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Every once in a while, the listed readings for Sunday seem as though they’ve been written just last week!   There’s so much substance in each of these readings that the preacher is overwhelmed by an embarassment of riches.   Whatever the preacher in your congregation lifts up for you, be sure to hear ALL the readings:  they’re loaded!

We begin with the young Jeremiah (2:4-13), evidently no longer cowed with his youth:  “Thus says the Lord: what wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?”   The prevailing culture is the poster-child of those who have chased “worthless” things: winning at all cost (A-Rod, Joe Paterno); finance (Bernie Madoff & Enron); military strength (Petraeus & Lockheed Martin); and your own household gods….   No surprise, then, that life is cheap and that a “few” gassed/mutilated civilians are considered “collateral”!   How worthless have we become?     “For my people have committed two evils:  (1) they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, AND (2) dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.”   Lord, have mercy….

What then shall we do?   The reading of the Epistle to the Hebrews becomes a list of how to graciously live as a counter-cultural community (13:1-8, 15-16).   One of my favorite verses says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”   Marie’s Grandma Neal lived this, even with raising 6 boys without running water, indoor plumbing or other modern necessities.   If a “knight of the road” stopped to beg a meal, she would always see the divinity in him, and treat him well.   Empathize with the imprisoned and tortured, honor marriage, see the value of what you have….   “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

Luke’s Gospel speaks of table-manners — not of using your napkin instead of your sleeve, but Who to Invite, and Where to Sit. (14:7-14)   Worthy as we are to sit at the head of the table, there just may be someone else more distinguished than we!   It’s better to “sit low” and be elevated by the Host than to claim the best and then have to relinquish it.  Also, our own guest-lists should recognize the worth of the poor, crippled, lame & blind.  Having them in for a bite becomes a REAL blessing!

The Good News is that we ourselves have been created with great worth, despite our efforts to wrap the gold with tinfoil.   May these readings remind you of the amazing value God has put on YOU — and all these other mortals with whom you intersect.

God Bless Us, Every One           H    B    King

Our 17th-Century Puritan ancestors had some wonderful names:  “Dogood”; “Prudence” (and her sister “Patience”); and my hands-down favorite, “Fearnot”.   I’m not sure that I’ve ever actually met someone named Fearnot–yet that’s just as sensible as “Moondog”, or “Zeppellin”.   Parents often choose a name to convey a good wish for their child’s life.  How wonderful to be blessed with a family wish of having no fear!

Jeremiah felt too green to be a prophet.   After all, he’d seen pictures of prophets:  old graybeards, bald & stooped, leaning heavily on a staff, perhaps with halos….   “You certainly can’t mean ME, Lord:  I’m only a KID!  What do I know?” (1:4-10)   “But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, I am only a boy; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,’ says the Lord.” 

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews remembers how fearsome Mt.Sinai’s volcanic rumblings could be!   She points out that the Hill of God is no longer seen as a place of horror, but a dwelling of God,  angels, saints, and (especially) Jesus. (12:18-24)  In Christ, believers are called to move beyond fear to a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, a firm foundation for life… “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken, Zion, City of our God.”

The Gospel, Luke 13:10-13, can be seen as an analogy:  a woman was so crippled that she could no longer look anywhere but down.  We meet her every day in those whose baggage is so heavy that they can see only one step at a time.   When she met Jesus, she was able to straighten up and take in a broader horizon.   Here again is the Good News of Fear Not!  

How many times in our scripture does God or holy messengers appear with the greeting, “Don’t be afraid!”?    To Abram under the oaks of Mamre, to a virgin named Mary, to shepherds abiding in the fields, to storm-shaken disciples….   There will be people in pews near us–and in the hospital corridors and the frozen-food aisles–who’re bent double by the stuff they carry.   Will I point to Jesus and say, “Fear Not”?

God Bless Us, Every One         H   B   King

Okay, so I’m still afraid of my parents.    Or people who act like them.  Having a person in authority (worse, a friend!) express disappointment in me is devastating, sometimes  paralyzing me into inactivity to avoid the risk.  The worst possible insult to my ego is to have someone guilt me.    What do we read in this Sunday’s scriptures?

Isaiah sings the Song of the Vineyard (5:1-7) as a dramatic reprimand of Israel by Yahweh.   “I gave it my best, did all the right things,” claims the Vinedresser, “but had a harvest of wild & sour grapes!”   He “expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!”   If that’s how you thank me, I’ll just abandon the whole thing…..

Psalm 80 is a remorseful plea for God to “turn again” to care yet again for the vine brought long ago from Egypt.  From the root of Jesse springs Immanuel, the Vine.

Don’t you cringe when a Parent-figure recites all the things you should be grateful for?  The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews was probably NOT trying to shame her readers, but was reminding them of a mighty holy-history for those who endured. (11:29-12:20)  These heroes of old serve to bear out the steadfast love of God, and to indicate that God’s not done yet!

Oh, what to do with the Gospel, Luke 12:49-56!?   Jesus is lighting a fire on the earth, bringing division to people even in the same household!   He’s not talking about Us & Them, he’s talking about Us & Us!  “We have met the enemy, and he is us”, says Pogo.  Don’t you see what’s happening in the “Present Time”, you hypocrites??   Not a lot of Grace here…’cept for the greater context of preparation for the Kingdom.   Hard verses.

I guess that being part of the Kingdom of God involves getting chewed out, from time to time, since none of us can achieve God’s great expectations without Christ’s intervention.   Maybe I’ll be a better person for having my feet held to the fire.  At least, that’s what my parents said.

God Bless Us, Every One                           H   B    King