Epiphany
5A 2014
Father Adam Trambley
February 9, 2014 St.John’s Sharon
In Isaiah this
morning, the people of God have some issues.
They feel like
they are living up to their side of the bargain to be God’s people and God is
not being the God they believe he should be.
They fast, and
God seems to forget them.
They don burlap
blouses, and God does not do the deeds they decided he should do.
They humble
themselves with heads down and ashes adorning their foreheads, and God is away
somewhere ignoring all their appeals.
They have done
the ascetic work to earn a pious penny to put into the heavenly vending machine
and receive the reward they want, and to which they should be entitled, but the
tray at the bottom where they reach in their hand is appallingly empty.
The high and
lofty one who inhabits eternity and whose name is Holy has some serious
reservations about what is being reckoned as righteous religious rites.
He prompts his
prophet to hold nothing back,
But rather to
rouse the people with a resounding trumpet-like voice
So that they know
the shaky surface on which they stand.
Why is the living
God livid?
First, the fasts
are self-focused, not intended for doing God’s will.
“Look,” the
prophet chides, “you serve your own interest on your fast day.”
Instead of taking
the opportunity to set aside the daily cares to cleanse the heart, mind and
soul so serve God more completely;
Instead of devoting
the time, talent and treasure usually used for meals for prayer and worship;
Instead of
emptying ourselves of our distractions to hear God’s voice,
Instead of these
good disciplines, the fast day became another time to make things more fully
about those undertaking the fasts.
Isaiah says, “You
oppress all your workers…and fast only to quarrel and fight and to strike with
a clenched fist.”
God apparently
doesn’t appreciate it when fasters take out their weakness and shorter temper
on others:
“What, I’m
fasting, so I’m weak. You’ll all just
have to work extra hard to make up for it.
Don’t complain about the extra load – I’m doing it for God.” Or
“Hey, I’m
fasting, so my blood sugar is low.
Obviously I’m not in a good mood, so do what I say or you’ll get a
knuckle sandwich.”
Or just the
constant long, depressing faces, with the bowed heads and sackcloth and ashes
that all shout out, I’m so miserable and obviously so much holier than you.
Now, for good or ill, in contemporary times we probably
don’t fast enough to actually need a sermon preached about the potential
pitfalls of this practice. But that
doesn’t mean we don’t craft our current customs into contours leading to our
own aggrandizement instead of to God’s glory.
Instead of
measuring who has a higher heap of ashes on their head,
we play petty
power games about positions on committees or in classrooms;
or we outdo one
another in whatever deeds count most at the moment;
or we proclaim
quickly and loudly the way things must be done so that no one else can make
that determination;
or perhaps we
just jostle for position at the serving table to ensure our tureen is tasted by
the most people and finished first.
But like the
fasting follies of the Israelites, we are taking deeds that should be done for
God and turning them toward ourselves.
Beyond their
misuse of spiritual disciplines, God has an additional complaint against the
ancient Israelites:
While they were
distracted by their own agendas, they ignored God’s important work.
God says,
“Is not this the
fast that I choose:
To loose the
bonds of injustice,
To undo the
thongs of the yoke.
To let the
oppressed go free,
And to break
every yoke?”
Then he goes on
to say,
“[S]hare your
bread with the hungry,
And bring the
homeless poor into your house,
When you see the
naked…cover them,
And [do not] hide
yourself from your own kin…
Remove the yoke
from among you,
The pointing of
the finger, the speaking of evil
…offer your food
to the hungry
And satisfy the
needs of the afflicted.”
These instructions are not too difficult to understand, nor
are they unexpected. But they are worth
looking at a little more anyway.
We note right away that a comparatively large number of
lines are spent lingering on the need to loose bonds and untie yolks and let
the oppressed go free.
In Israel in those days, people in two situations seem to be
spoken about here. Some people were
actual slaves, often bought because of bad economic situations when selling
oneself or one’s family members seemed the only solution. Other people were displaced when their land
was sold or taken, so they became landless people, often with mounting debts to
pay and no job prospects, ending up in city slums or worse.
God cared about those people then, and he cares about those
in similar situations today.
Unfortunately, slavery did not end in the United States or
the world when our Civil War ended. More
people are estimated to be enslaved today than at any other time in
history. The Super Bowl is usually one
of the largest occasions of human trafficking in the United States, and given
the location, we can assume that some people were brought across I-80 just
south of us. Throughout the world,
adults and children are enslaved in many different circumstances including forced
labor and to become child soldiers. In some
areas of instability, such as Congo, slaves are used in mining, and rival
militia groups capture sexual and other slaves as part of their terroristic and
military activities. These activities
are highly relevant to us, since much of this activity happens fighting to
control mines of rare metal used in electronic products such as smart phones.
While seemingly removed from most of us, human trafficking
is something the church considers an important issue. Two years ago, our Diocese passed a
resolution at convention calling upon congregations to consider the issues
involved and look for ways that we could make a difference. The opprobrium of the church may no longer
push pimps to paranoid precipices, but we can powerfully pray as well as act
effectively. Individually, we need to
know what is really going on, which means obtaining news from sources that
aren’t just politically pandering or empty entertainment. International Christian organizations,
including Anglican ones, are paying close attention to these issues, and as we
connect with them, we can find out ways to support the numerous efforts that
are loosing bonds, undoing thongs and breaking yokes in the United States and
around the world. We can also remember
how much our electronic gadgets cost, often in ways that go well beyond the
two-year contract or extended warranty. (For example, go to http://www.humantrafficking.org/)
We also frequently find folks in financial straits
today. Just like in ancient Israel,
packs of predatory lenders circle those in need, writing loans that can’t be
repaid at interest rates that aren’t conscionable with consequences whose
injustices scream to high heaven. Those
hard up for a short-term problem like a few months of unemployment or a health
crisis can end up in long-term financial straightjackets if backed into a
predatory arrangement. Through the
generosity of this parish, we have been able through the alms fund to help a
number of people free themselves from otherwise unescapable holes so they can
go forward and live regular lives. This
breaking of yokes seems what God wants us to do, and sometimes we accomplish
this directly, while other times we may want to lobby regulators to eliminate
predatory financial practices.
While we
sometimes want to ignore such sticky situations, God speaks against
head-in-the-sand stances.
Do “not hide
yourself from your own” means that we can’t pretend problems don’t exist just
because we’d prefer to lock the doors and life a life without the
unpleasantness brought by those around us.
When people are
hungry, we share our bread.
When people are
naked, we cover them.
When people are
homeless, we bring them into our homes.
These are the
works that God would choose, and we aren’t allowed to avoid them simply by
averting our eyes.
Our divine duties
are first and foremost the care of the needy.
We need not worry
about the weight of these tasks, because when we work at them,
The Lord says
that we shall call and he will answer;
We shall cry for
help and he will say, “Here I am.”
Instead of being
like the ancient prophet’s people who sought their own good and were not heard
on high,
We can concern
ourselves with others and know that God is attending to us.
Even beyond our
prayers being answered, the Lord makes powerful promises to those providing for
the needy:
“Your light shall
break forth like the dawn,
and your healing
shall spring up quickly...
the glory of the
Lord shall be your rearguard…
the Lord will
guide you continually,
and satisfy your
needs in parched places,
and make your
bones strong…
you shall be
called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of
streets to live in.”
Some of these promises we know because we have seen them
fulfilled.
This parish has seen its light shine forth precisely as we
have concerned ourselves with meeting people’s basic needs. St. John’s shines as a force for Christ not
when we have performed the prettiest and most pious worship or when our buildings
have been most beautiful, but when ECS has given out bags of food to more and
more people, or when we started serving lunches to anyone who wanted to come,
or when we gathered garments downstairs or at rummage sales and made sure
families could afford to clothe themselves.
We could also point to examples of people dedicated to loving those in
need who are clearly guided and strengthened by God throughout their
lives. Then, as we create communities
committed to caring according to God’s commands, we are repairing breaches and
restoring streets to let people live throughout the Shenango valley. Our efforts transform individual lives and
our region as a whole.
Jesus talked about
the effects of following his commands this way:
You are the salt
of the earth.
You are the light
of the world.
Let your light
shine before others
That they may see
your good works
And give glory to
your Father in heaven.
You are the salt
of the earth, and so many lives need seasoned.
People are
scrimping by with barely enough to survive
And they need hearty food and warm
clothing and safe shelter.
People are stuck
with the bland lives of daily drudgery
And they need art and music and
beauty.
People have given
up on their dashed hopes and diluted dreams
And they need friends and family and
purpose and meaning
As God’s people are made
to provide.
You are the salt
of the earth.
 |
| Graphic credit: http://www.danielim.com/2012/01/27/living-as-a-missional-community/ |
You are the light
of the world, and so many are still in darkness.
People with heads
bowed down in bondage;
People lost in a labyrinth
of despair, or blinded by anger, hatred, and resentment;
People who have
stared at the Pharisees fasting for so long
That they’ve been conditioned to
focus on shadows and falsehoods.
But you shine the
light into their lives:
The light of
God’s presence.
The light of
God’s love specifically for them.
The light of
God’s desire to forgive and to save and to heal,
No matter how deep the darkness has
been.
The light of
God’s purpose to set them on fire alongside of us
So that they are put on a lampstand
To burn brightly to everyone they
meet.
You are the light
of the world.
You are the salt
of the earth.
You are the light
of the world.
Together, we are
city on a hill that cannot be hid,
But will light up
our entire valley and beyond
And give glory to
our Father in heaven.
