Living When You Know You Will Die; Matthew 16:24-17:8

 

Rev. George Miller

Feb 19, 2023

Matthew 16:24-17:8

 

Today we reach a pivotal moment in the life and ministry of Jesus.

 

After being baptized, tempted, assembling his disciples, walking along the shore of Galilee, feeding, healing, teaching in parables,

 

Jesus announces that he will go to Jerusalem where he will be crucified by the authorities.

 

It is a deeply sad moment- a man facing his own mortality, who knows that he will die.

 

That baby boy born in Bethlehem, filled with so many hopes and promises, will soon become another victim of the world’s unjust, unkind ways.

 

The style in which Jesus faces his mortality is so strong, so jarring that Peter refuses to believe it.

 

How many here have had to face their own mortality and can relate?

 

How many here have lost a parent, a child, a best friend and can relate?

 

No one wants to hear about death, or talk about suffering, no one wants to admit that their time on God’s green earth will eventually be over.

 

Yet, that’s what Jesus does; that’s what the disciples have to now contend with.

 

Just as it seems like the party has started, Jesus has declared that it is about to end, and that it will end in the most humiliating and painful of ways.

 

It is almost too much to take.

 

Back when Jesus was in the wilderness, the devil tried to trick him into taking the easy way out- worship me and the world is yours.

 

But Jesus said “no”, and now every step Jesus takes from this point on will bring him one footprint closer to his death.

 

God came to us in human form, and part of being human is that all humans die. Jesus is no exception.

 

But with the knowledge of one’s death and the acceptance of one’s mortality, there can be great freedom and a melancholy beauty.

 

In knowing and accepting that one is eventually going to die, comes the wisdom that in the meantime, one can still live.

 

In living, one can intentionally enjoy and admire the things that God has given us and the beauty of humanity at its best.

 

Though each step will bring Jesus closer to death, each step will also take him to a mountaintop with his closest companions.

 

Though each step Jesus takes will bring him closer to death, each step gives him another chance-

 

-A chance to cure a father’s son

-to teach about forgiveness

-a chance to bless the children

 

-a chance to say that riches don’t matter as much as what we do with our lives

 

-a chance to give blind men sight

-to share more parables about lost sheep and wedding banquets

 

-a chance to challenge corruption

-a chance to share more meals

 

-The chance to be anointed by a woman with an alabaster jar and assure her that what she did mattered and she will never be forgotten.

 

Yes, Jesus, born in a manger, is going to die, but before that, Jesus is going to live!

 

That’s part of today’s beauty- we are coming together with our Canadian siblings to share their Heritage Day.

 

The theme of this year’s Heritage Day is “Recovery and Community Healing- Stronger Together.”

 

A day that says “Get out of your bubble, get out of your head, and step into God’s Creation.”

 

Canada’s Heritage Day is a time in which people are encouraged to go to the parks, visit the museums, tour and appreciate the local architecture, share a meal with family and friends outside.

 

Is that not what Jesus and his heaven-based ministry embodied:  Visiting, touring, eating, by the sea, and up on mountaintops?

 

When Jesus shared that he was going to die, he could have pushed everyone away.  He could have gone into total, complete isolation.

 

He could have looked back over his life and thought “What a waste.”

 

But instead, Jesus looks forward.  He steps forward; he lives forward.

 

In nature, public spaces, people’s homes, at the dining room table.

 

Though he will soon die, Jesus lived, lived, lived!

 

It doesn’t mean that Jesus was not scared.  It didn’t mean the public humiliation didn’t hurt or the nails didn’t tear his flesh apart.

 

It meant that while Jesus could have went into denial, run away, when Jesus could’ve said “Nope!”

 

He said “Let us take this walk together.  Do not be afraid but get on your feet and let us get back to living.”

 

Jesus speaks to us from 2,000 years ago- “Don’t allow the fear of your own mortality to freeze you.”

 

“Don’t let the thought of what could happen stop you from all that can happen in God’s Kingdom.”

 

Jesus is saying to all of us here:

 

“We are all going to die, but in the meantime let us live, let us love, let us journey together, and let us carry the responsibility of doing what is right for the sake of the Lord.”

 

When we do that, we will find that there are still many mountains to climb and rivers to cross.

 

Amen.

What If Jesus Told You God was a Black Lesbian Living in Florida?; Matthew 13:24-33

 

Rev. George Miller

Feb 12, 2023

Matthew 13:24-33

 

Today we get to go somewhere over the rainbow and fall deep down the rabbit hole.  We are entering into the magical, mystical world of the parables.

 

Parables are stories Jesus told to get people to think on their own.

 

Parables are big, big onions that have so many layers that no matter how many times you peel it back, there is still more to find.

 

Parables are like those infamous Florida weeds we find in your yard that if you pull it up, you get this long, long root that is intertwined with every other living thing.

 

Which is to say that parables are not easy, parables are not neat.

 

And guess what- Jesus choose parables as his main way of teaching people about God, the ways of heaven, and being a servant of the kingdom.

 

Because Jesus knew his community and knew how they lived, he used images folks could relate to- fields and crops, weeds and birds, baking and barns.

 

But just because he used everyday images doesn’t mean he was teaching simple things.  In fact, the very opposite. 

 

Jesus was so smart, so subversive, so sly, that often we miss the universal complexity he is planting.  Case in point verse 33.

 

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

 

First, a correction.  In the original Greek, the word is not “took” but “hid.”  The woman hid yeast within the flour.

 

So now there is an air of mystery.  Why would she hide the yeast?

 

Is Jesus saying the kingdom of Heaven can involve stealth and secrecy?

 

And why would she hide yeast?  Isn’t yeast needed to make bread?

 

Depends what country you’re from and the cuisine you eat.  These are Jewish people who often ate unleavened bread.

 

Not to mention, in ancient times, yeast was often used to represent corruption, it was seen as something like a virus or rust.

 

Back then, yeast represented something that can insidiously take over; akin to the saying “One bad apple can spoil the bunch.”

 

So the woman secretly hides some kind of quick growing element into the flour.

 

And the flour!  Who can guess how much three measures of flour is?  50 pounds.

 

How much bread can 50 pounds of flour make?  Enough to feed about 100 people.

 

So the kingdom of heaven is like a woman who slides in some expansive element into enough flour to feed a lot of people.

 

But why would you need to feed 100 people?   Perhaps it’s a celebration?  A wedding? 

 

Perhaps hard-working servants or people in the community who are starving?

 

We don’t know, we can imagine.

 

So, can you now sense the rabbit hole Jesus has us falling down, can you smell the onion being peeled back, the garden weed’s root stretching across the yard?

 

The kingdom of heaven is like a woman who hides an expansive element into enough flour to feed an abundance of people.

 

But one last thing- Who is this woman?  Is she a house slave? A local baker?  A business owner? 

 

Is she a minister?  Deacon?  Church moderator? 

 

Is the woman God? Think about it. 

 

If the parables of Jesus are meant to be subversive than think of what Jesus is doing right in front of us-

 

During a time when women were seen as lower class citizens with no political voice, Jesus offers

 

an image of God that is not a He or a Him or King or a patriarch, but

 

a She, a Her, a Housewife, a Baker, a Party Planner, a Chef Curating a Celebration.

 

The image of God as a She who secretly does things so the outcome is more life and abundance.  Makes sense!

 

Remember Judith- she who slyly seduced the enemy so she could save her people?

 

Tamar- who pretended to be something she’s not so she could have the child that was due her.

 

Rahab- she who hid the Hebrew slaves and lied to military to keep her entire family safe.

 

Queen Esther who allowed her beauty to be a way in which she could speak sense to the King and save a nation?

 

Mary, who kept all the things that were said to her about her son to herself and treasured them?

 

Scripturally thinking, God as a woman makes sense; after who, who creates life?

 

Culturally speaking, God as subversive makes sense because how often do woman have to be sly, wise and go undetected to do what is right for their family?

 

Finally, to show what a funky onion this parable is, another thought-

 

Back then women were lower class citizens.  What if Jesus told this same parable in 1803 France and the person was a Haitian?

 

What if Jesus told this story in 1845 and the person was Irish?

 

What if Jesus told this story in 1864 Atlanta and she was a Yankee?

 

What if Jesus told this story in 1950 west side New York and the person was a Puerto Rican?

 

What if Jesus told this story in 2016 and the person was an illegal immigrant from Mexico?

 

What if Jesus told this story today in Florida and Jesus was a black person of the LGBTQ community?

 

Could you imagine the uproar?  Could you imagine the push back?

 

Imagine the names he would be called and what the schoolboard would say.

 

In conclusion, the parables are complex, seemingly simply, but deeply layered and controversial.

 

Meant to make us think, to make us wonder, meant to make us ask “Who is God?”  “What is God’s nature?”

 

“What does the Kingdom of Heaven look like here on Earth?”

 

“How do we play a role?” And finally, “How is God giving us the chance to be blessed and to bless others around us?”

 

For that we can say “Amen.”

Somalia; Matthew 7:1-14

 

Rev. George Miller

Feb 5, 2023

Matthew 7:1-14

 

Last week you heard my confession about prayer.  Today, another confession- often, I believe that I and I alone am inspired by the Holy Spirit.

 

It's narcissistic for sure.  My brain operates in such a way that inspiration comes immediately, unplanned, fully formed.

 

To say “The Holy Spirit inspired me,” feels special.  BUT when someone else says it- it sounds crazy, like “Yeah, sure.”

 

Sometimes people will share an idea that makes all my synapses charge and I’m like what “THAT’S the Holy Spirit.”  Other times I’m like “No.”

 

A few weeks ago at the Shepherd Pantry, Clay came to me with a little piece of paper, so polite, so gentle.  He suggested that I or the church may be interested in it.

 

The paper said UNICEF appeals- Somalia. 

 

My 1^st thought was “Somalia?  Haven’t heard about them since the 1990s!”

 

What I said to Clay was “Thanks, but we already have organizations and countries we’re looking into.”

 

My thinking was that there’s only so much a congregation can care and do anything about, otherwise everything falls apart.

 

But a commitment was made to Clay- let me think about what can be done and how this can be shared.

 

Pulled up UNICEF’s page on Somalia.  Hit with the devastating headline- “Humanitarian Action For Children.” 

 

Conflict and disaster has affected children with issues of water, sanitation, nutrition, education.

 

Needs from drought, COVID 19, ongoing conflict, displacement and other infectious diseases.

 

People in need= 7.7 million.

Children in need= 5.1 million.

Girls/women in need= 4.4 million.

Funding in need= $272.3 million.

 

I stopped reading right there.

NOPE!

It seemed too large.

Too insurmountable.

Too unrealistic to make a difference.

 

Now, Defeat the Deficit- that is a finite amount we can do.

 

Haiti- that’s an island where we can personally affect the lives of 50 children at a time.

 

The irrigation system is something that hospitality knocked out with well-made meals.

 

But to play a role in a country none of us are connected to?  To think we can make a dent in $272.3 million? 

 

To think we could make any difference in the lives of 5.1 million children we’ll never meet?

 

NOPE.  Nada. No way.  It felt too hard, too much, too heavy.

 

And dang if Jesus from 2 thousand years ago reached out through space and time to say these words-

 

“Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?” …

 

“Do to others as you would have them do to you…For the gate is narrow, and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

 

There is no doubt that Clay in his humble gentleness, in that scrap of paper he entrusted me with, was inspired by the Holy Spirit.

 

There is no doubt that what Clay did two weeks ago was remind me that I am not the only one the Holy Spirit speaks to.

 

And amid us trying to keep Emmanuel financially afloat, The Shepherd Pantry guests fed, folks in Haiti and Biloxi cared for,

 

Clay had the spiritual, compassionate, Christ like audacity to say “There are children in Somalia saying ‘Help help help.’  Is there something we can do?”

 

The only answer I can give right now is “I honestly don’t know.”

 

Honestly, what can we do?  Should we do?  How do we do it?  Why? 

 

Clay- you have put Emmanuel and me in a place in which the gate is narrow, and the road is hard.

 

Yet that’s what Jesus taught.  That’s what Jesus himself did when willingly took the journey to the Cross and became Christ Crucified.

 

Emmanuel UCC has a history of being a church in which the gate has been narrow and the road is hard.

 

Just our very existence on January 11, 1990 to be a progressive presence in rural Florida.

 

Our choice to call Rev. Barbara Laucks, when all the other pastors in the community were men.

 

Calling me in 2010 even though we immediately lost 19 members.

 

Talk about narrow gate and hard road.

 

Yet you did it.

 

The full year it took to open the Shepherd’s Pantry.  You did it.

 

Faithfully dealing with having a possible sexual predator in our sanctuary- we did it.

 

Being the only church to do anything for Pulse, Parkland, George Floyd, PRIDE- we did it.

 

Partnering with Mount Zion AME, Ride Area SDA, Bible Fellowship, UNITY and Union- we did it.

 

Having the compassionate wisdom to become Open and Affirming to the LGBTQ Community.

 

Building a community garden that anyone of any ability, physical or developmental can use- we did it.

 

Going to Biloxi during a pandemic and a hurricane- we did it.

 

And we are still here.  And there is no doubt that it has led to life.

 

So Clay, I don’t know what we can do about Somali. 

 

No inkling what the Holy Spirit has planned or what it will look like or who would even oversee it.

 

But you have been guided by the Holy Spirit to bring their 7.7 million people to our attention, and we cannot act deaf or blind or ignorant about it.

 

So the question is, what do we do?

 

The question is not what Jesus would want us to do.  Because Jesus already told us.

 

“Is there anyone…who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?...Do to others as you would have them do to you…”

 

“…For the gate is narrow, and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

 

Clay has placed a road before us.  How do we walk this path?  Let us be curious and joyfully waiting to see how the Holy Spirit will inspire us.                            Amen and amen.