I'm an Astronaut!

Matthew 25:31-46

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

I am an Astronaut!  I am!  Pick up any astronaut manual and that will tell you how I see the world!  From SPACE!  That's how!  My whole life flows out of the fact that I am an Astronaut!  I regularly use words like Galaxy, Orbit, Trajectory, Space, Mission, and Re-entry as well as many other words you can also find in the Astronaut manual… I do!  I have posters of rockets and stuff on my walls.  I… AM… AN… ASTRONAUT!  I’m saying that very confidently, forcefully… insistently even… but I’m getting the sense from all of you that you don’t believe me!  This is my LIFE!  This is my core belief!  This is my reason for being!  THIS IS WHO I AM!  I AM AN ASTRONAUT!  How could you question that!?  

Perhaps you’re questioning it because… I’ve never ridden in a rocket?  Because I’ve never piloted a shuttle or even been in charge of watching mold grow in space?  I’ve not spent even one second in the International Space Station.  I have absolutely NO connection to NASA, or any of the billionaires’ space programs.  I have never been in zero gravity, nor on the moon, nor ever walked in space.  Might it be that you question my claim of being an astronaut because I just don’t DO any of the actual, physical, stuff that astronauts actually, physically do?  Are you saying that even though I might claim to be an astronaut, use the words that astronauts use all the time, even put up posters and giant model rockets and icons of space stuff all over the place… that alone doesn’t make me an astronaut?  Could THAT be the reason you question my claim to be an astronaut? Huh!

So if you won’t let me get away with claiming to be an Astronaut, simply because I don’t DO the things that Astronauts do, then why do we not confront people who continue to claim to be Christian, even though they do not do the things that Christians actually do?  Because here in this parable we have a list, straight from the Messiah’s mouth, of what Christians do:  Christians give food to the hungry.  They give drinks to the thirsty.  Christians see a stranger and they welcome them.  They give clothes to people without clothes.  Christians take care of the sick.  They visit people in prison.

As it turns out, it really makes no difference whatsoever how many times you say random vocabulary words that people associate with Christianity… words like Bible, Values, Church, Belief, Commandments, Decency, or even the word Jesus for that matter.  It makes no difference whatsoever how many crosses hang on your wall, what stickers you have on your truck, or how big the billboard is you put up along an interstate.  It makes no difference if you hold up a Bible outside of a church for a photo op, or plant a granite copy of the ten commandments on a courthouse lawn.  ALL that matters.  ALL THAT MATTERS.  All that matters is whether or not you are feeding the hungry, giving something to drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and visiting those who are in prison.  If you’re not doing THOSE things then your claim of being a Christian is as good as my claim of being an Astronaut… and don’t EVEN get me started on what you are if you’re actively doing the OPPOSITE of those things… working to starve the hungry, take water from the thirsty, round up the stranger, keep the sick from getting care, and throwing people in prison.  It is DOING what Jesus did for the “least of these” around us that makes us a Christian.  It is DOING what we have been asked to do by Christ the King as loyal subjects of the Kingdom of God that makes us a Christian.  

There was a recent article in Christianity Today where the author told of a number of evangelical pastors who, after reading the Sermon on the Mount and preaching on that text were confronted by people in their congregations.  These pastors were asked “What they were doing preaching those liberal talking points!?”  When told they came from Jesus, the congregation members weren’t ashamed or embarrassed.  Instead, they told their preacher, “that way doesn’t work anymore… it’s weak!”  Now, I will certainly defend their right to call the directives of Christ the King weak and ineffective.  BUT you just can’t do that AND be a Christian!  

We sit here today at the end of the long journey over the broad expanse of green called the Season after Pentecost.  We sit here, right on the edge.  Just over there we can see the narrow strip of blue that make up the season of Advent.  Much shorter than the Season After Pentecost and this year, even shorter!  When we get up today at the ending of one season, and walk this week toward the new beginning of Advent, I’m wondering if this year might be a good year to remember back to when Advent was Purple and was seen as a time of repentance.  Back then, Advent was less about the anticipation of Christmas, and more a time of turning around.  A time of turning around from a faith that has the substance of a light up Christmas lawn inflatable and instead preparing for the Newborn King, by doing for “the least of these” those things Christ The King has called us to do as Christians.  What does that look like?  It's something to think about in this week to come.  Amen. 

Another Version of the Hole Sermon

Matthew 25:14-30

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

A wealthy man entrusted three slaves with his money.  They weren’t asked to keep it safe.  They were asked to make it work!  The amounts given weren’t chump change either!  Roughly half a million, a million, and 2.5 million dollars in today’s money.  When the guy got back, two slaves had made money while the third had dug a hole and buried it, so as not to loose a penny.  Two of them trusted.  One could not.  In FEAR, he had dug a hole.  His fear ended him up sitting in the outer darkness, weeping, and gnashing his teeth.

Digging that hole, however, wasn’t a choice.  His fear had left him only that one option… dig a hole.  What was it that shut down his access to the part of his brain that did nuance, creativity, and trust?  Was it an individual thing?  Was it a collective trauma?  Was his fear passed onto him by his parents?  Maybe a little of all of it?  Maybe a lot of all of it?  We don’t know where his fear came from.  All we know is what that fear did.  It cut off every other option from his mind so that when he was given that money, his fear-filled mind gave him only ONE option, “dig a hole”… biologically that was ALL he had.

Now imagine how fear can work in a whole community, a whole country, a whole people… imagine what happens when fear shuts down access to the parts of the brain that do nuance, creativity, and trust for an entire people!  Imagine an entire people with only one option left to them… to dig a hole.  But we really don’t have to imagine what that looks like in an entire people do we?  It’s Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge.  It’s Israel and Palestine.  It's church when money is tight.  It is reason people are actively digging a fascist-shaped hole in our country right now.  Stuck in fear, cut off in their minds from access to trust, creativity, and nuance, they do the only thing their minds can dish up as an option… dig a hole… in which they inevitably sit in darkness and weep, and gnash their teeth.  So what can we do?  For one, it’s probably better to start with ourselves and then maybe later we'll work on Israel and Palestine.    

So the first thing we can do is to ask ourselves, “How is the outer darkness working for you?  Is that where you want to be?  How is this worried, fearful, anxious way of living going for you?  Is the weeping working for you?  Is taking out your fear filled frustrations and anxiety on your teeth by grinding away really working for you?  Is any of that moving you closer to the people you love?  Is any of that helping you to better embrace the things you value?  Is it moving you toward your goals?  No?  Are you sure?  Then, are you ready to put down the shovel and stop digging?”  

That last question pretty much sums up the rest.  Until a person is ready to stop digging the hole they’ve been digging… the hole they’ve maybe even become familiar with digging, used to digging, comfortable with digging.  Until a person is ready to put down their shovel, they will be returned again and again and again to the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, time and time again until they are ready to do something different.

We all dig holes and we all dig because we are afraid.  The source of our fears are different.  The things we fear are different.  But we all dig at some point in our lives and we all dig because we are afraid.  Some dig out of the fear of being hurt, killed, kidnapped, bombed, or starved to death.  Some dig out of the fear of not mattering, being alone, not being heard, not being taken seriously, or of being hated.  Some dig out of financial fears.  Not having enough regular income, rent money, food money, retirement savings, or enough to fix what needs to be fixed.  Digging because of financial fears, by the way, is my personal favorite go to fear and reason for digging.  

Like I said, we all dig.  We all dig out of fear.  And digging always lands us in darkness, weeping and gnashing our teeth at the bottom of a hole.  So is there a way out?  Yes.  But the first thing that needs to be done is to put down the shovel and stop digging.  If you’re ready to do that, then the next step I’d recommend… is lunch... there's even one right after church here today!  So it isn't the food, although that will be incredible, but what it is, is an opportunity to sit down and talk to the folks at your table and ask one another, “what would you do if you were not afraid?”  Ask one another what gives them joy here at church, and out in the world?  Ask each other what is one small, teeny, tiny thing they might do this next week to grab just one little additional pinch of joy from this life?  When you ask those questions it gives others the opportunity to put down the shovel.  When you contemplate those questions asked of you, then you will have that same opportunity.  

This parable is not about God sending people to hell.  This parable is Jesus teaching us that living and acting out of fear WILL dig us right down into darkness, weeping and grinding our teeth because that’s just how fear affects humans.  Jesus also teaches us in this parable that it doesn’t HAVE to be that way.  In this parable there are two others who did not keep digging!  It’s not that they had no fear!  We all have fear.  It’s that somewhere along the way, some folks asked them some questions, they got some help, stopped digging their hole and took some steps in a better direction. 

I believe all of us, our congregation, any congregation, any nation or people, even those who have been digging for thousands of years CAN die to digging that hole out of fear and that they can be resurrected from that hole, no matter how deep it has become.  Amen.

How's That Hole in the Ground Working For You?

Matthew 25:14-30

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

A wealthy man entrusted three slaves with his money.  They weren’t asked to keep it safe.  They were asked to make it work!  The amounts given weren’t chump change either!  Roughly half a million, a million, and 2.5 million dollars in today’s money.  When the guy got back, two slaves had made money while the third had dug a hole and buried it, so as not to loose a penny.  Two of them trusted.  One couldn't.  In FEAR, he had dug a hole.  His fear ended him up sitting in the outer darkness, weeping, and gnashing his teeth.

Digging that hole, however, wasn’t a choice.  His fear had left him only that one option… dig a hole.  What was it that shut down his access to the part of his brain that did nuance, creativity, and trust?  Was it an individual thing?  Was it a collective trauma?  Was his fear passed onto him by his parents?  Maybe a little of all of it?  Maybe a lot of all of it?  We don’t know where his fear came from.  All we know is what that fear did.  It cut off every other option from his mind so that when he was given that money, his fear-filled mind was only able to give him ONE option, “dig a hole”… biologically that was ALL he had.

Now imagine how fear can work in a whole community, a whole country, a whole people… imagine what happens when fear shuts down access to the parts of the brain that do nuance, creativity, and trust for an entire people!  Imagine an entire people with only one option left to them… to dig a hole.  But we really don’t have to imagine what fear can do to an entire people do we?  It’s Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge.  It’s Israel and Palestine.  It is reason people are actively digging a fascist-shaped hole in our country right now.  Stuck in fear, cut off in their minds from access to trust, creativity, and nuance, they do the only thing their minds can dish up as an option… dig a hole, sit in darkness, weep, and gnash their teeth.  I don’t think Jesus meant for the outer darkness to be permanent.  To be sure, it is a very real, biological, consequence of fear, but it doesn't have to be our full time home.  So what can we do?  

Here's an example of what we can do on a smaller scale.  As I worked on this sermon down in North Carolina, Kelly reminded me of what Pastor Krautwurst told us in our pre-marital counseling.  He said the thing we’d fight about most was money.  Mom chimed in and said that’s every family!  Then Kelly said, “right, and what’s a church? A family system… and what’s got the financial leaders in church, including you, anxious these days?”  I said, “well, getting a mortgage for The Grey Cottage, higher interest rates, our maxed out line of credit from the Grey Cottage project, landscaping costs, clergy compensation, a pledge drive, fewer people in worship, a church that needs some paint and a few other repairs, a dead sanctuary air conditioning system, Ellen Elizabeth’s estate…”  “Okay, okay, yes,” Kelly said, “that’s enough.  And what are all those things?”  The lightbulb came on.  "Money" I said.  "We’ve got money fears and we're starting to dig a hole, aren't we?"

At that point I slid my laptop across the table to her and said YOU get to preach!  She said, “I run the cameras.  You do the preaching.  Just give me credit.”  So credit given where credit is very due!  But she’s right you know, my fellow, financially, fearful, folk… she’s right.  We are on the edge of becoming that fearful slave with “digging a hole” as the only option left to us!

Now, just to be clear, our church isn’t having “we just used the last diaper and there’s no money to buy more” money troubles.  Our church is having “we like having financial cushions and reserve funds and lots of breathing room in the check book for “just in case” but we’ve used all that to get the Grey Cottage finished and haven’t got our cushions back yet” money troubles.  Those are VERY different kinds of money troubles when you look at them from the outside.  But on the inside, our biology offers just one, identical solution for both… dig a hole!  So how can we regain access to the creative, trusting, and nuanced parts of our collective noggin?  How can we move back into the part of our collective, creative, slightly irreverent part of our brain that gave us things like the AT project, Berkstock, Lichgate Concerts, and Feeding Friends?  

The answer, I believe… is lunch.  Specifically Joe’s lasagna lunch… today.  Maybe its not the WHOLE answer, but if you’ll come to lunch, sit down and talk to the folks at your table about what they love most about Christ Trinity, that will be an excellent first step.  Ask one another what gives them the most joy here at church?  Ask them what would they want to try around here if they weren’t afraid?  Ask them if they would try a new thing if you tried it with them?

Our loving God does not send anyone into darkness, to weep, and gnash our teeth.  It is, however, a very real biological human consequence of living in, and acting out of fear.  However, with intentional questions and small steps taken toward a future of shared goals and values, I believe any person or any people, even Cambodia, even Israel, even Palestine, even us… can be resurrected from hole-digging fear and regain access to the creativity, nuance, and trust that leads to abundant life.  Let us all start that resurrection journey today, with lunch!  Amen.

Worldviews, Heresies, and All Saints

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Heather Cox Richardson is a political history professor and author.  In a recent post she described the two very different worldviews currently battling for the control of our country.  One of those worldviews wants to return our country to a time when income and wealth were more equal.  A time when government played a role in leveling the playing field, regulating businesses, protecting workers, and investing in regular people.  It’s a worldview that believes that when people come together to care for and help one another, everyone ends up better off. 

The other worldview began, in it’s most recent incarnation, in the 1980’s when conservative politicians labeled the other world view as “socialism” and promised to restore what they believed was better… American Individualism.  They used the image of the cowboy from the Old American West to sell it.  This image has nothing to do with the actual history of the Old West, but it worked well to capture the imaginations of those who liked the idea that all anyone needed was to be left alone, to work hard, and to protect what was his with a gun. 

During that same time, a new strain of religiosity grew up in support of American Individualism.  It is billed by it’s followers as Christianity.  It is better labeled as the Prosperity Gospel, Christian Nationalism, or Christo-fascism rather than genuine Christianity.  That’s because while it has roots in evangelicalism, pentecostalism, and charismatic Christianity, and the people in these movements use Christian sounding language, the way that they treat their neighbors makes it quickly clear that this is something very different than genuine Christianity.

Their religiosity believes that it is within the power of the individual to overcome poverty, illness or other difficulties through their own devotion.  They believe that personal wealth and power is a sign of divine blessing, and being so blessed it becomes their divine right and duty to orient the rest of the world to their individual ideas of what is good and what is bad… what is right and what is wrong.   It is literally a religion created to support a worldview of American Individualism so they might claim God’s stamp of approval on all that they believe and do.

But Individualism isn’t Christian.  In spite of dishing up a continual buffet of christian sounding word salad, their actions are just not those of Christ.  Their actions do not show a Love of God, nor of Neighbor.  They derisively call the love of neighbor… which has compassion for the least, lost, and last…  socialism.  In doing that they mock self giving love, which is what Jesus called the summation of the Law and the Prophets.  

Their actions also put them firmly on the wrong side of the sermon Jesus preached in today’s Gospel text.  This sermon is a reminder that God has a worldview preference.  God’s preference is for a world that has come to understand that God did not create us to do this life as Individuals but as part of an interdependent community.  The poor in spirit, the meek, the pure in heart, the merciful and the peacemakers are blessed because they have seen Individualism for what it is, a heresy, wrapped in a tissue paper thin layer of meaningless god-words, with no care for the preferences of Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, but only for me, myself, and I.

The poor in spirit, the meek, the pure in heart, the merciful and the peacemakers are further blessed because now, having rejected Individualism, they find, apropos of today’s celebration of All Saints Sunday, that they are genuinely surrounded in this life and beyond by ALL THE SAINTS, all of whom are working together toward abundant life for all!  Our country… and really our whole world… is currently battling over which worldview we will follow into the future.  Will it be a worldview of Individualism, where wealth and power are seen as a license… or even a divine mandate… to impose on their neighbors all they personally believe is true and right?  Or will we put our hearts and hands, minds and souls behind a worldview where community, neighbor, and the needs of our planet as an interconnected whole are lifted up as the way to abundant life for all?  

The Law, the Prophets, Jesus, and All the Saints call us continually to reject the heresy of Individualism and it’s selfish and destructive worldview.  The Law, the Prophets, Jesus, and the Saints call us continually into an ever deepening, self-giving love of neighbor and to the worldview that flows out of that love, building up all of creation beginning with the least, the lost and the last.  Genuine Christians call that worldview The Kingdom of God.  It is not a place in the sweet by and by.  It is this world transformed.  This world resurrected, becoming a place where everyone has enough… enough to eat, enough of a place to live, enough equality, safety, security, peace, purpose, dignity and worth.

May we answer those calls in all we do each and every day.  May we reject the heresy of the Prosperity Gospel, Christian Nationalism, and Christo-fascism and instead join with All the Saints to build up the Kingdom of God… God’s vision of creation as a place where everyone has enough.  And may we build up that worldview with a daily, ever deepening, self giving love for ALL of our neighbors.  Amen.  

Footprints or Footsteps

John 8:31-36

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Jesus said to those who were following him, “Keep walking in my footsteps no matter where they lead you.  You’ll find that it is in the WALKING… that you’ll really experience genuine living.  That’s the truth.  WALKING… that’s the way you’ll be free!”  

“But,” we say, “we’re literally standing in a set of your footprints right now, while you’re talking to us.  When you tell us to ‘walk in my footsteps’ we don’t know what more you want?”  Then Jesus said, “Look, yes, you’re standing in a set of my footprints right now which is great.  AND I’m trying to WARN you to be very careful not to mix up Standing in my Footprints with Walking in my Footsteps.”

 “I know you guys,” says Jesus.  “You’ll stand there just a bit too long and you’ll start to feel comfortable.  That spot will become familiar.  It will become ‘what you’re used to’ and you won’t want to move.  That one spot will become a place you want to go back to when life gets crazy.  You’ll even start defending that one spot as being the BEST spot… some of you will even start calling it the ONLY spot… the spot will become something you will fear to loose.”

“You’re my followers.  I love you all.  That’s why I’m warning you,” says Jesus, “because I know human nature.  You’ll stand there in that set of my footsteps so long, that without knowing it, you’ll end up standing and not following.  You’ll end up stuck in a place that I once was, but not where I am any longer.  That’s why I’m trying to tell you it is in the WALKING that you have life.”    

Jesus knew, that we humans like what we have become used to.  We humans fear what we do not know or have not yet experienced.  Sometimes what we’ve become used to is a good for us, like a regular morning walk or drinking lots of water.  Other times what we have become used to is harmful, like an abusive spouse, prejudice, or never ending war.  Rarely, however, will we ever take the time to honestly… honestly reflect on whether its good for us or not, we simply hold onto what we are used to and reject what we do not know.

Taking the time to honestly reflect on whether we are still walking on the WAY or if we have become stuck in just one spot is, at least in theory if not in practice, the point of Reformation Sunday.  It is supposed to be a day to honestly reflect on our faith practice and ask ourselves, “Is what we are doing, and how we are thinking now, and the way we are living now, really, truly, and genuinely still MOVING us in Jesus’ footsteps toward the life God created for us to live?  Or could it be that, because we humans like what we are used to, that we’ve come to confuse familiarity with abundant living… to confound recitation with genuine confession… to mix up the warm and fuzzies with the fire of the Holy Spirit? 

That is what Reformation Sunday is supposed to be about.  Ironically, we being humans who like what we are used to, mostly spend Reformation Sunday not examining where we are in the present, nor asking for insight into where we are called to go next.  We mostly spend Reformation Sunday looking back to where we were, way back when Martin Luther put words to a popular beer drinking song and nailing theology questions to a door.  

“Very truly, I tell you,” said Jesus “the longer you stand still in the same spot, the more addictive that spot gets.  You end up a slave to standing in that one place.  BUT, if you keep moving.  If you keep walking in my footSTEPS and don’t stand too long in my footPRINTS, you’ll be free and stay free, indeed.  Amen.  

Questions

Matthew 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

“Tell us, then, what you think.”  Asked the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”  They weren’t looking for an answer.  They were trying to pick a fight.  But either way that was one of the 183 questions Jesus was asked in the Gospels.  Out of those 183 questions, how many do you think he answered directly?  Turns out he answered three.  Just three.  How many questions do you guess Jesus asked?  307 it turns out.  307 questions asked.  Three questions answered.  I’m no math guru but I’d say that’s around 100 questions asked for every answer given!

Why is that?  Isn’t Christianity about giving answers and eliminating questions?  It seems like that’s what the loudest voices always say.  But it doesn’t seem to be the way Jesus lived, day in and day out.  So if Christianity is walking as Jesus walked day after day, then could it be that Christianity isn’t so much about giving answers as it is about asking questions… like Jesus did… 100 times more often than he gave an answer?  

I think that perhaps Jesus, being God and all that, might have known a thing or two about how human beings work and THAT might be why Jesus was very intentional about asking WAY more questions than giving answers.  I think Jesus knew that when people give answers, make statements, and declare, “this is how it is!” folks within earshot are only given the choice of  “Buy it and get on board” or “don’t buy it and get left behind.” 

Questions, on the other hand, open folks up to an infinity of other possibilities.  Questions have the power to open and then expand real conversations.  They lead to the possibility of deeper knowing… knowing one another, knowing yourself, knowing more of the various ways people see the world, even opening up new and different ways people might come to know and relate to God.  

Questions open possibilities.  Statements shut them down.  You don’t have to just take Jesus’ word on that either.  Brain research completely backs Jesus up on this.   You’ve heard me say it before, humans are hard wired to consider each and every question we are asked.  We can’t help but do it!  Even if its only for a second, it happens.  The other fact that science has learned about questions is that not only do our brains HAVE to consider them, but our brains can ONLY consider them in the higher, human-only, parts of our brain.  

Check out then what Jesus does in this week’s Gospel using the power of questions.  The Pharisees and Herodians come out to confront Jesus… to poke the bear… to pick a fight.  When humans are poked like that (including the human Jesus) we are hard wired in our brains to respond first out of our fight or flight brains.  But in this week’s lesson, Jesus demonstrates the power of questions.  He uses the fact that questions MUST be considered... and that they MUST be considered in the higher parts of the brain, to quickly move himself into his higher brain where he can calmly decline their invitation to fight.

Watch it again… “Is it lawful to pay taxes?”  The gauntlet goes down.  Jesus goes first to questions… several of them, “Do you have one of these coins you’re talking about?  Who’s this guy here on the coin?  Who’s name is on it?  At this point, these questions have allowed Jesus to fully access his human brain.  There, in his fully human brain, his possibilities for responding beyond just fight or flight are endless.  He has access to wisdom, to cleverness… he even has access to blessed sarcasm!  “Well, even kindergarteners know", Jesus tells them... "If it’s got his name on it, then you should give it to him.” 

What would our lives look like if we asked 100 questions before we gave one answer?  What would just driving through the roundabout be like?  What would social media be like?  What would Congress be like?  What would Israel and Palestine be like?  What would the world be like… if we all used the power of questions to choose to simply not show up for all the fights we are constantly being invited to attend?  What would the world look like, if we asked enough questions, in every human encounter, to move ourselves into a place of endless possibilities before simply picking “hit it or run from it” as our perpetual mindless options to everything?

Jesus asked 100 questions for every answer he gave.  He asked questions… well… religiously.  Which makes me wonder if the asking of questions might actually be a spiritual discipline, like centering prayer, journaling, walking a labyrinth, or meditation?  I wonder what it would look like to practice asking more questions… many more questions… many, many more questions before ever starting to consider giving an answers.  Where might that sort of practice lead?  What might that look like?  How to you think you might begin?  Who might even be willing to give it a try?  Amen.