The Ridiculous Journey Part Three: “The Reconciler”

First Lutheran Church + June 17, 2018

Our summer sermon series, “The Ridiculous Journey,”continues today with a look at Jesus as “The Reconciler.”  Last week we reflected on the implications of following Jesus as a “Revolutionary,”as God’s “change agent”in the world bringing about the Kingdom of God.  We spoke of the cost of discipleship, the challenges of following a “revolutionary,”and by association being a revolutionary, being an active part of ushering in a new day.   

Today we will be reflecting on one of the identifying characteristics of this new day, one of the “marks” of the kingdom, “reconciliation.”  St. Paul writes in today’s lesson, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”  (2 Corinthians 5: 17-18)

Paul goes on to remind us that this message of reconciliation has been entrusted to us, that it is our calling, that those who follow “Christ The Reconciler”are called to be peacemakers in this world, to help bridge the gaps caused by division, to help gather all of creation up and into the great love of God.  And this is no easy task in a world that seems hopelessly divided, uncompromisingly loyal to assumptions, and quick to define “the other”as “the enemy.”

It seems we are “loyal”to a fault.  That might sound strange, after all “loyalty”is a trait that we have been taught to value, even something to which we aspire.  Yet in many ways loyalty is actually the opposite of reconciliation; loyalty fragments us and separate us from God, truth, and each other; loyalty stands in the way of reconciliation.

Let me give you an example.  Like many of you I am very loyal to certain brands.  Brand Loyalty!  In particular I love “Apple”products.  At home I have Apple Computers, I have two Apple MacBook lap tops, I have more than one iPad, I preach from an Apple iPad, and my phone of choice is the Apple iPhone.  It doesn’t bother me that these products often cost more than some other android device, and I am not convinced that there is any truth whatsoever to the reports that say my Apple products have flaws.  That’s fake news.  I believe the commercials, I believe that people who use other brands are just not as smart, or as cool, as I am. In fact, I tend to think they might not even be “good” people.  I am all in on the Apple experience.  

Social Scientists speak of this phenomena in terms of Identity and Tribalism.  From an article entitled, “The Psychology of Brand Loyalty,” “Humans are a social species, and we’ve learned to engage with one another by forging an identity, sticking to it as stubbornly as possible and participating in tribalism (sticking close to people like ourselves and vilifying or avoiding people unlike us). This is the main reason politics are so divisive, and a contributing factor to the thrill of sports rivalries.” The article then offers an example,“Apple is a notorious example here: It uses imagery of cool, laid-back, colorful people to showcase its brand, and stuffy, unlikable characters to portray its rivals. Instilling a sense of community identity (and in this case, elitism) is the key to making your customers feel that they’re a part of your brand.”

Ok, so my blind loyalty to Apple might not be one of my best life practices.  But in truth, it’s relatively harmless, just as are each of your own unique brand preferences or obsessions.  Yet as so often is the case, this “brand loyalty” mindset and practice often goes much deeper than our shopping sprees.  This week’s featured theologian in our series, the Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Katongole, Associate Professor of Theology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame says, “One of the things I do believe and I do know for sure is that God is neither Democrat nor Republican, that is God is neither African nor American, that God is neither an Iraqi or a Palestinian or an Israeli, but God’s vision of creation is much broader than each of these loyalties and how these loyalties claim us for themselves and they tell us ‘You are mine, therefore you cannot belong to anything else or anybody else.’”…“We live in a world full of people, parties, and places that compete to define who we are.”

You see that’s the real problem, when our loyalties instill an unhealthy sense of tribalism within us and seek to make ultimate claims on us, on our identity, on our faith; claims that might be confused as the Kingdom of God; claims that actually separate us from each other and thus the Kingdom of God.  Dr. Katongole goes on to say, that each of us is but a fragment, each of our stories are but a fragment, each of our communities are but a fragment of God’s story.  We need others, other stories, and other communities to gain a more complete understanding of God.  And any loyalty, or claim of loyalty, that cuts us off from the other is thus extremely dangerous.  Dr. Kantongole expresses his frustration with such tribalism, “We never listen, we just throw rocks at each other.”

Instead of blind loyalty, and the “pride that goeth before a fall,”the ministry of reconciliation, the work of bringing us deeper into relationship with God, demands a humble stance.  We are called to resist the blind oath of any loyalty that seeks to vehemently deny the other, that claims the other is not real, that claims the other has no truth; and even more importantly, be willing to admit that our experience alone is incomplete.  For the truth is that God is always beyond our loyalties, beyond our limited experiences, beyond - yet right before us when we accept the invitation to participate in acts of reconciliation, when we are willing to listen to other stories, and seek to understand other experiences.  

In today’s Gospel Jesus makes a ridiculous request of his followers, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’” (Matthew 5:43-44) A ridiculous request, yet brilliant.  You see if we can begin to stop scapegoating others, if we can interrupt blind loyalties, if we can stop reacting from a place of fear; we might be able to begin to see the goodness in those who differ from us, we might be able to see that fragment of Christ that exists in the other, we might be able to offer them the fragment of Christ that is in us, and in doing so we might be able to inject the kind of hope that leads to peace and justice, the reconciliation of God’s love. 

Theologian Rich Nelson, (who put the materials for this series together,)adds, “And maybe, just maybe, if we stop hating others for a little while, it will allow us to come to terms with what we hate about ourselves and learn to forgive, love, accept or reconcile with that person too.”

St. Paul proclaims, “So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)  We have been entrusted not only with the message of reconciliation, but the work of reconciliation made possible through the life, teachings, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.  

Jesus invitation “to follow me”is not just another invitation to a competing loyalty but rather a new way to live apart from the fear of tribalism and the violence of scapegoating the other.  To follow Jesus is to take up the invitation to do the work of reconciliation by creating “spaces” where people from diverse and even conflicting backgrounds can gather together to discover God in the sharing of the fragments of our divine experiences.  It is to listen and appreciate rather than debate with the sole intent of conversion to your side.  It is to cultivate unlikely friendships across political, cultural, and religious spectrums. It is to It is to truly share our fears and our dreams in the safety of a hope that will lead us into a promised land that holds the promise of life for everyone.  It is to find a path of engagement that is more civil, and more peaceful than the cultural wars with which we have become accustomed.

My dictionary work this week focused on the word “Reconciliation.”   It’s an old French word with Latin roots meaning “to bring together again, regain, to make consistent.”  So, it is the work of reconciliation to bring all of creation back to its original design, back into the harmony of – “It was good, very good,”back into the fullness of God’s love.  In Jesus, God’s agent of change, this love was made known, and continues to be made know by those “revolutionaries”who have chosen to follow him.  

How is God at work in you, in your personal life, in your professional life, in your communal life, creating “spaces” for the work of peace and reconciliation, the opportunity to cultivate unlikely friendships that might play a part in changing the world?  

And how might we at “First Lutheran” and “The Table” create “spaces” for the work of peace and reconciliation in our spacious (and thanks to AC increasingly more inhabitable) dwelling place here on the corner of Lemon and Wilshire.  What role does the ministry of reconciliation have in our mission “to be the Heart of Christ, feeding our neighbors with grace, mercy, justice, and love?”

Jesus exhorts us, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13: 34-35)

In Christ each of us has been wonderfully and forever reconciled, and through us in “the ministry of reconciliation”the love of God continues to reach out into all the world.  How far does that love go?  Dr. Kantongole proclaims, “Love goes as far as God’s heart goes.”  “On the cross God has the whole world in his heart!”   That’s a long, long ways. If God’s love goes that far, and God is the source of all love, then maybe our love can learn to go that far as well.  Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Matthew 5:43-45

43 ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 

The Ridiculous Journey + Part Two: “The Revolutionary”

The Ridiculous Journey + Part Two: “The Revolutionary”

June 10, 2018

Last week we began our summer sermon series, “The Ridiculous Journey: Following A Nobody from Nowhere.”  In part one we were invited to consider what it means to follow Jesus, - to really follow Jesus.  We talked about the “Jesus Strategy,”Jesus’ intentional placement of himself on the margins of society, being in solidarity with the marginalized.  We were reminded that Jesus did not point to those who were experiencing poverty or persecution but rather joined with them, came up along beside them, and dwelled with them.  In this way Jesus reminds us that when we exclude others, we are excluding him.  In this “good news” we are comforted and challenged; comforted to know that when we are feeling dismissed by others we are not alone, that Christ is with us; and we are challenged because we know that to follow Jesus leads us to the margins of life, to the edges that are disconcerting, places that can be uncomfortable for us, yet the places where the kingdom of God is emerging.  In his ministry 2000 years ago Jesus was found on the margins, and that is still where he can be found today.  Following Jesus, the “ridiculous journey,” is comforting and very challenging.

Part Two of our series is entitled “The Revolutionary.”  That’s a strong word, and perhaps a word with which we are not totally comfortable.  Was Jesus really a revolutionary?  Was he really about making drastic changes, upsetting convention, and advocating for significant social change?  Maybe he could just be about helping everybody to be “nice.”  

So, was Jesus a “revolutionary?”  In today’s gospel Jesus himself proclaims, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”  (It’s also worth noting that Rome reserved crucifixion primarily for those convicted of crimes against the state.)  Whether we like it or not, it seems there is a very good case to be made that many considered Jesus to be a “revolutionary.”  So, what does that mean for those of us who have chosen to follow him?  Are we too, by association, revolutionaries?  Should we be revolutionaries?  What would that mean?  What would that look like?

Theologian Willian Danaher comments on today’s gospel reading from Matthew, “To be a disciple is to make a deliberate break with the world we know in order to live according to the new world that Jesus is bringing into being. This break with the old world inevitably involves conflict, even violence. Therefore, the decision to be a disciple is not something that happens organically or in the normal course of events. It is a moment in which we decide to stand with Jesus and for Jesus regardless of the outcome.” 

In last week’s Gospel we saw the first disciples leave their families and their nets behind.  Today’s Gospel suggests that following Jesus might even bring about conflict with our family and friends.  Again, we must ask, “Why would we embark on such a ridiculous journey?”

The study guide for our series features an interview with Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber.  (Nadia is a Pastor, in Denver Colorado, at “All Saints and Sinners” Lutheran Church.  She is known for her books, and her candid. Straight forward, sometimes “earthy,” “street-level” language and approach to faith.)  In this interview she recalls a time when, as part of a panel at an event, she was asked what kinds of things, spiritual exercises, she practices, in order to deepen her relationship with God, to get closer to Jesus. She recalls that she laughed aloud, and without thinking blurted out, “Nothing! Why would I do that?  I wish God would leave me alone half the time. Getting closer feels dangerous. I’m gonna end up loving someone I don’t like again. Giving away more of my money? I don’t know. It just feels like a bad idea.”

As Lutherans we don’t often talk about having a “personal relationship” with God.  It’s not really part of our piety.  Theologically we tend to emphasize our relationship with God in the context of community, as the body of Christ, and in our relationships with neighbor, the other, and even the stranger.  And these things are all good ways to understand how God is present in our life, but let’s not forget that God is also at work within us in a very personal way. And perhaps we resist this because deep down we know that it is dangerous.  Nadia goes on to say, “Sometimes Jesus hunts your “you know what” down, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”  “God creates faith in us!”And when that happens, radical things happen, your perspective on life changes, your passion changes, your values are reshaped, and you find yourself willing and able to pick up a cross and follow.  Suddenly you find yourself not only an advocate but an active part of the kingdom of God that is emerging into this world!  And it becomes your ultimate concern, that by which you make your life choices.  And all of the sudden you’re a revolutionary.

What’s going on in your personal relationship with Jesus?  What kinds of things are tugging on your heart?   What kinds of issues are causing you to want to make a difference?  What makes you hurt?  What gives you joy?  What gives you that peace that passes all understanding, the peace of purpose, the sense of “life well lived?”  How has Jesus been at work deep within you, calling you out, inviting you to step away from the world and more deeply into the kingdom?

When I am preparing a sermon I like to look up words in the dictionary in order to learn more about their origins, and thus more about their “fullest” meanings.  This week’s word was “revolutionary.”  If we’re going to follow Jesus, it seems like we should know more about this word.

Revolution is a 14thcentury French word that was originally used to speak of the course of celestial bodies.  It was used to describe how the moon revolves around the earth, and the earth revolves around the sun.  As we know the earth moves or revolves every 24 hours creating day and night, and the earth orbits or revolves around the sun every 365 days, creating the year, causing the seasons of the year. 

In the 15thcentury the word became associated with sudden, radical, complete and fundamental change, the overthrow of an established political system or government.  We speak of The French Revolution and The American Revolution.  In recent decades it has also been used to describe great social changes in life such as the computer revolution.

Thus, to be revolutionary is to be an agent of change.  And as people of faith, as followers of Jesus, to be revolutionary means to be a part of the love of God that is turning the world around and into a brand-new day.  Jesus was God’s agent of change, come into the world to reveal the true nature of God, to reveal God’s love, and the Kingdom of God, God’s great dream of peace and love for the world.  And the implications of this revelation were, and continue to be, radical.  

The life and teachings of Jesus, the revealing of God, challenges us to care for each other, to be just for each other, to love each other; in a world that is obsessed with self-interest and blinded by egocentricity.  

The life and teachings of Jesus, the revealing of God, challenges us to care for our planet, the place where we live, to find ways to preserve and share our resources in such a way that “all” have what they need to live, to dream, to be in relationship, to share in life abundant; in a world that values selfishness and greed exaggerated by fear.   

The life and teachings of Jesus, the revealing of God, implores us to seek reconciliation and justice in peaceful ways; in a world that refuses to put down it sword, a world seemingly only able to trust in the fallen ways of violence.  

The Kingdom of God and the world are on a collision course.  And all this makes the follower of Jesus, revolutionaries! 

To follow Jesus, to embark on the “ridiculous journey,” is to be an agent of change, to be a revolutionary who trusts that love is once again about to turn the world into a brand-new day where God will indeed reign.  A new day that will be in sharp contrast to the uncompletedness of yesterday and today, a day marked by the fullness of grace, hope, peace, justice, and love extending beyond the very last margins of life and deep into each and every heart.  May God continue to bless us on this “ridiculous journey.”  Amen.

Matthew 10:34-39

34 ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

The Ridiculous Journey + Part One: “The Ridiculous Journey”

The Ridiculous Journey

Part One: “The Ridiculous Journey”

This morning we begin a sermon series entitled “The Ridiculous Journey: Following a Nobody from Nowhere.” It’s based on a series produced by “Work of the People,” a media resource for the church.  The series invites us to reflect on why we follow Jesus. It invites us to consider, “A Middle Eastern homeless man from twenty centuries ago and why he still stirs the souls and imaginations of many." And finally, the series invites us to consider what it might really mean to follow this Jesus, to embark on what some may call “a Ridiculous Journey,”“A costly journey with an unknown destination.” 

In today’s Gospel reading Jesus approaches the first disciples and invites them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  And the scriptures tell us that these fisherman, “immediately …  left their nets and followed him.”  It’s a very curious story, it is a ridiculous story, who does that?  Who seemingly drops everything, who leaves their work and their family behind, to follow an itinerant teacher?  Perhaps it’s such a familiar story that we don’t ever think twice about it?  After all it was Jesus, and so it makes sense that they would drop everything and follow him.  But what we often forget is that “Jesus” was not really “Jesus” in this moment.  At this point in his life he really was “a nobody from nowhere.” In fact, when Nathaniel invites his friend Philip to join him in following“Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth,” he famously responds,“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  It seems Nazareth wasn’t a really happening place.  Why would you follow a “nobody from nowhere!”

I wonder what we would do if Jesus had chosen to come into our world, seek out potential disciples, and invite them to drop everything and “follow me?”  I wonder how we might respond?  How would you respond?   How would I respond?  What would you do if a “nobody from nowhere”showed up at your place of employment, and asked you to leave your work and your family behind to embark on a mission from God?   What would you do if someone from outside “The OC” showed up, someone who appeared homeless, someone without a good resume and references, someone who perhaps spoke a different language, had a different background, someone from someplace like “Nazareth;” and that person invited you to be his or her disciple?  How would you respond to the invitation, “Come on, let’s go, we’ll challenge the status quo, turn things upside down, and take on the empire!”  I am willing to bet you would not follow this person!  I can’t imagine myself doing it.  Why would we leave our jobs, our families, our mortgage, our car, and our way of life in “The OC” for some kind of “Ridiculous Journey with a nobody from Nowhere!”

Yet those first disciples did just that, they were able to choose that “costly journey with an unknown destination.” How does that happen?  And while we didn't have to make that kind of radical decision, we too have decided to follow Jesus.  (Although I guess we have to admit that it’s much easier now.)  We just need to find a church, become a member, give an offering, and participate in programs that provide us opportunities to live out the teachings of Jesus and the values of the kingdom.  Still challenging, but not as radical as the decision the disciples had to make, on the spot, that day that Jesus showed up while they were at work fishing. 

Sometimes I wonder if it’s “too easy?”  Sometimes I wonder if there is no real cost, am I really following Jesus? Sometimes I wonder, what does it really mean to follow Jesus?  Am I following Jesus?  I want to follow Jesus, at least I think I do?

St. Ignatius of Loyola, the 16thCentury Catholic founder of the Jesuit Order, had such a moment in his life.  By all accounts he was a very successful military officer, a servant of the King, and a defender of the faith.  Yet one day, after recovering from a serious wound in battle, and after spending many days and nights reflecting on life and faith, he encountered a poor man, dressed in sack cloth, and immediately decided to put down his sword and dagger.  In that encounter, in an encounter with humility and poverty, he was invited to follow Jesus in a new way, in a costly way, yet in a way that truly set him free. This encounter would become one of the central practices in Jesuit Spirituality, the “Practice of the Two Standards,”the invitation to reflect upon under whose “standard,”under whose “banner”or “battle flag,”do you ultimately stand?  Are you of this world and its trappings, or of the Kingdom of God, the values lived out by Jesus?  This “Practice of the Two Standards”invite one to consider what it really might mean to follow Jesus?

Father Greg Boyle, from Los Angeles, the founder of “Homeboy Industries,” (a ministry that has been very successful helping young men and women escape the violent cycles of gang life,) fleshes out the practice of the two standards in this way.  He speaks of the Jesus Strategy …

Jesus is always found standing in the lowly place.  That’s the strategy, he’s not pointing to it - but standing in it, in a place of humility where the poor and marginalized are found.  He stands there, silently beside them, because that’s where they have been forced to stand.  He is there to stop the demonizing.  You do not erase the margins by pointing to them, they are only erased when you choose to stand in those places, to dwell in those places, and ultimately to be evangelized by those who live on the margins.

So it is, that the “Ridiculous Journey,”the decision to follow “a nobody from nowhere,”often, if not always, leads us to the edges of life, to those margins where Jesus silently waits for us.  For it is here, in our willingness to create space that bridges the gaps, that the transformation of God takes place, and the Kingdom of God comes!

Jesus invites us on a “Ridiculous Journey,” and in many ways, you have to be “crazy” to say “yes” to the invitation to follow.  Yet we do, we say “yes.”  It’s a hard journey, and though our hearts are willing we often fall away, get lost, get distracted, become afraid, and sometimes, we just say, “no.” Yet here we are, gathered up by the Spirit, eager to hear the words of Jesus, eager to figure out where Christ is, so that there we may be also, hoping for the kingdom, the manifestation of God’s love practiced in our world.  “A Middle Eastern homeless man from twenty centuries ago … still stirs the souls and imaginations of many."

Why?  

Perhaps it’s because some of the wisest people we know, some of the kindest people we have experienced, some of the most “peace-filled,” “hope-filled,” and “joy-filled” people we have encountered in our life have chosen to follow this Jesus all the way to the edges?  And their witness draws us in.  

Perhaps it’s because in moments of gifted grace and holy courage we have found ourselves on the journey, and in those moments, we have experienced something that was truly transformative, something that touched us powerfully, something that won’t let go of us.  

Perhaps we have, at one time in our life, found ourselves living on the margins, cast off and forgotten, and one day we noticed that Jesus was standing beside us.  

And perhaps, just perhaps, we know deep down inside that it would more crazy not to follow Jesus, that it would be insane to just go along with the predominant cultural narrative that wants us to believe the life is a zero-sum game, that it’s all about competing with each other, outdoing your neighbor; that it’s all about money and possessions as if those things will save us from emptiness and loneliness;  that meaning can be found in selfish consumption; that fear and death are a means to an end; that our legacy will be measured in terms of our resume and the wealth we will only leave behind.  That sounds like a Ridiculous Journey!

Into “this craziness,” Jesus offers us hope, a different way to live; an opportunity to love and to be truly loved; the opportunity to be free, free of possessions, free of other worldly expectations, to be free indeed; the opportunity to live deeply from a meaningful place in the midst of a world obsessed with an empty agenda.  As crazy as it might seem, when I step back and think about it, this idea of “following a nobody from nowhere,”kind of makes sense, it actually sounds like a good idea.  If this world seems crazy, if you want something more, if you’re interested in love, grace, mercy, hope, peace, justice; it might just be a really good idea to take a chance on the Ridiculous Journey of faith in Christ Jesus. 

I’m thankful to share the journey with you.  I look forward to seeing where it takes us.  It won’t be easy, this “costly journey with an unknown destination,”so let us pray for each other, be strength for each other, be constant reminders of the love of God in Christ Jesus for each other.  Amen.

Mark 1:14-20

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

29I mean, brothers and sisters,the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, 30and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, 31and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.