6th Pentecost
Matthew 10:40-42; Jeremiah 28:5-9, Romans 6:12-23
The scene is the stuff of history. A hearing before the people about the future of the nation. One voice was that of the political establishment. Proclaiming that the road ahead would be long and hard. That there was no easy solution in sight. Expect more violence, death and destruction with no clear timeline, but all that can be done is to stay the course. The other voice yearned for peace now. An end to the conflict. An end to the suffering and death. Ultimately the language of war and destruction carried within and around it the marks of religion. The question of whether God had picked a side. Both claimed to be invested in doing God's will, which left the question open as to whether one religion or the other would prevail because God was on their side. This might have been a description of events this past Thursday as Defense Secretary Rumsfeld appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee. It might have been the Senate hearings. But the actual scene that I had in mind is taken from our Old Testament lesson for today. A scene from the life of the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah. The prophet that Pastor Chris so aptly described for us last week.
In this week's lesson the prophet Jeremiah is in a full-blown public forum in the capital city of Jerusalem debating the future of not only the city but the nation. Up to this point Jeremiah's words have been political doom and gloom for a people facing increased oppression by the rival and powerful Babylonian Empire. But another prophet, Hananiah, has arisen to challenge all the doomsaying with a promise of something more. The restoration of the temple and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. A herald of peace that would restore the great and glorious days of King David. From the historic reports of events at that time it appears that the people were tired of the negative gloomy prophecies of Jeremiah. The leaders of the people yearned for a better vision. A promising future, and that appears to be what the prophet Hananiah had to offer. Jeremiah even seems to be a bit attracted to the possibility of the vision of peace. His words are a mournful. "If only what you say could be true. If only life were that easy." But Jeremiah knows that's not the word he has been given to preach by God. The true test is now to see how the people receive the word of God. How do they respond? In a similar way our Gospel lesson for today brings us to the moment of decision. For the past two Sundays we have been reflecting on Jesus' words in this the second great teaching discourse in Matthew's Gospel. We have witnessed the naming of the twelve disciples and their commissioning to preach and teach to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Last Sunday we heard Jesus warn his disciples of the coming rejection and persecution they would face and the opposition that would arise within their own households and families. While these words were originally offered as support to the missionary work of the twelve it also had meaning for the members of the first century Matthean church.
Our lesson for today concludes by turning our attention to the response of those who meet the missionaries. More specifically, those who meet Jesus. The true test is now to see how the people receive the word of God. How do they respond? I remember the great crowd filling the Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. Home at the time to the Minnesota Twins Baseball team and the Vikings football team. It was late September but both teams were out of town. Yet the stadium was full that night. I had gone along with a couple of new friends. We had only met a few weeks earlier as we began our graduate studies at the seminary. I remember that the event was free. Which was good since I had little discretionary money. We got to the Met as it was known and found the place already filled on the lower levels. We headed up the ramps. The music and program had already been underway for some time warming up the crowd. There was music. Lots of music and a number of speakers sharing personal stories but the whole program was aimed at the moment that came soon enough. After a particularly powerful musical offering the main event arrived. A sermon by Dr. Billy Graham. I had witnessed his preaching before on television but this was live, and I knew where it was headed. His words blended Bible story and personal experience, but I knew where it was headed. His voice and the cadence of delivery continued to rise and build until after about an hour of preaching he concluded with an altar call. The sermon ended as it always did with the evangelical Southern Baptist preacher's invitation to commit or recommit your life to Jesus. I watched as hundreds, thousands of men and women rose from their seats and headed down to meet the counselors. Special people on each level of the stadium ready to meet each person responding to the call. I stood and watched. Me, the Scandinavian born Lutheran, filled with wonder at the power of God's word to bring people to a moment of response. A moment that I am certain Dr. Graham is repeating this weekend at his 118 th evangelism campaign (they used to be called crusades) in New York City. The critical moment is how the people receive the word of God. How do they respond?
Our Christian tradition is a bit more liturgical than a revival. And the sermons are quite a bit shorter but they are not without a concern for a response. The altar call focuses a bit too much for my tastes on our human initiative. Our effort to respond to God. As we learned last week about Jeremiah, God's coming to the prophet was not something the prophet chose or could even do anything about. A similar truth is found for each of us and our encounter with God. God's grace is not of our making or doing. One powerful picture we use to understand this is that of the loving parent. The parent that loves the child not because of anything the child does. In fact most of our children do a number of things that can best be described as acts that sooner or later cause us to be glad that they eventually grow up and leaving home. Yet we still love them. Even as we encourage them to eventually move out on their own we still love them. God's love for us is not determined by our response though our response is often a result of the love that we have known from God. We make wrong choices. Sin. Turn our back on God's will and word. Yet like the loving parent. God still loves us. His grace surrounds us but we don't always see it for what it is. The challenge for many of us is discerning God's love, recognizing God's presence in and around our lives. This is actually much more difficult then we often realize. When good things happen we usually claim credit for ourselves. We credit our hard work, education or learned skills. Our careful planning or even the mistakes of others. The blessings of our lives are not so easily discerned to be from God. Although when things go against us we often do ask ourselves, "Why is God doing that?"
If we are going to respond to God we must be able to discern God's word and will. In the ancient days of the prophet Jeremiah the challenge was to recognize God's word. Which prophet spoke for God? Jeremiah's test for determining whether a word was truly from God was to wait and see if it was fulfilled. But that could take weeks, months, years, even centuries. There had to be a better approach than waiting to see which prophecy turned out to be true. Jesus made it a bit easier for us when he revealed to us the human face of God. And our lesson for today takes that even a step further. "Whoever welcomes you" Jesus tells his disciples "welcomes me." Jesus is closer to each of us then we like to admit. Maybe too close. In the face of each person we meet. Or pass by. But I am not so sure this is any easier for us. Years ago now I visited the monastery of New Melleray Abbey south of Dubuque, Iowa. One of the distinctive things I remember most about the time I was there was the hospitality of that place. Anyone who stopped in was welcome to share in a meal with the brothers, and housing was always available for any man who needed shelter (women were sent a short way up the road to the convent). The point was that no one would be without bread or water, for the brothers took the words of Jesus very literally. The brothers practiced the understanding that every person who came to them presented the face of Jesus, and they responded to that person in the same manner as they expected that they would respond to Jesus. It was a wonderful and hospitable encounter there in the farm country of Iowa.
But I will admit that I am among the first to recognize that the real world doesn't allow for much of the hospitality that is practiced by the Benedictine brothers of New Melleray. Imagine what the world would be like if every face I met truly did reveal the face of Christ. It would be very difficult if not impossible to walk a city street or read a newspaper or live in our modern overly connected world. For who could pass by the out stretched hand of the homeless woman of Iran or the strung out unemployed man of Pakistan or the orphaned child of Darfur, Africa. If each face truly did present Jesus to me in some form. This past week I went into the city on Thursday and I can remember walking by at least 15 out stretched hands. Did Jesus really intend for me to respond to each empty coffee cup or drink glass. Was I really supposed to buy every copy of Streetwise that was offered to me? Compared to my world, the brothers of New Mellerey have it pretty easy. I don't think they see Jesus half as often as I do. How am I to respond? There is that question again. Every time I feel that need to respond, the need to figure out what I am going to do next about my life and my faith and my God I figure it is almost time for the altar call again. Time to respond. But respond to what? Respond to my feelings of guilt? My anxiety over my needs and the needs of others?
The measure Jesus proposes in our text for today is hospitality. How we treat others. How we treat total strangers who enter our lives. Hospitality is not a solution. It doesn't fix things. Hospitality is an action of shared human affirmation. It is a gesture that affirms that we see those we meet as no different from ourselves. The welcome is of a fellow traveler through life. No judgment. We are back to the grace filled love of God. The grace to see the face of Jesus. There are some who live lives guided by grace. Some are monastic brothers. One I think is a homeless person on the streets of Chicago. As I left the Goodman Theatre Thursday evening there was another homeless Streetwise vender on the corner. He greeted each theatergoer who passed by with a smile and an offer of the paper. As we approached him and passed by he kept up a steady greeting of words. "I hope you had a good night at the play. You travel safe now. I want you back for the next play. Take care now on this beautiful night". To person after person he spoke a friendly word. An affirming word. As if that person presented the face of Jesus. There was no judgment of anyone whether they purchased a paper from him or not. So we have come to the moment of response. The altar call. In a few moments that is what we will have. An altar call. An invitation to come forward and respond to God's grace. I know we are Lutheran but that is why the call is offered And in this moment there is no question about it being God's word. Of this we can be sure. Our invitation is to God's table of grace. The ultimate altar call.
For on the night he was betrayed our Lord Jesus took bread and offered it to all of them. Offers it to all of us. That we might see the face of Jesus in those around us. Take and eat. And remember, whoever welcomes you welcomes me. All we have to do is respond.
Amen