Year A
Genesis 21:8-21
Psalm 69: 8-11, 18-20
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a Jewish thing\u2026 or just an expression some of my Jewish relatives used\u2026 but whenever you hoped for something good to happen\u2026 they would say\u2026 from your mouth\u2026 to God\u2019s ears<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But did your ears\u2026 catch the inconsistency in the reading from Genesis\u2026 did you say to yourself\u2026 wait a minute\u2026 that part doesn\u2019t make sense<\/em>\u2026 the text says that after placing Ishmael under a bush to die\u2026 Hagar sat as far away from him\u2026 as you could shoot an arrow\u2026 and she lifted up her voice\u2026 and lamented\u2026 do not let me look on the death of the child<\/em>\u2026 and she wept\u2026 and then the text says\u2026 and God heard the voice of the boy<\/em>\u2026 Hagar spoke\u2026 but God heard the boy\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may remember that the Hebrew word El<\/em>\u2026 means God\u2026 the word itself comes from a root word\u2026 which means\u2026 strength<\/em>\u2026 or might<\/em>\u2026 or power<\/em>\u2026 and it probably comes from the U-ga-ri-tic word for god\u2026 but in Scripture\u2026 it has several primary meanings\u2026 it can refer to pagan or false gods\u2026 it can refer to mighty men or angels\u2026 or it can refer to the True God of Israel\u2026 but when it does this last thing\u2026 El<\/em> is almost always qualified by additional words which further define the meaning\u2026 and distinguish God\u2026 with a capital G\u2026 from false gods\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example\u2026 El Echad<\/em> means\u2026 the One God\u2026 El Emet<\/em> means\u2026 the God of Truth\u2026 El Rachum<\/em>\u2026 the God of Compassion\u2026 El Hannora<\/em>\u2026 the Awesome God\u2026 and there are others\u2026 but then we come to the name of Hagar\u2019s son\u2026 Ishma El<\/em>\u2026 and his name means\u2026 God will hear\u2026 this passage contains nothing that Ishmael uttered\u2026 but says that Hagar lifted up her voice\u2026 and God heard\u2026 and sent an angel\u2026 and God opened Hagar\u2019s eyes to a well of life giving water that was nearby\u2026 and they drank\u2026 and Ishmael\u2026 became the Father of the Muslim faith\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ishma El<\/em>\u2026 and God hears us too\u2026 God hears the things we say\u2026 God hears the things we think\u2026 God understands the faintest inner impulses\u2026 that we are afraid to whisper even to ourselves\u2026 and God\u2019s been listening throughout this country\u2019s history\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n On June 19, 1865\u2026 about two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va\u2026 Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas\u2026 to inform enslaved African-Americans of their freedom\u2026 and that the Civil War had ended\u2026 God heard their cries too\u2026 General Granger\u2019s announcement finally brought the Emancipation Proclamation to every state in the union\u2026 which had been issued on January 1, 1863\u2026 by President Lincoln\u2026 more than two and a half years earlier\u2026 so at least in Texas\u2026 slavery continued for two and a half years\u2026 after it was really over\u2026 that\u2019s why Juneteenth\u2026 the end of slavery\u2026 is celebrated on June 19th\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s an interesting dynamic about spiritual growth\u2026 we have to stop believing the things\u2026 that God doesn\u2019t believe\u2026 we have to replace ignorant thoughts\u2026 thoughts which ignore God\u2019s Truth\u2026 with thoughts that embody God\u2019s Truth\u2026 and we have to believe thoughts which might be inconvenient for us to believe\u2026 thoughts which might cause us to change\u2026 so for example\u2026 racism and white supremacy claim that one race is superior to another\u2026 not just different\u2026 but better than\u2026 and when you believe that\u2026 it\u2019s easy to treat those with black and brown skin\u2026 with disrespect\u2026 treat them as property\u2026 who don\u2019t have any rights\u2026 who you can even shoot in the back while they\u2019re running away\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Erna Kim Hackett suggests that white Christianity suffers from a bad case of what she calls Disney Princess theology\u2026 she suggests that when we read scripture\u2026 we see ourselves as the “princess” in every story\u2026 we are Esther \u2013\u2013 but never Haman\u2026 we are Peter \u2013\u2013 but never Judas\u2026 we are the woman anointing Jesus\u2019 feet \u2013\u2013 but never the Pharisees\u2026 we are the Israelites escaping slavery \u2013\u2013 but never Egypt\u2026 and for the citizens of the most powerful country in the world\u2026 who enslaved both Native and Black people\u2026 to see ourselves as Israel and never as Egypt\u2026 means that as people in power\u2026 we have no lens for properly locating ourselves in scripture or society\u2026 and it has made us blind and utterly ill-prepared to engage issues of power and injustice\u2026 it is incompetent Biblical interpretation\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But as our insights and beliefs change\u2026 our actions must change too\u2026 I mean how can anyone believe what the Declaration of Independence says\u2026 about holding these truths to be self-evident\u2026 which means you don\u2019t even have to explain them\u2026 that all people are created equal\u2026 and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights\u2026 <\/em>not privileges\u2026 that among these are life\u2026 liberty\u2026 and the pursuit of happiness<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then Jesus says\u2026 don\u2019t think that I\u2019ve come to bring peace\u2026 I\u2019ve come to bring a sword<\/em>\u2026 and on the surface\u2026 that\u2019s troubling\u2026 really troubling\u2026 because we pray for the Peace that passes understanding\u2026 so what on earth does Jesus mean when he says he\u2019s come to bring a sword\u2026 how can this be the loving\u2026 forgiving Jesus we know\u2026 can\u2019t you just leave well enough alone\u2026 Jesus\u2026 can\u2019t you just let sleeping dogs lie\u2026 can\u2019t you just ignore the elephant in the room\u2026 we\u2019ve become so good at tiptoeing around it\u2026 if you can\u2019t say something nice why say anything at all\u2026 why stir up trouble<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Jesus didn\u2019t come to create conflict\u2026 or discord\u2026 or dysfunction in families\u2026 he came to use the sword to shave away those things which stand in opposition to God\u2019s Truth\u2026 and it\u2019s only because of that\u2026 that some family members will stand in opposition to each other\u2026 it\u2019s only a result of that sword\u2026 that some churches or church members will stand in opposition to each other\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s only because of our baptismal vows\u2026 where we promise to strive for justice and peace for all people\u2026 that we can say\u2026 that if there\u2019s no justice then there can be no peace\u2026 but that if you know justice then you can know peace\u2026 and it\u2019s an expression of what Jesus said in John 8:31\u2026 God\u2019s Truth will set you free\u2026 but we\u2019re not free yet\u2026 the social upheaval that began with George Floyd\u2019s murder on May 31\u2026 and the protests\u2026 have been an ongoing indication of how hard\u2026 and for how long we\u2019ve tried to tiptoe around elephants\u2026 and God\u2019s Truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Monday was for me\u2026 a day of emotional whiplash\u2026 in the morning\u2026 we caught the jubilant word about the SCOTUS ruling that sexual orientation and gender identity are to be included in the Civil Rights Act of 1964\u2026 so that you can no longer be fired Monday morning\u2026 for marrying your partner on Saturday afternoon\u2026 and in the afternoon we caught the shocking word that Bp. Whayne had been suspended for acknowledging an extramarital affair\u2026 and this is heartbreaking\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s all like living in a movie that\u2019s playing on fast-forward\u2026 with images projected so fast that they blur\u2026 and dialogue spoken so fast you can\u2019t be sure what you\u2019re hearing\u2026 and just not enough time to process it all\u2026 and it will take time for our dioceses to process all the feelings that all the people feel\u2026 it will take time to heal and to discern a holy response\u2026 time to mete out a just consequence\u2026 because we all sin\u2026 and God’s love for Dana and Whayne\u2026 and their families\u2026 has not abated one iota\u2026 and there is unmerited grace and forgiveness\u2026 I just pray that we\u2019re able to reflect that love and grace and forgiveness\u2026 too\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in the midst of all of this\u2026 so many people are asking\u2026 when can we go back to normal\u2026 I think the likelihood of things returning to how they were before the pandemic\u2026 are about as likely as the Titanic arriving\u2026 about as likely as women voluntarily giving up the vote\u2026 about as likely as nominees for elected office agreeing to subject themselves to the public scrutiny of psychological testing\u2026 things won\u2019t go back to the kind of normal we knew\u2026 but we are moving\u2026 I pray a bit faster than before\u2026 and in unprecedented ways\u2026 closer and closer to God\u2019s normal\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wangari Maathai\u2026 an environmental and political activist from Kenya\u2026 known for the Green Belt Movement\u2026 who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004\u2026 said\u2026 In the course of history\u2026 there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness\u2026 to reach a higher moral ground\u2026 a time when we have to shed our fear\u2026 and give hope to each other\u2026 that time is now<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Holy God\u2026 we know Ishma El<\/em>\u2026 we know that you are a God who hears us\u2026 help us\u2026 to hear you\u2026 and seek your Truth\u2026 Amen\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year A Genesis 21:8-21 Psalm 69: 8-11, 18-20 Romans 6:1b-11 Matthew 10:24-39 May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026 I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a Jewish thing\u2026 or just an expression some of my Jewish relatives used\u2026 but whenever you hoped for something good to happen\u2026 they would say\u2026 from your mouth\u2026 to God\u2019s ears\u2026 But did your ears\u2026 catch the inconsistency in the reading from Genesis\u2026 did you say to yourself\u2026 wait a minute\u2026 that part doesn\u2019t make sense\u2026 the text says that after placing Ishmael under a bush to die\u2026 Hagar sat as far away from him\u2026 as you could shoot an arrow\u2026 and she lifted up her voice\u2026 and lamented\u2026 do not let me look on the death of the child\u2026 and she wept\u2026 and then the text says\u2026 and God heard the voice of the boy\u2026 Hagar spoke\u2026 but God heard the boy\u2026 You may remember that the Hebrew word El\u2026 means God\u2026 the word itself comes from a root word\u2026 which means\u2026 strength\u2026 or might\u2026 or power\u2026 and it probably comes from the U-ga-ri-tic word for god\u2026 but in Scripture\u2026 it has several primary meanings\u2026 it can refer to pagan or false gods\u2026 it can refer to mighty men or angels\u2026 or it can refer to the True God of Israel\u2026 but when it does this last thing\u2026 El is almost always qualified by additional words which further define the meaning\u2026 and distinguish God\u2026 with a capital G\u2026 from false gods\u2026 For example\u2026 El Echad means\u2026 the One God\u2026 El Emet means\u2026 the God of Truth\u2026 El Rachum\u2026 the God of Compassion\u2026 El Hannora\u2026 the Awesome God\u2026 and there are others\u2026 but then we come to the name of Hagar\u2019s son\u2026 Ishma El\u2026 and his name means\u2026 God will hear\u2026 this passage contains nothing that Ishmael uttered\u2026 but says that Hagar lifted up her voice\u2026 and God heard\u2026 and sent an angel\u2026 and God opened Hagar\u2019s eyes to a well of life giving water that was nearby\u2026 and they drank\u2026 and Ishmael\u2026 became the Father of the Muslim faith\u2026 Ishma El\u2026 and God hears us too\u2026 God hears the things we say\u2026 God hears the things we think\u2026 God understands the faintest inner impulses\u2026 that we are afraid to whisper even to ourselves\u2026 and God\u2019s been listening throughout this country\u2019s history\u2026 On June 19, 1865\u2026 about two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va\u2026 Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas\u2026 to inform enslaved African-Americans of their freedom\u2026 and that the Civil War had ended\u2026 God heard their cries too\u2026 General Granger\u2019s announcement finally brought the Emancipation Proclamation to every state in the union\u2026 which had been issued on January 1, 1863\u2026 by President Lincoln\u2026 more than two and a half years earlier\u2026 so at least in Texas\u2026 slavery continued for two and a half years\u2026 after it was really over\u2026 that\u2019s why Juneteenth\u2026 the end of slavery\u2026 is celebrated on June 19th\u2026 There\u2019s an interesting dynamic about spiritual growth\u2026 we have to stop believing the things\u2026 that God doesn\u2019t believe\u2026 we have to replace ignorant thoughts\u2026 thoughts which ignore God\u2019s Truth\u2026 with thoughts that embody God\u2019s Truth\u2026 and we have to believe thoughts which might be inconvenient for us to believe\u2026 thoughts which might cause us to change\u2026 so for example\u2026 racism and white supremacy claim that one race is superior to another\u2026 not just different\u2026 but better than\u2026 and when you believe that\u2026 it\u2019s easy to treat those with black and brown skin\u2026 with disrespect\u2026 treat them as property\u2026 who don\u2019t have any rights\u2026 who you can even shoot in the back while they\u2019re running away\u2026 Erna Kim Hackett suggests that white Christianity suffers from a bad case of what she calls Disney Princess theology\u2026 she suggests that when we read scripture\u2026 we see ourselves as the “princess” in every story\u2026 we are Esther \u2013\u2013 but never Haman\u2026 we are Peter \u2013\u2013 but never Judas\u2026 we are the woman anointing Jesus\u2019 feet \u2013\u2013 but never the Pharisees\u2026 we are the Israelites escaping slavery \u2013\u2013 but never Egypt\u2026 and for the citizens of the most powerful country in the world\u2026 who enslaved both Native and Black people\u2026 to see ourselves as Israel and never as Egypt\u2026 means that as people in power\u2026 we have no lens for properly locating ourselves in scripture or society\u2026 and it has made us blind and utterly ill-prepared to engage issues of power and injustice\u2026 it is incompetent Biblical interpretation\u2026 But as our insights and beliefs change\u2026 our actions must change too\u2026 I mean how can anyone believe what the Declaration of Independence says\u2026 about holding these truths to be self-evident\u2026 which means you don\u2019t even have to explain them\u2026 that all people are created equal\u2026 and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights\u2026 not privileges\u2026 that among these are life\u2026 liberty\u2026 and the pursuit of happiness\u2026 And then Jesus says\u2026 don\u2019t think that I\u2019ve come to bring peace\u2026 I\u2019ve come to bring a sword\u2026 and on the surface\u2026 that\u2019s troubling\u2026 really troubling\u2026 because we pray for the Peace that passes understanding\u2026 so what on earth does Jesus mean when he says he\u2019s come to bring a sword\u2026 how can this be the loving\u2026 forgiving Jesus we know\u2026 can\u2019t you just leave well enough alone\u2026 Jesus\u2026 can\u2019t you just let sleeping dogs lie\u2026 can\u2019t you just ignore the elephant in the room\u2026 we\u2019ve become so good at tiptoeing around it\u2026 if you can\u2019t say something nice why say anything at all\u2026 why stir up trouble\u2026 But Jesus didn\u2019t come to create conflict\u2026 or discord\u2026 or dysfunction in families\u2026 he came to use the sword to shave away those things which stand in opposition to God\u2019s Truth\u2026 and it\u2019s only because of that\u2026 that some family members will stand in opposition to each other\u2026 it\u2019s only a result of that sword\u2026 that some churches or church members will stand in opposition to each other\u2026 And it\u2019s only because 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