Inscribed Faith - A Sermon for Sunday July 14, 2024
FIRST READING: Amos 7:7-15
A reading from Amos.
Amos is not the kind of prophet attached to temples or royal courts. Rather, he is an ordinary farmer from Judah (the southern kingdom) called by God to speak to Israel (the northern kingdom). God’s word of judgment through Amos conflicts with the king’s court prophet Amaziah, whom Amos encounters at Bethel.
7 This is what [the Lord God] showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“See, I am setting a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
I will never again pass them by;
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,
‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.’ ”
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, 15 and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ ”
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL: Mark 6:14-29
The holy gospel according to Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.
As Jesus and his disciples begin to attract attention, Mark recalls the story of John the Baptist’s martyrdom. Like John, Jesus and his disciples will also suffer at the hands of those opposed to the gospel of salvation.
14 King Herod heard of [the disciples’ preaching,] for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
17 For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. 18 For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. 21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. 22 When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” 23 And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” 25 Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
We just heard a dreadful gospel
amidst an exciting time for us.
We have wrapped up Synod Conventions for the year,
It’s Summer holidays for students,
we just celebrated Canada’s Independence
We’ve finally got water service back to normal,
Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow.
and we wrap up Stampede week today.
Calgary and the Stampede go hand in hand.
Even with extreme heat,
hundreds of thousands attended the stampede
while many others took this opportunity
to get out of town!
If you go to their website,
you’ll learn that the Calgary Stampede is:
a not for profit community organization
that celebrates western heritage,
cultures and community spirit,
making a lasting economic impact in Calgary.
Some say that the Stampede is really known for
being overpriced,
greasy food,
increased crime
and the obnoxious midway.
They wont put that on the website.
But we would generally agree that the Stampede
follows through on their values:
Western heritage - check
cultures, plural -
considering the new Elbow River camp
and Indigenous programming - check.
Lasting economic impact?
well, I attended on Wednesday
and might need to take out
a second mortgage on my home
to pay for it.
So yes, lasting economic impact.
and yes, generally speaking,
the Stampede lives into their values.
One of our members shared a video with me recently,
from the Canadian Bible Society
called “Who we are: Faith that shaped a nation.”
and I’d like to share it with you now…
https://biblesociety.ca/faith-that-shaped-nation/?utm_source=CBS+General+List&utm_campaign=f2a79b9dff-EMAIL2024video_faith-that-shaped-nation-indiv&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_18164be8c1-f2a79b9dff-54229257&mc_cid=f2a79b9dff&mc_eid=db0137ff6c#video
Who we are.
Scripture is inscribed in the parliament building
with words of our faith
inspiring our collective identity.
Where there is no vision,
the people perish.
God has dominion from sea to sea.
Justice and fairness are not just ideas,
but foundations of our lives today.
These are not just words, but who we are.
Timeless directives echoing through generations.
That’s what I heard in this inspiring video,
But I have to confess
I struggle to believe this is really who we are
as a nation, today.
God has dominion from sea to sea?
It appears to me that the almighty dollar
has dominion in this nation.
The foundations of Justice and fairness for all?
I was glad to hear of justice for 4 families,
but I thought of the families and friends
of the 4000 some other
murdered and missing Indigenous women and children
in our nation
who continue to wait for justice,
and the 28 or so First Nations communities
continually under boil-water advisories,
they are still waiting for fairness.
I am thankful to be a Canadian.
Canada is a free and fair nation,
but some are more free and more fair than others.
It is not enough for Canada to have bible verses inscribed
in our national buildings.
It is up to us - the citizens - to live into our values.
Did you know that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
has a new tagline and new branding?
“Living Out God’s Grace and Unconditional Love”
I love it.
The ELCIC made this change
after years of deliberation,
discerning, and gathering input.
It is a vision statement
that embodies the collective hopes and dreams
of ELCIC members.
God’s grace and unconditional love
call us to be a diverse,
inclusive community
that celebrates and upholds life-giving relationships.
It reminds me of the Canadian Bible Society video,
building excitement around our shared values.
By God’s grace,
the ELCIC is making great progress,
but we have a ways to go.
I thought of the people who have been
ostracized or hurt by our churches or members.
I thought of the people
who are not welcome in our congregations.
Living out God’s Grace and unconditional love.
We are not there yet.
But we strive for this,
and in the striving,
this is who we are:
Inscribing the words on our website
is not enough.
It is up to us - the members - to live into the vision.
For example,
the ELCIC is committed to caring for creation
and to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
It is inscribed on the website.
But as the question came to the Synod convention floor
about making tangible changes
for congregations to reduce emissions,
it was met with fragility.
Delegates seemed to agree that we need to reduce emissions,
but folks weren’t willing to implement a plan.
“It’ll be too hard and too expensive.”
Can we really say we are good stewards
and committed to reducing emissions
if we don’t try?
It’s like Calgarians ordered to conserve water in this city:
it is doable,
we just don’t like the discomfort.
Inscribing the words - inscribing the vision - on a website
is not enough.
It is up to us - the members - to live into the vision.
Not long ago we did our own kind of visioning here at Advent.
After an intentional period of discernment,
we adopted our own Purpose Statement
and Guiding Principles.
Our Purpose Statement:
Sharing God’s Love and Acceptance For You.
Side note - how similar is that to the ELCIC tagline
living out God’s Grace and unconditional love!
Way to Go, Advent!
Trust in the Spirit’s work in our midst.
Our Guiding Principles:
Jesus is Lord and Saviour
Living in God’s grace, all are welcomed, included and treasured here.
With grateful hearts God nourishes us through prayer, Word and Sacrament.
With open hearts we listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We cultivate a community of togetherness through fellowship, hospitality and love.
We are committed to living our faith and hope in loving service to the world.
Friends, these words have been ours for only half a year.
We have barely inscribed them on our website.
This is who we are,
and who we strive to be.
It is not enough to merely inscribe the words,
it is up to us - the members - to live into the vision.
John the Baptizer lived the vision.
John invited the people to return to God,
to repent,
to change their mind and ways
away from sin and self
and towards God and neighbour.
John struggled to see that Jesus was the Christ.
And even with this uncertainty,
John followed God’s call and spoke the truth to power,
and it got him arrested and killed.
Anna Carter Florence writes,
“The work of proclaiming the kingdom
includes the work of struggling to see it,
and sometimes - from the depths of a cell,
from the height of a cross -
it seems nearly impossible.
“So what do we do when it’s our turn
to question our own life and faith? (…)
We do what John did.
We speak up.
We speak out - and to Jesus directly. (…)
as the mighty Baptizer shows us,
a person of faith never goes down into silence.”
(Anna Carter Florence. “A Is For Alabaster: 52 Reflections on the Stories of Scripture.” Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville KY. 2023. 152-3.)
Living our faith - living the vision
comes with risks.
Take the risk.
live the vision.
Amos lived the vision.
Boy did he face criticism.
The southern kingdom prophet
is told to be quiet and go home
by the northern kingdomers he was sent to.
Amos just proclaimed what God told him,
even if the words weren’t popular.
Prophets aren’t always popular.
This is what we do,
we proclaim God’s Word,
we are called to be a prophetic voice
speaking truth to power
and it too can be met with criticism.
Proclaiming the Gospel
is sometimes confused with playing politics.
Often talking about things like racism,
inclusion, privilege
is met with discomfort or fragility.
Like John the Baptist and Amos the Prophet
we ought to get used to being uncomfortable
because discomfort is holy.
Proclaiming Gospel,
striving for justice and peace
comes with risks.
But God’s got you.
The One who sends you
will not forsake you.
If the risk of the gospel leads to death,
trust that you are included
- promised -
life eternal.
And if the risk comes to your character or emotion,
then be comforted by this Gospel:
You who are rejected because of who you love,
God accepts you.
You who are ridiculed because of who you include,
God loves you.
You who point to Jesus and are called a snowflake,
God is in you.
You whose God is too big
to allow many to suffer for the good of the few,
God blesses you.
Do not fear what this world can do to you.
The world loves to place blame
but we proclaim the forgiveness of sins
The world loves to tell you who is in and who is out
but we join Christ
in the ministry of reconciliation.
The world loves to dominate and control
but we are invited to steward God’s creation
The world loves to say “pull yourself up from the bootstraps”
but we hear Matthew 25
and we clothe the naked,
feed the hungry,
and visit the prisoner.
The world tells you the standards of beauty
while Jesus welcomes all,
strangers and friends,
for all of God’s creatures are beautiful.
The powers of this world
will do anything to stay in power,
while Jesus ushers in the Kingdom of God.
The world loves to imprison
while Jesus breaks the shackles.
This is who Jesus is.
By the Holy Spirit,
this is who Christ’s church is.
This is who we are.
and who we strive to be.
It is not enough to have these words,
ideas,
values,
principles
inscribed in our holy book or website
It is up to us - the body of Christ - to live into the vision.
May God give us grace to be God’s people.
May God give us courage to live into the vision.
May Christ’s Kingdom come in and among us.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
