Lent 2007 Blessed Hunger, Holy Feast

Lent 2, March 4^th

Speaker: Linda

Worship Leader: Charlie

Music leader: Reed

Confession response: Kathy R and Linda

Texts: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35

Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." 15:2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 15:3 And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir." 15:4 But the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir." 15:5 He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." 15:6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness. 15:7 Then he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess." 15:8 But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" 15:9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." 15:10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 15:11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 15:12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. …15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

(opportunity to talk about contextualization: God touching us in symbols and language we understand?)

Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 27:2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh-- my adversaries and foes-- they shall stumble and fall. 27:3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. 27:4 One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. 27:5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. 27:6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD. 27:7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! 27:8 "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek. 27:9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! 27:10 If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up. 27:11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. 27:12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence. 27:13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Philippians 3:17 Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 3:18 For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 3:19 Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 3:21 He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. 4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

Luke 13:31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." 13:32 He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 13:33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' 13:34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 13:35 See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

(Here are the corollary texts to Peter’s silliness about building shelters: it’s up to God whether we are given shelter in God or under Jesus’ wings….or set up high on a rock…)

Contemporary quote Lent 2, 07

Why fear the dark?
How can we help but love it
when it is the darkness
that brings the stars to us?
What's more: who does not know
that it is on the darkest nights
that the stars acquire
their greatest splendor?

- Dom Helder Camara (1909-1999), Brazilian Catholic archbishop

Introduction:

The second Sunday of Lent, already.

Lent is an annual revisiting of the Israelite journey through the wilderness, leaving slavery behind and looking towards the Promised Land….

it is also the Christian journey

towards the darkness of holy week

and the promise of resurrection on the far side of death,

the promise of Easter.

Appropriately,

we began this season last week

away from home, not in the wilderness exactly,

but at least at Winter Camp.

Lauresta led us in looking at Isaiah 58

and its vivid images of building up the ruined foundations,

and then in an exercise of listing and committing ourselves

to random acts of kindness--

a way to think about

building up our foundations

in this church and in this community.

The dominant theme during the rest of this season is

Blessed hunger, holy feast…

as the texts take us through the wilderness experience of Lent

we will look for the unexpected ways and places

in which God nourishes us,

spreading a table for us in the dark stones

of the wilderness…

Much of this sermon is a re-run from three years ago when we had these same texts…When I took my semi-sabbatical a year and a half go, I asked you for the sermons that you’d like to hear again, and this was one that was asked for. However, I ran out of sabbatical before I ran out of re-runs and this one didn’t get done…so, here it is again, with a few tucks and a bit of updating.

I want to begin with a poem today; this showed up written on a piece of brown paper bag stuffed in an envelope stuck under my door while the AA meeting was going on downstairs.

The author is a community person who has attended several neighborhood events here at the church and who, with a little bit of networking on my part, was able to connect with other people in the Boise community who had the resources so badly needed.

I really did very little,

but this poem is an expression of gratitude to you,

Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship,

for including in my job description the mandate to be available

to pastor people in the community

as well as those of you in this congregation.

It’s titled

“12^th St. Mennonite.

Inasmuch as you’ve done it

unto “these”, you have done it

unto me

for I was naked

and sick and

sore afraid

and your love

showed through

as dawn to darkness

restoring that

which was unto

death

what healing touch

is this

come unto

my soul

releasing

waves

of gratitude

and joy

It is amazing what a small gesture can mean to someone who is hurting or desperate.

It’s amazing how much light can come in through a very small crack to someone

who is trapped in a dark place.

It is amazing how even a little bit of food can help a truly hungry person…

Our primary text today is an example of just this power.

We know that even in darkness

we are walking toward the immense love of God

which speaks out of both darkness and light.

(Abraham discovered this in his encounter with the “deep and terrifying darkness” that preceded God’s covenant with him in our Hebrew Scripture reading today.)

Paradoxically, this kind of journey of uncertainty and darkness has a way of clarifying things; of stripping things down to their essence, of showing us what is most important.

And sometimes, that is the surprising,

the small,

he seemingly insignificant….

The little bit of light,

The little bit of food,

The little bit of hope…

What is essential, what is most important…..

This is a timely focus for us as we gaze at a world landscape

that has monumental changes sweeping over it,

the changes brought by globalization,

by environmental degradation,

by the unprecedented concentration of the world’s wealth

in the hands of a few,

by the world’s startled perceptions of the harsh new face of the US

and its so-called war on terror….

And whether we are looking at the global situation

or our individual questions and issues

right here in this congregation,

we can remember that we are walking towards the immense love of God

and that God speaks

the languages of both darkness and light

equally fluently.

“Even the darkness is not dark to you,” the psalmist says (139:12); “the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.”

This is a simple but powerful image that can speak real grace and peace to us in times of unrest and inner darkness,

a “healing touch”, as our community friend put it,

“releasing

waves

of gratitude

and joy”

God shelters us, loves us, nourishes us

even in the midst of our darkest times.

And, to our surprise and sometimes dismay,

God chooses to do these things in small, understated ways….

but those small ways start a ripple

that spreads

and builds

and eventually changes the entire landscape.

Let’s look now at the powerful images in Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem, especially Jesus’ two animal labels;

one applied to Herod,

one applied to Jesus himself.

One is a creature who scatters and kills; one is a creature who gathers in and protects.

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." 13:32 He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 13:33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' 13:34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Barbara Brown Taylor says eloquently:

If you have ever loved someone you could not protect, then you understand the depth of Jesus' lament.

All you can do is open your arms.

You cannot make anyone walk into them.

Meanwhile, this is the most vulnerable posture in the world –

wings spread, breast exposed –

but if you mean what you say, then this is how you stand.

Given the number of animals available, it is curious that Jesus chooses a hen. Where is the biblical precedent for that?

What about the mighty eagle of Exodus, or Hosea's stealthy leopard?

What about the proud lion of Judah, mowing down his enemies with a roar? Compared to any of those, a mother hen does not inspire much confidence.

No wonder some of the chicks decided to go with the fox.

But a hen is what Jesus chooses, which -- if you think about it –is pretty typical of him.

He is always turning things upside down, so that children and peasants wind up on top while kings and scholars land on the bottom.

He is always wrecking our expectations of how things should turn out by giving prizes to losers and paying the last first.

So of course he chooses a chicken, which is about as far from a fox as you can get.

That way the options become very clear: you can live by licking your chops or you can die protecting the chicks.

Jesus won't be king of the jungle in this or any other story.

What he will be is a mother hen, who stands between the chicks and those who mean to do them harm.

She has no fangs…no rippling muscles.

All she has is her willingness to shield her babies with her own body.

If the fox wants them, he will have to kill her first.

Which he does, as it turns out. He slides up on her one night in the yard while all the babies are asleep.

When her cry wakens them, they scatter.

She dies the next day where both foxes and chickens can see her –

wings spread, breast exposed –

without a single chick beneath her feathers.

It breaks her heart, but it does not change a thing.

If you mean what you say, then this is how you stand.

From

As a Hen Gathers Her Brood, by Barbara Brown Taylor; Barbara Brown Taylor teaches at Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga. This article appeared in The Christian Century, February 25, 1986, page 201; copyright by the Christian Century Foundation and used by permission. This material was prepared for Religion Online

by Ted & Winnie Brock.