There is going to be an investigation
Commentary
Object:
"There is going to be an investigation." Are there any more chilling or challenging words
in the English language? Of course, how you feel depends on whether you are the one
doing the investigating or the one being investigated. If you are the one doing the
investigating at least there is the hope of getting to the bottom of things. If your primary
aim is political power then there is the hope of keeping your foes sufficiently off balance
and distracted so that you can achieve your aims. If you are of the sadistic bent you can
look forward to watching your enemies squirm under relentless questioning. If you are
the one subpoenaed, sitting before the IRS examiner, or in the hot seat about to be grilled,
then there is much to be feared as an investigation into your affairs gets under way. As I
read these texts, I get the same feeling as when I watch congressional hearings or open a
letter from the IRS.
Certainly the text from the Hebrew testament comes to us in the form of a direct legal suit. The epistle lesson comes down as an indictment of a church community that is not living up to its potential. Jesus observes in the Pharisees' religious community a disturbing pattern that does not reflect the kind of sabbath rest that is part of God's invitation to healthy living. Each of these invites us to investigate our own religious community with an eye to determining whether we would survive God's cross examination or how high we would score on the letter to the Hebrews scale, or if we perceive the same things that Jesus saw as making sabbath difficult.
Most faith communities that I know of do not respond well to the idea of finding themselves under the microscope. It is impossible for people who have come to know each other so well and ventured so much together over the years not to have picked up their share of dirty linen and sleeping dogs that ought not to be disturbed. The fear comes out in all sorts of ways as churches try to keep their family secrets. One congregation resisted participating in a "healthy congregations" program because they believed it implied that the congregation was sick or unhealthy. Other congregations have a dim but pervasive awareness that a serious self-examination might reveal a deeply disturbing episode in the church's life. Some churches have cultivated a self-image that was an accurate description of the congregation, but of thirty or more years ago!
It is somewhat reassuring that the Bible presents us not with perfect faith communities but with their struggle to be an authentic religious presence. Has any pastor not had days surveying the dynamics of their congregation when "What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?" comes too close to home for comfort? Many pastors wish that the church they served remembered the leaders who spoke the word of God to them. Can their church seek to imitate their leaders more than the surrounding culture? Can any pastor observing the seats of power in their congregation not find themselves wondering to what degree they reflect the seating plan of the kingdom of God outlined in Jesus' words?
The texts have relevancy not only to the internal life of the church but to the world that the church seeks to serve. The world seems to be searching for models of leadership and community beyond the current models that have brought tragedy and shame at home and abroad. Can the faith community, in its struggle to be an effective, authentic religious community, offer the world wisdom in organizing its affairs? There should be an investigation.
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Jeremiah prophesies in the context of the kingdom of Judah, that it is clearly on the down side of its former halcyon days. Already some have been carried into exile and the future looks bleak at best. How did things get this bad? The explanation for the national tragedy lies not in failure to keep ahead in the local arms race, or inattention to the falling value of the shekel. Even if these things had been dealt with national disaster would still loom. "The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?' " Failing to ask where is the Lord in all this has been going on for quite a long time, for it is rooted in ancestors who went far from God and went after worthless things and so became worthless themselves. The Anchor Bible commentary has it that "following Lord Delusion deluded they became." Eugene Peterson's translation, The Message, has it that they "Took up with Sir Windbag and turned into windbags themselves." This begins to look like a fairly stinging and stunning indictment. They did not ask the question, "Where is the Lord in all this?" It is not surprising upon investigation that this is where many find themselves first going wrong: the young couple that no longer asks where is God in their marriage, the church that stops being adventuresome because they have forgotten God, who will lead them through the wilderness, the nation that pursues profit to the point that it does not profit.
The nation and the religious community have attributed force and power to gods that are not gods. The church that surrenders power by giving their energies to maintaining the secret of an abusive pastor is walking down the road that Jeremiah is describing here. The faith community that never seems to be able to have a long-term pastorate because they cannot get beyond the honeymoon period should do some investigating along Jeremiah's thought lines. The nation that trusts more in its army's power to prevent defeat rather than God's power to raise people up from defeat is headed toward delusion, listening to windbags.
The prophet does not see this as something that is easily redeemable. "Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, and I accuse your children's children." We rebel immediately against such language. We can certainly go along with the indictment of the ancestors portrayed in verse 5. Coming down on the children and future generations seems beyond the pale. However, Jeremiah points to a familiar notion. This is something that is in the DNA of the people and that will be passed on. The people will have some choice over whether this will be a recessive gene or not.
This is so much a part of the gene pool, the prophet indicts just about all the major national institutions. "The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit" (Jeremiah 2:8). Prophets, princes, priests have all become delusional -- so much for the notion of the balance of and separation of powers as an easy corrective. We have prophets here who do not profit the nation, rulers who cannot draw a straight line, and priests that do not pray. "Where is the Lord?"
At first there seems little hope here if this is the final report of the investigation on what has gone wrong and what feels wrong in our world. If the bottom line is that we who were meant to drink from fountains of living water have now built structures and arguments that don't hold water then things look pretty bleak. On the other hand, if this indictment causes us to seek out the one who is living water then there may be hope.
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
If you want to prompt an investigation into the life of an organization, center your efforts on sex and money. You will have folks lined up around the block to generate the titillating and the tawdry. Despite our denials there is a quarantined audience for such things and a part of us that can barely get through the grocery checkout line without casting at least a glimpse at the scandal sheets for sale.
Regarding the first two concerns of the letter to the Hebrews, it is somewhat less likely that there will be an investigation into the hospitality quotient in a local church. If anything most churches chant the mantra that they are a fairly friendly welcoming bunch. A close investigation of the minutes of most churches will reveal that the agenda of the vast majority of congregational councils remains free of consideration of how the prison visits are going.
There are many reasons that our relationship to these concerns should be kept in mind. A congregation that feels betrayed around the issues of money and human sexuality is going to be one hurting puppy for a long time. Like no other facet of church life, sex and money are expressions of who we are.
No doubt we can come up with, in our diverse world, varying definitions of fornication and adultery. However, we cannot go long without some definition of these terms and an understanding of what their practice in church life might mean. No doubt there have been times when there has been greater unanimity of what these terms mean. However, it does not take long to spot a church that is suffering from the violation of its core understanding of human sexuality. Particularly where the offender is a pastor the energy of the congregation can be consumed by its attempts to hide the secret and ward off anything that might lead to its discovery.
The evidence of scripture indicates that there was never a time when the issues of human sexuality were not avoided by virtue of being a member of the church. How then does the church community keep things undefiled in a world of diversity? This text concludes with the observation that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Yes, but our insights as to how to apply Jesus' teaching is evolving. Do we do honor and prevent defilement if we keep silent, keep rigid, keep the door open to nearly any form of human behavior as faithful? I am not sure. I suspect there needs to be an investigation.
The letter to the Hebrews warns about the love of money as does the first letter of Timothy. Like human sexuality, the issues surrounding money seem to have taken root early in the life of the first Christians. I do not recall a time when these issues have not taken hold in the church. Certainly the distance between local churches and larger church structures has often been expressed as a dollar and cents issue -- how can we give money to missions when we need to take care of the needs in our own backyard? I wonder if the sense of alienation, hostility, and desperation that plagues the world only begins in my backyard. At other times, a sense of limited resources and unlimited needs takes over and renders the miser in us useful as a surefire safe way to sort things through. However, I am a member of a church conference that, in the nineteenth century, gave the modern equivalent of several million dollars for the conversion of the heathens in New York State. It was done in a far more difficult material circumstance than we experience today. There is probably still great benefit to be had from the conversion of the heathens in New York State. I think there should be an investigation into what has changed through the years.
I do an investigation into my own situation and I wonder about my own attitudes toward money and other material wealth. I own two cars, a laptop computer, and a desktop computer with more computing power than NASA dreamed of a few years ago. I own a house in which there are three color televisions, a cat, and two dogs. I have insurance that has seen me through a couple of million dollars' worth of cancer care. I can support my addiction to baseball and books fairly nicely. I live in New Hampshire. I am a pastor where not even Solomon in all his glory was so arrayed. I think this demands an investigation of my money attitudes and perhaps yours if you are similarly situated. I can't even get close to the widow's mite.
The first two of the concerns in this letter does not quite register the tremors that sex and money do. However, out of sight -- out of mind has meant that the United States has crept up to have the highest percentage of its population behind bars. This does not seem to have resulted in the lowest crime rate in the world or the highest sense of public safety. I suspect there ought to be an investigation here. Have we become part of patterns that are not only indifferent to the prisoner but work to keep them imprisoned even when they leave the confines of the institution?
The psalm says that the Lord prepares a hospitable table even in the presence of our enemies. Yet the church often feels like a minefield of pains and sorrow. How can there be so many people whose bad church experiences have cut them off from the resources of a vital faith? It seems that there are many more people who do not know what to expect from church. New members bring clumsiness about church that easily can lead to feelings of embarrassment and shame.
There ought to be an investigation of these things in your church.
Luke 14:1, 7-14
The story begins with the rather droll observation that as the Pharisees were keeping a close watch on him Jesus was making a more thorough inventory of what was happening among them. He noticed how the invited guests made a dash for the places of honor. He also noticed that it was time for a parable because he had a teachable moment in hand.
Of course, as many have noted, the story does not feel like a traditional parable. Jesus gives instructions as to what is to be the strategy for the evening meal. As I write this, the White House is preparing for a white-tie dinner, the first in several years, on the occasion of the visit of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Second. I can guarantee that the strategy outlined in verse 12 was not employed in those arrangements: "He said also to the one who had invited him, 'When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.' " Anything less than adherence to rigid protocol here and I can guarantee there will be a thorough investigation of what happened and who should be held accountable.
This is why Jesus' words have such a jolt. He is demanding an investigation of conduct that would normally be considered above reproach. Though his words do not form what we would normally find in his parables, there is the same reversal of order that commands our attention and calls for reflection. Jesus invites into a moment of stately serenity the chaos of those who, taking the lowest place, must now be ushered up to the rightful place of honor. All this must surely be to the chagrin of those who have mistaken who the honorees are.
This is bound to put a crimp in the lifestyle of the rich and the famous for whom everything is neatly arranged according to who is well, well-off, and well-connected. One can readily see the confusion and the consternation that must envelop the crowd as the folks with season tickets to life find themselves suddenly moved to the bleachers and the back benches. How can this possibly work if the usual business of politically rewarding friends and punishing enemies cannot take place in an orderly fashion? This is what keeps things in balance.
Jesus suggests, in effect, that we ought to investigate the usual arrangement of things. Of course those who usually get the places of honor are often blind to what the order of things has done to those who pick their crops, clean their hotels, drive their taxis, and in general make the lives of the rich and famous possible. The ones in the place of honor are often blind to what it has done to them. You often get to the places of honor by denying your neediness, covering your wounds, and hiding the emptiness that can come from handing in seventy billable hours a week.
There ought to be an investigation.
Application
Yes, there ought to be an investigation of these things. However, just how is that investigation to be carried out and by whom? If anything, over the years, I have been impressed by the power of preaching to mold a congregation with its limitations in shaping the direction of a faith community.
It is somewhat peculiar how people remember the pastoral repertoire of sermons. Occasionally there is the soul who can recall with pristine accuracy the fundamental theology of the pastor and can articulate the pastor's overall message as reflected in years of preaching. Oh, the joy and exquisiteness of having one soul like that. That is the point, after all; one in ministry is rarely granted such a blessing. The actual recollections tend to be far more piecemeal with the recounting of moments that here and there have caught the listener up to the seventh heaven. However, the adventuresome faithful congregation needs such moments that can increase a congregation's trust in God and openness to the future.
Given this truth, that there is going to be an investigation into these matters, it will require more than a fine homiletical moment. What is the sound basis for such an investigation in a congregation? It will have to do with the belief that all of the members of the congregation have some of the truth while none of the members possess all of the truth. The success of such an investigation will depend on whether each member of a congregation sees themselves as part of the ongoing faith development by the church community. The test of this conversation will be in part by whether the church community sees its work in light of the contribution that it can make to generations to come.
These texts need more hours, more long-range planning, and more goal-setting to blossom in a congregation.
Alternative Application
Luke 14:1, 7-14. "He said also to the one who had invited him, 'When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.' " Easy for Jesus to say: that may be the point. It is easier for Jesus to say, however, it may be no less necessary for us to say.
Many scholars see the size of a congregation as the most determining factor in the life of a congregation. Surely these words are heard differently in a family-centered church than in a larger congregation. A family-centered congregation needs to look at how one becomes a member of the family and how well the church includes those who are part of Jesus' family. A pastor-centered congregation needs to equip and support a pastor in helping to make the personal connections that Jesus felt opened up the doors to his kingdom. A program church, heavily dependent on professional skill that requires monetary resources to train and develop, needs to be careful that such talent does not arrogate power to only those with money. Some seek out large corporate churches to maintain their anonymity. Jesus extended an invitation that increased the visibility of the needy.
Yes, Jesus' words may be easier for him to say, but however hard they are to hear we need to consider them.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 81:1, 10-16
In talking about God, the conversation usually is about how we feel about God. The discussion will center around our experience of God, and around our particular beliefs in and about God. But seldom do we pause to consider the world, or us, from God's point of view. What must God think? What must God feel? What, one wry preacher asked, is going on in the cosmic cranium?
Of course, it is probably folly to try to assign a human response mechanism to the Creator of the universe. How could a grain of sand perceive the beach, let alone the ocean? Folly or no, it is difficult to resist, simply because a human response is all we have. How else could we imagine God, except through the eyes, heart, and imagination that God gave us?
This psalm makes a run at the process, and uncovers a God who seems a tad disappointed. More than that, this God seems to feel a bit shunned as well (he) might! "O that my people would listen to me!" One could almost imagine a brokenhearted God, pining over beloved children who simply will not listen. What parent can't identify with this?
And then, there is a capricious sense to this God. If they would listen to me, then I'd help them out. But no. Since they are not listening I shall "give them over to their stubborn hearts and abandon them to their own council."
It's an interesting exercise. One wonders how it might play out in the contemporary world. Try for a moment to put yourself in God's shoes. Does God have shoes? Likely not, but work with the pastor here! How do you imagine God viewing the people who claim to follow God in the United States in the year 2007? Look at these people. What must God think? What do you imagine to be God's reaction to how we conduct our affairs as a nation? As a church? Take a moment and write your own psalm from God's point of view. Perhaps this would be a good exercise for an adult study group, or even for a young peoples' group.
After the psalms have been written, compare the different points of view that God has in the differing psalms. What do these perspectives tell us about ourselves? Our faith? Our sense of call as a people? Then come together as a group and pray your way through these points of view and the things they reveal. It can be fun, and it just might spur some new growth and movement of the Spirit!
Certainly the text from the Hebrew testament comes to us in the form of a direct legal suit. The epistle lesson comes down as an indictment of a church community that is not living up to its potential. Jesus observes in the Pharisees' religious community a disturbing pattern that does not reflect the kind of sabbath rest that is part of God's invitation to healthy living. Each of these invites us to investigate our own religious community with an eye to determining whether we would survive God's cross examination or how high we would score on the letter to the Hebrews scale, or if we perceive the same things that Jesus saw as making sabbath difficult.
Most faith communities that I know of do not respond well to the idea of finding themselves under the microscope. It is impossible for people who have come to know each other so well and ventured so much together over the years not to have picked up their share of dirty linen and sleeping dogs that ought not to be disturbed. The fear comes out in all sorts of ways as churches try to keep their family secrets. One congregation resisted participating in a "healthy congregations" program because they believed it implied that the congregation was sick or unhealthy. Other congregations have a dim but pervasive awareness that a serious self-examination might reveal a deeply disturbing episode in the church's life. Some churches have cultivated a self-image that was an accurate description of the congregation, but of thirty or more years ago!
It is somewhat reassuring that the Bible presents us not with perfect faith communities but with their struggle to be an authentic religious presence. Has any pastor not had days surveying the dynamics of their congregation when "What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?" comes too close to home for comfort? Many pastors wish that the church they served remembered the leaders who spoke the word of God to them. Can their church seek to imitate their leaders more than the surrounding culture? Can any pastor observing the seats of power in their congregation not find themselves wondering to what degree they reflect the seating plan of the kingdom of God outlined in Jesus' words?
The texts have relevancy not only to the internal life of the church but to the world that the church seeks to serve. The world seems to be searching for models of leadership and community beyond the current models that have brought tragedy and shame at home and abroad. Can the faith community, in its struggle to be an effective, authentic religious community, offer the world wisdom in organizing its affairs? There should be an investigation.
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Jeremiah prophesies in the context of the kingdom of Judah, that it is clearly on the down side of its former halcyon days. Already some have been carried into exile and the future looks bleak at best. How did things get this bad? The explanation for the national tragedy lies not in failure to keep ahead in the local arms race, or inattention to the falling value of the shekel. Even if these things had been dealt with national disaster would still loom. "The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?' " Failing to ask where is the Lord in all this has been going on for quite a long time, for it is rooted in ancestors who went far from God and went after worthless things and so became worthless themselves. The Anchor Bible commentary has it that "following Lord Delusion deluded they became." Eugene Peterson's translation, The Message, has it that they "Took up with Sir Windbag and turned into windbags themselves." This begins to look like a fairly stinging and stunning indictment. They did not ask the question, "Where is the Lord in all this?" It is not surprising upon investigation that this is where many find themselves first going wrong: the young couple that no longer asks where is God in their marriage, the church that stops being adventuresome because they have forgotten God, who will lead them through the wilderness, the nation that pursues profit to the point that it does not profit.
The nation and the religious community have attributed force and power to gods that are not gods. The church that surrenders power by giving their energies to maintaining the secret of an abusive pastor is walking down the road that Jeremiah is describing here. The faith community that never seems to be able to have a long-term pastorate because they cannot get beyond the honeymoon period should do some investigating along Jeremiah's thought lines. The nation that trusts more in its army's power to prevent defeat rather than God's power to raise people up from defeat is headed toward delusion, listening to windbags.
The prophet does not see this as something that is easily redeemable. "Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, and I accuse your children's children." We rebel immediately against such language. We can certainly go along with the indictment of the ancestors portrayed in verse 5. Coming down on the children and future generations seems beyond the pale. However, Jeremiah points to a familiar notion. This is something that is in the DNA of the people and that will be passed on. The people will have some choice over whether this will be a recessive gene or not.
This is so much a part of the gene pool, the prophet indicts just about all the major national institutions. "The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit" (Jeremiah 2:8). Prophets, princes, priests have all become delusional -- so much for the notion of the balance of and separation of powers as an easy corrective. We have prophets here who do not profit the nation, rulers who cannot draw a straight line, and priests that do not pray. "Where is the Lord?"
At first there seems little hope here if this is the final report of the investigation on what has gone wrong and what feels wrong in our world. If the bottom line is that we who were meant to drink from fountains of living water have now built structures and arguments that don't hold water then things look pretty bleak. On the other hand, if this indictment causes us to seek out the one who is living water then there may be hope.
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
If you want to prompt an investigation into the life of an organization, center your efforts on sex and money. You will have folks lined up around the block to generate the titillating and the tawdry. Despite our denials there is a quarantined audience for such things and a part of us that can barely get through the grocery checkout line without casting at least a glimpse at the scandal sheets for sale.
Regarding the first two concerns of the letter to the Hebrews, it is somewhat less likely that there will be an investigation into the hospitality quotient in a local church. If anything most churches chant the mantra that they are a fairly friendly welcoming bunch. A close investigation of the minutes of most churches will reveal that the agenda of the vast majority of congregational councils remains free of consideration of how the prison visits are going.
There are many reasons that our relationship to these concerns should be kept in mind. A congregation that feels betrayed around the issues of money and human sexuality is going to be one hurting puppy for a long time. Like no other facet of church life, sex and money are expressions of who we are.
No doubt we can come up with, in our diverse world, varying definitions of fornication and adultery. However, we cannot go long without some definition of these terms and an understanding of what their practice in church life might mean. No doubt there have been times when there has been greater unanimity of what these terms mean. However, it does not take long to spot a church that is suffering from the violation of its core understanding of human sexuality. Particularly where the offender is a pastor the energy of the congregation can be consumed by its attempts to hide the secret and ward off anything that might lead to its discovery.
The evidence of scripture indicates that there was never a time when the issues of human sexuality were not avoided by virtue of being a member of the church. How then does the church community keep things undefiled in a world of diversity? This text concludes with the observation that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Yes, but our insights as to how to apply Jesus' teaching is evolving. Do we do honor and prevent defilement if we keep silent, keep rigid, keep the door open to nearly any form of human behavior as faithful? I am not sure. I suspect there needs to be an investigation.
The letter to the Hebrews warns about the love of money as does the first letter of Timothy. Like human sexuality, the issues surrounding money seem to have taken root early in the life of the first Christians. I do not recall a time when these issues have not taken hold in the church. Certainly the distance between local churches and larger church structures has often been expressed as a dollar and cents issue -- how can we give money to missions when we need to take care of the needs in our own backyard? I wonder if the sense of alienation, hostility, and desperation that plagues the world only begins in my backyard. At other times, a sense of limited resources and unlimited needs takes over and renders the miser in us useful as a surefire safe way to sort things through. However, I am a member of a church conference that, in the nineteenth century, gave the modern equivalent of several million dollars for the conversion of the heathens in New York State. It was done in a far more difficult material circumstance than we experience today. There is probably still great benefit to be had from the conversion of the heathens in New York State. I think there should be an investigation into what has changed through the years.
I do an investigation into my own situation and I wonder about my own attitudes toward money and other material wealth. I own two cars, a laptop computer, and a desktop computer with more computing power than NASA dreamed of a few years ago. I own a house in which there are three color televisions, a cat, and two dogs. I have insurance that has seen me through a couple of million dollars' worth of cancer care. I can support my addiction to baseball and books fairly nicely. I live in New Hampshire. I am a pastor where not even Solomon in all his glory was so arrayed. I think this demands an investigation of my money attitudes and perhaps yours if you are similarly situated. I can't even get close to the widow's mite.
The first two of the concerns in this letter does not quite register the tremors that sex and money do. However, out of sight -- out of mind has meant that the United States has crept up to have the highest percentage of its population behind bars. This does not seem to have resulted in the lowest crime rate in the world or the highest sense of public safety. I suspect there ought to be an investigation here. Have we become part of patterns that are not only indifferent to the prisoner but work to keep them imprisoned even when they leave the confines of the institution?
The psalm says that the Lord prepares a hospitable table even in the presence of our enemies. Yet the church often feels like a minefield of pains and sorrow. How can there be so many people whose bad church experiences have cut them off from the resources of a vital faith? It seems that there are many more people who do not know what to expect from church. New members bring clumsiness about church that easily can lead to feelings of embarrassment and shame.
There ought to be an investigation of these things in your church.
Luke 14:1, 7-14
The story begins with the rather droll observation that as the Pharisees were keeping a close watch on him Jesus was making a more thorough inventory of what was happening among them. He noticed how the invited guests made a dash for the places of honor. He also noticed that it was time for a parable because he had a teachable moment in hand.
Of course, as many have noted, the story does not feel like a traditional parable. Jesus gives instructions as to what is to be the strategy for the evening meal. As I write this, the White House is preparing for a white-tie dinner, the first in several years, on the occasion of the visit of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Second. I can guarantee that the strategy outlined in verse 12 was not employed in those arrangements: "He said also to the one who had invited him, 'When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.' " Anything less than adherence to rigid protocol here and I can guarantee there will be a thorough investigation of what happened and who should be held accountable.
This is why Jesus' words have such a jolt. He is demanding an investigation of conduct that would normally be considered above reproach. Though his words do not form what we would normally find in his parables, there is the same reversal of order that commands our attention and calls for reflection. Jesus invites into a moment of stately serenity the chaos of those who, taking the lowest place, must now be ushered up to the rightful place of honor. All this must surely be to the chagrin of those who have mistaken who the honorees are.
This is bound to put a crimp in the lifestyle of the rich and the famous for whom everything is neatly arranged according to who is well, well-off, and well-connected. One can readily see the confusion and the consternation that must envelop the crowd as the folks with season tickets to life find themselves suddenly moved to the bleachers and the back benches. How can this possibly work if the usual business of politically rewarding friends and punishing enemies cannot take place in an orderly fashion? This is what keeps things in balance.
Jesus suggests, in effect, that we ought to investigate the usual arrangement of things. Of course those who usually get the places of honor are often blind to what the order of things has done to those who pick their crops, clean their hotels, drive their taxis, and in general make the lives of the rich and famous possible. The ones in the place of honor are often blind to what it has done to them. You often get to the places of honor by denying your neediness, covering your wounds, and hiding the emptiness that can come from handing in seventy billable hours a week.
There ought to be an investigation.
Application
Yes, there ought to be an investigation of these things. However, just how is that investigation to be carried out and by whom? If anything, over the years, I have been impressed by the power of preaching to mold a congregation with its limitations in shaping the direction of a faith community.
It is somewhat peculiar how people remember the pastoral repertoire of sermons. Occasionally there is the soul who can recall with pristine accuracy the fundamental theology of the pastor and can articulate the pastor's overall message as reflected in years of preaching. Oh, the joy and exquisiteness of having one soul like that. That is the point, after all; one in ministry is rarely granted such a blessing. The actual recollections tend to be far more piecemeal with the recounting of moments that here and there have caught the listener up to the seventh heaven. However, the adventuresome faithful congregation needs such moments that can increase a congregation's trust in God and openness to the future.
Given this truth, that there is going to be an investigation into these matters, it will require more than a fine homiletical moment. What is the sound basis for such an investigation in a congregation? It will have to do with the belief that all of the members of the congregation have some of the truth while none of the members possess all of the truth. The success of such an investigation will depend on whether each member of a congregation sees themselves as part of the ongoing faith development by the church community. The test of this conversation will be in part by whether the church community sees its work in light of the contribution that it can make to generations to come.
These texts need more hours, more long-range planning, and more goal-setting to blossom in a congregation.
Alternative Application
Luke 14:1, 7-14. "He said also to the one who had invited him, 'When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.' " Easy for Jesus to say: that may be the point. It is easier for Jesus to say, however, it may be no less necessary for us to say.
Many scholars see the size of a congregation as the most determining factor in the life of a congregation. Surely these words are heard differently in a family-centered church than in a larger congregation. A family-centered congregation needs to look at how one becomes a member of the family and how well the church includes those who are part of Jesus' family. A pastor-centered congregation needs to equip and support a pastor in helping to make the personal connections that Jesus felt opened up the doors to his kingdom. A program church, heavily dependent on professional skill that requires monetary resources to train and develop, needs to be careful that such talent does not arrogate power to only those with money. Some seek out large corporate churches to maintain their anonymity. Jesus extended an invitation that increased the visibility of the needy.
Yes, Jesus' words may be easier for him to say, but however hard they are to hear we need to consider them.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 81:1, 10-16
In talking about God, the conversation usually is about how we feel about God. The discussion will center around our experience of God, and around our particular beliefs in and about God. But seldom do we pause to consider the world, or us, from God's point of view. What must God think? What must God feel? What, one wry preacher asked, is going on in the cosmic cranium?
Of course, it is probably folly to try to assign a human response mechanism to the Creator of the universe. How could a grain of sand perceive the beach, let alone the ocean? Folly or no, it is difficult to resist, simply because a human response is all we have. How else could we imagine God, except through the eyes, heart, and imagination that God gave us?
This psalm makes a run at the process, and uncovers a God who seems a tad disappointed. More than that, this God seems to feel a bit shunned as well (he) might! "O that my people would listen to me!" One could almost imagine a brokenhearted God, pining over beloved children who simply will not listen. What parent can't identify with this?
And then, there is a capricious sense to this God. If they would listen to me, then I'd help them out. But no. Since they are not listening I shall "give them over to their stubborn hearts and abandon them to their own council."
It's an interesting exercise. One wonders how it might play out in the contemporary world. Try for a moment to put yourself in God's shoes. Does God have shoes? Likely not, but work with the pastor here! How do you imagine God viewing the people who claim to follow God in the United States in the year 2007? Look at these people. What must God think? What do you imagine to be God's reaction to how we conduct our affairs as a nation? As a church? Take a moment and write your own psalm from God's point of view. Perhaps this would be a good exercise for an adult study group, or even for a young peoples' group.
After the psalms have been written, compare the different points of view that God has in the differing psalms. What do these perspectives tell us about ourselves? Our faith? Our sense of call as a people? Then come together as a group and pray your way through these points of view and the things they reveal. It can be fun, and it just might spur some new growth and movement of the Spirit!