Monday, September 30, 2019

Sermon: Chasm


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Pentecost 16, Year C
The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse,
Director of the Whitaker Institute, Diocese of Michigan
Sermon for September 29, 2019 |Proper 21, Year C
Preached at St. James Episcopal Church, Birmingham, MI
Text here
Good morning, St. James!
My name is The Rev. Vicki Hesse
and I serve as the Director of the Whitaker Institute.
It is a joy to be with you today!

“The Whitaker Institute activates lifelong learning!
We are the educational arm of the Bishop’s office
and our purpose is to educate, equip and empower 
faith communities with fresh ways of learning.”

Which is a lot to say in one breath!
Who here has taken a course from the Whitaker Institute? 

Our three main programs are
the Academy for Vocational Leadership
Exploring Your Spiritual Journey and Safe Church.
There are many others; perhaps y’all can join me
at the Adult Forum today to learn more. 
In that presentation, we will explore “Bivocational” ministries-
An online book group that Whitaker hosted in the spring.

I am honored to be with you today
to praise Jesus and to worship God with you. 
Thank you, Pastor Josh, for the invitation!
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of all our hearts
be acceptable to you,
O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen

Have you ever had one of those “driveway moments,”
while listening to the radio? 
You have to keep the engine running
so that you can hear the “rest of the story”? 
Yea, well, that happened to me this week.
Listening, I heard this news:
the gap between the richest and poorest US Households
is now the largest it’s been in the past 50 years.

This, despite the median US income hitting new record high
as reported by the US Census bureau.[1]

I was perplexed. And Sad. Income inequality.
The American Community Survey[2] report revealed
a most troubling aspect, that
“…clearly illustrates the inability of the current economic expansion … to lessen inequality.”[3]
The report explained how it the “Gini index” for 2018 rose over 2017 in a significant amount.

As a binge-listener
to the podcast “Make Me Smart,”  (explain)
I researched this Gini-index thing.
Some of you may know the Gini index measures
how far apart incomes are from each other –
how big the gap is.
And yes, this relates to the “chasm”
invoked in today’s gospel, so stay with me.

Early in the 20th century, an Italian statistician, Corrado Gini, analyzed economic data
to create a scale that captured the income distribution.
The Gini index scale runs from zero to 1—
allowing measures of that gap, that income inequaliry.

For example, in a perfectly unequal country,
one person with all the wealth would mean
a 1 on the Gini index. 
A country where everyone has the same wealth would mean a 0 on the Gini index.

According to this podcast, Sweden comes in around .23, South Africa is around 62. US is in the high .40’s

What’s important here is not necessarily the index.
What matters are the questions the insights raise:
like well-being and community solidarity.
Sure, not everyone has the same amount of money –
some are richer, some are poorer. That’s obvious.
But, just how much more? How much less?
and What about our lives right now?
How does this inform our discipleship and our lives of faith?

Today’s readings,
both from Amos and from the Gospel of Luke
provoke us to ask these questions, too.

And not just as issues for the afterlife
or in case of eternal punishment. 
As theologian Ched Myers proposes[4],
Luke’s gospel text offers refreshing
“clarity about disparity.”
“Clarity about disparity.”

That disparity was in Jesus’ day
a defining ethical problem.
And here it shows up as
the punchline of the gospel.
We all know that the “chasm”
that was fixed between the rich man and Lazarus
isn’t new. And still exists.

See, even in the Roman Empire,
there was a more equitable income distribution than today. 
Of course there was no Gini index in those days.
Scholars have found and now believe
that at the height of first century’s economic zenith,
the top 1 percent controlled 16 percent of the wealth,
which is less than half of that today, around 48%. 
Okay, enough of the statistics.
Back to scripture.

In the story from Luke,
the rich man,
“feasting sumptously every day,”
would have been a slap in the face
to the original peasant hearers.

Those who heard this story from Jesus normally
would feast only occasionally
and only in shared communities.

The original hearers might relate more
to the contrasting character, Lazarus.
At the gate.
Invisible except to street dogs.
Wounded and suffering.
Hungry and desperate.
“Lazarus isn’t a doorman;
he is “roadkill” in a punishing system.”[5]

This image jolts us:
Do we have eyes to see with clarity the disparity?

The rich man feasted every day and ignored Lazarus.
The rich man knew Lazarus by name.
The rich man refused to see Lazarus as a person,
a human, a fellow child of God.

And seeing, as you may know from your own experience
and held in high regard in scripture,
seeing is a very big deal.
Before we can have compassion for people in their plight,
we have to see them.
We have to acknowledge them,
to grasp their needs,
to realize their gifts,
to grant them status as worthy siblings
and children of God.

pause
How many of you recall the SciFi movie “Avatar?”
In this film, human explorer Jake Sully
takes on the digitized
body form of the Navi race
to befriend the tribe,
ultimately to gain access
to precious metals that will save humanity.

In avatar form, Jake meets Neytiri,
a full blooded Navi,
and they develop a love interest. 

There is that scene
where these two get to know each other.
Jake learns the tribal greeting, from Neytiri,
“I See You.” [6] 
“I see you”.
Neytiri explains:
when Navi persons “see” each other,
they pause, and allow this greeting to deeply affect them,
and it affirms that they are One tribe.
I see you.

While that is sci-fi,
this seems was missing for the rich man
and so created that chasm
between he and Lazarus.
And, the chasm existed before the afterlife.

See, no good ever comes
from setting barriers
between the children of God.
And our society has set so many barriers
that prevent us from seeing…
not only income inequality, but divisions of every sort
– too many to name, but you know what they are.

Confronted by this scripture we are reminded that
God urges us towards
the abundant life that comes from seeing
seeing those around us
seeing possibilities
seeing needs and gifts and companions
seeing one another, allowing them to deeply affect us

Then we have the climax of the story:
the rich man,
having failed to get Lazarus to bring him water,
asks Abraham to have Lazarus warn his brothers.

But, Abraham affirms,
the brothers already have the counsel they need.
Already found in the law and the prophets.

Which, by the way,
is the same “law and prophets”
to which Jesus refers
in the road to Emmaus story,
when he explained everything to the disciples along the way…
were not their hearts burning?

In today’s text, Abraham ups the ante:
if they don’t listen to the law and the prophets,
neither will they be convinced
if someone rises from the dead.
In other words: Jesus.

So you see,
the protagonist, the rich man, is not
the focus of this story after all. 
We are.
We are the ones who know the resurrected Lord.
We are the ones who have the law and the prophets
and have seen God’s compassion
in the ministry of Jesus.
We are the ones who come each week
to celebrate resurrection and forgiveness of sin.
We are the ones who manifest
God’s power in showing mercy and pity. 

YOU are the ones, people of St. James.
You do this by seeing.
You see in the “Day to Give Back” with Rise Against Hunger.
You see in the ways you generously
give back to God from whom all blessings flow.
You are the ones who see and serve
in this community and beyond:
in Baldwin Center, in Canif Liberty School,
in Crossroads, in South Oakland Shelter
and in many other ways.

And so… is Abraham right?
Does our faith in and experience of the Risen Lord
help us see those who we would prefer not to see?
Does the testimony of the One who has conquered death
and who calls us to follow him make a difference?

Pause

Yes.
Because our eternal life starts now,
in God’s power to see those around us.
In grace poured out on us.
In riches we partake as treasure now on earth
since it already is in heaven.

Today, this scripture brings us to a “driveway moment.” 
Because you do know the rest of God’s story
Today.
I see you.
God sees you.
God loves you more than you can ever imagine.

And God has repaired that chasm
through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Amen.


[2] Cited in above article, at American Community Survey report.
[3] William M. Rodgers III, a professor of public policy and chief economist at the Heldrich Center at Rutgers University, quoted in above NPR article.
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Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Sermon: Prize

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Pentecost 16, Year C
The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse,
Director of the Whitaker Institute,
Episcopal Diocese of Michigan
Sermon for September 8, 2019
Preached at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

Text here
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of all our hearts
be acceptable to you,
O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen

Good morning, St. Michaels!
What joy to be with you again.
My name is The Rev. Vicki Hesse
and I serve as the Director of the Whitaker Institute,
the educational arm of the Diocese. 
It is my honor to be with you today,
thank you for the invitation!
~~~~~~~~
This Gospel text today
does not seem like the kind of thing
that would pass for
an effective marketing message in today’s world. 

Come to the church!  Woohoo!
Hate your father and mother! 
Pick up your cross! 
This is the kind of thing
that could be trending on the TV show The List:
Ten Reasons Not To Be A Disciple of Jesus:
10. You have to hate your family.
9. You have to love your neighbor. 
[As the t-shirt says, “thy homeless neighbor, thy muslim neighbor, thy black neighbor, thy gay neighbor, thy immigrant neighbor, thy Jewish neighbor, thy Christian neighbor, thy atheist neighbor, thy addicted neighbor….”]
The smelly neighbor, the annoying neighbor,
…you get it.
8. You have to pray unceasingly, give thanks in all things, and with fear and trembling (Thanks, St. Paul).
7. You have to be last to be first
6. You have to be the servant of all the others.
5. You have to listen to understand rather than being understood.
4. You have to want to share your feelings, and that means talking to people you don’t know.
3. You have to give up all your possessions.
2. You have to carry a cross.
1. The number one reason not to be a disciple?
You have to sacrifice your life
and everything you love.
Who wants to sign up?  Because this is hard work!
Nope, this is not a marketing message
that would be the least bit attractive in our society.
Which is kind of the point, here. 
Jesus wanted to be clear
with the “large crowds” that were following him. 
He said:
Sit down, estimate the cost.
See if you have what it takes, he said,
to complete what you started. 
Sit down, consider this:
are able to oppose what stands between
you and abundant life? 
Are you ready to give up all your “possessions”?

My guess is that after Jesus described
what it would really take to be a disciple,
that large crowd traveling with him
might have dwindled, a bit. 
Jesus sharpened the paradox
between loving the world and loving God
almost to the point of contradiction.[1] 
Like usual, he provoked the crowd.
That they take stock. 
That they realize the depth of their feelings for this world.
That they let go of their
white-knuckle grip on the world as they knew it.
That they confront and expose to question
what they have always held dear:
family, friends, respect, winning. 

That they face the many little deaths as life dealt them.
And so he asked them, in not so many words,
do you know what you are getting into?”

I mean, do we know what we are getting into?

Think about your baptism. 
Did you know what you were getting into? 
Did you have some inkling
about what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus? 

So, a story:
I was baptized as an adult. 
My friend Lynn was getting baptized
for his 50th birthday.
Witnessing his baptism
at this little Episcopal church I had started attending,
the thought occurred to me,
why can’t I be baptized too? 

So at the next available baptism Sunday,  January 6th, 2000,
I was baptized. 
Did I know what I was getting into?
Nope.
No one showed me the caution tape
around the baptismal font.  
No one turned on the neon lights
about the cost of discipleship.  
No colleague parishioner cautioned me
about transformation.
All of that was glossed over by my own blindness… 
My eye was on the prize:
The love of God that surpasses all understanding.
The surprise of grace that drenched me with joy.
The liberation from shame driven by job loss.
The salve of healing from wounds of addiction.
The forgiveness for broken relationships.
The relief of pretense of living as a heterosexual person.
The life-giving realization that this new family,
this faith community,
would have my back forEVER.

But I didn’t really know what I was getting into.

Dietrich Bonheoffer[2],
in “The Cost of Discipleship,”
reminds us that,
“Through the call of Jesus,
[we] become individuals and
each [of us] must stand before Jesus
and fix our eyes on him. 
When Christ calls,
he delivers each person
from the immediacy of the world and
to the immediacy of Christ.  … 
This is no slow growth.
This is no progressive sanctification. 
From the call of Christ (our baptism)
There is no turning back.”

Do you know what you are getting into?

The crowds were following, and
Jesus turned.  Jesus “turned”
– in other words,
he changed his perspective
as a human
and took on God’s loving stance.
He taught them. 
Jesus turned and
showed the large crowds the caution tape.  
He flipped on the neon lights.
He cautioned about discipleship.   
You really want to follow me? 
Okay, here goes, he says. 
And he outlined the cost of discipleship
“that can demand leaving home and family
and all those whom the disciple naturally loves best.
Because Jesus himself had left the home which he loved.”[3]
And here, in this cautionary teaching,
he demanded then and he demands now
the “hating” of those people and possessions
(hate as “putting distance between”)
whom the disciple (we) loves most
– so as to love God in Jesus the most. 
For the prize.
He had his sights on the prize.  
“Jesus is inviting us to a full-bodied Christian faith
that stands over and against all those things
that are often presented to us as “life” by our society”[4]
as what makes for success: accumulation, reputation,
and security ”[5]

See, Jesus turned, and he showed them, loved them and
reminded them
over and over
about the caution tape
since the beginning of his ministry. 
And this is why Jesus mades his own sacrifice,
of course,
so that it need not be about our choices
or our willingness, even. 

Because Jesus assures us of God’s love and forgiveness. 
Because God’s promise of life is always in front of us.
And God’s unconditional love
frees us to be a disciple with grace. 
Because God’s love endures for ever. 
Because God’s love is stronger than death. 
Because nothing, “…neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor rulers, …, nor powers, …, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[6]

…. And in turning, Jesus reminded them
and us
that in “becoming a disciple,”
you will know, and he promised,
God’s ever faithful love.
That love will set you free.
That love will lighten your load.
That love will cost you your “life.”

Remember, at our baptism
we renounce Satan, the spiritual forces of wickedness,
the evil powers of the world and sinful desires.

And we turn to Jesus Christ – as he turned to us –
and we accept him as our Savior,
putting our whole trust in his grace and love
and promising to follow and obey him.

So in our baptism, it is,
as Bonhoeffer wrote,
a “fait accompli with Christ and in Christ,”
that we live a Way of Love. 
And in this Way of Love,
we become a new family,
a new community,
a new people. 
So in this fellowship,
we live with the promise and guarantee
of the love of God for EVER. 

By the grace of God and the work of Jesus Christ,
we too live in a new fellowship.
With God’s help, we can give up all our possessions. 
With God’s help, we can make the sacrifice that is love.

For Love is one thing that only grows when it is given away. 

Turn today, my siblings in Jesus and accept that call.
You do know what you are getting into.

God knows what you are getting into.
And, it is a fait accompli that Jesus will use you.
Jesus will take your life, your love, your all. 

That’s the prize of discipleship.
Amen



[1] Alan Richardson, A Theological Word Book of the Bible, p.102
[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, (New York, Simon and Schuster, 1937, First Touchstone Edition 1995) p. 94-101
[3] Ibid.
[4] David Lose, “Life-giving Sacrifice” cited here on September 6, 2019
[5] Ibid.
[6] Romans 8:38-39
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