Sermon for October 22

The readings 

1 Samuel 16

1 The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." 2 Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you." 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" 5 He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord." 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." 11 Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

Psalm 51

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

The message

This morning, we hear the first moments of King David’s story.  As Saul, Samuel and David participate in the religious life and political leadership of Israel, it will be a story filled with conspiracies, civil war, failure, a war between David and his own son, political chaos, repentance, victory and the building of the kingdom of Israel.  Martin Luther wrote a lot on King David, assuming he was the author of Luther’s beloved Psalms and seeing him as a model of repentance.  If we could pick one thing that started the Protestant Reformation, it would be repentance or getting rid of sin, taking away the things that separate us from God.  Before getting into that part, I wanted to share some background on Today’s reading.  Last week, we heard the first time God spoke to Samuel and our Reformation theme was accepting God’s will and ultimately recognizing that God is in control of the world and the church. I wanted to fill in some gaps between the call of Samuel and the anointing of David.

A few years before today’s reading, God sent Samuel to anoint Saul as the first King of Israel. After some time of service (about 2 years), the Lord rejects Saul as king.  This rejection is because Saul disobeys the Lord and does not really repent. Saul offers a sacrifice to the Lord that appears to be offensive (for reasons that are unclear).   Saul also directly disregards a word from the Lord. He told to completely destroy the Alamakites and all of their belongings. Saul gathers his army, goes to war with the Alamakites and completely defeats them. At that time, Saul and his soilders notice, “wow, these people have really nice stuff”. Saul takes the best of their sheep and cattle and takes Agag their king alive as a prisoner.  When confronted by Samuel, when asked “why did you not follow the Lord’s command”, Saul explains his actions “ I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice”. This admission of guilt is rejected (Samuel basically says “what didn’t you understand about totally destroy” and “what sort of king listens to the people over the Lord”).  Samuel tells Saul “the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel”. This rejection will played out slowly over the next few years.    

After this Samuel asks for King Agag to be brought before him and proceeds to ritually execute him by cutting him into pieces.  With that done, we come to today’s reading.  Samuel, who is upset over the fate of Saul, reluctantly follows God’s command and goes to Bethlehem to anoint a new king for Israel. Now, there is all sorts of political and religious conflict.  Saul is still king and obviously would not be happy to learn Samuel is off anointing a new king.  Samuel goes to do this work with fear and is greeted with suspicion. Everyone wanted and expected Jesse’s first born, the very kingly looking Eliab, to be God’s choice.  God did not care about external appearances and this is not a democracy. David, the last of Jesse’s children, the one Jesse did not even bother to bring to the meeting, is chosen. After this David manages to enter a position in the court of King Saul.  David is called up due to his musical skill at playing the lyre, a sound that Saul believes will soothe his tortured mental state. Like everyone else, the very suspicious Saul, does not see the last born, small musician as much of a threat. He unknowingly establishes his replacement in a position of power.   Once in, David becomes a great military leader and when Saul is killed in battle, David becomes King.   We will look at the life and work of David as king during our bible study after church.  For now, I’ll just say David did his share of bad things, perhaps failing even more than Saul. The contrast between them often looks at what they do after their sins.  Saul makes excuses and goes through the motions of repentance, saying what he believes is the right thing.  This is little more than a public show, getting the God stuff out of the way so he can move on the more important business of being king.  David on the other hand, always knows why he’s king, he was given this authority by God.   In the pleading of psalm 51, in David’s seeking God’s help and expected that this grace will change things; we see an example of true repentance. 

In his preaching and teaching Martin Luther frequently looked at biblical figures as examples of God calling people to repentance and showing them his mercy Luther often looked at King David as one of those examples of repentance and receiving mercy. Luther understood David as the author of the entire book of Psalms, so a lot of what he looked at regarding him centered on them.  (from Robert Kolb)   For Luther David was 5 things 1- The author of psalms that proclaim God‟s Word and lead  his people in praise. 2. An ancestor of Messiah. 3. A classical  example  of  repentance (seen in  2  Samuel  11- 12  and  Psalm 51). 4. A model for Christian living as a ruler (Psalm 82). And 5.An  instructor  in  how  to  read  the  Bible  (especially  in  Psalm 119). We’re going to focus on number 3. Repentance goes back to the very start of the Reformation. Personally Luther found the sacrament to be lacking in sharing real comfort or announcing real good news.  As a monk, he would often go to the sacrament only to be left wondering if his sins were truly forgiven.

 Luther’s 95 theses, whose first posting 500 years ago, we commemorate this year,  is about repentance. They start by condemning the inadequate model being used by the Roman Catholic Church and explaining the cross centered gift of  grace God gives us.  The first 3 theses

 1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent" ( Matthew 4:17 ), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.    2. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy. 3. Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.

Luther starts his debate with the church that ends up splitting the church by saying the entire life of believers is one of repentance, of knowing and acknowledging our sin so that we can experience true grace.  For Luther, the church was not teaching and distributing true forgiveness and grace, it was dealing in some lesser, pathetic thing.  Repentance was left up to human whims and the sale of papers. For Luther repentance was a life long work, a constant remembering you are baptized, you are loved by God, you are forgiven because of Jesus death and resurrection,  repentance was not a ritual we did, it was something God’s word did to us, It was not a one time thing, it was a way of life, repentance was not a work, it was a gift from God that let us experience God’s grace  Throughout the 95 theses, These two versions of repentance are set in contrast to each other and the reader is invited to ask, which one sounds better, which one sounds like God’s word. 

sermon for October 15

The reading 

1 Samuel 3:1-21

1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" 5 and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. 6 The Lord called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever." 15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." He said, "Here I am." 17 Eli said, "What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you." 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, "It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him." 19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

The message

Last week, we heard about the Exodus, the events that lead the people of Israel to be freed from slavery in Egypt and what happened afterwards. While the exodus has become one of the central experiences of God’s grace in the history of Israel, it did not seem like it at first.  The people struggled in the wilderness. They complained bitterly as they felt stranded without food, water, security or leadership. God responds by providing manna and quails each day for them to eat and a source of fresh water. Over time God provides them with laws and order for society, worship and leadership.  These things develop gradually and there are setbacks, moments of disobedience, failure and faithlessness.  The people were led by a series of Judges, each appointed and anointed by God.  These judges, people like Deborah and Samson, were part prophet, part judge and part president.  After years, the people of Israel demanded to be like all of their neighbors, they wanted to be led by kings.

Today’s reading is the start of the one of the major transitions in the history of Israel.  Samuel will be the last of the judges.  He will anoint Saul as the first king of Israel, remove Saul who God deems unfit, and then call and anoint King David.  David’s reign is not perfect, he does some bad things but he also does great thing. (we will hear the start of his story next week). David receives great promises from God, including that the Messiah would come from his family line. (This is why the genealogies that start the Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke both stress that Jesus is from King David’s line)    

Samuel, like Isaac, Jesus and many of the other significant figures in the Bible is born from miraculous circumstances; Samuel’s birth is one that should not be.  In 1 Samuel 1 we learn that   Elkanah, had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.  Hannah was deeply loved by Elkanah but she was angry and depressed that she could not have a child.   Hannah went to the temple to pray.  Eli the priest sees her and notices that she was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.”  As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth.  Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk.  So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.  Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.

After this Hannah becomes pregnant and gives birth to Samuel.  Keeping her word, Hannah dedicates Samuel to the Lord. At the time of this reading, Samuel is in the temple under the teaching and training of the priest Eli, the same one who told his mother “go in peace, the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him. . Eli is a good and faithful priest but he has his own share of problems and a very bad mark on his record.  Eli’s 2 sons are no good.  They abuse their access and status in the temple and violate the laws by taking and eating the best parts of the sacrifices and having sex with the women dedicated to serve in the temple.  Eli does not stop them (he tries marginally and then just forgets about it).  Eli allowing this abuse to go on will be punished.  Today, Eli learns what this punishment will be through his student Samuel’s first prophetic word.   

As we look forward to the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, we continue to look at the teachings of Martin Luther and historical events around that time.  We can see images of the Reformation in the character of Samuel and Eli. First, Samuel, as a boy, must confront his teacher, the priest Eli, with bad news of judgment. Eli is the one who is caring for Samuel, entrusted with his growth and development into a priest, the one Samuel turns to for help, the one Samuel loves and cares for, the one for whom he gets up in the middle of the night to answer repeatedly.  Samuel must tell Eli this condemning word from God, one that changes everything in his life.  Samuel must speak because it is God’s word.   Samuel’s introduction to being a prophet and leader starts with speaking truth, bad, corrective and disappointing truth to someone with great power and a great relationship.  Martin Luther was an augustian monk, a teacher and church insider.  He took his vows as the result of being trapped in a storm and praying to st anne for help, offering a trade, save me and ill become a monk.  Luther has to confront the church he is part of, a faith he credits with saving his very life. Luther must speak because it is God’s word    

What Luther says at Diet of Worms, when asked, ordered, commanded to recant,   Here I stand, I can do no other  (which he probably did not say. It was added a little later and most certainly would be approved by Luther)  what he did say at the Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason-for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves-I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one's conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen. 

Eli can also show us something about the Reformation.  We see it revealed in how Eli responds to God’s word. Eli is faced with  a word from God that his house will be punished forever, that his descendants will all die young, before reaching old age and that there is nothing to be done to alleviate or reduce this curse.  These things will happens soon after as Eli’s two sons are killed trying to protet the Ark of the covenant. In response to this, Eli says It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.    These words remind us of Luther’s description of Thy will be done, the 4^th petition in the Lord’s Prayer:  Hence there is just as great need, as in all the others, that we pray without ceasing: "Dear Father, Thy will be done, not the will of the devil and of our enemies, nor of anything that would persecute and suppress Thy holy Word or hinder Thy kingdom; and grant that we may bear with patience and overcome whatever is to be endured on that account, lest our poor flesh yield or fall away from weakness or sluggishness

Most important for the Reformation is what Eli does not say.  Eli does not say Wait a minute,  I am a priest, I deserve a good reward, I decide what is and is not forgiven, Eli does not plead or put together an argument, list his own virtues (look at how well I am caring for Samuel). Eli does not dare confront God with worldly power, he does not say,  I’m in charge of the temple, my sons can do whatever they want.  Eli recognizes that God has the authority to do or not do what seems good to God.   The reformation centers around what the church and priests had the authority to do. For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church looked at the keys given to St Peter,  Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven as a justification for their rules, actions and even abuses.  To this the reformers said,  Is that all you got?.   Matthew 16 was seen as an allegory, it did not refer to Peter the man or any future church leader,  Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah, was the key, that is what binds and loses things in heaven and on earth. Like it or not, All the church could say was It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.   

Sermon for October 8

The Reading

Exodus 16:1-18

16:1 The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days." 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?" 8 And Moses said, "When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord." 9 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, "Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.' " 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 12 "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, "At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.' " 13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: "Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.' " 17 The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.

The message

We are now in the days immediately after the people of Israel were led out of Slavery in Egypt. They originally moved there to flee famine under Joseph’s leadership and were welcomed as honored guests. Years later, the people of Egypt turned on them in fear of their growing numbers, power and accumulated wealth. With exaggerations, the Egyptians convinced the Pharoah to enslave them. The Israelites were slaves for 400 years. Then God speaks good news of great joy to Moses, He would be sent to set the people free from bondage.  It was not a gentle departure.  Moses and Aaron, go to the Pharaoh 12 times, with the same request each time, the Lord God says let my people go and the same threat, if you do not, the lord God will send a great plague to infect Egypt. Each time, the Pharaoh says no and a great plague (like frogs, locusts, hail of fire, all water is made undrinkable). The last plague is the one marked at Passover, the death of the first born of Egypt.  From the Pharaoh’s first born son to the first born of Egypt’s  livestock, the angel of death takes all.  The Israelites are told to sacrifice a lamb, eat the meat and mark the door of their homes with its blood, this was the sign to the angel of death to Passover that house and not bring its horrific plague to that family.  After this, the Pharoah submits and lets the people of Israel go.  As they flee, the Phaorah has a change of mind and sends the army to chase them down (I mean after all, the loss of that many slaves was a very big deal, it would mean economic crisis and revolt).  The people of Israel cross the red sea (Moses is given the power to part the waters by simply lifting his staff). The Egyptian army gives chase and are wiped out when Moses lifts his staff again and the sea goes back to normal, drowning the mighty army of Egypt. 

Now, Moses’ Sister Miriam composes and leads the singing of a song to celebrate the freedom from slavery in Egypt (found in Exodus 15, these are probably the oldest verses in the Bible).  It’s all joy and praise, thanksgiving, hope and excitement until the people of Israel realize they are in the wilderness and they have nothing. There is no government, no order, no laws or regulations, no homes, no food or water, no walls or protection as they wandered out in the open. Despite having just witnessed what God has done, keeping promises and exercising a Godly level of control over the world, the people bitterly complain, we were better off as slaves in Egypt and we should have died there,  weak leaders suggest lets go back and all pray “give us this day our daily bread” 

This story is literally one of God giving people their daily bread (and lets not forget those delicious Quails). Each morning and each evening, the people freed from slavery get a reminder of the same thing Abraham said as he looked back on the sacrifice of Isaac, The lord will provide.  Twice a day, the manna and quail show the people God is with them, that God will walk with them and God will lead them. This is God’s gift and God’s work (whatever the people knew about science, they knew under normal conditions dew does not turn into bread and desert wilderness are not a good place for Quail to thrive)  

This story is not only a reminder that God will provide bread and meat, it is an introduction to God’s economic system. Here God’s hand ensures that each person has as much as they need and that there is enough for everyone.  There is no surplus, the ones who take too much have none left over. There is no shortage, the ones who do not take enough are not punished, they have their full. Here, food is a basic human right given to all in the community because they are there and hungry.  The good and bad all eat the same, the worthy and undeserving all eat the same, the slow gathers and the horaders all eat the same, the greedy and generous all eat the same.  God will entrust this task of overseeing economic justice to people and we will fail miserably at it.

As we continue to look forward to the 500^th anniversary of the reformation and connect our readings with it, we will look at what Luther says about give us this day our daily bread in the Small and Large Catechism as well as Luther’s view of poverty (as examined by Carter Linberg in the book Luther on Charity).     For the 4^th petition of the Lord’s prayer in the Small Catechism Luther writes: What does this mean?--Answer.  God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

What is meant by daily bread?--Answer. Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. 

Of course, this petition is not simply about getting what we need.  Luther always knew there was opposition to God’s word and God’s ways. The 4^th petition also demands that we confront the devil and those who deprive others of what God intends.  In the Large catechism, Luther writes

Behold, thus God wishes to indicate to us how He cares for us in all our need, and faithfully provides also for our temporal support. And although He abundantly grants and preserves these things even to the wicked and knaves, yet He wishes that we pray for them, in order that we may recognize that we receive them from His hand, and may feel His paternal goodness toward us therein. For when He withdraws His hand, nothing can prosper nor be maintained in the end, as, indeed, we daily see and experience.  How much trouble there is now in the world only on account of bad coin, yea, on account of daily oppression and raising of prices in common trade, bargaining and labor on the part of those who wantonly oppress the poor and deprive them of their daily bread! This we must suffer indeed; but let them take care that they do not lose the common intercession, and beware lest this petition in the Lord's Prayer be against them.

As we look at our daily bread, we have to recognize there are often people without bread or without a fair share of bread. In about an hour and half, we will have our annual blessing of the animals in celebration of St Francis and his legacy of caring for Gods creation. Luther actually attacked St Francis, in particular about the vow of poverty. To Luther money was not intrinsically bad, it was how people used and hoarded it that was the problem.  All things could be used in the service of God and money in the hands of good and faithful servants of God could make a real difference in the world.   In terms of Poverty and how society cared for the poor, Luther and the Reformers initiated a big revolt there as well.  Almsgiving, the tossing of a few coins or pieces of food to someone in need was always a Christian discipline.  Luther took a larger and almost modern view, encouraging people to look at the causes of poverty, to challenge the systems that created and maintained economic disadvantage, to advocate for fair laws, to teach and train and care for those in need until they were better, it was a relationship.  The Reformers also operated a community chest where money was pooled and kept to care for the poor.

 
 One of the challenges Luther addresses is one I often think about at our food pantry, what to do with people who take but do not need.  Luther says oh well, let them,  there is more than enough in the world and the abundant grace of giving to the wicked and cheats may change them (after all, God gives forgiveness and grace to the underserving, we can certainly give a bag of bread

Sermon for October 1

The Reading 

Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-15; 4:10-17

2:23 After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.

3:1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6 He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the Lord said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain." 13 But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, "What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "I am has sent me to you.' " 15 God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak." 13 But he said, "O my Lord, please send someone else." 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, "What of your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. 16 He indeed shall speak for you to God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.

4:10 But Moses said to the Lord, "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." 11 Then the Lord said to him, "Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him. 17 Take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs."

The Message

During my second year at Seminary, I was part of a 2 week course where we spent time in the churches of Milwaukee. Most of our time was spent with the pastors and community leaders in the inner city areas that were deeply affected by many of the factors that destroy cities,  the loss of jobs, closing of factories, economic crisis, abandoned properties, drug epidemics and violent crime.  We were there to help and to learn about what was being done. The course was meant to teach us what could be done when people of faith worked together in faith. Programs I remember included a bible study attended by 60 or 70 homeless people, an afterschool program that served the most at risk youth out of a church sanctuary, a partnership with a church and public school making a tremendous difference in the lives of both and a program called “Holy Ground”.   Holy Ground was started at one inner city church and then spread throughout the city.  It started in an area that, for a while, had the most shooting deaths per capita in the United States. It was the only site we visited where I was really concerned about safety.  Other people we talked to would ask “your going where?” (and not in a good way).   The idea for Holy Ground was simple,  The church and neighbors cleaned up, patrolled, ran programs to help and declared there would be no drugs or crime on the block where the church was located,  it would be a safe space, it would be holy ground. The program had spread to other blocks all over area. When we meet the founders of the program, they celebrated that their block had a good number of days without a crime and a very long stretch without a shooting (I don’t recall the exact numbers but they were incredible for the area.)   

The church put up signs along the block that said the same thing that God tells Moses in today’s reading: the place on which you are standing is Holy Ground.  To be Holy simply means to be set apart for God’s purpose. This space is holy since it is set apart as a place to worship God, to sing praise and offer prayers, to teach and hear God’s word.  These candles are holy since their place and light are set apart to represent the light of Christ. The ground on the mountain top is Holy because it is the place where God speaks news of freedom and love through a burning bush that is not damaged. The street around that church in Milwaukee was Holy Ground since it was where God works through a church and community to bring change, where God speaks news of freedom and love. 

On that block in Milwaukee, God had the same message for the people as God did for the people of Israel, who were enslaved in Egypt.  The Israelites were enslaved for 400 years. They entered Egypt as respected guests escaping famine under Joseph’s leadership.  After a while, the people of Egypt say the same thing we often hear about immigrants today, they cry to Pharaoh, these Israelites are overwhelming us, they are having too many children, taking our jobs and resources, not assimilating into Egyptian religion and culture, you have to do something.  The Pharaoh’s response is to enslave the Israelites.  To the people of Israel God says "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land.  Go and make things Holy, do your faith’s work, create a place where God’s love and power is known and shared.  You will be confronting a powerful and vicious empire, I will go with you. 

The people of inner city Milwaukee ended up in their suffering due to bad decisions, economic disruption, drug addiction, predatory real estate practices, racism, failing social systems and corporate greed. To these people,  God says “I have observed the misery of my people who are living in danger and desperation, I have heard their cry on account of their poverty and economic oppression, I know their suffering, I have come down to deliver them I will lead them to something better.  So you church on the corner, go and make things holy, create a place where God’s love and power is known and shared.  Confront the gangs, drug dealers, outsourcing corporations and I will go with you. Go and address the boredom, isolation and laws that foster poverty. I recognize that you will be confronting issues no one has figured out,  I will go with you. 

To us today, God says the same words:  a word like “I have observed the misery of my people in Puetro Rico and Houston after the storms.  Go and make things holy, create a place where God’s love and power is known and shared, do your faith’s work. Give, collect, pray, check in with people. This is not easy so I will go with you”. 

As we have for the past few weeks., we continue to look at the theology of Martin Luther as we countdown to the 500^th anniversary of the protestant reformation on October 29^th.  Personally, Luther confronted a powerful empire, great injustice and Spiritual misery. He did so in constant prayer, needing to know God would go with him to get it done. (Luther famously said “I have such a hard and busy day ahead, I must start with 3 or 4 hours of  prayer”) Connected to today’s message on us being Holy, Luther looks at 2 questions:  First, what makes us holy and second, what are set apart for.

The answer to the first question, what makes us holy is simply the Holy Spirit.  In the small and large catechism, or teaching guides to the faith,  Luther orders the material to change us,  giving an example of how God works. He starts with the 10 commandments where our sins are exposed. In the commandments, we are shown pure and simple, that we cannot earn our salvation by keeping God’s law. We are driven to the cross, to God’s gift of grace. Next is the Apostles Creed, a transition between exposing sin and experiencing new life, a short story on how God accomplishes this for us.  After this, is the Lord’s Prayer, where God’s gift of grace is clearly proclaimed and given to the comfort and joy of all people.  Finally, the catechisms end with the sacraments and daily prayers, all ways in which God’s unstoppable gift of forgiveness through Christ our risen savior is constantly kept in our lives.      

In Luther’s explanation for the Third article of the Apostles Creed, we see how we are made Holy.  The article goes:  I believe in the Holy Spirit, one holy Christian Church, the community of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the flesh and the life everlasting.   For this Luther writes:  I cannot give a better title than being made holy, in it are expressed and potrayed the Holy Spirit and her office which is that the Spirit makes us holy.  Therefore we must concentrate on the term “Holy Spirit” because it is so precise we cannot find a substitute for it. Many other kinds of spirits are mentioned in scripture such as the human spirit, heavenly spirits and the evil spirit, but God’s Spirit alone is called a Holy Spirit, that is the one who has made us Holy and still makes us holy.  As the first person of the Trinity is called a creator and the son is called a redeemer so on account of her work, the Holy Spirit must be called a sanctifier, or one who make us holy.   

We are made Holy, it is God’s work in and on us.  We are made holy so that we can do all the stuff I talked about at the start of the sermon, proclaim God’s loving presence in communities of suffering, advocate for freedom and justice and equality, make things around us a little better, respond to crisis with compassion, confront power without fear.   We are made holy, set apart to serve God, set apart for a Christian life so that we can do those things.