[Propertalk] Proper 15 c rcl

[Robert P Morrison]

I wrote this during last weekend - I wasn't preaching last Sunday. I haven't looked at it since then and may still massage it somewhat. But here's the basic outline.

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY     THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
ISAIAH 5:1-7				PROPER 15 C RCL
HEBREWS 11:29 – 12:2		15th AUGUST, 2010  
LUKE 12:49-56				PSALM 80:1-2, 8-18

	“Life is tough,” wrote a friend. “It’s even tougher when you’re stupid.”
	Not that this would apply to anyone here, of course, but it’s good to keep in mind.
	Recently, I went to McDonald's and saw on the menu that you could have an order of 6, 9 or 12 Chicken McNuggets. 
	I asked for a half dozen nuggets. 
	“We don’t have half dozen nuggets,” said the teenager at the counter. 
	“You don’t?” I replied. 
	“We only have six, nine, or twelve,” was the reply. 
	“So I can’t order half dozen nuggets, but I can order six?” 
	“That’s right.” 
	So I shook my head and ordered six McNuggets.
	No teenagers were hurt in the gathering of this information! 
	I went to see the movie “Inception” last week. Initially I’d wondered about it. It sounded intriguing, but then I heard that several respected critics had panned it. Someone whose opinion I value sent me a copy of a review that praised it. That was just after my mid-twenty-something son-in-law wrote me an e-mail raving about how much he enjoyed it.
	It seems that there’s some sort of a divide over which some of the more anciently-minded can’t seem to be able to clamber. It’s worse than the barricades at the Bastille, apparently. 
	Patrick Goldstein wrote in the Los Angeles Times a couple of weeks ago, “The other day I was talking to an old Hollywood hand who was astounded by the runaway success of ‘Inception.’ It turned out that he'd seen the film on its opening weekend in a private screening room with a number of industry elder statesmen, including at least two former studio chiefs and a couple of their young offspring. After the movie was over, the industry elders were shaking their heads in disbelief, appalled by the film’s lack of clarity, having been absolutely unable to follow the film’s often convoluted story.
	“But before anyone could register their complaints, one of the younger people on hand, flush with excitement, praised the film to the rooftops. To him, it was such a thrill ride that if the projectionist could show the film again, he’d sit through it again right away.
	“Clearly ‘Inception’ has struck a deep nerve with moviegoers. The Leonardo DiCaprio-starring film has been the No. 1 movie in America for three weeks in a row, having racked up nearly $200 million in total domestic box-office grosses, easily making it the biggest surprise hit of the summer. But from the moment ‘Inception’ was released, it was obvious from polling data that the movie had created both a critical and a generational divide. Some critics have raved about the film’s originality while others have mocked its excesses. If you were a young moviegoer, you loved the visually arresting puzzle-box thriller. But the older you got, according to polling data, the more likely you were to detest its run ‘n’ gun, dream-within-a-dream complexity.” 1
	Now I’ve quoted that article at some length – “Why is it that the older you are the more you can’t stand ‘Inception’?” – because it resonated with me on somewhat the same wavelength as the Gospel passage this morning. Jesus was dealing with a situation which He felt was REALLY critical. He was still trying to help the people to understand that while He was filled with enthusiasm about the power of God’s Love, and the wonder of God’s ability and willingness to be forgiving and accepting – at the same time Jesus was absolutely flabbergasted at people’s inability to grasp what’s crucial in life.
	It’s NOT money. It’s NOT appearance. It’s NOT popularity. It’s the ability to see what is just, and what is true, and what is lovely, and what is fair – to see all these and to act to ensure that absolutely nothing gets in the way of everyone in creation being able to enjoy the fruits of these gifts God wishes us to have.
	Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose the disciples He did? If, somehow, Jesus materialised in Albany tomorrow morning, whom do you think He’d organise? The Mayor? The chief County Court Judge? The President of LBCC? The Board of Wah Chang? The Manager of Cosco? How about the Interim Vicar of The Episcopal Church?
	Frankly, I think it would be highly unlikely ANY of these would be chosen. Not because they’re inherently stupid or anything like that. It’s because, sad to say, some of them may not have the vision to understand that something different, something incredibly revolutionary, something others may say is impossible, not only HAS to be accomplished here in Albany and the surrounding counties, but CAN be accomplished right here. And the ones who may have some authority, or think they have authority right now, however little, may simply be too concerned about holding on to their roles and comfort.
	Jesus called to these people for the incredibly exciting task of making the world turn in the other direction. Jesus called the ones who had little to lose, and were open to any sort of a suggestion about God working in their very own city.
	Maybe that’s why this movie playing right now down at the cinema complex on Waverley is proving to be somewhat divisive. What did Jesus say? “Three against two and two against three; father against son and son against father; mother against daughter …” You can just hear them yelling – “You’re NOT going to see that movie, and that’s that! Why? … Well, because I say so. It deals with stuff you don’t understand. It’s scary. It might give you funny ideas about
 what you can do.”
	Can you imagine someone on the verge of teen-age-hood in Galilee on a Thursday night saying he was going out to watch and listen to that Jesus guy from up in Nazareth? It’s a wonder you don’t read in Luke’s Gospel of parents having strokes from their children’s behaviour!
	But again and again it seems to be the younger minds, the more flexible minds, the more visionary minds who catch on to what Jesus was trying to say and do. 
	Patrick Goldstein ended his first article about the audience for “Inception” by saying, “It doesn’t mean everyone is going to adore ‘Inception.’ Nor does it guarantee that the film will stand the test of time. But like all of the other movies that inspired ferocious critical tussles in the past, ‘Inception’ represents something we rarely get in today's corporate Hollywood. It’s a personal film by a director with a distinctive voice. Put simply: It’s a movie that matters.”
	And surely that’s exactly what we, as Christians, are compelled to say about Jesus and His ministry. Surely that’s what we, as Christians, ought to be compelled to say about this congregation – and every congregation in Albany. NOT that we all agree about everything. That’ll NEVER happen. But that we’re willing to talk to people about what it is that we see is SO important about what Jesus said and did, and what Jesus passed along to each of us in this room to say and to do – not just sometime off in the future, but this very afternoon.
	In one way or another, we’re here because of conviction, or because we’re seeking. We’re here because we know that Jesus and what He taught is very personal and that He matters; or else we seek for our lives that intensely personal touch that says to us, “You’re important. It doesn’t matter what may have been said or done in the past. You ARE important. And you DO matter.” 
	We all have this tremendous capacity for doing good – or let me say “Doing God”. We can be a tremendously productive vineyard on a wonderfully fertile hill. O.K., use your imaginations. I know that this building is sitting on solid clay. But even clay has possibilities. I know that most of us in this room are aging. I know – well, we could make up all sorts of excuses. But when this building was sought out when an Episcopal Congregation was reorganising in Albany, and when people looked at it and saw the huge baptistery up beneath the east wall, they may have shaken their heads and seen so much that would involve hard work. But many of you sitting in these pews got to work, and put your resources together, and transformed this building – not that it was used for evil purposes previously, but a few of them, at any rate, were different than those to which you’d been accustomed.
	 Actually, if you think back through your lives, there’s not one of us here who hasn’t undergone some mind- and spirit-enriching experience in which we’ve been brought face to face with the possibilities of letting God’s Love for creation shine out into the world. We’ve ALL had to decide whether or not to risk something new, something different, not only for our own well-being, but for the peace of mind of our families as well as our neighbours. 
	 We have this tremendous vineyard here, given us by God. We’ve been asked not only to do the usual things – tend it, keep the outside walls painted and the roof water-tight, and the power bills paid and the connection and mutual ministry with the Diocese healthy, as well as our communication, ministry and encouragement within this city. We’ve been asked also to do whatever it takes to produce fruit – whether it’s try something unfamiliar or not. Maybe, somehow, we’re called to be known throughout the county as a Safe Place where people of every generation can come and have their opinions taken seriously, where discussion can take place without fear of being ridiculed. It doesn’t matter to Jesus from where we’ve come or how we’ve come to this moment. It doesn’t matter even what prejudices may have been absorbing us as we came through the door. All that Jesus asks is that we set aside anything that may prevent us from telling everyone that Jesus loves them right where they are.
	And just in case you may wonder, from the opening story, whether it’s the prerogative of youth to do something stupid, something to derail anyone from growing into the most fruitful vine imaginable, what about the mother who called 911 very worried, asking the dispatcher if she needed to take her kid to the emergency room, the kid had eaten ants.
	The dispatcher told her to give the kid some Benadryl, and that he should be fine. At which point the mother said, “I just gave him some ant killer...”
	Naturally, fortunately, the dispatcher said, “Rush him in to Emergency!” 
	Life IS tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid!!!!
	Fortunately, I don’t think any of us here are THAT stupid. But, as the various Scripture passages today remind us, we DO need to pay attention to what Jesus may want us to be about here in this congregation, and in Albany. We DO need to be open to how and from whom we may hear Jesus speak.
	L.A. Times writer Patrick Goldstein concluded his article about the audience for the movie, “My favorite story came courtesy of Ron Fox, who e-mailed to say that he watched ‘Inception’ with his 12-year-old gamer son, who, as he described it, ‘loved and understood it, though he admitted he couldn’t explain it to me if I didn’t get it.’ In the theater lobby, they ran into a middle-aged film producer who admitted to not entirely understanding the film either. Fox said to his friend: ‘Let me tell you what a great movie is – a really messy guy has to share apartments with a really neat guy and the two drive each other crazy. That’s a good movie.’ 
	“My friend laughed, said, ‘The Odd Couple’ and then we both felt really old.
	“I’m beginning to think that ‘Inception’ is having that kind of effect on moviegoers. It makes some people feel ridiculously old and some people feel impossibly young, but it's definitely made everyone want to go out to the movies again.” 2
	I hope and pray we can say the same about Jesus!

NOTES:

1 	“Why is it that the older you are the more you can't stand ‘Inception’?” Los Angeles Times August 2, 2010 |  3:18 pm PATRICK GOLDSTEIN ON THE COLLISION OF ENTERTAINMENT, MEDIA AND POP CULTURE  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2010/08/why-is-it-that-the-older-you-are-the-more-you-cant-stand-inception-.html  

2	“The Big Picture” PATRICK GOLDSTEIN ON THE COLLISION OF ENTERTAINMENT, MEDIA AND POP CULTURE “The ‘Inception’ generational chasm: Is it about age or is it about taste? Readers react” August 3, 2010 |  5:32 pm http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2010/08/the-inception-generational-chasm-is-it-about-age-or-is-it-about-taste-.html





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Robert P. Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban,
P.O. Box 1556,
Albany, Oregon, 97321

541-921-1076 (cell)
541-967-7051 (church)