god promises "never again": 1st of lent

i primarily preached on genesis 9:8-17.

the holy gospel according to mark (1:9-15)

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee

       and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

              ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water,

                     he saw the heavens torn apart

                     and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.

                     ¹¹And a voice came from heaven,

                            “You are my Son, the Beloved;

                                   with you I am well pleased.”

                     ¹²And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness.

                            ¹³He was in the wilderness forty days,

                                   tempted by Satan;

                                   and he was with the wild beasts;

                                   and the angels waited on him.

¹⁴Now after John was arrested,

       Jesus came to Galilee,

              proclaiming the good news of God,

                     ¹⁵and saying,

                            “The time is fulfilled,

                                   and the dominion of God has come near;

                                          repent,

                                          and believe in the good news.”

The gospel of the lord.

-----

our readings this lent focus on covenants made by god with god’s people.  by and large, covenants of mutuality.  today, after a long, smelly time in the ark with the animals and immediate family, they are finally free.  i can’t imagine the emotions running through noah and his family to be back on dry ground with fresh air.  and before completely letting them loose, god makes a very wordy and repetitive promise to the noah family, every living creature with them, and their descendants.

this covenant is not quite like the others we will explore or even the others made at that time.  old testament scholar, cameron howard points out that covenants in that time typically involved commitments from both parties—usually initiated by one—about how to exist in relationship.  most of the time it was a conquering nation creating a covenant with a conquered one, where one side had the power and the other did not, and so the covenants clearly benefited one over the other, but both were able to agree on them. 

but today’s covenant is god making unconditional promises with noah’s whole family, “and your descendants after you, ¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.” 

and god expects nothing in return.

before the flood, humanity was not living up to its potential.  humans were acting with disregard for god and others.  through the flood, the old things have been washed away.  the sins committed, the pains and hurts of days gone by, and god chooses to be again in relationship with humanity.  sometimes we talk about the god of the old testament as a very different god from the one we know in jesus.  that god is vengeful and powerful and even violent.

but when we talk about god that way, we miss out on the god who is one and the same throughout the bible.  god is certainly multifaceted, but here in genesis, we encounter a god who, though god could choose again to destroy the world, instead chooses to limit those powers in order to be in relationship with us.  god chooses to never again destroy us or all of creation, but rather to be with us in love, no matter what humanity does. 

in the flood that washes away the inhabitants of the earth, making room for the new life that god is bringing forth, god washes away the sin of the past, yes, but not the memory of it.  in fact, god places a bow in the clouds—the rainbow—as a reminder of what god had done.  god did not want to forget the pain and sorrow of the flood.  god needs to remember, god needs the reminder to make sure it never happens again.

there is a saying that i don’t really like at all.  it is “forgive and forget.”  i don’t like it, because it doesn’t really work.  we continue to experience violence, pain, and hurt because we don’t remember the lessons of history.  when i was coming back from my year in slovakia, my dad and i spent two weeks in germany.  while we were there, we went to many places important to martin luther and the reformation and we went to many places important during the holocaust.  the two were more related than you might think.

at dachau concentration camp, there are several art memorials at the international monument by the roll call area of the camp.  one of the tour guides for dachau would end their tour at the international monument and after looking at several artists’ sculptures, they would end at an urn with the ashes of an unknown prisoner, behind which read the words “never again” in yiddish, french, english, german, and russian.  when the tour guide got there, they would simply say, “this is a lie.” 

we as humans have forgotten the horrors of the holocaust.  genocide has happened many times before and since the holocaust.  from the native peoples who were systematically killed on this land to more recent horrors.  j was telling me just last week about a book he read about the genocide in rwanda.  we forget what has happened—some people even deny that the holocaust happened at all.  we forget the true horrors of it, and so it happens again, and again.

forgiveness is about releasing the pain and anger that control us, about separating ourselves from the evil that has happened.  it is not about pretending that it never happened or allowing it to continue happening to us.  it is not about forgetting our past.  god even goes so far as to provide a reminder of the flood—not for us, although we do use it to remember god’s promises of love—but for god’s own self!  when god places a bow in the sky—a thing of beauty and wonder—it is a reminder of the pain and anger, and a commitment to never do it again.

a reminder of the love that is greater than the anger and deeper than the pain.  the rainbow is a reminder of all the diversity god has created in people, animals, plants—all of creation.  it is a reminder to god and to us that god is choosing to be faithful to us and promises to be our god of love forever.

these promises of god are made in exchange for nothing.  no matter how much we might mess up, god chooses to love us and be with us.  even when we might wish to wipe everything out and start over, god instead chooses to love us where we’re at.  we still face consequences for our actions—violence and wars still kill people and damage the environment, threatening all living creatures.  genocides still happen.

instead of wiping us all out and starting over, god remembers god’s promise and honors our free will.  god comes to us again and again in love in the waters that put to death our sin while bringing us alive to new life in christ.  life in the wilderness with jesus and the wild beasts, and life in this community of faith.  life with reminders of pain in the hope and promise of the One who fulfills all promises, the One whose “never again” truly means “never again.”  that is the god who love us; the god who promises life for us; the god who claims us in the waters of baptism and every day since.

amen.

An open letter to LGBTQ communities,

Dear us,

In the last week a variety of people in my denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, have written open letters to us.  This is not the first time.  To my knowledge the first one was from former Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, who shared a video message to us for the It Gets Better Campaign several years ago.  Recently, on February 10^th, Bishop Michael Rinehart, of the Gulf Coast Synod of the ELCA, wrote a letterof welcome to us from my “imperfect church.”  In response Lutheran Core wrote a letter making the ELCA welcome articulated by Bp. Rinehart a bit murky.

It is true that we are not of one mind in the ELCA.  And it is true that we in LGBTQ communities are welcome in the ELCA.  As a diverse Lutheran denomination, there are some who believe that we are sinful.  In my experience, there are many more who know all of who we are to be: beloved children of a God who knows our whole selves.  This is close to the message that Rev. Clint Schnekloth shared in his letter, taking Bp. Rinehart’s welcome a step further to say that not only are we welcome, but we are also beautiful.

This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to standtogether with other interfaith leaders from throughout Utah, where I serve as pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church, to support SB100.  SB100 would prohibit housing and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

I took this stand for two reasons:

1-In Matthew 25, Jesus says, “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, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me.”  When we allow discrimination in housing and employment, we leave Jesus without food, water, a place to rest, clothing, or healthcare, and I definitely don’t want to do that.

2-On a personal level, I don’t want to be evicted from my apartment because of who I am or whom I love.

At the press conference, several people spoke about LGBTQ Utahns and LGBTQ citizens and the discrimination they face and the protections they would receive, but what they forgot to say is: they are us. 

I am grateful for the straight leaders in our church who are brave enough to stand up and extend both welcome and affirmation to us.  As a pastor who identifies within the LGBTQ community, and as a person who has been a part of the ELCA for as long as I can remember, I also feel called to contribute my own words.

It is not just that you are welcome and you are beautiful, it’s that we are welcome and we are beautiful.  In Psalm 139 the psalmist declares, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  We are beautiful, we are welcome, we are beloved children of God, fearfully and wonderfully made, and we are a gift to the church.

The experiences we have had of exclusion and the ways that we don’t fit the normative expectations of society are gifts in bringing our church closer to a fuller image of God.  Those experiences and the intersecting aspects of our identities can give us greater insight in welcoming others who may not look, speak, move, or think like us and who also help us all make manifest the reign of God and who bring us all closer to the full image of God, the whole body of Christ.

Sincerely,

One of us

Rev. Emily E. Ewing

*While I use LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning), I also recognize, as one whose letter is often left out, that this is an incomplete list.  There are many letters and labels who are not written in this acronym.  Forgive me.  Please know that I use this in part so straight folks can understand, if they are eavesdropping on this letter, and in part because I do not know how to incorporate all of our many labels without offending some of us.

jesus brings new life: a spoiler for transfiguration sunday

the holy gospel according to mark (9:2-9)

²Six days later,

       Jesus took with him Peter and James and John,

              and led them up a high mountain apart,

                     by themselves.

       And he was transfigured before them,

              ³and his clothes became dazzling white,

                     such as no one on earth could bleach them.

              ⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses,

                     who were talking with Jesus.

       ⁵Then Peter said to Jesus,

              “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here;

                     let us make three dwellings,

                            one for you,

                            one for Moses,

                            and one for Elijah.”

       ⁶He did not know what to say,

              for they were terrified.

       ⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them,

              and from the cloud there came a voice,

                     “This is my Son, the Beloved;

                            listen to him!”

              ⁸Suddenly when they looked around,

                     they saw no one with them any more,

                            but only Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain,

       he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen,

              until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

the gospel of the lord.

-----

today’s gospel is, as they say, a spoiler.  about halfway through the gospel of mark, as jesus turns toward jerusalem, he pauses to go for a hike—reconnect with nature and with god.  so, up the mountain they go, into the blinding light of the transfiguration.

jesus doesn’t take everyone with him.  he takes only a small, yet interesting group.  peter has just proclaimed jesus the messiah in one breath and rebuked jesus for teaching them “that the son of man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” in the next breath.  jesus responds to this rebuke by the one who has little to no filter, for better and for worse, with his own rebuke.  jesus rebukes peter, calling him satan and then affirming that following jesus does indeed means taking up the cross, because that is what is to come.

so jesus invites this peter and james and john, brothers who, with all the disciples later in this same chapter, argue about who is the greatest.  then, in the next chapter of mark, having not learned the lesson, james and john ask jesus if they can “sit, one at his right hand and one at his left, in his glory” (10:37), totally missing that jesus’ glory—the ultimate display of god’s power—is the cross, not a throne of gold, might, or majesty.

peter, james, and john are the epitome of the disciples’ lack of understanding of what jesus is about.  and so, perhaps they’re the perfect choice for jesus on this mountain top experience, and up they go.

when they get to the top, jesus is transfigured “and there appear to them elijah with moses.”  elijah was a prophet well-known for his commitment to god and prophetic ministry to the israelites, and moses was the leader whose commitment to following god’s call led god’s people out of the land of egypt, out of the land of slavery. 

together these two give context for jesus’ ministry and mission.  jesus fulfills what they have begun—rescuing those trapped in the economic system of the day and proclaiming boldly the good news of god’s grace—love and forgiveness—in the face of a community that wants to keep the rules in place that guard their power.

elijah and moses give jesus’ history as the transfiguration itself gives his future—pointing to the resurrection to come.  and into the midst of it, we hear god’s voice, echoing back to jesus’ baptism and the tearing of the heavens.  god’s voice says, “this is my son, the beloved; listen to him!”  listen to him as he begins to foretell his torture and death on the cross.  listen to him, peter, as he shows you what lies ahead.  listen to him, james and john, as he teaches you what power means: giving your life for another.

peter, james and john still don’t get it, even with god’s voice echoing in their ears.  yet, if they don’t get it at all, then maybe it’s ok when we don’t either.  maybe it’s ok when we cannot see to understand for the brightness that is blinding us.  maybe it’s ok when we mess up our hospitality, offering to build tents for moses and elijah, and totally missing the point of jesus’ connection to the prophets and leaders of the past.

and so, just as we echo back to the prophets of old and to the tearing open of the heavens at jesus’ baptism, we also flash ahead to good friday and the tearing of the temple curtain, that there is no longer a barrier between humanity and our god.  jesus comes to us and is with us. 

death does not win!

this week in confirmation we talked about communion.  there are many ways that communion can be understood and misunderstood, but one of the things we talked about was that the important things we trust and have some grasp on when we come to receive communion are jesus’ words “for you” and “for the forgiveness of sin.”  that’s what communion is all about.  it is a sacrament—a means of grace—a way god expresses love to us and forgives our sins.  and it is for you.  for me.  for each of us—the body and blood of christ for us.

jesus comes to us here on sunday mornings—a space and time apart from the busy-ness of our lives—feeding us with his body and blood.  but, like peter, james, and john, however beautiful, safe, and yes, even occasionally terrifying, it can be here, we are not meant to stay here.  we are not meant to live our lives within the confines of these walls.  in lutheranism 101, our last session is: vocation.  here’s your spoiler: everybody’s got at least one!  and for most people, their vocations are things they do out in the world, informed by what we participate in here in this place, but ultimately outside the confines of this place.

peter, james, and john go down the mountain, continuing to misunderstand jesus, and yet jesus sticks with them.  jesus continues to assure them that following him is not easy, that jesus is stirring up the way things are and people are getting nervous and angry.  jesus doesn’t shy away from the truth that he’s headed to the cross and even as the disciples continue to misunderstand, he sticks with them.

jesus never gives up on his disciples, even to the end and beyond.  he is faithful to god and loyal to his disciples, calling them back to god’s purpose for them.  jesus assures them of the crucifixion and of the true spoiler: the resurrection.  jesus gives away the ending for the confused disciples and for us.

it’ll get tough, he tells us, but i’m still with you.  when it gets tough, that means it’s not over yet.  when it gets to the point where it’s the worst, that’s when the resurrection comes.  no matter how tough it gets, jesus always comes to us, in bread and wine, in water, and in our lives.  and jesus brings the ultimate spoiler: resurrection.  new life for you, for me, for everyone.

thanks be to god.

jesus' authority rebukes the unclean spirits possessing us: 4th after epiphany

i also reference the second reading, 1 corinthians 8:1-13

the holy gospel according to mark (1:21-28)

²¹Jesus and the disciples went to Capernaum;

       and when the sabbath came,

              [Jesus] entered the synagogue and taught.

       ²²They were astounded at his teaching,

              for he taught them as one having authority,

                     and not as the scribes.

       ²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,

       ²⁴and he cried out,

              “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

                     Have you come to destroy us?

                            I know who you are,

                                   the Holy One of God.”

       ²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying,

              “Be silent, and come out of him!”

                     ²⁶And the unclean spirit,

                            convulsing him and crying with a loud voice,

                                   came out of him.

       ²⁷They were all amazed,

              and they kept on asking one another,

                     “What is this?

                     A new teaching—with authority!

                            He commands even the unclean spirits,

                                   and they obey him.”

²⁸At once his fame began to spread

       throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

the gospel of the lord.

-----

our passage today comes right after jesus calls andrew, peter, nathanael, and john.  having called them to fish for people, they are off to capernaum for worship.  jesus is full of authority that the scribes apparently don’t have.  jesus, the anointed christ, son of god, preaching and teaching—spokesperson of god—stirs things up, as he is apt to do.

in fact jesus, already showing up the scribes, is just beginning his ministry, a ministry that mark clearly shows, will involve conflict.  the scribes, you see, have some power, some authority in the community—and they’re pretty comfortable with that power.  and then jesus comes and even the unclean spirits are getting nervous.

the man with an unclean spirit shows up while jesus is teaching in the synagogue, and confronts him, naming jesus as “the holy one of god.”  now, let’s be clear, names have power.  to name someone, to know their name and be able to use it against or over them, was a sign of power in those days.  the unclean spirit challenges jesus, recognizing that jesus threatens its status quo, and what does jesus do?

he rebukes it!  one of my favorite things.  jesus calls out the unclean spirit and sends it on its way.

you know, i don’t think we rebuke things enough these days.  you see, to rebuke something, you’ve got to know the evil in it, and we don’t much like to talk about evil, but there is evil in this world.  sometimes it’s sneaky, sometimes it’s obvious, but either way it is in this world.  to rebuke it, you’ve got to know it and you’ve got to know that god’s got a different plan.

martin luther used to rebuke satan all the time—i even saw the spot where he threw an inkwell at satan when he was translating the bible into german, all cooped up in wartburg castle!  and his favorite way to drive away the devil was to proclaim:  i have been baptized, i am a christian.

what if we went back to rebuking things?

these past weeks, i’ve been struggling with our environment out here in utah.  the inversion has been going pretty strong—as if the pollution has possessed our whole valley.  yesterday about 3,000 of us gathered at the capitol, with others gathering in other places throughout the state, to rally for clean air. 

throughout the new testament, especially the gospels, possession by an unclean spirit is fairly common.  unclean spirits possess a person and, as happens in today’s gospel, jesus comes along and denies the demons the home they are possessing.  this doesn’t necessarily mean the demons are destroyed, but they are now denied a place to settle in.

jesus has the authority in this interaction.  he is the one who claims the man possessed by an unclean spirit.  jesus claims the man and denies evil a resting place in his good creation.  this week the inversion has been possessing me.  the clouds hang too low in the sky, the mountains disappear behind the smog, and i even got sick!  i never get sick and already twice this year i’ve been sick!

i feel possessed, as if the inversion is starting to seep into my body.  i wonder where the sun is, where the stars are at night, what happened to the snow of winter, where is my hope?  but then the rains come.  jesus breaks in and those baptismal waters flow, clearing the air, bringing the light of the sun and moon and stars back into my little corner of the world. 

i hear the inversion, with the man’s unclean spirit, in jest or in utter terror—i’m not sure which—say “have you come to destroy us?”  and jesus silences them, evicting the unclean spirits from my valley and from my heart.

the unclean spirits have no resting place here.  they may come, but jesus signs their notice of eviction, guarding the space for us.

yesterday we rebuked the inversion.  we declared it unwelcome and unwanted.  pastor david nichols from mt. tabor lutheran church spoke and evoked deuteronomy, a few chapters aftertoday’s reading, after moses has laid out for the israelites their options in covenanting with the lord.  moses says, “see, i have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. … choose life so that you and your descendants may live.” 

pastor david encouraged us all to “choose life.”  choose life for ourselves; choose life for our descendants; and choose life for all of creation.  and we did and we will continue to do it every day as we continue to rebuke the inversion and the pollution that contaminates this place.  there are still traces of it here and there, but it doesn’t have the power it used to have—at least not over me. 

i have been baptized, i am a christian.  god’s creation is about renewal and rebirth, healing and wholeness.  god’s creation is good.  and i am part of that creation.  you are part of that creation.  and it is in the name of “the one lord, jesus christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist,” that we can rebuke the inversion, the forces of pollution and contamination in the world.

we renounce them in our baptismal rite—renouncing “the devil and all the forces that defy god, the powers of this world that rebel against god, and the ways of sin that draw us from god.”  we can always renounce evil—a reminder of our baptism.

renouncing the forces of evil and the ways of sin that draw us from god changes our direction and sets us on god’s path.  renouncing that which harms, helps us to affirm and live into the “love [that] builds up.”  rebuking specific evils keeps us alert to how we can lose sight of god.  rebuking the pollution that blocks the sunlight brings me back to the true light, which is christ.  the brightness that highlights our diverse colors and hues, that celebrates life in creation.

jesus’ authority—jesus’ power—is the authority to displace evil, the authority to remove its resting place and to break its hold on us.  jesus’ authority challenges the powerful and the power of evil.  it claims our lives, our lungs, our whole beings for god.  in the waters of baptism we are claimed by the Ultimate Authority.  each day we die to sin and the forces of evil and each day we are raised, justified, to life in christ.

god’s grace pours out on us like the rain and snow that cleanse the air of this inversion, that make it easier to breathe.  it is not an easy thing, dying and rising each day, but it is the way god works.  when there is death, god brings new life, hope, resurrection.

jesus’ power and authority calls us and claims us and leads us into a life of love and discipleship.  we are redeemed.  creation is redeemed.  and we are all free to live in the loving grace of our Ultimate Authority, jesus the christ.

thanks be to god.