Goodness is Stronger than Evil

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost / August 28, 2011

Romans 12:9-21

“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good” (Romans 12:9).  The English translation misses the punch of this passage in Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Paul started the sentence, “Love genuine!” There’s no verb and no punctuation.  “Love genuine! Loathe (not just hate, but loathe or despise) evil, (and) cling (in other words hold on with all you are worth) to the good.”  We all want love to be genuine.  We do despise evil.  And we truly want to cling to the good.  And yet, so often there’s this gray area between good and evil.  Sometimes the evil is very attractive, even seductive and we confuse it with good.  How do we cling to the good when it is so often intertwined with evil?  How do we despise evil while still genuinely loving one another?

Way back in 1986, Desmond Tutu preached in Duke Chapel.  I remember eagerly anticipating his sermon because I thought he would preach on the evils of apartheid.  Apartheid is a system of legal segregation that existed in South Africa throughout much of the latter half of the 20^th century.  The black people of South Africa were moved into townships where many families lived in one-room houses with dirt floors and no running water.   Their children received a “Bantu education” – enough schooling to be good manual laborers and no more.  Those who were allowed to leave the townships traveled long distances to jobs as housekeepers and gardeners.  In other words, the blacks were very clearly marked as inferior, second-class, and sub-human.

I hated apartheid – it was not only wrong, it was clearly evil.  I hated apartheid the same way I hated the Nazi extermination camps and slavery in the US.  I was looking forward to this sermon.  But Bishop Tutu did not preach on apartheid.  Instead he started talking to each person in that crowded chapel as if he were having a one-on-one conversation with each one of us.  I remember feeling like he was speaking straight to me as he told me “You are unique! You are precious! You are deeply loved by God!”

Friends, take a moment to hold up an imaginary mirror and look at your reflection.  Perhaps, if you are like me, as you gaze at yourself the first thing you see is all your imperfections.  Maybe you start with the superficial ones – like, “I need a haircut,” and “Where did that zit come from?”  Perhaps you go straight to the deeper imperfections, wondering, “Why did I say that?” or “Why didn’t I do that?”  I think there is a tendency in all of us to see our own imperfections, our flaws, our failings.  Too often we see our shortcomings before we see our gifts and our blessings.

As you continue to gaze at yourself in your imaginary mirror, let me describe what God sees.  God sees this incredible human being – weak and yet so strong, foolish and yet so wise, fragile and yet made in the image of God.  God blew the breath of life into you and into me, so we carry God within ourselves.  We are God carriers – each one of us!  Imagine that for just a moment.  We are God’s partners – God partnered with us – each one of us! – in creation.  God calls us friend. You are God’s friend! You are unique! You are precious! You are deeply loved by God!  I don’t know about you, but I sure like what God sees more than I like what I see!

Now look out into this sanctuary and across this nation and around the world – not with your own eyes, but with God’s eyes.  Imagine the hungry right here in Alamance County.  Imagine those who spent last night in jail.  Imagine an old woman who is wheelchair bound.  Imagine the drug addict who will do just about anything to numb his pain.  Imagine the woman who was battered by her boyfriend last night.  Imagine the child who is afraid to go to sleep at night.  Imagine the young family that had no place to sleep.  Imagine the men of the Taliban scheming in their hideouts.  Imagine the people of Libya who are longing for freedom.  Imagine the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda.  Imagine the blacks and the whites in South Africa.  Now, imagine that God is saying to each one of these people: “You are unique! You are precious! I love you more than you can imagine!”  Can you imagine that?

There is always a part of me that wants to say – even if I’d never say it out loud – “But God, he’s a terrorist! She’s a murderer! He beats his wife! She will cheat and lie and well, do just about anything! for drug money.  How can you say to these people that they are precious?  How can you say that you love them?” 

Let me come back to Bishop Tutu’s sermon.  The punch line and the only mention of apartheid came right at the end of his sermon.  He said: //“The most blasphemous thing about apartheid is when it makes a child of God doubt that they are a child of God.”//  I’ll never forget those words.  Clearly apartheid did this, by making the black folks of South Africa feel less than human.  Praise God that apartheid no longer exists!  But we do it too!  Every time we look in a mirror and fail to see a beloved child of God then evil wins.  Every time we judge another person – seeing the sin but failing to see the sinner who is a beloved child of God – then evil wins.  Anything that makes a child of God doubt that they are a child of God is evil.

Let’s turn together to our passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Find Romans, chapter 12.  Follow along as I read this passage again, listening for the ways we are called to despise evil and cling to the good.

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ ²⁰No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good. If The Evil is anything that makes a beloved child of God feel like they are not a beloved child of God then The Good begins when we affirm that every human being is a beloved child of God.  When we begin to cling to that truth then we start looking for the beloved child of God in every human being – the good, the bad, and the ugly!  When we recognize that Child of God, we will have a better chance of loving one another with mutual affection.  We will want to contribute to the needs of others because we’ll see a brother or a sister in the other.  We will naturally extend hospitality to strangers because we will see God in the stranger.  We will bless those who persecute us – or at least we will not curse them! (We are still human after all!)  We will gladly associate with the lowly. We will strive to live peaceably with all because we know that this is what God wants for all of God’s children – war is not the answer. We will begin to understand the importance of feeding our enemies – even if we aren’t quite ready to genuinely love them.  

Maybe you’re sitting there thinking there is no way I will ever be able to love Osama bin Laden or Adolf Hitler – look at the incredible evil they have done!  Or maybe you’ve been so deeply hurt by someone in your life that cursing them seems natural and forgiveness seems to be impossible.  Vengeance is a natural response to evil and leaving it to God... well, look at poor Jonah.  He knew that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and always ready to relent from punishing (Jonah 4:2).  So Jonah ran in the opposite direction and ended up in the belly of a whale rather than going to Niniveh.  We’d rather take vengeance into our own hands and hate our enemies and curse those who persecute us.  But God’s Word says, “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good... Do not repay anyone evil for evil... but overcome evil with good.”

How can we do this?  How can we embrace the good in those whose actions are so evil?  How do we see the child of God in a person whose life is so contrary to the gospel?  How do we see the child of God in ourselves when we know we are sinners who have fallen so short of the glory of God? The truth is we cannot do this alone; but with God all things are possible. God is good.  We can overcome evil by clinging to God.  We can overcome evil by believing Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  We can overcome evil by serving the Lord and persevering in prayer.  We can overcome evil because our God took on flesh and lived among us as a human being revealing His goodness to us.  We can overcome evil because when it seemed that Jesus had been overcome by evil on a cross, God raised Jesus from the dead, promising abundant life for all.  Goodness is stronger than evil – on that we can depend.  Just cling to God – our God will not let us down.

Bishop Tutu wrote the following words – words that may be familiar:

Goodness is stronger than evil;

Love is stronger than hate;

Light is stronger than darkness;

Life is stronger than death.

Victory is ours, Victory is ours,

Through Him who loved us;

Victory is ours, Victory is ours,

Through Him who loved us.[1]

---

[1] The Faith We Sing (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000), 2219.  From An African Prayer Book, by Desmond Tutu.

Feasting During Ordinary Time

VBS Sunday / August 14, 2011

Exodus 13:3-10 / Psalm 25:1-10 / Acts 2 (selected verses) / Luke 22:7-20

In the movie “Babette’s Feast,” two elderly sisters live in a small home on the barren and chilly western coast of Denmark.  They are faithful Christians who have chosen a lifestyle that is marked by scarcity.  They have strict times of prayer and Bible study, and weekly worship that feels more like drudgery than praise.  The first part of the movie is depressing – everything feels gray and dull.  It is as if celebrations are against their religion.

Babette is a young and beautiful woman who arrives from France seeking refuge from the war.  Babette fled a colorful life as a fine chef at a Parisian restaurant, cooking extravagant meals for people with more money than sense.  The sisters hired Babette as their housekeeper and for the next fourteen years she served them faithfully, preparing their simple meals and keeping their simple home clean.  Day in and day out, the life of these three women was marked by routine – very little happened that was out of the ordinary.

Then something amazing happened and Babette won the French lottery, suddenly coming into a substantial amount of money.  While Babette could have done anything, she chose to use all of the money to throw a feast for the two sisters and their friends.  After weeks of busy preparation, the friends gather for this multiple course meal that included foods they had never tasted before and more wine than they had ever seen.  During the course of the meal we watch these somewhat dull, gray characters come to life.  We see people who never smiled laugh heartily.  They sing and dance and celebrate at this extravagant feast, remembering the joy of living.

I was reminded of this movie – and this incredible feast – as we celebrated Vacation Bible School this week.  Here we are, right in the middle of ordinary time – the season in the church year when there are no special feasts.  This is the season between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of the Nativity at Christmas.  Ordinary time is marked by green paraments – green like the green of summer.  Green, reminding us of this season of growth, a time when we wait, between planting and harvest.  At first glance there’s nothing special about ordinary time.

Yet, here, right in the middle of ordinary time, we spent four days feasting at the Shake It Up Café!  We sang lively songs and danced to them, we played crazy games, we did interesting experiments and made fun crafts, we ate awesome snacks, and we collected 600 pounds of food for Loaves & Fishes. 

And here, right in the middle of ordinary time, we spent four days learning about sacred feasts.  We learned about the Jewish Feast of the Passover and the Festival of Weeks.  We learned how Jesus transformed the Passover Celebration into our Celebration of Holy Communion.  We learned how the Holy Spirit transformed the festival called Pentecost that marks the end of the Festival of Weeks into the day we now celebrate as the birthday of the church. 

Here, right in the middle of ordinary time, we have been reminded that worshipping the God revealed to Moses as the great I AM is anything but dull.  We have witnessed once again that the God revealed to us through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit is a God who shakes things up.  This God calls us to celebration and praise.  Like Babette’s feast, this God invites us to feasts that are extraordinary, over the top, and even extreme, reminding us in bold ways of all that God has done and is doing for us.

Consider the Feast of the Passover.  Trying to get Pharaoh’s attention, Moses had informed Pharaoh that all firstborn – not just children, but animals as well – would be destroyed by God because Pharaoh would not let the people go.  In order to be saved from this last plague, the Israelites had to sacrifice a lamb and put some of the blood of the lamb on their doorposts so that God would pass over their homes, sparing them.  And after God passed over, the Israelites had to get out of Egypt in a hurry.  To this day we remember that day when God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  To this day the Israelite people remember by sharing in the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The unleavened bread is a symbol of their hurry to get out of Egypt.  During VBS our kids ate crackers standing up, in a hurry, ready to leave – remembering that first Passover.  Today, not only are the people to eat unleavened bread for seven days, but all leaven must be removed from their homes.  No keeping bread in the freezer or a cake mix on the shelf – there should be no leaven anywhere.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a reminder of all that God did for the Israelites, bringing them safely out of slavery in Egypt and bringing them to a land flowing with milk and honey.  It may seem extreme – getting rid of all the leaven in the house – and yet, it is in this attention to detail that God shakes things up.  It is through these rituals that we are able to see that worshipping God is anything but dull.

The Israelites were faithfully celebrating the Passover Feast every year when Jesus came on the scene.  It was a feast they eagerly looked forward to, traveling to Jerusalem to worship God in the Temple.  And on that night when Jesus was betrayed, even he was eager to share the Passover meal with his disciples.  But on that night, as they gathered at the table, Jesus did something new.  Rather than breaking the bread and sharing the cup in remembrance of God’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, Jesus gave the bread to his disciples saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  And in the same way, he took the cup saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Can you imagine being one of the disciples?  Certainly they must have wondered, what are we supposed to do with bread that is the body of Christ and wine that is the blood of Christ?  This is extreme.  This is extraordinary.  On that night, Jesus really shook things up.  On that night when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, Jesus became the lamb who was sacrificed once and for all by being nailed to a cross.  By his blood we are saved, not from slavery in Egypt, but from slavery to sin and death.  We are set free to be children of God. 

We now celebrate that Passover Feast as the Feast of Holy Communion.  And not just once a year, but as often as we drink the cup, in remembrance of the mighty acts of God through Jesus Christ.  This is a feast we enjoy during our feast days, AND during ordinary time.  It is an extraordinary feast where God has poured out God’s very self for us.  Certainly worshipping God is anything but dull.

Peter’s bold words on that first Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out through wind and fire, speak to the reason we feast: “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah this Jesus whom you crucified.”  We have a reason to celebrate.  God took our sinful natures and our evil ways and shook them up.  God did not allow death to have the final word.  Rather, God had the final word through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  We are called to repent and be baptized, turning away from our sinful ways by calling on the name of the Lord.  God has promised us abundant life through the resurrection of Jesus.

Therefore we celebrate the feast.  Every Sunday is a little Easter – a day of resurrection – a day of new life – a day of celebration.  Every Holy Communion is a Eucharist – a feast of thanksgiving for Jesus Christ – an opportunity to be set free from the chains of sin and death by God’s abundant grace.  Even during ordinary time, we celebrate the feast – we celebrate our God who keeps shaking things up and making them extraordinary.

On Friday there was a sign out in front of the store that said “Happy Birthday Mac and Mark.”  And Amber posted on facebook, “Four days until my birthday!”  We are a people who love to celebrate.  We look forward to birthday celebrations.  We look forward to Christmas and the Feast of the Nativity.  We look forward to Easter and the Feast of the Resurrection.  We are a people who love to feast.

And yet, too often we live our days like the two sisters in Denmark, leading dull, gray lives.  While huge feasts are reserved for special days, every day is meant for celebrating.  After all, every day we have much to be thankful for.  We are thankful for food, a place to sleep, the rain and the sun, our families.  We are thankful for our friends and this congregation and people we can call on for help.  We are thankful for the incredible gift of life, for being created in the image of God, for being children of God.  We are thankful for Jesus Christ who gives us abundant life.  Right here, right now, in the midst of ordinary time, we are meant to feast.

We feast by celebrating the resurrection every Sunday.  We feast by gathering at the Lord’s Table.  We feast by praising God in worship.  We feast by staying after worship for a time of cake, conversation, and celebration.  We are meant to feast together.

God has this habit of shaking everything up.  God shook things up when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt.  God shook things up by sending his Son to teach us a new way of living.  God really shook things up when we crucified His Son by raising him from the dead.  And God continues to shake things up by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As we gather today at the Shake It Up Café we remember all the ways God has shaken things up in the past, and we anticipate all the ways God will continue to shake things up.  And we realize that we always have a reason to celebrate, even in the midst of ordinary time.  Thanks be to God!

Love in Action

Matthew 14:22-33

8^th Sunday after Pentecost / August 7, 2011

Jesus had just learned that his cousin John was dead.  He was brutally murdered by Herod because Herod had promised to do anything the daughter of Herodias asked for.  And Herodias wanted John the Baptist’s head on a platter.  It is hard to conceive of such a lack of respect for life.  Herod abused the power of his office by taking a life in order to save face – this deeply disturbs me.  John’s disciples must have been heavy with grief and shock when they came to Jesus to share the news of this horrific death.

When Jesus heard this terrible news, he withdrew by boat to a deserted place by himself.  Jesus needed time alone to grieve and pray.  We understand this need for space and time alone – space and time for raging and crying and praying – space and time to begin the process of healing.  And yet, when Jesus reached the deserted place he discovered that the crowds had gone ahead of him on foot.  When he got on shore there were people everywhere, and Jesus – despite his grief – “had compassion for them and cured their sick” (v. 14). 

Setting aside his need to be alone, Jesus moved through the crowds, talking to the people, listening to their concerns, and praying with them.  Setting aside the deep fatigue that accompanies grief, he laid hands on them, healing them and restoring them and making them whole.  Despite – or perhaps because of – his deep sadness, he showed compassion for the crowds who had followed him to the other side of the lake.  This is love in action. 

When it was evening, after many hours of being with the people and many prayers for healing, the disciples informed Jesus that the crowds were hungry.  The disciples suggested that Jesus send the crowds away, to go to the villages to buy food.  What a good idea – finally some time alone – an evening off.  But instead, Jesus fed the crowd of more than five thousand with five loaves and two fishes.  As the crowds sat on the grass, Jesus took these few loaves and, blessing them, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to share with the crowds.  No one went hungry that day.  This impromptu feast is love in action.

Now, finally, Jesus dismisses the crowds and makes his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side.  Now, finally, Jesus is able to go up on the mountain by himself to pray.  We aren’t given any insight into Jesus’ prayers on that long night, but knowing John had died so brutally I can’t help but wonder if he recalled John’s often-repeated words: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  We know Jesus, like John, longed for people to turn away from sin and evil, and turn toward God’s kingdom of love and forgiveness.  Perhaps Jesus prayed the prayer he taught his disciples: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  It seems likely that his prayers were kingdom prayers; after all, his actions all day had been kingdom actions. Healing the sick, feeding the hungry, showing compassion – love in action. 

It is interesting that even as Jesus sought time alone on that long night, he knew the boat the disciples were in was being battered by the waves, and the wind was against them.  From his mountaintop retreat, Jesus could see his disciples, tossed to and fro by the waves, and he had compassion.  Early in the morning, around 4 a.m., Jesus left his mountaintop retreat and walked out across the waves toward the boat – toward those twelve he loved so deeply.  The disciples were good fishermen, certainly accustomed to rough seas; they would have made it to shore.  And Jesus could have simply stilled the wind and the waves with a word, as he had before, meeting them on the other side the next day.  But love in action happens through human contact and personal conversations – Jesus reveals his love by being with the people.  Jesus reveals his love by showing up in all the circumstances of life.

Jesus shows up where people are sick and hungry.  And Jesus shows up where people are tossed to and fro by the waves of life.  Jesus even shows up in places we would least expect to see him.  Certainly on that early morning before dawn in the midst of a storm that tossed the boat back and forth no one expected to see Jesus.  The disciples – who were not afraid of the storm – were suddenly terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!”  What else would show up at that hour in that place but some sort of ghost?  Jesus immediately responds, “Take heart! It is I; do not be afraid!”  He had not come to scare them but to comfort and strengthen them in the midst of their fatigue.  The disciples must have been worn and weary after the startling events of the day and a long night on the water.  “Take heart! It is I; do not be afraid.”  Jesus is encouraging them – take heart! Jesus is reminding them that they have nothing to fear because God – the great I Am – is present with them.  This is love in action.  “I am here – I am with you – do not be afraid.”  What good news!

And yet, Peter – Peter who denies Jesus – Peter who becomes the rock on which the church is built – this very same Peter questions Jesus.  “If it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  I wonder if Jesus laughed – laughed that Peter would question Jesus in a way that put Peter in danger.  Peter wants to walk on water – stormy, wind-blown water.  I wonder if Jesus laughed the way we laugh at our children when they want to do something that requires a great deal of bravery and we delight in their desire to try a new thing.  Peter.  Faithful, foolish Peter.  Love in action says, “Come!”  Love in action says, “Even if you fail I applaud your courage.”  Love in action holds out a hand, ready to lift Peter from the water if he takes his eyes off Jesus.

Of course, the wind and the waves startle Peter and he looks away from Jesus.  As he begins to sink into the water Peter cries, “Lord, save me!”  And Jesus immediately reaches out his hand to catch Peter and they get into the boat.  Jesus catches us when we look away – when we fall – when we doubt.  Jesus reaches out a hand to hold us when we cry for help.  Jesus is not upset by our doubt or our fear – no.  Rather he affirms Peter’s faith – even if it is only a little faith – as he helps Peter into the boat.  This is love in action.

Love in action.  Love revealed through curing the sick and feeding the hungry.  Love revealed when Jesus shows up in the midst of our most challenging days.  Love revealed when Jesus pulls us up as we fall.  Love revealed in creation as God formed us in God’s image and breathed into us the breath of life.  Love revealed through the psalmist and the prophets – the love of a God who holds us in the palm of His hands.  Love revealed most powerfully on a cross – when Jesus gave up everything for us – for you and for me – so that we might know just how deep His love is for us.  Love revealed through the body of Christ – the community of the faithful gathered in worship and scattered to serve.  Love revealed at this Table where we glimpse the kingdom of heaven breaking in as we hold out our hands to receive the gift of the broken body of Christ. This is God’s love in action.

How does God invite us to respond to this incredible love – this abundant grace?  Let me suggest three faithful responses.  First, show up.  The five thousand followed Jesus to the other side of the lake – they showed up expecting to see Jesus.  Those who were present witnessed many miraculous healings.  Those who were present were fed by five loaves and two fish.  Show up and watch and listen – you may well see love in action.  Second, worship God.  Those who were in the boat and witnessed Jesus walking on water fell down and worshipped Him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”  Worship the Creator of the universe who knew you and loved you before you were formed in your mother’s womb.  Worship the Lord who walked among us in the flesh and is still powerfully present today through his Word and Holy Spirit.  Worship God with all your being – you may well experience love in action.  Third, have the courage to get out of the boat and test the waters.  Trust that Jesus will catch you if you fall as you boldly seek to follow Him.  Trust in God and do not be afraid to heal the sick and feed the hungry, and sit with those who are grieving and visit those who are discouraged and weary, and work with those who need a hand up.  Get out of the boat and live a life of love in action.

Love in action.  Show up and see love in action; worship God and experience love in action; and, get out of the boat and live love in action.  Love in action sometimes calls us to action when we’d rather be alone – even when we are grieving ­­– and yet love in action always calls us into a deeper relationship with God. Love in action invites us to be a part of a community; love in action invites human contact and personal conversations.  Love in action often moves us out of our comfort zones, leading us to build relationships with others.  Love in action is our faithful response to the love of God – and through loving God we more faithfully love our neighbors.  See and experience and participate in God’s love in action in all the ordinary places of our lives – and watch the kingdom of heaven come near.