Our Money Story: Restore

Our reading today is from the beginning. Genesis. And in two parts, beginning first in chapter 2.

On the day the Lord God made earth and sky— before any wild plants appeared on the earth, and before any field crops grew, because the Lord God hadn’t yet sent rain on the earth and there was still no human being to farm the fertile land, though a stream rose from the earth and watered all of the fertile land— the Lord God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life.

The Lord God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it. The Lord God commanded the human, “Eat your fill from all of the garden’s trees; but don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because on the day you eat from it, you will die!”

There are two stories of creation at the beginning of Genesis. One in chapter 1. And a second creation story in chapter 2, which we just heard a portion of. Each of these stories is different. Each of them has a very distinct story to tell. 

In chapter 1, we have this amazing story of the beginning of the world, created out of chaos by the very breath of God. Shaped, formed and filled by God’s Word. An ordered world. Crowned at the end by God’s greatest achievement - humankind. Male and female. Made in God’s own image. Genesis 1 is this great, grand story of the creation of our big, beautiful world and all that inhabits it. 

In Genesis 2, we move from this big creation story to one of intimacy and relationship. A story of the first people. And of the beginning of their relationship with God. And it all begins in the dirt.

Did you notice that detail? The first human wasn’t made from clay - that sturdy, durable soil that can be molded and shaped and is strong. No, the first human was made from dust. Topsoil.

We miss it in English, but here in the Hebrew, there’s a pun. A play on words happening. ‘Adam in Hebrew means human. It’s not a proper name. Not a gendered name. ‘Adam represents that first human being, created by God out of dust, which in Hebrew is ‘adamah. ‘Adam. ‘Adamah. The first human is created out of fine, dry particles of earth so light and so fragile that they can easily be picked up and carried by the wind. Just like our own human existence, which is also so fragile. 

Then as the story continues, God takes the human and puts him in Eden to serve it. Not to have dominion over it, but to serve. To work for it. God tells ‘adam to eat fully from the trees in the garden. Except from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The phrase “good and evil” in Hebrew is an idiom that simply means everything. This is not about right and wrong. This is about everything - about knowing everything. About omniscience. About being like God.

There is also, in Genesis 2, no distinction between human and animal life. Both are called living creatures in Hebrew. Living creatures who all come from the same place...the dust of the ground. 

After making ‘adam, God discovers that being alone for this creature is not good. Human beings need companionship, relationship, community. God takes ‘adam and out of the human makes a companion. Woman. A helper. Sometimes, in the Hebrew bible, God is referred to as a helper - as Israel’s helper. So, this woman is not subordinate. This is not a hierarchy. Adam needs Eve as companion, as partner, as fellow worker in the garden - in God’s Garden of Eden.

There is intimacy in this second chapter of Genesis. There is an intimate link between the Creator and the created.

But the story continues with chapter 3.

The snake was the most intelligent of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?”

The woman said to the snake, “We may eat the fruit of the garden’s trees but not the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘Don’t eat from it, and don’t touch it, or you will die.’”

The snake said to the woman, “You won’t die! God knows that on the day you eat from it, you will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was beautiful with delicious food and that the tree would provide wisdom, so she took some of its fruit and ate it, and also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then they both saw clearly and knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made garments for themselves.

During that day’s cool evening breeze, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God in the middle of the garden’s trees.

Oh, that snake. That crafty snake. 

It is here in Genesis 3 where the great central act of disobedience is introduced. In choosing to disobey God’s command, the humans radically alter their understanding of themselves and of their world. Their eyes are opened. They become self-aware.  

Previously, they were living in a world that was theo-centric. Centered around God. Now, they believe they live in a world centered around themselves. Where they can assert that they themselves are the center of value. The center of decision making. The center of knowledge. 

This knowledge of all things - this desire to be like God - results in alienation from God and from the soil - ‘adamah - to which they are so deeply connected. 

This is the story we see in Genesis 3. The human story. Our story. 

It’s a story about moving from creation to distortion. The distortion of God’s desire for us and for the world. Of a broken relationship between God and humanity. Of broken relationships between neighbors. Of a broken relationship with the dust of the ground and with all living creatures. A world of scarcity and “not enough,” as we hoard God’s abundance. Where we chase the idea of self-worth by seeking more or trying to be more. And more. And more. It is a story that has moved from creation to distortion. It is our story. Our very human story. 

But this is not God’s story. Because God’s story is not about distortion. Not about alienation. But about restoration. About restoring dignity to those disenfranchised. About restoring broken relationships with neighbors. About restoring our own lives - so that we might be centered, healthy, spirit-filled beings, caring for all living creatures and all creation. It is a story about enough. About more than enough. About abundance.

In God’s story, God continuously works to move us from distortion. To restoration. From death. To life. That we might be reconciled with God, with one another, with all creation. 

As we move throughout this lectionary year, we will see over and over and over again, our God, revealed in the story. A God of promise. A God of relationship. A God of mercy. And a God of new life. A God who comes near to us in Jesus, the great restorer - the great reconciler - of the world. And a God who sends us into the world with this good news of restoration.

Why does God do this? In one word. Love. You and I, sisters and brothers, we are God’s creation with whom God desires to be in intimate relationship. You and I - we belong to God. You and I - we are created by God. You and I - we are God’s beloved. Amen.

Preached September 13, 2020, online at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.

Pentecost 15/Rally Day

Readings: Gen. 2: 4b-7, 15-17; 3:1-8; Luke 11:2-4; Psalm 8

God's Kingdom Announced: Good News

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
    ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight,’”

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

--Mark 1:1-20 (NRSV)

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

We’re going to do something a bit different today. Over these past few weeks of Christmas and Epiphany, we taken a slight detour from our lectionary. Mostly, we’ve done this because this is the year of the gospel of Mark. And, because Mark has no nativity or epiphany story, we’ve had to bounce around a little bit between Luke and Matthew and, even, on Christmas Eve, a little bit of John. But, today we begin Mark. 

We do not know who wrote Mark. There is a lot of speculation among theologians, but the truth is that no one knows for sure. We believe it was written sometime around the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem, around 70 CE. It may have been slightly before or slightly after. This was a time of conflict - conflict within Judaism and conflict outside of Judaism, between the Jewish people and the Roman empire. 

Mark was the first of the gospels to be written. There is early historical evidence to suggest that the author of Mark wanted to make sure that all of what Jesus did and said was written down. Because, up to this point, all of these stories had been shared orally. By word of mouth. At this point, though, the eyewitnesses to Jesus and his ministry were dying, because they were being persecuted and martryed. 

In these opening verses of Mark, there are important words and themes that we will hear as we move through this gospel during these next months. So, today, the different thing we will do is to dig deeper into the text to better understand these words and themes, so that we might build a good foundation for our reading of Mark and for a deeper understanding of the message of this first gospel.

Mark opens with these words: the beginning. Does that sound familiar to you? Where have we heard those words before? 

If we go all the way back to the start of the Hebrew scriptures in Genesis, we hear similar words. “In the beginning.” This phrase is an important signal for us. It’s a sign that God is doing something new. In Genesis, that new thing that God was up to was forming an ordered and beautiful creation out of darkness and chaos.  Here, at the beginning of Mark, we do not yet know what this new thing is that God is doing. Yet, in the very next few words, we are about to get a hint.

The next important word (or words) is the phrase “good news.” Now, in the Greek, the word used for this phrase is euangeliou.  It’s a form of the word euangelion.  Have you seen this word before? Does it look a little familiar to you: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America? Perhaps this will jog your memory: Grace & Glory Evangelical Lutheran Church? 

The Greek word euangelion means "good news." Or "gospel." But this good news that we are about to hear is not a reference to a physical book, to the written “gospel” of Mark. Instead, it refers to the word of salvation as it is carried out in the acts of salvation. In Mark, the saving word is not separated from saving action.  Good news, or the gospel, in Mark is always in motion. 

We will see this good news acted out in the preaching and teaching, and in acts of mercy and healing by Jesus Christ. Jesus, the now roughly 30-year-old man, son of Mary and of Joseph. And the Christ, meaning the Anointed One. The Messiah. The One promised by God to come and save God’s people.  The first half of Mark’s gospel will focus on identifying Jesus as this promised Messiah. The second half will begin to unfold the stunning truth that, not only is this Jesus the Anointed One, the one who will both announce and initiate the good news of God’s reign. But, that this Jesus Christ is also the very Son of God. That he is both human and divine.

But, first, we must meet the one who will prepare the way for this Jesus, the Anointed One, the Son of God. 

This one who will prepare the way is none other than John the Baptist or John the Baptizer. Son of Elizabeth and Zechariah. Who we met just a few weeks ago, on the very last Sunday of Advent, before Christmas. It is John who fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah. The one promised who will “prepare the way of the Lord.” We're also reminded of Exodus 23, where the prophet has the very difficult, yet very necessary, job of making a course correction. And of bringing a wayward people back to the right path. To the right way. This is John’s job in Mark. To prepare the way for Jesus by returning people to the right path. 

In his camel’s hair clothing, with his leather belt and his diet of locusts and honey, John has claimed a life of poverty. One who lives off little. Who has chosen to be poor. But, the people coming to see John are not poor. They come to him from places that enjoyed comfortable living standards. They are people living in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, an island of wealth and power in the midst of Galilee, a rural place. A place of poverty. 

John invites them into this wilderness. To reflect on their history and their complicitness in the economic divide. He calls them to repent. To repent in Mark is to step out of one’s mindset and adopt a new and different mindset. It is to have one’s perception of the world and of oneself transformed. To adopt a radically different world view. To relate to the world in a new way. It also means to make a U-turn. To change course. To turn one’s back on the status quo. On one’s former life. To envision a new reality. And then to endeavor to bring this new thing to fruition. For those coming to see John, entering into the wilderness is a time of reflection and reckoning. A time intended to bring them back to God and to God’s ways. To ways that will lead them through the wilderness to Jesus Christ and to the in-breaking reign of God.

Jesus comes to John to be baptized. We read in the 10th verse that just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice from heaven saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

“Just” or “immediately. We will see this adverb 42 times in Mark! Because there is an urgency in Mark. There is no time to waste. Immediately, Jesus sees the heavens being torn asunder. This is not a gentle descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus. In Greek the word used is a form of the word schizo. It is a violent word. A word of division. This ripping apart of the heavens at Jesus’ baptism will be echoed in the ripping apart of the temple curtain at Jesus’ death. The public ministry of Jesus beginning here, with his baptism, will not only bring words and actions of healing and salvation, but they will bring violence and conflict and division. 

This baptism is an event between Father and Son. Jesus alone sees the heavens being torn asunder, his baptism by the Spirit, and hears the words of his Father. Words that express the relationship and love of this father and son. We will hear these words again at Jesus’ transfiguration as he prepares to face the conflict his ministry has created. And to be crucified by those who have rejected not only him, but the entire reign of God. 

It is this reign of God to which you and I, sisters and brothers have been called, just as the early disciples. You and I, beloved of God, who have been called to repent and be baptized. To step out of our comfort and our complacency. To turn around. To adopt a new mindset and a new way of life. To step onto the wilderness path. To believe in the good news - good news that is understood in both word and deed. 

In our baptisms, we have been given a new birth. We have been cleansed from sin. We have been raised to life forever. But, at the same time, we have promised individually and communally to live out the kingdom - the reign of God. We have promised to live among God’s faithful people. We have promised to hear the word of God and to share in the Lord’s supper. We have promised to proclaim this good news of God in Christ through what we say and what we do. We have promised to serve all people by following the example of Jesus. And, finally, we have promised to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.

So how far along are you in keeping your covenant with God?

Dear church, ours is not to be a life of comfort and complacency. Ours is to be a a wilderness life - a time of constant reflection and remembering and repentance. A time of faith lived out with urgency and action. It is a life that may bring us into conflict with the powers that be, with the status quo, with those who defy or deny God’s reign, as it should. Because we are not to be passive people of God. The reign of God is not some nebulous thing that we wait passively for in the distant future. It began with Jesus’ baptism and public ministry. And it continues with us at the present time. The reign of God - the kingdom of God - is now. Right. Now. And we are called to live it out.

This is the good news of the gospel of Mark. May it jolt us into motion. Amen.

Preached Sunday, January 12, 2020, at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.
Baptism of Our Lord (Epiphany 1)
Readings: Ezekiel 36:25-27; Psalm 91:9-12; Mark 1:1-20

God Creates Family: Created to Be

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
    for out of Man this one was taken.”

Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.  --Genesis 2:4b-25 (NRSV)

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

Here we go again! One more time we begin at the beginning.

It’s the pattern of our Narrative Lectionary readings - we begin each fall at the beginning of scripture. In the Hebrew scriptures. With a creation - and sometimes a re-creation - story.

Last year, we started the year with the story of Noah. And that great ark full of animals escaping the flood. A story of God’s re-creation of a world that had become almost entirely evil. And a story with a promise, sealed with a rainbow, that God would never again destroy the earth.

This year we begin in Genesis 2. This is a second creation story. Yet, even though it is the second of the two creation stories, scholars believe that it actually was the first creation story written down. During the time of the reign of David. And that the first story of creation in Genesis is actually the second story. Written down during the time of Israel’s Babylonian exile - a myth that was perhaps needed to help the people make sense - make order - out of the chaos they were experiencing. 

That first story gives us the Google Earth version. From high above at the cosmic level, we see God’s hand at work. In a more general way. Separating the waters. Creating the animals and the sea creatures. The plants. And creating humanity. Creating humanity. Today’s story - the second Genesis story, but, again, the first written - is a story from Google Maps Street View. Down on the ground. With much more detail. And much more intimacy.

It’s a place that, unlike the Genesis 1 version, lacks water. A land that is barren. There are no plants and no animals. Because there is no water. And no one to care for the land. At least not yet. The only sign of life is a stream that rises out of the earth and begins to water the fertile land. A living stream that begins to turn the dry, dusty place of no life into one with life.

It’s out of that dust that God forms the first human. Adam in the Hebrew. Not a word that means man or that is the proper name of a man. But a word that means “human.” God forms human - literally, the act of an artist, a descriptive act of the life and work of a potter. There is God in the dirt, making mud, toiling over a potter’s wheel, forming and shaping this first human being. Genderless at this point. Earth creature. We might call this being, “Dusty.” Formed out of the dust of the dry, barren plain. 

It is then that God breathes into Dusty the “breath of life.” That unique gift of our holy God that makes a living being out of all of us bits of dusty brokenness. God breathes into this earth creature God’s very own Spirit. 

Then, God turns from this human to form a garden in Eden (a word that means “pleasant”). And it is into the midst of this garden where God places this adam. God continues to create, making trees - beautiful trees with fruit for eating. And two trees in particular are noted in our story, created by God. The tree of life. And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Theologians talk about this second tree, in particular - the tree that will later on cause a problem. A rupture in the relationship between God and human. This tree brings with it an understanding of the “weal and woe” or the deep sadness and great joy that is the human condition. Hearing the story for the first time, we might begin to wonder why there is this special attention on these two trees. How will the trees and Dusty relate to each other? What will Dusty’s role be in this beautiful garden of God?

Our story continues. Soon there are four rivers placed to distribute water to the world. The source of each of these rivers - the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. Rivers that flow into all parts of the civilization. Rivers that have their source in God’s garden. Then, God tells Dusty to “farm” (or to “serve) and to “take care of” (or to “guard”) the garden. If this were a church, Dusty would be the chair of the landscaping committee. Dusty’s role is not simply to guard the garden, but to work it. To make it better. To steward the entire garden. Well, almost the entire garden. Because there is one part that is off limits. Every tree laden with fruit is available to Dusty for food and nourishment. Every tree except for one tree - that tree that, if its fruit is eaten, will open Dusty’s eyes and give a full and complete understanding of the agony and ecstasy that is the human condition. Because eating of this one tree will lead to a certain death.  One wonders if that death is a death of innocence.

We already see an interdependence that God has created between the human and creation. A mutuality. A relationship. The human cares for creation. Creation responds by providing sustenance and food. And beauty.

But, God is not done yet. Because God does not want the human to be lonely. Because God has created all of humanity to be in relationship with one another. And so God creates and brings each animal to the human. Searching for the perfect partner for Dusty. One can just imagine the scene. God brings the animal forward. How about this one, Dusty? Look at this duck-billed platypus. Don’t you think it would be a great partner for you? A complementary helper? And the human just shakes the head. “No God, that’s not quite it!” Over and over God brings animal after animal to the human, who is also given the responsibility of naming each animal. That giving of a name that so often is the beginning of a relationship. Yet, each now-named animal, is not quite right. 

And so God puts the human to sleep and out of this human creates two humans, two genders. Man. And woman, who is man’s helper. The Hebrew word for helper used here is the same word used throughout the Hebrew scripture to refer to God. So this woman is not a being that is lesser than man, but a partner. In the same way God seeks to be a partner with all of humanity.

This is the end of the second creation story. The family that God has created can now live together in God’s garden. Mutually dependent upon each other and creation. In relationship with one another and all creation. The author concludes the story, saying that both the man and woman are “naked” but not “ashamed.” It’s a clear distinction between this wonderful garden and where we now live. A distinction between life without shame and life with shame.

Because that’s what sin does, isn’t it? Whether our nakedness is physical or psychological, it results in shame. Shame that makes us strike back out of our own feelings of inadequacy. Shame that leads us to hurt one another. To blame each other. To harm our relationships. To break apart our families and our communities. To destroy creation. Shame is at the root of our problem as human beings because we never feel good enough. Never feel adequate enough. In our nakedness we are ashamed.

Yet, this is not God’s desire for us. God’s will for us can be witnessed in Christ. God in human form come to us to bear the weight of our shame so that we might, once again, experience the beauty and wonder of life in God’s garden. Of the wholeness of life in relationship with God. Of life in families of all shapes and sizes. Life here, in this place. Lives of mutuality and interdependence and relationship. Lives of beauty and purpose. Lives in relationship with God, our creator. Who breathes into us God’s own Spirit - and with the holy water restores us into relationship. Relationship that is here and now. And that will continue forever into all eternity.

This is where the story begins again today. Where are you in the story?

Preached September 8, 2019, at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.
Pentecost 13.
Readings: Genesis 2:4b-25; Mark 1:16-20.