own.  Then, as we will soon hear, the same Spirit immediately drives Jesus into the wilderness for forty days where he was tempted by Satan.

          Likewise, our baptism is all God’s action.  Yes, the church pours the water and anoints with the oil. But without God, the water is just water and the oil is just oil.  We baptize babies in the Episcopal Church because babies model just showing up.  Just show up and be open to being infused by the Spirit of God and marked as Christ’s own forever.  Baptism does not mean that we will never enter any wilderness where we would rather not be.  Baptism means that no matter where we go, we belong to Christ and God’s spirit dwells within us. 

          We can easily think that our Baptismal Covenant is what we promise to do in order to be baptized. But nothing could be further from the truth.  We reaffirm our baptismal covenant at every baptism and on baptismal feast days like the Baptism of Jesus because that covenant is how people live who have been sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.  We promise to be faithful in worship, to repent from evil, to proclaim the gospel in word and action, to work for justice and peace, to seek and serve Christ in all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being not to earn bonus points from God but because we believe that this is the way people who have been marked as Christ’s own forever live. We believe that this is the way the Spirit of God works through us.  And we keep that covenant with God’s help, the spirit of God with which we were sealed at baptism, because we cannot keep those promises alone. 

          Over and over again, God calls us to show up and let God work through us to change the world.  Over and over again, God calls us to show up in the places that need to hear the good news of God’s love and let that love pour through us.  Over and over again, God calls us to show up as people who have been marked as Christ’s own forever and live so that people know to whom we belong.                                             Amen.

Redemption

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal

December 24, 2023

Christmas Eve

My grandmother was a great collector of S&H Green Stamps. For those of you who were born after 1975 or so, Green Stamps, or their cousin Gold Bond stamps, were the precursor of the current redemption programs such as bonus points, frequent flyers miles, or cash back. Whether Green Stamps or frequent flyer miles, the principle is the same: the more you spend, the more stamps or miles you earn, which you can redeem for various items, travel, or a rebate check. In my grandmother’s day, life was low-tech, so when she went to the grocery store she received 50, 10, or one point stamps based on how much money she spent and which store she was in. The stamps were dispensed by a machine that had a dial like a rotary dial phone, another relic of the past. The stamps had to be licked, and then they were put into a collection book that had 24 pages. When all the pages were filled, at 50 points per page, the books could be redeemed for household items and other things. I know this Green Stamp trivia because my sister and I took great delight in licking Green Stamps and sticking them in the redemption books, and our grandmother took great delight in figuring out what to get with her Green Stamp books at the local Green Stamp store. So far as our grandmother was concerned, she was getting things free, regardless of how much money she had to spend in the process.

Tonight, we celebrate the birth of the Savior and Redeemer of the world who comes to us as a baby and is greeted by shepherds and angels.  But whenever I hear the word "redemption," or "redeem" or "redeemer," despite my years of theological education, my mind goes immediately, not to Jesus, but to Green Stamps. Redemption is a pretty cut and dried process by which we save up something we earned until we have enough points or stamps to redeem them and claim something we want. The theology of Green Stamps would then be something like "if we are very good, and earn enough points in our lifetime, we can redeem those points at the end and claim eternal life."

Fortunately, the theology of Green Stamps is not the theology of Christmas. The theology of Christmas is that redemption is the very love of God bursting into the world in a new way.  Tonight, instead of instructions about how to earn enough points to merit redemption from sin and death, we hear the story of the birth of a baby at an inconvenient time, in an inconvenient place, to unwed parents who are probably a still a bit baffled about how all this came to be, complete with a great light display and singing angels, and some shepherds who leave their sheep to their own devices and to go visit this newborn baby. What does this story have to do with the redemption of the world?

First, we learn that redemption is nothing we can earn, no matter how many points we try to save. From the story of Gabriel’s visit to Mary announcing that she has been chosen to carry the Christ child, to Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and the recognition of the child within Mary by Elizabeth’s unborn child, to the events of Jesus birth, the primary actor in this story is God.  The gift of God’s redeeming love is God’s work, not ours, and a gift, not anything we can earn or save up for.

Secondly, God’s redeeming love breaks in on us in the midst of our everyday lives. Mary and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehem to be registered, presumably for the purpose of paying taxes, when Jesus was born. The shepherds were tending their sheep when the angel appeared to them out in the fields. No meals had been planned, gifts purchased, or special events organized. The Christ child was born in the midst of people doing ordinary things. But that does not mean that everything stayed the same. In the Christmas story, the shepherds did return to their sheep, but they did so glorifying and praising God. Mary, no doubt exhausted and a bit confused by her strange visitors, treasured the words of the shepherds and pondered them in her heart. God’s redeeming love is an extraordinary gift that we experience in the midst our ordinary lives, but that love also changes our lives in ways we cannot predict or control.

Lastly, God’s redeeming love is not a private matter. The story tells us that the skies lit up and the heavenly host sang out the news of Jesus’ birth. The message of the angel was one of great joy for all people. After visiting the newborn Jesus, the shepherds "made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them."  The story of Jesus’ birth calls us to be witnesses to God’s redeeming love. 

Christmas is the celebration that, in Jesus, God’s redeeming love has burst into the world in a new way.  That love will transform our lives, our ordinary lives, just as that love transformed the shepherds and Mary.  That love will be revealed not just on special occasions, but as we go about our everyday lives.  That love not only brings us comfort and peace, but spills over so that our whole lives can speak to the love and work of God in the world, not just in the future but now. "For to you is born this day" in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."

Amen.

A House for God

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
December 24, 2023

 4 Advent B

Our two sons were backseat theologians at a young age.  One Sunday morning when the kids were probably 2 and 5 years old, we were driving to church when a voice from the back seat offered this theological insight.  "God has large hands."  "Really," I responded.  "Why does God have large hands?"  The answer: "To give the children lots of candy."  The truth of the matter was that our priest at the time was six foot five, did have large hands, and enjoyed giving candy to the children when they visited the office.  So, God must do the same thing.  Another Sunday morning, one of the kids wondered what kind of pajamas God wears.  "What makes you think God wears pajamas?" I asked.  And from the back seat "I wear pajamas.  I am made in the image of God.  So, God must wear pajamas, too."  Apparently, our kids knew that they are made in the image of God but in their young minds that made God in their image rather than vice versa.

But our budding 2 and 5 years old theologians are in good company this morning because King David is doing exactly the same thing.  David is now the King of Israel.  He is settled in a lovely house of cedar, which he is no doubt enjoying, when he realizes that while he, a human being even if a king, lives in a house, the ark of God stays in a tent.  David certainly prefers his house to a tent, so wouldn't God also prefer a more permanent dwelling?  Surely what David likes, God would like, too. 

And while David will eventually build God a very fine house, for now, God tells David that God's very identity is in being among the people.  God says "I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle."  God is the God of outrageous promises for God's people.  God promised to create a great nation from the then- childless Abraham and Sarah.  God promised to free those very people from slavery in Egypt. And God promised to establish the people in the Promised Land.  Throughout the Israelite's long sojourn out of Egypt, through the wilderness and to the Promised Land, God had always been one step ahead, leading them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to make good on God's promises.  God has always been willing to go first into those outrageous promises.  How can God possibly go first if God is contained in a house?

          This story was not written while the Israelites were enjoying peace and prosperity under David's rule.  2 Samuel was written while the Israelites were in exile in Babylon several centuries later and God seemed profoundly absent.  The people needed to be reminded that God was not contained in the Temple, which had been destroyed. God's very nature was to be out among the people, dreaming grand dreams, one step ahead of them, bringing them closer and closer to the time when they could return home.  In 2 Samuel, David is not prevented from building God a temple because David has committed murder as is the case when the story is told in 1 Kings. David is prevented from building a temple for God because God will build David a house-a house not of cedar but a house and a kingdom that will last forever.  When the life the Israelite people know in the Promised Land has come to an end, their temple has been destroyed and they have been deported from the land God gave them, they are reminded both of God's presence with them and God's promise that, despite the current circumstances, God will establish a house of David that will last forever. God has made good on outrageous promises before. God can be trusted to make good on equally outrageous promises now.

This morning, we hear that God's outrageous promise to David will come to pass through Mary.  If we hear this story with new ears, as if we have never heard the words of the angel before, we will hear a bold and absurd plan being presented to Mary.  She will conceive and bear a son who will be the Son of God.  Mary's first and logical response to this radical change in the direction of her life is quite understandable. "How can this be?"  But once the angel explains what God has in mind, and reminds Mary that “With God, all things are possible,” Mary says "Here I am, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word."

In the child Mary carries, God will be out among the people in a new way.  The Christ Child, the Son of David, will lead us into what is perhaps God’s most lavish and outrageous promise.  The house of David that will stand forever will be built with love that is stronger than hate, good that is stronger than evil, and life that is stronger than death. 

                                                                             Amen.

 

 

 

"Born to Shine"

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
December 17, 2023 (8am only)

                                                     3 Advent B

A few weeks ago, I texted my daughter in law to see how things were going.  I knew the kids had been sick with some wretched virus and that their furnace had gone out.  She replied that she felt like she was living in a country music song.  Since I have a fondness for country music, I knew the exact song she needed and sent her a link to the Rodney Atkins song “If you’re going through hell, keep on going.”  That is a great song with a lot of energy that gives you a little pep talk and a lot of motivation to keep on going with words like “Don’t slow down; if you’re scared, don’t show it.  You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there.” 

This morning, I would love to send both Isaiah and John the Baptist a link to the country music song “Be a light.”  The song is upbeat and hopeful.  The refrain is “In a world full of hate, be a light.  Don’t hide in the dark, you were born to shine.  In a world full of hate, be the light.” The verses say things like “In a time of war, be peace” and “In a place that needs change, make a difference.” Both Isaiah and John the Baptist are calling us to be a light and to point to the light and there’s nothing like a good country music song to help deliver that message.  

Isaiah has been sent by God to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.  Isaiah is writing to a people in distress.  The Hebrew people have been released from captivity in Babylon to a different kind of captivity back at home in the Promised Land...a captivity in which they cannot earn a living, their temple is in ruins, they have lost everything of value and there appears to be no hope for a better future.  But Isaiah is not bringing good news just so the people feel better about their dismal situation.  Isaiah is bringing them comfort so that they can do something about their situation.  Isaiah is bringing the people hope so that they can get about the business of restoration.  And when that happens, their descendants will be known among the nations, and their offspring among all people.  All who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.  In other words, Isaiah preaches comfort, so that the people can rise up and rebuild that which was lost, and God’s glory will be seen through out the world.  Isaiah calls the people to be a light.

In the gospel reading, we are told that John came to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.  John is the one sent to point the way toward Jesus.  Unlike last week’s gospel lesson from Mark, where the focus was on John as the one who baptized for the repentance of sins, in this gospel, John’s real mission is to point to Jesus.  When the priests and Levites ask John who he is, John only answers in the negative: he is not the Messiah, not Elijah, not the prophet.  John’s whole identity was to be a light who pointed the people to someone else, who directed the people to the light of the world, the Word made flesh.   

Advent is not just about preparing ourselves for the coming of the Christ child.  Advent is also about preparing the world around us for the coming of the Christ Child.  Neither Isaiah nor John call us this morning to prepare the world by threatening hell-fire and damnation if people do not believe or behave a certain way.  Isaiah calls us to bind up the broken-hearted, comfort those who mourn, to provide a mantle of praise for a faint spirit, so that God’s glory may be displayed.  Isaiah calls us to work to rebuild the ruins and repair the devastation we see around us, so that the world around us will see the work of God.  Isaiah calls us to be a light so that others can see what God is doing in their midst.  Likewise, John calls to use Advent to be a light that testifies to the light of Christ.  In Advent, and all year actually, our work is to be a light that points to the Light in our midst, bringing hope to the world around us. The apostle Paul calls us to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances so that our lives point to the Word made flesh among us.  Certainly a people that can rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances point to the glory of God.

In the words of the country song, “Don’t hide in the dark, you were born to shine.”  If we heed the call of Isaiah to bring good news to the oppressed, the command of Paul to rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances, and the witness of John to testify to the light, I believe that both our hearts and our world will be better prepared for the arrival of the Christ Child in our midst and we will be a light.

Amen.

"If you're going through hell" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBKybUusyP8

"Be a light" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JcwNJj-pWY

Not "Just in Case"

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
December 10, 2023

2 Advent B 

          As we prepare for Christmas this year, I find myself thinking back to last Christmas and the deep cold and violent winds that came the day before Christmas Eve.  We knew the cold and the winds were coming so I did a bit of baking ahead so I would be ready if we lost the power.  I boiled water all day and kept it in thermal carafes so that if the power did go off, we would have hot water for tea.  That may seem a bit excessive, but you  would not want to be stuck in a house with me where there is no power and no tea.  I was not worried about the refrigerator or freezer if the power went out as the garage would have made a fine refrigerator and there was a vast deep freeze just outside the back door.  I kept all my devices charging all day and bought a battery pack just in case.  I was going to be prepared just in case we lost power the day before Christmas Eve.

          One would think that John the Baptist and I would have a lot in common.  We both value preparedness although I find his food and clothing choices questionable.  This morning we hear the very first words in the gospel according to Mark.  We are told that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness just as the prophet Isaiah foretold, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And we are told that people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem flocked to the wilderness to be baptized in the river Jordan. Something about John the Baptist and his message about preparing for the one who is coming after him caused people to come out in droves to hear what he had to say and act on his words. 

          Perhaps the people were preparing the way I prepare for a storm-just in case the power goes out, just in case John the Baptist is right, just in case someone is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, we had better be ready. Just in case. 

          But, unlike me, John the Baptist is not doing “just in case.”  This is not a fire drill so that people are prepared just in case catastrophe happens.  This is not the emergency siren going off at noon on the first Saturday of each month so we know what the siren sounds like.  In the reading from Isaiah this morning, we hear the words “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  The glory of the Lord will be revealed.  John the Baptist is preparing the people for what is definitely coming to pass.  One is coming whose sandals John is not worthy to untie, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit, and who, in not many more verses in Mark’s gospel will appear and say “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near.  Repent and believe in the good news.”

          John the Baptist is calling the people and us to a season of preparation not just in case we need to be prepared but because we do  need to be prepared for the inbreaking of God.  John calls us to live as people who really expect God to break into our midst.  But how do we do that, short of heading to the wilderness ourselves to look for someone dressed in camel’s hair and eating locusts to give us instructions?

          This morning we hear the words “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  These are the very opening words of Mark’s gospel and some scholars believe this is the title of the whole work.  On the other hand, I find it interesting that the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ is found in the wilderness.  The voice in the reading from Isaiah cries out “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low.”  John the Baptist appears in the wilderness and proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  Either way, preparation is about engaging the wilderness and removing barriers so that all people can see the glory of God revealed.  In our own lives and hearts, what barriers do we need to remove so that we are prepared for the glory of God as revealed in the Christ Child?  From what do we need to turn that separates us from the love of God?  That is repentance.  As followers of Jesus, what barriers do we need to remove so that all people can know the love of God as revealed in the Christ Child?  That is the work of raising valleys and leveling mountains.  If folks steer clear of churches because they are afraid of being judged for their gender orientation or marital status or differing abilities or economic status or politics, or because they have never heard the Good News, how do we remove those barriers? 

          John calls us to prepare with the conviction that the glory of God will be revealed and all people shall see it together.  John calls us to prepare because that for which we prepare matters, both to us and to the world and not just for one day but forever.  John calls us to prepare, not just in case something wondrous might happen in our midst but because something wondrous is about to happen.

                                                                                      Amen.

 

 

Sheep

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
November 26, 2023

Christ the King

          During the pandemic, one of the things I was most proud of was the way we tried to tailor our outreach to those most affected by Covid-19.  We heard from mental health professionals in the parish that mental health needs were skyrocketing due to the isolation of quarantine.  Incidents of domestic violence were also increasing as there was no place to escape from abusers.  So we had an online action and raised over $10,000 for Hope and Healing, the battered women’s shelter in Akron.  For Christmas in July the same year, we supplied Hope and Healing with hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards for their residents.  At Christmas, we heard about the ministry of the Peter Maurin Center, serving people who live under the bridges in Akron and instead of giving money for Christmas flowers, we used that money to support ministry to the unhoused.  We tried to listen to the needs of the community and respond in the ways that we could during a time when doing things in-person was not safe.  Our goal was and is to seek and serve Christ in all people, as we promise in baptism.

          Today is Christ the King Sunday, the day we celebrate the reign of Christ at the end of time.  Christ the King Sunday is also the last Sunday before Advent begins next Sunday.  And while, technically, Christ the King Sunday is not the patronal feast day of churches named Christ Church, as Christ Church Episcopal we would do well to listen to what Jesus says on this day.  Bonus points to anyone who knows what our patronal feast day is…without consulting Google!

Today, we hear Jesus speak the words from which our baptismal promise to seek and serve Christ in all people comes.  At the end of time, the Son of Man will say to the sheep on his right hand “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me….I was in prison and you visited me.”  The sheep did not say “Excellent!  That is exactly what we were trying to do.”  The sheep had no idea what Jesus was talking about.  When the goats to Jesus’s left were told that when they did not feed the hungry, or visit those in prison, they did not feed Jesus, they did not say “I’m so sorry….I ran out of time, or I barely had enough for myself, or it just wasn’t convenient that day, or it felt really awkward.”  The goats to Jesus’ left were just as shocked to find that they had neglected to serve Jesus as the sheep to Jesus’ right were to find that they had served Jesus.  Despite the surprise on both sides, the sheep get eternal life and the goats get eternal punishment. 

          Since the sheep had no idea that they were seeking and serving Christ in all people, why did they serve?   Clearly they did not serve in order to win favor with Jesus.  They had no baptismal covenant they were trying to live up to.  What was their motivation?

The idea that people of faith should serve others is hardly something new with Jesus.  Matthew's gospel was written to a largely Jewish audience.  The Hebrew scriptures are full of admonitions to live with mercy and kindness, not just to people of like faith, but to all people.  Over and over again in Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, we hear the command to show hospitality to foreigners, for the Hebrew people were once strangers in the land of Egypt.  The Hebrew people and the stranger were connected by the common experience of being in a foreign land.  The prophet Micah sums up the Hebrew teaching with the words "What does the Lord require? That you do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."  In the reading from Ezekiel, we hear God model the very behavior God expects of God's faithful people.  "I will seek the lost and I will bring back the strayed.  I will bind up the injured and I will strengthen the weak."  Acts of mercy and kindness are part of the identity of the Hebrew people because they are the people of the God of mercy and kindness.

The sheep we hear about this morning are doing good works simply because they are living as the people of God they were created to be.  Acts of mercy and kindness were part of the identity of the sheep because they belong to the God of mercy and kindness.  Jesus says in Matthew's gospel "I have come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it" so for Christians, belonging to God through Christ means living out the same acts of mercy and kindness.  Then, to our surprise, we realize that we have served Jesus.

          This morning we have the privilege of baptizing Simon Andrew Monroe Phillips.  We will promise to seek and serve Christ in all people, to work for justice and peace, and to respect the dignity of every human being.  Simon will be sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever with the sign of the cross.  I explain to children that the cross is like having Jesus’ name written on their foreheads.  It means that they belong to God.  Belonging to Christ the King does not mean being people of power, privilege and protection.  Belonging to Christ the King means being people of the shepherd who came to serve, to identify with those on the margins, and to work for justice and peace.  We make 300 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and deliver them to St. Bernard’s in Akron as part of their ministry to unhoused people in Akron.  We make lunches for Open M.  We knit and we collect laundry detergent and yams, and buy gifts for the Giving Tree.  We participate in First Serve.  We are thrilled to be able to do those things together and in-person having known the isolation of quarantine.  Our next challenge is to find ways to actually engage the community, to work at the Food Pantry or distribute the sandwiches at St. Bernards, or serve a meal at Open M, or visit those in a nursing home with no one to visit them.  The reason we do what we do is not to earn anything from God.  All we could ever want from God is given to us in baptism.  Like the sheep, we are called to seek and serve Christ in all people simply because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever. 

                                                                             Amen.

Risk

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
November 19, 2023

28 Proper A 

          At a conference a number of years ago, I was asked to speak about a risk my congregation had taken.  The options for a topic were fairly infinite as urban ministry just comes with risks.  But the one I chose seemed to most clearly walk the fine line between bold and stupid.  We had the opportunity to purchase two houses at the end of our parking lot.  Acquiring the land next to the church is generally considered a wise move, and Christ Church has done that several times in our history.  Many, many meetings and conversations later, we decided to buy the property.  Each house had three apartments which we turned into low income housing.  The first house was rented to clients at Clark County Mental Health and their rent was paid with Section 8 vouchers.  The second house was loaned to an organization a lot like Family Promise to be transitional housing for folks who needed help getting on their feet.  We hoped the rent from the first house would cover expenses for both and at no point would the income from the rental units ever subsidize the expenses of the church.  We took a risk, invested a good bit of money into the houses, and hoped to provide good, clean low income housing to those who needed it.  To this day, despite all appearances to the contrary, I believe that we made a good and faithful decision.  However, after many years of owning the houses, countless repairs, and an ongoing bug problem that we could not solve, we had to tear down the houses and create a tiny plot of green space where they had once stood.  We took a faithful risk but at the end of the day, we lost. 

          I thought about that little adventure in rental property when I read Jesus’ parable this morning, a parable that has nothing to do with rental housing and everything to do with risk*.  A man going on a journey summons his servants and gives one 5 talents, the other 2 talents, and the third gets 1 talent, each according to that person’s ability.  A talent was a tremendous amount of money-somewhere between 15 and 20 years worth of earnings for the average laborer according to the commentaries.  Two of the servants took the money and traded with it and doubled the investment.  Trading does not come without risk and whatever risk the two servants took paid off.  Both were commended and invited to enter into the joy of the master.  But the third servant was afraid of the master who was apparently known to be a harsh man, although how the servant knew that is a mystery. The third servant buried the talent and returned it to his master taking no risk whatsoever.  And for his lack of effort, he was cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.  That seems a little extreme but that is par for the course in Jesus’ parables.

          I do not think Jesus is giving investment advice here, and while many stewardship sermons have been preached on this passage, I have doubts that the passage is actually about money at all.  The line “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away” tells us that this parable has nothing to do with gospel economics in which the rich are poor and the poor are rich.  We are going to have to dig a bit deeper to figure this one out. 

I wonder if the meaning of the parable hinges on the line “so I was afraid.”  Throughout the gospels, the opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear.  The first two servants acted on faith, both faith in their master that they would not be punished if they tried and failed, and faith in their abilities to use what they were given to make more.  They were invited to enter into the joy of the master.  I honestly do not think the master would have been angry with them had they tried and failed just as I do not believe God was angry with us when our rental housing risk failed.  The third servant acted in fear of the master and in fear of the servant’s own abilities.  That servant did not even try and he ended up in outer darkness, that place where there is no joy.

A talent was worth so incredibly much money that I wonder if the talents actually represent something else.  I wonder if the talents might represent the immeasurable love of God.   Some days we may feel like we have been given a full measure and rush out in faith and joy to share or invest that love and grow the Kingdom of God, regardless of what risk might be involved and knowing that we won’t always be successful.  Our efforts are rewarded with joy.  Other days, such as in the midst of war, or deep national division, or racial injustice, or whatever personal challenges we face, we may feel like we have a smaller measure and be tempted to keep that to ourselves, even though the reality is that the love of God is immeasurable and we each have been given God’s love in abundance.  There’s not much joy in hoarding.  However we might be feeling, whatever challenges we face, we are called to act in faith, not fear, and invest God’s love in the world rather than bury God’s love in the ground. 

          The Good News in this disturbing parable is that, as humans, we are loved immeasurably by God, and as humans who follow Jesus, we have not only a call, but a responsibility to step out in faith and make that love known in the world, even and especially when times are hard.  In the midst of war, a country where hate crimes are on the increase, a government that struggles to govern, a community in which there are people who struggle to feed their families, we have a responsibility to invest God’s love in the world.  God loves humankind too much to let us simply bury that love in the ground where it does no one any good just so it can be dug up and returned someday.  We can get hung up on what happened to the poor servant who acted in fear and was cast into outer darkness, or we can be people of great love, taking a risk and stepping out in faith, working to make a difference in the world, so that one day we will hear God say to everyone “Enter into the joy of your master.”

 

* With thanks to Amy Frykholm at https://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2014-09/lasalle-street-church-makes-use-abundance?utm_source=Christian+Century+Newsletter&utm_campaign=444370135b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_SCP_2023-11-13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-31c915c0b7-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D