Year A - Lent 1 - March 1, 2020

The Rev. Ken Saunders
St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN

Year A - Lent 1 - March 1, 2020

• Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
• Romans 5:12-19
• Matthew 4:1-11
• Psalm 32

Did you ever want something so bad? I don’t mean need… I mean WANT! Want something so bad that it hurts… As a kid, maybe you wanted the latest video game… or if you’re my age, as a kid, you wanted a new baseball glove or possibly a new doll…

Or – as we get older… the “things” become more expensive - a new car – or motorcycle or maybe the latest gadget, a new phone or possibly a new job or a promotion… or maybe a big house…

Our wants as humans make us do dumb things sometimes… They make us take shortcuts, they may make us fall deep into debt… We think they fill a void that we have as we search for something genuine - with real meaning… Our wants and desires open the door for temptations… Temptations that may seem great at first glance, that always end up those things that we regret most…

We are human after all… and without willpower against the temptations that are all around us, we are vulnerable… we are vulnerable to the tempter… That is why we need God’s help! 

On this first Sunday in the Season of Lent, we are faced with temptation… Temptation is one of those things that gets between us and God. It’s one of those things that wreck our relationship. Temptation is one of those things in this season that we are called to examine a little closer in order to make changes in the things we do as we seek to be closer to God.

We hear a lot about temptation throughout the readings this morning…  In the story from Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve that they can eat from every tree in the garden, but NOT from the tree in the center of the garden. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave them a command, but they didn’t want to hear it! After all, they were only human! And the snake said it was ok – what could it hurt? So, they ate… They put themselves first and they ate… and we all know where that got them…

In Matthew’s gospel story we hear something a bit different… We hear of Jesus, who after his baptism, was driven by the spirit into the desert wilderness (into those unsafe dark places of the wild and unruly)…  Jesus is driven out in order to focus… to fast and meditate prior to beginning his difficult ministry… 

But, even in the desert, Jesus was not free from the “tempter.”  The Greek word diabolos – that is translated as “devil” in this passage, literally means deceiver or tempter – Jesus’ story was a bit different, from our normal encounters with temptation… He is a man (fully human) that in the harshest of conditions... But even in those conditions – He is able to resist temptation.

The tempter attacks Jesus at his weakest point – in his compelling physical hunger. Jesus must eat – otherwise he will die and his mission will die with him…  and the tempter uses persuasive logic! Jesus does not say that we do not need bread, but he says that we do not live by bread alone. We must have bread – and food sustenance in order to live, but our deeper desires are satisfied only by the word of God. Jesus will provide bread, but in doing so, he will not turn his back on God. It is here, as the church, that we should remember the centrality of the word of God, and what it means to feast on Jesus.

It is a way of deepening our spiritual lives with prayer and study on the ways of Jesus… Yes, we rightly provide help to those in need – food, water, shelter, clothing, health care, hygiene – but our first duty is to be fed by the word of God because it empowers us and directs us to do what we do. It’s what makes us different… Different than any other social organization that does good works… We do these things, because we are guided by Jesus – we are guided by the word of God. It is interesting that much of Jesus’ ministry focused on feeding the hungry.

Next, Jesus is tempted to use a spectacular demonstration of power by throwing himself off the highest point in Jerusalem (the pinnacle of the temple) The tempter quotes Psalm 91 – and uses this scripture for evil purposes, insinuating to Jesus that it would be ok - after all God would protect him, and it would probably rally the people quickly as they see Jesus do this powerful act… By challenging Jesus to this heroic test, the devil has actually identified a strategy for saving people, not one by one, but by the wagonload! But Jesus is prepared and quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, giving one scripture precedence over another. No one, not even Jesus, has the right to put God to the test. Because, such testing is evidence of proof” not of faith. To test God is to put us in the driver's seat and to require God to follow our lead rather than us following God’s lead. 

Then, Jesus is taken to the mountain, and sees all of the Kingdoms in the world and all of their glory spender…  Again, like last week, we are reminded of Moses, who also met God on a high mountain. But, on this high mountain, Jesus is confronted by the devil (the deceiver/the tempter). Jesus has come to save the world, and the devil offers him the world – a world that isn’t even his to offer… Moses, also, could see the kingdoms of the world from the top of his high mountain. On that mountain, God promised that Israel would prosper, but God also warned the people to remember that their blessings (everything they have) come from God… (Deuteronomy 8:17-20). Jesus again quotes Deuteronomy, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him,’ reminding us that God is the only proper object of worship. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that no one can serve two masters… and here, he practices what he preaches in his own life.

There is one major thing that we learn from all these passages… Temptations, as great as it may be, can be overcome. Jesus, in all his humanity, proved that to us. God is our only power and strength in the face of temptation. 

There may be times that we wrestle with temptations in our life, be it at the store, at work, or in our travels, but we always should be quick to walk away. We need to listen to the voice of that silent wisdom… that gentle voice that says NO! …and understand that there is nothing to be gained by wrestling with the tempter. 

The tempter comes in all shapes and sizes, offering us everything, but only delivering frustration and confusion. When this happens, we pray to our God, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” – we can only deal with the tempter like Jesus dealt with the tempter – with God directing us in our lives.

Year A - Christmas Eve - December 24, 2019

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN

Year A - Christmas Eve - December 24, 2019

Year C - 6 Epiphany - February 17, 2019

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN

Year C - 6 Epiphany - February 17, 2019

• Jeremiah 17:5-10
• 1 Corinthians 15:12-20
• Luke 6:17-26
• Psalm 1

I’ve always been mesmerized by trees that grow in water. Maybe it’s because I grew up, not far from the great dismal swamp and the Albemarle sound… Those bodies of water are famous for the towering bald cypress trees growing just off of a point of land out in the middle of the water. Thinking of those trees takes me back to the days of fishing and boating as a young boy, trying to cast line between them and not get hung up in the roots.

Jeremiah tells us that if we trust in God, we will be like these wonderful, strong, powerful Cypress trees that send out their roots by the stream. They survive heat, their leaves stay green, and they do not cease to bear fruit, even in the most horrible conditions.

The psalmist also picks up on this tree imagery, pointing out that people that refrain from evil, and stay off of the sinner’s path… Are like trees that are planted by streams of water yielding fruit and having leaves that do not wither…

Trees can teach us a lot about our faith and life with God… See, from what we know about trees, trees are not at all independent… trees depend on other things around them to survive… The conditions around them must provide them with the nourishment and sustenance to survive.

Paraphrasing some words from Thomas Merton, a tree does not all of a sudden, decide that it isn’t comfortable where it is… therefore, it’s going to go over and be in another field for a few weeks. A tree is not in a big rush to flit off with sparrows or people, where ever they might be going. Merton says, that a tree does none of these, a tree gives glory to God by being itself… by being a tree.

Trees are used throughout scripture to describe things… They have become, for us, an image of humanity gone awry. Everything from the tree that bears the fruit of knowledge that we find in the Garden of Eden to the tree that becomes the bearer of our salvation, the tree that Jesus was crucified on found on the Mount Golgotha, just outside of Jerusalem. Jesus was crucified on a tree and considered cursed so that we might be rescued from the curse, and grafted back into the family tree of God’s people.

In our gospel lesson, Jesus is preaching from the level places, and turns the understanding of happiness and blessing upside down… He calls the people to action… he calls the people to a life of discipleship and learning… learning what it means to truly be what God has created us to be. Nothing more, nothing less…

Jesus uses the laundry list of blessings and woes, to point out and challenge us... to ask what it is that we value and what it is that we reject as it relates to faithful Christian living. Jesus calls the hearers of his message to better understand what it is going to be like living in the Kingdom of God.

In the Kingdom of God where the values are different than they are of this world but not only that… But that it’s possible to live those values now as we seek to bring forth the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus is on the level place, and he is not just speaking on the plain, but he is speaking plainly. Blessed are… and you can fill in the blank… Jesus advocates for everything that society has shunned or considers shameful…

Blessed are the poor… blessed are the unemployed, the homeless, the unimpressive or the underrepresented…  blessed are all those on the fringes of society that have not had a fair chance because of prejudice and the assumption of who they are, they don’t deserve a chance. 

Blessed are those who are hungry… blessed are those who don’t know where their next meal is coming from… blessed are those who live in a society and nation of abundance only to find that they can’t scrape enough together on min wage to feed their kids.

Blessed are those who weep... blessed are those who have dealt with loss and brokenness, blessed are those whose tears flow because of the harshness of their experience.

Jesus isn’t saying that they are any more blessed than those who already feel that they have found favor with God. On the contrary… Jesus just simply levels the playing field and reminds those that do not feel blessed, that recompense is coming…

In our modern society and culture, it is commonplace to equate wealth with divine approval. aka "That we are financially rich because of God’s favor." Here, the scripture is telling us exactly the opposite. The shame of poverty in Jesus’ time is very much the same as in ours. Jesus tells the people in so many words, that true strength, purpose and power, doesn’t come from money, feasting, or a feeling of bliss.

A tree draws its strength from what’s around it… the soil, the nutrients, the water, the sunshine… We draw our strength, purpose, and power comes from our communities of lifelong partnerships and family… Communities of faith, communities of Eucharistic partnership, communities that gather to pray and study scripture together... Communities that reach out to serve others and communities that are mutually committed to God’s love.

We can learn a lot from trees about our communal life with God. We can learn how our dependence on each other makes everything work… about how growing in our life together eventually makes us stronger... stronger and more resilient to the forces that wish us harm. Only together can we stand tall against the elements… only together can we discern and understand God’s will.

Together within God’s family tree. Together, empowered, unashamed, resilient, and strong... Together, equal, forgiven, restored, and loved…

Year C - 3 Epiphany - January 27, 2019

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN

• Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
• Luke 4:14-21
• Psalm 19

It’s often been said that the church can survive heresy, but it can’t survive schism… The break apart and division in Christianity is devastating… You can walk down the main street in downtown Greeneville, and see about 16 different brands of Christianity. Churches large and small… Churches of a different ilk and flavor; some alike, some different, all of them trying to convince folks theirs is the way to worship and practice…

But apart from that, you could walk down that same street, and meet people who have never darkened the door of said churches. Folks that have either been turned off or abused by religion in one way or another… People who are earnestly searching for truth but have never been offered a way that fits with the way they believe. 

It often happens that people get involved in a community of faith and then after participating for a while realize that the community that they are in is really not the community of saints that they think it should be… A Church is really a hospital for sinners, rather than a community of saints… 

People are broken and hurting, trying to deal with life and all the confusion that life deals out… and the church is made up of that broken mess of our lives… our sometimes messy and confusing, but sometimes beautiful and amazing lives. 

The Episcopal Church has taken the stance to offer God’s grace to everyone in the midst of that brokenness… to show love where other churches have cast judgment… It’s not that we are doing anything different than what we understand Jesus himself did in scripture… Jesus welcomed and healed and advocated for those who were on the fringes of society… those that society that had forgotten those that society had abused hurt… 

The prophet Nehemiah tells us that the people of Israel are gathered together in the square… The people called for the Law of Moses… the Torah to be brought among them and read… Coming back from being separated for so long in exile, coming back to rebuild Jerusalem so, the people wanted so much to rally around the one thing they held in common… The law of Moses, the rudiments of their faith that made life on this planet and the social systems among humanity a bit more palatable. 

The people of Israel had come together to worship and celebrate the abundant grace of God that they felt… and with that feeling of abundance and grace, they understood what they were hearing a little better. The scripture says that they read from the book, from the Torah with interpretation, with understanding. So that the people understood the reading… 

We have to understand that the literacy rate at this time was only about 3%... But they understood so profoundly the law that was read… Maybe it was because they had lived for years in a barbaric society, maybe it was because they had been separated in captivity… But this time they understood what the law was trying to teach them… they understood and they were so moved with compassion that they wept… 

They didn’t gather separately in different groups, they were all gathered together in the square… After they rejoiced, Nehemiah told them to go on their way… go on their way and share their joy with others… To eat the fat and drink sweet wine… and make sure to send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. 

He reminded them that the joy of the Lord is your strength. Gathered together… one body of people… in need of each other to be whole… recognizing that they are better together than they are apart… 

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus is there, teaching in the synagogue he was gaining some attention and was liked by everyone…He had come to his hometown in Nazareth and was teaching on the Sabbath in the synagogue, and he stood up to read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah… He proclaims Isaiah’s words as if they were his own as if he were the great prophet, Isaiah… The words he proclaimed were good news to the poor… release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, the oppressed go free…He proclaimed words of restoration that folks would know and remember… those that know the law of Moses… those that know God’s favor for God’s people. 

The gathering of the church is often referred to as the body of Christ… when we come together to hear the scripture read and proclaimed and celebrate God’s restoration and abundance, we do it together… Together in a body that needs our differences as much as our likeness… together in a body that sometimes disagrees, but does it with grace and forgiveness… 

I said in the beginning, that a church could survive heresy but not schism… This basically means that we may not jive on all the crazy little intricate details of what it means to be faithful… But that’s ok, God loves us anyway. We may have sticking points or confusion about what it means to live out our lives as faithful Christians… So much that when we run up against something that we don’t agree with We are schismatic, and run to another community that appears to be more in line with what we believe… Brothers and sisters, that’s not healthy. 

If we have been nurtured in a community of faith for several years, we must stay and engage, dialogue about what’s causing us grief… We are not going to agree on everything… But the one thing we must agree on is that Jesus Christ is Lord… And in proclaiming that first… we start to come together in so many ways… 

In proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord… it advocates that we are about life and love… a way of a relationship that builds up and doesn’t tear down… In being the body of Christ… we have eyes that need ears and feet that need hands… we have legs that need arms and a head (Jesus Christ) to help guide it all… 

Together, in Christ, we can do so much more than we cannot do on our own… How hard would it have been for one person to drop $8000 to make our outreach at St. James possible? But 70 people coming together, we were ALL able to make that happen. And through that, we are able to advocate for those whom nothing is prepared. We are able to but God’s abundant love and God’s abundant grace into action…. Because in Christ, we come together and we are made whole… We can’t say, I have no need of you because you don’t think like I do… We must say, help me understand, we must say help us understand… 

We don’t engage in discernment and come to understanding by ourselves… we are a body, guided, empowered and driven by the Holy Spirit… We, by ourselves, are lacking. But by Christ, we are made whole… 

Now I call this the IKEA exercise… Has anyone ever shopped at IKEA? You know, the Swedish furniture store that sells things that you have to put together? A simple bookshelf will come to you in about 5000 pieces, and the directions don’t have any words… they just show a stick figure putting this piece in that piece… 

I want you to take a moment and think about that… Think about what things you have in your life which are a ‘whole’ and now think of all the parts they are made from. sometimes the pieces that make up the whole are not useful by themselves… sometimes they are… but sometimes, they function better when they are with the things that make their purpose clear… 

Now think… what other parts could be added to make them better, to make the whole even more capable? Now, translate that thought into people in your life. What groups are the ‘whole’ of your life? They may be groups that challenge you to be more… What can you do to make more of yourself? How can you help and be helped by the whole, whatever that group might be? 

Whether it’s at church, at school, at work, or at home, you can help yourself and others and make life better for everyone, for the whole??? And now, in going forth, knowing that you are the Body of Christ, that you are Beloved of God… What will you commit to doing in the world to show Christ’s love to help yourself and others be more than they are right now?

Year B - Proper 28 - November 18, 2018

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III

St. James Episcopal Church

Greeneville, TN

Year B - Proper 28 - November 18, 2018

Daniel 12:1-3Psalm 16 Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25Mark 13:1-8

With all the death and destruction around us these days, it’s hard to look at today’s readings through any other lens. As of this morning, the coast of California is still on fire, and as of this morning, there are 76 confirmed dead and over 1200 still missing. The fire continues to rage on… The whole city of Paradise California is practically gone.

But it’s not only fire that plagues this world… Just yesterday, there were 3 shooting deaths in Philadelphia (3 separate incidents) in what we know as the “City of Brotherly Love.”

This isn’t the only attack that has taken place in recent days… Remember just 3 weeks ago, 11 were gunned down at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg… Yes, a Synagogue, a place of study and prayer… In a place of worship and peace… people were attacked and killed.

These attacks were not only meant to make those who were directly attacked suffer, but they quickly become a reminder to us of any tragedy that we have suffered… meant to instill fear and terror in anyone that has any kind of love and compassion for humanity.

I couldn’t help but remember the events of September 11, 2001, at New York, Washington DC, Pennsylvania… the events of April 19, 1995, at Oklahoma City and many other tragic events just in my lifetime.

For thousands of years, hate and evil have woven itself into the fabric of the world’s society, destroying relationships, destroying lives, making people anxious, afraid, and angry… stirring things up and starting wars. Confusing people about the nature of humanity and most notably confusing people about the nature of God.

They even say out loud… and you have probably heard them... “if God is a just God… if God is a loving God, then why do these kinds of things happen? How can God allow such evil, how can a loving God allow death and destruction to exist??” This just confounds the issue further… and does what the evil one intended all along.

This kind of thinking messes up our reasoning skills and makes us respond out of anger and confusion. It wants us to lash out at each other… It wants us to throw bombs and grenades at each other in response to what we are feeling – to somehow get rid of the pain… the pain from feeling that we can’t do anything at all to help. That is how evil works…

Evil and hate have meshed in the fabric of society and they have destroyed relationships with each other and relationships with God and evil and hate are still at work.

I read a statement yesterday from a very conservative religious leader. It said, “God caused the California fires because California didn’t choose the correct political candidate… and that it’s God that is making the weather hot and dry so that the fires rage on.” All I did after I read this was sit there… I sat there and cried. I cried like a little baby…

I cried, because in that instance, at that very minute, I realized that the evil one has gotten away with it once again... The evil one has done his due…

Jesus says, “Nation will rise up against nation and kingdom will rise up against Kingdom, yet the end is still to come… these are but only the beginnings of the birth pangs. Bringing forth or “birthing” the Kingdom of God while surrounded by such evil, controversy and fear is difficult work.

It’s not the happy-clappy feel-good Jesus that wants us to be comfortable… and it’s not pie in the sky bye and bye… To be a follower of Jesus the Christ, to be a REAL disciple of Jesus Christ, means that we are part of (like Bishop Curry Says) We are part of a movement...  The Jesus Movement that is intended to change the world… Change the world by infusing it with the love of God... Because if it’s not of Love, it’s not of God. And that is the kind of change that is difficult… it’s messy, It’s challenging, it’s heart-wrenching and it involves a commitment to radical love – NOT radical hate…

When Jesus was walking with his disciples through Jerusalem, they were all talking as they went along about all the fine buildings and large stones, in the magnificent architecture that surrounded them. These large edificial symbols of power and prestige… Noting, of course, the largest and greatest buildings of their day and time – Herod’s temple in Jerusalem.

The temple - a place of connection to God (the divine), a place of worship, a place of sacrifice, and the center of Jewish life… Jesus said to them, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; ALL will be thrown down.”

It would have been difficult, for the disciples to envision the complete destruction of such a massive fortress of a building – let alone the most holy place of the Jewish faith. Yet, that is exactly what happened in the year 70, when the Roman empire burned it all to the ground. We, too, can scarcely conceive of a time when the important places and structures we know and love will be “thrown down.” Yet that’s what’s happening all around us.

The temple of our soul is being destroyed by the evils of this world. The evils of this world that tell us that we don’t need each other… that we don’t need God... The evils of this world that say that the destructive fires and mass shootings are somehow God’s will. Our soul is being attacked by the evil one, and we cower in fear and confusion, questioning our need for God or religion.

In Jesus’ teaching today, Jesus reminds us that this world is NOT permanent: “will ALL be thrown down.” God has placed a deep-seated need within us to desire something that will transcend this mortal life. Jesus cuts straight to our deep desire for immortality with his deeply challenging words –

No doubt this passage helps ease the pain a bit, knowing and trusting that the Kingdom is over the horizon. If we continue to live in love and trust that God’s purpose will be worked out. There is no question that the anxiety level of disciples was great, as they pressed Jesus even harder for answers by asking, “Lord, when will this be? Tell us when these things will happen!”

In Jesus’ day, and even in this day, there are plenty who are looking for signs, as if knowing WHEN the end will come will somehow change its coming or make them more prepared.

Many have claimed that this is it!! Just looking at the world around us and all the destruction, they say that the end is near!! And I am sure that there are pastors in pulpits today, using the events of this past week to instill more fear and cause more panic and confusion.

Our faith, logical reason, and even science tell us that there will be a time when ALL things will come to an end; knowing exactly when that will happen does not give us any control or mastery over it. Even Jesus doesn’t give the disciples any specifics as to when the end will come, nor does he even tell them exactly what will happen.

Remember this was 2000 years ago. He tells them there will be upheavals of many kinds, but he clearly says these are the beginnings of the birth pangs – not the signs of the end of all things. We are tired of labor and we might wonder when the birth pangs will be done. I have a feeling that the birth pangs will be done when we stop letting evil win. The birth pangs will be done when we embrace or start to re-embrace our God…  our God of relationship and love and be participants in God’s mission and start to usher in the Kingdom.

But, we are afraid… We are afraid of terrorism; We are afraid of the economy collapsing; We are afraid of losing our jobs; We are afraid of losing our health; We're afraid of losing our stuff; We're afraid for our children’s future; We're afraid of rejection. The list of fears is endless.

We live in fear that our neatly constructed lives will somehow be “all be thrown down” so we live in imprisoned by that fear, and when we live imprisoned by fear, we never really live!

Instead of being fearful, which ultimately lets the evil one win and has us question the good in humanity and has us question God… We should connect… Connect to the things that help us make since of this world, Connect to the things that help us look forward to something better yet to come…

In the context of Mark’s gospel, the reading today is a portion of the story just as Jesus enters Jerusalem, and is arrested, put through a mock trial and is handed over to the evils of this world to be crucified. “All will be thrown down” is a promise that ALL the things of this world, its structures, systems, and yes – even its evils will fall apart, disintegrate and die. Jesus reminds us that our job isn’t to know exactly what will happen, how it will happen, or even when it will happen; but rather, our job is to be faithful, be patient and keep awake… watch therefore, because God is working out the plan of salvation… The Kingdom of God is being brought forth and God has not abandoned us.

It will be alright because God is in charge. I’m not saying that it will be easy and that there won’t be hardships and distress. This isn’t empty optimism that promises things will get better for our lives; we don’t know - they may or may not. However, It is a promise that God is in charge… regardless of what it may look like.

Jesus promises us that things will be all right… everything will work out for those who trust and believe because God ALWAYS has the last word! When death on the cross appears to be the end for Jesus, God has the last word and brings forth an empty tomb and a risen Christ!

Throughout our lives, we have already experienced death and resurrection many times over… as the neatly arranged constructs of our lives are ALL thrown down. Jesus’ words remind us to hang on and to place our trust in something more than ourselves, or our possessions, or our health, or our capabilities or our even our intellect. It is to place our faith and ultimate trust in the One from whom all of these things come.

It is to accept our own mortality and have a radical trust in God’s unchangeable grace, God’s gracious goodness, and God’ abundant love… So that we can inevitably be free from the imprisonment of anxious fear and finally live fully and freely as children of God.