My sermon from Sunday, 7/31
This is my third to last sermon at Zion, so I decided I'd try something a little different, and preach in poem form. I wrote the first part in iambic tetrameter, and the second part using a Slam Poetry-esque mode... Poetry is best when it's read aloud, so I've attached the audio (follow the link).
I thought about copyrighting this... but then I thought that copyrighting the following words would be a disservice to the meaning of the sermon, and so I give it out freely here.
Elon Musk made all his patents free for people to look at and improve, and I'm not a tech billionaire, but I like the concept. So here's my Elon Musk moment. Take, borrow, steal, whatever. These words are as much yours as they are mine.
All Grace and Peace to you from God -
Creator, Spirit, Staff and Rod
Amen
A man had ample crops to spare
And wanted time... enough to share
So store away his crops he did
Away from everyone he hid
But God looked down upon his head
And told the man he’d soon be dead
What use of crops had he if slain?
His time was up, no more to gain.
For Jesus told this parable
Not only to the culpable
But unto us he shared this tale
To listen, grow and to avail
Ourselves for service. All of us.
Because we all must ride the bus
It’s not enough to idly stand
Perhaps instead to lend a hand
The treasures kept in banks still sit
Accruing int’rest, all of it.
Because some banker told us so
It’s good to keep, dontcha know?
Of all the countries in the world
We boast our wealth, our necklines pearled
And yet, we struggle feeding more
Than we have ever known before
The cost of living freely? High.
Collectively, we breathe a sigh.
A sigh of willful ignorance.
When life is not unlike a dance
We sway together, softly now
Try not to rock the boat, our scow
For God so deeply loves us all
And God is sending us a call
To stand against oppression strong
To fight and right, offend the wrong
Because the God of fire and pain
Puts out the flames in tears and rain
When scores of wealth and energy
Are stored away and atrophy
The death that stares us in the face
Will put an end to riches, Ace
We steward resources around
To those who have been wrongly found
Deserving help. But who deserves?
Well, that is up to you. It serves...
It serves just one to judge someone
It serves but only you, so run -
So run away from all your guilt
So stand in awe as walls are built
It's not your fault that life's this way
It's not your sin. Please don't dismay
Just stand and sit and lay awake
Just eat and drink and do not shake
The boat.
“...there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave
and free; but Christ is all and in all!”
I meant it when I said it…
I’m tired of hearing that someone is undeserving of love
Of food
Money
Cars
Education
Basic things we all need
That’s not how God works.
That’s not how Grace works.
That’s not why Christ died.
Christ didn’t die for whoever is special enough to earn God’s grace
That’s not how God works.
That’s not how Grace works.
The author of Colossians just said it. We have been renewed in Christ… in the waters of baptism
In the ever-flowing waters of our baptism
We are connected by the same water, through that water
Through the water that flows in our baptism
We are connected through the water to every living thing on this planet.
Every living thing. In our baptism we are connected.
We are named, claimed and called children of God
We are washed in the water that flows in and among us all
Christ is all and in all.
Today’s gospel is about stewardship.
Stewardship of our resources
Our time
Our energy
Our money
Our love
God created everything out of nothing
God created you, created me, created us all
God loves you, loves me, loves us all
God calls us to spread the love, the wealth, the time, the energy
To us all.
Time and time again, Christ is caught messing with the system
Christ is caught preaching about the poor and blind in his hometown
Christ is caught feeding the poor
Healing the sick
Calling on people to give of themselves
Telling parables about lost sheep
Lost coins
Lost children
Christ performs miracles
Teaches
Preaches
Heals
Feeds
And feeds again
Never once asking if they deserve it
Never once asking if they needed it
Never once pointing out that if one was healed then everyone needed to be healed.
Never once pointing out solutions to our modern realities
Because Jesus lived in an unfair world
Not unlike this unfair world
Jesus lived to die
Jesus lived so that when we die
We would have a life with him
Our ticket on the bus is already taken care of
Our price has already been paid
Because the same Christ who stood up to the system that oppressed him
The same system that oppressed his friends
Neighbors
Jews
Gentiles
Tax Collectors
Samaritans
Lepers
Fill in the blank
Jesus stood up for them
For you
For me
That same Christ stood up, knew his time was due
And he died
For you
For me
Jesus died to save us all from ourselves
Our hatred
Our bigotry
Our indifference
Jesus the Christ died
Rose again three days later and saved us all
That’s the Good News
That’s the Gospel
That’s the truth that you and I… the truth that we all share
That we share together.
Together.
That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it
Together.
You and I and the McDonald’s fry guy
We’re in this thing called life together
What use is your money
Your time
Your energy
Your stuff
What use is it to you just sitting there
What use is it to anyone else but you
God saw the man with the crops, just sitting on his wealth
And God told the man his life was due
All his stuff… all his hard-earned stuff… was sitting there
We all have stuff.
I’m very conscious and cognizant about how much stuff I currently own, as it’s all being packed in front of me
Stuff I forgot about
Stuff I knew about
Stuff I don’t care about
Stuff that really… just needs to be thrown away
And stuff is good
Stuff keeps us going
Stuff gets us from point A to point B
Stuff gets us going in the morning and helps us with our day
Without stuff… well, we’d be just like the people on the street, without stuff
Or all their stuff is in a bag
Or a basket
Or a shopping cart
So many people have such little stuff
That our large amounts of stuff… looks… sad in comparison to their non-stuff
Some folks on TV have overwhelming amounts of stuff
There are many TV shows on many channels devoted to people having too much stuff
This acquisition of stuff… can be harmful to people
And yet, there are people who would offer all of their stuff… for just a pile of someone else’s stuff
Stuff. We need it. It gives us meaning
I have lots of stuff. All of us are lucky and blessed to have as much stuff as we do.
We should all count our blessings for our stuff.
When you reduce our worldly possessions, that honestly may hold so much meaning to us
Because we can tell stories about them… We know how we got them and why we got them and why we still need them…
When you reduce these worldly possessions to a word such as stuff
It’s almost silly. It’s really quite silly how often the word ‘stuff’ was just used…
But in reality, it’s all just stuff.
And in God’s reality… it’s all just God’s stuff.
And God’s stuff is beautiful.
We should all be thankful for our stuff, but we should all be willing to part with our stuff.
Ultimately, it’s not our stuff that matters, but it’s you. It’s me. It’s all of us
Christ is all and in all.
Christ lived, died for you, and for us all - to live a life together.
A man had ample crops to spare
And wanted time... enough to share
So store away his crops he did
Away from everyone he hid
But God looked down upon his head
And told the man he’d soon be dead
What use of crops had he if slain?
His time was up, no more to gain.
For Jesus told this parable
Not only to the culpable
But unto us he shared this tale
To listen, grow and to avail
Ourselves for service. All of us.
Because we all must ride the bus
It’s not enough to idly stand
Perhaps instead to lend a hand
For God is Love. And Love abounds.
So rock the boat.
Together.
Amen.
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