Epiphany 6C; Jer. 17:5-10; Ps.
1; Lk. 6:17-26; St. Paul’s, 2/17/2019
Jim Melnyk, “Redeemed and Re-dreamed”
Did you happen to
notice the contrasts set up in today’s readings from Scripture? The images we’re offered are poles apart from
each other: desert shrubs and parched places over and against towering trees
planted by the water; chaff that blows away in the wind or branches bearing
fruit in abundance; pronouncements of blessings over and against those of woes.
Desert shrubs –
shallow rooted and dying of thirst – shrubs that look alive to the naked eye,
but below the surface hang on to life by a thread – all their energy taken up
by survival – getting to the next day – getting to the next season.
Or trees planted by
a stream – with deep running roots, strong branches, many leaves, and much
fruit – able to withstand whatever the world brings our way. Trees deeply grounded – firmly planted – present
not only for themselves, but for the life of the world around them as well –
with energy and grace to spare for all who come within the cooling embrace of
their shade.
Why would both
Jeremiah and the Psalmist use trees as a metaphor for a firmly grounded life of
faith? What is it about trees that speak to our faith? Healthy, thriving trees
clean the air around us, taking in CO2 and producing oxygen. They stabilize the
soil around them helping to prevent erosion. Certain trees give fruit to
sustain us. Healthy, thriving trees actually act as nature’s air conditioners,
lowering temperatures around them – with the evaporation from one single mature
tree equaling the work of ten room-sized air conditioners. And “studies show
that urban vegetation slows heartbeats, lowers blood pressure, and relaxes
brain wave patterns.”[1]
Jesus, I am sure,
understands the images presented to us from both Jeremiah and this morning’s
psalm. Teaching his disciples in the midst of a great crowd, Jesus speaks words
of comfort and hope to the world’s lost souls – promising that the kingdom of
God belongs to them – that their emptiness will be filled – and that their
tears will be turned into laughter. It is not too much of a stretch to envision
their lives becoming like trees planted beside deep pools or flowing streams. In
the next breath Jesus proclaims woeful challenges to the complacent and hard of
heart – those who practice misplaced dominion over their sisters and brothers. Jesus
tells us they have had their fill already. They will come to know hunger and
sorrow. Dare we say their hearts will be like trees struggling to live beside
dried river beds and shifting desert sands?
We are each called
to be like trees firmly planted and deeply rooted. Following that analogy, we
are called to be people who care for and protect the environment around us – becoming
the stewards or the caretakers for creation as God fully intended from the very
beginning of the world. We are each called to put down roots that stabilize the
community around us as trees stabilize the soil. We become the blessing for
those who are poor, who are hungry, and who mourn. We are to be those who
breathe life into the world around us – being deeply rooted in our faith, which
gives us the strength to love and serve the world.
But too often we
find ourselves spread just a bit too thin – stretching for just a little bit
more water. Perhaps we find ourselves wondering where the energy will come from
to do the job, to keep the house and yard, to take care of the homework, and to
care for the kids. How do we balance our
schedules, perhaps get a chance to play a little, and still find time to
minister to the world beyond our hectic lives? Where do we find the ability to
bless those who are oppressed and broken-hearted and bring back to earth those
who simply don’t care?
Without being deeply
grounded in prayer, in the study of the word, and our weekly meal at the Holy
Table we run the risk of drying up – dying of thirst and withering away. Without being deeply grounded we run the risk
of running ourselves ragged.
We listen to the
Good News of Jesus Christ and we look at our lives and the world around us, and
it’s plain to see the life of this world is out of sync. There are too many who are hungry and poor –
too many who are sorrowful, too many who are excluded or reviled. There are just too many thirsty shrubs – and
not enough trees. Rather than being
strengthened and nourished, those on the margins are pushed further away. The resources to bring life-giving water to
the desert places are there – the will to do something, and the distribution
systems needed to get the work done, are just out of whack.
We know things need
to change – that life should be different – that life is supposed to be
abundant and grace-filled. But we struggle over how to make that change come
about. The temptation – the danger – is to run ourselves ragged, putting
bandage after bandage on wounds that are cut to the very marrow – wounds that
bleed from the center of the world’s being.
Because the wounds are so deep, and our lives so complicated, we’ve
learned to treat symptoms rather than root causes.
What Jesus says in our
gospel lesson today – Luke’s listing of blessings and woes – is no different
than what Mary proclaimed to Elizabeth, or what we heard Jesus proclaim in the
synagogue at Nazareth a few Sundays back.
It’s no different than the judgment and hope Jeremiah proclaimed to
Judah, or the promise Isaiah proclaimed to the captives in Babylon who were
about to be led home from exile. God cares deeply for all of God’s creation –
and God calls each of us to care just as well. And while God does want us to
make a difference in the world – plugging a leak here and a leak there as we
can – God actually wants us to make the world a different place – a whole new
creation!
In Jesus, God is redeeming and re-dreaming creation. In and through Christ God is turning the
world upside down – or rather, turning the world upside right. And we’re called to be a part of it all –
firmly planted – growing strong – deeply rooted – a source of strength and
nourishment for the world.
I’m reminded of Absalom
Jones – whose feast day was celebrated by the Church this past week. In 1787 the white leadership of integrated
St. George’s Methodist Church in Philadelphia decided it best for the Black
membership to be relegated to the upstairs gallery – you know, neighbors had
been talking and all that! On a Sunday morning in November Jones and the other
Black members of the church were directed upstairs – apart from the rest of the
congregation. The Black members of St.
George’s walked out that day – claiming their dignity and self-worth.
After much soul-searching
they formed St. Thomas African Episcopal Church – putting down roots in a new
place – nearer the Living Water that would nourish not only the whole of their
createdness in God, but also nourish the world around them even today. Fifteen
years later, in 1802, Absalom Jones would become the first black priest in the
Episcopal Church – though it would take over one and a half centuries beyond
that event for our country to finally pass laws against such blatant discrimination
and moral oppression. Yet today there
are some who still seek ways to legalize forms of discrimination and oppression
toward human beings who find themselves in still other minorities.
Healing our world –
repairing the breach that separates us from one another and from God – can take
a long time. But as 19th century clergyman and abolitionist Theodore
Parker first wrote, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward
justice.”[2]
Tikkun olam is a faithful calling for God’s people to follow. The kingdom of
God is the hope of God unfolding all around us.
God continues to redeem and re-dream
creation. Calling us to be firmly rooted in the love and grace of God. Calling
us to be firmly rooted in the stories of our faith. Calling us to be firmly
rooted in God’s call to justice, peace and love. Being firmly planted, growing strong,
offering shade, shelter and nourishment, as we join with God in making the
world a different place – calling us all to be a part of God’s dream.
[1]
Canopy, “The Benefits of Trees,” http://canopy.org/tree-info/benefits-of-trees/.
Accessed on February 13, 2019.
[2]
“All Things Considered”, NPR, September 2, 2010 https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129609461.
Accessed on February 13, 2019.
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