Whose Face? God's Face

Whose Face? God's Face

October 19th 2014

Matthew 22:15-22

19th Sunday after Pentecost

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church SE Portland

Sometimes there are just things that seem to line up too perfectly to be accidental…arn’t there?  There just seems to be too perfect of a coincidence in their occurrences.  Sometimes they are small events that are easier forgotten or passed over but sometimes they stick out in your mind. 

I remember over the summer working at camp there was a day when I was fighting off some sort of head cold and was having a long morning with a couple of campers that were seemingly disagreeing over everything.  However, it was on that day that “Reptile Man” was coming to visit as a special event.  Usually we had a special event once a week and they would have a time slot of about 30 minutes.  However “Reptile Man” went on for nearly and hour and 15 minutes.  I had know he was coming for weeks but did not know that his arrival would be on a day I needed some extra break time.  

Sometimes these coincidences happen on a big scale when things just seem to line up and a connection is made that makes us stop and recognize the moment as being unique.  

This past week was one of those moments for me, as I was preparing the scripture for worship for this morning.  I will pull back the curtain a little bit and let you see a bit of my sermon writing process.  I usually read though the readings and the Gospel and then spend sometime walking, thinking pondering, folding laundry while the texts roll around in my head.  As they were rolling around my head this week I ended up walking out to the mailbox and sitting there waiting for me was our ballots for the up coming election.  And the Gospel seemed to sound a little stronger in my ears after that…

In our Gospel reading this morning, two groups of people come together to attempt to trap Jesus with their difficult question.  It is a very difficult question for Jesus to answer.  If He says that one should not pay taxes to Caesar then He would be considered an enemy to the empire and would be tried as a revolutionary however, if He said that one should pay taxes then He would lose a large chunk of His followers and give power back to those in the Temple.  

So this is a tough question and a tough spot.  But this like our modern discourse and conversation seems to be way the conversations are heading.  This is a dishonest question, and like many questions that are asked of ourselves or others it does not serve any other purpose than creating discord or division.  Honest questions are ones that seek answers, conversation, prayer and a path for the future.  This, however is not an honest question.  The Pharisees and Herodians did not want to know what Jesus thought on the matter they just wanted to trap him in his response.  

I am sure that you get these types of questions all of the time. I know that I do especially when someone finds out that I am training to be a pastor.  We hear dishonest questions all of the time…what is your view on taxes, gay marriage, immigration, war and millions of other topics.  These questions seem to only lead towards categorizing people and putting them in boxes, conservative, liberal, democrat, republican, fundamentalist, literalists, racist. 

There is something deeper and more important than these dishonest questions, and that is what Jesus is getting at the heart of.  Governments ebb and flow, come into and out of power…we can have a whole separate conversation about the relationship between the church and the state in christian ethics.  However, Jesus is not pointing to continue the discourse of dishonest questions but rather to point to our heavenly father and the honest questions and the honest truths.

The coin that was provided to Jesus in this moment is a visual aid that serves a beautiful point.  When Jesus asked them who's face is on this coin he is then also asking whose image do you reflect? to whom do you belong?  

We hear in Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth and over all the creatures that move on the earth.”  

did you catch that?  “let us make humankind in our image.”  So the image that we are bearing is God’s because we are made in the image of God.  

So there is no doubt as to what Jesus is meaning, give yourselves to God because you are God’s.  It is God who claims us and made us, knows us, loves us and redeemed us.  Being God’s is whose we are and who we were created to be.  There are three remarkable things that happen when we realize this and what it means for our lives.  

The first is that God will never leave us, abandon us or forget us.  We are God’s and there is anything that can change that or separate us from that.  Jesus made that clear on the cross.  

Secondly, it means that we belong to God and so then we belong to the people of God, the Body of Christ.  We are a part of this body, this group of believers, that lifts us up and supports us, this body that joins us in prayer, conversations, work, love and service.  So we are a part of this body and that helps us to find our identity and live out our calling in the world.  

Finally, it means that as a part of our calling, our identity is giving back to God.  That is one of the many joys of the faith.  We wrap our lives in worship and service to God.  

This does not all occur or happen here in this one hour block on a Sunday morning but through all of our life.  The way we work, our interactions, or conversations and questions, all of our existence and our lives are wrapped into this life of worship because we are God’s, we have God’s image on us and in us and our lives are lived in service to God.  

So with that being known we can move past these dishonest questions and move towards those honest questions…how are we growing as disciples, how are we encouraging one another in their faith, how are we supporting the community, how can we serve the world and take care of those in need.  We can now move onto the honest questions…

Amen

Cheap vs. Costly

Cheap vs. Costly

October 12 2014

Matthew 22: 1-14

18th Sunday after Pentecost

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church SE Portland

So maybe it is just me, but sometimes when I am hearing pieces of scripture containing long stories I kinda gloss over the details.  So let me be sure that you heard this crazy scene that just occurred.  There was this King wanted to throw a banquet feast for his son who just got married, he sent out the invites to all of the prominent people in town and the invites were all rejected.  

So first off the King was rejected, I don’t know what you know about Kings but one rule of thumb, never reject the King.  So once the King was rejected he sent a second messenger to invite the guests to the wedding.  If you can’t read through the lines this is essentially the King begging people to come to the wedding.  

And once again the people turned him down…but that was not the end.  Not only did they turn away the messenger but they killed him.  What happened to don’t shoot the messenger?

So this really made the King angry, you know at the beginning of the day all he wanted to do was to do something nice for his son and invite people to the wedding feast.  So the King deployed the troops and they waged war with the people that rejected the invitation and killed the messenger.  

So yes, you heard that correctly the King murdered his own people and turned his troops on his people.  So once all of this destruction had occurred, the King invited the regular townsfolk to the wedding feast…were the sterno’s burning the whole time? was this war the same day as the wedding?  Was the banquet still the same day?

So, phew we made it to the end of the story right?…nope we have a bit more of this crazy story.  After of all of this there was a man who did not wear the correct wedding garb and the King in his final act in this scene threw out the man from the wedding feast.  and scene.

So yes this is one of the stranger parables that we have been given but we are told that this is a glimpse into what the kingdom of heaven.  So there has to be something that we can look into and take from this parable.  There are common themes that we hear throughout scripture, wedding themes, heaven being a giant wedding feast,  and all being welcomed to name a few.  

However, If you were reading this in the community of Matthews day this parable would have a few additional points of contact for you.  The destruction of the city by the King would serve to remind you of Jerusalem being destroyed in 70ce by the Romans.  Additionally the elite rejecting the invitation to the wedding feast and ultimately killing the messenger would call to mind the prophets of old being rejected and killed. Finally, the wedding feast being open to all would remind the listener of the opening of the church to the Gentiles. 

We are still left, however, with people refusing to come to the banquet and with a man having been thrown out.  We have several groups of people or individuals that have been left by the wayside, rejected or kicked out of the party.  

There are those that hold too closely and tightly to their allegiances and will not allow themselves to look past what they have going on in their world to see the banquet and accept the invitation.  They are holding too fast to the world and the ways of the world to see this grace and salvation that is available.  It is available to only them but to all.  They do not want to remove their personal allegiances to align with those that are different from them under the blanket of grace and forgiveness.

The custom for weddings was that the host chose the attire for the wedding which also meant that they had to provide the clothing they desired.  So this means that the man who was kicked out was not kicked out because of not having the right attire, or status, or anything else but because he rejected the clothing that was provided to him.  He rejected the free gift and thought that he did not need it, or thought that once he was into the banquet it did not matter how he acted.  

This gift of salvation is a gift freely given to all of us, and being a part of this faith and this church is for all.  There are two things that come out of this reading that I feel is important for us as the church today.  The first is that all have been welcomed and included, people from all walks and points in life, they are called to be a part of this body of christ.  It is not just those invited, or called first, or those that have been here their whole lives.  

Rather, all are being called in real time, in the here and now to come and join the body, it is an open banquet that is for all of us and everyone is invited.  As at the wedding feast everyone from the streets from around the town were called into the feast to join.  That is a part of the mission of the church and a part of what we are called to do is to open the doors and invite everyone in.

Secondly we cannot rest on being at the banquet already, or think that the way we live our lives is not important or does not reflect this gift we have been given.  This is what happened to the man who felt that he did not need the garment.  There is a higher standard and something more we are being called to.  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer the 20th century Lutheran Pastor/Theologian had a way of explaining this very concept.  He spoke and wrote often about cheap vs. costly grace.  Cheap grace is exactly what it sounds like, it is grace that when one receives this grace and salvation it means nothing to one’s life.  This grace is inexpensive and well cheap.  Cheap grace does not change lives, it does not mean anything and is just a placeholder.  

On the other hand Bonhoeffer speaks of costly grace, grace that means something, grace that matters.  Think of that hymn amazing grace….it is grace that changes lives and transforms lives.  It is a costly grace because it is only available because of Jesus redemptive act on the cross.  So it is a costly grace because it matters for our lives.  It is not just a time to sit back and rest on what we have.  But it is a costly grace that calls us to use our own lives and because of this grace we live in a new way, we live into this calling of grace to shape our lives around the gospel and reflect that grace to the world.  

Our reading this morning from Philippians gives us some landmarks for ways to live into these new lives of costly grace.  We are called to Rejoice in our days and let that show in our lives, we are called to display that gentleness to the world, we are called to pray and make all things know to God, to engage in that holy conversation with one another.  Finally we are call to do that what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing and commendable, do these things and continue to follow that calling of the Holy Spirit.

Amen