My friends, the message of today’s Scriptures really couldn’t be clearer – live attentively – see the world through open eyes, listen with ears connected to your heart – seek balance in your lives. The message is clear that is, for those who are looking for more than a literal meaning. 

   Let’s take a closer look:

• The prophet Amos addresses the Israelites – “Listen, you who trample on the needy and try to suppress the poor…”  these actions will never be forgotten – not “a single thing you have done.”
• The psalmist in number 34 clearly states, “our God hears the cry of the poor…”
• Paul instructs Timothy to “live [a] godly and reverent life,” [praying] “for everyone, especially for rulers and those with authority.”
• And finally, Luke shares our brother Jesus’ words to basically look for balance in our lives.  “You cannot worship both God and money.” 

   With that much of a beginning, let’s look closer so as to really tie these Scriptures into our daily lives.  The 1^st reading from the prophet Amos clearly states that our God will not look kindly on us if we “trample on the needy and suppress the poor.”  So what does that actually mean  for our daily lives, up close and personal?

   In a general way, as citizens of our United States, at least, but around our world too, we should be looking and hearing with eyes wide open and ears fully tuned in to those who live with less than the basics of life – we should try and understand why that is –what part do I play in this fact?

   In my reading, my people who live with less than the basics, don’t want to live that way – and do want, in reality, to take care of themselves, and sometimes just need a hand up when misfortune happens.  There are many stories out there of people who were, as we say, “on the top of their game,” and very quickly, it seemed, lost everything.  There but for the grace of God, any of us could find ourselves. 

   The multitude of reasons that people can find themselves “in need,” isn’t a “black and white” thing, easily or simply understood; but the least that any of us can do is to listen, to show compassion, and to help if we can.  The only thing we can’t do is ignore the stated problem if in fact we claim to be human, and for us, Christian too. 

   Today’s gospel from Luke is a bit confusing if we simply look at the meaning literally.  We may wonder if Jesus is praising the steward for being dishonest and simply thinking of himself.  Exegetes tell us, “No,” that what Jesus is uplifting is the steward’s “creativity” in finding “a way” to solve his problem. 

   Taking this lesson forward, the message is clear for us too – looking at our world, our Church, we must find ways toward needed solutions, even, like in the example of the steward in today’s gospel, the answer may not be perfect, but the needs of all are addressed in some way.  Jesus speaks to the complexity we find at times in doing our best, “If you can trust others in little things, you can trust them in greater.” 

   Sometimes, we just need to move in faith because the “balance” we seek in doing the most good is found there. For myself personally, and other women priests – we had to move ahead following our God-given calls to pastor God’s people without the approval of the powers that be – not a perfect solution, but one that has brought much good to many.  As the psalmist says of it, and we sang beautifully, “Our God hears the cry of the poor,” and helps us if we are willing, to find a way. 

   We get a clearer instruction from Paul to Timothy in how to do our best, even if seemingly, not always enough… “live a godly and reverent life.”  This tells me that we have to first decide what we value in life – for ourselves and others, and then do all we can, and again, even if not enough, to make life better where it is not.  And the piece that “seals the deal, “ so to speak, is that we “pray for everyone, especially for rulers and those in authority.”  To me, it seems, in both Church and State, those prayers are more than needed. 

   Looking one more time at Jesus’ words today that we cannot “worship both God and money,” I would like to suggest that “money,” is a catchall word for anything that gets in the way of our hearing the message of our God – it may be in fact, money, or power, our need to control, other riches, passions, and it is good to know what it is that distracts us, takes us away from doing the good we might do in our world, except for this distraction. 

   In conclusion then my friends, the world in which we live can seem sad and hopeless at times, but I want you to know that I see, as does our God, the good that you all are about in your lives, and I am here to encourage you to keep on – it all matters – it does! Our God hears the laments we sigh from day to day, and stands by supporting us and loving us as we work toward the betterment of all in our country, Church, and world.

Amen? Amen!

My friends, being that I needed to prepare for two services this week, with Wayne Purtzer’s Celebration of Life yesterday, I opted to use parts of a homily for this Sunday from three years ago.  With the gospel for today then, I used the longer version to include the story of the Prodigals – a son and a father, and what the Spirit and I put together then seems still, most appropriate, and worth a second “listen,” unless you weren’t here three years ago, and then it will be brand new! 

   All the readings today address the virtue of mercy – responding to what life brings us through people and experiences, giving folks a break when bad things happen and trusting and expecting better going forward. 

   The first reading from Exodus today is a curious one in that we see Moses acting more like God than God!  Moses has to plead with God to spare the Israelite people who seem to forget the goodness they have been shown by God who brought them out of Egypt and then, so easily “run after” other gods. 

   In order to understand the actions of this seemingly merciless God, we must remember that the people in the Old Testament saw God as a reflection of themselves – therefore in  their lack of faith, trust, mercy and so on, God must be the same way, was their thinking. 

   This reminds me of a conversation I had this past week with someone who thought she couldn’t ask God to help with a problem that was causing her a lot of stress, “because God probably had too much already to take care of.”  I encouraged her to ask anyway because, as I lifted up, we may be too busy, but God never is, and wants to help us in every way possible.  This was depicted well in today’s gospel of the prodigal parent. 

   This notion of living “mercifully,” is carried through in our 2^nd reading where Paul is writing to Timothy who is his disciple, that he, Paul was shown mercy for his many sins and is instructing his student that when mercy is shown, mercy, going forward must be shown as well. 

   Then we move into the beautiful gospel from Luke who shows us three wonderful images of our merciful God: First we hear about the Good Shepherd who will always search out the lost one, the woman who turned her house upside down looking for a lost coin—which by the way, is the same story as the Good Shepherd, only giving a feminine face to our loving God. (show picture)  The final face of God given us to consider from Luke is probably, in my mind, the most beautiful depiction Jesus gave us of who our God truly is—the story of the “Prodigal Son,” but more so, the “Prodigal Parent.”  The son shows us, “over-the-top” selfishness, and disregard for the mores of his family and community, and the parent shows, “over-the-top” love, and acceptance, regardless of mores, for the errant child, and thus, we, today, get a clear view of how God will look upon us as well. 

   In order for us to truly get a view of what Jesus is saying here about God in using the story of the Prodigal, it is important for us to look at how the people in Jesus’ time and culture would have heard and understood it. An inheritance was given to an offspring at the death of the parent.  In this story, the son asks for it early —  the first custom broken, which shows disrespect for the parent, which the parent dismisses, and gives the inheritance anyway. 

   Now it would have been one thing had the son gone out and used the inheritance wisely, but as the story reveals, this was not the case.  When the son, who eventually becomes penniless and is basically starving, having squandered his father’s gift, comes to his senses and returns, expecting to no longer be treated as a “son,” but as a “servant,” he discovers instead, the over-the-top love of his father. 

   It is good to look further into the cultural mores of this time, to get a better, complete view of the parent’s action.  The story tells us that the father “runs” to meet his son.  This is important because the custom would have been for the “errant one” to be met at the city gates by a representative of the community, who would have broken a clay pot at the person’s feet, signifying that the relationship with the community had been broken, and going forward, “the sin” would always be remembered.  The Prodigal Dad, wanting to spare his son that humiliation, runs ahead, meets him, and lovingly takes him home.  In our time, we would say, this dad “had his son’s back!” 

   So, my friends, because “mercy” is so dominant the theme today, I used some literary license in changing the psalm response to the prayer of the 23^rd psalm, “Shepherd Me O’ God,” and we will use it likewise for the Prayers of the Faithful, because it is the on-going prayer of one who wants God to always show them the way.

   In conclusion then, the heartfelt words of Paul to Timothy, “that he did not know what he was doing in his unbelief,” seem perhaps, a response to much that is wrong in our Church and world today.  We must all pray that the God who loves us so much will show us—shepherd us, into the best ways of being for ourselves and for others.  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, I would like to begin today with a little story that I heard recently to set the tone for looking at this week’s chosen readings.  We have all heard, witnessed, and participated in young people setting up lemonade stands during the hot days of summer to earn a bit of personal spending money.  Recently the news on CBS carried a story on the segment,  On the Road, with Steve Hartman telling of a young boy with a little twist to the familiar lemonade stand.  Rather than offering a cold drink on a hot day for a price, a 9-year-old boy set up a stand in his neighborhood offering “compliments” for free.

   At first, he didn’t get too many takers, but over time, more and more people stopped and even came from a distance to receive a compliment.  When Hartman asked the boy why he was doing this, and especially for free, he simply said that he thought people needed to hear good things and that he wanted to be the one to do that.  In speaking with his parents, Steve found out that their son just came up with this idea on his own. 

   And because good stories are the easiest way I believe to connect us to “hard sayings” in the Scriptures, I will share another story from this past week.  This one from PBS introduced viewers to, The Tiny Chef – a little green person who speaks as through he/she may have been born deaf, and had to learn to speak without hearing.  The Tiny Chef  was seen for several years on Nickelodeon until recently canceled.

    The creators of  The Tiny Chef, two women, thought it important to show “someone” not necessarily perfect offering easy recipes for people to follow, along with good advice – wisdom really, and even common emotions that are part of life, basically, as this little green person said, “Feel the feels” – when the show was canceled, supporting the fact that life isn’t always easy, he had a “good cry” before moving on to what might come next.

   Our Scriptures for today flow right into these stories:  The Wisdom writer tells us, “The perishable body presses down on the soul,” and “clay houses weigh down the restless mind” – poetical ways to say that our human bodies often get in the way of “doing our best,” when it comes to daily life and our encounters with others.

   I have mentioned before that I am reading, Freeing Jesus, by Diane Butler Bass, and in a section, I was reading this past week where she was recounting her own, personal faith-walk, she made a statement that I thought, was really compelling!  She said, [those who go to the seminary are taught] “to ignore the promptings of your own heart, and that your experience does not matter.  Theology is a matter of submission to ideas shaped by men smarter than you.”

   Now Butler Bass and your pastor would have to disagree with this type of teaching, because if, “the promptings of our own hearts, and our experiences in this life don’t matter,”  in the ways we live our lives of faith, then what does that say about the psalmist’s words in number 104 that, “the Spirit is continually renewing the face of the earth?”

   The Wisdom writer today continues, letting us know that “wisdom” or the Spirit, shows us the way, and that through other sources, we have come to know, that this wisdom, the Spirit, comes through our hearts. I always give credit for my homilies to the Spirit, and have said to some of you, “it is what she (the Spirit) and I do together each week. 

   The less known letter to Philemon today places its writer, Paul, in prison, and he is trying to let Philemon, a slaveholder, know that by the baptism he shares with his unnamed slave, Onesimus, the two, slave, and slaveholder, become equal.  In other words, Paul says, even though it was common practice at this time to hold slaves, you can’t say that you believe in Jesus and are his follower and do so – that is just wrong.  Knowing this piece, that it was common to hold slaves, Paul’s earlier words about our “perishable bodies” and “clay houses” getting in the way of doing the good we could and should do, makes more sense, and Paul seems to be saying if his convert Philemon, would lay this issue, “on his heart,” the solution would be more clear.

   And finally, the gospel message today from Luke seems rather harsh at face value and if we come at it through our hearts taking a broader view, than through our minds alone, its true meaning is more understandable. 

   Exegetes often explain away Jesus’ apparent harshness in this reading suggesting his belief that his time on earth was short and that he wanted his hearers to know the importance of once accepting belief in his message, there should be no turning back – it was and is that important! 

   Now, does that literally mean leaving family and loved ones behind? No, especially if we keep in mind, and heart all of Jesus’ words of how important each person is to God. 

   Following Jesus’ “way, truth and life” certainly meant caring for all people, family included.  Where the “rubber meets the road,” so to speak, is when the challenge to be true to Jesus’ call is pitted against our family’s wishes to live in an alternate way.  I always give my own personal call to ordination as an example of this, as many of my family of origin did not support that decision and felt they couldn’t attend this event – but regardless, I knew God’s call had to take precedence.

   So, my friends, there you have it – following Jesus isn’t always easy, and sometimes when we do the “hard thing” we may have support, and sometimes not, but the fruits will tell us if this is of God, or not.  If peace, love and joy, for the most part are present, then, it is of God.  If we can answer the question, “Is love being served,” by what I am about to do, then again, we know we are doing the right thing. 

   The boy with the “compliment stand” somehow sensing that he was fulfilling an “unmet need,” and the two women who created The Tiny Chef,  serving up not only good food, but wisdom for living a wholesome life, “feeling the feels,” as the little green person said, could honestly say, “Love is being served here.” 

   And what about us – life is short, and as Sister Joan Chittister says, reflecting Jesus’ words to do our part, “If not us – now – who will answer – and when?”  Amen? Amen!