St. Philips In The
Hills Parish, Tucson, AZ
The Rev. Vicki Hesse
For readings, click here
“Take
my lips, O Lord, and speak through them; Take our minds and think through them;
Take our hearts and set them on fire with love for You. Amen.”
I found
an interesting story on the internet,
which
means it must be true. (ha ha)
The story is of radio conversation
between a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and
Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland
in October, 1995. The conversation goes like this:
Canadians: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid
collision.
Americans: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the North
to avoid a collision.
Canadians: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees
to the South to avoid a collision.
Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert
YOUR course.
Canadians: No, I say again, you divert YOUR course.
Americans: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST
SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE
DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU
CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH--I SAY AGAIN, THAT'S ONE FIVE DEGREES NORTH—OR
COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.
Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your
call.
The
point of this story is the obvious power struggle.
It is
not uncommon to see power plays unfold,
in a
culture obsessed with status and power.
One
obvious place we see power plays unfold, for real,
is in
government –
candidates
for-, and holders of-, elected positions.
Candidates
or incumbents often try to make themselves right,
or look
better than, their opponent.
Another
place we see power plays is in the workplace.
One colleague
might try to take credit
for
someone else’s ideas or efforts.
Jesus
was no stranger to political power plays.
Jesus
held fast, in his heart and in his soul,
to God’s
dream of a new and more just world – God’s
shalom
as Presiding
Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori offered,[1]
“…shalom is that rich and multihued vision of a world where no one
goes hungry because everyone is
invited to a seat at the groaning board,
…where no one is sick or in
prison because all sorts of disease have been healed,
…where every human being has the capacity to
use every good gift that God has given,
…where no one enjoys abundance at
the expense of another,
…where all enjoy Sabbath rest in
the conscious presence of God.”
With God’s dream of shalom in his heart and soul,
Jesus made the journey to Jerusalem.
With God’s dream in mind,
Jesus said
things like,
“…when
the kingdom arrives in its fullness,
some are
last who will be first and
some are
first who will be last.”[2]
This is
what Jesus said, in fact,
just
prior to the gospel reading for today.
It was
his way of saying to
the Pharisees,
“I am a lighthouse. Your Call.”
He did
not budge in his mission to bring about God’s shalom.
God
empowered Jesus to stay the course for God’s dream.
Other
“powers that be” could divert.
- pause -
Some
bible translations include: “And at that very hour,”
the
Pharisees told him that Herod wanted to kill him.
Does
that seem strange that the Pharisees,
were now
concerned for Jesus’ safety?
The
Pharisees and Herod wanted to keep their power.
They
were threatened by Jesus’ power with the people.
I wonder
how often we are working towards a dream
and “at
that very hour,”
we are
approached by someone or
an
institution of power that attempts to divert us.
·
Perhaps
we are passionate about early childhood education, or affected by mental
health,
but the federal budget sequestration is looming.
We feel threatened and fearful. We sometimes lose hope.
·
Perhaps
we dream of a creative solution
for a work problem and
want to form a team of people to work together.
But then someone hounds us, or
says that we should not do that project because that is
not.
what they think is important.
They say, “We tried that before and it didn’t work.”
So, we start to question our dreams.
·
Perhaps
our hearts are broken, knowing that
The size of that problem leaves us
feeling impotent to solve it.
So, we dig
in with our own power.
We pull
ourselves up “by our bootstraps” and
make our
way through the resistance.
What does
God want us to do?
Will
things turn out alright?
How do we
find the strength to stay the course?
--- ---
We don’t
know the Pharisees or Herod’s real motives,
but
Jesus noticed their power play and returned the volley.
“Go tell
that fox…” he said,
“that I
am working for God’s dream and
will not
divert my course.”
That
fox! Jesus called Herod
a sly
and unprincipled animal.
Jesus showed
that he knew
that the
Pharisees and Herod were in cahoots.
Jesus knew
that his
“casting
out demons and performing cures”
especially
among the poor and neglected –
was an
affront to the powers that be.
Jesus knew
that the discomforting politics of shalom
would
not stop at any regional government.
Jesus headed
to Jerusalem,
that
power-playing city with a reputation
of
killing prophets and
dreams
for a new and more just world.
“At that
very hour,” God empowered Jesus
to stay
the course for God’s dream.
And
though Jesus expected violence in Jerusalem,
he did
not respond with rage.
Jesus
wailed an aching lament.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
he cried,
echoing
other divine cries from scripture:
Jesus ached
for Jerusalem
to reply, “Here I am!” – but no…
“How
often have I desired
to
gather your children together
as a hen
gathers her brood under her wings
and you
were not willing!”
At that
very hour, divine mother hen Jesus,
knew he was in a fox-den.
Now the
mighty appeared not so powerful.
Now the
mighty who wanted to be first and powerful over all, were not.
Now the
mighty emerged as they were – humans broken and trapped in a self-serving power
play.
In that
very hour, Mother hen Jesus saw
all
God’s people as baby birds.
Baby
chicks, who need care, protection, and refuge –
even the
so-called powerful ones.
Mother
hen Jesus longed, as God longs,
for all
people to come from East and West,
from
North and South, and
to eat
at the kingdom banquet.
The good
news is that today, in this very hour,
God
empowers us to stay the course for God’s dream.
When we
are working towards God’s dream,
we can
count on God to reveal unexpected reversals.
We, too,
may be tempted to respond with rage
at the
power player who wants to stop us.
Yet with
compassion and soft hearts, we can stay the course.
When we
work for shalom –
FOR
feeding the hungry,
FOR
helping the sick or those imprisoned by greed or boredom or lifelessness,
FOR
inviting everyone to use God’s gifts and love abundantly,
When we
work for shalom,
we are
empowered by God to stay the course.
When
that person or institution flashes power
and
wants to stop us, they cannot touch our heart.
God’s
salvation overturns the powers of the world and
restores
broken, greedy institutions.
Maybe
not in our time, but in God’s time,
today,
tomorrow and on the third day.
Every
effort we offer as God’s partner
begins a
movement towards unveiling of shalom.
Powerplays
will come and go,
but God’s
dream of shalom endures for all times.
God’s
power, through Jesus,
reveals
a living God who seeks salvation –
healing
and wholeness –
for all
people.
In the kingdom of God,
the
blessed will not be those who come in the name
of power
and strength,
but
those who come in the name
of the
humble and faithful Lord of all creation.
God
empowers us to stay the course and
work as
partners in God’s dream.
This Lent,
there are many ways
to align
with God’s dream of shalom.
How can
we work with outcasts?
With people
who are marginalized,
less
privileged, hungry, grieving, lost?
This Lent,
God empowers us to work as partners
and to love
our neighbors as God first loved us.
For God
loves all people. No exceptions.
And love
matters!
This
Lent, Jesus diverts the powers-that-be
to bring
about God’s dream of shalom.
And so
we stay our course of faith.
At this
very hour, we can depend on God
to love
us, and to empower us to stay the course,
with
Jesus, on his journey to Jerusalem.
Amen
[1] http://archive.episcopalchurch.org/3577_79214_ENG_HTM.htm
cited on February 23, 2013
[2] Luke
13:30
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