Fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith

By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector

From the second letter of Timothy, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Vocabulary and style differences prevent scholars from totally agreeing that the letters to Timothy are really from Paul. It was a common practice for students to write in their teacher's name or even the name of the person who inspired them. So it's possible that although the author of this Epistle claims to be Paul in the opening verses, that it is in fact someone inspired by Paul who wrote in his name.

Despite that, the importance of the Epistle is not in question. It is a faithful rendering of the issues faced by the early church and some of the practical advice and solutions offered. In the passage we read this morning, the author is writing from the point of view of someone at the end of their life or ministry. The Epistle is filled with tender words of encouragement and confidence in young man named Timothy. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" are words that affirm the authors life's work and by implication encourage Timothy to do the same.

This morning we Baptize two babies. In a short time we'll renew our own Baptismal vows and pledge our support of Elijah and Henry in their new lives in Christ. We're telling them that living a Christian life is sometimes "a fight", but one worth taking on. We promise to proclaim a Gospel of God's love in a world torn by war and battered by hate. It's not always popular Gospel, even among those who say they proclaim it. I spoke recently with a woman who attempted to apply her Christian commitment to how she managed her staff in a major corporation. Without using overtly religious language, she encouraged them to care for each other and help each other in their projects. It wasn't very successful, she said. Her suggestions were considered signs of weakness and out of place in a competitive, often combative environment. Where manners are considered signs of weakness, it's no wonder there are so few of them demonstrated.

But we're telling these babies to try. To persevere in the faith and the belief that Jesus' teaching of loving God and our neighbor is crucial to a healthy spiritual life. Against the odds, it's a life worth living. We renew our Baptismal vows several times each year, because we recognize liturgically that it's not easy and we need to be reminded often.

The Gospel lesson gives the illustration of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. It's not a story about righteousness, it's a story against being judgmental. To his credit the Pharisee did all the right things. He fasted and tithed - just like he was supposed to. Pharisees were teachers and he lived what he taught apparently. (One of my colleagues lamented that it's a pity how during Stewardship season the Tither appears as the bad guy in the story!) Never the less, what's called into question by the story is the motivation of the Pharisee for his scrupulous observance of the law. Was he following spiritual laws to enrich his spirit or just show off to others? Was his public image the important thing to him? It certainly seems that way. I think it's fine to be grateful for the strength to follow spiritual disciplines, such as fasting or tithing. Where he crosses the line is when he compares himself to others in a way that makes him superior, and by implication, more worthy of God's love and attention.

The Tax Collector may or may not have heard the boasting of the Pharisee. He didn't need to compare himself to anyone. He was aware of his short comings and yet still felt connected to God enough to ask for mercy. He didn't need to be better than anyone else, he just needed to do better himself.

That's part of the lesson we want to teach these babies. Don't compare yourselves to others as though that makes you better or worse, but seek to improve yourself based on your desire to be better young people in a world that really needs good people. Be grateful for the progress you make and seek to improve when you make a mistake. God's love is constant, no matter what. I know for my self, I've been good and I've been bad. Sometimes bad is more fun, but ultimately good is better! I was taking to a friend not long ago sharing stories of lesson we learned the hard way and we agreed that life's lessons are often learned through mistakes, and the biggest lessons are from mistakes that are expensive or embarrassing.

In last week's confirmation class the youth mentioned an interest in preaching. It was spurred by us coming in here to sing and pray at the start of the class. Sitting up here has an irresistible draw for youth to the pulpit. They love to get in here and speak into the microphone. So we talked about the scripture lesson for today and how they might preach on it. We had some extemporaneous examples, and some frank conversation on the shortcomings of my preaching. I was disappointed to discover how boring I am. I asked if I had ever caught their interest, by chance perhaps?

Stories came in first as the attention getters. Stories of my sabbatical got honorary mention, as did, surprisingly, a story from several years ago. These kids are listening, and they are remembering, even through the boring sermons. What else might make the sermons more interesting? Relating them to contemporary issues and topics, like iPods. Now, I had never thought of the spiritual efficacy of the iPod, but I'm open to learning and no sooner had we started the discussion of the iPod than the Gospel lesson was demonstrated. I thought I was going to impress them by saying I had an iPod. My momentary victory was dashed when it was reveled that my iPod was out of date. You see, I don't have the iPod Touch. I have the iPod classic. I can't mimic the attitude that accompanied the line, "You have the iPod Classic?" I felt like the Tax Collector, unable to raise my eyes in the company of my students. My shame was compounded by the Pharisaic attitude of the youth who brought out her iPod Touch and I imagined her saying "God, I thank you that I am not like other people who only have the iPod Classic, or God forbid, the Nano; or even like this priest who doesn't even know how to use it."

Teens can convey a lot by the unfiltered look of disbelief and the roll of the eyes. I was able to salvage a moment of teaching opportunity by assuring them that God loves me despite my technological shortcomings, and not only me, but all people who don't have the iPod Touch, the iPad or any of the other technological gods on the shelf. The lesson was great fun and it was apparent that we all have a bit of the Pharisee in us, as well as the Tax Collector. What we don't have, is the right to judge others based on who or what they are, or what they do or do not have. We all share similarly in the greatest gift that anyone can have, to be a child of God.

Hopefully we can bring that lesson to these two babies being baptized as well as remind ourselves of that which is simple to understand and often difficult to live out. Tell them in whatever way you can or that they can relate to -- they are definitely listening.

"Fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith." Amen.

©2010 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ

Wrestling with God

By The Rev. Bernward W. Poppe, Rector

The lessons this morning focus on the power of determination and persistence. In the first lesson Jacob wrestles with a character whose identity is never quite revealed, but certainly celestial. There has always been a question in the commentaries about whether that being is an angel or actually God. One must think that if it were God, that Jacob would have lost the fight, but then again, it is a story after all.

The reason Jacob was there in the first place is the larger part of the story that's not included in our lesson. Jacob was caught between a rock and a hard place.

His two wives were sisters. He loved the younger sister, Rachel, and worked for seven years to win her hand from her father Laban. Laban tricked Jacob on the wedding day, substituted the older sister Leah hidden under a veil and made Jacob work an additional seven years for Rachel. In return when Jacob got the opportunity, he managed to cheat Laban out of a large portion of his flocks and before Laban figured out the trick, Jacob took his then sizeable family and entourage and fled the region. Laban, waking up and finding everyone gone, figured out he'd been cheated and the chase was on.

Jacob got a head start and it looks like he's going to get away and cross a border that would protect him, but he looked into the distance and standing between him, his family and their freedom was the large army of Jacob's brother Esau. Normally, that would have been good news, except that the reason Jacob was in Laban's country in the first place was that he cheated his brother out of his inheritance. With Laban at his back and Esau in front, Jacob sat at the stream dividing the territories between a rock and a hard place.

It was here that the celestial being shows up and they wrestle. Why Jacob needed to pick yet another fight is any one's guess -- especially with an angel. But in the language of story it makes perfect sense. Perhaps the Being was his conscience that he was wrestling with, having to face two adversaries, both of whom he'd cheated. His chickens were coming home to roost, as it were, and he had a lot to lose.

His decision was to face his brother, come what may. Still being cagey, he divided his family and entourage in half and went with the first half to meet his brother to see how things went. He discovered that his brother had in fact forgiven him and all went well. Jacob was able to establish a new homeland for his family. Happy ending to that chapter.

What's curious is the wrestling. Jacob stayed at it til morning. In a modern version, you could imagine him tossing and turning all night long before making a decision of huge importance. In the language of story it's a heavenly being that confronts him. His victory is in making a decision of integrity. Facing the wrongdoing he had done to his brother, who, unlike Laban, had never done any harm to Jacob and did not deserve being cheated. Jacob's victory earned him two things. The first is a blessing which brought with it a new name, Israel. He is the same Israel for whom the country is named to this very day, and you can imagine why this story is a beloved one for the people of that country. Perhaps it was this blessing that had somehow mollified Esau. The other thing Jacob got for his victory was his hip out of joint and a limp that lasted the rest of his life.

There was a play on Broadway a long time ago called, "Your arms are too short to box with God." And while that may be true, if you wrestle with God, you might win, but you will pay a price. There are a lot of stories of Jacob's adventures as a young man getting into trouble and as a wise older man. Something shifted in this encounter and Jacob grew up. He faced himself and God in a profound way and it changed him forever. In the language of story, it was a limp. In the language of faith, it was a conversion.

The Gospel story echoes the theme of persistence with the judge and the woman who pestered him seeking justice. He had no fear of God or respect for anyone -- a perfect candidate for a judge. Notice that he grants her justice because of her persistence, which he should have done anyway. But perhaps it was quicker because of her persistence. And Jesus taught them that God also will grant justice. The widow believed that her actions would wear the judge down and it did. I'm not sure we're supposed to see ourselves wearing God down -- or wrestling as Jacob did -- but perhaps that might not be a bad image.

Jesus often taught his disciples to pray and encouraged them to pray a lot. Prayer works in a way that we don' t understand, nor does it seem possible for us to do so. But it works whether we understand it or not. The trick is that it may not always work out the way we wanted or expect, but being open to the Spirit allows our prayer to take the shape it needs to. And that's often where the limp comes in.

I have a nephew who developed Lyme's Disease when he was in high school. It was misdiagnosed for a long time. There is a window of opportunity for which the disease can be easily treated, but having missed that window, he faced three years of intense fighting to where at one point it looked as though he might die. My sister doggedly chased every lead, fought the insurance companies which denied coverage for the treatments they needed, and yet never gave up. They finally found a proper treatment and several years later Nicholas is fully recovered, though the fear remains that the disease may appear again.

I asked him if he regrets missing the second two years of high school and all the traditional high school activities. It also delayed and impacted his college entrance. He said he did regret it to a degree, but what he's learned about himself and life more than makes up for it. There's a maturity in him that he credits the struggle of fighting his disease. The limp is what he missed, the blessing is what he gained. No one wants to go through that again, but having done so, there is gratitude for the lessons learned and the blessings received.

As a parish family we've observed some milestones recently. The death of our long time member Hubert Pierson who as a six year old sang in the St. George's children's choir -- and was such an important part of the leadership and vitality of the church, he died at age 87. He was bed ridden for many months prior to his death and as I visited him, heard stories about his life, the best of which I cannot tell from here. But his life was full of joys and struggles in various issues, some of which were blessings and some left a limp that went well beyond his hip replacements. Shortly during the prayers of the people, we'll have the pleasure of witnessing the renewal of wedding vows for Nina Nicholson and Kirk Petersen. It's their tenth anniversary and a wonderful story of how they found love after struggles in their own lives. Nina often boasts that she can find anything on the internet, including a husband.

The bottom line is that we all wrestle the angel at some point in whatever form that might take. Conscience, fear, frustration, confusion of how to deal with conflict, and we need to make difficult decisions and choices. Between the stories of Jacob and the widow, the wisdom of our scriptures is to pray, wrestle a little bit, but ultimately trust in God and choose authenticity and integrity in making those decisions.

The gamble is the limp, and there generally will be one. But the blessings will outweigh any limp. You may not get your name changed or a country named after you, but you will face your issues and find your blessings. Amen.

©2010 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector

From the Gospel of Matthew we heard these words: Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Today we observe the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis died on October 3, 1226 -- some 784 years ago. He is remembered principally for his gentleness, poverty, and devotion to all of God's creation. There are wonderful stories of him seeking alms for people even poorer than himself, restoring dilapidated churches, preaching to anyone who would listen, and even preaching to birds and animals. His love of animals inspired churches to bless animals on his feast day. It's a tradition we gladly continue, and each year marvel at the good behavior of so diverse a congregation of all creatures great and small. Perhaps they've heard of Francis too and pay homage to his memory as well!

One of the remarkable things about Francis is that he came from a wealthy family and ended up renouncing his place in that family and his inheritance so that he could embrace poverty and the spiritual riches he found in it. It was a big change from a young man who was known to enjoy himself lavishly and party with the all the other young nobles in grand style. Between war, personal illness and contact with the poor and lepers, a change overcame him, a conversion to a different way of life and a reordering of his values and priorities.

He started an order of monks equally devoted to prayer, poverty and good works. There were many other monastic orders in the 13th century, but they had become wealthy and Francis believed corrupted by that wealth. Poverty for him was a way of keeping the focus on God and not protecting their assets.

To say the least, he was controversial for the point of view of his family and the larger church who didn't appreciate his criticism or the popular support he received from common folk who wondered if the wealth had indeed corrupted the church. Though we know the date of his death, the date of his birth is believed to be approximately 1181, making him about 45 year old at the time of his death.

St. Francis let go or the very things that most people spend their lives trying to attain -- materially and in security. In letting go, he put his trust in God fully. I believe he is honored for that courage and faith. Most of us cannot do what he did. But perhaps there is a corner in us that admires the ability to let go, and secretly harbors things that we wish to let go of also. Through our smiles and often seemingly worry free lives, there is something we want to let go of -- fears, anger, suspicions, memories, insecurities; something. We want a spiritual freedom that Francis personifies, but letting go is not easy.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." When Francis ran up against his family and church officials who actually expelled him from the town, he was able to do so firmly in the knowledge that he was loved by God, even if it appeared that no one else did and that was enough for him. He felt so connect to that love that he was able to let go of everything else.

Part of the modern problem of letting go of the spiritual burdens we so often carry is that we're not as sure of the love of God that Francis was. Echoes of the images of a vengeful, angry, and punishing God make us really question that loving God. God may love others, but can God love me? That fundamental question cuts to the heart of so much spiritual angst. The answer is a thousand times yes. If we would just believe it.

I fell compelled to talk about the suicides that made the news this week. There were five young men -- teenagers -- who killed themselves this past week because they were gay and were harassed, bullied or humiliated to a degree that they couldn't handle it and felt their only way out was suicide.

Justin Aaberg, age 15 in Minnesota; Asher Brown, age 13 in Houston Texas; Billy Lucas, aged 15 in Indiana; Seth Walsh, aged 13 in California and Tyler Clementi aged 18 in New Brunswick, NJ, at Rutgers University. These deaths represent only a few of the epidemic of teen age suicide in this country alone. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those aged 15 -- 24 years old behind accident and homicide. The primary reason cited is depression, and that is caused by a variety of circumstances such as divorce, rejection at school, lack of success at school, death of someone close to them, feelings of unworthiness or substance abuse.

The role of a gay identity in this equation is receiving a lot more attention, especially in light of these cases that get such national publicity. Suicides are heart breaking for the survivors and the helplessness of wondering what could have been done to prevent it is matched by the rage of appalling actions that prompted it on the part of bullies, uncaring or insensitive family members or the intolerance of houses of faith, most notably churches.

The simple message of Jesus' love is too often obscured by a horrific message of death and destruction in the guise of Christianity that is judgmental, cruel and simply wrong. I know what it's like to be a gay teenager terrified of discovery and rejection. Watching my every move as young person, what I say, how I say it, in case I might give myself away. Between friends and family, the stakes are very high for people so young and before the internet, there was no one to talk to and so like some of you I carried the burden alone for years and it twisted inside me not knowing how to find an escape.

The internet seems like a mixed blessing in that regard. It allows the youth to know that they are not alone, but also gives a false sense of safety and acceptance that is not universal. For all our progress, young people are still vulnerable to the viciousness of intolerant judgment and possible physical injury.

I often make humor of the fact that I don't like football. I don't like what it stands for or the acceptability of fatality and injury in the name of entertainment. Never the less I played the game in high school all four years and received honorable mention in the state's standings in my senior year. I did not like the game, but it was a place for me to hide because it didn't fit the image of a gay teen.

What made things easier for me was my church. I never felt condemned or judged there. Only love. Now, I didn't want to test it, by telling anyone there I was gay, but at least I didn't hear any anti gay rhetoric from the pulpit. Prayer became my solace and refuge and I took serious the quote we read today from Matthew. "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Jesus did that for me, still does. I needed it then and I often need it still.

We have a responsibility to ourselves and our children and youth to counteract the message of hate and negativity that is so often heard from some segments of the Christian church. We have to assure everyone who will listen that God's love and acceptance is real, even when the culture's may not be. My heart aches for those young people who took their lives because they never really heard that message. I fear the wave of intolerance that seems to be growing in this country threatening freedom all the while promising it. Being gay is part of a wide spectrum of human sexuality that is a gift of God. It is not a sin and youth who are discovering their sexuality need to know that and love and accept themselves as God does.

The healing ministry here is very important. It's always been important to me because I've always felt a need for it in one way or another. It begins with prayer and knowledge of the love of God. It helps to hear that from a pulpit, it helps to hear it from the lips of a fellow parishioner and it helps to read it in the Bible. But once you hear it and accept it, you have to share it. You never know whose life you might save. Their spiritual life, their emotional life, or perhaps even their physical life.

Bullying is wrong and cannot be tolerated at any level, whether it's in the school yard or in the state house or the US Congress. Abuse cannot be tolerated whether in the church, or the home or the school.

Today I focused on the gay issue because of the recent news items. But even here it's only an example of the kinds of burdens that secrets can be. There are so many other burdens that people carry related to other parts of their lives. Addictions, affairs, debt, self esteem -- so many.

We have so much that needs to be healed and it's fear of judgment from others that keeps it inside us. Even fear in a deeper sense that God will condemn. I believe that's why Jesus said, the truth shall set you free. Some of our truths we embrace and share proudly. Others we hide in fear or shame. But the truth ultimately will set us free. But until that happens, the truths that we hold in fear are extremely burdensome. Begin telling your truth in prayer and eventually with another person. Seek healing, find it and offer healing in the love of God.

Francis learned that a long time ago and still teaches us in his word of love and praise to God who created us and loves us and through Jesus said, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Amen.

©2010 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ

A Challenge to Remember the Poor

By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector

The thread that runs through the readings this morning is a call to those who are wealthy, and a challenge to remember the poor. Amos forecasts correctly that the carefree lives of the wealthy in his time would be devastated by the arrival of the Syrians who would drag them away as prisoners and be relocated hundreds of miles away from their homes, with little to no hope of returning or of reclaiming the wealth that once was theirs. Their identification with the poor would take on a very real dimension, as he ominously understates, "the revelry of the loungers shall pass away."

In his first Epistle to Timothy, Paul also addresses the wealthy with a command not to be "haughty" but be generous and "rich in good works." The Gospel is the famous parable of Lazarus and the rich man - a cautionary tale of wealth and responsibility.

Questions emerge in these stories about who is wealthy and who is poor. In a financial sense all of us are wealthy in global statistics. We would probably describe ourselves as "comfortable" rather than wealthy. We can always point to someone else as a standard of wealth, Bill and Melinda Gates being the only exception to that statement. We can drive through parts of cities and see poverty, but the worst levels of the poorest of humanity is not something that most of us have seen. And it's those levels that are the majority in the world.

I've traveled through rural parts of Mexico and seen desperate poverty from the comfort of a bus. A country which I was surprised to learn is ranked in the top third of the wealthiest countries in the world. I also saw deplorable poverty in the townships in South Africa where corrugated steel shacks passed for housing. And as bad as what I saw is, these aren't even the poorest places.

There really is no doubt that we are among the wealthiest people in the world in terms of percentage, more than just comfortable. Lessons like the ones we heard this morning are not unusual in the Bible. The concern for the poor is a constant theme, and Jesus talks more about money than any other single topic, well, perhaps the Kingdom of God edges it out, but not by much.

When I was growing up, there was a common teaching that in polite company one does not discuss money, politics or religion - at least one's own. Those of the person down the street seemed to be fair game. But here we have it all.

There are no simple answers. It's a tough subject and avoiding it doesn't allow us to grow. Wrestling with difficult issues is immensely important and the decisions we make concerning them is crucial and has far reaching impact. And there is more at stake even, than just what we decide to contribute financially to causes and social services.

There are relationships involved. Family relationships are strained if not ruptured occasionally when those with less look to those with more for assistance. Does one help out once? Occasionally? Whenever asked? What is the responsibility of one for the other? Entitlement, envy, resentment, so many conflicts can arise even within families. Similar among neighbors, or segments of society, nations and people's.

Our political parties battle over these issues whether it's taxes to be raised or lowered, social services to be continued or not, health insurance, it's a huge web of conflicting interests, understanding of the issues and solutions.

We don't live on level playing fields. The relative wealth of our families has put us in good stead. We have access that others don't, unless they are very lucky indeed. Education is often cited as a key to advancement. Certainly it is, but no one can claim that equal educational opportunities are available to all children. Many do get left behind.

Our problems are systemic and will not go away any time soon. Even Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you..." I believe the spiritual illness that creeps in the cracks here is that we too often label the poor as lazy or unmotivated, conniving and out to beat the system. Accusations of "fraud" are hurled with great regularity at welfare recipients for example, temporarily forgetting the larger frauds committed by wealthier people. It is a process of dehumanizing the poor in our thinking and in our arguments and defenses as a way of solving the conflict we may feel inside, especially when reading such scriptures. We do this in war and all levels of major conflict. It's easier to attack the human value of those with whom we disagree or are called into challenging relationships. When that happens, we are trapped by spiritual illness.

It's not so much that one is rich and one is poor in the scriptures, it's that one overlooks the humanity of the other that causes the problems. If you're like me when you ride the subway and a panhandler comes by, I'll avoid eye contact. Eye contact is almost a guarantee that some kind of conversation is about to happen, and it's not always a good one. Eye contact establishes relationship and it's much, much stickier. We avoid eye contact, we avoid looking, we avoid acknowledging because we haven't figured out what we should do. There is fear at the heart of that avoidance and a sense of guilt that we're not doing enough. We then have to wrestle with the question, "what is enough, then?"

We're Christians and we look to Jesus for guidance. He helped those he met along the way. He looked them in the eye, held their hands, washed their wounds sometimes and always told them about God's love. He was not afraid to engage their humanity. When we engage the humanity of another, we become more fully human ourselves.

When I went to the townships in South Africa my heart ached at the expanse of suffering. I can't do anything to fix that. And yet I can do something. Im still in communication with some people I met there and financially help some go to school. I care about people I had not known before in a different way. And it's not just giving money. It's having seen their eyes, shaken their hands, embraced and remembered the bond of kinship that we all share in Christ. It's even about Facebooking (horrible as that is) and seeing how they are. It's a lot different than riding by in a bus. There was no human interaction there.

In these lessons this morning I don't see a guilt trip for the rich, or the finger pointing of judgment. I see the warning not to lose sight of the fact that all people are our brothers and sisters and at the very least deserve a look in the eyes and an acknowledgment that they are loved by God. What we do with the internal conflict that may get generated is for us to figure out. But it cannot be from callous disregard or capricious judgment, but honest spiritual wrestling. Our Christian faith doesn't provide easy answers, but somehow is good at posing challenging questions. Our faith gets shaped in that uncomfortable place, as it happens.

The closing hymn this morning is written by Frank Mason North somewhere around 1903. He was a Methodist minister and asked to write a hymn for the Methodist Hymnal. He lived in New York City and wrote of what he saw. Even though it's more than a hundred years old, the words still ring true: Where cross the crowded ways of life, where sound the cries of race and clan, above the noise of selfish greed, we hear thy voice O Son of Man. The poetry continues and finds it's answer in the love of God. And that's where we'll find our answers. Amen.

©2010 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ

Homecoming Sunday

By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector

Some parables are easier than others to figure out. Last week we had the relatively easy lost sheep and coin. This week we have the not-so-easy Dishonest Steward.

One of the things that makes this parable so unsettling is that Jesus appears to praise the shenanigans of the dishonest steward and encourage us to do likewise. Even the logic of the stewards trickery eludes me. Surely the rich man who goes over the confiscated ledgers will know that he was owed one amount from each of the borrowers and that the amount had been lowered. It then occurred to me that it might be similar to the offer that credit card companies give. If a person is significantly behind in their payments, they can settle for a lesser amount if they pay it in full. In this way it would appear that the credit company makes something back rather than losing it all. Perhaps the dishonest steward made a similar judgment in lowering the amounts.

Also, notice that he never refutes the allegations of mismanagement in the first place. I must say that was refreshing, for someone who didn't do the job well to admit it. We live in a culture of denial and deflection. I'll credit the dishonest steward with at least a little bit of honesty in that regard!

The best sense I can make of this parable is how Jesus uses human behavior to make a point. The Gospels always present Jesus as a shrewd judge of character, one who see through smoke screens and can make a spiritual lesson out of anything. This might just be the case. When he needed to, the unjust Steward became creative and efficient. If he had demonstrated these qualities earlier, there would have been no problem. Now that's human nature.

How many parents have told their children that if they put the same effort into their homework as they do trying to get out of it, they would have been finished? How many times has my procrastination come back to haunt me and when I finally have to do the task I realize I could already have done it. You may have similar stories of your own. Avoidance is a terrible waste of time and gets in the way of accomplishing good things. But we do it. And then like the unjust steward, when the chips are down, get to work.

While avoidance and procrastination is part of the parable, the deals that get made in order to provide a safe landing are another. All the others sign onto the dishonest stewards' plan, making them in effect just as dishonest as he was. Accessories to the crime, as it were. Again, creative and efficient. The praise of the rich man for the whole scheme is a real puzzle as well.

In a spiritual way, I think and I hope, that the point Jesus made was to acknowledge the creativity and drive rather than praise the goals of those who behaved so dishonestly. There have been many examples of unjust stewards in the news these past few years - people who have brilliantly circumvented the law and totally disregarded any moral compass to achieve goals of acquiring money, power or prestige. Despite the horrendous damage done, there is an objective case that can be made for the ingenuity involved. If those same people had applied their ingenuity to legal ways of bettering the lives of the people they purported to be serving, what an amazing world we would live in.

If everyone in positions of power and authority were honest for just one year, the world would be transformed. But it is not so. Perhaps this is what Jesus was lamenting as well by musing that the children of light should be as crafty as the dishonest if we are to move ahead.

In the context of our lessons, there is a sense of the responsibility of leadership that arises. Amos looks at the corruption of business practices in his day increasing the suffering of the poor. The Epistle encourages people to pray for their leaders to make good decisions that promote peace and justice. In another place in the Gospels Jesus says, to whom much is given, much is required. The benefits that we have, whether through our own ingenuity or luck of the draw or inheritance, can be used simply for our own comfort, or it can be used as an opportunity to serve others.

This is our Homecoming Sunday. As we return our focus to the ministry here we do so in the comfort of beautiful buildings and a reasonably comfortable cash flow. In a day when churches are closing or merging due to lack of income, we are in a strong position despite our challenges and wrestling with the deficit. We could use all these assets for our own comfort and close the doors to any outside need. But we don't do that. We open our doors to other groups and agencies that share a compatible mission with ours. Groups that enhance the lives of children, 12 step and bereavement groups, educational and cultural groups, events that witness to social justice. We have been given much from generations of faithful St. Georgians and we're doing our part by using these resources responsibly, generously and creatively. Needs and resources will continually change with each passing year and good stewardship is a moving target. But Jesus's teachings that if we keep our eye on God's service and justice that the rest will take care of itself.

As a community we work with this and as a community we remind ourselves and witness to others that our common faith calls us to step out in service to others as a way of demonstrating our commitment to God and ourselves.

In the prayer attributed to St. Francis, there is a line that says, "For it is in giving that we receive..." We grow spiritually and deepen in humanity when we use our personal and communal gifts for the good of others and in God's service.

I once had lunch with a new member of a church I served who said it was time for her to get more involved in the life of the parish. I thought "Great, you'll get no argument from me!" Through sighs and thoughtful frowns, she listed the activities she thought she could consider. I was struck by the painful prospect this was becoming. She settled on one and wondered what I thought. I said I think that would be a terrible mistake. She was a bit surprised since that wasn't my part of anticipated script. Rather, I said, "Lets' look at your talents and passions." As we explored those and how they might be used to generate a new program in the church, she lit right up and started to feel energized. God gave us gifts and talents to be used. And in using them we become more alive than if we had not.

St. George's has a long tradition of strong lay leadership, and leadership has responsibility. Among those, it seems to me are authenticity and determination. Any one who expresses a desire to serve, must do so from a love of God that inspires service and then discern the gifts they have and how they can best be utilized in the service of others. It's exciting and challenging and can be scary at times. But it brings us life and abundant life.

On this Homecoming Sunday I hope we all renew our commitment to God and to this wonderful place where we have come to know God better in the fellowship of other seekers. In a world with so many creative dishonest stewards, we need all the creative honest stewards we can find! Be that and more in God's love and service. Amen.

©2010 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ

"By their fruit shall you know them"

By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector

This week the lesson from Amos is a follow up to last week's lesson. Last week in a vision Amos saw God holding a plumb line. God asked Amos what he saw, Amos said a plumb line and the meaning of the vision unfolded.

This week we focus on the next vision Amos saw. In this one, God is holding a basket of summer fruit and asks Amos what he sees, and Amos says a basket of summer fruit. So much for the obvious. After that the symbolism unfolds.
 
A basket of ripe fruit is a beautiful sight. The colors and textures, the promise of sweet, juicy goodness is wonderful. Before the days of preservatives and importing fruit from around the world, seasonal fruit was a fleeting pleasure to be enjoyed... in season.

In happier days the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote, "To everything there is a season and a time for everything under heaven..." In the season of Summer fruit: the promise of luscious, nutritious delight.

What a shame to let it rot. To spoil and go bad, to lose its taste and appearance. The promise unfulfilled. The danger facing any basket of fruit is that if not careful, it can go bad and be of no use to anyone.

In a deeper, spiritual way, the fruit held in the basket by God was the people of Israel. Each one beautiful and perfect in their own way. But this basket of fruit was spoiling and Amos could see it as clearly as the passing fruit in the vision.

What follows the vision in scripture is a list of offenses commonly committed by the people. Venders cheating customers by tampering with the weights by which they measured their money and products. Grumbling over religious holidays in which they could not do business. Placing poor people into indentured servitude when they could not pay their exorbitant bills. Offerings in the temple were supposed to be the finest fruit and strongest animals. What was given was the least and worst that no one wanted anyway.

That is how Amos saw the fruit of Israel spoiling. The consequence was just around the corner, and it hit hard. The horrible predictions of suffering came true in the form of an invading army from Babylon and the destruction of life as the people knew it. From a political science point of view, Israel's location between the two powerful and often warring nations of Assyria and Egypt put them in harm's ways every few generations. Their temperate climate and beautiful landscape made them a desirable place to station occupying armies of one side or the other, depending on who was victorious.

From the religious point of view, God left the people who forsook Him to their own devices. The original covenant between God and Abraham was that if the Israelites, worshiped God as they should, God would protect them. If they didn't, Israel was on its own. Amos favored the religious point of view, as prophets tended to.

In the Gospel lesson, Martha and Mary, sisters to each other and friends of Jesus, have come to represent work and worship. Martha is hard working getting things ready for Jesus and the disciples while Mary listens to his words. Martha complains, and Mary is praised. I have an image of an indignant Martha, untying her apron, rolling it in a ball and throwing it at them and saying "Fine, fix your own dinner!" as she stomps out. Clearly a balance is needed.

There has always been a delicate balance between work and worship, between faith and living in the world. How does faith or your moral and spiritual values inform your work life and decisions. Most people squirm at such questions, even clergy, because like we discussed last week, the answer isn't always as cut and dried as Amos would have us believe. People of good faith and good intent argue passionately about what is the best balance between business and public good. More government, less government; leave businesses alone or regulate them; national versus state authority. The most effective answers usually fall in between the vocal extremes, but the public theater in which politics and legislation lives has a role also.

There is an old expression that says, "Let the buyer beware." Amos would ask, "Why does the buyer need to be aware?" The vendor should be honest and provide service as well as goods. People should be scandalized to think that anyone would try to cheat or misrepresent their business. Honesty should be beyond reproach. This is what it means to be good fruit. Jesus told his followers, "By their fruit shall you know them. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." I'm tempted to ask what kind of fruit you are, but that might change the tenor of the discussion at hand!

We are challenged daily by the temptation to get ahead by any means necessary, even if those means are questionable to outright dishonest or illegal. The moral compass we claim is the body of scriptures we call holy. They are holy because they contain what we hold as the spiritual truths of love and justice radiating from God, incarnate in Jesus, and circulating among us through the Holy Spirit. These truths, housed in churches in sacraments, are our best hope at living in peace and security within the loving embrace of God.

Regarding the covenant between God and Abraham and Abraham's actual and spiritual descendants, I don't think God ever walks away. I think we do, and God lets us. Fortunately God allows us to come back after we discover that our way is generally not the best way.

Israel in Amos' time was weakened through it's own internal deterioration. In the face of stress they buckled as a nation and fell prey to outside forces. Many of their challenges are our challenges today, nationally, globally, and individually. Like Martha, we do need to work. We need to provide a good environment for ourselves, those we love and those that come after us. But like Mary we need to listen very carefully to the words of Jesus to keep us in line and on track. I believe that fear is at the base of greed and injustice -- fear that there will not be enough or that we will not be protected. That fear and the behavior it engenders creates a self fulfilling prophecy. Faith brings a confidence in God's love to take care of us in ways that may not always fulfill what we want, but will see to what we need. Mary chose the better way, and shows us that we can too. Amen.

©2010 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ

Compassion is the Plumb Line

By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector

A plumb line is a weight attached to a length of string that a builder uses to determine if a wall is straight up and down, or whether it's leaning dangerously to one side or the other with the possibility of falling. There are instruments in construction today that use lasers for the same purpose, especially on high rise buildings.

One of the jobs I held during my college years was for a construction company as an assistant to a field engineer. It was our job to make sure all the lines were straight, those that went sideways and those that went up and down. You can imagine the dilemma that would arise if foundations were set for walls that didn't quite match up. Window frames, doors, in fact all the facets of building are based on precise measurements, regardless of how big or small the job. We were given the wiggle room of 1/8 of an inch, whether the distance was 30 feet or 300, it could only vary by that much. Anything else would have to be torn up and reset, or seriously redesigned.

But any builder has to use whatever equipment is available to do the job. Apparently when God was talking to Amos, there were no lasers. So a plumb line had to suffice. The metaphor was one of several Amos writes about in which he receives the message that the nation of Israel is in real trouble. To bring the metaphor a little further, if the plumb line is used in time, it can detect the problem and save the wall before it falls over.

Jesus uses a different kind of plumb line in his story of the Good Samaritan. He takes the measure of a person by the kindness he or she shows. It's a familiar story, but some of the details are interesting to reflect on.When the Priest and the Levite saw the man beaten and bleeding, perhaps already dead, they crossed the street. I had always assumed it was because of apathy and not wanting to get involved. That's certainly a possibility and gives plenty of grist for the mill. However, I've come to see it rather as the scrupulous following of the law. The codes of purity are quite clear in the books of the law. If the priest or Levite -- or anyone else for that matter, touches a body in such condition, they become unclean. They break a law. They were actually obliged to cross over and not touch the man.

The Samaritan allowed the law of compassion to override the legal code and is the hero of the story. He is the neighbor to the man, and follows the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.

While it's interesting to talk about the role of apathy as a possibility in this story, I like the clash of laws better. It's murkier and both sides can claim to be right. The fact that Jesus weighs in on the side of Samaritan shows his cards, but Jesus was always getting in trouble with the established authorities for turning laws on their head. Healing on the Sabbath, eating meals with sinners -- the very things we praise him for these days were sources of trouble that ultimately got him crucified.

Jesus offered a different lens for his followers to see through. Compassion trumps legalism. The implications for that teaching in our day are far reaching, and disturbing. The conduct of our nation and every nation is based on laws. They are strictly codified, and the equality of their enforcement is debatable, but most reasonable people are agreed that laws are imperative for a society to exist. There are sticky issues we deal with currently with immigration, gay marriage, gun control, accountability for financial or ecological disasters that stretch the laws and seem to go beyond comfortable territory. As God holds the plumb line which I shall call "compassion" based on the Gospel lesson, some will call the wall straight while others won't. It will be argued about until the wall falls over and then it's too late. That's sort of what happened in Israel with the unfortunate demise of King Jereboam and his advisor Amaziah, and the conquering of the nation of Israel. If the wall is seen to be the righteousness of the nation, Amaziah, in effect, kept saying the wall was straight, and Amos said it most certainly was not. And it did fall very hard.

In all the debates about current issues, I hear voices of anger, fear, bigotry, greed, apathy, and denial. I hear very few about compassion and asking the question, "Who is my neighbor?"

Like the priest and the Levite in the Gospel story, it's easy not to challenge what's legal or "always been done this way." It's hard to seek the good of others over the false security of doing business as usual. Whether on the global level or in our everyday lives, it's murky to look at issues that pit compassion over what we've always believed to be right. But if we're going to build the kingdom of God we've got to make sure the building is strong, on a good foundation and won't topple over. Jesus is the foundation and the compassion evidenced in the parable of the Good Samaritan is the plumb line.

Amen.

©2010 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ