Good Posture

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday August 28, 2011, the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Exodus 3:1-15                       

Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c

Romans 12:9-21                      

Matthew 16:21-28

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen

Good posture is important to good health. Of course it benefits the skeletal and muscular system, especially how the two interact, but other body systems benefit from good posture too. Pinched nerves are caused by compressing, constricting, or stretching them. They aren’t as likely to get pinched with good posture. Good posture also benefits the digestive system. As for the circulatory system, you’re less likely to get that tingly “pins and needles” feeling with good posture. Good posture helps tremendously when it comes to helping us maintain good health.

Physical, bodily posture is one thing, but there are other good postures in our lives too. In faith circles we talk about postures of prayer and praise, worship and gratitude.

One of the major postures we are supposed to take is one of total subservience to our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I couldn’t help but feel that when I chose the word “subservience” I used a five-dollar word when a cheaper one would do. Since I couldn’t think of one any better, I decided to check my thesaurus to see if it had a suggestion and I was not disappointed.

Some of the words the thesaurus suggested[1] were dependence, humility, obedience, subordination, and submissiveness. The thesaurus also offered up words that implied on one extreme being dominated by someone or on the other sucking up to someone. Neither of these postures is appropriate. I guess if I was looking for one word, “subservience” was the best because this posture needs to take into account all of the aspects its synonyms. This is the point Jesus was making with Peter.

As the disciples go, Peter is probably my favorite. He’s bold and dynamic. He loves Jesus and he is loved in return. Perhaps the most glorious element to being Peter is that when he’s right, he’s right. Just last week when Jesus asked who the disciples think he is we heard Peter say “You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” He was right. Of course, when Peter is wrong, he is very wrong. You gotta love Peter, when he goes down in flames he goes down in his own flames.

Our reading begins by Jesus telling his disciples that he, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, was going to suffer at the hands of the leaders of the temple and synagogues. He told them that he must be killed so that on the third day he could be raised to life. So in our very next reading after Jesus’ grand proclamation about the future of his Church on Earth, we hear that the head of the Church will be murdered by those he came to save.

Well, this just wouldn’t do! The Jews of the first century saw the Messiah as a great leader who would triumphantly enter Jerusalem and throw off the shackles of whoever was the resident oppressor. Throwing off the rule of the Roman prelates and establishing the Kingdom of God on earth was supposed to happen next, not suffering and death and whatever being raised meant.

Peter was confident; he had just gotten a “100” on his last pop quiz, so he was ready to take this one on too. As I said, he knew what the Messiah was supposed to do; unfortunately he was willing to share that information with Jesus. Peter takes him aside and cries, “Never, Lord!” (At least he has the good sense to take Jesus aside first so he doesn’t play this scene out in front of everybody.) Other translations say “God forbid it!” instead of the simpler “Never!” I like the Greek version’s use of two different words for “no” in this verse, one following the other. Peter doesn’t just tell Jesus “No!” He tells Jesus “Super No!”

“Jesus tuned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’” Now it’s easy for us to overemphasize the significance of Jesus calling Peter “Satan.” It’s a pretty nasty thing to call anybody and nastier when it’s the Lord who says it. As easy as it is for us to exaggerate Jesus calling Peter “Satan,” it isn’t as important as why he called him “Satan.”

“Satan” is simply the Greek and Hebrew word for adversary. One writer explains Jesus using this word this way: “Peter is called Satan by Jesus, because his attempt to turn Jesus aside from his divine assignment to accept the consequences of his involvement with humanity has made him a tempter of a diabolical sort, who might thwart the divine plan of salvation. This metaphoric usage relates to the striking verdict.”[2]

Jesus calls Peter a stumbling block, not the guy with horns and a tail from Dante’s “Inferno.” Jesus knows his place and is calling Peter back to his. Jesus doesn’t want to dominate us and he isn’t looking for a bunch of fanny-kissing “yes-men.” Jesus is looking for partners in service to God and creation. This is the posture Jesus asks us to take. He wants us to take this posture not just physically but spiritually. He also wants us to take this posture actively in service, not passively in our seats.

He wants us to stand up for him and with him and carry his banner into the world, or in his own words, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

One of the wonderful things about the history of the faith is the stories that we don’t know can help enlighten us when considering the words of the gospel. Often these little things come to us in words and expressions that mean one thing to us today, but when they were originally used meant something different.

An example from our time is the word “scuttlebutt.” Most people use this word as a synonym for “gossip,” but the source of this word explains it even better. On naval vessels, the place where sailors got fresh drinking water was called the “scuttlebutt.” This is not just where people got fresh water, but of course it’s where people got all the fresh news of the day. Business has a similar expression, “water cooler talk.” The scuttlebutt was a ship’s water cooler. The gossip on a ship eventually became known by the place where it was shared. From there it entered common language.  I’m just saying the expressions we use everyday mean more when we learn their origins.

We know what “take up his cross.” means to us. It means to be disciples, followers taking the posture of being behind Jesus. It means we are to follow him in all ways, but when this was written, it meant several different things.

Some believe that this expression meant the same thing in the first century it means today, no difference. But others compare “taking up his cross” with taking on a yoke like those of working oxen, its mantle representing the horizontal piece of the crucifix. Some believe it has militaristic characteristics which would fit wonderfully with a politically triumphant Messiah. Others attribute this phrase to a popular expression which was originally applied to the zealots and later to Jesus’ followers as a sort of rallying cry or curse.[3] Imagine someone crying out to a zealot “Eh, take up your cross!” as a sort of “get out of here” or “whatcha gonna do about it?”

These are just three additional examples of where this expression took root in the first century. I like them because like knowing the origins of a scuttlebutt, we learn more about what this expression meant to the people who said it and the people who heard it. But there is one theory I like even better.

In ancient Israel, the Greek letter “Tau”, our letter “T” was worn by some people as a cultic marking, a sign of protection and possession. After the crucifixion, the Tau was connected with the historical cross of Jesus as a seal of possession in Christ.[4] Maybe this was on the mind of the community that wrote this gospel. Now, don’t worry, this is not a call for the people of the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall and the rest of the Body of Christ to head downtown to the tattoo shop to get some ink. The Tau is a sign, a symbol. Symbols communicate action; they do not perform the action.[5] We use another symbol to communicate this action.

We carry the cross in the waters of our baptism. As some took the Tau was a symbol, we accept the water and living wet as the sign that we rise and die and rise again with Christ. As Jesus called the followers to take up the cross, we are called by our confessions to improve our baptism.[6] In our baptism we accept Jesus’ call to faithfulness, rebirth, and covenant into the body of Christ.[7]

This is the cross he calls us to bear, the posture he calls us to take, the posture of being a good disciple.

We have been told all our lives to improve our posture and “stand up straight.” But there’s more to it than that. A recent article about good posture says this:

Most people think that to “stand up straight” means tensing your back to heave your chest ‘in and up’, and pulling your head back in to your chest. This is not so. The spine has two natural curves that you need to maintain called the ‘double C’ or ‘S’ curves, these are the curves found from the base of your head to your shoulders and the curve from the upper back to the base of the spine. When standing straight up, make sure that your weight is evenly distributed on your feet. You might feel like you are leaning forward, and look stupid, but you don't.

Using a mirror, align your ears, shoulders, and hips. Proper alignment places your ears loosely above your shoulders, above your hips. Again, these points make a straight line, but the spine itself curves in a slight ‘S’. You'll find that this doesn't hurt at all. If you do experience pain, look at your side view in a mirror to see if you're forcing your back into an unnatural position. If so, stop it! [8]

When sitting at a chair, the author offers this advice:

Sit in an office chair.

Align your back with the back of the office chair. Avoid slouching or leaning forward, especially when tired from sitting in the office chair for long periods. Keep your shoulders straight.[9]

This advice is all good and well, and a wonderful description for us used to the furniture of the Americas and Western Europe. But this advice isn’t always the best when viewed through the eyes of others.

In her book “The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body and Design,” architecture professor Galen Cranz describes no fewer than six postures in which to work: standing, sitting, lying, perching, squatting and “autonomous sitting” (that’s using a stool). In photos from the Upper Volta:

“Cranz noticed two men with fabulous posture: spines erect, heads balanced, necks relaxed. Not coincidentally, they were the only people in the village who had not attended missionary school [and sat in chairs]. For Cranz, this was an epiphany: The problem wasn't poorly designed chairs; the problem was chairs, period. The body is designed to move. As she put it: ‘What's the best posture? The next one.’”[10]

Good posture is important to good health, but we need to remember that sometimes posture needs to change. I think this is a good point and speaks to spiritual posture too; sometimes God calls us to change our posture. We look at the postures of Christ’s disciples and we see some glorious qualities. We see the boldness of Peter. We see the love and the thunder of James and John. We see their willingness to leave everything behind shared by Andrew in the fishing business and Matthew who left the tax collection business. We see the fervor of Simon the Zealot and even the doubt of Thomas. We see good posture as their postures changed too. They left their former lives and got behind Jesus. They followed.

We not only need good posture, we need to be able to shift and maintain good posture like the disciples shifted when they were called to change their lives from what they thought was important, what they thought were the signs of the kingdom; and follow the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

This is what they did and what we are called to do. We are to continue his work. We are to walk his steps. We are to wear his mark. We are called to live in community, in the assembled body of Christ; living wet, and bearing the cross. We do this in subservience; dependence, humility, obedience, subordination, and submissiveness in the life and the work and the glory of Christ. In this, we receive his reward for life in service to the triune God and all of God’s good creation.

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[1] Subservience, http://thesaurus.com/browse/subservience, retrieved August 27, 2011.

[2] Satan, Brown, Driver Briggs. A Greek-English Lexicon f the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature.  Third Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000

[3] Kittel, TDNT, Vol. VII, page 577-578

[4].Ibid.

[5] Lewis, C. S., Screwtape Letters, The, page 125.

[6] Book of Confessions, 7.277

[7] Book of Order, W-2.3004 (2009-2011 Edition)

[8] “How to Improve Your Posture,” http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Posture, retrieved August 27, 2011.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Botello, Alfred, “Don’t Just Sit There.” Utne Reader, March-April, 1999, pages 99-101 retrieved from HomileticsOnline, http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/illustration_search.asp?item_topic_id=2285, retrieved August 27, 2011.

How Do We Say "Who Do You Say I Am?"

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday August 21, 2011, the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Exodus 1:8-2:10

Psalm 124

Romans 12:1-8

Matthew 16:13-20

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen

Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” According to the disciples, “Some say [Jesus is] John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” This is some pretty heady company.

The prophets were celebrated and prominent men of renown. Of course, the lucky ones were hauled off into exile like Jeremiah. The unlucky ones were hauled off and killed, martyred for the Word of God they proclaimed like John the Baptist. The only exception is Elijah who was taken up into heaven without experiencing death. The role of prophet is not for the fickle. The prophets mentioned by the disciples were true heroes of the faith; regaled in poetry, song, and story.

As “names others used for Jesus” was worth asking, this question was only a set-up for the one that came next. He asks his disciples, “But who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In other translations Peter answers this question using the Hebrew word for Christ, Messiah.[i]

As I have said, Matthew’s gospel was written for first century Jews who believed Jesus is the Messiah. So looking at this passage, we shouldn’t look at Peter’s proclamation from our perspective but from his point of view, and that of other first century Jewish believers.

For the Jews, the name Messiah is a particular title, it wasn’t for just anybody. It was used in the Old Testament for the Kings of Israel from the line of David. The title Messiah articulated the special relationship between the Lord and the nation of Israel.[ii]

It recalls the covenant made with Noah, the promise that humanity will not be swept from the face of the earth. It recalls the promises made to Abraham, the promise to become a great nation. It recalls the promises made to Moses, the promises hinted at in our Old Testament reading, the story of his miraculous infancy. Peter called Jesus “Messiah.” To the Jews of every time and age, the Messiah is the Son of God.[iii]

This is how Peter replied to Jesus’ question “Who do you say I am?” Now that Peter has given the answer of a first century Jewish disciple, it’s up to us to answer that question for ourselves as twenty-first century Christians.

Today we answer that question a couple of ways. After the sermon we will answer this question hearing the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”[iv] These words from Matthew’s gospel are “The Great Commission,” the Lord’s final command to his people. They are also the words we use at the beginning of the sacrament of baptism.

Baptism is the glorious sacrament where we welcome new initiates into the community of Christ which is the church. It is through the work of God in Christ that we can say with confidence, “In baptism God claims us, and seals us to show that we belong to God. God frees us from sin and death, uniting us with Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection.”[v]

Through baptism we enter the covenant God has established. In our baptism we declare that within this covenant God gives us new life, guards us from evil, and nurtures us in love. In embracing that covenant, we choose whom we will serve, by turning from evil and turning to Jesus Christ. As God embraces us within the covenant, we are asked to reject sin, to profess faith in Christ Jesus, and to confess the faith of the church, the faith in which we baptize.[vi]

In our baptismal vows we declare our belief in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. We proclaim faith in Jesus Christ, who was born, lived, died, and rose from the dead. We tell the world we believe Jesus is God’s only Son, our Lord who will come to judge the living and the dead. We pronounce our faith in the Holy Spirit, the holy church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.[vii]

This is how we say who Jesus is. We go and make disciples of all nations. We teach, we learn, we remember. We are claimed by God and sealed in the water showing we belong to God. As the hymn goes, we are “baptized in water, sealed by the spirit.”[viii] We publicly announce who Jesus is; receiving new life where God guards us from evil and nurtures us in love. We embrace God’s covenant of love and new life. Embracing God’s promise, choosing to serve the Lord we turn from evil rejecting sin and professing faith in Jesus Christ and the church that he planted. In this church, the church whose cornerstone is laid in our gospel reading, we baptize those who seek his living water. We live the faith pronounced in the Apostles’ Creed, one of the creeds and confessions of the Presbyterian Church.

In the celebration of baptism the parents and the baptized take these vows and make these promises. Yet we also declare Jesus is the Messiah with more than words. In the celebration of the baptism, we, the congregation, promise to guide those being baptized by word and deed, with love and prayer, encouraging them to know and follow Christ and to be faithful members of his church.[ix] There is more than word to this celebration, there is action today and action tomorrow.

The Reverend Alexandra Hendrickson (who prefers being called Alex) is the Pastor of the Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church in Brod-heads-ville, Pennsylvania. I went to seminary with Alex and her husband Brett. The other day she posted this update on facebook:[x]

Good news - gas @ $3.14/gallon with my Giant bonus points. Bad news - smashed my little toe by dropping the gas pump nozzle on it. Worse news - the man at the pump across from me watched me hop around and cry about my bleeding toe and said NOTHING. Worst news - his car had an "I ♥ Jesus" bumper sticker. BEST news - my sweet Thomas (Alex and Brett’s son) flew out of his seat and came to the aid of his ailing Mami [sic]. Jesus' love = action. Glad my 8-year-old knows this.

So here we are with examples of two people sharing their love of Jesus in glaringly different ways. One of them tells the world from the bumper of his vehicle. The other, well, he doesn’t have a vehicle to share his faith from. When the chips are down and it’s time for action though, the little boy, the eight-year-old finds his mami in distress and comes to her aid. The other keeps on with his day thinking nothing of the hopping, yelping woman.

In this moment, one says Jesus belongs on my bumper. The other says Jesus belongs in my life. How do we say “Who do you say I am?”

Today we answer the question joining Peter saying “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” We say this in word. We say this in celebrating the sacrament of Baptism, and we will also celebrate this announcement in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

We celebrate this sacrament in thanksgiving taking the bread and the cup and proclaiming the death and resurrection of our Lord until he comes again. We hope and trust God will receive our sacrifice of praise and pour out the Holy Spirit upon us that this meal may be a communion in the body and blood of our Lord. We pray God will make us one with Christ and with all who share his feast. By this we have faith God will unite us in faith, encourage us with hope, and inspire us to love, that we may serve as faithful disciples until we feast at the Lord’s Table in glory.[xi]

This is how we answer the question “Who do you say I am.” We answer the question in faith. We answer the question in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We give thanks for the sacraments, the outward signs which convey God’s inward grace.[xii] We answer the question in actions which include supporting the newly baptized. We answer this question collecting school supplies for Robert E. Lee Elementary School.

I say we answer the question about who Jesus by the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We can also say we use these two ways to answer Jesus’ question to his disciples: words and deeds. Today we will answer Jesus’ question in worship, sacrament, and fellowship. We will answer Jesus’ question in word and in deed and this is important. In the end, where the rubber meets the road, if all we have are words on our bumpers we will never reach out and touch the world where it is needed the most.

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[i] The New Revised Standard Version and New Living Translations for example.

[ii] “Christ” entry, New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible.  Volume 1. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, Gen. Ed. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006, page 602

[iii] Ibid, page 603

[iv] Matthew 28:18-20

[v] Theology and Worship Ministry Unit of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  “The Book of Common Worship.”  Louisville, Kentucky:  Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993, page 404

[vi] Ibid. 406-407

[vii] Condensed version of “The Apostles’ Creed.” Ibid, 409.

[viii] Saward, Michael A., “Baptized in Water” Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing, 1981. This hymn is sung to the tune of Bunessan, the same tune used for “Morning is Broken”

[ix] Ibid, page 406.

[x] Alex gave me permission to use this wonderful, glorious story of action that as far as I’m concerned could just as well be a replay of “The Good Samaritan.”

[xi] Ibid. page 152

[xii] McKim, Donald K. Westminster dictionary of theological terms.  Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1996, page 245.

Of the Faithful, For the Faithful

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday August 14, 2011, the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Genesis 45:1-15

Psalm 133

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

Matthew 15:21-28

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen

Covenant, the tie that binds. Covenants are different from contracts. Both are legal agreements, both are between two parties; and that’s where the similarities end. In contracts both parties have obligations to one another. In contracts both parties have to bring something to the table. In contracts both parties can be penalized for failure to honor the agreement. Not so in a covenant. A contract is a legal agreement between two parties but a covenant is an agreement, a promise, one party makes to another.

Covenants are promises made by taking a solemn oath. A couple of weeks ago, our Old Testament reading was what’s known as “Jacob’s Ladder,” the dream containing God’s covenant with Jacob.[1] Jacob receives this promise, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”[2]

There is a formula to covenant.[3] It began with a solemn promise made binding by an oath. The promise in Jacob’s Ladder was made in verbally. Such an action or formula is recognized by both parties as a formal act which binds the one who makes the promise to fulfill it. In this instance the Lord uses words to make the promise. Jacob recognizes the promise setting a stone as a pillar and pouring oil over it. This is when he names that place Bethel, Hebrew for House of God.

Genesis 37 contains another covenant promise, this one made to Joseph. The promises made to Joseph are symbolic, not verbal. Where Jacob’s promises are declared in plain speech, the promises made to Joseph come in his dreams. Receiving the same promise twice, once represented by the wheat in the field and then again by the stars in the skies, God’s covenant that Joseph will have dominion over his brothers is established and confirmed.

Our Genesis reading from last week seems to erect a detour to this covenant. Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers and taken to Egypt. It would be logical to assume with your brother sold into slavery you would never have to bow down before him. As the old joke goes: Men plan, God laughs. Today, we read how Joseph’s dreams come true, how the Lord’s covenant is fulfilled.

In our Genesis reading today, we see not only how God’s covenant is fulfilled, but what it means for the promises made to Jacob. In verse five of our reading, we learn how even the brother’s betrayal cannot stop the Lord from keeping his covenant with Joseph. “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” The covenant with Jacob was fulfilled through the covenant with Joseph.

What confidence we can have when we know and trust the Lord because of a personal covenant. Joseph could bear years of slavery knowing that it was all a part of God’s plan. He even tells his brothers “It was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” Yes, Joseph bore pain and indignity of slavery. He was falsely accused and imprisoned, but he knew his place. He knew and trusted God would keep covenant. Joseph lived in faith and trust. By these two covenants working in accord the nation of Israel would grow large and strong in the land of Goshen while the rest of the world languished in famine.

Our reading from Matthew ties its roots back to an even older covenant, a covenant made by God to Abram in Genesis 12, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[4] This is the root of the saying “salvation comes from the Jews.” The Lord promises Abram not only that he will be made a great nation, but that he and his nation will be a blessing to all the families of the earth.

This blessing is highlighted in Matthew 10 when Jesus sends his disciples out to the world saying, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’”[5] The blessing of the Lord and from the Lord is sent first to the Jews.

This is why Jesus tells the Canaanite woman “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

I think I’ve done a pretty good job of explaining where Jesus was coming from so far. I like to think I’m pretty good at explaining things. One of my favorite pastors was an explainer and listening to his sermons for over five years influenced my preaching style tremendously. One of the things he taught me was if you don’t understand it, don’t try to explain it.

Let me share this with you: I have no idea how to “explain” how and why Jesus responds to Canaanite woman like he did. It rubs me the wrong way to see Jesus so callus, so cavalier to someone who is desperately in need, a need that extends beyond her daughter’s demon possession. She is not a member of the twelve tribes; she is a gentile, a foreigner. There doesn’t seem to be a husband or son to care of the family business. In this society, being what would appear to be a single mother, is another big strike against her and her daughter.

She doesn’t appear to have any money or other goods to trade. Evidently the healing arts of the time were unable to help, assuming the healers of the time would have anything to do with her or her tormented daughter in the first place. She is at her wits end and this is when she sees Jesus on the road.

How did she know he was Jesus of Nazareth? Scripture doesn’t say. Surely she didn’t see his picture in the paper or on the news. He wasn’t wearing a name tag, but she knew him when she saw him. She also knew about him. She called him the Lord and the Son of David, both titles belonging to the Jewish Messiah. She knew he was a healer. She knew he was compassionate. She saw him, she came to him, and she cried her plea, “Have mercy.”

His first response is simply ignoring her. Whether he just kept walking or took a seat and turned his back scripture doesn’t say. Neither would have been comforting. After her second cry, Jesus explains why he denies her with the authoritative answer “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” This answer doesn’t help a lick even though it’s the covenant answer, the “correct” answer. Frankly this answer has all the pastoral sensitivity of nails on a chalkboard. She cries out again and finally after rejecting her twice, he insults her and her entire race. This is my opinion, and I believe many would agree with me; this seems harsh.

Nevertheless it’s his answer and even though it’s the right answer it doesn’t help. Jesus knew his mission and this may sound like a restrictive way to describe God Incarnate, but Jesus knew his place and his place began with the children if Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus tells her that the blessing she seeks is not for her, but she points out that the dogs get to lick the floor and pick up the spills. The dogs get to share in the blessings of the master even if they were not intended to receive them.

I can’t explain his words, but this I do know, the blessing of the Lord is overflowing, and even if this woman and her daughter aren’t intended to receive this blessing, they still receive the remains. You see, this Canaanite woman knew her place in Jewish society, a place that didn’t exist. She didn’t count on her status or her power to be entitled to a blessing, but she had faith, faith that God’s overflowing love would be enough for her family.

Last week we heard Peter test Jesus. We heard Peter say “Lord, if it is you tell me to come to you on the water.”[6] Peter wasn’t up to trusting, so he tested. The Canaanite woman does no such thing. She doesn’t say “If you are the Lord” or “If you are the Son of David.” She knows, she believes, and she trusts.

Her faith is greater than Peter’s. That’s right, at this moment the faith of an impoverished Gentile single mother is greater than the faith of the Rock upon which the Church will be built. She is faithful. Jesus declares her faith is great. She cries out.

So what is her faith? Her faith is that Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord, the Son of David is enough. Christ the Messiah is enough for her, her life, and her needs. She’s not entitled to his blessing, yet she has faith. Her faith has nothing to do with deserving his blessing, but that he will bless her even though she doesn’t deserve it. Romans 5:8 says it this way, “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”

This is her faith. She hoped, prayed, and she had faith that while she didn’t deserve what she cried for; it might still be granted. She knew that even though he owed her nothing she had faith that there might be a leftover crumb and that crumb would be enough.

Jesus knows his path, Jesus knows his vocation is first to the nation of Israel, but he also knows that when the cup of his bounty overflows, others will be blessed from the font of many blessings. Jesus is faithful to Israel, and by her faith he is faithful to the Canaanite woman healing her daughter. Saved by grace through faith, this is the foundation of our faith.

God has a plan for salvation. We see its beginnings in Genesis. We see it in the covenant with Abram. We see it in the covenant with Jacob. We see it in the covenant with Joseph. Today we read how Joseph’s covenant plays out and provides for the covenant with Jacob.

God has a plan for salvation which begins with the Jews, and through the Jews all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

If there is something important for us to take from this story, it begins with the fact that God’s love is gracious. It is undeserved. And it is overflowing. Flowing like a great flood, the grace of God in Christ will not be contained. God promised by the faithfulness of Israel the world will be blessed, and the gospel gives the world its first indication of that all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

It is also important for us to know that this new blessing will not come without controversy. This narrative must have been scandalous when it was first shared with the nation that this Canaanite woman is blessed by the Lord. The truth is that when blessings overflow to the feet of outsiders, insiders will not be comfortable. It is up to us to know that what God is doing is not meant to make us comfortable, it is meant to save us.

In Genesis, the Lord established what he will do. In Matthew, the Lord established he will do that and more. God will not be limited, not by culture or even by death. God doesn’t change, but the world does; and God saves the world and all that is in it.

I can’t explain why Jesus said what he said, and especially not how he said it. But I believe to a certain degree I can explain why Jesus did what he did. Jesus is faithful and responds to the faithful. What Matthew shows us is the first time this gracious response touched the gentiles.

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[1] Genesis 28:10-22

[2] Genesis 28: 13b-15

[3] “Covenant,” Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible.

[4] Genesis 12:1b-3

[5] Matthew 10:5b-6

[6] Matthew 14:28

Boat on the Sea

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday August 7, 2011, the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b

Romans 10:5-15

Matthew 14:22-33

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

This week has been so hot that I’ve been reminiscing about Christmas, particularly the Chrismons, the symbols that hang on our tree. There are loads of them and each of these symbols has a meaning for the faith. There are doves and fish and letters and crosses and triangles just for a start. There are in all a couple dozen designs that go on the tree.

The triangles represent the trinity. The crosses represent the crucifixion. These are pretty obvious. The letters that look like a capital X and a capital P are the Greek letters Chi and Rho, the first two letters in the word “Christ.” The fish generally has the Greek letters ICQYS inside which spell the Greek word for fish. Looking at the letters like initials they stand for the sentence “Jesus Christ God’s Son Saves” in Greek. The doves can represent God’s peace or the Holy Spirit, or the dove at the end of the story of Noah and the Ark.

There are a whole bunch of chrismons and they all mean something different. There is a traditional Chrismon that we don’t have on our tree though, the sailboat. The sailboat represents the church.

After the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus made the disciples, the twelve apostles along with other believers, go to the other side of the sea, shipping them off in a boat while he saw off the rest of the masses.

This is the first time in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus sends the disciples off on their own. For the disciples, they must have felt like kids being sent off to camp for the first time-apprehensive but excited. For Jesus, it must have felt like being the parent-apprehensive, excited, and maybe probably glad to have a moment alone. No wonder Jesus went off to pray.

So later in the evening, early in the morning really, the boat was being buffeted by the waves. Headway was difficult and the sea was dangerous. Jesus didn’t promise them an easy trip, he just told them to get going.

The sea holds special meaning for Matthew’s readers, the Jewish disciples. To them, the sea was a place of danger and uncertainty. Several of them knew the dangers of the sea first hand; but all of them knew from the creation story that the waters were the place of chaos. The waters were a place of danger and death. Swiss theologian Karl Barth pegged ancient Jewish feelings about the waters saying, “It is a representative of all the evil powers which oppress and resist the salvation intended for the people of Israel.”[1] They were in the midst of their worst known and unknown fears in that pre-dawn darkness.

Without Jesus their lives were in the chaos, and they feared dying without him. Still, they weren’t terrified… yet.

In their rain soaked wind battered vessel, suddenly they see someone, something, walking toward them on the water, and then they were terrified. Scripture says they asked “Is it a ghost?” Now I just can’t imagine a bunch of terrified men having a chat, discussing whoever or whatever it is that has power to walk across the churning sea, and asking questions like “Is it a ghost?” like they’re a debating society.

Instead, I imagine a bunch of scared men, some experienced deckhands but most of them landlubbers deluxe, losing their battle against the world of chaos that seeks nothing less than their lives, seeing something that looks like Jesus but can’t possibly be human. As scary as the storm is for them, the vision is what terrifies them. They know the sea as a place of death, so it can’t really be Jesus walking on the water; it must be some kind of phantom. Scripture says “they cried out in fear.” As for me, I would be screaming like a little girl.

Jesus responds, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

That’s the way it reads in English, but it’s not what the people heard him say. What they heard was Jesus taking the Greek version of the name of God for himself. They heard him boom over the roar of the storm “I AM,” not “It is I.” That just might have been even scarier than seeing a ghost.

Jesus tells the disciples not to be afraid. Fat chance, eh? Jesus tells them He is who he is, as the Lord God told Moses I AM WHO I AM. So Peter, the Rock (and with a nickname like that, we should have seen what’s coming next), he says, “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus says, “Come” and Peter does.

It’s all good for a couple of steps; but when pummeled by the wind and the rain and the waves; the chaos of water and life overwhelm Peter and he begins to sink. He cries out, “Lord, save me!”  Jesus immediately reaches out to Peter saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

The traditional reading of these last words of Jesus on the water is that with a little more faith, Peter would have made it to Jesus. Imagine my surprise to find one of my commentaries says this isn’t what this passage is about.[2] The commentary says this passage is about the Lord and the church. The church is represented by the sailboat, just like with the Chrismon. So like I said earlier, the sea is the chaos of all creation and now the boat is the church. This makes us the boat on the sea.

Getting back to the narrative: As usual, Peter has his own ideas. He sees the Lord on the sea and says, “If it is you, then command me to come to you,” and the Lord replies “Come.” People see Peter’s subsequent sinking as a sign that his faith isn’t strong enough. With just a little more faith, Peter could have made it to Jesus and they could have walked together in victory to the boat. Well, that’s not what I think anymore.

First of all, the command to come is not Jesus testing Peter’s faith. This is Peter testing Jesus. Let me say that again, this is Peter testing Jesus. Let me rephrase what Peter said to Jesus: “You have just said you are not a ghost. You have just identified yourself by the name of the Lord God. So if it is you, command me to come to you.”

Jesus won’t tell a lie. He’s not a ghost, he is the Lord, it is he, and he is who he is. Jesus answers Peter’s question, “Is it you?” the way Peter asked it be answered, “Command me to come!”

You gotta give it to Jesus; he answers our prayers even when it makes us look foolish.

So Peter leaves the relative safety of the boat and tries to get to Jesus on his own. And when he does, the treacherous world drops on his head and he begins to sink. Begging for salvation, he is plucked out of chaos by Jesus, the gracious Lord who takes Peter by the hand and returns him to the boat.

In the broader symbolic sense, Peter not only leaves the boat, he leaves the church and tries to get to Jesus on his own. He tries and he sinks, and so it is with any of us. When we try to get to God on our own, inevitably chaos overwhelms us. When we leave the church to find God on our own, the church which is the body of Christ, we ultimately fail miserably and find ourselves sinking in the morass.

Peter’s little faith is not that he couldn’t get to Jesus. His little faith was that he thought leaving the boat, the church, was the way to get to Jesus. His little faith was that he thought he could walk across the sea, across the chaos of creation, to get to Jesus. His little faith was that he thought it better to walk through the chaos himself without his comrades in the faith than wait for Jesus to make it to the boat.

Peter’s little faith was depending on himself and not on the coming of Jesus, the grace of God. Is there a more dramatic example of grace than Jesus coming to the boat? Than Jesus coming to the Church? While we were sinners, while we were still fearful, while we still thought nature had domain over our lives; Jesus comes into our lives. Jesus comes and picks us up out of chaos. Jesus comes and saves us. Jesus comes to the church and stills the storms of our lives.

Peter’s little faith was not in the loss of sincere belief or brave action; he had lost faith that Jesus would come to the church thinking it was up to him to go on his own. He placed too much faith in himself and not enough in Christ the Lord.

I know that this is not the usual way of interpreting this scripture. The traditional way of looking at this passage has us seeing Peter and his faith. The way this scripture is traditionally interpreted, it’s all about Peter. Now that I have looked at it differently, I don’t want to go back to thinking about Peter. Scripture is not about us, about humanity, it’s about God. This rendering, brings us closer to that. This rendering has this passage about the church and Christ, not about personal shortcomings, and that’s important.

The Word of God is about God. It’s about God’s work. It’s about God’s sovereignty. It’s about who God is, it’s not about us.

God’s sovereignty is found in Genesis when the wind, the breath, the Spirit of God, sweeps over the waters and in a word God said “Let there be light, and there was light. We find evidence of his sovereignty when God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters,” separating the waters of chaos from the waters of life.

Our reading brings Jesus demonstrating his sovereignty over the waters of chaos walking across them and stilling them. The response of the people showed what should always be the response of God’s people, bowing down, worshiping, and saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

We find the sovereignty of Jesus affirmed in the words of Paul in Romans when he writes “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.  For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Paul would have told us to be like Jesus, the one who ate with prostitutes, tax collectors, scribes, Pharisees, and other sinners.  He would have reminded us God is our refuge and our strength.  He would have told us the world will know we are Christians by our love.  Paul would have told us all not just to get on the boat as Jesus commanded, but stay in the boat.  He’s coming.

Jesus not only saves us individually, as he did with Peter, but more importantly as the church when he came aboard and the winds and seas stilled. This was the fruit of Peter’s little faith.

Jesus sends the church onto the chaotic sea of creation. As then, we are called to do the work the Lord has sent us to do. We are to faithfully live our vocation as the people of Christ. This has been the call of the church since the days of Moses, since the days of Jesus, and this is the call we are still called to fulfill today.

Hear now this word for the body of Christ: “Stay in the boat, Jesus is coming.” He is in the Word and in the world. He is sovereign and he is in charge. He may not be coming quickly enough to suit us. The ride is going to be bumpy, but that’s the way it is on the sea. Still Jesus tells us to take heart, be courageous, do not be afraid. The promise remains; in the Lord Jesus we receive eternal life.

What better example of God’s grace is there than Jesus coming to the disciples, coming to the church, during the storm that would take their lives if he let it. Let’s all be here when he comes aboard.  For when he comes, as happened two thousand years ago, those in the boat will worship him saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

The boat is on the sea and the sea is dangerous. Stay in the boat; Jesus is coming.  Share in the grace. He shows us his grace and his power as he walks on the water to the vessel.  We don’t have to leave what he has ordained; the church which is his body. Let’s all, all of us stay on the boat. Let us stay in the boat especially while it’s out on the dangerous sea. Jesus is coming, the Word is coming.

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[1] Barth, Karl, “Church Dogmatics.” Vol III/I. Edinburough: T&T Clark, 1958, 147.

[2] New Interpreter’s Bible. Volume VIII. Leander Keck, General Editor. Abingdon: Nashville, 1995 pages 322-326.  Interpretation. Matthew.  James Mays, Series Editor.  John Knox Press: Louisville, 1993, pages 167-171.