Year A, Proper 15, Isaiah 56.1,6-8, “For all peoples”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen

When I began my ministry in Thompson Falls back in 1988 Northern Idaho and Western Montana had become a haven for white supremacists, centered around Richard Butler’s compound in Hayden, ID.

 They were and are neo-Nazis, a paramilitary organization that loves to dress in Nazi uniforms and arm themselves for what they see as a looming battle for control of this nation and to preserve and advance the New Israel which they believe that God intended our nation to be. 

The formal name of Richard Butler’s group was the Church of Jesus Christ Christian.  It was originally  founded in 1946 by Ku Klux Klan organizer Wesley A. Swift.

This religious organization underlying the neo-Nazis was part of the “Christian Identity Movement” that holds as a central tenant of their faith that the true descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not the modern day Jews, but rather the Aryan race.

This belief asserts that following the Assyrian conquest of the northern ten tribes of Israel in 722 BCE, the people of Israel migrated north and settled eventually in Germany and the surrounding regions and are the Aryan race.

Contemporary Jews are believed to be the offspring of Satan, and hence ought not only be oppressed, but exterminated.

Related to this is the belief that all other races than Aryans, are pre-Adamic.

What do they mean by pre-Adamic?

They mean that blacks and other non-Aryan peoples were created prior to Adam and Eve.  That only the Aryan race is descended from Adam and Eve.  That the other races are “beasts of the field”, that is animals, the highest form of apes, if you will.  As such, maintaining ‘dominion’ over them, subjecting them to slavery and other such fates, is seen as perfectly OK.  This is the height of racism, for it believes that blacks are not only inferior, they are not even human.

This does not mean that all white supremacists are in favor of genocide. 

My neighbors in Thompson Falls who were part of Richard Butler’s Church of Jesus Christ, Christian, asserted that “we love all people, we just believe that God never intended different races to live together.”

They believe in White Separatism.  This is segregation on steroids.  They believe that all non-Aryans should be resettled, repatriated, sent back to their country of origin.  The blacks to Africa, Oriental people (including Native Americans) to Asia, etc.

Their hope is that by so doing, they might recreate the nation of Israel as it was meant to be, as a great white nation, America.

One of the trends of this group in the mean time is to locate in areas of the country that are predominantly white, where they perceive that can pursue their agenda with as little opposition as possible.  The path of least resistance.  It is for this reason that they have tried to establish themselves in places like Montana and Northern Idaho, two of the ‘whitest’ areas of our country.

Terrorism and intimidation are tools that they use to advance their cause.  Rather than simply keeping to themselves in their small enclaves, they choose to parade in public, for example, in 4^th of July parades around the country, and hold public rallies such as happened last week in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Make no mistake about it, this activity of theirs goes beyond freedom of speech and assembly.  It is intended to strike fear and terror in the hearts of non-Aryans.

It works.

I had a colleague in ministry that was looking for a new call.  I suggested to her that there were openings in Northern Idaho she should check out.  Carolyn had a Chinese daughter whom she had adopted, and her immediate response was that she would never move to an area where White Supremacists were active and subject her daughter to that risk.

That’s exactly the response the Aryan Nations folks want.

Another tendency of these groups is to adopt a view of American politics and the constitution that will help to advance their cause.  “Constitutionalists” is the term, and in general what it means is a return to an understanding of our Constitution that is pre-Civil War, and certainly, pre-Civil Rights.

They believe that states should be able to secede from the Union, a necessary first step on the way to creating this great white nation they envision.

One of the things about these groups, is that there is not one unified organization, but rather many movements and cell groups that share some, if not all of the sentiments.  And so you have the KKK, the Aryan Nations, militia groups, constitutionalists like the Freemen, to name a few.

Another aspect of these organizations is that they appeal to the prejudices that are part of the general population and feed off of them.

So for example, when we as a nation talk about cracking down on illegal immigration and deporting minorities that have come here illegally, they are thrilled and highly supportive.  Likewise, they favor immigration of white, English speaking people, but not of others.

They also feed off of those who believe that the Federal Government’s power needs to be severely limited.

They also will be  quick to point out that the racial tensions that we are experiencing are clear evidence that we were not meant to live together, and they believe that their agenda is not only the only solution that will work, but it is God’s answer to the problem.

One of the most difficult things is that there are passages in the scripture that fuel the religious sentiments behind the movement.

Today’s Gospel is one of them.

 “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

I wish Jesus hadn’t said that.

I really wish he hadn’t said that.

And it’s not enough that he eventually grants the Canaanite woman’s request.

But it is not just these words.  There are many others.

Especially in the Old Testament there are many passages and an overall tendency to lift up the people of Israel as the Chosen People of God, and when that is coupled with the racist ideology of the Christian Identity movement it lays the foundation for a belief in White Supremacy as God’s will for humanity. 

And then there are the other passages.

“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”  (Galations 3:28)

And our lesson from Isaiah today, a lesson Jesus quotes as he drives the money changers out of the temple:

“for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”

Why am I talking about this today?

For some people considering such things is to venture into the realm of politics, and certainly there are political ramifications of these matters.

But more importantly, it goes to the very heart of the Gospel itself.

God’s love is not the sole possession of one Race, one People, but is freely bestowed on all peoples.

Each and every person is created in God’s image.  And God loves us all.

Again I’ll lift up before you our purpose statement for our congregation:

“God’s purpose for Peace is to welcome, love, and serve all in our local and global community.”

Historically, there have been times when we’ve failed to love all people.

Last week in Bible Study I shared with the class that Martin Luther, late in his life, had written some horrible things about the Jews, things that were quoted extensively by the Nazis.

In addition, during the Nazi era in Germany the Lutheran Church, with the notable exception of the Confessing Church, largely went along with the Nazi agenda.  And make no mistake about it, the concentrations camps like Buchenwald and Auschwitz were staffed by many Lutherans.

Also, in spite of setting goals to become an inclusive Church, we remain one of the whitest churches in the nation.

Yes, we have had our failings.

But our calling is to bear witness to the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus, a love that extends to all people, of every race and tongue.

And it’s more than that.

As God’s people we are called to stand up to the evil that is in our midst.  Especially that is important because in this case that evil is being advanced in the name of Christ.

But there is another reason, as well.

It is precisely humanities diversity that makes the human experience such a rich and delightful one.

Think of the creation as a whole, of all the different forms of life God created.  God loves this diversity.  There are majestic animals such as the lion or tiger, and humorous one’s such as the platypus, but each one is special and delightful in God’s eyes.

“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”  (Genesis 1:31)

Not just good.  Very good.  Tov Meod is the Hebrew phrase. 

Ours is an interesting task, to stand firm in the face of the evil that lurks within our land and bear witness to the good that is in all people without getting caught up in the very evil we oppose.

Ours calling is to stand firm against evils such as racism and oppression, without letting our hearts become hateful or our actions, oppressive.

The hope that is at the heart of the Gospel is that love can transform the world-- that just as light drives out the darkness, love can drive out hate.

This is our holy calling.  And my prayer is that when everything is said and done, we will have been found to be faithful to this holy task. 

Amen

Year C, Proper 15, Hebrews 11:29-12:2, "Stormy Weather"

Year C, Proper 15, Hebrews 11:29-12:2,  “Stormy weather”

August 14, 2016

 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen

We can’t always see them,

                We’re not always aware of them,

                But they are there.

This great cloud of witnesses.

People, who have walked the walk we walk, and who persevered.

They surround us. 

                They came before us.

                They are yet to come.

                There are those in heaven above.

                There are those next door.

And one by one their lives tell the story of faith.

To live by faith is to cling to the promise of God’s unfailing love in the midst of all the stormy weather that is this life.  And stormy it can be.

The passage from Hebrews we have been reading for the last few weeks calls to mind some of those witnesses and the hardships, trials, and tribulations they have experienced, but who through it all, lived by faith.

I wish that the life of faith was one in which we would always experience the good life.  That if we were just faithful, everything would be just fine.  But that is not the case.  The witness of the saints is that by faith they overcame the hardships of this life, not that they were spared from experiencing those hardships.

This cloud of witnesses “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.”

Not only did they experience all of the difficulties that life threw at them, but they did so, without receiving the promise.  They were commended for their faith, but did not receive what was promised.  Rather, they were told to wait.  Told to wait until that day when we might all be made perfect, together.

To live by faith, is to lean into the future, and to claim as a present reality, that which is yet to come. 

In the service for Yom Kippur and at the conclusion of the Seder meal, Jewish people recite an ancient phrase that, for me, exemplifies faith.  “Next year in Jerusalem.”  This phrase came to be embraced by the Jewish people during the times that they were dispersed all around the world.  In reciting it, Jewish people clung to the hope of the day when the temple would be restored, Israel reborn, and there on the holy mountain, they might once again worship God.

Next year in Jerusalem.

The thing is that for centuries the Jewish people lived into this promise even though they died without ever having seen its fulfillment.  

Yet that hope sustained them in faith, even through the worst of times.

Imagine, for example, those words on the lips of people in the Nazi death camps during the holocaust.  Next year in Jerusalem. 

Each of us could tell the stories that have shaped our lives.  Stories about the “cloud of witnesses” that surround us.  About all the people who persevered through the difficult challenges of this life, and did so, in faith.

Or we could think about the experience of our nation, and the quest for peace.

World War I was the “war to end all wars.”

And then there was World War II.

And the Korean War.

And the war in Vietnam.

And then Kuwait.

And Afghanistan.

And Iraq.

Now, we fight in Syria.

“Peace on Earth” the angels sang at Jesus’ birth.  It is a promise.  A promise that to this day awaits its fulfillment.

I wish it were different.

I wish that to live “by faith” meant that we would be rewarded in very tangible, delightful ways in the present moment.  Wouldn’t that be great?

Simply put your trust in God and everything will be OK.

You will be richly blessed.

You will experience no hardship.

Just have faith and everything will be alright.

I’m reminded of the lyrics from Jesus Christ  Superstar where Mary Magdalene sings to Jesus:

Try not to get worried

Try not to turn on to

Problems that upset you

Oh, Don’t you know

Everything’s alright

Yes everything’s fine

And we want you to sleep well tonight

Let the world turn without you tonight

If we try

We’ll get by

So forget all about us tonight.

The problem is that everything does not always turn out alright.  Life is difficult at times. 

Elsie was a dear friend of ours and a member of my first parish.  She struggled with numerous chronic health problems.  She endured what was at best a difficult marriage.  One day, she shared her exasperation after having visited the doctor only to find out about another chronic condition for which there was no cure.

“Pastor, if that doctor tells me one more time that ‘I’ll simply have to learn to live with it.’ I’ll give him something to live with.”

Sometimes I feel that way about God.

I want God to make everything alright.

I want God to make my problems go away.

I want God to do all those things for me that I cannot do for myself.

I want to feel good.

I don’t want to have worries.

And I certainly don’t want to suffer.

But what the Bible says is not that if we simply have faith, life will be good.

It talks about “looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”

For the sake of the joy that was set before him, he endured the shame of the cross.  And there he died. 

This is the thing.

If I were to stand here and tell you that if you just have faith, everything will be alright,

                I would not be telling you the truth.

                Hardships will continue to come and go.

                And in the end, we will die.

Perhaps we will die with those words “next year in Jerusalem” on our lips, but we will die. 

We will die waiting for the promise to be fulfilled.

That is the truth.

What we can say, though, is that in the midst of all the struggles, we will meet Jesus,

the crucified one,

the one who suffers with us,

the one who loves us.

The last words Jesus speaks to his disciples in the Gospel of Matthew are

“Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Life is difficult.

                But we are not alone.

Life has its challenges.

But nothing so great as to separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus.

I need to remember that.

We all need to remember that.

That no matter what comes, Jesus is with us.

That as difficult as life may be we are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses that has walked this path before. 

And the greatest witness of all is the crucified One who has promised to be with us, to lift us up whenever we fall, and to lead us on into the promise that has been given to us.

May this peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen

Year C, Proper 15, Hebrews 11:29 - 12:2, "By Faith"

"The Peter Principle" states that "a person is promoted to the level of their own incompetence, where they remain".  Written in part as satire, in part as management theory, the basic concept is that because people are promoted on the basis of their competencies demonstrated in a current position, they will continue to be promoted until they reach a point at which they are no longer competent, at which point the promotions will stop.  

I offer "Dave's Corollary to the Peter Principle":  People are called to the level of their own incompetence, so that they must live by faith.  Were all things possible for us, given our own abilities and understandings, we simply would rely upon those competencies and trust in our own capacity to get things done.  That's human nature, pure and simple.  And God has no part in it.

"Then who can be saved?", the disciples asked.  "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible."  (Matthew 19:25-26)

""My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."  (2 Cor 12:9)

I could think the faith, but I could not write, nor could I speak.  My English 101 professor in college once read portions of a paper I had written to the class as an example of someone who was bright, and had good thoughts to express, but who entirely lacked the language skills to do so effectively.  Public speaking also petrified me.  Of all the academic disciplines, language arts were my downfall.  Mathematics, geometry, these were areas where I excelled.  I struggled to write or to speak. I simply was incompetent in those areas.  And then, I was called into the ministry.

"My grace is sufficient for you."

If faith is anything, it is this:  That confronted with our own inabilities, we trust in another.

"By Faith" begins this marvelous passage from Hebrews.  The entirety of salvation history encapsulated in these two words.  By faith Abraham. . .  By faith Moses. . .  And so this litany of faith begins and continues throughout all time.  In every generation, countless examples of God doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.  By faith. . .

And then in the present moment, confronted with that which we cannot do, we hear these words anew, "by faith".  We call to mind the memory of God's gracious work in ages past, and trust that once again, his grace will suffice.  By faith. . .