“To
Tell the Truth”
The
lectionary text this week, Luke 4:21-30 provides some sorted humor as we read
of the rejection of Jesus by the people of his hometown. There is Jesus, having proclaimed his call
out of Isaiah 61:1, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and then we have the
townspeople, many who had known Jesus as he was growing up. They knew him and his family, as they said,
is not this Joseph’s son, in effect saying that Jesus was not the Messiah, or a
prophet, or anyone great. Now Jesus
being Jesus and knowing his congregation, a people of Nazareth, a city of ill
repute, he read the skepticism, contempt and blatant dishonor running rampant
among the congregation and become irrate, even insulted regarding the whole
matter. Now in the Gospel of Mark 6:1-6,
the earlier text, the situation is described as suspicious, hostile, even
resentful as they thought he should have ministered in his hometown first. According to the interpreter’s bible “The
people were astonished but it was a grudging and sour astonishment.” Having known Jesus for many years before he
answered the call of God, the people asked, among themselves, what I would
consider logical questions such as, “How did Jesus get all of this wisdom?”,
“How did he learn to preach and teach so well?”
Yet the logic of their questions only made the scandal of their hearts
more pronounced. At this point Jesus, being amazed at their lack of faith, begins
to “tell the truth” meaning he was frank, bold and truthful in his encounter
with the congregation of his townspeople.
I
remember when I was a child growing up I would hear people in Church, school
and/or on the street say, “To tell the truth” typically it was an introduction
to some pretty heavy stuff, somewhat derogatory about an individual, group or
organization. It usually meant that they
were on the “outs” or in disagreement with expectations. Jesus compared the people in the synagogue
with the people who lived in Elijah’s time when only and in the time of
Eliseus. Jesus’ comparisons said that
they were unworthy of the miracle of God.
Luke 4:29 reads, they rose up, and thrust him out of the city and led
him to the edge of the hill where they were going to throw him over but he
passed through the midst of them, went his way.
I.
The Call of Jesus
Mindful of the Call of
God upon Jesus his beloved son, the call of God upon a person’s life is one of
the most intimate moments a person will experience. It can be fearful, terrifying, joyful, even stunning,
leaving one speechless, to say the least, even in the presence of witnesses. The call of God is that one moment when the
mystical confronts the staid practical sensibilities of human existence. According to the interpreter’s bible, “They
are possessed by the purifying and inspiring purpose of God, then for the first
time the soul finds for itself an immense and joyous freedom. The one called is God’s expressed desire
beyond office, position or pedigree, and so was the call of Jesus. Yet the
calling of God is not without significant concerns and challenges as the one
called moves in the midst of the people, even a hometown crowd whose desires
have been shaped by systems, structures and processes of Oppression and Privilege
as established by ruler and authority written in Ephesians 6:12,
For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of
this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
places.
In the midst of this
struggle described in Ephesians 6:12, there are times, more often than not,
when the one called of God will experience rejection yet this rejection can
reveal particular passion, even joy, as the ministry of ones calling is
defined. It is ironic that the rejection
of Jesus by his hometown people became significant in shaping and defining his
ministry. It became a means toward
profound hope for those who might receive salvation. Rejection, problematic as it is on many
levels, can lead us to a hopeful experience as we move on to greener pastures
knowing that God is our refuge as written in Psalm 71:1-6,
In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.
2 Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
3 Be my strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.
Let me never be put to shame.
2 Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
3 Be my strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the
wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
6 By You I have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
6 By You I have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.
II.
A Prophet is not without honor except in his
hometown, queering expectations
Jesus had triumphed over the devil in the
wilderness and had "returned in the power of the Spirit" to give his inaugural address in Nazareth. He had
done so by beginning with the prophet Isaiah and a passage about true reversal
of fortune and hopeful change. However, in this passage he picks a fight with
the congregation in his old home town and almost suffers a premature demise
because of it.
One of the many things that led to the
rejection of Jesus is, “expectation.” He
didn’t meet their expectations as constructed by Jewish religious authority
within the Roman empire. The rejection
of Jesus reveals the sad but observable fact that God’s truth may come in ways
which we do not choose to recognize.
III.
Doing God’s work in the midst
Similar to Jesus we do God’s work in the midst of those awake and not
awake.
We are called as Disciples of Christ to live a hopeful vision of present
and future things, to seek to live an authentic life grounded in Christ and
community. In this light there was a desire
to focus today’s message on affirmation, love and the implications of communion. Mindful of a deeper longing within to address
this time we live in I found that I should not bypass a particular terror that
engulfs so much of life in our time. We live
in a world of complications, complexities, challenges and oppressions which
characterize more and more of life in America. Thus, as people of faith, we are called to critically
reflect on the issues of our day which emerge as symptoms of the world we live
in. We reflect on the many lives lost
at the hands of violent racism, police brutality, bigotry, privilege,
increasing inequality, poverty, and polarization, considered by some people who
embrace white supremacist ideology, to be a matter of tradition. We remember the recent death of a Black woman
stopped for a minor traffic violation in Prairie View, Texas who allegedly
committed suicide in a Waller County jail cell by hanging herself. I receive her tragic death as one more act of
terror inflicted on a diverse population of people who are living in states of righteous
anger and fear as hope, long defined by productions of white supremacy and
black subordination, historically mediated through law enforcement, wane, shift
and fall like tectonic plates resulting in seismic shifts in the midst of the
California sun. This became evident as I and my mother watched
and then discussed the removal of the confederate flag from the grounds of the
South Carolina State Capital and ensuing protests which occurred.
They said, “I Forgive You”
A Very Uncommon Act
In the midst of the echoes of a civil war one
hundred and fifty years passed but not forgotten we are called to do the joyful
work of ascertaining hope in the midst of a time which unsettles so many
people. Reflecting on hope I am mindful that hope is
not the exclusive purview of the naive or the optimist but a calling of faith,
courage, and a love that is unyielding.
Hope is exemplified in action as the spirit within calls forth a glimpse
of the arc of justice. This becomes
clear as we watch the family members of nine beautiful people massacred at
Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston South Carolina by a
man filled with hate do what might be called an uncommon act of love. They
said, “I forgive you.” Surely
Jesus is the author of forgiveness as it is written in Luke 23:24, “Forgive
them for they know not what they do.”, in
the midst of his own slow and painful crucifixion. Listening to the many reports from around
the country I find that forgiveness, boldly standing with grace and mercy in
the face of hatred, compelled a nation of people and their president to give
homage to its presence. That said, their statement of forgiveness
has also been controversial, as some people, not considered religious, have
said that the relatives showed weakness by forgiving the shooter[1]
and some call for a type of moratorium on forgiveness, in regard to black
people forgiving white racist.[2] Yet because it is this type of uncommon act of
love that has the potential to contribute, even in controversy, to a mediation of
the ills of our present time I believe each of us should, if feasible, sit in
silent meditation regarding forgiveness, so that we might come to some
understanding of such an uncommon act of love.
The Fool says in their heart I have no
need of God,
God cannot speak to the issues of
humanity
Living in a society of materialism, rationality and a gradual
marginalization of God and Church in common life and space, a critique of love
should be undertaken. I have come to
belief that love, the kind of love defined by the life and ministry of Jesus, the
one who taught us how to love, has been sequestered and a form of love, now
considered common, constructed by various corporate institutions has been given
its former holy and sacred space. Of
course this has occurred over time as the purveyors of capital and its politics
sought to enslave the heart, its religion and western clerics for matters of
greed and profit, for me an extension of the plantation narrative. Now I must be careful not to become too
philosophical, abstract or theological about love, a certainly not cynical, since I do want to communicate with you today,
yet love the love I encounter in Ephesians 3:14-21 is abstract, uncommon and
sacrificial. Yet it is this abstract,
uncommon and sacrificial act of love that breathes life into our souls and
empowers us towards forgiveness, considered as part of a spiritual medical
regimen needed to heal a sick and bewildered nation and its people yearning for
some type of solace.
For those who profess Christ
forgiveness emerges out of their heart as they intimately engage in the hope
found in the everlasting God. God and
the things of God are the anchor and the inspiration of their life. Their life and their hope rest secure as they
walk humbly with their God as written in Micah 6:8. Recent discourses on identity inclusive of
the political, economic, racial, gender, sexual and scientific rhetoric remind
me that walking humbly with our God, in a blessed state of forgiveness is not
so popular in a world of materialism which looks within itself for hope
believing that the ability to overcome the deeper more substantial ills of
society rests in the latest technological trinket inclusive of weapons of
personal, communal and mass distraction, or illicit drugs will somehow fill a
void or sooth the pain within. Indeed this
is a fool’s errand. The fool says there
is no God. In this sense they believe
that God, if there is a God, bears no consequence and in this sense has no
bearing regarding issues of a population of people in severe emotional, mental
and spiritual pain, in need of real and sustainable sustenance, considered by
some as a yearning for a year of Jubilee, and a time of blessed forgiveness. This is a challenge for the fool as they see forgiveness
as an admission of weakness and a denial of certain profit. Yet for those in love with God forgiveness is
life and this more abundantly. Psalm
14:1-7 has a lot to say about the fool.
It reads
The fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.
2 The Lord
looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
3 They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
3 They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.
4 Have all the
workers of iniquity no knowledge******
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call on the Lord?
5 There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You shame the counsel of the poor,
But the Lord is his refuge.
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call on the Lord?
5 There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You shame the counsel of the poor,
But the Lord is his refuge.
7 Oh that the
salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.
When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.
(Pause)
Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ, considered the voice of God by many in
the Catholic Church, and received as a breath of fresh air by some in the
Christian religious community beyond the Catholic Church, recently released a
papal encyclical or a papal letter on the climate crisis and the economic
system that has led to our present environmental crisis. He has also been speaking out regarding issues
of forgiveness, this in regard to the participation of the Church in the brutal
colonization of South America. He has
been roundly criticized, even taken to task regarding his comments particularly
on the economy and the global climate crisis by many in his own Church and by
secular authority. Pope Francis blames
climate change on apathy, political shortsightedness and a pursuit of profits. He calls climate change one of the principal
challenges facing humanity today. His
encyclical intimated that our present state of affairs is a crisis of the soul,
making more evident an economic system morally bankrupt. Of course his encyclical incurred the
rhetorical wrath of the capitalist, environmental sceptics, conservatives, less
progressive voices and right wing political pundits and candidates running for
president. I remember listening to National Public Radio
and hearing a staunch capitalist cry in frustration about the Pope, and the
Church seeking to address the issues that impact the poor, the homeless and
those of a lesser state. The response
reminded me that God, at least in the mind of the capitalist, has no
voice. Fools have no use for God as capitalism
is the great savior and protector of humanity.
Surely we live in foolish and even dangerous times indeed.
Times
that Try the Soul of Humanity
In a sermon given at Detroit's Second
Baptist Church (28 February 1954) Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made the
following statement, “The great problem facing modern man is that the means by
which we live have outdistanced the spiritual ends for which we live. So we
find ourselves caught in a messed-up world. The problem is with man himself and
man's soul. We haven't learned how to be just and honest and kind and true and
loving. And that is the basis of our problem. The real problem is that through
our scientific genius we've made of the world a neighborhood, but through our
moral and spiritual genius we've failed to make of it a brotherhood.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 February 1954
The words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are timeless. They remain as relevant today as they were back
in 1954. His words present a particular
truth that is difficult to deny in the face of a nation where banks are
privileged and untouchable at the expense of its people, and where Wall Street
has more bearing and credibility that the person on the street or the earth
herself. In light of these sobering realities
we should gladly desire to gain spiritual strength, to strengthen the human
soul and thus begin to know and to comprehend the fullness of God in Jesus
Christ. This is a journey within straining
towards the inner sanctum of divine-human interaction. It is a desire of head and heart, to know the
fullness of God and to experience the breadth, width, height and depth of a
love which releases forgiveness for ourselves and others.
Healing, reconciliation and a life affirming perspective begin with
forgiveness. I suspect that the ills of
society and even the Church itself, as an inhabitant of the material world, cannot
be solved without forgiveness within and without. It is clear to me that the material world which
demands an allegiance of desire at the expense of the soul is seemingly incapable
of forgiveness since forgiveness emerges from spiritual strength, and this from
a love unknown by the material world. Love,
borne of spiritual strength, for Jesus and my trust in God, at times affirmed
by people who do uncommon acts of this unknown love, compel me to be hopeful
that one day this would not be the case.
Uncommon Acts of love such as forgiveness remind me that a Day of Jubilee
is approaching. A time of spiritual awakening where forgiveness will comfort
and heal the soul of humanity and the earth.
Each of us should prepare for this day as it will surely arrive.
Let us open our bibles to Ephesians 3:14-21 and read together.
Prayer for Spiritual Strength
14 For this
reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every
family[a] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that
according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with
power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in
love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to
know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with
all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him
who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according
to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
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