Crazy Love from a Crazy God

Today is World Communion Sunday.  It is a Sunday on the church calendar to remind us that we are part of a whole community of believes of all time and places who worship and commune with God together.  As part of Bethlehem's celebration, all of our music today was written by Hispanic composers.  


The gospel for today was Matthew 21:33-46, the parable of the wicked tenants which follows last weeks reading of Jesus' authority being questioned.  I know various parts of the sermon struck a cord with a few members of the congregation as they realized just how crazy the landowner was or how they have been affected by people they know who reject God. 


Enjoy!

These tenants really do not know how the world works.  They seize, beat, kill and stone the first set of slaves and they think they can get away with it!  And then they do the same to the second set, seizing, beating, killing and stoning them as well.  And then they get it in their heads that if they kill the son of the landowner that they will somehow be able to claim the vineyard, the son’s inheritance, as their own.  They don’t realize that the punishment for murder is death, that eventually the police and armies will come after you and murder you as well, they aren’t going to let you live out your days in peace in the vineyard because they all fear you. 

And this landowner is really just as crazy.  After people have seized, beaten, killed and stone one group of powerless slaves, you do not send to them another equally as powerless group.  And then you certainly don’t send them your son and expect the outcome to be any different.  No real landowner would do such a thing.  After the first set of slaves were killed, a normal landowner would send an army to kill off these tenants or at least send them away and then lease out the property to other, more trustworthy tenants.  But then again this is not an ordinary landowner, for this is not a real story, this is one of Jesus’ parables. 

And in many parables, we often try to explain them allegorically – that every person or thing in the parable represents something else in real life.  Now that doesn’t always help with the explanation but often it at least helps us at first glance.  So thinking that allegorically, who would you say is the landowner?  The slaves? The son? The tenants?  And what is the vineyard? 

So if God is the landowner, the slaves were the prophets, Jesus is the son, and the Israelites are the tenants and this all takes place in heaven, the kingdom of God, that would mean that God is so crazy, so desperate to have a relationship with God’s people, that God has sent prophet after prophet to tell them about God.  And yet prophet after prophet was rejected, and often killed for their teachings.  And so God, realizing that God’s people will not listen to prophets, decides to up the ante, and sends Jesus, the son of God.  And yet Jesus is also rejected and killed. 

Well no wonder why the chief priest and elders were getting a little hot under the collar at Jesus when they realized that he was talking about them.  They are God’s chosen people, they are to inherit the kingdom of heaven.  However this is when thinking of this parable as an allegory breaks down. 

Because people have thought this way for centuries, Christians have used this text as an excuse to kill the Jewish people, because they think God has now rejected them and chosen Christians, followers of Jesus to inherit the kingdom instead.  And on this World Communion Sunday we are also reminded that this way of thinking has not just caused arguments about who will inherit the kingdom of heaven between Christians and Jews, but different sects of Christianity and different races and different cultures, and often those arguments have ended in war, in death.

 But this parable is not just a straight allegory tale.  Through using Jesus’ words, Matthew, our gospel writer today, is trying convince all people, Jew and gentile to turn to Jesus. Matthew is deeply pained that his own people, the Jews, are rejecting Jesus.  So he tries grace: “the stone that the builders rejects has become the cornerstone.” And when that doesn’t work, Matthew tries threats: “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produce the fruits of the kingdom”. 

And isn’t the same for us.  Many of you have spoken to me about the pain that you have when your family, siblings, children, grandchildren, reject the church and do not come to worship or are sometimes not baptized.  And some of you have tried to convince your family to go to worship with grace or with threats of eternal suffering, or with begging or even with the “will you just do it for me” argument, hoping that if you can just get them in the building the pastor’s words, or music, or scripture will seep into their minds in some way. 

Last week when I asked what questions you have for Jesus, someone asked something along the lines of why Jesus doesn’t just do something so great that no body could possibly doubt.  We are all in pain when other’s doubt.  We are pained for them that they are not able to have faith.  We are in pain for the body of Christ, the whole church, because the church is not yet whole when there are people missing.  And we are in pain for ourselves, because when others doubt, it make us doubt our faith as well. 

And yet God has done something amazing, God has done something great in order to keep us from doubting.  God sent prophets to help teach us, and when that didn’t work, God sent Jesus, the only son of God to die on a cross for us so that we might inherit the kingdom, the vineyard.  Because quite frankly the world doesn’t work that way, but God is just so crazy, so in love with us as a people, that God gave up his only son Jesus to die for us so that we can enter into the kingdom of God, the vineyard.  And it is because that gift is so great that Matthew, our gospel writer, and fellow Christians, and ourselves experience such pain when people do not see the crazy love God has sent to us over and over and over again.  

Changes in October

I have been pretty quite on my blog lately, well other than sermons and Monday Morning Church updates.  But things are going to change soon because things are changing in my personal life as well.

October has been a scary month on my calendar for awhile now, one that I have looked at starting in August and wondered how I was going to survive until then and how I will survive through October.  And now as we have neared closer to that elusive month, October means even more things me.

For the last few years, my Stitch and Bitch friends have talked about the fun and excitement that is Rhinebeck, aka the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.  This year I decided that even though I'm not a knitter I'm going to go.  It has been a long time since I've had a girls weekend and I'm looking forward to hanging out with my friends for a full weekend with stitching, wine, fiber and our sexy hats (pictures will be kept a secret until Rhinebeck). So I've taken that weekend (October 14-16) off of work.  Well for me since a lot of my work Monday through Friday leads to stuff on Saturday and Sunday, if I'm not going to be there on the weekend I might as well take the whole week off, plus I had an extra week of vacation so I might as well use it.  Woo-hooo vacation week!  Nothing scary about that.

Also Bishop's Convocation, our synod's annual gathering of pastors and rostered leaders is always the last full week of October.  So Monday through Wednesday, October 24-26, I will be on Cape Cod enjoying the company of my colleague in ministry and listening to our awesome keynote speaker, Nadia Bolz,-Weber who is probably the most predominant Lutheran emerging church voice. Okay that seems do-able a week off and another 3 days away at a conference.

Back in July I realized that I still had half of my continuing education budget to use so I started looking at conferences to attend.  Well the Celebration of Biblical Preaching stuck out at me as something I wanted to attend.  It had many more pros that cons.  Pro: Interested in the topic. Pro: Really enjoy some of the presenters work and want to hear more from them. Pro: Stuff I will actually use in ministry.  Pro: Also going over the lectionary for the next year - very helpful. Pro: It is in Minnesota so I'll get to see family and friends.  Con: it is also in October (the 3rd - 6th to be exact) Pro: I have the week off afterwards with nothing really planned in Connecticut, so I can take a few extra days.  Sweet I'm going.

But now you see my October has been scary since August.  It basically means I'll have about a week and a half in the office/at home all month long.

And now the changes in my personal life:

In July Bob heard about a PhD fellowship opportunity and applied in August.  And he got it!!!  Bob will be researching ancient Assyrian mathematics at the University of Paris Diderot (as in France!) and he starts:

November 2!

When he applied we thought the fellowship started at the beginning of October, so I thought if by some chance he got it, it would be a good thing that I would be so busy in October so I wouldn't miss him as much.  Ha!  Now instead of just being busy for that month, and only home for 1 1/2 weeks I also have only 1 1/2 weeks left with Bob really before he leaves for Paris for a few months, though he might sneak up to Bishop's Convocation with me (shhh....don't tell the bishop or really don't tell the hotel staff)

So yes things are going to be busy, and things are going to be changing.

Hopefully I will get back into the habit of adding some non-sermon or MMC posts on a regular basis.  And you will get to hear about me adjusting to living alone.  Stuff like Bob and I figuring out skype dates with the time difference, and me buying Lean Cuisines and other meals for one, or me learning to go to the library or coffee hours on a regular basis just so my 1 minute interaction with the librarian or barista can be my one face to face interaction for the day.

I am really super excited for Bob, he has worked so hard for this and unfortunately has dealt with a lot of rejection thus far in the process.  But I know this is his calling, and this is where God wants him to be.  We have spent time apart before - most of the time we were dating we were in different states or different countries - and last year he spent a few days a week on the other side of Connecticut.  But I also know it will be hard to adjust to not seeing him on a regular basis, not being able to talk to him to brainstorm a sermon or to rant about something that is bugging me.  Or not being able to give him a hug and a kiss good bye in the morning.  But thus far I have yet to mourn me missing him yet, because I'm still trying to survive till the end of October.

MMC: Beginning of October

Good Morning Bethlehem

I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to face this Monday.

A Few Quick Announcements

• Confirmation is meeting tomorrow evening at the church at 6pm
• This coming Sunday is World Communion Sunday, come enjoy many hymns that have a Hispanic flare to them. 
• Thank you to everyone for making my 2nd ordination anniversary special.  I really am blessed to be serving this great congregation.

Book of Faith Puzzler

The last weeks question was: What did God create on the 4^th day?  A)light B)animals C) sun, stars and moon, D) land     In Genesis starts with the creation story and 1:14-19 talk about the 4^th day in which sun, moon and stars were made.  Congratulations to Becky P for winning this week's puzzler. 
This week’s question:  How many visitors told Abraham that Sarah would have a son within a year?  Submit your answer to me by noon on Wednesday to be entered into this week's drawing.

Yesterday's Sermon

If you missed it you can read it here.  And thank you to everyone who asked questions.  I will keep this list and refer to it for future sermons and hopefully help us explore the answers. What other questions do you have about faith, scripture, the afterlife, theology?

Serving this Sunday

The following people have signed up to serve in worship this Sunday.

Worship Assistant: Ellen G

Reader: Bob MC

Communion Assistant: Lillian J

Ushers: ________ & ________

Communion Set-up & clean up: __________

Bread baker/bringer:_________

Offering Counter: Nancy Land Dorothy H

Coffee Hour Host: Barbara C

If you are willing to serve in one of the ways that are currently free, please let me know

Sunday's Texts

The first reading is Isaiah 5:1-7.  The author writes a love song for the vineyard that he tended to but it yielded wild grapes.  Afterwards he let the vineyard be destroyed.  When have you felt tended/care for by God?  When have you felted left abandoned?  

The second lesson is Philippians 3:4b-14.  Paul writes of his religious heritage and but yet those things which were highly valued by his society don't matter to Christ.  It is his faith that matters.  What is one thing that you prize that probably does not matter to God?  Why do we put such stock into these earthly things?

The gospel is Matthew 21:33-46 the parable of the wicked tenants who kill the slaves and son of the vineyard owner.  When are we like the wicked tenants who mistreat God's messengers (and God's son)?  When have you also been a slave who has been mistreated when telling others about God?

Hope you have a great week and see you Sunday

~Pastor Becca