Advent 1 2020 Mark 13:24-37

Pandemic, Murder Hornets, Bush Fires in Australia, Wildfires in the U.S.  Brexit.

Political assassinations.  Explosions in Beirut.  The impeachment of a President. Contested elections.

            Did I leave anything out?

            If 2020 has felt like anything to us, it has felt like we are close to the end of the world…. Repeatedly!   

So, I’m wondering if all that “end of the world anticipation,” (which is an Advent theme,) makes us see this Advent season any differently than we have in the past?

The season of Advent looks forward to the return of Christ, the time when this world passes away and God’s Kingdom is established in full.   

All these events piling up on us sure feels like something to which we should pay attention!

            So, when Isaiah talks today about the heavens being rent wide open, our ears perk up.

            And when Jesus launches into his little apocalypse we pay a little more attention.  

            That is in fact, the really troubling thing about the events of this past year.   They all remind us of the images we remember from bits and pieces of the bible, and because of that there is always this little nagging worry.  

What if the is bible’s right?  

What if when the clock ticks over at midnight 2021, all hell, or all heaven, does break loose?   

Why do the biblical writers use these apocalyptic visions of the events at the end of time to make their point?   

            For the Christian to make sense of this material, we first have to understand it as a genre of literature within Judaism.    

Apocalyptic is a writing style, a way of telling a story.   The people of Isaiah’s time, and of Jesus time, would have recognized that.

We often don’t.   We think of these “predictions” as prophetic statements of things to watch out for instead of seeing them as signs of God’s entry into history.

            What do I mean by calling this kind of writing a Genre?    Well, if I were to hold up a book like this, the “Complete Book of English Mysteries,” you know what kind of book I’m talking about and what you will likely find in here. 

If it’s a mystery it’s going to have clues, a murder or crime to solve, red herrings along the way, accusations made, spooky or mysterious settings, enigmatic deductions made toward the conclusion or solution to the crime.

            If I hold up another book, say this romance novel, you can tell me pretty much what you’ll find in this genre as well.  

There will be exotic places, historical allusions, grief, tragedy, love lost, love found, passions explored, heaving bosoms and tears shed, and a happy ending for the hero or heroine.

            If I asked you what kind of message it is that a mystery is supposed to convey?  You might respond by saying, “no crime is unsolvable, and justice will win out in the end… one way or another.”

            How about the message of a romance?  Well, that would be “Love triumphs over all obstacles.”

            Apocalyptic literature is also a genre.  It has trademark characteristics just like a romance or a mystery.   It has a message it wants to convey.

            In Apocalyptic literature the trademark characteristic most important is the removal of all obstacles to God’s entering the world and the situation.    The most important thing is God getting in here.  

That’s the message that apocalyptic wants to convey.   It proclaims that nothing will stand in God’s way when it comes to righting wrongs and redeeming people.   

            Since in the ancient near east mindset, God resided above the heavens, how is God going to get in here fast?    He’s going to rip the heavens open to come down.   He’s going to kick the sun and the moon out of their orbit to get them out of his way.  Nothing is going to stop God from coming, from getting down here where God is needed and needed right now.

            Tuck that into the back of your mind and now go back to look at Isaiah and Mark again.   What do you see?   

            Why these apocalyptic visions?  Because this genre of literature helps us imagine a God who comes quickly with power to set things right again.  

That’s what Isaiah and Jesus both want to evoke here. 

What at first looks like scary stuff, the sky ripped open, the powers in the heavens broken —  is really meant to bring hope. 

“Look here, nothing will stand in the way of God when God decides to come to us!” 

It may look like the end of the world but look who’s coming!  Look who it is who is about to do mighty deeds again to save! 

It is God, the same God who established creation and who cares for every living thing.  

What is there to be scared of?  Frightened about in that?

            2020 may be doing a fine job of making things big and scary, but in the end these events, as monumental as they may seem in this moment, don’t say much about the God who moves in the wake of disasters and heaven renderings  to bring about God’s Kingdom.   

             Jesus understands the genre.   He knows that while it is meant to bring hope, this end of the world stuff can be scary if you don’t know the genre.   So, look at what Jesus does to help us with that.

            Right after all this talk about the Son of Man coming on the clouds, the sun and stars falling, angels rushing to and fro, Jesus says, “Hey— look at the fig tree.” 

Learn the lesson of the Fig Tree.  

It puts forth tender shoots, green leaves, grows and matures, and when you see the leaves you know summer is near.   

            Do you dread summer?   

            We might dread fall with the dying off and ending of growth.   

            We might dread winter with its cold and barren landscapes.   

            We might even be able to dread spring with its unpredictable weather and violent storms.  

            But summer?   That’s the time to bask and to enjoy!   That’s the time of ripening fruit and everything growing to its full potential.

Learn that lesson, he says, that in the face of the end of the world as we know it.  We’re not supposed to be frightened, but rather looking for growth, for maturity and fruitfulness of bloom!    

Could it be that what Jesus wants his disciples to understand is that when God comes, what we will have to do is be ready to grow!   

Growing in our faith. 

Growing in our mission and ministry.

Growing in doing what should come as naturally to us as the growth of leaves and fruit comes to a Fig tree.

            From the fig tree Jesus goes on to a story about a household and an admission.  

Even Jesus doesn’t know when the end will come.  That is in the Father’s keeping.  

Jesus can tell us to be watchful and ready, but not the hour or the moment, and then he uses this interesting illustration of a household where the master leaves on a journey.  

            We are to be watchful, ready for the master’s return, but what do we do in the meantime?  Do we drop everything to wait for the end of the world as we know it?

No!

When the master leaves home, he puts his slaves in charge, each with their own work. 

The master commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch, which is what a doorkeeper is supposed to do!  

The absence of the master in fact, just means that the household is supposed to carry on with business as usual, doing what they are charged to do, their purpose in the running of the house.

            If we’re supposed to be scared of the end of the world, why would Jesus tell us a story about running a normal household, going about their normal business and routine?  

Isn’t this just his way of saying that while we need to be ready for God to sweep in at any time, we do that best by doing what we’re called to do in this world.   

            “Keep awake,” Jesus says, which is to say, live intentionally. 

Live knowing that the task you do is one that God empowers you to do in this world, and it does make a difference!   

            This is Advent.  It is the time when we focus on Jesus promise that this world will one day pass away.  God will come to bring God’s Kingdom in full, and it will be spectacular! 

But until then, we live as God gives us the strength to live, and the faith to live.   

            Christ is coming soon, but that is not something of which to be afraid, it’s a promise made to an out of control world. 

Christ is coming soon, and the Christian’s call is to be ready. 

That means we are to remain faithful to the tasks that have been given to us.  

Faithful in our extending invitations to others to come to faith.

Faithful in our loving and our caring and our giving as we extend that invitation through our daily lives, in the work we are called to do in this world.      

            It’s not that spectacular of a kind of work, but it is the kind of work in the midst of a world in turmoil that will see us through, and will see God’s Kingdom in.

Advent 1 2020. Mark 13

Pandemic, Murder Hornets, Bush Fires in Australia, Wildfires in the U.S.  Brexit.

Political assassinations.  Explosions in Beirut.  The impeachment of a President. Contested elections.

          Did I leave anything out?

          If 2020 has felt like anything to us, it has felt like we are close to the end of the world…. Repeatedly!   

So, I’m wondering if all that “end of the world anticipation,” (which is an Advent theme,) makes us see this Advent season any differently than we have in the past?

The season of Advent looks forward to the return of Christ, the time when this world passes away and God’s Kingdom is established in full.   

All these events piling up on us sure feels like something to which we should pay attention!

          So, when Isaiah talks today about the heavens being rent wide open, our ears perk up.

          And when Jesus launches into his little apocalypse we pay a little more attention.  

          That is in fact, the really troubling thing about the events of this past year.   They all remind us of the images we remember from bits and pieces of the bible, and because of that there is always this little nagging worry.  

What if the is bible’s right?  

What if when the clock ticks over at midnight 2021, all hell, or all heaven, does break loose?   

Why do the biblical writers use these apocalyptic visions of the events at the end of time to make their point?   

          For the Christian to make sense of this material, we first have to understand it as a genre of literature within Judaism.    

Apocalyptic is a writing style, a way of telling a story.   The people of Isaiah’s time, and of Jesus time, would have recognized that.

We often don’t.   We think of these “predictions” as prophetic statements of things to watch out for instead of seeing them as signs of God’s entry into history.

          What do I mean by calling this kind of writing a Genre?    Well, if I were to hold up a book like this, the Complete Book of English Mysteries, you know what kind of book I’m talking about and what you will likely find in here. 

If it’s a mystery it’s going to have clues, a murder or crime to solve, red herrings along the way, accusations made, spooky or mysterious settings, enigmatic deductions made toward the conclusion or solution to the crime.

          If I hold up another book, say a romance you can tell me pretty much what you’ll find in this genre as well.  

There will be exotic places, historical allusions, grief, tragedy, love lost, love found, passions explored, and a happy ending for the hero or heroine.

          If I asked you what kind of message it is that a mystery is supposed to convey?  You might respond by saying, “no crime is unsolvable, and justice will win out in the end… one way or another.”

          How about the message of a romance?  Well, that would be “Love triumphs over all obstacles.”

          Apocalyptic literature is also a genre.  It has trademark characteristics just like a romance or a mystery.   It has a message it wants to convey.

          In Apocalyptic literature the trademark characteristic most important is the removal of all obstacles to God’s entering the world and the situation.    The most important thing is God getting in here.  

That’s the message that apocalyptic wants to convey.   It proclaims that nothing will stand in God’s way when it comes to righting wrongs and redeeming people.   

          Since in the ancient near east mindset, God resided above the heavens, how is God going to get in here fast?    He’s going to rip the heavens open to come down.   He’s going to kick the sun and the moon out of their orbit to get them out of his way.  Nothing is going to stop God from coming, from getting down here where God is needed and needed right now.

          Tuck that into the back of your mind and now go back to look at Isaiah and Mark again.   What do you see?   

          Why these apocalyptic visions?  Because this genre of literature helps us imagine a God who comes quickly with power to set things right again.  

That’s what Isaiah and Jesus both want to evoke here. 

What at first looks like scary stuff, the sky ripped open, the powers in the heavens broken —  is really meant to bring hope. 

“Look here, nothing will stand in the way of God when God decides to come to us!” 

It may look like the end of the world but look who’s coming!  Look who it is who is about to do mighty deeds again to save! 

It is God, the same God who established creation and who cares for every living thing.  

What is there to be scared of?  Frightened about in that?

          2020 may be doing a fine job of making things big and scary, but in the end these events, as monumental as they may seem in this moment, don’t say much about the God who moves in the wake of disasters and heaven renderings  to bring about God’s Kingdom.   

           Jesus understands the genre.   He knows that while it is meant to bring hope, this end of the world stuff can be scary if you don’t know the genre.   So, look at what Jesus does to help us with that.

          Right after all this talk about the Son of Man coming on the clouds, the sun and stars falling, angels rushing to and fro, Jesus says, “Hey— look at the fig tree.” 

Learn the lesson of the Fig Tree.  

It puts forth tender shoots, green leaves, grows and matures, and when you see the leaves you know summer is near.   

          Do you dread summer?   

          We might dread fall with its dying off and ending of growth.   

          We might dread winter with its cold and barren landscapes.   

          We might even be able to dread spring with its unpredictable weather and violent storms.  

          But summer?   That’s the time to bask and to enjoy!   That’s the time of ripening fruit and everything growing to its full potential.

Learn that lesson, he says, that in the face of the end of the world as we know it.  We’re not supposed to be frightened, but rather looking for growth, for maturity and fruitfulness of bloom!    

Could it be that what Jesus wants his disciples to understand is that when God comes, what we will have to do is be ready to grow!   

Growing in our faith. 

Growing in our mission and ministry.

Growing in doing what should come as naturally to us as the growth of leaves and fruit comes to a Fig tree.

          From the fig tree Jesus goes on to a story about a household and an admission.  

Even Jesus doesn’t know when the end will come.  That is in the Father’s keeping.  

Jesus can tell us to be watchful and ready, but not the hour or the moment, and then he uses this interesting illustration of a household where the master leaves on a journey.  

          We are to be watchful, ready for the master’s return, but what do we do in the meantime?  Do we drop everything to wait for the end of the world as we know it?

No!

When the master leaves home, he puts his slaves in charge, each with their own work. 

The master commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch, which is what a doorkeeper is supposed to do!  

The absence of the master in fact, just means that the household is supposed to carry on with business as usual, doing what they are charged to do, their purpose in the running of the house.

          If we’re supposed to be scared of the end of the world, why would Jesus tell us a story about running a normal household, going about their normal business and routine?  

Isn’t this just his way of saying that while we need to be ready for God to sweep in at any time, we do that best by doing what we’re called to do in this world.   

          “Keep awake,” Jesus says, which is to say, live intentionally. 

Live knowing that the task you do is one that God empowers you to do in this world, and it does make a difference!   

          This is Advent.  It is the time when we focus on Jesus promise that this world will one day pass away.  God will come to bring God’s Kingdom in full, and it will be spectacular! 

But until then, we live as God gives us the strength to live, and the faith to live.   

          Christ is coming soon, but that is not something of which to be afraid, it’s a promise made to an out of control world. 

Christ is coming soon, and the Christian’s call is to be ready. 

That means we are to remain faithful to the tasks that have been given to us.  

Faithful in our extending invitations to others to come to faith.

Faithful in our loving and our caring and our giving as we extend that invitation through our daily lives, in the work we are called to do in this world.      

          It’s not that spectacular of a kind of work, but it is the kind of work in the midst of a world in turmoil that will see us through, and will see God’s Kingdom in.

“We Weren’t Supposed to Know.” Matthew 25:31-46

“In these uncertain and unprecedented times…..”   

Man, if I had a buck for every time I’ve heard that phrase since March I could retire tomorrow with cash to spare!

          It is uncertainty that is literally killing us right now, isn’t it?

          We don’t know where the virus is precisely.   It might be anywhere, in any gathering, spreading without symptoms or indication.  We have true “community spread” now and not enough testing.    The overlapping demands of daily life, livelihood, and responsibilities constantly put us all in peril or at least uncertainty.  

Parents need to send their kids to school so the adults can work, but working puts those same parents into contact with strangers who may give the virus to them allowing them to take it home. 

Meanwhile, sending the kids to school puts them into contact with other overlapping circles of families and connections, any one of which might be a vector for infection back into the home or school!  

You don’t know where anyone has been or what kind of attitude they have about masks or precautions, and so you mask and sanitize and amend your plans for family gatherings and travel as best you can. 

          “If only we knew….”  We catch ourselves saying.   “Knew who to trust, how to gather safely, where to go or not to go…”

          “These uncertain and unprecedented times” weigh upon us!

          Uncertainty in the political realm similarly has us tied up in knots as a nation.   The peaceful transition of power is in peril as a recalcitrant and stubborn President refuses to concede defeat or acknowledge the election outcome.  

Uncertainty abounds as to how to move forward, arguments about legal recourses of action are made as if this was normal, and rumors of machinations behind the scenes all appear to be mostly about destabilizing our democracy. 

          “If we only knew who to look toward for leadership, how to plan forward, where to put our efforts, who to trust…”

          “In these uncertain and unprecedented times…..”

          We don’t know exactly where to look or what to believe, but we do know one thing.

Uncertainty is exhausting!

          Which is, I suppose, why we find a peculiar kind of comfort in this Gospel lesson, the parable of the sheep and the goats.

          There is no uncertainty about it.

          “When the Son of Man comes in his glory…”   This is an inevitable and concrete moment. 

History will come to an end.  Time will cease to exist.  The final judgment will take place.  

Nations will be gathered up and the “great sorting” will begin.   “Sheep to the right, Goats to the left.”

The invitation to come inherit the Kingdom will be given, or the consignment to outer darkness will be dispensed.

There is certainty here!   No shades of grey.  

A day will come when the deeds of humans will be weighed in the balance and the final accounting will be made.

          Oh, how we long for such certainty during these “uncertain and unprecedented” days! 

          And we long for such certainly all the more if we have determined that we already know the outcome, the position that we will surely hold.

          “I just want to be a sheep… .bah!”… just like I sang in Sunday School.

          We know that the sheep are invited into the Kingdom, and the goats are sent to the eternal fire, and so secure in the knowledge that we must be among the chosen sheep that the Great Shepherd has gathered into his arms, we look forward to this time of certainty!   It will be such a blessed relief from these “uncertain and unprecedented times” in which we currently slog along.

          Except….

          Ah, there is that nagging point about the parable, the fact that no one knew just who they were until the final judgment!”

          This is the fly in the ointment of our finding comfort in this parable. 

          Neither sheep nor goat knew just what they were, or what they were doing, until it was pointed out to them.

          Neither sheep nor goat knew when they had done the things that mattered in the final judgment!

          “Lord, when did we see you—naked, sick or in prison?”  

          “As you did it to the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me…”  Jesus responds.

          Which is a curious kind of answer, because it is so darned unspecific, isn’t it?  

          It’s not “On Tuesday, 5 o’clock, six years ago when you….”  A moment you could pinpoint when you did the right thing for one person in particular.

          No, it’s maddeningly unspecific.  

You didn’t know!  You don’t know when you may have entertained (as the author of Hebrews puts it,) “Angels unaware.”

You just had a quality of mercy toward someone.

You acted and had consideration for them.  

So, in that moment, (whenever it was) you entered into a little joy by caring about them.

 And now, because of that quality of mercy shown and acting in that uncertain moment, you get the nod to enter the Kingdom in full now.   “Come, you that are blessed by my Father…..”

          We’re not supposed to know!

          We’re not supposed to know when it is that we are acting like sheep!  

We’re not supposed to know when, for certain, we are clothing Christ, or caring for Christ, or visiting Christ in prison.

          We’re just supposed to have the quality of mercy that comes even in the midst of “uncertain and unprecedented times” to do what we would hope someone would do for us.    Clothe us, heal us, and care about us.

          And what about the goats?   Well, they didn’t know either!

          They didn’t know about the missed opportunity, the time that Christ stood before them and they soundly rejected helping him.

Oh, they no doubt had very good and specific reasons for not doing so!

In fact, the curse here seems to be in thinking that you do know!  Thinking that you can discern.  Thinking that you can act with certainty and can dismiss that quality of mercy as being weak or unnecessary at certain times.

          “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger?”  

          Which is kind of a strange question to ask when you think about it, because it means that YOU DID SEE people hungry, thirsty, and the outsider, excluded them.

          It’s not that we didn’t see ANYBODY fitting that description, it’s just that we didn’t know it was you, Jesus!

It’s kind of like asking Jesus to prove it!  

Show me the facts!   Let me dispute you here, if I’d known it was you, I’d have surely acted differently! 

          Suddenly all those times when the Pharisees kept asking Jesus for some sign come to mind.

 All those times when they argued with him about matters of authority, pointed out his deficiencies in understanding the law, acting when he had no right to do so, healing on the Sabbath  —  they all jump out like red warning flags!

          “You’re not supposed to know when you can choose to be merciful.”

          “You’re not supposed to be the one judging, discerning, or sorting things out.”

That’s not your position, your job title, or your vocation in the world.  Your task is to respond to the need when you see it, not try to figure out ways to wiggle out of responding!

Not even if it is for sound reasons in the way this world works, in the way of Empire, and in the world of economics.

Jesus comes to announce a new Kingdom, a new world order, and it is not based in the same assumptions as this current one.

          Living with uncertainty and doing unprecedented things is part and parcel of announcing the Kingdom of God.

Living with uncertainty and doing unprecedented things is part of the expectation for those who follow a Crucified Messiah, and a shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.

          Living with uncertainty and doing unprecedented things is what Jesus has advocated all along!  

“Which of you having 100 sheep, and losing one, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go to find the one that is lost.”

          Well that is madness in the economics of this world!   

No one leaves 99 sure bets to go after one that has wandered off!    What shepherd in his right mind does that??

          Our shepherd does, because the Kingdom he comes to bring in does not work the way this kingdom of Empire does.

          Our shepherd, Jesus, introduces uncertainty and unprecedented actions into the face of what would be the expected norms of this world and then commends us to go and do likewise.

          He gives the Beatitudes, proclaims that all the tossed aside, forgotten and disposable ones are the blessed ones and then goes on to care for them in the midst of an Empire that would just as soon they die and go away.

          Jesus seeds uncertainty and does unprecedented things all throughout his ministry and then invites us to join him in doing the same.

          Go shake it up, destabilize the status quo, question the way things are now.

          Tell people the “Kingdom of God has come near!”   Heal the sick, proclaim the good news, feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

          Reshape this world into the kind of world that cares about people instead of using them.

          Uncertain and unprecedented times is what we were made for!  They are what we were made to do our best work in!

          So, it is exhausting yes, this calling forth of the Kingdom of God.

          And much of what you will do as you do the work of sheep will certainly complicate this world and the current regimes that vie for power.   You will be likely be called names and persecuted for Jesus’ name sake, for daring to say that we ought to care about the “least of these.”

          But there will come a day when the Kingdom will come and the great sorting will take place.                Until then, may you continue to live in “uncertain and unprecedented times”… not just of a virus, but of love and service.

“Enter Into the Joy”. Matthew 25:14-30

When I was in college I was a member of the Dana College Choir.  We would annually take an extended Choir trip singing in churches and venues along the way.   This particular choir tour we were headed to the west coast and San Francisco was on our list of places to visit.

I’m a Midwestern boy, whose only experience with seafood was freshwater fish or frozen fish sticks, and so when Kip (my best friend) and I heard about the San Francisco stop, we made plans to save up for a blow-out seafood feast.    A lunch on our own on Fisherman’s Wharf was on the itinerary.

          This was our highlight event!

          Accompanying us was another choir member who seemed to be just as excited.   We made our way to Fisherman’s Wharf, perused a number of high-end restaurants, and chose one with a view out the big glass windows toward Alcatraz.

          While Kip and I drooled over the possible selections, commenting on the catch of the day, Tom, our third-party joiner, was muttering about the prices and complaining about the lack of affordable entrees, and how he didn’t really feel like fish right now.   

Kip and I both told him not to worry about the cost, we would spot him anything he needed.  We had been planning this for months and were ready to feast!

          When the wait staff came to take our order, Kip and I proceeded to lay out the fare.  “We’ll start with crab cakes, we want to try the Calamari, and Kip ordered the Salmon, I did the Pacific Cod and then she turned to Tom, and he said.. 

”I’ll just have a grilled cheese and fries.”

          You can guess how the rest of the meal went.   

While Kip and I feasted sumptuously and commented on the various dishes, the flavors and sampled the accompanying sides, Tom crunched on his lone grilled cheese and French fries looking miserable.

          There was no joy in his meal on Fisherman’s Wharf!

          I tell you that story to help you see this Parable of the Talents in the way in which I think Jesus meant for us to see it.

          The peculiar thing about this parable is that we tend to get all twisted up in the stewardship elements of it, distracted by the numbers or the financial matters.

          A Talent was a huge sum of money!  

One Talent was estimated to be the equivalent of 20 year’s worth of Salary.     The one who received the least in this parable received that!  

Five Talents would have been more than you could ever earn in your lifetime.  

Three Talents would have been the wages you might be able to earn over the entire span of your life.

The Master entrusts these huge sums to his slaves, for an indeterminate amount of time. 

Entrusted, by the way, with no other directions but “here, I am going away, take care of this.”

This parable therefore is about what you do with an incredible opportunity that has been placed in your trust.

          Do you make something of it, or do you bury it?

          Do you treat is as your own, or do you worry about to losing it?

          And above all in the parable, do you find any joy in it!

          If you find joy in what has been entrusted to you and lavishly use it to your own advantage, then you are (in the end) invited into the joy of the Master who will then entrust you with even more!

          If you do not find joy in receiving this lavish amount given to you, then there is no joy found in the end, nothing to enter into!  

There is no joy to be invited into by the Master.

          We look at the end of the parable and are struck and stung by how nasty, vindictive and harsh the punishment seems to be for this slave who buried his portion, did what was safe and acceptable at that time.  

              ^“So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.  For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

          How awful!  

          We are distracted by what appears to be the vindictiveness, the unfairness of the Master. 

          But here’s the thing.

          The servant who is cast out is only living in the way he had already chosen to live.  This is the lot he has chosen because he could not find joy in the opportunity presented to him!

          This is Tom crunching his grilled cheese while the chef brings around samples for us taste from the kitchen, “Hey, have you ever tried?”  because the Chef recognizes people who delight in trying new delicacies, and so we who already have much, are given even more!

          Being consigned to the outer darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth is only in the end lying in the bed you have already made for yourself.

          Why is this parable told in Matthew 25? 

          Again, all of these parables are told in the context of Matthew’s community and they are all about what the Kingdom of God will be like. 

Just as the wise bridesmaids were the ones who were ready for the celebration when the Bridegroom showed up and enjoyed the party, so also those who find joy in what is entrusted to them are invited into the joy of the Master, and given abundance.   Abundance lavished from the Master who understands that such abundance is to be enjoyed and used to increase the joy and blessing of others.

          It is striking that the third slave makes a comment that is really nonsense based on the character of the Master seen so far. 

          “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’

          Why is it that we take this slave’s words as the truth?

          How many skinflints do you know who would have given lavish gifts with no expectation of return to his slaves?

          How many “harsh men, cheats” do you know who would be giving out large sums to administer in his absence?

          Yet, we are led to believe this one, slave, who lives in perpetual fear knows this Master’s true nature?

          It is more likely that this slave knows nothing of the gracious nature of his Master – the gracious nature of Jesus!   

He can’t fathom it, and so makes up the excuse of being afraid as the reason why he did not joy in the opportunity given to him.

          So, what are we to do with this parable?   Let me suggest three things that we should take away from this in these Covid days when we are all wondering if this is the end of the world as we know it.

          The first is this, that you have been entrusted with much more than you possibly imagine.  

          I think right now that it is pretty easy to get sucked into the “poor me” mentality.  

          “I can’t go out to eat.”

          “I have to wear this mask.”

          “I can’t go to happy hour.”

          “I can’t.. I can’t… I can’t….”  

          It’s pretty easy to get sucked into a mindset that so much has been taken away from us by this virus and its implications that we cannot see how much we have been given!

          Here we are given a chance to think of the welfare of our neighbor, and not just ourselves.

          Here we are given the opportunity to give thanks for all that we have, and all that is entrusted to us, and we discover now that the more we survey what is truly ours — the more abundance we see!  

Covid has given us eyes to see the blessings in the ordinary that we used to take so much for granted.  

We do not thank God for this virus.  

We thank God for what we have had all along but could not see because of our own attitudes that distorted our vision.

What we “thought we knew” — which was not really the case!

The second take away from this parable is “Fear of losing something can become a preoccupation in and of itself.”

I cannot for the life of me get that image of Tom joylessly nibbling on his grilled cheese in a miserable fashion while we feasted, not even some thirty years later.  

He was so consumed with not having enough to make it through the trip that he threw away an opportunity to feast when it was offered to him!  

How many opportunities do we miss because we become preoccupied with what we have to lose, what we can’t afford, what we can’t risk, or worry about what people will think about our actions.  

Fear of losing is a powerful thing for us humans.   It is employed to manipulate us on all levels.

It is the reason why we get duped into taking out too much life insurance.  

It is the reason why we vote in certain ways.

“They’ll take away your guns, they’ll take away your freedom, they’ll take away your social security, they’ll take away your ability to choose your own doctor…..”

On and on the litany of fear of loss can go and can be employed to deceive you into not seeing the blessings in life, or considering the needs of the neighbor, but rather keep you living in fear of the unknown.

That is simply no way to live. 

That is the way that leads to wailing and gnashing of teeth!

God will have no part in that, banishes that way of thinking from God’s midst and God’s people.

The third take away is this: “Entering into the Joy of the Master is worth risking everything to find!”

          There is an unexpected outcome in this parable!

          The “settling of accounts” does not go at all like any of the slaves thought it would go, does it? 

The Master doesn’t just take back what had been entrusted to leave the slave in their previous situation.

For two of them, they are “welcomed into the joy of the Master.”  They are freed by their own faithfulness!  They are given more because they have been found faithful in what had been entrusted to them.

          No one expected that, not a one of the slaves thought that the end of this entrusting would be freedom and joy!

          But there it is, for all except the one who did nothing with the opportunity.

          He took no risk.

          He got no joy out of the resources entrusted to him while he had them.

          He had no experience of anything because he risked nothing!

          The parable invites us to imagine not a God who is harsh, or who punishes, but rather a God who gives abundantly just to see what the heck we would do with it!   And then this God, delights with us when we do something besides bury it or squirrel it away!

          No one finds joy in just sitting on things, not you, and particularly not God, so dare to risk living, even extravagantly, for a lesson in extravagance, abundance, and trust is what God intends life to be!

          Beloved in the Lord, Enter into the joy of the Master!   See all that you have been given, and freely use it for life, that you may be given a commendation for having lived your life well!

          There should be no ordering of a grilled cheese when the bounty of the sea lies before you!

Reflections from the Camino Santiago on the day after a contentious election.

A little over a year ago I made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compestella, walking the Coastal Route with people I had not me before.  It was two weeks of community, and it seems to me after this election when the nation seems so divided, there are some things from that journey that may be helpful to remind myself, and perhaps you as well.  

So, for what it is worth.

Lesson Number One- It is Never What You Expected.    You read, you listen to others, you look at the pictures and the brochures, you watch the videos, but the truth is every Camino is unique and has its own twists, turns, complications, joys and setbacks along the way.    No matter what you may have “expected” from this election, just know that no journey ever turns out to be exactly what you expect.

Lesson Number Two- You will think that you are ready, but you are not.    I had confidence in my training, in my equipment, in the shoes (that I had spent months breaking in to assure that I would not have problems!)    I had hiked before, backpacked, and camped.   If figured I would have no problems.     I blistered.  I ached.  I had not walked enough, or far enough, or for enough hours on end to prepare me for what would lie ahead.  I scarred.  I endured.   I pushed through.  I took the respite when it was possible and gritted through when I had to.   It is what you do.   No matter where you are politically, recognize that there will be things about this election for which you were not ready, and that even in the midst of that, you can endure.   Much of the Camino was spent with me saying under my breath, “One foot in front of another, find a rhythm, set a pace…”    Once you find a way to move forward, the rest falls into place.

Lesson Number Three—Revel in the small.    If you walk always with your eyes only on your destination, you will miss what is unfolding around you.   Notice the tokens along the way.   See the cross of sticks woven into the fence where someone stopped to do penance or to pray.   Notice a stone left on top of a marker that marks something that someone has carried and now put down, a charm laying at the foot of a marker.  See the basket of apples set outside an orchard marked “For the Perrigrino.”  Recognize that some have walked this way before you, and that some are caring about you though they don’t know you, and that burdens have been laid down that have been carried for lifetimes and kilometers.    No matter your political persuasion, look for the signs along the way of the world shifting, changing, moving, old things being let go of and new things being provided for you.

Lesson Number Four—Shared experience is more powerful that positions, philosophies or ideals.   When one walks with others, conversation is all you have, and you might think that arguments would be frequent.   After all, we’re tired, hot, grumpy and our feet hurt – why not gripe?    But in truth, the shared experience of needing to care and help one another outweighs any of our petty political, social or even religious differences.     The shared experience of the journey to a destination that is the same but different for each of us teaches us to respect each other’s journey.    So, I can light candles with my Roman Catholic pilgrims in the small chapels along the way with them, not for the same reason, but because the experience we share is more than the sum of our belief systems and we do this for and with one another.    So much of our “election journey” right now focused on red/blue, win/lose, elections have consequences/loss of influence.    It is hard to remember that we are in a Democracy together, and that the goal of the democratic process is to journey toward “a more perfect union”… not an imposition of beliefs.    Revel in the largest voter turn out in decades.   Trust in and insist on the counting of every vote, not to determine who wins, but to safeguard this experience we have, this privilege of the journey of Democracy.   Accept the outcome, congratulate the opponent, learn from the experience, work to make it one that we can all take together.     

Buen Camino, United States of America.