Sermon for Pentecost 3 Year A 2017 You Are of More Value

Transcription

1 Sermon for Pentecost 3 Year A 2017 You Are of More Value A number of years ago, I happened to be watching Jimmy Fallon s late night show and his guest was the singing actress, Jennifer Hudson. Jimmy asked her what song was her favorite to sing and she immediately answered His Eye is On the Sparrow. Of course, Mr. Fallon was not familiar with this gospel chestnut and so he asked Ms. Hudson to sing a few lines. And she unabashedly began to sing Why should I feel discouraged and why should the shadows come? Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home? When Jesus is my portion, a constant friend is he, His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me. His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me. I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free; His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me. It was thrilling and Jimmy Fallon was speechless and the audience responded not only warmly but with shouts of Amen! It was clear that the African-American audience members knew this song well and probably knew that the lyrics are rooted in today s gospel passage. Most of the rest of the audience didn t know that it was made famous by Ethel Waters who used to sing it at Billy Graham Crusades and she used it as the title for her first autobiography. Which is a really profound confession of faith if you know something about this great singers life. Ethel Waters knew fear and pain. 1

2 Her birth resulted from the rape of her teenage mother. She grew up without a father in severe poverty. In her autobiography, she writes that she never lived in the same place more than fifteen months. "I never was a child. I never was cuddled, or liked, or understood by my family." She married when she was thirteen, later leaving that abusive man, then worked as a maid in Philadelphia for 75 cents a week. Despite all that, Waters testified of God's providential care: "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me." That's the message of this week's gospel. "Do not fear...," said Jesus, Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid, you are of more value than many sparrows. But then right after these assuring and comforting words, Jesus goes on to say, Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother... Right about now you may be wondering, How did that ever get into the bible? It really does seem that Jesus going a bit too far. Of course, in every group of people including the church there is discord from to time to time, but it almost seems that Jesus is encouraging such division. Of course that s not exactly what Jesus is promoting. 2

3 What he doing is encouraging his disciples not to get along by going along. Jesus is promoting and describing the cost of discipleship the risks of taking a stand. In the Tony-award-winning musical, Hamilton, we learn about the life and legacy of one our founding fathers Alexander Hamilton. We learn of his tragic childhood, his gifts with the spoken and written word, his passion for justice and revolution, and his human frailties. We hear how he created our federal financial structures and how he made many enemies over the years with his fearlessness in speaking up for the causes in which he believed. Throughout the play, Hamilton is held in contrast with Aaron Burr, another intelligent rising star with many gifts, but a man who refuses to speak out for what he knows is right. Burr continually waits to see where the majority of society will land on important issues. He refuses to take a stand, refuses to help those who are on the side of the less-than-s, he refuses to lead. Burr waits so long to side with the revolutionaries that he is snubbed repeatedly by George Washington for his lack of courage and character. Aaron Burr gets excluded from the key decisions that help win a revolution and shape a young nation, and he never gains the respect by those who embrace Hamilton for his bravery and willingness to speak up, even in the face of a powerful British government, loyalists all around, and a fledgling movement. 3

4 In the song, "My Shot," Hamilton and his fellow revolutionaries inspire the colonists to get out from under the oppressive burdens imposed on the colonies by King George and the British rule, to stand up for what is just, and to wait no longer to work for the cause that they realize is worth living and dying for, a cause beyond themselves, a cause that will make their world a better place. As Hamilton and his friends become bolder and more resolute in their plans, this song reaches a fever pitch with the call to "Rise Up!" The colonists are called to lay aside their fear and act for what is right and Hamilton tells them: Rise Up! When you re living on your knees you gotta rise up! There are times when we have to ask ourselves, what compromises to fear have been made to secure peace and safety. In preparation for our bible study this Fall, I have been reading Charles Marsh s new biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Strange Glory, A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer which I highly recommend. Having read widely in Bonhoeffer s own works, including his meditation on discipleship, it was no revelation to me that Bonhoeffer s message didn t sit well with everyone. As Marsh reminds us, Bonhoeffer grew up with a certain sense of loyalty to the German nation. He grew up part of the elite in his nation. But as Hitler rose to power, he began to see things differently. 4

5 He recognized, before many others, that an inculturated religion, in which nationalism formed the basis of one s theology, was dangerous. Exchanging a Jewish Jesus for an Aryan one not only redefined the person of Jesus, but it overturned the message. Jesus became a tool of oppression. How do we remain true to the message, when our natural inclination is to go along to get along? How do we stand firm when such a stand puts us at odds with friends and family? Those of us who have read Bonhoeffer s The Cost of Discipleship know how he defined grace as having great cost it is costly because it cost Jesus his life. Bonhoeffer writes about the complacence of the church which has cheapened grace. He states: Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. In Life Together, the book that we will be reading together this Fall, Bonhoeffer reminds us of what Martin Luther preached Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. 5

6 And here he quotes Luther: 'The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared? Disciples sent on a mission of preaching and healing will quickly learn what it means to face opposition and struggle. A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master. It is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, the slave like the master. So do not be afraid. Sing out, shout out the good news of God working in and through Jesus to preserve our hearts and souls even in the face of those who would seek to tell us that we are not worth anything, those who would seek to destroy us. In the face of the conflict that Christian disciples can expect, in the face even of personal and family turmoil, we will see that the Holy Spirit will surely be present and will never abandon us. We will come to recognize that our suffering is not wasted, but can become a testimony to faith. Even in the midst of our hardships, we will know that nothing can take away the gospel or destroy God s loving and watchful care over the faithful. And while disruption and discord will surely take place, Jesus is for us and will use crises of loyalty to bring us to make life-giving decisions. 6

7 To be sure, the gospel shakes up our values, rearranges priorities, reorients goals, and overturns our hierarchies. Those who are willing to be least, will be first. Those who are willing to give it all, will receive everything not the cheap success of this world, but the costly grace that makes life holy, free and good. It is time for today's disciples, followers of Jesus Christ, to put away our fear of what the world might say and rise up. It is time to take our shot against racism, sexism and classism no matter what our families or friends might think. It is time to give our complete allegiance to the almighty, all-powerful creator of heaven and earth. It is time to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with a world that needs to know a better way. It is time to combat evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. And may every one of his disciples sing from the rooftops: When Jesus is my portion, a constant friend is he, His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me. [We] sing because [we re] happy; [We] sing because [we re] free; His eye is on the sparrow and [we] know he watches [you and me]. 7