Doing the impossible
Commentary
The prayerful expressions of grief found in Lamentations reflect the pain, despair, and raw emotions of sensitive members of the community of faith during and after the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile. The presence of these elegies not only in Lamentations but also in the Psalter indicates strangely enough that there were those who listened to the prophets. They reflect a circle that was ready to ask what they did wrong, learn the lessons of history, and bow before the judgment of God. The confession of communal and individual responsibility in Lamentations 1:6 is something to which we are not accustomed in our contemporary culture of blame and excuse. "Mea culpa!" is a rare cry among us. What we hear in the laments is the struggle to keep the faith in the worst of times.
The gospel lesson brings us a mind-boggling comment of Jesus about faith. Do we hear him saying that our human responses to God have an impact far beyond our reckoning? The impossible becomes possible. The proverbial mustard seed known for its smallness doesn't look like much, but from it springs an invasive shrub that spreads wildly.
Paul understood that fatigue, discouragement, and despair can overtake us in our vocation of discipleship. Hence his words to Timothy. We note that Timothy's presence in the church was itself a sign that faith-filled responses of others in the past were shaping the present and future. Timothy was a third generation Christian. Who'd have thought the movement would survive?
The Revised Common Lectionary lists Habakkuk 1:1-4 and 2:1-4 as alternative Old Testament readings today. He is a prophet who does not get enough attention. He too has his own faith struggle and there is much in his experience with which we can identify.
Sermon Seeds In The Lessons
Lamentations 1:1-6; 3:19-26
To trigger thoughts with homiletical possibilities here are two comments that can be helpful. The first concerns the place of laments like those we meet in Lamentations, Habakkuk, and plenteously in the Psalms.
"Christian worship tends to be all triumph, all good news (even the confession of sin is not a very awesome experience because we know the assurance of pardon is coming; it's printed in the bulletin). And what does that say to those who, at the moment, know nothing of triumph? That they've muffed it somehow? That their faith hasn't been strong enough to grant them success? That the whole business is a fraud? We hope not. But has the Christian gospel completely eliminated the need, which Israel recognized so clearly, to lay all the failures of this life very openly before God himself and ask him, as a believing and worshipping community, 'Why and how long?' I think perhaps it has not, although I recognize that to many Christians life on this side of the cross is believed to eliminate the legitimacy of such questions. Yet pain and oppression and injustice are still with us and it is not enough just to say to one suffering the present hurt of all that 'Christ is the answer.' We need to cry with them first and plead with God a bit. 'Smile, God loves you' is too little to offer, but most of our corporate worship, I fear, does not move beyond that level." (Gowan, Donald. The Triumph of Faith in Habakkuk. John Knox Press. 1976. page 38.)
The second is a comment on the individual laments that share the language of the litany. The second part of our reading is such an individual lament. "What the individual bemoaned was thus not exclusively his own distress. He never regarded it as his own alone, and he therefore expressed it in words taken from the liturgy. In so doing, he could enter the ranks of the invisible company of those who had had similar comparable suffering and who had been heard, and in the words of such a prayer others too might in turn find 'a lodging for the night of sorrow.' " (Von Rad, Gerhard. Old Testament Theology. Volume 1. Harper & Brothers. 1962. page 399.)
2 Timothy 1:1-14
This might be the appropriate reading to suggest a sermon on Timothy himself. Check out the 26 references to him in the New Testament. Timothy's father was Greek and his mother Jewish. Paul makes no mention of Timothy's father. The reference to Timothy's mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois is of interest. The third generation was on the scene with Timothy. Is there anything here that says an encouraging word to mothers or fathers in single parent households? Of course the exhortations of Paul need to be heard by us who represent the latest generations on the scene.
Luke 17:5-10
This reading consists of a saying and a parable Jesus directed to the disciples. We, of course, hear the saying as a word directed to us in a world where we are called to persist in faithful responsiveness to God in the face of odds that seem overwhelming. "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."
The proverbial mustard seed was synonymous with smallness. It takes 725 to 760 mustard seeds to make up a gram in weight. That is small. Yet from such a tiny seed sprouts an invasive shrub that can take over a garden or a patch of countryside. Luke's identity of the tree is uncertain. It could have been a sycamine tree that yielded a type of figs of lesser quality than regular fig trees. It is a tree with a deep root system. Pulling it up would be a more than difficult task, and how on earth can a tree be planted in the sea?
The implication of the comment is that the disciples, who have requested that he increase their faith, have no faith at all. Even a little faith would be enough. Enough for what? Enough to make the impossible possible? Throughout his gospel Luke understands faith as our human and trusting response to the word of Jesus. It is God who uses this responsiveness to bring about impossible possibilities. Even deeply rooted systems can be radically transformed or even made to disappear. Knowing the sea is a biblical metaphor for the tides and tempests of history, I ask if Jesus is saying that even deeply rooted dogmas, seemingly permanent systems, social values and biases, and conditions of injustice can yield in time and become yesterday's headline. Constantly dripping water can wear away the largest of stones.
I recently had the opportunity to view a videotape of the launching of the new boat of the Maine Seacoast Mission. A boat is built upon an inclined structure that will also support the boat or ship during its launching. The guiding surfaces of this ramp-like structure are called the ways. Prior to the launching there is a period of time while the workmen with sledges hammer away, taking turns one after the other, at lots of wedges set in both sides of the launching structure. I am not sure if these wedges are under the boat or the ways, but at any rate by pounding the wedges in, the boat is raised enough to allow removal of the fixed blocks that held the boat firmly during construction. This hammering takes a while, but once it is completed things happen fast. The metal brackets holding the cradle and boat bed are torched away. The boat slides down into the water and the bedding, connected by lines, separates from the hull. At that moment the boat becomes a reality. From planning board to launch there are a myriad of individual contributions.
In boat building, of course, progress is visible. The seed and planting similes of Jesus deal with hidden and invisible processes. In the mustard seed saying the central actor is the hidden God who in and through all things works together for good with those who love him and brings into being things that are not.
The parable in the reading hits not only the self-righteousness to which we can be prone, but also the hunger for applause, gratitude, and desire for recognition that can corrupt our service. He reminds us that we are slaves and that title is bound to discomfort us. It is well that we keep our roles straight.
The gospel lesson brings us a mind-boggling comment of Jesus about faith. Do we hear him saying that our human responses to God have an impact far beyond our reckoning? The impossible becomes possible. The proverbial mustard seed known for its smallness doesn't look like much, but from it springs an invasive shrub that spreads wildly.
Paul understood that fatigue, discouragement, and despair can overtake us in our vocation of discipleship. Hence his words to Timothy. We note that Timothy's presence in the church was itself a sign that faith-filled responses of others in the past were shaping the present and future. Timothy was a third generation Christian. Who'd have thought the movement would survive?
The Revised Common Lectionary lists Habakkuk 1:1-4 and 2:1-4 as alternative Old Testament readings today. He is a prophet who does not get enough attention. He too has his own faith struggle and there is much in his experience with which we can identify.
Sermon Seeds In The Lessons
Lamentations 1:1-6; 3:19-26
To trigger thoughts with homiletical possibilities here are two comments that can be helpful. The first concerns the place of laments like those we meet in Lamentations, Habakkuk, and plenteously in the Psalms.
"Christian worship tends to be all triumph, all good news (even the confession of sin is not a very awesome experience because we know the assurance of pardon is coming; it's printed in the bulletin). And what does that say to those who, at the moment, know nothing of triumph? That they've muffed it somehow? That their faith hasn't been strong enough to grant them success? That the whole business is a fraud? We hope not. But has the Christian gospel completely eliminated the need, which Israel recognized so clearly, to lay all the failures of this life very openly before God himself and ask him, as a believing and worshipping community, 'Why and how long?' I think perhaps it has not, although I recognize that to many Christians life on this side of the cross is believed to eliminate the legitimacy of such questions. Yet pain and oppression and injustice are still with us and it is not enough just to say to one suffering the present hurt of all that 'Christ is the answer.' We need to cry with them first and plead with God a bit. 'Smile, God loves you' is too little to offer, but most of our corporate worship, I fear, does not move beyond that level." (Gowan, Donald. The Triumph of Faith in Habakkuk. John Knox Press. 1976. page 38.)
The second is a comment on the individual laments that share the language of the litany. The second part of our reading is such an individual lament. "What the individual bemoaned was thus not exclusively his own distress. He never regarded it as his own alone, and he therefore expressed it in words taken from the liturgy. In so doing, he could enter the ranks of the invisible company of those who had had similar comparable suffering and who had been heard, and in the words of such a prayer others too might in turn find 'a lodging for the night of sorrow.' " (Von Rad, Gerhard. Old Testament Theology. Volume 1. Harper & Brothers. 1962. page 399.)
2 Timothy 1:1-14
This might be the appropriate reading to suggest a sermon on Timothy himself. Check out the 26 references to him in the New Testament. Timothy's father was Greek and his mother Jewish. Paul makes no mention of Timothy's father. The reference to Timothy's mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois is of interest. The third generation was on the scene with Timothy. Is there anything here that says an encouraging word to mothers or fathers in single parent households? Of course the exhortations of Paul need to be heard by us who represent the latest generations on the scene.
Luke 17:5-10
This reading consists of a saying and a parable Jesus directed to the disciples. We, of course, hear the saying as a word directed to us in a world where we are called to persist in faithful responsiveness to God in the face of odds that seem overwhelming. "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."
The proverbial mustard seed was synonymous with smallness. It takes 725 to 760 mustard seeds to make up a gram in weight. That is small. Yet from such a tiny seed sprouts an invasive shrub that can take over a garden or a patch of countryside. Luke's identity of the tree is uncertain. It could have been a sycamine tree that yielded a type of figs of lesser quality than regular fig trees. It is a tree with a deep root system. Pulling it up would be a more than difficult task, and how on earth can a tree be planted in the sea?
The implication of the comment is that the disciples, who have requested that he increase their faith, have no faith at all. Even a little faith would be enough. Enough for what? Enough to make the impossible possible? Throughout his gospel Luke understands faith as our human and trusting response to the word of Jesus. It is God who uses this responsiveness to bring about impossible possibilities. Even deeply rooted systems can be radically transformed or even made to disappear. Knowing the sea is a biblical metaphor for the tides and tempests of history, I ask if Jesus is saying that even deeply rooted dogmas, seemingly permanent systems, social values and biases, and conditions of injustice can yield in time and become yesterday's headline. Constantly dripping water can wear away the largest of stones.
I recently had the opportunity to view a videotape of the launching of the new boat of the Maine Seacoast Mission. A boat is built upon an inclined structure that will also support the boat or ship during its launching. The guiding surfaces of this ramp-like structure are called the ways. Prior to the launching there is a period of time while the workmen with sledges hammer away, taking turns one after the other, at lots of wedges set in both sides of the launching structure. I am not sure if these wedges are under the boat or the ways, but at any rate by pounding the wedges in, the boat is raised enough to allow removal of the fixed blocks that held the boat firmly during construction. This hammering takes a while, but once it is completed things happen fast. The metal brackets holding the cradle and boat bed are torched away. The boat slides down into the water and the bedding, connected by lines, separates from the hull. At that moment the boat becomes a reality. From planning board to launch there are a myriad of individual contributions.
In boat building, of course, progress is visible. The seed and planting similes of Jesus deal with hidden and invisible processes. In the mustard seed saying the central actor is the hidden God who in and through all things works together for good with those who love him and brings into being things that are not.
The parable in the reading hits not only the self-righteousness to which we can be prone, but also the hunger for applause, gratitude, and desire for recognition that can corrupt our service. He reminds us that we are slaves and that title is bound to discomfort us. It is well that we keep our roles straight.
