U2's Music as Message to the Church!

I am a HUGE fan of U2's music and message.  I listen to them often, have read lots of books about them, their faith, and their music, and have been fortunate to attend two different concerts (Vertigo 2005 in Philly and 360 Tour in 2009 in Charlottesville).  Both concerts were worship experiences like I have not experienced before, and was so overwhelmed by these experiences of communal worship!

 [U2 in concert in Charlottesville, VA on October 1, 2009.  Photo by Suzanne Miller.]

I came across this article about their first single off of last year's No Line On the Horizon album.  It's about "Get On Your Boots", which is admittedly a strange song, and an even stranger video.  Check out this blog post and see for yourself... I agree with their interpretation that this song is a challenge to the church to get on our boots and do the work God is calling us to do!

http://www.faithandleadership.com/blog/07-09-2010/michael-and-anthony-emerson-church-you-don%E2%80%99t-know-how-beautiful-you-are

For full lyrics, click here.  

What do you think?  How do you interpret this song?

 [U2 in concert in Charlottesville, VA on October 1, 2009.  Photo by Suzanne Miller.  

Doesn't this stage even look like a cathedral?  It was an awesome concert!!]

Sermon for 6/6/10 "The Blessed Kingdom of Heaven": Favorite Things Worship Series

Sermon for 6/6/10 

Matthew 5:1-12, Micah 6:6-8

"The Blessed Kingdom of Heaven"

Favorite Passages Sermon Series

As we are exploring our Favorite Passage this summer during the Sabbatical, I have found one of the most fun things about this to be the opportunity to explore passages that are not often read in church during the Liturgical Church year.  Some of the passages people choose that I will be preaching later in the summer never appear in our Lectionary.  The Lectionary is a set of Scripture passages that many churches use to help us live into the church year.  It runs in a 3 year cycle--labeled A, B, and C, and begins each year on the First Sunday in Advent.  Each Sunday we indicate in the bulletin what that Day's designation is for the Church Year, with Sunday being the Second Sunday After Pentecost, and it's Year C.  I believe there is real value in living into this Church year cycle with Scripture in worship, as many Christians from around the world are sharing the same texts on the same weeks.  But I also find it good to veer everyone once in a while to explore a text that doesn't appear in the Lectionary, or appears very infrequently.    

Our Luke 6 text from last week and this week's Micah and Matthew texts are just such texts to explore closer.  Though they do technically appear in the lectionary, none of them have occurred in the rotation since 2007 due to Epiphany changing lengths each year. [1] Easter moves based on the lunar calendar, so therefore the length of the Epiphany season moves as well.  The beatitudes are a well-known passage, so it is fun and good to look at them during this special summer.

Matthew's list of Beatitudes includes nine statements that Jesus taught during the Sermon on the Mount.  This sermon is the first one mentioned in Matthew and serves as his Inaugural Sermon [2].  Jesus heads up a mountain to teach his disciples.  Anyone listening in Jesus' day would have automatically associated this image with Moses when he went up on Mount Sinai to receive the Torah--the Law which makes up the first 5 books of the Old Testament. [3] The Gospel of Matthew was written for a Jewish audience, so these images are familiar from within the Old Testament's law and prophets. 

At first glance these statements appear formulaic and repetitive, but upon further investigation, I believe there is value and depth found in the formula for the 9 Beatitudes.  They should be studied both individually and as a whole, but have no fear--due to time constraints today, I've chosen to look at them as a whole group ONLY. (If you are interested in reading more about each individual statement, see the footnote for a list of good resources to check out![4])  I believe a key to understanding these comes in the phrases that are repeated over and over.  

When we take a look more closely, we see one phrase that is repeated twice.  "For theirs is the kingdom of heaven" in verses 3 and 10.  The Kingdom of Heaven as Matthew describes, or the Kingdom of God as other Gospels reference, is what Jesus is ushering in through his life and ministry.  The Kingdom of Heaven is what God is working to bring about on Earth through God's followers.  The Prophets promised it, and Jesus began his life by fulfilling the promises the Prophets had made.  But it doesn't stop there.  Jesus' ministry was about bringing Heaven to Earth--creating the Kingdom of Heaven in the daily lives of his followers to continue ushering in God's Kingdom. 

But it doesn't stop with Jesus either.  Through Christ's life, death, and resurrection, we enter into this covenant of Grace, and become Children of God--Children of the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God--the Kin-dom of God--the Family of God.  As followers of Jesus, we place our citizenship in this family, and we do it together.  The Family of God is not an individual pursuit--it is, rather, a communal activity.  A place, a community, a family we strive to live in and a Kingdom we live out together. [5]

It's often referred to as the "Already-Not Yet Kingdom of God" because Jesus Christ has "Already" started it-- ushered it in, gave the Inaugural Sermon on a hilltop overlooking the land, held Inaugural Feasts, and the left his followers in charge to continue the game plan. But it's "Not Yet" because it will not be complete until an unknown time in the future when Christ reigns supreme.  We recognize this reality and pray for it's completion every time we pray the Lord's Prayer: "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." [6] Everything in the Beatitudes list between these "Kingdom of heaven" phrases and even that after too is related to these. The Kingdom of heaven phrase is implicit in each of these 9 phrases. [7]

The other thing we see clearly in each phrase is the opening "Blessed are..." [the poor in spirit, meek, the pure in heart, and so on...].  This is one of those places where English gets in the way of our understanding of the Biblical text because of translation differences that just don't show up well in English.  There are two words in both the Greek and Hebrew that get translated as "blessed" in English.  The only way to tell a difference in English is by accenting a different syllable, thus having Blessed, and Bless-ed.  I'd never thought about why the word is pronounced differently at different times until I began studying this passage.  Most often I have heard Bless-ed when the Beatitudes are read, and there is a reason for that.  "Bless-ed" --the adjective --is the more accurate translation.  It is a state-of being blessed or happy or joyful.  Whereas "blessed" is more of an imperative or command verb.  We often hear this other meaning in "God bless you" when someone sneezes.  Though this passage contains both ideas, most commentators agree that the Beatitudes explain that the people in the kingdom of heaven already possess these things mentioned.  They are already meek.  They are already peacemakers.  They already are pure in heart.  But having said that, there is still a sense of the not yet--we can strive to be more meek.  We can strive to be better peacemakers.  We can strive to be more pure in heart.  The quality already exists, but it is not yet fully realized because the kingdom is not yet fully realized.  Once the Kingdom of Heaven is fully realized, the children of the Kingdom will be fully and completely bless-ed. [8]

I feel it's probable, having read so many different stories about the disciples in the Gospels, that they might not have gotten all of this down completely correct at the first hearing of the sermon.  I can imagine that Jesus shared this message many times and had to clarify what he meant as he formed his followers into disciples.  A scene from a favorite movie of mine depicts it well, some might say.  It opens with the crowds heading up to the hills to catch a glimpse of this new teacher in town.  The captions read: "Judea 33AD, Saturday afternoon, about Tea Time..." and you hear Jesus off in the distance giving his famous sermon.  "How blessed are those..."  The scene cuts to the followers at the back of the crowd who can't hear every word he is saying, and are trying to piece together the message.  One lady asks for clarification, and another spectator remarks,

"Spectator I: I think it was "Blessed are the cheesemakers".

...Mrs. Gregory: Aha, what's so special about the cheesemakers?

Gregory: Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products." [9]  

My husband Steve wouldn't allow me to recommend seeing Monty Python's Life of Brian because it's rated R, but this movie and this scene in particular makes me laugh every time. 

But it also got me thinking.  Maybe under all the satire about politics and religion that Monty Python mocks, there is a gem of truth.  And this got me thinking about what the Beatitudes might look like if they were written in 2010.  And it got me thinking about where I have seen the Kingdom of Heaven in our midst recently. 

While I was eating lunch at the BBQ on Friday, I took a moment to stop and just look around.  I was there during peak lunch time, and my heart filled with such pride and joy as I watched the Family of God in our little part of the Kingdom of Heaven on Ridge Road working together, laughing together, and serving together.  There was so much support for the mission and ministry that God is calling us to do. I spoke to many different people who said this was a constant on their calendar, and they would NOT miss it!  

I was excited to see so many groupings of co-workers--one member of Raleigh Moravian with friends gathered around, all eating and enjoying one another's company and great food.  Neighbors stopped by and plates of food were passed down the line.  Cookers, servers, and drink-pourers all had smiles and hellos for everyone who came out to visit.  Laughter and conversations filled the air, just as the smell of fresh hush-puppies and hot BBQ filled the bellies. And there were plenty of offers for seconds for none should go hungry.

Later when Steve and I came back for dinner for Round 2, the same held true.  I was excited to see young and old, friends and families working along side one another to accomplish a task bigger than any one person.  I smiled with joy as I heard some of the college-students talk about this event being a highlight for them--something they wouldn't miss being a part of.  One youth even remarked how he had been promoted a few years ago to be on the overnight cooking team.  The disciples are teaching the traditions to the younger generations, and it was evident as I watched 3-year-old Bella not miss a beat as she followed instructions.   Including so many people as a worker and serving with joy made me so proud of the service everyone was doing together.

The Kingdom of Heaven is about community living together to enact God's mission in the world.  The Beatitudes both teach us about the Kingdom of Heaven and the community that is making it heaven on earth.  We see in Scripture how the Kingdom is compared to a banquet feast.[10]  Perhaps BBQ will even be on the menu... with Christ himself walking around to the tables serving his own special recipe of love puppies [hush-puppies coated in powdered sugar] for dessert!  

And perhaps those involved in cooking, serving, and helping are Bless-ed:

Bless-ed are the BBQ cookers, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Bless-ed are those with tired backs and sore feet, for they will be comforted.

Bless-ed are the hush-puppy fryers, for they will inherit the earth.

Bless-ed are the food servers, for they will be filled.

Bless-ed are the slaw mixers, for they will receive mercy.

Bless-ed are the dish washers, for they will be called children of God.

Bless-ed are the Church Families who serves together, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

And Bless-ed are the people we will serve with this summer beyond our doors, as the fruits of our BBQ labors will be the basis for our service together as we live our God's call to mission--to help those in need and share Christ's love, and together expand the Kingdom of Heaven a little more.   Amen.

 [The Big Boy, thanks to Joey Transou, which cooked all 1200lbs of Pork Shoulders for the BBQ. Thanks Joey!]

[1] In the Moravian Lectionary, Luke 6:17-36 appears in Epiphany 6C and Epiphany 7C. Matthew 5:1-12 appear in Epiphany 4A and All Saints Day A.  Micah 6:6-8 appears in Epiphany 4A.

[2] Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew.  Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 33.

[3] Hare, Matthew.  Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 34.

[4] Some of my favorites are: Kenneth Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008) 65-87. M. Eugene Boring, "The Gospel of Matthew" in New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VII (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 171-181.  Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew.  Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 33-43.

[5] Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008) 69.

[6] Hare, Matthew.  Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 37.

[7] Hare, Matthew.  Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 37.

[8] Hare, Matthew.  Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 35. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008) 67-68. The Greek word is makarioi. 

[9] Monty Python's Life of Brian, 1979. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/quotes?qt0471973

[10] Isaiah 25; Matthew 8; Matthew 25; Luke 14 to name a few examples of feasts in Scripture.

"Teach Me How To Be Good." Psalm 34 Sermon

Sermon for August 9, 2009
(Lectionary passage for Proper 14B for August 16, 2009)
Psalm Series: Part 2 of 3 on Psalm 34 (verses 9-14)

"Teach me how to be good."

Last weekend Steve and I took some much needed vacation time to visit with our family in Pennsylvania. Steve's immediate family all live there, and 2 of his cousins also flew in from out of state, so there were lots of us around the whole weekend spending time together. Or should I say, spending time with the kids. It's amazing isn't it, when there is a new baby, or babies in our family's case, how they become the center of attention. Between Steve's brother and sister, we now have 4 nieces and a nephew who are all under 4 years of age. Our newest 2 nieces are 4 months and 2 weeks old. Let's just say they are not lacking in attention--especially last weekend with everyone visiting! It was great to see them, and it was hard to leave, knowing how fast they grow up. The 2 week old will probably be walking and talking by the time we see her again at Christmas--or at least trying to do both!

[My nieces and nephew (aged 2.5 yr, 3 yr, 4 mo., 4 yr, 1 wk), August 09, Philadelphia, PA]

Last weekend in the midst of diaper changes, feedings, naps, and other infant, toddler, and preschooler activities, I spent quite a bit of time reflecting on the innocence and wisdom of children and all that I have to learn from them. My nieces and nephew are constantly amazing me with their newest accomplishments and achievements. Rolling over, walking, talking, and potty-training are among the big accomplishments of these first few years. But there were other things I saw happening. Helping hold a younger sibling and tenderly kiss her cheek. Making a sister laugh just by making silly faces. Helping mom or dad retrieve any number of needed items for the two babies. These children are not unusual in these activities, and they have their moments too. All children, I imagine, push their parents button just when they have the least patience to deal with it. But as an aunt, I was able to step back and just love these kids and watch in amazement how they are growing and maturing into cute, helpful, and good kids.

During the trip, I found one of my sister-in-law's parenting magazines and picked it up to read. One article struck me as profound and wise. It was an article that asked children "What's the best tip you have for your parents?" As you might guess, some of the advice centered around what you might expect: a three-year-old's suggestion, "Give more marshmallows" and a four-year-old's idea, "Take me to Disney World to see all the princesses." But some of the others left me amazed at the wisdom from the mouth of babes as the saying goes. A five-year-old said, "Listen when I am talking" and one twelve-year-old expounded on that by saying, "Let me speak. Sometimes when I say something, my mom doesn't let me finish my sentence." One five-year-old child said, "Give me a million hugs every day" and yet another, age ten, said, "Always give your kids enough attention and the love they deserve." All of these are wise, but one struck me as true wisdom. Six-year-old Delaina from Connecticut, said, "Teach me how to be good." [1] Teach me how to be good. Truly, out of the mouth of babes...

The psalmist in today's Psalm 34 text is dealing with this same question of how to be good and offers some wisdom to aid in the teaching. Last week Craig talked about the experience of tasting and seeing that the Lord is good from verse 8. As you might remember, this Psalm is written in the Hebrew as an acrostic, where each line begins with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order. It's also a Psalm of Thanksgiving, but in addition to that, it's a Psalm that offers wise council and teaching, much like the book of Proverbs.

Join me, if you are able, in reading aloud the section of today's focus--starting at verse 9 and finishing with verse 14.

"9 O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want. 10The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 11Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good? 13Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. 14Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." (Psalm 34:9-14, NRSV)

As we look at this specific section, we see that it is dealing with the six-year-old's advice, "Teach me how to be good." The Psalmist asks the rhetorical question of the "children" which includes anyone wanting and able to learn. We can substitute disciple or learner for children, or we can recognize how we are Children of God and the Psalmist is speaking to us the question: "Which of you desire life, and covets many days to enjoy good?" (verse 12) Then the advice and wisdom follows for anyone who fears the Lord.

As a youngster and even more recently too, I struggled with the phrase "fear of the Lord". Why should I be afraid of the Lord, when the Lord is the one providing for my needs and helping me to lack no good thing, as the Psalmist says in verse 10? We see fear used two different ways in the Psalm: one way is in verse 4 of the Psalm where the Psalmist experienced God's delivering him of all his fears. And we must recognize that fears can sometimes be a good thing. We teach children to be cautious of stoves, stairs, and streets, because having a “healthy respect” or fears for some things are life-giving for basic survival. [2]

But the other uses of fear in this Psalm are a different word in the Hebrew that means something completely different. Our typical use of the word fear in English involves being afraid, but in verse 7, 9, and 11 “fear” is not being afraid. Instead fear means here to revere, or trust, or depend upon the Lord. Around the time this Psalm was likely composed, Near Eastern cultures used the phrase "fearing the Lord" to mean claiming ONE God to worship. [3] It involved singling out a specific God--in this case The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--The Lord God Almighty, so we might translate it instead to say "Revere the Lord God Almighty".

The psalmist is making a connection between this fear of the Lord and enjoying good. The instructions that follow are in response to the HOW question--how is one to be good? Delaina's question is answered with two verses of instructions that lead to the good life that the Psalmist is experiencing because of his relationship with God Almighty, and so he provides this wisdom to others who want to know HOW to be good too.

This list of ideals is just that--ideals for behavior and action. It's the suggestion of an ethic to live by that places one in line with God's Kingdom. On one hand these ideals don't sound too hard. They aren't extraordinary. Yet, as we all know, these ideals are much tougher to follow day in and day out. "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit"—like gossip; lies; worry; using harsh words. "Depart from evil"—in the form of hatred; envy; lust; greed. "Do good"—by loving your neighbor; feeding and clothing the homeless; visiting the imprisoned. "Seek peace, and pursue it"-- bring wholeness and healing; dig wells for clean water; provide vaccinations; lobby for justice. The evils are part of our culture and are often hard to avoid. At the same time the good ideals are countercultural and are often hard to pursue.

I see this as one of those passages that is there to help motivate us to keep trying to live up to the ideals, while at the same time forgive us for when we don't quite hit the mark. We can't continually go around beating ourselves up for when we miss the mark, and yet we can't live as though God’s Kingdom is out of reach completely so why try to live at all. It reminds me of the quote by W. Clement Stone that reads, "Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star." [4] Or better yet, C. S. Lewis, the famed English Christian writer said, "Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither." [5]

Aiming for heaven. That idea reminds me of the Lord's Prayer. If you were here during Lent, you recall we spent the six weeks before Easter exploring the Lord's Prayer and what it means for us today. Jesus taught us to pray, "Your Kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven." Bringing heaven to earth. "Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it." They have a very similar ring to them.

Modeling how to be good and live these Psalmist’s ideals teaches the all the Children around us, in the most general sense, how we can all help bring heaven to earth and live into God’s Kingdom. It's just like we try to model right behavior and being good for children. Parents, and anyone involved in raising children, model how to be good to these children to help them live life to the fullest and enjoy good. The Psalmist is offering these ideals to us to help enjoy and share the good that comes from God alone. Jesus modeled these ideals when he walked the earth as our ultimate model and teacher. They are counter cultural, kingdom of Heaven practices, and they help teach us how to be good.

Just as parents model to their children, sometimes it's the children that model goodness back to us. At dinner one evening, our three-year-old nephew offered the blessing for the family. His little voice led us to pray, "God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. By his hands we all are fed. Give us Lord our daily bread. AMEN." I stood in awe as he knew every word. My pride and excitement in that moment was evident as I stood beaming from ear to ear. It is likely that he doesn't yet know what all the words mean, but that didn't stop him from modeling the practice of giving thanks and celebrating God's bounteous goodness back to us.

In the same way, we don't have to fully understand God's Kingdom to aim for heaven to bring it to earth. In that moment I got but a mere glimpse of the pride and love God must have when we model to others these practices that indeed teach us how to be good... when we keep our tongues from evil and our lips from deceit. When we depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it. It is in these small glimpses of God's Kingdom of heaven come to earth that I pause and thank God for the children in my life. It is in these times that I realize that the ideals of the Psalmist are not impossibilities, but they instead provide the target goal. Aim for heaven and you get earth thrown in. When we practice how to be good together as a community of Children of God, we model for each other the good in life. We walk together in the fear and reverence of the Lord, and proclaim it with our lives. "Come, O children of God, listen to us; we will teach you how to be good." Amen.

[1] Real Simple: Family Magazine, 2007, Their Words: "What's the Best Tip You Have For Your Parents?", page 16. [All children's quotes mentioned here are from this article.]
[2] Matthew Myer Boulton, "Pastoral Perspective" for Proper 15 in Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 3, eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 348.
[3] Richard Clifford, "Exegetical Perspective" for Proper 15 in Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 3, eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 347.
[4] http://www.quotesdaddy.com/quote/232056/w-clement-stone/aim-for-the-moon-if-you-miss-you-may-hit-a-star
[5] http://www.quotesdaddy.com/quote/232056/w-clement-stone/aim-for-the-moon-if-you-miss-you-may-hit-a-star