The second reading for this sermon is Colossians2:6-19.
The gospel reading for this sermon is Luke 11:1-13.
A
reading from Genesis (18:20-32).
20Then
the Lord said,
“How
great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah
and
how very grave their sin!
21I
must go down and see whether they have done altogether
according
to the outcry that has come to me;
and
if not, I will know.”
22So
the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom,
while
Abraham remained standing before the Lord.
23Then
Abraham came near and said,
“Will you indeed sweep away the righteous
with the wicked?
24Suppose
there are fifty righteous within the city;
will
you then sweep away the place
and
not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to
slay the righteous with the wicked,
so
that the righteous fare as the wicked!
Far
be that from you!
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do
what is just?”
26And
the Lord said,
“If
I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city,
I
will forgive the whole place for their sake.”
27Abraham
answered,
“Let
me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord,
I
who am but dust and ashes.
28Suppose
five of the fifty righteous are lacking?
Will
you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
And
the Lord said,
“I
will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29Again
he spoke to the Lord,
“Suppose
forty are found there.”
The
Lord answered,
“For
the sake of forty I will not do it.”
30Then
Abraham said,
“Oh
do not let the Lord be angry if I speak.
Suppose
thirty are found there.”
The
Lord answered,
“I
will not do it, if I find thirty there.”
31He
said,
“Let
me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord.
Suppose
twenty are found there.”
The
Lord answered,
“For
the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.”
32Then
Abraham said,
“Oh
do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more.
Suppose
ten are found there.”
The
Lord answered,
“For
the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
Word of God, Word of Life.
-----
My
mantra of late has been “How much more?”
In
an article I read this week, Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis draws the connection
between the many connotations of that particular question and this week in the
lectionary and in our country and even in the community.
I
have spent these weeks and months asking “How much more?” How much more violence against already
vulnerable communities? How much
more violence against people of color, against transgender and queer people,
against civilians in Syria, France, Germany, and Afghanistan?
How
much more violence and the need to decry it? Is it not obvious enough that I believe violence is wrong
both when it is directed at civilians and also when directed at police—that it
is wrong in any circumstance? How
much more work do I need to do to address my own power and privilege as a white
person when racism is increasingly obvious all around me?
How
much more news of the struggles and deaths migrants face crossing rivers and
deserts in the hope of hope and opportunity? How much more will be revealed about Texas’ mass graves, further dehumanizing those who have risked and lost their lives for the
desperate and dangerous opportunity of life in this country?
How
much more violent and demeaning rhetoric chanted and shouted against beloved
children of God and sexist and racist comments and backlash used in place of
compassionate engagement in our political discourse?
How
much more despair will come before it is truly too much? How much more will I name the violence
and despair? How much more news of
new and unexpected deaths and illnesses in our community? How much more heat and humidity can I
handle before I melt? And then how
much more rain before we get washed away?
I
must admit, I feel a bit like Abraham, having discovered the strangers for whom
he’s providing hospitality are really angels and God has come to check up on
Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham’s
nephew Lot lives in Sodom and Abraham must have heard the rumors of, as Rev. Dr. Samuel Gere points out, their utter lack of hospitality—one of the worst
offenses in this desert culture— “Greed. Theft. Deception. Disregard of the
poor and the orphan. … [and] mercilessness.”
Abraham
is not unaware of the wickedness, and perhaps a part of him, like a part of me,
wishes God would just wipe us all out and start over. Try again with humanity, just like the flood. But after the flood God promised no
more. God promised never to wipe
out all of humanity like that again.
And
so there is the other part of me that wonders with Abraham how much more the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah will also destroy the righteous—especially his
nephew? How much more could the
presence of the righteous save the wicked—the rest of us?
God
has already covenanted to be in relationship with Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and
their descendants, so Abraham, relying on that covenantal relationship with
God, tests its boundaries.
“How
much is enough?” he asks God. “Are
50 righteous people enough to save them all?” “Sure,” God responds.
And as God consents, Abraham keeps pushing, “What about 45? 40? 30? 20?”
Abraham
gets God all the way down to 10. 10
righteous is enough to spare the whole place. God, ever willing to show mercy, agrees without any
pushback, begging the question: “How much more could Abraham have asked of
God?” Could he have gone down to 5
or even one? How much more
merciful is God than we, with Abraham, can even fathom?
When
I am caught up in my fits of despair and lament, I am reminded of this other
side of the “How much more?”s. As
M reminded us this morning, it’s not just “How much more violence, sadness,
anger, and despair?” It’s also
“How much more love, compassion, justice, and mercy?”
Our
God is a God of mercy and grace.
How much more love does God have for each of us than we could
understand? How much more will
God’s reign come to us—is God’s reign already with us—as we join together to
declare that #BlackLivesMatter, that violence is not the way of Christ, that
welcome of strangers and others is where God calls us?
How much more richness is in our lives
and our churches because of our partnerships with churches and people around
the world? How much more do we
experience a fuller body of Christ because our worshiping community cuts across
denominational boundaries?
How
much more life is possible because, as we read in Colossians, “in Christ the whole fullness of deity
dwells bodily”? How much more
power is in love than in hatred and violence because God died on the cross and
then triumphed over death? How
much more generous is our God who gives life to us and all of creation?
How
much more love is possible when we grow in our relationships with others? How much more celebration is possible
when we learn about another’s culture and life? When we listen to their stories and play games
together? How much more joy is
possible when we share food with others and enjoy a picnic with those who work
locally on farms and at the dairies?
How
much more rain do we need to remind us of the way God’s love pours down on us
in baptism? How much more do we
experience the in-breaking of God’s reign when we live out of God’s love? When we struggle through laughter and
embarrassment to communicate with others?
When we speak out, contacting our representatives about issues of
injustice and violence in our country?
Someone
posted a video on Facebook the other day, which made me wonder: if we paid more
attention to and learned from the children in our midst, how much more love would
be possible? When we are the friend at midnight and
give in to the persistence of strangers, neighbors, and children, how much more
has God already poured out love on them and us?
How
much more love is in the world because our Source of Being is Love? How much more
hope do I have for the world, buried deepest in my heart, because there are righteous in the world—because the
Holy Spirit is at work? And ultimately, as Jesus asks, “how much more will the heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to those who ask”?
So
much more.
Thanks
be to God.
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