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Life Is An Ongoing Story.

The Choice Is Yours

6/10/2018

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There’s this game that new parents like to play with their toddler, and it is nothing less than ridiculous. I’m sure you’ve seen it or done it yourself – walk into a room and pretend you can’t see the young child sitting in plain sight. Each time mom asks,  “Where’s my baby?” an uncontrollable fit of giggles ensues.
 
Later, children take this game to their friends; only now it’s a bit more refined. One child will seek, and the others will quickly scatter to find the perfect hiding place. As the seeker counts down, the others try their best not to giggle or squirm…and blow their cover. 
 
For what often seems like eternity to those hiding, the seeker finally yells, “Ready or not, here I come!” and her mission begins. Looking behind trees and bushes the seeker calls out, “Where are you?” Those who are bold enough abandon their hiding place will make a mad-dash to home base trying not to get caught.
 
This timeless game seems to have gotten it origins in the third chapter of Genesis. It’s by far one of the most famous, well-know tales. By the time we get to our reading today, the serpent has already tricked Adam and Eve into disobeying God’s command to not eat the fruit of this one particular tree.
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:8-15

Playing their own game of hide and seek, the two hunker down in the garden like children attempting to hide more than just themselves. As God calls out, “Where are you?” they must make a decision, to stay put or run to home base and risk getting tagged.
 
I find it interesting that the first question God asks in Scripture is  “Where are you?” It seems to suggest that we are not where we ought to be. It’s the first of a series of questions asked by God – each one begging the question: What might life be like if Adam and Eve remained hidden from God’s sight forever?
In Judeo-Christianity all the brokenness of the world can point their finger at this “original sin,” as it’s often called. What happened in the Garden of Eden is considered to be the cause of our falling away from God. As such, Jesus becomes the antidote that redeems us back to God. It doesn’t seem fair that one single action would make us all suffer and risk losing God’s love.
 
As songwriter David Bazan sings, “Wait just a minute, you expect me to believe, that all this misbehaving, came from one enchanted tree?” Perhaps there’s more to this story than living with all the guilt and shame handed down by some ancient man and woman.

Just as any question requires an answer to be complete, when God asks, “Where are you?” we must ask ourselves: “How will I answer?”
 
Perhaps then this story is more about humble faith than it is about human failure.  We all have to make a conscious choice: to be faithful to God or faithful to one’s self. In theological terms, we are given “free will” which says we can choose God and thrive in the heavenly garden of life. Or we can to hide and toil through a hell of our own making.   The choice is ours. Or is it?
 
Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann jokes, “The serpent is our first theologian, who convinces humankind to trade obedience to God’s Word for a theology about God.” Instead of choosing to live faithfully and fully with our Creator, most humans and, let’s face it, most religions, prefer to play the creator, shaping God in our image so that we can live the way that suits our wants and needs.
 
At the beginning of Genesis 3, the serpent is described as the “most crafty of all the animals created by God.” What does that say about free will if our creator also created our temptation? In ancient Near East culture, the serpent was often venerated as a god of fertility (beginning of life), and a god of immortality (everlasting life).
​
Like we see in Genesis, the serpent was also regarded as wisdom. Freud called it ego. So here we have wisdom (ego) slithering into life (Eve) to convince humans (Adam) that we possess all the knowledge we need to be gods.
 
The serpent invites us to cut out the middleman. With God out of the way, you can take control of your own life; do what you want, whenever you want. But it begs another question: who can save us when our ego’s clash…or worse, when they come crashing down?  
 
Today, with Humanism on the rise and more people identifying as having no religious affiliation, this serpent is thriving. (One needs to look no further than our own political leaders to see enmity between us and snakes.)
 
Our ego has created a consumer driven culture that worships greed and believes materialism is heavenly and divine. But most people struggle to keep up. They find such belief leads to an endless hell – being consumed by the fires of debt, inequality, poverty and war.
 
Religious organizations are not without guilt – shaping God as they see fit. They claim exclusive rights on God, and push out those who do not agree with them. This is “the lowest level of human consciousness,” writes Richard Rohr. “Religion that doesn’t transform your consciousness to one of compassion” does not lead us to a higher state of peace, or nirvana, or heaven itself. But it does make a great hell for those marginalized and pushed away.   
 
The choice is ours.
 
The big story of the Bible is that Jesus came to reclaim us, all of us. And to refocus our attention on the One who made us in the divine image of God. Jesus did not come to start a religion. Nor did he ever say worship. Instead Jesus walked faithfully with God, rejecting his own ego for our sake. To follow him means to imitate his actions; to choose God instead of our own messed up, broken down self.
 
I’ll admit when left to my own devices I tend to fall hard. I beg to hear God ask, “Where are you?” so I no longer have to hide from my actions, or stuff my shame down any further. There’s something freeing about leaving your hiding place to run home. Only then can God tag you and say, “I got you.”
 
Eventually we all come to that place where the world no longer offers what our heart truly desires. Instead of joy and peace, you feel lost, abandoned, and emptied. You wake up realizing you no longer have what it takes to keep going. (Celebrities Kate Spade/Anthony Bourdain let their egos convince them that their disease was hopelessness.)
 
You begin to recognize that the fruits of your own creation no longer satisfy you. And you are done hiding. You’re done holding onto the shame and guilt.  No matter what the world or your own ego might tell you, you are never without hope. Jesus came and showed us the way home to God’s love and grace. We can choose to follow him home or stay where we are.
 
Is there something going on in you that’s causing you to hide from God? Is there something you’re ashamed of or some guilt you’re still burdened by? Maybe you believe all the stuff you’ve done, or what has been done to you, is somehow unforgivable.  It seems wisdom and ego cannot save you from these feelings.  
 
When God calls to the man and woman hiding, Adam not only gives up their hiding place but he also admits their guilt. He say’s to God here I am. And this is what I’ve done. Even though he passes the blame on to God, he still remains accountable to his action.
 
While the couple is reprimanded,  the serpent is the one that is cursed. This story is not about how we’ve messed up, but how we are forgiven, and loved.  God is not walking around our gardens trying to catch us so we might be condemned.God is walking into our lives, asking us where we are, because God wants to be with us, play with us, and give us what our heart truly desires. God wants to love us unconditionally, even if our ego tries to convince us otherwise.
 
God asks the question again and again, “Where are you?” How you will answer is up to you.

​
Work Cited:
Bartlett, David L. , Barbara Brown Taylor. Feasting on the Word: Year B, Vol. 3. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
Bazan, David. "Hard To Be." Curse Your Branches. 2009.
Bruggemann, Walter. Genesis. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982, pp.47-48.
Jolly, Marshal. episcopaldigitalnetwork. June 2018. http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2018/05/07/where-are-you-pentecost-3b-june-10-2018/ (accessed June 8, 2018).
Rohr, Richard. Immortal Diamond. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2013. 
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Rest.

6/3/2018

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 Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work...

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

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Of all the 613 commandments in the bible, most of us know only ten of them. And out of those Ten Commandments we tend to remember the ones that mimic our civil laws – do not kill, steal, or lie under oath.
 
Given our human nature, it doesn’t surprise me that we have trouble with the ones that hit a little closer to home: like idolatry, coveting, or remembering the Sabbath day.
 
In our consumer-driven, overworked, and overscheduled lives Sabbath is often pushed aside to make room for: a more important work project, or a kid’s soccer game, doing yard work, housework, or some other kind of busy work. God must have had a purpose for Sabbath rest otherwise it wouldn’t be a law.  
 
Of course, leave it up to Jesus to turn this commandment into a full-blown controversy – a familiar scene whenever Jesus confronts the Pharisees. When I read stories like this I can’t help but wonder if not just I, but we the people of God’s church, have gotten it all wrong. Are we doing what had God intended when he gave Moses the laws for us to abide by?

Sabbath is a gift from God that allows
the contemplative side of our humanity
​to be nourished so that we can flourish.  

I’m sure each time Jesus confronts the religious leaders, they think they’re doing a pretty good job. They believe they know what God wants and they faithfully check off the little boxes ever so rigidly.
​ 
Because the Bible is skewed in favor of Jesus, the poor Pharisees always seem like the bad guys. Even if they come off as being a bit pious or have a large stick up their…shirt, the Pharisees really are the good guys – the keepers and protectors of God’s law.
 
They’ve been doing this for nearly 200 years, when Jesus shows up on the scene to tell them they got it wrong. He does not do this to be combative, but instead to remind them of their true calling, to make sure that God’s children understand and learn how to live in the Spirit the law written on their hearts, and not be enslaved to it– be it on the Sabbath or in the ordinariness of life.   
 
As Trish Warren writes in her book Liturgy of the Ordinary, “God is always forming us into new people. And the place of that formation is in the small moments of life.”  
 
Jesus knew this and practiced this well. Even though he was the Son of God, Warren argues, Jesus lived a pretty ordinary human life. He got hungry. He smelled after a long day at work on the construction site. He had to clip his toenails, wash behind his ears, and eat his vegetables even if he didn’t like them.

Jesus was just like us. And as his followers, we are called to be just like him, even in ordinariness of our lives. We can make excuses about how busy we are, but I’m sure Jesus had a pretty busy calendar, you know with all the healing and preaching, and turning water into wine.

 
Even on the most ordinary of days, Jesus remained a child of God, obedient and holy, loving and kind. Not only did he uphold the Torah law, but he also lived it out perfectly in every aspect of his life. Because of this, whenever the religious leaders confronted Jesus he could stand in their judgment and rightfully hold up a mirror up to their faces.  What might we see if Jesus did that to us?
 
Today’s reading is one of those encounters. The Pharisees judge Jesus because of what his disciples are doing – picking wheat. Who cares if you’re hungry, right? The Sabbath when the law strictly prohibited people from working on this special day. Rules are rules, and God’s rules can’t be broken.  
 
But Jesus’ disagreement with the Pharisees is not over something trivial- like plucking grain. It’s about the action of Sabbath rest itself, and its relationship to our everyday, busy lives. So what is it about Sabbath that is so special?
 
You might know Sabbath law has a long history in Judaism, dating back to creation itself when God rested after making all this stuff. But as we read in Deuteronomy, it also spoke to the liberation of God’s people from over 400 years of slavery in Egypt where they were literally being worked to death.  It’s hard to enjoy this magnificent playground if you’re dead.
 
God handed Moses a law that required a day off from work to celebrate all God has done for us, his children. For six days you can work as long as you want on your budget report, but on the seventh close your Excel spreadsheet and take some time for sheer inactivity. Rest your body, recharge the batteries, and relax your mind so that you can find new solutions to old problems. Or spend time catching up with family and friends. In other words, Don’t Work Yourself To Death!
 
More than a day off, Sabbath is also a time to be in God’s shalom, to dwell in God’s presence and find your spiritual peace.  Sabbath is a gift from God that allows the contemplative side of our humanity to be nourished so that we can flourish. And grow closer to God.
 
The Pharisees must have forgotten this as they criticized the disciples for feeding themselves. Again, this was a simple, mundane task, no different than brushing your teeth or making your bed. And only the hardest of hearts would see it as breaking an ancient, time-honored law.
 
Jesus reminds the Pharisees that God gave us the laws, not to condemn us or enslave us, but to free us so that we can live in accordance to God’s righteousness. To get them to listen, Jesus tells the story of the mighty King David who fed his troops the sacred and holy bread of the Presence that only priest could eat. 
 
By claiming “the Sabbath was made for humankind,” and not the other way around, Jesus continues to reminds us that God gave us a day of rest so we would never forget the holiness of our own liberation and the sacredness of our restoration.  We honor the day, not with busyness but with blessedness.
 
Whenever we see Jesus and the Pharisees clash, we get a contrast between traditions and intentions. Jesus always draws a line between a religion that hardens hearts…and a gospel that opens hearts to the unbounded love and presence of God.
 
This is our Sabbath. And this is how we celebrate it with each other. It’s not very traditional by church standards, but whenever we gather to worship or be with each other in Christ’s name we are taking rest from our busyness. It’s here, in these ordinary holy moments that we remember we are God’s children – not slaves to our labor, our paychecks, or the things we buy with the money from our toil.   
The Bible gives us a ton of examples of Jesus using small, ordinary moments – like walking and plucking grain – to reclaim and redeem God’s Kingdom. It’s in these small moments Jesus reclaims and redeems us.  
 
In a culture that applauds and idolizes busyness, we ought not overlook or forget that Jesus identifies himself as the Lord of the Sabbath —the Lord of Rest! In Matthew’s gospel Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
 
One of the great blessings of the gospel is that Jesus invites you into God’s shalom, where you find the peace and rest from the busyness of life. More than a recharge of your battery, it’s a way to nourish your spirit so you can flourish in God’s love and grace.
The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.

~ Mark 2:23-28

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Tim Keller writes, “The purpose of Sabbath is not simply to rejuvenate yourself in order to do more production, nor is it the pursuit of pleasure. The purpose of Sabbath is to enjoy your God, life in general, what you have accomplished in the world through his help, and the freedom you have in the gospel—the freedom from slavery to any material object or human expectation. The Sabbath is a sign of the hope that we have in the world to come.” 
 
From meeting with people, having honest conversations, putting in long hours at work, sitting in traffic, grocery shopping, volunteering at your kid’s school, or taking a moment to enjoy sheer inactivity - every aspect of our life has a purpose in God’s kingdom.
 
For it’s in these moments we find Jesus standing in our midst, holding up a mirror for us to look in, and reminding us how to fulfill the will of God with a joyful heart, and not merely observe it or check it off our to-do list. 
 

Work Cited:

Bartlett, David L and Barbara Brown Taylor, Feasting on the Word, Year B Vol. 4. (Westminster John Knox: 2007).
Keller, Tim. http://qideas.org/articles/wisdom-and-sabbath-rest. (2015) June 1, 2018.
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    Rev. Ian

    has been blogging under the name: Jesus not Jesús: Looking for Christ in the face of strangers. You can read his posts and browse his archives by clicking here.

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