Category: Faith

From American Again: Re-becoming the greatness we never were. Hardcover Page 24.

Need an example of the Protestant work ethic? Just look at their religion’s founder, MARTIN LUTHER. I’m no fan, but let’s give the Devil his due. He posted 95 Theses to the door of the Catholic Church. Most people these days would staop at, like, 12 theses, tops. And this was back before the Internet, so he couldn’t even look up “plenary indulgences” on Wikipedia. Which is why I put him ahead of Luther Vandross on my list of Favorite Luthers.

Stephen Colbert’s top five Luthers:
5. Lex Luthor
4. Luther Vandross
3. Martin Luther
2. Martin Luther King Jr.
1. Lex Luthor King Jr.*

*He has been to the mountaintop…that he created with an earthquake machine! You fools!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m actually spending Thanksgiving with extended family – which is a first for me. It took me 30 years to get to this point but Oliver, well, he’s beating me to it. He’s spending his first Thanksgiving with first cousins, once removed, great uncles, great aunts, great-great aunts, and great-great uncles. He’s busy kicking his feet while the dog show is in the background. It is a good early Thanksgiving afternoon.

Last night I attended an interfaith Thanksgiving eve service sponsored by the Upper Westside Clergy group. It was…fine. I still struggle with interfaith services – not because I find them inherently bad but, rather, I feel that the services end up losing the distinctiveness that each individual tradition has that makes those traditions life-giving. I loved seeing the rabbi preach, hearing a synagogue’s musician play, and hearing a gospel choir sing, but there is a muddle quality to interfaith services that strikes me as a forced experience. Maybe we just don’t have enough years developing successful liturgies for interfaith services. Maybe we just need more time to develop orders and the language necessary to properly blend the distinctiveness of many religious traditions into one whole. And it’s possible I’ll never particularly enjoy them – coming to Lutheran Christianity late in the game might mean I’ll always view L.C. as what is life giving for me. But I value the attempt and I value the space these services give that let me experience other traditions – experiences that I typically do not get.

Last night, however, I found myself reflecting on the lessons and the sermon for sometime afterwards. The liturgy was truly focused on children – specifically the belief in the power of children to not have a muddled experience of the divine. They are pure, innocent, beautiful creatures that should be listened too, cherished, and loved. It had many “precious little moments” feel to it. I found myself thinking about my son a lot. And I…related to a lot of the service. But there’s a danger with this kind of thinking, in my opinion. The danger is raising up the experience of children at the expense of other generations. There is a danger in romanticizing childhood, alienating those who never have those “ideal” experiences. And it runs into theological issues because, well, original sin. The innocence and transcendence of children doesn’t really work if original sin is part of your theological framework.

When I look at Oliver, I see love. I see transcendence. I see innocence. And I see myself changing. I’ve always thought of myself as a sensitive person, one who tries hard to put himself in the shoes of his neighbor. But Oliver made me realize how far better I am at it now than I was before he was born. Or maybe I’m just more sleep-deprived so my psychological defenses of self-centeredness are falling away. Yet…when I look at Oliver, I also see selfishness. I see a need for love. I see vulnerability. And when he wakes up at 3 am, wanting food, it’s hard to see him as completely innocent. Original Sin seems to be easier to see in Oliver then.

But, beyond that, the big danger is romanticizing the faith of children is that it concretes the definition of faith. It gives faith a shape and appearance that actually puts faith in a box. Faith, then, is defined as a specific thing, with specific boundaries – boundaries that are culturally, and socially, bounded. It actually doesn’t allow faith to live, grow, and dwell in our experiences, joys, loss, and pain. This romanticization actually belittles the faith experiences of those who are not children – or those children who do not express what is “typical” or “clear” or “beautiful.” And it takes Jesus’ words about children (we read from Luke last night) and forgets that Jesus wasn’t talking about the innocent of children but rather their inconsequential worth. Children are given value by God; their worth comes in spite of their place in society. Widows, orphans, foreigners, and children – all were the least in ancient Judea. All are still the least today. But God’s ordering and valuing does not match our own. They are welcomed not because they are beautiful, smart, innocent, or fit on a “precious moments” wall calendar. They are welcomed because God says so. Our worth is passive – it comes from somewhere else and not because of our own inherent goodness, awesomeness, or our own acts of innocence and “wonder.”

But that, of course, is a very Lutheran Christian framework. The truth is that Oliver is a human being. Oliver is gonna sin. Oliver loves being selfish and, in many ways, doesn’t know how to do anything else. And no matter how much I love him, or value him, or will fight for him, or believe that he is the greatest thing in the world – God values him more. And that’s part of my vocation as a parent – a vocation that has completely changed me and a vocation that I’m glad I have.

It’s hard to surprise anyone in New York City. Even me, a young fashionable guy with hipster-punk energies can’t get a second look from folks when I pop on my Roman collar and head to work. But today…today was a different day. When I walked out the door this morning, I was in my usual ensemble. Roman collar (terrible shirt), synthetic leather jacket, skinny pants, and news cap. Oh. And I forgot one thing. I was also carrying a crock pot full of sweet potato chili that K made.

The folks on the subway didn’t know what hit them.

Today was Advent’s annual chili cook off. This is one of my favorite times of year. Tons of chili, lots of good fun, great music (though I’m biased since I put the mixtape together), and an event where the cornbread flows like wine. It was a deliciously perfect day. This is definitely something I need to steal – errr borrow – for my future calls.

A sermon preached at Advent Lutheran Church on November 11, 2012 by yours truly.

The 9am sermon can be heard here:

For those of you who prefer your sermons in paper form, here is the final draft that I printed out (though I did modify it on my subway ride in to church slightly).

*********
24th Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44

Starting to Happen
Please be seated.

Who is that poor widow?

I mean, for a person who only appears in one sentence in our reading today, she’s kind of a big deal. This is one of those quintessential bible stories ‚Äì one that even my un-churched friends know. And ‚Äì right now, across the country, preachers are talking about her, pointing to her ‚Äì and, no doubt, stewardship campaigns and yearly financial pledge drives are being started ‚Äì all because of her. This poor widow ‚Äì in the capital C Church ‚Äì she’s making an awful lot of noise right now.

But ‚Äì really ‚Äì what do we know about her? Well, she’s poor. Her husband is dead. And she’s in the temple complex on the day that Jesus – decides to be like a New Yorker having brunch on a nice spring day ‚Äì Jesus is people watching and he sees her, this widow, giving all she has ‚Äì and this….this has defined her ever since people started gathering together to talk about Jesus. Those two coins she tossed into the treasury box ‚Äì a kind of offering box in the temple complex of Jerusalem ‚Äì this is her defining and remembered act. And…well…that’s about all we know of her.

We don’t know her name. We have no idea where she lived ‚Äì what she called home. We have no idea if she worshiped in the temple regularly or if she’s back for the first time in years. We also have no word on why she’s a widow. I mean ‚Äì did her husband die from disease? Old age? Or ‚Äì since its Veteran’s Day ‚Äì was he a solider? Did he perish in some far off campaign or maybe from some old war wound that never healed properly? We don’t even know if she had kids ‚Äì or if she’s young or old. We know nothing about her except her class, her worth, and her act of giving on that day.

Now ‚Äì this isn’t suppose to be a stewardship sermon ‚Äì if you’ve seen the posters and read the letter we sent ya ‚Äì stewardship Sunday is next week – and I’ll let our preacher – Pastor Campbell of Broadway, UCC ‚Äì take care of that whole thing. But ‚Äì this tailored made text about giving ‚Äì it’s really hard to NOT see stewardship in it. I mean ‚Äì here’s this widow ‚Äì who in spite of having her property, dignity, her humanity, devoured by those who are rich ‚Äì she still gives all she has. In spite of having almost nothing ‚Äì and being in a position of pure powerlessness ‚Äì she still gives. We don’t know why she gives ‚Äì but it’s not hard to imagine that she had some deep faithfulness to God ‚Äì or hope ‚Äì and she…she gives. Her act ‚Ķ it’s inspiring; scary; challenging ‚Äì and it’s a reminder that what God values ‚Äì God’s ordering of the world ‚Äì doesn’t match our expectations or experiences.

But even though we don’t know her ‚Äì there is something else we know ‚Äì something I haven’t mentioned yet. We know that she was ‚Ķ that she wasn’t seen ‚Äì that she was invisible. She’s not flashy ‚Äì she doesn’t have the chance, the opportunity to make a dramatic entrance or scene. In the eyes of everyone there ‚Äì she has no value ‚Äì and ‚Äì with no value comes no visibility. So when she comes up to make her gift ‚Äì it is only Jesus who sees it. The other disciples don’t. They don’t come to Jesus saying “oh wow! We just saw this woman give everything she has!” No ‚Äì Jesus calls them over ‚Äì He tells them what just happened. Jesus sees her ‚Äì well ‚Äì actually ‚Äì Jesus sees all of them. He sees the rich who give large sums of money. He see the disciples who are milling about. And Jesus sees this poor widow ‚Äì with two coins ‚Äì make her deposit. She’s invisible ‚Äì invisible to everyone except for Jesus. And…and its not her act that makes her known to Jesus. Jesus is there people watching ‚Äì even before the poor widow arrives. He’s noticing everyone. And Jesus sees ‚Äì well ‚Äì he sees her. He knows she’s poor. He knows she’s a widow. He knows who she is, where she comes from, why she is who she is ‚Äì before she acts. Before she gives. He doesn’t conduct an exit poll to discover who she is. There’s nothing in the text to show that this widow even saw or noticed that Jesus was there at all. But Jesus…Jesus saw her. And I think ‚Äì I think that’s when her identity begins.

Now ‚Äì sometimes ‚Äì not being seen ‚Äì that’s awesome. Personally, there are times when my four month old son Oliver ‚Äì well ‚Äì he’s gotten to the age where he cries, loudly, when he wants my attention. He’ll want to sit on my lap ‚Äì like when I’m trying to write a sermon ‚Äì and put his whole hand in his mouth ‚Äì and just happily suck away. He wants me to see him ‚Äì but ‚Äì well ‚Äì that doesn’t fit into my schedule. So, I do what all two parent households do ‚Äì I dropped him off with my partner. At that moment ‚Äì I’ve got a choice ‚Äì and the opportunity to not be seen ‚Äì and I’m gonna take it and use it as much as I can.

But there are times when not being seen is one of the worse things in the world. When we’ve failed at something ‚Äì or we’re suffering through a broken relationship ‚Äì illness ‚Äì a broken promise ‚Äì or any number of things that can make us feel completely isolated and alone ‚Äì being unseen is terrible. And even in a city as populated as New York ‚Äì when you’re on the 2 train in the middle of rush hour with your face in someone’s armpit and with a bag jammed into your back ‚Äì it is so easy to be completely invisible.

And this extends beyond a personal level ‚Äì this lack of visibility is part of our culture too. Those folks who are too inconvenient because they don’t fit our norms ‚Äì because they’re not wealthy enough, or they don’t love the right way, or their skin color is just a tad too dark ‚Äì or maybe they’re too hungry and too poor ‚Äì they can be made invisible too. One of the sharpest examples can be seen in what happened after Hurricane Sandy. Those of us, myself included, who didn’t lose power ‚Äì our lives returned to normal. Our subway trips, while disrupted, came back eventually. It’s easy to think that everyone else is back to normal too ‚Äì but they’re not. There are still those without heat, without gas for their generators ‚Äì basements still flooded ‚Äì homes still destroyed ‚Äì lives still broken. Their narrative doesn’t match our own ‚Äì and the busyness of our lives push our broken neighbors to the side. They disappear. They are the un-seen.

But that’s not what Jesus does in our story. He sees them. He notices them. He gets who they are ‚Äì before they act. Before they do anything. And Jesus sees us too ‚Äì in all that we do ‚Äì and in all who we are. And he sees us because he promises to. He promises to be the ultimate people watcher ‚Äì living in creation, in community, with people ‚Äì in all their brokenness and all their joy. God came down to live ‚Äì to watch ‚Äì to teach ‚Äì to reveal ‚Äì to transform ‚Äì and, well, to love.

On this ‚Äì the anniversary of Martin Luther’s baptism ‚Äì I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes by him ‚Äì that we are invited ‚Äì called really ‚Äì to be little Christ’s to one another. This doesn’t mean that we’re suppose to see a beggar and give them our cloak because that might be Jesus playing some kind of game with us ‚Äì no ‚Äì it means that we are to be like Jesus because Jesus keeps on being Jesus to us. He continues to see us. He continues to join with us in our baptism ‚Äì in the meal we’ll share around his table ‚Äì a meal that is open to all ‚Äì that sees all ‚Äì and the pastor and chalice bearer will say that this bread and drink is not just a symbol ‚Äì or something that is pretend ‚Äì but that this really is Jesus, right here, right now, for you. Capital Y-O-U because you are being seen. You are being known ‚Äì whether you are a child or one of our older, wiser Lutherans. You ‚Äì all of you ‚Äì your fears, worries, joys, hopes, your dreams ‚Äì all of you ‚Äì the Lord truly sees you.

So like Jesus on that day ‚Äì on that day when he sat in the temple complex ‚Äì he still watches people. He sees all of us. And we are invited to see everyone too. White or brown, gay or straight, democrat or republican, young or old, man or woman, rich or poor ‚Äì we are invited to see everyone. To be in relationship with all of them ‚Äì especially the unseen ‚Äì the marginalized ‚Äì the ones we don’t see. And we’re called to love them. To start to love ‚Äì they must be seen ‚Äì and known. We are invited to notice. We are invited to pay attention ‚Äì even when our sisters, brothers, neighbors ‚Äì even when their names are no longer in the papers ‚Äì we are invited to be in relationship in the long term ‚Äì and to not give up on all who need to be seen. Because we are seen. We are known. Our identity rests in that Jesus, he, who sat in a temple complex and watched the world go by. He saw them; he sees us ‚Äì and we are called to be a people of see-ers. So lets go see.

Amen

On the first Saturday of every month, my internship site runs a food pantry. Volunteers gather at 9:30 in the morning to sort groceries, place them in bags, and distribute around 120 bags of groceries to people in need. I typically do not participate in the Food Pantry but decided to this month. I arrived at 9:30 am to see about 75 people already lined up outside the church.

I was one of first volunteers (besides the head of this ministry) to show up and we got to work. I watched and mimicked my colleagues. I met some new people. I got to make faces at a baby who is only one day older than Oliver (and born at the same hospital no-less!). Food distribution began in earnest at 10:30 am. I helped record people who came into the door (we keeps tabs on who comes for statistics reporting – we do not require ID nor do we require people to prove their need but it is fascinating to see people who have been using this pantry for years, and since we record the dates they come, we can see when they are more financially stable and when they are not). It was a lot of fun.

About halfway through the distribution, a German tourist descended the stairwell and entered our fellowship hall. He chatted with our ministry director and it seemed he had a group of people who wanted to watch what we were doing. He kept naming dropped a name I didn’t know and said that this person told them to come “see what Advent is doing.” About a dozen people came downstairs, stood to the side, and watched. They asked questions. They all spoke in German. And they soon let us know that they were all German pastors from the Frankfurt area. Their numbers grew from a dozen to twenty. They seemed to be fans that we had a bathroom for anyone to use. We finished our food distribution, made some counts, and tried to hold off the questions from the pastors as graciously as we could. They were asking questions that our volunteers didn’t know the answer to but they were quickly introduced to me and I took them aside, once my work was done, to be grilled by these German pastors.

So – there I was – in the fellowship hall at my internship site, discussing our food ministry programs with twenty pastors from Germany. They were all much older than me but most listened to me as one in authority (there were a few who looked like they’d rather be visiting Times Square but that’s fine – who could blame them?) They spoke perfect English, asked good questions, were curious about our partnerships with local government and other congregations/synagogues in the areas, and were very concerned about the people who entered our doors. They asked if I visited them (we don’t really). They seemed partially concerned that there were no pastors (just vicars) helping with the distribution. They asked if I tried to witness their living conditions and see if I can improve them (in a perfect world, we could do that but, again, as an institution, we have limited resources – they only thing we could do, and that we do do, is direct people to other charities and government sources of help). That last question, they repeated several times. That seemed to be the hardest question to answer for them. They spoke as committed individuals to the cause of social justice. None mentioned God, or Jesus, or spoke in any faith-based language. They were concerned about knowing people, forming relationships, and having resources to help change the living situations of the people in the neighborhood. I admired that.

But it came off as very…I dunno. Their language and mannerisms seemed to suppose that my congregation should have access to financial and institutional resources that we really don’t. They kept asking about food donations from supermarkets (which we accept) but didn’t seem to understand how unreliable such a system is for us and how we use grants (or our own funds) to support our food programs. When I threw out the few financial numbers I knew (and that I might have made up based on some educated guesses), the numbers surprised them. They didn’t seem to speak, or think, in a language of dollars and cents. Rather, they assumed an environment of institutional cooperation that allowed mutual enhancement of mission. The problem is that this doesn’t exist, all that much, in the United States. We have to think in dollars and cents or else social ministry just doesn’t get done.

The group of pastors thanked me for my time and they were very nice. They were inquisitive, always asking questions, and in their questions, pointing towards institutional relationships that we might be interested in working on. But institutional relationships are hard to maintain. Right now, from my experience with our neighborhood ecumenical groups, it is individual relationships between leaders that sustain these relationships. If that one-on-one relationship is lost, or broken, the institutional relationship dissolves. That’s probably something we should work on as group – but how to change that, I do not know.

Oh. And one more thing. They kept taking pictures of ME as I spoke. That made me really self-conscious. I just wish I knew they were going to be coming. I would have dressed up. I would have put on a collar. I would have made sure that they weren’t experiencing a vicar who attended a food pantry wearing a t-shirt with a hotdog, in an eye patch, holding a smoking gun. Darn it.