Origin Stories and Superpowers

 Sermon 8-30-2020

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen.

Every superhero has origin story. Some of my favorite superheroes and heroines were born with their special powers, like Wonder Woman, Black Panther, and Luke Skywalker. Others - such as Captain Marvel, Spider Man, and Harry Potter - got them in all kinds of unexpected ways. And still others were simply chosen to save the world, like the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

You might be surprised to hear that we are part of a very special league of super heroes, right here in real life. Part of my origin story is growing up in a group of other baptized super hero people, being nurtured and encouraged in my faith by my family and other caring adults, and working at a Bible Camp in Wisconsin. 

Your origin story is probably different. But we were all chosen in the same way: We all had our forehead splashed with water three times, surrounded by others who pledged to help us on our journey. Then we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, and marked with the cross of Christ forever. It is a cross that we all carry with us, present every moment of our lives. That is OUR shared origin story.

As we wrap up our 90 Day Bible Challenge today – congratulation! – I hope that you noticed some of the really cool “origin stories” of our favorite Bible Heroes and heroines. The devotion of Ruth. The perseverance of Esther. The dreams of Joseph. The strange call stories of the prophets. The conversion of Paul. And today… we heard how Moses got going with his mission to free his people, directly from God, via a shrub that was on fire!

You could also say, in our reading from the Gospel of Matthew, that the origin story of the Christian church began here. Jesus is with his disciples in Caesarea Philippi, a Roman town full temples to every deity under the sun. It is here that Jesus asks the hundred-thousand-dollar question – Who do YOU say that I am? The disciples take a stab at it, but only Peter got it right – “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God.” Good job. Peter!

Though we heard those words a week ago in our time… only days, hours, or even minutes elapsed before Peter … then puts his foot in his mouth. Peter, thinking he’s on a roll, says: “God forbid it, Lord!” “That’s not how it’s going to be when YOU are in charge! Suffering and death? You’ve got to be kidding!”

News flash Peter: Jesus wasn’t kidding. Jesus is NOT here to set up his own kingdom made in the image of the world, with power, glory, and might. But…. Peter is also not alone in his hasty judgement about the kind of Kingdom that Jesus is bringing. We often have trouble understanding God’s kingdom when we encounter it, too

We are surrounded by messages of the Kingdom of Might – M-I-G-H.T…where power comes from influence and affluence. Those who have it, flaunt it. Those who don’t have it, want it. And the easiest way to get it is to hang out with the powerful people – and hope you get some of it by association. This is, by the way, what Peter is trying to do with Jesus, and is also why he freaks out when Jesus reveals this is NOT the kind of kingdom he’s ushering into being. After all, who WANTS to be in the inner circle of THAT kind of King? Who wants suffering as part of their origin story?

These messages have become the water we swim in - so totally ingrained in how we live that we don’t notice. It is even built into the very fabric of this country. We are taught our origin story as a nation is one of a scrappy band of settlers who valiantly wrestled their rights and freedoms out of the clutches of the most powerful empire in the world. But is that the whole story?  

We don’t have a time machine… but we do have a show from 2004 called Colonial House (found on Amazon Prime and YouTube), an entertaining blend of historical documentary and just good, juicy reality TV. Two dozen people committed to living in the back country of coastal Maine for four months, in an approximation of how a settlement would have operated in 1628. That’s right – no electricity, running water, or privacy.

Instead of the pure and simple utopia that many of the contestants expected, these “settlers” quickly came face to face with the harsh realities that shaped our early days as a nation, besides the daily struggle to survive.

From the very start, religious intolerance, strict social classes and power struggles, homophobia, the never-ending focus on productivity and output, land-theft from native people, rigid gender roles, and racial tension were very uncomfortably present in our national identity. The realization that the “Origin Story” of our country is not simple or spotless was an eye-opening moment for many on this show – and those of us who watched to the show, too.

Some of us are waking up to threads of a story we didn’t know had been woven into our fabric since the beginning, while others have been awake this whole time, seeing our past play out again, and again, and again, the cycle of violence against the bodies of our black and brown siblings, which turn into rage, blame, and more violence, most lately in my home state of Wisconsin, which is so much part of my own origin story.

In the middle of all the memes and rhetoric, I wonder if in this moment, Jesus is saying to us: If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take 7 bullets in the back, and follow me. For those who want to save their life will find it looted, and those who loot their own lives, for my sake, will find life.

The source of Jesus’ power - the power of God – is found in vulnerability. It is strength found in weakness. It is might found in non-violence. It is gaining the whole world by throwing our entire lives away. It is following in the footsteps of Jesus, who was called to die for our sake, so that we may die to ourselves for the sake of others.

This is Jesus’s superpower: Resurrection. And it becomes our superpower too: The broken being made whole. Hate turning into love. Death transformed to new life.  Jesus transforming the cross as an instrument of death into a symbol of hope, the symbol that all of us baptized superheroes carry on our foreheads. Invisible, like a secret superhero identity, but still always present.

Only our secret superhero identities are supposed to be public. We are meant to follow Jesus, to carry our crosses, in a way that others can see. Sometimes, like Moses, we are called to work for the liberation of an entire oppressed people. Sometimes, like Moses, we put our bodies on the line and into harm’s way. Sometimes, like Moses, we are sent to speak truth to power.

Moses’s origin story may have involved a supernatural shrub on fire. But his origin story is similar to our own – God calls us by name. And even in the face of all the questions we have, God reveals to us God’s own name – a God who is Faithful, a god who Liberates, the God who Is and Was and ever will be with us.

In our baptisms, we have died to our old selves, and we rise up as part of a new family in Christ. And so, as God’s superheroes, we are sent into the world as a chip off the old boulder…to follow Jesus’ lead. As the affirmation of baptism (or confirmation) liturgy goes, we are called “to follow the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.” In the face of these big tasks, we as a church respond, “We do and we will, and we ask God to help us.”

In the words of Black Panther: "It is time to show the outside world who we are."

Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

 

"Like the Bold Women: Do the Next Right Thing"

Sermon 8-23-20

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen.

One of the curious side effects of being under lockdown this spring is having a little extra time to try new things….. in my case, I downloaded TikTok. I was surprised and pleased to find a substantial subset of TikTok dedicated to … retelling stories in the Old Testament in 90 second snippets. Just grab a bathrobe and put a towel over your head, and boom – you too can be a TikTok star while playing Abraham, Sarah, Moses, David, and others! Who knew so many of the Gen Z generation was so biblical literate and creative!

(This TikTok by fellow ELCA pastor is probably the best one for today!)

We can’t help ourselves – no matter what the new technology came along, be it written word, the codex, the printing press, radio, television, the internet, email, youtube, facebook, TikTok…. We retell these ancient stories in these new mediums, because if we don’t know our stories, then we don’t know who we are.

If you, like me, are making your way through the 90 Day Bible Challenge, you notice that most of the Old Testament – yes, even most of the New Testament too – is a remix or retelling of a few important moments in the history of God’s people. Arguably, the most important one is the Exodus – the liberation of God’s people from slavery to freedom. Moses – later the hero and liberator of God’s people – when he first shows up here, he is nothing more than a tiny, helpless baby in need of the actions of some strong, bold, defiant women.

This story almost begins like our familiar and favorite fairy tales –Once Upon a Time, in the faraway Kingdom of Egypt, King Evil McBad-Guy came to power. He oppressed and enslaved God’s favored people in an almost Cinderella-like way. They were forced into slavery, making bricks and building monuments to honor the power of the evil king, for hundreds of year, with no end in sight. Who will come to save them? A super human super hero? As it turns out, it was the women who got salvation and liberation started.

These brave and bold women didn’t leave to go on an epic quest, fight a dragon, or win a great battle against a powerful army. These women did small things – small acts of great defiance. And by these small acts, they began the work of interrupting great power run amok and toppling an oppressive regime in order to pave the way of the salvation and liberation of their people.

The work of deliverance began… with two women who delivered babies. Shiphrah and Puah may not be considered with in “the same league” as other “Disney Princess / Bible Heroines” like Sarah, Rebekah, Mary, but I think they should be. The same goes for Moses’ mom. And Moses’s sister. And for Pharaoh’s daughter, even though only some of these women are given names in the story.

Individually, their act might not have added up to much, at a moment in history that must have felt like there was no way forward. But, in the face of these difficult times, Shiphrah and Puah let the baby boys live, and used Pharaoh’s already racist believe against him to get away with it. They refused to do the dirty work of this evil king.

Next, a woman got married, had a baby boy, and hid him. Not a huge deal, right – what’s one kid saved out of the rest of the boy children of her fellow moms? And when she couldn’t hide him any longer, this fierce mamma didn’t give up fighting to give her son his best chance, even when everything seemed hopeless.

When Pharaoh’s daughter – an actual princess - found the basket floating in the river, her heart had compassion for this one tiny baby born of slaves, and used what little power she had at her disposal to save this one slave child.

In a brilliant twist, the baby’s sister saw her chance, and spoke up at just the right moment. She had been watching everything, and she was ready. And so, her mother was given back her son for a brief time, assured that he would survive and thrive. Together, each woman took her part to do the next thing necessary. Through all these tiny actions, these women midwifed the birth of the deliverance of God’s people.

We know the end of THIS story – Moses grows up, leads God’s people out of slavery, parts the Red Sea, delivers the 10 Commandments, and ushers the people into the Promised Land after 40 years in the wilderness. 

But, we don’t know the end of our own stories, and we know that life is not a fairy tale, especially now, when we are facing some dark times, and anticipating things to get harder before they get better. But sometimes we forget that there are plenty of moments in fairy tales themselves when the way forward seems impossible.

Early during the first Coronavirus lockdown, Disney Plus released the movie Frozen 2 to be available for streaming earlier than anticipated. So we watched it one night, and some parts definitely exceeded our expectations. In a particularly dark and frightening moment, Princess Anna of Arendelle literally finds herself at rock bottom – laying on the floor of a cave, having just experienced  heartbreaking loss. “I've seen dark before, But not like this,” she sings as she slowly picks herself up off the ground, puts her bag over her shoulder, and makes her way out of the cave, continuing to sing: “This grief has a gravity, it pulls me down. But a tiny voice whispers in my mind: "You are lost, hope is gone, but you must go on. And do the next right thing"

Remember, this is “just a children’s movie,” populated with magical characters including a talking snowman and a fire gecko. But it’s also more than that. I would hope that our children – and their parents - who watch this movie might realize that life can be tough even for a Disney Princess… but this Disney princess can also show us the way through – that to be strong is accepting and working through our grief. We too can take the next step and the next breath even though we don’t yet know where it is leading us, and to take a stand where it is necessary, even when you feel powerless. To do the Next Right thing. And then do the NEXT right thing. And the next.

Sometimes we will get it Really Right – as Simon Peter did – for once! - When Jesus asked the twelve disciples “Who do you say the Son of Man is?” Simon Peter even gets a new name – Peter, Petros, literally meaning Rock. He got the answer right this time, even though he often – along with the other male disciples – tend to bumble around pretty cluelessly. Which is more like how I feel most days, especially right now.

We are in good company as we figure this out. We are not alone in trying to live in the tough stuff. We have Shiphrah and Puah to be our models, we have Moses’ mom and sister, we have Pharaoh’s daughter.

If you have been reading along as we wrap up our 90 Day Bible Challenge, I hope that you have found LOTS of people to be models on our way along the journey – Abraham and Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael, Rebekah, Tamar, Abigail, Rahab, Elijah, Peter, Paul, Mary Magdalene, and many, many more. No one was perfect. But they all did their part, in taking the next step, in doing their part in the “next right thing,” in continuing God’s Great Story.

We aren’t perfect either, and we can’t guarantee every step we take will be perfect. But we take our cue especially from these bold women, and take our place next to them as fellow midwives, witnessing the contractions of our liberation in the process of being born, as we speak. We do what we can, as we wait to take the next step, to write the next chapter, to do the Next Right Thing for our neighbors…. In continuing God’s Great Story.

Thanks be to God, amen.

Judged and Labeled by God

 

Sermon 8-16-20 

Grace and peace to you from God our creator and from our risen Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Though Ryan won’t remember much of anything that happened on her baptism day, I still sort of feel like I still ought to apologize for Jesus here. I’m just afraid that he might not be making a good first impression. This is considered one of Jesus’ many “hard sayings.” It goes right along with Jesus’ teaching on plucking out our right eye if causes us to sin… saying he wants us to hate our parents for the sake of the Gospel… saying he came “not bringing peace but a sword,” … saying “the camel going through the eye of a needle” will have a better chance of being saved than a rich person. Yup, these are all Jesus’ words.

And here, we have a couple of whoppers like the blind leading the blind, what comes from the heart is what ruins a person, and finally, Jesus seeming to ignore this woman clearly in need, and then calling her a dog. Yikes, Jesus. Not a good look.

So much ink has been spilled over the centuries to explain, soften, or justify what Jesus says and does to this woman, and I don’t think any of them are completely satisfying. Maybe we need to look for a crumb, or rather, a trail of crumbs, that just might lead us to a destination that makes sense to us.

Every woman in every time and place who has spoken up and spoken out has always been judged harshly - and this Canaanite woman is no exception. She was, after all, judged and labeled as an outsider in nearly every possible way – Canaanite, poor, single mother of an ill child, who was a girl, and she was loud and demanding.  

While this woman was labeled and judged by the world, she judged rightly the correct label for Jesus.  She called him Lord and Son of David while the religious leaders of Jesus’ own people despised and rejected him. She knelt before him and engaged in spirited dialogue with him, while his own disciples seem to almost constantly wander about with their mouths hanging open in surprise.

She knew what Jesus was capable of, and was not afraid to fight to get it, for her daughter’s sake. Even if it meant facing a tired and judg-y savior. She knew that in the end, he would not and could not go against his nature. She knew he would do the right thing – that he would “throw her a bone,” so to speak. And she was right. And I think that’s why he called her faith great.

I wonder if Jesus ever thought about this woman and her great faith again. I especially wonder if he thought about her on that dark Passover night, as he prepared to face his passion and death.

I wonder if Jesus remembered her words about the crumbs and the dogs as he blessed the bread and broke it, and watched the crumbs from the broken pieces fall from the table.

I wonder if Jesus remembered and missed her persistent faith and intelligent repartee as he looked at the confused and surprised faces of his disciples, who would soon abandon, deny, and betray him, sitting at the table with him instead.

During his ministry on earth, Jesus began the work of breaking down boundaries and destroying the labels we give one another. In his death, Jesus is our Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And in his resurrection, we all are reborn and relabeled as children of God. We, as gentiles and foreigners in God’s original promises, are not left to be satisfied with the crumbs from the table. We have been adopted as children in the waters of baptism, and given a place at the table forever.

And God is continually adding extenders to the family table. And just when we think that the table is full and can’t possibly be stretched out any farther without completely collapsing, God keeps pushing.

Sometimes we are pushing outward WITH God, participating in the mission we share as baptized children of God, bearing God’s creative and redeeming word of love to ALL the world. Other times, we find ourselves pushing the other way, telling God that the table has gone far enough and surely there is no room at the table for THOSE people we label as “unworthy.”

Hanging above the dining room table at my grandma’s house is a poem copied out in fancy calligraphy letters by my uncle when he was a kid. It’s hung there as long as I can remember, and to this day it’s still my grandma’s favorite poem. It goes like this:

I dreamt death came the other night and Heaven’s gate swung wide.

An angel with a halo bright ushered me inside.

And there! To my astonishment stood folks I’d judged and labeled

As “quite unfit”, “of little worth”, and “spiritually disabled”.

Indignant words rose to my lips but never were set free,

For every face showed stunned surprise --Not one expected me!

Imagine, if you will, your own arrival at the so-called Pearly Gates, waiting in line to get checked in by one of the saints. You take a glance around and are astonished at the diversity of people with you in line. You strike up a conversation with some people around you, and when they ask you what congregation you belonged to back on earth, you proudly respond “Family of God Lutheran Church in Buckingham PA”!

What do you expect their reaction to be? Will their face light up, having heard about how we prioritized the community, and went above and beyond for the people around us in need, sharing our assets to benefit and to help one another, even in a pandemic?

 Or will they remember a congregation that paid more attention to our weeds… but didn’t seek to weed out racism? Will they remember a church that is literally on the doorstep of New Hope… and yet, are reluctant to consider becoming Reconciling in Christ? … Will then remember a church that would privilege “rent” and budget bottom lines over existing relationships with community groups who use our building?

What if, on that day, someone from AA or from the Classical Conversations group showed stunned surprised that members of our congregation somehow made “it into heaven”?

The good news is, Jesus DOES expects you at the table. And he also expects all “those people” we judge and label as “quite unfit and of little worth” to be there too. Jesus really, really meant it when he gave his disciples his marching orders at the very end of Matthew’s gospel: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

And that’s exactly what we are going to do today. Ryan Elizabeth will be labeled as a child of God, welcomed with open arms into this community of faith, where No Label has barred her from being gathered into the body of Christ – not gender identity or sexual orientation or nationality or economic status or anything else that threatens to divide us. This is an exciting day, and we of course are eager to welcome her as a new member of this congregation. But… are we the type of congregation that she will take pride in being a part of as she grows up? Or will she feel like she will have to apologize for the actions and inactions of this congregation in the face of a world that is in desperate need for a crumb of hope right now? Will she have to remind her congregation of their identity - just as this Canaanite woman reminded Jesus of his? 

Ryan will be marked by the same sign of the cross that we all have – labeled as loved and belonging to God, and called to share signs of that love with the whole world. In the economy of God, there is always enough to go around. Let’s make sure that THIS – the body of Christ -  is the label that we will be remembered for. Together, as Christ’s body here on earth, even though we are dispersed, let’s show the world more than a crumb. Let’s show them Jesus. Amen.

Storms and Shark Fins

 Sermon 8-9-2020

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Did you know that something really exciting is happening today? It’s Shark Week! Thought it’s not quite as exciting as having 4 baptisms all in one day, as we are having in just an hour from now. For the uninitiated, Shark Week an entire week on the Discovery Channel dedicated to the beauty, power, and general awesomeness of all sharks - mini sharks, super-fast sharks, deep sea sharks, sharks with whip tails, great whites, even sharks that glow in the dark. We are in awe of them, and rightly so, because they possess a power that we can’t tame, control, or even fully understand. Unfortunately though, we have a tendency to fear what we cannot tame - a tendency that Stephen Spielberg banked on in his classic summer blockbuster, Jaws!

You all know the plot – Big White Shark terrorizing Beach Resort Town. The sheriff fights to keep people safe… AND with the local mayor, who puts the economy above the lives of his people.

The first time we see the shark up close, huge teeth and all, the sheriff is tossing fish bits from the back of a boat piloted by a crusty sea captain…. He turns around, and finds himself face to tooth with the jaws of… well, Jaws. Here is where we get one of the most remembered lines in movie history - the sheriff realizing that “we’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Now, the Sea of Galilee is no Atlantic Ocean, but there is definitely something that makes us nervous about what we can’t see below. And to make matters worse, danger lies both below and above the surface – in how large bodies of water react to the weather ABOVE the water. Wild wind, driving rain, huge waves, and low visibility caused by storms are even more dangerous when all that protects you is a tiny fishing boat.

We definitely don’t need a lot of imagination to place ourselves in the boat with the disciples,  after what happened this past week with the Tropical Storm EEs-EYE-EE-Ahs (“meess a clean this”).  And to add terror on top of utter terror, out of the storm, the disciples see – not a shark fin, but something almost as scary - a man! Walking on water!

Jesus walking toward them through the wind and the waves might as well been a shark fin, based on their reaction. It’s easy to judge their slowness and disbelief, since these men had just seen Jesus feed twenty thousand people with just a little bread and a few fish. Jesus had already showed himself to be master of storms by calming one seven chapters before this in the Gospel of Matthew. It is natural to believe that, had we been in their place, we might have been quicker on the uptake to realize that this was Jesus, a shark, or a ghost, or insert any scary monster here.  

But despite our active imaginations, we were not actually there, drenched in water and battered by the wind, literally being tormented by the crashing waves in a small fishing boat, probably wondering by now why in the world Jesus isn’t there to calm the storm, like that other time. By the time Jesus DOES show up in this storm, it’s nearly morning, and these poor guys were most likely in the brink of complete exhaustion from the enormous physical and mental energy it takes to NOT sink.

However, though we weren’t there, in living on the east coast, most of us do have a story or two about living through a big storm that came through these parts. Hurricane Irene, Superstorm Sandy, Tropical Storm EEEs-EYE-EE-As, not to mention the mid-winter Nor’easters and the feet of snow they bring.

But there are others storms that don’t need moisture, wind, and the ocean to form. These are the storms that damage the heart: The hurricane-force winds of hopelessness that knock you down. Every day coming like another wave, of grief pounding and pounding your fragile little boat, making you wonder if the next wave will be the one to cause you to sink? And all the while, the constant rain of stress, or disappointments, or depression beating down on you, mingling with your own tears, blinding you from being able to see what’s ahead.

Maybe your “storm” is called Hurricane Covid. Or Superstorm Grief. Or Tropical Storm Depression, or Anxiety. The storms might not show to the world any external damage. But we can feel the devastation all the same. And we too are exhausted from the enormous physical and mental energy it takes NOT to sink.

Being following Jesus did not stop the storm for Peter and the rest that day. The winds still came and the wave still crashed, and the land and the dawn seemed so far away. Obeying a command from Jesus’s own lisps did not prevent Peter from going under. Peter took a leap of faith, but he still began to sink into the waves.

The people we love still get Covid….hospital roofs get ripped off, putting small children in danger… power goes out for days at a time… we lose our jobs and health benefits… we lose touch with someone because of an addiction or a toxic relationship… perhaps we are in the middle of fraught family systems (like Joseph was) with siblings or family members who are preventing us from flourishing as human beings.

We feel so unprepared for what life throws at us, once we experience the violence of the storm… or the teeth and jaws of the sharks that seem to be chasing our little vessel… It certainly makes us want to go in search of a bigger boat. But there is no boat big enough to protect us and those we love from what we fear. But we have something better than a boat. 

The mighty winds and waves of the storm DID not and COULD not prevent Jesus from coming to the aid of his followers in that little bitty boat, because no storm can stop Jesus.

When the disciples were so frightened that they thought Jesus was a ghost, Jesus said, “take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”  When the raging storms of OUR lives are so frightening to us that we see specters instead of a helping hand, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.”

If you have been reading along in our 90 Day Bible Challenge you may notice that God tells us to “Fear not” and don’t be afraid” an awful lot. God isn’t telling us that we shouldn’t be scared of what’s happening around us. I think God is trying to tell us that we should not fear that God is not going to show up in the midst of it. Courage and bravery isn’t the absence of fear – it’s looking the storm in the face, staring down those big scary jaws, and not letting them stop us from doing the right thing.

When we listen to the wind, and reason out how inadequate we are, how much we are failures and nobodies and unlovable, how our boat is nowhere near up to the task… Jesus reaches out his hand and catches US, just as Jesus caught Peter.

The good news is that we don’t have to abandon the boat in order to be brave. Sometimes it’s enough to carve out a few minutes to hear a word from God. Sometimes, it’s knowing the difference between our own storms and someone else who is trying to give us theirs. Sometimes even navigating our daily lives in this new world can feel as difficult as walking on water.

But one thing remains the same. Jesus is not going to let us sink, no matter what storms try to get in the way. No “bigger boat” is necessary. The winds will subside, the rain will dry up, and the waves will calm, and there will be Jesus. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Everyone Counts.

8-2-2020

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our lord and Savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen.

On a Monday in January of 2012, the day after I was ordained as a pastor, I started my first day of something we used to call “Baby Pastor School,” right down the road in Malvern. Most of that week is a blur, but I remember participating in the “new” practice of “Dinner church,” pioneered by pastor, church planter, and writer, Emily Scott. Ever since, I’ve wanted to try leading one.  Obviously due to the circumstances, we couldn’t have our own “Dinner Church” on Maundy Thursday of 2020, so for the time being, will have to settle for reading about it in Pastor Emily’s recently published book, entitled, “For All Who Hunger.”

Pastor Emily didn’t grab the “Dinner Church” concept out of thin air. The Bible is full of stories about God feeding hungry people (you may have noticed if you are reading along with our 90 Day Bible Challenge!) God gave the people of Israel bread from heaven as they journeyed through the wilderness. We just heard of how Jesus fed more than 5,000 people with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish fillets. And also on the first Maundy Thursday, Jesus shared a special meal with his closest friends.

Today we actually have a two very different meals mentioned. The first, which happened “off stage” if you will, is the birthday party of Herod. At this wild party where wealth, food, and wine flowed, Herod, rather than blowing out candles and making a wish himself, promised to grant any wish to his stepdaughter. He had just put her on display to be leered at by himself and others while she danced for him. And now, the girl’s mother, Herod’s wife, used her daughter to get what Herod’s wife really wanted: head of John the Baptist on a platter.  

When he heard the news, Jesus grieved and tried to regroup - since surely once John was gone, Jesus would be Herod’s next target. But the crowds would not let Jesus lay low for long. And instead of sending the crowds away, Jesus had compassion on them, healed their sick, and fed them.

At this surprise feast of Jesus, which some have named “the feeding of the five thousand,” EVERYONE is fully satisfied. In fact, this name “Feeding of the 5000” is a misnomer, since women and children weren’t counted in that “5000” number. Unofficial Biblical scholarship estimates that there could have been up to 20,000 people present, and to “forget” or “leave out” the women and children really diminishes the miracle, doesn’t it?

These two feasts could not be more different. In Herod’s birthday banquet, where John the Baptist was killed, the guest list was limited to a very exclusive and elite group of powerful people. In this select assembly were the regions’ rich and powerful, and they feasted on the best food and had the “best” entertainment – including gawking at a young girl. In the end this party led only to evil – child exploitation, power plays, and the silencing of a prophetic voice.

Jesus’s party leads to life – all are fed and all are healed – men, women, and the children there too. Jesus has no guest list. Jesus doesn’t ask them for their credentials, he didn’t call their references, and he didn’t demand they prove their need. Instead, he heals and feeds twenty thousand people.

Even though the menu is just two items, at Jesus’ party, there is always enough for everyone. Like the woman in Jesus’ parable from last week, taking just a little yeast and mixing it into dough to make it rise, Jesus only needs a little bit in order to do great things.  Five loaves of bread and two fish to feed twenty thousand. Just a small seed is needed for faith to grow. Just a few sproutlets planted among the weeds. Just twelve rough-necks who would later do miracles in Jesus name. Just some women at the right place at the right time, to bear witness to an empty tomb.

But the story doesn’t stop there. After Jesus takes the bread and the fish, he asked the disciples to hand out this sustaining meal, to do his work. We are the ones sent out. It may be God’s work that we do, but it is our hands that make it happen. This, after all, is the ELCA Tagline – “God’s work, our hands.”

But just like the women and children being left out in the original 5000 count… it is the women who model what discipleship actually means, at the empty tomb and beyond. All too often, we, like the male disciples, look around us and wonder how can Jesus care about all THOSE people, too? I mean, I want MY bit of bread and fish… but send THEM away, Jesus. Surely there could never be enough of Jesus for everyone. Better keep some Jesus back, just in case. Surely, there are some people who shouldn’t make it into the count.

It sounds ridiculous… but it sort of what we just keep doing isn’t it?

In her book, Pastor Emily Scott describes going to church with her parents, then going out to lunch afterward (remember those days?). On their way, they would pass kids on the street who were not so lucky as to expect a hot meal on the horizon. Scott writes, “At church, we had just celebrated a meal where everyone … was welcome…. Wouldn’t Jesus have invited them in for lunch?... We claimed that communion would feed the hungry…. What would happen if we actually did what we said we were doing?” (31). And so out of this hunger, her congregation and their practice of Dinner Church was born – sharing both communion AND a community-cooked meal, with EVERYONE who walks through the door being welcomed. REALLY welcomed. Welcomed, counted, and honored.

Even though right now, we are not equipped to celebrate communion together safely, we can still live our lives in a way that reflects our participation in the body of Christ. Just as Jesus gives life to people in something as simple as a full stomach, we are called to do the same. Especially right now. There is enough to go around if some of us can learn to stop hoarding the baskets. And stop hoarding Jesus.

There is a place for everyone at God’s table. Everyone counts in God's kingdom. Unfortunately, though, not everyone has a seat at the table, or counts where it matters, when it comes to adequate food and resources to live a full and healthy life. Millions of people around the world and here in our own country face hunger and poverty every day, and it’s only gotten worse in this pandemic.

But just as those little bits of food added up to 12 baskets of leftovers, our small actions can have a big impact. You can encourage our representatives to protect programs that help the most vulnerable among us.

The feast that Jesus provides for us – rather than the feast of the Herods of the world – is about sharing what we have been given by our generous God, no matter how insignificant the offering seems. Jesus shared his life with the likes of us, giving us his life so that we may live too. We count. And then Jesus hands the work over - to us - to keep on healing and feeding in his name, until all of God’s people are filled and made whole – spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Especially for those who the world discounts.

As Kathleen Bertrand so beautifully sang at the funeral for Congressman John Lewis – “If I can help somebody, as I pass along, then my living shall not be in vain.” “God’s work, our hands.” Thanks be to God. Amen.