Day - 748 The Favor of God Was Upon Him

A sermon given at Second Presbyterian Church, Chattanooga, TN December 28, 2014.

OT reading: Isaiah 61:10-62:3

NT reading: Luke 2:22-40

Over the last four weeks through advent we have ridden a wave of expectation that culminated on the day we celebrate as the day of Christ’s birth. Although we should use the entire Christmas season as a time to contemplate the implication on our lives of Jesus’ birth and expected return, many of us spent it planning the big meals, shopping for Christmas presents, wondering which day our children are going to spend at our house or the in-laws, traveling yourself, or just working on problems at work up to the last minute. Some of us spent the days leading up to Christmas worried, sad and depressed, wondering why we feel so bad in a season when everyone else seems joyful.

Now, here we are, December 28, the last Sunday of 2014. The presents are opened, memories linger of friends or family who shared a meal and have left for their own homes. Some still feel that lonely emptiness that seems to always be here in this season. The choir is gone. The Pastor is taking a deserved respite with family. Only the bare remnant has come back to the sanctuary for worship today. You represents the positive parts of the sermon and need to hear it the least.

However, today might well be the more important day of worship in the Christmas season even though the balloon of the holiday festivities is deflated and the wave of joy and expectation is ebbing back into memory for the next 45-50 or so weeks. This third day is an appropriate time to ask, “How has this baby Jesus born 2,000 years ago said to have ‘The favor of God was upon him’ changed our world?” Seminarians call the birth the “Christ event.” “What does this event mean for us?”

What did it mean for Simeon, an old man who knew his end was near. He felt all his years weighing him down, but carried on, holding a promise from God closely in his heart, wondering…will it be fulfilled?

Luke tells us of Simeon’s inner thoughts. v25-26 reads “Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.  26 (A promise) had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.”

If you are closer to my age than the age of my two sons, you may appreciate that waiting on a promise has a strange twist to it. There is a fine line in faith between hopeful waiting for a thing, and sadness coming from doubt that the thing you have awaited for so long may not happen.

On this day when Mary and Joseph have brought their first son Jesus for consecration to the Lord according to the Law, the Spirit led Simeon into the temple. Simeon knew immediately the promise was fulfilled in this child before him. He took the baby into his arms and broke out into a song that we still sing today. Had we had a choir today, I would have asked them to sing it now, or as a benediction because it is a foretelling of the Epiphany we celebrate next Sunday.

You can find my favorite version on page 604 of the hymnal. Listen to Luke’s account:

29       “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,

                        according to your word;

30       for my eyes have seen your salvation,

31                   which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

32       a light for revelation to the Gentiles

                        and for glory to your people Israel.”

Simeon answered my first question, “How has this baby Jesus born 2,000 years ago who has ‘The favor of God was upon him’ changed our world?” The Lord has reconciled with us and all peoples.

Paul said this reconciliation is the inauguration of the Kingdom of God that shattered the old world of flesh, and will finally displace it. By world of flesh he means the complete reality of our entire existence as a human beings. Our world, our human reality, works hard and often successfully to oppose God, at least in the short run.

But Simeon’s joy is tempered with sadness. He concludes his joyous proclamation with an ominous prophesy that colors the answer to my second question, “What does the “Christ event” mean for you?

He spoke these prophetic words:   34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Although Christ’s joyful entry into our world marks the beginning of reconciliation of God, in a few short months we will share the grief preceding the empty cross that means we are Easter people, children of God. We know all about that sword that will pierce mother Mary’s soul on Good Friday at Golgotha. That sword and the empty cross are an integral part of the Christmas story that birthed the Kingdom of God.

As for the rising and falling of many in Israel, Paul spread the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean to the Jews of the Diaspora and Gentiles. We know that Judaism was torn by the Christ event. Jews who honored Jesus were driven out of the synagogues as the Gospel of John and letters of John so clearly show. Militant Judaism rebelled against Rome and in 70 CE, the power of Rome brutally suppressed the rebels and destroyed the temple in a reprise of the acts of all the conquerors who seized Judah after the return from exile. It is fair to say that Judaism and Israel have yet to recover fully from the aftermath of the Christ event…

But what about these last prophetic words, “This child is destined … to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed?” How do they shape what Christianity means for us today?

Think about it this way. Simeon’s joy is God’s act of reconciliation with humanity in Jesus. If we are reconciled totally to God our Creator, then we are, or should be reconciled to God’s creation, our brothers and sisters and the physical world we live in.

Simeon’s joy should recall for us the two commandments Jesus said are the greatest, the ones that put us on the road to glory, “Love the lord with all your heart, and might and soul,” and “Love your neighbor as you love your self.” These two commandments stand behind the whole of Simeon’s prophesy. They put a spot light on our inner thoughts. They are blessings for the faithful but stumbling blocks for hardened hearts because they represent the highest standard of Christian conduct.

These two commandments define a “radical Christianity” that demands a total repentance, an absolute reversal in behavior towards each other. Our faith in radical or repenting Christianity embodied in these two commandments is the guide for our own practical lives. They are radical commandments because to aspire to them means you seek to reach the highest bar of Christian behavior.

These commandments are always a thorn in our side because we are enmeshed in Paul’s world of flesh that resists these commandments with all its power. It is not going down without a fight and takes every opportunity to induce us to neglect or misapply these commandments.

We can think of many examples where the world opposes Christianity. We can join Pope Francis and decry the persecution of Christians in the Levant, where groups like ISIL, and militant Shiites in Iran and Iraq persecute, kill or force Christians from their homes, cities and country. We can look at the martyrs from the Roman era forward who stood by their faith even to their death.

We can lament the way our own society seems to look down its collective nose at some Christian values. It is quite easy to see the evil exposed within the inner thoughts of other people, even those who call themselves “Christian.”….

But, how often do we look honestly into our own hearts? When we label ourselves “Christian” do we ever realize we can be like the Pharisee on the street corner in Matthew praying loudly, “Thank you Lord I am not like ‘those’ people.”

My point with the children today is like it or not we will stumble over one or both of these commandments and when we do, we broadcast a really big negative message about our faith and about ourselves to our brothers and sisters, and invite the world to do its worst. Like it or not the joyful gift also “is destined … to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.”

Second Presbyterian Church operates St. Matthews Shelter for desperate, homeless, unemployed men. This is a singular and commendable Christian ministry that no other Presbyterian Church and probably only our sister congregation across the street, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church does in Hamilton County. But many are waiting to enter. You can make the ministry even more effective by getting involved. But as I warn every volunteer, it will change you. You will understand how little separates you and the ones you help. If you invest your radical Christianity, you will not look upon people the same way you do now.  Repenting Christianity is not a walk on a wide easy road but rather on a narrow one leading to a narrow gate.

Have we ever allowed our politics to excuse an injustice because we do not like the politics of the people who contest the injustice, or are unwilling to rock the boat? Have any of us ever denied a person Christian hospitality because of their race, particular denominational affiliation, or distaste for their politics? Tennessee has over 200,000 people and families who cannot afford adequate health care, yet our elected leaders continue that situation because they don’t like Obamacare, Medicaid or raising revenue for those citizens in need. We forget the judgment of Jesus who separated the goats from the sheep and glory, telling the goats, “when you refuse to care for the poor, the sick, the naked and imprisoned you do it also to me.”

The roof of our sister congregation at Renaissance Presbyterian Church is in dire need of repair. Can we help repair it? Education is one major path to breaking the cycle of poverty yet many of our urban schools in low income, predominately African-American neighborhoods are in great need of repair, have little modern equipment and pay teachers poorly but the School Board will not spend money on them because it means we might have to pay more taxes. If we think it is a spiritual problem, how many of us speak up for change, or lend our hands as tutors?

Lest you think I am preaching down, I remind you of an old comic strip of my youth, Pogo. Two famous lines in Walt Kelley’s comic strip are, “Even the whitest doves have feet of clay,” and “We have met the enemy and he is us.” I have baggage just like everyone else.

Every Christian carries baggage we want to keep hidden; but as I explained to the children, radical Christians do not have that option. Our inner thoughts always are revealed by our actions. (Sanctification is an ongoing duty.)

“What does this child mean for us?” Mary and Joseph consecrated their first-born male to the Lord according to the Law. Simeon knew this child was consecrated for us all as the power, motivation and obligation for us to be radical Christians who honor our reconciliation with God and fellow sister and brothers.

Simeon understood this child is the sign of the everlasting feast of all God’s children at the common table. Luke can declare, “The Favor of God was upon this child.” It is up to us to show the world that same favor is sprinkled upon us as children of God. I charge you and me always to travel in peace and strive for inner thoughts reflected in public action that say, “I am consecrated as a radical Christian.”  Amen.

Day 745 - Reflection on Radical Christianity - Merry Christmas!

Some say the word “radical” is overused. I appreciate that because many people are admirably called to Christian advocacy in social justice and human rights. Many fancy themselves as “radical” Christians but do not always seem to appreciate the obligation of that label. (After writing this post I realize its theme is "There is only radical Christianity.")

It is beneficial to dig into Paul to get some idea about practicing radical Christianity in what he calls the world of flesh.  The Apostle Paul certainly made it clear that there are negative forces in the world of flesh. We must appreciate when Paul uses the words “world of flesh,” he is not talking about institutions and evil people, or prurient inclinations. Paul entreats us to understand the world of flesh is every element of our inculcated physical and intellectual being. It is our very existence and humanity. Paul acknowledges that every part of our being is pulled by the entire world of flesh to rebel against Christian values. In fact the world of flesh itself resists Christian love and charity. To use a big but apt word, the world of flesh is inimical to the radical Christianity that embodies the essential reality of the “Christ event,” the reality of Christmas, that fractured and will displace this old world as it is emerges.

We cannot escape this world of flesh, even if we choose to live as hermits and monks in caves in the desert, or inside our minds and homes. Even alone we exist in the world of our senses, our experience.

So, there is much merit to the advocacy of radical Christian social justice in this unjust world of flesh. That is, Christianity should subsume social justice as part of the struggle against the world.

It is also very easy to drift into a mindset (or worldview) that turns the struggle for social justice on its head and ends up unintentionally subsuming Christianity in a framework of radical social justice. That road leads to Black Panthers and the Symbionese Liberation Army, to name two wounds of my generation. The error in this conflation is a victory of the world of flesh, and a wound to the struggle for social justice. The error or stumbling block is pride. Pride blinds the mind to the nature of radical Christianity and places social justice above radical Christianity to the detriment of both.

We may be angry at the oppression we ourselves have experienced. You can ask any woman about that. You can ask any southerner who has ventured north to live for a while to appreciate being stereotyped. Especially you can ask almost any African-American about the overt and covert forms of oppression they face just by the act of living and breathing in a “white” society.

But what is the cure for these offenses?

The radical Christianity is that which Jesus practiced and expects of his followers. Because radical Christianity presents so high a bar for a lifestyle (selflessness), we all are going to fail to do it well. But what we can do after being shoved to the ground is get up and try again to be radical Christians.  (Sometimes radical Christians are those who stand beside our brothers and sisters who cannot stand but can only pray for us.)

It is easier to define radical Christianity by what it is not. Within our own denomination there are those who secretly or openly wish to see the denomination stumble. That attitude is absent in radical Christianity.

Many pastors and leaders of our Presbyterian Church-USA (PC(USA)) loathe the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), and it is obvious many of “them” feel the same way about us. When I was working as Construction Manager for PC(USA)-PDA in the Gulf Coast, I once proposed to my manager that we work with a fairly effective PCA relief group near Bay St. Louis (I had many difficult arguments with this local group over theology). The reaction from Louisville in the name of PC(USA) was one of anger, “We don’t work with them, they are PCA.” That attitude is absent in radical Christianity.

Radical Christianity does not deny worship space or refuse to worship with other Christians. Radical Christianity does not exclude Christians who hold some controversial non-essential tenets from their acts of worship.

Such responses are antithetical to radical Christianity. (If you do not believe me, refer to Mark 9:33-50.)

Many of us who support women’s and LGBT rights fall into the trap by castigating or refusing to work with Christian denominations such as the Southern Baptist Church who oppose or severely restrict worship experiences of members of those groups. This reaction also is the antithesis of radical Christianity.

 (My parents were driven out of the Southern Baptist Church by its position on women so I do have a bone to pick with them. Furthermore, I have very close relatives whose lifestyle would not be welcome in their worship services.)

Now let me try to describe what radical Christianity means (to me) in a positive sense with a question. What does “the shared common table” mean to you?

It is a biblical table. There is a story behind it. It is communal. It is a physical table. It is a table where the feeling of expectancy is paramount. It is an open table for the children of God.

Radical Christianity recalls that throughout the ministry of Jesus, a shared meal always marked an act of love, even among adversaries. A shared meal at its most basic nature is the act of Christian love. At our table we repeat words of invitation such as “This table is not a Presbyterian table. It is the Lord’s table for the children of God. People may come from East and West, from North and South thirsting for the bread of life and living water from the cup of salvation at this table. At this table Christ comes to us to feed all hungry people in need. In this house we share the feast of bread and drink that sustains an everlasting fellowship of peace and eternal life. (A good book on this idea is Leading from the Table by Paul Galbreath, Herndon, VA:The Alban Institute (2008))

Radical Christianity brings to the world the openness and expectancy of change and reconciliation. It welcomes those who reject it because the radical power of expectancy and openness to reconciliation is irresistible. Radical Christianity does not adopt or apply the values of its detractors to the detractors. It is the steady persistence of faith of radical Christianity that wears away the rocks of oppression.

It turns out science has something to say about this. A recent technical article in Science that shows the simple act of dialogue between “adversaries” opens the door to profound change of attitude (Science, vol. 346, Issue 6215, p1339, 1366, or go to www.sciencemag.org). It is worth reading.

Coming back to the beginning of this post, be careful using the word radical if you are a Christian engaged in advocacy, or writing about it. Radical Christianity is a hard thing to practice with social justice. You will be attacked for the inconsistencies between your personal practice and professed faith. You will be attacked for associating with your detractors. Even your friends will detract and deride you. Radical Christianity compels you to compassionate association with your detractors, and to persist in perfecting the practice of radical Christianity even as you stumble. (Was his stumbling and hot temper the thorn that plagued Paul?) Recall how Jesus approached his detractors? Forgive them for they do not know what they do. It is a very high bar.

I suggest to you that the most recent American model of the practice of radical Christianity was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the beginning of the protest of a segregated society he was assailed by his fellow pastors for pushing too hard and too fast. When he realized that war itself is an abomination to God and tied to his social struggles opposition to the War in Viet Nam, he was pilloried not only by the powers of the state and Church but even by his own African-American brothers and sisters. Yet he persisted to the end.

Today the struggle for social justice at its heart is a matter of radical Christianity. What was originally a racial abomination has become an economic abomination. Rich denominations that earn over a billion dollars annually in interest on their endowment cringe at spending it promiscuously on the poor, downtrodden and imprisoned, even on its own struggling pastors. They bury their talents in the ground and mete out copper coins. Governments such as Tennessee spend little on medical care for indigent citizens and instead say to them, “heal yourself.” Even many churchgoers are stingy with their money and skills, wanting nice new sanctuaries, gilded tongue pastors, paid choirs, or just a new car but give disproportionately little compared to their available resources. The poor give more of their resources to charity than the rich. What was once a struggle of denominations for self-identity has become a spiritual abomination that oppresses self-choice and lauds worship of the denomination itself.

We live in a selfish, greedy world; it is intimately bound into our humanity. The only way to resist it is to love humanity when the desire is to loathe it. Radical Christianity is the practical theology for living in the world I have been writing about in prior posts.

I am proud to number among my friends folks on both sides of the table who regardless of politics or theology are doing their best to live radical Christian lives.

That my friends is what radical Christianity and social justice is all about, living Christian values around a shared table with ALL the children of God who are thirsty and hungry for that living water and bread of life in a selfish, greedy world that is part of our humanity. If we do it for and with only our friends; what kind of hypocrites does that make us? What kind of city shining on a hill shall we be?