Proper 25 C + Finding hope + 10.23.16

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(from: looktohimandberadiant.blogspot.com)
Melissa Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Joel 2:23–32; Ps. 65; 2 Tim. 4:6–8, 16–18; St Luke 18:9–14)
“Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command (from the Collect of the Day).”
This collect touched me especially this week as I really needed the reminder to have faith. As many of you know we are in the process of potentially fostering and adopting a girl who will hopefully be placed in our home soon. And on Monday there is a decision in the courts that may decide this for us. And we cannot be there. And sometimes I get a bit anxious about that, wondering, what is going to happen if I cannot go and say my piece?
And one of the most wonderful things about being known as a pastor in this community is that on those rare moments when I lack complete faith in God, others sometimes come and inspire me to place my faith in God again. So this happened this past Friday. I was getting my regular eye exam at the optometrist and in the course of the exam I happened to ask if the optometrist accepted Medi-cal for children, since we are hoping to bring in a foster child and she will have Medi-cal. And he said yes, and how great! And he asked how it was going. And I explained a bit of the situation, and he said, “how complicated!” But then he quickly added: “You have to have faith in God. God will guide, I believe that.” And it was such a sweet moment because since he already knew I was a pastor he knew I was open to talking about God, and he was able to support me in having faith. I had to smile because this is what I try to do daily, encourage others in their faith, but sometimes pastors need spiritual support also!
And truth be told, that is what the prophets like Joel have done for the people over the ages. Yes they are famous for confronting the people of God, but they are also known to encourage them at times to have faith. Joel is talking to a very depressed group-they are worn out emotionally and spiritually but they are also physically hungry because their crop has been destroyed. They have lost hope. And he says, God will restore all of that. And how beautiful, that image of restoration: the old men will dream dreams and the young men will have visions! Beautiful. Because in our world we don’t hear a lot about dreams or visions right now, nor of the youth having hope for the future. They are there, but they are sometimes drowned out by fear.
And they are also drowned out by a culture that can tend to compare groups or pit them against each other.
I read a tattoo somewhere that says “comparison is the enemy of joy.” And that rang true for me because when we compare ourselves too much with each other we say all our value is to be found in being comparatively better than another person.
And that brings to mind the Pharisee from today’s gospel lesson. He is off at a distance. Not because he smells but because he is almost too good at following the rules. See, since he is so good at tithing and all that (a laudable thing in itself), his religious tradition has said that he can get dirty by mixing with those who aren’t so good at following the rules. Even if they are people that are going to the temple to worship! And then he goes on to compare himself with others around. Who knows if he knows anything about them, but they are surely awful people and he can’t take the risk of being seen with them. And that, combined with his virtuous actions, mean that God should definitely love him best.
The tax collector, on the other hand, is completely humble. He isn’t talking about anybody but himself. And he is full of shame. We know this from his body language. In his culture and time men simply didn’t beat their chests in this way unless they were in total distress. Women who were mourning did this, but this was rare for a man to beat his breast.[1] So he is completely vulnerable to God here. In his typical way, Jesus is also exaggerating a bit so we get the point. We need to focus on ourselves and our individual relationship with God. The main point here isn’t just to be humble. If we go that way, we end up comparing the good (humble) people against the bad (arrogant) people. And then we are no better than our friend the Pharisee. We are doing the comparison thing again.
And we know that our value as children of God does not reside in what we do or how we compare with our neighbors but simply in being the beloved children of God. In our relationship with our God. So if I feel anxious about something, I need to place my faith in God. If I begin to struggle with others or start to compare myself with them, that’s where my problems begin.
And this is what is happening on a larger level in our country right now. There is a temptation to compare ourselves with others. At least for me, if I am not careful I can say: this person is less deserving of my respect because he/she believes differently. But that doesn’t help anything. When we lose our basic respect for each other we lose our way. We do not see each other as the beloved children of God.
In Jesus’ time, the temple had ceased to be a place of gathering so much as one of division.[2] This is because people like this Pharisee had begun to see themselves as pure because they followed certain rules. They couldn’t see the good in others, especially if they weren’t the best rule-followers. And Jesus said, that isn’t the most important thing. Loving God and neighbor is the most important thing for a person of faith. So the followers of Jesus began to build house churches. To find unity with each other.
Now the division in our society presents itself in the different points of view that are being amplified through the prism of this current election season, but even more so in how we are tempted to respond to those differences. So we need to find that unity again with one another, despite and actually because of our differences.
This is a difficult time for our country. But we Christians are called to something better. How does it sound to you to evangelize, less specifically for filling our pews (although that would be good too) but more to show others how to treat any resident of this country with respect, regardless of his or her point of view? Not because we agree. But because the love that God has for each of us is so much bigger and more important than any difference we can identify.
If we treat each other with respect, conscious of the tremendous love in which God holds each one of us, and if we act and vote as our conscience guides, based on our own relationship with our God, I have faith that God will in fact make all things well. And then the old women will dream dreams and the youths will have visions again.


[1] Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, The Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003, 299-300.
[2] Ibid.

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