August 19th, 2001 - The Twentieth Sunday in Kingdomtide
"Stress, Faith and Fortitude"
Rev. John P. Wood

The Psalm :

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

The psalmist ponders the providential nature of God who goes to great lengths to both protect and punish the chosen people; looking forward to the coming of a deliverer who will protect them forever. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted. They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.

The Old Testament Lesson:

Isaiah 5:1-7

The parable of the vineyard (Israel) who spurned God's care resulting in its ultimate destruction. Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!

The Epistle Lesson:

Hebrews 11:29-12:2

The continuing saga of the people of faith and the hardships they endured for their beliefs. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace. And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets--who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented--of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Gospel Lesson:

Luke 12:49-56

Choosing for the Christ must result in separation from some things and people formerly acceptable to us. Such division will be a lifelong struggle for the faithful. "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

"Stress, Faith and Fortitude"

The very first thing that struck me about this morning's gospel lesson was it's use of the word "stress," which I have always regarded as a more contemporary condition. After all "stress" is about deadlines, downsizing, interest rates, failing relationships, and poor conditions in our schools. It has nothing to do with those simpler times of Biblical stories, and absolutely nothing to do with Jesus. After all, faith is supposed to be one of our chief defenses against stress isn't it? If we have enough faith we can see through all of this temporary stuff and stand firm and strong on our convictions. And who would have more faith than Jesus? So how can Jesus possibly be feeling "stress"? Truth is "stress" is not a new word at all. The actual translation means something akin to pressing the hands against the ears as hard as one possibly can in an attempt to blot out the sounds of the outside world. No matter how successful that attempt might be the end result is that the pressure of the hands also hurts. It produces this pointless throbbing that the ancients called "stress." One of the things that will bring it on most quickly is the desire to hold onto everything. Life is a series of lessons about letting go and most of us have a very hard time learning them. Psychologists tell us that babies are born into this world truly believing in their own omnipotence. They believe that they are not only one with their mothers, but with the universe itself. They believe that sun rises and sets for their own pleasure as do those who care for them. The dawning realization that they/we will not always be picked up every time we cry, or fed every time we think we are hungry is disturbing not only because it threatens our understanding of the purposeof life, but also because it proves that there are "others" out there besides ourselves. And that creates division in our perfect world! Division continues throughout life as we make choices. Clearly it was a reality for those of the Jewish faith who were choosing to follow a messiah whose ideas and opinions were if not radical at least potentially dangerous. All the choices we have been considering in the last few weeks of gospel readings are filled with potential dangers: the conflict or division within one's own self to do what comes to us as humans, ie preparing for the future, hoarding away that which will make life easier, maybe even being selfish, choosing what comes next. Such decisions are always in potential conflict with what God in Christ calls us to do. No one can have it both ways; we were never meant to have it all. Hence the ability to decide, or choose. A great truth of life has always been that stress increases when we vacillate or fail to make a decision. Unfortunately no matter how nice, warm and fuzzy it might be otherwise, we cannot in the words of Rodney King, just "all get along," primarily because we hold such strong convictions. Think of the Arab/Israeli conflict, the current debate over stem cell research, the issue of condom use among young teens, the stance of the Boy Scouts, the right to life vs. the right to choose, and on and on and on. This is the first time in the history of the world when kids no longer need authority figures to get information. They can find out anything they want, and more on the family computer. It's the first time in the history of the world when from 5-7 generations can be found living side by side. It's the first time in the history of the world when virtually everyone can have the same, simultaneous experience via cable television (ie. Princess Diana's funeral). In so many ways it has become a smaller world with a starker contrast in terms of the variety of opinions. The world as we knew it has died, and a new world is being born. Choices have to be made. What will we do, church? Well we could start by speaking the truth, but first we will have to accept the fact that nothing causes as much division as the truth. In 12-step work there is a saying that "the truth might set you free but first it's guaranteed that it will make you miserable." I think of the example of the couple who were puzzling over a road atlas trying desperately to get to New Orleans, but couldn't find the right interstate. After being told at a truck stop that they were three hundred and twenty miles from where they needed to be because they were reading the map wrong, they threw up their hands in desperation, exchanged angry words, kept rotating the atlas to six different angles, after which the previous driver threw the keys at the other. Then they stormed off to their car and headed out again in the wrong direction. If the church really wants to figure out how to minister to people - some of whom are homosexual and some heterosexual, most of whom are addicted to something they choose not to see while waving the various flags of their own recovery, speaking always about the comfort of community but terrified of revealing their own fears, they must first accept the fact that they are all sinners, and that all of these conditions are part of the same family. I think of that in terms of some of the families that I have counseled. One of the basic maxims of counseling is, "the problem is never the problem." A family comes in thinking that Johnny is the problem, but the problem is the relationship between the parents, or between them and their parents, or something that goes back two, three, or more generations. It's always easier to blame Johnny than to fix the real problem. The answer Jesus gives is death, ultimate destruction of the divisions. He knows that his death has the potential to erase the divisions that we have created - between us and each other, between us and God, but he also knows that not everyone will want to accept that truth. In the same manner the dysfunctional family, like the dysfunctional church needs to put to death the system they have used, and on which they have come to depend. It is a system which may well be holding the dysfunctional family together - but it must be destroyed if that family is to be reborn and healed. It is a leap of faith to hope for a healing that is not obvious. What makes it all the more frightening is the unspoken concern most people would have as to "which side is most likely to win"? The truth is we can always see everything from both sides; but unless we do we can never discover how the central point is always the same issue. For example: there are two views of justice being expressed in the Psalm and the Old Testament lesson. While both use the same imagery, the psalmist writes from the perspective of Israel asking why God has forsaken them. The prophet writes from the perspective of those who have been treated unjustly by those empowered, seeing the same abandonment as an act of vindication by God. The issue doesn't change…the focus does. We are so intent on focusing on all the wrong things. We know all this useless information, and we pride ourselves on knowing things that really don't matter. Jesus talks about our ability to predict something as complicated as the weather, yet when it comes down to living out the abundant life we have been given, we are lost. And while weather prediction may be a highly sophisticated and highly volatile science, it is also the thing we talk about most easily when in reality we have absolutely nothing else to say. "Nice day were having don't you think?" "Gee, we could sure use some rain." That is where we are now. We don't want to look at the real issues, because it will reflect our own incompleteness back to us. We need to put to death those ways of dealing with each other that are not the Gospel. To put to death the old Adam in us that only wants to get our own way. To put to death those things that do not express God's loving intention for life. We will have to take a leap of faith, and of hope in Christ, and his power to reconcile, heal and open the way to new beginnings. We will have to choose; to decide once and for all! And then and only then can we be made strong and whole. Earlier in this century the theologian Teilhard de Chardin, wrote: "Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity we shall harness the energies of love. Then for the second time in the history of the world humanity will have discovered fire." May that day come soon!

The Pastoral Prayer:

Gracious God, we come in worship again this day praising you for nurturing us in faith. With those Israelites of old, we acknowledge our dependence upon you as the source and sustenance of our life. Like them we know ourselves to be rooted in a reality that cares for all creation. That reality has taken on new meaning for us in the life of Jesus, the True Vine and so we praise you that through him, our lives are forever intertwined with yours and with each other. We approach you in great humility knowing only some of our shortcomings but also grasping at least in part the great depth of your care for us. We are tended by you, and fed by the very life of Jesus himself. We pray that our response to such graciousness will be productive lives which glorify you and loving hearts that serve you well both in this life and the life to come. Be with those we mention in our prayer concerns this day, as well as with those mentioned in our hearts and known only to you. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS :

We look to Jesus, pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross. So, "if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Creator, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (John 2:1,2 NRSV) Thanks be to God!