How Do We Speak to Power?

            Tuesday is Election Day.  I hope that all of you will vote.  I have my own preferences about who will get my vote, but I wouldn’t presume to tell you who to vote for.  You have to make that decision based on your own preferences and your own prejudices.  The problem is that too many people don’t vote at all.  That leaves the running of the government to the people who are able to get enough people to vote for them.

             Since the Citizen’s United decision by the Supreme Court, vast sums of money have been poured into campaigns to influence the outcome of elections.  This has caused enormous argument in this country and a great amount of turmoil among people who are running for office.  Most of the money is spent on negative campaign ads; saying sometimes made up things about opponents.  The people who pretend to know, say that this has produced outcomes that have disrupted our system.  It may be the source of so much discontent and brokenness in our government.  Nothing seems to get done and the people in office don’t seem to do much more than complain about the other people in power.  It is hard to watch, and even harder to figure out what to do about it.  Election Day ought to be a time to make our voices known and to help the government get back to governing and out of the business of complaining and doing nothing at all.

            The Old Testament prophet Micah has something to say about this.  In his own time, the rulers were much like ours.  Paying little attention to the poor and the outcast and spending their time on their own welfare.  Micah says:

      Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray,

who cry "Peace" when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths.  Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation. The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them. Micah 3: 5-7

            God isn’t pleased when we ignore the problems that are all around us.  I know that is why God has done all that could be done to clean up the messes that we have made.  Moses got the law, which didn’t work because we broke every commandment.  Then the Prophets were sent to us to remind us of who we are and whose we are.  But we ignored them and went our own way.  Finally, God sent his only Son, Jesus to show us by his very human life the way that God intended us to live.  It only took us three years to get around to putting him on a cross and killing him.  But God wasn’t done yet.  Jesus had called disciples; people who followed and believed him.  Some deserted, but many stayed, and to this group of faithful, God sent the Holy Spirit to touch and fill them with God’s message of love to the world. 

            Even though the church has had its own problems with following God instead of its own inclinations, the Church is still the best agency to provide ways to touch the agony that this world constantly gives to those who have little power.  The church, when it stands up to power makes a remarkable difference in this world.  Certainly Martin Luther King is an example of this, as is Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and many others who have put themselves at risk in order to provide for the needs of the sick and the oppressed.  Consider the work done in Africa to deal with the misery of Ebola by Samaritan’s Purse and Doctors without Borders.  These are faithful people who put themselves on the line to bring healing to people who have no other place to go.  This is the work of the church in this world; people who are humbly going about the business of righting wrong and bringing hope where there is only despair.  This is what God intends for this world.  May we find faithful ways to communicate this to those in power.

Being the Gospel

            There is so much violence in this world.  I think of Ferguson, Missouri and the death of the young black man at the hands of the police; and the protests that erupted afterwards.  I think also of the terrible group of crises in the Middle East, where the Islamic State fighters are trying to take over both Iraq and Syria; the Israelites and the Palestinians are in constant conflict.  And it is hard to turn on the news anymore without seeing violence in our streets; shootings in our neighborhoods and almost uninterrupted violence all over the place. 

            I have no idea what causes all of this.  It seems to me to be simply our human need for power and our feelings of being left out and discriminated against.  We have a divide among the races in this country, although we try to say that it isn’t real.  Immigration is a contentious issue, with people afraid of people from other countries.  Guns are everywhere and provide for those who want to hurt others a ready weapon of choice.  There isn’t a simple solution to this, although people on both sides of the gun issue shout at each other across the divide, and nobody is ready to concede or compromise anything. 

            The problem is something that goes deep into our souls.  We seem to have an unwillingness to accept each other for what we are and instead want to judge and criticize until it leads us beyond words to violence.  I hear it in the terrible rhetoric of this election season.  The negative ads only contribute to the verbal violence that seethes all around us.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people running for office would say only once to their opponent: “Gosh, I never thought of that.”  But instead, we get denials and counter attacks that only rough up the debate even more.

            Jesus had no end of argument with the people of his day.  We have heard in our gospel lessons how the Pharisees have tried to trap him with their insistent, manipulative questions.  We heard how they asked him whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, and Jesus asked for a coin to show them Caesar’s picture on it and said to them to “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  The latest attack by the religious leaders is to ask Jesus what was the greatest commandment; a subtle attempt to get him to blaspheme the law.  Jesus has an instant answer for them that has come down to us as what we call the “summary of the law.”  He says:  You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, your soul and your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like unto it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all of the law and the prophets.

            This was the end of the question asking on the part of the religious establishment.  From this moment on, they planned to lead Jesus to trial and execution.   This, for them was the only way that they could rid themselves of a man whom they saw as a menace to their power and their religious establishment.

            Let’s not go too far away from what Jesus told those people.  He offers to them and to us a ready solution to our violence and our hatred.  Love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbor as a person like ourselves.  If we could simply do that, we would rid the world of all of the terror and violence that we see in our streets and our neighborhoods every day.  We would be more courteous on the highway when we are driving; we would help those in our streets who are impoverished and are without the basic needs that most of us enjoy.  We would readily contribute to the charities that help so many people and we would get involved with these efforts ourselves.  I think that is what our churches are here for. 

            The reason that I want to come to church on Sunday is to worship our God, but also to see all of you.  My day isn’t complete until I have had conversation with you about your lives and how things are going with you.  This past week, my wife had surgery to have her knee replaced.  We gathered as a family to help her through all of the stress that this caused, and we heard from many friends who asked about her and how she did through it all.  I thank God for the prayers that were offered and the helpful comments that we all received.  That, for me, is what religion is all about.  Expressing our love for each other is one of the most important things that we do each day.  Can you imagine how it would be if we never said nice things to each other?  It would eventually make us wonder about ourselves.  That is what I think happens on the street when people go through their days never hearing a kind word spoken.  How can they do anything but think that they are not worthy.  Our job as a church is to do something about that: to make our religion a verb, not an adjective.  Our faith is something that we need to do, not describe.  Jesus is our model.  He gave his life for all of us.  The least that we can do is to show our love for one another.

            St. Francis told his disciples:  Go and preach the gospel.  Use words only if necessary.  That is what I mean by taking our religion into the world.  It is what we do, not what we say that is important.

How Does God Answer our Prayers?

            I have wanted to have absolute assurance that God has been with me a number of times.  I have never seen God’s face.  That is what our God told Moses on the mountain when he gave him the Ten Commandments.  “No one can see my face and live,” said God to Moses.  Moses argued with God about that.  “Show me your glory,” he said.  God tucked him into a cleft in the rock and passed by him so that Moses was aware of his glory, but never saw his face.  God assured Moses that he would always be with him and his people.  And so it went as they moved from Sinai to the Promised Land.  God was with them in the Pillar of Fire and the Pillar of Cloud that guided them.  God provided manna when they were in need of food, and Moses’ staff struck the rock and they received water when they were thirsty.  They were taken care of by God for the years that they wandered the desert; and finally they were brought to the land that they had been promised.

            These were a surly people, never entirely faithful, always questioning.  They were a people just like you and me.  That’s why I always want assurance that God is with me. But I have seen God’s face a number of times.  God was in the face of the doctor who took out my brain tumor when it threatened my life.  God was in the face of the Bishop of Pittsburgh when he listened to me about wanting to go to seminary and found a way to get me enrolled in a matter of months.  God has been with both me and Rosie when we have had things happen to us that were beyond our control, and we have been sustained and made whole again.  God is with all of us, whether we know it or not.  God sees beyond our egoism and our hypocrisy and helps us to get through the turmoil of our lives.  Even when we die, God is with us.  We have been given the promise of eternal life by our God and that is not an idle promise. 

            To show us that promise in its completeness, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ to be with us, to teach us and to ultimately give himself up to death for all of us.  When Jesus went to the cross, it was something that we all did.  We crucified Jesus because he threatened our power.  The religious leaders of his time saw that our Lord was teaching a different kind of faith than they were teaching.  They liked the power that they had over the people; but Jesus constantly challenged that.  When the poor widow put her small coin in the offering plate, Jesus praised her for giving more than the rich religious leaders.  The Widow’s Mite became a symbol of God’s eternal love.

            Once when my grandson was about three, he went outside the house and got into the car that was parked in the alley.  Somehow he released the brake and the car began to drift down the alley.  My daughter came out into the yard, saw what was happening and shouted, “Jesus Christ.”  When she told us about this, she apologized for what she thought was bad language.  I told her that what she had said was a prayer; a prayer from a worried mother about her child.  And God heard that prayer.  Somehow the car stopped and my grandson was all right. 

            I offer prayers constantly for the people whom I know.  Sometimes I see concrete evidence that the prayers made a difference, and sometimes I see no evidence at all.  That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t answer the prayers.  Frequently the answers are just not what we were expecting.  I have been with a number of people when they have died.  Once I was wakened at two in the morning to go to the intensive care unit of our local hospital to see a young woman who had been there for some time.  I went and had a prayer with her and the next day she died.  I grieved when she died and wondered what it was that I had done when I had seen her the night before.  I know that my call to her side had a purpose; it certainly provided her with care as she died; and it also helped me to understand something about my role as a priest.  It was another moment of God’s touch in this world and my opportunity to respond. 

            The religious leaders wanted to challenge Jesus because they didn’t like him.  They asked him if it was “lawful” to pay taxes to the emperor.  Jesus asked for a coin and they gave him one.  “Whose picture is on this coin,” he asked.  They told him that it was the picture of the emperor.  “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.”  The religious leaders didn’t ask him any more questions.  I know that if we live our lives with that in mind, we will always be close to God and that God will be close to us.

God's Incredible Presence

          Rosie and I have had a wonderful time for the past couple of weeks.  First, we went to Cape Cod, where dear friends have a cottage.  We had a delightful time there, visiting the many beaches and enjoying the almost incredible luxury of the Cape.  We saw old friends and had great conversations that we will always treasure.  We tried to go on a whale watch cruise out of Provincetown.  The boat was full of people who wanted to see the whales.  The ocean was very choppy and a lot of the people on the boat got sick.  The crew had distributed Dramamine to those who were afraid of sea sickness, and there were people dozing all over the boat.  We didn’t see any whales at all.  The problem was that the whales were apparently on a sabbatical or something and after three hours of looking, the captain decided that we were out of luck, so he took us back to the pier.  The absence of the whales didn’t mar the day; we enjoyed the trip up to the tip of the Cape.   

            This must be our year for mishaps.  After we came back from the Cape, we traveled to a North Carolina beach for a week’s stay.  On the way down, we hit a large fire extinguisher that had probably fallen off a truck.  The extinguisher damaged our transmission and we had the car towed to a local dealer who eventually fixed it. I picked it up earlier in this past week.  We rented another car to get us to the beach. 

            The message of all of this for me is to enjoy what the days give to us.  Despite the inconvenience of no whales and no car, we have had much to enliven our trip and our days.  I got up one morning to a glorious sunrise over the Atlantic, we have had wonderful lunches at the restaurants on our trip and most of all, we have enjoyed each other.  We have collected stories to tell when we get back.  Most of all, we rested, read and relaxed, something that we both needed very much to do.

            Was God with us on this trip?  Certainly, when I look at all that happened, there is no way at all that I could possibly deny it.  When we hit the fire extinguisher on the road, there was no other traffic around, and I was able to bring the car to a stop with no problem at all.  The AAA people got a tow truck to us, and we were treated very well by the dealer to whom we took the car, and we got back on the road after only a couple of hours.  We were very fortunate, and I know that whatever might have happened, our God was beside us the whole way. 

            I love the prayer that reads:  Lord, we pray that your grace may always        precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works

            That was certainly our experience on this trip; and I think it is also our experience in the rest of our life.  God’s grace is a certainty, and we can always count on it.  But what do we mean by God’s Grace?  Is it protection from anything at all that can happen to us?  Certainly not. What I know for certain is that if that experience with the fire extinguisher on the road had had a tragic ending, that God would still have been there to bring us through.  I don’t understand that, I only have God’s promise to be with us in all things and to ultimately give us the reality of eternal life.   It is simply the assurance that whatever befalls us as human beings, we are loved by our God and that God’s arms are wrapped around us forever.  Given our problem with keeping control of our lives, that is something that troubles us.  I have always loved that old saying, “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”  That has been my experience, and I could tell you many stories about how I set off on one direction and was moved to another, not by my own actions, but by the Grace of God.

            The 23rd psalm is one that most of us know by heart.  It was taught to me when I was a kid, and I love its message. Notice what it says to all of us about God’s presence in our lives, for better or worse:

                        Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
                        I shall fear no evil; *
                        for you are with me;
                        your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

             

            God called the Hebrew people to be his own.  He sent Moses to free them from the slavery in Egypt.  When they got to Mount Sinai, he gave Moses the Law, and when Moses was gone for what the people thought was too long a time, they petitioned Aaron to “Come, Make Gods for us.” Aaron did as they asked, using the gold that they all had on their persons to create a Golden Calf, that they all worshiped.  God saw this and told Moses that he was going to destroy those people.  Moses interceded and God did nothing to the people, and they went on their way.  At the end of their journey through the desert, God brings his chosen people to the land of Canaan, the promised land, where they thrived until their anxiety and their quest for power got in their way again and they found themselves divided.  The human aspirations of all of us get in our way from time to time, but God has a plan for each of us, and when we submit ourselves to God’s will, we always discover that God’s grace – God’s love-- moves us in the direction that we are willed to go; and ultimately we will see our creator face to face and find that all encompassing love surrounding us forever.