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We’ve had to simplify our lives a bit recently as the result of life circumstance – Paula not working. So, we are looking at what we spend money on… And as I look at the things of our lives and many seem trivial. All the entertainment feels indulgent and in excess.  Much of it has lost its appeal and there is a freedom in not being engrossed in all of its mania.

We begin our Stewardship Program this Sunday. Each year during this time we take time focus on stewardship as we make financial plans for the coming year.  This year I will be using an old book – published in 1981 – by Richard Foster: Freedom of Simplicity. Foster’s first book became a best seller: The Celebration of Discipline about spiritual disciplines and practices.  Foster is a Quaker, and therefore not a part of the Reformation theology that is distrustful of anything that seems like “works”.  Foster revived the belief that what we do is important in our spiritual lives – that it isn’t just about what we believe.  And one of the things we do; one of the practices is: Simplicity.

Freedom of Simplicity was published after Ronald Reagan was elected president and with that came deregulation of anything that stymied business.  The biggest of these was changes that allowed for credit to expand – VISA, Mastercard, American Express. We could now buy on credit!! And we did!  Car companies were allowed to turn truck chaises into cars. Viola the SUV was born!  In addition to that, many things we created and marketed in the 80’s: Personal computers (do we all remember floppy discs?) cell phones, camcorders, FGAX, Walkmans, CDs, HD TV and big screens.  There were so many new things to buy. And we could…. On credit – so we did!  The economy expanded; everyone was happy. At least we thought we were happy, but were we?   In the midst of all of this Foster starts his book with this:  Contemporary culture is plagued by the passion to possess.

The unreasoned boast abounds that the good life is found in accumulation, that more is better. Indeed, we often accept this notion without question, with the result that the lust for affluence in contemporary society has become psychotic: It has completely lost touch with reality.  Furthermore, the pace of the modern world accentuates our sense of being fractured and fragmented.  We feel strained, hurried, breathless, the complexity of rushing to achieve and accumulate more and more frequently threatens to overwhelm us; it seems there is no escape from the rat race.  Christian simplicity frees us from this modern mania.

37 years later this mania has only gotten worse. cell phones are no longer a privilege but a necessity. We still drive large gas guzzling vehicles. And Black Friday has become one of the most important days of the year
Is this who we are supposed to be?  According to Foster, Simplicity is not only good for the soul, it is fundamental to the meaning of Christianity.

Starting with the Old Testament, Foster give us the background for Christian Simplicity, the concept of radical dependence on God pervades the Old Testament.  The radical dependence of the entire creation upon God is a central teaching…. we have no independent existence, no self-sustainability…. We are not the captains of our souls not the masters of our fate.  No independent existence!?  Not the captain of myself?!

These ideas are simply un-American!  But they are biblical… so get over it.  And it’s not only Radical Dependence, it’s also Radical Obedience.  The deeper reality of obedience is the kind of spirit it works into us.  It is a spirit that crucifies greed and covetousness.  It is a spirit of compassion and outreach.  It is a spirit of sensitivity and trust.  But we’re not done: Do we all know about the Jubilee?  This is in Leviticus 25: Every 50 years all the wealth would be thrown into a pot and then redistributed equally.  Slaves were set free – all debts were canceled.

This principle of equitable distribution rather than hoarding and managership rather than ownership was as revolutionary then as it is now.  The purpose of land is to serve the needs of humanity rather than to provide the means of self-aggrandizement.  What often gets me is when some Christians harp about what it says in Leviticus 18 about homosexuality but ignore what it says in Leviticus 25 about sharing the wealth!  The New Testament: There’s the Magnificat: Mary’s song:

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
And lifted up the lowly
He has filled the hungry with good things
And sent the rich away empty

And in Matthew 6, the text read today about where our treasure is you cannot serve God and wealth.  In the gospels there is a radical identification of God with the poor.  What is wrong with American Christians today?  Don’t we get this?  In our government today one almost has to be wealthy to be elected!  Look at Trump’s Cabinet.  They have more wealth than a third of Americans combined.  Our problem with democracy is that we are actually a plutocracy.

Jesus Christ and all the writers of the New Testament call us to break free of mammon lust and live in joyous trust.  Their radical criticism of wealth is combined with a spirit of unconditional generosity. They point to us
a way of living in which everything we have we receive as a gift.  And everything we have is cared for by God, and everything we have is available to others when it is right and good.  This reality frames the heart of Christian simplicity. It is the means of liberation and power to do what is right and to overcome the forces of feat and avarice.

Then Foster writes about the Saints. The Desert Fathers who sat on polls – for their whole lives!!  The Desert Fathers renounced things in order to know what it meant to have the single eye of simplicity toward God.  And let’s not forget St. Francis who owned nothing, walked bare foot and lived for others.  All of this is to say again, Simplicity is fundamental to what it means to be Christian.  So, are we all supposed to live like the Amish?  Do we all know how the Amish live? They do not own cars but use horse and buggy.  They cannot adorn themselves in any way. Not only no bling they can’t even have buttons.  They have no cell phones – actually, they don’t have any personal phones!  They don’t use electricity.  Obviously, they don’t have computers or TVs. No video games either.  Can our children imagine this? – Life without screens!?  The opposite of the Amish is the Prosperity Gospel, who believe that if one has enough faith one will be blessed. In every way – in our relationships, in our work and also materially and financially.  Joel Osteen: When you focus on being a blessing God makes sure you are always blessed with abundance.  God wants you to be a winner, not a whiner.  God wants us to prosper financially, to have plenty of money to fulfill the destiny He has laid out for us.

There’s a belief that you’re supposed to be poor, suffering and show your humility.  I just don’t see the Bible that way.  I see that God came and Jesus died so that we might live an abundant life and a blessing to others.  What translation is he reading, I wonder?  This reminds me of Jeremiah 29:11: (which I’m sure is a Prosperity Gospel favorite) For surely, I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope.

When asked people often choose this verse as a favorite and these can be inspiring words. But it isn’t truthful to be taken out of the whole of Jeremiah.  Have we read Jeremiah? It is chapter after chapter of warning and indictment, of the Wrath of God, and exile and how people will have to suffer, and then there are these few verses of hope: Then when you call upon me and come to pray to me, I will hear you… I will let you find me…. And I will restore your fortunes. … But only AFTER the Exile.

This is how Joel Osteen reads the Bible: The Prosperity Gospel was born out of the power of positive thinking specifically, Norman Vincent Peale, who was a pastor in New York, and guess who went to his church? The Trumps.  Paula White, another Prosperity Gospel preacher, is considered President Trump’s personal pastor. A pastor on retainer? Imagine Trump hearing these words in a sermon: Champions have courage to keep turning the pages because They know a better chapter lies ahead.  You are on the verge of complete breakthrough in every area of your life.  Spiritually, financially, and relationally God has shown me that this is a season of victory for His people.  As I went deeper in the Spirit the Lord Revealed that before the breakthrough comes certain things must be dealt with. Specifically, there must be a complete defeat of your enemies.  Don’t we know how much Trump would eat that up!  A Champion, a Season of victory, a complete defeat of your enemies.  Once again, what Bible translation is she reading?

Kenneth Copeland who not only has a jet he has an airport and numerous jets, and when asked why he needed them he said because when up in the sky he felt closer to God. What?! That can’t work in coach?  Which of these, the Amish or the Prosperity Gospel fits better with American culture?  If we met with a devotee of the Prosperity Gospel and an Amish person in Fred Meyer, which one would stand out?  Easy answer: The Amish. Meaning that the Prosperity Gospel devotee fits better Into American culture.  The Amish would be considered as the anomaly; the weird one, and which one would be closer to the Bible?  Easy answer: The Amish.

John Wesley gave a powerful witness to simplicity in his life and fortunately he was OK with buttons… And would be OK with cell phones and digital cameras too.  Richard Foster says this of Wesley: Examples abound of Christian simplicity in the task of evangelism, in the service of the poor, and in the cause of social justice.  The vigorous evangelistic efforts of John Wesley and the early Methodists are well known.  The simplicity of their lifestyle gave integrity to the Gospel they preached.  Wesley told everyone that, if at his death he had more than 10 pounds ($23) in his possession people had the privilege of calling him a robber.”  Near the end of his life he wrote in his journal very simply, “I left no money to anyone in my will, because I had none.”
Our own heritage includes valuing simplicity. Not to the extent of the Amish, but also in stark contrast with the Prosperity Gospel.

We believe simplicity is foundational to the Gospel.  In our last Vision Team meeting, we set out to identify our core values and we came up with what I believe are some good words; like compassion and inclusion (I won’t spill all the beans). But simplicity never came up, part of the reason it didn’t come up is because it wasn’t on the list of words we were using as examples.  Why wasn’t it on the list?  Efficiency was on the list, forward looking, hard work, physical vitality were on the list, accomplishment, self-esteem and success were on the list.  What’s worse, why didn’t I think of it?  Here I am preparing for Stewardship and the theme of Simplicity and I didn’t think of it. We may have to rethink this….

Here’s the bottom line in the words of Richard Foster: The witness of simplicity is profoundly rooted in the biblical tradition, and most perfectly exemplified in the life of Jesus Christ. In one form or another, all the devotional masters have stressed its essential nature. It is a natural and necessary outflow of the Good News of the Gospel having taken root in our lives.  One cannot serve God and money at the same time. So basic to Jesus. So fundamental to the Way.  So, look around our world and tell me we see?
Amen.

Pastor James Clarke

When I first read the gospel text for this morning I remembered this scene on Capital Hill: a conflict between Elizabeth Warren and Mitch McConnell.
During the confirmation hearing of Jeff Sessions in the Senate, Warren spoke against his confirmation citing the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s objection to Sessions and started to read a letter written by Coretta Scott King claiming Sessions attempted to obstruct the voting rights of African Americans when he was a federal judge.
The person presiding at the time interrupted her and cited Senate Rule XIX, which essentially says one is not supposed to disparage another member of the Senate, but Warren objected and continued.
Then Senate Majority leader, Mitch McConnell objected. A vote was taken, along party lines and she was silenced.
After the vote McConnell said: “Senator Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. “Nevertheless, she persisted.”
This last sentence has become a meme, and it became a meme because it expressed and revealed some things.
First, it expressed a subtle kind of misogyny. I doubt very much that McConnell would have responded in the same way to a man.
Amongst many in our culture there is still a belief that women should not be too outspoken or pushy, like Hillary Clinton.
Second, it revealed that Rules of the Senate are archaic, hierarchical and patriarchal. Why should the majority party have all the power? The power to stop any legislation. The power to avoid a vote on a Supreme Court nominee.
I see a system that invites corruption and abuse and what is needed is for Senators to cross the boundary and to be persistent – nevertheless.
The gospel text for this Sunday, the story of the Syrophoenician Woman is a story of a woman who persisted.
Let’s set the scene according to Mark:
Jesus and his disciples have grown a little weary. This story is proceeded in Mark by a long discourse on unclean hands. Jesus and his disciples are not following the letter of the Law.
In order to get a break they cross over into Gentile territory = symbolic. Jewish culture distinguishes between the Holy Land and not the Holy Land. Not the Holy Land is polluted by materialism. It is unclean territory and Jesus is brazen even to go there.
But fame catches up with Jesus, even in Gentile territory
A woman, who is of mixed ethnic background – not a good thing – accosts Jesus and bows at his feet, which was a grievous affront – like Senate Rule XIX!
The woman is desperate – her daughter is unwell and she wants Jesus to heal her.
In her book Women and Jesus in Mark: a Japanese Perspective, Hisako Kunikawa asserts that like Japanese culture, Jewish culture was one of Honor and Shame.
Men seek honor- recognition as upright persons by following cultural rules and staying in one’s place.
Academic wording: “Honor culture is a highly formal system that determined to whom and how one could speak and interact, regulated social roles and transactions, and circumscribed mobility within the system.”
(Did you know that the US Senate was an Honor/Shame system? And that essentially what McConnell was doing was trying to shame Warren)
By bowing before Jesus, something only a Jewish man had the right to do, the Syropoenician woman causes Jesus to “lose face” which for the Jews, was serious business.
Jesus would have had the right to punish her right then and there. Doing anything other would have caused him to be shamed more.
This woman was severely unclean – She was not only a Gentile but one of mixed race. And she was a woman. Good Jews should have nothing to do with her.
Jesus’ response? From the Message:
Stand in line and take your turn. The children get fed first
If there’s any left over, the dogs get it.
“Children” refers to the people of Israel while “dogs” refers to Gentiles.
I always thought this was a mean thing for Jesus to say. Jews first and then Gentiles? And to refer to her as a dog?
But to do so was culturally acceptable… even mild. He could have responded in a far more callous way.
The woman’s response is clever – She answers as if they were in a rhetorical competition – a political debate. And her response was better than Jesus’.
Another interesting detail is that Jews did not keep dogs as pets while Gentiles did.
To her it was OK to be considered a dog because dogs were a part of the household, like they generally are in our culture.
In other words, she says from her culture he just said that she is accepted…. And suddenly a boundary is crossed.
Recognizing this Jesus verbally affirms that she is accepted and that her daughter is now healed.
She persisted and she crossed a boundary which prefigures Mark’s community crossing the boundary between Jews and Gentiles.

The story isn’t about her faith but her persistence. And rather than being a story about healing, it is more a story of inclusion.
We do not live in an Honor and Shame culture. As a matter of fact, in our culture there are many who feel no shame at all. People of prominence are who have a great deal of responsibility
We do not live in an Honor and Shame culture. But we have plenty of boundaries that Jesus would cross’
During the Civil Rights Movement many barriers were crossed, and bridges traversed.
The young men who sat at the coffee counter at Woolworth’s.
The brave students who went to school in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rosa Parks sitting at the front of the bus
The movement for voter’s rights
Boycotts, sit-ins, and freedom rides
The first African American on the Supreme Court in Thurgood Marshall
And let’s not forget Jackie Robinson!
Today boundaries are cross in Black Lives Matter. And I believe Jesus would take a knee at NFL games. Anyone feeling like buying Nike products?
Barriers are been brought down in the MeToo movement as well. No longer will sexual harassment be tolerated. No longer will the hidden rule be, we just don’t talk about that.
In our Church, we really crossed a boundary when we elected a lesbian bishop in Karen Oliveto who now serves in Denver.
In The Way Forward other boundaries and bridges may await us. And we must persist, nevertheless.…
We must break down the barrier that divides us at the Mexican border. Did you read that American citizens who are Hispanic and live near the border are being denied passports? The reason given is, their birth certificates aren’t genuine.
Maybe Barak Obama can give them advice on this one
Same-Sex Marriage was a significant boundary to cross and I think we need to persist and challenge other gender identity barriers.
I am tired of the social pressure placed on boys to be strong, invulnerable and in control. It’s a recipe that creates bullies.
I also think we need to continue to press the barriers in the Senate. We need more women and people of color.
I dream of being able to cross the boundary of Evangelical/Progressive Christians. How can we break down our language barriers and enter into dialogue?
In our own personal and spiritual lives there can also be barriers to be crossed.
The decision to get out of an abusive relationship. Taking a fearful step into the future by going back to school. Getting married, having children, adopting children. Feeling challenged to volunteer somewhere. Reaching out to neighbors. The day we returned from Washington, DC there was a casserole on our doorstep.
The Honor/Shame culture of the Jews of Jesus day had tight and strict boundaries and the Syrophoecian woman crossed the room, bowed down and essentially said, “My daughter is dying and I don’t care about the boundaries”
She was desperate to save her child

Jesus’ first response was the culturally accepted response which was, Jews first!
And here may be the most exhilarating party of the story. By persisting as she did the woman shocked Jesus into being who he was. Shocked him out of being culturally acceptable. To become who he was called to be. A breaker of boundaries that oppressed and silenced people.
We are desperate today as well. We too must reach out beyond the barriers that divide us with persistence and courage.
A boundary that we have crossed is the old cultural assumption that politics and religion should never mix and that they should be separated – absolutely.
I have known since seminary that this belief is unbiblical and false that Jesus was political. He couldn’t be a boundary breaker and not be political.
The truth is, whenever two or three are gathered there is politics. And if we shut out politics from faith it becomes only about personal salvation, regardless of relationships…
Even regardless of love.
That’s right…. Love is political.
Marriage is political too.
And the US Congress and Senate need marriage counseling!
Before my father was a professor he was a pastor. When I was born he was serving as the Assistant Pastor at the Presbyterian Church in Alameda, California.
Legend is that in the very early 60’s Martin Luther King visited Oakland, California and my father sat on the same dais.
When I told this to Kenneth, nothing I have ever done in my life could compare. He told all of his friends and became hugely popular.
My father was active in the Civil Rights Movement but frustrated because there were people in his church who did not support it. So he was criticized and told religion and politics should never mix.
I think it is one reason he went on to become a professor. History has its lessons – and they are personal.
Last Wednesday at our last demonstration in the Town Center against the better judgment of myself and others, I decided to approach the man who accosted us. Who aggressively spouted Alex Jones sound bites.
I asked him if he was Christian – yes, he said. What does that mean to you? That Jesus died for my sins.
Who is Jesus to you?
Would Jesus limit immigration – no
Would Jesus call people names – no
Would Jesus bully people –no
After going on like this a little while he finally said, can we keep Jesus out of this?

NO

Pastor James Clarke
Nevertheless, She Persisted. The Sermon for Sunday, September 9, 2018. Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:1-18 and Mark 3:27

Pastor James Clarke’s sermon for Mother’s Day, May 14, 2017; the Fifth Sunday of Easter.  The scripture text is 1 Peter 2:2-5 and John 14:1-14.

I’ve been thinking about being a parent a lot these days. I’m sure it has something to do with the imminent departure of our son, Kenneth, to the other side of the continent. I’ve been blessed in my life to have been a hands-on parent:

Hands on diapers

Hands on binkies

Hands on tissues

Hands on the nebulizer

Hands on clothes that don’t match

Hands on fast food against my better judgment’

My wife, Paula, and I shared a single church appointment for 18 years when our children were young, meaning I was the parent in charge for half the time. With our older son, Aaron, this included all that was necessary to keep him alive

Medications

Cleaning

Avoiding illness

Being with him in the hospital when he got sick

Sleeping on the floor next to his bed

And waking up every hour to listen to his breathing with a stethoscope

Hands on parenting.

Life changes when one becomes a parent as anyone who’s been a parent knows. Parenting is sacrificial. A baby’s needs are non-negotiable. The loss of independence is irredeemable. Once a parent, always a parent and all the sacrifice – all the loss –  all the work – ultimately tells us much about God.

The texts for today are not overtly about parenting, but there are connections. The mention of “spiritual milk” in the text from I Peter. The spiritual milk must come from somewhere, which got me to thinking about the whole business of God as a Father or a Mother.

When I say that I was able to be a hands-on parent, it implies that I was able to do what is usually associated with being a mother:   Rocking a child to sleep and dealing with them when they are screaming in Safeway. I’m pretty sure my Father never had to deal with that one.

My parents fit the stereotype. I went to my Dad to get perspective and wisdom. I went to my Mother go heal my wounds.

The word “Father” is such an ubiquitous image of God in the Bible it loses its force – it’s more like a name than a metaphor. What’s more, “There are many rooms in my Father’s house” is a text that is often used at memorial services, so for me it has an almost morbid aspect.

So I thought it would be interesting to change the gender of the parent in this text and say: There are many wombs in my Mother’s body. Feels different, doesn’t it.

When we consider God as a mother we are bound to imagine more of the hands-on tasks of parenting. God comes closer. Less the guiding disciplinarian parent – more the nurturing parent who has Kleenex in her pockets.

This text is a part of what is called the Farewell Discourses. Jesus is talking to his disciples before he leaves them. The image of a Father feels like a stern parent just giving advice. The image of a Mother brings to mind tears.

Did Jesus cry when he left the disciples? Did the disciples? Something about imagining that comforts me. We need advice and wisdom sometimes and other times we just need a big hug.

When I say goodbye to Kenneth in Washington, D.C., I’ll probably figure I’ve given him enough advice over the years. I’m guessing I’ll be giving him a big hug and there may even be tears. Don’t forget, in the face of Lazurus’ death Jesus wept.

We don’t want to see fathers cry because we value strength. We value the fatherly oriented parental tasks: Guidance, discipline, perspective – parenting from a distance – so as to create independent entrepreneurs, and not emotional fathers who like quiche, and talk about beauty and sadness. If anyone does not get respect in our world, it’s a mother or anyone who does the hands-on parenting.

We were talking about this a bit in our Sunday school class a week ago — in the positive sense, about how much hands-on parenting changes a person, inculcating empathy, intuition, patience, and spontaneity, but in the negative sense, how all that motherly, nurturing stuff is always fighting upstream against our culture, which values economy above all things.

Imagine going to a job interview and being asked about your strengths, and you say, I’m a very nurturing person, and I have empathy, patience, intuition and I listen well. Do you think you’d get the job? I’m not talking about preschool teacher here.

I think often in interviews we force ourselves to say we are motivated, confident; we have drive and persevere; all traditionally masculine characteristics.

Economically, there is no reason to have a child, which I’m thinking about since we are sending Kenneth to a reputable, private university across the country where tuition per year would get me an Audi rather than my little Fit.

Hands on parenting gets lip service, but no help from the economy, and little help from the government. We can talk all we want about Family Values, but if it doesn’t translate into paid maternity leave and paternity leave, then it’s hollow. In the United States, 12 weeks are allowed without pay. In France, it’s 16 weeks at full pay.

Years ago, I read a book entitled The War Against Parents by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Cornel West which expounded upon the grim realities for parents in America. They say that parenting is the ultimate non-market activity. Nearly all families need two jobs, meaning less time with children.

There was a time when having children provided security But now that we have Social Security and Medicare. Raising children is a waste of time and money.

Parents feel sandwiched and stressed so that when they are with their children they get reactive and you can forget about quality time as an antidote. Quantity time is what is needed – being present. And as we continue to put the economy first, parents have less and less time with their children and there are consequences for it.

Hewitt and West refer to a comprehensive survey of parenting having 90,000 participants. The Journal of the American Medical Association determined youth who have experienced a strong bond with parents are less likely to commit suicide, participate in violent crime, abuse drugs. This is the heart of the matter.

In our Sunday School book, Jim Wallis says that we must put parenting first, that parenting is more important than anything else in our society. I thought to myself, ‘He can say that, he’s the editor of Sojourners. He’s the CEO!

I have been blessed to have been a “hands on parent”. I still hug my boys. I learned many practical things, but it’s the spiritual things that move me.

Parenting is a spiritual experience and a means of grace. It teaches empathy, intuition, patience, sacrificial love, eros love, that feeling when you see your child at a distance and your heart melts…. What an incredible human being. And suddenly I know more about God. That there are many wombs in God’s body.

Economically, it was a bad decision to job share for 18 years. According to the economy, all that time hanging out at the playground, pushing him in the swing one more time, is empty and non-productive time. But then, we saved Aaron’s life.

We lost a great deal of retirement money on that decision, but the spiritual wealth that comes with pushing one’s child in a swing and rocking them to sleep at night…

On Wednesday I went to hear Bruce Galvin tell us about the changes ahead for our healthcare and pension. It’s always going to cost us more. But every time I go to one of these I get that feeling…. financially speaking…. We haven’t made the best decisions.

Economically speaking, it is probably a bad decision to send Kenneth to American University at $63,000 per year. We should be putting more money into our retirement account. I’m sure Bruce would say it’s not a good investment…. depending upon what we are investing in and to see Kenneth’s face when he can go to the university of his dreams… What’s really important to us? We will be pinched financially, but I’m fine with my Honda Fit and I like tofu, beans, and rice

There are no rewards for being a parent. No promotion or special recognition. No bonus. But in my life, it has been one place where I have experienced God. God’s love… like a parent’s love.

Incongruously, being a hands-on parent is another way of resistance in a system that doesn’t respect parents much. Remember, it’s the ultimate non-market activity. Making it consequentially a form of resistance. There’s “Family Values,” but the system is not set up to value parenting.

I think the government needs to be reminded that parents are just as much people as corporations and deserve just as many tax breaks.

Speaking of taxes, I think that in the same way Jim Wallis refers to the national budget as a moral document, one’s tax returns can be considered a spiritual document. It identifies dependents, investments, gifts and charities, work… What do our tax returns tell us about our devotions and priorities?

I think Wallis right –  parenting ought to be our first-priority. But it is countercultural to do so. We still live in a male culture. Strength, accomplishment and a fat wallet still rule the day.

We value Entrepreneurs over Servants. Wealth is the primary sign of success. And there’s a limited amount of room in the world. Boundaries are placed on love and grace.

But the perspective of mothering… of being a hands-on parent has made my heart strangely warm with the knowledge that there are many wombs In our Mother’s body.

That with Her there is boundless grace. That She is a Hands-on God with Kleenex in her pocket. And she sometimes uses them for herself as She ponders beauty and sadness.

Amen.

Pastor James Clarke’s sermon for Easter Sunday, March 25, 2017.

Do we know how many times people in the gospels are terrified? We think that since it’s “good news” that it wouldn’t be that way. But that’s not how it works.

Peter, James, and John were frightened at the Transfiguration. The Disciples were panicked when Jesus calmed the sea and when he came to them walking on the sea (two stories). When Jesus told the Disciples what would have to happen to him, do you think they were delighted? They were shocked, and a bit worried. The shepherds where petrified, and the women were freaked out at Lazarus’ death and raising.

The gospel of Mark ends abruptly with: So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. They were afraid… the end.

Translation tempers and softens it some. “And they were afraid” sounds like it’s not much different from “And they were hungry”. They were scared out of their wits. Hysterical. Panic-stricken. And felt a little edgy too.

Consider a time when we’ve heard some bad news. The anxious response we feel is physical. We sweat, lose a sense of control, we shake and our stomach aches…. They were anxious!

In a biblical commentary, Pamela Cooper-White says that this is where Easter begins. The story isn’t rooted in good feelings… It is rooted in anxiety.

Last Sunday we did The Stations of the Cross and often people feel a little alarmed. It is Palm Sunday, after all. The pounding of the nails particularly can give people chills. But that’s part of why we do it, and why both Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are so critical…. The chills. Easter is rooted in the chills. And the Resurrection is “good news” because it conquers fear and anxiety.

In Matthew’s story of the resurrection, two Marys go to the tomb and are surprised, shocked, scared to death when there was an earthquake and an angel rolls away the stone. He’s bright as the sun. The guards shook and then were petrified… literally.

Can we imagine the anxiety the women felt? Sweat and chills.

And the angel says:  Do not be afraid. Which sounds a little sterile like an announcement.

In the Message it says, you have nothing to fear…which is better. “YOU’RE ALL RIGHT!  EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL RIGHT!” Would be better still, I think.

Monastic, spiritual writer and guide Henri Nouwen says that one of the most basic spiritual questions we must ask ourselves is: “How can we live inside a world marked by fear, hatred, and violence and not be destroyed by it?” A timely question, don’t you think?

Nouwen does not have a positive view of the world we live in. In the macro-world there is injustice, poverty, ethnic strife. War in Syria. Famine in sub-Saharan Africa. Potential conflict with North Korea. Terrorism in Europe and elsewhere. Environmental degradation.

In the micro-world of our lives there is cynicism, gossip, competition, division in the House, bullying at school, mean emails, hardness of heart. Nouwen says we live in a House of Fear and we need to live in the House of Love. I have heard it said that the opposite of love is not hate but fear.

It isn’t that the world is divided between those who live in the House of Fear and those who live in the House of Love. We all go back and forth. But our journey to spiritual maturity is moving from fear to love.

Interestingly, he says it is easier for young people because they remain idealistic, more trusting, less jaded, or they just don’t get it! It’s more difficult when we are at mid-life and our hearts get hardened and we give in to anxiety and helplessness.

The way forward from fear to love is to grieve all that hasn’t happened in our lives. The dreams of youth that did not happen neither ruminate negatively on what might come. The way forward is much about letting go of all that is lost; of resentments; of longings unfulfilled.

An irony of the spiritual life is that it can’t be achieved. It isn’t something we make happen to us. It’s more a gift that we open ourselves too. It’s about letting go more than finding opening more than believing. Emptying more than filling up.

The Resurrection isn’t something we believe as much as something we let go into.

Some time ago I read a wonderful novel by Vinita Wright entitled Dwelling Places. It is the story of a family in the Midwest who have experienced great loss and are panicked about the future. Some years ago, they lost the family farm. Soon after that, the father – patriarch of the family – died. Then one son died of grief and alcoholism.

At the beginning of the book the remaining son, Mack, is just getting out of the hospital. He has spent two weeks there with depression. The whole family is unraveling. Mack’s wife is lonely and ends up in an affair. A son turns goth  –  maybe today it would be “edgy”.

A daughter goes to the Baptist Church to be saved and sets out to save her family (the family goes to the Methodist Church). Mack reluctantly goes to counseling with George, a former Presbyterian pastor, and Mack begins to share about his fear and grief that he has held on to so tightly. He tells George that he doesn’t have faith any longer.

George asks about when that feeling started. After the farm was lost and we didn’t know how we would remain of survive.   And when his father died… that was too high a price. Mack says that he is mightily disappointed in God for letting him lose everything.

Then to make things more complicated and scary, Mack starts hearing voices. He is afraid it is a sign of greater mental illness that he’s really gone round the bend and will be hospitalized again.

George asks about what the voices are saying. “Things are working out” “Love is the last thing standing”. George says, “I don’t know, Mack, but those don’t sound like such bad things to hear.” Do not be afraid

Then the Methodist pastor (a woman) creates a worship service for the while community in which many are experiencing loss and fear. Mack asks his family to go, even as they resist. In the service Mack, is surprised when the pastor asks people to share what they are feeling about their loss. He expected something more formal or banal and cliché. Listening to others he again felt his heart ease… and open… with love for everyone who was there.

Part of the reason our world is so messed up is that most people live in the House of Fear. We are motivated by fear; we make decisions, vote…. based on fear.

Relationships are built around competition and fear. It’s the way of business and commerce and that oozes into our hearts, soiling them.

Little time is given to learn each other’s stories. Those farm families were just short sighted and they made bad decisions. People are suspicious and cynical. Media is full of lies and alternate truths. We trust no one.

We are rude, we hate, we objectify other people, which is exceedingly selfish. We build walls and fire missiles in the macro world of international affairs and in our own micro of family and friends out of fear.

In the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are given a gift and a path to move from the House of Fear to the House of Love. There is no easy formula to it. Just believe for example.

It involves a turning – as a practice — letting go of fear. Trusting that things will be all right in spite of what we feel.

Because Jesus lives, we also shall live. And it takes a leap of faith. A spiritual “leap of faith” is not from unbelief to belief, it is from fear to love. Trusting that….. love is the last thing standing.

Amen.

Tomorrow is President’s Day, isn’t it?

When I was growing up we had a board game: The Presidents Game. And my brother and I loved it.

We learned all sorts of presidential trivia: Tippacanoe and Tyler Too, 54 -40 or fight!

We learned about which presidents were assassinated:Garfield could have survived if there had been a better understanding of sanitation. He died of infection.

We learned that Rutherford B. Hayes was the first president to win the Electoral College and lose the popular vote to New Yorker, Samuel Tilden.

I remember feeling angry then. It wasn’t fair! Little did I know….

We felt bad that we went to Harding Elementary School after learning about the Tea Pot Dome Scandal.

Does everyone know that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Died on the same day, and it wasn’t any old day July 4, 1876 – exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

I loved the story of Teddy Roosevelt camping in the High Sierras with John Muir.

Our favorite story to share with friends was about William Howard Taft… all 300 plus pounds of him, who got stuck in the White House bathtub.

James Buchanan was the only president who never married, which did seem pretty trivial. It was only as an adult that I learned he had a live-in partner of the male variety. So if anyone ever wonders about whether we will ever have an LGBTQ president, We can say, “We already have!”

But it wasn’t just the trivia I learned. The game enticed me to learn more about our presidents.

What interested me more was the vision of presidents, not just what their policies were what they said on the campaign trail, but to try to discern their hearts. What were their dreams?

What vision compelled them to want to be president?

Jefferson had a dream for America that extended across the continent: The Louisiana Purchase. The Corp of Discovery. Monticello – full of artifacts from all over America.

Lincoln dreamed of a reconciled America. I often wonder what would have been different if he had survived.

Teddy Roosevelt dreamed of a more progressive America. He confronted the Robber Barons. Lifted the condition of the poor and even provided National Parks for all.

Wilson dreamed of the League of Nations.

Johnson of the Great Society.

Jimmy Carter of peace in the Middle East.

There were nightmares too:

James K. Polk dreamed of expansion into Mexico and California. Manifest Destiny.

George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq.

My brother and I mutually decided that Andrew Johnson was the worst. The only president, at that time to have been impeached.

But it wasn’t only that Johnson was from Tennessee and he didn’t share Lincoln’s dream. He vetoed the Civil Acts Act of 1866 which would have given African Americans equal protection under the law.

He said the act would, “give a perfect equality of white and black races…. this is a country for white men and by God as long as I am president it shall be a government for white men.”

There’s a nightmare for you.

The election of 1828 was about contrasting visions, between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.

John Quincy Adams was a diplomat and an intellectual. He spoke 7 languages and he had a progressive vision to spend money on infrastructure, to create a national university, a central bank, even the first space observatory.

He was envisioning a bold future for America.

Andrew Jackson was a war hero, specifically of the Battle of New Orleans.

A fierce man of the frontier – known for his anger, he was involved in at least 3 duels, one in which he killed a man. He was considered a man of the people, unlike elitist Adams, who argued for states rights – more personal freedom – he was known to slaughter Native Peoples, and was also responsible for the Trail of Tears.

Two dreams for America…. Did we make the right choice?

As one might imagine another part of my exploration into the dreams of presidents is to wonder how they harmonize with the Dreams of God.

I have often talked about the Bible as the Story of God, but it is also the Dream of God. It tells what God has done, but also implicates God’s desire and intent.

That all people are created in the image of God, contrary to what Andrew Johnson said.

That the creation is good, and we have a covenant with the creation too.

That God is about love and grace. And caring for the “least of these.”

The Old Testament text from the lectionary for this Sunday comes from Leviticus. It is about caring for the poor.

Specifically that when owners harvest they should not harvest the whole field but leave the edges and gleanings for the poor. What might those gleanings be today? Food stamps? Healthcare? The Americans with Disabilities Act? Housing for the homeless?

The Gospel reading is well-known and is about non-violence— the exhortation not to retaliate.

But it must be said, that this is not an invitation to be passive. It doesn’t mean turn the other cheek in defeat.

It is about non-violent resistance. For Romans, one slapped an inferior with the back of his hand. If he used the palm of his hand it meant that person was equal.

To turn the other cheek was to claim equality. If was non-violent defiance.

The same is true of the extra cloak and mile. If one gave a second coat to the Roman soldier one was naked – thus embarrassing the soldier.

Roman soldiers were allowed to request people to carry their things one mile, but only one mile. If one carried it two miles the soldier would get in trouble.

Non-violent resistance to those in power is part of the Dream of God.

This text is from the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the Beatitudes.

The call to be salt of the earth. The admonition to love our enemies. To give alms. And not too worry. Not to judge others.

This is all about the Dream of God.

Amongst the presidents, who would we imagine shared the Dream of God?

I think Abraham Lincoln’s ripening conviction about the emancipation of slaves mirrored God’s dream. John Quincy Adams had a vision that included equality. Have we all seen the movie Amistad?

And frankly the president who may have been most guided by his faith is Jimmy Carter.

So what of our new president?

I am not confident that President Trump is guided by God’s dream.

His talks about “America First.” But he isn’t even the first person to use it. That honor goes to Pat Buchanan.

Sadly, I feel as though the dreams of Donald Trump are an extension of the dreams of himself.

The nightmare I am worried about comes from Steve Bannon. What is the ideology behind “America First?”

Bannon has a thought out, organized and theological vision. And it centers on what he calls “enlightened capitalism.” And the Judeo-Christian Tradition.

He believes that these specifically carry forth the will of God. That is to say that capitalism and European Christians are special. That for him…. They carry God’s dream.

Bannon believes in what he calls the 4 turnings in American history. It’s a lot to explain. Suffice it to say, that he believes that we are at the beginning of a 4^th turning, and in that turning war is inevitable, in this case, with Islam.

It is an apocalyptic vision in which violence is expected. No turning the other cheek for Bannon. It’s hit ‘em in the gut!

Before Trump was a candidate he called in to Bannon’s radio show on Breitbart news and they were talking about immigration. Trump was advocating vetting immigrants even back then.

Bannon’s response was, why talk about vetting? Why let anyone in at all?

Bannon has problems not only with illegal immigration, but legal immigration as well.

He worries about too many CEOs of companies in Silicon Valley being Indian.

Bannon expects war with China in over China’s expansion into the South China Sea.

He believes that Islam is a religion of war.

He shares a belief with Trump that some people have better genes and Trump has been successful because of that.

He believes that America is a Christian nation for white people.

He even believes that only property owners should be allowed to vote.

That would leave me out – In spite of being white!

I recently viewed an Hispanic journalist interviewing a “Trump supporter” who kept using the words “our people.” By which he meant white Americans, saying that America belonged to “his people.”

Are we not all American people?

Bannon talks a lot of Judeo-Christian Tradition, but the problem is he forgot about Jesus!

I know another person who had a dream for America, and it is far closer to God’s dream.

Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; One day, right there in Alabama little black girls and black boys will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.   

This is God’s Dream.

Not Steve Bannon’s, who, by the way, before he jumped on Trump’s wagon wanted Jeff Sessions to be president.

There is an anniversary that needs to be observed today. It was 75 years ago today that President Franklin D. Roosevelt Instituted Executive Order 9066. Do we all know what that was? It was the removal of Americans of Japanese ancestry from coastal areas on the Pacific coast.

In retrospect, I think we all believe that this was an injustice.

But here we are, with proposals to register Muslims.

I have no doubt that if Bannon were senior advisor to President Roosevelt, he would have advised sending them all back to Japan.

And now Steve Bannon has been made a permanent member of the National Security Council – are you serious?! In place of the head of the joint chiefs of staff?

To make matters worse, President Trump now says he signed the order without knowing it!

Steve Bannon’s dream is not God’s dream. It is rather a nightmare!

(And this is where I miss George Brown…..)

Blessed are the meek and the pure of heart.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Blessed are those who hunger for justice rather than prosperity.

(Billionaires’ genes are not better than anyone else’s!)

Blessed are the poor.

Do not harvest it all.

(Take it all! Accumulate it all!)

But care for the poor.

Do not retaliate, but resist – non-violently.

Blessed are the merciful, the compassionate….

These sayings of Jesus are not simply descriptions of how things are, they are imperatives of how we are to live in God’s Dream.

And who’s going to say so? Is this really a time to be wishy-washy?

How can we not speak out?

There comes a time when we have to stop pussy footing around and preach the gospel again!

To claim God’s Dream.

To say NO to nightmares like Steve Bannon’s.

If there is some sort of historical turning going on as Bannon believes, let it not be to “Make America White Again!”

Not Andrew Johnson’s dream, but Abraham Lincoln’s dream.

Not Andrew Jackson’s dream – a trail of tears, but John Quincy Adams dream.

Not the robber barons dream, but the dream of Teddy Roosevelt.

Not the dream of America First, but God’s inclusive, loving vision where people are not judged for the color of their skin, but for the content of their character.

And all the people said….

Amen.