Sunday, November 22, 2015

The Kingdom of Hope

For AUDIO Click Here.

B Christ the King 2015
November 22, 2015
Isaiah 11:1-3
Matthew 25:34-40

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. [Glory to you O Lord]
34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
The Gospel of the Lord [Praise to you O Christ].
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Grace to you and Peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”
With these words, Isaiah is prophesying to the broken kingdom of Israel that is seeking hope. We, following in the footsteps of the sacred story, continue to be a broken people seeking hope. 
Isaiah speaks to a people who have been cut down to a stump – who’s earthly kingdom that had started so hopefully with David, has been chopped down at the root.  At this point in the sacred story, David’s people have been spread across the world because their home is no longer safe for them.  We know their sense of lostness and loneliness and homelessness; the same as we feel when our sense of safety is suddenly questioned, like those in France are feeling now. 
Having heard the stories, we can remember what it was like to be homeless, like Abraham and Sarah awaiting the promise, like Jacob seeking forgiveness from his brother, like Ruth and Naomi seeking shelter, like the people without homes today, whether they are refugees from Syria or the people of Cathedral in the Night in Northhampton where the youth and families went to worship and eat last Sunday evening.
We, as broken people in a broken world, are gifted with the promise of a branch growing out of the root.  We bear the promise of the king who reigns today, and who is coming in Advent, the new shoot named Jesus.  This new king for God’s new kingdom.  After the kingdoms of Israel have divided and fallen, we are given a new kingdom of hope.  Hope that God’s promises will be fulfilled, hope that in this kingdom citizens might take each other in, even us, who are lost, lonely and homeless.  HOPE in a kingdom that is DIFFERENT from the brokenness around us… this is a kingdom of WHOLENESS!  A kingdom where love sits on the throne.
Today, as we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, we consider what it means to be a part of God’s kingdom.  Isaiah helps us to remember that God’s design for a kingdom was never the earthly tyrant on the throne, even though that’s what humans usually deliver.  God’s design is a persistent hope.  A persistent love in the face of fear.  A persistent bravery. 
And that gift, the gift of that love-filled, hopeful, brave kingdom, is for us.  We, Bethlehem, who already live in that gift of hope through the waters of baptism and the sustenance of the holy meal. Each time we open our empty hands to receive communion, we have already accepted the invitation to live in God’s kingdom! 
And this gift of hope in love is for us and, through us, for the world.  We, citizens of this kingdom, Bethlehem, exist for the world.  God’s persistent movement to give each and every person hope by showing them love through the hands and feet of their neighbors.
So, I have asked our leaders to help me talk about this kingdom we are a part of today. And what the kingdom looks like, specifically in this place and when we are gathered and sent.  The council has been doing some thinking about this congregation, how and why it is that we gather together, and what is our value in this place. 
We know that we, Bethlehem, have been brought into existence because God wanted it to be so.  We heard that over and over again in the memories at our 30th anniversary a couple of weeks ago.  We know that it is only by God’s power that we are here. 
So then, Why has God placed us here?  What does God have for us to do in this kingdom of persistent hope?  What witness or ministry does God intend to have happen in this very place?
Why does Bethlehem’s existence…why does Bethlehem’s ministry matter?
Bethlehem's ministry matters for one simple reason; to share the word of God's Grace.  In our congregation, we all hear God's word every Sunday and in the community we help others hear and see the word. We do this by inviting people into our church family and actively working in the community through different mission projects, Bethlehem's closet being the best example. – Thad Darger, President
Bethlehem's existence invites, embraces and perpetuates the word and love of God through Jesus Christ. We continually learn and we do our best to carry out his goodwill in our daily lives. – Pete Maertens, Secretary
Referring directly to our gospel for today Matt Maselli, Property Chairperson said, We exist to care for the least of us, and need to look into our hearts to know if we are truly doing what we can.” – Matt Maselli, Property Chairperson
Bethlehem's existence matters because it is a place that continually teaches me how to live with compassion. Its presence is a gentle reminder to look beyond myself so that I do not look beyond my neighbor. When I see someone struggling to open a door, or a cashier asks if I'd like to donate to a community service initiative, or it looks like someone could use a kind word or two, it is Bethlehem at work when I extend my hand or voice. – Johanna Webb, Vice President
Bethlehem provides a gathering place where ALL are included.  'Seasoned' citizens share the pews with infants; teens and toddlers commune together; young families share fellowship with grandparents.  First time visitors are welcomed as though they were charter members.  This inclusiveness, this sense of welcome [and] belonging is indeed a rare thing.  It doesn't happen everywhere; Bethlehem is a SPECIAL place! – Tom Houston, Worship Chairperson & Youth Minister
Bethlehem is a place, and a congregation, unique in some aspects.  The community brought together here shares a spirit and heritage of faith that could not be exactly duplicated anywhere else as it began not that long ago as a mission church.  It is evidence of God working here to bring together this varied group of Christians, united in their faith and desire to be "the hands of Christ" in this community.  This country, and the world for that matter, need more, not fewer, voices of faith speaking loudly about how to live together as children of God. – Ann Carlson, Stewardship Chairperson
Bethlehem matters because God says it matters.  Where two or more of you are gathered... It matters because we are human and broken and we need a community that celebrates with us, centers us and heals us and grieves with us. It matters because we have already mattered and those folks we matter to are still here. And we matter for all those who have yet to know us and how we can shine God's light in their direction. – Karen Bodamer, Mission Chairperson
I would say [Bethlehem] matters for the same reason anything matters; because it makes a difference in someone's life. It is a presence for our members and matters to us. It provides food and clothing through just a couple of our ministries and that matters to the community, especially the recipients. It matters because without it there would be a void in the lives of all these people that it currently serves. – Christine Jensen, Faith Formation Chairperson
There are places in our world where people are being taught to harm others.  Look at Paris last weekend.  God needs our help in this world to teach love and to pray for our enemies so that they might know God's love.  These so-called enemies do not know our God of love and forgiveness. Bethlehem is a place to share God's love, His truth, His light so we can go out in the world and be His Light to all who we meet.  In our global world where people do not know our God, it is our job to share Him.—Melany Gronski, Past President
Why do we exist?  We exist for all these things – summed up in a phrase, God’s kingdom.  Beyond our congregation and here for each other.  And notice, I said Congregation.  We congregate here because it is in our gathering that the kingdom exists!  It is in our congregating that each of us participate, we see God’s love working in our neighbors and we love our neighbors; we see God’s love working to save us because of what these very people around us are being!  Your presence here, your investment of time, your investment of your whole self, matters – because you are Bethlehem Lutheran church.  You, People of God, are the church.  We are all ministers of Jesus Christ in this place.  Working together as people of hope. 
We will be talking about money at the end of worship today, so I would be remiss not to make this connection clear.  Our money is a significant tool to use for the kingdom.   Money is your “minted self” – it is your concerns and values – the way you make more of those good things happen[i].  Just think what God can do with it!  So now that you are in God’s kingdom, God has every intention of using your whole self, including your money to create persistent hope in the world. 
This is our ministry!  As people named House of Bread, that we might feed, shelter and clothe those in need of hope as our gospel says today.  We show up here, and in our every day lives to live differently than the world around us.  We show up to live not in the American kingdom or the Western kingdom or even the global kingdom – all these are cut to the root, despairing and grasping in their fear, grabbing for control, searching desperately for some measure of comfort. 
We show up to live as brave citizens of God’s kingdom of hope.  God’s shoot of hope, growing out of a stump of despair.  Hope because the Word of God has illumined our way.  Hope that sees all people and perspectives.  Hope that serves our communities with delight and Hope that opens the eyes of faith at every age.   Hope shining through the trees.
Bethlehem, this is God’s loving, hopeful kingdom. Shine God’s love.  Risk for hope.  Be brave.  Because you know it and I know it, the only way we live in God’s kingdom of wholeness is to live knowing/ that on Easter morning… love wins.  
Amen.








[i] Ray Kask (Assoc. to the Bishop)

Sunday, November 15, 2015

God's Broken Heart

B Pentecost25 2015
November 15, 2015
Hosea 11:1-9
(Mark 10:13-14)

Reader: Narrator 1, Narrator 2
Narrator 1: When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols.
Narrator 2: Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
Narrator 1: They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me. The sword rages in their cities, it consumes their oracle-priests, and devours because of their schemes. My people are bent on turning away from me. To the Baals they call, but he does not raise them up at all.
Narrator 2: How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
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The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. [Glory to you O Lord]
13People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”
The Gospel of the Lord [Praise to you O Christ].

Grace to you and Peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
[Carter, 1 year old, stayed up front with his mom and dad, as our visual.]  
When Israel was a child,
I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
2The more I called them, the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols.
3Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms;
 but they did not know that I healed them.
 4I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love.
I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.

How old were you when you realized what your parents had done for you?  When did you realize that these people actually taught you to walk, to eat and made sure you survived childhood?
If you became a parent yourself, then, maybe you understood something about their tired eyes in the morning, or their flaring anger when one of you hurt your brother or sister.
All parents are doing the best with what they have, and though we wish it were not true, sometimes what we have as parents is not enough to change the course our child has chosen. 
Even with the most loving of parents…Sometimes children grow into the hard way of doing things… some of our children rebel … some of our children are crippled by a mental illness for a while…   or struggle with addiction.  I have known many parents, who, with deep, deep love for their children had to make the decision not to rescue them anymore.  To leave that child in the jail cell, or to not let them back in the house, to let alone their child’s choice of relationships, no matter how destructive… Parents that have had their hearts broken so completely, they reach a point of letting go.
Have you had your heart broken like that, to the point you had to let go?
Hosea’s oracle here is the story of a loving parent, doing all they can to set their beloved child up for success – for the real success of true joy and a life of wholeness.  And at every turn, that child seems bound and determined to choose hurt, humiliation and blame. 
God’s children have separated themselves, they hold grudges against one another, they turn away from the family values that have held them together. They offer up sacrifices to false gods… which wouldn’t seem so harmful, seeing as they are, indeed, FALSE gods.   But those gods demand our blood to pour, like the false prophets of Baal last week… self-inflicting injuries… gods demanding captivity instead of freedom, even human sacrifice.  They really are not so far off from the gods we turn to today… the idols of image that starve us, the worshipping of personal security that leave us stingy, the god of opiods that drain our life and community, the god of guilt that chains us to unhealthy relationships. 
And so the loving mother – God says to those she once nursed, “How can this be?” The loving father – God says to those he helped to take their first steps, “This is not who you are!” 
The emotion may be angry, but the root is love.
Think about the last time you were bothered enough to be angry.  Was it because you cared enough… because you loved enough to want something to be different?
This kind of love exists from parent to child and child to parent; from God to Israel… and from God to us…God looks at God’s children, remembers the time we learned to walk, remembers the child who nursed at God’s bosom, remembers the time God lifted us up to rub noses…
That’s where we enter the story today. The God who loves us so deeply that God’s heart is breaking over the violence we do to each other, the sacrifice we have made of our neighbors, the pain we have continued to bring into the world, and the pain of others that we ignore.  We are all in this human family together.  Today God is angry along with us over Paris and Beirut and Ramallah and Bahgdad.  God has fierce anger over these injustices. But God promises in Hosea, just like in Genesis where the Rainbow came after the flood, that God’s way is not one of destruction. God’s way is one of life.  We may use the name Allah or YHWY, either way, God’s call to faithfulness is about devotion to a way of life of service in love, and that is the opposite of terror.  
The book of Hosea is really a very sad story.  Hosea is God’s faithful prophet in the midst of a very unfaithful people – the northern kingdom, he calls them “Ephraim” for short – Ephraim, the biggest tribe in the north.  Hosea tells us today that even though God has every covenantal right to kick us out of the family, even though we humans have broken every promise and continue to choose death and destruction over the far more powerful love and life, even though God’s heart is breaking over us… God doesn’t let go. 
Even though there comes a time when we must let go of destructive relationships…
God does not.  God holds onto us, whether we are the bullied or the bully, the abused, or even the abuser, the brokenhearted, the addicted, the sober, the clean.  God holds onto those who have broken our hearts, and holds onto us, NO MATTER WHAT. 
Calling us sons and daughters at the font, Teaching us the way to walk with Jesus, Lifting us up to God’s own face, Feeding us with God’s very self, and Binding up the broken pieces of our hearts with love… God will not let us go. 

Amen. 

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Brave Saints

B All Saints 2015
November 1, 2015
1 Kings 12:1-17

Readers: Narrator, One, Two, Congregation
Narrator: In the days of King Rehoboam:
Congregation: All kings eventually go to sleep with their ancestors.
Narrator: As it had been with Saul, the first king over Israel, so it was with David, the shepherd-king.
One: David’s son Solomon came to reign. For the building of the temple, he levied taxes and forced their labor. For building his own house, he levied taxes and forced their labor.
Two: Four hundred and eighty years after the Israelites had been led out of slavery in Egypt, their laborers and craftsmen were conscripted for monumental construction projects.
Narrator: As the years passed, Solomon fell away from the ways of the Lord, and there was trouble in the land; rebellion and division.
Congregation: But all kings eventually go to sleep with their ancestors.
Narrator: As it had been with Saul, it was with David. As it had been with David, so it was with Solomon.
One: Word went out that Solomon was dead, and those who had rebelled against his rule made their way home. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, went to Shechem, where the nation had come to make him king.
Two: Led by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had ten of the twelve tribes of Israel in the palm of his hand, all the assembly came and said to Rehoboam, the not-yet-king,
Congregation: During your father’s time, he weighed us down with heavy workloads and we suffered because of him. We have come here to ask you to lighten the load your father laid upon us. If you do so, we will be your willing servants.
One: He said to them, “I need time to think this over. Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.
Two: 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?”
One: 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.”
Narrator: And the pleas of the people rang heavy in his ears.
Congregation: We have come here to ask you to lighten the load your father laid upon us. If you do so, we will be your willing servants.
Two: Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the younger men who had grown up with him, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”
One: They answered him, “If you will exercise your authority and punish them with whips and even scorpions, then they must be your servants forever.”
Narrator: And so Rehoboam met with the assembly on the third day.
Two: And King Rehoboam punished the people, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke.”
Narrator: So the king did not listen to the people.
Congregation: But all kings eventually go to sleep with their ancestors.
One: Those assembled feared for their lives.
Two: They fled with their tents, while Rehoboam ruled with a heavy hand all who remained in the towns.
Narrator: And so the kingdom was divided.
Congregation: But all kings eventually go to sleep with their ancestors.

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Grace to you and Peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Let me tell you a story of God and God’s people… starting from when they entered the promised land.  You will remember they had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years after God had freed them from Egypt. After Moses died they entered the promised land, and for the generations who lived then, every move they made was with God’s promises at the center of their lives.  And God himself moved with them.  They made a tabernacle, a tent, where God’s word was kept in the ark of the covenant, that treasure box we talked about in the children’s sermon last week.  And in this tent, God promised to sit, like a king on a throne, and priests and judges would take the place of Moses, communicating on God’s behalf directly to the people.
But the people didn’t like this much.  Who knows if it was simply wanting to be like their neighbors or more nefarious desires to be free of God’s way of life… but the people demanded a king.  God as their king was not enough for them.  They wanted a human, earthly, kingdom.  And so God, being the generous, loving God who does not force people to love him back… gave them a king. 
They thought only a human king they could see could be their protector from outside enemies.  They forgot that God had done that for generations.  They thought they needed a king to be brave.  They forgot that God had given them fantastically brave military leaders in the judges and before that, the bravery to escape Egypt!  So even though they had lived for generations growing and thriving as a people - loving God and loving neighbor … it wasn’t enough. 
They imagined a human king who would treat them justly, who would be the brave and kind hero you might see in an idealistic Hollywood movie: Superman – just the right humility of Clark Kent, nonchalant bravery, superhuman powers, an inclination to save their Metropolis, and a good dose of handsomeness.  …David was that superhero king!  David was a brave warrior for them, against human enemies and against other gods.  David too had his kryptonite, he was only a man after all.  But the secret of David’s superhuman might, was not a result of his own power… the only superpower at work/ was God’s.
It was God that made David brave.  David put the Word of God at the center of the people’s lives; that treasure box, called the ark, where God’s word was kept.  David retrieved the ark that contained the commandments of God and brought it back from the outskirts of Israel’s land. David brought the Word of God back, literally, to the center of their lives – to Jerusalem, the neutral capital city like Washington DC – where the people re-membered their worship and their lives in God.  Just like Abraham and Sarah, and like the people freed from Egypt, God renewed the covenant with them.  Even when his own people/ betrayed his rule over their lives /by insisting on a king…
But then things went sour.
Solomon, David’s son, was quite a successful king to start off with.  He is the one, you may have heard, who asked God above all for wisdom. And Solomon built the temple.  He was off to a good start in God’s eyes.  Yet, as Solomon’s kingship went on, things did not go as God would have hoped.  Solomon intermarried with many different nations, building alliances that may have kept Israel from war, but which threatened their safety in God. Solomon built not just a temple to the LORD, /but to every /one/ of the gods of his wives.  The One God, the Lord alone, the God who loved them and whom they loved solely, was no longer at the center of the life of Israel.
And… Solomon fell prey to the lavish kingly lifestyle… he became what all earthly powers threaten to become – an exploiter.  To the people who had once been slaves in Eqypt, the people whom God had freed from such a harsh life, to those same people, Solomon (their king!) made them slaves again.  He made them slaves for his own building projects: for the temple itself and for his own home. His grand castle for his many wives and their children.  Solomon, and the people, forgot God and forgot God’s ways of freedom and love.  And so this dream of a kingdom where the brave king would keep them safe was no longer the reality when Solomon died.
And so, as the people get ready to crown a new king, Rahaboam, they ask this life-changing question.  They want to know how is it that this king will treat them?  Will he be a king of David, and a king of God’s Word, or will he be a king like Solomon became, that treats them harshly for his own royal benefit.  And we heard Rahaboam’s answer.  And the people wept over David and it became both bitter and a comforting promise that All kings eventually go to sleep with their ancestors.
Rahaboam ruled as he promised; and God, the loving God who wanted none of this, keeps his promise to David to allow his line to continue in the kingship.  But, just like any nation ruled by fear, Israel splits.  The kingdom divides and Rahaboam rules only a small part, but a part that includes Jerusalem.  Jeraboam, rules the rest of the 12 tribes of Israel. 
God’s beloved nation becomes damaged by its kings.  God’s beloved people are ruled by the tyranny God never wanted for them.  It’s the old, old, story, of God letting us have our way, even when our way is not the best that God has to offer. But God, persistently, sleeplessly, finds a way to save us from ourselves.
Generations later, after the kingdom is conquered and dissolves.  After God’s people have been scattered by tyrants and allowed to return by kinder oppressors… God puts a new king on the throne. A throne with no official political power, but with the power of remembering – remembering us, remembering the promises, remembering love for God and neighbor.
God comes to sit on that cross-shaped throne himself, and to reign from there eternally.  Christ shows up as the brave king.  The king that is brave enough to live for others, the king that is brave enough to die… for the ones he loves.  God reigns to give us a new kingdom where we are all beloved and brave.
This kingdom we are now is a completely unique kingdom!  We who are grafted in to the nation of Israel, we are brought into God’s kingdom, not by a citizenship test, but a declaration of faith, of trust in the one God who has made us brave in the midst of a fearful world.  
Brave to do hard things like living in community with people who are flawed, and like giving myself away.  Brave things like reaching out to those who hurt us and brave things like asking for forgiveness.  That is the kind of bravery this new ruler gives us. 
This kind of bravery is all it takes to be God’s saints.  So we remember our ancestors today, those who were braver than these pitiful, tyrant kings – those brave saints of God – the ones who showed us what the bravery of faith looks like.  Who trusted in God, above any human authority.  Who may or may not have had superhuman powers, but who loved God and us with superhuman might.  The ones who are completely safe now, resting in God’s arms until we are reunited on the last day. 
Today we will remember all those saints with these strips of cloth.  And when we dedicate our woven cross that is in the narthex at the end of worship, we will have woven in all of their names.  We will hold, for a time, their brave witness of love to us.  Their witness of God’s kingdom here on earth and forever in heaven.  During the sacred space time, come up and write the name of a saint in your life, living or dead.  Come up and light a candle for all those you remember today.  Then go to the cross in the narthex and weave it in so that by the end of worship, when we dedicate that cross as a work of God among us, it will also show our remembering the brave saints of God. 
All kings eventually go to sleep with their ancestors.  But God does not.  God gives us the divine and perfect kingdom.  The kingdom where the yoke of love is light for all, where all have enough and all are beloved.  Praise be to God, we get to live in that kingdom now!  Trusting in God, which gives us a bravery beyond ourselves, to live in love for all our neighbors, near and far. Amen.




Sunday, October 18, 2015

The Generous Community

B Pentecost21 2015
October 18, 2015
Ruth 1:1-17

For AUDIO Click Here.
Sermon begins after the scripted reading. 

Readers: Readers: Narrator, Naomi, Ruth, Women (congregation - women), Boaz (man), Reapers (congregation), Next-of-kin (man), Elders (congregation - men)
Narrator: 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. 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. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 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, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. 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. 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. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
Naomi: 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. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.
Narrator: Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her,
Ruth: No, we will return with you to your people.
Narrator: But Naomi said,
Naomi: Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 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, 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.
Narrator: Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. So she said,
Naomi: See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.
Narrator: But Ruth said,
Ruth: 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. 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!
Narrator: When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said,
Women: Is this Naomi?
Narrator: She said to them,
Naomi: Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the Lord has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?
Narrator: So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,
Ruth: Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.
Narrator: She said to her,
Naomi: Go, my daughter.
Narrator: So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers,
Boaz: The Lord be with you.
Narrator: They answered,
Reapers: The Lord bless you.
Narrator: Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers,
Boaz: To whom does this young woman belong?
Narrator: The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered,
Reapers: She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, “Please, let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.” So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now, without resting even for a moment.
Narrator: Then Boaz said to Ruth,
Boaz: Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped, and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.
Narrator: Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him,
Ruth: Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?
Narrator: But Boaz answered her,
Boaz: All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!
Narrator: Then she said,
Ruth: May I continue to find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.
Narrator: At mealtime Boaz said to her,
Boaz: Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.
Narrator: So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men,
Boaz: Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.
Narrator: So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. She picked it up and came into the town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was left over after she herself had been satisfied. Her mother-in-law said to her,
Naomi: Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.
Narrator: So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law,
Naomi: Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!
Narrator: Naomi also said to her,
Naomi: The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.
Narrator: Then Ruth the Moabite said,
Ruth: He even said to me, “Stay close by my servants, until they have finished all my harvest.”
Narrator: Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law,
Naomi: It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, otherwise you might be bothered in another field.
Narrator: So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests; and she lived with her mother-in-law. Naomi her mother-in-law said to her,
Naomi: My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.
Narrator: She said to her,
Ruth: All that you tell me I will do.
Narrator: So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he was in a contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down. At midnight the man was startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! He said,
Boaz: Who are you?
Narrator: And she answered,
Ruth: I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.
Narrator: He said,
Boaz: May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do for you all that you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy woman. But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is another kinsman more closely related than I. Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will act as next-of-kin for you, good; let him do it. If he is not willing to act as next-of-kin for you, then, as the Lord lives, I will act as next-of-kin for you. Lie down until the morning.
Narrator: So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; for he said,
Boaz: It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.
Narrator: Then he said,
Boaz: Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold it out.
Narrator: So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and put it on her back; then he went into the city. She came to her mother-in-law, who said,
Naomi: How did things go with you, my daughter?
Narrator: Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying,
Ruth: He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, “Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.”
Narrator: She replied,
Naomi: Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.
Narrator: No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin, of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by. So Boaz said,
Boaz: Come over, friend; sit down here.
Narrator: And he went over and sat down. Then Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said,
Boaz: Sit down here;
Narrator: so they sat down. He then said to the next-of-kin,
Boaz: Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you.
Narrator: So he said,
Next-of-kin: I will redeem it.
Narrator: Then Boaz said,
Boaz: The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.
Narrator: At this, the next-of-kin said,
Next-of-kin: I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.
Narrator: Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So when the next-of-kin said to Boaz,
Next-of-kin: Acquire it for yourself,
Narrator: he took off his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people,
Boaz: Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are witnesses.
Narrator: Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said,
Elders: We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; and, through the children that the Lord will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.
Narrator: So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi,
Women: Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.
Narrator: Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying,
Women: A son has been born to Naomi.
Narrator: They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab, Amminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon, Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed, Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

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Grace to you and Peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Anyone who has moved across the country has a taste of Naomi and Ruth’s experience – the feeling of being alone, without family, without a community, no one to come get you when you are stranded on the highway; no one to drop in on for a family dinner.  This is different from the Israelite’s wandering in the wilderness, like they were last week. Naomi’s people have settled in the promised land, after 10 years away and losing her husbands and sons, she is turning back there now.
Naomi and Ruth are without a community, no one has their back.  No family.  Naomi, at her age, believes there is nothing she has left to offer to anyone.  But Ruth will not leave her.  What Ruth sees is the possibility for faith in a God who loves.  A God who creates and protects and feeds them, and who has given them the hope of going home to Naomi’s family…
You know, because you heard those commandments last week, the way these Israelites live is different than other people.  Naomi’s family, the Israelite family, is a people who take care of one another.  The most vulnerable people, widows like Naomi and Ruth, are protected within the Israelite nation and Israelite religion, and by the God who says Love your Neighbor as yourselves. 
Naomi, who has become bitter over God’s depriving her of a husband and sons… she may not trust that God will care for them, but Ruth seems to think differently.  Ruth sees a generous community she wants to be a part of. Ruth trusts that God’s way of life is for her and Naomi still – even after their tragedy and hardship.  Ruth holds up the covenant way of life for Naomi by sticking with her even when bitterness has infected Naomi.  Ruth has hesed for Naomi – she covenants with Naomi the way that God covenants with us – lovingly holding tight to the one with whom she has been through thick and thin.  This hesed, is steadfast love, also translated, “Amazing Grace.”[i] Though God doesn’t speak in this story the way he spoke to Moses from the burning bush, God speaks through Ruth’s hesed.  Her faithfulness to Naomi, like God’s faithfulness to us, outpouring grace. 
That grace is what we are here to talk about today.  We see it again in Boaz.  Ruth seeks out Boaz, gives him the opportunity to care for a hungry stranger, which he does.  She invites him to consider marrying her.  And just by showing up, by being there, she holds him accountable to the kind of generosity God expects.  Boaz responds generously!  Boaz showers grace, unearned gifts, onto Ruth and Naomi.  Boaz, too, reflects the hesed of God when he is willing to marry Ruth, restoring honor and security to her and Naomi and their deceased husbands. 
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Like Ruth, we did not belong to this kinship from the beginning, to this protection, to this religion, and then God pulled us in.  As Naomi and Boaz brought in Ruth , Christ has brought in the church to Israel’s way of life, so that we too may live in this abundant life of caring for our neighbors!
WE are given this gift of community.  This gift of being community, in this particular way, where we proclaim the value and love of each person, because of what God says about US.  For those who have re-located, like Ruth, they know that finding a community of people where you are beloved and where you belong makes all the difference. 
That is what the church is.  God has given us, in the church, this extended family across the world.  Congregations are created to be places where you can find a group of people who proclaim to you, every/ time /they /gather/, that you are God’s beloved and valuable child and we will treat you as such.
That is what you are, church.  And that is what you live into when you make this place happen with your time, talent and treasure.  Did you know you could do that with your money? What better thing can we do with money?  When we share our financial gifts we say to the people sitting next to us, right now, You are a beloved child of God.  For you, for God’s sake, I will give of my financial resources.  My most valued resources… because you are the most valuable to God.
Sharing our gifts is about living as a Child of God who wants to create that kind of community for someone else… who wants to participate in the community that God is already creating, who wants to offer to my neighbor the same kind of belonging and welcome that I have experienced… I will give financially so that what God has given me is a part of making that community happen.  This is not about having a church, it is about being church.
Steven and I are always striving to share a tithe of our income.  Unfortunately, in this phase of life, that is difficult.  Many of you also have small children and big school loans, some of you have big travel costs to see family.  Or maybe you have a mortgage that eats at you or credit cards that have run away.   Household financial challenges are real and are important to consider.  Steven and I are currently sharing $100 per week of our total household income with God through Bethlehem; and we are growing by $50 per month beyond that to other expressions of Church like Wartburg College, Calumet and Lutheran World Relief. 
I have shared with you my own financial numbers over the past three years because I think it is important for you to know that my giving is a spiritual practice, even a sacrifice.  I think giving back to God should be something I feel in my budget and wallet so that I keep my priorities straight.  Because for me, creating this community of church would be important to me even if I wasn’t a pastor.  Creating this Christ-centered community is about living faithfully together with you.  It is about finding a place that I belong.  It is finding a place for my children to belong.  I am here because God loves me!  I am here to create a community that is welcoming to all, especially for those who are the most vulnerable in our society – like Ruth and Naomi.  Those who are the most isolated and disconnected.  Especially those who have heard churches say to them that they are not welcome, and that God does not love them.  I am here so that you and I might proclaim together, every time we gather together, in worship or Bible Study or a team meeting, that our God is a God of love.  Our God names and claims you and me as beloved and belonging. 
Financial resources just represent something here.  In this story of Ruth, and in our lives, money is the way that we care for one another. It’s the way we care for one another!  It’s the primary vehicle for meeting our needs.  This is not about someone else telling you what to do with your money. This is about your money and my money – money that we only have by God’s grace – representing the ways that we care for each other and show up in our relationship with God.  We see money and all our resources differently after the waters of the font hit us.  Because our God sees money differently from the rest of the world.  God sees money like one more chance for hesed
Amazing Grace.  God pouring out Godself in Jesus, descendent of Ruth. God’s very self.  Everything God has and is.  To give to us.  And because we are confounded and embraced by that abundant and generous gift of grace, that God shares, that Boaz shares, and that Ruth shares with Naomi.  We share that gift too. 
Amen. 




Sunday, October 11, 2015

The Lord Alone

B Pentecost20 2015
October 11, 2015
Deuteronomy 5:1-21; 6:4-9

Readers: Narrator, Moses, God 1, God 2
Narrator: Moses convened all Israel, and said to them:
Moses: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today; you shall learn them and observe them diligently. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the fire. (At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to declare to you the words of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
God 1: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
God 2: 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. 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, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
God 1: 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.
God 2: Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 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. 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.
God 1: 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.
God 2: You shall not murder.
God 1: Neither shall you commit adultery.
God 2: Neither shall you steal.
God 1: Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
God 2: Neither shall you covet your neighbor’s wife.
God 1: 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.
Moses: Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 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. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

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Grace to you and Peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today we enter the sacred story at the end of Moses’ life.  Moses, called to free God’s people from slavery in Egypt, has become the spiritual and social leader of Israel.  The people, you will remember from our story about Jacob two weeks ago, whose name means to Struggle With God. 
These Struggle-With-God people have struggled with Pharoah – with God beside them.  God who has responded to their cries of oppression.  God who hits Pharoah hard on God’s own terms. The struggle began with God demanding that Pharoah let the Israelites worship their true God.  And Pharoah’s power-loving heart, just kept growing hard. 
God fought the oppressor on Israel’s behalf - through plague after plague, 10 in all it took for Pharoah to finally let God’s people go.  The final one being the killing all the first born sons of Egypt.  This seems cruel and heartless, and yet we remember that Moses bears witness to a whole generation of baby boys killed by Pharoah’s command.  Moses was the survivor of that genocide.  …The people, with animal blood on their doorframes to protect them from the death passing over them, saw their God overcoming their Egyptian slave-owners, who suffered under the hand of a righteous God.  They had to wonder…  what would it take for Pharoah to break the bonds of slavery?
Ten horrible plagues, then a dramatic getaway through the Red Sea, a narrow escape from Egyptian soldiers that Pharoah had sent after them.  He was still determined… could not even the death of his son break Pharoah’s hard heart? But escape they did, the whole nation of Israel taking exodus from Egypt.  Leaving behind an existence of bondage and death to enter new life by God’s hand parting the waters.  And God led them, in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
God led them into this new life with a whole new set of expectations.  A new way to live in the world.  Remember, with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, God walked and wrestled intimately, but these generations had forgotten God and were just getting to know again God’s righteousness… that is, the right way to live… the life-giving way of God. 
And so God gave them an enclosure for their lives called the ten commandments.  A home.  A structure to life that would define them as a people for all they encountered.  And would define their very lives as lived for their neighbor.  This is the kind of covenant God makes with the people.  One that will give them more and more and more life… and that acknowledges the reality of harm that visits us when we live in abuse: whether it is a publicly acknowledged system of slavery, or a more subversive, hidden slavery… like today’s domestic violence and human trafficking and the black-market sex trade. 
God gives us these commandments to free us to live to the fullest!  The fullest life which, as defined by God, is about living to free our neighbors. 
We see this in the commandment about the Sabbath.  Who is to take a weekly rest day?  The upper class?   Middle class?  Working class?  Yes!  Even the donkeys and slaves!  Now that is a treatment of slaves that redefines a person’s worth, does it not?  “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a might hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”  I have bought you for a price, God says, I have wrapped you up in my arms and cradled you like a baby.  You are my children again now.  I have redeemed you from the pit of slavery in which you found yourselves.  Let us begin again, and again, and again, and again…we find God saying this from the moment of creating us – let us begin anew at creation, let us begin anew after the fall, let us begin anew after the flood, let us begin anew with Abraham and Sarah, let us begin anew with Jacob, let us begin anew in the wilderness… let us begin anew, dear people of God – every time you forget your purpose in life, every day you treat your neighbor with less than loving words, every moment you want to have instead of want to give, you fall away from me, let us begin anew in the daily waters of baptism that cover you and make you mine…  God’s mercy and grace have no end.
Hear, O Israel: this is how you will have new, abundant life… when The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Words echoed in our baptismal promises we renewed last week with Sheila… when you bring yourself and your children to the meal and to hear the Word, when you put God’s Holy Word in their hands, when you teach all our children the Lord’s Prayer. These very commandments as a way of life – by doing it, and saying it, you will learn it better yourselves.  When you recite together the Creed in the awesome mystery of God, when you pray together, showing one another how much you trust God!  Or you are acting out the promises, you are letting God be God in your life, rather than you take over, to try to save the world or yourself. 
And so we receive the promises of new life along with Israel today.  We remember the grace of God who has given us this free gift of being in relationship with God and we listen to Moses words calling us to live into the promises…
Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 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. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Today you are invited to a worship station in the back where you will actually tie on those words of life given to us in the 10 Commandments.  Yes, it will feel strange.  But do we care?  Not when we do it together.  Because together we are a strange bunch who God has claimed as his very own children and given this great blessed gift of life!  Let us teach each other, be examples for one another, church.  Let us keep these words in our hearts [CROSS], on our foreheads [CROSS], and on our hands [CROSS].  These words of life: Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.

Amen.