Triumphing Over Obstacles
Sermon
Sermons on the Second Readings
Series II, Cycle C
Object:
Rabbi Moshe took a trip to a strange land. He took with him a donkey, a rooster, and a lamp. Since he was a Jew he was refused hospitality in the village inns, so he decided to sleep in the woods. One night he lit his lamp to study the holy books before going to sleep, but a fierce wind came up, knocking over the lamp and breaking it. The rabbi decided to go to sleep saying, "All that God does, he does well." During the night some wild animals came and drove away the rooster and thieves stole the donkey. Moshe woke up, saw the loss, but still proclaimed, "All that God does, he does well."
The rabbi then went back to the village where he was refused lodging, only to learn that enemy soldiers had invaded it during the night and killed all the inhabitants. He also learned that the soldiers had traveled through the same part of the woods where he had been sleeping. Had his lamp not been broken, he would have been discovered. Had the rooster not been chased away, it would have crowed, giving him away. Had the donkey not been stolen, it would have brayed. So once more Rabbi Moshe declared, "All that God does, he does well."
Rabbi Moshe was right, all that God does, he does well. God has done well in giving us this holy season of Lent, which we enter today. We sign ourselves with the cross, the sign of our salvation, and we hear a lesson from scripture that encourages us to overcome the obstacles of life and through perseverance in our actions to find God. It is certainly appropriate to start this season of grace in this way. Lent encourages us to review our lives, seek change and reconciliation, and find new ways to triumph over the obstacles of life.
Saul of Tarsus was a man who certainly experienced much adversity and understood the need to negotiate obstacles in order to carry out the mission he was given by Christ. He was born into a privileged caste and environment and was well educated at the knees of the great scholar, Gamaliel, but with God's help he was able to change direction in his life. As he journeyed toward Damascus to continue his virulent persecution of the "new way," Saul was temporarily blinded. He encountered the risen Christ who challenged him: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4b). Saul, who took the Christian name, Paul, was transformed from being a great persecutor of Christians to the new faith's first and greatest evangelist, who transformed the western world with his proclamation of the teaching of Jesus.
In his ministry as a traveling evangelist, Paul was forced to negotiate numerous hurdles. First, he had to overcome the obstacle of rejection; he was a man caught in the middle. On the one hand he was seen as a traitor by fervent Pharisaical Jews due to his preaching on behalf of Jesus, who had been rejected by the Jewish religious elite. On the other hand, followers of the "new way" feared Paul. They were mystified how one who had been so fervent in his persecution of Jesus' followers could now be even more zealous in the promotion of his message. Paul was also forced to endure many physical obstacles, including punishment and hardships of various kinds. He traveled the then-known western world, mostly by foot on three long, dangerous, and arduous journeys, preaching in synagogues and other places, and forming fledgling Christian communities wherever he went. In his corpus of letters and in the Acts of the Apostles, we learn how he persevered through many other hardships. In today's lesson, he states many of the afflictions he endured: incarceration, beatings, riots, significant labors, sleepless nights, and hunger. We also know he was shipwrecked and forced to flee from those who sought his life.
Paul somehow realized that suffering and adversity were part of his lot, and that in order to carry the gospel message to the Gentiles his task would necessitate much suffering. Even with this knowledge, Paul never wavered in his vocation, but courageously continued forward, preaching and teaching. He overcame the physical, psychological, and spiritual obstacles that came his way. He tells us today that all the apparent negatives, the challenges of life, have been transformed into positives. He calls the Corinthians to be in solidarity with him, to understand that his struggles and apparent negatives are shared by all, and must be overcome by all. He tells his readers that they are treated as impostors, but the reality is that they have the true message. Paul says that Christians are thought to be unknown but the truth is that they are well known. The Romans see the new way as dying, but in actuality it is very much alive. The Christian community may be punished, but it will not be vanquished; it may appear to be sorrowful under its circumstances, but it truly rejoices in the knowledge of God. Paul says his followers are seen as poor, as having nothing, but again the reality is that they are very rich and possess everything that they need. Saint Paul is telling the Corinthians that as he has overcome many obstacles in life, so, too, must this nascent community of faith. The apostle has used every manifestation of adversity as a tool to grow and gain greater strength, so as to continue toward the goal of building God's kingdom day-by-day in our world.
The season of Lent is a time when we use, as Paul also suggests today, the weapons of righteousness to fight God's battles in this world. Traditionally, the Christian community emphasizes three specific weapons during this season: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lent is certainly a time to renew our prayer lives. Yet, there are many obstacles that seem to impede and frustrate our progress in this most important aspect of our lives. We are all busy people, a reality that seems only to grow greater with time. We never have less to do, only more. The busyness of our time is often a major barrier to progress in prayer. There are only 24 hours in the day; where will we find the time to pray? Attitudes or feelings of inadequacy are another hurdle we need to negotiate. People often say, "I don't know how to pray! I don't know what to say." Some feel unworthy to stand before God. We should not fear, however, for as Jesus says when the situation is most problematic, we will be given the words we need (Luke 21:14-15). Lent is the perfect time to renew our prayer lives, remove obstacles that hinder our progress, and stop making excuses for our failures to grow.
The basic necessity of prayer is followed by the related ideas of fasting and almsgiving. Members of many Christian traditions choose to give up something, such as a food or drink item, or refrain from some pleasurable activity during Lent. However, fasting is much more than not eating or choosing not to engage in some activity that brings joy; it is at its root an attitude. Here again, many obstacles stand in the way of our progress. Simplicity of life is not in vogue in our twenty-first-century American society. Yet, if we are to make this season of Lent one of progress in our spiritual lives, we must convert such attitudes that center on the individual to ones that center on the needs of the whole. As the popular expression goes, "Live simply so others may simply live."
Almsgiving to the poor and needy has been a staple of the Christian tradition from the outset. The comfortableness of our contemporary first-world society can be a significant barrier to giving, not simply from our excess but from our own need. We should recall how Jesus commended the woman who gave only two insignificant coins to the temple treasury, for she gave from her need (Luke 21:1-4). We can easily become complacent. Some even feel they have a right to all they have; people should reap the benefits of their efforts. Others still see the poverty of the world but do not understand their responsibility in alleviating the misery it causes. Amos, the prophet (6:4-8), warned people against such complacency, telling the Jewish ruling elite that such an attitude would lead to the community's destruction, a prophecy that was fulfilled seven centuries before Christ. While our visual acuity may be fine, we are, nonetheless, often spiritually blind to the reality of the world. Lent is the time to make every effort to remove these barriers that blind us to reality, so we can gain a much clearer vision.
Contemporary life is often hostile to Christians and their way of living. Thus, as Paul suggests in today's lesson (6:2c), "Now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation." Ash Wednesday is our annual wake up call -- a time for us to get going again. It is a time to overcome obstacles; it is a time, as Paul rightly states, to (5:20c) "be reconciled with God." We must overcome the obstacles of today's world and its mixed up priorities that hinder us from pursuing prayer, fasting and almsgiving as vehicles to a greater union with God. This is not an easy task, especially when many voices in various forms seek to tell us of the emptiness and fallacy of our beliefs. But we must hold fast and continue, and as the Pauline author (2 Timothy 4:2) suggests, "Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching."
Lent is our annual opportunity to prepare for the church's celebration of the paschal mystery, but we cannot adequately carry out this mission without significant effort. We cannot think the obstacles will magically disappear. The reality of our need to act is illustrated in a book, The Jungle's Neutral, by Fred Spencer. During World War II, Spencer was forced to live in the jungle on the Malay peninsula for nine months in order to keep one step ahead of the Japanese who occupied the British colony of Singapore. Spencer had heard two conflicting stories about the jungle. Some told him the jungle was a horrible place to live, filled with snakes and insects, fruit so poisonous that one bite could kill a person, and brutal, wild animals. Thus, the jungle was seen as a place where one would die quickly. On the other hand, he had also heard that the jungle was a lush tropical paradise with plenty of fresh water and edible fruit. It was a place where one could live with relative ease. What Spencer discovered, however, was that the jungle was neutral; it was not preset to destroy him, nor was it structured to support him. He learned that his survival was based completely on the amount of effort he put into his survival. Spencer was able to make the jungle the environment he wanted it to be.
Often people say the world is a jungle, but is it? As Spencer found out and wrote, so too we must see that the world is neutral; it is all up to us how things will go. Today the Christian world enters the discipline of Lent. Let us see this season as an opportunity for true growth. Let us, therefore, make our best efforts to cast off the shackles that inhibit our growth. May we use the righteous gifts of God, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, to produce abundant fruit so we can proclaim as did Rabbi Moshe, "All that God does, he does well."
The rabbi then went back to the village where he was refused lodging, only to learn that enemy soldiers had invaded it during the night and killed all the inhabitants. He also learned that the soldiers had traveled through the same part of the woods where he had been sleeping. Had his lamp not been broken, he would have been discovered. Had the rooster not been chased away, it would have crowed, giving him away. Had the donkey not been stolen, it would have brayed. So once more Rabbi Moshe declared, "All that God does, he does well."
Rabbi Moshe was right, all that God does, he does well. God has done well in giving us this holy season of Lent, which we enter today. We sign ourselves with the cross, the sign of our salvation, and we hear a lesson from scripture that encourages us to overcome the obstacles of life and through perseverance in our actions to find God. It is certainly appropriate to start this season of grace in this way. Lent encourages us to review our lives, seek change and reconciliation, and find new ways to triumph over the obstacles of life.
Saul of Tarsus was a man who certainly experienced much adversity and understood the need to negotiate obstacles in order to carry out the mission he was given by Christ. He was born into a privileged caste and environment and was well educated at the knees of the great scholar, Gamaliel, but with God's help he was able to change direction in his life. As he journeyed toward Damascus to continue his virulent persecution of the "new way," Saul was temporarily blinded. He encountered the risen Christ who challenged him: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9:4b). Saul, who took the Christian name, Paul, was transformed from being a great persecutor of Christians to the new faith's first and greatest evangelist, who transformed the western world with his proclamation of the teaching of Jesus.
In his ministry as a traveling evangelist, Paul was forced to negotiate numerous hurdles. First, he had to overcome the obstacle of rejection; he was a man caught in the middle. On the one hand he was seen as a traitor by fervent Pharisaical Jews due to his preaching on behalf of Jesus, who had been rejected by the Jewish religious elite. On the other hand, followers of the "new way" feared Paul. They were mystified how one who had been so fervent in his persecution of Jesus' followers could now be even more zealous in the promotion of his message. Paul was also forced to endure many physical obstacles, including punishment and hardships of various kinds. He traveled the then-known western world, mostly by foot on three long, dangerous, and arduous journeys, preaching in synagogues and other places, and forming fledgling Christian communities wherever he went. In his corpus of letters and in the Acts of the Apostles, we learn how he persevered through many other hardships. In today's lesson, he states many of the afflictions he endured: incarceration, beatings, riots, significant labors, sleepless nights, and hunger. We also know he was shipwrecked and forced to flee from those who sought his life.
Paul somehow realized that suffering and adversity were part of his lot, and that in order to carry the gospel message to the Gentiles his task would necessitate much suffering. Even with this knowledge, Paul never wavered in his vocation, but courageously continued forward, preaching and teaching. He overcame the physical, psychological, and spiritual obstacles that came his way. He tells us today that all the apparent negatives, the challenges of life, have been transformed into positives. He calls the Corinthians to be in solidarity with him, to understand that his struggles and apparent negatives are shared by all, and must be overcome by all. He tells his readers that they are treated as impostors, but the reality is that they have the true message. Paul says that Christians are thought to be unknown but the truth is that they are well known. The Romans see the new way as dying, but in actuality it is very much alive. The Christian community may be punished, but it will not be vanquished; it may appear to be sorrowful under its circumstances, but it truly rejoices in the knowledge of God. Paul says his followers are seen as poor, as having nothing, but again the reality is that they are very rich and possess everything that they need. Saint Paul is telling the Corinthians that as he has overcome many obstacles in life, so, too, must this nascent community of faith. The apostle has used every manifestation of adversity as a tool to grow and gain greater strength, so as to continue toward the goal of building God's kingdom day-by-day in our world.
The season of Lent is a time when we use, as Paul also suggests today, the weapons of righteousness to fight God's battles in this world. Traditionally, the Christian community emphasizes three specific weapons during this season: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lent is certainly a time to renew our prayer lives. Yet, there are many obstacles that seem to impede and frustrate our progress in this most important aspect of our lives. We are all busy people, a reality that seems only to grow greater with time. We never have less to do, only more. The busyness of our time is often a major barrier to progress in prayer. There are only 24 hours in the day; where will we find the time to pray? Attitudes or feelings of inadequacy are another hurdle we need to negotiate. People often say, "I don't know how to pray! I don't know what to say." Some feel unworthy to stand before God. We should not fear, however, for as Jesus says when the situation is most problematic, we will be given the words we need (Luke 21:14-15). Lent is the perfect time to renew our prayer lives, remove obstacles that hinder our progress, and stop making excuses for our failures to grow.
The basic necessity of prayer is followed by the related ideas of fasting and almsgiving. Members of many Christian traditions choose to give up something, such as a food or drink item, or refrain from some pleasurable activity during Lent. However, fasting is much more than not eating or choosing not to engage in some activity that brings joy; it is at its root an attitude. Here again, many obstacles stand in the way of our progress. Simplicity of life is not in vogue in our twenty-first-century American society. Yet, if we are to make this season of Lent one of progress in our spiritual lives, we must convert such attitudes that center on the individual to ones that center on the needs of the whole. As the popular expression goes, "Live simply so others may simply live."
Almsgiving to the poor and needy has been a staple of the Christian tradition from the outset. The comfortableness of our contemporary first-world society can be a significant barrier to giving, not simply from our excess but from our own need. We should recall how Jesus commended the woman who gave only two insignificant coins to the temple treasury, for she gave from her need (Luke 21:1-4). We can easily become complacent. Some even feel they have a right to all they have; people should reap the benefits of their efforts. Others still see the poverty of the world but do not understand their responsibility in alleviating the misery it causes. Amos, the prophet (6:4-8), warned people against such complacency, telling the Jewish ruling elite that such an attitude would lead to the community's destruction, a prophecy that was fulfilled seven centuries before Christ. While our visual acuity may be fine, we are, nonetheless, often spiritually blind to the reality of the world. Lent is the time to make every effort to remove these barriers that blind us to reality, so we can gain a much clearer vision.
Contemporary life is often hostile to Christians and their way of living. Thus, as Paul suggests in today's lesson (6:2c), "Now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation." Ash Wednesday is our annual wake up call -- a time for us to get going again. It is a time to overcome obstacles; it is a time, as Paul rightly states, to (5:20c) "be reconciled with God." We must overcome the obstacles of today's world and its mixed up priorities that hinder us from pursuing prayer, fasting and almsgiving as vehicles to a greater union with God. This is not an easy task, especially when many voices in various forms seek to tell us of the emptiness and fallacy of our beliefs. But we must hold fast and continue, and as the Pauline author (2 Timothy 4:2) suggests, "Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching."
Lent is our annual opportunity to prepare for the church's celebration of the paschal mystery, but we cannot adequately carry out this mission without significant effort. We cannot think the obstacles will magically disappear. The reality of our need to act is illustrated in a book, The Jungle's Neutral, by Fred Spencer. During World War II, Spencer was forced to live in the jungle on the Malay peninsula for nine months in order to keep one step ahead of the Japanese who occupied the British colony of Singapore. Spencer had heard two conflicting stories about the jungle. Some told him the jungle was a horrible place to live, filled with snakes and insects, fruit so poisonous that one bite could kill a person, and brutal, wild animals. Thus, the jungle was seen as a place where one would die quickly. On the other hand, he had also heard that the jungle was a lush tropical paradise with plenty of fresh water and edible fruit. It was a place where one could live with relative ease. What Spencer discovered, however, was that the jungle was neutral; it was not preset to destroy him, nor was it structured to support him. He learned that his survival was based completely on the amount of effort he put into his survival. Spencer was able to make the jungle the environment he wanted it to be.
Often people say the world is a jungle, but is it? As Spencer found out and wrote, so too we must see that the world is neutral; it is all up to us how things will go. Today the Christian world enters the discipline of Lent. Let us see this season as an opportunity for true growth. Let us, therefore, make our best efforts to cast off the shackles that inhibit our growth. May we use the righteous gifts of God, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, to produce abundant fruit so we can proclaim as did Rabbi Moshe, "All that God does, he does well."
