Why Church?

Luke 23:13-35

 

Why church? Why go to church? Why are you here this morning and every other morning? What gets you out of bed and instead of having a lazy breakfast, a potter in the garden or a trip to the footy, why do you come to church?

 

What is it about this place that is important to you?  Some of you have been coming here to this particular church for several decades, most of you have been going to church since you were a small child, why? What is it about church that matters?

 

We live in a world where truth is questioned, metanarratives like the Christian faith story are not trusted or believed; instead it seems to be a mechanical world in which only scientific or productive narratives hold sway. Every action, thought or idea must have a practical and financial outcome. We are looking for product, return on investment and ownership. We need progress; the key indicator for a successful society is one that is growing by an agreeable percentage point each year. Our businesses must be more successful and earn more, we must produce at the cheapest level possible and sell at the highest level possible. We ignore local communities and exploit foreign workforces to do so. Local, small and connected to a narrative that gives life to community simply has no place in the modern economic kingdoms of large corporations and the governments they control.

 

Even the church, the institutional church, is on about growth, numbers, systems, programs, key performance indicators and outcomes. No longer are we allowed the time to simply cogitate on life and bring forth wisdom to feed and nurture our local communities.

 

The success of indigenous communities over the ages, where ever they have been found, has been their connection to place, people and time. They know the place they live in deeply, they understand their interdependence upon each other and they also know that the greatest asset they have is time. 50,000 years is what it took for indigenous communities to learn to live in harmony with place and people. It has taken the mechanistic world a little over 200 years to have a serious impact upon it.

 

Why church? Why the seemingly use-less-ness of church? Why is it important? And why should it have our full attention and support?

 

On the road to Emmaus two men are deeply engrossed in the politics of the day. They were personally involved in this story and it has apparently collapsed without producing the outcome they sought – revolution and a new world. They are despondent and closed in on themselves, having lost the narrative giving meaning to their existence. They are joined by another whom they hardly acknowledge, just as we would as we bump into people on the train, the tram on in the corridors of Chadstone shopping centre – aware that they are there but not taking notice of particulars.

 

Their eyes are closed. Their concern for their own worries prevent them from seeing who is right their in front of them. It is so easy to walk around with eyes closed. Even when we come to church, we can come with eyes closed. We bring with us all the concerns of our daily grind and go through the motions. We are comforted by the presence of familiar faces, familiar music and the familiar liturgy, but are our eyes open? Do we see who is standing next to us and who we owe our very existence to? Do we understand that this not about our concerns and our issues, but about the amazing hesed – unfailing companionship and compassion – of the Christ and that we owe everything to the Godhead who keeps and empowers us – even in the midst of our ordinary lives?

 

In this story, Jesus becomes the interpreter of the political events, of the events of society and explains what has been playing out in the world around them. And their eyes are still closed. Knowledge and information do not open closed eyes. Recent scientific evidence suggests that people are so impacted by preconceived ideas and prejudices that facts do not change their minds. Here is a case in point. Despite hearing everything about what had happened from the one who was there in a way no one else could, their eyes remain closed.

 

This is often the case for us, we are so committed to our opinions on, our knowledge about God and faith,  and our expectations about life and church that we fail to see what is happening and what is needed; we fail to see why we actually come to church. These men almost get this.  They are moved, challenged, enlightened by what Jesus says, but their eyes remain closed. The intellectual and evidential truth of Jesus’ words fail to move them out of their own self-interest – out of their concern for themselves.

 

Jesus stays with them for dinner and something happens, we are not sure exactly what it is but in the breaking of the bread a light goes on in the head and their eyes are open. In this moment of deep personal encounter with the symbolism of faith they see, as for the very first time, who is at the centre of their lives. Not just their faith but their lives. 

Here is a deep recognition of the centrality of the Christ to our identity, existence and being. Their world is refocussed and instead of going on with their ordinary lives centred solely on themselves, they return to Jerusalem, driven by the realisation that their life is no longer their own. 

Even though their hearts burned with in them on the road, nothing changed for them. We can be made warm and fuzzy by our attendance at church without being revolutionised by the Christ. It is the deep sacramental realisation that there is no thing else but the church and that our lives are to be completely oriented toward the church, the body of Christ, and its advancement counter-culturally into the world.

 

They get up immediately, abandon whatever their plans were and go back to Jerusalem and take up the mission of the church. There is no hesitation, no second guessing, no concern for their needs or desires; they return empty handed but open eyed into the church.

 

Why church?

 

·      Because there is no other response to the love of God and the indwelling presence of the Christ;

• Because there is no other response to the faithfulness of God to us;
• Because there is no other response to the beauty and mystery of creation;
• Because there is nothing more important than the maintenance and advancement of Christ’s body in the community in which we live.

 Why church?

• This is why we give of ourselves sacrificially in service and financial support. 
• This is why we give to the church before we give to ourselves.
• This is why we give up our comfortable beds to be here, because there is no other choice for us.

Why church? 

Because all the other experiences in the world do not open our eyes to the truth about the Christ we encounter like the moment we meet Jesus in the Church, his mystical body alive in the world. 

9 to 1

Luke 17:11-19

 

Standing in the old section of the Burwood Cemetery we were surrounded by the graves of young children, many of whom were under the age of 12. The two teenagers with us were intrigued as to why this was the case. We explained that 3 or more generations ago people died young of diseases we no longer see as fatal – measles, chicken pox, colds, appendicitis and more. Also those who lived didn’t enjoy the same preferred position in families as they do to day. Education above primary school was rare and the idea of a career of their choice simply not on the agenda.

 

For these two young men, this story was both foreign and outside of their experience. What they took for granted simply wasn’t available to those young people whose headstones dotted the immediate surrounds. It was for them, and possibly is for some of us, almost impossible to imagine a world different to theirs/our experience. As a result we can fall into the trap of taking what we have now as always being the way it was.

 

We take life, our life for granted and when something happens contrary we become anxious and angry that our expectations are not met. Our life has become narcissistic to the point that we cannot imagine it being any other way than it is now. If it is out of balance we seek to regain the life we are used to without being grateful when we do.

 

This little pericope of Jesus is not so much about gratitude but about the expectation of entitlement, taking life for granted. 10 people encounter Jesus. All 10 are sick and have an illness described here as leprosy. It may not have been leprosy in the strict definition, but because of a skin ailment their lives were out of balance. The normal life function of relationships, work and religious practice was not available to them. They were outcasts, marginalised by their illnesses and seeking to find a way to become participants, once again, in the normal activities of life.

 

They meet Jesus, and are healed. Jesus sends them on their way, 9 keep going, only one stops, turns around and says thanks. It is here that Jesus pronounces, ““Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” Now this raises some interesting questions. We are told that all are healed, but only this one is made well, what does that mean? Is gratitude evidence of something more than healng the physical illness? Is wellness different or deeper than the physical cleansing? Is faith more than simply wanting something good to happen, is it about depth, deep speaking unto deep, where we glean the truth that something more is at work here than physical healing?

 

Many years ago, when I attended AA, I used to notice that there were at least two groups of people at meetings, those for whom the joy of life had returned in soberiety and those who, while sober, still moaned about how difficult it was each day. The latter would stand at every meeting they attended and go on and on about how hard it was to be sober, the temptations, the difficulties and then lapse into a protracted sense of martyrdom for continuing to remain sober. Somehow we were to applaud their stoicism in the face of great strife.

 

An old AA man would say, “Any one can get sober, only a few master sobriety.” A very wise statement reflected in our story today. Any one can get healed, only a few master the art of living well. The Samaritan begins the journey by stopping, turning around and recognising the hope he has received.

 

The other 9 took it all for granted. Life went on with their ego self at the centre of all things; the only difference was they no longer had the skin disease. Had anything really changed for them? Were they convinced that this was their right and finally all had returned to the way it always was before they got sick?

 

The Samaritan’s faith made him well. Jesus distinguishes between the 9 and the 1 by recognising the 1’s faith, a faith that was only activated when he stopped, took stock, turned around and recognised the source of his healing. Faith here refers to a conviction that results in reflection and metanoia, a complete about face or change in direction. The 9 were healed by God’s grace; the 1 was made well by his awareness of the mystery lying at the centre of his experience of Jesus.

 

Wellness is more than healing, and sometimes, is present when there is no healing. People are well when they recognise the joy and hope of life in the midst of illness, tragedy and loss. People are well when they retain their balance and embrace challenges, opportunities and possibilities despite the lack of healing or closure. People are well when they are able to grasp the mystery of creation in all things they encounter.

 

This is a story about great hope hidden in the everyday we take for granted. Like the 9, we are so busy going on, we miss the gems staring us in the face. As my father would say if we couldn’t see or find something; “If it had been a snake it would have bitten you”. In other words we miss the bleeding obvious in search of the more we not ready to receive. The 9 were excited to be normal that they forget to receive fully what they had been given.

 

How easy it is for us to do this in our lives. Materially we live in a world full of extraordinary experiences we take for granted. We have possessions, experiences, opportunities people of past generations could never have imagined, yet we act as if that is the way it has always been. We expect the stuff we have without a thought of gratitude. We take for granted stuff people in 2/3’rds of the world have never had – fresh water, accommodation, regular meals, work and access to health services. We get upset when the Internet is down, winds blow over power poles and the freeway is blocked because we take it for granted we can get our way with life. We become one of the 9 and fail to recognise just how blessed we are.

 

Spiritually human beings have made themselves the centre of the Good News, more so, we as individuals have made ourselves the unique project of the incarnation and the resurrection. Somehow that story is all about us and we take it for granted that we have God on speed dial, that God only has eyes for us. Modern individualism makes us sure of our place in God’s plan that we get upset when things don’t go our way. Why has this happened? Why me? What have I done? We walk away with the 9 unaware that there is more at work here than meets the cursory glance. Spiritually we are challenged to stop, reflect and turn around, embracing the unknown just below the surface.

 

Until we do we will continue to walk in the footsteps of the 9. Amen. 

Gratitude

³⁷And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.

Many years ago we had set up an outreach service for young people in Brisbane. For a range of reasons we were moving on to another life and the young people decided to throw a party to say farewell. They went around to the shopping centre and returned with a range of goodies. Now one young man put his contribution on the table and I was aware he had no money except his bus fare. I suspected, tightly as it turned out, that he had in old the five finger discount system to acquire his contribution.

I challenged him, and after a little encouragement he admitted he had pinched the goods. I said we have a couple of choices here, take the goods back and apologise and not put anything on the table or spend your bus money and pay for it. Now it was a wet, windy, horrible, no good very badinage of day. He had over 2 miles to walk home. He would have been soaking. Yet he decided he would pay for the goods with his bus money and get wet. His reasoning, you have helped change my life, it is what I need to do. By the way he was 12 and was on charges for being an accessory to arm robbery. There is more to that story than meets the ear.

Gratitude won the day.

Our gospel today is about gratitude. It is about what happens when our lives are broken open and we find a relationship, a community, a person who provides an anchor point in the chaos. All four people depicted in this passage have reasons to be grateful, and, at one level or another they all are. Yet it is the depth of gratitude that matters.

It seems that Jesus suggests that some people will by the nature of their case be more grateful than others. They seem to have had more to be grateful for. Their debts and their past mistakes seem to be in a greater need of recognition and forgiveness than others and therefore they are more grateful. It is obvious isn't it that a reformed alcoholic or drug addict, an excused bankrupt, a welcomed outcast will be more grateful than an ordinary person with an ordinary load of life stuff?

Yet, just perhaps, Jesus is suggesting something else, something more pertinent and challenging for those in the room who thought they could get away with a modicum of gratitude. Most of us have not committed any major 'sins', no murders, sex crimes, child abuse etc. Yes we have at times behaved a bit dodgy but really who hasn't? Therefore we are grateful for the forgiveness of God and the community of the church but we are not about to bring an alabaster jar of ointment to church.

What was the alabaster jar of ointment worth in real terms? It was Life, a fulfilled life is the answer. Such a jar of ointment signified the availability of a young lady for marriage and was given to her by her family. It was her dowry and signified her families wealth. It was Death, and could also be used to anoint bodies of loved ones as a sign of the esteem in which they were held.

This jar of an expensive ointment which is broken and therefore of no further use, is poured out in the totality of love or gratitude. This is no I'll keep some for myself and use what's left over approach to life. This is not about 'well, god knows how grateful I am and that I have worked hard and deserve to keep back some for myself, holidays, children's needs, new house etc, you know how it is. Can't be too careful.'

Next week we will be filing out our pledges, our commitment for weekly giving. It can be a challenging time. Our community is older and smaller but the needs of the wider community and the church community continues to grow. Everything from repairs and maintenance of, wage, new projects to outreach and connect and more need to be funded. In the coming months we face the loss of the ballet school, not a disaster, but a reminder that nothing lasts forever and we will need to make up for the loss of income. 

We are not to panic if we understand like the woman in the gospel that all good things come from God and that God can be relied upon to provide our needs if we demonstrate our love and gratitude through our costly giving.

Simon the Pharisee thought there was no need for more than the cursory application of the conventional rules. He fulfilled his obligations and that was enough. What this woman did was extravagance and drawing attention to herself. Unnecessary in his opinion. Give what convention decrees and keep the rest for yourself was his motto.

Giving to God demands we give to God first, the best, not the leftovers. It is the biblical principle of the first born, the lamb without blemish. And it is hard.

We live in uncertain times. We are living longer, how much money will we need? We are living in an age of adventure and rewarding ourselves with overseas holidays to places we could only dream of when we were young and had children and a mortgage etc. Coming to grips with giving as the outcome of love and gratitude for all we now have asks us to recognise the grace of God that has made all this possible, who gave us the gifts, skills and opportunities necessary to acquire what we now have. And perhaps not taking the overseas trip or extensive Australian holiday.

God does not ask us to leave ourselves destitute, that would be just as foolish and ungrateful. But we are asked to give of our life and our death, the totality of our being, as the women does and to continue to trust in the grace of God to provide for our personal needs.

The young man I referred to in the opening story walked home in the rain. I resisted the temptation to drive him. He had made a decision which had a cost and he bore the cost of getting very wet and soggy out of gratitude of the compassion Gaye and I had shown him. It has remained a powerful image watching him walk joyfully out into the rain, comfortable with himself for he had done all he could do to say thanks. Amen.

ANZAC DAWN SERVICE ADDRESS

This Dawn Service has its origins in a military routine which is still followed by the Australian Army. During battle, the half-light of dawn was one of the most favoured times for an attack. Soldiers in defensive positions were woken in the dark before dawn, so by the time first light crept across the battlefield they were awake, alert, and manning their weapons; this is still known as the 'stand-to'. As dusk is equally favourable for attacks, the stand-to was repeated at sunset.

After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they had felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. A dawn vigil, recalling the wartime front line practice of the dawn 'stand-to', became the basis of a form of commemoration in several places after the war.

Today we come to share this moment with returned service men and women and I have been pondering why? What gets us out of bed before sunup to come and stand here and remember something that happened on a far shore in different century?

It's so long ago and so far away and for many of us it is just a story, albeit a gripping and tragic one.Yet we come, young and old, of all nationalities and faiths, to stand at this place and pay our respects for those who paid the ultimate price in a war which extracted an unmeasurable cost from the countries involved.

Why do we come? 
Do we come to remember the horror that is war? Perhaps. 
Do we come to worship heroes? They did many extraordinary acts but they would deny they were heroes and reject being worshipped as such. They were simply men and women doing what had to be done. 
Do we come out of a sense of national pride? Perhaps, but it is best we treat this emotion with great care as it can soon transform into nationalism, and in war, we have had enough of that.
Why do we come? Why do we stand to? I suspect it is out of gratitude - we are grateful for the sacrifice made by all service men and women in what ever war or conflict they served in, because by doing so they saved us from having to, they protected our lifestyle, they provided us with the freedom to be who we are today.

When we look around us and see what we have, what we have the freedom to be and do, what opportunities are there for us we are grateful for those who made it possible, for those who gave us our identity, ensured our culture and traditions and left us a legacy others are envious of.

What do they ask in return? 
That we stand to and practice gratitude in all of our relationships, contacts and dealings with others, those we share this country with regardless of where they came from or why they came here.
That we stand to and do all that we do at home, at school, at work everyday with an attitude that is grateful for the opportunity to do so; 
That we stand to and offer the opportunity for others to share in our gratitude by opening our country and hearts to those whose countries are unable to do so;
That we stand to and use every tool at our disposal to avoid war at all costs.

Why do we come? We come to say thanks digger,  thanks for having the courage to face the horror in your present moment and make room for our future. Thanks.

Lest we forget.