Which Side Are You On?; Sermon from Oct 19th, 2014

Exodus 33:12-23
33:12 Moses said to the LORD, "See, you have said to me, 'Bring up this people'; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.'
33:13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people."
33:14 He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
33:15 And he said to him, "If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here.
33:16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth."
33:17 The LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."
33:18 Moses said, "Show me your glory, I pray."
33:19 And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, 'The LORD'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
33:20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live."
33:21 And the LORD continued, "See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock;
33:22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by;
33:23 then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen."

Matthew 22:15-22
22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said.
22:16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.
22:17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"
22:18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?
22:19 Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius.
22:20 Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"
22:21 They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."
22:22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

Which Side Are You On?

Which side are you on now
Which side are you on
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on
Which side are you on boys
Which side are you on
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on?

Forgive me for the surprise beginning. I went to see a concert last Wednesday, and that song has been echoing in my head since. The concert was performed by Ani DiFranco, a folk singer I’ve been a fan of since college.  Ani is a bit of a raw, raunchy radical that writes a lot of political songs and performs some of them like spoken word.  She has a way of cutting right to the crux of the issue with brutal, heartfelt honesty that is not often heard in our political dialogue.  And, seeing as this is our political season and we are all pondering this question, it feels especially appropriate.  

Every two and four years, we are asked to pick sides in our democratic system.  And in the waning weeks before the election…things get ugly, don’t they?  Every commercial, every radio spot, every email warns of dire consequences and disaster being immanent. The issues become flattened to black and white. Debates feature candidates trying to trap each other into gaffes and mis-steps, and every other phone call is from someone trying to sweet-talk us into voting.

I know this because, in my 15 years as a community organizer, I make a lot of these calls myself.  Yes, I’m the person on the other side of the line that you would give anything not to talk to.

The New Testament scripture today reminds me of the political ‘silly season’ that we are in.  Matthew’s gospel portrays Jesus trapped in one of these ‘gotcha’ moments.  The powers that be, those that would like that pesky Jesus and his radical message to just go away, really think they have the upper hand with this question.  Besides the crowd, there were two different groups listening to trap Jesus with his answer; the Pharisees and the Herodians (or Sadducees, some would call them.)  Both are sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting breathlessly for the answer.

In the midst of teaching, Jesus is asked, with fake flattery of being a sincere and impartial imparter of truth, whether it is right to pay taxes to Caesar.  It’s easy to conflate the idea of taxation with the modern day ‘tax burden’ in our society.  But in Roman times, economic inequality was severe – even more harsh than our day. The Roman Empire was a vast, wealthy empire built on the backs of peasants, and there was no Earned Income Tax Credit.  The poor were not given respite based on the basic wage needed to support a family. In fact, historians say that the Romans commissioned a tax survey of the minority Jewish community to assess what more could be weaned to support the burgeoning empire.  The Roman Empire was squeezing all the populations within to grow their wealth.

So taxation was seen as the same as enslavement to the Roman Empire.  The Jewish people, among others, would work for barely a daily subsistence wage, only to see it taken away by coercion.  Of course, the Romans didn’t collect it themselves – they employed Jewish tax collectors to infiltrate their own community. 

The Herodians, those that were given the power to rule by the Roman Empire, were waiting for Jesus to say the obvious: that weaning the poor of their hard-earned wages was against God.  In that case, they could take him away for treason against the state.   

But there were also Pharisees listening.  Before seminary, I always thought of ‘Pharisee’ as a bad word – the enemies of Jesus.  But I’ve learned that their role was like a Pastor in the function of the church. These were the priests that ministered to the people, but were also the religious leaders impeached by Jesus’ claim to the real ‘truth’ about YHWH.  Pharisees had the pulse of the people in mind, much like our political candidates who run by polls and focus groups. They knew that if Jesus said the collection of taxes was lawful, the people would rebel against this infamous prophet, and they could regain their leadership over the crowds.

Which side are you on, now?  Which side are you on?  Which side are you on, Jesus? Which side are you on?

It’s the human condition to pick sides.  We do it in all things, don’t we?  One of my favorite theologians, Catherine Keller, critiques our need to identify with the ‘right’ group.  She argues that the polarity that we find so frequently in human affairs – in politics, in love, even in theology as we argue between fundamentalist –embracing ‘absolutes’ and secular-embracing ‘dissolutes’ – is a distraction; much like this question about taxes.  She says, “I am arguing that when people of faith step out of the mystery and make totalizing claims for our truth and our beliefs, we perpetuate an antagonistic polarity that actually paralyzes faith rather than fostering its living process.”

Keller says God represents a third way. For Keller, God is more like a wise but tolerant parent.  God lets his human creation make their own mistakes, and learn their own wisdom, but loving them all the while as a parent would.  Keller claims that God requires us to live into the paradox, and embrace the tension not strive to understand it and claim righteousness.  She would assert that God lives in the process of not knowing the answer, but being open to risks and vulnerability.

Moses, for instance, in our Exodus scripture, has a fascinating conversation with God.  Not fascinating for the secrets it reveals, or the power imparted, but rather for the risks that Moses takes. 

Moses is there on the mountaintop, pleading with God for mercy.  You see, the Israelites have just, just, received the promise of fidelity from their all-powerful God, along with the ten commandments that teach them how to maintain the covenant with YHWH. God has claimed Israel as his people, and details the requirements to be in covenant with YHWH.  God says, “I am the Lord your God; there shall be no others before me.  Thou shalt not make unto me any graven image.”  And perhaps days later, just, just after vowing to uphold this covenant, the Israelites violate the very second commandment – create no graven images in my stead.  Coming on the heels of receiving the 10 commandments, Moses descends the mountain to find the Israelites worshipping a golden calf, violating number 2 on the list.  Like toddlers, the Israelites couldn’t go two minutes before breaking the rules God sent down.

So we enter into this passage knowing that God Is Angry. But instead of the repeated apologies that we would expect from such human mistakes, Moses, in conversation with God, is not groveling.  At least not the way we know it. Moses is insistent, assertive.  Moses negotiates with YHWH. It’s not good enough for YHWH to simply provide blessings.  It’s not good enough to be present.  Moses lays the fate of the Israelites at God’s feet. says, “without you, God, we don’t exist as a people”. If you are not on our side, God, then we cease to exist. You may love us, we have disappointed you, but if you walk away now, we collapse.

YHWH says, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."

That seems like forgiveness, no?  That seems like benevolence.

And then Moses makes demands on YHWH.  Moses asks for proof.  He does the unthinkable. Moses demands to see the glory of God - Moses asks to see God’s face.

It’s unclear to me whether YHWH’s response – that Moses could not survive seeing his face – signifies that God’s power is such that no human can withstand seeing God’s face, or whether God is so angry with the Israelites for betraying the covenant so quickly that God’s rage may overcome the mere human Moses.

But not unlike a loving, but infuriated parent, God provides proof of his ‘backside’ but only while shielding Moses from his power.  He uses his ‘hand’ to protect Moses from harm, like a parent might shield a child from the emotions that threaten to override their being.  In the tension of loving and being tested, God chooses to stay on our side.

Keller believes this gives a hint to how we need to think about God’s power.  She says, “God has all the power that a good God, a God who fosters and delights in the good news of the creation, could have or want to have.  But the point is that this is not the unilateral power to command things to happen out of nothing and then to control them under threat of nothingness.  It is another kind of power altogether, a qualitatively different power – a power that seems weak when dominance is the ideal.  The metaphor of “power perfected in weakness” tried to make comprehensible the difficult alternative to coercive force: the contagious influence that flows from a radically vulnerable strength.” 

Moses take a big risk in asking YHWH to choose sides, knowing full well the power of God.  But after this passage, God’s commitment to the welfare of the people of Israel can’t be in doubt.  Rather than showering down the much-deserved wrath of a powerful God, or abandoning the Israelites, YHWH demonstrates radically vulnerable strength when dealing with the Israelites.  And rather than flee the city, or mount an army, Jesus continues to make himself vulnerable in order to teach strength to the people. With radically vulnerable strength, Jesus shows us what it means to belong to God.  

Whose side are YOU on?  Whose side are you on?

Where are the places where we can be radically vulnerable and show radically vulnerable strength today?  Does it come in choosing sides, or does it come in a higher understanding of love – a third way of being that  lives into the tension?  And where, in our polar lives, can we take bigger risks to bring the compassion of God and bring about the Kin-dom of God on earth?

Keller encourages us with this: “God the spirit in whom her children grow in wisdom.  God the Wisdom who lets-be her children, in whom she delights.  God the Word of testimony, witnessing in utter weakness to a truth whose power will flow thorugh centuries of influence.  God the voice of the Whirlwind, who – having absorbed our rage, our disappointment, our grief – blows away our theodicidal projections and opens our eyes anew. We glimpse the radiant beauty of the creation in which we are called to be most dignified, most beloved participants.”

God is on our side, but what will we do to be on God’s side?

Amen.

Renewing the Covenant; Sermon from October 12, 2014, Rogers Park Presbyterian

Psalm 105:7-45 (New International Version)

7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. 10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: 11 "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit." 12When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, 13 they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. 14 He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: 15 "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm." 16 He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food; 17 and he sent a man before them-- Joseph, sold as a slave. 18 They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, 19 till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true. 20 The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. 21 He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, 22 to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom. 23 Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham. 24 The LORD made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, 25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants. 26 He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27 They performed his miraculous signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness and made the land dark-- for had they not rebelled against his words? 29 He turned their waters into blood, causing their fish to die. 30 Their land teemed with frogs, which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers. 31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country. 32 He turned their rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land; 33 he struck down their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country. 34 He spoke, and the locusts came, grasshoppers without number; 35 they ate up every green thing in their land, ate up the produce of their soil. 36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood. 37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered. 38 Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them. 39 He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night. 40 They asked, and he brought them quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; like a river it flowed in the desert. 42 For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. 43 He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; 44 he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for-- 45 that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the LORD.

Joshua 24:1-15 (New International Version); The Covenant Renewed at Shechem

24 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.² Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. ³ But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, ⁴ and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.⁵ “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. ⁶ When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen^[a] as far as the Red Sea.^[b] 7 But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.⁸ “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.⁹ When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. ¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.¹¹ “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. ¹² I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. ¹³ So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Renewing the Covenant

I’ve been watching a lot of romantic comedies lately.  RomComs, I think is what they are called by the movie reviewers.  You know the type – Nicholas Sparks movies like The Notebook and The Walk to Remember, silly movies like 27 Dresses, or Love Actually.  They all have basically the same plot line – 2 people meet, 2 people get to know each other, 2 people are surprised as they fall in love, then there’s an obstacle, and then there’s a reunion… and they live – you know it – “happily ever after”.  And this is totally true, right? 

Now, I’m not married, but I’m old enough to know that this is actually the beginning of the story, not the end of the story.  And I think it’s funny how many movies idolize the preamble to love, but how very few portray the real stuff of love – the stuff that comes in the covenant of marriage.  

Covenant renewal is what our scripture reading was about today.  The marriage vow is a covenant between two people and witnessed by their loved ones and God.  Covenant is the biblical word for a binding agreement or contract between people in relationship, or people and the institutions they relate to, or between people and God.  For instance, I am a Seminary graduate going through the requirements to be ordained.  That process involves a covenant with me (or an agreement about my responsibilities), a covenant collectively with the individuals in my sponsoring church to walk with me and support me in the process, and ultimately, it will require a covenantal agreement with the church that accepts me to serve them.  There are binding agreements, responsibilities and understandings at each step of the way. 

Our God is a covenant-maker.  Our God desires to be in relationship with humankind, and to show us how that relationship should be structured – what we have to do to hold up our end of the agreement. The Old Testament is filled with God’s repeated attempts to be in relationship with us – first with Adam, then with Noah, then with Abraham, and then through Moses, and eventually through Jesus. The people in this story are part of the Mosiac covenant, living after the time of Moses. Last Sunday, we heard about the covenant agreement in the 10 commandments, brought forth by Moses, which are intended to protect each member of a community and every opportunity for a good life. But God’s covenant is not only about what not to do – it also includes how to be in relationship and respond to the suffering of others. As members of a community, we agree to the responsibility of caring for each other and showing God’s love for the world.  We accept the responsibility to live the covenant in our communities.

In our scripture today, Joshua calls together the 12 tribes of Israel in a special place, Schechem, the place where Abraham built an alter to honor the covenant years ago.  Joshua tells them that God is faithful and asks them to renew the Mosaic covenant.  He recalls the promises God made to Abraham to deliver his descendants and give them land, and God’s request that the descendants of Abraham trust God.  Now, Joshua reminds them, God has kept his promise.  He calls on the tribes to make a choice to keep their promise.  They can worship the Gods of the land that they now occupy, or they can worship, and serve, the God that brought them to that land.

This seems like an easy choice, like a ‘happily ever after’ choice. Like our movie characters, they were a people without a home, without a match, until they found the land of their dreams, and now the commitment is a no-brainer.  What is not obvious to us, modern day readers, is the recent history of the Israelites, and unknown future of the tribes summoned there to make that decision.  We heard it a bit in our psalm today – a recitation of all the pain, suffering and struggle the Israelites have endured up to that point.  They were slaves.  They wandered. They were starving, and then they were fed.  They lived through plagues that brought great death, grief, and destruction to their neighbors, and no doubt brought fear to everyone.  They had wars, loss, and victory.  They are a traumatized people who are afraid to trust.

And what is even less obvious is the level of challenges the 12 tribes were facing.  They were a new people, trying to hold fast to their covenant while integrating themselves into the established society.  They would face unknown enemy attacks, possible famine, internal squabbles and division and challenges of creating leadership and a system of laws.  The future was unknown. They weren’t facing ‘happily ever after’.  As in marriage, stuff just got real.  There would be failure. And it would get messy.

Biblical scholarship shows the book of Joshua as a turning point in the Old Testament. Up until this point, the story of the Israelites has strong, larger-than-life hero leaders who seemed to have Yahweh on speed-dial.  They were protected by the awesome power of the Lord, who parted the water, fed them in the wilderness, and quashed their enemies.  But from this point forward, it changes to a much more familiar human type of leadership.  It will be up to them. Joshua stands here at the pivot point – from the legendary history of the Israelites, with divinely inspired leadership of Moses and Aaron, to the messy, human leadership of the 12 tribes.  Joshua gathers the tribes democratically, and asks them to choose.  Choose to be a community that keeps the covenant of the Lord, holds fast to the laws of the covenant – to care for the weak, to resist slavery, debt, and exploiting their neighbor, to resist oppression and remain true to their identity as people of Yahweh, even anticipating that it will be messy, complicated and entirely human.  Joshua is actually the first modern man, challenging the community to step into the covenant and hold fast to the mission despite the trials that will lie ahead.

It reminds me of the difference between the preamble of romantic comedies and the reality of life together. While couples celebrating their 40^th wedding anniversary may still enjoy recalling the legend of their love story, when they look in each other’s eyes, they both know that the real accomplishment was in the days and months and years they have shared together – which may not have resembled that love story at all.  The achievement comes in knowing you have been seen not only at your best, but also at your worst.  Knowing that someone irritates the heck out of you, will always irritate the heck out of you, but you tolerate it for the good stuff. Knowing that you’ve fought, you’ve learned to be vulnerable, you’ve allowed someone to hurt you or disappoint you, and you’ve been hurt or disappointed…but you’ve learned to listen, to apologize, to fight more fairly, to forgive, and to find resolution. And in the end, it means an overriding sense of gratitude and security to belong to someone and something, despite all the pitfalls that have arisen in your path. 

As the people of God, in church, our lives together are this messy.   A metaphor used for church is family – and how true is that?  We push, we pull, we argue and we tolerate.  How often do we recommit to love someone who challenges us, frustrates us or creates anger?  In church-family life, we engage in the very messy work of continuing to hold fast to our covenant to love as God intended.  And sometimes, we struggle to live into an unknown future, and we brace ourselves to face difficult decisions as a church body.  But every Sunday, when we return to church, we recommit to renewing the covenant with God, and with each other.  Unlike the movie love stories, renewing the covenant is an on-going thing.

Has anyone heard it put this way? “Marriage is a decision that we make every day.”  In a blog called Good Woman, a young writer reflects on what she was told about marriage, and remarks; “While I want to say that I wish someone had told me that marriage is a decision, I am thankful to admit that one person did whisper that secret the summer my future husband slipped a diamond on that fourth finger.  “Marriage is a decision to make every day,” my aunt wisely counseled.  “Every morning, you wake up & roll over & decide to love that person, no matter what comes.  Some days it is easy.  Other days it is work.  But the important thing is to make the decision.” 

Any covenant is a daily decision.  Every day, God presents us with a choice; continue to love each other as I have loved you, or let ourselves get overwhelmed by the worries, the insecurity, and the FEAR to choose another path.  A few weeks ago, Pastor Debbie talked about trusting God in the journey.  She talked about Abraham building an alter in every new place, and how building the alter was a form of prayer to help connect to God.  That prayer, that alter-building, was Abraham’s demonstration of trust in God. Joshua appeals to the 12 tribes today, traumatized by recent events, and facing an unknown future, to demonstrate their trust in God and recommit to the covenant.  Just as we do, every morning and every Sunday, despite what challenges lie ahead.  

My favorite romantic movie quote on marriage comes from Shall We Dance, a movie with Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere about a man who, in a mid-life crisis, starts taking dance lessons but can’t bring himself to tell his wife.  She hires a private investigator to follow him because she suspects he is cheating.  In a conversation with the PI, she proclaims that she is not a romantic who believes in a mushy kind of love.  Marriage, she says, is a commitment to bear witness to another’s life.

She says, ”We need a witness to our lives.  There's a billion people on the planet, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything.  The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things, all of it, all of the time, every day.  You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.  Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."

Covenant means bearing witness to each other’s lives and all that life entails.  The covenant that God desires with us, is to bear witness to our lives, and for us to be witnesses and workers for God’s covenant.  God says, “I will be here.  I will be with you.  I will be beside you through struggle, through pain, through sickness and through health.  I will be here through the difficult decisions, if you will renew my covenant to live as my people.” 

It’s not happily ever after, but it’s the real stuff.  It’s in the messy love that we remember the covenant.  Amen.