Sermon for October 27

The readings

Kings 12:1-17, 25-29

1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 "Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve you." 5 He said to them, "Go away for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away. 6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?" 7 They answered him, "If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever." 8 But he disregarded the advice that the older men gave him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and now attended him. 9 He said to them, "What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, "Lighten the yoke that your father put on us'?" 10 The young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus you should say to this people who spoke to you, "Your father made our yoke heavy, but you must lighten it for us'; thus you should say to them, "My little finger is thicker than my father's loins. 11 Now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.' " 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had said, "Come to me again the third day." 13 The king answered the people harshly. He disregarded the advice that the older men had given him 14 and spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions." 15 So the king did not listen to the people, because it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. 16 When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, "What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David." So Israel went away to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah.

25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and resided there; he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 Then Jeroboam said to himself, "Now the kingdom may well revert to the house of David. 27 If this people continues to go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their master, King Rehoboam of Judah; they will kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah." 28 So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. He said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." 29 He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

Mark 10:42-45 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 

⁴² So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ⁴³ But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

The message

Happy Reformation Day. This morning, we are about half way through our long Advent, the wait for Christmas, the wait for the birth of Christ our savior. We also remember the events that led up to Martin Luther posting the 95 theses, a call to debate that started a confrontation with the Roman Catholic Church’s leadership and eventually led to an even more divided church.  Of course today’s reading, from the history of ancient Israel, is also the story of God’s people being divided from each other.  There is a lot of overlap between these two events, the division of Israel into the northern and southern kingdom and the Protestant Reformation both involve the question of authority and human leadership in God’s world.

For those who are not too familiar with the time and place where Israel splits (which I assume is almost everyone), we start with a little history. A few weeks ago, we heard a reading from the Book of Ruth, the story of King David’s ancestors set during the time of Judges.  Israel was a group of tribes, each with their own identity and area, with little unity. This was a time when the tribes of Israel were governed by a series of Judges, tribal leaders who served as prophet, priest and president (a history we learn about from the appropriately titled book of Judges) There is a cycle throughout this book and time period: the people of Israel break the covenant with God, do what is evil, prohibited, forget the power and importance of God. As a result, the Lord allows or does not prevent the people from being defeated, pushed and punished by their enemies The people repent, cry out for Help,  In response the Lord calls and raises up a leader, the spirit of the Lord comes upon that leader and he or she manages to defeat the enemy and restore peace,

The time of the judges ends with hope for the future under a king and a united empire.  God sends Samuel to anoint Saul as king and soon after, God sends Samuel to remove a failing Saul and anoint David as the next king. Last week, you heard about the start of King David’s reign, a time of great celebration, proud worship, trust in God’s power and hope. After David, his son Solomon is anointed as the next king. David and Solomon do great things, win victories, build the temple, unify the 12 diverse  and different tribes.  They also do horrible things. David and Solomon are jealous, greedy and ultimately prove to be more self-interested than God interested or community interested. A very public forgetting that they serve in God’s world.   David and Solomon both taxed the people greatly, used forced labor or slavery, favored one part or people of Israel over another, betray the people they were anointed to care for and violated biblical laws. Most importantly, they do not stay loyal to God, they forget whose word and power they are maintained by.  Solomon builds the temple in Jerusalem (which David cannot do because of his lack of loyalty to God). Solomon also builds worship sites for the gods of all his foreign wives. As Solomon grows older, he dabbles in following those other gods.  There will be a reckoning for this, the price of David and Solomon’s actions will be paid by those who come after them. Today’s reading is that reckoning, that experience of what sin in power leads to, when people are allowed to stray from God, when they forget we are in God’s kingdom.    

When Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, became king, he seeks guidance. One group convinces him to take a hard line on his power and plans to continue Solomon’s path of enslavement, tax burdens and personal wealth building. The ten northern tribes had enough and revolt, establishing the northern kingdom and taking the name Israel. They Appoint Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, as their king.  The two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, known as the Southern kingdom or kingdom of Judah, remained loyal to the family line of David.  (God’s promise was that the savior would come from King David’s line, which means David’s line must go on). Of course, the cycle of sin, punishment, repentance and restoration keeps going.  The kings and leaders do not remain faithful, greed leaks in, fear leaks in, desire for power leaks in, selfishness and self interest leaks in, maintaining a legacy, all these things leak in and changes things for the worse.

Noticeably missing from the work of the new kings of north and south was a time of prayer, of asking the Lord God for guidance or direction, of acknowledging God’s role in calling and anointing a leader. Jeroboam and his counselors come up with repeating the sin of the newly freed people of Isreal, creating golden calfs, idols to worship and give credit for the Exodus to.  Rehoboam  doubles down on Solomon’s me first leadership style, There could be some marginal acknowledgment but no effort to create, enforce or shape God’s vision for the world, no works of faith that would hurt their power or wealth, no sacrifice on behalf of others or the community.  This leads to the rapid end of the United Kingdom and leaves North and South at the mercy of outsiders.  People think they have the mandate of God and that means they are God. Really God has only ever given us people a few mandates for all, Love God and Love one another, serve and care for creation. That applies to everyone. When kings stop doing that, there is trouble.  When the church stops doing that, there it reformation.   

We could say that the Protestant Reformation starts because leadership amongst God’s power (now the church) were acting like these ancient kings, protecting their own wealth, power and place, forgetting God calls us to be different from the world, servants of the community and proclaimers of God's grace, love, forgiveness and welcome. This power system where people say what they need to say to get anointed, crowned or elected and then do whatever they want is what Luther attacks and its what Jesus attacks. Our reading from Mark 10, Jesus is in the middle of some harsh teachings, preparing for his trial, death and resurrection, healing, curing and watching his back, when James and John, who followed Jesus from the start, completely misunderstanding what Jesus is saying and so much of what they had witnessed. They decide now is the time for their reward, a power play, a more serious version of calling shotgun or calling “not it”, of we asked first, we get it.  James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”  And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” ³⁷ And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Then the other 10 disciples hear this has just happened, they began to be angry with James and John.  Jesus responds “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.  For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Sermon for October 13

The readings

Ruth 1:1-17

1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. 6 Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back each of you to your mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband." Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. 10 They said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people." 11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, 13 would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me." 14 Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 So she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!"

Mark 3:33-35 
33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”











The message

During a trip to the Holy Land back in January, we stopped by a place in Bethlehem called the Shepherd’s fields,  Not far from the church of the nativity, that marks the place of Jesus birth, this is the place where for almost 2000 years Christians have celebrated as the fields where the shepherds were first to hear the good news, witness the countless angels sing out “Christ is born”. Our guide told us this place we were standing had a history even older and then asked a riddle or joke “this land belonged to someone who before he got married, was Ruthless”.   Now out of a group of 4 pastors and about 35 people of faith who were willing to put in the time, money and work of a Holy Land Trip, I am the only one who knows the answer is Boaz.  That is the land owner in the book of Ruth who rescues Ruth and Naomi, who acts with compassion and understanding.  It’s funny because the word ruthless can mean angry, without mercy, pity or care but it also can literally mean without Ruth.  (the only reason I knew that was part of our Summer series last year was 5 weeks on the Book of Ruth). 

We get a little ahead of ourselves. The story of Ruth is important, It is told because she will become the great grandmother of King David and she is one of the 4 women (and non isrealities) mentioned in the geneology of Jesus.  The book of Ruth is set during the time of the Judges, the period between Moses, the 10 commandments and the wilderness and the time of the kings. The time of the judges stretches for about 350 years. It was a time when prophet / political leader / priests like Gideon and Deborah (yeah there was a woman judge) led the people of Israel. It was a time of conflict, war, victory and loss.  Samuel is the last of the Judges who facilites the change to rule by kings, anointing Saul, removing Saul and then anointing David (whose story you will hear next week).  

The first chapter in the Book of Ruth is the story of refugees, a family that flees famine for a better life in a new country, one where they were not quite welcome. The Moabites were sort of distant relatives to the Israelites,  these two peoples had some encounters centuries ago that did not go well.  Ruth is the story of a family that undergoes great loss, the deaths of a husband, and sons. The remaining women face very limited prospects for the future, They were three women alone at a time when women alone could not fare well. They do what they have to do, Naomi releases her daughter in laws so they can go and survive in Moab (they would have to be taken in by relatives there), Ruth refusing to leave Naomi, travels to Bethlehem with her, picks left over grain, finds favor with and then seducing Boaz. After this, she quietly sits by while he takes care of everything needed to marry her (a powerful, smart and driven women disappears from the story, knowing in that time and place, their best chance was “I rich, land owning man who want to marry this servant girl, I get what I want”,  her speaking would not help).  


Throughout the Book of Ruth, she is often identified as Ruth the Moabite from Moab, the foreigner, just to stress that she is an outsider, a foreigner, a not quite wanted or welcome person who the law demanded they marginally tolerate. The Shepherd’s fields, where the first people to hear Christ is born worked and where I knew the answer to a riddle, were also within sight of some Israeli settlements and in the distance you could see the wall that separates Israel from the West Bank / Palestinian territories.


This was a border we crossed many times, with a group of young, well armed soldiers peeking in bus, the driver saying Americans, us saying Hello and the soldiers leaving after a brief look.  The borders seemed like not big deal, but I couldn’t help realize for millions of people, these walls and borders were not funny, they were very real barriers.

That is the story at the heart of the book of Ruth, part of King David’s Geneology (part of his story will be next week’s reading), part of the genology of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is someone for whom these barriers were real.  Ruth’s faithfulness, loyalty, promise keeping are in this history.  They were real, even foolish, against self preservation moves. They were risks that could have easily led to life as prostitute or beggar or death.  Boaz did real, counter-cultural, unexpected, strange and odd things to marry Ruth, The story of Ruth reminds us that humble beginnings were not an inspirational tid bit, they were God’s real presence with those in need.  

Finally, we come to our reading from Mark. Here family is not redefined by borders, genetics, biology, class or anything else. Family, connections with others is defined as people loved by God, who worship the same God and receive the same grace. At one point in his ministry, Jesus is apparently spending too much time teaching so his mother mary tells hjm, hurry up your brothers are outside waiting,  Jesus responds

Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

That’s the book of Ruth, a God who transcends barriers, political, social, biological and even sin and death

Sermon for October 6

The readings


Deuteronomy 5:1-21 
 
5 Moses convened all Israel, and said to them:

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today; you shall learn them and observe them diligently. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the fire. 5 (At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to declare to you the words[a] of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

6 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 7 you shall have no other gods before[b] me.

8 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, 10 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation[c]of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

12 Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 14 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. 15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.
16 Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 You shall not murder.[d]
18 Neither shall you commit adultery.
19 Neither shall you steal.
20 Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 Neither shall you covet your neighbor’s wife.
Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
 
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[a] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem[b] on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
 
Mark 12:28-31 
 
28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”



The message


Sort of (no manuscript today)


Today, we are in the time after the major event of the Old Testament.  The time after the Exodus / escape from 400 years of slavery in Egypt.   The God who created the world, bringing order from nothing, who calls Abraham, giving a child to the old and barren, wrestles with Jacob, walks with Joseph, making and keeping great promises.


The 10 commandments starts with God. declaring, I have heard the cries of my people and the call of Moses. Moses (and Aaron) goes to the pharaoh, demanding the freedom of the Israelties and bringing the 10 plagues, the water to blood, gnats or lice, flies, death of livestock, boils  hailstorms, frogs, locusts, three days of darkness and death of the first born of Egypt.  These plagues show the power of God. 

We now find ourselves after the Exodus, an event celebrated by the song, the song of the community and the song of Mariam,(the sister of Moses and Aaron) and perhaps the oldest text in the bible : Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown  into the sea.”   That’s the big moment, the literal road out of slavery was cut through a sea that parts and then buries the armies of Egypt.

Sing to the Lord who has done great things, who defeated Egypt and their great army, who set the people free from 400 years of slavery, who heard their prayers, fulfilled great promises, who called their leaders, soon fades to “where are we going, what we will we eat, we were better off in Egypt, you lied to us, life sucks here, we’d rather be slaves, our neighbors will kill us, were going to die of disease, attacks or war, thirst or hunger. They will go as far as making and worshipping a golden calf, giving this idol they force Aaron to create credit for freeing them from Egypt. This broken, anxious and chosen community receives the law, the 10 commandments (along with about 610 other rules and policies)  


Today, I do not want to focus on the meaning of these laws in how we live (you can look at the 10 commandments in Luther’s small or large catechism there the commandments serve a very particular purpose, the law reveals sin, exposes our inability to save ourselves or earn salvation through good works. This pushes us to the cross and God’s grace.

When Moses first shares the 10 commandments, the law pointed people to God, remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm:


The first 4 commandments focus on how we interact with God and the last 6 focus on how we interact with each other.  The law points us to the God who gave promises to Sarah and Abraham and then a child, who rescued the people from Egypt, who spoke through the prophets, who healed the sick, taught the authorities, rose Christ from the dead.   When Jesus is confronted by the religious authorities, asked “which is the greatest of the commandments”, Jesus responds The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”