Seductive
Luke 12:49-59
February 25, 2007
Can you believe that it was Jesus who was saying these words? It sounds more like John the Baptist doesn’t it? Wild, crazy, out there…But, it’s not. These words are attributed to the Prince of Peace:
I came to bring fire to the earth
How I wish it were already kindled
What stress I’m under until it’s completed
I came to bring division to the earth
This doesn’t sound like the sweet little Jesus we swaddle and place under the star? Does it? That’s why we don’t often hear this passage. He sounds judgmental, angry, out of control, filled with disgust. He’s fed up.
So what’s he fed up with? He’s fed up with evil. We, on the progressive left, we don’t often like to talk about evil. It’s a bit embarrassing to us. I think this embarrassment comes because evil used to be associated with a little red man known as the devil. And, we have long decided that we don’t believe that a loving Creator would create a totally evil being. It would be impossible for an unconditionally loving God to throw all that out and create a completely evil being. So, we are not in fact talking about an evil being, a devil, the sole embodiment of evil. Instead we are talking about that which causes significant harm, usually to human beings. We can relate to this evil. We can relate to those things which cause significant harm to human beings. What harms?
Rape, Malnutrition, Addiction, Abuse, Over eating, Tsunamies, tornadoes…
Significant harm comes in a multitude of packages these days. All of them can be named with this definition of evil. This Lenten Season we are going to explore each Sunday a different aspect of Evil. What it is, how it works.
This Sunday is the First Sunday in Lent. Just as the time of year is denoted in seasons so is the church season. Lent is the season after Epiphany and before Easter. It lasts for 40 days not counting Sundays. Lent doesn’t include Sundays because on Sunday we celebrate a faith that is stronger than death. It is the day of Sabbath. A day of deep joy and nourishment. You can not fast on a day of deep joy, a day of hope, a day of nourishment. So, the season of Lent is planned for 40 days, not counting Sundays. During these 40 days we are making time to re-invigorate our discipleship. We are asked to spend these days nurturing our relationship to God, our care of our called, blessed, created selves, and doing something for our neighbors. The thing we are asked to do more of for God is to pray. This is the season that we take time to pray every single day to strengthen our relationship with God. We need to spend time listening, meditating, opening ourselves to God. A few years ago Chuck made these wonderful cards. I encourage everyone to pick one up today really practical, easy steps to pray. This is a Lenten Practice. When people give something up for Lent it’s about the second piece of work. It’s about loving the body, loving yourself, and your gift of life here in this time. It seems good to give something up, but only in the whole picture sense of eating more healthy to be good to your body. What is something you could do to nurture yourself this Lent? What would help you to be a healthier disciple? What does your personal Spiritual Life need? Maybe you need to come to our Lenten Study on Thursdays and grow your faith. Maybe you’ll go on retreat? Maybe you’ll not miss worship? This is the season you do something, to nurture yourself and your call. Finally, Lent is a time when you look for ways to help your neighbor. Being a disciple is about all three of these things 1. Our connection to God 2. Our joy of being unique, called, creatures made in God’s image 3. Our service to our neighbors. Working these three aspects of living is discipleship. Welcome to Lent.
So, this Lent, we are going to study the problem of evil. And we begin here with this unusual picture of Jesus. He’s fed up. He’s fed up and sort of throwing down the gauntlet. He’s doing it because it seems as if everyone, including his disciples, aren’t getting it. They can tell the weather…they can count on certain signs creating certain effects and yet, everything with their faith seems without any cause and effect. Jesus is fed up. Jesus is fed up with how easily, especially his disciples, can forget the love of God and begin to contribute to harm. It’s as if good was never presented and no one had ever had an experience of the Loving God. How frustrating!
Jesus is exhausted from the status quo. Jesus is tired of everyone saying they believe but not living what they believe. Jesus is pushing and challenging the way things are and even understands it’s going to cause friction even in the smallest family units. And, we know this friction. We know this friction from every conversation we’ve had with another about differing opinions based on faith. We’ve had these discussions about sexual orientation, women clergy, marriage, war, family…We’ve had these heated discussions or witnessed these heated discussions where passion will not allow either party to move. It kills families, it kills community, it is deadly and Jesus is sick of it.
How is it that we can hear the stories of love, community, love your neighbor as yourself and not be able to apply it to one another? How is it that parable after parable, teaching after teaching, modeling day after day and the same lesson must be taught?
The first lesson is that evil is seductive. It is tricky. It is so easy to harm another. We can do it with a look, a word, a lack of word. WE can do it by calling, by not calling, by stepping in too close, by being distant. Each one of these things can be done in a second. We know how to do it so well. And yet, it is the first step towards distancing ourselves from another. It is not done out of love. And, once we’ve begun doing these things, it is easier to take the next step. To tell a false truth, to gossip, to raise our voices, to frighten and it all seems justified because of the cause the other has done you wrong.
Why, Jesus says. Why would you not talk to eachother? Why would you not give eachother the love that you want to receive? The love that you do receive from the Creator? Why would you drag your petty differences into court? You’re hypocrites he says.
So this Lent. Instead of being actors about our faith. Instead of being seduced by that stuff that harms others. Let’s agree to use our heads. Let’s work on praying more. Let’s work on giving our neighbors the benefit of the doubt, let’s assume the best about them. Let’s try to be the community of faith that Jesus was modeling. Where each one of us is part of a new kind of world a heaven not in the future but right here today. Where we love ourselves enough to stop banking on tomorrow and start living here today. Not progress. Not being seduced by being more while we’re standing on others. It is hard work, learning to love. But, it is what we are called to do as the disciples of this movement. I am thrilled about our work together this Lent. Let us pray.