🦁 Proper 27

Readings: 1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Mark 12:38-44. 

Transcript

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First Kings. Chapter 17 verses eight through 16. Then the word of the Lord came to him saying, go now to Xero. Sarah fath, which belongs to side on and live there. For I've commanded a widow. Widow there to feed you. So we set out and went to Zara fath when he. Came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called. To her and said, bring me a little water and a vessel so that I might drink. And. She was, as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, bring. Give me a morsel of bread in your hand. But she said. As the Lord, your God. God lives. I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal and a jar and a little oil. And a jug. I am now gathering a couple of sticks. I may go home and. Prepare it for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. Elijah said to her, do not be afraid. Go and do, as we have said, But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me. And afterwards, make something for yourself. And your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. The jar of meal will not be emptied. And the jug of oil will not fail until the day that. The Lord sends rain on the earth. She went and did, as Elijah said, So that she is well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied. Neither did the jug of oil fail according. According to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. Psalm 146. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh my. My soul I'll praise the Lord. As long as I live. I'll. Sing praises to my God. All my lifelong. Do not put your trust in princes. and mortals. In whom there is no help. When their breath departs. They returned to the earth on that very day, their plans parish. Happier those whose help is in the God of Jacob. Who's helped us in the name in. The Lord, their God who made heaven and earth the. See and all that is in them who keeps faith forever. Who executes justice for the oppressed who gets food to the hungry. The Lord. Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up. Those who are bowed down the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers. Yep. Pulls the orphan and the widow. But the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever. Oh, your God. Oh, Zion for all generations. Praise the Lord. The gospel. Of mark chapter 12. Versus 38 through 44. As he taught, he said, beware of the scribes. Tribes who will like, who like to walk around in long robes and to be greeted with respect. And the marketplaces. And to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor. Honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance, Appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation. He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the. Crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. Uh, poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth. Uh, penny. Then he calls called his disciples and said to them, Truly, I tell you this poor widow has put in more than all of those contributing to the. Treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance. But she out of her poverty has put in everything. She had all that she had to live on. Good morning and welcome to first formation. This is brother Logan, Isaac broadcasting from Albany, Oregon. This morning was readings come to us from first Kings 17. Psalm 1 46 and mark chapter 12. Uh, this is also the Sunday. Before. Uh, national election and the Sunday before, or, um, The Sunday following. I'm sorry. Uh, national election. And a Sunday. Uh, just before veteran's week, which. Uh, is becoming a thing, especially on college campuses. Especially public colleges where they get a lot of money for veterans. Aaron services and Southern, increasing. The amount of time that they spend. And kind of patting veterans on the back. And at the time that's. It's fairly stressful. I know for me and. I won't speak for other veterans, but I know I'm not alone. And feeling that the attention. Attention is just hot air. Uh, to distract from. The fact that we don't really know how to have. Constructive conversations about. Um, organized violence and social. Responsibility. Um, and we like to think that the. Morally relevant distinctions between soldier and civilian. And the soldiers. We do all that violence and we sit back here and just reap the rewards of. Uh, the vestiges of colonial imagination. But that's just me, I guess. Um, I do bring. That up because the juxtaposition of a federal election. Section. And veteran's day, um, in. In the light of what I know and what my. My readers and listeners know on Martin alien and first formation. Formation that is that. Soldiers and veterans and military families. These are deprived of civil rights. Um, and that. One of the. Um, candidates for president. Has a bad history. Uh, Harris is attorney general ignored. At civil rights. Um, she will, if she has been elected. By the time everybody's listening to this, she will inherit a department of justice that has been. Been ignoring military civil rights for at least. 15 years under the hate crimes prevention act. Um, And so it's, it's a time when we are expected to. Just kind of fall in line because. We're afraid of the consequence. um, but in fact, We are. Are deprived of the things that our own services supposed to secure. And those. Our civil rights. So it's. A complicated. Time. Um, and it's no mistake. Uh, or coincidence that I've restarted first formation focused on the Sundays. Days. Uh, in this. Year, because the next three. The years, the next three liturgical cycles, we will be. Under a president that we've elected this week. Um, And whoever it is, uh, I have some concerns. And frustrations about both candidates. And part. Of me recording this when I do is to register, like I don't care who wins. I'm not happy with either of them. Um, even. As, uh, undesirable as one may be over. Over the other. Um, Yeah, with it's. It's a complicated time, but I think scripture and what we. We believe in and what we say we believe in what we really want to believe in is important. To kind of ground us in times. That can be, um, Frustrating and confusing. And one of the readings from today, first Kings 17. 17 deals with Elijah and the woman of zero fath. Who has this miraculous encounter with the prophet? And who. Who. Is apparently a widow. And who's one child. Child is also endangered. She's says we're basically, this is. Going to be our last meal, this this meal. This jar of meal. Um, is what my son and I are going to have as our, our. Our last. You know, meal together. And Elijah. Reassures or. No, no, don't worry about that. Uh, because the. Uh, profits. And the God they speak for y'all way, have a Partyka. Particular care for those who have been disenfranchised. Has a particular. Concern for communities. Uh, for whom they're. Our political power has been stolen. Um, or has. I've never been there in the first place. Um, but it's also a. A foreshadowing of another encounter that. Elijah's disciple. Alicia has with the Shulamite woman who also has a son. Son who will die and who Alicia will raise from the dead. Uh, or will be raised from the dead. Um, I. I shouldn't say a lie. Alicia did it. I haven't even that one, the Shulamite woman is a. Uh, another kind of foreshadowing of the widow of Nane that Joshua, the Messiah cures. Uh, right. Before the encounter with captain Marvel or just insuring great faith. Um, and I point those out, not only because they're parallels, uh, There are stories that are recurring through scripture. Um, but also. Also because it has to do with military. Um, that we. Uh, one of the things that I've. Known for some time. Time and has integrated itself in my writing and work. Is that if. We, if, if we're uncomfortable with the military, um, and we try. And like, We've or rather unraveling. from our own spiritual traditions. The entire thing just. It comes apart. Um, God has called a man of war and Exodus. 15. Um, and Mary, uh, His. You know, the, the mother of God's child. Um, is unwed and is therefore a military spouse. Because if God is a man of war, Um, but also because the Messiah. It is the embodiment, not just of the high priests, but of. The divine warrior motif that's uh, uh, clear. And apparent in the oldest parts of scripture and all. All the prophetic literature. Um, and so the, the desire. To look away from those who sacrifices secure. Our privilege. Millage is nothing new. We've been doing it. And I mean, we. We in the traditional sense, not necessarily in the historical political sense, if. We are grafted on to the vine of Judaism. If we. We believe in the God of Abraham. Um, we cannot. B. Faithful people and deny. The military. Uh, impact or the. The intersection with the military that our faith has. Um, but if you talk to field logins and scholars, you know, the scribes of today, Today. Um, they'd be kind of clueless. We've been calling this Messiah. Jesus for a long time. Um, and the English world, um, Um, even though his name Anglicised already has, it's already been anglicized. As Joshua. Um, it wasn't until the fourth century. That Jerome. Rome decided to distinguish the Messiah. Joshua. Not by, you know, What other traditions? Had done, for example, the Greek Orthodox church. They call them Joshua son of Mary. Mary, um, Jerome said, no, no, let's just use when. When we bring the Greek. Um, which is set to again, was written in the. The Christian scripture was written. And when we bring it into the Imperial language of Latin. Let's just call the Messiah different name. And when we worship. Jesus. Jesus can become whoever we want. Because Jesus has become divorced from the narrative. A lineage of scripture, Joshua. is the name that Miriam or Mary was told to give her? Her son. Josh was the name of the military commander and on the sixth. Book. Uh, of the Bible immediately proceed, uh, succeed. Succeeding Torah. It's also the name of the son of Jozadak, who. Was the high priest. And who oversaw the rebuilding. Of the temple, the second temple under Zerubbabel when the Persian. Emperor who was called the Messiah or a Messiah. Uh, provided. The means to rebuild. And so these Joshua's are important. Um, and he's Josh was our intended. By scripture to be foreshadowing the Messiah. Um, And so it's. As much as as much effort and time. Time. And energy as we've put in to exit Jesus. If we miss. You know, one or two very important things. If we overlook or. If we have the ability to overlook or ignore. A few. Very important details. Eventually the, the theology that we spend from. From that. Insufficient exit Jesus. Becomes toxic. Toxic. It becomes poisonous. In the ancient world. Um, poison and medicine where the same word, far McCoy. Um, we can take what is intended to be medicine. And we can take out just one ingredient. And when we come. To a finished product. It could be poison rather than medicine. Listen, if we haven't done. The careful work of. Uh, mixing our, our faith. Our spirit. Spirituality our religion. Um, and something as simple as. The name that we give to the Messiah. Um, can be overlooked. And, uh, ignored. And we can eventually come to a point as. We are in America where we think we have no. Moral, uh, uh, uh, offense. When we. We realize that our democracy. Uh, demands. Is that soldiers give up the rights that they fight for, for everybody else. Um, Jesus came as a divine as the embodiment of. The divine warrior. Um, there's hints and. Um, suggestions throughout the Christian scripture, as well as the Hebrew. Hebrew Bible. Um, but by the time Jesus. Comes on the scene, Joshua. Um, just like today there's enough. Enough going on. That we. Can. Just as our forebears, forget the real. And kind of grounding truth of what. God, the. The God of Israel, your way, what God does. In the world. World and how that happens. Um, And the profits are there to remind us. Um, the profits are. Are there to speak. Uh, with God's voice. Not for God, but. Uh, the profits are. The most. Direct kind of communication that the people. Uh, can have from God. And. When Jesus elsewhere in scripture says, you know, you've killed the profits. It isn't the, the profits death is not martyrdom most. All of the profits. Uh, died of old age, natural causes. Um, I think it was, uh, Zeke. Who died. I have an illness. Isaac. Uh, Jeremiah died in exile. Like, you know, John, the baptizer was beheaded. But that's a. Minority in, within the prophetic witness. Most profits. It's to kill them is to ignore them, to render them. To irrelevance or to silence. Um, and thereby. Silence the word of God in the world. The. The spokespersons of God in the world. Um, and so. It's not that. We're out here, you know? I don't think it's ever. True that while it might be, but I think it's rarely ever true that people have. I have some bad faith. Or they just hate the poor. It's. It's that we've forgotten what it means to be in relationship with the poor. By merit of God's care for the poor. Um, In. The work of God in reconciling all things. Bridging the gap between all divides, where the rich and poor. Uh, male or female black or white, we forget. What it means to speak truthfully about our relationships. It's to one another. Um, and if the profits do one thing, It's reminders. Mind us that we're no better than the poor. Um, to not get so Erik. Arrogant to think that they've done something bad to deserve what they've done. Now we've done something bad and we tell them that they deserve. What they've got, even as we hold the keys to their own freedom in our own hands. Um, and so we have to be careful. Passing. Uh, judgment. If we've forgotten what it means to love God and neighbor. Because we'll think that, you know, The widow's mite was. It just was didn't compare with. With the great. Extravagant gifts of the wealthy. Jesus. And mark says, no, actually. She didn't have anything to give. And so what little she did have to give meant everything. Um, Um, and we S I think it's important to. Uh, keep. Our. Our hearts, right. By listening to those voices, we prefer to. Keep out of mind. Um, because it starts. With refused. Fusing to acknowledge that someone below us or beneath us has something important. To say. Um, And it ends by you. You know, not just ignoring them, but taking action to silence them. And that's almost. Almost always. How the martyrs were dealt with, you know, We can't shut you up. Um, so we will, we will shut you up. Um, and I think that's, I don't think there's. A. A vast difference between looking down. On someone with no money. And less, you know, to give. Um, I don't think that's. Yeah. I don't think that's much different than, um, doing something. That consigns them to that, to that fate. Making them poor. Sure. You know, In perpetuity instead of helping them out. Um, and so the prophetic. Impulse. Else and the prophetic. Act. Doesn't always meet with. Violence. I mean, it's too easy to simply ignore them or to tell ourselves. They have nothing meaningful to say, are there. Just rabble-rousers. And that's the first step on the well intention road to. Too. Um, If not damnation, certainly. Uh, Corrupted relationships and corrupt. Society.