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August 31st, 2008 – 16th Sunday after Pentecost
Readings: Exodus 3:1-15; Psalms 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28
Three golfing partners died in a car wreck and went to heaven. Upon arrival they discover the most beautiful golf course they have ever seen. St. Peter tells them that they are all welcome to play the course, but he cautions them that there is only one rule: Don't hit the ducks.
The men all have blank expressions, and finally one of them asks "The ducks?"
"Yes", St. Peter replies, "There are millions of ducks walking around the course and if one gets hit, he squawks then the one next to him squawks and soon they're all squawkin to beat the band, and it really breaks the tranquility. If you hit the ducks, you'll be punished, otherwise everything is yours to enjoy."
After entering the course, the men noted that there was indeed a gaggle of ducks everywhere. Within fifteen minutes, one of the guys hit one of them. The duck squawked, the one next to it squawked and soon there was a deafening roar of duck quacks. St. Peter walked up with an extremely homely woman in tow and asked "Who hit the duck?"
The one who had done it admitted "I did."
Immediately, St. Peter pulled out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed the man's right hand to the homely woman's left hand. "I told you not to hit the ducks," he said.
"Now you'll be handcuffed together for eternity.
The other two men were very cautious not to hit any ducks, but a couple of weeks later, one of them accidentally did. The quacks were as deafening as before and within minutes St. Peter walked up with an even uglier woman than before. St. Peter determined which one had hit the duck by the fear in his face, and cuffed the man's right hand to the homely woman's left hand.
"I told you not to hit the ducks", he said. "Now you'll be handcuffed together for eternity."
The third man was extremely careful. Some days he wouldn't even move for fear of even nudging a duck. After three months of this he still hadn't hit a duck. St. Peter walked up to the man at the end of the three months and had with him a knock-out gorgeous woman, the most beautiful woman the man had ever seen. St. Peter smiled to the man and then, without a word, handcuffed him to the beautiful woman and walked off.
The man, knowing that he would be handcuffed to this woman for eternity, let out a sigh and said "What have I done to deserve this?"
The woman responded "I don't know about you, but I hit a duck."
Being in God’s presence is surely an awe-inspiring and even fearful experience, but not for fear of hitting ducks! In our first reading we find God appearing to Moses, the future leader of God’s people, in the form of a burning bush. It’s an amazing encounter of God revealing his awesomeness to this small and anxious man. In the midst of this personal encounter God calls Moses to be his representative to the people of Israel – and to lead them out of their slavery and oppression in Egypt to their own land. Moses was naturally nervous – I’m sure he was thinking things like, ‘There’s no way they’ll believe me – there’s no way they’ll follow me! Pharoah will flip out! What would I say?’ We know how the story goes…Moses, fearful leader though he was, is successful in leading the people of God out of Egypt, and eventually into the Promised Land.
The story of Yahweh and his people does not end there however, centuries later another Moses emerged in the Middle East. Matthew the gospel-writer is careful to include a few Moses-like details into Jesus’ story – like Moses Jesus is brought out of Egypt as he (like Moses) is spared from the wrath of a tyrant who orders the firstborn males of the land to be killed. When Jesus grows up and begins his ministry he too brings hope to a people in bondage. He too would call people to respond to the Word of Yahweh. But the Enemy he would defeat was not a human emperor – and the destination he would lead his people to was not a physical place.
Jesus came proclaiming “the Kingdom of God has come near” – through repentance to God and following Christ the people were invited to become citizens of God’s kingdom here on earth. This was a kingdom set against the values and cultural expectations of the day – it was a kingdom that established new commitments and a whole new community. We heard in our Romans reading the apostle Paul admonishing the Christians in Rome to live in a particular (and peculiar) way: “love one another…rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” These were ideas already in practice by the Jewish people (see Sirach 7:43; Proverbs 3:7 & 25:21), but they’re taken further as Paul adds, “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers…Bless those who persecute you.”
In this passage,
“Paul has taken the notion of covenant demand and has expounded it with daring and imagination. Obedience in covenant is not merely a matter of keeping rules. It is an act of being massively and completely transformed, readied for a new life in the world, which is marked by liberality and hospitality. Paul provides an inventory of new life for those who are changed and renewed by the gospel.”(Texts for Preaching)
Paul is taking his cue from Jesus’ famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’ where Jesus paints a picture of God’s kingdom as a way of life characterized by loving not only neighbour, but also enemy; of looking to meet the needs of others before one thinks of self; of blessing those who are poor, meek, and sorrowful; of recognizing that we are all members of God’s family and we are all given a mission of service in the Kingdom.
In today’s gospel reading Jesus’ own mission is taking a turn. The disciples had been with him for a long time now – they had heard his counter-cultural preaching, they participated in his miracles and were undoubtedly excited about the soon-to-be-realized reign of their leader. Just moments previously Peter exclaimed rightly that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. But now Jesus begins to explain that this means his path would be a path of suffering – his mission would lead him to the cross.
Perhaps it’s because Peter was thinking of himself (and his own possible suffering) when he protested – or perhaps it was out of a genuine love for his Lord that he tried to convince him that he should not suffer and die. In either case an insistent (and even angry) Jesus identified Peter’s self-seeking and fearful response to his mission as rooted in mindset of the Enemy himself. No, Jesus did not come to fight violence with violence – he was not to coerce or manipulate to get his own way – he would not resort to grand demonstrations of power or deceive the people into following him. He simply offers an invitation to all:
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24)
To deny oneself means that our preferences come last. It means a shift in our thinking that there are such things as ‘our time’, ‘our money’, ‘our space’. It means that we budget more according to God’s priorities than to our entertainment. It means that we live our faith 24 hrs a day/ 7 days a week – not for one hour on Sunday mornings. It means that we commit ourselves to God’s Kingdom Community – in the world, but also here in our congregation. Here at Holy Trinity we must commit to building a community of fellowship where we encourage one another, where we seek out opportunities to meet, pray, study, and have fun together.
I am so thankful for the people of this church who desire this kind of community. Just this summer I had one lady approach me to express the desire she has for more opportunities to fellowship in the church. Out of these conversations an idea has come forward that on the last Wednesday of the month we’ll be having a seniors-oriented noon potluck & social hour for folks to come and enjoy one another’s company. It’s the same reason we try to have coffee hour regularly. It’s one of the key reasons the Alpha program is such a success – we need each other, we are built for community. These gatherings are not simply social functions – they must be seen as moments of grace. Church programs and ministries are not supposed to be seen as infringements on ‘your’ time – but rather their purpose is to fulfill God’s mission and to help us grow as Christ followers.
The Alpha course will be starting up again soon and it’s a wonderful way of growing disciples as we share in food, fellowship, humour, prayer, and study. Bible study groups also meet in this church to this end. If you’re not involved in one of these ministries please consider joining or helping to serve in one of these areas.
Getting involved, growing in the faith life, it’s not supposed to be easy or comfortable. Jesus says, “take up your cross” if you want to follow him. What does this mean? It means we all have crosses to bear. The cross is your shame, your fear, your pain, your suffering. It is your weakness, your frailty, your struggle. But it is also your destiny, your legacy, your witness, your victory in the face of defeat.
I think one of the things we fear the most, or get the most easily embarrassed by, is the idea of sharing our faith. This month our church is participating in a program whose success rises and falls with you in the pews inviting someone you know to come back to church. “Back to Church Sunday” is September 28th – it’s a day where we will try to be especially hospitable to newcomers and returners. We will have a special social time after each service (including a free BBQ and kids’ activities after the 11 am service) – and we are hoping that people will come back and connect with God through our ministry.
Christ has already offered us the invitation to follow him, and most of us here have been invited at some point and in some way to follow Christ, whether it be from a family member, friend, or preacher. Today I would invite you to heed Christ’s call to follow him – wherever that would take you. And to recognize that you too are called to invite others to become citizens of the Kingdom of God and members of God’s family.
Let us pray…
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