Can We Try An Old, New Way?

John 17:20-26

”I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

The Rev. Canon J. Robert Wright was a professor at Union Seminary and also one of the principle architects of Called to Common Mission.  That was the document that brought the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America into full communion with The Episcopal Church.  Without his work there would be no Lutherpalians.  Without his work there would be no… US!  Called to Common Mission was first ratified in 1999.  The year I was ordained.  The year of the Columbine school shootings.   

Personally, I’ve had… not a love/hate relationship with Called to Common Mission… that would be way too dramatic.  It’s more that I’ve had a love/eye-roll, or a love/longing relationship with it.  I have loved the idea of our two churches living intentionally and practically into Jesus’ prayer that we read part of today… “That they may all be one.”  I have loved the potential of that agreement, the possibilities for the work our churches could do together in the world.  That’s what I’ve LOVED about Called to Common Mission.  But I’ve also always rolled my eyes a bit and frankly, been a bit disappointed that the document seemed to me to be mostly an ivory tower, scholarly, and theological exercise without any intention for it to have any practical application in our world.  

It wasn't a waste.  It took care of the theological nitty gritty which needed to be done for sure, but it always seemed to me that's where it stopped!  It felt to me like this had just been the latest theological “Wordle” for the big brains of both denominations and once the theology puzzle had been worked out, they patted each other on the back and went back to their respective ivory towers to drink beer and/or sherry as the stereotypes demanded!  When I got their work out again up in Maine looking for practical help getting a Lutheran and an Episcopal church to play nice together, that’s how it felt.  I went looking for something practical and I found absolutely positively NOTHING.  NOT ONE bit of practical help for a real life pastor in a real life church trying to get real life people to work together and understand that they didn’t have to “change religions” to do it!  So, without any help from the big brains, we just made it up along the way!

That’s how it felt until just last week when I heard that J. Robert Wright had died and read the funeral sermon given by Episcopal Bishop William Franklin.  With that sermon, my small brain gained new insights into what the big brains had REALLY intended for their work.  Their goal had actually been to unite the "Communion of Saints", and NOT to have that singular feel good moment back in 1999 be the end!  Their goal way back then, and apparently was the continued longing that Robert Wright shared with Bishop Franklin at the end of his life, was to continually ask the question, “how might the power of this Communion of Saints be used most effectively in the terrified world outside these doors, beyond the Close (of the seminary grounds), around the world?”  Bishop Franklin continued, “We witness a dangerous war in Europe, the rise of Christian Nationalism, and Replacement Theory Fascism played out in the bloodshed at the Tops Market in Buffalo... God has used God’s people to accomplish great things in the past. How will God use us — if we will but respond to the divine initiative — to accomplish great things today?”  

It had apparently been Father Wright’s work and desire over an entire lifetime, NOT just to get these churches together as a theological “Wordle” puzzle of the day, but to strengthen the Body of Christ so that TOGETHER we would be in the position to take on the seemingly impossible issues the world continually faces… as ONE!  Bishop Franklin finished his sermon by quoting another bishop’s recent Facebook post… Bishop Doyle of Texas wrote prior to this week's school shootings in Texas, “Every tradition needs to clearly denounce White Supremacy and Nazism. What we see in Buffalo is part of a well-established neo-Nazi movement in the US. We cannot underestimate this movement. White Supremacy is a global lie that perpetuates a false god, faux theodicy, and violence.”

I don't have a solution for any of it.  I have yelled, and screamed, and protested, lobbied and logic-ed, and theologized all the same things over and over and over again since I was ordained in 1999... Since Called to Common mission was approved in 1999... Since Columbine, in 1999 and today I have been forced to face the reality that what I have done has not worked.  What the Episcopal Church has done has not worked.  What the Lutheran Church has done has not worked.  It was all profoundly important to try all that has been tried, but the hard truth is that to do more of what has not worked for 20 years is insanity.  

BUT perhaps we can find a new, potentially effective path forward if we decided to genuinely look for it TOGETHER, as ONE, just as Jesus prayed we would.  Could it be that the way to confront the problems of Christian Nationalism, Replacement Theory Fascism, and gun violence we first met in Columbine in 1999, was also given to us that very same year in Called to Common Mission?  Is it worth it, at least to try something different... to genuinely and deeply and physically and practically live into Jesus’ prayer to be ONE and into our Call to the Common Mission that flows from that prayer? 

At the end of Bishop Franklin's sermon he asked just that.  He asked, "And what if many traditions were to stand together, this as a communion of Communions, one United Body?  At this hour of urgency, may we all be bound to that mission for which J. Robert Wright dedicated his life: that we all may be one!”  My fellow Lutherpalians, I have no idea what that path might look like and I am certain we will have to completely make it all up as we go, but the truth is, as Lutherpalians we've walked this road more than the rest of our two denominations combined and I am fearfully hearing the call that WE are the ones to show our churches how being One, is done.  May God help us rise to the call.   Amen!

Take Back This Book!

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

A couple weeks ago I gave you a bunch of background on the book of Revelation trying to reclaim this book from the fear mongering/misguided/rapture/end times types.  I told you that the crazy and the creepy in that book had two purposes, neither of which is to tell a literal future.  First, it was meant to out-crazy the real world in order to get people's attention.  Second, it was written as fiction but with a deeply imbedded truth so it didn’t look like overt propaganda against the Emperor… which would get you killed. 

My hope in de-mystifying this book is that we could learn to not get hung up on the style of the writing meant to catch readers' attention and throw Caesar’s goons off the scent, but instead focus on the timeless truths underneath.  When you do that, you begin to see that the whole of Revelation goes back and forth making two points.  One of those truths is to remind people that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is NOT.  Even when the world doesn’t seem that way, THAT’S the truth!  The other truth is a picture of how God intends for the world to look and work.  In today’s lesson we get more of the “what God intends” stuff rather than the stuff that reminds us that Jesus is Lord and that all those fantastical baddies and beasties (aka Caesar and his goons) are NOT!  In today’s lesson, God "reveals" to us the world as God intends for it to be… a world with metaphorically open gates and a city without walls… a place that welcomes ALL people.  A place where all means ALL!  It shows us a place where there is no darkness.  A place where the One True God is on the throne and all of the world’s darkness… the darkness of war, nationalism, racism fueled violence, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and all the other fear-fueled sorts of dangerous supremacies fade into oblivion in the radiant brilliance of God’s light and love. 

This lesson uses the imagery of water flowing like crystal down the middle of the city’s public streets… PUBLIC… in other words, available for ALL to drink, regardless of all the “BUTS” and “Except-Fors” the world would add.  The essentials for life aren’t hoarded in God's vision for the world.  The water isn’t owned by anyone, bottled by anyone or the prices manipulated for the greatest profits at the water pump.  This water isn’t controlled by any sort of Caesar… This metaphorical water is the water of justice which flows freely from the throne of God without end!  

This “Reveleation” also shows us the Tree of Life, which bears abundant fruit every single month of the year! That means there is never a time of hunger, whether that is a hunger for food, or for justice, or equality, or dignity, or even a murderous-white-supremacist-free trip to the neighborhood grocery store! When Jesus is LORD and Caesar is NOT… everyone has all that they need AND everyone has life in abundance!  Because Jesus is LORD and Caesar is NOT… health, healing, and wholeness is available to all of creation and can be found as freely and abundantly as leaves on a tree!  

This was written to be a book of HOPE given to a people stuck in a system of everyday violence, senseless oppression, manufactured paranoia, and fear that led inevitably to anger, hatred and horrific violence with no obvious way out.  It was a book of HOPE given to a people ruled by a fearful ruler in a seemingly unchangeable system, enabled by people who thought they could manipulate the Beast they were creating and who never realized that they too would inevitably be consumed by it as well.  It was a book written both to SHOW the world a hope-filled vision of what God intends, AND to provide the people who were stuck in that spot a DIRECTION… a target to shoot for with their efforts, even when working toward that goal felt like walking into a hurricane, through endless miles of knee deep sand.  It was written to give them hope and help them move toward better days.  

It was ALSO written so that if any FUTURE generation should ever find themselves in that sort of terrible place, where beasts and baddies are fomenting hatred and violence, clawing away rights and freedoms, and bringing violence upon violence into the world… This book was also written, so THAT future generation too would be reminded that is NOT the way God created the world to work!  God’s true intention for this world is an inclusive, compassionate, and caring world without gates or walls… without any us verses them… without fabricated racist fears of replacement.  God’s intention for this world is one where the thirst for justice is satisfied by that overly abundant, crystal clear, ever-flowing river of justice and where the hunger for dignity, purpose, genuine safety, and peace is met beyond our ability to imagine.  

This book was written for those people trying to be faithful while living under the thumb of Nero… AND it was written for every generation that finds itself living under leaders, in systems, and among beasts and baddies who stir up fear, anger, hatred and suffering among the people.  THAT’S why this book was written just as much for US, as it was for THEM.  So that when you and I turn on the news, or scroll through the events of the day and see this horrible and seemingly ever growing shadow enveloping Buffalo, Ukraine, political movements and judicial systems, we too would have this gift of a vision of HOPE to hold onto.  This book was written to remind that generation, our generation and every generation that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is NOT AND that every emperor and hate fueled system will not, and does not, have the last word.  This book is a vision to hold onto when people act like beasts… and nations act like dragons looking to burn the world to the ground.  So whatever you do, don’t give this book away!  Take this book back!  Because it is a book of God’s vision for us and so that we always remember that Jesus is LORD… and Caesar, by whatever name or number or time slot or title he might go by for the moment... IS ABSOLUTELY AND POSITIVELY NOT!  Amen.

Buyer Beware!

Revelation 7: 9-17 

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

 

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 

The book of Revelation DUN, DUN, DUUUUUN!  A weird, scary peak at the end of the world!  Right?  Actually... NO!  People have sold it that way for sure but I’d buy an AMC Pacer from them before I bought any of their Biblical interpretation!  The book of Revelation is not a fortune telling book.  It’s more a fantasy/sci-fi thriller meant to pass on an incredible truth.  It’s like Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”.   Dickens didn’t write that story to be read as a non-fiction biography of a guy named Scrooge.  He wrote fiction… a story… using moving door knockers, ghosts, and magical teleportation to maneuver around his reader’s preconceptions so they might be able to hear some very real truths about poverty, the possibility of new life through transformation, and the power of generosity in their lives.  Scrooge wasn’t real.  The truth of his story was, and is, very real!

The Book of Revelation is a story like that.  It’s a fantastical story with adventures, battles, blood, dragons and creatures, all worthy of the best science fiction and fantasy minds around.  It was written to grab the attention of the reader, just like that lion shaped door knocker coming to life in front of Scrooge grabs us!  The book of Revelation grabs us with it's strangeness and transports us to another place and time in order to provide an “unveiling” or a “Revelation” of a very powerful truth about God’s love for all of creation.  Revelation is a story written to the Christians who were literally being fed to the lions.  It is a story that uses fantastical creatures and imagery to maneuver around their hopelessness and challenge them to continue to live the Jesus Way, no matter what was going on around them.  The crazy creatures also had another purpose as well.  Having anything Christian found on you then would get you killed while having a wackado story about beasts and magical dragons would not. 

Here’s an example.  The number of the Beast, 666!  Wooohooooo!  This is one of the tinfoil hat wearing, plaid sport coat wearing, bad bible interpretation best sellers.  Want to know what it really is?  It’s Nero’s name.  That’s it.  You take the Greek letters in his name, switch those to Hebrew, then use the numbers associated with the Hebrew letters, do the math and Ba-Da-Bing, Caesar Nero adds up to 666.  Nero is the Anti-Christ.  He’s The Beast.  Not because he’s a supernatural boogyman coming in the future but because he was literally ANTI-CHRIST... he was against Jesus the Christ and his followers who wanted to change the world so it worked the Jesus-Way rather than the Nero-Way and he was The Beast who fed people to lions.        

The Nero-Way insisted that peace came through victory and victory came through violence.  That wasn’t just his military or political way either.  Victory was a goddess.  This was Nero’s version of religious nationalism… politics, militarism, and religion all wound together, all for the purpose of keeping him and his friends in power and moving money and resources out of the pockets of the poor and into the pockets of the wealthy.  The Jesus Way is vastly different.  The Jesus way insists that real peace only happens when everyone has enough… enough food, clothing, shelter, dignity, worth, purpose and safety.  Nero and his very wealthy and powerful friends saw the Jesus Way as a threat to their system of Victory which kept the poor, poor and the rich, rich.  If that struggle between the Nero-Way and the Jesus-Way sounds familiar, then you’re understanding the REAL lasting power of the book of Revelation.  

Now, that’s nearly an entire sermon of background without any details about today’s lesson.  BUT, my hope is that now we can just zoom over the wackado stuff put in the original to throw Nero off the scent and go right to the truth.  “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb.”  This means the Kingdom of God is a done deal.  God has gathered up all of creation in the Resurrection’s redeeming power.  It’s true whether the world looks like it or not, knows it or not…likes it or not… lives it or not.  It’s a done deal and now that we’ve walked out of the Terrible Used Biblical Interpretation show room we can just get to the heart of this Revelation for the people then and for us today. “LIVE the Jesus Way”, and through living that way, live into a life of meaning and worth regardless of what the Neros, the Putins, a party of politicians, or a court is up to today. 

Live the Jesus Way... Do what you can, right where you are so that “they will hunger no more, and thirst no more”  Live the Jesus Way so that our neighbors have the food, shelter, dignity, purpose and worth they need to have abundant life.  Bring those who are your neighbors to the “springs of the water of life, where God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

This lesson is nothing more and nothing less than God nudging us, imploring us, reminding us, and compelling us to live the Jesus Way by Loving God and loving neighbor and to live that way so that we might have an abundant life and share that life with others.  EVEN when the world around us looks like a horror film… ESPECIALLY when it looks like a horror film we are called to LIVE ABUNDANTLY.  Amen.