Age of Entitlement

(Ps. 107:1-3, 17-22 - Hesed - The Unfailing Mercy of God, Ephesians 2:1-10 - Hesed Continues- Saved by Grace not Entitlement. But we Can’t Complain, John 3:14-21- Look Up and Be Lifted Up)

Our modern world is one of entitlement, blame and complain. It is never my fault or my responsibility, it is someone else – them - (whoever them is) who is responsible for the situation I want to complain about. Because I am entitled to better, more, respect, recognition etc. And our society feels entitled to and complains about everything! Not enough money, roads, school, medical support, decisions others make, the that’s not how we do it complaints, the I don’t want to change complaints, the it won’t ever be right no matter what you do complaints.

 A man in Canada sued a restaurant because when he bowed his head to say grace the sizzling hot plate of food he ordered, sizzled and burnt his face! So he blamed and complained.

 A couple of years ago a Kenyan Baptist minister spoke to our year 11 & 12 students. He told the story of his church, his people and the lack of opportunity they faced. Almost one in two Kenyans are unemployed[1]. 70% of all unemployed are young people.[2] It is suggest that only one in 6 of those who attend primary school go onto high school. These figures vary greatly from region to region. The Baptist Minister explained that is because of the cost. Uniforms and fees equal about $300 Australian Dollars for a high school year, an amount only about a third of the ipad, iphone, surfboard or dress for the year 10 formal. A fee that would cover less than 30% of a years school fees for those listening

It was interesting to watch the reaction of the young people. They went from complaining about the small stuff to putting it in perspective. What they felt entitled to, a new pair of shoes, the latest iphone, a new surfboard etc seemed of less import to the situation faced by their peers in Kenyan. In one hour we raised $1,000 from what was obviously the students own resources, enough to educate 3 students for one year.

Entitlement, blame and complain seems to hardwired into our human existence. Ask anyone who attempts any kind of change in companies, institutions or even in family relationships. Change is threatening, the process unnerving, the outcomes uncertain. At the first sign of difficulty people begin to blame and complain. Now take the Hebrews in the desert, or maybe you would think twice about taking them into the desert, if Moses’ experience is anything to go by. They were slaves in Egypt. Exiles and outcasts, fodder the economic development of that country and without a country of their own. They managed to remain in tact as a people without a place. Moses comes along and, as instructed by God begins the process of setting them free from their captivity. They are ecstatic. This is what they were entitled to. They are going home. Wait a minute – out there – into the desert – what are we going to eat – where do we get water – how long are we going to be here – we were better off in Egypt – it’s all your fault Moses – Now why did God bring us out here to die – it’s all his fault.

Now we know they finally made it to the promised land, not all of them, not even Moses and anyway at 120 years of age and having spent 40 years with that lot in the desert I am not sure he wanted to. Yet make it they did. But they stilled blamed and complained over and over, against God, against others, against the situation they found themselves in.

You see the good news that found embodiment in Jesus Christ speaks not of entitlement but of grace. It is the Hebraic concept of Hesed, the unfailing goodness and mercy of God, which formed part of the Old Covenant reimagined through the life and death of Jesus. Through that experience we have the opportunity to reimagine our own lives in a way that reflects the values of God – compassion in action. Paul in Ephesians suggests that it is not anything we do but it is the initiative of God’s grace, hesed that means we have the capacity to live in a new and life giving way. You don’t get there because you are entitled to because of your good works good works are the outcome of grace. The definition of good works means taking sacrificial responsibility for self and others. Grace is given free but it has a cost – the relinquishing of the passions and desires we are enticed into by our nature and our culture.

If our nature is to complain and find fault or to always point the finger at someone else then we are called to let go of such a nature. If our nature is to want our way at all costs to those we share the world with, then we are called to let go. If our nature is to hold onto old hurts and faults, then we are called to let go. If it is our nature to think none of this applies to me but I can those it does apply to, then we are called to let go in response to God’s unfailing, unending goodness to us. We cannot simply say this is the way I am and you are going to have to deal with it.

John at the end of Jesus conversation with Nicodemus, a Torah Jew who was unable to accept the message he had heard, connects Jesus directly to Moses and the serpent. The people complained and poisonous snakes afflicted them. God instructs Moses to place a snake on a pole and to hold it up and healing was possible. Not simply physical healing but the wholeness that comes when you see something for the first time. It not only was to heal the snake bite but also the sense of entitlement, blame and complain that was preventing them moving forward into the promised land.

The death of Jesus acts in the same way. The Moses story is a type of the Jesus story. In the death of Jesus we do not concentrate on who to blame but on the example of hesed – the unending goodness of God which Jesus never ceased to offer to the world. The law apportioned the blame but only a new vision of the world provided by the death and resurrection of Jesus heals the blame.

In his resurrection we see the possibility of living out this unending goodness everyday. Not only do we see it as a possibility, but we recognise it as our responsibility to do so and to do it to the world, not just those we like but those we don’t like; not just those the same as us, but those who are very differentOh and we are to do it within the worshipping community of St Oswald’s too. The challenge for us this Easter is to give up any sense we may have of entitlement, any inclination we have to blame others and any tendency to complain about the way things are and come together with the Good News present in others, wherever we might met them on a daily basis, in away that ushers in the new way of living, the realm of God!

[1] http://www.tradingeconomics.com/kenya/unemployment-rate

[2]http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/fileadmin/uploads/aeo/PDF/Kenya%20Full%20PDF%20Country%20Note.pdf

Covenanted People

Jeremiah 31:27-34, 2 Timothy 3:10-45, Luke 18:1-4, Psalm 119:97-40

In the 1991 comedy “City Slickers”, weathered trail boss Curly (Jack Palance) offers 39 year old city slicker Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal) some sage prairie advice. Holding up his index finger, Curly poses the ultimate cowboy question: “Do you know what the secret of life is? This.” Mitch quips, “Your finger?” With real cowboy authority Curly responds, “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean anything.” The city slicker asks, “But what is the ‘one thing’ The trail boss leaves Mitch hanging with a smile: “That’s what you have to find out.”

And the truth is we spend a lifetime finding out, forgetting and rediscovering what that one thing is. When we think we have found it, it seems to disappear from sight, get lost in the stuff of life and we have to go in search of it all over again.

For the Hebrews that is the story of the Old Testament. A story of searching, discovering, losing their way and starting all over again. It is the human story we all play a part in. Man, as a species, was created in the image of God and we all have, like sheep, gone astray from that image, individually and collectively within our own story.

I was interested to hear that a family got them selves lost following their GPS when it was visibly obvious there was something wrong. How far will travelers blindly follow a GPS device? According to The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian family of four (and their poor pup) followed directions given by their GPS onto a road closed by heavy rainfall and became stranded for three nights in a ute. The family, believe it or not, ignored posted warning signs and turned onto the Darling River Road while traveling between Brisbane and Perth in the northwest part of the continent. The truck promptly became bogged down in the thick mud, leaving the family stuck in the middle of the bush, far from civilization. They called police immediately, but since conditions were so poor, it took authorities three nights to finally reach the foolish travelers on Sunday. Ignoring a closed city street sign is one thing, but driving right past a warning sign in the middle of Australia's wilderness just because your GPS device tells you to is another thing all together.

The common theme of today’s readings is that despite our inability to stay on track, God does not go missing. He is steadfast and faithful – that is his promise, his covenant with humanity wherever they encounter him. God does not get lost even though we may feel he is sometimes missing.

This covenant was the one thing the Hebrew people clung to and is the focus of services such as the Shabbat or Sabbath service. They are constantly reminded of and constantly remind God that he has a responsibility to care for them, that is the deal and they will remind him whenever they perceive that may not be the case.

Yet this covenant is not simply a one-sided agreement. There are two sides to this agreement. God’s people have a responsibility as well. And that is to worship, praise or recognise whom God is and to bring about his kingdom in their daily lives – to hallow his name as Jesus taught his disciples.

The Psalms speak to us clearly of this relationship. The general structure of the Psalms involves recognition of the circumstances people find themselves in, a recognition of and reminder to God of his past faithfulness to his people and a commitment to praise and worship God, not if he saves them, but because there is no doubt that he will.

And in essence that is the law, which is spoken of in the readings of today, the undeniable relationship between God and his people that allows a sure and confident future for all. It is interesting that the interaction between the Hebrews and God in the Psalms speaks clearly of a full and frank discussion, simply because the foundation of that relationship was unshakeable.

Yet that relationship between God and man was to change and to take on a deeper and more significant meaning. Jeremiah points clearly to a new covenant that would not rely on external practices but be written in the heart, the spirit, the soul of man. It would be indelibly apart of us.

Paul encourages remembering the acts and promises of God so that we are not lead astray by the wicked, those who desire to take us away from or to doubt the covenant God has made for us through the obedient love of Jesus. Jesus trusted implicitly in the hesed or steadfastness of God all the way to the Cross and did so that we may have the opportunity to put it to the test for ourselves.

Jesus reveals the proper understanding essential to the fulfilment of the covenant in the parable of the Pharisee and publican. Here are two people who separate themselves from those praying in the temple. One, because he saw himself as better than the others, and the other who saw himself as unworthy.

Yet the prayer of the second is significant – “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” A similar prayer to the criminal on the cross next to Jesus. A prayer that recognises who God is and who the individual is, yet reminds God clearly of his promised steadfast faithfulness or mercy – his hesed. It is not a desperate plea but a statement of faith reminding God of the covenant.

The challenge for us as we come to participate in the Eucharist where we clearly remember and remind God of the story of his mercy is to find ways to live out our covenant with him. To praise God, not curse God when we find life not to our liking; to remember God’s goodness for the holy ordinariness of life, and not to forget God’s past and ongoing faithfulness to us; to recognise the importance not only of acknowledging God, but of praising God for everything from the simple fact of life to the more obvious and dramatic intervention in our lives.

At this table we hear the story of God’s steadfast faithfulness and pledge ourselves to live our lives so that they are our perpetual praise to God, every day.

As the Buddhist would say, “Before the enlightenment, the laundry; after enlightenment, the laundry” yet we live in that covenanted place which makes all ordinary tasks and therefore this ordinary life enlightened, for God is steadfastly faithful in the midst of our lives, contrary to what our circumstances maybe.

To answer Curly’s question, ‘That is the one thing.’