The Dating Game

 

The Dating Game

 

Hosea 1:2-10

Hosea's marriage 

 

1:2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and have children of prostitution, for the land commits great prostitution by forsaking the LORD."

 

1:3 So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

 

1:4 And the LORD said to him, "Name him Jezreel, for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

 

1:5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel."

 

1:6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the LORD said to him, "Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them.

 

1:7 But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen."

 

1:8 When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.

 

1:9 Then the LORD said, "Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God."

 

1:10 Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered, and in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God."

 

 

Most of you are too young to remember “The Dating Game,” a TV game show of the 1960s and 70s wherein a female contestant quizzed three eligible male “dates” whom she could not see. After her inquisition, she chose one of them for a date, to be paid by the show. Most of the “dates” were to some expensive, exotic place, and some of the “matches” were obviously setups arranged to give the show some appeal. If it sounds contrived and a bit overblown (as were most of its contestants, bachelors, AND the pre-determined “questions” the contestant would ask from que cards), you might not be surprised to hear that it was dreamt up by none other than Chuck Barris, who would eventually host his final creation, the irreverent and absolutely whacky “The Gong Show.” Of course, without “The Gong Show,” the world would have never discovered Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine…

 

Real dating was nothing like the TV show. In high school, most of my friends were looking for a much more shallow and lascivious weekend date than the well-scrubbed, auditioned “contestants” of “The Dating Game.” The young women of my era were largely looking for a handsome date and to avoid pregnancy, while the guys were wanting to push the envelope of the biological equipment of both sexes, either to just have a “good time,” or to snare an acknowledged “beauty” for bragging rights. I was one of a few odd balls in this game. Call me the Arnold Stang of the dating set. 

 

I actually had great respect for the women of the “opposite sex” to whom I felt attracted—or I should more rightly say, “interested in.” I did not think of potential dates in a lascivious vein. Yes, I started by filtering out the ones I thought had some physical appeal, but found myself more interested in what THEY were interested in. I felt “attracted” to a few girls in my higher academic circle as identified by the school system as “gifted” in some way. I also was aligned more with those whom I met in similar drama and music circles, as well. If I could meet up with her in the library, or shared the treble clef, I was interested. My wide interests in high school, academically and socially, kept me in the mid-regions of the top 20% of the class, but I picked my dating candidates from the top ten (not percent!). I dated quite a bit, partly because I thought it safer, and would keep me from “settling in” to a “steady,” which I knew would be unsustainable, come college. Also, my interest in women was like my academic and artistic interests—quite wide ranging. There were many “flavors” and “colors” of young ladies in our class, and as long as they were smart, I was interested. My best selling points as a date were that I wasn’t just interested in jumping their bones, and that I was genuinely interested in learning more about the girl, so I used my best journalistic practices to quiz them about themselves. I also could make anyone laugh, and that was apparently a desired come-on, as my physical attractiveness did not accompany my brain to the top 20% of the class. I enjoyed dating, had many a wonderful conversation with delightful young peers, and was frankly a bit disappointed, years later, when finding out in my delayed “maturing” process, that a couple of those earlier dates were disappointed that I DIDN’T try jumping their bones. (I have remained happy that I didn’t; held out for a better, smarter woman, and wound up marrying the smartest woman I have ever known. She’s a “looker,” too!) One very personally edifying truth is that most of those early dates fostered an empathetic “pastoral care” heart in me. Because I so enjoyed getting to know my dates through questions (much better ones than the “dating game” scripted ones), I wound up as a kind of defacto “counselor” to many of them. Turns out, a number of the girls I dated back then were dealing with “life stuff” that benefitted from good conversation and “getting it out in the open,” so to speak. I enjoyed playing the Rogerian in the room. I suppose I should have known then that God had something beyond journalism for me. True confessions, though—during my senior year, I struck up my longest-term high school relationship with a new sophomore who came into the band, and her personality was not the first thing I noticed…

 

All this talk about dating comes from the totally bizarre text that is one of this weekend’s lectionary selections from Hosea. As seriously as I took SERIOUS relationships from my early dating days, and as SERIOUSLY as I took selecting the type of person I might like to invest my life with, I freak out every time I read this passage! "Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution…”? Seriously? And supposedly from the lips of the Almighty? This whole idea is just nuts. Frankly, I cannot believe this story as anything but a parable or a crude object lesson. Tell me all you want that it is eventually a tale of how God can take something terrible and “redeem” it into something wonderful, and I will still balk. And while I DO believe God can and does do this all of the time, when it comes to matters of the heart, I do NOT believe God would ask a trusted servant to “marry a prostitute” to make a point. Now that I’m done pontificating about this, it dawns on me that my dating practices were a sort of “subset” of that? Several of the girls I dated were “from the other side of the tracks,” as my mother labeled them, and I dated them to hear their stories and to encourage them, knowing they were dealing with some rough spots in their journeys. Was I being a type of Hosea, here, more concerned with the personal and interpersonal, than with the “reputation” or history of these women? My “safety valve,” though, was my set-in-stone conviction that I was going to do NOTHING to encourage a long-term relationship, knowing that college beckoned, and that I did not want to go off encumbered by a “girl back home.” Hosea was told to MARRY a besmirched woman, and even to start a family with them. Great story, emblematic of a Shakespearean play, possibly, but not sounding like something that might emanate from a “just and benevolent” God. I suppose that a key thing about God we are to learn from this bizarre story is how much God loved God’s people, even willing to ask a loyal prophet to warp his whole life to make a point to them. Sounds really weird until you realize that this same love eventually caused God to send is “only begotten Son” into a hostile, hurting world to rescue it, including a willingness to be horribly murdered in the process! 

 

Can we GET this message strongly enough? God DOES love humanity, and has been willing to sacrifice all kinds of things to prove it, and to keep us in a connected relationship with God. Someone has said that the Son of God will be “forever changed” to prove just how much God loves us. What a profound thought. That’s a lot to go through to be able to proclaim that we are all “Children of the Living God,” but aren’t we blessed and happy because of it? NOW maybe we can see why Jesus so passionately tried to get us to “pay if forward” by loving each other? Here we are, over two-thousand years later, still trying to get THAT right, and most recently, it seems like we are SO backsliding at it. Much, much work is left to do for we Christ-followers. 

 

Like Hosea and his “object lesson” life, I have my own story to share. In offering my high school (and later) dates my ears and heart rather than the more widely utilized male parts, I developed both a love of persons’ stories and a willingness to offer my best counsel and encouragement on their journeys. Meanwhile, not being under some Monty Python-esque “command” of God to MARRY someone whose life was in moral disarray, I held out for the best possible alternative. 48-plus years ago, I married the best possible choice in my quest to “marry up.” She is the most intelligent, spiritually mature person I have ever known, and her high degree of organization and intellectual curiosity has enabled her to put up with my randomness and psychological “ADHD.” On my end, she is still the best thing I can possibly look at on a daily basis, and she still “trips my trigger” when she enters the room. However, the BEST thing about our relationship is that I have never run out of questions about her, and she still remains a mystery to me, just like God. There are many days when I think I know Jesus more than I know her, but hardly a day goes by that she doesn’t demonstrate that she loves me just like Jesus does—willing to forgive, redeem, and reconcile. I know that I’m being arrogant believing that I am blessed to share my life with the greatest woman on earth, but good luck proving me wrong. I SO feel sorry for Hosea in this text…ACCEPT that he seems to find himself blessed in the end, too. I suppose both of our scenarios are basically a GOD thing.

 

During my years in ministry, I have told many a teenage boy that unless God tells you directly something STUPID like God did Hosea, date the women that you respect and who make you curious about themselves. In this day and age, it is easy to date someone who just wants to “hook up,” and even to be seduced to BE that kind of person. But the truly Godly-loving person dates with a deep sense of interest and curiosity about the other life involved in any relationship, knowing full well that the One who created them loves them like a mother/father, and will not look kindly upon a dating partner who doesn’t respect this. The worlds greatest aphrodisiac is meaningful conversation born out of mutual respect for our common humanity. If you want to win “The Dating Game,” take each other’s lives and faith seriously, and don’t trivialize the relationship with an undue emphasis on sensuality. Friends ultimately make better lovers than premature lovers make friendships.

 

Hosea married a prostitute and had kids with her, or so the story goes, as a sign of how seriously God desired to rescue and reconcile Israel, even after they had “prostituted” themselves with other Gods and excessive self-interest. Think modern Israel could use another Hosea? Youbetcha! 

 

For all the rest of us, reinvest in your most intimate relationships, as they can be the best metaphors of how much God loves each of you, if you do it right. It’s the only way to win “The Dating Game.” Shalom, Beloved! Amen.

 

Holding Together

 

Holding Together

 

Colossians 1:15-28

A hymn to Christ 

 

1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,

 

1:16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers--all things have been created through him and for him.

 

1:17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

 

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.

 

1:19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

 

1:20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

 

1:21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

 

1:22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him,

 

1:23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a minister of this gospel.

 

1:24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.

 

1:25 I became its minister according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

 

1:26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints.

 

1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

 

1:28 It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

 

 

Have you ever thought much about what things actually hold disparate people in some form of togetherness or unity, even for a season? 

 

As a Steelers fan from the early 1970s, I can tell you that rooting for a suddenly emerging championship sports teams certainly can! Steelers fans of that era couldn’t possibly have been more diverse—steelworkers, investment bankers, teenagers, housewives, and even the incarcerated were all rooting for the object of “Franco’s Italian Army,” “Gerela’s Gorillas,” and “Dobre Shanka’s” affection, the Pittsburgh Steelers. And Steelers fandom knew no color barriers, either. And speaking of sports, if you are old enough to remember when the Pittsburgh Pirates played championship baseball, you might recall that they, too, had a broad-based following that seem to bring people together.

 

Of course, war has often been a force to congeal people into a unified group, unfortunately. All except for Vietnam, which drove us apart, as a nation. 

 

But what about music? Don’t you find that some forms of it—most especially popular songs—often do the same thing? Dara and I often attend concerts of the Pittsburgh Symphony at Heinz Hall, and see a great variety of persons brought together by a love of a similar style of music, in this case, classical. Who among us anywhere near our vintage didn’t experience “Beatlemania,” and carry out a life of enjoying Beatles music, from the originals, to garage band covers, to tribute bands, and even to “elevator music” renditions of “Hey Jude,” “I Wanna’ Hold Your Hand,” or “Yellow Submarine”? “Deadheads” and “Margaritaville” have come together for decades over love of a singular band or artist, haven’t they? Sometimes it is the love of the tunes—such as classical or jazz—or the words and a song’s meaning, like we experienced with later Beatles songs, that draws us in and holds us together as a “fan block.” We social justice types have almost memorized the lyrics of “Abraham, Martin, and John,” “One Tin Soldier,” or “Give Peace a Chance.” Nature lovers mimic John Denver’s rendition of “Almost Heaven,” or “This Land is Your Land.” Country music often taps into the deeply emotional experiences, ranging from our love lives, to troubles with friends, work, or booze. All of these may attract folk into an empathetic community, if even for an evening or a single concert. Music rarely tears people apart, but it most assuredly can bring them together. 

 

Oh, there are those songs like “Ooo-eee, ooo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla walla bing bang,” or “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” that puzzle me as to their popularity, but I suppose it can be the beat OR the tune? “Wing-a-weppa, wing-a-weppa…” Sometimes we just need a little “silly” in our lives to get through the daily morass. 

 

This weekend’s lectionary passage from Colossians begins with what scholars call a “Christ Hymn,” probably one of the first praise songs of the early Christian church. The author’s original audience would have recognized it immediately, kind of like one of us beginning a letter with:

 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me,

I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.

 

Of course, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, is no ooo-ee, ooo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla-walla bing bang, the latter being a kind of “universal” song many of us have mocked and sung since we were children. The former “Christ Hymn” would have been familiar only to those who had some experience with early church worship. So it is with the contemporary Christian praise songs of our time, and even then, for those of us who prefer the “old hymns” of the faith, and tend to worship in more “traditional” settings, even the modern tunes are a mystery. Our worship at the United Methodist Annual Conference meetings has gone almost exclusively “contemporary,” with praise bands eclipsing choirs and church organs. I admit to knowing few of their songs, which means I am not “held together” with them like those who sing them regularly. Interestingly, the past couple of years at this conference, a gifted praise band leader and composer has been invited, and he has featured praise music he has written. His songs not only are theologically quite sound (unlike some of the ooo-ee, ooo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla-walla bing bang numbers that might have the occasionally recognized Jesus in their over-simplified lyrics, which are repeated 25 times), but quite pleasant to sing. The fact that the assembled body must learn them together DOES draw and hold us together. I find this all quite worshipful, and glad that we are not rejoicing that “the horse and the rider are thrown into the sea.” 

 

The Colossians passage preserves an early church hymn, as we said earlier, and it’s important to note that it plays well into our Wesleyan heritage! The Christ Hymn is substantive in its theology: Christ IS God, and the “visible” image of an invisible Creator God; Christ, as an essential element of the godhead, was not only “present” at the creation, but it was done “in him, through him, and FOR him,” according to the hymn. In Christ, all things “hold together”; Christ is the head of the Body of Christ, the church; Christ is the “firstborn of the dead,” a decidedly Pauline theological construct, endorsing this letter as either FROM Paul, or at least by one of his disciples, fully immersed in Paul’s theology and teachings. In Christ, the fullness of God is represented, and Christ is reconciling “all things” to himself—including US! (Note that this is God’s work, not ours. We are called to be witnesses of “the mystery,” and to “offer them Christ,” but we are not “saving souls” or collecting spiritual pelts like some heaven-appointed trapper going after muskrats.) So it was with the hymns that flowed from the pen of Charles Wesley—they were deeply theological and substantive. AND, such as was the case with the corpus of the Wesleyan hymns, the early church “learned” its theology through its worship experience, including most assuredly, its hymns. The Wesley’s ministered to “the masses,” who were largely uneducated, or at least poorly educated, in what we might call “book learning.” Ergo, to teach them about the Bible, one used preached sermons, and to help them learn the important rudiments of Christian theology and moral teachings, one would teach them songs that, like most music does, would “bore” into their brains as they sang each song. The first song I remember in my whole life went like this: “Jesus loved me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so…” How about you. (Incidentally, the second song I remember was “Itsy-bitsy, Teeny-Weenie, Yellow Polka-dot Bikini,” but the whys and wherefores of that will have to wait for another sermon.) 

 

[A funny story comes to mind about the power of songs and tunes: Being of the generation that tuned in weekly to the TV sitcom called “Cheers,” a “Coach” story pops up. At one point, Coach, an aged bartender who took too many to the bean while playing baseball, is taking a class and must memorize the countries of the world, and their placement. He does so by incorporating their names and those of neighboring nations into a song sung to the tune of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” We all laugh at the folly of this until at least a few of us must admit that we can only recite the alphabet by singing it, right?]

 

The point of all of this is that, of all the things that “bind” us together, even in a nation so terribly divided, our love of music and songs can. I’ve heard passionate conversation about music—or the latest Grammy Awards—between two people whom I know have not a single point of intersection when it comes to religion or politics. And yet, in discussing something like music, they find common ground, even to the point of being able to venture into conversation about less benign things, from time to time. The Wesleys knew this, and two things they used to draw together the vastly diverse society they were creating in the early Methodist movement were Charles’ hymns AND a common emphasis on helping the poor and incarcerated. 

 

So, what does it mean, then, that the author of this Colossians Christ Hymn says that CHRIST is that which holds all things together? I have two thoughts. Years ago, I preached a sermon at the Coraopolis UMC (where this particular sermon will be preached on Sunday, July 20) about what science tells us about the nature of matter. Turns out, we and all matter we think is “solid,” is nothing but a series of energy bundles or “events,” held together by some mysterious force. Is the hand of God that force? Are we, literally, a “construct” in the mind of the Divine Creator? Or are we the “words” to a hymn or song composed by the creator, to think of it in a more exotic or “romantic” way? These things fascinate me, but since they don’t trip the trigger of everyone, lets move on…

 

For the author of this text, Christ is that which holds all things together, however you choose to understand that. At a most practical level, it is our common faith in Jesus Christ that has the power to hold the church together and to give it momentum to move forward in mission and “acts of mercy,” as John Wesley described it. We can argue about how Christ is reconciling the world to god-self, and even about what part we have in this ministry (which Paul tells us in II Corinthians 5 we ARE called to be a part of, by the way), but if we find common ground in Christ himself, we CAN hold things together. This is what grieves me so about the recent disaffiliation in the United Methodist Church. I had hoped we could find some common ground in Christ and in Christ’s effort to reconcile the world to God, but that apparently wasn’t enough for many folk, who chose a few other things they felt they had to “hold in common” to find unity. Unfortunately, for many of us who “stayed,” we were not happy that these elements meant cutting off a whole group of people who we believe to ALSO be children of God. I hope those who disaffiliated find the kind of unity they are looking for, and I pray our “remnant” United Methodist Church finds its way as a fully welcoming, diverse body, especially when the tide of American society seems to be kicking against the reality that we ARE a diverse people.

 

In short (and when am I ever “short”?), I believe that Jesus Christ is the key to us holding together, whether we are talking about the church as Christ’s body, our “being,” if we’re talking about the nature of what we call matter, or even our mental health, which probably always needs a divine “GPS” to keep us on path. 

 

Trusting in Christ as the bonding “song” of our life together is worth our exploration, Dear Ones. Otherwise, I suppose we could just “Ooo-eee, ooo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla-walla bing bang” and hope that something sticks? Amen.

Illegals

 

Illegals

 

Luke 10:25-37

The parable of the merciful Samaritan 

 

10:25 An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

 

10:26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?"

 

10:27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself."

 

10:28 And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."

 

10:29 But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

 

10:30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead.

 

10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

 

10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

 

10:33 But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion.

 

10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

 

10:35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.'

 

10:36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"

 

10:37 He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 

 

“The one who showed him mercy.” Such simple words, aren’t they? And yet, we live in a time when many root for an administration that touts showing NO mercy to immigrants and “illegals” from places “less desirable” than the Good Ol’ USA. Even Shakespeare, who wrote those immortal words, “The quality of mercy is not strained…” knew that mercy was a highly moral and even “divine” thing. Showing mercy was better than any sacrifice, according to Hosea’s telling of God’s feelings about it. The old hymn says that Jesus “could have called ten thousand angels,” but that he instead showed mercy to those who were crucifying him, and through HIS sacrifice, to all humankind. Might our generation be in trouble with the Almighty for how we are treating those looking for a better life—or even just basic safety—here in our country? Might we be judged for not showing mercy in this way? I am at a loss as to why we might take the chance, let alone FEEL this way about “strangers in the land.” Remember, God told Israel to treat the “foreigners” and the sojourners in their land JUST LIKE A CITIZEN, and to welcome them. Are we privileged to “do less,” just because we are uncomfortable with people who don’t look like we do, or who speak a different “native” language than do we? You tell me. I’m writing these sermons for “church people”—Christians—who proclaim to believe the Gospel, and yet, according to the most recent “power polls” we call elections, we have put in charge people who hate these “sojourners” and “foreigners” in our land. It would be bad enough that they would want to send them packing back to where they came from, but no, they want to PUNISH them by sending them to ANOTHER land, foreign to them, and who will incarcerate them, away from family, language, and culture. “Evangelicals”—people who proclaim to follow Jesus—have endorsed this treatment at an 80% level, according to post-election polling. I’m sure Jesus is quite proud of them, and YOU, if you are one of them.

 

I’m not going to say this “isn’t a political sermon,” for in a way, they are ALL political, and they, if true to the gospel, should all “hurt,” to some extent. I know I should personally be doing more to support these immigrants and refugees, but short of sending some money to organizations who are helping them and helping raise awareness of their plight, I’m not losing much sleep over the issue—and I should be. So should you. I know, one of my seminary professors told us we should not “should all over” our people in our preaching, but on this issue, I think we need some “shoulding” or “should-not-ing.” We are a big, prosperous country, with loads of “menial” work for people who are willing to work hard for what is probably unjustly low pay. And yet, the “powers that be” are successfully telling us they are “stealing our jobs” and our resources. This is an outright lie, and it needs to be called out as such. Unfortunately, in order to uphold this lie, the current administration has set goals of deporting 3,000 “illegals” per day, so they can boast of “keeping their promise” of getting rid of the “criminal element” who have crossed our borders—another lie, by the way. The fact is that immigrants and refugees commit crimes at a far lower rate than the “legal citizens” do. But they have you hoodwinked. So to “keep their promise,” they are going after the “low-hanging fruit”—those persons who are doing their best to BE here legally, and to obey our laws, even while they do the work that ordinary Americans don’t want to do. THEY are the ones being rounded up at Home Depots, farmer’s markets, and courthouses, and who are being sent to other third-party nations where NO ONE speaks their language or understands their plight. And families are being separated, possibly to never see each other again. Some gospel these “evangelicals” believe in, huh?

 

This sermon is a rant, just like the rant Jesus goes on when the lawyer dares ask Jesus, “Who is my neighbor.” Jesus was most likely so indignant that if he ever WERE to “call ten thousand angels” to the scene, this might have been it. I can imagine him glaring at the privileged, Jewish lawyer, and then turning to the angels, uttering, “He’s all yours…” But no, even in what must have been an excruciating rage for Jesus, he launched into the parable in today’s text. We’ve come to call it “The Good Samaritan,” and we’ve managed to whitewash it into a kind of fairytale. How “nice” that this man happened by and “had compassion” on the man who had been beaten and robbed, especially when the priest and the lawyer were “too busy” to stop to help. Bull pucky. They didn’t stop because they DIDN’T have compassion, pure and simple. Their religion and privilege got in the way of one of the most basic things God tried to create in humans—empathy. False platitudes about God, on the part of the priest, and “legal liabilities” on the part of the lawyer, kept them from helping the suffering victim, but truth be told, I would say it was a sad lack of empathy on both their parts that drove them away. Now we KNOW why the chicken(s) crossed the road, don’t we?

 

Along came a Samaritan. I’m sure you’ve heard the patter about how the Jews hated Samaritans, and about how deep this hatred ran. I remember hearing a preacher say, just after the horrible terrorist attacks of 9-11, that the Samaritan would be like Bin Laden coming to our rescue, should you have been likewise victimized. On one hand, this was a ridiculous assertion, given that Bin Laden was the ring-leader of the terrorists, but on the other, it may have been true that the victim in this story—who would have been Jewish, according to the form of the parable—might have seen the Samaritan man approaching him as the robber returning to finish the job! In his rage over the lawyer’s ridiculous question, “Who is my neighbor,” which demonstrated a supreme lack of empathy, Jesus tells a story wherein a hated Samaritan was the only one IN the story who HAD empathy, and specifically a degree of empathy that led to a compassionate response. In my opinion, Jesus may have told this parable as much to shame the lawyer for his stupid, arrogant question as to “give a lesson” to the rest of us about empathy and compassion. In a way, Jesus may have been saying, “The hated SAMARITAN would never have asked a dumb question like yours, Mr. Barrister!” But then, Jesus had far more empathy for even the extremely-privileged that I tend to. Sorry. 

 

In the wake of the horrible floods and monumental loss of life in Texas this past week, a story has emerged that searchers and rescue teams had crossed the border from Mexico to help look for victims of the tragedy. Samaritans, were they? Apparently they were welcomed by the hurting Texans, in their time of need and grief. I’m guessing that a number of new relationships were born out of this empathetic and compassionate endeavor by those who came from one of “those” nations. If this were so, IT would be a perfect real-life parable of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about in his book, “Life Together.” Bonhoeffer understood that “living among” or alongside those whom are strangers to you offers the opportunity for the common “spark of divinity” in each of us to fire and germinate relationships. Walls and deportations deny both parties of this chance.

 

I have a friend who engaged me in a debate a few years ago about these “illegals,” as he called them. His appeal was that if persons wanted to immigrate to the United States, they should do so “legally.” My counter was that those who opposed allowing “those people” to come here had made the pathways to legal entry so difficult, and then so understaffed the portals for such entry, that it had become nigh unto impossible to get here “legally,” especially if one was a refuge, seeking asylum from the violent gang culture of some of the Central American nations. I also asked my friend to consider how the laws of Native American tribes and nations applied to our European ancestors who stormed the Americas in THEIR attempt to find a new home? Were we not the “illegals” of that time in history? Of course, we had the power to “negate” any such laws and rights the Native American peoples claimed, and even enough to imprison and murder those who resisted our “neighborliness.” In the Good Samaritan story, WE are the robbers, not the good guys.

 

Friends, there is no way to turn this message around to make it a sweet little lesson about being more “compassionate.” This parable forces us to either swear at it and do what we damn well please, OR repent of the heinous sin we continue to perpetuate against “the least of these,” and turn to Christ for forgiveness. We must also ask for God’s transformational power to “remold and make us” back into the “good neighbors” we must be, if we are to claim allegiance to Jesus Christ and to God. So, how do you respond? If you choose to swear at it and walk away, to continue on your own privileged path, I will pray for you. If you choose to repent, THAT outcome is in the hands of the Living God. I confess that I keep putting myself there, but it is SO EASY to slip back into the privilege I enjoy as a white American, and a MALE, at that. May God save us all from ourselves, and may Christ have mercy on those we victimize, either intentionally or by default. And may we all learn how to no longer strain the quality of our mercy. Amen.

 

Idols

 

Idols 

Isaiah 66:10-14

Jerusalem, a nursing mother 

 

66:10 Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her—

 

66:11 that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast, that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom.

 

66:12 For thus says the LORD: I will extend prosperity to her like a river and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream, and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm and bounced on her knees.

 

66:13 As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

 

66:14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass, and it shall be known that the power of the LORD is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.

 

Jerusalem is an idol. America is an idol. Jesus is an idol. Dogmas and doctrines are idols. Family is an idol. Love is an idol. Even grace may be an idol. Surprised?

 

We’re used to thinking of things like “false gods,” money, power, excessive love of sports, gambling, sexual excesses or aberrant practices, politics as idols, and they certainly can be. If we make our own gods, are we not then erecting idols? This is what Israel of old fought against, isn’t it? However, as I have pointed out before, Ludwig Feuerbach, a 19^th century German anthropologist and philosopher, criticized Christians by suggesting that most of us write OURSELVES on the heavens and call it God. As others have pointed out, isn’t it interesting that “God” seems to like the same people we do and dislike the same people we do? Or that “God” likes worship just the same way we do, and dislikes too strong an emphasis on social justice, just like we do? For WAY too many Christians, “God” also dislikes people who aren’t “straight” about their sexuality, just like we do, and “God” even endorses our dividing an entire denomination right down the middle over this. Feuerbach would point to all of these instances as evidence of his thesis. In his book, “The Essence of Christianity,” the philosopher is not writing an apologetic for what some would call “biblical authority” or “orthodox Christianity.” He is saying we are “godifying” ourselves and our own ideas. We are making ourselves and our values an idol, and then erecting an entire denomination to it.

 

As creative human beings, we can make an idol out of almost anything. Here is the “idols made easy” directions for making your own idol:

 

1.Narrow your focus of interest to some “thing” or idea that is currently grabbing an undue share of your attention.

 

2.Brainstorm various ways to justify why this disproportionate emphasis IS important or essential to what “people” should believe.

 

3.Create a system of belief around it, including rules or doctrines, and promote these evangelically.

 

4.Let it grow to such importance that you come to believe EVERYONE ought to bow to your new “god.”

 

Why is this such a popular pursuit among so many who would call themselves “people of faith”? There are reasons, the first of which is that in creating such an idol, or “god,” we maintain control. After all, we are the “Popes” of the system! A second reason is that in thus being deviated, we lesson our responsibility to Yahweh, the teachings of the Bible (responsibly interpreted, and not just by US), and even Jesus, himself. Rarely do our self-styled “gods” care much about things like civil rights, social justice, or an overly strong interest in the plight of the poor or otherwise marginalized. In fact, if you are a “Joel Osteen” Christian, your self-contrived system of faith might just include the belief that “god” WANTS you well, wealthy, and significantly of control of both. Now THAT sells! And what of the troubles of the nation and the world beginning to boil up all around your comfortable “island”? Well, Jesus is coming back soon, and he’ll take care of those! After all, YOU are a child of “god”—or at least THIS god.

 

I know, I’m sounding pretty dark and judgmental here, but let us not forget the only group of people Jesus really got riled up over, shall we? It was the religious leaders who had begun to turn Judaism into idolism, with themselves as its arbiters. Jesus forgave every sinner that came before him. From the cross of his death, he said about the people who had unjustly sentenced him to capital punishment: “Father, forgive them, for they do not realize what they are doing.” Nope, it was only the religious leaders who angered him and elicited his earthly wrath. If you make your own “god” and system of religion, surprise! YOU are now a religious leader! And you may be judged accordingly.

 

I have seen people—good people—turn wholesome things like family, or even their own offspring, into “gods” and idols, always putting them first, and spending inordinate resources on them, while others—sometimes even in their own family—had myriad needs. I have even seen folk turn JESUS, himself, into an idol by making everything about “worshiping Jesus” or “praising Jesus.” These things are certainly good, as part of a healthy faith, but what of following the TEACHINGS of Jesus in one’s life? Believe me, that is a LOT harder to do, and probably requires a lifetime of trying and practicing to get it “right,” something Methodism’s Mr. Wesley called “going on to perfection.” It’s even harder than singing one of those modern praise songs. (I’m convinced that one of the reasons they repeat the chorus 35 times is so you can eventually get up and down “zips” right, at least enough that your neighbor thinks you can sing.)

 

One of the nice things about idols is that you can keep them in front of you. The real God is kind of pesky that way, as Yahweh can be all around you, just as St. Patrick said in his oft-quoted “Breastplate” prayer. You can hide things from idols, if you even need to—idols actually don’t care about your behavior, as long as they are getting their due. Truthfully, if they are just a contrived thing, do they care at all? As Doctor Evil would say, “How about NO!” Another nice thing about idols is that, when we feel compelled to move on to something else, they can just either be packed away or discarded. This is another nasty thing about the real Yahweh—the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Apostles, and Paul—is always hanging around, keeping an eye on us and the world. And NOT because God is nebby, or even desiring to judge the world, but as the Bible tells us, because God “SO LOVED the world.” If God was more judgment than love, God would have sent Jesus to bring the hammer down, not have one put nails into his hands and feet.

 

I have a confession to make. I have idols. Every day, I erect a couple, just to order my schedule. Then, after a time of reflection and meditation in the presence of Yahweh and the Holy Spirit, I decide to tear them down, doing my best to yield to the will of God. Some might call this “taking three steps forward and 2.75 backward,” but I see it as just growth. Oh, there are days when my idols stay perched, and dictate what I do that day, and then I have to call upon that Christian practice of “confession” to fix the side-tracking (if not outright harm) my idols have caused. As a retired person—and now “newly retired,” after having served a church for a year again—one of my idols is television. You see, in serving busy churches for 36-plus years, I missed a lot of TV shows I thought would be interesting to watch, but which aired on nights I was busy, or were initially only on pay services to which I did not subscribe. Now I have the time to “catch up” on those, and doing so can certainly become an idol, especially when my retirement “curriculum” includes continuing to be a growing Christian servant. About this particular idol, I have found it to be a real seductress. Being an unapologetic “multi-tasker,” I had convinced myself that I could be watching “Law and Order,” “Ted Lasso,” or some other show, AND be doing some writing, or painting, or even reading—you know, the actual stuff that feeds the soul. Nope. I’m just not that good a multi-tasker, I guess. (Of course, maybe it’s my choice of TV shows? Ones that actually require brain activity on the part of the viewer, unlike most of the “sitcoms” or “reality” shows that now populate the airwaves?) 

 

That last comment sure sounds like one of those “GET OFF MY LAWN” things…sorry. I AM getting older…

 

Here’s another righteous idol for you: “perfection,” or “becoming Christlike.” If there’s one thing I have learned in almost 71 years, it is that neither of those is a reasonable goal. (John Wesley didn’t think so either. Prove me wrong.) I will settle for a serious effort at understanding the basic teachings of Jesus—such as the Sermon on the Mount—and trying with all my heart to incorporate these core teachings into my values AND whatever efforts of thought I engage in daily. If I EVER come to anything even CLOSE to fully loving God and my neighbor as myself, I’ll let you know. Of course, if I ever actually do this, THEY will let you know! This is another thing I have learned. Unlike the lyrics of a modern praise song, just repeating verses from the Bible over and over again—even ones Jesus said, like “Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength and your neighbor as yourself”—doesn’t bring them to pass. This requires one of my favorite “seminary” words to make work: “Praxis.” 

 

You can make an idol out of about anything. If it distracts you from loving your neighbor, or allows you to compartmentalize your faith so it is easy to carry, it’s an idol. If it allows you to believe you are “right” about things, it is an idol. The Hebrew Bible shows how “land,” and most particularly the “holy city” of Jerusalem became an idol for Israel. Still is. Jesus said “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” not “Fight for control of her.” The Jews were (are) convinced that if they had control of Jerusalem, everything would be right with the world, and God would be on their side. Christians feel the same thing about “manifest destiny” and nationalism. Don’t believe that? How many Christians do you know who will tell you that if America just: “puts prayer back in schools,” “outlaws abortion,” or “returns to its Christian roots,” it will be “great” again? These are all idols. 

 

Fact is, GOD LOVES US ALL, and sent the only begotten Son into the world because God didn’t want us to “perish,” but have “everlasting” life. This great “mission statement” of Jesus Christ is about including everyone into the “non-perishables,” and that “everlasting” part is less about heaven and more about a just, sustainable, and nurturing society NOW. Prove me wrong. And don’t spend so much time idoling. Amen.

 

Passing It On

 

Passing It On

 

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Elijah ascends into heaven 

 

2:1 Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

 

2:2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

 

2:6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on.

 

2:7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.

 

2:8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and the two of them crossed on dry ground.

 

2:9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit."

 

2:10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing, yet if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not."

 

2:11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.

 

2:12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

 

2:13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

 

2:14 He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, He said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah? Where is he?" He struck the water again, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha crossed over.

 

 

Each year at our United Methodist Annual Conference meeting, we hold an ordination service to commission provisional candidates for ministry, and to ordain Elders and Deacons for service in Christ’s church. As part of this ceremony, a “passing of the mantle” is often included, wherein a retiring Elder, referencing this scripture from II Kings 2, removes a symbolic cape (mantle) from her/his own shoulders and places it on the shoulders of a newly-ordained Elder, who responds with a paraphrase of Elisha’s words, having received Elijah’s mantle. It’s a moving thing, indeed, but over the years, as more second career pastors enter the ministry, the age difference between the retiring pastor and the “newly minted” pastor is diminishing. So it was with this year’s “passing of the mantle.” My younger brother, Jay Sterling, was chosen to pass the mantle to a second-career pastor who, frankly, looked older than my brother. I realize it was just a matter of appearances, and the meaning of the tradition was still quite intact, but as our culture continues to change, these kinds of “unusual” juxtapositions seem to be cropping up more often.

 

What WAS a “mantle,” anyway? Here’s what Google’s “artificial intelligence” summary says:

 

Elijah's mantle was a cloak or garment that symbolized his prophetic authority and power. It was likely made of a hairy material, possibly camel's hair. When Elijah ascended to heaven, the mantle fell from him, and Elisha picked it up, signifying the transfer of this authority to Elisha. The mantle was a tangible symbol of Elijah's role as a prophet and was used by Elisha to perform miracles, such as parting the Jordan River. 

 

Thankfully, the one we use at Annual Conference is just a velvet cape, of some sort, although I must say it is looking rather mangy. (Perhaps we should print in the ordination booklet, “Nothing with MANGE died to provide the mantle used in today’s ceremony.”) AUTHORITY is the key word to this whole thing. As a prophet chosen by God, Elijah was given the authority of a prophet. He was called upon to speak forth future realities coming upon God’s people, due to how they had managed CURRENT realities. Typically, the people wouldn’t like what the prophet had to say, so they persecuted and threatened them, and then acted surprised when what they had “sown” began to grow in their midst. Unlike a traveling evangelist who might bring a good band with him to draw a crowd, God’s actual prophets were never popular for what they had to say. I did not generally seem to be God’s practice to send one to give them a “high five,” or to endorse their behavior, which was usually afoul of God’s law. However, God DID have the welfare of God’s people in mind, particularly their sustainability in a given time and place, and so did God’s prophets, like Elijah. Elijah got kudos from Israel when he took on the “bad guys”—the priests of Baal, the nasty, rival God—and won. Oh boy, did he!  This love/hate relationship with God’s prophets drove them all a bit schizophrenic. One moment, for example, Elijah was boasting over the authority he had over these Baal guys, and the next, he was hiding in a cave, fearing for his life. Honestly, it makes me wonder whether BEING a bit bipolar wasn’t a prerequisite for the prophetic office in the first place? This resulting instability may have been God’s way of keeping God’s prophets both humble and at least a bit dependent on God’s Spirit and guidance.

 

The same could certainly be said for us preachers, so it’s a good thing we do that mantle-passing as part of our ordination! We all know what happens when someone with “authority” gets too high on themselves. There’s one in the White House right now, and he’s making us ALL a bit schizo. We’ve seen those TV evangelists and mega-church pastors fall like a meteorite, usually from the peak of their trajectory. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before a fall,” but it should probably be interpreted to mean EXCESSIVE pride goes before a fall, as a little pride in one’s work and abilities can be a healthy, motivating thing. The problem happens when feeding an overly “hungry” pride becomes the object of one’s pursuits. It reminds me—as things often do—of a sports story, that of the then young Steelers quarterback, Ben Rothlisberger, who was sued by a few women for sexual assault, or harassment. Several friends asked me what I thought about how he could “do” such things as what he was accused of doing, and my answer was something like this: “I don’t know, as I’ve never been tall, handsome, famous, and with $100 million in my pocket. I’d like to think that it wouldn’t go to my head, but I really don’t know.” Any kind of “authority” we earn and/or are given may certainly go to our head, if not buffered and guided by higher ideals, a higher power, or both. That mantle can get PRETTY HEAVY real fast!

 

Elisha wanted the mantle possessed by his “mentor,” Elijah. So those who desire, or even crave, an authority they don’t have, often do. Elisha was bold enough to ask for it. Years ago, after I had been appointed to St. Paul’s as its Lead Pastor, following in the footsteps of my friend and mentor, Rev. Dr. Ron Hoellein, several younger pastors chided me as to how I got such a “big, prestigious church.” (Thankfully, having served as an associate pastor at St. Paul’s years earlier, I knew what I was in for, so not only did this new “authority” go to my head, but it frankly scared the hell out of me. Still does, when I think of it.) ANYWAY, I would challenge these young “pups,” thusly: “If you think serving a big church is a ‘cushy’ thing, just come out and follow me around for a day.” A couple of them did, and later told me how “surprised” they were at the required pace, stamina, and stress management such responsibility entailed. I’m guessing that Elisha might have missed some of those “cave hiding” moments of his mentor, or the threats on his life by disgruntled “hearers” of his prophetic word. 

 

Honestly, every change of appointment we pastors endure is a kind of “passing of the mantle,” aren’t they? We hand the keys to the next pastor, offer some words of support and “pearls of wisdom” gleaned from our experience, and move on. I have done my best to offer nothing but encouragement to my successors, but this is not always what I got on the receiving end for my new appointment. One pastor told me, “Jeff, this will be the hardest church you will ever serve!” Not exactly “Live long and prosper.” Interestingly, that particular church turned out to be my favorite of all the churches I served, at least up until this last one I took for a year while retired. I’d like to think it was due to my attitude, going in the door, but it really was a God thing, I’m sure. I’m not that competent. Years ago, a retired district superintendent told me, “Just love the people.” It’s good counsel, really. I have been quite fortunate in that all of “the people” I was to love in my ministry made it very, very easy. This last stop on the appointment “bicycle” was one of the best.

 

In the II Kings text, Elijah is about to be rewarded by God for his faithful service by “skipping death” as a prerequisite to entrance into heaven. He would ride into the ultimate realm of God in a fiery chariot, while Elisha, who had asked for a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit AND for his mantle of prophetic authority (not asking for much, was he?), watched for the mantle to fall in his direction. A couple of thoughts occur: 1) Elijah must have had faith in Elisha to grant his wish and to “pass the mantle” to him; 2) A “chariot of fire” is a lot different from a chariot that is just on fire. The church has too often confused the latter distinction. The United Methodist disaffiliation is too often viewed by the exiting party as meaning they are “on fire” with the Spirit, while the reality for both parties is turning out to be more like the proverbial dumpster fire. Rather than a mantle being passed—or even shared—I’m afraid time may tell that the Global people my find the grass not really greener on the “other side,” while the remnant United Methodist Church will make a mistake by trying to return to “business as usual.” The scriptural story of the mantle-passing between Elijah and Elisha is an extravagant event, clearly signaling God’s blessing on the anointing being granted Elisha. Not so much, though, in the case of the Methodist disaffiliation. The aforementioned dumpster fire comes to mind, but I guess we shall see.

 

On the more local front, this week, near countless members of the clergy in the United Methodist Church will be changing places. Some will retire, being replaced by other active pastors, while others will just change appointments. Each transition is a kind of mantle-passing. Lots of things get passed on—keys, friendships, responsibilities, visions, problems, and traditions. God calls us, though, to focus on passing on the Gospel message and the command of Jesus Christ to “love one another” as the most potent witness of how God loves the world. Believe me, keys and parsonages are easier to pass! What makes passing the Gospel on, from pastor to pastor, is that we each have differently encultured versions of what it means; what makes it exciting is that we each have differently encultured versions of what it means. When one pastor has done her or his best to elucidate on the teachings of Jesus, and to encourage a given congregation to live them out, the next one is charged with taking up the mantle of doing the same, and the differences should complement each other, in a perfect world. God is always about trying to make a perfect world.

 

I will be passing the mantle on to a new pastor for Faith Community UMC. She is a very smart person with a “fiery chariot” view of community connections and ministry, and she will be good at loving the people. I am excited for her, and for the people called Methodists at Faith Community UMC. Interestingly, we know very little of what happens to Elisha after the incident in this weekend’s text, other than the “teaser” that he is able to part the waters of the Jordan, which is no small feat. It is just a teaser of what is to come when the mantle of authority is passed on, along with God’s Word. We don’t hear of Elijah again until he shows up with Moses and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration—again, no small feat. The former incident is a sign of things to come. The latter event is a glimpse back into a splendid history. 

 

So it is with the mantle passed from pastor to pastor in the ritual we Methodists call “change of appointment.” May the many “dumpster fires” set by the disaffiliation be transformed into a “fiery chariot” that transports the Word of God and God’s love for the people out into our communities and the world, for as John 3:16 says, “For God SO LOVED the world…” Amen.

 

 

Leaving Nursery School

Leaving Nursery School

 

Galatians 3:23-29

Clothed with Christ in baptism 

 

3:23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed.

 

3:24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be reckoned as righteous by faith.

 

3:25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,

 

3:26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.

 

3:27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

 

3:28 There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

 

3:29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

 

 

Growing up is hard to do…there should be a song about it. At almost 71 years of age (!), I still feel like I’m a teenager, at least in my head. There are other parts of me that have taken their own path, but my brain still thinks I’m much, MUCH younger, although the memory recall is on a time delay. That’s not exactly true—some things I recall with immediacy and great clarity—but it’s usually the stupid stuff. You know, like the plotline of a “Get Smart” episode, or the dialogue of the “Summer of George” Seinfeld episode? And who among us of my generation can’t mimic most of the bits from Monty Python’s “The Holy Grail”? But ask me where I put my church keys, or the important letter I just got in the mail TODAY? No luck. Thankfully, I still have a good hold on the scriptures and their wonderful parables and stories, however, my wife says that I tend to mix them up with a little Python or Seinfeld humor, from time to time. Sorry, I tell her, “Missed it by THAT much!”

 

But I digress. Having written a major exegetical paper on one word from today’s text—paidagogos—that’s about all I can think about when I read this. As my sermon title might clue you in, it has something to do with nursery school. Personally, I never went to nursery school, or “preschool,” as it’s known today. I actually never even attended kindergarten, either, but that’s a different story. By the time my youngest brother came along—he’s eight years my junior—nursery schools were busting out all over, even in small towns like Oil City. The Tree of Life Synagogue just down the street had one, so my parents sent my little brother. When asked what he did on his first day, he answered honestly: “Threw crayons at the girls.” As I recall, I don’t think he made it through the whole year of nursery school. Personally, I grieved missing kindergarten, as we moved mid-school-year, and my parents figured it wasn’t worth sending me, knowing I would have to be transplanted later. I heard stories later in elementary school about the fun the kindergartners had had, and that they actually took naps! I tried it a couple of times in Second Grade, and it didn’t go well. I do remember being so tired I fell asleep at my desk in Fifth Grade, but a trip to the school nurse and then my pediatrician discovered that I had some weird form of pneumonia. A couple of weeks in the children’s ward of the Oil City Hospital, and I was good as new.

 

The translation of Galatians 3 I’ve used here translates the Greek word paidagogos as “disciplinarian.” That’s actually a really poor rendering. You want an English word that is much more accurate? How about “nanny.” The paidagogos in Greek society was a man who was given charge over the “character” development of young children of wealthy families. He pretty much raised the kids under his care, but was especially charged with seeing that they were enrolled in the best education money could buy, were protected at all times, escorted from activity to activity, and tucked in at night after all proper hygiene issues had been addressed. This specialized “nanny” figure was also responsible for teaching his charges the various philosophies that would govern their morals and ethics. As you know, the Greeks were philosophical “giants,” and well-to-do children were to be schooled in the thought of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and even the locals who ruminated over such things in the regional acropolis. If it sounds like the paidagogos had to be an intellectual, medical, and “security” jack-of-all-trades, he did. One of the hardest things to do for them was to “set free” the children who had been under their care when they reached a majority age and/or went off to university. There aren’t many historical records detailing if any of these childhood “mentoring” relationships continued into adulthood, even if friendships were formed, but we can guess that some might have? 

 

Probably the reason Paul chooses this “model” for Christian nurture and mentoring is that the responsibilities of the paidagogos were paramount during the childhood phase, but were then immediately cut off when the “child” reached the adult right of passage, be it age or education related. It wasn’t usually a gradual thing. I suppose, to a degree, it could be seen as a Greek, intellectual version of what happened in Judaism when a child experienced the bar mitzvah. Time to move on—you are an adult now, and must be responsible for your own life, and in the case of the Jew, your own FAITH. So it was with the Christian, as well.

 

And Paul is NOT just using this as an illustration of the Christian pathway in life. He seems to be saying that this is a theological truth, as well. Even as all faith experience that came before—including his own Jewish faith—so with the coming of Christ into the world, these earlier expressions of faith—the paidagogos—were no longer needed. Christ BECAME the “adult” faith now presented to the world. It would be easy to fault Paul here for suggesting that these other faith traditions, including Judaism, were now “obsolete,” but I’m not sure this is what he is saying. Instead, he seems to be holding to his Christian theological perspective that in Christ, God is offering the world an “allie-allie in free” introduction to faith, with our sins being forgiven via the fiat of the cross. In Paul’s thinking, so much of these earlier faiths was about how to be absolved of sin and to get on God’s “good side.” In Christ, God is awarding both of these important “statuses” by grace alone. Having been forgiven AND redeemed, positionally by God, the individual Christian is now free to explore, learn, and experience the rudiments of Christian discipleship. Like how the paidagogos was required to detach from the children in whom he had invested so much of his life in so they could “flee the nest,” so the Christian is set free by Christ to LIVE as a Christian, discover and use one’s spiritual gifts, and be a witness to “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth” of God’s love and grace. Nursery school is over, so stop throwing crayons at the girls!

 

Speaking of which, it is next in this passage that Paul writes one of his most radical and powerful sentences: 

 

 

There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

 

Friends, this was written in the first century of the Christian faith! Paul is proclaiming what Jesus modeled for us all: EVERYONE is one in Christ Jesus. Note that he doesn’t say that Jews and Greeks had to give up being either Jewish or Greek, nor would “male and female” have to give up their gender orientation. Instead, he says that Christ is drawing all people into a community of faith—what the late theologian John Cobb called the “Divine Commonwealth”—wherein we can all inhabit common ground, even while maintaining our own cultural, national, and even gender-based territories. Maybe even our own “religious” territories, as well. (This last one may be a bit controversial for some of you, but it’s where my mind is going. After all, how much must Christ be limited? Can not Christ redeem and draw into this Divine Commonwealth ANYONE, even if they—as of yet—don’t “believe” exactly the same things? You tell me.)

 

Perhaps the modern church is stifled because it hasn’t stopped throwing crayons at the girls? (Just recently, the Southern Baptism Church voted more restrictions on women in leadership roles in their denomination…and this is 2025!) Our own denomination split right down the middle over doctrines and rules we use to either “free” or “restrict” what Christ is allowed to do in the church. I’ll bet Christ doesn’t give a flying fig about our doctrines and rules! At least according to this passage, PAUL doesn’t think so! Here’s another scary thought: even as the religious leaders of Jesus’ time sought to maintain their control over the practices of the Jewish faith, so our Christian religious leaders seem bent on using these doctrines and rules to keep their hands on the helm and throttle of the church. Is this an example of the paidagogos not being willing to detach? Are we religious leaders afraid of the kind of freedom Christ Jesus wants to grant to believers everywhere, and in all times and places? 

 

What might a church that was allowed to enter its “adult” life without its dominating paidagogoslook like? Perhaps this is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer had in mind when he wrote of a “religion-less” Christianity? Might the adult church live so fully into inclusion and acceptance granted by Christ Jesus that it could invest all of its gifts, resources, and personnel into working for justice and peace in our world, and welcoming the “strangers” into the Divine Commonwealth? I once heard a United Methodist historian recall how, in Wesley’s day, the role of the religious leaders and the local congregation was to BE that paidagogos of the faith, teaching and mentoring children and new adult converts toward a mature faith in Christ. Then, if they received God’s call into ministry, they could be ordained immediately. This historian recounted how we have turned that whole practice around. Now, we invite people to say the “sinners prayer” to invite Christ into their lives “immediately,” but if they then perceive God’s call to ministry, we make them attend years of training before being set apart to do it. What are we more afraid of? Giving up control? It seems to me that Paul is advocating for mentoring the faith, not just “winning souls for Christ.” 

 

The bishops of the United Methodist Church have “unveiled” a new proposed vision statement for that denomination: 

 

The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.

 

I confess I’m not wild about it, because it sounds a bit more like a slogan, offering little actual guidance as to “how to” accomplish the mission, which a good vision should do. A lot of time will be spent “unpacking” what it means to “love boldly,” “serve joyfully,” and “lead courageously,” when we still don’t get “empowered by the Holy Spirit.” Frankly, I think we could get much more practical guidance from the “old” UMC slogan, “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors…the People of The United Methodist Church.” Paul’s language in Galatians 3:28 would seem to prefer the “slogan” as marching orders, rather than this new “vision” put forth by the bishops. Here’s another “adulting” statement of faith the late scholar, Walter Bruggemann put forth:

 

The prophetic tasks of the church are to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial, and express hope in a society that lives in despair.

 

Now THAT’S not nursery school language, friends! Is not the church called to speak truth—God’s truth—to a world that often finds “comfort” in falsehoods and empty boasts? Are we not called to walk along with those who grieve until they achieve wholeness and healing? And we most certainly are called to offer Christ’s HOPE to a world that stumbles in hopelessness! Now THAT’S a vision I can get behind!

 

It's graduation day, church. Put away the crayons! Amen.