The Wicked Tenants

Proper 22-A

October 2, 2011

The Rev. Marguerite Alley

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20, Psalm 19 , Philippians 3:4b-14,
Matthew 21:33-46

The Gospel for today is a challenging one. Not in the sense that it is hard to preach, but in the sense that you may not like what it says. Now in preparation I have looked at several of my usual preparation sources and they are all pretty much in agreement on what the message of this parable is. Unfortunately, in our rush to not damage each other’s self esteem, in our need to put salve on our wounds, and in our twisting of our framing story, we have come out the other side with what I would suggest is a completely inappropriate, if not altogether incorrect understanding of what Jesus has just said.

            I am wondering if any of you were able to catch the pilot of a new television show this fall called “Terra Nova”. If not, here is the skinny. The earth is on its last leg. The environment has been destroyed. People have to wear masks if they leave their houses. They can (if they can afford it) have air purification systems in their homes. If they can’t, they wear masks 24 hours a day. The wealthiest of the world live in a few plexiglass domes that have all the air purified and can therefore live “mask-free”. There, in these domes, some trees and plants can still be found and enjoyed and are employed as part of the purification system. Outside the domes there is no vegetation. The population has outgrown the lands ability to sustain, and thus there are no houses, only high rise tiny apartment spaces. There are no pets, because they use up “human air”.  In the story, 7 years prior, a crack was found in the time/space continuum, and some explorers were sent into it to see where they might end up. It turns out that they end up 25 million or so years in the earth’s past. The decision is made to begin sending small groups of carefully selected people to “re-start” civilization and try to stop the destruction of the planet before it begins to happen. Ironically, they have only been working on this for 7 years and already the advance group has split over ideology and now is quite hostile towards each other. It promises to be an interesting show that I am going to actually make the effort to follow.

            Now….what has this to do with Jesus’ parable? Well, the characters in this parable are a bit too familiar for us to look at this and escape seeing the obvious. The tenants are enjoying a good life on the land. It is pleasant, comfortable and the benefits are great. Along comes a “messenger” who reminds them that the rent has come due…in other words, they are expected to give to the owner some of what they have enjoyed in payment for being allowed to live there and enjoy it! Despite the fact that they have been given this beautiful garden to live in and enjoy, they resent having to give back any of what they perceive to be “theirs”….so they kill the messengers. The owner must have thought that the news sent back to him was a mistake, because he sends more servants the second time. Oddly enough, the tenants I guess believe that the owner is so far away, there is little he can do to them, so they kill the next bunch as well. At this point, who can fail to see the obvious point? Pay what you owe or God will send servants to collect, and we will have to kill them to protect what is rightfully ours! God is so far away from us…what can happen? Well, so maybe we need to hear the next piece to make sense of it. After the second set of servants is killed, the owner decides to send his son. We are told that he thinks that the tenants will “respect” his son and pay what they owe. To no one’s surprise, the tenants kill the son as well. Now, who can fail to get the point here? The landowner is obviously either dimwitted, the eternal optimist or completely oblivious to the point of risking the life of his own child.

            Even I can see where this is going. Pay up or you will be forced to do something drastic that might cause you a moment or two of regret, and goodness knows, we don’t like living with regret. So there you have it folks…the easiest parable of the Bible. Unless of course, you want to take a look at what Jesus is saying…rather than what we are hearing.

Perhaps we should take a second look. The tenants, wicked and enigmatic, look strangely like us. We think the vineyard belongs to us and so we do with it as we see fit. We abuse the land, the water, and the air. We have built and we maintain societies based on the power of  having natural resources intended for all to share and in which a decent life for everyone is not a reality, but at best an ideal. And when the landowner sends his servants to remind us of our obligation to each other, we reject them. The behavior of the landowner is hard to accept as well, because it too is familiar. It is the behavior of God. The landowner sends his servants to proclaim and collect justice, and that message is rejected and the messengers murdered. God tries again with the same result. Finally, in an all out desperate act, God sends Jesus to proclaim justice, and mercy for all and we, still feeling as though we OWN the vineyard, decide this is not what we want and we see an easy way out in killing Jesus.

            Now if we still want to try and see what the story is really about we must look at

the end of the story. We are left with 2 possible outcomes. The first comes from those who are with Jesus. They are shocked and horrified by the story. They cry out that the landowner should put the wicked tenants to death and maybe even torture them a bit so that they suffer as much as he did. I wonder what would happen if I said right now that the United States is sort of like these folks responding to Jesus’ story? Well, I am not going to say anything like that. What I will say is that this is not the conclusion that Jesus endorses. What he says is very different. He reminds his listeners of a verse from the psalms: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.” Those gathered around Jesus who said that the wicked tenants deserved to die seem to be advocating exclusion and violence. They believe the best way to handle murderous rebels is to make them taste their own medicine. This attitude is ancient, popular, and leads to…well it leads to where we are today!

If the landowner, if God believes that the tenants are not capable of any other kind of response then perhaps God should have wiped out human beings along time ago. Clearly, our Creator believes that we, the tenants, (see how smoothly I slipped that in?) are indeed capable of more appropriate behavior because if we are not and God kills us then we win. We are dead yes…but we forced God to deal with us in the exact same way that we dealt with those servants and God’s son! I seriously doubt if God will fall for our devious plan. Instead, we are “given” Jesus who offers us the ONLY plan that will save our lives!

In that pithy statement about the stone rejected by the builder becoming the cornerstone, we are given a way forward. Now many folks have interpreted this statement as being that Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders and certainly that could be true. But it would be more accurate to say that Jesus’ message is what was rejected. What Jesus taught and stood for and died for is what is being rejected in the story and in the world right now. That message is to us, about us and for us. It is quite simply….get over yourselves. Think about the bigger picture. Stop treating each other like enemies and start thinking about how you can all live together and take care of the vineyard.

            How do we do this?  We could start by understanding that whomever we call an enemy has within them some broken, rejected part of ourselves. By accepting that enemy, we accept back that part of ourselves. By continuing to reject that part of ourselves, we remain in a broken state. Acceptance of our own brokenness is the first step in being able to open the gates of the vineyard to all for whom it was intended. Allowing “our enemies” to share in the abundance of creation, accepting their differences and celebrating the diversity of creation means we are transformed and so is are they. That transformation is what Jesus came to teach, to live and to die for. The challenge then, from this parable is this…will we continue to be the wicked tenants or will we step outside the walls we have created around the vineyard and greet the  servants and the son as welcome  reminders of our  interdependence and our connections to each other, and be transformed.

+

Spiritual but not religious...

The Rev. J.W. Messer
September 25, 2011
Year A, Proper 21, RCLExodus 17:1-7 , Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 , Philippians 2:1-13,

Spiritual But Not Religious… The Parable of the Two Sons
Matthew 21:23-32

          When I was studying in Oxford this summer (I love being able to say that!), a group of us clergy would go out and look for off-the-beaten-tourist-path local pubs for dinner. One night at one of these places, all the tables were filled except one. So we begged the person sitting at the table to let us join him, which he did. Conversation went smoothly until we revealed that most of us were Episcopal clergy.  When we asked him what faith tradition he was, acting shocked he replied, “I’m not religious; I’m British!”

          Unfortunately the equivalent of this statement in the States is “I’m spiritual but not religious.” I can’t tell you how often I hear this statement, particularly in my age group. In fact it now is an acronym:  “SBNR” and even has its own Facebook page. 

I think there are a lot of reasons behind why people today say “I am spiritual but not religious.”  One may be that they don’t want to admit that they do not belong to an organized religion, but want others to still think well of them.  Another may be that they are so involved in soccer/dirt bike riding or whatever makes them happy on the weekends that they don’t feel the need to go to a church.  And others may have been brought up in an organized religion but have fallen away, or they have tried to attend a few churches and when that service doesn’t fit them they give up going to church. 

          Or it could be something darker or sadder that they neither have the time nor inclination to examine or fix.  Perhaps they had a horrible experience that has absolutely turned them away from organized religion.  Or maybe they were literally dragged to church non-stop as children and have totally rebelled.

Whatever their reasons are to make this statement, to live this statement, I believe that underneath, they too are people looking for something bigger than themselves, but they don’t like or feel the need to be a part of organized religion.

Let’s be honest -- organized religion certainly is not without sin.  It is undoubtedly easy to point to the disgraced mega-church pastors who have been brought down over the years by major sex, drug, and molestation scandals.   But it is more than major scandals; it is about power, ego and money getting in the way.  Organized religion can have its downside just as any organization; it’s just when something that is suppose to represent the ultimate good and love on earth betrays that trust, then it takes a long time to get over.

          A lot of the time when people say they don’t like organized religion, they use it as a scapegoat, because they don’t like being told what or how they should act or live their lives. One way to view today’s parable is through this perspective. The parable is of two brothers, and they are told by their father to go out into the vineyard and work. This work that they are asked to do is something that is expected of everyone in the community, and the product they create impacts a larger community. Yet when asked, one son said he would go into the vineyard but didn’t go, while the other said he wouldn’t go but ended up going.

          Applying this to our daily lives, the question has to be asked: Which one would we like to be? The one who will say that I will do what is asked of me, but I won’t go do it. Or the one who doesn’t want to do it but ends up working. We want to be the latter, but at points in our lives, we have been in both positions. We have not followed through on things we said that we would do, and we have been the people to go behind and do the work because it wasn’t getting done.

          Applying this to our spiritual lives, the question has to be asked: Which one are we?   The one who proudly proclaims to be a person of faith and of a certain tradition, but doesn’t follow through and won’t engage in a community? Or the one who doesn’t know who he is or if she is willing to fully sign up as a person of faith, but leads a life that in every way is that of a good and righteous person.

          I think there is even more to this parable beyond these hard questions. The two sons are two different approaches to faith and doing God’s will. The first son answered the way he thought the Father wanted to hear which got the Father off his back so that he could do what he wanted to do. The other son, who first said no, thought about it, realized his mistake, changed his mind, and went out into the field to do the work the Father had asked him to do.  Both sons were capable of the work, but it’s how they approached it.

Jesus first compared the son, who said he would go but didn’t, to the leaders of organized religion of the day who had earlier been on the right track but got distracted by all the frills and ended up being more concerned about appearing like people of faith than actually being people of faith. Jesus then compared the marginalized and rejects from society to the son who went and worked the vineyard after first saying no, because like the son, they had made bad decisions earlier in their lives and yet something happened to them, they repented, and they got back on the right track. 

While most of us here present do not absolutely fall in either one or the other category, the questions still apply to us.  How are we going to live out our lives when the Father asks us to work in the vineyard—when that work is so important with an effect far beyond the vineyard.  Are we going to perhaps not always respond perfectly to the question, but after realizing our mistake, do the work?  Or are we going to say what others expect to hear or the easy way out, when we have absolutely no intention of doing the work? Are we going to live our lives fully committed to God and God’s call for us? Or pretend that we are?  Are we going to toil in the vineyard or walk away from it?

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. + Amen +

It's not FAIR!

September 18, 2011
The Rev. John A. Baldwin

In listening to the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, I am reminded of an expression I heard more than a few times from my daughters as they were growing up, and which I suspect you have heard from children and grandchildren yourselves - "It's not fair!"

In Jesus' parable, the workers who come early to the Vineyard, though offered a good wage for working, become prey to rising expectations. They begin to salivate, imagining the extra bonus they are going to receive when they see those who came later being paid what the earlier-starting workers were offered. They are brought up short when the owner pays everyone the same wage. "It's not fair! We deserve more than they do."

When our young children are dismayed by what they perceive to be the inequities of life - "It's not fair that Joshua gets to stay up later than me"  ...."It's not fair! Why do I have to eat all my peas in order to get dessert?" - we are likely to say in response, "Sorry love, but life often isn't fair."

And it isn't! Is it fair that you and I are living in one of the most prosperous nation in the world with liberties others long for and envy, while several billion human beings live in poverty in Third World nations, and many suffer from cruelties that are beyond our comprehension? Is it fair, that women generally earn less than men for the same work performed? Is it fair that some people are born into loving, nurturing families, while others are born into abusive, love-starved families? Is it fair that Hurricane Irene inflicted relatively small damage on our area, but pounded the Outer Banks, and flooded Vermont?

One of the early awarenesses of life is that human society is filled with unfairness. And it's a harsh reality to learn, indeed. But it's one thing to acknowledge the unfairness of human beings, and the sinfulness of the structures within which we live, and it's another thing to accuse God of unfairness. But we do!!!

The problem of evil leads us inevitably to such questions as, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Is it fair that Emily, who is one of the most loving persons I know has terminal cancer? Why was my child born with a birth defect? How come, out of all the houses in my area, it was mine that was destroyed by the tornado? In our anger and anguish we cry out to God. "Why aren't you being fair?"

A theology that is based on the premise that we are more favored or privileged than other people, and that God will protect us from unfairness if we live a faithful life, is a shaky and vulnerable theology. It totally fails us when unfair things happen to us, or to those we love and care about. If we've striven hard to lead decent, moral, faithful lives, then it must be God who failed us. How could God let bad things happen to good people? Why is God being unfair?

As a pastor I hear this theology being expressed over and over again. "I used to go to church until my daughter was drowned in a boating accident. Now I don't believe in a God who could let this happen." A theology that envisions God as responsible for everything that happens, can lead to our blaming God for everything.....from the sinful actions of men and women...to someone being in the wrong place at an unfortunate moment....to human genes combining in the womb in a tragic way. Inevitably this theology will lead to our faith failing us in a crisis. It's a weak theology, and our Gospel this morning underscores this.

In reality, God is radically fair to all alike. He doesn't play favorites. He treats Johnny-Come-Latelys the same way he treats those who sign on early. Every human being has the breath of life breathed into our bodies at birth, and that breath will inevitably be taken back by God from every one of us at death. Although we may accumulate wealth and ample possessions, no one can take it with them beyond the grave. Every man, woman and child, no matter what their race, beliefs, or character flaws and weaknesses, is loved by God. Everyone who sincerely repents of their sins and wrongdoings is forgiven and reconciled to God. These are the actions of a God who is radically fair to all alike.

Where our theology gets us into trouble is when we assume that somehow we should receive special privileges that are denied to others, or when we see God's role in our lives as primarily that of a Guardian Angel protecting us from all unfairness in life, rather than experiencing God as a companion in joy and suffering alike, as well as a tower of strength to draw upon in adversity.

A God who is radically fair is one we can rely on not to abandon us in times of trouble, and who we can trust to support us in our struggles to find new life and meaning on the other side of pain.

Earlier in my ministry I attended a conference in suburban Minneapolis that I will never forget, one that filled me with more than a little apprehension as it approached. It was a dialogue for clergy with men and woman who'd been diagnosed with AIDS. Back in those days (about 20 years ago) this was very close to receiving a death sentence. The conference planners hoped to enable clergy to grow in understanding and in compassionate ministry to those suffering with AIDS.

During the conference, I spent a half hour apiece hearing the stories of 2 young men as they described the effect learning they had AIDS had upon them, and how they were coping with their disease. Although both had lived lifestyles that were very different from my own, I felt great warmth and compassion for both of them in their illness.

Both described their shock and fear, the trauma of sharing with their friends and families, and the sadness of being treated like lepers. There was a very real sense of unfairness - being stricken with a fearsome disease in the prime of their lives.

"It was a terrible moment when I learned I had AIDS" one told me, "But strangely, it was also a blessing in disguise." He went on to tell me about some of the hurts and pains of his life. He described his inner life as containing a garage filled with rats. When something hurtful or painful happened to him, he pushed it into the garage and slammed the door, locking it with alcohol and denial.

But when he learned he had AIDS, something changed inside. He began to unlock the door of the garage, and let out the anger and hurt. He read me a poem he had written and sent to the Catholic Archbishop in St. Paul, Minnesota describing the anger and confusion he felt at a Church which had nurtured him as a child, but which had later turned its back on him and rejected him as a gay man.

Writing and sending the letter lifted a weight off his heart. Even though he never received a response, he felt his stored up anger towards the Catholic Church melting a bit. He began chasing out the other rats in his inner garage, and finding new hope in life, even while living with a disease which could end his life suddenly. He told me he had become very active in support groups for those with AIDS, not only drawing strength and courage from them, but also supporting and ministering to others.

"I know the rest of my life may be very short", he said, "But then, so could yours, or that of anyone. Having AIDS has changed my life, so maybe it is a blessing in disguise."

Although for many of those living with AIDS, diagnosis has not necessarily led to a deepening of faith, in this man's life it apparently has. Moving past this sense of unfairness, he discovered a God who was closer than ever in his illness.

Is it fair that AIDS struck down many young people in this country in the 1980's and 90's, as well as being rampant in Africa today? Is it fair that those inflicted by this disease were treated like lepers and outcasts in our society, and some even by their own families?

As Christians, an essential part of our vocation and ministry is to do battle with the unfairness of life, through our witness to a God who is radically fair in his love and compassion for all people. We need to move beyond the theology we may have been taught as children which portrays God as a Guardian Angel, who surrounds us with a wall of protection from the unfairness of life....and we need to move towards a theology that is realistic about suffering and sin, but which experiences God as very real and present in our lives as a companion, guide and friend. Amen.

___________________________
Lectionary:  Year A Proper 20 RCL: Exodus 16:2-15 , Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45, Philippians 1:21-30 ,Matthew 20:1-16

Forgiveness

Proper 19

September 11, 2011

The Rev. Marguerite Alley

Today, we are remembering the events of September 11, 2001.  The emotions of that day are deeply ingrained in most of us. The repercussions…far beyond the lives lost, are still felt in our daily lives. Fear, mistrust, suspicion, and anger are all such a part of the tragedy of 9-11.

There have been times in my ministry when I have been asked to help people face senseless tragedy. I have been with parents when they have lost their children, husbands and wives who have lost their partner, even children who have lost their parents. In each and every case I have been asked why. Why did this happen? Why did this happen to me? Why did God do this to my loved one? I am always at a loss for words in these cases. But I don’t think anyone would really appreciate it if I just said “Beats me”! and walked away. We lost a student at First Colonial a week or so ago in a senseless accident. The young man went for a run while on vacation with his family. A great student, a star athlete, a great person, a senior making his college plans. While on his run he lost his balance and fell into a deep ravine and died. I don’t have an answer for his parents either. But what I do know is that the only way to live through something like that or something like what happened on 9-11, the only way to make sense of and begin to understand is to seek understanding. I believe that this search for understanding will require incredible strength. And to find this kind of strength we must dig down deep.

To begin with, we must understand that the problem of tragedy, injustice and suffering is a problem for every human being regardless of whether or not you are a person of faith or not.  When we are young and developing our faith, we have a tendency to believe that when something bad happens God caused it, and we question how a great and loving God could cause this to happen.  But as we grow, we begin to understand that NOT believing in God is not going to make dealing with tragedy any easier, so we must re-think our understanding.

Now every faith has ways to understand and deal with suffering in the world. But as a Christian I know my own faith’s resources the best. When people ask the big question, “Why would God allow this or that to happen?” there are almost always two answers. One response is: Don’t question God! God is all -powerful and all- knowing and it’s not your place to question God! Just accept everything. Don’t question. The other response is: I can’t possibly know what God is thinking because God is God and I am not. Well, neither of these is very satisfactory to me. One is too hard to do…and the other is too weak. 

I would suggest to you that forgiveness is the only lens through which we can understand God’s place and role in the tragedies we face.

It seems somewhat providential that the 10^th anniversary of September 11, 2001 would fall on the Sunday in our lectionary where we read Jesus’ mandate about forgiveness. Even people of great faith struggle mightily with this mandate.

One of the great themes of the Hebrew Scriptures is that God identifies with the suffering. Yet we are asked to forgive those who injure us. There are all these great texts that say things like this: If you cast out the poor, you cast me out . I am a husband to the widow. I am father to the orphans. But Christianity says God goes even beyond that. Christians believe that in Jesus, God became human and thus vulnerable to and involved in - suffering and death! He didn’t come as a king or a president. He came as an ordinary day laborer. His vulnerability, his openness, his willingness to take on our pain flies in the face of what we want to believe about our God. We feel like we want a hero, a superman, one who will rush in to right the wrongs, to punish the evil -doers.  And yet, in the aftermath of 9/11 we wonder why that didn’t happen. Do we feel any safer now that Osama bin Laden is dead? Certainly enough “good” Christians are praying for peace and security.  Clearly, at least in my mind, divine retribution has not occurred. But, maybe something better has. Have you considered, that if God was willing to come to us in human form, to suffer the physical pain of alienation, crucifixion and death, that this does answer our question? A God who is willing to do this is a God who loves us beyond measure. A God who avoids coming to us, a God who blocks or avenges our pain, can’t truly love us, because that God doesn’t really know us.

In our Gospel this morning, Peter questions Jesus’ mandate. How many times do I have to forgive someone? Maybe the real question he is asking, is how many times will YOU God, forgive me?

Now we have all known someone who plucked our last nerve, tested our friendship, pushed us to our very limit of forgiveness. And according to Jesus, 70X7..that is to say limitless forgiveness, is what is expected of us as his followers. That can get to be pretty irritating!  We tend to want our relationships to be a bit more equal. We want to get at least as much as we give. Forgiving over and over again and getting little in return is just not in our nature. We have a tendency to keep score cards on people. I mean I try not to…but sometimes I just can’t help it. When someone burns me, I am very reluctant to give them another chance.

Here is where we must work hard at our 70X7 forgiveness. The frustrating thing about forgiveness is that when you do muster the courage to forgive someone sometimes the other person doesn’t change at all and in fact doesn’t even seem grateful!. If we were expecting some kind of return, was it really forgiveness?  I don’t think so. Forgiving means we believe that the life of the family of God is THE most important thing. Anyone who wants to be a Christian is called to forgive with no limits, to love unconditionally. At least this is what we strive for.

Forgiving someone guilty of a heinous offense does not mean we are saying the act was /is acceptable. It means that WE are not going to allow ourselves to be filled with hate and anger. It means we are willing to recognize that the perpetrator is a human being and that they are more than that one act they committed. And that is darn hard to do!

If you have ever been forgiven and taken the time to think about it then you will understand this.  We cannot control forgiveness. We cannot make someone forgive us and we cannot force someone to change when we forgive them.  If you have ever been forgiven then you understand…it comes from beyond us. We have nothing to do with it. All we can do is ask for it……..or offer it. It is quite simply  grace….freely given.  We cannot force another to accept it. We cannot turn it away. It is what it is.

It is quite tempting to look at this parable and to say that the real message is: Forgive those who injure you, or God won’t forgive you. But wouldn’t that be living out of fear rather than out of love?  It sure doesn’t feel much like grace. Perhaps we need to just change a few words and rather than “forgive so that you will be forgiven” we need to “forgive because we are forgiven”.

As I was preparing to write my sermon, I came across a quote that really sums up my thoughts. It is from Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov:

 “I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, for all the blood that they’ve shed; and it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify what has happened.”

 _________________

Lectionary for Year A RCL, Proper 19: Exodus 14:19-31, Psalm 114 , Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 18:21-35

Addressing Interpersonal Conflict

The Rev. Julia W. Messer
September 4, 2011
Proper 18, Year A, RCL
Proper 18 Exodus 12:1-14, Psalm 149, Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

Addressing Interpersonal Conflict

I have to confess….I am not really a fan of reality TV shows.  And I particularly dislike those where the shows which seem to be based on who has been the most “wronged” by seeing who can scream the loudest, or swear the loudest, or throw the most things at each other.  And yet when I read today’s Gospel, it was not hard to have images of these shows come to mind. It seems these shows and our society has forgotten the beginning part of this Gospel reading; how to handle conflict as Christians.

Most people do not like nor do they seek out conflict, except perhaps TV show producers looking for higher ratings. Yet we all have and will face conflict in our lives.  I am not talking about life threatening or dire conflicts; I am talking about the every day ordinary conflict we face in our every day ordinary lives, I’m referring to the conflict of interpersonal relationships--The kind, which if left unaddressed, will eat at us.  Like the rude neighbor, the co-worker who takes credit for what you have done, or even the friend or loved one who has hurt you. We’ve all been there and will all be there again. 

If there is one thing we could learn from those annoying reality scream shows is that most interpersonal conflicts that we face with a regular occurrence usually  boils down to a few major reasons. Someone got their feelings hurt by being snubbed, insulted, put down, or lied to. And the way most people deal with conflict is to talk behind the other person’s back, yell at or attack them which of course makes the person being yelled at shut down and not listen, or the pain builds and builds until one day anger erupts and the pain is too long standing to be easily repaired.

So what are we to do when we find ourselves in inevitable conflict?  This Gospel passage tells us in very clear steps how to approach that conflict when it arises. We are not to be passive, or run away, nor are we to ignore it and hope it goes away: we are to face it and the person who caused it.  In the Gospel, Jesus sets out very specific progressive/proactive steps on how to address the conflict and once they are addressed, the next step that is implied but not stated, is the most transformative of them all. It is forgiveness.

Forgiveness is one of the most difficult disciplines of faith, not only when we are in the wrong seeking forgiveness, but when we have been wronged and are called to forgive the person so that the relationship can be restored.  One main reason a person cannot forgive usually boils down to, is the fact that their pride has been hurt and their pride is stronger than their ability to forgive and show mercy.

Remember: “It really doesn't matter if the person who hurt you deserves to be forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. You have things to do and you want to move on.”

This is why this passage is so important because it addresses the Christian understanding of forgiveness and deals with conflict.

That is why I would like to examine more closely today’s Gospel message.

1.                So what to do, when we are faced with interpersonal conflict? We are told to be proactive, to GO and point it out. Not as young children like to point out, “Look at all you did wrong” but it is meant more as, that if it hurt you bad enough that you are still hurt by it, then don’t let it sit on your heart, and let it fester, as it turns your heart against the person, but go and tell them about it.

And when you go speak with the person, speak to them in private. This does not mean on national television, nor does it mean you have to tell all your friends or loved ones about it before you approach the other party. The important thing is not to let your heart be consumed by hate for the other person and what they have done. Respect where they are coming from and what they have to say, which can be said easier in private. And if this does not work the first time, keep trying!

2.                But if talking with them after a while still gets you nowhere, and the offence is still there, then go to the next step, which is when Jesus talks about bringing in evidence--not random accusations from years ago--but those with solid ground, which might be a person who witnessed the action. This also applies to us -- when we have wronged someone it may be hard to hear it the first time they tell us, but if we hear it again, or from another party, it may still be hard to hear, but we may be more likely now to admit where we were wrong and to seek also to restore the relationship as well as learn to forgive ourselves.

And if that still does not work, then don’t give up just yet, keep trying. The goal of all these steps is to try to restore the relationship, not to seek revenge

3.                But sometimes, you cannot reach the person and they are not in a place to listen. That is why Jesus continued to say that if the offended party still felt the offence, then take it to the church and if that still does not work and it gets to be too much, the offended party is called to treat them as if they were a Gentile or tax collector, which means to put them aside. This could mean that the offended party may have to treat the other person with as much civil indifference as they can muster.
    But what I think Jesus was also trying to say is that we may have to put aside the person and our anger, because if we continue to focus on this wrong, then we can not move on. If we hold onto our pain and hatred, it has a way of transforming our hearts and how we see the world. Yet if we forgive and let go of it, this forgiveness can also transform our hearts and how we see the world.

The goal of this interaction is to try to get some justice, peace, and restore the relationship. Jesus knew that sometimes in life it is not possible for us to restore the relationship. This is where we have to give it up to God and know that what is happening is between God and them and remove ourselves from this anger or pain. 

While this is important, because the Gospel speaks of how to handle conflict, it is also important to understand the rest of passage, when Jesus says, that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosened in heaven. What I believe Jesus is pointing out is an important:

If we bind our hatred to the other person, then it will be bound in heaven.   Is that something we really want to carry with us?  

Today’s Gospel reminds us that conflict resolution and forgiveness can come in stages. Sometimes before we can even take the first step to acknowledge or address the wrong to the other person or ourselves, we should at least try to acknowledge it in our minds to God. So today, when we say the General Confession and the Lord’s Prayer, I invite you to think of someone in your past whom you have hurt, and someone who has hurt you.  Even if you cannot forgive them just yet, offer their name or image up to God in your minds.

Catherine Ponder, an author powerfully once wrote: “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” 

The name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

+

Missing Sermons

Dear Readers,

We apologize for the few missing sermons on our blog. Due to extemporaneous sermons or guest speakers the following sermons are absent from our files.

July 17th The Rev. Julia W. Messer preached an extemporaneous sermon with the Mission Team who went down to work in Belize. (See previous blog post to see their thoughts on their experience in Belize).

August 14th, was preached by guest priest, The Rev. David Hamilton. 

On August 28th, Hurricane Irene hit Emmanuel and the services were merged into one service at 10am. The Rev. John A. Baldwin preached an extemporaneous sermon about experiencing Irene and the Gospel.

Proper 16

August 21, 2011

The Rev. Marguerite Alley

A Chip Off the Old Block

 “You are Peter”, says Jesus, “and on this rock I will build my church”. Now that is just kind of funny to me. Think about it for a second. What comes next in the story? Peter, having been renamed, having been blessed for his intelligent answer to a deceptively simple question, then argues with Jesus about how things are going to go when they get to Jerusalem! I can hear Jesus thinking…”who died and put him in charge?....oh, right, me”! If we read further, we would see that Peter goes lickety spilt from being a perfect little disciple in this passage, to Satan, the Father of Lies in the next!  How can this be? And more over, how can this man be turned into our model for being Christians?

Upon first glance it can be very difficult to discover any kind of “good” news from this story. Peter is very quick to respond to Jesus. He almost appears to be “kissing up” in the modern vernacular. Then, when it really matters, he turns tail and runs. In reflecting on this, I thought surely there must be SOMETHING good we can say about Peter, the rock! I guess we can award him high marks for being the first one willing to answer Jesus on the question “and who do you say that I am?”, while the others probably  stared at the ground or counted freckles on the back of their hands. We could also say that he isn’t afraid to register his opinion in discussions. I suppose we could also say that at least when he screws up he is willing to keep trying. Perhaps the best we can say is that Peter is a work in progress!

When Jesus renamed Simon bar-Jonah, he might have had his tongue in his cheek a little bit. He actually uses two different forms of the word rock. First, he says you are Peter (petros). And then he says, “and on this rock (petra) I will build my church”. Now the first form, “petros” is masculine, but it really means little pebbles, or small stones. The second form, “petra” is the feminine form, and actually means giant boulder, or in the modern vernacular “the mother of all rocks!”. So, essentially, Jesus is telling Peter that he is a “chip off the old block”!

So, if we can say at least something good about Peter, the rock, then I suppose we can also glean something from this story of value for us as Christians today. So what might that be?

Well, consider this. If someone you know asked you what church you attend, and you stated proudly, I belong to Emmanuel Episcopal Church in beautiful downtown Kempsville, and then they said “what exactly do you believe there”?  What would you say? When I first moved to Virginia Beach, I was in a masters program through Loyola University in New Orleans. One of the members of my class asked the 4 Episcopalians in the group exactly what we believe, and one of our folks said this: “One of the great things about being an Episcopalian as that you don’t have to believe anything”. Is that true of us?  We could answer with the Nicene Creed, but that hardly seems like a statement of faith so much as a statement of institutional doctrine. We could sing “I believe that children are our future” or “I believe for every drop of rain that falls…” but those don’t really work, do they? What would we say?

In our Gospel this morning, Jesus is the person who is asking us “what exactly do you believe”? During the past weeks, Jesus has been travelling. During this time he has healed people, he has calmed the sea and he has fed several thousand people in one sitting. He was also teaching along the way, and asking people to think about which is more important, words or deeds. Once in a while, he checks his disciples to see if they are understanding what he is teaching, assumedly so that they might explain his teachings to others when he is not around. He is not shy about razzing them when they don’t get it. So, when this time, he asks a whole different kind of question, they are rather pleased that it is, in their opinion, an easy one. “John the Baptist”, “Elijah”, “Jeremiah”……are the answers they offer. They are not afraid to answer this question though, because they are merely parroting what they have heard others say. It is almost as if they are just giving the list of possible answers in hopes that Jesus will somehow react and they will know which it really is. Instead of course, Jesus says in essence..”Yeah, yeah….but I want to know is who do YOU say that I am? What exactly is it that YOU believe?”

Finally, after a very pregnant pause, Peter offers up “You are the Christ, the son of the living God”. Peter is almost always the first one we hear from. He is first to leave his job and follow Jesus, the first to try walking on water and frequently the first to answer Jesus’ questions. I wonder if Peter was courageous or just a quick thinker?

But evidently it is the right answer, because Jesus blesses him, renames him and tells him that he will be the head of his followers. I wonder if the other disciples were jealous of Peter? Considering his disastrous attempts at walking on water, and the fact that he often didn’t really live up to his promises, I think their jealousy might have been wasted.

Peter was certainly no hero. He did not exude the kind of character, intellect or leadership skills that I would look for in a church leader. But, frankly, I am glad that he has a place in heaven because I think, given his flaws, he will look upon mine with a more generous spirit than some others might. Peter might better understand me when I can’t find the right answer, or when I just parrot what I have heard without really trying to come to an answer of my own, or because mine doesn’t sound very theological or deep. Peter may understand me better in the times when I blurt out an answer before I think about it or when I make promises I cannot keep.

If Peter is the Rock on which the church is built, then I think that might be the good news of this story. If he can be important to God, then so can we! Because he is just like me, there may be some hope for me. Whether he is a chip off the old block, or a stone in my shoe, his flaws remind me that being a Christian is not about being flawless, but about being available and being willing. His perseverance reminds me that I need to keep trying to answer the hard questions, and keep getting up and moving on when I have fallen.

So, the next time someone asks about what it is we believe here in this zany little Christian community, don’t be afraid to try and answer them! What you believe does matter in big picture. You may not be very good at articulating your faith the first time, but you might be surprised by what you hear yourself say. The trick is that we must try. Not just to find the right words, but also to incorporate the message into our lives and if we do that, then we can all be chips off the old block. Put all those chips together, we can build a church.

Amen.

Lectionary used: Isaiah 51:1-6, Psalm 138, Romans 12:1-8, Matthew 16:13-20