St. Matthew’s Sermon 08-07-2016

It’s the Economy: Stupid!

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, Luke 12:32-40

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God. Amen

Today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke comes as a part of Jesus’ teaching about anxiety over the things of life; a stretch of teachings about how to prioritize the importance of things of life.

It starts at the beginning of chapter 12 where Jesus speaks these words…

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more.  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him”!  

But these words of warning about fearing God’s judgment more than persecution are immediately followed with words of assurance, the words that inspired one of my favorite hymns, as Jesus continues…

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows”.

(Sing) His eye is on the sparrow, I know he watches me!

After this Jesus tells the story you (I assume) heard last week about the farmer with a remarkable harvest who stored it all up so he could live a life of leisure only to die that very night. Yet even this warning is followed with assurance as Jesus adds…

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! … Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you–you of little faith”!

And, yet once more, Jesus gives a warning…

“And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying; For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his  kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well”.

And, yet once more, Jesus gives an assurance; the first line of today’s reading…

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”.

Just in that brief review, I have highlighted 3 of Jesus’ warnings; each one accompanied by an assurance! Fear God! : Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows”!

‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you’. : “Consider the ravens; they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds”!

“And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink… : “Do not be afraid, little flock…”

Through it all we see the dichotomy, the tension, between what we should be anxious about and what (or who) can relieve our anxiety; what we should fear and what (or who) can relieve our fears.

(Sing) …’twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved…

Now, in the rest of today’s reading, the tension continues; but at a much faster pace as Jesus pushes the emphasis toward the sense of immediacy in his declarations.

“Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks”.

Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

With these words Jesus stresses the commands for living as a Christian and the rewards for doing so: Give up and give alms; give up and receive; be ready and be rewarded! Now spoken, not in two separate paragraphs, not even in separate sentences in the same paragraph, but in the same sentence!

Just look back at verse 34 that reads, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. Depending on where your heart is, this is either a curse or a blessing. In that one sentence Jesus offers a warning to you if your heart is focused on gaining earthly wealth; or a blessing to you if your heart is focused on God and living as a Child of God; a servant of God, dressed for action with your lamp lit; ready at the unexpected hour.

So far, I’ve addressed all this using singular pronouns: you, yours, me, my (although in the English language that’s hard to see); and the story was precipitated by a question from one man. But Jesus’ Disciples were with him (the future church) and there was a crowd of thousands gathered, so many “they trampled one another” (like a nation). We must know, then, that this does apply to each one of us as followers of Christ, but it also applies to all of us as the Church and all of us as a nation.

Contemplating these thoughts, as I wrote this sermon in the context of our current political situation, I was reminded of a phrase coined by James Carville during President Bill Clinton’s first campaign to keep workers in focus: it’s “the economy, stupid”. That is; it’s the economy [comma] stupid. I used that phrase for my sermon title today, with one tiny little revision, writing     “it’s the economy [colon] Stupid.”

Yes, money has its importance, but it must not be our only focus in our personal, Church, or national lives. Further, I will state that it must not be our top priority in any aspect of our lives!

Please consider this in your personal life; is your treasure a curse or a blessing? And for St. Matthew’s Church; is our treasure a curse or a blessing? And for the United States of America; is our treasure a curse or a blessing?

They’re hard questions, they must be asked, and, as followers of Christ, we must seek the answers.

Amen.

Luke 12:32-40
12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
12:33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
12:35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;
12:36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.
12:37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.
12:38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
12:39 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
12:40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
1:1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
1:11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
1:12 When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more;
1:13 bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and calling of convocation– I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
1:14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.
1:15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
1:16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
1:17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
1:18 Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
1:20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
11:2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval.
11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.
11:9 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
11:10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11:11 By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old–and Sarah herself was barren–because he considered him faithful who had promised.
11:12 Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”
11:13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,
11:14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
11:15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return.
11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.