According To Luke: The Ice Bucket Challenge Disconnec

Luke 16:19-31 New   (NRSV)

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

I am willing to bet that all of you are familiar with what was known as the Ice Bucket Challenge this past summer.

Starting sometime in late June or early July --- people all over the world began to pour ice water over their heads.

The rules of this challenge were not set in stone --- but in general it went something like this.

A family member or friend would challenge three friends (over the next 24 hours) to either dump a bucket of cold ice water over their heads or donate $100 to the ALS Association --- or do both.

Many of you are probably familiar with ALS. 

The disease was first identified in 1869 --- but it wasn't until Lou Gehrig announced that he had the disease that it really garnered any attention. 

Most people know the disease by his name: Lou Gehrig's disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body.

The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death.

When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost.

With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.

Many of us experienced ALS on a more personal level and we watched the gallant battle that Eileen Hasse fought with the disease. 

After a six year battle she passed away this past March.

I am not certain how accurate this numbers are, but the ALS Association reports that the Ice Bucket Challenge resulted in about 3 million donors raising well over $115 million.

          WOW!

I have to admit, I was shocked at how well this campaign did.  3 Million donors!

But not only all the money donated --- we also got to see friends get soaked, hear them squeal and watch them shutter! 

          It was fun.

What is amazing to me is just how successful this campaign was. 

It demonstrated the power of social media to rally people around the cause.

For those of us who heard about the Arab Summer in 2011 and all the talk of how it was driven by social media, got to see it first hand with the Ice Bucket Challenge.

I think it was successful because it was so simple --- it was easy to participate and easy to share.

This weekend we celebrate REFORMATION SUNDAY --- remembering when Martin Luther accidentally kicked off the Reformation --- in a great part helped by the new fangled technology of his day --- the printing press.

Not surprisingly the response to the ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE has been mixed.

Of course there are those people who want to push the concept farther

·         better video

·         more creative

·         more donations

Then there those who donate but keep it to themselves --- never creating a video or even sharing the challenge

But there have been all kinds of people who have responded in the negative.

·         don't want to donate

·         offended to be challenged (either to do the ice bucket or open their wallet)

·         People who have said WHY --- Why ALS, why not something else

And that may be the most intriguing of the critiques

          Why single out ALS

I think I find that most interesting because it raisings some interesting questions . . .

Why single out any causes that are bigger than ourselves?

That critique really challenges us to look at why we reach out and help others at all.

What I loved about the challenge was it helped many of us do SOMETHING

Before donating --- or even dumping water on our heads we had to decide!  Decide if we would . . .

Should I donate?

Or should I just spread the word and make a video

Or should I do both?

Just think about it ---- 3 million people thought about whether they should donate to ALS and decided YES

But there was a side benefit from the ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE

All those who chose not to participate --- because of all the social pressure were forced to answer (sometimes just to themselves) NO, I don’t want to participate because . . .

That means they thought deeply about how, when and why they contribute to causes beyond their budget.

And when they told their friends, "I decline because," those friends received an invitation, explicit or implied, to think through what their own because looks like.

In our story this morning we are reminded of the opportunities to make a difference NOW.

Archbishop Richard Trench, in his Notes on the Parables of Our Lord, almost 100 years ago wrote:

The sin of {the rich man} in its root is unbelief: hard-hearted contempt of the poor, luxurious squandering on self, are only the forms which his sin assumes.  The seat of the disease is within

Remember how our passage ended last week?

          You cannot serve God and wealth.

The rich man becomes the poster child for Luke

As we get to the end of Luke's Gospel we will encounter two men whose hearts "were strangely warmed" as the scriptures were shared with them.

A stranger --- whom we understand to be Jesus --- joins them and explains the law and the prophets to them. 

They share a meal together and they too see that it is Jesus.

You have to wonder what would have happened if the rich man had shared a meal with Lazarus --- would he have then seen his need and cared for him --- because he was the embodiment of Jesus.

George Buttrick, in The Parables of Jesus reminds us that however important that it is that we share food --- this parable is really about an even deeper and more pervasive attitude of neighborliness towards others.

The story offers no support to the glib assumption that [the rich man} would have fulfilled all duty had he dressed Lazarus' sores and fed his hunger.  True charity is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not spasmodic or superficial.  Ameliorations such as food and medicine are necessary, but there is a more fundamental neighborliness.

While the ICE BUCKET Challenge isn't going to end ALS --- and it probably hasn't created a whole new group of people toward charitable giving.

What it has done is opened up many people to the conversation of helping others.

We sometimes forget that everything we do has an impact on the kingdom.

Whether it is splashing a bucket of water over our heads

          writing a check

          seeing the person who is hungry as our neighbor

          how we vote in the coming weeks

Who knows what will come of all those conversations that people had as they decided to participate (or not) in the Ice Bucket challenge.

My prayer is that we have dumped a bucket of cold water over the head of all of us --- waking us up so that we can see the Lazarus' that are all around.

According to Luke: A Lake County Politician

Luke 16:1-13  (NRSV)

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

This has to be one of the most challenging parables in all the Gospels. 

As it was read to you --- did you ask yourself --- what does it mean?

It was late in August when I began working on the idea for this sermon, and I have to admit that some of the news of the time influenced my title for this sermon.

George Van Til, convicted of miss using county resources for his own gain was once again in the news.  I have known George for a number of years.  He used to regularly come to our fish fries --- but our lives really intersected during the flood.

Also, around this same time, Jeff Langbehn was fired from his job at the Solid Waste Management District over buying a purse for an employee with our money.

As I read this parable --- over and over again --- I had to think

Just what point is Jesus trying to make?

·         That we should be dishonest if it gets us ahead?

Like I said --- this is a tough parable to figure out.

Even the scholars have a hard time finding consensus with it.

Most of them seem to skip quickly over verses 1-9 and focus on a part of the passage that I chose not to look at.  Verses 10-13

“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

But even tagging those four verses to the end of our parable doesn't really help --- in my mind

In my studying on this parable let me share with you what I have figured out.

First, we need to recognize right off the bat who Jesus is addressing this parable to.

He has been engaging with "the Pharisees" but now our focus shifts in this parable to the disciples.

It starts quite simply:

          "Jesus said to the disciples"

In this story we have two major characters

1.       A Rich Man --- a person who was most likely an absentee land owner

2.       A Manager --- who was the person who managed the landowner's property

You have to love the "honesty" of the manager.  When he realizes he is about to be fired he begins to run through his head all kinds of options.

‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig (in other words to do manual labor), and I am ashamed (too proud) to beg.

In the very first verse, Luke takes us back to the story of the prodigal son because he levels the same charge against this manager as was leveled against the younger son.

Both were charged with squandering property

Even that interior debate that was doing on in his head harkens us back to the prodigal son story.

This parable also seems to have had a second ending added to it --- one that tried to explain the parable because even to the early Christian community --- this parable was a paradox

The amount of debt that the manager was seeking to collect was huge!

The debt was from tenant farmers --- who "rented" the land from the landowner and would pay the rent in either olive oil or wheat.

The first debtor owes a hundred jugs of olive oil. 

The Greek word, for jugs, that was used, and from what we know from other sources suggests that this is about 9 gallons of oil in each jug. 

          In other words he owes 900 gallons of olive oil

The second debtor owes 100 containers of wheat.  Again the Greek word used suggests anywhere between 7 - 12 bushels of wheat.

BOTH OF THESE ARE VERY LARGE AMOUNTS

The landowner in this story would be very wealthy man

But there seems to be some sense of arbitrariness in how much of the debt the shrewd or dishonest manager was seeking to eliminate.

The wheat was reduced by 20 containers

The oil by half

By reducing the amount that these tenant farmers owed to the landowner, while these tenants still believed the manager was working for the landowner, the manager was trying to ingratiate himself with these people

And once the debt was reduced the landowner would not be able to go back and raise it back up without losing face

Thus the manager would have acquired a debt of honor from each of these families that would ensure that they would show him goodwill in the future.

BUT THE PROBLEM with this parable is WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE MANAGER DOING?

Was the manager dishonestly falsifying the records in order to gain the favor of the debtors --- or was he shrewdly sacrificing his own prospect of short-term gains for long-term benefits?

There seems to be three ways to look at this story

1)       The manager was cheating the landowner by simply reducing the size of the debts.

2)       The manager was acting in a righteous fashion by excluding or reducing the interest that had been figured into the debt

3)       The manager reduced his own commission that he included in the debt that he was charging the tenant farmers.

I don't think we can --- with any certainty --- say which one of these ways Jesus intends for us to understand the story

The first two scenarios have financial implications for the Landowner.

In the third --- only the manager would be harmed financially --- there is no cost to the landowner

Let's look at what the Landowner had to say to the dishonest manager

"his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light"

The third option doesn't make really make sense because he wasn't acting dishonest.  The actions the manager would have taken would have been completely legal

The second has problems as well --- but it is rather complicated.

Most commentators find the amount of interest being charged to be highly unlikely. 

Especially since charging interest of another Jew would have been considered a breach of the Torah.

Deuteronomy 23:19-20  (NRSV)

You shall not charge interest on loans to another Israelite, interest on money, interest on provisions, interest on anything that is lent. On loans to a foreigner you may charge interest, but on loans to another Israelite you may not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings in the land that you are about to enter and possess.

Many of the commentators on this passage lean toward the third solution because it seems to take the issue of dishonesty out of the equation and then we can focus on how one uses the resources that are at one's disposal.  And since the manager reduced his fee (even if it was exorbitant in the first place) he was being shrewd to create a sense of goodwill toward himself.

For whatever reason --- most Christian commentators of this passage --- especially if they come from a more conservative bend want to do everything possible to take the story way from the idea that Jesus might be condoning --- or even encouraging one to be dishonest.

But the simplest solution, and the one that gives this parable a real punch is the first alternative.

Quite simply: The manager is dishonest, and he continues to squander the master's resources by arbitrarily slashing the amounts owed by his tenant farmers

With this understanding the force of the parable is found in the first half of the 8th verse.

"his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly"

The master praises the manager for his foresighted --- shrewd action

The manager casts an aura of honesty and goodness on his master and shrewdly provides for his own future.

The tenants (the debtors) are now bound by honor to reciprocate the manager's benevolence

But it still leaves us in a quandary!

What does Jesus want us to get out of this parable?

What is the point of the story?

This parable seems to be challenging us to be as clever and prudent as the manager in ensuring our future.

Jewish tradition is filled with stories of tricksters.  Maybe the most famous is Jacob who deceived his father, cheated his brother, and then made off with most of his father-in-law Laben's flock.  Even Jacob's name in Hebrew means trickster.

There is a great story told by the rabbi's

A man once caught stealing was ordered by the king to be hanged.  On the way to the gallows he said to the governor, who was in charge of carrying out the execution, that he knew a wonderful secret, and that it would be a pity to allow the secret die with him. He also said that he would like to disclose the secret to the king. The poor man told the governor, further, that the secret would allow someone to bury the seed of a pomegranate in the ground and then make it grow and bear fruit overnight. Well the governor thought this sounded wonderful so the thief was brought before the king and all of the king’s high officers of state. Standing before these powerful men, the poor man dug a hole in the ground and said, “Here’s the secret: this seed must only be put in the ground by a person who has never stolen or taken anything which did not belong to him. I being a thief cannot do it.” 

So the thief turned to the prime minister who, frightened, said that in his younger days he had retained something that did not belong to him. Next the thief turned to the treasurer who said that while dealing with such large sums of money, he might have at one point or another entered too much or too little. Finally the thief turned to the king, who embarrassingly admitted to keeping a necklace of his father’s without his permission. Then the thief said, “You are all mighty and powerful men who lack no material comfort, and yet you cannot plant this seed, while I who have stolen a little because I was starving am to be hanged.”  The king, pleased with the shrewdness of the thief, pardoned the man.

Like in our parable this morning --- the man is accused of stealing and by shrewd actions wins not only a pardon but also a commendation from the king.

Our parable seems to invite us to understand that we too are in the midst of a crisis that demands an urgent decision if disaster is to be avoided.

We who have been called to stake everything on the coming of God's kingdom know that we too must act decisively.

And if we were to add those additional verses to the story as it seems the early church did, it gives us another lesson.

“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

It seems to be telling us that we must be faithful with whatever we have in our relationship to God.

The early church developed a significant understanding about what a manager or the more correct understanding of the word --- steward --- is to be doing.  And this has significant influence still to this day

Throughout the new testament a steward is expected to be faithful with whatever they have --- large or small.

Faithfulness is the steward's highest duty.

Fred Craddock vividly illustrates this when he wrote:

Life consists of a series of seemingly small opportunities. Most of us will not this week christen a ship, write a book, end a war, appoint a cabinet, dine with the queen, convert a nation, or be burned at the stake. More likely the week will present no more than a chance to give a cup of water, write a note, visit a nursing home, vote for a county commissioner, teach a Sunday School class, share a meal, tell a child a story, go to choir practice and feed the neighbor’s cat.  "Whosoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much."

Mother Teresa is quoted as saying:

What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do.  The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.

Or as it is often remembered:

          We are called not to do great things, but small things with great love.

Jesus is calling us to be shrewd --- Like Jesus we are fighting against culture.

And everything we do should be about how we share --- how we live out --- the absolute, unconditional love of God that we found in Jesus. 

According To Luke: Which One Are You?

Luke 15:11-32  (NRSV)

¹¹ Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³ A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. ¹⁴ When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷ But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ ²⁰ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. ²¹ Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. ²⁷ He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ ³¹ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

We all know this parable --- it is one that has been taught over and over.

But I think it is a powerful parable about the church and our society today.

It is so familiar that I think that we need to look at the story closely because we often overlook some of the subtle clues that Luke leaves us.

This parable is the third of three parables found in Luke Chapter 15 about being LOST.

·         the lost sheep

·         the lost coin

·         the lost son

The parable begins with Jesus saying that: "a man has two sons"

That's an interesting identification --- don't you think --- when we look at the whole story.

Jesus introduces the siblings as "sons" and not "brothers" because the story focuses on the relationship to the father --- and it leaves for our minds to figure out just what kind of relationship these two "sons" have with each other.

And it seems --- at least to me --- that it is a strained relationship

The mother, and any sisters of the boys, do not seem to play any role in this story.

When we think about siblings --- we recall that the bible is filled with stories of relationships between siblings that were strained

          Cain and Able

          Ishmael and Isaac

          Jacob and Esau

          Joseph and his brothers

What is interesting in all these stories is God favored the YOUNGER BROTHER, and often seemed to turn against the elder siblings.

Our story begins with the younger son going to his father and saying to him:  “Give me what is mine!”

The laws regarding such a request are not entirely clear --- but they are clear enough that it is obvious that what this younger son has requested is not only irregular but also highly disrespectful

The interesting thing, of course, is that nothing was his --- at least not until his father dies

So what he was basically saying to his dad is --- I wish you were dead --- or maybe even --- I am going to treat you like you are dead

To me --- one of the most fascinating parts of this story is lost in translation because what the father says in the Greek literally is:

          "So, he divided his life between them."

We tend to read it as ---- "he divided his property between them"

The father, however is gracious and gives his son what he wants --- his portion of the estate

According to Mosaic Law --- the eldest child would receive a double portion of the estate --- so our younger son in the story gets 1/3 of the fathers wealth

He takes the money and he heads off to Las Vegas (or at least the boats)

Blows the money on Wine, Women and Gambling

Again, what a careful examination of the story tells us is that the younger son begins a progressive estrangement from his family.

First, he collects his goods and travels to a "distant land" ---- this of course would be a non-Jewish --- GENTILE land

Second, he quickly seems to squander his inheritance on loose and fast living.

And at this point in the story we are told that a famine took place --- implying that charity became hard to get.

Finally, he totally renounces his family and attaches himself to a Gentile, as a servant or slave, who orders him to feed his pigs!

          Pigs were an abomination to the Jews.

We are told in Leviticus that they are unclean.

Leviticus 11:7   (NRSV)

⁷ The pig, for even though it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.

And then the author of Deuteronomy even makes it more clear that Jews were to stay away from pigs.

Deuteronomy 14:8   (NRSV)

⁸ And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat, and you shall not touch their carcasses.

So complete is the younger son's fall --- so desperate is his need that he was willing to eat the slop that was being fed to the pigs.

His collapse is complete --- he really can't fall any farther.

In the midst of the pig pen, we are told that --- the younger son "came to himself".

Luke is telling us that this destitute man, who had given up family and tribe, began the process of reclaiming his identity.

He swallows his pride and resolves that he will do as Jacob had done long before --- return to his country and his kindred.

But he returns with very low expectations

He seems to have realized that he has no claims on his father's goods.     

Morally he recognizes that he doesn't even have the right to be considered a son

But he hopes --- that maybe his father will have mercy on him and welcome him back as a servant in the household.

The way the story is told --- as the younger son is on his way home he is rehearsing his speech that he will give to his father.

This speech has four parts

·         an address --- "father"

·         a confession --- "I have sinned"

·         a contrition ---- "I am no longer worthy"

·         a petition --- "treat me like one of your hired hands"

This monolog by the younger son lets us see into the very heart of his soul

This is a classic story of REPENTANCE

          Which literally means "turning around"

The son --- who had headed off AWAY from his family has now TURNED BACK toward them --- uncertain of what the outcome will be --- yet willing to go anyway

Up to now the story has focused on the point of view of the younger son --- now it shifts to the father

No other image has come closer to describing the character of God than the waiting father.

·         peering down the road

·         longing for his son's return

·         waiting

·         springing to his feet and RUNNING down the road to meet him

That image is so powerful to me

In ancient Israel it was considered unbecoming --- you could say a loss of dignity --- for a grown man to run.

          It just didn't happen

YET, that is exactly what the father does

His compassion --- his longing for his son --- his joy at seeing him returning  --- was enough for him to set aside all concern for propriety and to RUN and see his son.

But this has happened before in our Biblical text.

When Jacob returns home Esau runs to him

Genesis 33:4   (NRSV)

⁴ But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

And as his father embraces him, the younger son begins his rehearsed speech.

‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

But before he can even beg to be allowed to return as a servant the father exclaimed:

 ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

The father is telling the whole community through his actions that this son of his has returned and is to be treated as a son again.

The father's words sum up the whole first part of the story

"this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!"

He was dead because he has broken his relationship with family

dishonored his father

left his home

left his land and lived among Gentiles

But the father welcomes him home --- and restores him to life

And if the story ended there --- it would be a great and powerful story about God's love for each of us.

We are never so far lost that God stops looking and waiting for us

But we have a second part to this story which is maybe even more important for us

Finally in verse 25 we meet the older son for the very first time.

The story tells us that as he is coming in from a day of working he hears some type of celebration --- music --- dancing

He calls one of the servants and asks what is going on

          "Your brother has come"

Those words were enough to set off the elder son

          He has no brother --- he is dead

          He refuses to come into the house

The father leaves the house (once again) and goes out to meet one of his sons

The conversation that takes place between the elder son and the father really is the climax of the whole parable

And the conversation begins with the elder son venting his anger

Notice how the tone is very different from the conversation between the younger son and the father

'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!'

While the younger son address him as "father" the elder just says "LISTEN"

And he goes on to berate both his father and his brother.

But the father's response has only one goal --- To restore the family relationships!

Even though the elder son did not address him as "father", the father's first word is "Son"

"Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”

For the father --- it is all about relationships

Legally --- since the younger son had already received his inheritance --- everything that was left was the elder sons --- and the father reminds his son of that.

He explains to his son why the celebration was so important --- for his son who was lost --- who was dead ---- was found.

It is a great story --- but it begs the question ---- WHO DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH?

Many of us have been the younger son --- we have headed out in ways that were destructive to ourselves and our relationships --- we have turned our backs on family and God

We are here today because we saw that  the way we were heading was leading toward death and destruction and we made a decision to REPENT ---- to turn around and go back home

But for many that isn't the case.

You have stayed faithful to the family --- faithful to God --- the whole time --- our whole lives

So, I think if we are honest with ourselves --- Many of us really identify with the elder brother.

We don't really believe that God loves unconditionally

          And so when somebody falls --- we pile on

I have witnessed first hand where a person who had fallen away from the Christian community and then when they find their way back home one of the hardest things for us to do in the community is to truly welcome them back

          We don't trust

          We assume that they are working some angle

          We look for them to fail again

In other words, we act like the elder brother and feel almost as if certain people have lost the right to be a part of the family.

We want them excommunicated

Or at least we give them the silent treatment and hope that they go on their own

But this parable is an invitation

It is an invitation to us to be like the FATHER.

To be watching and waiting for their return and then to welcome them with open arms and a party

What do I believe? Day 1

That is the question that was given to my CnC (Confirm not Conform) Adult class last night.  The issue isn't what have others told me I SHOULD believe --- the question is what do I believe.  The other assignment was to find some type of spiritual practice and do it every day for the next week.  So I have decided to put them together.  My practice will be to write (journal) every day.  We will see how well I am able to do it.  My goal is to do it first thing in the morning --- but time will tell . . .

Have you ever really thought about what you believe?  To sit down and write out what one really believes is a scary task.  It forces me to look with honesty at what is in the depths of my soul --- not just the politically correct statements that come out of my mouth.  As some of you read this (fortunately not many do) I will probably share heresies according to the "church."  I am alright with that --- I hope that you are too, but regardless --- this is about me trying to mine the depths of my soul and put words to the most perplexing (an ultimately impossible to understand) concepts of all time.

My intention is to take each day this week and lift up one concept.  Today I will look at God; followed by Jesus, the Spirit, the Bible, the Church and then who knows what.  I just hope I don't chicken out.  By then I might not be employed any longer, and looking for new opportunities!

One other comment, this is not about seeking a debate.  We all approach these concepts with different eyes and different world views --- I will respect yours --- please respect mine.

GOD

Who is God to me?  I believe God is creator.  Did it happen with a big bang, or Adam and Eve? --- I don't know (and don't really care).  My hunch is science has a better handle on it than the biblical texts but regardless, I believe in a God who is behind it all.

I love how Paul Tillich describes God.  Tillich called God being itself --- God is not a being among other beings.  The phrase that is often associated with Tillich and one that I have latched on to is "God is the ground of all being."  It goes beyond the scope of this today to dig into what that means -- but in as nutshell for me it means two things 1) God is.  Nothing really else needs to be, or can be, said about that.  2) God is not a theistic being living up in heaven.  That is probably the more troubling concept to many, because the church has continually taught that God is "up" there, sitting on a throne or judgment seat.  For me God is not "up" there but God is here.

That leads to another area that needs exploring.  I do not believe God is an interventionist God.  I don't believe Tom Brady played better football last night because his priest publicly prayed to God about it.  If God does intervene, God seems awfully shallow and capricious, and that is not the God I believe in.  I have written about this many times over the years.

So what does God do?  God gives us a moral direction and code that is constantly being revised and challenged in light of culture.  The challenge is to keep at the center what is at the center of God.  And to me, that is LOVE.  Scot McKnight and I would disagree on many things, but one thing we agree on is that the center of the Christian Biblical message is found it what he dubbed "the Jesus Creed".  The Jesus Creed really isn't anything more than the central conviction of the Hebrew Bible (the Shema) along with a passage from Leviticus 19:18.  In all three synoptic Gospels, Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. 

“Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12

God came to teach us about LOVE!  If you don't learn anything else, but learn to love (truly love) the world would be a better place and more like the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed.  I will discuss that when I get to Jesus.

This certainly isn't a systematic approach to what I believe.  But it is an attempt on my part to state where I stand.  But at the end of the day I have to admit --- I really don't know.  God is beyond my capacity to really understand.  All I have is my experiences and the teachings that have been shared with me.  I am in no way a real scholar --- but

I seek to learn each and every day. 

I challenge you to honestly write down what is in your heart.  What do you believe about God (not what have others told you that you must believe).

According To Luke: Are You Invited?

According To Luke: Are You Invited?

Luke 14:15-24   (NRSV)

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

This morning our parable that Jesus shares with us has a multitude of possible lessons to be found in it.

It is, as is typical of Luke's Gospel, a parable about what the kingdom of God will be like. 

Keep that in mind as we explore this parable because it is important for us to understand that.

I am going to explore two possible lessons from this parable --- but there are many others we could sit and discuss for hours.

The first possible lesson is the one that you will find most often discussed in the commentaries on this story. 

I think most commentators like to focus on it because it is the most obvious lesson, but also because it is relatively safe. 

Of course it has its bite --- as all of Jesus parables do, but it is more of a nudge rather than a push.

The parable goes something like this:

Someone of importance gives a huge dinner party and all the invited guests have received a RSVP and have responded in the positive.  And as was tradition for an event like this --- at the appointed time for the dinner party to actually begin --- he sends his servant out to get the guests. 

And one by one, each of the guests comes up with an excuse as to why they no longer can come.

Did you pay attention to the excuses that they gave?

The first guest says that he can't come because he just bought a piece of land and needs to go inspect it.

          SERIOUSLY?

Who buys property without first inspecting it?

The second guest says that he wants to go try out the oxen that he just bought.

So how many of you have bought a car --- a used car for that matter --- without test driving it first.

The excuses that they give are pretty lame!

And then finally the last guy says he just got married so he can't come --- and this may be the best excuse of the lot --- since the banquet was probably just for men and his new wife would not be invited or welcome.

However, he knew of the conflict when he initially said yes to the invitation.

In other words, none of the excuses are very good.

But before I become too self-righteous --- all three sound a lot like me.

I need to confess something right here:

I have been known to say YES, simply because it is easier than saying NO

I dream of having a more regular quiet time with God

          I time where I can meditate and grow my relationship with God.

I have been known to pray:

God, I am so busy.

Help me to say NO --- help me to simplify my schedule

Help me to put you first

Anybody else ever pray anything like that?

Unfortunately --- God has spoken to me --- when I have prayed that prayer.

God has seemed to say:

Wait a minute Conger --- When is the last time you missed a meal?

You get enough sleep most of the time. 

You make Duke Basketball a priority and almost never miss a game.

You find time for the things that are important to you.

I guess I must not be that important to you!

And then God seemed to say ----

I can handle that.

Can you?

YIKES!

Wow --- that cut me to the core.

God seemed to be asking me?

Do I believe that God's love is big enough to handle my lack of love for God?

This parable seems to be saying to us (to me) that the Kingdom of God is a banquet and some of us have found it so boring that we come up with all kinds of excuses.

We would rather spend our time on business details, property concerns or even family matters.

Do we have the courage to tell God that we think that serving God can be boring?

Because that is what we seem to be doing when we come up with excuses!

Martin Luther was known to say that sin does not hurt us as much as our own righteousness.

Excuses really are an attempt to be righteous and innocent before God.

God wants us in our broken wholeness.

We don't need to hide behind excuses --- God's love is enough.

But then there is a second possible lesson in this passage.

I believe that this is a much more difficult way to look at this story and one that most of us would rather ignore.

It is the question of WHO IS INVITED?

According to the Guinness book of World Records: what is the largest church in the world?

Nope --- it isn't St Peter's Basilica in Rome

It is actually in West Africa in the country of the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire)

It is the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro

It is almost 323,000 sq feet big and 518 feet high

It can accommodate about 18,000 worshippers

The annual per capita income for the Ivory Coast is $650  --- in other words, the Ivory Coast is pretty improvised.

The Basilica cost $300 million to build

And while we all gasp at those numbers that is not even the worst part

Only about 350 people call this basilica home

          It is virtually empty

It was built --- but nobody comes!

This big empty church isn't really the same as the situation in our story this morning.

But it reminds us of it.

In the story --- a rich man is holding a huge party.  It is the monster of all parties.

And no one wants to come --- it looks like the banquet hall will be empty

Let's examine the INVITER, the INVITATION and who is INVITED

First --- God is the great inviter --- God is an inviting God!

God is always inviting us to come

come to the waters

come home

come to the banquet

come to abundant life

come to kingdom (eternal) life

come to worship

come to the table on this World Communion Sunday

come to God!

In our story, God is excited about this banquet.

The calf has been fattened and slaughtered,

the wine has aged,

the tables are set,

the DJ and band have been hired.

God is really jazzed about the feast.

God can't wait to get the invitations out.

God is just that way.

This is the God we love, worship and serve -- a God who invites us to the dance, invites us to be a part of what God is doing.

          How great is that?!

God has made preparations for the feast, God wants everyone to be present --- God is not willing for any to miss this event.

God is always inviting.

          Every day is an invitation.

                   Every interruption is an invitation.

But what exactly is it that God is inviting us to?

Certainly throughout the Gospel God invites us to:

·         Abundant Life

John 10:10  The Message

I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

·         Service

Matthew 28  The Message

“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

·         Peace

John 14:27 NRSV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

John 14:27 The Message

I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

·         Worship

Psalm 100 NRSV

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
    Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come into his presence with singing.

Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he that made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him, bless his name.

For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

·         Turn to God in times of need

Jeremiah 33:3

“This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’

·         THE KINGDOM

Everything we have been learning in Luke's Gospel points to God's kingdom and it's reality in our lives.

The kingdom of God is NOW and that is the invitation we have all been given!

Finally, who is it that God is inviting to this party?

Initially it seems that MANY were invited to the party

But those that were invited to this great party don't seem too impressed

As we have already talked about --- they had all kinds of excuses

Traditionally, most commentaries have argued that these people represent Israel and their failure to be impressed --- their failure to grasp the significance of Jesus and God's kingdom that he proclaimed.

What is surprising is that people reject this invitation.

So what does God do?

Luke tells us:

‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

Luke goes on and says when the Master sees that there is still room at the party:

‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

In other words, those that were invited but didn't have time are excluded from the party.

So who is invited?

My hunch is that the parable isn't about Israel and their rejection of Jesus ---- We are the people who are too busy to notice that we are invited to a great banquet in the Kingdom.

So, what gets in the way of our coming to God's party?

          Work

          The Bears

          our hobby's

          the list can go on and on

We fill our time and it leaves us no time for the Kingdom

And God says fine . . . that's not a problem . . . I will invite others

And what is so disturbing to us --- at least the way that Luke tells the story is that those others who are going to be invited are not the upstanding, righteous followers (like us) --- but the ones who are on the margins of society

·         the poor

·         the crippled

·         the blind

·         the lame

I think you can use your imagination and fill in who you think that might be

But God's invitation stands

God wants us to come to the banquet

          A banquet that is there to change the world

Are you ready to go?

Or do you already have your excuse in place?