15th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 22, Year C

Free Grace, Undying Love

Readings: Jer 2:4-13; Isa; 81:1, 10-16; Heb 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14

I had a wonderful family from Newfoundland in one of my parishes. They were larger than life in every way. They loved to have a good time; they also loved to be at church. Their faith was extremely important to them. One of their sons fell in love and was to be married. A church wedding was important to both young people. The young woman’s family was not happy with the match to say the least. They considered themselves to be of a much higher station in life. It made for an interesting wedding.

The church was packed with people from both sides of the family as well as with parishioners. It was not difficult to see which family was which. That became especially apparent at the reception, which was held in a posh private club of which the bride’s family were members. There was, of course, a head table with the young people and their wedding party. It was a true mixture of both families, all getting along famously. When it came to the guests, there was a noticeable divide. The bride’s family and friends were all seated decorously on one side of the hall. The groom’s family and friends were on the other side, and there was nothing decorous about them. They were laughing and talking and enjoying one another’s company.

When I came into the hall I was ushered over to sit with the family from my parish amidst great enthusiasm. After saying grace – seems to fall to the lot of the clergy – I went back to my place with them. The father of the bride came over and in a hushed voice suggested I might be more comfortable seated with them. I declined as politely as possible. I was having far too much fun to want to move. I did hear later that he was “deeply insulted” by my actions.

It seems a nice parallel to a party that Jesus went to. He is invited for the Sabbath meal at the home of a Pharisee, obviously of high standing in the community. His first act on arriving is to heal a man. Remember! It is the Sabbath! To add insult to injury, he puts the host’s guests on the spot. He is reacting to the raised eyebrows and silent looks of disapproval at the healing. At the same time, he has noticed them vying for the place of honour at the dinner party. Who is going to sit nearest the head table? Who will catch the eye of the hosts? At last everyone is seated. They are waiting for some pleasantries from the host. Instead they hear the voice of Jesus, calm but authoritative, as he reminds them of their manners.

“When you are invited to a party,” he tells them, “don’t demand the best place. Take the lowest place. Otherwise when someone really important comes along you may find that you have lost your spot. Wait to be invited to come to the head table,” he tells them. He is recalling his vision of God’s realm where the last will be first and the first last.

How embarrassed they must have felt as they heard the truth of Jesus’ words! How resentful! How furious! Wouldn’t you love to hear the conversation as they made their way home? “What a radical that Jesus is!” I can hear them saying. “Who gave him the right to judge us? Did you see the riff raff he was sitting with?”

And as if that isn’t enough, he then takes on the host. He contradicts the ‘me first’ attitude of his guests. “When you have a dinner party, don’t invite important people simply to get repaid. Invite the poor and the needy. Invite the ones who cannot repay you. Invite the ones who really need it.” How angry the host must have felt! Here you invite a guest into your home, you wine and dine him, and then he turns on you and calls you a hypocrite.

We are called as Christians to hold on to the higher values that are so easily lost in time and society. It is true of all times, but most particularly, I suspect of our own. It is startling to hear that message speaking so clearly to us from scripture. There is Jesus, friend of outcasts and sinners, reminding us that love of God and love of neighbour transcend any other law.

The same concerns are voiced in the other readings. Jeremiah questions the values and standards of his society. Like Jesus, he is either very courageous or really crazy. He begins by challenging the priests for not pressing the people to follow the faith. He then challenges the lawyers for the way they handle the law. He takes on the politicians for their lack of action. Finally he goes after the other prophets of his day, making enemies of every sector of society. But then if one is truly going to transform society then it is a necessary step in making change.

In our own day as in that of Jeremiah we see the erosion of long-held values and beliefs. Social norms concerning family and community have changed. Consider the impact of infrastructures like social media on society. We now live in a global economy where a few individuals control most of the world’s wealth. Nations are financially interdependent. Look at the near bankruptcy of Greece and even more recently, the impact Brexit has had on the global economy. Beyond that, we live in a society that is dependent on consumerism. We need to ask the question that Jeremiah was asking. “Are these new ‘gods’ really viable, or are they ‘no gods’?

It is a question that the writer of the letter to the Hebrews may very well have been asking. He offers a list of what it means to live the way God wants us to, the essentials for living in community: mutual love, hospitality, remembering those in prison and those being tortured, holding marriage in honour, being content with what we have, remembering our leaders, and finally doing good and sharing what we have. It is a practical list, far more about our actions and behaviour as Christians than it is about our faith.

It gives us a pretty clear picture of what life in a Christian community should be like. It should be a community where there is empathy one towards another. We need to support one another in faith. We need to support our clergy. We need to be a welcoming and caring community. We need to understand that while wealth is not wrong, to reduce life and love and loyalty to money considerations is. Material things can become gods for us until they are ‘no gods’.

All of this strikes home about our hypocritical society. Jeremiah is not simply speaking about the people of Israel spurning the generosity of God and pursuing worthless goals. Jesus is not just a radical voice speaking out against the Pharisees and their hypocrisy. These are contemporary voices speaking to us across the ages about the way we live. Like the Hebrews we need radical guidelines about how to live as Christians in a secular world. Are we taking the best seats in the banquet hall while the rest of humanity goes uninvited?

Jesus, if we are willing to listen and follow, is revealing to us who God truly is. The way he lived his life opens to us a God who does not pick the place of honour at the table, but rather becomes a servant. How do we understand Jesus’ words, “All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted”? How do we even understand the essence of true humility? What does it mean to be humble?

For that matter what doesn’t it mean? It doesn’t call on us to put ourselves down. It also doesn’t mean that there is an equal rate of exchange between God and us. In God’s kingdom we come before God with empty hands and God fills them. Everything is gift. Everything is grace. Free grace, undying love!

What about our own work in the community? What do we do to invest in relationships and causes that are not self-serving? How open are our churches? Are we welcoming? Are we just as welcoming to those in need as we are to those who have much? Are we welcoming to everybody? What issues of justice should we as a faith community be tackling? Are there homeless in our midst? Are there those who go hungry? Are we welcoming to people no matter what their sexual orientation? How do we become advocates of change?

The worst thing we can do is to think that we cannot be agents of change, that we cannot do anything about it. We can respond to the needs of others with the same generosity with which God deals with us. We can be the ones who volunteer time and talent on behalf of the marginalized. We can be the calm, authoritative voice of Jesus at the dinner party naming the hypocrisy of our society. When we open our doors and throw a party, when we reach out in ministry and mission, we have to be willing to take some risks. Results aren’t the point of our hospitality. It isn’t about honour, glory and reward. Ultimately we will find ourselves guests at that banquet table in the kingdom.

The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 22, Year A

You're Standing on Holy Ground

Readings: Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 105:1-6, 23-36, 45c; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28

I have noticed as I have gone through life that God sometimes has some strange ways of attracting my attention. And I have to say, it is just as well, because otherwise I might not listen. Maybe you have experienced something like this. Everything is going along normally. Things are unfolding as I think they should. I am quite happy with my life, quite content. And then something happens that doesn’t make sense. Or it somehow doesn’t fit in with my plans. At that point I realize that somehow God has succeeded in gaining my attention.

Mind you, for me it is not usually quite as amazing as it was for Moses. A burning bush is pretty cool! I suspect that would really get my attention. And it works for Moses! There has been a real change in his life. He is no longer living the life of a prince in the courts of Egypt. Instead he is looking after his father-in-law’s sheep. It is a time of solitude for him, a time to encounter, not only himself, but also God. When he sees the burning bush, he turns aside to find out more. God has his attention. Those are the times to watch out for; because once God has your attention there is always more to follow. “Remove the sandals from your feet,” God says to him, “for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Taking your shoes off on sacred ground is hardly an unusual idea. It happens in many faith traditions. Shoes are removed as a sign of respect. But removing our shoes also puts us into a vulnerable position. While it is truly wonderful to walk barefoot on a sandy beach, throw in a few pebbles and the story changes. Footwear protects us from the ground. It also makes it much more difficult to run away.

And so Moses finds himself in a vulnerable position. If he could he would run away, because God is calling him to do what he dreads the most! He needs to go back and face Pharaoh. When he hears what he is to do, he hides his face in fear. He argues with God. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Who is he indeed! Everything in his past has prepared him for this moment. He knows the culture. He speaks the language. It is only fear that holds him back. And so God reassures him. “I will be with you.”

Then it is time to put on the sandals, leave the safety of that holy place and set out to do what God has called him to do.

The story of Moses points out a great truth. We do not choose our calling; our calling chooses us. We turn aside from our daily routines to see the burning bush. We find ourselves standing on sacred ground. We stand on that holy ground, safe enough to be whole, to be holy. There we encounter ourselves; there we encounter God. It is when we are standing there barefoot, vulnerable, open, that we most clearly hear God’s call. The question is, do we have the courage to put our sandals back on and respond?

Moses left that sacred space and began the liberation of the people of Israel. It was an awesome experience, but he did not keep it to himself. It became the source for a new way of life. Because Moses stood on holy ground and listened to the call of God, the people of Israel were set free.

What was the burning bush, that moment of truth for the disciples of Jesus? Jesus tells them that he will suffer and die. It is not what they want to hear. They argue with him. Even Peter, who wants so badly to be like Jesus is unable to accept the possibility that Jesus will be killed. “If any want to become my followers,” Jesus reminds them, “deny yourselves, pick up your cross and follow me.” This is the disciples at their most vulnerable. They are ready to run for all they are worth.

At that very moment, whether they know it or not, they are standing on holy ground. There is a cross to be taken up. Jesus is stating the reality of life. Taking up the cross has to do with giving of themselves rather than taking. It has to do with accepting responsibility, not refusing it. It has to do with doing what God is calling them to do. Jesus knows that risked, expended, offered beyond itself, life can be demanding and costly. Yet that is the only way that it will flower and grow and ultimately be rewarding. And those same fearful disciples will take up the cross. They will put their sandals on their feet and set out in faith. They will put aside their own fears. They will forget about the cost, and follow in Christ’s footsteps.

What burning bushes do we encounter in our lives? It happens in so many ways in our lives. I have felt it as recognition when I have been privileged to be in the presence of someone who was dying. I have known it in a word of conviction spoken by a friend. I have read it in a note when I most needed a boost. I have experienced it in the prayers of the faithful and in the breaking of the bread.

When we are standing on holy ground, our feet planted firmly, upheld by the experience of encountering God, it is easy to feel a sense of commitment to the gospel. But then realities set in. That is when it is most important to remember God’s promise that we are not alone. “I will be with you,” God said to Moses. “I will be with you,” God says to each of us.

The question remains: Do we put on our sandals and get to work? Does it mean accepting people where they are in order to patiently and lovingly lead them to where God wants them to be? Does it result in reaching out to our neighbours and meeting their needs? Do we identify with humanity irrespective of race, colour, sexual orientation, creed? It means being truly human. It means involving ourselves with the sufferings and sorrows, conflicts and consternations, failures and defeats of others. It means bearing one another’s burdens and sharing in their despair. It means listening actively and with compassion. It means acting to bring justice and dignity and validity to others. It means proclaiming the gospel of God’s love and grace. It means upholding the promises of our baptism.

What is the burning bush for this parish? You are in a time of transition. You face the unknown. You face change as you consider the future of this place. It is time to take off your sandals and stand on holy ground and discern where it is God is calling you as a congregation. It is time for a sense of discipleship that can lead you into the future. It might be risky business. After all, life can be demandng and costly. It certainly means being accountable to God for your actions. It means examining the past but not dwelling in it.

How do we develop an attitude of discipleship? How do we do as Paul says we are called to do? Just consider the list of things that Paul reminds the Romans – love, outdo, serve, rejoice, be patient, contribute, extend hospitality, bless, rejoice, weep, live in harmony, take thought, live peaceably, never avenge, feed. What a parish this would be; never mind parish, what a world we would be living in if we accomplished half of that!

The point is that there must be a difference between how we live and how the world lives. That difference comes about because we are standing on holy ground. God is calling us to be. May we understand the call of God and live in response to that call. May we live worthy of our calling!

Proper 22 Year B

Acceptable Worship

Readings: Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Psalm 45:1-2, 7-10; James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Adapting to change is a constant theme in life. It is human nature not to appreciate change. Consider the number of jokes about changing. We have all heard many versions of the ‘light bulb’ joke. How many Anglicans does it take to change a light bulb? Anglicans don’t change. It is true that as Anglicans in a liturgical setting we can get upset when something changes in the rituals. The ritual may not even make sense, but we want it to continue. Heaven help the person who tries to make a change!

I know this from personal experience. I am sure if I tried I could find a few examples from this congregation, but it is much safer to look back one of my previous congregations which shall remain nameless. When I first arrived in the parish they enlightened me about some of their “rules”. The best one was that the flowers on the altar were not to exceed the height of the arms of the cross. Since the cross and the flowers were all on the altar, it was no mean feat to arrange the flowers. They had a ruler back in the sacristy and if the flowers were too high, they simply lopped them off and stuck them back in the vases. The day I realized we had to find a way around the rule was the day we had four- inch gladiolas sticking up out of the arrangement. There was no way to change their mind about the ‘rule’, but they adapted wonderfully to putting up sconces for the flowers and putting the cross on a ledge far above the altar. It also gave me much needed space on the tiny altar.

Rules can be a good thing. We need to follow the rules of the road if we do not want to end up in an accident. A classroom would be chaos if there were not rules of conduct. We live in community. If there were no rules on how to conduct ourselves, we would not exist as a society.

But there is another kind of rule. We also choose our own rules of conduct depending on the company that we keep. There are rules about how to dress. When I went on my first job interview as a teacher I wore a hat and gloves or I would not have been hired. In the 60’s if you saw a VW van with “Make love, not war” bumper stickers and a long haired driver wearing granny glasses you knew that they were hippies. In the 80’s, if you saw a BMW driver wearing Gucci shoes and a Rolex watch you knew that you were observing a yuppie. Think of some of the markers that people have today – nose rings, low slung pants, multiple earrings, tattoos.

Change is not a problem relegated to the 21st Century. In Jesus’ time it was a problem. Talking with women in the street was against traditional rules. Talking with foreign women was completely out of the question. Approaching lepers was not done. Healing on the Sabbath was a ‘no no’. Eating without washing your hands was unconscionable. There were many rules to follow. Some of them made sense. They brought order into the people’s lives. Some of them simply marked them, set them apart for who they were. Their observance of the Sabbath, food taboos and circumcision were the things that set the Jews apart from the Gentile world. Jesus did not regard the laws as bizarre or outlandish. He understood them. But at the same time he knew that it was the shema, loving God with heart and soul and strength that was the essence of Judaism. He knew that following every cleansing ritual prescribed by Jewish law would not make a difference to society. He knew that it was about more than simply following the old traditions. He knew that they needed to put their faith into action if it was going to be effective, if it was going to bring them closer to God, if they were going to live out their faith. He knew that what was needed to identify the people as God’s people was an authentic faith and a sense of justice and love. He knew that it was far more about people choosing to do the right things, not because they were following the rules, but because they wanted to do the right thing. They wanted to do things because they were convinced that it was the right thing to do.

So what is it that marks us, that sets us apart as Christians? The Gospel reading challenges us to do some honest self-evaluation. It is not through ritual that we serve God. Common sense should dictate to us whether or not what we practice as ritual has any merit. What brings us close to God is not how we practice our faith, but how we live it. Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of their practices to the Pharisees. He let them know that they were more concerned about the enforcement of rules than the human situation. They were dependent on knowledge rather than faith. Their practices were more important than the purpose they served. And that would never make a difference in their lives.

Again and again we hear Jesus take moral issues out of the realm of mere action and into the deeper realm of motivation. How many times must we forgive? It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we are forgiving people. Do we say grace day after day, praying for the needs of others, but never contribute to help change their plight? Do we bring names of the sick and suffering to the altar Sunday after Sunday but never go out to minister to them? Do we have a rich liturgical life but do none of the real work of the church? Do we think that we serve God by going to church on Sunday, or by spending time in private prayer, or through our financial support of the church? These may indeed be signs of a Christian living a Christian life. But they do not change the fundamental question. “How is my heart towards God?”

“There is nothing,” Jesus says, “that goes into a person from the outside which can make that person unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that makes one unclean.” Jesus is affirming the holiness, the sacred nature of all creation.

A little child has been playing in the garden. He is covered with dirt from head to toe. He runs over to you and plants a big kiss, saying, “I love you.” How like that child we are. God loves us and we approach God with a grimy kiss. God looks through our messiness and our dirt, looks through all of these things that are wrong and sees innocence and a desire to please. God accepts our grimy kiss and is pleased with our coming, no matter what our condition.

So we must constantly ask, “Is our worship acceptable to God?” It is if we come, no matter how grimy, as children of God and go out cleansed, restored, and forgiven as servants into the world.

The 14th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 22, Year C

Where Shall I Sit?

Readings: Jer 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1, 10-16; Heb 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 3 14:1, 7-14

Some party guest Jesus is! He is invited for the Sabbath meal at the home of a Pharisee, obviously of high standing in the community. His first act on arriving is to heal a man. Remember! It is the Sabbath! To add insult to injury, on seeing the raised eyebrows and silent looks of disapproval at his action, he puts the host’s guests on the spot. He has noticed them vying for the place of honour at the dinner party. Who is going to sit nearest the head table? Who will catch the eye of the hosts? At last everyone is seated. They are waiting for some pleasantries from the host. Instead they hear the voice of Jesus, calm but authoritative, as he reminds them of their manners.

“When you are invited to a party,” he tells them, “don’t demand the best place. Take the lowest place. Otherwise when someone really important comes along you may find that you have lost your spot. Wait to be invited to come to the head table,” he tells them. Jesus is certainly recalling his vision of God’s realm where the last will be first and the first last.

How embarrassed they must have felt as they heard the truth of Jesus’ words! How resentful! How furious! Wouldn’t you love to hear the conversation as they made their way home? “What a radical that Jesus is!” I can hear them saying. “Who gave him the right to judge us?”

And as if that isn’t enough, he then takes on the host. He contradicts the ‘me first’ attitude of his guests. “When you have a dinner party, don’t invite important people simply to get repaid. Invite the poor and the needy. Invite the ones who cannot repay you. Invite the ones who really need it.” How angry the host must have felt! Here you invite a guest into your home, you wine and dine him, and then he turns on you and calls you a hypocrite.

So what are we to make of this story? After all, it is addressed to a very different culture with very different ideas of good manners. Is Jesus touting himself as the Amy Vanderbilt of Jerusalem? Is he giving advice on how to behave in polite company? What are we with our 21st Century mores to make of this story? Does it have any bearing at all in our lives.

There is much in this story that speaks to the kind of society in which we live. Ads and marketing strategies lead us to strive for the best items. We want the latest fads. We wouldn't be caught dead in anything less than designer labels. We want our children to go to the right schools.

While Jesus is speaking to a different culture, there is still some of the same thinking even within the Christian church. Where do people in our churches seek honour? It isn't unknown for someone to actually switch churches to be amongst people who can help them get ahead in business. Within many churches there is a ‘pecking’ order. In one parish in which I was serving, an elderly parishioner came in a little late one Sunday. The procession was already forming in the narthex. She came back out and confronted me. “A family is sitting in my pew!”

“The church is rather full today,” I said to her, and then turned to one of the sidespeople and asked them to help her find a seat. The service began. As I walked up the aisle behind the choir I realized that she was sitting alone in “her” pew. An entire family new to the parish had been moved to chairs at the back of the church. That was her place of honour. She was not about to give it up to these newcomers.

We are called as Christians to hold on to the higher values that are so easily lost in time and society. It is true of all times, but most particularly, I suspect of our own. It is startling to hear that message speaking so clearly to us from scripture. There is Jesus, friend of outcasts and sinners, reminding us that love of God and love of neighbour transcend any other law.

The same concerns are voiced in the other readings. Jeremiah questions the values and standards of his society. Like Jesus, he is either very courageous or really crazy. He begins by challenging the priests for not pressing the people to follow the faith. He then challenges the lawyers for the way they handle the law. He takes on the politicians for their lack of action. Finally he goes after the other prophets of his day. He makes enemies in every sector of society. I suspect that if one is going to truly transform society then it is a necessary step in making change.

In our own society as in that of Jeremiah we see the erosion of long-held values and beliefs. Social norms concerning family and community have changed. Consider the impact of infrastructures like the web on society. We now live in a global economy where a few individuals control most of the world’s wealth. Nations are financially interdependent. We live in a society that is dependent on consumerism. We need to ask the question that Jeremiah was asking. “Are these new ‘gods’ really viable, or are they ‘no gods’?

It is a question that the writer of the letter to the Hebrews may very well have been asking. He offers a list of what it means to live the way God wants us to. He lists the essentials for living in community; mutual love, hospitality, remembering those in prison and those being tortured, holding marriage in honour, being content with what you have, remembering your leaders, and finally doing good and sharing what you have. It is a practical list, far more about our actions and behaviour as Christians than it is about our faith.

It gives us a pretty clear picture of what life in a Christian community should be like. It should be a community where there is empathy one towards another. We need to support one another in faith. We need to be a welcoming and caring community. We need to understand that while wealth is not wrong, to reduce life and love and loyalty to money considerations is. Material things can become gods for us until they are ‘no gods’.

All of this strikes home about our hypocritical society. Jeremiah is not simply speaking about the people of Israel spurning the generosity of God and pursuing worthless goals. Jesus is not just a radical voice speaking out against the Pharisees and their hypocrisy. These are contemporary voices speaking to us across the ages about the way we live. Like the Hebrews we need radical guidelines about how to live as Christians in a secular world. Are we taking the best seats in the banquet hall while the rest of humanity goes uninvited?

Well! You may say to me. That is why we pay taxes. We are caring for the sick and the poor, the crippled and the blind. How much are we willing to lift the barriers that prohibit the poor of our communities and the world from sharing all the benefits that we enjoy?

Jesus, friend of outcasts and sinners, offers justice which goes far beyond the demands of society.  It is a gospel that turns the tables on the actions of the most just person in society.  We see such a call displayed in the lives of modern day saints like Jean Vanier of the L'arche community where mentally challenged adults lead productive lives in an open and inclusive community.  We see it in work done on our behalf in our community. The workers at the Dam are advocates for marginalized youth in our area. How privileged we are to have that kind of ministry going on at our very doorstep! There is the Eden Community Foodbank, which we support with our donations.

What about our own work in the community? What do we do to invest in relationships and causes that are not self-serving?  How open is our church?  Are we welcoming?  Are we just as welcoming to those in need as we are to those who have much? Are we welcoming to everybody? What issues of justice should we as a faith community be tackling? Are there homeless in our midst? Are there those who go hungry? What of the refugees in our community? What are their needs? Are we welcoming of people regardless of their sexual orientation? How do we deal with the issues that our beloved Anglican Church faces? How do we become advocates of change?

The worst thing we can do is to think that we cannot be agents of change, that we cannot do anything about it. We can respond to the needs of others with the same generosity with which God deals with us. We can be the ones who volunteer time and talent on behalf of the marginalized. We can be the calm, authoritative voice of Jesus at the dinner party naming the hypocrisy of our society. As one person quite rightly pointed out, “When we are loved by a loving Creator then it really doesn’t matter where we sit, or even if we have a chair.”

Proper 22, Year B

Acceptable Worship

Readings: Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Psalm 45:1-2, 7-10; James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Adapting to change is a constant theme in life. It is human nature not to appreciate change. Consider the number of jokes about changing. We have all heard many versions of the ‘light bulb’ joke. How many Anglicans does it take to change a light bulb? Anglicans don’t change. It is true that as Anglicans in a liturgical setting we can get upset when something changes in the rituals. The ritual may not even make sense, but we want it to continue. Heaven help the person who tries to make a change!

I know this from personal experience. I could find a few examples from this congregation if I really tried, but it is much safer to look back to a previous congregation which shall remain nameless. When I first arrived in the parish they enlightened me about some of their “rules”. The best one was that the flowers on the altar were not to exceed the height of the arms of the cross. Since the cross and the flowers were all on the altar, it was no mean feat to arrange the flowers. They had a ruler back in the sacristy and if the flowers were too high, they simply lopped them off and stuck them back in the vases. The day I realized we had to find a way around the rule was the day we had four inch gladiolas sticking up out of the arrangement. There was no way to change their mind about the ‘rule’, but they adapted wonderfully to putting up sconces for the flowers and putting the cross on a ledge far above the altar. It also gave me much needed space on the tiny altar.

Rules can be a good thing. We need to follow the rules of the road if we do not want to end up in an accident. A classroom would be chaos if there were not rules of conduct. We live in community. If there were no rules on how to conduct ourselves, we would not exist as a society.

But there is another kind of rule. We also choose our own rules of conduct depending on the company that we keep. There are rules about how to dress. When I went on my first job interview as a teacher I wore a hat and gloves or I would not have been hired. In the 60’s if you saw a VW van with “Make love, not war” bumper stickers and a long haired driver wearing granny glasses you knew that they were hippies. In the 80’s, if you saw a BMW driver wearing Gucci shoes and a Rolex watch you knew that you were observing a yuppie. Think of some of the markers that people have today – nose rings, low slung pants, multiple earrings, tattoos.

Change is not a problem relegated to the 21st Century. In Jesus’ time it was a problem. Talking with women in the street was against traditional rules. Talking with foreign women was completely out of the question. Approaching lepers was not done. Healing on the Sabbath was a ‘no no’. Eating without washing your hands was unconscionable. There were many rules to follow. Some of them made sense. They brought order into the people’s lives. Some of them simply marked them, set them apart for who they were. Their observance of the Sabbath, food taboos and circumcision were the things that set the Jews apart from the Gentile world. Jesus did not regard the laws as bizarre or outlandish. He understood them. But at the same time he knew that it was the shema, loving God with heart and soul and strength that was the essence of Judaism. He knew that following every cleansing ritual prescribed by Jewish law would not make a difference to society. He knew that it was about more than simply following the old traditions. He knew that they needed to put their faith into action if it was going to be effective, if it was going to bring them closer to God, if they were going to live out their faith. He knows that what is needed to identify the people as God’s people is an authentic faith and a sense of justice and love. He knows that it far more about people choosing to do the right things, not because they are following the rules, but because they want to do the right thing. They want to do things because they are convinced that it is the right thing to do.

So what is it that marks us as Christians? The Gospel reading challenges us to do some honest self-evaluation. It is not through ritual that we serve God. Common sense should dictate to us whether or not what we practice as ritual has any merit. What brings us close to God is not how we practice our faith, but how we live it. Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of their practices to the Pharisees. He let them know that they were more concerned about the enforcement of rules than the human situation. They were dependent on knowledge rather than faith. Their practices were more important than the purpose they served.

Again and again we hear Jesus take moral issues out of the realm of mere action and into the deeper realm of motivation. How many times must we forgive? It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we are forgiving people. Do we say grace day after day, praying for the needs of others, but never contribute to help change their plight? Do we bring names of the sick and suffering to the altar Sunday after Sunday but never go out to minister to them? Do we have a rich liturgical life but do none of the real work of the church? Do we think that we serve God by going to church on Sunday, or by spending time in private prayer, or through our financial support of the church? These may indeed be signs of a Christian living a Christian life. But they do not change the fundamental question. “How is my heart towards God?”

“There is nothing,” Jesus says, “that goes into a person from the outside which can make that person unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that makes one unclean.” Jesus is affirming the holiness, the sacred nature of all creation.

A little child has been playing in the garden. He is covered with dirt from head to toe. He runs over to you and plants a big kiss, saying, “I love you.” How like that child we are. God loves us and we approach God with a grimy kiss. God looks through our messiness and our dirt, looks through all of these things that are wrong and sees innocence and a desire to please. God accepts our grimy kiss and is pleased with our coming, no matter what our condition.

So we must constantly ask, “Is our worship acceptable to God?” It is if we come, no matter how grimy, as children of God and go out cleansed, restored, and forgiven as servants into the world.

Sermon for Proper 22, Year A