Reconciling Sunday

This sermon manuscript is from Trinity las Americas United Methodist Church's Reconciling Sunday worship service.  The congregation worships bilingually, so the manuscript is bilingual with Spanish in bold and English in italics.  The sermon came from the queeries I did this week.

Mateo 5:21-37

²¹ »Ustedes han oído que a sus antepasados se les dijo: “No mates, pues el que mate será condenado.” ²² Pero yo les digo que cualquiera que se enoje con su hermano, será condenado. Al que insulte a su hermano, lo juzgará la Junta Suprema; y el que injurie gravemente a su hermano, se hará merecedor del fuego del infierno.

²³ »Así que, si al llevar tu ofrenda al altar te acuerdas de que tu hermano tiene algo contra ti, ²⁴ deja tu ofrenda allí mismo delante del altar y ve primero a ponerte en paz con tu hermano. Entonces podrás volver al altar y presentar tu ofrenda.

²⁵ »Si alguien te lleva a juicio, ponte de acuerdo con él mientras todavía estés a tiempo, para que no te entregue al juez; porque si no, el juez te entregará a los guardias y te meterán en la cárcel. ²⁶ Te aseguro que no saldrás de allí hasta que pagues el último centavo.

²⁷ »Ustedes han oído que se dijo: “No cometas adulterio.” ²⁸ Pero yo les digo que cualquiera que mira con deseo a una mujer, ya cometió adulterio con ella en su corazón.

²⁹ »Así pues, si tu ojo derecho te hace caer en pecado, sácatelo y échalo lejos de ti; es mejor que pierdas una sola parte de tu cuerpo, y no que todo tu cuerpo sea arrojado al infierno. ³⁰ Y si tu mano derecha te hace caer en pecado, córtatela y échala lejos de ti; es mejor que pierdas una sola parte de tu cuerpo, y no que todo tu cuerpo vaya a parar al infierno.

³¹ »También se dijo: “Cualquiera que se divorcia de su esposa, debe darle un certificado de divorcio.” ³² Pero yo les digo que si un hombre se divorcia de su esposa, a no ser en el caso de una unión ilegal, la pone en peligro de cometer adulterio. Y el que se casa con una divorciada, comete adulterio.

³³ »También han oído ustedes que se dijo a los antepasados: “No dejes de cumplir lo que hayas ofrecido al Señor bajo juramento.” ³⁴ Pero yo les digo: simplemente, no juren. No juren por el cielo, porque es el trono de Dios; ³⁵ ni por la tierra, porque es el estrado de sus pies; ni por Jerusalén, porque es la ciudad del gran Rey. ³⁶ Ni juren ustedes tampoco por su propia cabeza, porque no pueden hacer blanco o negro ni un solo cabello. ³⁷ Baste con decir claramente “sí” o “no”. Pues lo que se aparta de esto, es malo.

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Matthew 5:21-37
²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that if you are angry with a sibling, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your sibling has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your sibling, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. ³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Becoming One.’ ³⁴But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is her footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great Queen. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

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La lectura de hoy es un poco difícil de oír.  Jesús tiene palabras fuertes para las personas con quien habla, pero no suena lo mismo por cada uno de nosotres.  Esta hablando en el sermón del monte a sus discípulos y a la multitud, pero la manera en que habla en esta parte significa que está hablando con personas con poder en su comunidad.  Está hablando sobre el poder—en la sociedad y,        sobre otras personas—y cómo restringirlo.

Today's reading is a little hard to hear. Jesus has strong words for the people he’s talking to, but they don’t resonate the same for each of us. He’s speaking in the sermon on the mount to his disciples among a growing crowd, but the way he speaks in this part means that he’s talking to people with power in his community. He is talking about power — in society and over other people — and how to restrict it.

As in many marginalized communities, the queer community knows a lot about power. In the sixties and seventies, when Marsha P. Johnson and Silvia Rivera led the resistance at Stonewall, they knew that the police and immoral laws against trans and queer people had the power in society. Today, while we hear of the laws appearing in Iowa and other states against trans youth in particular, we know where the power is.

Como en muchas comunidades marginalizadas, la comunidad queer conoce mucho sobre el poder.  En los años sesenta y setenta, cuando Marsha P. Johnson y Silvia Rivera dirigieron la resistencia de Stonewall, sabían que la policía y las leyes inmorales contra personas trans y queer tenían el poder en la sociedad.  Hoy en día, mientras que oímos de las leyes apareciendo en Iowa y otros estados contra jóvenes trans, sabemos dónde está el poder. 

Cada año cuando leemos los nombres y reconocemos las vidas tomadas de las personas trans, la mayoría de quienes son mujeres trans de minoría, sabemos dónde está el poder.  Este poder de matar y sacar derechos es poder individual y aun más es poder corporal.  Ese poder, en el sentido estructural, reside con personas que no son marginalizadas y se colocan en instituciones y organizaciones que ayudan a ciertas personas y oprimen a otras.

Every year when we read the names and recognize the lives taken of trans people, who are mostly trans women of color, we know where the power is. This power to kill and take away rights is individual power and moreso communal power.  That power, in the structural sense, resides not with people who are marginalized, but in institutions and organizations that help people with privilege and oppress others.

But power is not only a societal concern, but it also affects how we relate to each other.  In this part of the sermon on the mount, Jesus is speaking to people with more power on how to better relate to people with less power.

Pero el poder no solo es una cosa de la sociedad, sino también afecta como nos relacionamos unes a otres y en esta parte del sermón de la monte, Jesús está hablando a las personas con mas poder sobre cómo relacionarse mejor con personas con menos poder.

Cuando Jesús habla del homicidio y el enojo, está hablando a las personas quienes han ofendido a otra persona.  No es la responsabilidad de la víctima iniciar la resolución o reconciliación.  Es la responsabilidad de la persona que es perpetrador a pedir perdón y cambiar como actúa.  De esta manera, Jesús requiere algo de la persona con más poder en vez de añadir al peso que lleva la persona con menos poder.

When Jesus speaks of murder and anger, he is talking to people who have harmed another person. It is not the responsibility of the victim to initiate resolution or reconciliation. It’s the responsibility of the person who is the perpetrator to apologize and to change how he acts. In this way, Jesus requires something of the person with the most power rather than adding to the burden of the person with less power.

When Jesus speaks of divorce, he is telling men in a patriarchal society that they cannot divorce their wives for any old reason. Because the divorce will leave the woman without resources. When Jesus speaks of adultery, he is talking to men, who objectify gender minorities. Today Jesus would be talking about all the rules in schools about how young women can dress, about anyone who says she "was asking for it" or deserved the harm, abuse, or harassment she experienced because of how she dressed. Jesus is talking about each time someone tries to figure out the gender of a stranger or calls a trans woman a “man in a dress.”

Cuando Jesús habla del divorcio, está diciéndoles a los hombres en una sociedad patriarcal que no se puede divorciarse de su esposa por cualquier razón.  Cuando divorcia a una mujer, le deja sin recursos.  Cuando Jesús habla del adulterio, está hablando a los hombres, quienes objetivan a personas que son minores de género.  Hoy en día es que Jesús está hablando sobre todas las reglas en las escuelas sobre como pueden vestirse las jóvenes, sobre cada persona que dice que ella “estaba pidiendo” o mereció el daño que experimentó por como se vistió.  Está hablando sobre cada vez que se trata de averiguar cual género pertenece a una persona o le llama a una mujer trans que es un “hombre en vestido.”

En realidad, Jesús dice que el perpetrador tiene la culpa por un ataque.  La responsabilidad por no mirar con lujuria o meterse en sus asuntos cuando trata del género de otra persona es, en la sociedad heteronormativa, la del hombre, y si es difícil, Jesús dice “si tu ojo derecho te hace caer en pecado, sácatelo y échalo lejos de ti; es mejor que pierdas una sola parte de tu cuerpo, y no que todo tu cuerpo sea arrojado al infierno.” 

Instead, Jesus says that the perpetrator is to blame for an attack. The responsibility for not looking with lust or for minding your own business about another person´s gender is, in heteronormative society, that of the man, and if it’s difficult, Jesus says “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”

In the queer community, we navigate a lot the ins and outs of consent and power, because not everyone has the same power or the same safety. While a cis white gay man can run for president, more and more trans people, especially trans women of color, are killed every year. More and more in this country people feel comfortable insulting and harassing queer people as well as all marginalized people. And every time, people in the community who are already the most vulnerable, receive the greatest harm from the abuse.

En la comunidad queer, navegamos mucho las entradas y las salidas del consentimiento y del poder, porque no todos tenemos el mismo poder o la misma seguridad.  Mientras que un hombre blanco y gay puede tratar de ser presidente, más y más personas trans, especialmente mujeres trans de minoría, están matadas cada año.  Más y más en este país personas sienten cómodas echar insultos y acosar a personas queer, como todas las personas marginalizadas.  Y cada ves, las personas en la comunidad que ya son las mas vulnerables, reciben el impacto más grande del abuso. 

Por eso, cuando Jesús está hablando a las personas con poder y sobre su poder, es importante para nosotres hoy.  Jesús está hablando a una comunidad sobre cómo funcionar en un sistema que refuerza la desigualdad y los abusos del poder.  Está hablando sobre cómo mitigar las diferencias de poder en las relaciones interpersonales. 

So, when Jesus is speaking to people with power and about their power, it’s important for us today. Jesus is talking to a community about how to function in a system that reinforces inequality and abuse of power. He is talking about how to mitigate power differences in interpersonal relationships.

In this conversation, Jesus isn’t talking about how to correct or change the unjust system, although we know that it is part of our work as followers of Christ. He’s talking about how to interact, how to survive in the midst of injustice. How to limit abuses of power. How to create space so that people with less power can use their power.

En esta conversación, Jesús no está hablando de cómo corregir o cambiar el sistema injusta, aunque sabemos que es parte de nuestro trabajo como seguidores de Cristo.  Está hablando de cómo interactuar, cómo sobrevivir en el medio de la injusticia.  Cómo restringir los abusos del poder.  Cómo crear espacio para que las personas con menos poder pueden usar su poder. 

Esto es parte de una cultura de consentimiento.  El consentimiento mitiga un poco la desigualdad dentro de una comunidad.  Cuando compartimos la paz, si preguntamos antes de abrazar o dar la mano, damos a cada persona la oportunidad de decir “no.”  Si alguien tiene dolor en la mano de artritis, si alguien tiene una experiencia de trauma que afecta a sus interacciones con otras personas, la oportunidad de decir no o decir sí, es muy importante.

This is part of a culture of consent. Consent works to mitigate inequality within a community. During the sharing of the peace, when we ask before hugging or shaking hands, we give each person the opportunity to say "no." If someone has hand pain from arthritis, if someone has a trauma experience that affects their interactions with other people, the opportunity to say no or say yes is very important.

When we teach kids that their bodies are theirs and they don't need to give a hug to a person if they don't want to, we teach them that if someone tries to do something bad that they don’t like, they don't need to accept it. We teach them that if another person says they don't want a hug, they need to respect that person’s desires. We support them in having autonomy over their own body and respecting the bodies of others.

Cuando enseñamos a niñes que sus cuerpos son suyos y no necesitan dar un abrazo a una persona si no quiere, les enseñamos que si alguien trata de hacer algo muy malo, no necesitan aceptarlo.  Les enseñamos que si otra persona dice que no quiere o sí quiere un abrazo, necesitan respetarle a la persona.  Les apoyamos en tener autonomía sobre su propio cuerpo y respetar a los cuerpos de otras personas. 

El mundo a que nos invita Jesús es un mundo donde las estructuras de desigualdad no existen.  Y, Jesús nos invita en este mundo en que todavía vivimos que todavía tiene las estructuras de desigualdad a portarnos diferentemente.  Nos invita a encontrar y construir maneras de interactuar que respeta a cada persona y que apoderar a personas más vulnerables.  Cuando preguntamos si podemos abrazarse, o darse la mano, practicamos un mundo diferente aun en el medio del mundo como es.

The world Jesus ultimately invites us to is a world where structural inequality doesn’t exist. And, Jesus invites us, in the midst of this world that still has structural inequality and oppression, to behave differently. Jesus invites us to find and build ways to interact that respect each person and empower the most vulnerable people. When we ask if we can hug, or shake hands, we practice a different world even in the middle of the world as it is.

Who belongs to God: 20th after pentecost a

I also reference the first reading: Isaiah 45:1-7.

El santo evangelio según San Mateo (22:15-22)

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went

and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said.

      ¹⁶So they sent their disciples to him,

            along with the Herodians, saying,

                  “Teacher,

                        we know that you are sincere,

                        and teach the way of God

                              in accordance with truth,

                        and show deference to no one;

                              for you do not regard people with partiality.

                        ¹⁷Tell us, then, what you think.

                              Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor,

                                    or not?”

¹⁸But Jesus,

      aware of their malice, said,

            “Why are you putting me to the test,

                  you hypocrites?

            ¹⁹Show me the coin used for the tax.”

And they brought him a denarius.

²⁰Then Jesus said to them,

      “Whose image is this, and whose title?”

²¹They answered,

      “The emperor’s.”

Then Jesus said to them,

      “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s,

            and to God the things that are God’s.”

      ²²When they heard this,

            they were amazed;

            and they left Jesus

            and went away.

El evangelio del Señor.

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you

see your face.

you

see a flaw.

how.  if you are the

only one who has

this face.

–     the beauty

construct

(Nayyirah Waheed)

There are images all around us every day.  Images of violence, of pain, of joy, of anger.  Images of jobs and vocations, service, relationships, and estrangement.  Images of power and privilege, of isolation and marginalization.

These diverse images are on our money, too.  An image of a man of power: Washington, Hamilton, Franklin—soon Harriet Tubman, an image of freedom and resistance to oppression.  An eagle – an image for this country, with a head pointing toward the olive branch of peace and away from the arrows of war. 

A pyramid image of endurance, withstanding the test of time, with the Eye of Providence, or is it the eye of God? Claiming God’s presence and blessing, perhaps, though other countries also make that claim.  A new order, this great seal declares.  At the top, the united states of america.  Below that, on the back, the phrase “in god we trust.”  And those are just a few, easily spotted on this one, old bill. 

Images are all around us and even on us.  Images that seem perfect and images so full of what we call flaws: lines of wrinkles from laughter, worry, and surprise trace across our faces; scars from illness or injury; marks we try to cover up or choose to create as art; marks from violence that we hide from others, struggling to seek help or a way out.  All over our bodies, we carry images.

But there is one image more precious and more powerful than the rest.  An image that challenges our assumptions when seen on others whom we might call “interesting” or “different.”  An image that brings comfort when we cannot find the good in our own selves.

Jesus asks, “whose image…whose title?”  and it is “the emperor’s.”  When the image is marked “for the Empire,” then it is for the Empire.  When the image is marked for God, then for God.

But “in the beginning when God went about creating the heavens and the earth andthe earth was a formless void…God created humanity in the divine image.  In the image of God humanity wascreated”—in all our diversity.

Certain images may be marked on money and things, but the everlasting image of the Divine is marked on all of creation and on all of us created beings.  And that makes a difference.  We are made in the image of God.  Together with all of the ways we are unique, we belong to God—the God who calls us by our name and surnames us.

And if we belong to God, it is not just us, but all of humanity.  Every soldier killed fighting for this government, every soldier killed fighting for other governments, even every soldier killed fighting for ISIS bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every family that goes hungry on the weekends or in the summer bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every billionaire CEO and every family on welfare and everyone just trying to stay in the middle class bears the image of God and so belongs to God. 

Every baby born and every person who dies bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every victim of violence—sexual harassment and domestic violence, economic violence, gun violence, terror attacks and mass killings—and every perpetrator of violence bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every janitor, firefighter, sex worker, pastor, administrative assistant, nurse, teacher, elected representative, telemarketer, and community organizer bears the image of God and so belongs to God. 

Every person with documentation to live and work in a country, every person without documentation, and every person awaiting deportation bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every lawyer, every government employee, every person in prison bears the image of God and so belongs to God.   

Every woman, every man, every transgender person, every person for whom the gender binary doesn’t fit; every bisexual, heterosexual, asexual, lesbian, gay, and queer person bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every one who is single, divorced, widowed, struggling with their marriage, and happily married bears the image of God and so belongs to God.

And if all of humanity bears the image of God and so belongs to God, then all of Creation bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every tree, river, bush, and lake bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every bluff, mountain, valley, desert, sea, and glacier bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every creeping thing upon the earth, every swimming thing every flying thing bears the image of God and so belongs to God.  Every planet, moon, star, galaxy, black hole, asteroid, and supernova bears the image of God and so belongs to God.

And if all of creation bears the image of God and so belongs to God, then even “the things that are the emperor’s” are really “the things that are God’s.”  The things we think we can separate out from our faith are a part of our faith.  They belong to God just as we belong to God. 

So in all that we do and use we find divine belonging.  When we spend our money, we are using God’s resources and God’s creation.  When we are spiteful or cruel, we are doing so to God.  When we are honest about pain, oppression, and conflict, we are being honest with God and all that belongs to God.  When we care for another and for ourselves, we care for God.

Nayyirah Waheed’s poem, which I began with holds the truth about this image of God:

you

see your face.

you

see a flaw.

how.  if you are the

only one who has

this face.

–     the beauty

construct

(Nayyirah Waheed)

In all you see as a flaw, God recognizes the beauty that is your truest self.  And the same holds true for the flaws we see in others.

As a reminder, please turn to a neighbor, ask their name (just to make sure—if everybody does it the person whose mind goes blank will have an excuse), ask if you can bless them, and if they give permission, mark their forehead or their hands with the sign of the cross and say, “You are a beloved child of God.  You belong to God. And that will never ever change.”

…

Amen.

Christ is the hope that does not dissapoint us: 2nd post-pentecost a

The second reading is from Romans (5:1-8).

 

Therefore, since we are justified by faith,

      we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

            ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand;

            and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

            ³And not only that,

                  but we also boast in our sufferings,

                        knowing that suffering produces endurance,

                        ⁴and endurance produces character,

                        and character produces hope,

                        ⁵and hope does not disappoint us,

                              because God’s love has been poured into our hearts

                                    through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

⁶For while we were still weak,

      at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

      ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—

            though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.

                  ⁸But God proves God’s love for us

                        in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

The holy gospel according to Matthew (9:35-10:8).

³⁵Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages,

      teaching in their synagogues,

      and proclaiming the good news of the dominion of heaven,

      and curing every disease and every sickness.

            ³⁶When he saw the crowds,

                  he had compassion for them,

                        because they were harassed and helpless,

                              like sheep without a shepherd.

                  ³⁷Then he said to his disciples,

                        “The harvest is plentiful,

                              but the laborers are few;

                              ³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest

                                    to send out laborers for the harvesting.”

10Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples

      and gave them authority over unclean spirits,

            to cast them out,

            and to cure every disease and every sickness.

²These are the names of the twelve apostles:

      first, Simon, also known as Peter,

            and his brother Andrew;

      James son of Zebedee,

            and his brother John;

      ³Philip and Bartholomew;

      Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;

      James son of Alphaeus,

            and Thaddaeus;

      ⁴Simon the Cananaean,

      and Judas Iscariot,

            the one who betrayed him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions:

      “Go nowhere among the Gentiles,

      and enter no town of the Samaritans,

            ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

                  ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news,

                        ‘The dominion of heaven has come near.’

                  ⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.

                        You received without payment;

                              give without payment.

The gospel of the Lord.

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Paul’s letter to the Romans states: “suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us.”  But what kind of hope is Paul talking about in this letter to the Romans?  And what kind of suffering for that matter?  Is suffering truly redeemable?  Can any good come from suffering?

There is plenty of suffering that cannot be redeemed.  The suffering of victims of abuse, who are so often trapped in abusive relationships and situations by circumstances beyond their control.  There is no redemption of that abuse because it is not freely chosen, there is no larger purpose.  Those who perpetrate abuse perpetrate evil.

The suffering in death of Philando Castile was not the kind of suffering that can be redeemed.  The suffering and death of those who were murdered two years ago yesterday at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston because a white ELCA member didn’t like that they were Black is not the kind of suffering that can be redeemed.  People of color who are killed and harmed and harassed for simply existing deserve better. 

White supremacy and white privilege, parts of what we know as racism literally kill people of color.  People of color become the crowds Jesus encounters—harassed and helpless, oppressed and thrown to the ground, because of a system that tries to dehumanize them and then refuses to convict those who kill them.  To not speak up, to not name that killing another person is evil, to not name that #BlackLivesMatter reinforces the evil of white supremacy.  It becomes complicity in a system that harms our siblings, friends, and neighbors.

Suffering these abuses and deaths is not the suffering that Paul is lifting up in his letter to the Romans.  Paul is writing to the Early Church in Rome, to which he will soon journey, and where he will be arrested and executed.  This church, this community of faith in Rome is suffering persecution for their faith—gathering in secret in underground catacombs, fearing arrest, torture, and death for their hope. 

I can imagine them resonating deeply with the crowd described in our gospel reading, being “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd,” and even moreso with a more literal translation of the crowds being “oppressed and thrown to the ground.”

Their suffering is not the suffering that is not redeemable.  Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of the suffering he and others, like Bayard Rustin and Rosa Parks, experienced during the Civil Rights Movement.  While those who perpetrate violence always enact evil, those who, like the ones who participated in the Civil Rights Movement, willingly endure suffering for the sake of a larger struggle for justice, embody the suffering that does produce endurance. 

It is suffering for a larger purpose—to expose injustice for what it is—that produces the endurance Paul talks about.

This endurance is the ability for Mildred and Richard Loving to persevere in their relationship in the face of a country that said interracial marriage was wrong.  This endurance is the endurance of those who know our participation in struggles for justice help make the “arc of the moral universe” bend towards justice, not on accident or by default, but on purpose and with intentionality and hard work. 

This past week marked 50 years since the Lovings won their Supreme Court case against the state of Virginia, ensuring the right to marry not be restricted by race, and laying some of the groundwork to guarantee those of us who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer the right to marry who we want.

The endurance of people like the Lovings does produce character—the kind of character that trusts the God who is love to be at work in others and who notices God in others.  This character is evident in those in our community who go out of their way to make others feel welcome, those who know what it is to be left out and work to make sure others do not know that isolation, harassment, or helplessness. 

This character, born of long fought for endurance, is the kind that talks to people when they are worried that someone is being abused, struggling to make ends meet, or lost in the isolation of physical or mental illness.  This character recognizes the value and worth of people of color and other marginalized group—knows the pain of sending children into the world each day, wondering if they will make it back home safely.  This character is intimate with the gut wrenching compassion that moves Jesus to not only teach, preach, and heal, but also send out the disciples for this work of the dominion of heaven.

This character also knows the hope of which Paul writes.  This hope that does not disappoint us.

But we are disappointed by hope all of the time.  When we hope for a child and are faced with miscarriages or illnesses.  When we hope a relationship will last forever and are disappointed to find that divorce is the reality we need or face.  When we hope a guilty verdict will finally bring a glimpse of justice, yet once again hear “not guilty” ring out.  When we hope a building will serve all of our needs, but we are disappointed to find we cannot make it accessible and the constant repairs are restricting our ability to be in mission.  This is not the hope we seek.  This is not the hope Paul is talking about.

The hope that Paul proclaims is a deeper hope.  It’s not a secret wish or unstated expectation that all will be well or go as planned.  The hope that does not disappoint us is the hope in our God whose whole being is love.  Hope in our God who loves us so much that God comes to live with us—to be and become us, even knowing that our response to that love is too often violence, exclusion, harassment, and even execution on the cross. 

Hope in the God who responds even to the most violent of deaths with new life in the resurrection.  Hope in a God who makes a way out of no way, who takes the unexpected and loves it into new life, who creates meaning and purpose when we can’t imagine anything like it.

The hope that does not disappoint us is the hope in a God who takes our failed attempts, our heart break, our personal disasters, and then as Paul states, pours out their love “into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

Our hope, when placed in the God who changes with and for us, does not disappoint, because Jesus comes for each one who is sick, harassed, and helpless and gives the fullest measure of devotion not only in death, but then even further in new resurrection life.  Because Christ died for us so we can live in hope with Christ that death is not the ultimate power, that racism will not win, that violence doesn’t reign supreme, but instead our hope in Christ is assured because love wins, justice will reign, and peace will rule the earth. 

Thanks be to God.

Jesus fulfills the law: 6th after epiphany

The holy gospel according to Matthew (5:21-37)

Jesus said:

²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times,

       ‘You shall not murder’;

       and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’

              ²²But I say to you that if you are angry with a sibling,

                     you will be liable to judgment;

              and if you insult a sibling,

                     you will be liable to the council;

              and if you say, ‘You fool,’

                     you will be liable to the hell of fire.

²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar,

       if you remember that your sibling has something against you,

              ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go;

                     first be reconciled to your sibling,

                            and then come and offer your gift.

              ²⁵Come to terms quickly with your accuser

                     while you are going together to court,

                            or your accuser may hand you over to the judge,

                                  and the judge to the guard,

                                        and you will be thrown into prison.

                            ²⁶Truly I tell you,

                                  you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
 

²⁷“You have heard that it was said,

       ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

              ²⁸But I say to you that every man who looks at a woman with lust

                     has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

              ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin,

                     tear it out and throw it away;

                            it is better for you to lose one part of your body

                                  than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

              ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin,

                     cut it off and throw it away;

                            it is better for you to lose one part of your body

                                  than for your whole body to go into hell.
 

³¹“It was also said,

       ‘Whichever man divorces his wife,

              let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

       ³²But I say to you that any man who divorces his wife,

              except on the ground of unchastity,

                     causes her to commit adultery;

       and whichever man marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
 

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times,

       ‘You shall not swear falsely,

              but carry out the vows you have made to the Sovereign.’

       ³⁴But I say to you,

              Do not swear at all,

                     either by heaven,

                            for it is the throne of God,

                     ³⁵or by the earth,

                            for it is God’s footstool,

                     or by Jerusalem,

                            for it is the city of the great Sovereign.

              ³⁶And do not swear by your head,

                     for you cannot make one hair white or black.

                            ³⁷Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’;

                                  anything more than this comes from the evil one.”

The gospel of the Lord.

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Well, today’s gospel has quite a lot packed into it—and a lot that, on the surface can seem pretty clear and condemning—two characteristics I don’t usually attribute to Jesus, though the hyperbole of cutting off hands and eyes are more his style in getting his point across. 

Understanding the historical context of the gospels is especially helpful today—not to make excuses for Jesus’ words, but to give some context that might help us understand what he’s saying and why.

First let’s go back a bit to verse 17 from last week where Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill.”  Here there’s a distinction that we sometimes miss.  Jesus is not talking about just following the law, which is the first five books of the Bible, or Torah, as it commonly called in Judaism, but fulfilling it.

Following the law meant not murdering, not committing adultery, not breaking promises you make.  If you were a man—who had the power and agency and economic access in 1^st century Palestine—it meant giving your wife a certificate of divorce when you wanted to get rid of her like the property that she was.

But following is not what Jesus came to do either, because there is more at work than just obeying or abolishing.

Fulfilling the law meant not only not murdering, but not seeking any kind of harm, or as Martin Luther said in his explanation of the 5^th commandment, “You shall not murder”: “We are to fear and love God, so that we neither endanger nor harm the lives of our neighbors, but instead help and support them in all of life's needs.”

Fulfilling the law meant not only not killing or harming, but instead actively seeking good for others.  It meant working towards reconciliation before offering sacrifices at that time.  It’s why we communally confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness at the beginning of worship and then share signs of peace with each other before we collect tithes and offerings or receive communion each week.

Fulfilling the law in the case of adultery meant taking into account the ways power, gender, and economic opportunity impacted marriage, independence, and the ability to survive.

Because in Jesus’ day, women were still considered property.  They couldn’t work to support themselves and didn’t have much say in who they married, and no say in divorce.

Fulfilling the law meant that men couldn’t just abandon women on a whim.  Men couldn’t blame women for their own actions—if a man lusted after, or coveted, a woman, it was his fault, not hers—no matter how she dressed or acted.  If a man wanted a divorce, fulfilling the law meant he couldn’t just leave a woman destitute—if we’re thinking about it in today’s terms, we might equate it not with divorce, but with not paying child support—it leaves the other person destitute, with an undue economic burden.

As for promises and swearing, how many of you have ever broken a promise? 

Me too.  It is not fun and if we think about the 10 commandments and not taking God’s name in vain, how could we ever swear to God about something?  Are we ever sure enough to make that promise?

My dad used to tell me to never bet more than I was willing to lose, so if he and I ever disagree on something and he’s really sure he’s right, he’ll bet me a nickel.  Because how sure can you ever really be?

That’s the tough part of all this.  Following the law, worrying about not killing, not harming, lying, stealing—not messing up, is hard and when that’s what we’re trying to do—when that’s our focus, it’s a pretty pessimistic take on life.

There is no way for us to do it all.  When it is up to us, we fail.  We fail so badly, in fact, that we crucify Jesus.  After all, the crucifixion followed the law.  The law was that Jesus was to die and die he did.  The crucifixion didn’t, however, fulfill the law—that came 3 days later. 

Somebody once asked “what is the first step to resurrection?” 

The answer: “Death.” 

Resurrection—everlasting life—cannot happen without death happening first.  Once we die to sin—defeated by the law in baptism—then God frees us in the resurrection to new life.

And then our focus shifts from following the law, to Jesus, who fulfills the Torah.

Then there is hope.  Our focus becomes the spirit of the Torah, a spirit of compassion, concern for the vulnerable, accountability for the powerful.  We can stop wondering how to avoid negative consequences and instead focus on how to contribute to the positives. 

Not because we have to, but because we have already been killed with Jesus.  We no longer need to be afraid of the law.  In baptism we are joined to Christ in a death like his—a death to the law, so that we are free to live a resurrected life with him here and now.  Christ frees us to respond to God’s love—to respond to God’s outreach to us.  To live into the fulfillment of the law, the spirit of the Torah.  Christ frees us from the fear and anxiety of following the letter of the law and frees us to fulfill the love that is the foundation of the Torah, fulfilled in Christ.

Thanks be to God.