Blessed

Prayer of Illumination

Me inoi tatou, Let us pray;

Eternal God,

in the reading of the Scripture, let your Word be heard;

in the meditations of our hearts, may your Word be known;

and in the faithfulness of our lives, may your Word be shown.

Amine/Amen

 Introduction to the Bible Reading 1

The lectionary readings continue the story of Jacob, who has already extorted his twin brother Esau’s birthright for a bowl of soup or stew. The story devolves from there. With his mother Rebekah’s help (remember, Rebekah favoured Jacob while Isaac favoured Esau), Jacob next intentionally deceives his father to receive the blessing Isaac intended for his elder son, Esau. As a result, Esau plans to kill his brother.

And Jacob? Jacob has fled for his life. His scheming to obtain birthright and blessing has left him homeless and on the run. But the irony is, the destination of his flight was Haran – the place where his grandparents Abraham and Sarah first demonstrated their trust in God by setting out on their promise-driven journey. For Jacob, it is as if he, too, needs to go back to the beginning – and learn what it means not to scheme but to trust.

Listen now to the story of Jacob as it is woven into the words of Psalm 139 and its acknowledgment of living in the mystery of God’s presence.

Bible Reading 1 Genesis 28:10-19 and Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24

(divide congregation in half)

A: Genesis 28:10–11 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.

 B: Psalm 139:1–4

You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.

 A: Genesis 28:12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

 B: Psalm 139:5

You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.

 A: Genesis 28:13–14 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.

B: Psalm 139:6

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

 A: Genesis 28:15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

 B: Psalm 139:7–12

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

 A: Genesis 28:16–17 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

 B: Psalm 139:23–24

Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

 ALL: Genesis 28:18–19 EARLY THE NEXT MORNING JACOB TOOK THE STONE HE HAD PLACED UNDER HIS HEAD AND SET IT UP AS A PILLAR AND POURED OIL ON TOP OF IT. HE CALLED THAT PLACE BETHEL.

Introduction to Bible Reading 2

Today’s reading from the book of Matthew has one of Jesus’ many parables. This one, that tells of the wheat and weeds, provides a vision of the world now and the one to come.

As you listen ponder these questions – What does it mean for the world to have both wheat and weeds in it? How do we feel if we  hear it as wheat and weeds dwelling within each one of us?

 Bible Reading 2 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (rostered reader – any version)

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Sermon “Blessed”

Blessed. (Or ‘bless-ed” as I often find myself saying from years of hearing the King James version.) To be blessed is seen as such a good thing, a thing to aspire to, and yet do we really understand it?

In the book of Job, he is called blessed by God. But is only when he starts loses things that we discover why he is considered blessed. He was blessed with many crops and fields, animals and slaves, houses and land. Therefore, he is no longer blessed when he loses them. When his children die, he is told they were a blessing that he no longer has. And when he loses his health and is reduced to sitting in the dirt scraping his sores in agony he is told to curse God and die.

Job is one of the oldest biblical writings and shows us how little human nature has changed. So many people, even Christians, believe that they are blessed by God when we have material wealth, or health or many children or are seen as successful and famous. Conversely, if we do not have these things we feel cursed, or at least not blessed. Continue reading Sunday 23rd July →

Readings

Genesis 24: 34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Abraham didn’t want Isaac to marry a Canaanite woman so he sent his servant back to where he had come from to find a wife for Isaac.

The servant did that and met Rebekah at the well, who was the daughter of Abraham’s brother, and he tells her of his mission and she goes back to her mother and her brothers.  Her brother Laban comes and meets Abraham’s brother and we pick up the story as the negotiations begin.

Chapter 24 is the longest of the stories in this part of the Bible and different because, instead of acting directly, or through angels, God is seen acting though everyday events.^[1]

Susan Niditch notes that in this story ‘women are valuable commodities as precious as the water with which they are associated, but commodities nevertheless’^[2]

Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30

The children in the market place might represent a court setting at the centre of a city or town just as a market is the centre or children playing make-believe courts.

We are reminded that the courts condemn John and Jesus but they marginalise themselves by excluding themselves from God’s purpose.^[3]

God’s purpose is hidden from the traditional leadership but revealed to the small band of ordinary people who are Jesus’ disciples.

Sermon

Our Gospel reading begins by Jesus comparing his generation with children playing in the marketplace and complaining that other children won’t play with them.

We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn (Matthew 11:17)

When I was a kid we never had a section less than half an acre and other kids were allowed to come and play.  Raewyn and I never had a section quite that big but we continued the ‘everyone welcome’ rule and were quite surprised that one of the neighbours was not allowed to play with friends at his place because it spoiled the lawn.

We did however observe a frustration we remembered from our own childhood.  To play in harmony children have to reach a consensus on what they choose to play.  They might not call to each other as highlighted in the gospel reading.  ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn (Matthew 11:17)

But the words ‘I don’t like this game so I’m going to take my ball and go home’ frustrated my childhood as well as the group my kids grew up with.  My grandson plays computer games with a kid in Australia which just frustrates his father and step mum who are both outdoor adventure junkies.

However, the main point of this small passage is that Jesus is using the squabbles that erupt in children’s games as a metaphor for the way he saw the society that they lived in.  Verse 16 begins ‘But to what will I compare this generation?’ (Matthew 11:16a) In other words, what is the way this community functions like?

Jesus then expounds on his children’s games metaphor by expressing his frustration about the contrasting reception people had given to both John the Baptist and himself. Continue reading Sunday 9th July →

There’s no pleasing everyone! Proper 9A 20230

There are some people you just can’t please! They’re never satisfied. I’m sure you’ve heard that – many times. I’ve said it myself, but the unspoken bit is always “ I’m not one of those people.” The saying reflects a very common human trait– and one that we seem to be able to see more easily in others than in ourselves. We often make judgements about other people who grumble about what we see as perfectly acceptable. We’re also inclined to think that our opinions about what makes a good environment to live in are reasonable – everyone should be able to see that! And when someone bursts onto our horizon making off the wall statements or suggestions about how we could do, or be, better, our hackles go up.

Take our city of Christchurch. I’m sure we’re not unique in having a thousand different opinions about every project that impacts on the public. In my lifetime we’ve had protracted arguments about roads encroaching on Hagley Park; about where the art gallery should go, and then about what its design should be, about what shape the museum windows should have; about whether you should fish off Brighton pier. Post- earthquake phase we had views about the future shape of the city (and the schools) –we were all sure that ours were the right ones. Even though we know, underneath, that we weren’t thinking about the public good, not really – we expressed our own preferences! I, for instance, think the covered stadium is a total waste of money – but then I haven’t watched a rugby match since I was in the Fourth Form. And I’m really perfectly well aware that my desire to hear orchestra concerts in a truly adequate venue is a minority view!

Our rather odd gospel text picks up some aspects of this quirk of human nature – this desire for something other than what we have, that isn’t necessarily what someone else – some person of status – proposes. Theoretically, Israel desired to be in communication with God through the prophets. Theoretically, Israel desired to hear that the Messiah was about to come. Times were hard. A foreign power had oversight of the land – and a stranglehold on its economy, and the ruler favoured by the Romans was hardly satisfactory. Israel mourned lost greatness- although whether in fact there had ever been a golden age is a moot question. And yet – when John came proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, the people turned away. John was too harsh and too judgmental. Nobody likes being harangued. Nobody likes being called ‘a brood of vipers’ – that’s hardly the way to win hearts. Moreover John didn’t even seem to be talking about good times. He wasn’t going to sing and dance and have fun. Also, he wasn’t respectable! He was interesting, maybe. OK as an afternoon’s entertainment down by the Jordan, but that man wasn’t really ‘one of us’. No need, then to take him seriously.

And then, along came Jesus. He welcomed people. He was gentle with them – mostly. He was ready to sing and dance. He was happy to join in celebrations, like wedding parties – why, he’ even been known to provide the wine! He liked good company, especially at the meal table. He had friends. But then, what about those friends and followers? They weren’t very impressive, some of them –not even respectable. What about those dinners when everyone was welcome on equal terms. Who would want to sit down with some of those people? Inclusiveness is an interesting idea, but let’s not take it too much to heart. We have standards to maintain after all. Continue reading Sunday 2nd July →