St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church
3800 East Third Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47401
(812) 332-5252
Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (February 11, 2007)
Liturgical Color: Green
Reverend Kelli Skram
"Sleeping with Bread"
Following the bombing raids at the end of World War II, thousands of children wound up alone, without a home to shelter them or parents to provide for them. Some of these orphans found their way to nearby refugee camps where they were cared for by strangers. But even after their lives had settled, these children of war had difficulty sleeping at night. Many of these little ones were haunted by the nightmare of waking, once again hungry and unable to find food to fill their stomachs.
And so, it occurred to someone that the children needed something to comfort them at night. The book Sleeping with Bread1 tells how caregivers began a nightly routine of handing each of the orphaned children a piece of bread — their next day's portion — to cling to while they slept.
To us who have heard about post-traumatic stress, it comes as no surprise that even after these children's lives became more secure, they feared the worst. It is surprising though, to hear that such a simple gesture could calm the children's nerves, enough to help them make it through the night. Just one meager piece of bread was all it took to help these children remember that life was different now.
We humans have difficulty imagining our lives looking any different than they do. Whether we are drudging through the dissertation process, burned out by the dull routine of daily work, engulfed by grief, or afraid for our safety, it is often hard for us to see beyond our immediate surroundings. Even when life is lovely, it can be a challenge [for us] to picture our days looking any different. We grow accustomed to the landscape of our lives and we forget that there is any other way of being in this world.
The people of Jesus' day had this same problem. They, too, had grown accustomed to the landscape of their lives. For the people of that time, the socio-economic realities of life were thought to be the result of divine reward or divine punishment. One's quality of life was contingent upon one's behavior. It was believed that the rich had, by their obedience, earned God's favor and that the poor had, somehow, fallen short of God's great expectations. People assumed that anyone who was strong, successful, or well-to-do, had gotten in good with God somewhere along the way. Likewise, they assumed that suffering or sickness meant a person had succumbed to sin.
Whatever one's lot in life, it was believed one's general state of being was not subject to revision and so, hopelessness was not in short supply in those days. But many people who had given up hope were drawn to Jesus. And so they traveled long distances under difficult circumstances to meet Jesus. Those who had been hopeless came to hear Jesus and to touch Jesus. And inevitably, indiscriminately, Jesus healed these sojourners. Somehow Jesus made each one whole again.
In today's gospel reading, Jesus has recently recruited the twelve apostles from among a larger group of disciples. And now that the team is assembled, people from all walks of life, people with all sorts of troubles, have come in hopes that they, too, might experience the healing power of God. Out of this context — one of hope and healing — Jesus looks up at his disciples and he begins to speak.
First he speaks about the poor and the hungry, the despairing and the persecuted. Now the Greek word Jesus uses to refer to the poor points the poorest of the poor — the destitute. Yet, surprisingly, the spirit of Jesus' words is not one of condemnation or even pity, but rather congratulations. Blessed are you!! Like gods are you!! God's kingdom is yours!! Jesus has already announced that God's kingdom is among them, and now he is establishing who will get preferential treatment there — those who have been ignored, neglected, disregarded, or discarded by human society.
Jesus' tone shifts when he speaks about the rich, the well-fed, the happy and the proud. To these groups of people, Jesus extends words of woe — almost in the style of the prophets, except that Jesus seems to be speaking about something more immediate than the changes prophets once foretold. Just as Jesus depicts a new way of life for those who had been poor, Jesus warns of imminent change for those whose lives have been relatively carefree. According to Jesus, those who do not know what it's like to be overlooked will now know a new way of life.
With his words, Jesus puts everyone in their place. Jesus' words are the frame of a brand new structure. His words pronounce a re-ordering of society, a repairing of a system that is so obviously broken. The God whose reign has come among us has a different standard for worthiness than the humans do.
No longer will people point the finger of blame at the have-nots or the hungry. No longer will the world blame the suffering for their suffering. In God's kingdom, the outcasts, the losers, the lowliest of the low, are the prime recipients of grace. Those who have been marginalized by human society, those who have been shoved aside, neglected and forgotten, they will be most revered in God's kingdom. They are valued subjects in God's new world order.
Now I have to be honest and say that as I read in preparation for this sermon, in most cases, the thoughtful theological reflection on the text came to a sudden halt. Time and again, well-respected theologians ducked beneath the veil of charity. They were willing to affirm and even applaud God's love for the poor. But in many of the readings, far too many of the readings, a tremendous vault of verbiage and extraordinary rhetorical energy was expended in suggesting that this passage does not prescribe any change in behavior for the "haves". Time and again the theologians argued that Jesus is simply stating it like it is in God's kingdom. And I suppose they are right on that count...but isn't it the reality of God's kingdom that shapes our lives here and now?
As I read the commentators, I was reminded of the person who discovers a lump and is so afraid that the tests and treatments might hurt he opts not to go to the doctor for a diagnosis. If it's going to hurt, well then, never mind. Let's just keep the text at arm's length. Let's just appreciate God's Word from afar. Well, that is not how I was taught to read scripture!!
By virtue of our baptism, you and I have been drawn deep into God's Word. By virtue of our baptism, we have been invited to follow Jesus, to live as Christ's disciples. It is not always an easy call. And today, it is scary to wander through Jesus' words of woe, because unless I cover my eyes and close my ears, I cannot deny the reality that I live a pretty comfortable life. I cannot deny that, proportionately speaking, I don't spend that much in terms of time or resources caring for the poor. I am a person of privilege in this social order; I cannot deny that reality. But I also cannot deny God's reality. And even if I did deny it, it wouldn't matter, because God's reality is the reality that ultimately defines the way things are.
As uncomfortable as it may make us, Jesus issues us an unambiguous invitation to reorder our lives in a way that is consistent with the re-ordering that happens in God's already-established kingdom. When we engage today's gospel text, we lessen our grip on the goods to which we've grown accustomed. When we engage today's text, we begin to trust less in things that give us a false sense of security, and more in the God who renews our hope.
Still most of us do not do discomfort — not willingly at least. If I am truthful, I have to admit that I'll do almost anything I can to avoid discomfort. If it's not comfortable, chances are I will not do it. Not for fifteen minutes of fame on Fear Factor. Not even for a million dollars. But God's kingdom calls me to consider God's standards before I consider my own personal comfort. And in God's kingdom, the norm is that human beings are treated like human beings. Under God's rule, people receive what they need to live. In God's kingdom, nobody is denied the dignity and decency of basic food and drink.
Theologian Craig Nessan, who was one of my seminary professors, has written a book entitled Give Us This Day: A Lutheran Proposal for Ending World Hunger2. In it he argues that seeking a solution for hunger is not an "optional program" that congregations and Christians can choose to support if they feel like it. Nessan says we cannot confess to be Christians who believe in the gospel unless we also oppose policies and practices that exploit the poor. We cannot pray that God's kingdom come to us without at the same time working to change the systems and situations that perpetuate hunger among people.
A Christian, a true follower of Christ, cannot turn a blind eye to the big picture:
that 800 million people in this world are chronically malnourished; that one in 10 people in this country are hungry or at risk for hunger; or that in the time since I began this sermon, more than 60 children have died of hunger-related causes3. Are you and I too comfortable to care about these realities? Are we too busy to bother? Or are we followers of Christ who heed the cries of the hungry simply because we believe in the reality of God's kingdom here among us?
How blessed are we to have gotten a glimpse of God's gloriously shocking kingdom — a kingdom in which every life matters!
How blessed are we to know that our God has got priorities, and topping the list is the healing of creation!
How blessed are we, that our God does not stand idly by while humans suffer!
How blessed are we, that Jesus invites us to be a part of this new creation!
How blessed are we, that God's Word nudges us out of our comfort zone!
How blessed are we that today Jesus comes to us, and by Christ's power we are healed!
Today our eyes are opened to see the world as God sees it. You and I hear the words of our Lord and we are called out from our old way of life into a new way of being in and relating to the world. And as part of that process, today Jesus gives us himself. Jesus hands over his own body and soul. Jesus pours out for us his power and his passion and his strength. Jesus breaks off for each of us a piece of bread —
a little something to hold in our very own hands,
to remind us that our lives are different now;
a little something to get us through the night;
a little something to move us, all of us, together, toward the new day. — Amen
1Linn, Dennis, Sheila Fabricant Linn, & Matthew Linn. 1995.
Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life. Paulist Press
2 Nessan, Craig L. 2003. Give Us This Day: A Lutheran
Proposal For Ending World Hunger (Lutheran Voices). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress.
3 Nessan, p. 53
