Building a Playground for God – 3/08/09

If Julie and Josh and Wil and I leave our house and walk five blocks to the west we will come to a park with a playground. It’s a park attached to a school and there is a lot of room to run around and plenty of trees for shade. Unfortunately, the playground is not very conducive for playing; at least not for Wil. They don’t have the usual steps that take you from the ground up to one level and more steps that take you to another level. You have to be able to take a pretty big first step to get onto the play ground structure. Or, you have to be able to maneuver a rope ladder or some other structure that requires a level of coordination that most 3-years-olds don’t haven. Whoever built that playground wasn’t thinking of small children when they built it.

If Julie and Josh and Wil and I leave our house and walk five blocks to the east we will come to another park with another playground. This park is attached to what used to be a school and is now a church. There are a couple of big trees for shade and the playground is much more accessible for Wil and even for Josh. The steps are short and there is more than one set of them so that anybody can get from one level to the next without a lot of trouble. There are plenty of slides and they are of various heights and speeds for kids of different ages. And, there are more challenging obstacles and monkey bars for the older kids to play on and enjoy. Whoever built this playground did a much better job of considering kids of different sizes and ages who might play together.

This morning we’ll spend some time talking about creation and justice; what some might call environmental justice. The playground serves as a nice metaphor for what the Bible seems to say about our relationship with the earth and the environment around us. In other words, the Bible seems to say that God has given us this earth as a kind of unfinished work of art; like a mural. Each generation and each person is given the opportunity to add to that mural or alter that mural. We build on the earth all kinds of things like houses and stores and neighborhoods and cities. So, the first thing to say about the environment and justice is that all of this building and shaping that we do is a good thing. When we create something we are joining in God’s creative activity.

At the same time, since we are fallen, we have to admit that we don’t always create in ways that honor what God has given us. And, we don’t always create in ways that allow other people to participate or that consider future generations and the work that they will want to do. If you imagine the mural and imagine the natural world as God’s major contribution, then you can see how anything we will add would change what God has done. Thankfully, God is not a self-centered artist and wants us to add to his work of art. But that means we should think of our work as artistic. Meaning we don’t just plop a bright red square in the middle of an impressionist landscape. There are ways to add to a piece of art that take into consideration what previous artists have done. There are also ways to add to a piece of art that take into consideration what future artists will do. If we cover the whole canvas as with our own ideas there won’t be as much room for the next generation to create. O.k. enough with the art. Let’s move on to a real example: cars.

We have in this country a whole network of roads and highways and interstates that have allowed for a level of mobility and freedom not known by everyone in the world. If you have a car, that is. We can start by saying that this is network is not a bad thing by itself. However, the car and the interstate have led to sprawl and segregation and smog. Because people have cars and because there are nice big roads to drive real fast on, people can live far from where they work or where they shop. As people moved out to the country, so did the shops and the businesses and the playgrounds. Of course, we know that the history of America is such that not everyone was able to enjoy that mobility. Many people of color were denied that move and subsequent generations are brought up in neighborhoods with fewer opportunities to work and play.

With more cars on the road there was less public transportation and fewer walk able neighborhoods. You are at a clear disadvantage when it comes to time and efficiency if your only choice is the bus. And, forget about walking. I don’t know many people who have two playgrounds within 5 blocks of their house. Many people have to drive to get to a park and almost everyone has to drive to get to the grocery store. With all the cars on the road we have to worry about pollution and asthma and other health-related diseases that stem from a lack of activity. Now, I know you can’t blame roads and cars anymore than you can blame the TV. But they are part of what we have added to the environment, to the mural of creation, and the repercussions are not all good.

One of the reasons Christians at least have come to believe that we can mold and shape the earth however we see fit is that we have been given dominion. At least that’s what it says in Genesis 1. God spoke and said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion.” God says that humans are to have dominion, authority, the power to control the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and the animals on the ground. A few verses later, after God created humanity he blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion. There’s that word again. Dominion seems to mean that humans have been given the right to grow and expand and reproduce and subdue the world as necessary to carry on that privilege.

We should pause here and celebrate that. In a sense God, is saying, “Here’s your playground. Have fun! I’ve built if for you so that you can play and laugh and get exercise. Fill it up. Conquer its challenges. Change it around if you want to. I’m giving it to you and you have the power to do anything you want with it.” The words of the simple children’s prayer come to mind at this point: God is great and God is good. Let us thank him. Amen? More and more, Christians are coming to the conclusion that one of the ways to thank God for what we have been given is to be better stewards of it. That stewardship begins by hearing all of the words that surround God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply.”

The first thing we can say is that we are not the only ones to receive the blessing to be fruitful and multiply. On the fifth day of creation, when God created the birds of the air and the fish of the sea he blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas and let birds multiply on the earth.” The words are no different, the blessing is the same as the one that humanity would receive a few verses later. Birds and fish are definitely not a priority over humans, but it seems fair to say that any multiplication of humans should be done in a way that allows the birds of the air and the fish of the sea to multiply as well. Unfortunately, we are over-fishing our waters, polluting our air and cutting down our forests so that the rate of extinction for species around the globe is higher than ever. Genesis 1 points out that this is not just a liberal, environmentalist’s concern.

Another point to make about Genesis 1 relates to food. God says, “I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.” Dieticians, by the way, will tell you that a diet heavy in green plants is the healthiest for our bodies and the most sustainable for the earth. God has given us these green plants for our health and enjoyment. But it’s worth noting that God has also given them to the animals. “To every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for good.” I think that means we have to share.

Now, I’m not a vegetarian. In fact, last night I ate a nice big, juicy Porterhouse and will probably eat more of it today. It’s true that, after the flood, God told Noah that, just as he had given every green plant he was now giving Noah and his family every animal for food as well. But it’s worth noting that the covenant God made with Noah, God also made with the animals saying, “I establish my covenant with you and with every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.” In Psalm 36, when the Psalmist says, God saves humans and animals alike, he wasn’t joking. Today, we eat too much meat and, after cars, that greatest pollutant of our earth comes from the raising of cattle for food. Their ill-treatment, their disgusting diet, and the amount of energy used to ship and package the meat is harmful for us and the earth. No doubt part of environmental justice, part of caring for creation, is eating more local foods that come from lower on the food chain.

There are some who will say that we just have too many people in the world. The problem is over population, they say. There’s some crazy statistic, however, that says all 6 billion people could fit in the state of Texas in 2 person homes on city-sized lots. It would be crowded, but it proves the point that there aren’t too many people. We just aren’t using what we have very well. In a sense, too many of the playgrounds we have built are like the ones to the west of my house: not everyone can play and enjoy the benefits. The ways we use land in our cities and our country sides benefits fewer and fewer people. City neighborhoods are segregated as we’ve spread ourselves all over the place, paving over farmland and putting up shopping malls. The farmland that is left is devoted mostly to two crops much of which gets processed for cattle feed or corn syrup. This doesn’t seem to be what God had in mind when he put Adam in the garden. In fact, the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. On the surface, those sound like simple gardening terms, but there’s more to them than meets the eye.

I can prove it to you if you like, but the words are much more caring and kind than till and keep. I’ve heard other people translate them as serve and protect. This last week I heard someone translate them as serve and preserve. I like the words nurture and guard. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to nurture and guard it; to help it along, to give it what it needs, and to make sure that no one tramples on it. It’s almost as if the earth is to be treated as a person. So, rather than using it up as fast as we can, we would honor what the earth can do and allow it to grow at its own pace. We’d be surprised by how much it fruit it will bear. The earth is awfully resilient and generous with us and there are ways to grow things in the soil that don’t require pesticides and genetic engineering; ways that are sustainable and will leave a fruitful land to the next generations; ways that have a heart for creation. Part of environmental justice is to take the words seriously that we care for creation. At the moment, most people believe that technology will save us.

Technology is all about efficiency, speed, and convenience. The printing press, the steam engine, the light bulb, refrigerators, cars, heart monitors, and cell phones are all examples of technology. Technology has created a lot of wealth and a lot of health in the world and there is a lot for which we can be thankful. Again, the Bible seems to say that God has called us to join him in creating and technology is one of the places we look to see humanities great potential for creativity. Technology has been used to make our air and water cleaner again. Technology is used to make our appliances more energy efficient. Unfortunately, we too often use technology to support our bad habits. TV’s, refrigerators, and cars are more environmentally-friendly than ever, but we use them more than ever too so that CO2 levels continue to rise. Computers are faster than ever, but are filled with toxic chemicals that get dumped on poor women and children around the world because companies want us to get a new one every two years. The reason we want renewable energy is so that we can continue our fervent pace of life and growth. It’s obvious that many of the problems we are looking to technology to solve don’t have to be problems in the first place. There are plenty of perfectly happy and healthy people who live long lives without technology. The message for this second Sunday of Lent is that technology will not save us, but God will.

You may have heard it said before that the Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city. Many people think that’s not a mistake. It seems to say that God will honor what we have done; that the new heaven and the new earth will have space for the kinds of things that we have added to the canvas. It will be a glorious city and most glorious of all will be God. There will be no temple because the temple will be the Lord himself and the Lamb. But there will still be kings and nations and cities. The people of these places will stream in and out of that city and the gates will never be closed to anyone whose name is written in the book of life. This playground of God will allow everyone to play. People from every nation and tribe and language will walk in the glory of the Lord and the Lamb will be his lamp with no need for sun or moon to shine on them.

Here’s the fascinating part, flowing from the throne of God is a river. It’s flowing through the middle of the city street and it’s bright as crystal. On either side of the river is the tree of life. It produces twelve kinds of fruit and it does it every month. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. So, in the end, with all the glory of the cities jewels and gates and walls, it is the natural beauty that brings life. The river and the tree with its fruit and its leaves bring healing to the world. On that day, all the servants of God will worship him around that tree and by that river and they will see God’s face. The good news is that we don’t have to wait for that glorious day to come. There are rivers and trees all around us, there is healing to be found in this earth if we will let it have a place in our life. In caring for creation we are caring for ourselves, any gardener will tell you that and the Bible says that God has made it that way. We may not see God’s face in creation, but we do see God’s hand; a hand that has put before us a land in which we can live and move and have our being; a land on which we can work and play and create; a creation that God cared for so much, a world that God loved so much that he sent his one and only son so that whoever believes in him would not die but have eternal life. Amen.

How To Get Rich – 3/01/09

Have you heard the story of Leonard Abess Jr.? He’s yet another CEO from the financial industry that found his way in to the headlines. I know what you’re thinking. “Oh, here we go again. Another story of greed and fraud where one person walks away rich and leaves hundreds of others standing empty-handed.” Those thoughts are to be expected these days, but that’s not what this story is about. Millions more people know Leonard Abess Jr. after the President’s speech this last Tuesday. Leonard was lifted up before the nation as a model of corporate loyalty and responsibility. Like many others, he sold his company and made millions of the sale of his stock, but that’s where his story and the others diverge.

Leonard made $927 million dollars of the sale of the bank that he owned. He had grown up in the bank and purchased it from his father. He had worked for many of the employees that now worked for him. Concerned that many of his employees were had lost their retirements, Leonard decided to take $60 million dollars and pass it out to his employees. Everyone from bank tellers, clerks, and bookkeepers to senior executives received a deposit in their account. Depending on how long they worked for the bank, some people received up to $100,000. Leonard even sought out 72 employees who had since retired.

At a time when many executives are having to explain themselves to the public, Leonard’s story is refreshing to hear. He even heeded Jesus’ advice to not let his right hand know what his left hand was doing; he didn’t publicize his intentions or the act itself. Word of his generosity did spread. And, despite his generosity, Leonard is not without his critics. $60 million dollars isn’t even 10% of what he got and it’s not like he needed the money. Even before the sale he had purchased a $23 million dollar estate down the street from Sylvester Stallone. Surprisingly, Leonard is among those critics. He recently wondered if he had done enough for his employees. Imagine that: giving away $60 million dollars and wondering if you should have given away more.

This is not the typical story that we’ve been reading in the paper these days. More typical is the kind of story that Jesus told before his disciples; stories of greed and abundance and frivolous spending; stories of striving after possessions and food and clothing. We heard Jesus tell one such story this morning. The Bible calls it the Parable of the Rich Fool. It begins with a family dispute. At this point in Luke’s gospel, Jesus had been speaking for quite sometime. When Luke mentions a crowd, he means a crowd. People had gathered by the thousands to listen to what Jesus was saying. According to an earlier verse, the crowd was so thick, straining so hard to hear, that they were trampling on one another.

Out of this crowd someone managed to find a moment of silence long enough to say, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” As Jesus usually does, he responds to the man’s question with another question and a parable. He asks the man, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” Typically, there would be a group of elders or well-respected people who would settle these disputes. Clearly, Jesus had come to be seen as a wise man among the crowds. He could have sided with one brother over the other. He probably would have divided the crowd who had also taken sides. But Jesus saw passed the dispute to the real issue. Jesus knew that settling the dispute between this man and his brother did not solve the real problem. The real problem was much deeper.

“Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable of rich man and his land. The land of the rich man produced a lot of food. His crops were abundant. So, the rich man gets to thinking, “What should I do with all of these crops? I have no place to store them.” Suddenly, it seems, he is struck by an idea, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” The man sounds content. He sounds at ease. He doesn’t sound like a bad guy and his problems sound like good ones to have. Who wouldn’t love to suffer from having too much? Instead of talking to his soul, he should have spent more time talking to God.

The man seemed to have forgotten that the land belongs to the Lord and that God gives the increase. There is no such thing as my grain and my goods because the abundance of his crops was a gift from God. Since, he didn’t speak to God about this God had a few words for him. “You fool! This very night your lie is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” That’s the moral of the story for the crowds that day. Don’t store up your treasures on earth. Rather store up treasures in heaven. God had commanded everyone to tithe their produce and leave the edges of the field for those in need. If his own store houses were overflowing, no doubt the rich man had forgotten or neglected to follow these commandments. Jesus didn’t want the same thing for his disciples.

After finishing the parable, he turned to his disciples and said, “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.” Notice, Jesus didn’t tell his disciples, “Don’t be greedy like that rich man.” He said, “Don’t worry.” If Jesus knew that greed was behind the dispute between the two brothers, he also understood that worry was often behind the greed that led to such disputes. Many people of Jesus’ day didn’t have a lot. Not many people could relate to the rich man’s problems. His disciples had left everything to follow him, so they didn’t have an abundance of possessions either. Reminding them of the ravens and the lilies, Jesus told them that there was no need for them to strive for possessions; only strive for God’s kingdom. Apparently, that message is easily forgotten.

By the time that the apostle Paul is writing to his protégé, Timothy, the same issues had crept into various congregations. Timothy, it seems, was dealing with all sorts of disputes over words and wrangling for power in the congregation. Like Jesus, Paul saw right passed the disputes to the source of the problem. People were arguing because they saw a chance for gain in fame and fortune. There was only so much to go around, they imagined, and each one wanted the majority share. Paul doesn’t deny that there is great gain in seeking God, that there is great contentment in godliness. But at the same time he sees all sorts of temptation for those who want to be rich. He has seen too many people become trapped by senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. Then come those famous words, “For the love of money is a root of all evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”

Paul’s point is simple: we didn’t bring anything into the world and we can’t take any of our possessions with us, so we mind as well take hold of those things that will lead us to eternal life. Just as Jesus urges his followers to strive for God’s kingdom, Paul writes, “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith.” For those who are rich he writes, “Command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches (how timely are those words?), but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of life that really is life.”

“Sell your possessions,” Jesus said to his disciples who already had few 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. For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.” It’s striking how consistent the Bible is on this message. “You cannot serve God and wealth,” Jesus says in another place. Someone once asked me, “Is it a virtue to be poor?” In other words, does God automatically approve of or show favor to people just because they are poor. Or, in other words, “Is it bad to be rich?” So, let’s make it easy. There is nothing in the Bible that says it’s good to be poor and there is nothing in the Bible that says it’s bad to be rich. However, the Bible does say there is great temptation in wealth and seems to say that there is value in living with less. That’s because if we live with less we can give more. If we depart with our treasures on earth, we store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. What we hear all around us doesn’t make it any easier to share that message.

First, we are bombarded with advertisements that tell us how much better life will be if only we have the newest technology or the latest fashion. Even if it’s not a direct invitation to something new, commercials show us what the good life is supposed to look like, so that even family struggling with debt can drive away down a tree-lined cul-de-sac, in a fully-loaded SUV with bikes on top to go spend the weekend at the cottage. What sense does that make? We say that we don’t believe it, but when people are asked how much money they need to be happy virtually everyone, from the upper class to the middle class say the same thing: just a little more than I have now. Over the last 30 years average home has doubled in size and the average home in America is twice that in Europe. And, they are overflowing with stuff as evidenced by the booming storage facility and portable storage industry. At the same time, the average family has shrunk in size. So, it seems, as a nation we have bought bigger homes for fewer people and filled them with stuff and we are not any happier for it. Depression, suicide, and divorce have all gone up. Is that the life we want? Despite the evidence, there is some small part of us that believes more money equals greater happiness. No doubt for some that is true.

Leonard Abess wasn’t the only one the President mentioned in his speech. He also spoke of a young girl named Ty’Sheoma Bethea, a middle school student in South Carolina. Her school was the focus of a documentary called “The Corridor of Shame.” She attends class in a building that was built in 1896 and is now falling apart. She wrote that she in her letter that she and her classmates are just students like any other trying to become lawyers and doctors and public servants, possibly President. For millions of undereducated, uninsured, hungry and homeless, more is definitely better. But it’s not long after we have food and clothing that more stops making us happier or healthier.

Still, we have politicians who talk endlessly about greater wealth for everyone. There are those conservative voices who continue to say that if we just let the market work there will be great wealth for everyone. On the opposite side are the liberal voices who want the government to redistribute wealth. They are just like those two brothers arguing over how to divide their inheritance. Jesus sides with neither of them because they are both wrong. An endless wealth, no matter how it gets distributed, is not an answer to our struggles. Out of this great crowd of voices comes Paul who says that contentment is not found in wealth or possessions but in eternal life and Jesus who says, “Strive first for God’s kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” Wait! Stop right there Pastor Peter! Didn’t you just say that if we seek God’s kingdom God will give us all those things? Doesn’t God reward us with wealth if we are faithful? Those are good questions. Here’s your answer.

When Jesus said “these things” he was referring to food and clothing; things that are essential for survival. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he taught them to ask God for their daily bread; for enough to get them through the day. In the same way, Paul wrote to Timothy that if he had food and clothing he would be content. That’s because he had taken hold of something more valuable: the eternal life to which we have all been called and for which we have all made a good confession before many witnesses. Today, more than ever, the world needs a witness who will part easily with possessions, who will be rich in good works, and give generously to others. As Christians we can show rich and poor alike that life, real life, eternal life, is not found in striving after earthly treasures, but after those treasures stored up in heaven.

There are two groups of people that make that message hard to share. There are those who are on their way up the economic ladder. There are those who have studied hard, worked hard, made sacrifices and played by the rules and climbed their way out of poverty. Who wants to be the one to tell them that they should live with less? At the same time, there are those who never had a lot, but now have less because of the current economic conditions. There are those who were never extravagant, but now wonder what tomorrow holds for them and their families. Who wants to be the one to say that less is more when it comes to possessions? As hard as it is to share that message, it is still the message. But let’s make sure our focus is right.

The message for this first Sunday in Lent is not, “Don’t be greedy.” Rather, the message is “Do not worry.” Do not worry because God is one who feeds even the smallest of creatures, who neither sow nor reap, nor have a POD unit in their front yard. Do not worry because God is one who clothes the lilies who neither toil nor spin; flowers whose simple beauty is more glorious than anything Solomon wore. Do not worry because God is one who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Do not worry because God is sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords, who gives life to all things. Do not worry because God is our Father who finds great pleasure in giving us his kingdom and those things we need. This Lenten season, do not worry, but do good, be rich in good works, and ready to share, thus storing up for yourselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that you make take hold of life that really is life. Amen.

God’s Entitlement Program – 2/22/09

My Wednesday afternoon started with Kay Muller. She didn’t know that I was talking about her this morning, but I couldn’t stop thinking about our visit. She has left behind her home and is making a new one for herself and Porter Hills. She really likes it. Outside her room is a little patio and a courtyard to enjoy the 4 days of sun per year that we have. Her calendar is filled with activity that was previously unavailable to her. Strangers are becoming friends around the lunch table and dinner table. And old friends are becoming new acquaintances as she meets some of the church members who have been there for quite some time. Kay talked with me about God’s blessings in her life.

After I spent some time with Kay (and got lost in the maze of hallways) I went to go see Jule and Betty. Betty doesn’t know I’m talking about her either, but I couldn’t stop thinking about our visit. She told me about various angels in disguise that have come alongside her as she goes to sit with Jule every afternoon. In these icy, Michigan winters navigating parking lots and gas stations can be tricky with a cane or walker. On more than one occasion Betty was helped by strangers who took her arm and kept her upright. On more than one occasion she has had a neighbor shovel a walk, go to the store, or run an errand for her. Betty talked with me about God’s blessings in her life.

After I spoke with Jule and Betty, I went to go see another Betty; Betty Cooper that is. Betty also spoke to me about God’s blessings. By this time the message has sunk in. As I listened to their stories and their reflections, I became aware of this deep sense of gratitude that they all felt. I don’t think they were trying to share it. I don’t know if they even felt, but it was thick in their room as they share their stories. Of course, it’s easy to be grateful when everything is going your way, but it’s not like any of them won the lottery. Betty Westra is learning how to live on her own, how to wade through piles of paper she may not have encountered before, how to be patient as her husband recovers. Betty Cooper can only see out of one eye. Her back and her knee hurt too much for her to attend many activities around her. And Kay has pains of her own.

Still, all of their stories were filled with a great sense of gratitude for what they did have and for the little moments in which they felt particularly blessed; even if it was just for a moment. Their stories were particularly refreshing, I think, because the other stories I was reading were filled with anything but gratitude. I read one story about the struggle college professors are having a hard time with students. Their high school days are filled with tests and information that they need to memorize to pass those tests. It’s hard work some of the time and, generally, hard work results in good grades. College is a different story because they can’t just regurgitate information. They have to learn how different pieces fit together and show that they can think about them. Students want an “A” just for their effort and their professors want them to see that learning is about more than just trying hard.

Alongside this story were many more about this ongoing financial struggle. The front page news had to do with this guy out of Antigua who seems to have committed fraud to the tune of $8 billion dollars. All of this after the Madoff scandal, after the flying on private jets, and after disguising big, corporate bonuses as “awards,” has happened. From college students to executives in the financial world there is a sense about these headlines. Rather than a sense of gratitude about them they have this pervasive sense of entitlement. Call it greed or arrogance. Whatever it is it gives the impression that there is a group of people who get whatever they want regardless of the cost. It’s this sense of entitlement that makes people most angry about these stories. It’s this sense of entitlement that God was guarding against on the mountain at the transfiguration.

We find Peter and James and John heading up a mountain with Jesus to be apart with Jesus by themselves. Either they were going to get a scolding or this meant that they were being set apart in some way. They were, after all, the first to be called by Jesus. Out of nowhere comes this moment that would no doubt stick with them and form them in their faith forever. Jesus was transfigured before them. He clothes became a dazzling white. The author of the gospel wants us to know that know amount Clorox or Tide with bleach was going to make them as white as they had become. To add to the special effects that they were seeing, Moses and Elijah stood there; the keeper of the law and a representative of the prophets. They were talking with Jesus.

Somehow Peter summons the courage or, should we say, the nerve to interrupt their conversation. Trying to preserve the moment as long as possible Peter says, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Mark also wants us to know that Peter had no idea what he was talking about. They were all terrified and Peter spoke out of his fear. While Jesus clothes shined with a dazzling white, the sky dimmed as a cloud overshadowed them all. Out of that cloud came a voice. It said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him!” With those few words the whole experience was over. The voice no longer spoke, the cloud rolled away, and Moses and Elijah vanished. It was just Jesus and the disciples.

Who knows how long it took, but Jesus’ words probably returned to them at some point. Just a few days earlier Jesus has said to his disciples, “There are some of you standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come in power.” Perhaps this was it! Either way, Peter and James and John had been let in on a little secret. A door was opened for them and heaven broke through to earth and they were the only ones who could see it. They were the only ones who were there to hear the voice. Perhaps this does make them special. Or, perhaps they were the ones who needed to hear it the most.

In all of the gospel stories, the Transfiguration of Jesus, this dazzling display on the mountain, is sandwiched between two moments when Jesus begins talking about his death and his resurrection. Well, into his ministry now, Jesus began to teach them that he would have to undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. He would say this more than once. On one occasion, Peter took him aside and rebuked Jesus for speaking of such nonsense. On another occasion, James and John would take Jesus aside and jockey for the seats of power when he took his throne. Being among the first to be called, Peter and James and John felt entitled to share in Jesus’ victory and authority. The voice in heaven spoke to this sense of entitlement. There were enough religious leaders who felt entitled to power and authority, God didn’t want any more.

Peter and James and John should have known this. Everywhere they went with Jesus they were butting up against the authorities who felt entitled to speak for God and to act on God’s behalf. When Jesus walked among the paralyzed and pronounced the forgiveness of their sins, the religious authorities were there to condemn him for blasphemy. Only God could forgive sins they would say and we are the ones who decide when God has forgiven sins. Clearly a paralytic had not offered enough sacrifices to be healed and, therefore, God had not yet forgiven their sins. But to prove his point, Jesus not only frees the man of his sin, but also of his condition. He stands up and walks home. The crowd, on the other hand, is frozen with awe and doubt filled with gratitude as they glorify God for this work they had witnessed.

Not only would Peter and James and John see Jesus heal sinners he would watch him eat and drink with them. In fact, one of their own brothers would come from that seedy crowd. Matthew, a tax collector, would be among those whom Jesus called to follow him. It interesting that Matthew would never struggle with that sense of entitlement with which Peter and James and John struggled. After sitting alone for so many days in that tax collection booth it’s clear how a sense of gratitude could overcome him when Jesus called him to walk the path of discipleship. There was nothing that entitled Matthew to such a calling. In the eyes of the religious authorities, if there was anyone who was called to walk with the Messiah, it was them.

(sense of entitlement comes with power and privilege; difference between demanding basic rights and security and a sense of entitlement)

Jesus would quote to them words we heard from Hosea this morning, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’” In Hosea, they form part of God’s call to repentance. In Jesus’ mouth they are no different. The religious authorities’ sense of entitlement came from the sacrifices over which they presided. They were the gatekeepers of forgiveness and blessing as they checked sacrifices for faults and blemishes. Jesus’ words call their whole system into question and call for forgiveness, for generosity, for inclusion in God’s kingdom. I imagine that Peter and James and John loved it when Jesus stuck it to the authorities like that; something that they had never been able to do. And, something that, I imagine, they looked forward to doing when Jesus took his throne.

So, up on the mountain the voice had to make it plain. The voice from heaven had to make it clear. Yes, Jesus was God’s Son. Yes, he was the Messiah. Yes, he would be enthroned at God’s right hand. But, now, more than ever they were to listen to what he had to say: if any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me. For Peter and James and John, the moment of the Transfiguration would be an insight that few others would get to experience and it wouldn’t be what they expected. For Jesus, the crown was on the other side of the cross. It was not something that he would be handed because he was next in line or because of some privilege that he inherited. Jesus crown would be a gift from God after he laid down his life on behalf of humanity.

Transfiguration Sunday continues to do something similar for us. We have spent the month of December celebrating the birth of the Savior. The season of Advent looks at Christ’s first coming and celebrates our eternity when Christ will come again. We have spent the month of January and February watching the identity of Jesus unfold. The season of Epiphany reminds us that all peoples and all nations are welcomed by Jesus into God’s kingdom. In these months we have come to realize who long God’s love is and how broad God’s love is for those who have faith in him. Jesus is God’s Son and beloved by God and we are in on it. We have been to the mountaintop too and we know something that the world does not. But just when that pride starts creeping in, that sense of entitlement, the voice from heaven says, “Listen to him.”

Now comes March. Now comes the season of Lent. Now comes the cost of discipleship. It can be a rude awakening for those who carry with them a sense of entitlement and sense of getting whatever they want, when they want, and how they want it. Lent is often times about just the opposite; about giving what you do want to give, when you don’t want to give it, and in ways that you might not feel prepared to offer. At the same time, we won’t be trying to save the world here. We’re just trying to do something that provokes a sense of gratitude in people. That’s what is so fabulous about the stories of those other three disciples that we talked about this morning: Kay, Betty, and Betty.

Kay was grateful when someone noticed her sitting alone in the cafeteria and called her over to join them. Betty was grateful when to women helped her navigate the slippery parking lot. The other Betty is grateful that the chapel is just across the hallway and that she gets to have communion there once a month. These aren’t great big things, but they are enough to show that someone cares. They are enough to show that there is still good. And, with a little faith, little things like that point us to God and fill us with a great awe and a great sense of gratitude. This is true, not only for those of you who sit in the pews, but also for those of us bold enough to take the pulpit.

Regardless of where we sit in worship, the season of Lent is about returning to the Lord. It’s not about clawing our way to the top or demanding what we are entitled to, but about placing our lives in God’s hands and letting God lift us up. “Come let us return to the Lord and he will heal us and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us and on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know, let us pres on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Amen.