Ordinary Time, Fall 2007

Cycle C, Proper 28

November 18, 2007

Thanksgiving for Creation Sunday

 
Title: All my holy mountain

Song leader: Ernie

Worship leader: Linda

Speaker: Linda

Texts: Isaiah 65:17-25; Isaiah 12 (instead of a psalm); 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19

Isaiah 65:17 For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 65:18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. 65:19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. 65:20 No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. 65:21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 65:22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 65:23 They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD-- and their descendants as well. 65:24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent--its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.

Isaiah 12 12:1 You will say in that day: I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me. 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 12:4 And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. 12:5 Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. 12:6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. 3:7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, 3:8 and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. 3:9 This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. 3:11 For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 3:12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 3:13 Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

Luke (Use The Message) 21:5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 21:6 "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." 21:7 They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" 21:8 And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them. 21:9 "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." 21:10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 21:11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. 21:12 "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 21:13 This will give you an opportunity to testify. 21:14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 21:15 for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 21:16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 21:17 You will be hated by all because of my name. 21:18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 21:19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Quotations to ponder:

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.  --e.e. cummings

You will find something more in woods than in books.  Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters [school teachers].  --St. Bernard

Introduction:

Gratitude for creation.

What an easy topic to grasp and run with.

Is there any one on the planet who has never felt gratitude

for creation, for the gifts of life, of sustenance, of beauty?

Wendell Berry has a character in one of his novels say “I felt sort of captured by gratitude.” Sunrise, a sickle moon, a bat or bird in flight, a glimpse of a field mouse or elk, a quiet moment stroking a loved pet;

Scent and sound of fresh or salt water, thunderstorms,

food, lovingly prepared and shared—

all these can capture our hearts with gratitude.

Meister Eckhardt, medieval mystic who influenced the Anabaptist movement by his teachings, said "If the only prayer you ever utter is 'Thank you!', it will be enough.”

God’s dream:

The readings from Isaiah sketch out God’s new dream with a response from the people of God.

But why does God need a new dream?

A new heavens and a new earth?

Remember the prophets and their persistent message:

You are totally getting it wrong, people.

God doesn’t care about religious ritual

nearly as much as God cares about how you treat God’s good gifts:

each other,

the earth and all that is in it.

So God’s dream of what life

would be like,

could be like,

should be like

on this planet

turned into a nightmare of violence and brokenness.

So, God does the completely unexpected;

God says, “Let’s start all over again.

Tough love hasn’t worked.

Laying down the law hasn’t worked.

We’ll start all over again

with grace, with forgiveness.”

Notice how profoundly Jesus and his teachings

grow out of this prophetic tradition?

There is no hesitation to call a spade a spade,

to call people to task for their evil.

to call people to repentance....

but then there is the incredible generosity

of grace, of forgiveness.

The point, after all, is God’s dream of shalom:

life for God’s creatures, God’s creation,

a life of joy, of delight,

a life that has enough and the blessings of a little bit more...

a life of satisfaction in the living

that one can craft for oneself and one’s family...

a life that is founded on peace and connection with God.

It’s very interesting that this vision,

God’s dream of shalom,

isn’t limited by nature or instinct;

it completely ignores a hardheaded realistic grasp

on what is even possible.

In God’s dream,

the very natures of the wolf and the lamb

are altered, drastically;

categories as locked and defined

by food and fear as predator and prey,

are swept away in a new, unimagined unity.

“They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.”

Conclusion:

I want to end by sharing an opportunity with you...

I spent the week writing with my WTBG sisters;

We are hoping to put a book together of our shared lives.

The act of writing things down cracked open things

and made connections visible I hadn’t dreamed of.

We’ll pass out pens; the back of your green sheet is blank.

I’ll ask three questions, one at a time,

and give you a minute or two of silence to write,

fast and furious, without any regard for punctuation or spelling.

If one question doesn’t work for you, wait for another, or just write down the words and phrases that do come to your mind. If you aren’t ready to go on to the next question, fine; stick with what is working.

Questions:

Do you remember a moment when you were captured by gratitude for some part of creation?

Where do you see God’s nightmare instead of God’s dream?

Where are you being challenged to live out of the impossibility of God’s dream, to see that They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain?

Responses:

Prayer:

God, we are so grateful for life,

for the Creation that cradles us from birth to death.

Forgive us when we have been a part of your nightmare

instead of participating in your dream

your hopes for your good creation.

Give us the hope, the stamina and the courage

to not grow weary in doing what is right,

to work with you in fulfilling your dream.

AMEN