An invitation to the table Wellington Santos Dec. 15, 2013

Transcription

1 An invitation to the table Wellington Santos Dec. 15, 2013 I would like to say good morning to everyone here. I am very happy to be here. The first time I was here seven years ago I came alone. I had the privilege of worshipping with my brothers and sisters. The last time last year I just came through very quickly with my family, and my happiness now is much much greater. Because I am here with my church. The people that I love and have tolerated me for twenty years. I am a Brazilian born in the northeastern part: a beautiful region marked by immense contrasts : natural beauty versus poverty, a rich poetic and cultural heritage versus illiteracy, festive and happy people versus violent and cruel political leaders, people of faith and strong belief in a living God who sustains them in times of suffering versus the idolatry of consumerism that that transforms everyone everywhere into objects. I speak this morning from my life experience as a man, South American, Brazilian, Nordestino, believer in Jesus of Nazareth, Baptist and above all passionate about the simple things of my land and my people. I chose to bring to our conversation this morning a symbol that is present in almost every culture on earth. Where I m from, this symbol is very important, mainly for the poor. For the poor of my region this is a symbol of a sacred place. In this sacred space there can t be fighting or bad feelings. There should be reverence, smiles, tears, sharing. I'm talking about a true altar that has everybody here at the table. I m talking about the table. The table for the Northeastern people is a sacred altar. The poorer they are, the more important symbol the table is. When Jesus of Nazareth, in the view of the Joanine community, feels that his time of pain and cruxifixion has arrived as in John 11:4-13, he sought out a home that is warm and inviting. A friend s home. In this case, chose his friends home in Bethany, where lived three of his best friends Martha, Mary and Lazarus. When struggles come without warning or giving us the chance to prepare for them. Cancer never leaves a message that s it s coming, a stroke never leaves a message

2 that it s coming. Losing a child does not leave a message that it s coming. This is the thing I want you to imagine. Trying to find a home, a friend s home. This is a place where a person can feel they are able to cry. Where you don t have to be what you re not. A place where diplomas, a last name, or money are all put aside. Because when difficulties arrive, they don t respect any of that. You need to have a house for it. I am not talking about a house in heaven, I m talking about a house here on earth. Jesus had that home on earth. Many houses wanted to have Jesus, but they wanted Jesus to cure, to bring back a dead child, multiply loaves of bread. But Jesus was needing a home to be cared for, because his time had come. So he goes to the house in Bethany. Because there he won t need to be God s superchild. He won t have to do miracles there. There he could say I am afraid. The cross is coming, and I am afraid. Just like how we are when we get a difficult diagnosis. When we realize that our marriage is in crisis. When we realize we are losing a child like a piece of ice melting in your hand. Do you have a house to go to in those times? Jesus had a home like that. What called my attention is that Jesus preferred place in that house is the kitchen, at the table. Christine and Steve: you all received me in your kitchen, in your house. I didn t understand English. I was scared, and you broke bread with me. You took me to hear music, and I hardly understood anything. But I will never forget that table. And that s why Jesus appears in this text at the table. The table is a place to chat. Martha and Mary were preparing dinner and, to be fair, Lazarus was probably washing the dishes. Yesterday, Peter and I made dinner. I don t know if it was good; I like to cook. Jesus was seated at the table. I imagine Jesus talking about his life. That he s telling Lazarus, I m afraid. His hand is shaking. We remember that in the garden he was sweating blood. And when you re weak, you don t seek lights, or shopping or applause. What we seek is the kitchen of a warm home. A table, where people can say I am afraid. Please, cry with me. In that moment, Jesus is just a man. He has lost everything he had.

3 In the house in Bethany, Jesus appears sitting at the table, probably in the kitchen, talking to his dear friend Lazarus and his two good friends Martha and Mary. But they are so sensitive that one of them gets a bottle of perfume, and she realizes the tension within Jesus. But there are people who are so focused on themselves that they can t realize that the person sitting next to them is letting out a silent cry. That person is sitting right next to you. They may be smiling, smelling of a nice perfume. On the outside everything appears to be fine, but the heart is shouting. Mary realizes this, and she washes Jesus feet. Terrible. Because this meant that he was going to die. But he was being received and welcomed at the table. With a hug, with hot food, with open ears. Hallelujah! Since November 30th we have been blessed through sharing tables and lives. Sara and Conceicão arrived before the rest of us and have enjoyed the generosity of families of Binkley. Thank you for every family who welcomed us here. There were some relaxed moments, some difficulty in communication, much difficulty. PAS-TOR DAL- LEE SEE-OOU NO-MEE We are basically speaking by singing: Gooood moooornnnninnnggg Goood Niiiight. How are You-ou-ou-ou-ou With the language barrier, we used a smile, patience with each other and a hug. The table has brought us closer. In the mountains, when were sitting together at the table. I was reminded Jesus. Art was the owner of the house. We were the guests. We weren t even allowed to wash one dish. He made breakfast. I m thinking of going to live there! Fábio said This is the life that I have asked God for! And my daughter Alana said she was going to buy a house in the mountains. Hallelujah! We have very different realities. This part of the world called North Carolina is a much more developed region compared to our poor and suffering state of Alagoas. However, the great miracle of the table is exactly that in sitting, all end up at the same level and our differences disappear. Our desire as the Pinheiro Baptist Church is to learn from our brothers and sisters all that the Lord God has revealed to you in your history as a church while also sharing, at the same table all that God has the allowed us to learn and experience from one side to the other of the Americas.

4 Our invitation this morning is that everyone that makes up Binkley Church and Pinheiro Church can open their hearts, so that, at the table, exchanging experiences with a sincere desire to learn from one another, together we can grow together and strengthen our efforts to create on Earth a Kingdom of God that is more inclusive, progressive, concerned about the poor of God scattered over the face of the earth. It will be focused on the struggle for building peace and justice and the preservation of our common home called earth. But we don t want the type of table you would find in a bar. In a bar, laughter and happiness are all that is shared. Our invitation extends also to sharing of pain and tears. You all will cry and share that with us in Brazil, and we will also cry your tears from here. It is an invitation to sit at the table together. God himself in Luke Chapter 2, sent angels and a large and marvelous celestial chorus. So that poor and marginalized shepherds from the fields could sit at the table and celebrate the arrival of Jesus, our Savior. Once the tables of the powerful and arrogant rich, and those with prejudice did not have a place for Jesus. In your house is there a place for Jesus, a place for the poor of the earth, a place for people who are different, a place for people to cry? Today, Nelson Mandela will be buried in the small village in South Africa where he was born. I am inspired by his example of always seeking a table, even the tables of those who have made him suffer for twenty-seven years for saying NO! to segregation. When he left prison, he did not leave embittered. He sat down at the table with whites and he reconciled South Africa. Since December 5 I start imagining a new table that is formed in heaven. A large round table, like this one. Jesus is sitting at the table, Mandela just arrived, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Dorothy Stang, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and the Bratchers, eating there together. Amen. I would like to ask Leandra a special favor. I would like the choir to sing again the Prayer of Saint Francis. I would like the Staff of Binkley Church, and the Church Council and the Diaconate, to come up here. I want to invite two angels and two shepards. Where is

5 Mary? Bring Jesus, Maria! While the choir is singing the Prayer of Saint Francis, our group from Pinheiro want to give you a small token to say that we want to share the table with you. Amen. May the spirit of God bless our desire to walk together as faith communities. And by the wonderful grace of God, who is the Father and Mother of all of us Binkley and Pinheiro church, may we seal this morning our commitment to continue to be sitting at the table holding hands, in fraternal love. May the cross be our final goal.