RCL Year C (Proper 24) - October 17, 2010

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year C (Proper 24) - October 17, 2010

Jeremiah 31:27-34
Psalm 119:97-104
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8

We live in a world of instant gratification… from the human desire to have an immediate pat on the back for a job well done, to the microwaves ovens sitting on our kitchen counter…

In our world we spend a whole lot of time rushing around to find the source of that instant “feel good” – an unhealthy sense of urgency has taken over our culture…

It is displayed in our culture by the fast paced trading on the stock market – causing our stocks to rise and fall in a matter of seconds. It is even seen in commercials on TV… We are told that we need everything from instant weight-loss to those work from home businesses that will make us instant money…

The images in our society of this “instant” need will absolutely make your head swim… Instant breakfast, instant coffee, and ATMs that dish out “instant” money.

I sometimes feel that the internet is a direct result of this need for instant gratification… As great as it is, it is a source of instant knowledge – to know what the weather is, what the current news issues are, and it even gives us the real time sports scores… In seminary it was even common for us to look up facts on the internet concerning what the instructor was talking about, and then cut and paste them into our notes…

This need for instant gratification and spontaneous reward has even worked its way into our prayer life… When we pray to God, we want instant results… It is somehow that we want the Almighty, Omnipotent, creator of heaven and earth to be reduced to our vending machine. Push a button… have a prayer answered… And we think that if God doesn’t give us instant answers, then we believe that we are somehow not good enough, or deserving of God’s infinite graces.

We fall into the rut of thinking our faith is quantitative and not large enough or our prayers are not sincere enough… We think that maybe God isn’t listening… it’s then that we often either give up, or feel defeated and quit praying all together.

Jesus tells us a parable this morning about a widow, and a judge… The widow has a need for justice in a time and place when widows did not rate anything in society. Widows were on the bottom rung of the ladder and had no rights. They were exploited and oppressed.

Unlike today, widows were not even allowed to inherit their husbands estate, and if they didn’t have any sons to take care of them, they were often forced to return to their father’s family. Interestingly enough… The Hebrew word for widow means “one who is silent” or the “one unable to speak”

So this widow, who was not even allowed to speak in society on her own behalf, is pleading with the judge for justice… We aren’t told what the issue was, but we are sure that she knew the judge… he didn’t respect anyone or anything, not even God, do you think he had the time or even the desire to spend a second discerning the appropriate justice for this widow?

The widow is persistent in her pleading and doesn’t give up… It almost seems like she gets a bit feisty in her pleadings because there is some language in the scripture that indicates the Judge may have thought she would become physical. So, the judge takes action and grants her justice, almost as if to brush her off or somehow get rid of her.

Jesus takes this image and puts God’s love for the faithful in contrast… If this Judge, who doesn’t respect anyone, not even God grants justice to the persistent widow then how much MORE will God do for us, who cry out to God? How much MORE will God bless those who are persistent and faithful with their prayers?

Over the past few weeks, we have really gotten our tool box for discipleship full of useful equipment that we will need in our ministry to others as we seek to proclaim the kingdom of Jesus Christ to the whole world.

We have learned to be moving forward, and mission focused. Jesus has made sure that we know how to receive others with radical hospitality, and how to serve them without prejudice. We have loaded up our tool box with prayer, love, and faith. We even learned a couple of weeks ago, that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, the tiniest of seeds, then we could do tremendous things like move mountains.

Today, Jesus adds to his metaphor of the mustard seed of faith, and teaches us about persistence. Yes, we must have faith, but our faith requires persistence. Persistence to keep close to God, even when it seems to us that God is far off. Persistence to keep praying even though it seems to us that God is not listening.

The scripture indicates that we should to show our faith in God through the persistent actions in our life. This parable often gives folks the false impression that we can somehow conform God to our needs for instant gratification. That we can somehow “wear down” God and get God to do what we want God to do by our persistent prayers.

But – that’s not the point at all. Our persistent prayers to God are NOT a means of controlling God. We cannot reduce God to some genie in the sky that grants us wishes. God will not be controlled like that! Our prayers to God are the mechanism that guides our hearts and minds to help us grow - to be formed and be informed by God’s love for us and God’s will for our lives.

Our prayers to God are the way we grow and are formed in our faith. It is how our minds focus on and how our soul connects with the One who created us. It is the way we know WHO we are and WHOSE we are. Prayer is our response to our God, with or without words.

In faith, we keep praying, and in faith, God keeps listening. We show our faith by the fact that we are even praying at all... trusting that God hears us and that God will respond to us.

When we pray, there are rarely any easy instant answers or any instant gratification. There is no microwave or website or lever to pull that will automatically give us the connection that we are longing for. There is no instant salvation. But, God is always faithful and God always acts in God’s own time. So, we keep on praying with persistence knowing that God loves us, hoping and trusting that God will deliver us, and that God will provide us with what we need.

It's not going to be instant... But it will happen! If we are paying close attention, we just may even recognize it.

RCL Year C (Proper 22) - October 3, 2010

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year C (Proper 22) - October 3, 2010

Lamentations 1:1-6
Lamentations 3:19-26
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10

When we come to church, we hear a lot talk about faith. We read about faith in the Bible and we even sing songs about faith… But what is Faith?

I have often heard people mistakenly say that faith is a type of reasoning that is the opposite of doubt. But we know that the opposite of doubt is certainty… So, what is Faith?…

In today’s gospel story, Jesus’ disciples made what would seem to be a logical and obvious request… “Increase our faith!” We can picture them on the road… all prepared for discipleship… equipped with all the stuff they needed to build up the kingdom of God…

They were pumped up and ready for mission, and they have packed wisely for the journey… They were welcoming the stranger in their midst, and had even started eating with tax collectors and sinners… Jesus taught them well…

He taught them how to be steadfast followers, and how to use all their money and stuff that they were entrusted with to glorify God and build up the kingdom…

I get the image of some young rookie football player, all suited up in a new uniform, helmet on… looking right in the coaches eyes… We all expect him to say “put me in coach, I can do this… I am ready to play.”

But instead, the young player is saying… “help me... please… what if I get hurt?, what if the others don’t block for me?... What do I do if… ???” and his worries go on and on and on…

The disciples are prepared… and Jesus knows they are, because he has prepared them… But with all the preparation, the disciples still don’t get it, they still don’t trust that God will be with them… So they ask Jesus for an increase in their faith… Like they can top off their tank with “faith” and be ready to continue the journey. Sort of like a “fill-er up” with super high holy octane!

But, Jesus’ response to his disciples relates directly to the power of faith itself… Explaining to them, that the power of faith is so strong that even the smallest bit of it could prove to be a tremendous force…

Then Jesus takes the discussion an unexpected level. He basically says, to do the Job I have given you to do… to be my disciple… it isn’t going to require very much faith at all. All you need to do is obey God and do our duty… Jesus then depicts each of the disciples as a humble servant, who’s duty is to be hardworking, not expecting to be thanked. He says that this is what faith is… It is our duty within the relationship to God…

I think, most simply, when we say that we have faith, it means that we trust God… to be God.

Sometimes, most often where people are ill, folks will say, “if you have faith, you will be healed.” Or worse yet, “your faith isn’t strong enough.” We assume that if Jesus says that our faith can move trees… when if we had any faith at all, we would certainly be healed…

I think that we fail to realize that this means we would be manipulating God… trying to get God to conform to our image... instead of us being and living in His image… In other words, we get hung up in the world of, “If I have enough faith, then God has to do exactly what I want God to do!” That’s not what Jesus is saying at all!

Jesus makes it clear that we are expected to have faith… it is part of being Christian, just like serving is part of being a servant… Our faith doesn’t require God to do anything. God does not heal us because we have faith. God heals us because God is God. God loves us simply because God chooses to love us…

God is active and present in our everyday lives, and gives us more than we could ever ask for or imagine… Neither our level of faith nor our actions can earn us God’s favor or salvation! (which is another misconception - and another sermon in its entirety)…

So - How much faith is enough? Do we need to have a lot of faith, or will just a little bit do? The answers may surprise you.

The followers of Jesus said to him, "Increase our faith." Jesus answered them, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."

When we have faith in God, our faith isn’t quantitative… it isn't a question of how big or small our faith is, it is qualitative… it is a question of how powerful our God is, and with God all things are possible!

Some of you know that today is World Communion Sunday. It is a Sunday when all of the denominations in Christendom that are part of the National Council of Churches have agreed to have a celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

As we know some of our brothers and sisters in Christ, do not celebrate The Lords Supper but once per quarter, or once per month. Unlike us who celebrate every Sunday. But today everyone is gathered around the Lords Table breaking bread and sharing the cup.

As we approach the holy table this morning we receive by faith the body and blood of the Lord our Savior Jesus Christ. My prayer is not to ask God to give us more faith. But, it is simply to ask God to help us use the faith that we have, and to help us do tremendous things to His glory and then trust that God will do the rest.

RCL Year C (Proper 19) - September 12, 2010

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year C (Proper 19) - September 12, 2010

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Psalm 14
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10

We may think this morning… “Hey!! This week, these lessons are easy! We know right away what it says! You know, it’s like that hymn “Amazing Grace”… I once was lost, but now I am found… I got it preacher, you can stop right there! End of Sermon – See you next Sunday…

But, I’m not going to let you off that easy! Sometimes when we read the lessons, we think they are so easy… So easy that sometimes we like to get to the point because we think we don’t need to open the box…

It’s easy for us to jump right to being “lost” like the sheep and the coin from the Gospel lesson… We jump so quick that we loose the depth of what the scripture readings are telling us together this morning…

The prophet Jeremiah talks to us about how Judah interpreted what was happening to them… they were under attack, their lands were being destroyed, and their lives were falling apart. As far as they knew it, the end was near and all was lost!

They evaluated their situation and decided that they were suffering this dilemma because they were not following God’s ways, so God must be punishing them. The logic that they are using is pretty easy to understand. It is so easy to blame God for our misfortunes even though we are probably the ones who caused them in the first place.

But we have to remember, regardless of who is doing the destroying, out of the destruction God brings re-creation and restoration. Out of tearing down God builds up. Just like out of crucifixion God provided resurrection and out of death God brings us to life everlasting.

It’s hard to hear about that portion of the journey it difficult for us to spend time wrestling with the questions, trying to figure out where we have gone astray. It becomes so easy to blame God when something doesn’t go like we think it should. But, it becomes just as easy to praise God when something happens to us that we perceive as a blessing.

We think that these things are easy, because deep in our minds we think that it’s all about us instead of it being all about God. We are so hung up on that Amazing grace… that divine favor… God’s grace for us, that we don’t look beyond the gift of God’s Grace into our desperate need for God’s Grace.

We need to remember that God and only God has the ability to form, transform, restore, re-create, and resurrect. It must be that we are a bit hard-headed, and stubborn. We need that element of control because we have it all figured out. That’s probably why we don’t let God shower us with the abundance that God has in store for us.

In the new testament lesson, we get a first hand account of Paul’s testimony. Paul, a blasphemer, a persecutor, and man of violence was transformed into an example of the faith. Prior to his conversion, Paul thought he was very much in control. The scripture says that he acted out of ignorance. He was blinded by the things that he refused to believe. He was lost, and had that desperate need for God’s Grace.

And God went to work on Paul… redeeming him, restoring him, and re-recreating him for God’s glory. Paul was lost until Paul found God on the road to Damascus.

So, that brings up the question for us to ponder this morning, “In reference to God, who is lost – and who is found???” In reference to God, not in reference to the Pharisees, (who think that they have it all figured out)… or in reference to ourselves (because the Lord knows, we’re not in control, and if we use ourselves as a reference, and we consider ourselves found then everyone not like us is lost…) But in reference to God… Who is lost and who is found… In reference to God??

The gospel lessons this morning, Luke gives us 2 parables in the lost trilogy – the lost sheep and the lost coin. I say it is a trilogy, because the story of the lost son (some of us know it better as the prodigal son) that comes right after it, but we hear that story in Lent.

In the first parable, a shepherd looses one of his sheep. Shepherds are talked about quite a bit in the Bible, and is often used as a metaphor for how God tends to us and cares for us… In the case that Jesus presents, the shepherd has a hundred sheep (Now – a hundred sheep is a pretty large flock. Most families would only have a small fraction of that number.) And Jesus gives us a clear invitation to identify with this thankless shepherd asks the question, "Which one of you?"

Which one of you, having 100 sheep, and loosing one, would leave the 99 in the wilderness? It almost makes it sound as if leaving the ninety-nine was the natural response, but that is far from the case here. It’s actually an absurdity.

It’s not practical! Anybody with any kind of business sense would say, don’t worry about the one. Protect the core business -- the ninety-nine. We can survive a one-percent loss. We cannot survive a ninety-nine percent loss. But Jesus speaks to us about leaving the ninety-nine… leaving the 99 not "safely in the sheepfold," but in the wilderness – an extremely wild and dangerous place.

The little lost lamb is found, and "When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.” This is a nice thought, but it’s truly absurd! But, I think it’s absurd to make a point… The point to see in this story is the radical and absurd ways that we are called to act as disciples of Christ in the world, because of the way God acts radically toward us.

It’s just like the church. Sometimes as a church we do stuff that the world would consider absurd. You can take your pick and fill in the blank. But we do these things in order to respond to the unquantifiable grace that we have received... the love, forgiveness, and pure joy that we can only get from God. When the shepherd comes home, he calls together all his friends and neighbors. The shepherd's joy cannot be contained, but overflows throughout the whole community.

The second parable this morning is about a woman that has 10 silver coins, but looses 1. Again the balance is upset… Where could it be? How could I have been so careless? How difficult is it to keep a mere ten coins in the bag? Lost! Nine coins will not be enough. All ten will be required to meet the needs of the month. Look under the bed. Carefully sweep the rooms and sift through the debris. Where could it have gone? Check the mantel once again. "Ah, there it is!" Rejoice!

Throughout his ministry, Jesus introduces us to the kingdom of God, a radical place of upside-down rules, an absurd place where the norms are different than that of the world. In these stories about the kingdom of God, Jesus teaches us about the radical nature of God's love. This is a place where the ordinary rules of business calculations do NOT apply.

The shepherd mourns the loss of the sheep, so the shepherd searches until he finds the sheep. The woman is frantic at her loss of the coin. But, the joy she expresses at the coins return is beyond extreme elation!

The parables of the lost, really aren’t about being lost at all they should be referred to as the parables of the found! The reaction to finding the lost sheep and the coin is a metaphor for God's joy… God’s joy over the one sinner who repents.

So God's joy really is the point of these parables…

The Pharisees think that they have it figured out, and chastise Jesus for eating with the wrong people… grumbling and telling Jesus that they are sinners… that they are all lost... But Jesus seeks them out and eats with them… Jesus finds them and shares a meal with them, and teaches them, and transforms them into and example of God’s grace, just like he does with us…

Like the people of Judah, we are all here in the wilderness, in the desolate desert, in the ruins of our life, living in the issues and problems that we have made for ourselves. The problem is, like Paul we think we have control of it. But, we are just as lost as we can be. However, no matter how lost we may feel, or how horrified we may become, God is there. God is there to restore us, to reconcile us, and re-create us… All we have to do is accept it and live into it…

The sheep wonder off and go astray, the coin drops off the table and onto the floor… But, all we need to do is remember that God is radically searching for us until we find God. Yes, you heard me right, God is so radically searching for us… searching for us until WE find God. And thank be to God!! God doesn’t follow the normal rules. God doesn’t write us off, or cut the losses because each and every soul is precious and deserving of God’s love.

God doesn’t keep us confined on a short leash, but lets us wonder around in the wilderness. And we do… we even get lost, because we are all a rebellious and sinful people. It is God’s love for us that continuously draws us back to God.

Regardless of how lost we may feel, or how sinful we may be (and when we finally figure out that it’s not about us) God is there… God is there among us, ready to draw us back… and bring us home to the church. So that when we repent we can be reconciled to God and be re-created and restored through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Because when we are lost, it is only through God that we are found!

RCL Year C (Proper 18) - September 5, 2010

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year C (Proper 18) - September 5, 2010

Jeremiah 18:1-11
Psalm 139:1-5, 13-17
Philemon 1-21
Luke 14:25-33

Life is full of “responsibilities”... We have responsibilities to our families, (our husbands, wives, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, children… Godchildren)… We have responsibilities to our jobs… We have responsibilities to our community… and we even have responsibilities to our church…

But ALL of us, as baptized Christians, have a responsibility to God, as a disciple of Jesus Christ. And all of our responsibilities fall into that delicate balance of our lives… our actions, our time, and our money. We must look at today’s readings in this context… In the context of these “responsibilities.”

It is just seems to complicate things sometimes when we mix up our other responsibilities with the responsibilities that we have as “disciples”… disciples of Jesus Christ.

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus is not only walking with the 12, but he is once again with the whole “crowd.” He has left the table of the Pharisees, (where he was last week), and is continuing to move forward to Jerusalem… forward to the cross, and the fait that awaits him…

But the crowd that is with Jesus, sees him as a real “winner” because he is a great teacher and healer… They see him as the messiah that will help Israel rise up and once again become a great nation. They want to be part of the social “in-crowd” and associate with him so that they can be “winners” too…

They want to be with Jesus and “be seen” with Jesus – because they think Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem to claim his crown. But the crowds are completely oblivious of the horrible fate that awaits him in Jerusalem. And they don’t understand the consequences or the burden of the journey that Jesus is on.

Like the crowd that is with him, we have heard a lot about discipleship on his journey… From Sunday to Sunday during this long green season – the season of church growth after the day of Pentecost, we have learned what kind of followers we need to be, and how we need to give of ourselves, engage mission, and love each other… During this season we have been led to grow in faith, examine our lives and actions, and re-evaluate our responsibilities so we can be better disciples of Jesus…

We knew, because Jesus has warned us before, that being his disciple isn’t going to be easy, but we didn’t really expect anything like what we heard today. Jesus’ words are hard to hear in our context... they aren’t comfortable…

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus uses strong language to make a point… to teach the crowd (and in retrospect, teach us) that discipleship is costly – it carries a pretty big price tag.

Jesus does not make discipleship any easier for us than the cross was for him... He does not offer us buy one get one free deal, an easy payment plan, nor does he lower any expectations of difficulty. He gives it to us straight!

He has talked about discipleship many times, and he has never tried to disguise the cost. But this time he actually writes the price tag for discipleship in great big numbers, big enough for all of us to really see. This time, Jesus demands commitment!

The question is, are we ready to accept the responsibility and be a disciple of Jesus Christ? In our society, we are tempted to sugar coat the message and hide the true demands that being a disciple of Christ has on our lives… and we end up with more of a motovational speach instead of a sermon preached on the gospel of Christ... In the interest of filling the pews, afraid that we will run people off, we don’t to challenge people to faithful stewardship – faithful worship attendance – careful study of scripture – compassion for the less fortunate – or other costly responsibilities that being a disciple of Christ demands of us!!

Costly responsibilities that mold and shape us… costly responsibilities that require us to change our lives!

Instead, we play it cool, and cater to our feelings… we worship the god of family and convenience, and the lord of money and stuff.

Which one of us will have a commitment to serving at church and then as soon as something (that we perceive as better comes along) – we are looking for a replacement…

Or which of us evaluate the cost of discipleship as inconvenient… and when worship or study time conflicts with our sleep schedules, we adopt a religion of convenience, rather than a follow a way that promises eternal life.

And I have one more… Which one of us, when it comes to giving to the church, does so by giving things like toilet paper or reams of paper, or other specific needs that we are important… rather than disciplined proportional giving so that we can keep the lights on and pay salaries.

I have a feeling we have been comfortable too long… we have stressed the “freeness” of forgiveness so much, that we have ended up with “cheap grace.” We have become lazy about practicing our faith, giving our tithes, saying our prayers, and participating in our community. We have forgotten that the cost of discipleship is expensive!!!

We all want the rewards of what being a Christian means or we wouldn’t be here today. Yet, we are not willing to accept the responsibilities and pay for it by the way we live our lives. Instead, we continuously crucify Jesus again, making him pay over and over again, when he has already paid the debt once for all.

Now it’s our turn to step up! It our turn, and our responsibility to learn, to worship, and reach out, and become the best follower (the best disciple) that we can possibly be!

Now, I may have just gone from preachin’ to meddlin’ (like a seminary professor of mine likes to point out anytime a preacher has a strong message) but that is exactly what Jesus has done in today's Gospel lesson.

He's gone from preachin' to meddlin'. "If you don't hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, you cannot be my disciple. None of you can become my disciple unless you give up all your possessions."

Jesus has been gathering followers everywhere he goes. He does so because they see him go against the society norms and deliberately include the poor, heal the sick, and talk a lot about love and money. But, Jesus is now telling these same folks that if they want to stay with him, if they want to really be his disciples, they have to give up “everything” – EVERYTHING… family as well as possessions.

We could almost imagine his followers thinking, and some of you are probably thinking it about me… "Hey, I liked him a lot better when he was giving me a warm fuzzy – preaching about love. Leave it there! How dare you ask me to change my life." Jesus HAS really gone from preachin' to meddlin'. Jesus is challenging his disciples to radically change their lives… to completely put what they say and what they believe to the test… to put it in its proper place, before any of their own comforts.

These words are very difficult to hear, but this is where the rubber meets the road! You may remember a few weeks ago in the 12th chapter of Luke, that we heard a few Sundays back, Jesus said practically the same thing: “if you want to be a disciple, your household may be divided… Mother against daughter, Father against son, etc…”

Being a disciple is a REAL responsibility! It take dedication and hard work. People may not like us for it, they may consider us to be unpopular or un-cool. They may not even agree with what we are doing or why we are doing it. And, as so many disciples have found out before us, the price that we pay may be the cross!

But all through Luke’s gospel, Jesus points us to the cross. All through Luke (that we have been hearing this season) Jesus challenges the thinking and lifestyles of his listeners (us)… Challenging us to become “real” disciples, to be dedicated participants in our community, to engage in mission, and have a steadfast direction.

But we still have that troubling part… the part where Jesus says that if you don't hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – and yes, even life itself – you can't be my disciple. It’s the word “hate” that just doesn't sound like Jesus.

The Greek word that is used for hate is (miseo), it doesn’t mean “hate” at all in the sense that we are accustomed to hearing it… It’s not the anger and hostility that we would normally associate with the word “hate.” It means that being a follower of Jesus, being a true disciple, “outweighs” the most honored human relationships… It means that EVERYTHING is secondary to our relationship with God in Christ.

So now, if we look at Jesus’ instructions in the proper context, it isn't a call to “hate” at all – but a call to set our priorities and responsibilities right. Because putting anything – anything at all – before our relationship with God skews the rest of our relationships and responsibilities, and messes up our whole life.

The key to understanding the Gospel this morning is to first look at how we act towards one another. If we do this, we won't be like the builder that Jesus uses as an example, who lays an improper foundation and is unable to finish the work that he started.

Instead, we will have the proper foundation to build on and our priorities will be right. And when things are set right with Christ as our foundation, we will see our personal relationships grow deeper and our life have more meaning.

And then there’s that troubling part about taking up our cross… There will always be the cross… As Christian disciples, we always have a cross – but in the cross, we know that on the other side is God's promise of resurrection.

Jesus challenges us today to and intense examination of every aspect of our lives. For instance, how we use – or abuse – the gifts and blessings of our life and the wonders of God’s creation around us? It is all tied together… It could be something as simple and as how and where we shop (or even what we buy)… it all has a place in our spiritual lives… and it could even include the lives of people (people that we will probably never know) and how they are effected every time we go to the store… There are hundreds of other examples that each of us could probably can think of.

The important thing is to remember is… this Gospel makes us take a good look at our responsibilities and priorities – It makes us take a good look at the place that God occupies in our lives.

If this passage makes us squirm in our pews, and think to ourselves that Jesus really has gone from preachin' to meddlin', we need to stop and say, “why?” Why are we squirming?? Are we worried that we might be unwilling to pay the price of discipleship to really be followers of Jesus? Are we worried that we might need to make some changes in our lives?... changes necessary to straighten out our responsibilities and priorities?

The truth is… this gospel lesson ought to energize us to get up off of our duffs and get on about the business of being real disciples of Jesus Christ. To not worry about how much money we have our don’t have, but be faithful disciples, and fully engage opportunities to learn and participate in mission, and give generously so that we can grow these ministries.

In the coming weeks, I would like us to take a good look at where God is in our life… The place of God is in our life is our silent acknowledgement of who and what we know our God to be… It shows up all over our lives… of how we act, our relationships, our checkbooks, and even our participation...

If God is first, then don’t just sit around casually and say God is first!… lets do something about it!!

If God is second, then Lord have mercy on us! Let’s find out what is keeping God from being first and re-evaluate our responsibilities and priorities and do what we need to do to put God first! Amen!

RCL Year C (Proper 17) - August 29, 2010

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Church
Cleveland, NC

RCL Year C (Proper 17) - August 29, 2010

Jeremiah 2:4-13
Psalm 81:1, 10-16
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Luke 14:1, 7-14

As most of you know, I grew up in Southern Virginia. I was very blessed to have known both sets of my grandparents, who lived very close to us.

On Sunday afternoon, after church, we would gather at my grandparents house for a proper “southern” Sunday dinner… complete with homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and my grandmothers famous homemade rolls.

My dad’s whole side of the family would be there… His older sister, her husband, and their 4 boys… My uncle (dad’s twin brother) and his wife… and us 4 (Mom, Dad, my sister and I). At any given time, there would be 14 to 21 of us that would eat Sunday dinner there.

At my grandparent’s home, as I would imagine in most houses, seating for that many people was a problem. They were fortunate enough to have a long rectangle table in the dining room. I can remember that my grandfather would always sit at the “head” of the table with my grand mother to his right. Likewise, my father, being the oldest male of the 3, would sit at the other “head” of the table, with my mother to his right. Everyone then would sit in their “proper” place… My aunt would sit to my grandfathers left and my dad’s brother would sit to my fathers left. The youngest folks at the table were my older teen cousins.

My sister, younger cousin and I would sit at the “kids’” table in the kitchen. It was considered an honor in my family to sit at the adult table… and I didn’t get to move there until I was in high school! This arrangement isn’t strange to us. Some of you may have experienced the same kinds of things whether it was in your own families or your jobs.

I know that I have experienced this type of hierarchical “seating chart” most of my life. Throughout military school and college, formal business dinners and functions, and other formal gala affairs, it was always the same… Folks always sat in positions of honor, depending on who you were and how important people thought that you were.

In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus is invited to the house of the leader of the Pharisees for a dinner on the Sabbath… The Pharisees, you know, were the religious elite, (the important folks) and they are very interested in Jesus’ eating habits. After all, Jesus had been known and often accused of eating with tax collectors, outcasts, and sinners. Upon arrival at the home for dinner, Jesus immediately notices how the guest choose their places of honor. Once again, Jesus takes the opportunity to upset the traditional order of things and stand society right on its ear.

Who sat where at a meal during the time of Jesus, as in some cases today, was a critical statement of social standing. Dinners were important social occasions, and they were often used for political gain. Who you ate with, and who you associated with defined who you were and how important your position was to the society.

So, the folks invited to this dinner, scramble around the table to be the first to get to the “good seats” (the places of honor) so they might be seen and have a chance to “hob-knob” with the right people… they strived to be the ones sitting in the positions of power and authority.

But Jesus sees this and teaches them, he says, if you are invited to eat with someone, do not sit in a place of honor, but go sit in the lowest place… because, all who exalt themselves will be humbled and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

But Jesus doesn’t stop there with his teaching on the “seating chart” he goes on to teach them about their guest list of “who should have been invited.” He says, don’t invite the rich and famous, so that they may invite you in return… but invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be repaid on the day of resurrection.

Now, if we see Jesus’ teaching simply as a lesson in social etiquette for dinner parties – of how to arrange our seating chart and our guest list, we are completely missing the point… Jesus is speaking to us in a much larger context. He wants us to understand how powerful it is to share a meal equally with someone. To eat with someone is to engage them intimately, to share God’s generosity with them either as a host (as God is our’s) or as a guest (as we are God’s) …

We are at our best, as Christian people, when we share a meal… Some folk would like to think that Christianity in a nutshell revolves simply around a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” A personal relationship is necessary, but Christianity is a very social concept, and we connect with God and experience God through our relationships… our interactions with each other as part of the body of Christ.

Eating together in fellowship with one another is one of the best ways that we can accomplish this. So, it shouldn’t be strange to us that the central act of Christian worship (since the beginning) includes table fellowship at the celebration of Holy Eucharist.

Through the Eucharist, the spiritual grace that comes from being united with one another in Christ is imparted to us. That is why we sometimes call it communion... It is a gathering of the community in union with each other and with God… in one great fellowship of love. We know through scripture that Jesus desires to have that close fellowship with us. That’s why he told us to share a specific meal when we gather… Jesus wants to connect with us intimately as our host.

It is only Christ Jesus who frees us from the constant competition of our culture’s struggles for power and esteem. Jesus frees us from hierarchical relationships and the attitudes, and barriers that they create, so that we can be free to create community with each other and enjoy the security that only comes from God’s grace in our lives.

In the middle ages, the myth about King Arthur and the knights of the round table help us understand today’s lesson. The legend is that King Arthur was a humble king, as was his father, and he understood his place as the first among equals.

They used a round table because a “round table” doesn’t have any position of power or privilege… It has no “head.” It was said that Merlin, Arthur’s trusted magician, built this table copying Joseph of Aremethia’s “Grail Table,” or the table supposedly used by Christ and his disciples at the last supper. A table where all who sit at it are considered equal…

Jesus teaches us this morning that we should cultivate and practice humility in our lives, and uses something as common as sharing a meal to show us how simple it can be.

In that practice of humility the standards and practices of discrimination and prejudice are overthrown. The outcasts, repentant sinners, and yes – even the tax collectors, will be accepted as equals in the kingdom of God. They will all be with us at the table of Christ!

Jesus is inviting us into that kind of fellowship with him, to eat at his table, and experience the foretaste of that great heavenly banquet that we will experience at the resurrection of the righteous…

There is no hierarchy at the table of Christ, there is no prejudice, no class, and no race… There is just us… us in the company of all faithful believers, sitting with Jesus at his table. And what an incredible honor it is for us to even be invited.