And yet... Redeemer Episcopal Church

 Mark 1:1-8

The Proclamation of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way;

3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
    ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight,’”

4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

_________________________

I originally preached this sermon to a certain people in a certain time, but I believe that God's Word can and does transcend time and space, so perhaps it will touch you in some way as well. You can read the manuscript here or listen to the raw audio file (with infusions from the Spirit) at this link. 

Good and gracious God, thank you for the unpredictability of your son, Christ Jesus. And thank you for the ways that you have called us to prepare for the turning and disruption of this world. Amen.

About three years ago, my husband and I were moving into our new home here in Jacksonville and we were also preparing for the birth of our first child. We moved in at the beginning of January, and we had about six months to get everything ready for the newborn baby. There is a phenomenon that people describe as “nesting” when someone is pregnant: they go around and organize, rearrange, clean, sometimes get rid of lots of things, and in general, make a big commotion in preparation for the baby. It’s some kind of instinct or evolutionary adaptation probably. 

I don’t know what causes it, but luckily for my husband and my parents, who came down here from Ohio to help us, I was in a flurry of nesting. We painted almost every wall inside the house, we decorated every room, we set up a nursery, and we rolled out new area rugs. We bought boxes and bins and all sorts of things that promised us organization. If you’ve been in a house with people preparing for a child, I’m sure you can picture exactly what all of this was like. A little chaotic right now, but all with the promise of a sweet, little baby at the end. The end goal is to make sure the whole house, and ultimately the whole family, is prepared for the birth of the baby. 

The passage we heard from Isaiah this morning reminds me of the sort of nesting that often happens before a baby is born. And in the beginning of the Gospel according to St Mark, we hear a paraphrase of this same passage: 

A voice cries out:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.

Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

I like to call this cosmic nesting. The whole world is shifting and moving, cleaning and organizing, in order to prepare for the coming of Jesus. John the baptizer, we are told, was sent ahead of Jesus to prepare the way of the Lord. This was the beginning of the old news of Jesus Christ. That instead of being totally unprepared for the coming of Jesus, we were given the gift of a messenger who would show us what it means to prepare. The whole cosmos was shifting, but John also prepared the people by calling them to repent and baptizing them, preparing them for what Jesus would do and be when he arrived. 

But, of course, we know that the people were not prepared. Not really. 

But that’s the thing, right? It wouldn’t have really mattered who God sent to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus. They still wouldn’t have been fully prepared. 

I remember reading every book I could get my hands on to prepare me for our first child. And they have books on everything, right? Feeding, sleeping, breathing, development, activities, illnesses, and medicines. I talked to all the moms I knew, I joined mom groups on Facebook and read blogs, I asked tons of questions and absorbed all of the information I possibly could. And I bought so much stuff that everyone said we would need and want for the new baby. It turns out that everyone website has a different list of the top 100 things you need for your first baby. And you better believe that in my last month of pregnancy, I thought we were ready. We had everything we could possibly need to bring this baby into the world. I knew how much he should eat and when, how much he should sleep and when, all the different doctors appointments he would need and I knew the different kinds of fussy, I had all the apps to track all the things on my phone.

By the time my due date rolled around, the house was prepared as well. We kept it nice and clean every day, just in case. We had a bag packed for the birth center, we had a car seat in the car. Whenever this baby arrived, we would be fully and totally prepared.

And yet… 

God didn’t wait for the world to be prepared before God showed up in the person of Christ Jesus. St. Paul tells us that God is not slow about his promise, but is patient with us… so perhaps it is in God’s patience and grace that God recognized that we could never truly be prepared for the coming of Jesus. Despite the best efforts of John the baptizer, God’s people were not ready for God to show up in Bethlehem as a tiny baby, the newborn king. God’s people were certainly not ready for what his birth, life and death would mean for the entire world. 

The night before our first child made his appearance into the world, I was in another flurry of nesting and was bleaching a giant bin of LEGOs in our bathtub. I was washing them and shifting them out when I went into labor. So my beautifully prepared, clean, and organized home suddenly had hundreds and hundreds of LEGOs all over our master bedroom floor, drying out. It was a little bit ridiculous. 

I remember in the days and weeks after his birth, I was up late at night with a sleepless baby ordering things that we didn’t know we had needed… more diapers, different creams, another book. It had turned out that despite our best efforts, we still weren’t prepared for how this baby would turn our world upside down and inside out. 

We will never truly be prepared for how Jesus would turn our world upside down and inside out. 

And yet… 

We are called to prepare anyway. We are called to stay awake and alert. We are called to wait for the coming of the Lord, to prepare the way as best we can. 

And perhaps that’s the beauty and the grace and the good news of this season… that we will never be truly prepared. The world will never be truly ready for the coming justice and grace of God. But comes anyway. In the body of a vulnerable, unexpected baby, God comes to us. In the midst of the mess, the unpreparedness, the anxiety, the half-read parenting books, and the buckets of LEGOs, God doesn’t wait for us to be ready but comes to this messy wild world. 

As we sit in the mess and ick of this season, a season we hoped and wished would look different than it does… a season that feels less like expectant hope and more of the same drudgery, we can rejoice in the knowledge that God is here with us now, in the midst of it, in the mess of it. And just when we least expect it, God will surprise us with something completely new again. Amen. 

Happy New Year - Redeemer Episcopal Church

 Matthew 25:31-46

The Judgment of the Nations

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then 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; 35 for 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, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then 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? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And 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,[a] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

__________________

I originally preached this sermon to people in a specific place and time, but I believe that the Holy Spirit can (and DOES) work through time and space. So I hope this sermon might have a word for you today. You can read the sermon manuscript below, or you can watch the sermon (and the whole service) at the link here. 

This year has been a difficult one for everyone. As we rounded on October, I kept hearing people say that we are almost done! The year is almost over! It kind of made me sad that people wanted to skip over this wonderful joyous season of all of these holidays and go right into the next year. Especially when we all know that buying a new calendar and flipping things over to 2021 won’t REALLY solve all of our problems. 

But THEN I realized, for those of us in the Christian community, we don’t have to wait until January 1st to ring in the new year. This Sunday, Christ the King Sunday, is the very last Sunday of the church year. And there really is no better way to ring in the new year than declaring what we know to be true deep in the identity of our Christian hearts: Jesus Christ is King. 

Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, we hear about God who is a grand ruler. Sometimes seemingly even harsh and vengeful. In the Psalms we hear that the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. We have an incredible God who fashions the caverns of the earth and the heights of hills, our God who created the seas and the dry land. This is a mighty God who directs judges, armies, and destroys our enemies. For the ancient Hebrew people, this was not a bad God to worship. This was God of protection and devotion. 

We even hear about different kings throughout scripture who are not exactly kind and gentle people. God’s people had a lot of expectations about kings. It makes sense that the people of Jesus’ time expected the promised king to come as royalty, a fierce warrior, wearing a crown. 

And today, in the age of HBO series about stealing thrones, we mostly understand kings to be someone who rules with power, prestige, and often times an iron fist. I have watched a lot of tv shows about kings and queens and most of the shows involve intrigue, secrets, and most of the time lots of murder. All that is to say, we don’t often think of kings as being gentle, kind, and humble. 

So it is surprising when we encounter Jesus. It’s surprising for the people around Jesus too. Over and over again his life, Jesus demonstrates not only the wonders befitting the messiah, but he also surprises people with his humility and association with the least, the last, and lost of God’s people. 

When we encounter Jesus here, he is surprising his followers once again with his teaching about what it means to be a king, what it means to sit on the judgement seat of God. 

Jesus says that those who will be counted as righteous will not be those who achieve some kind of human success or conquer people in wars. They will not be the richest and most important people in society. No, Jesus says that there is a completely new understanding of who is righteous in God’s kingdom: 

They will be the ones who saw the least of the world and saw the hungry and gave them food, saw the ones who were thirsty and gave them something to drink, the ones who welcomed the stranger, the ones who clothe the naked, the ones who cared for the sick, and the ones who visited the prisoner. 

The most righteous, Jesus says, are those who do these things, because just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. The way we treat one another is the way we treat Jesus. And especially, it would seem, the way we treat the most vulnerable among us is how we treat Jesus. 

So on this day, when we declare that Jesus Christ is King, we declare a different kind of king, we declare a different kind of kingdom. One that our world will not recognize. One that treats the vulnerable and needy with care and dignity, one that values kindness and generosity more than power and strength. We know this kingdom to be one where the meek and the lowly are lifted up and the most powerful will be cast out and cast down. 

And it really is the perfect way to begin the new year, because next week we will begin the season of Advent. And we will anticipate the coming of this new king. We will hear about a king who is not born into royalty, among purple velvet ropes and golden crowns. Our king is one who comes as a tiny, vulnerable baby among farm animals outside of a inn that was too full to house his family. Our king is one who was born of a regular, obedient, young family, one who comes from a place called Nazareth. But I don’t want to spoil it for you… I know you’ve been waiting in eager anticipation of the next season all year. 

But what I will say, is that everything we might expect from a king is totally reversed and turned upside down with the arrival of Jesus. And it is going to take all year long to truly understand what that means for us and what we are called to do and be in response. Amen. 

The Parable of the Bags of Gold - Redeemer Episcopal Church

 Matthew 25:14-30

The Parable of the Talents

14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 

16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 

19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 

24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

____________________

This sermon was originally preached by me for a certain people in a certain time and place, but I believe that the Holy Spirit is able to transcend time and space, so I hope that it might be a blessing to you as well. You can read the sermon manuscript below or you can watch the service at the link here. 

God of ridiculous over-abundance and trust, remind us to come into your joy by participating in your kingdom work and spreading the good new of your abundance. Amen.

This week, I heard someone say that parables are like kaleidoscopes, those telescope looking things with the beautiful shapes inside that change when you turn it. A parable is always the same story, but depending on which way you turn it, depending on your perspective or your position at the time, the image changes into a different beautiful picture. I thought that was such a fantastic way of looking at parables. And I also wish I had discovered that image at the beginning of the time after Pentecost, instead of when we are almost done with talking about parables this year. 

As I began turning this parable over again and again in my mind this week, I looked at different translations and images that have been constructed about it. At the top of my study Bible, the title of this story is the “Parable of the Talents.” 

But in another translation, the title of the story is “Parable of the Bags of Gold.” 

Bags of Gold? I had never really understood a talent to be a bag of gold. I must have missed that somewhere in seminary accounting class. So then I turned the kaleidoscope again…I thought: exactly how much money was a talent? How big was this bag of gold? And why had it never occurred to me to ask that question before now? 

I think I sort of knew that a talent was a lot of money. I had heard enough sermons on this text before to know that a talent was at least pretty generous. Maybe a year’s worth of work? But when I looked it up, I was totally floored by the amount. 

The parable turned once again in my hands and a new beautiful image emerged. This story is not about investing your money properly. It was not even about stewardship. It’s not about hiding our talents or little light under a bushel like the children’s song. This parable was about the ridiculous over-abundance that God entrusts to us. 

You see, a talent is not just a lot of money, it’s a ridiculous amount of money. In today’s terms, one talent would be around $1.4 million. Or about 30 years worth of work for the average American. That’s a ridiculous amount of money to give to entrust to these slaves. 

But THAT’s not what the master gives to the slaves. To the second slave, he entrusts two talents— an entire lifetime worth of money. And to the first slave he entrusts FIVE talents— two and a half lifetimes worth of money. The amount of money that the master entrusts to his slaves is just absolutely ridiculous. It’s hyperbolic, it’s nonsensical, this amount of money is absolutely unfathomable to Jesus’ audience. 

So this parable couldn’t be about making smart investments. It wouldn’t make any sense for Jesus to use such ridiculous amounts of money if he was trying to give practical, literal advice to his disciples. Instead, he is emphasizing how much of an over-abundance this master has and is entrusting to his slaves’ care. Regardless of whether you are the first slave with five talents or the third slave with one talent, this amount of money is absolutely wild. Certainly too much to entrust to slaves. 

That is the real unbeliveable-ness of this parable. Not that this master has this much, but that he is willing to give it to his lowly slaves. The slaves are invited into his abundance and entrusted to participate in this abundance. Not only is there over-abundance in the amount of money, but the master gives them an over-abundance of time. "After a long time,” the text tells us, “the man came back to settle accounts with his slaves.” He gives them a long time to do what they will with the over-abundance, emphasizing the trust that he has in his slaves. 

And after he sees the resulting abundance of their faithfulness, he invites his slaves to share in his joy. Joy begets joy. Not because the master is now even more ridiculously wealthy than he was before, but because he put enormous trust in his slaves with his over-abundance and they were faithful.

This is the same over-abundance we see in the feast at this holy table, every single week as we commune together. It is the trust that God has in us when God entrusts us to invite everyone to the table, where all are welcome and all are fed, when God entrusts us to be a part of this over-abundance and this ridiculous generosity that defines our God. It is the over-abundance of a God who would come to earth as Christ Jesus to walk among us, heal us, teach us, and die for us. And we share in God’s joy as these gifts overflow and the abundance is doubled and tripled over and over again as it is outpoured on all of God’s people. 

But we also hear in this story that participation is necessary. The real tragedy of the third slave is not that he didn’t make any more money, but that he was not willing to participate in the joy of the master, he was not willing to go into the world with the riches and engage with them, risking losing the abundance or being denied a part of the community. 

And the point is not that God throws someone out of this community for not participating in this over-abundance, but that— unless we fully engage in what God has spread before us— we will not be able to fully understand and take part in God’s joy. 

Until we fully join in with this community, this banquet that is set before us— we will not be able to fully experience the joy of God and we won’t be able to share in God’s abundance. This is one of the reasons that God has given us the gift of community, why God has given us the gift of worship every week— so that we might participate in the life of the church and be nourished by God’s abundance. So that we might be reminded of God’s goodness and mercy and then go out into the world and share that abundance with all the world. 

So come to the table, be fed by God’s over-abundance that God has poured out for us and entrusted to us, and watch it multiply as we go out into the world in God’s joy. Amen.