Year A
Exodus 19:2-8a
Psalm 100
Romans 5:1-8
Matthew 9:35-10:8 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pastor Chris Glaser wrote that Jesus did not come to save you\u2026 or to ensure your financial prosperity\u2026 Jesus came to save the world\u2026 to help it prosper\u2026 and to implement God\u2019s plan for all of creation\u2026 even that part of creation which is beyond the edge of the known universe\u2026 of course that includes you\u2026 but it\u2019s not all about you\u2026 and whether you\u2019re Christian or not\u2026 you\u2019re a part of that Universal Body\u2026 a part of that of Christ Consciousness\u2026 and cannot exist apart from it\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai\u2026 down from communing with this Consciousness\u2026 he told the elders what God had revealed to him\u2026 that if they obeyed God\u2019s injunctions\u2026 and kept God\u2019s covenant\u2026 they would be God\u2019s treasured possession\u2026 a priestly kingdom\u2026 and a holy nation\u2026 and they said\u2026 Everything that the Lord has spoken\u2026 we will do<\/em>\u2026 and I\u2019ve wondered\u2026 I\u2019ve thought that perhaps\u2026 anyone<\/em> who keeps God\u2019s commandments\u2026 can also be\u2026 a True Israelite\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if True Israelites follow God\u2019s commandments\u2026 and if God\u2019s commandments are spoken through the Prophets\u2026 we have to ask whether and how well\u2026 we listen to the Prophets\u2026 in Isaiah 1:17\u2026 God said\u2026 learn to do good\u2026 seek justice\u2026 rescue the oppressed\u2026 defend the orphan\u2026 plead for the widow<\/em>\u2026 and in Isaiah 58:6-7\u2026 God said\u2026 is not this the fast I choose\u2026 to loose the bonds of injustice\u2026 to let the oppressed go free\u2026 is it not to share your bread with the hungry<\/em>\u2026 and in Ezekiel 16:49\u2026 God said\u2026 the guilt of your sister Sodom was that she and her daughters had excess food\u2026 prosperous ease\u2026 and were prideful\u2026 but did not aid the poor and needy<\/em>\u2026 most of us remember that in Micah 6:8\u2026 the prophet wrote\u2026 God has told you\u2026 O mortal\u2026 what is good\u2026 to do justice\u2026 and to love kindness\u2026 and to walk humbly with your God<\/em>\u2026 and in 1John 3:17-18\u2026 the Gospel writer asks\u2026 how does God\u2019s love abide in anyone who has the world\u2019s goods\u2026 and sees a brother or sister in need\u2026 and yet refuses help<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything that the Lord has spoken\u2026 we will do<\/em>\u2026 sadly\u2026 I think that this country\u2026 doesn\u2019t listen or do\u2026 too many think it\u2019s all about them\u2026 and as Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann has rightly observed\u2026 the Gospel has gotten all tangled up\u2026 in a white\u2026 western\u2026 sense of entitlement<\/em>\u2026 we have moved away from God\u2019s will for us\u2026 even during this pandemic\u2026 many people feel entitled to do what they want\u2026 even when it goes against what we\u2019re instructed to do\u2026 by the medical health professionals we entrust to lead us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example\u2026 I went to Meijer on Friday morning\u2026 and all over the store\u2026 all over the floors\u2026 are arrows pointing this way down one aisle\u2026 and that way up the next aisle\u2026 arrows that indicate traffic flow\u2026 and they\u2019re not intended to vex people\u2026 they\u2019re not intended to make people\u2019s lives harder\u2026 they\u2019re intended to help us keep each other healthy during this pandemic\u2026 but in almost every aisle I went\u2026 it was as though there were no arrows\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And God\u2019s OK with us going the wrong way\u2026 down the aisles\u2026 or in life\u2026 or with us not wearing masks\u2026 God loves us anyway\u2026 but we will bear the consequences of our collective actions\u2026 we will reap the seeds we sow\u2026 and we will risk each other\u2019s health even more\u2026 when we fail to do all we can not to\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we\u2019ve all seen the news reports of employees here and there\u2026 who did what they could to gently enforce a store\u2019s mask policy<\/em>\u2026 and who were met with everything from mild disdain to physical violence by those who seem to reject the prophetic voices of medical professionals like Drs. Fauci and Birx\u2026 but we cannot have the communities\u2026 or the lives we want\u2026 without a corresponding level of accountability\u2026 and in the days since George Floyd\u2019s murder\u2026 and now Rayshard Brooks\u2019\u2026 there are indications that people are demanding greater accountability\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although\u2026 one commentator the other night\u2026 made a significant observation\u2026there\u2019s been a lot of talk<\/em>\u2026 he said\u2026 about how things need to change\u2026 and how they ought to be\u2026 but there\u2019s been no talk\u2026 really\u2026 about what we\u2019re willing to give up to make that happen\u2026 how much we\u2019re willing to pay\u2026 too many people it seems\u2026 want systems to change\u2026 and want increased social justice\u2026 but seem to think it will all be free<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And maybe it\u2019s because there\u2019s money on the line\u2026 maybe it\u2019s because some people are afraid of what they\u2019ll have to give up\u2026 or the work that\u2019ll be needed to dis-entangle the Gospel from notions of entitlement\u2026 maybe that\u2019s why it becomes so much easier to minimize or flat-out negate the severity of racism\u2026 or voter suppression\u2026 or any of the things about which the Prophets spoke\u2026 easier for some leaders to say that things will just work themselves out\u2026 to say that people just ought to be patient\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n When\u2026 what I pray we heard from our highest elected officials\u2026 was an acknowledgement that the work we are called to do is difficult work\u2026 but it is what we are called to do\u2026 and we will do everything we can\u2026 to make whatever systemic changes are needed\u2026 and one reason why it\u2019s difficult to do these things\u2026 is because as we move from systems of injustice\u2026 to systems of justice\u2026 we also move from higher personal risk when we speak out\u2026 to lower personal risk when we speak out\u2026 there\u2019s simply less on the line\u2026 when human law\u2026 is replaced by God\u2019s Law\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I lament the immoral and unethical things we do to each other\u2026 the way we still find ourselves struggling mightily with being decent to each other\u2026 struggle with speaking words of healing instead of hurt\u2026 speaking words of unity instead of division\u2026 how we still don\u2019t love God with all our heart\u2026 mind\u2026 and strength\u2026 or love our neighbor as ourselves\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The COVID-19 pandemic\u2026 and the protests against racism\u2026 and the demands for more accountability\u2026 the wilderness that we\u2019re in now\u2026 is like a learning lab\u2026 it\u2019s our classroom\u2026 we still have a lot to learn and a long way to go\u2026 but who could ever have imagined\u2026 that Pope Benedict XVI\u2026 or any pope\u2026 would make a formal declaration exonerating the Jewish people for Jesus\u2019 death\u2026 who could ever have imagined that in South Africa\u2026 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission would publicly deal with human-rights violations\u2026 and who could ever have imagined\u2026 that Ireland and Northern Ireland could heal decades of deadly armed conflict with terms contained in a document called the Good Friday Agreement\u2026 and if these things can happen\u2026 if people can say I was wrong\u2026 if people can say I\u2019m sorry\u2026 if people can say forgive me\u2026 then the Spirit can work within us\u2026 because with God\u2026 all things are possible\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n God needs more laborers\u2026 because there\u2019s so much low-hanging fruit that\u2019s being ignored\u2026 because there\u2019s still so much work to be done\u2026 so as we slog our way through this new time\u2026 through this new landscape\u2026 let\u2019s be aware of the countless opportunities to say I was wrong\u2026 to say I\u2019m sorry\u2026 to ask for forgiveness\u2026 and to heal\u2026 to welcome and accept all people\u2026 and to live in to\u2026 and to implement\u2026 all of the justice for which God yearns\u2026 and spoke through the prophets\u2026 and to finally mean it when we say\u2026 Everything the Lord has spoken\u2026 we will do<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year A Exodus 19:2-8a Psalm 100 Romans 5:1-8 Matthew 9:35-10:8 May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026 Pastor Chris Glaser wrote that Jesus did not come to save you\u2026 or to ensure your financial prosperity\u2026 Jesus came to save the world\u2026 to help it prosper\u2026 and to implement God\u2019s plan for all of creation\u2026 even that part of creation which is beyond the edge of the known universe\u2026 of course that includes you\u2026 but it\u2019s not all about you\u2026 and whether you\u2019re Christian or not\u2026 you\u2019re a part of that Universal Body\u2026 a part of that of Christ Consciousness\u2026 and cannot exist apart from it\u2026 When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai\u2026 down from communing with this Consciousness\u2026 he told the elders what God had revealed to him\u2026 that if they obeyed God\u2019s injunctions\u2026 and kept God\u2019s covenant\u2026 they would be God\u2019s treasured possession\u2026 a priestly kingdom\u2026 and a holy nation\u2026 and they said\u2026 Everything that the Lord has spoken\u2026 we will do\u2026 and I\u2019ve wondered\u2026 I\u2019ve thought that perhaps\u2026 anyone who keeps God\u2019s commandments\u2026 can also be\u2026 a True Israelite\u2026 So if True Israelites follow God\u2019s commandments\u2026 and if God\u2019s commandments are spoken through the Prophets\u2026 we have to ask whether and how well\u2026 we listen to the Prophets\u2026 in Isaiah 1:17\u2026 God said\u2026 learn to do good\u2026 seek justice\u2026 rescue the oppressed\u2026 defend the orphan\u2026 plead for the widow\u2026 and in Isaiah 58:6-7\u2026 God said\u2026 is not this the fast I choose\u2026 to loose the bonds of injustice\u2026 to let the oppressed go free\u2026 is it not to share your bread with the hungry\u2026 and in Ezekiel 16:49\u2026 God said\u2026 the guilt of your sister Sodom was that she and her daughters had excess food\u2026 prosperous ease\u2026 and were prideful\u2026 but did not aid the poor and needy\u2026 most of us remember that in Micah 6:8\u2026 the prophet wrote\u2026 God has told you\u2026 O mortal\u2026 what is good\u2026 to do justice\u2026 and to love kindness\u2026 and to walk humbly with your God\u2026 and in 1John 3:17-18\u2026 the Gospel writer asks\u2026 how does God\u2019s love abide in anyone who has the world\u2019s goods\u2026 and sees a brother or sister in need\u2026 and yet refuses help\u2026 Everything that the Lord has spoken\u2026 we will do\u2026 sadly\u2026 I think that this country\u2026 doesn\u2019t listen or do\u2026 too many think it\u2019s all about them\u2026 and as Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann has rightly observed\u2026 the Gospel has gotten all tangled up\u2026 in a white\u2026 western\u2026 sense of entitlement\u2026 we have moved away from God\u2019s will for us\u2026 even during this pandemic\u2026 many people feel entitled to do what they want\u2026 even when it goes against what we\u2019re instructed to do\u2026 by the medical health professionals we entrust to lead us\u2026 For example\u2026 I went to Meijer on Friday morning\u2026 and all over the store\u2026 all over the floors\u2026 are arrows pointing this way down one aisle\u2026 and that way up the next aisle\u2026 arrows that indicate traffic flow\u2026 and they\u2019re not intended to vex people\u2026 they\u2019re not intended to make people\u2019s lives harder\u2026 they\u2019re intended to help us keep each other healthy during this pandemic\u2026 but in almost every aisle I went\u2026 it was as though there were no arrows\u2026 And God\u2019s OK with us going the wrong way\u2026 down the aisles\u2026 or in life\u2026 or with us not wearing masks\u2026 God loves us anyway\u2026 but we will bear the consequences of our collective actions\u2026 we will reap the seeds we sow\u2026 and we will risk each other\u2019s health even more\u2026 when we fail to do all we can not to\u2026 And we\u2019ve all seen the news reports of employees here and there\u2026 who did what they could to gently enforce a store\u2019s mask policy\u2026 and who were met with everything from mild disdain to physical violence by those who seem to reject the prophetic voices of medical professionals like Drs. Fauci and Birx\u2026 but we cannot have the communities\u2026 or the lives we want\u2026 without a corresponding level of accountability\u2026 and in the days since George Floyd\u2019s murder\u2026 and now Rayshard Brooks\u2019\u2026 there are indications that people are demanding greater accountability\u2026 Although\u2026 one commentator the other night\u2026 made a significant observation\u2026there\u2019s been a lot of talk\u2026 he said\u2026 about how things need to change\u2026 and how they ought to be\u2026 but there\u2019s been no talk\u2026 really\u2026 about what we\u2019re willing to give up to make that happen\u2026 how much we\u2019re willing to pay\u2026 too many people it seems\u2026 want systems to change\u2026 and want increased social justice\u2026 but seem to think it will all be free\u2026 And maybe it\u2019s because there\u2019s money on the line\u2026 maybe it\u2019s because some people are afraid of what they\u2019ll have to give up\u2026 or the work that\u2019ll be needed to dis-entangle the Gospel from notions of entitlement\u2026 maybe that\u2019s why it becomes so much easier to minimize or flat-out negate the severity of racism\u2026 or voter suppression\u2026 or any of the things about which the Prophets spoke\u2026 easier for some leaders to say that things will just work themselves out\u2026 to say that people just ought to be patient\u2026 When\u2026 what I pray we heard from our highest elected officials\u2026 was an acknowledgement that the work we are called to do is difficult work\u2026 but it is what we are called to do\u2026 and we will do everything we can\u2026 to make whatever systemic changes are needed\u2026 and one reason why it\u2019s difficult to do these things\u2026 is because as we move from systems of injustice\u2026 to systems of justice\u2026 we also move from higher personal risk when we speak out\u2026 to lower personal risk when we speak out\u2026 there\u2019s simply less on the line\u2026 when human law\u2026 is replaced by God\u2019s Law\u2026 And I lament the immoral and unethical things we do to each other\u2026 the way we still find ourselves struggling mightily with being decent to each other\u2026 struggle with speaking words of healing instead of hurt\u2026 speaking words of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":827,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions\/827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}