Romans 1:16-17 – “Yes, We Can!” – May 19, 2019

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It’s hard to know where to begin with Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, better known as Romans. On one hand, it is his most sophisticated articulation of his theology, written late in his ministry after refining his message with years of active missionary work. It also probably influenced the Protestant Reformation more than any other single book of the Bible with its emphasis on salvation by faith alone.

On the other hand, Romans can be a daunting read as Paul takes a deep dive into human sinfulness and the nuances of faith with somewhat esoteric arguments based on assumptions we might not have. Further, anyone who has been a victim of anti-gay teaching and preaching in the church may know that just a bit further on in this same first chapter of Romans, we find a passage that has been and is still used repeatedly to bludgeon, shame, and exclude LGBTQ people. And though we can accurately state that Paul did not have a modern understanding of sexual orientation or knowledge of same-gender romantic relationships that were based on love, it is also probably fair to say that even if he had that knowledge, he would have come to the same conclusions as he did. In fact, that particular passage from Romans 1 is one of the passages that led me in my own journey to conclude there are some things in the Bible that do not reflect God’s will for us today, but instead reflect the biases and prejudices of the flawed, sinful people God used to write the Bible. And though the line between the author’s prejudice and God’s will is not always clear, we as modern people of faith have the responsibility to try to figure out which is which.

Matthew 1 – “Reconciliation and Enjoyment” – December 23, 2018

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The Gospels of Matthew and Luke are the only ones that tell the story of Jesus’ conception and birth. Mark begins with Jesus as an adult. John begins with the beginning of time and then skips ahead to Jesus as an adult. In the Gospel of Luke we get lots of stories including a story about the miraculous conception of John the Baptist, the story of the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary and announcing the conception of Jesus, Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth (and John the Baptist’s mom) where John leaps in his mother’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice. We get the Song of Mary beginning, “My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,  for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant, Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed” Which by the way is where we get the words to The Canticle of the Turning, “My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great, and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait.” Then after Mary sings we are told of the birth of John the Baptist, and we get a song from his dad. Then finally in Luke, Jesus is born complete with the manger, the swaddling cloth, the shepherds keeping watch over their flock, and the heavenly host. That is all in Luke.

Matthew handles things more expediently.

Isaiah 2 – “Swords into Plowshare” – November 18, 2019

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Raise your hand if you get along great with all your family members. And I mean, brothers and sisters, parents and kids, aunt and uncles and cousins, and in-laws. Do you get along great with everyone? Now raise your hand if there is at least one family member whose close proximity to you is stressful.

Many people this Thursday will get together with family. Some of us will have family staying in our homes. And for some this will be a pleasant experience. For some it will be stressful. For most there will probably be a mixture feelings.

There is something about getting a bunch of family together that increases the probability of a fight. For some families it is politics. Republicans and Democrats. For some families it is issues about race or gender or immigration. For some it has nothing to do with the issues of the day, but old emotional wounds that have never really healed get easily re-injured in the presence of the person who created them. And yes, maybe you are fortunate and none of this happens at your family gatherings or maybe some people have stopped coming to your family gatherings because they are done fighting – so what looks like peace is actually voluntary segregation.

Well in our passage this morning from Isaiah we have a couple guys who are not at a family gathering, but they are coming together and itching for a fight. The guy from the Assyrian Emperor comes to the gates of Jerusalem and declares that everything in the media is fake news. He says that people should only believe the Emperor Assyria. He says, “Don’t listen to King Hezekiah who says you are safe, but listen to Assyria’s king who says, “Surrender to me and come out Then each of you will eat from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own land.” He says “King Hezekiah is lying to your about your situation.”

Apparently this really pushes King Hezekiah’s buttons because he tears his clothes and went off to pray. Kind of like when Uncle Joe gets up from an argument at the table and goes outside to smoke a cigarette.

Then Hezekiah sends his servants to ask the prophet Isaiah what should be done about the Assyrians and Isaiah says, “Don’t believe the Emperor of Assyria, believe me! God is on our side and is going cut down all the Assyrian armies with the sword!”

So Assyrians says, “I’m right. I’m powerful. Everyone listen to me.” And Isaiah says, “No. I’m right. God is powerful and on our side. So everyone listen to me.” Just typical Thanksgiving dinner conversation.

But, then our lectionary text does something a little screwy. It sends us back 34 chapter to Isaiah chapter 2. And offers another perspective on all this squabbling. Isaiah 2 quote the prophet saying that God is still going to dominate the world, but this time not by might or by force, but by offering irresistible instruction and inspiration to all the earth. People will seek out God on their own accord. That in the presence of God disputes will be settled and relationships reconciled. Then we get the wonderful passage, “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nations, neither shall they learn war anymore.”

A plowshare by the way is the metal part of the plow. So here is the question for us as we prepare to meet with family this Thanksgiving, “Are you going to show up to dinner with swords or with plowshares?” Are you going to show up ready for battle? Are you going to show up with your arguments honed? Are you coming in with a strategy to win the fight? Are you coming with a sword? Swords are a lot more fun by the way. They are pointy. They are sharp. You can swing them around. You can chop things in pieces. You can pierce people deeply. And most importantly you poke people with them. Many of us many never intend to chop or stab, but we are looking forward to some serious poking.

Or are you going to show up with plowshares? Are you going to come ready to listen to others? Are you going to try to understand their perspective rather than clearly articulate yours? Are you going to come ready to do the hard work of helping someone else express themselves? Are you willing to go deep even if the deep dark places are scary and filled with rotting manure? And yeah, plowing a field is not fun. Plows are heavy. They require a lot of effort to operate. And it is really hard to poke anyone with a plow. But, they do important work that ultimately makes things better for everyone. Plows are broad and when you operate a plow you have to be open to turning up some surprising things. Plows go deep like swords but by bringing deeper things to light plows make new growth possible. And there is a profound joy in a freshly plowed field. And yes they can be messy. But, do we want the mess of a massacre or do we want the mess of freshly turned earth.

So which will it be swords or plowshares?

As Christians the right answer here should be obvious. We should go into any situation seeking understanding and reconciliation. We should be trying to follow the Prayer of St. Francis.

“Where there is hatred let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon…
May I not so much seek to be consoled as to console
to be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life”

Christians should be armed with plowshares. If you are not there yet its OK. One person asked me if they could at least bring a shield to their gathering. Yes, that is fine. Bring a shield and a plowshare, but not swords. Our goal as Christians is to address our problems without swords. That is where we are going. Our orders are to beat our swords into plowshares. So ask God to help you if you are not ready to do it alone. “God help me beat this sword into a plowshare.” And if that prayer is too hard, ask God to help you be ready to do it or to want to do it. “God help me want to let go of this sword. Help me want to beat this sward into a plowshare.”

This Thanksgiving and beyond thanksgiving in all our relationships, is it more important to be right and to win or is it more important to understand someone and find compassion and peace?

People often bring a dish to Thanksgiving Dinner. You might bring green bean casserole or candied sweet potatoes. You might bring turkey or a vegan alternative. Or that critical question of pumpkin or sweet potato pie. But, the most important choice we make is whether to show up to any relationship with a sword or a plowshare.