A Prophet's Vision (Joel 2:23-32)

Sermon as preached at Lambs and Evington UMC on 10/27/13

This week we begin a multiple week study into some of the lesser known prophets of the Bible. These prophets are sometimes referred to as the “minor prophets.” They may be called the Minor Prophets, but what they have to say to the Israelites and what we can learn from them is no less important. In fact the term minor prophet simply references the fact that these books of the Bible are far shorter than some of the longer prophetic books such as Isaiah or Ezekiel. Today we begin our study into these prophets by looking at the prophet Joel.  The words of Joel are amazing because they are able to speak to the Israelites of the time and yet are so powerful and relevant for us as believers today.  Joel is so important that Paul uses it in his letter to the Romans, and Luke references it in the book of Acts, which we will talk about shortly.

            Before we start into our passage for today, it is important for us to first get a better understanding of the book of Joel, why it was written and to whom it was written.  Throughout the history of prophets there seems to be a theme that runs through their words, this theme is probably over simplified but it seems as though when things are prosperous in Israel the prophets speak of repentance and foretell of destruction and gloom, and then when things are bad for Israel, the prophets seem to speak of hope. The history of Israel throughout the time of the prophets of the Old Testament lends itself to this type of theme. The history of Israel, (not the modern day nation) had a roller coaster of emotions, it was a history of ups and downs. For a while Israel grew under King David, and Solomon and some of the others. The borders expanded as well as their power.  Unfortunately as their power increased, so too did their egos. Many began to believe they no longer needed God and turned away, many distorted the teachings to fit their own economic and moral beliefs. For this reason we see many prophets coming to warn Israel to repent and turn back to God.  The destruction that the prophets warned about came true, as the Babylonians conquered Israel, destroyed the temple, and took many Israelites captive. During this time many of the prophets spoke words of perseverance, and words of hope that God would deliver them from this evil.  Once again the prophets’ words rang true, and the Israelites were able to return home where they would have to pick up the pieces and try to start life as a nation over again. Our prophet for this morning is interesting because this book contains both words of hope for the future while at the same time the warnings and call to repentance can also be found.  In all likelihood this means that Joel is writing in the times after the Babylonian exile, the Israelites are rebuilding a destroyed Israel, things are getting somewhat back to normal, which means the possibility exists to falling back into bad habits. Joel seems to be giving the Israelite hope for the future, but at the same time is warning them against the same actions that led to their initial destruction.

            Our passage that we are reading today from Joel is most certainly a message of hope. It is a hope for the building of a new kingdom, and a call to trust the Lord.  As I mentioned this was most likely written after the exile in Babylon, when the Israelites are trying to rebuild their once great nation, and yet it is probable that hope was lacking because these people had to try and rebuild something great from the midst of destruction.  Scripture also alludes to the fact that not only had the Israelites faced destruction from the Babylonians, but that there was some sort of famine that destroyed the land, most likely caused by some sort of locust. Yet in the midst of this despair, God gives the people hope through the prophet Joel saying, “The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. “I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame  You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.”   What wonderful words of hope!  A hope of a time in which there is plenty of food in the land, hope of a time when the Israelites will no longer be put to shame, hope of a wonderful and new Kingdom of God.

            As we read this text today as Christians we may begin to think, so what. So what if the Israelites are never put to shame again, so what if a new kingdom is built, what does that mean for us as Christians today? If we hear these words of Joel as simply words to the Israelites of that time, if we hear them as only words of hope of a rebuilt Israel, then yes there is not much for us to learn from this, other than the love and mercy of God. On the other hand if we hear Joel speaking not only to the Israelites but to all humanity, if we envision not just a new Israel, but rather a Kingdom of God, where God reigns over the Earth, then we  may start to understand the magnitude of Joel’s message for our lives.

            The Kingdom of God is something we as Christians frequently talk about, it is a hope that we hold dear as well.  Yet while it is a hope we have, it is also something that we have seen begun on Earth, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Christians we proclaim that Christ broke through barriers of sin and death, and brought for us a new covenant. A covenant that that provides eternal life through the grace of God, but also a covenant that declares the reign of God, the Kingdom of God here on Earth. Through Jesus, this Kingdom was established on Earth, and yet by looking around at the world today it is obvious that the Kingdom is not yet fully arrived. We see violence, we see greed and corruption, we see jealousy and hate instead of love, and yet through Christ we have the hope of the time in which the Kingdom comes in full glory, and we feast at a heavenly banquet. It is surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, a hope very much like the words of hope that we find from the prophet Joel in our passage today.

            The question may be asked though, if Jesus brought the Kingdom of God to Earth, and yet it is not fully actualized, then what happens now that Jesus has ascended to heaven? The answer to this comes in a familiar story to most of us, found in Acts 2, that is of course the story of Pentecost. Many were asking the same questions, what do we do now, but the Holy Spirit descended on the people gathered on that day and the church was founded. All were given ability to receive the Holy Spirit and to guide us. This was such a spectacle to see, that those who were observing thought that the members were drunk, but Peter responded, “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy,  your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.  Even on my servants, both men and women,  I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above  and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.  The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.  And everyone who calls  on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

            Do these words sound familiar?  Well they should because On that wonderful day of Pentecost, out of all the books in the Bible that he could quote from choses our passage from Joel. So what does this mean? Joel prophesies about a time in which all are able to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. In the time of Job that was something that was seen as being reserved for leaders and prophets, those who had a specific mission from God.  Yet Joel prophesies that one day sons and daughters will prophesy, that young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams, even the servants and the slaves will receive the power of the Holy Spirit. Joel is giving hope to the Israelites of a time in which the Kingdom of God was upon the Earth,  A time in which God reigned and all the people were led by the spirit. Peter on the day of Pentecost is telling us that that day has happened.  That the Holy Spirit has descended upon the people, that through Christ a new covenant has been established through water and the spirit. That the time had come when God would save his people through the power of Jesus Christ, and that we would all be able to receive the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. The Kingdom of God that  Joel has prophesied about had arrived.

            Yet we know that it is not fully here. There are still many without food, countless affected by violence. It makes us stop and wonder how is this possible? How is it possible that the Kingdom of God is both already here on Earth and yet not fully here?  Interestingly enough, this seeming paradox of the already and the not yet aspect of the Kingdom of God is very similar to our personal salvation as well. If any were able to attend last Sunday’s revival at Lambs, the guest speaker J.D. Jump went into a lot of detail of the nature of salvation and grace. That first and foremost in order to understand our salvation we must understand our brokenness. Ever since the fall of Adam of Eve in the garden of Eden, humanity has been plagued with sin. As Larry Davies pointed out the following night, when we talk about sin we most often think of the big and heinous crimes such as murder, theft and so on, and then we think to ourselves that we are doing well. Sin however is a condition, sin is like a disease, sin is our failure to perfectly follow Christ. When we truly reflect upon our lives, I don’t think there is anyone here who could truly say that they have not fallen short of perfectly loving and serving God. Once we realize our sinful nature we realize that we cannot save ourselves. Something has to happen to change us and make salvation possible. That something was of course Jesus. Through Christ we have received the grace to respond to God and to strive towards perfection. This initial response is known as justification, which is usually received through baptism. Justification allows us to turn away from the path that leads towards sin and death and leads us towards union with God. We are however not yet perfect, we still need grace to continue to lead us towards God and away from sin, this we call sanctification, or perfecting grace. In other words salvation is a journey that is only possible through the grace of God.

            When we start to understand how grace works in our personal salvation then we can start to see how it is possible for the Kingdom of God to have already been established, and yet not be fully here. Just as we personally are riddled by sin, so too has all of creation been affected by sin. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection not only brought us our own personal salvation, but brought salvation to all creation. Through Christ, sin and death were conquered and all are now capable of eternal life. Jesus established a new covenant on Earth, Jesus gave a hopeless world hope, and established the Kingdom, or the reign of God on Earth. As is the case with our own salvation, there is more needed than this initial response. Just as justifying grace made it possible for us to be saved, and sanctifying grace leads us towards that perfection;  Jesus’ life, death and resurrection on Earth brought forth the salvation of creation, and yet transformation through grace received through the Holy Spirit is still needed. This is why we can claim that through Christ the world was saved, and still hope for the day when creation is restored to full glory. This is why we can read the words of Joel from our passage today and see that the day of Pentecost is both the fulfillment of his words, and yet also just the beginning of the hope for a Kingdom that he is talking about. This is why this morning we can read these words of Joel with a new hope, knowing that we have saved through Jesus Christ, that the power of the Holy Spirit is with us, and yet at the same time through the grace of God strive towards the beautiful vision of peace that Joel describes. Joel’s vision is not just a vision of hope for the Israelites of his time, but is truly a vision of hope for us all.

The Squeaky Wheel? (Luke 18:1-8)

Sermon as preached at Lambs and Evington UMC on 10/20/13

There is an old saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We all have probably heard it, said it, and most likely witnessed the truth of the saying.  The saying of course means that whoever makes the biggest fuss, and is most persistent about it will usually get responded to quicker. We have all probably seen this happen countless times, whether at work with a coworker, or at home with kids. Just go into a grocery store or a superstore on a busy day when a bunch of kids are there, and you’ll see it at work. A child sees a toy or a piece of candy and cries and cries until finally the parent who doesn’t want to make  a scene gives in. It seems to be part of our most basic nature, after all it is a baby’s cry that signals when it needs a diaper change, or when it is sleepy or hungry.  As we read our scripture for today we find a scenario that seems very similar to our squeaky wheel scenarios. There is a widow who is refused by a judge, but after countless pleas her persistence pays off and the judge sides in her favor. On face value this parable seems to support the notion that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, in fact it even sounds like it is telling us to all be squeaky wheels. Is that what the parable is really saying?  There has to be some deeper meaning to this parable right? Well, let’s look deeper into this story, and when we do I believe we will find that this parable has a lot  more to say to us than what meets the eye.

            Our passage for this morning starts out by saying, “Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.”  This opening line makes it pretty obvious that this parable is about prayer, and yet when we look at the passage closely it seems as though justice is the theme that is focused upon the most. So which is it? Is this parable about our need for prayer, or is this parable about justice? That’s kind of a trick question. We always like to present questions as either/or scenarios but far so often in life, and especially when reading the Bible, the answer is not an either/or but as we used to say in seminary all the time, it is a both/and.  This passage is about both prayer and about justice.

            Oddly enough the parable is also about both the widow and the judge. We often call this the parable of the persistent widow, but if we focus on just the widow, we lose a large part of the message. This parable is pretty incredible in that we learn something when we focus on each character. The first character that we have in our parable is the judge. Jesus tells us, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.”  Jesus doesn’t give a name to the judge, and yet he still tells us a lot about him. Jesus says that the judge was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. Today we may interpret this as just saying that he was a mean man, maybe images Ebenezer Scrooge come to mind, but what Jesus is saying here holds a much deeper meaning. We live in a time of separation of church and state, where a judge can be Christian, but the role of judge is one that pertains to the state; it is not a religious occupation like clergy. In the times of Jesus the same type of separation did not exist for the judges. In fact, the judges were supposed to declare God’s judgment.[1] We see this in Deuteronomy 1 when Moses tells the judges, “And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. ¹⁷ Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God.”   We start to see that the role of the judge is not just to hear and judge upon different trials, but to in fact attempt to enact the justice of God. That means that a judge should be fair, that a judge does not get intimated by others, and at the same time a judge does not look down upon other because of their caste in life.  It was a very noble and religious position.

            And yet we see that this judge who is supposed to be fair, this judge who is supposed to enact the justice of God, does not even fear God, and does not care for people. This instantly tells the readers that this judge is not just. And so when the poor widow is introduced next in the story we know that it is not going to end well for her.  At first that is exactly what happened, the judge rejects the widows pleas for justice on many occasions, and yet the woman keeps coming back. Finally, after being worn down by the widow, the judge gives in and grants the widow’s plea. Earlier, I spoke about how this parable is a parable both about prayer and about justice, well here as we focus on the role of the judge, we begin to see how this parable pertains to justice.

            The judge is the epitome of the unjust. After all what type of person refuses a widow in the midst of her transgressions, and yet still we see that through the persistence of the widow, this horrible, this unjust judge changes his mind and grants the woman her plea.  Justice still finds a way to prevail, even with this horrible judge. This parable just goes to show us that even in some of the most extreme cases, justice is possible. The parable however tells us much more than this. A comparison between this unjust judge and God is expected to be made, but at the same time it is understood that God is nothing like this judge.  God is just, God cares for all of his people especially the poor, the downtrodden, and the widows. When we make these comparisons between God and the judge in the parable we see that they really are nothing alike. And yet, even with the horrible judge ruling in the parable, justice eventually prevailed. If justice is able to prevail when someone with a judge like that, then why would we expect any different from God?  In fact, we should be able to expect so much more. God is all loving, all knowing, all powerful, God is just, so what is there to stop God’s justice from rolling down like waters. It is as Paul says to the Romans, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?”   When we look at this parable from the perspective of the judge then we can learn about God’s amazing justice.

            There is however, much for us to learn from the perspective of the widow in this parable as well. We have already talked some about the status of the judges back in the time of this parable, but let us also look at the role of widows. In those times widows were some of the more oppressed and marginalized members of society. While there were certainly exceptions of women working and providing for themselves, Lydia for example; many wives relied on their husband for support.  In our day and age when a spouse dies, the widow or the widower is able to inherit the finances and property of their spouse. That was not the case in the time of Jesus. A woman was not allowed to inherit a property; this privilege was reserved for the next male kin, usually either a son or brother. [2] This often leaves a widow extremely vulnerable because they truly have no way to support themselves and are at the will of their husband’s kin.

            While it is true that widows were some of the most marginalized and vulnerable members of society, at the same time they were also according to scripture some of the people to be protected first and foremost.  There is a story found in 1 Kings about the prophet Elijah where he feeds a widow throughout a drought and then later heals the widow’s son who was on the verge of death.  In the New Testament we find many more calls for the protection of widows, from the book of James to 1 Timothy, and of course Jesus on multiple occasions not only speaks about the need to take care of widows, but actually does it.  All of this goes to show that even though the widow may have been one of the most vulnerable and marginalized members of society, they were also expected to be taken care of by those members of faith.

            So when we get to the widow coming before the judge asking for  justice, one would expect for her to receive a fair trial. After all as we mentioned before, the judge was also a religious position, and so he should certainly know to take care of the widow. And yet, this poor widow’s luck seemed to be bad.  She had lost her husband, she has been wronged in some sort of legal dispute, most likely a relative of her late husband who is not helping to take care of her, and now she has brought her case before the judge, who should help her in her situation, but she has the bad luck to come before a judge who neither feared the Lord nor had respect for people. This down and out woman had every reason to give up. It seemed as if the whole world were against her, it seemed as though no one heard her cries for help, would anyone really blame her if she had simply quit, given in and counted her life as a loss?  And yet this widow did not give in, despite all of the setbacks in her life telling her otherwise. She received the verdict from the judge and came back and pleaded. Time after time she was rejected and yet still she returned. This widow showed so much heart, so much persistence that in the end the judge could not take it anymore, and justice was served.      

            Jesus tells us at the beginning of the parable that this parable is about prayer, and when we look at the story from the perspective of the widow, we will find that this is true. At first glance however, this parable still seems to have nothing to do with prayer; after prayer isn’t even mentioned within the parable itself.  Thankfully, Jesus put the parable in perspective for us and shows us that the widow’s persistence is what we should learn about prayer.  He says, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.  “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?  I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"  

            When we read the parable as a parable about prayer and the persistence of the widow, it becomes easy to think that it once again is talking about the squeaky wheel. We could interpret it as if we pray hard enough to God, God will give us what we want, if we bug God enough then we will get our way. The problem is that we are saying that God is like the judge, but we have already determined that the judge is unjust, God is just.  We don’t need to beg and plea, because God is already good. And yet this parable is a parable about persistence in prayer, but if the reason we are persistent in prayer is not to get our get our way, then why should we be persistent?

            It is so that we can answer this question that we should look at this parable as being both about justice and about prayer.  As we stated earlier, when we read the parable from the perspective of the judge, then we can begin to understand God’s justice. That even a unjust judge can eventually do the right thing, so why wouldn’t we expect so much more from and all loving and just God? This parable tells us that we can count on the justice of God, and if we can count on the justice of God, why would we need to persistently bug God trying to get him to change his ways? The answer is that we don’t. When we go persistently to God, it is not to change God mind, but rather it is to put ourselves in full reliance on God. It is a way of saying, I trust you, even though things are tough. It’s a way of expressing our frustrations with God, all while still relying on the will and grace of God in our lives. It is also a way for us to be in constant contact with God even when things are well, because though things may be good for us, through constant prayer we may find ways in which God is calling us to serve the widows and marginalized in our society,  and how we connect with others through prayer. God’s justice and mercy allows us to be persistent prayers, trusting in that mercy and grace to carry us through, and realizing our need to be in constant communion with Christ.

---

[1] New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary pg. 336

[2] New Interpreters Bible Commentary pg. 336

The Power of Lamentations (Lamentations 1:1-6)

Sermon as preached at Lambs and Evington UMC 10/13/2013

I know that this is a little odd to go into this type of topic, especially right after I have celebrated the joy of a wedding, and since it is the first time many of you have seen me since; but today I want to talk about an often overlook, and a an extremely underutilized book of the Bible, Lamentations.  This scripture is actually from last week’s lectionary reading, but I found it to be so powerful that I wanted to speak about it today.  As I said, Lamentations is a wonderful book of the Bible that is far too often glanced over and forgotten about. Why is that?   Maybe it is because it is part of the Old Testament, but we still love to read from Genesis and Exodus, Isaiah and the Psalms.  Maybe it’s because it deals with difficult issues, and yet we find many of these issues in the prophets and in the psalms.  The reason I believe that we often overlook the book of Lamentations is because of the name itself.  Lamentations, lament, sadness; these are not issues that we want to deal with. In fact too often in the church these are feeling that we are not supposed to have. We have been told that we are always supposed to be happy. We have been told not to be sad because God is with us. It is true that God provides us with comfort, but isn’t possible that one way in which God comforts us is by simply listening to our lamentations?  For the most part this book of the Bible is just the people of God voicing their sadness, something that for many seems counterproductive and for others seems ridiculous because if you have God why should you be sad; and yet this book is here in our Bible, part of our historic canon. Maybe the truly is power in lamentation.

            Our passage for today is an especially powerful passage; this lamentation is not an individual lament, but instead it is a communal lament, for the lost city of Jerusalem. The reason for these letters was because the once proud and powerful nation of Israel had been conquered by the Babylonians. The Babylonians then took many of the wisest, wealthiest members of Israel and kept them captive in Babylon forcing them to be part of that society. Finally, the city and the Temple in Jerusalem were destroyed.  This book is a response to this horrible event in the life of Israel. “ How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal. She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.”  These words are not words of comfort in the midst of the destruction, these words are not an attempt to explain or to fix the problem, these words are simply a lament, and that is why they are so powerful.  Especially in our times today, and let me be the first to say that I am the biggest culprit of this, we often want to find ways to explain away all of our problems, we want to find ways to fix it, we want to move on, and all of those things are great, but do we every allow ourselves time to actually grieve?  Do we ever truly let ourselves lament? 

Photo courtesy of Christart.com

            Our passage for us today shows us that it is ok to grief, no, not that it is only ok to grieve, that it is good to grieve. When the Israelites lose their homes, their temple, everything that ever meant anything to them, what else are they supposed to do?  We see this also in play in our psalm that was read this morning, Psalm 139 in which the psalmist says, “ By the rivers of Babylon-- there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion.  On the willows there we hung up our harps.  For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How could we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?  The Babylonians were telling the Israelites to play those wonderful songs of Zion, and yet the psalmist replies so wisely, How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? How can sing with joy when we are in the midst of despair? Sometimes the correct response to a situation is to simply grieve.

            Luckily many of us will never have to face the destruction of our homeland, most of us will never become captives in a foreign land, and yet all of us will face grief some time in our lives.  Many of us have lost loved ones, and the sad truth is that we will likely lose more. Some of us have been through extremely difficult situations, the loss of a job, a failing marriage, addiction, abuse, some may even be going through a tough situation and now and all the world is telling you is to get over it, that it will all be ok, but this morning let us learn from the Israelites, let us learn from the book of Lamentations and say, I will try to beat, I have faith, but right now I need to grieve. Right now I need to let God know how much I hurt. There is power in lamenting.

            Not only is there power in lamenting for the one who feels desolate and lost, but there is a power for all of the body of Christ. When we gather each week for worship, we gather as a body that celebrates the work of God, but we also gather as a body that embraces, takes on the pain of those around them. It is as Paul told us, “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Lamentations are a way for the church, for the body of Christ to share in the lives of those around, that means sharing in the joy, but yes also sharing in sorrow. It is why we are able to come together this morning and in a few moments gather around the table, gathering as a people who are broken, gathering as a people in need of mercy and grace, but gathering as one body, the body of Christ. As we take from the bread and from the cup we are reminded of that unity as we all partake of the same body. We are all able to come to the table, to let out our deepest cries, our darkest laments, and at the same time experience the grace of Christ even through that very pain and brokenness. There is power in our lamentations, when we need to, let us pour them out before the Lord. The Lord can handle it, the question is are we brave enough to lament?