Sermon for November 25

The reading

Jeremiah 1:4-10; 7:1-11

1:4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." 6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." 7 But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, "I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you that enter these gates to worship the Lord. 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: "This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord." 5 For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7 then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever. 8 Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, "We are safe!"—only to go on doing all these abominations? 11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight? You know, I too am watching, says the Lord.

The message

As we continue our wait for Christmas, we are now in the time of the prophets.  We heard news of social justice and a demand for community change from Micah, we heard real news of hope in a hopeless situation from Isaiah and this morning, we hear a call to repentance from the Prophet Jeremiah.  It can be difficult to hear and understand the words of the prophets, both what they meant when they were spoken in their first context and what they can mean for us today.

The book of the prophet Jeremiah is a very complicated collection of different prophesies and messages. The organization of the book is difficult, its order, timeline and the connections between chapters reflect a great deal of editing, reorganizing and compiling of different scrolls and materials. 

We do know that Jeremiah served as a prophet during a horrifying time in Israel, years of declining faith, collapse, defeat by the Babylonians and exile from the promised land God had given them.  This is the time when the temple in Jerusalem built by Solomon and serving as the center of Jewish faith, is destroyed (586 bc). For Jeremiah, the reason behind this, how God could let this happen is obvious. The covenant, the promises between God and the people, that I will be your God and you will be my people (which we heard earlier this year spoken to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) are conditional. The people have not lived up to their side of the agreement, they have not even come close or really tried to keep the promises of their ancestors. This is a warning he shares with the community again and again.  Following the example of Hosea, Jeremiah calls God’s people an unfaithful wife or disobedient child.

We do not start with Jeremiah’s hard words for the community.  Instead we start with his call story, a young boy sent to pluck up and pull down nations, to destroy and overthrow leaders, to build new nations and plant a new world.  Like most of the prophets, Jeremiah is reluctant.  His first response is pick someone else, Jeremiah lays out his reasons, I am only a boy and I do not know how to speak.  Jeremiah is young, not exactly the person people would see as a prophet.  He will have to convince religious scholars, high priests and kings he is a prophet. He will have to tell powerful people their ways are going to destroy everything, he will have to say “has this house, which is called by the Lord’s name has become a den of robbers under your watch” to the authorities entrusted to maintain the temple.  He will have to say great doom is coming, trying to scare and shock people into repentance (which may or may not even help them).  Jeremiah fully believes this is work for someone else, a person more qualified, more respected, more educated, more faithful, a person with more resources.

God responds to Jeremiah’s excuses directly.  First God notes, the real reason Jeremiah does not want to go is that he is afraid of them, of the people and leaders he will confront,  Perhaps Jeremiah is afraid of being ignored or laughed at, of being arrested (which he will be), of being killed or of failing. What words could he possibly say to avoid that, how could he get people’s attention, what could he tell a prosecutor or judge looking to convict him.  God only has a few word answer to these “what will I say” and “I am too young” excuses: God says of course you cannot do this alone, you cannot think of the perfect words or be safe, that’s why I am with you to deliver you and now, I have put my words in your mouth. Those are hard things to trust, so they come with a tangible sign, a vision, an encounter with the Lord’s hand.  This works, on and off in Jeremiah’s time as a prophet, he goes back and forth between complaints and faithful speaking, in getting distracted by himself and letting the Lord speak through him.       

After the call of Jeremiah, a young boy who gets chosen, equipped and empowered by God to be a prophet, we hear part of his work, what he says. Today is part of a message known as the temple sermon (which, once delivered, is one of the things that gets Jeremiah arrested.) Here is one of the main ways Jeremiah sees the people’s side of the covenant being ignored, the ways of religious life Jeremiah condemns. The situation in the temple is infected with a sort of mental disease, people’s belief that they can do anything, break any law, rewrite any rule and get away with it by saying, Our ancestors assured God’s protection for us, This is the temple of the Lord, we are safe here, this the temple of the Lord, no harm can come to us from anyone.  We can ignore the widow and the poor, this is after all, the temple of the Lord.  The temple of the Lord was sort of a get out of jail free card that people kept playing again and again.   Now Jeremiah says enough with the “this is the temple of the Lord” crap, First, the temple of the Lord is not a building, a pile of stone, the temple of the Lord is people, people you are abusing, taking advantage of and constantly failing to care for. Second, these promises that you think are going to protect you are conditional, and we, as a community have failed to keep up our end for a long, long time. God’s patience will not endure forever.  Really, no one listens, nothing changes in a meaningful way.  The temple of the Lord, the very building the people looked to as their cure all, is destroyed by the Babylonians. So much for “the temple of Lord means we can do whatever we want”    

We are under a different covenant, a different set of promises from and to God, not one spoken to Abraham on the top of a mountain but one spoken by Jesus through his birth, death and resurrection.   That does not mean if Jeremiah visited church today he would say “wow this is so great”.  First, I have spent the last 3 months completely distracted by caring for this building and dealing with issues here.  You are the temple of the Lord, not this place.  What about Evangelism, speaking our faith in the world, who in this church is ready to hear:  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord."  Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth.  I mean the word Jeremiah is given is harsh, condemning, dangerous and he shouts it.  The word we are given is grace and love and we keep it quiet.  Many people do not even want to share good news. 

We are not called to amend our ways so that we can prevent something terrible or to save the temple.  We cannot stop bad things from happening by being very good people, we cannot make God save us by doing enough good works.  Sin separates people from God, distractions separate people from the work of ministry.  To care for the poor reminds people that God cares for everyone, forgiving reminds people that God forgives, to love your neighbors reminds people that God loves, to use your resources for good reminds people that God has given us more than enough.   To protect the weak reminds us that God stands with the least amongst us, to avoid sin reminds us we live and die, succeed and struggle as cared for children of God.   I end with Jeremiah’s pleas amend your ways and your doings and Let the Lord dwell with you in this place.  

Sermon for Sunday, November 18

The readings

  

Isaiah 36:1-3, 13-20; 37:1-7; 2:1-4

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 The king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. He stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 3 And there came out to him Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder.

Isaiah 36:13-20

13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah make you rely on the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat from your own vine and your own fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Do not let Hezekiah mislead you by saying, The Lord will save us. Has any of the gods of the nations saved their land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these countries have saved their countries out of my hand, that the Lordshould save Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

Isaiah 37:1-7

37 When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God heard the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 I myself will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor, and return to his own land; I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’”

2:1-4 The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills;

all the nations shall stream to it.    Many peoples shall come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;

that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

4 He shall judge between the nations,  and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,  neither shall they learn war any more

The message

Many of us know the prophet Isaiah from a few famous verses, the ones we that hear in Christmas carols, read in the weeks before Christmas at church or see written on Christmas cards.  There is Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

We also know Isaiah well from Easter.  As the first followers of Jesus tried to figure out what happened, as they deal with the question “if Jesus is the messiah, how could suffer, die a humiliating death at the hands of people”.  Even with the resurrection, even with a sign that death could not hold him, the question “how could this happen” remained.  People find answers in the book of the prophet Isaiah, in particular 4 passages known as the “servant songs”  where God’s servant will suffer greatly but endure and ultimately find victory.  They are frequently cited in the new testament, for example Isaiah 52-53 reads He is despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.  Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.  Parts of this passage are quoted in Matthew, Mark, John,  Acts, Romans and 1^st Peter.    

Today’s readings are not about Christmas or Easter.  They are about war, the power struggles that shaped the world around Israel.  The book of Isaish is often divided into different parts.  It starts with the prophecies of Isaish, son of Amoz, who served as a prophet in the Southern kingdom of Judah about 700 years before the birth of Jesus.  Then the books stretches over several hundred years as people reapplied his messages to changing situations and other prophets took on the work.  There are 4 major events happening during this time that shape the political and social world in which Isaiah prophesies. First there is a civil war between the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel, where the southern kingdom turns to Assyria for help and basically ends up as a colony of them.

After this there is the growth in power and influence of the aggressive and land hungry Assyrian empire. Today’s first 3 readings are from this time. Despite Assyria threatening to invade and destroy Jesusalem, they do not.   Assyria gradually weakens, they are defeated by the previously conquered but constantly revolting Babylonians. Babylon also defeats Egypt and becomes the major world power. Sensing weakness and chaos, Israel revolts against them, gets crushed and in 586 Babylon destroys Jerusalem.  Bablyon also exiles the people of Israel to other places.  In 539, the Persian Empire under Cyrus defeats the Bablyonians and allows the people of Israel to return and rebuild Jerusalem. (a story told in the Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah).

Israel is constantly caught in the middle of these conflicts and clashes of these empires. Of course, this is not history class.  Our readings and we hear these readings in church, as people of faith, who believe God’s word speaks deep and important truths to us. Today’s selection of readings bring us in two different directions, First, they focus our attention on the violence, war and conflict that filled the lands and divided nations through the time of Isaiah, They are a reminder that our God acts in history, through people and events, through great miracles, signs of power, great conflict and even the horrors of war.  We are invited to remember that the people who heard the words of Isaish, heard them in times of great suffering, anxiety, hopelessness, doubt, division and pain.  They were really spoken to people in great darkness and promised an even greater light.

The second thing our readings offer is a contrast between total war and total peace. Sennacherib, The Assyrian king, is fully ready to invade Jerusalem. He is good at this and practices total war,   Not only does he maintain a strong and well equipped army, he also uses psychological forces like intimidation and threats, attacks on the religious beliefs and often tries to turn cities against their leaders and spies against their own people. He spreads great lies to convince people that life under Assyrian rule would be great.  In Babylon, he goes so far as to rewrite their religious myths so that he is the hero.   He does anything and everything to destroy the enemy. 

Without God’s intervention, Israel would not stand a chance in war with Assyria (much like in Egypt and all of their other conflicts). To answer this threat the frightened king of Israel turns to Isaiah, who tells the king and people of Israel to ignore all that, replies: Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, Isaiah shares good news, Assyria will not invade, they will get distracted and have their own issues to deal with.  After these words from Isaiah, the Assyrian army is struck by and decimated in an unidentified plague and King Sennacherib returns home where he is killed by one of his sons.  

This is an intervention by God that spares the people of Israel in this time and place (there are other moments when God does not intervene). For what we look forward to, for total peace, we must look at Isaiah 2 they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation,  neither shall they learn war any more. A time not only of peace built on fear or weariness, when one military is just so strong, no one messes with them. Isaiah points to a time when the very desire to war is gone.  when all worship, all know they are loved by God, when the greater good of all people is the driving force of our interactions. Take the instruments of death and turn them into instruments of life.

In a much less celebrated verse (that we more often live by) the prophet Joel tells us the opposite  “Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears! Let the weak say, 'I too am a warrior” Here, we take the instruments of life and turn them into instruments of death,  We are waiting for God’s peace, the stuff that goes beyond all understanding.  This will be the Lord’s work. We try what we can now, but we look forward to God’s intervention.

Sermon for November 11

The readings (I was at another church this morning, so I used the Revised Common Lectionary texts)

1 Kings 17:8-16

Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you."So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.”  As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."  But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth." She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Psalm 146

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.

 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.

 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God,

 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;

 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;

 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

 The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

 The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD!

Hebrews 9:24-28

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.  Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Mark 12:38-44

As he taught, he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."  He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.  Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

The message

I am happy to be here with you for worship this morning.  I have spent most of this year serving as the coverage pastor for this congregation. A lot of my work has been behind the scenes and involved visiting the sick, counseling, funerals, worship preparation, meeting with and helping the council during this long time of transition and working with the Bishops office on plans for the future.  This time has been challenging on us.  I thank the leaders and members of this church for covering up when I could not do something, for stepping up, caring for each other, working hard, figuring things out, keeping these doors open and this church together

Of course, I am not really here to share updates,  This is church time, this is who we are, why we keep these doors open, this is the strength for everything else. An opportunity for us to gather as sinners saved by the same grace, together to sing God’s praise, hear God’s word, engage with God’s word,  encounter the presence of the Risen Christ and lift up our prayers.    

I would like to start off that work with a question about our short, uncomfortable Gospel reading.  If you think this reading about the poor widow who gives the last of her little money to the temple is about stewardship, about sacrificial, generous giving to church or temple, if you have ever heard a pastor or religious leader talk about it that way, please raise your hand. 

I am going to spend the next few minutes explaining why I think that’s wrong.  This encounter of Jesus and his followers with the poor widow is not about giving. I do not say that lightly, to question the plain meaning of scripture is serious and needs to be done in faith.  I go way back to our first reading from the Book of Kings. It tells the story of the prophet Elijah who cares for and sustains a poor widow in the city of Zarepath.  Elijah is considered the greatest prophet of ancient Israel, the one who appears with Moses at the Transfiguration, the one who defeats the prophets of Baal, a diety worshipped by Israel’s neighbors (and many people in Israel too), who confronts kings and speaks God’s word fearlessly.  

Today, we see Elijah following the law, caring for a widow.  There are many references in the law where God instructs people to care for widows and orphans, verses like Exodus  22  You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry or  Deutermony 14 “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, God commands people to care for those in need and that is what Elijah does.  Jesus does many of the things that the prophet Elijah did accept Jesus does them bigger and better. Elijah feeds hundred people with a little food, Jesus feeds a crowd of thousands with even less food.  Elijah heals the sick, Jesus heals the very sick. Elijah restores sight to the blind, Jesus restores sight to a man born blind. In Today’s Gospel reading, there is no amplification of a miracle done by Elijah, Jesus does not feed this widow at the temple, he does not offer her a full supply of food or a bag of coins, Jesus does not tell anyone to go and do likewise. Jesus gives her no help and no reward (at least not that is recorded or known). 

To make this more clear, we need to look at the context, where this story fits into the Gospel of  Mark. This observing of the widow happens during the week before Jesus betrayal, trial, death and resurrection.  A few days earlier Jesus chases the money lenders out of the temple, declaring my father’s house is a place of prayer and telling those in charge of it they have made it a den of thieves. The religious authorities made a lot of their income from charging visitors to the temple bad exchange rates to purchase sacrifices. In Mark, this is the moment when Jesus goes from annoyance to problem the authorities need to get rid of.  Right before highlighting the actions of this poor widow Jesus once again attacks the fake faith, the greed and hypocrisy of the religious authorities.  Right after he tells his disciples the temple, the place the poor widow was giving her last few cents to help maintain, will be destroyed, that not one brick will be left on top of another.    Jesus had just accused the religious authorities of devouring widows' houses and here they were, literally doing that.  It was so bad they did not even need to ask, the woman thought she was doing right.

There was a religion where the command to care for widows and orphans is lived out by taking their last few cents. They were a community of people rooted in today’s psalm which praises the Lord who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry, sets the prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who are bowed down. watches over the strangers and upholds the orphan and the widow. They celebrated this caring God by letting this widow give all she has and standing around, not caring.  

This woman’s act of giving all she had to the temple is something to celebrate. She does the work of a prophet, exposing the corruption of the religious authorities, revealing their failure to keep God’s law, an ancient whistle blower who sacrifices everything to bring attention to a crisis.  She was making everyone around her uncomfortable.  No one could pretend things were okay or that she was not there.  She is out of place.  The religious authorities should have done what God tells the people to do from the very first days, what Elijah did, what Elisha did, what Jesus did, what st paul did, what st Peter did, what the first Christians did, what we should do, care for people in need. If anybody was paying attention to God’s word, that widow should not have been down to her last penny. Her very existence and simple act of giving has spoken God’s word of justice and correction for almost 2000 years, Its amazing what you can do with a penny.  

I think of a recent Saint, a man named Oscar Romero who served as an Archbishop in El Salvador until he was assassinated during mass back in the 1980s.  One quote he is known for, which summarizes his work on behalf of the poor and against the violence of civil war and corruption is “When I gave food to the poor, people called me a saint, when I asked why the poor have no food, they called me a communist”  This morning Jesus is not healing the sick, he is not feeding the crowds, he is not restoring the leper, encouraging generosity or raising the dead, Jesus is asking why does this widow have no support, how did she get to her last penny.    

Of course, a few days after this, Jesus will make his own sacrifice, exposing the sin of the world that kills their savior on a cross, exposing our inability to save ourselves, exposing how resist people are to God, exposing how loving God is.  God takes care of sin for us, takes care of forgiveness, gives out grace,  we are left to say thank you and to deal with poverty.   

Sermon for November 4

The reading

2 Kings 5:1-15a

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.[a] 2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”[b] 4 So Naaman[c] went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 And the king of Aram said, “Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”

He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”[d]7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?[e] Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.”

8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy![f] 12 Are not Abana[g] and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.”

 The message

We continue our long Advent, the faithful wait for Christmas, for the birth of Jesus, the word of God made flesh and dwelling amongst us. We are starting the 3^rd part of the Old Testament, the prophets. We have gone through the torah, the first five books where the law is given to the people of Israel and the historical books, in which God acts in the world, leading to victory and allowing defeat, interfering and interrupting to keep God’s  promises.  Now, we enter the time and books of the prophets, messengers who share God’s word with a community in pain, crisis and doubt.  They are a diverse group, elites and poor farmers, accepted or rejected, people with great status in the temple and people yelling outside the gates and not allowed in, people with known histories or unrecorded origins who just appear, seemingly out of nowhere.

Today’s reading centers around 2 of the major prophets, Elijah and Elisha.  The healing of Naaman is the answer to the question “Is there a prophet in Israel”.  That question was a challenge to the kings and leaders of Israel.  Elijah was the great prophet, he was the model that all of the other prophets were compared to. Elijah confronts kings, defeats the prophets of Baal, a god worshipped by many neighboring people (and plenty of Israelites too).  He shares great signs of power and boldly speaking God’s word. Elijah is the one who appears with Moses at the Transfiguration, when Jesus is revealed as the Messiah, as God with us, as the fulfillment of the promises of God through the prophets. When Elijah completes his work, he is taken into heaven on a firey chariot.  Before his last ride, Elijah anoints Elisha as his successor, giving him the mantle (a garment worn as a sign of power and authority).   

It is hard for a new pastor to work after beloved, long time pastor or someone new to follow up a successful elected official, great teacher or extremely good speaker. Today, we learn it is hard for a prophet to follow after Elijah.  Elijah and Elisha are very different in their appearance and approach to their work. Elijah is reclusive, appearing at important times and then disappearing; Elisha lives amongst the people, he constantly immersed in the community.   Each of them does similar signs of power and miracles.  When appointed, Elisha requests a double portion of Elijah’s power and receives it, Elisha actually does twice as many signs as Elijah did.  (Jesus will end up amplifiying the works of both of them, Elijah and Elisha feed a hundred with a little food, Jesus feeds thousands with less, Elijah and Elisha will heal, Jesus will heal in more hopeless situations)  

Elisha gets off to a slow, difficult start.   Without Elijah, there is a big empty space in the religious and political world.  Kings ask “Is there a prophet in Israel”, people point to Elisha and leaders go, that guy, eh im not sure.   People wonder, will there ever be another prophet in Israel, who could replace Elijah, Before the healing of Naaman, Elisha is constantly tested, to verify he is a prophet and more importantly, he is under suspicion, that he did some wrong to get rid of Elijah or simply stole his mantle. Elisha performs several miracles and they culminate in today’s story, the healing of Namaan.  

When Namaan and his group arrive, the king of Israel does not trust Elisha, he worries. A powerful neighbor just sent a beloved general, a forture in gold and silver and a request to cure leprosy. Failure could easily result in war, the king and people of Aram, thinking Israel could have easily done this but choose not to help. We get the sense that if Elijah was still there, the king would not have been so concerned or anxious, he would simply wait for Elijah to show up and say, hey take care of this would you.

Elisha, who is not even called by the king, hears about the situation, the visitors and the request for healing. He sends a message, Why have you torn your clothes? (why do you doubt the power of God in the world)  Let Namaan come to me, that he (and you) may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” Elisha declares what we do each week, God is still in the world, working through people and sharing news of restoration and welcome.  Elisha gets off to a bad start. He confuses and angers Namaan by sending a messenger and telling him to wash in the river 7 times.  Namaan had made a long journey, brought a tremendous amount for a gift, subjected himself to the authority and help of another kingdom and the person who could supposedly heal him does not even bother to come out and meet him.  Instead, Elisha simply tells him to wash in a very ordinary river, the public, daily washing place of many people. It was not what Namaan expected, it was not suitable for a general of Aman.  He gives up and storms off.  A servant speaks some common sense to him, if Elisha asked you to do something incredibly difficult, border line impossible, that would wipe out your resources or put your life is danger, you would have quickly done it, you’ve come all this way, why not do the easy thing he said. Namaan goes as Elisha said and he is cured. Now, Elisha meets him.  

There is no mystery in this healing. It is God’s work. This is said from the very start of the story, before Namaan or anyone else knows about Elisha, before the trip to Israel, before anything steps are taken or decisions made. Namaan is introduced to us as someone great, accomplished and respected because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. By him, by a leper, an unclean, contagious, afflicted man, the Lord had given victory to Aram.   Namaan did not do anything special, he doubted, got frustrated and gave up. . Namaan did not need to defeat an army, great warrior or 3 headed monster. The king of Israel doubted anything could be done,  Elisha did not do anything special, not even meeting Namaan until the healing was done.  Namaan declares, Now, I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel and at the end of the story, we do too.   

There are many different directions to go with this story, power in unexpected places, faith and politics, God’s presence revealed in the care of a foreigner and stranger. Today,  in our community, we are shaped by our own news. We celebrate Confirmation, we gather with Marcello, Marco and Jeremia to witness their public confession of faith. Just like the people of Israel saw God’s work through the healing of Naaman, we are going to see God’s work in the renewal of Baptism.  These 3 young men went to about 40 classes, talked, learned, picked up and read the bible, the book of concord and the writings of our faith. There was no test, no final exam, no memorizing the small catechism (as some of you probably had to do).    We didn’t really finish class.  We started the last few, a time of review and preparation (so if they mess up, it’s my responsibility) but I started another program and we ran out of time. Of course, I am more concerned with tomorrow, or 4 months or 10 years from now.  Baptism does not end, Confirmation does not end, thinking about God does not end, remembering we are loved and forgiven, does not end.   We look at the world around us and we wonder what the ancient kings did, Is there a prophet in Woodside?  Is there a prophet in this class in this church, in this building?   Today, we worship around the list and memory of our Saints, the people who have gone before us in faith. We recall the Reformation, faith confronting church, God’s word reentering church and society. We look forward to living Baptized, we look forward to Sunday.