The Second Sunday of Lent: Psalm 27
Bill Steward: whsteward@mediacombb.net When I began my work as an itinerant United Methodist minister some years ago, I was comforted by believing that no matter where in Iowa I was appointed I would never be without three old-reliable, solid-as-a-rock resources: The Des Moines Register, the United States Postal Service, and Ann Landers/Abigail Van Buren’s advice columns. Duh. And now Ann and Abby have both passed from the scene. For those of you unfamiliar with Ann (1918-2002) and Abby (1918-2013): They were identical twins from Sioux City, Morningside College attendees, and authors of wildly popular dueling syndicated newspaper advice columns from the 50s-on. Think Suze Orman or Dr. Drew but with bigger audiences. Ann and Abby offered sanctified common sense for the millions. Their newspaper columns continue—but without their distinctive charm and chutzpah. Here are some classic quotes. *”Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as evidence that you are wonderful.” (Ann) *”People who fight with fire usually end up with ashes.” (Abby) *”Make someone happy today, and mind your own business.” (Ann) *”Fear less, hope more. Eat less, chew more. Talk less, say more. Hate less, love more, and never underestimate the power of forgiveness.” (Abby) *”The best index of a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good.” (Ann and Abby) I have attended to Ann and Abby through the years. Good advice has its place but don’t you agree that the best things anyone can ever say fall not into the category of good advice but good news? William Sloane Coffin, Jr. got it right: The best things that can be said aren’t in the imperative but the indicative mood. “If God’s love for us is the first and greatest thing that can be said about biblical faith, then the primary religious emotion is gratitude not duty. Duty calls when gratitude fails to prompt. So the great imperatives have to take second place. They are the signposts of faith. The indicatives are the hitching posts.” Aren’t these some of the best things anyone has ever said: *”The Sovereign One is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Sovereign One is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1) *If my father and mother forsake me, the Sovereign One will take me up.” (27:10) *”God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) *God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them.” (I John 4:16) Here’s some free advice: Read over your recent sermons and see whether you have been emphasizing the great imperatives or the great indicatives. When we preachers delete the great indicatives from our sermons, we become wasted and worn, tired and tiresome. One last bit of unsolicited advice, almost up to Ann and Abby’ standards: “Never give advice---it will just backfire on you.” (Father Guido Sarducci)
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Bill Steward: whsteward@mediacombb.net
First Sunday in Lent: Luke 4:1-13 The story of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness begins in the waters of baptism (Luke 3:21-22). I have come to believe that the familiar biblical illustrations of Jesus’ baptism misrepresent the event. John and Jesus are often pictured having the River Jordan to themselves, the only two in the water. But where’s the crowd? Where are all the others, young, old, young, rich, poor, yearning for a new life and a new world? The gospel writers make it a mob scene. Jesus was one of a restless, rebellious throng. Jesus came with the flood of people because he was one of them. He knew their hearts. He loved them---and believed that the future of the Kingdom-Reign of God was dependent upon their savvy and strength. After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness---where he again affirmed his commitment to the power and place of the people in the coming Kingdom-Reign of God. Jesus rejected using magical powers to turn stones into bread. He responded: NO---Only God’s people have the power to create a just and bountiful world that will endure. (4:3-4) Jesus rejected absolute political power. Jesus said: NO---The people are the only rightful possessors of power to govern justly. It belongs to them, not to the Roman Emperor, not to me. (4:5-8) Jesus rejected absolute religious authority. Jesus said: NO---All power that sustains and has revolutionary traction in history is bottom-up community-power. (4:9-12) Jesus was embraced by the common people (and crucified by the Roman Empire) because he was uncompromising: authentic power belonged to the people. He understood their essential role in God’s Kingdom-Reign. He refused to assume power himself because he knew that power that lasts through time is communal power. “Greater things you will do than I have done,” he testified. (John 14:13) He refused to do what we the people have the agency and responsibility to do for ourselves. Black History month is a good time to remember that the civil rights movement triumphed not only because of great individual leaders but also because of the tireless work of many indispensible and unnamed heroes---many of them “church ladies.” Lynne Olson has provided documentation in “Freedom’s Daughters: The Unsung Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement from 1830-1970.” Behind-the-scenes women were the ones who cooked the meals, set up and took down rally sites, walked and provided transportation during bus boycotts and registered voters. Typically, in 1963 the hundreds of students at Florida A & M University who were charged for protesting segregated movie theaters were mostly young women. Six of the Little Rock Nine, black teenagers threatened for integrating the public high schools in 1957, were young women. Amen, sisters. Jesus’ time of testing is over. His gaze is now fixed on us. “Follow me,” he says. The test is on us now. |
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