 |
| Origin of photo unknown. Found on Pintrest. Project Semi-colon is not directly related to this sermon,but it's very cool. All Warriors need the water of life! |
GOSPEL Luke 10:38-42
The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke…
25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, "This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.
33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
The gospel of the Lord.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
At the beginning of his book, Giving to God, Mark Allen Powell tells a story about a community in what is now France/Belgium who was converted to Christianity. They had a strange ritual. During baptism, which was by immersion in a river, like we never do, the person being baptized would hold one arm high up in the air, so that it did not get submerged the way the rest of his body did. It was usually men that did this, though some women may have too, and it was almost always the right arm. A visiting priest or missionary would have found the practice very strange, this was not something that would have been seen elsewhere. Why do you think they did it?
Maybe you guessed, especially if you are on Council and you have read Powell’s book. The arm held up in the air was the fighting arm. Should the warrior come up against an enemy, and though he was a Christian and knew that Jesus had said “pray for your enemies” and “love your neighbor”, he thought he would still be able to use that arm to kill his enemy. For it was unpurified in the waters of baptism. It could still act on the old adam or eve sinful impulse without guilt that he (or she) was being unfaithful to the gospel.
What do you think of that?
Completely ridiculous! Who thinks that holding one’s arms out of the baptismal waters reserves it for actions contrary to the gospel? To God’s Word, the God by whom we have been adopted and to whom we have pledged our hearts and lives?
Certainly, I imagine that’s what God thinks of it. I am confident that the act of baptism is not for 99.9% of us, but rather for every last drop.
Yet when I think of all the things the gospel asks me to do: prioritize God above my family, carry heavy burdens of pain – and not just my own, but others in my community too!, letting go of my own desperate grasp at comfort by surrounding myself with more and more things – just so I can drown in them.
I wouldn’t mind leaving my bank account or financial plans on the dry banks of that baptismal river. Or maybe my desire to feel better than other people, more competent, more perfect. I wouldn’t mind leaving my family relationships or that seed of bitterness leftover from old wrongs held up out of the waters. It sure would be easier to leave those parts nice and dry, and just let my soul that is heading to heaven be the only part of me that gets truly wet.
But Thank God, it doesn’t work that way. Because if I get to hold back part of myself, what part of God’s blessings do I expect to not receive? That’s not like God. Our God doesn’t have a bunch of conditions: you must do this or that or follow these rules to be a good person. God takes the people we are, good, bad or awful, and re-births us. Holds onto us like a newborn baby, unable to do anything for him or herself, and God does it all. God gives us air and water and heaven and earth. God gives us life and new starts, and coming clean again and again and again.
It is only in that context. Knowing ALL of THAT. That we read this scripture today:
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, "This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.
Jesus effectively says, when God claims you, he gets all of you. NO turning back. Would you like that gift? That blessing? That comfort to be in God’s arms? Of course! I would! So be careful, following Jesus, following God’s ways, will lead to great gifts, but they won’t always be the gifts you think you want or need. God’s ways encompass your whole life and being, God’s peace pervades every anxiety you could possibly have. God’s way of working is that you lay down your whole, entire, life, warrior arm and all.
Last Sunday night about 25 people lost their homes due to the fires in Southbridge. Most of them lost everything. And not in the waters of baptism, but in the flames of the burning rooms they had rented. There were 12-15 people who were renting single rooms in the Main Street building. There were another three households in the Benefit building.
Hearing that, after remembering how God works. It’s pretty easy to know what we do next. We find a way for our brothers and sisters in humanity to be sheltered, clothed and fed and back up on their feet again.
So this week several clergy of the area met with the Red Cross, and the Town Manager and a couple of Town Counselors joined us as well. We came up with a plan:
The first thing people need are new homes. So if you are a realtor or a landlord or know how to get in touch with inexpensive rentals in Southbridge or one of the neighboring towns, you are needed. Christ is calling you. In order to get into those homes, most of these people will need help with first/last/security deposits. So cash donations are being collected through a special fund that Catholic Charities has generously offered to host. A group of pastors will help to determine how the money gets distributed. 100% of those donations will go directly to the residents who are victims of these two fires.
People also need all the basic living needs: clothing, toiletries, and most of all food. They are mostly living in hotels right now, so cooking is difficult. Therefore, after much debate, it was determined that rather than try to provide meals, what would be most beneficial would be gift cards to restaurants or grocery stores or big box pharmacies or places where packaged food and personal items are available. These will be distributed through Catholic Charities in Southbridge as well.
Finally, Bethlehem’s closet has become the hub for clothing distribution. We have had just one family who was able to take us up on this so far, but I hope others will come as soon as they have a more stable place to live. And certainly there will be an influx of clothing donations. When people here about our great ministry, they just want to help!
So, here we go, once again, going all in for God’s mission in the world. Evil in the world never stops, even the evil that looks like house fires and warrior arms. But God never stops either. And God invites us to go along for the ride, spreading love and peace to all our neighbors, showing God’s presence for them in the world.
It doesn’t matter if your forehead is the only part the water drips on; God has every ounce of you soaking wet with the promises of new life, freedom and courage.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment