God's Presence Brings Life: Come Home

Ho, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;

and you that have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
    listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.
See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
    and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you.

Seek the Lord while he may be found,
    call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
    and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
    and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

For you shall go out in joy,
    and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall burst into song,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
    for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. --Isaiah 55:1-13 (NRSV)

I don’t know if you’re like me, but in the middle of last year’s lockdown I watched - Clarification! - I binge-watched a lot of TV. And I mean a lot. It’s kind of dangerous, I think. Having this access to TV shows and movies and all the other stuff we can now stream whenever we want. 

As we’ve come out of hibernation, the quantity of stuff I’ve been watching has diminished a lot. But, one thing that has kept my attention is YouTube. I continue to follow several YouTube channels. A few on the topic of minimalism. (Yes, it’s true!) A few on tiny houses - making plans for my retirement home whenever and wherever that might be. And, then there are the three channels about van life. 

One of these three is a channel documenting the exploits of a young Canadian couple from Toronto named Eamon and Bec. They live out of a converted Sprinter van. (I feel a beatnik vibe coming on!) And they travel all over the world in this van, meeting new people, eating great food, having the most amazing experiences. Their videos are just one adventure after the other. To be honest, I probably live a little vicariously through them. 

Right now, they are in Morocco. The last video they posted was of a local Moroccan street food market in Marrakesh. Every day at around 4p, as people are leaving work, this food market pops up out of nowhere. Within an hour there are over 100 stalls of every kind of food you can imagine. It’s a crazy and joyful and abundant scene, made even more entertaining by the barking of the food vendors. As they’re trying to capture people’s attention, trying to get them to come to their stall. Trying to convince them that the food they have is better than any other stall in the market. Can’t you hear the merchant cries in your imagination? “Come!! Come! Buy! Eat here!” The merchant invites us in.

But the merchant crying out in our Isaiah text isn’t selling anything. Shockingly, he’s giving it away. Charging nothing for the person who really wants a drink. Or for the person who’s hungry. “Come, buy without money!” he cries. Surely not something we would ever hear on the streets of Marrakesh. Or on the streets of Louisville.

But it’s an invitation in. An invitation by God into something new. And different. An extension of covenant with David. When we think covenant, we probably remember that covenant that God made with Israel at Sinai. Remember? If you will be faithful to me I will be faithful to you. But, this is something different. Something new. A reinterpretation of the covenant God made with David - that David’s dynasty would last forever. It’s an unconditional covenant. No more “if you do this,” “I’ll do this” kind of covenant. But a promise that is entirely one-sided. Made by God.

And, even more powerfully, this covenant is not only for God’s chosen people. But, as we read in verse 5, it is a broadening of the covenant that will include all people. That will invite all people in.

God’s speech is interrupted briefly in verse 6 with a call from the prophet. “Seek the Lord,” he cries. Not by offering sacrifice. Instead, this is a more internal turning to God. A gift of the heart. Of the self. God, who is all merciful, looks for true seekers. For people who hunger and thirst for God. “Seek the Lord!” the prophet interrupts.

Then God returns in verse 8 with a statement that God’s thoughts and ways are radically different from those of human beings. And that, when God speaks, God’s word is creative and effective. Just as the rain, that falls to the earth and brings life.  

This entire chapter is an invitation to the exiles. It’s an invitation to us. To come home. To come home to a God who promises abundance and deep forgiveness. To come home to a God who promises to be there. Waiting. And faithful. With a plan to make everything whole again. 

Are you hurting? Are you in pain? Are you grieving? Are you thirsty? Or hungry? Or lost? This is God’s message and invitation: 

Come.
I have a place for you.
Come to the waters of baptism.
Come to the feast of the Eucharist.
Eat and drink only the best.
Fill yourself with only the finest.

Pay attention.
Come closer now.
Listen carefully to my life-giving, life nourishing words.
I’m making a lasting covenant commitment with you,
The same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.
I have a plan.
I’m about to do a new thing.
Because when my Word goes out
--when my life-giving, life-nourishing Word goes out--
He will not come back empty-handed.
He will do the work I sent him to do.
He will complete the assignment I gave him.
This Word made flesh. For you.

Amen.

Preached December 12, 2021, at Grace & Glory, Prospect, with Third, Louisville.
Advent 3
Readings: Isaiah 55:1-13; John 4:13-14

God's Triumph: The End of the Story

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. --Mark 16:1-8 (NRSV)

There is a reason we don't often read the resurrection story in Mark on Easter. Nowhere in it do we see a resurrected Jesus. Nowhere do we see Jesus meeting the disciples later, where they are witness to their now risen Savior.  There's a reason we don't often read the resurrection story in Mark on Easter. Because it ends with the women leaving in terror and amazement. It doesn’t tell us what happened next - whether they went and told the disciples. It leaves us hanging, wondering what happened. 

There is a reason we don’t often read the resurrection story in Mark on Easter. 

Last summer, when I was looking through our readings for this year and realized that this reading was the Gospel text appointed for Easter Sunday, I honestly considered changing it. And yet, who could have predicted what is happening in this moment? Who could have predicted that the entire world would be in the midst of a pandemic? Who could have predicted that much of what we know and our ways of life could have been so turned upside down? Who could have predicted any of this last summer? 

Now - in this moment - the resurrection story in Mark seems right. 

So, what do we have in the story? It opens with the women going to the tomb. These are the same women we met at the end of our Good Friday reading. They had remained at the cross. They had seen Jesus crucified when everyone had abandoned him. They had also witnessed where Jesus was buried. So, early on this morning they set out for the tomb, to prepare Jesus’ body for burial, something they’d been unable to do immediately after his death because of the start of the Sabbath. They go to offer this last loving gesture, this last service of love.

But, they had one very practical concern. Who would roll away the stone?  

It's hard to ignore the imagery in Mark that points to the coming kingdom of God - it’s unveiling and the opening up of access to God. We first saw it at the very beginning of Mark, when the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit came down to anoint him as the son of God. We saw it in the hours leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. The references in Mark 15 to nakedness, or as Gary would have said if given the opportunity last Sunday, “nekedness.” These point to the undressing and the unveiling of God’s kingdom. 

We saw this same imagery at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, with the tearing from top to bottom of the temple curtain. Opening up access to a God restricted by the temple system. Then, finally, in our story today, as the women arrive at the tomb, they realize that the stone has already been rolled away. Once more, we have the signal that the tomb has been opened to the entire world. The unveiling of the kingdom of God has begun for everyone.

Now I should mention here that, while we view this unveiling as a positive thing, we must also remember that it is a direct threat to death and the power of evil. Evil recognizes who this Jesus is. We saw this earlier in Mark when only the demons recognized the true power of Jesus and his true identity. Evil fears Jesus and the kingdom of God. Because not only does Jesus usher in life, the kingdom of God unveils evil. Exposes it for what it is. Perhaps this is what is happening in our own time, in this time of pandemic. As we finally begin to see and more fully understand the failures of our economic systems. And of our healthcare systems. Of our systems of class and race. Of our religious systems. The kingdom of God exposes these systems - systems that keep people from shalom. From that wholeness and that peace that God desires for all of us.

Perhaps, this is why the resurrection story in Mark is so helpful for us in this time. Because the very last word in Mark in Greek is the word “gar,” which is a word that in English means “for” or “because.” So, if we read the Greek in English exactly as translated, the last line of our text and of all of Mark reads, “So [the women] went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, they were afraid because…”

In other words, the Mark resurrection story ends with an invitation. To the reader. To finish the story. An invitation into this question of what will happen next. Will anyone go to Galilee? What is the adventure you will choose? Because the end of the story has not been written. Will you respond in faith? Will you respond in fear? Are you, dear reader or dear listener, going to Galilee? Or not.

It may be hard right now to see God’s action in our world, to witness the resurrected Jesus. To see God creating life. It may feel much more like Good Friday than Easter. But, there is no excuse in Mark's gospel to freeze up, to not do the next thing, to not go to Galilee. We, just like those women so long ago, are called to act in faith with only a story, a promise, with only some evidence. We must live toward that promise that we’ve had rumors of, but of which there is perhaps little evidence. To see God at work in our world, creating new life. To believe that, even in the midst of this time, God continues to roll out the kingdom. Working to bring life out of the death we are witnessing in this moment. To give us faith to move us beyond our fear and to live into this life for all eternity that has been promised for each one of us. And for all people.

So, perhaps, the resurrection story in Mark is perfect for this time. May we join God in writing the end of it. Amen.

Preached April 12, 2020, at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.
Easter 1
Readings: Mark 16:1-8; Romans 6:5-11.

The Ways of the Kingdom: Hospitality

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSV)

Grace and peace to you from God, our Father, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Comforter. Amen.

Have you ever thrown a party and no one showed up?

That happened to my roommates and I when I was in my 20’s. We’d been rooming together for a couple of years and had developed quite a reputation for throwing parties. I was pretty fortunate to live with my two roommates. One of them was a former bartender, so he was always creating new drinks and, each time we had a party, he would make a new cocktail specific to whatever theme we were using for our party. My other roommate liked to cook, which was awesome. So, he was always in charge of the food and would create these abundant feasts, again, specific to the theme of our particular party. Me? Well, I was good at cleaning. So, since neither one of my roommates were very good at it, this was my job. To clean our house and make it ready for the party. 

One year we decided to throw a party on New Year’s Eve, our first ever! To make it easy for people to come, so that they wouldn’t have to worry about driving home, we invited them to bring their pajamas along. And to join us in one big slumber party and, then, to get up the next morning and prepare a big brunch. It was an awesome plan!

The only problem, though, was that we made this decision just a couple of days before New Year’s Eve. So, by the time we let everyone know, they had already made other plans. We had a few RSVPs from people who said they’d come to our brunch. But, no one confirmed for the party. We were still hopeful though, so we went about getting everything ready.

Then New Year’s Eve came. The house was decorated with streamers and special lights. We had noisemakers and confetti ready for midnight. The food was awesome and abundant. And a special cocktail had been created just for this party. So, we waited. And we waited. And waited. And waited. Until it became very clear that no one was going to show up to our party.

As we sat there, drinking our special cocktail, nursing our pride, we decided that, if no one was going to come, then we were going to, at a minimum, make it look like it had been a ridiculously, crazy fun blowout part so that those coming the next morning for brunch would see the mess and regret not coming the night before. 

So, we broke open bags of confetti and tossed it around the entire house. (I continued to vacuum up confetti for the next several years!) We took all the noisemakers and placed them throughout the house. Then, we created half-eaten plates of food that we left everywhere, along with half-drunk cocktail and champagne glasses, with even a couple of them turned over on their sides. It looked like it had been an amazing party!

When our guests arrived the next morning for brunch, we invited them in. As they walked in and saw the party mess, we mentioned - very casually - what an awesome party it had been and how much fun they'd missed!  When the following New Year’s Eve came around, the word had spread among our friends and acquaintances. We had a packed house! 

This story is a little bit like our story today - where invitations are issued and no one comes. The parable of the great wedding feast.

The king’s son is getting married. So, the king prepares the great wedding feast. In ancient times, it was customary to invite guests to a banquet in two phases. The banquet host first sends messengers to the guests, several days in advance (Unlike us!), to invite them and to tell them to be ready at an appropriate time. 

The second invitation is sent when the feast is prepared; the guests are now to come. In our story, it appears that the first invitation had already been sent. The invitation in today’s parable is the second invitation. It’s the invitation that says the time is now, come and feast!

However, to the king’s dismay (and ours), the first set of guests violates ancient hospitality rules by refusing to come. A refusal of an invitation - of a king’s invitation - is tantamount to a rebellion. So, a third invitation is issued. This invitation is much more descriptive. It’s intended to engage our senses. We can almost smell and taste the food. The beef that has been perfectly roasted. The wide variety of side dishes prepared. The breads. And the desserts. Oh, the desserts! And, don’t forget the drinks. Who could refuse such an invitation?

Yet, they do. Some of them go back to their fields. Others to their businesses. Yet, others seize the king’s servants, attack them brutally, and kill them.

The king is now furious. And he reacts with force. Destroying those who have refused his invitation. Burning their towns.

The wedding banquet, though, is still ready and waiting for guests. So the monarch sends servants into the streets to invite anyone and everyone they can find. Even those whom the monarch doesn’t know. Those who live out in the countryside. Those living on the margins. 

They come. The wedding hall is packed with people, good and bad. The monarch enters the hall and the feast is about ready to begin. But, just then, the monarch spots someone who is not wearing the proper clothing. We wonder, given the last minute invitation, how he could have been expected to have the right garments to wear to the feast. Yet, this is the expectation of the monarch. And, when he sees the guest, improperly clothed, he throws him out. Into the darkness.

My friends, this is Israel’s story. This is the church’s story. This is our story. It is a hard and difficult story. Over and over God sends God’s servants out. First to Israel. Then, to the rest of the world. Over and over. To come. To join in the wedding banquet. To receive God’s abundant forgiveness. To receive God’s extravagant grace.  And to be rejected. To continue to invite. And to be rejected. Again and again and again. Is it any wonder that God shouldn’t be as outraged as the king in our story. Outraged at the rejection of God’s lavish grace? At the rejection of God’s hospitality? At the rejection of God’s abundant love feast? 

But, God doesn’t give up. God continues to invite. And, the banquet hall will become full. Yet, in the midst is someone who, although answering the invitation, is not properly dressed. One who hasn’t put on the clothing of righteousness. One who has been chosen, but who has failed to live this new way of life, this life of discipleship. As Colossians 3:12 puts it, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. To bear each other in forgiveness and to be clothed in love." God invites us into a life transformed through the body and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

So, who are you in this story? Where are you in God’s kingdom? In this reign of hospitality of forgiveness? Of grace and love? Have you answered the invitation? If so, are you clothing yourself in righteousness? Are you living into God’s hospitality, receiving God’s forgiveness in the sacraments? Living out God’s grace in a transformed life that others might see you and seek to receive the same hospitality and grace from God?

I pray that you are. I pray that God is transforming your heart to more fully join and experience the party. To drink and to eat deeply of God’s hospitality. To feast at God’s abundant table. To be transformed. Then, to share this gift with those who have yet to be invited. Amen.

Preached March 24, 2019, at Grace & Glory Lutheran Church, Goshen, KY.
Third Sunday in Lent
Readings: Matthew 22:1-14, Psalm 45:6-7