"Being Holy" (10/26/08, Proper 25A)

"Being Holy"
Proper 25A/24th Sunday after Pentecost
Sermon from October 26, 2008
Leviticus 19:1-3, 15-18; Matthew 22:34-46


What word or phrase do you think of when you hear the word Holy? Holy, hummmm... as I thought about that word this week, many different phrases or ideas came to mind. For me, holy might involve having a heavenly choir singing backup to my singing, wearing a halo and angel wings, or remind me of the Holy Grail from Monty Python or Indiana Jones fame.

Or maybe the:
Holy Roman Empire;
a Holy Alliance from 19th century Europe;
the Holy War Crusades.

What about:
Holy Communion or Last Supper;
the Holy Family from Christmas;
the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit;
the Holy Father or Holy See--aka the Pope;
the Holy Trinity-Father, Son and HOLY Spirit.

How about:
the Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem;
Holy Water to be sprinkled on folks;
Holy Week-the week between Palm Sunday and Easter;
or Holy Saturday, the day before Easter.

Then there is our culture's use of Holy:
Holy Cow;
Holy Hell;
Holy Terror;
Holy Mackerel;
Holy Smokes;
and being Holier-than-thou. Just to name a few...

We hear this word a lot. But what in the world does it mean? And how do we apply it to ourselves? Or can we?

Our Scripture reading this morning from Leviticus 19 provides much guidance for us along the ideas of what it means to be holy. The writer of Leviticus recorded the command from God to the gathered community to "Be holy, for I the Lord you God am holy." That is NO SMALL TASK. When we go to the dictionary, or dictionary.com in today's world, and look up the word HOLY, we get lots of different meanings. "To be specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated; as in holy ground." Another definition said: "living according to a strict or highly moral religious or spiritual system; saintly; a holy person." I think this is often what we think of, but I would like to challenge that idea this morning. I think of it in more simple terms--holy means being "set apart", "different", or "not like the rest".

Our Gospel lesson this morning from Matthew 22 is probably a very familiar passage for many of us. The lawyers are asking questions AGAIN, and Jesus answers them, but His answer is probably not how the lawyers and Pharisees expect. Growing up, I remember hearing these words and thinking to myself, "Wow, Jesus was this great thinker who just came up with these thoughtful and tough answers out of thin air all the time." Well, Jesus was a great thinker and did have great answers, but what I've come to realize is that Jesus was often reminding the Pharisees and his other listeners about things that were already written in Scripture. He was able to reinterpret the sayings and laws that were recorded in the Scrolls of the Torah--the law--to make them easier for us to understand and follow. He was able to basically summarize the teachings of the whole Torah--Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy-- into two commands: "Love God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength" and "love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself."

The first commandment is Jesus' restatement of Deuteronomy 6, and we spent some time a few weeks back looking at this passage. [See "What's on your Doorpost? Sermon from 9/14/08 posted below.] The second commandment is from the passage we heard this morning from the 19th chapter of Leviticus. The Jews and followers of Jesus during His day would have heard these commandments from Jesus and automatically associated them with these two passages in the Torah. They often had the Torah memorized. They knew the Scriptures inside and out. All it would take is a reminder of these phrases or chapters for the followers of Jesus to associate the two commands with the greater ideas they encapsulate. These two commands served as Memory Triggers for the hearers. Hearing a snip-it of Leviticus 19 would remind them of the whole 19th chapter. Hearing Leviticus 19 would remind them of all of the Torah. A Rabbi who lived a few years before Jesus was challenged to teach the whole Torah while standing on one foot. He quickly responded: "What is hateful to you do not do to others. The rest is commentary. Go learn." Sounds vaguely familiar--like The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you…Love your neighbor as yourself and thus live a holy life.

If Jesus was using the “Love your neighbor as yourself” part of verse 18 from Leviticus 19 to help us remember the whole chapter, and thus the whole Torah law, then maybe Jesus was reminding us to "Be Holy because God is Holy." One big part of being holy is loving our neighbors as ourselves. I believe these two ideas “being holy” and “loving our neighbor as ourselves” are integrally related and apply to today as much as they did in Jesus' time. Being holy--being set apart--being different than the world around us. As Christians we are called to be set apart. We are to live in the world but not of the world as we sometimes hear. We are to be kind and generous to those around us. We are to show compassion, treat each other fairly, vote wisely, and act justly. We are to play fair on the soccer or football field, drive without road-rage, and share our lunches in the school cafeteria with those who don’t have enough to eat. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors and also love ourselves, while we ultimately love God with our hearts, minds and spirits. That is the small yet big idea of being holy.

There has been a lot in the news lately about plumbers. I must say I missed that debate, but all I hear on TV involves plumbers. Plumbers, especially Plumber Joe, have received a lot of publicity. So I will not pick on plumbers and use an electrician instead, but this can apply to most any daily situation. Say you have a light switch that is not working properly and need to call Joe's Electrical Services to come work on the switch in your house. Joe arrives, finds the short circuit, and fixes the problem. You then go to pay Joe for his hard work and give him a fair wage for his time and service. You're grateful that someone has the know-how to fix the problem and thank Joe for his work. Was that a holy moment?

Jewish thinking for this situation, as I understand it, would say this was a holy moment. Jesus, I believe, would say this was a holy moment. Thus we can also say this was a holy moment, whether we were aware of it at the time or not. The person receiving the services of the electrician paid fair wages for fair work. Joe was treated as the person would like to have been treated. If much grumbling about the price took place, or Joe charged a huge, unfair price, then the situation would have been very different, but that wasn't the case. Being holy, according to Leviticus 19, doesn't have to involve heavenly angels singing in the background or feeling extremely spiritual. It means being set apart and unlike the rest of society--treating others as you would like to be treated--loving your neighbor as yourself. And as we pay attention to our lives and actions more, we will likely begin to see even more regular moments in our lives in holy and set-apart ways.

So where does it leave us? How do we live out these ideas of being a good neighbor to those around us? How might we understand Jesus' words today and find them helpful in our 21st century world?

We spent time this morning in the Inquirer's Class discussing two documents from our Moravian tradition that help articulate what we believe and how we are called to live in the world. As I've thought more about the “Ground of the Unity,” which describes what we believe very succinctly, and the “Moravian Covenant for Christian Living,” which helps us see how we can live in this world, it struck me how closely the Covenant for Christian Living reflects this whole idea of how to be holy and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Both Leviticus 19 and The Covenant for Christian Living were written for a community to help the members to both live together and live in the world. I am even willing to go as far as saying we could rename the "Covenant for Christian Living" to be the "Covenant for how to live Holy, set-apart lives in community", but I guess that doesn't have as nice of a ring to it.

As I've re-read the Covenant again, one paragraph stuck out to me in light of Leviticus 19's command to “be holy” and “love our neighbor as ourselves.” Paragraph 29 reads: "We will not hate, despise, slander, or otherwise injure anyone. We will ever strive to manifest love towards all people, to treat them in a kind and friendly manner, and in our dealings with them to approve ourselves upright, honest, and conscientious, as becomes children o God. Together with the universal Christian Church, we have a concern for this world, opening our heart and hand to our neighbors with the message of the love of God, and being ever ready to minister of our substance to their necessities."

If you haven't read the whole Moravian Covenant for Christian Living, or haven't read it lately, there are copies available here up front for you to take home today. Spend some time this week looking over the Covenant for Christian Living and Leviticus 19. I hope sometime in the near future we can continue conversations about how we can encourage one another to live holy lives in this community and world, as I believe we can always be challenged to keep growing and learning as Children of God. And next time you need to call a plumber, shop in a store, or go vote, think about where those holy moments are in your daily life. You just might be surprised where you find opportunities and experiences to be holy-set apart as followers of Jesus. "Love God with all you have" and "love your neighbor as yourself." Words to live by... Words to encourage us to “be holy because The Lord our God is holy.”

Please pray with me:
Holy God,
We ask you today to help us be aware of the holy moments in our lives. We strive to do you work in our world and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Give us the strength and courage to live lives that are set apart and holy. Help us to help each other see the holy moments, name them, and use them as encouragement to keep being holy, set-apart followers of Jesus Christ. In Christ’s name, Amen.

'What's On Your Doorpost?" (9/14/08, [Proper 14A/Ordinary 24] Christian Education Sunday)

"What's on your doorpost?"
Christian Education Sunday
(Proper 14A/Ordinary +24)
Sermon from 9-14-08
Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (main text), Psalm 103:15-18, Matthew 2:34-40


"Shema yisrael Adonai eloheinu Adonai echad." "Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone." This opening phrase of Deuteronomy 6:4 is one of the most sacred prayers in all of Judaism. It's called the "Shema" after the opening word of the phrase and means, "Hear" or "Listen" or "Act on" or "Obey". This passage from Deuteronomy that we read this morning is spoken each morning and evening as part of Jewish prayers and is at the center of their remembering who they are as people of God-the one God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--the God who led these slaves from Egypt and has brought them to just outside the Promised Land. The beginning of Deuteronomy finds Moses, on the cusp of entering the Promised Land. They've finally found their way out of the desert where they wandered for 40 years.

Speaking of wandering, I saw a comic a few years ago that asked, "Why did Moses wander in the desert for 40 years?" You probably guessed it… "Because he refused to stop and ask for directions." I wasn't there so I can't commit on the validity of that statement, but I would suggest he check the batteries on his Garmin GPS next time he heads out on another trip across the desert or across the street for that matter.

All joking aside, these Israelites are ready to enter the land of their ancestors. Moses sets out here in Deuteronomy to recount their history and help the younger generation remember WHO they are and WHOSE (W-H-O-S-E) they are. Knowing WHO and WHOSE they are will help them to re-member—re-orient—themselves in the Promised Land. Moses recounts the 10 Commandments again for them in Chapter 5 and then reminds them about God--their one God. As the Message translation recounts Moses' words, it reads: "Attention, Israel! God, our God! God the one and only! Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got! Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates."

When we hear this passage, I hope that we hear the actions associated with the command from Moses. This is not a passive faith where reciting these verses is all that is required. Instead, Moses is calling the Israelites to an active faith of re-membering their lives—re-orienting their lifestyle—claiming WHO and WHOSE they are—being marked as followers of God Almighty. And it was not just for those listening. It was for the generations to come. The adults are to get these commands inside of them first and then to pass them along to their children as they grow. They are to teach the children to remember WHO God is and re-member their lives to know WHOSE they are. This teaching and re-membering is to go on forever..."to infinity and beyond."

Speaking of "To Infinity and beyond", we were watching the movie Toy Story the other night. For many of you, it's probably a familiar story, but in case you've not seen it, it was Pixar Studio's 1995 first full-length animated movie about the toys that live in Andy's playroom. Andy, the boy in the story, has no idea what happens inside his room when the door closes and he leaves the room. That is when the toys come alive. Woody, the cowboy doll is the leader of the pack, which includes Mr. Potato Head, Bo Peep the shepardess, Rex the dinosaur, Hamm the piggy bank, and of course, Buzz Lightyear, the space ranger who is the newest addition to the pack. Woody is Andy's favorite toy until Buzz arrives, and this creates lots of problems in the story. When Woody and Buzz get separated from the rest of the toys and it seems like everything is lost, Buzz looks down at his shoe and sees "Andy" written on the bottom. It is at that moment that he suddenly remembers WHOSE he is, and this brings a turning point in the story. Woody and Buzz work to try and find their way back to Andy because Andy needs them--they are his favorites and they belong to him--they are marked—Andy’s name is on each one’s shoe. I won't spoil the movie in case you haven't seen it, but I do recommend watching it.

Marked with the name of the one WHOSE you are. Moses reminded the Israelites of WHOSE they were--they were God Almighty’s. They were marked by the covenant with God and where to show this by living their faith in their daily lives. The Israelites were being taught to pass along their faith in the mundane activities of daily life--not just remember God on the special days only.

Even today in orthodox Jewish communities, you will often see men marked with their faith by wearing small boxes on their foreheads--called phylacteries--which hold scrolls with the Shema verse from Deuteronomy 6 inside. Also many Jews today often have a small box called a Mezuzah attached to their front door, which also contains this same verse from Deuteronomy. When the Mezuzah is attached in a house blessing ceremony, they pray a prayer, “We affix the Mezuzah to the doorposts of this house with the hope that it will always remind us of our duties to God and to one another. May the divine spirit fill this house – the spirit of love and kindness and consideration for all people…Fortify our resolve to make it now and always, a Temple dedicated to You. Let it be filled with the beauty of holiness and the warmth of love. May the guest and the stranger find within it welcome and friendship….” This mark cannot be missed as one walks through the door of the house--whether bringing in the groceries or taking out the trash.

What is on our doorpost? How do we remember WHO we belong to--WHOSE we are? Do we have a cross on the door? Do we have Andy's name written on our foot? One of my friends in seminary grew up thinking that Andy was God's name. She learned it through a song they often sang in church... "Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me. Andy tells me I am his own." Maybe Andy really is God's name?! Buzz and Woody certainly were marked with Andy's name because they belonged to him.

So I ask again, literally and figuratively, what's on your doorpost? What is around your forehead or neck or wrist? What is displayed on the back of your car or on your office door? How are you marked to remind yourself, and those who see it, that you are God's? What has set us apart as Christians to know WHOSE we are as God's beloved children.

Today as we look at Christian Education, welcome our 2nd graders into "Big Church," and kick off another Sunday school year, it is good for us to look at WHOSE we are and how we know this in our daily lives? Deuteronomy tells the parents and adults to get these words inside of them first and then inside their children. We echo this in our Moravian beliefs that parents and the congregation are to raise up our children in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as well. If we have been baptized, we are marked by God as part of God’s covenant promise.

Take out the hymnals and turn with me to page 165 in the Book of Worship. This liturgy for Baptism should be familiar to you. As Moravians, we call upon the parents to profess their own faith during our baptisms to be sure they have this belief inside them first, which follows Moses’ instructions in Deuteronomy 6. Many of you probably remember the baptisms of the 2nd graders sitting up here right now, and I'm sure their families remember them. At the bottom of page 165 we read, "As you present yourselves before God and this congregation, we call upon you to profess your faith. Do you believe in God as your Creator and loving heavenly father, in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and in the Holy Spirit as your Comforter and Sustainer, according to the Holy Scriptures?”

Then turn to the next page, page 166. In the middle of page 166, we ask parents: "Do you intend to participate actively in Christ's church, serving God all the days of your life?" At the bottom of the page, the questions turn to the congregation, "Do you receive and affirm these children of God as members of this congregation and accept your obligation to love and nurture them in Christ?" We, the parents and congregation of Raleigh Moravian Church, have made these promises to raise these children and get this faith inside their hearts. Baptism marks US as God's--it is through Baptism that we know WHO we are and WHOSE we are. It's like taking a sharpie marker and putting "God" on our shoe to always remind us though every step we take along our life's journey, we belong to God.

As we see though both Deuteronomy and our Baptism liturgy, we are called to "Hear", "Listen," "Obey" and "Act"--SHEMA, O Congregation: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. As the adults, parents, grandparents, friends, leaders and role models, get them inside of you and then get them inside your children, for all the children here are your children to love and teach. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home in Sunday School or walking in the street, driving in a car or sitting in a coffee shop; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night, as you buy groceries and take out the recycling. Every moment is sacred and holy, and presents a teaching opportunity. God is present with you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. If you wear a cross, bracelet, or ring to show your faith, let it also remind you WHOSE you are; inscribe them on your shoes, the doorposts of your homes, and on your city gate. The way you live shows WHO you are. People should know WHOSE you are.

So I ask each of us this day, what’s on your doorpost? What is written on your shoe? What are you writing inside your heart and the hearts of those around you? Let us help one another to “Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!" To infinity and beyond, let us live it together. Amen, let it be so.