10.04.2020 - World Communion Sunday "As Above, So Below..."

As Above, So Below...As Inside, So Outside Rev. Tiare L. Mathison, Pastor & Soul-Tender Psalm 119.9-16; Matthew 6.9-15

Our world is in chaos. Violence, racial injustice, pandemic, economic catastrophe. Every where we look we now see how patriarchal white supremacy has infected institutions and systems that govern our every day lives. Banking, health care, education, property ownership, even location of grocery stores. These rumble through my mind and heart as I ponder what word to bring to you today on World Communion Sunday. A marked day that began in the midst of the Great Depression, 1933, by a Presbyterian Pastor in Philadelphia. He wanted to honor the kingdom of God here on earth in all its splendor and glory. As Sunday dawns, the first congregation says, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your Name...”. As evening falls the last church says, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your Name...”. All day, this prayer is prayed all over the world.

What caught me this time is the heart of the prayer: thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. We cry out “come now, right now, may your kingdom right now, we beg You”. And what is this kingdom? Not a monarchy, with its demands for obedience of its subjects; not some human empire with one person in control over others; rather, it is reality, embodied in the life of the one we call Savior, Jesus Christ. At once individual and communal, this is the fulfillment which we still have to wait for, with the HOPE of the FUTURE breaking into our present with renewed significance. Let me say that again. This kindom is in the midst of us right now—God works Her will and way inside the space of the chaos we confront in our nightly news. As Above, So Below...As Inside, So Outside

The whole cosmos is covered in Jesus’ prayer: heaven, earth, hearts and minds, a grasp at closure of human history as we know it for we yearn for the ultimate provision, the completion of what Jesus began with His life, death and resurrection. The consummation of all things, that marvelous declaration: faith in the hallowed ness of God, Divine Justice in the arrival of the kingdom and human mercy acted out on earth as it is in heaven. Thy will be done.

What is God’s will for earth and heaven? From Eve and Adam to the last of Revelation, it is this: God’s will is to save. Simply and profoundly that - to save. The whole, not just the part. We want to see the complete theater of holiness that awaits us. We call on that devastating power, in all its terrible splendor, hidden from our eyes, to be unleashed. To shatter white supremacy with Divine Justice. To remove racism and hatred of People of Color from inside us and through us to liberate the culture from the bondage of decay and evil. If we mean what we say when we pray, “...thy kingdom come, thy will be done..” 50 times a year or so.

It is only when Jesus disregards the Temple traditions designed to bring comfort, that we see with real clarity what this WILL might mean. He teaches the rich to share. He eats with tax collectors, sinners and God forbid, women, who seem to always be labeled prostitutes. It is the outsiders, the marginalized, those we would ‘other’ who receive Jesus’ special attention. The kindom of God is both personal, for individual salvation, and corporate, to challenge and change the social order. It impacts our souls and our bodies. We live out the Christ Light by our words and our deeds; by our sharing communion and advocating for justice for all the oppressed. The ones we know and love, and the ones we cannot even understand. Every time we pray, ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done’ we de-center ourselves to ask God, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the Prophets, the Sovereign of the Universe, to become our Homekeeper of redemption. Not just for us but the the whole earth!!! “On earth as it is in heaven”. We make a choice every day of our lives, to give ascent, or not as the case may be, to submit to the intention of a God-will life. We trust this Divine Directive, fully realized in Jesus. We come begging to have our willingness to submit to this wisdom, even in the midst of the confusion and violence of our everyday existence. The Holy One’s purpose is being worked out, even when we cannot see it. As Above...So Below...As Inside...So Outside

What we know is this takes work. The demands of the gospel are clear—it means praying with open hands: change me, change the world. Make me more than I can ever hope to be on my own. It means we pray for our enemies and those who persecute us, even across our giant political divide. We pray for the whole world, the whole cosmos, all of it and everyone in it. Person, plant, flower and animal. We are called to be stewards of grace, forgiveness and hope. We beg God to pick up the shattered pieces, painstakingly glue them into place. We are not asking for hellfire and damnation, but the kind of judgment that mediates life for us and for others. It is the judgment of the cross, wherein love born in blood lays claim to the landscape of our lives. Where divine justice is expressed in suffering rather than marching boots lock stepped in formation. It is this space where Jesus says, “lay down your lives and take up your cross and follow Me. Walk where I walk, even into the hells of our world.” Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

09.29.2020 The Raggedy Band

The Raggedy Band Matthew 21.23-32 Rev. Tiare L. Mathison, Pastor, Soul-Tender and member of the band

Here is a a song we used to sing with youth groups years ago. The Raggedy Band is a marching along Folks keeping rhythm to the beat of the song, There’s a little boy playing on a dime kazoo, Holes in his hands match the holes in his shoes, Leading down the alley with the Raggedy Band, Stretching all the way to the Promised Land. Washtub drummers beating four to the line Chopsticks ticking on a bottle of wine, Stand on the corner, you can see them coming, Tax collector and old painted woman. Coming down the alley with the Raggedy Band, Stretching all the way to the Promised Land. A fisherman, a wino, an ex-politician, Dog and a drummer and a mathematician, Cop and a robber walking side by side, Judge and a hooker for his blushing bride, All joining up with the Raggedy Band, Stretching all the way to the Promised Land Jim Manley, Composer and Singer

Tell me, why is it tax collectors and prostitutes will walk into heaven first? By what authority is this possible? Wait, we have to back up for a moment. Set the context. The previous day, a rural rabbi from Capernum rode a donkey into Jerusalem to shouts of Hosanna. He arrives at the Temple, with His entourage, immediately starts to shout about a den of thieves, buying and selling to benefit the billionaires and their religious minions, turns tables over, throws out the money-changers. The blind and the lame come to Him in the Temple and He cures them. Right there, right then. Maybe they occupy the Temple all night long, create a safe block for the misfits to gather. Angry as all get out, yet fearful of the crowd of popularity that goes with this guy, the senior pastors and the lay leaders confront Him: “by what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?”

Even though a nobody, this rural rabbi, not even officially ordained, another offense, decides to take them on. He knows He’s up against 1400 years of history, these religious leaders lay claim to THEIR authority: it comes from Moses and is passed down generation to generation. We do know rabbi’s like to ask questions of one another. So Jesus does: “I’ve got a question for you.” He aligns himself with John the Baptist, a popular prophet who first drew the tax collectors and whores together. “Repent and believe the good news. The Messiah is here!” And they did! They believed and they repented. And followed John until they met Jesus and joined up. What authority beheaded John? He was killed by the political authority of Rome. Now religious authorities are gunning for Jesus. “What do you think?” Is the signal for rabbinic debate. The Raggedy Band

Righteousness can often be deluded by the adjective self. It is a particular danger for those of us with religious power and privilege, as we are ordained to interpret the Word of God or direct the people of God or manage their money. If we lose our humility for the task, we can easily place ourselves on the pedestal instead of Jesus. And we end up at the end of the line, deservedly so. These are the questions that confront us today in this parable: what right do we have to any claim of righteousness? We are not given the power to judge who is in and who is out of the Band. Instead, we need to answer the question: why is it tax collectors and prostitutes go first? By any measurement these represent the folk who are on the outside, pariahs; tax collectors work for the occupiers, skim off the top cash for themselves, set up schemes to get a little more. Prostitutes - well we know. Immoral women who use their sexuality for their own gain. No righteous person would want to have anything to do with them. Except the self-righteous who use their services in the dead of night. These outsiders recognize they have no authority, no power, no opportunity to be included. Until they hear John say, “believe and repent”. It is the transcendent power of forgiveness that captures their minds and hearts. They answer a particular question, “Who Do You Say That I Am?” With tear-stained faces: You are the Holy One, the Messiah, the Savior of Israel and the world. And they turn away from their old life, to this wondrous, scary, demand and promise. Yes you have to live a different life, but the good news of the gospel is you don’t have to do it on your own. You are gifted with righteousness that comes from the rural rabbi and His Power from on high. Here’s your ticket for The Raggedy Band.

I’ve always identified with the first son who responds, “Nope, I’m not going out to work.” When I first experienced God’s call, I thought God was crazy. Me? You want to call someone who is faithful, who is a good Christian, goes to Wheaton or SPU, not The Evergreen State College, obedient, not one like me. No, no, no. Slowly, the Holy Spirit wore me down long enough for me to catch a glimmer of who Jesus is and what might be possible if I believed and repented. I had lots of reasons to match with The Raggedy Band as I had not led an exemplar life, lets just say. Over all these years I have been confronted with Jesus’ continuous ? “Who do you say that I am?” “If people look at you, will they see Me? Or will they see you, using your power for your good?” It’s a mixed record frankly.

Who do you say Jesus is? By the fabric of your life, your commitments, your generosity of dollars and spirit. In this time of pandemic and racial uprisings, we have a golden opportunity to witness to the grace, mercy, forgiveness and justice of the Holy Messiah. The leader of the Raggedy Band. Amen

Therefore my Beloved, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Phil.2.12-13 Mature Christians recognize we must exercise all traces of bias, hostility, prejudice, intolerance and hate from our faith. I’ve worked hard to espouse this Christianity. Not so with my politics. I have a beautiful faith and an ugly politics. Characterized by tribalism, affective polarization and worldview defense. We know what to do. Mercy, forgiveness, kindness, justice, joy, hope. Let us leaven our politics too. Richard Beck As Eugene Petersen says, Jesus said, “Yes, and I tell you that crooks and whores are going to precede you into God’s kingdom. John came to you showing you the right road. You turned up your noses at him, but the crooks and whores believed him. Even when you saw their changed lives, you didn’t care enough to change and believe him.”