How About Some Hellfire?

Luke 9: 51-62

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The Samaritans were basically a Jewish denomination thrown out of Jerusalem by the Jerusalem Jewish denomination.  They wanted Jesus to take their side and get back at the Jerusalem Jews.  The disciples, being Jerusalem Jews, wanted Jesus to take their side and double down on their exclusion of the Samaritans with some hellfire.  Both sides, out fear and hatred, were trying to lead Jesus into joining them in excluding the other.  This lesson from 2000 years ago teaches us that excluding others, regardless of "sides", is NOT following Jesus.  That's why we don’t do that anymore, right?  I wish that were so.  

On Friday Conservative Christian Nationalists on the Supreme Court decided to once again exclude women from having equality in reproductive care and all the other aspects of gender equality that flow from it.  More than that, those same Christian Nationalists let us know they were not done excluding.  They told us plainly that our family, friends, and neighbors in the LGBTQ+ community were next.  It is clear, here in today’s Gospel and throughout Scripture, this is not the Jesus Way.  Rejecting the way of love and compassion, and refusing to treat all people with the dignity and equality that God has placed in each one of us and instead, giving in to fear, hatred, anger, and oppression… that’s NOT following Jesus.  Our two denominations are thankfully a part of this struggle.  While that hasn’t always been true and even now is far from perfect, we’re trying our best these days to FOLLOW Jesus in love, hope, and equality for women, the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, and every single one of our sisters and brothers around the globe however they might identify themselves. 

Trying our best, however, is not perfection.  Even though we know raining hellfire on people is not the Jesus Way, there are times... Friday perhaps... where a heapin’ helpin’ of hellfire being rained down from heaven sounds absolutely positively perfect!  That’s understandable.  We're human.  But even with that option at his fingers, that’s not the path Jesus chose to walk.  Jesus chose not to exclude anyone.  Even the ones who were trying to exclude others!  At times like this, following Jesus becomes particularly hard.  I’ve found this quote from Anne Lamont helpful at helping me to stop trying to lead Jesus and return to following.  She says, “You can safely assume you've created God in your own image (or you’re asking Jesus to follow you) when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”  We know hate is not the Jesus Way.  BUT not hating the ones who are actively hating us and the people we love… that is also the Jesus Way and that’s a special kind of hard.  

  

Leaving Samaria, Jesus ran into three other folks, each demonstrating another way to NOT follow Jesus.  The first man wanted to be the one to find Jesus.  But no-one FINDS Jesus.  Jesus finds us!  The second guy wanted to follow Jesus for some, but not for all.  Following Jesus really means to come and die… die to the world’s exclusionary and hateful ways as well as the world’s ways of retribution for the ones who hurt us first.  Jesus walked one path… the Jesus-Way… the path of peace, self sacrifice, love, kindness, acceptance, radical inclusion and compassion… and calls us us to do the same… FULL TIME… in every aspect of our lives!  The third man said he would follow Jesus with one condition.  But following Jesus with one condition, whether that condition is burying your father or doubling down on the world’s inequality out of our own fear and insecurity, just isn’t following Jesus.

This past week we entered into a new chapter of what turns out to be this enormous, multi millennial long book, filled with humanity's continual struggles for peace, equality, and justice.  Samaritans, disciples, guys along a road, or a Christian Nationalist majority of the court:  each in their own ways and in their own chapters, demanding that Jesus follow them instead of the other way round.  You and I have been called through this whole book and right into this current chapter to stand up for love, peace, compassion and equality, and to do that, even while we're resisting the temptation to walk a fearful, angry, hate filled path ourselves.  Our call is to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, always.   

Choosing the Jesus Way of love in these times is hard.  Wanting to rain hellfire instead?  Super tempting!  I get that!  I have a list!  That’s why, more than ever, we need this community to show up in person, to be together with one another, to share our strength with each other so that we can all advocate loudly, clearly, and publicly for what is right, AND at the same time help one another resist sinking to that point where we look to meet cruelty and hatred with our own cruelty and hatred.  May we not seek to lead Jesus, but to follow, because it is only in following that the Kingdom of God, that place of perfect love and equality, becomes visible to all this broken world. Amen.   

A Sprinkling Soupçon of Hellfire?

Luke 9: 51-62

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

This Gospel shows us five different ways people get out in front of Jesus instead of following in his footsteps.  The Samaritans, who were basically a Jewish denomination not recognized by the Jerusalem Jews, wanted Jesus to follow them and worship only on their mountain.  The disciples, being some of those Jerusalem Jews, wanted to keep excluding the Samaritans, with a soupçon of hellfire sprinkled on for good measure!  Both were trying to lead Jesus all those years ago.  So you’d think, since this isn’t at all new, people wouldn’t do it anymore, right?  Yeah right!

Here’s an extreme, “today’s headlines” example of getting out in front of Jesus:  One of the two sons of Rev. Sun Young Moon created a new church since his brother got dad’s church.  This one preaches with a crown of bullets on his head and a golden AR-15 on his desk which he says is the “Rod of Iron” mentioned in the book of Revelation.  The AR-15 is literally a religious symbol for this church.  But wait, there’s more!  If you’re thinking that’s just a whack-a-do fringe guy, think again.  One of the candidates for governor in Pennsylvania is associated with that church.  It might be clear to you and me that excluding people to death by way of AR-15 or hellfire is not following Jesus, but people keep at it all these years later none the less.  

But just because I don’t have a bullet crown or a golden AR-15 doesn’t mean that I… or we… are perfect followers of Jesus.  All of us have people we at least imagine sprinkling with a Soupçon of Hellfire from time to time.  Mostly we don't want to exclude them “to death” (which is a super positive thing for sure!) but, either way, as Anne Lamont says, “You can safely assume you've created God in your own image (or you’re asking Jesus to follow you) when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”  Whether it makes the news or just festers in our hearts… asking Jesus to join us in excluding others is just not following Jesus.  

  

Leaving Samaria, Jesus then ran into those three folks along the road.  Each one demonstrating a different way to NOT follow Jesus.  The first man wanted to be the one who found Jesus.  He wanted to be in control of his faith.  But no-one FINDS Jesus.  It’s Jesus who finds us!  The second guy along the road, Jesus called, but he wasn’t ready to commit fully to what following really meant.  Following Jesus really means to come and die… die to our own fears, preferences, solutions, priorities and timelines.  This guy wanted to follow, except when he didn't.  But you just can’t follow Jesus one day and then live a life on a different path the next.  Big different paths, sure, like white supremacy, or trusting in the power of the gun, or the pursuit of wealth on the backs of others, or Christian nationalism.  But also smaller things like telling lies, taking advantage of people, or looking down on others.  When Jesus calls, Jesus calls for us to live the Jesus-Way… the way of peace, self sacrifice, love, kindness, and compassion… and calls us to do that FULL TIME… in every setting of our lives!  The third man Jesus encountered said he would follow… BUT… with one condition.  Conditional discipleship just isn’t discipleship either.  Jesus is not anyone’s co-pilot.  Jesus is the pilot.  Period.  Our place is behind him in our seat with our seatbelts securely fastened, and our tray tables and seat backs in their full, upright, and locked positions!  

All of those ways NOT to follow Jesus are very, very clear… and also very, very hard for us humans to avoid.  But here’s the Good News.  In Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, all of creation's failed attempts (including our own) to “lead” Jesus or to “help” Jesus, or to “protect” the Kingdom of God…  all of that is wiped away and what is revealed behind all of the mess that we’ve made… is the gift of the Kingdom of God which we've all been given unconditionally, IN SPITE of all our shenanigans. 

   

So may we gently help one another walk in Jesus’ footsteps.  May we use love, compassion, and kindness to pull one another back when one of us tries to get out in front of Jesus.  Let us support one another as we follow Jesus, constantly reminding one another that the reason we follow is not to GET the Kingdom of God, but in thanksgiving for the GIFT of that Kingdom which we’ve already been given!  And may we be clear, but never cruel, when others, in both headline ways, and back of the heart ways, end up out in front of Jesus, because we’ve all been there and inevitably we’re sure to find ourselves out in front of Jesus again and again and again instead of following in his footsteps.  Amen.

Deviled Imperial Ham

Luke 8:26-39

Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As Jesus stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

Summertime and the sermons get shorter.  Fish are jumping and Jesus makes Deviled Ham.  Jesus had just calmed a storm the night before and now, back on shore, he casts out a legion of demons.  Miracle upon miracle, right?  But only TV preachers do miracles just for show.  For Jesus, miracles are more like acted out parables meant to teach us something about the way God intends the world to work.  In the case of this Deviled Ham miracle, Jesus rolls three parables into this one, epic, herd of swine.  

The first parable teaches us about God’s desire for the larger world.  When Jesus comes ashore and commands the demon to come out, the demons ask for mercy, and tell Jesus their name was “Legion.”  Now, what we DON’T see just from this text, is that just over the hill from where this scene unfolded there was the actual Tenth Roman Legion (made up of 6000 men by the way) encamped there, ready to do anything necessary to enforce the rule of Imperial Rome whose symbol, not coincidentally was the wild boar.  Jesus, in making Deviled Ham on THIS side of the hill, was at the very same time telling that of Legion of Pigs on the OTHER side of the hill the best thing they could do would be to go jump in the lake as well!  

Casting out that demon was an acted out parable that reminded the people of the Gerasene that Might Makes Right and the oppression of our neighbors is NOT the way God calls us humans to order our lives… neither Jews NOR Gentiles!  Weapons of war and an overwhelming force using intimidation, bullying, and violence to get their way is NOT God’s way.  And Jesus I think, went even further than that.  I think he was saying that the way of bullying, intimidation and violence is frankly demonic! 

The second parable was for the people on THIS side of the hill.  Here, Jesus was trying to teach the Garesenes how to be better neighbors to one another… to teach them a better way do deal with their community troubles even when those troubles are running around town naked and living in the tombs!  The town, you see, had tried to solve their problem by hiding it away.  Not quite literally burying it, but you have to admit, chaining it up in the tombs isn’t very far off!  They had tried to push their problem out of town, out of their day to day lives, out of sight, and out of mind.  But when you deal with problems like that, they inevitably break loose, come back, and run around naked again.  Jesus though, showed them how to handle problems a different way.  He walked right up to the problem… face to face… and took it on head on.  Jesus didn’t show them an easier way but he did show them a kinder, more compassionate, and frankly more effective way of dealing with community problems.  

In that acted out parable Jesus tried to teach the local folks that throwing people away is NOT the way God calls us to order our lives… neither Jews NOR Gentiles!  Shunning, denying communion, ghettoizing, warehousing in prisons, chaining up, and de-humanizing others is NOT God’s way AND it doesn’t solve the problem.  And like before, Jesus went further, telling them that throwing people away is frankly, demonic!  The Jesus way… God’s Way… is to meet people right where they are, just as they are in all their naked craziness, face to face, and do everything in our power to give them what they need to live with dignity. 

The last parable Jesus taught with this miracle is one I know to be absolutely true, and one I absolutely don’t like.  Once Jesus had made sure the people of the town were crystal clear about how God intended the world to work and how God intended for them to live, this story tells us that the people were afraid and asked Jesus to leave “for they were seized with great fear.”  So what did Jesus do?  He got back into the boat and left.  They knew what Jesus had taught them was true.  They knew their own oppression by the Roman Legion and the oppression they dealt out as a town was wrong…  demonic even...  And yet… they were not ready to change.  The work to which Jesus had called them… casting out the demonic ways of the world and living into the Jesus Way of living was just too much for them to swallow and out of their fear, they asked Jesus to leave.  This last parable is really the hardest one.  Because it reminds us that NOT EVEN JESUS HIMSELF could make people change who were not yet ready to change.  

Folks, there are parts of this world that are sadly, best described as demonic.  You and I are called to name it and show the world a better way… the Jesus Way.  But we are also called not to beat our heads on a brick wall that is just not ready to fall.  In those times we ALSO need to follow Jesus and get back in the boat, go somewhere else, and see if that’s a place where the world is ready to change.  Amen.  

Maddening and Holy Waiting

 Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 

‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

What’s new this year for Pentecost?  My search for an answer to that question led me back to Chapter One of Acts where Jesus told his disciples what they should do next after the resurrection.  You’d expect something like go and baptize, maybe?  Nope.  Spread the Good News possibly?  Nope.  Then it must have been heal the sick and feed the hungry, right?  Nope.  Jesus told the disciples… to stay right where they were… and wait.  Wait for the promised Holy Spirit.  Just.  Wait.  Now, I know questioning the Messiah, the Son of the living God isn’t usually a good idea but, Jesus Christ!  Have you seen the world out there?!  Don’t you see the mess it is?!  There’s a LOT that needs to be “gone and done”.  Don’t you think WAITING is the wrong play here?  Shouldn’t we get to it sooner, rather than later?  But nope… Jesus says WAIT.  WAIT for the promised Holy Spirit before you go and do.  

Those HOLY, but frankly terrible sounding instructions from Jesus back then, also apply to things both deadly serious and infinitely less so in our world today!  Here’s an “infinitely less so” example.  You see, I want to do an Alien Fun Run fundraiser for the church.  People would pay us to run FROM aliens and people would also pay us to BE the aliens and chase the runners!  We’ve got the concept, we’ve got theater people to build us a crashed flying saucer in a field, food experts to make us flying saucer burgers and even a crazy person with a Master’s Degree in Food Science to formulate a blue alien drink!  We’ve EVEN got an actual famous alien abduction site, located about a 5 kilometer fun run away from the church!  So why haven’t we done it yet?  Because we need to wait.  Wait for the Holy Spirit to come with the last piece of the puzzle.  Because it’s the gifts of the Holy Spirit that makes things go!

What’s that last piece you ask?  Well, when you look at this body you will quickly, and correctly, determine that this body… does not run.  I used to say I only run if someone bigger than me is chasing me, but now I’ve decided I’m not running, even for that… they can just catch me.  As a consequence of that, I have a huge gap in my knowledge when it comes to anything having to do with “running.”   The Spirit has given us the Alien Part.  The Spirit has given us people for the “Fun” part.  But the Spirit has yet to give us anyone who knows about the “RUN” part!  So, until the Holy Spirit shows up with that, we wait.  But when the Spirit DOES show up… and the Spirit always shows up… we’ll be off like a people with our hair on fire, chased by aliens, in the middle of a wind storm!

When I tell people that idea they usually accuse me of being drunk on new wine.  I get that.  Dreaming dreams and seeing visions is often misinterpreted by the world as drunk and disorderly behavior.  When new paths forward and ideas are floated, they can sound like a foreign gobbledegook and make no sense!  But you see, with the gift of the Holy Spirit everything that sounded to the world like drunken gibberish before suddenly becomes clear and shows a new way forward!  Like Luther said, We can’t even BELIEVE in or FIND Jesus on our own without the Spirit, let alone do an alien fun run!  We need the gifts of the Spirit to make literally ANYTHING happen in this world, including the ability to believe in God!  So sometimes, we do just have to wait.  Wait until the Holy Spirit gives us the puzzle pieces needed to make it happen.  

I know very well how depressing it is to look out the window and see the world’s overabundance of puzzles and its maddening shortage of puzzle pieces to solve them RIGHT NOW!  Gun violence, Christian Nationalism, a popular fascist replacement theory, war and hunger… not to mention how to do the “RUN” part of an alien fun run.  It is so very tempting NOT to wait and just go and do SOMETHING!  

But when I asked what is “NEW” for Pentecost this year, what I heard was this reminder… that sometimes the thing we are called to be doing is to be waiting and watching for the promised Holy Spirit.  Not passively or with heads buried in the sand, but together as a community, actively helping and encouraging one another to keep an eye out for the Spirit’s gift that WILL give us all we need to “go and do” without just spinning our wheels, but with all of the tools we need to actually get things done!  

For the record, I don’t like waiting for that last puzzle piece, particularly for puzzles that leave people dead, like gun violence, replacement theory fascism, and religious nationalism.  I want to go and fix it NOW!  But the hard lesson for this Pentecost is that sometimes the faithful thing to do IS to wait for the promised Holy Spirit.  She does always come.  I know.  The pieces WILL fall into place.  I know.  God’s will, will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  I know.  But waiting is SO VERY HARD!  I know.  

And it is because this waiting is SO VERY HARD in the face of all the unsolved puzzles of our world today we need more than ever to wait and watch together… keep one another awake and on the lookout…  so when the Spirit DOES come with that last holy puzzle piece we’ll be ready to fan those Holy Spirit flames and GO and change the world.  Amen.