Saturday, June 30, 2018

The Poor You Will Have With You Always


Sermon for Green Lake Church of Seventh-day Adventists
For June 30, 2018

Texts: Deuteronomy 15:6-11, John 12:1-8

Poor people are much in the news. Here in Seattle we're confronted by burgeoning homelessness. On our nation’s southern border there is the ugly spectacle of legal brutality intended to terrorize poor people in Central America to deter them from seeking sanctuary in our country. Across Europe there is fierce debate about how to respond to waves of desperate poor people fleeing Africa and the Middle East. Even Canada is roiled by arguments about poor people seeking sanctuary. Poor people. They are a big problem.

The media world is full of passionate words about poor people. Since we are Christians, it is good for us to consider what the Bible has to say about poor people.

Let’s begin with the story that includes the famous phrase uttered by Jesus:  “The poor you will have with you always.”

The story:

Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus--the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus' honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus' feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.  But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, "That perfume was worth a year's wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor." This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."
[John 12:1-8 NLT Accessed via Blue Letter Bible. Com].

Judas used a publicly-professed concern for the poor to argue against an extravagant personal gift for Jesus. But he wasn't really concerned about the poor. He was concerned about the pocketbook that he managed. This reminds me of contemporary protestations: We should care for our veterans before we give money to lazy people on welfare. I agree that veterans should be first in line, but many who say such things actually oppose giving “their money” to anyone through the agency of government--including veterans. More recently I have read protests that we should spend money on citizens instead of on desperate foreigners. I think this prioritization is correct. However, the protest is disingenuous because many of those speaking this way oppose giving their money to anyone through the agency of government--especially those Americans who need food stamps.

Many who oppose spending “our money” to help the poor cite these words of Jesus: the poor you will have with you always. They interpret Jesus’ words this way: poor people exist. Always have. Always will. Jesus was telling not to stress over poor people. Leave them alone. Let them figure it out themselves.

But this flies in the face of the explicit meaning of the passage of Scripture Jesus was quoting.

The LORD your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you. 7 "But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. 9 Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone a loan because the year for canceling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the LORD, you will be considered guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do. 11 There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need. [Deuteronomy 15:6-11 NLT. Accessed through blueletterbible.com]

God's preference is for people to be rich. God wants all of us to have enough money for housing and food and transportation and birthday gifts and vacations and medical care and art supplies and music lessons. Especially music lessons.

This is what God prefers for people.

God's call is for his people to be generous. As we are blessed we are to bless. We are to be partners with God in generosity.

When we see poor people we can recall that God wants people to be rich and see the poor people as those who are outside God's favor. Cursed. Or we can see people who are poor and remember that God's call is for us to be generous. Two radically different visions.

In the Bible God never takes the side of the rich against the poor. Never. Why? Is it because God doesn’t like rich people? No. It is because God sees the rich as an extension of himself. Just as it is God’s duty to be beneficent, so it is our duty. The passage we have just cited clearly declares God wants his people to be rich. Rich is good.

God doesn’t take the side of the rich, because God does not take his own side. God does not defend himself. And rich people are an extension of God. God imagines the rich as his partners, as his people, as his staff. And since we who are rich are God’s people, God’s partners, God’s staff, we are obliged to practice God-like generosity to the poor. We are to represent God to the poor. According to the Bible writers in both Old Testament and New, when rich folk fail to practice generosity to the poor God is outraged. Why? Because neglecting or abusing the poor is an act of treason against the Kingdom of Heaven. If we neglect the poor we are siding with the enemy of God. It was the enemy who delighted in oppression. It was the enemy who used people for his own benefit without regard for their needs.

The rich are supposed to be God's allies, members of the royal court. Our behavior reflects on God. Repeatedly, over and over and over again, God is declared to be the champion of the poor, the friend of the poor. And we who are rich find our place closest to God when we act as champions of the poor and friends of the poor.

When we embrace poverty as a call for us to act with God-like generosity, this does not automatically provide a simple, clear path to a solution for the problems of the world. But it will shape our hearts and words as we work on solutions. Sometimes we must practice tough love and leave people to bear the consequences of bad choices. Sometimes a “fix” is impossible. I have friends with severe physical limitations. They cannot work. They will never, ever be able to work. Still we must care for them. I have friends who are bound up in addiction, friends whose minds are gripped by mental illness. There are no simple solutions to these problems. Still, we are called to see in every instance of human brokenness and desperation an invitation to go more deeply Into the heart of God and practice seeing these people as our brothers and sisters. They are family members God eagerly desires to come join us at the table.

Here in the family of God we do not speak of poor people or desperate people or foreign people as enemies. We carefully guard against using language that expresses disdain or scorn. We speak of them as children of God in need a special care. Even criminals are still the children of God, worthy of deliberate, wise, lawful intervention. Because of their brokenness we need the services of law enforcement. We cannot have a civil society without the service of our police officers. There are human problems that cannot be solved with gentleness. Still, at every point we remember that the people we are dealing with are the children of God, brothers and sisters for whom God has reserved a place at the table.

As we wrestle with the daunting challenges of poverty and human desperation may we act as partners with God, as allies with the Supreme champion of the poor. May we do all we can to make a place at our table for all the children of God.

Friday, June 29, 2018

Beautiful Children


Note this is last week's sermon. I'll post this weeks sermon later today. JM
Sermon for Green Lake Church for Sabbath, June 23, 2018
1 Kings 1:32-37
Matthew 14:14-21

Hymn suggestion. 101. Children of the heavenly father

I spent this week working in the primary department (ages 7 to 9) at camp meeting. I knew only three kids--Violet and Lars from Green Lake Church and Austin, a member of North Hill Adventist Fellowship, the congregation I pastored from 1998 through 2012.
Then there were the kids I was getting reacquainted with: Austin, and his cousins, Torie and Jack.

When they divided the kids into smaller groups for an activity I worked on learning the names of the kids in my group. When I came around to Austin, instead of asking his name, I said his name. He glared at me and demanded, “How do you know my name?”

I explained I had known his parents before he existed, even before they were married. I could have added a couple of other details from my memory that would not have been appreciated by a nine year boy!  I remembered his mother having to chase him down because of his wildness on stage during chidlren’s story. I also refrained from saying out loud what I saw now: he was a cool kid. Confident and bold. Lithe, agile, sharp, active, alive!

Then I came to a girl who seemed vaguely familiar, but just barely. When I asked her name, she looked at me with a bit of annoyance or perhaps indignance. Like how could I NOT know her name?

The wounded indignance in her eyes woke up my memory. Torie, how could I forget you? She was Austin's cousin. I had known her parents before she was born, before they were married, before they were even a couple. How could I not remember her? Beside Torie was her little brother Jack. The truth was, since Torie and her brother were placid babies and never made any commotion they had not commanded my attention as infants when I was their pastor. They were just everyday, average kids.

But that was before I spent a week watching them. Listening to them demonstrate superlative memory skills. Watching them interact with other kids. Torie had grown into a remarkable person. She looked out for others around her, exhibiting a calm responsible, mother hen nature. Watching her, I saw an angel hiding stunning intelligence behind a soft, gentle countenance.

And brother Jack--a striking physical contrast to Austin visually. Austin was lithe and dark. Jack was a red head. A sturdy chunk. I was utterly enchanted with his sweetness and goodness and intelligence. Both Torie and Jack fascinated me with their combination of a charming sweetness wrapped around a core of strength and confidence. Even this morning when I call them to mind I’m fascinated by their combination of stillness and strength. Their sweetness and boldness. How can a person hold those things together so naturally and easily.

As the week progressed I learned a lot of names. Our usual attendance was about fifty, with a few new kids every day and other kids leaving with their parents or grandparents. After a couple of days I had learned the names of 80 percent of the kids which was helpful when they were misbehaving. :-)

Also, as the week progressed. I found myself increasingly enthralled with these kids.

At first they were a sea of faces, cute in the way that all children and puppies and ducklings are. As days passed, the sea of faces became individual faces, distinct persons, I was enchanted, charmed, mesmerized by this collection of unspeakably beautiful people.

Noah -- a small guy, hair white-blond, big eyes, a smile that was friendly and impish. The longer the week went, the more radiant and magical his smile seemed.

Lillian--also small. Dark skin, dark curls. Dark eyes that gleamed like fire. When there was noise in her neighborhood, she was always part of it. She was busy. And captivating. When I was up front I found my eyes returning to her neighborhood--back row on the right--not just because she was often making a commotion, but because of her beauty. Our programs were far too slow for her. It was my job to keep her quiet and every message I picked up from her body said quiet was not something she did very well. I was both delighted she was part of our department and sorry she had to endure our endless exhortations to be quiet, pay attention, eyes to the front. Her ebullience was obviously irrepressible.

Then there was Aela, Allen, Grayson, Violet, Daniel, Naomi, Topaz, Levi, Elijah, Tomer, Lilly, Jasper Andrew, Kylie, Natasha, Josie, Evelyn, Alex, Kevan, Caleb and another forty kids.  

Every day, individuals became more vivid. More beautiful. More precious. More magnificent.

I'm sure it was kids like this that Jesus had in mind when he said, “Allow the children to come. Do not hinder them. Because the kingdom of heaven belongs to this kind of people.”

Once the disciples asked Jesus how to measure greatness in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus replied by calling a child over. “Be like this kid,” he said. There he added this, “whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

I like to imagine Jesus looking at this kid, maybe taking the kids head in his hands and staring at his face, contemplating the beauty and life and curiosity and busyness and intelligence and goodness shining in that kids face. I imagine Jesus being charmed beyond words by this vision. Then he says, see here in this face is the glory of God. It this body is the kingdom of God. Be like this. Protect this magnificent incarnation of the kingdom.

The feeding of the 5000. Children were there. The Bible does not count them. Maybe because they were too wiggly. But the Bible notices them. I'm not aware of any other reference to children at gatherings of philosophers or ancient religious teachers. Children were there. The kingdom of heaven had ALWAYS included children.

The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. To these people. These real people. These beautiful people. That’s what Jesus saw. That’s the heavenly vision.

Vision is not information. It is not a scientific counting. It is artistry. It is framing.

It is true that some children at campmeeting were not so immediately beautiful..

Kids with learning disabilities,
Kids with developmental problems.
Kids with faces already marked with fear or anger.

They were there. They needed my afternoon and sympathy and, yes, guidance. For some of them I had to work to see their beauty. And even my “beautiful kids” could also be seen as rowdy problems instead of as beautiful citizens of the kingdom of heaven, if that was the way my eyes were focused.

But I saw the beauty, and I bear witness. I saw the Kingdom of Heaven.

Our Old Testament passage makes a lovely point about children.

King David had a number of sons. He was old and failing in health and in function. His decline inspired a couple of different efforts by sons with the connivance of royal advisers to take over the throne. Finally, David agrees to formally yield the throne to his designated successor.

After David has announced this decision, his most trusted confidant comes in to see him and greets David with these words, “May his throne be greater than yours!”

The whole premise of monarchy is the myth that the monarch is the best--the wisest, smartest, fittest, strongest. Everyone has to carefully protect the myth of the throne. . . . until it is time for his heir to take the throne. In that instant, the rules reverse. It is the next king, the king’s heir who is the wisest, smartest, fittest, strongest--at least in hope. Only when contemplating the glorious future of the king’s heir is it permissible to speak of someone greater than the king. And then it is not only permissible, it is close to obligatory. It is sweet music to the king's ears.

So we and even Jesus himself dream of children who will do greater things than we have done. As we watch their enchanting beauty, their dazzling intellect, their sweet spirits, we take hope. We see already hints of the kingdom to come and pray that even now it is taking root among us. As we contemplate the beauty of these children we take fresh resolve to do all we can to help these children thrive and triumph.

This has pointed application in the life of the church today. Some imagine that the best of Christianity is in the past--back at Pentecost or in the days of the apostles. People speak wistfully of “apostolic Christianity.” But the best Christianity was not in the days of Jesus or in the days of the apostles. If it were, would not God have called his work finished and ended the flow of miserable human history?

Some Adventists imagine that the best of Adventism was back in the days of the pioneers. They idolize a mythic historic Adventism. But if the best days of our faith are in the past, we might as well close church and be done with it. And if we imagine that our religion is better than what God will accomplish in and through our children (or “their” children --whoever “they” is), we ought to simply sit in lament and acknowledge that we have been miserable failures. We have failed to provide the sanctuary needed by our children so they could cultivate the graces and virtues God intended.

The future belongs to our children whether we like it or not. We cannot determine the future. We cannot determine what values and beliefs, what doctrines and policies, will endure. That is in the hands of our children and grandchildren. Let us join Jesus in trusting the children. Let’s practice looking at children and seeing the Kingdom of Heaven already present among us.

Friday, June 1, 2018

The Lord God Made Them All


Sermon for Green Lake Church for Sabbath, June 2, 2018
Texts: Deuteronomy 22:1-4, 6. Matthew 12:9-12; 10:29-31



Monday morning Karin and I were camped at French Beach Provincial Park on Vancouver Island. Late in the morning we returned to our campsite from a walk on the beach. I went to get something out of the car. While rummaging around in the back seat, I heard a beep. At first I didn’t pay it any attention, but it continued, somewhat irregularly. It sounded like an electronic alarm, maybe a low battery signal or something like that.

I opened the front door and listened. It continued. Beep. Pause. Beep. Pause. Beep. I looked under the front seat to see if we had dropped some electronic gizmo. Nothing. I stuck my head up in the space beneath the dash and above the accelerator and brake pedal. The beeping was close, but it did not seem to be coming from under the dash. I checked the instrument panel again to see if some indicator light was flashing. Nothing.

I stepped back, puzzled. Then I noticed something on the floor between the drivers seat and the driver’s side door. A bit of fur or a large moth. I look more closely and then it beeped. Or chirped. It was a hummingbird, a tiny hummingbird, sitting there chirping its distress.

When I reached down to pick it up, it did not fly away or even scramble. I called Karin over and we began trying to figure out what to do with it.

The car windows had been down three or four inches, so I figured the bird had flown into the car in the early morning and then been unable to figure out how to escape. It was now 11:30, maybe four or five hours after the bird trapped itself. Hummingbirds have incredibly fast metabolisms. They have to eat all the time. This bird was probably starving to death. It appeared uninjured. It was just too weak to fly. It could flap its wings, but the wings moved in slow motion for a hummingbird and provided no lift.

We tracked down a park ranger who offered the bird some sugar water. The hummingbird drank it eagerly, but was still too weak to fly. Not to worry, the ranger said. There was a local animal rescue organization which would send out a volunteer to fetch our bird and transport it to a shelter where it would be nursed back to health and released. The ranger made the call and Karin and I left for the rest of our day’s adventures. The next morning the ranger gave us an update. The bird had arrived safely at the shelter and was being cared for there. A complete recovery was expected.

It was a happily ever after ending.

It is a wonderful tale of rescue and redemption. A whole network of humans cooperated to extend the life of this tiny bird that weighed less than my car keys.

This story reminds me of a story in the Gospel.

On a Sabbath, Jesus went into their synagogue, where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, "Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?" (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.) And he answered, "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus. [Matthew 12:9-14 NLT. Accessed through Blue Letter Bible.com.]

Jesus did not tell the Pharisees that they should be kind to animals. He took that for granted. Even these hard-core fundamentalists had a deep, instinctive regard for animals. If a sheep fell into a well, the whole neighborhood would mount a rescue operation. No one would ask questions about Sabbath keeping until the rescue was successfully completed. An animal in trouble was a summons to engagement.

For Jewish people, in addition to this basic human instinct they had the words of the Bible. God had commanded people to respond to animals in need. Even animals were part of the household of God.

If you see your neighbor's ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don't ignore your responsibility. Take it back to its owner. 2 If its owner does not live nearby or you don't know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. 3 Do the same if you find your neighbor's donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don't ignore your responsibility. 4 "If you see that your neighbor's donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet! ... 6 "If you happen to find a bird's nest in a tree or on the ground, and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest, do not take the mother with the young. [Deuteronomy 22:1-4, 6 NLT, accessed through Blue Letter Bible.com]

At first glance, we might think these rules are motivated solely by concern for the neighbor. Animals were important elements of the economy. If something happened to your neighbor’s donkey or ox that could have a devastating financial impact. But while the economic concern is valid, the text clearly goes way beyond that kind of crash capitalist concern. Along side concern for our neighbor’s property, the text clearly expresses a profound regard for the welfare of the animal itself.

Part of being human is care for the rest of creation. Part of being Christian is agreement with the words of the hymn:

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Regard for animals is deeply rooted in American culture. All the way back in 1641, the Massachusetts General Court enacted a legal code titled "Body of Liberties." Sections 92–93 prohibited "any Tirranny or Crueltie towards any bruite Creature which are usuallie kept for man's use." The law also mandated periodic rest and refreshment for any "Cattel" being driven or led.

These early American settlers were Puritans. They were strict devotees of the Bible. The Bible required humane treatment of animals, so they wrote into their laws an obligation to treat our animals in a moral fashion.

I began with a story about a lost little hummingbird. It’s a sweet story, a cute story. It is hard to imagine any American not cheering on our rescue operation. But this story is not really about hummingbirds.

What is the price of two sparrows--one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31 NLT (Accessed through Blue Letter Bible.com)

Wednesday evening, Cypress Adventist School held its graduation service a the Edmonds Church. The speaker was Marilyn Jordan. Her talk was funny and affectionate. It was full of good advice and affirmation of the potential and value of the graduate. She wrapped up her speech by exhorting him to be kind to animals. Every good person is kind to animals, Marilyn said.

Which is true. Every good person is kind to animals.

And if it is true, that good people are kind to animals, how much greater is the truth that good people are kind to humans—whether those humans were born in Seattle or Tegucicalpa or Dakar. Whether they are successful or losers, capable or crippled.

The Lord God made them all.