The Good News Proclaimed
Preached by the Reverend Durrell Watkins at
the Sunshine Cathedral on
Sunday, October 12, 2008.
I sometimes share with you the tumultuous relationship between my
great-aunt Gladys and great-uncle Arthur. They were married 55 years; until
the day he died she referred to him as her first husband. I once asked her if
he got on her nerves so much, why did they ever get married. She said, “We
were childhood sweethearts. As a child Arthur had charm but it cleared up in
adulthood.”
She used to say, “If your uncle were a light-bulb he’d only be 10 watts.”
When they were first married he called Aunt Gladys into the kitchen one day to
help him with a puzzle. Aunt Gladys said, ‘What’s the puzzle supposed to look
like?’ Uncle Arthur said, ‘according to the picture on the box it should be a
tiger.’ She said, ‘Arthur, honey, it’s not a puzzle; now put the cereal back
in the box.’”
There is tension and conflict in our lives.
Notice today’s first reading from Isaiah. Notice how our reading skips from
verse 1 to verse 4. The missing verses say, “God you have made the city a heap
of devastated ruins; the castle of the insolent is a city no more, never to be
rebuilt.”
But then, after suggesting that God is vengeful and violent, the writer
slips into a very different tone: “You are a refuge to the poor and to the
needy… you will provide for ALL peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines…
you will wipe away every tear…”
In our anger we sometimes wish for vengeance, for retribution, and yet deep
down we suspect that what is truly sacred and life-giving is more generous
than that. In the core of our being we know that Compassion will lead to our
healing and to the world’s.
Death row, mandatory sentencing, deportations, campaigns of shock and awe,
blaming the victim, killing the enemy, writing intolerance and discrimination
into state constitutions do not contribute to our wholeness or to our joy no
matter how much we try to attribute our violent reactions to God’s will.
We so want to demonize the other, to exclude or even eliminate those we
perceive to be different, and yet we also know that just doesn’t sound right,
it doesn’t feel right, and it doesn’t work.
And so we see Isaiah struggling with the tension between wanting to make
his adversaries pay or wanting to gloat when they fall and fail, but also
knowing in the depths of his being that God is a refuge, a source of goodness
for ALL people, the source of compassion that wipes away every tear.
We see the Apostle Paul engaging that same struggle. Paul is writing his
letter to the Philippians from prison. He’s heard that some people in Philippi
have questioned his credentials. He’s also heard that a couple of people in
the Philippian church, Euodia and Syntyche, have been at each others’ throats.
In the middle of these conflicts, St. Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always
and I’ll say it again, Rejoice!”
In the midst of conflict, Paul returns to the simple wisdom that love is a
healing force. He speaks up for himself; Paul is no doormat. But he also knows
that reconciliation is the higher calling for us; and so he says, “Focus on
joy. Pray. Embrace peace. And think about what is good and praiseworthy, not
about what stirs conflict or fear or division.”
I wish everyone running for public office would reflect on our epistle
reading for today.
Paul is giving the Philippians the same message he gave to the Romans. Paul
said, “18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live
peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves…20No,
‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them
something to drink…’ 21Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome
evil with good
.”
And finally, we see the struggle in our gospel reading today. Matthew is
writing about 15 years after Rome has decimated Jerusalem and the holy Temple.
He’s writing to a community that is oppressed by an Empire. And Matthew gets
angry sometimes, and he’s writing to people who are scared and angry as well.
Matthew struggles with his belief that God’s love is all-inclusive, and
with his parallel desire for the mean people to get theirs.
He consistently gives examples of God’s impartial and generous love. In
chapter 8, a Roman, military officer, a symbol of oppression, comes to Jesus
for the healing of his “servant”. In the context of the story and because of
the particular Greek word for servant that Matthew uses in the story, some
scholars believe that this Roman Centurion’s servant is actually his
same-gender lover. And Matthew says that Jesus responds compassionately to
that Roman officer and in fact praises his faith.
In chapter 15 Matthew tells the story of a Canaanite woman who comes to
Jesus because her daughter is tormented with some mental or physical illness;
she doesn’t know what is causing the pain. She calls her daughter’s malady a
demon; but in any case, the daughter is suffering. And yet, Jesus’ disciples
want Jesus to send this woman away, and Jesus actually does attempt to dismiss
her.
You see, in Deuteronomy 20 (v. 17), there is an instruction for all
Canaanites to be destroyed! Killed! Jesus doesn’t take that passage literally
(thank goodness), but he has probably heard it so often that his first
reaction is to recoil from a Canaanite.
He refers to the poor woman as a dog, probably an ethnic slur used against
Canaanites, and the woman says, “Even if I were a dog you’d have pity on me
and throw me some scraps from your table; how ‘bout treating me with at least
as much compassion as you would show a dog?” And Jesus, says, “You’re right.”
He then praises her faith, and the daughter is healed.
You see, Matthew is very honest about the tension between our faith and our
human emotions. Romans and Canaanites are the enemies of Matthew’s community,
but he knows that Jesus could see past all that to the innate goodness of ALL
people. And so, we see Matthew struggling with the tension between his own
prejudices and his belief in divine love.
That’s what’s going on in the parable today. Everyone is invited to the
banquet. It’s for all people. But the religious authorities, the people who
hide behind the fundamentals and who mix government with religion for their
own power and privilege won’t allow everyone to come to the feast. So, Matthew
represents religious people who use religion as a weapon as someone who shows
up to the party ill attired, that is, with ill intent, and Matthew wants the
excluders excluded: tied up and tossed out.
As the gospel progresses, Matthew will come back around to the inclusive
“good news” he has expressed in the stories about the Canaanite woman and the
Roman centurion. It is Matthew, after all, who has told us that Jesus said the
whole of scripture amounts to treating others the way we would like to be
treated (Matthew 7.12).
And Matthew does end his gospel by having Jesus say we are to go out and
baptize, that is, to welcome or include, all people in the name of God.
Today’s readings are challenging, but useful. They remind us that we don’t
always feel sweet and kind and cuddly.
Emotions are complex, and if we are honest, we are going to have all of
them: Fear, hope, joy, sorrow, anger, doubt, confusion.
We don’t have to deny those emotions; we just need to be willing to observe
the tension between the more negative feelings and the “better angels of our
nature”.
If we deny the tension, we can’t make positive changes.
Once we notice the tension, we can choose the higher ground and get back to
practicing what we say we believe, which is that every person has sacred
value.
How wonderful to see Isaiah and Paul and Matthew all being honest about
having those unattractive feelings that we all have; and how reassuring to see
that those feelings don’t negate our high ideals. We can affirm our ideals and
be honest about those times when our attitudes aren’t in line with them, and
then we can choose to gently return to the healing experience of love and
forgiveness.
It’s an ongoing process. There’s no need for guilt for when we fall short
of our highest ideals, there’s just the need to notice the tension, adjust our
attitudes, and get back on track.
The Tao te Ching, teaches, “Your enemies are not demons, but human
beings like yourself. Don’t wish them personal harm and don’t rejoice in
victory over them. How could we ever… delight in the suffering of humans? If
you are forced into battle, go with sorrow and great compassion, as if you
were attending a funeral.”
It doesn’t say we won’t have conflicts or enemies; it says that we can
confront issues without demonizing the people with whom we disagree, and when
there is a conflict, we can make the interior adjustments we need to return to
peace.
Isn’t that what Isaiah, Paul, and Matthew have done? They have acknowledged
the struggles in their lives with people they found to be difficult and then
they choose to remember that God will provide a rich banquet for all people…
In the end, the banquet of life is for all people, and when we remember
that, we find ourselves experiencing the peace and joy that we deserve and
desire, and having experienced it, we have it to share.
We’re dedicating this beautiful new chancel today. It’s more than
attractive, though. It is the place where we offer encouragement where we
invite all people to joy us on the journey.
This chancel is a symbol of what we believe: that God’s banquet is for all
people; that divine grace excludes no one for any reason.
In life, we will get angry, scared, confused, but we have this symbol, this
monument, this place to remind us of our highest ideals… and because of this,
we will always be called back to our best, loving generous selves.
This is the message of grace, and this is the good news. Amen.