[Propertalk] 1 Lent

[robertpmorrison at charter.net]

This has been worked on, and will get some more, as I wrote the sermon 
prior to the earthquake and tsunami events and the catastrophe in Japan.

However, further work will wait for a bit 8 - )

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY  	          1st SUNDAY IN LENT
GENESIS 2:15-17; 3:1-7	                          13th MARCH, 2011
ROMANS 5:12-19	                                PSALM 32
MATTHEW 4:1-11

	“Today’s events remind us just how fragile life can be.” – the words of 
President Obama on Friday morning. He could have been talking about 
today’s readings.

	A couple of days after Ash Wednesday and we receive an incredibly harsh 
warning of how frail we are; of how powerless we can be; and how 
incredibly inter-related every single individual is on this planet.

	Even given how unbelievably lucky we were in Oregon, life can seem so 
out of control … until we remember the promise of God to be with us.

	In such a time as this weekend, it’s vital that we remember that 
promise of God.

      I ended my homily last Wednesday by remarking that “we’re welcomed 
to Dirt, a sign of our unity with the whole universe. Then we’re sent 
out to reflect once again on the richness of water in our lives – and to 
share this with God’s people in the world.”

      Little did I imagine what mention of water might conjure in our 
imaginations today.

	But this IS what we’re about – finding unity with God and with one 
another, thus bringing harmony back into creation.

	That’s what so horrified Jesus by the temptations presented to Him.

	I wonder if you remember the commercials that ran at the close of 
televised sports events. Fortunately they seem to have been dropped as 
being crassly materialistic. The outstanding player of the game or event 
was asked something like, “Well, what are you going to do now?” To which 
the person interviewed replied, “Well, I’m going to Disneyland.” – in 
such a way as to imply that to do anything else would be showing signs 
of mental instability.

	That’s how we all tend to react, though. Celebrations, achievements, 
and so on – anything which leads towards happiness often seems to lean 
to one degree or another self-satisfaction.

	THAT’S why the Tempter thought that Jesus would JUMP – literally – JUMP 
at the chance to draw attention to Himself – have God and God’s angels 
focus all their attention on what Jesus wanted to do for Himself; have 
all of heaven rushing to His aid in case he stubbed a toe or split a 
finger-nail.

	Me first! I have better gifts than you! I can do the job faster, 
quicker, louder, whatever, than anyone else! Watch me!

	Whether we’re talking of how Jesus was being encouraged to think of 
Himself, or whether we’re talking about how easy it is to start thinking 
of ourselves, what Jesus demonstrated after His time of meditation on 
His relationship with God and who God was asking Him to be, what Jesus 
demonstrated was how powerful it was, how like God it was, to turn and 
do exactly the opposite – to share, to draw others in so that they can 
experience God’s comfort and love.

	Jesus took Himself away from the centre of attention. That wasn’t what 
ministry is all about.

There are two fast-days which we’re called to observe in The Episcopal 
Church. Good Friday is one – to help us focus on what Jesus went through 
for us in His physical, and social, and mental deprivation. The other 
day was last Wednesday, when we remember our mortality and how we’re 
linked with each other in our needs as well as our joys.

If any of us observed or thought about that fast, perhaps we remember 
how it feels to go even two or three hours past our normal time for 
eating. Maybe we feel a bit of a headache coming on; or a lack of 
energy; or even of sleepiness. It doesn’t take much of a change in our 
routine to find ourselves distracted.

Imagine Jesus, then, being told to think of the smell of freshly-baked 
bread, to dream of tearing off a piece that was crusty on the outside 
and so soft and warm on the inside. Any of you salivating yet? It 
doesn’t take much! Imagine Jesus, trying to concentrate on what He’d 
heard as the invitation from God to act on behalf of the world. Imagine 
Him rationalising that it would be impossible for Him to concentrate on 
helping others if He was listening to His own stomach growling.

But Jesus pushed all that self-promotion aside. He’d take the time later 
to feed Himself, but not before He checked on what was happening in 
others’ lives. First and foremost, He was Bread for others.

So here’s the model for us today; not to make ourselves poor, or sick, 
or wallflowery simply to draw everyone’s attention to ourselves; but 
quietly, deliberately, reverently and in accordance
with God’s will,we are to look to the needs of others.

	Unfortunately, I came across another book last week that I feel 
strongly encouraged to buy. The author is a Jesuit priest, born in North 
Carolina, but he’s become a citizen of the world. He’s written 
extensively about the need to seek to find God’s reign in those places 
where dissention and warfare threaten to tear the human family apart. 
He’s addressed poverty, and inequality, and greed, in many places and in 
different ways. 1 In 2008, Archbishop Desmond Tutu nominated him for the 
Nobel Peace prize.

	In his book about last Sunday’s Gospel passage, John Dear wrote a 
couple of sentences which speak to me about today’s Gospel situation.

	Dear said, “Although the Gospel invites us to stand with the blessed 
and become one of them, who among us wants to be poor, hungry, weeping, 
or persecuted? Who does not aspire to be rich, well-fed, laughing, and 
popular? Who dares love our enemies, bless those who persecute us, and 
do good to those who hurt us? This is the discipleship challenge of 
Jesus.” 2

	I think what makes me see this as speaking about today’s Gospel passage 
is that it deals with power. Jesus became powerless for us – powerless 
in the sense that He would never use anything against us. He WAS 
powerful, of course – to confront people and situations which threaten 
to harm us. Jesus was powerful to offer comfort, whoever and wherever we 
are.

	This was the sort of thing which Desmond Tutu found at the heart of the 
evil of apartheid. Like other attempts by systems trying to isolate and 
belittle others, apartheid taught that there ARE people who are chosen 
by God to be superior to others; that there are people who have a right 
to tell everyone else what to do, no matter who’s actually in charge. 
What this does, though – it’s so obvious – is to say that others are of 
lesser worth; that there’s some God-given ordinance that inferiorises 
others.

	If Jesus HAD thought that His invitation from God to lead people to 
discover peace, and mercy, and love was to be accomplished by separating 
Himself off from the rest of humanity, then He’d have made so much bread 
that He’d have driven the bakers right out of the Middle East.

	That’s NOT what Jesus was about, though, although He was very aware of 
all the temptations with which we have to wrestle. Jesus knows we’ve to 
wrestle with temptations when we face tsunamis and other disasters. 
We’ve to wrestle with them when we feel safe inland here in Albany. 
We’ve to wrestle with temptations in Churches and check-out lines; in 
the meetings with friends; or on the freeway. Everywhere we go, the 
temptation to present ourselves as far more worthy and important that 
everyone else is right there.

	It reminds me of the notice, “Jesus loves you. But I’M His favourite!”

	God – Jesus – HAS no favourites. We’re ALL Jesus’ dear siblings. That’s 
why He could never put Himself ahead of anyone else. He was most aware 
of those times when someone abuses another.

	Right off the bat, at the beginning of His ministry – Jesus hadn’t even 
called His first disciples yet! – right at the start of His mission, 
Jesus saw clearly that the path to peace could be blown up in the worst 
ways by selfishness – perhaps even more than by tsunamis.
	Archbishop Tutu wrote something surprising about his struggle with the 
evil discrimination with which he lived in South Africa for so long. 
Tutu talked of the exhilaration of living and confronting the 
viciousness of Apartheid in South Africa. This exhilaration came from 
knowing that he and thousands – millions – of others were following what 
the Bible taught about Jesus’ confrontation with those who sought and 
misused power.

	Tutu said he wasn’t alone in discovering that to be “anointed by the 
Spirit of God was to be inspired to do not conventionally churchy or 
pious things but thoroughly mundane, political things – setting free the 
imprisoned, loosing the bonds of the enslaved, preaching good news, 
especially to the poor (not exclusively materially poor, of course) …” 3

	In Friday’s, and Saturday’s and today’s language, that may mean 
responding to Nippon Se Ko Kai – The Anglican Church in Japan – or any 
agency which can bring clean water and bread – or rice, or shelter – 
anything which demonstrates hope and compassion – to the people of St 
Francis’ congregation in Sendai, Japan. Preaching good news in Jesus’ 
manner may be talking to St. Timothy’s congregation in Brookings, 
Oregon, to see what they may need there.

	THIS was what Jesus sensed. He’d had His power, His ministry, affirmed 
by the Spirit in Baptism and in Visions in the Holy Places of the 
Wilderness. But the only reason He had the power was so that it could be 
shared equally with others precisely in the situations we’ve witnessed 
these past few days.

	THAT’S the message to us as we enter into the experience of Jesus’ last 
weeks again. We’re coming closer and closer to understanding that WE’VE 
been given the power of the Spirit also. And, like Jesus, we must learn 
how to use that power. The terrible temptation, which dehumanises us, is 
to use that power for self-promotion, and not for the healing and 
encouragement of others.

	“Who dares love our enemies, bless those who persecute us, and do good 
to those who hurt us? This is the discipleship challenge of Jesus.”

	Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people ……

NOTES:

1 	See John Dear’s biography at http://www.fatherjohndear.org/

2	John Dear: “Transfiguration: A Meditation on Transforming Ourselves 
and Our World”. Image Books. Doubleday. New York © 2007. Quoted by 
Sojourners 7th March, 2010: Verse and Voice.

3	Desmond Tutu’s Foreword in John Dear, Op. cit. Page xiv. See whole 
Foreword at http://www.fatherjohndear.org/articles/transfiguration.htm

Robert P Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban
PO Box 1556
Albany OR  97321   541-921-1076 (cell)
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