Friday of Pentecost 18 – Matthew 21:23-32

Matthew 21:23-32

²³ And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

What makes for a marriage? My father was once confronted by that question in an adult membership class. One of the women in the class had been faithful to her cohabitating boyfriend for over 25 years.  At least two others in the class had been divorced and remarried. It was a typical cross-section of the folks who show up in these sorts of classes these days. My father was a little stymied by the question, he admitted to me. She had been far more faithful than many of the marriages over which he had presided. He would have been delighted to celebrate a 25^th or 30^th anniversary with this person. Was there something to celebrate? While an official marriage would have been better, my father had to admit that this woman and her boyfriend in fact were far more faithful to whatever promises they had made to one another than many of those who had been officially married. Did that make them married?

Jesus poses a question to his hostile and pious audience today in the form of a parable. A man with two sons. One says no to the father’s request but then goes out and does what the father asks. The other son says he will do it, but he never puts down the videogame controller to do what the father requested. Which of those sons did the father’s will? Of course, deeds speak louder than words. Jesus points out that the reprobates got John the Baptist right. They had not gone to synagogue every week or taken their bar-mitzvah vows seriously, but when God called them to repent, they did it. The churchly types who fought John’s ministry claimed to be faithful but did not repent at God’s command.

It is that same uncomfortable moment you have when you talk to a street person or some tattooed biker only to discover that they have been far more loving to neighbors than you have been for all your proper, church-going piety. We started this week with a prayer to be led to the truth. Jesus is leading all of us to the truth and sometimes it packs a punch. But having dislodged us from our pietistic perch, Jesus leans over us while we lie in the straw and filth on ground with a smile on his face. He reaches out his hand to pick us up anew, every time. The woman who was living with her boyfriend could get married and Jesus would smile on that. The prostitutes and tax collectors who came to John were forgiven and told to sin no more. Even self-righteous elder brothers who say the right thing but hypocritically do not do it, find a place in that long line of sinners for whom Jesus died and rose again. Jesus tells this story to those same people who rejected John and later that week killed Jesus himself because he still wants them to repent so they can be forgiven. He wants that for you too.

Thursday of Pentecost 18 – Philippians 2:1-18

Philippians 2:1-18

¹ So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things without grumbling or disputing, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸ Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Sometime in 1614, we are not sure the exact date, a French mother and father welcomed an infant boy into their home. They named him Nicolas. His parents were peasants and economic straits pushed him into the military where he would get regular meals and clothes. But the price would be high. He fought in the Thirty Years War, left the army with an injury to his leg and pain in his soul. He took a job as a valet in the household of the French national treasurer but, by his own admission, was bit of a clumsy oaf, but also due to his injured leg. When his time of service was done, he decided to pursue holiness in earnest. He entered a Carmelite monastery as a lay brother and spent the next fifty years cooking and making sandals. (The vows of his branch of the Carmelites mean they do not wear shoes, even in winter, so there was always a need for more sandals.)

Upon taking his vows, as is usually the case, he took a new name. He became Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection. Even though his duties were humble and his education minimal, people began showing up in the kitchen and the workroom where he made sandals. They came just to talk to him. If they could not be there, they sent letters and he replied. He knew peace and was wise. When he died the Abbot collected his letters and the records some had made of his conversations. You can still read this little book. It is called “The Practice of the Presence of God.” The bishop who approved the book for publication said this about Lawrence:

He forgot himself and was willing to lose himself for God, that he no longer thought of virtue or his salvation … that he had always governed himself by love without interest.

In this reading today, Paul notes his absence from the Philippians, but he also notes the presence of God “who works in you, both to will and to work for his pleasure.” In the middle of the 17^th century the presence of God meant this young French veteran joined a rigorous monastic community where he shone as a light in the world. In this day, your life of humble service will be different, but the same God calls you to shine with Christ-like humility. We work out our faith with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in us. You might add Lawrence’s little book to your readinglist. Certainly, read these words of Paul and know that they are also directed to you.

Wednesday of Pentecost 18 – Psalm 25:1-10

Psalm 25:1-10

¹ To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, in you I trust;
    let me not be put to shame;
    let not my enemies exult over me.
³ Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
    they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴ Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
⁵ Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all the day long.

⁶ Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
⁹ He leads the humble in what is right,
    and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

It was one of those hot, humid, summer days which afflict the residents of Missouri. We were taking a much-needed break from baling hay, sitting in the shade of a spreading oak tree. Neil, whose hay we were baling, also ran a service station in town. The farm was more of a hobby for him. He asked me with some disbelief in his voice, “you mean you don’t understand how air conditioning works?” The topic had come up rather naturally considering the temperature in the barn. I had to admit that I did not have this knowledge. Air conditioning was a mystery. One pushed the button, turned it on, and cold air came out. I can still remember him patiently and thoroughly explaining how a liquid converting to gas absorbs heat and makes air-conditioners work. As a man who fixed cars for a living, he thoroughly understood the subject.

I thought about Neil the other day. We were making ice-cream and I was pouring rock salt onto the ice. Neil had used ice-cream making as an example of the principle of air-conditioning. Against all my intuition but along the lines of what Neil taught me, ice-cream firms up faster on hot days than on cold days. The reason is that the ice melts faster. That means it absorbs the heat from the churn faster. And the cream freezes faster. You would think it would take longer to freeze ice-cream on a hot day. But it is the other way around. You must melt the ice to freeze the cream.

The psalmist asks God to teach him his paths and to make know the ways of the Lord to him. If you remember the Isaiah 55 reading from not long ago, God reminds us that his ways are not our ways; they are higher and better. I would never imagine that more salt and a hot day will get me ice-cream faster. But it does. God, who is holy and just, approaches sins and sinners with love, compassion, and forgiveness. Who would have imagined it? Yes, God, teach me your strange and upside-down ways that do not remember the sins of my youth or my middle age. Instruct this sinner in your ways and I will rejoice with your psalmist that God’s ways are steadfast love and faithfulness.

Tuesday of Pentecost 18 – Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? ³ As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. ⁴ Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die…

²⁵ “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? ²⁶ When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. ²⁷ Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. ²⁸ Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²⁹ Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

³⁰ “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. ³¹ Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? ³² For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”

“You should not have put it on the table when I was coming home from school!” Indeed, his parents should have known that he was coming home from school in a bad mood and would fling his pack onto the table and thereby bump the vase off the table and onto the floor. It was surely his parents’ fault that the vase now lay broken on the floor. At least in that teen’s logic it was their fault.

In Ezekiel’s day the people were in a terrible Exile and felt that they had been punished for their parents’ sins. That is the meaning of the proverb Ezekiel quotes, the fathers eat sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge. God rejects this line of reasoning. You cannot blame someone else. That is a truth which we would do well to remember. It is not just children who like to blame their parents. Many of those who march and even riot in the streets claim that the injustice of the past makes violence and destruction permissible in the present. On the other side of that equation, some imagine that because they did not directly participate in oppression, they have no responsibility to help the neighbor in need. Both are wrong.

The soul who sins shall die… Because the mortality rate for being human remains stubbornly at 100%, Ezekiel’s words should make anyone who would pass the blame to another hesitate. I knew a man who had been born with a degenerative disorder which trapped his sharp mind in a body which progressively robbed him of mobility, speech, and control of basic bodily functions. It was not fair. Had he inherited some genetic defect? Should he blame his parents? Was there some environmental cause – should he blame the nearest factory? If anyone had a reason to be angry and bitter, it was this man. He was not. He was in fact a ray of sunshine wherever he went. He had heard the last line of this text. God takes no pleasure in the death, suffering, or misery of anyone. He had heard God’s gracious invitation in Christ to turn and live. His problems were his own problems. God saw them and offered his help. He took that help and lived the life God had given him in joy, knowing that in God’s time, at the resurrection of the dead. God would make everything right again. We cannot undo the past, but we can love our neighbor in the present. Ezekiel called his generation to see that their own lives were distorted by sin. Yes, they suffered in the current situation. But the real question was then and remains today, what shall we make of this situation. Blaming another solves no problems. Repenting, changing, turning to God, and living – that has a future.

Monday of Pentecost 18 – Prayer of the Week

Prayer of the Week

Almighty God, You exalted Your Son to the place of all honor and authority. Enlighten our minds by Your Holy Spirit that, confessing Jesus as Lord, we may be led into all truth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

The “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams is one of the few contributions to the Science Fiction genre which is also comedic. In one scene the main characters of the story land on a planet and find the capital city in a military lockdown. The downtown area has been evacuated; soldiers ring the central plaza with weapons at the ready, all trained on the courthouse. Within that building is a harmless man. He had been summoned as a witness and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And he did! He told the whole truth, all of it.

No one could bear that whole truth which he told. At first it was alright, but soon no one could tolerate it. They evacuated the building and called in the military. It was just too much for people to hear the truth. Adams, the author of the story, was noting how convenient lies are for us and how much they seem to make our lives easier. We can tell ourselves that we are basically OK when we are not. The truth is hard to bear. Adams does not think we can stand it. He wrote that in 1979, over 40 years ago. What would he say about this time in which we have “alternate facts” and wild conspiracy theories abound?

Are you truly ready to pray this prayer? We ask God to enlighten our minds so that by the Spirit’s guidance we be led into the whole truth. That truth will have some difficult things to say about you and me. We are not OK. Our problems go very deep and are inescapable. The solutions are unpleasant and, frankly, unbearable. This is where we need the other parts of this prayer. The enlightenment is an act of the Holy Spirit, and we are led to the truth confessing Jesus as Lord. We can bear the truth of ourselves and confront reality only at the direction of that Spirit and in the light of Christ’s work. Otherwise, like the people on that planet in Adams story, we must flee the truth.

Friday of Pentecost 17 – Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

I have friends who own and operate a vineyard and winery in Sonoma County, California, near Healdsburg. They had to flee from the fires which ravaged California a few years ago. Their vineyards survived but there was a moment when they wondered if their business had burned to the ground. Would their venerable label pass out of existence? There is much to pray for in this world. I am sure you have your own list. That day they surely had their prayers answered when they came back and found their business and vineyards saturated with smoke but still standing.

There is one thing I know, however. The love of God is completely separated from the economy of our lives. We cannot earn God’s love and we cannot put that love into a scale which corresponds to our situation. Like the workers in the vineyard I find it difficult to get my head around this truth. I would rather like to think that God has in fact seen my consistent worship, my tithing, my service on committees and in activities of the local parish and that this life should make a difference in my status in God’s eyes. He should notice that I am in church and all those folks who drive by on Sunday morning are not in church. That should make me a little bit more lovable to him. It does not work that way. God has seen those good things I do, and he has delighted in them. His love for me, however, is in no way dependent upon them. He loves the self-destructive heroin user who has not ever been in church as much as he loves me.

When we are getting steamrolled by the world, there is another side to this which can bring us comfort. The afflictions which we endure in this time are no sign that God loves us less. They may be warnings for this world to repent or simply his providential work, but they are not a measure of his love for us. There is only one measure of God’s love for his people – a cross and an empty tomb.

If life has hit you hard, as it has afflicted many, know that I and others are praying for you and God’s people are called upon to come together to help one another. Our prayers will be answered with very human instruments. Do not fear. God has never stopped loving you. I cannot promise how that love will play out in your life. I am no prophet that way. I can, however, assert with all confidence this truth. God loves you. He will never stop loving you. That is a forever promise.

Thursday of Pentecost 17 – Philippians 1:12-30

Philippians 1:12-30

¹² I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰ as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴ But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

²⁷ Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ³⁰ engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

I have long enjoyed the work of Gary Larson, creator of the Far Side. Did you know he grew up Lutheran? The image you see here is one of my favorites. I think Larson must have read this passage from Philippians at some point and been inspired to draw this cartoon. Paul is in prison. He has enemies within the Christian community (vss. 15-17). If you read a little further, he is facing capital punishment. His life might be poured out like a drink offering (2:17). But, like this fellow pushing the wheelbarrow in hell while he whistles, he is joyful.

I want some of that joy and right now. I could really use some of that joy which persists through terrible times. It seems like with politics, social unrest, weather, and natural disasters, the world has a desire to deprive me of any joy. We had two days of hot, dry winds not long ago. Some of my favorite plants in my yard got scorched. Was that really necessary?

 Now, however, we come to the truth of the matter. What is the secret of Paul’s persistent joy? Perhaps vs. 20 is the best place to find it. Christ has completely displaced Paul as the center of his life. It is as if Paul is a planet which orbits Jesus now, instead of being the center of his own universe. For Paul that meant that the sufferings he endured, even the death which he faced, was not dimming the light which brought him joy. That Light, which is Christ, would shine no matter what happened to Paul and Paul believed that he would once more bask in that Light at the resurrection of the dead.

This means that my sorrow at the death of the plant in my back yard needs to be reconsidered. Was it ever my plant and my back yard? Or does it belong twice to God? Once because he made it, twice because he redeemed it. I may not always be able to see how the events of my life or this world work bear their fruit. But it is not about me. It is about the Father and his Son, Jesus. That does not mean I am not important to him, but my rescue will not be on my terms or on my schedule. It may well also be at the resurrection of the dead. But that is OK. No one can steal that joy from me.

Wednesday of Pentecost 17 – Psalm 27:1-9

Psalm 27:1-9

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evildoers assail me
    to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
    it is they who stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
    yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸ You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
⁹     Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    O God of my salvation!

“I’m gonna beat this,” she told me with fierce determination. In truth, her words were somewhat coarser, and this is a devotion, so I will not tell you exactly what she said. The cancer which had been diagnosed and was growing in her body was the enemy. David speaks of evil doers who assail him and devour his flesh. That is a pretty good description of cancer. Luther spoke of three great enemies of the Christian: Sin, Death, and the Devil.

Today we face many foes: political unrest, perhaps even violence. Threats have been made against public officials on both sides of the political divide. We see economic worries, geopolitical tensions, and far more. I remember a few years ago when an ominous yellow cloud of smoke descended upon the city of Portland. At least one of my colleagues was forced to abandoned his church building and spent several days wondering if it still stood. People I know lost their homes to the inexorable advance of flames. Today as I think of that moment of terror, it seems like a distant event, because so many other terrifying days have intervened. What is the disaster of the day? Hurricane? Earthquake?

David speaks of confidence. The Lord is his light and salvation. Who will make him afraid now? The enemy will stumble and fall. Here the Christian needs to make a careful parsing. David knows he will spend eternity in the house of the Lord. My friend who gritted her teeth and fought courageously against cancer eventually succumbed to it. Did that mean that God had failed? Hardly. Her resurrected body will be cancer free, and free of any other ailments for that matter. She had a touch of arthritis in her hip. You could see it in the way she walked up steps. On that glorious day, David’s confidence in this psalm will perfectly describe her.

Everything, our very lives, hinges upon the grace of God. Look carefully at the final verses of this psalm. David knows it. He can have the best retirement plans, the biggest nest egg, take immaculate care of his health, and all will be for nothing without God’s favor. He has and yearns for the grace of God. Such is the life of the Christian.

Tuesday of Pentecost 17 – Isaiah 55:6-9

Isaiah 55:6-9

⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I am a devotee of the dad joke, the terrible pun which causes children to groan. Once, while driving along I-84 in Oregon, I asked my children why the students in Pendleton did not study fractions. They looked at me rather perplexed until I pointed to the large sign advertising the Pendleton Roundup, a major annual rodeo event. My daughter, aiming a look of utter scorn at me, said, “Dad, you are the reason God doesn’t talk to us anymore!”

In terms of dad joke responses, this was golden. It also speaks, however, of an assumption which permeates even our Christian sensibilities. It does sometimes seem like God has rather put an end to the voice from heaven technique which he used in the Old Testament. We are not there with the disciples at Jesus’ feet listening to his parables. God seems so distant. Isaiah urges us to seek the Lord while he may be found and to call upon God while he is near. Did we miss our chance?

It is good to remember that God spoke very little from clouds and mountain tops in the Old Testament. Most of the time he spoke through prophets and writings. Generations of believers were born, lived, and died between those events. John, in chapter 6 of his Gospel account, tells us that after Jesus declared himself to be the Bread of Life many of those following him checked out of the Jesus movement. The twelve disciples remained but many did not. To those who left, Jesus did not appear to be a divine manifestation. The nearness of God is not found in a preternatural voice from heaven. Indeed, the people of Israel at Sinai wanted to distance themselves from the One who spoke. They sent Moses alone up the mountain. The presence and accessibility of God is found in the fact that he welcomes sinners, people like you and me. We may confess to a fellow Christian our sins, our weakness, our fear, our frailty, and know that God hears that. What is more, he promises us that in the words of that baptized Christian who forgives us, comforts us, and loves us despite our condition, God has spoken to us.

Seek the Lord. He does not think of sin the same way you do. We know that because Jesus died on a cross to save you from it. He has risen from the grave to hear your prayers.

Monday of Pentecost 17 – Prayer of the Week

Prayer of the Week

Lord God, heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before You relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Human beings are trusting creatures, and this trait has only been amplified by the complexity of the world in which we lived. I have a neighbor who believes just about everything that shows up on her screen. The latest is that tomatoes cause arthritis, but we have heard from her any number of ideas which, in the moment, are fervently trusted. But it is not just my neighbor. You probably know someone who so believes in dietary supplements that their innards must surely be galvanized from all the zinc pills they have taken. It is unlikely that they arrived at these ideas or behaviors on their own. At some point they trusted someone.

This has only been exacerbated in these days of internet conspiracy theories. One credentialed doctor says masks are bad; another says they are necessary. Should you get the vaccine or is it some means for the government or big pharma to do something wicked to us? A while ago news reporters at fires in Oregon reported that they were themselves attacked because the rumor was spreading among rural Oregonians that the fires had been intentionally set the same liberal media to promote climate change conspiracies. A conspiracy about a conspiracy! Multiple state and local officials vociferously denied this. Even the FBI came out denying this was the case. Who do people trust? Did folks in southern Oregon believe the rumors or the government? Whom would you believe? In times of fear that gets even harder to sort out.

The prayer is not so much a prayer for the ability to trust but that God would call us out of our foolish incompetence so that we trust in His abiding grace and act accordingly. The latest health or diet craze will not save me. God will. The latest conspiracy theory about some plot by the government or big pharma or big tech will not grip me in fear, but assured of God’s grace, I can go about the hard work of discerning the truth in this complex world. God has my life in his hands. No one can snatch me from him. That starts with a baptism in which, vulnerable, incompetent, and utterly helpless, we were washed with life-giving water and God expressed his amazing love to us. There is the news to trust, news upon which, aided by the Holy Spirit, you can build a life of joy and confident service.