Missing the Blessing

Today as we began worship, I had one of the kids hand out glow sticks, but only to one side of the worship space. I told him to make sure everyone on the one side had glowsticks and then to sit down with the bag until later. As we were finishing our series on the 10 Commandments today, today was the day to focus on the two coveting commandments. So after the reading from Exodus 20, and then a reminder of the dialogue between Jesus and the expert in the law, I asked if everyone on the one side had a glowstick and handed out one to the person who still needed one. I reminded the congregation of my personal love of glowsticks, and asked if anyone on the side without glowsticks liked them too, and a few people raised their hands. One person wondered aloud why they had not also been given glowsticks. So I asked what they would be willing to do for a glowstick. That’s what coveting is about. Someone has something and we want it, and we set out to figure out how to get it. Specifically how to get theirs. Whenever we do this we upset people’s lives.

It all starts with a look and deciding to act. And usually it involves bigger things than glowsticks. But whenever we try to get the things others have or change relationships, we cause hurt and damage. And it usually leads to those bigger commandments. And we stop trusting in God to provide for us.

Of course we also remembered we are to share and later we did handout glowsticks to the others because Jesus calls us to love and to share.

So then we were ready to move on to the rest of the sermon, but as a way of background, last Monday, a gentleman who worshipped with us week in and week out, died suddenly and unexpectedly of cardiac arrest. He was a quiet man who sat alone each week. A few years ago he had lost his voice in a bout with throat cancer but was able to communicate with an adaptive device. Having met his family for the funeral I learned there was so much more to this man than I knew, and I felt the sting of not knowing more in my three years as pastor. And I was surprised how little anyone else knew as well. I sat with that this week and wondered how God was speaking. And so today’s sermon was in part a moment to draw together as community and start a risky conversation, knowing everyone of us needed to. And for people to hear how a quiet man saw this place in ways he also never shared.

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Perhaps one of the most notorious cases of coveting is David and Bathsheba. Bathsheba was bathing on the roof, which I know seems odd now, but then it wasn’t. She was bathing on the roof and David caught a glimpse, and she was hot. It only took a look. From then on he just had to have her, and he made it his purpose. It led him to send her husband Uriah into battle to fight a fight he couldn’t win, which also means he sent a whole army into a fight they wouldn’t survive. And he had to because he and Bathsheba had already gotten together and she was pregnant. Today on Facebook, we’d say their relationship status was “It’s Complicated.” Massive destruction of relationships occurred involving killing and lying and stealing and adultery. But it all started with a look and a desire. To have something that wasn’t his.

Coveting itself isn’t about infidelity or theft- those are other commandments. But these two coveting commandments are given, according to Luther, to show us that it is a sin to desire or in any way aim at getting something of our neighbor’s- their spouse or their possessions. It’s about relationships.

Yesterday I conducted a funeral for Art and as a part of it got to meet his wife Elizabeth and his family. And you might wonder what on earth that has to do with coveting. Well, Art had been a member here at Holy Spirit since he was a child dropped off at the Childrens’ Home nearby. And as many of you know it was the practice of the late great Pastor Radcliffe to bring children from there to here so they could have a church home. They were adopted if you will into this church family. So much so that when Pastor Radcliffe retired and later died, it was like losing a Dad for those people. Art was 79 and had been worshipping here for about 70 years. He say over there in the last row, and was usually about the first one here. Week after week.

Elizabeth has been a lifelong Catholic. And the family was raised in the Catholic church. So many of the life milestones happened there. But over the years, Elizabeth shared with me that she and Art came to agree that though they worshipped in different places, God would give them the strength to respect each other’s faith. The most important thing was being active in their faith and church. And frankly I think that there were times when as a spouse she would have had a right to say the family ought to all be together. And maybe even times they did try to influence the other. But she recognized the role this church played in Art’s life, and that he was only really going to be a Lutheran, and that his being here strengthened him to be the husband and father he was. So she didn’t work at trying to get him to change. She saw that God’s family is bigger than we think.

That’s what these commandments get at. That even if by right you could obtain something, we shouldn’t alienate someone from it. And it was obvious that Art’s life was blessed by being here with all of you. But there is another aspect of this relationship that ought to be explored and I am going to risk discussing it.

In spite of the fact that Art was here for all these years, when I was announcing his death, it seemed that not many people really knew him or who he was. That most did not. And frankly I myself, as the pastor here for three years, had to ask why I knew so little. Yes, he was quiet, but still I wonder. And it makes me sad.

And I want to suggest a very subtle aspect of coveting that churches can fall into. When I first came here one of the things people wanted me to do as the new pastor was to get everyone back who left. And the truth is that some of them had found other churches. As much as I like you want the place to be filled, going after people who have other churches is coveting. And it was important to say that trying to lure them back would be wrong. We want this place full and sometimes we are very focused on wondering how to draw more people here. At the same time however, coveting skews our perspective. Because when we get so focused on the blessing we are so sure is somewhere out there, we lose sight of the blessings in our midst. That’s the consequence of coveting- missing the blessing.

And Art was a blessing. I have heard stories of how much he adored this place, and all of you. He kept coming year after year because of you. And the encounter with God in this place. Even if you never knew it. He talked about this place with love. I wonder how many of us knew?

Last Sunday none of us knew what Monday would bring but last Sunday I preached on loving the neighbors right in front of you. And during the sharing of the peace, I have heard several of you remark that Art made a point of shaking your hand, every hand, more than usual. Loving all of you.

And then we had anointing as we do on the last Sunday each month- for healing, forgiveness, wholeness. And Art has come to receive this before, but this past Sunday he was intentional, and stood ramrod straight before me so I could make that cross on his forehead. And he was obviously pleased- he smiled, there were tears in his eyes. He was overjoyed to be here.

And I think about the beauty of the Catholic faith where anointing is a sacrament. Last rites and anointing should be offered whenever possible. And I am struck by knowing that last Sunday, Art was blessed to be in this fellowship and at Christ’s table, and to receive that cross on his forehead, the same one made in baptism, one last time- like a bookend in his life. That cross that tells us we are adopted into God’s family, and that salvation is ours. What a blessing.

It reminds us who God is for us in Christ. And we’re freed, to live. Today I hope we can remember that we should never be so focused on looking elsewhere for the blessing we miss out on how God is blessing us right here. God’s celebration is better than we imagine. And if there is someone here you realize you really don’t know- reach out and ask. No one is going to tell you it’s too late. Don’t wait- let’s live into the blessing of God’s reality now.

As Long as You're Here- Love Your Neighbors

How many of you know what important world history anniversary took place yesterday? It may not be as important to us this side of the pond as it is across the Atlantic, but yesterday, June 28, 1914 marked the day that is considered to be the starting point of World War I-the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He and his wife Sophie were visiting Sarajevo in Serbia, to inspect the troops. A show of strength to the Serbians whose territory had recently become a part of the Empire. Franz Ferdinand was visiting on just about the worst day possible- June 28 was the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo- a major symbolic show of Serbian resistance, and a rallying point for freedom fighters. During the motorcade, one of several potential assassins that day tried to kill the Archduke with a bomb. It missed his car and hit another, killing one of the Archduke’s officers. Which might have been a moment to think about the whole event. But instead, it was decided to re-route the drive. But the driver hadn’t been given the new route. And while he was trying to put the car in reverse-Shots were fired and the world changed.

And it all could have turned out differently, but it didn’t.

And Lots of neighbors could have responded differently but because they didn’t, what we now know as history began a whole new chapter of life as we know it. Within 37 days, war had been declared by the major European players, and horror on a whole new scale unfolded.

I’d like to take a moment and look at a very broad overview of what happened and how all of the 10 Commandments came into play. Let’s see if we get them all in. Serbia was trying to engage in expansionism which is another way of saying- I want what you have- which I think fits the coveting of the stuff of others ( #10). Arguably the very nature of empire building of the Austro Hungarians means that words like annexation are just a cover for taking what is not yours- stealing. (#7) Once the Archduke was assassinated, and everyone was trying to posture, most people would have told you that assassinations were pretty typical- they didn’t lead to war, unless what you really wanted to do was fight. But Franz Ferdinand’s killing was a good excuse to kill others. (That is a whole lot of #5). And while we’re at it, let’s say that it was pretty universal that war was a god to some- the thing from which you most expect what you want and where you take refuge in distress.  Clearly for the leaders of the empires, but also ultimately for others. While there were socialist movements in most of the Europeans countries that were pretty vibrant, and while the workers could claim that workers of the world should unite, and while these movements threatened strike and claimed war was insane, in the end, they believed the claim that war was in the country’s best interest. (#1). And at least for Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm believed that God had predestined the Germans for greatness- assuming we know what God ordains. #2.

The French encouraged the Russians to be aggressive, probably exaggerating the truth about their neighbors, and rumors ran in every direction-#8. This could have been avoided except that the most peace oriented member of the French government had earlier been forced to resign because he was having an affair with a mistress that created public scandal- #6 and #9.

And in the midst of this Britain, scared, pretty much assumed the “not my problem” approach- not my neighbors.

I think I probably didn’t exactly fit in the 3^rd or 4^th commandments- but surely war took no Sabbath, and doing what seemed to be right, robbed a lot of people of the sons who should be tending the land- and who were no longer there to care for elders as almost an entire generation was lost. And it could have all turned out differently. But no one was thinking of their neighbors. They were thinking about themselves.

There are whole libraries full of deciding whose actions or inactions mattered most in World War I starting- but so many points of change passed by it’s easy to decide that it was too big to stop.

And sometimes I wonder when we so easily say we should love our neighbors, don’t we deep down think that God’s call to turn toward our neighbors in love is it just too big?

In our world that continues to spiral toward aggression and nation building globally, and in our nation and city facing profound challenges. As we approach the anniversary of a day celebrating OUR freedom, are we thinking about our neighbors?

That’s what God wants to know. And what the Commandments show.

One writer has suggested that the 10 Commandments show how a freed people can live. Freed from the powers of sin and the world. A new life, if not perfectly seen, is still possible. Some today suggest we don’t know what freedom really is or we don’t appreciate it. I agree. But I am not so convinced we ever did as humans. After all World War 1 was supposed to the “War to End All Wars.”

"Freedom is often seen I think as an end to itself. It means unlimited choices, keeping options open for one’s self." We can look in history, or ponder how others we know today have it all wrong, in the end, God is speaking to us here today and asking what we think it means to live free. The commandments are “words for life.” They show what a life of freedom looks like.

"It is not when the powerful take what they want- but when we all respect the property of others, and we do our best to help them take care of it and hold onto it. It is not when the strong dominate the weak, but when the bodies and lives of all are protected and their rights respected- the young, the elderly, the impoverished, the handicapped, everyone.

It is not the endless satisfaction of every impulse, but a commitment to living as loving and committed" community. Because there is more freedom in lives committed to each other than everyone for his or herself.

So I am not preaching about self improvement- but neighbor improvement. Because "the point of the commandments is not about you and your personal growth and freedom. It’s not about “your best life now” but “your neighbor’s best life now.”

And often it does seem like it’s not our problem or there’s nothing we can do, and we settle in to believing that it can’t turn out any differently- that the sin in our world condition is as tangled as the web of history I described earlier. Why try?

Because God says again today- "OK, it seems large, but while you’re here, love your neighbors."

God calls us to move from mistrust which leads to misery. To keep moving toward freedom. And peace. And it starts small.

Start with your neighbors- God loves them so much, God gave the law so we would know how to love them. Don’t kill, or steal, or destroy others’ relationships, don’t hurt with words, or spend your time burned up about what your neighbor has and whether it’s fair.

God loves our neighbors so much we are given the law. The first part helps us love God. The second part to love everyone who is not yourself.

Likewise God loves us so much, God gives our neighbors the law.

And yes, not everyone will love us.

None of us perfectly keep the law. But then God loves the whole world so much, God gave Christ- who reminds us of the gift and challenge it is to love, but assures us of God’s love for all of us.

We experience and reflect one aspect of this love in worship here. But most of the time, the place we spend most of our hours is where God is ready for us to experience and reflect love- with our neighbors. That’s where most of living out the law happens.

It really can all turn out differently- But we need each other. And instead of waiting for someone else to do what we want, or focusing upon who deserves our love, perhaps as ever the best place to start is loving people first. Love the people right in your midst who cross your path. While you're here, love them. You or I may not solve the whole world this way, but it’s a darn good place to start.