Sermon: Ordinary Matters

Pixabay Image via Creative Commons

Third Sunday of Advent, Year C

The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse,

Director of the Whitaker Institute,

Episcopal Diocese of Michigan

Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit, MI

Sermon Preached on December 16, 2018

O Lord, take my lips and speak through them;

take our minds and think through them;

take our hearts

and set them on fire with love for you. Amen.

John said to the crowds,

“You brood of vipers!

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

That really gets me. 

Especially as today is “Gaudette” Sunday – Joy!

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be known to everyone.”

So what is going on

with John the Baptist calling people a brood of vipers?

Vipers are really creepy –

probably because I don’t particularly like snakes –

but vipers are baby snakes that eat their mother. 

For some reason that really creeps me out. 

The teacher in me wants to say to John,

um, the way you start your sermon is a bit strong.

Don’t you know you can

catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?

Your opening line is, ahem, little off-putting:

and then you announce

what will happen at the end of time.

I mean, who can hear that?

Brood of vipers, really! 

Well, he caught our attention, right?

Today’s gospel passage is John the Baptist,

with the attention-getting introduction

to his 3-point sermon

as a drama sandwich form:

eschatology, ethics and expectation.  

This sandwich sermon

places a mild ethical teaching in the middle,

between

“dramatic eschatological warning of the coming of end times” and

the announcement and expectation of the coming messiah.”[1]

So I got curious –

is this ethical teaching really that mild?

pause

A few days ago,

I came across a brief segment from the Today show on TV.

There, the Today show explained

the results of an NBC survey

where they asked people

to rank the character traits they believe

are most important to teach their kids.

Top of the list, at 43%, was honesty,

then kindness at 29%,

then a strong work ethic at 11%.

These are the character traits

most people believe are important

to teach their kids.

And the top three align pretty closely with John’s teaching.

So ordinary,

maybe that’s why John

got their attention with that opening line.

What I found funny was

how seemingly mundane John’s offered this

ethical message.

Slipped between drama and excitement,

Was a communication

so ordinary, you might have missed it. 

Kind of like that book,

“everything I know I learned in Kindergarten,”[2]

Which “teaches how to live and what to do

and that wisdom does not come

from the top of the graduate school mountain

but in the sand pile in elementary school.

Simple things, such as:

·         Share everything.

·         Play fair.

·         Don't hit people.

·         Put things back where you found them.

·         Clean up your own mess.

John’s message, too, was so ordinary

that it’s extraordinary. Why? Because

John’s instructions

to the crowds,

to the tax collectors and

to the soldiers apply to us, too,

and every aspect of our lives. 

These instructions guide how we treat each other

– our family, friends, co-workers

and people we meet in ordinary places of our daily lives.

These instructions remind us how

we are obliged to treat one another and the world.

To the crowds who ask, what then should we do? John says

Share. Be kind.

To the tax collectors who ask, what should we do? John says

Be fair. Be honest.

To the soldiers who ask, what should we do? John says

Work hard. Be ethical.

Pause.

That’s it?  Yes.  And it’s everything.

Because everything –

everything from eschatological warnings of end times

to buzzy expectation of messiah’s coming

and boring daily ethical teachings –

everything looks different

in the light of the coming Christ.

See,

by our sharing,

by our being honest and

by our ethical lives,  

we help bring God’s kingdom on earth

as it already is in heaven.

But wait – it’s not us that’s bringing in the kingdom, it’s God. 

God is bringing in the kingdom

and we can witness God’s new realm

when we live like it’s already here:

live like we believe a new world is coming,

live like our ordinary lives matter.

Because they do!

Here’s a story about ordinary, daily lives. 

At the DTW Airport,

one of our Episcopal deacons

serves as an “airport ambassador.” 

He volunteers, helping people

find their way,

find their car,

find their baggage,

their lost keys. 

Mundane things.

And once in a while,

he gets to simply witness

the return of a fallen soldier.

When he gets a text from the airline

that the casket will be offloaded from the plane

at a certain time,

he goes to the tarmac and stands at attention.

He holds the loved one’s hand.

He shares the honest witness

of the dignified transfer of the soldier’s remains

to a final resting place.

And after a while,

when he turns around

and returns from the tarmac to the mundane terminal,

people in airport are silent. 

They have been silent.

Those people who see the returned fallen soldier

hold vigil in love,

and bond in an indescribable holy way.

And it changes everything.

Just think.

What would it be like if everyone –

politicians, police, powerful and powerless,

people on the street,

people in our grocery stores,

people at work –

what would it be like if everyone

was

honest, kind and ethical.

I think that our world might work a whole lot better

and might become more of what God dreams!

What if we, in our daily lives,

really believed (as our collect says) in God’s

bountiful grace and mercy –

and honestly, kindly, & ethically lived our lives? 

It can change everything. 

When Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire,

we are already soldered together

into a new community.

That refining fire bonds us

so deeply

that we feel each other’s’ pain,

care for each other’s wounds,

share with each other our gifts and blessings,

and hold each other in love.

This is how we live as if God’s kingdom is near.

When we are one – bonded together as a community,

we fear not random acts of violence,

we fear not the impact of natural disasters,

we fear not the predicted recession,

we fear not the person we see who looks different from us,

we fear not the “powers and principalities” that oppress us.

See, we humans resist this good news of God’s grace

because of our fears,

because we think we don’t matter,

because we minimize the impact we have on the world. 

But Christ hopes for us to join with others. 

To bond with others,

to cry with others,

to share with others.

Christ hopes for us to be one.

We can participate in God’s dream

to make the world amazing.

For this is how we witness to our confidence in Jesus:

we share, are honest, and work hard. 

Simple. Ordinary.

Makes a difference.  Makes a world of difference.

See, this being Christian,

this being honest, kind and hardworking,

impacts the world.

When youth gather around and speak

honest truth to power against gun violence,

the world changes.

When the airport volunteer stands on the tarmac

in sacred witness to the fallen soldier arriving home,

the world changes.

When states agree to uphold the international climate agreement

even while the federal administration

denies climate change,

the world changes.

When ordinary people

deliver bottled water to Detroiters

whose water has been shut off,

the world changes.

When communities share in breakfast every Sunday,

the world changes.

When we pray the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples

and share the bread that he broke,

the world changes.

Today’s good news is that

God brings God’s kingdom here and now,

through us as we are,

through ordinary lives,

through ordinary human imperfections,

through God’s love and forgiveness. 

And that Love and forgiveness

is extraordinary enough to get our attention.

Thanks be to God,

we have God’s bountiful grace and mercy

and we will, with God’s help.”[3] 

Get ready for Christ’s light to shine in our lives!

Amen

---

[1] Portions of this sermon inspired by David Lose, cited here on December 14, 2018: http://www.davidlose.net/2015/12/advent-3-c-ordinary-saints/

[2] Cited on http://www.peace.ca/kindergarten.htm on December 15, 2018

[3] Portions inspired by Rev. Scott Gunn, Forward Today: Bountiful Grace cited here: http://news.forwardmovement.org/2018/12/forward-today-bountiful-grace/ on December 14, 2018

Sermon: Wilderness Transformation

image: Pixabay, creative commons

Second Sunday of Advent, Year C

The Rev. Vicki K. Hesse,

Director of the Whitaker Institute,

Episcopal Diocese of Michigan

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Westland, MI

Sermon Preached on December 9, 2018

Good morning.  My name is Rev. Vicki Hesse.

I was last here mid-July,

when the weather was, ahem, a little sunnier!

As you may know, I serve the Diocese as the Director of the Whitaker Institute.

The Whitaker Institute is the educational arm of the Diocese.

Ask: Who here has taken a class from the Whitaker Institute? 

Our overall purpose is (slowly)

to form disciples to carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ.

(that’s a big mission, but we have a big God!)

We do this through about a dozen Dio-wide programs.

Three programs you may know include:

Safe Church courses (new curriculum, new policies),

“Academy for Vocational Leadership,”

a local school for ministry and

“Exploring Your Spiritual Journey,” aka EYSJ,

a program for anyone (lay or called to ordination)

to learn how God is calling.

So, thank you, St. John’s for your warm welcome today

Now we gather our minds and hearts

and breathe into this space

as we reflect on our gospel message today.

O Lord, take my lips and speak through them;

take our minds and think through them;

take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. Amen.

A few years ago, I read this book called

“Eats, Shoots and Leaves” ---anyone?

This 2003 book is a funny read about punctuation. 

The summary reads,

“Anxious about the apostrophe? Confused by the comma? Stumped by the semicolon? …Join Lynne Truss

on a hilarious tour through the rules of punctuation

that is sure to sort the dashes from the hyphens.”[1]

The author bemoans our society’s current “grammatical” state.

(any teachers here?)

She uses examples from literature, history & signage

showing how meaning is very much shaped

by commas and apostrophes. 

We’ve all seen signs like this one on a storefront:

“Come inside for CD’s, VIDEO’s, DVD’s and BOOK’s!”

(with possessive apostrophes before each “s”). (pause)

Or the newspaper byline that read,

“Fan’s Fury at Stadium Inquiry”

– with the apostrophe before the s in Fan’s.

“Fan’s Fury at Stadium Inquiry”

The story sounded

“quite interesting until you look inside the paper

and discover it’s about a large mob of fans, actually,

not just the lone, hopping-mad fan

so promisingly indicated at the byline.” (p.2)

When I read the book, it made me laugh out loud

and sharpened my attention to punctuation.

See, as a proclaimer of Word(s),

I believe that words matter. 

And punctuation matters.

Stay with me, now, this does connect to the Gospel!

After reading today’s Gospel text,

I found myself reading that text from Isaiah,

which explains *why* John the Baptist was there

“as it is written in the book

of the words of the prophet Isaiah”

Gospel author Luke uses the OT

to establish one of the main themes “reversal.” 

Luke’s story prophesied a new world,

a new age, a new way of being,

to be fulfilled in the coming of Jesus,

through the voice one crying out in the wilderness: COLON

The images of reversal are many:

paths straightened, valleys filled, mountains flattened,

rough places smoothed – comma, comma, comma – then

AND All flesh shall see the salvation of God. Period.

But wait a minute, what is that colon doing there?

Isaiah 40 reads, “A voice cries out: (COLON)

‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord…”

Luke reads, “A voice cries out in the wilderness: (COLON)

Prepare the way of the Lord….”

Words matter. Punctuation matters.

Let’s set the context for the reversal story…

Imagine the story in a movie set –

starting in Rome. 

The camera zooms in, slowly, but not where we expect! 

The images pan through the known world

from imperial to regional and religious authorities

in a stark comparison of who God chooses.

The lens of the camera passes by

Emperor Tiberius – to Pontius Pilate –

to Herod – to Philip – to Lysanias

passing Annas and Caiaphas,

the religious authorities in collusion with the government, – comma, comma, comma,

until the focus rests on who and where God chooses:

John. In the wilderness.

Wait, what?

This opening scene –

the true prologue of the whole gospel of reversal - 

foreshadows what is to come.

From the surprising wilderness.

(TT)

See, in those days, trouble was pervasive.

Life was very hard for nearly everyone.

The culture, laws and geo-political rules

existed to serve those in power.

These “principalities” normalized

oppression of the “little guy” for control.

This kind of oppression was familiar to the Jewish people.

So familiar that the gospel writer hearkened back to Isaiah,

when the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon.

Captive, oppressed, away from home,

they yearned for freedom to return to Jerusalem. 

The people longed for their old lives back,  

for freedom from oppression,

for a chance to make something of their lives

without the pressure from “powers and principalities.”

pause

(TW)

The other day, watching TV, I noticed

how our consumer culture had become

oppressive and pervasive with  holiday advertising.

Gifts we “should” be buying,

fashion we need to make us “attractive.”

This consumer break was punctuated by

news stories about addiction and the opioid epidemic.

You hear the news, like I do, of the

ongoing political divisiveness rousing in us

an inability to stomach it or respond.

We hear about how lives are hard for many ppl.

 

Stories of refugees from several countries

arriving at new country borders

only to be further terrorized

for not living in their own terrorizing country of origin.

These people long for their old lives back, 

for freedom from oppression and danger

for a chance to make something of their lives

without the pressure from “powers and principalities.”

“Those days” are like “these days.”

The problem is that we don’t see

the surprising and hidden power of the wilderness.

We don’t recognize that grace often arrives

off the beaten path of power and control and oversight. 

It’s like staring at the light of a bonfire and

when you look away, it blinds you.

The presence of too much power outside

blinds us to the surprising power of God’s hope.

In the hidden power of wilderness

we can find true inspiration and creativity

and can see the possibilities for new life and grace.

For the word of God came to John. Period.

And he cried out. Colon.

In the wilderness, prepare the way…

(GT) See, the word of God transformed the wilderness. 

God’s word, through John,

affected everyone, even up to the emperor.

The word of God reversed everyone’s world order.

John challenged the people to see the wilderness

not as a place of desolation but of hope.

God called ppl, like the Babylonian exiles,

to leave their captors behind

                                 and head home through the wilderness.

God called them, like the people of Egypt,

                                 to join the exodus out of slavery

                                 into God’s promised fresh start.[2]

John’s baptism of repentance

                                 led to release from sins

– it unbound the people from that weight

Through the purification right

– and their hearts were opened

To God’s way, grounded in Love.   

To the forgiveness that set free

those trapped in darkness and death’s shadow.

The light of this ritual

revealed a new path, in the wilderness.

From the wilderness.

Born of the wilderness.

(GW) Today’s good news is that

God’s transformation comes in those places of wilderness. 

And in the wilderness, especially, God calls us to repent.

Author and Theologian Marcus Borg

offers fresh perspective on repentance: 

“The biblical meaning is

to return to God,

return from your exile,

reconnect to God.[3]

In the Greek NT, ‘repent’ means

to “go beyond the mind that you have,”

“go beyond the mind you have been given

by our environment and by our culture

and to allow Christ to shape” you a new mind and a new heart.

Both personally and socially.

A seminary classmate holds a weekly bible study with

people living with

homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity.[4]

One participant, Willie, said that for him,

wilderness is loneliness –

when you can’t connect with others

and you don’t know how.

Ty agrees, adding that

“you can have a place (a home) and still be lost (and lonely).

Or you cannot have a place but have community.”

Eugene added that

yes, when he had the most stuff was when he was the loneliest.

But now that he has this community,

even though he doesn’t have much stuff, he feels at home.

These people have gone beyond their mind’s orientation,

Both personally and socially: the way of salvation.

What is your wilderness?

Maybe your wilderness is loneliness,

and like these people,

repenting (reconnecting to God and others),

you can find a way home.

Maybe your wilderness is the daily stress

of too much to do with seemingly not enough time.

By repenting, reconnecting with God,

we can find ourselves in God’s time

and there is enough time there for important things.

In the wilderness of

our vulnerabilities, our challenges, our foibles,

our grief, our mistakes, our faults, comma, comma, comma

– yes, in the wilderness, God’s grace surprises us.  

So, this day, in preparation for Advent,

I pray that you know your wilderness

is filled through and through with grace,

for God loves you and forgives you

– even, or especially, in your wilderness.

I pray that God prepares you to notice your wilderness

and that God transforms you and your community.

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Exclamation point.

Amen.

---

[1] Cited at https://www.lynnetruss.com/books/eats-shoots-leaves/ and https://www.amazon.com/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Tolerance-Punctuation/dp/1592402038 on December 7, 2018

[2] Judith Jones, cited https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2702 on December 4, 2018

[3] Marcus Borg, The Heart of Christianity, p. 180

[4] Cited at https://faithfromthemarginstotheweb.com/ on December 7, 2018