A word out of fashion
Commentary
Invitations, imperatives and warnings sound forth in the readings for this Sunday. With moving words that make us think of the gospel of John the unknown prophet of the exile stands in the marketplace to ask piercing questions and call for a change of ways. Paul in the process of taking on the Gnostic sophisticates among the Corinthian Christians reminds them that moral and ethical choices have real consequences for good or ill. In the gospel reading we again encounter Jesus telling it like it is to a group of Galileans and warning them that without some sweeping changes in the way they think and act they are on the endangered species list. The imperative call to repent rings out loud and clear.
The call to repent is central in the New Testament, but who wants to hear that word today? It sounds like a censorious word in the "I'm okay and you're okay" ambiance. An "or else" implication seems to hang on the word and conjures up a stereotyped image of hellfire and damnation preaching, of tent meetings and the sawdust trail. Like a number of key words in our vocabulary of the faith, the word "repent" is a word out of usage.
There is an old story about the Rev. Ira Brimstone, an old-fashioned circuit riding preacher whose parish embraced a number of small midwest towns. One day he happened upon a farmer. "Brother, have you seen the light?" he asked the farmer. Nonplussed but amiable the farmer replied, "Guess not, 'taint dark yet." "No, No," said Mr. Brimstone, "Are you lost?" "No, sir," said the farmer, "been around these parts for 60 years, man and boy." "What I mean," said the preacher, "is are you a Christian?" "Nope," said the farmer, "I'm a Thompson. The Christians live down the road." The preacher drew himself up in the saddle and thundered, "Are you ready for the judgment day?" "Well, I don't know," replied the farmer. "When is it?" "Almost any day now," said the circuit rider in exasperation. "It could be tomorrow or the next day." "Is that so?" said the farmer. "When you find out, let me know. The Mrs. will probably want to go both days."
I will not vouch for the truth of this story, but it does illustrate the way our in-house vocabulary can fall out of common usage. Yet these are words that enshrine the moral seriousness of the Word and we need to rediscover them.
Sermon Seeds In The Lessons
Isaiah 55:1-9
The prophet is one voice in the marketplace. He makes himself part of the human dialogue. He raises questions and issues invitations. His example seems so appropriate for the witnessing church today in a society where the dominant human image fostered by the marketplace is that of the consumer, a most inadequate definition of the human person created by and for God. Acquisitiveness, materialism, money, sex, gambling, cultic religion, compulsive politics, and food, in addition to drugs and alcohol, are forms of consumptive addictions that enslave in their own way. For a challenging look at the prevailing addictive system read When Society Becomes the Addict by Anne Wilson Schaef (Harper and Row, 1988).
In verses 2 and 3 we meet the unusual image of being fed and revived through hearing. We can certainly understand how listening to a magnificent symphony or a moving speech or sermon can be a feast that revives and energizes us inwardly. Verses 55:1-3b and 6-9 are well suited to have a place in the morning liturgy. They are great words to serve as the call to worship and the reading of them needs to be direct and forceful. The concluding verses of the reading place our human systems under judgment.
Might those concluding verses also apply to our ecumenical consultations that are undertaken with much fanfare? I am haunted by the picture of the prophet as one voice among many competing voices and I think of the myriad little congregations in any urban area that are the only platforms we have for catching peoples' ears. You would be amazed by the variety of non-English speaking congregations in any large city, many of them struggling financially. Many of us in the so-called mainline churches have been too unaware of or standoffish from Christians whose style of worship might differ, but they might have much to teach us and we might have many avenues of support to extend to them.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
These verses are a segment of Paul's argument in this epistle with the Gnostic sophisticates in the Corinthian church who participated in pagan banquets, probably for business as well as social reasons, much to the consternation of other members of the congregation who abstained from such associations where they would have to eat meat sacrificed to pagan idols. Paul's background in and style of interpretation is different than ours so his meaning is difficult to fathom. His seriousness about the moral and ethical imperatives that should not be compromised comes through loud and clear just the same. He does not speak down to his congregation as some sort of spiritual hero and paragon of virtue. He stresses our universal vulnerability to temptation and the care that God has for us. There are associations that are incompatible with a conscience informed by the gospel.
Luke 13:1-9
To reduce the meaning of verses 1-5 to the alternatives "repent or perish" is to miss the content of the central thrust of the warning given by Jesus as well as to risk perpetuating the idea of a God who punishes through violent means. We do not know the content of the conversation between Jesus and those who raised the question about the Galileans whose blood had been shed by Pilate. Galilee was a hot-bed of religious and patriotic zealotry directed at Rome. Were the questioners trying to determine where Jesus stood on this issue? Nor can we be sure of the event mentioned though Pilate was indeed capable of spilling blood to keep the peace.
It is in the context of religious fanaticism that the expositor has to begin. The zealots and the Romans played in the same ballpark by the same rules. The former were ready to use violent means to achieve liberation while the latter used violence to exercise social control. If they clung to this violent fanaticism backed by religious dogmas of blood vengeance and atonement the end would be sheer tragedy when Rome would react. The expositor also will want to note the theological basis of armed religious zealotry, a God fashioned in the image of violent human emotions. They and we are called to turn from the God whom we create in our image and for whom we write the script, and embrace the merciful God whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). The gospel lesson begins to lead us right out into our world today where religious and ideological fanaticism continues to pile up the corpses.
The background to the incident mentioned in verses 4 and 5 could be connected with the aqueduct Pilate had built with funds which he took from the temple treasury. He precipitated an angry reaction by using them for a secular purpose. When the Jews went into the streets to protest, Pilate sent in his legionnaires armed with cudgels to crack heads. Were those upon whom the tower fell working on the project or involved in an act of sabotage gone awry? We have no clues. At any rate, the meaning appears to be that those killed in natural accidents are not any more sinful than others. God does not push a smite button and send rocks falling down on heads in punishment. Nor is God's hand in accidents for any reason. Not too long ago I heard a funeral sermon for a young girl killed in a tragic automobile accident caused by a drunk driver. The preacher assured us that "God wanted her to be with him."
The vineyard is biblical metaphor for Israel and the fig tree makes us think of the temple leadership. This can be translated into the community of faith called to bear fruit. Produce or perish is the message. Well, how do we judge production when it comes to the work of the church? The message comes through loudly and clearly that God has no particular interest in the preservation or continuance of congregations where rigor mortis sets in. He does have patience, however, but not an endless supply. For us every day is a day of grace.
Joachim Jeremias in his discussion of this parable wonders if the gardener who intercedes on behalf of the fig tree is a veiled reference to Jesus. That tickles the imagination and calls to mind the words of 1 John 2:1: "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." We can take much comfort here but not too much for our advocate knows that the time comes when enough is enough.
The call to repent is central in the New Testament, but who wants to hear that word today? It sounds like a censorious word in the "I'm okay and you're okay" ambiance. An "or else" implication seems to hang on the word and conjures up a stereotyped image of hellfire and damnation preaching, of tent meetings and the sawdust trail. Like a number of key words in our vocabulary of the faith, the word "repent" is a word out of usage.
There is an old story about the Rev. Ira Brimstone, an old-fashioned circuit riding preacher whose parish embraced a number of small midwest towns. One day he happened upon a farmer. "Brother, have you seen the light?" he asked the farmer. Nonplussed but amiable the farmer replied, "Guess not, 'taint dark yet." "No, No," said Mr. Brimstone, "Are you lost?" "No, sir," said the farmer, "been around these parts for 60 years, man and boy." "What I mean," said the preacher, "is are you a Christian?" "Nope," said the farmer, "I'm a Thompson. The Christians live down the road." The preacher drew himself up in the saddle and thundered, "Are you ready for the judgment day?" "Well, I don't know," replied the farmer. "When is it?" "Almost any day now," said the circuit rider in exasperation. "It could be tomorrow or the next day." "Is that so?" said the farmer. "When you find out, let me know. The Mrs. will probably want to go both days."
I will not vouch for the truth of this story, but it does illustrate the way our in-house vocabulary can fall out of common usage. Yet these are words that enshrine the moral seriousness of the Word and we need to rediscover them.
Sermon Seeds In The Lessons
Isaiah 55:1-9
The prophet is one voice in the marketplace. He makes himself part of the human dialogue. He raises questions and issues invitations. His example seems so appropriate for the witnessing church today in a society where the dominant human image fostered by the marketplace is that of the consumer, a most inadequate definition of the human person created by and for God. Acquisitiveness, materialism, money, sex, gambling, cultic religion, compulsive politics, and food, in addition to drugs and alcohol, are forms of consumptive addictions that enslave in their own way. For a challenging look at the prevailing addictive system read When Society Becomes the Addict by Anne Wilson Schaef (Harper and Row, 1988).
In verses 2 and 3 we meet the unusual image of being fed and revived through hearing. We can certainly understand how listening to a magnificent symphony or a moving speech or sermon can be a feast that revives and energizes us inwardly. Verses 55:1-3b and 6-9 are well suited to have a place in the morning liturgy. They are great words to serve as the call to worship and the reading of them needs to be direct and forceful. The concluding verses of the reading place our human systems under judgment.
Might those concluding verses also apply to our ecumenical consultations that are undertaken with much fanfare? I am haunted by the picture of the prophet as one voice among many competing voices and I think of the myriad little congregations in any urban area that are the only platforms we have for catching peoples' ears. You would be amazed by the variety of non-English speaking congregations in any large city, many of them struggling financially. Many of us in the so-called mainline churches have been too unaware of or standoffish from Christians whose style of worship might differ, but they might have much to teach us and we might have many avenues of support to extend to them.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
These verses are a segment of Paul's argument in this epistle with the Gnostic sophisticates in the Corinthian church who participated in pagan banquets, probably for business as well as social reasons, much to the consternation of other members of the congregation who abstained from such associations where they would have to eat meat sacrificed to pagan idols. Paul's background in and style of interpretation is different than ours so his meaning is difficult to fathom. His seriousness about the moral and ethical imperatives that should not be compromised comes through loud and clear just the same. He does not speak down to his congregation as some sort of spiritual hero and paragon of virtue. He stresses our universal vulnerability to temptation and the care that God has for us. There are associations that are incompatible with a conscience informed by the gospel.
Luke 13:1-9
To reduce the meaning of verses 1-5 to the alternatives "repent or perish" is to miss the content of the central thrust of the warning given by Jesus as well as to risk perpetuating the idea of a God who punishes through violent means. We do not know the content of the conversation between Jesus and those who raised the question about the Galileans whose blood had been shed by Pilate. Galilee was a hot-bed of religious and patriotic zealotry directed at Rome. Were the questioners trying to determine where Jesus stood on this issue? Nor can we be sure of the event mentioned though Pilate was indeed capable of spilling blood to keep the peace.
It is in the context of religious fanaticism that the expositor has to begin. The zealots and the Romans played in the same ballpark by the same rules. The former were ready to use violent means to achieve liberation while the latter used violence to exercise social control. If they clung to this violent fanaticism backed by religious dogmas of blood vengeance and atonement the end would be sheer tragedy when Rome would react. The expositor also will want to note the theological basis of armed religious zealotry, a God fashioned in the image of violent human emotions. They and we are called to turn from the God whom we create in our image and for whom we write the script, and embrace the merciful God whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). The gospel lesson begins to lead us right out into our world today where religious and ideological fanaticism continues to pile up the corpses.
The background to the incident mentioned in verses 4 and 5 could be connected with the aqueduct Pilate had built with funds which he took from the temple treasury. He precipitated an angry reaction by using them for a secular purpose. When the Jews went into the streets to protest, Pilate sent in his legionnaires armed with cudgels to crack heads. Were those upon whom the tower fell working on the project or involved in an act of sabotage gone awry? We have no clues. At any rate, the meaning appears to be that those killed in natural accidents are not any more sinful than others. God does not push a smite button and send rocks falling down on heads in punishment. Nor is God's hand in accidents for any reason. Not too long ago I heard a funeral sermon for a young girl killed in a tragic automobile accident caused by a drunk driver. The preacher assured us that "God wanted her to be with him."
The vineyard is biblical metaphor for Israel and the fig tree makes us think of the temple leadership. This can be translated into the community of faith called to bear fruit. Produce or perish is the message. Well, how do we judge production when it comes to the work of the church? The message comes through loudly and clearly that God has no particular interest in the preservation or continuance of congregations where rigor mortis sets in. He does have patience, however, but not an endless supply. For us every day is a day of grace.
Joachim Jeremias in his discussion of this parable wonders if the gardener who intercedes on behalf of the fig tree is a veiled reference to Jesus. That tickles the imagination and calls to mind the words of 1 John 2:1: "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." We can take much comfort here but not too much for our advocate knows that the time comes when enough is enough.
