Sermon: Chasm

 

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 20^th 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.

---

[1] Cited at https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764654623/u-s-income-inequality-worsens-widening-to-a-new-gap on September 26 2019.

[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.

[4] Cited at https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2019/09/27/the-rich-man-and-lazarus-warning-tale-and-interpretive-key-to-luke-2/ on September 28, 2019

[5] Cited in Ched Myers’ https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2019/09/27/the-rich-man-and-lazarus-warning-tale-and-interpretive-key-to-luke-2/

[6] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-michaelson/the-meaning-of-avatar-eve_b_400912.html cited on September 26, 2013

Sermon: Chasm.

A Sermon preached in 

Christ Church Grosse Pointe, MI
by The Reverend Vicki Hesse, Associate

The 19^th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 21, Year C)
25 September 2016

May the words of my mouth and the meditations

 of all our hearts be always acceptable 

to you O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

Listen here on SoundCloud.

Since his 1954 debut on the cover of Mad magazine[1], Alfred E. Neuman’s face has adorned the cover of all but a handful of the Mad’s 500 issues.  Alfred E. Neuman’s face is distinct: the jug ears, the missing front tooth and one eye a bit lower than the other eye. Neuman’s face that doesn’t have a care in the world, except mischief, and the publisher routinely combines Neuman with another character, such as Darth Vader or George Washington, or even Agent Smith from The Matrix.  After the first few years of publication, Mad magazine added Neuman’s now-familiar signature phrase, “What, me worry?” written below his face.

Intellectually uncurious “What, me worry?” captures the 8^th century BCE life-of-faith run amuck that Amos critiques in today’s reading.  This apathy pervades the lifestyle that Amos condemns, which accompanies the decadent feast of revelry by privileged and powerful people, enjoying indulgences they can afford without a care in the world. What, me worry? Is at the crux of Amos’s rant. 

The people, “at ease in Zion,” claim to belong to the Lord and feel secure. They don’t care about the ruin of an entire population – the people of Israel…For context, think the clichéd image of Nero who fiddled while Rome burned, or Marie Antoinette who said “Let them eat cake” while the rebelling people starved. These people “at ease in Zion,” instead of using their power and privilege for the welfare of God’s people used their privilege for their own good.  What, me worry?

pause

I don’t really like Amos. He’s speaking to me. To us. He makes me wonder about my / our privilege: In what ways do my choices numb me from worry? How do I, too, participate in systems that ignore the oppression of people? 

When I turn on the lights, do I care about the connection of that electric usage to mountain top removal[2] happening in West Virginia? 

When I buy cheap mangoes from S America, do I understand the connection between my exotic tastes to the destruction of small farms at the heart of community life, whose downfall now forces those farmers to find work on farms in North America?

When I speak up in a meeting, do I notice the connection that some people will (sometimes) listen to a priest and silence their own important perspectives from a conversation – do I notice my power and privilege?

These choices that I make – that we make – around how we use our wealth and privilege have connections, have effects. Amos calls me – us – out with his prophetic voice to choose life.

This choice the core of the now familiar “This is Water” talk by David Foster Wallace, to which both Rev. Areeta and Fr. Drew referred in in previous sermons.  This is the core of awareness that is so real and essential but hidden in plain sight, like water in which fish swim: my wealth & privilege can numb me from worry. I don’t like Amos because it means I need to stay awake and aware.  Do you see what I mean?

The gospel offers warning about the cruel world of inequality.[3]  Jesus’ talk portrays a rich man who might have wondered, “What, me worry?” during his life on earth. 

His wealth & privilege prevented him from even seeing Lazarus or relating to Lazarus as a fellow child of God.  (Just for clarification, this was not the same Lazarus heard in other stories with Jesus.  Lazarus was a common name derived from the Hebrew, Eleazar, “God is my help.”)

In death, the rich man spoke to Lazarus without concern and assumed Lazarus would do his bidding even in the hereafter. The rich man was lost. His riches had stunted his compassion and created a chasm in his heart from the needs of others.  And so it may be for us – when we become complacent, without concern of how systems in which we participate affect others and especially those who are oppressed or marginalized already.  Luke and Amos call us, today, to stay alert – to choose to care – so that wealth and privilege does not insulate those around us.

Both these prophets’ message warn of a chasm forming around our heart.

To help remind us to take seriously Jesus’ point, we already have a handy device that most of us carry around in our wallet.  Could you please take out a bill from your wallet – any bill will do.  Or a coin, if you have no bills.  If you look closely on each bill or coin, there inscribed you can read four simple words of that reminder, “In God We Trust.”  Look at those words, imprinted in our currency during the civil war, inspired by the Star Spangled Banner during the war of 1812. 

If we do actually trust God, then we will take seriously God’s command to have compassion on those around us, to be vulnerable to each other, to see the face of Christ in our neighbor’s need. This week, I invite you to spend the bill you hold in your hand. Spend it with awareness, with choice, with concern, with compassion.

How does it reflect your trust in God?  Maybe this tangible sign can be less a “transaction” in your head and more a “transformation” of your heart.[4] Later this week, post on the Christ Church face book page or write me an email or note about how this spending opened you up to the needs of others.  How was your heart transformed by God as you entered into that need?

What is at stake today is the connection of our whole lives – our own wellbeing to that of others.  Jesus is calling us today: take care that our wealth, our privilege, our power, does not numb us to the need of our neighbors. 

We cannot say we have no need of you. 

We are not sufficient unto ourselves. 

Here’s a warning: As we become more responsive to the hurts, hopes and needs of others, we will become more aware of our own humanity- our own longings, vulnerabilities and insufficiencies.  At that point, we may also recognize God’s offer of manifest grace in Jesus Christ, the one who took on our human longings, human vulnerabilities, human insufficiencies in order to show us God’s profound love.

We, too, have Moses’ law and the prophets to teach us to care for our neighbor’s needs. And, we are confronted and become known by Jesus Christ each week at this table.  In that meal, when we see and know the One who died and rose for us, may we be shook awake from our numbness. 

And once awake, may we know how again and again God chooses to draw us back into relationship. God chooses for us life everlasting.

Amen

.

---

[1] Cited in Wikipedia, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_E._Neuman  on Sep. 22, 2016

[2] See tool at this website: http://ilovemountains.org/maps

[3] Ched Meyers, “The Rich Man and Lazarus: Warning Tale and Interpretive Key to Luke”

 https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2016/09/22/the-rich-man-and-lazarus-warning-tale-and-interpretive-key-to-luke/

[4] Inspired by a personal conversation with Rev. Areeta Bridgemohan on September 23, 2016