Grace Episcopal Church

May 9th, 2021 6 Domingo de Pascua. Powered by Restream https://restream.io/ One License# 734158

May 9th, 2021 Sixth Sunday of Easter Powered by Restream https://restream.io/ One License# 734158

Psalm 75, 76; Wisdom 19:1-8,18-22; Rom. 15:1-13; Luke 9:1-17 There's something almost Greek about Wisdom 19:4, "the fate they deserved drew them along and made them forget what had happened, so that they might pile up punishments deserved but not yet apparent." That sense of destiny, of fate, haunting us, harrying us: it's not really very Hebrew. But it is built into our culture due to centuries of reading Oedipus and Co. And the author of this apocryphal book was, remember, ...writing in Greek in the Greek metropolis of Alexandria Egypt. He, like us, was a cultural hybrid. One of the things God promises us is liberty. That means that, for those who choose life more abundant, the fear of destiny and our just deserts that keep us forever looking over our shouldering, expecting the worst to jump out and catch us unawares, need no longer haunt us. Sure, the world has its tricks and trials to throw at us: I certainly wouldn't have predicted this is how I'd spend my spring, sleeping 18 hours a day, drinking my dinners through a tube to my tummy, and less edifying things not suitable for publication. But for a Christian, such tricks and trials are less about comeuppance than they are about opportunity. Opportunity to overcome, to accept, to find blessing, to work good, even in dark places. It's not a burden of history come crashing down upon our deserving heads, but a chance to lift our cross a bit, to pray that our pain might stand as surety for the good of another. Vicarious suffering, that's one name the ancient Church gave the attitude: just as the righteous servant in Isaiah suffered not for any wrongdoing of his own and yet transformed it into the good of others, so our own moments of pain can be transformative. Or, if one prefers, we can simply mope about claiming it's all a harsh and unfeeling universe, justly or otherwise afflicting us, waiting for happy days to wreck and smiles to punch. I don't know about you, but I think the liberty and transformation sounds more attractive. But hey, if being pursued by harpies and guilt are your thing, rest assured that our buddy the author of Wisdom of Solomon knows where you're coming from.

Psalm 106:1-18; Wisdom 16:15-17:1; Rom. 14:13-23; Luke 8:40-56 "Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble." Some manuscripts add these words on the end, "or become offended, or be weakened." I wonder how we might apply these words to our daily lives. The other day, I was buying gas at a local gas station--because I've been driving to Joplin ev...Continue reading

Psalm 70, 71; Wisdom 14:27-15:3; Rom. 14:1-12; Luke 8:26-39 The tomb of the Germani family, Gadara (Umm Qais) in modern Jordan, 2nd c AD, complete with functioning stone door on stone hinge--the man in this story would have lived in one of these rock-cut tombs Why do the demons hurt this man? The story never says he did anything wrong, or asked them in, or dabbled in the dark arts. He's an innocent victim. Why do the demons, on their way out, latch onto a herd of pigs and hur...t them? Sure, Jews eschew pork--but Gadara, or Gergesa, or Gerasa, whichever town it is, they're all Greek towns. Jews also reject the eating of camel and rabbit and lobsters, not to mention pepperoni pizza and cheeseburgers, and the demons don't take down a Pizza Hut and a flock of camels. Looks to me like he, and the pigs, were in the way and defenseless. They were unprepared for the worst to happen to them. People look for reasons "why" these terrible things happen. I believe the answer is that evil causes hurt. Random, unpredictable hurt. It's what evil does. It latches onto things to break. That's the nature of evil. And if you stymie it in one area, it will try to find another area in which to play. I've seen it, in school yard bullies who have been found out and are watched on the playground, but who start to mistreat puppies at home or discover how easy it is to destroy someone online. You can't just lock evil out of one place: you have to eradicate it. So why doesn't Jesus just "poof" them away? Because the possessed man doesn't ask to be cleansed! Matthew, Mark or Luke, in all of them Jesus and the demons have a conversation, but the man himself just asks Jesus to leave him alone and gives him the demonic gang colors, "Legion." Because the man is unwilling to be freed of evil, Jesus won't force that on him. He does, however, like the hall monitor at the elementary school, seek to limit the damage the man can do. He restrains evil in its ability to cause harm. If we are unwilling to do the hard work to become holy, the best we can be is neutral. Which is better than the alternative, of course. It limits the damage evil does through me, and may even mitigate evil in the overall, since it has to go looking for a new host before working its will. That slows the process. And yes, I know I'm anthropomorphizing. It's a respectable, ancient tradition in theology, sue me. But "I didn't hurt anyone" isn't the same as "I transformed the world into the image and likeness of the Garden it was intended to be while growing into the image and likeness of the Triune God Who created me."

Psalm 72; Wisdom 13:1-9; Rom 13:1-14; Luke 8:16-25 Paul today dabbles in politics. Let me rephrase that: the Bible is always dabbling in politics. Today, Paul dives in headlong. A Christian, says Paul, owes the governing authorities obedience, taxes, honor and respect. This is not done because we should fear the governing authorities, but a matter of conscience. Sure, there are times when the governing authorities may tell us we have to violate God's laws--remember Daniel, r...efusing quietly to bow down to the statue, but still doing his job, still praying for the idolatrous king, still speaking politely to him? He did everything as loyally as possible except that one thing he could not in good conscience do, and was willing to be fed to lions if that was the cost of keeping his integrity. When we are told we must do something that is forbidden to Christians, we can resist those commands. It is even possible that there are some regimes--one thinks here of Diocletian's Rome, Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, or persecutorial Sudan--where the demands are so many and so pervasive that a Christian can legitimately refuse to comply with any demand made of them. Of course, in that case, like the early martyrs, they need to be prepared to pay a very high price. But not every stupid policy with which I disagree is a violation of my conscience. I think taxes are too high, on everyone--that is to say, I don't understand how it's just to tax families, who are citizens, more than we charge corporations, which are legal fictions. (A family earning $40,126 has a 22% income tax rate, a corporation a 21% rate.) I don't think that's fair, but I also don't think that the Bible and Creeds address tax rates. So I can protest based on my beliefs, I can write letters and raise placards and vote my beliefs, but I really can't override Paul's dicta and start insulting and deriding the authorities just because I disagree with them ("honor," "respect"). I shouldn't try to evade my taxes or my duties ("pay," "be subject"). I shouldn't let my rights as a citizen to disagree get in the way of my obligations as a Christian to do what the Bible tells me. What are the issues in modern civic life which are really and honestly faith-breakers? If we're honest, not that many. Most of what we fight about politically is on the level of policy or "culture wars." It is, in other words, about elevating my opinions--which I firmly believe are right and good and wholesome and smart, or else I'd ditch them in favor of a new opinion!--to the level of Scripture. And friends, no matter how right and good and wholesome and smart my opinions are, they are not divinely inspired. Like, you know, Paul, who's busy telling us today to honor, respect, pay up and be subject to the law of the land as we find it today.