October 6, 2019 (17th Sunday after Pentecost)

World Communion Sunday

Indian Hill Church

Cincinnati, OH

Lamentations 1:1–6

Psalm 137

Luke 17:5–10

Reverend Dr. Stephen Caine

17:⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. ⁷ “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? ⁸ Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'” (Luke 17:5-10, NRSV)

Let us pray: God, you are the refuge of all wanderers and exiles, you are the mother and father of the homeless, you weep with those who are uprooted from their homeland, and you suffer with those who are forced to exist without shelter and security. Grant that we your faithful – may reach out. We ask this through Jesus, your Son, our savior. Amen.

As Nancy began her sermon last week telling how she and her husband Rodger enjoy movies, especially the high intellectual art house type films and that they look for the redemption in the film.  I must confess that Monnie and I also enjoy Movies, however, Monnie might join Nancy and Rodger for the arthouse films, I on the other hand — go for the lowbrow, slapstick, silly comedies, the Dumb and Dumber, the more mindless and sophomoric the humor the better.

Sometimes with all the problems of the world, all the pain and suffering, fear and hate, constantly bombarding us I go for the escape.  And sometimes I would choose slapstick humor over the truth of scripture.   But we don’t get to choose what scripture says to us and we must pay attention to all of it.  And there are some topics that aren’t as enjoyable as others to preach about— leave it to the light and easy and comfortable.  But faith doesn’t offer an escape from reality.  Also, we have entered that dreaded time of the church year, Stewardship Season.  Run, hide your wallets, and your checkbooks. But we can’t do that because stewardship is a vital component of faith. 

The lectionary does us no favors, because it left out the important lead into this passage. In the verse preceding our passages, (Chapter 17) verses 1-4; Jesus says to the disciples that they should forgive a sinner who repents. Then adds, “If the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.”[1] No wonder the disciples want Jesus to give them more faith.   It is hard to forgive, even once, much less seven times.

So, Jesus is talking to his disciples, about faith.

What is faith? 

Faith is trust, belief, conviction, relationship.  For example, “I have faith that this roof will hold while we sit here in worship.”  I am saying that I trust, I have faith, I believe.

Likewise, if I can say, “I have faith that Jesus Christ is living son of God and the embodiment of God,” that is faith.   Christians believe that faith is not a personal, intellectual achievement, or the result of being an especially good or spiritually proficient person.  Instead it’s a gift from God.  God gives us faith so that we may be in relationship with God.

But the disciples want more.  They want more faith, which presents a difficult situation as the disciple’s demand Jesus to “Increase our faith.”  They assumed they only had a small amount; because they were literally following him.  But they yearned for more.  They wanted more trust, surer belief, stronger conviction, deeper relationship, that is, more faith than they currently had.[2]

Faith is like grace it is a gift. This is what Jesus meant. Jesus knew the disciples had all the faith they need.  What they didn’t have was an understanding of what it means to have faith.

So, Jesus responds to their demand, by saying that they had every bit of faith that they need.  If they would only use what they already had.  In other words, what they need is not more faith but fewer excuses.[3]Let that sink in… Excuses.

Excuses, everybody has got them.  I do, you do, we all do.  I would love to stand up here and simply say we need to raise $725,000 and go on with worship. Unfortunately, I don’t think that is how it works. For some reason we have a stewardship committee that will write letters, make calls, more calls and follow up and we may make our goal of $725,000 if each of you decide to give more than you did last year.  How much more, approximately, 4% more. 

If I was you, I would want to know what that money was going for.  Let me tell you.  As you heard last week from Alison Zimmerman, we have spent some money this year on Air Conditioning, an upgraded Audio-Visual System for Guild Hall and various other improvements to the building and grounds. We have also hired some new staff members, Tyler Eckert, our Administrative Assistant and Communications Director and Amy Clark, Youth Director and Assistant Music Director.  The staff is the most important part of our church.  We have made changes in our Episcopal leadership and that is costing more money than had been budgeted.

We have added new programs, Young Family Worship Service on the Third Sunday of each month at 9:30, we have added a Wednesday evening fellowship dinner and worship on the Third Wednesday of each month at 6:00 PM and Messy Church on the first Monday of each month at noon.  These new worship opportunities have opened our church to the community in ways that Sunday Mornings cannot.  We have asked how and why young families have come, and they say everything from we got the postcard in the mail, we saw it on the sign out in front of the church and we were invited by friends.  We have added great new music opportunities, like the Youth Choir and Jazz band.  We don’t pay them to sing or play but we do feed them, and we have purchased a new drum set.  My point in all of this is to let you know that we are growing, and we have added new and exciting programs and people, but it isn’t cheap.  Because we still must maintain this beautiful building and grounds and keep the lights on.  By the way, our utility bill is nearly $40,000.

I believe one of the most important aspects of faith is serving others and we have tried to maintain our support to wonderful ministry partners such as, IPM, IHN, Vince on Vine, Transforming Jail Ministries, 20/20 juvenile jail ministry, Matthew 25: Ministries, MEAC, Maslow’s Army and others…. Unfortunately, when the budget gets tight it is the help for others that is the first to be cut.  Years ago, this church made it a goal to spend at least 20% of the total budget on outreach and now we are less than 5%. It is a shame, but it is true.

Here is another way to look at it, this is awkward.  It is awkward because God does not need your money, but Indian Hill Church does.  It is also awkward for me because you pay my salary, you put a roof over my family’s heads, your giving feeds us and sends my children to school and college and I am eternally grateful.  So, take me out of it and think about what excites you about Indian Hill Church?  What is it about this place that you will gladly give your money to support?

Simple math, we currently have an operating budget of $952,600 which is great, however, our pledges are for $702,000 so you see we have a gap.  A $227,600 gap that we are blessed to receive from the interest from our endowment accounts. Don’t worry we are not touching the principle, but we are dependent on the endowment to operate.  I have recently been talked off the ledge by people much smarter than me who explained that people who have gone before us loved this church and left this church in their Estate plans so this church can use the money they left in their death. But I have faith that we can do better…call me naïve, if you want, but I truly believe we raise more money by increasing our pledges and use less of our interest from the endowment.

We have 278 giving units, that is families and individuals that are potential givers to the church. Our average pledge is roughly $3500, which is less than Knox Presbyterian in Hyde Park and Church of the Redeemer Episcopal also in Hyde Park. I tell you this as a point of reference and to engage your competitive nature, everybody likes to compete, don’t we?  So, if each of you 277 pledging units will join me in giving 4% more this year, we will not only meet our goal, raise our average pledge but also be able to do so much more in our church, our community and the world.

I offered these questions to the Vestry Session at our September meeting. What gets in the way of your connection to God?  What gets in the way of your coming to church on Sunday morning?   What gets in the way of your faith formation, spiritual practice, and exploring new ways to connect with God and neighbor?  Why not have a little faith and give 4% more this year? After all it is a gift from God.  If not, what is your excuse?[4]

We have all the faith we need.  We have all the gifts we need.  We are all blessed beyond measure.  So, I invite you to take a step-in faith this year and give more to support God’s work in this place at this time by supporting Indian Hill Church.  Our challenge is not to ask God to increase our faith, but our challenge is to respond to God’s gift of faith and be more generous.

Let us pray:

[1] Reverend Dr. Delmer Chilton, The Lectionary Lab Podcast.

[2] Reverend Dr. Will Willimon, Doing Faith Until You Have It. Faith (being in loving relationship with God) is a gift of God: How does God increase our faith in God?  September 29, 2013

[3] Reverend Dr. Scott Hoezee, https://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/proper-22c-2/?type=the_lectionary_gospel

[4] Reverend Dr. Robin J. Steinke, President, Luther Seminary, www.luthersem.edu/elerts/article.aspx?article_id=1438&elert_id=166

September 8, 2019

13th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 18:1–11

Psalm 139:1–6, 13–18

Luke 14:25–33

Reverend Dr. Stephen Caine

14:²⁵Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, ²⁶“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. ³³ So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. (Luke 14:25–33, NRSV)

God of power and justice, source of life and blessing, of garden, orchard, field, anchor us in obedience to you and nourish us by your ever-flowing Spirit, that, we might love you by serving others. Amen.

Excuses, everybody has got them.  We all use them to cover ourselves, if we don’t want to do something, if we are late, or forgot, or simply did not do our work. We offer excuses.  Instead of being honest, we believe that an excuse is better than the truth.  We all do it, thinking it is the polite thing to do.  Instead of truth telling we offer an excuse to cover for our breaking our commitments, declining our invitations, covering our mistakes, and justifying our wrongdoing.

How many times have you been late for work or an appointment and blamed it on traffic or something else “you had no control over?”

While being honest would sound like this: “Yes, I am sorry that I am late, I didn’t leave myself a reasonable amount of time for the traffic today.  It is entirely my fault, I apologize, and I will do a better job of leaving sooner next time.”  Excuses, everybody got them.

I feel like a broken record. Sunday after Sunday, preaching seemingly the same sermon over and over.  Following Jesus is hard, no it is really hard.  He keeps upping the ante, love your neighbor, love your enemy, invite the poor, lame, outcasts to your banquets.  Today he seems to go over the top.  Following Jesus is so hard that is causes us to well…come up with excuses.

I believe it will help by giving these challenging words of Jesus some context. If we notice what comes before and what comes after it in Luke’s Gospel it may make more sense.  Just before this very difficult passage Jesus tells about someone who gave a great dinner party and invited many guests.  But everyone he invited made excuses why they could not attend.

One could not come, because he had just bought some property, and needed to check on it.  Another could not come, because he just purchased five yoke of oxen, and said he had to try them out.  Another could not come, because he had just gotten married.  Jesus counts these as excuses. Why the big deal, Jesus?

Well, as we might remember, this great dinner party like other parties, dinners, banquets, and feasts, is a metaphor for the Kingdom of God. So, the point of Jesus’ message to the distracted, preoccupied invitees is crystal clear.  You don’t know what you are missing out on…it is so much better than what you are currently focused on.  Which sets up our Gospel text for the morning.

 In contrast to great dinner party that people chose to skip this story as Luke tells us, “Now large crowds were traveling with him…”[1] Luke makes it clear that Jesus is not impressed with the size of the crowd or of his own success.[2]  He is upset with the casual nature and easy approval the crowd offers.  So, to make his point he says to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.”  Whoa! What did he just say? Did we hear that correctly? 

Yes, yes, he did. These are hard words that underscore that following him is not easy and should not be taken lightly.

This is in direct contradiction to everything Jesus says and does in the Gospels. He talks about love, love and more love.  Hate has no place. So, what we hear in these words is Hyperbole.  This may be exaggeration, but it still doesn’t remove the demanding nature of his words and its shock value.  So how can we make it more palatable? How can we soft peddle it? Commentators point out is that the word “hate” here is not like our English understanding of the word, instead think of it to mean to turn away, to detach oneself, remove oneself.  So what Jesus is saying is that following him, being a disciple is our primary responsibility more important than our most sacred of human relationships, spouse, children and family.  Wow, Jesus is very demanding!  In these demanding words he wants us to know what we are getting into if we sign on.  Don’t hear this as Jesus discouraging people from following him. He is being clear about the great cost.[3]

Jesus’ message is one of love, but he does not venerate the love within families.  He knows that family ties can sometimes get in the way of discipleship.  Remember the story of the man who wanted to be a disciple, but first asked to go home to bury his father?  Remember the story of the time Jesus was teaching and was surrounded by a crowd, and someone told him that his own mother and brothers had arrived and were asking to see him? He said, ‘Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.”  His message is one of love, but love at a cost, the love of the nuclear family is not the highest loyalty for his disciples.  Instead the highest loyalty is to the Kingdom of God.  And in the Kingdom of God “family” means everyone who does the will of God. In the Kingdom of God, the whole human race is our family; and every human being, a brother or sister.  So, you see, Jesus isn’t saying literally that we are supposed to hate our family. He’s saying that his followers can’t put nuclear family ahead of God’s family.[4]

When we follow Jesus, we are invited to view life with a new set of loyalties and new understandings of love, commitment, and priorities. Those new commitments can break the tight hold on our loves and connections and even over how we live.   The challenges to choose life, discipleship and the way of the cross are ultimately about where we place our allegiance and our trust.  Following him must be radically more important to us than loving those closest to us, our own selves, and all the stuff in our lives. Jesus demands that we be fully committed to following him over everything else. 

In doing so, I believe that we will be free to receive the grace to love our families, friends and ourselves fully.  May we respond to God’s grace with lives of gratitude and discipleship and gladly follow wherever our Lord leads us.

Let us pray:

[1] Reverend Dr. K.C. Ptomey, Jr., A Homily on Luke 14:25-33 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 29, 2004, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN 37205 quoting Luke 14:25.

[2] Reverend Dr. K.C. Ptomey, Jr., A Homily on Luke 14:25-33 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 29, 2004, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN 37205 quoting R. Alan Culpepper, The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), p. 283.

[3] Reverend Dr. Alyce McKenzie, Counting the Cost: Lectionary Reflections for September 5th, 2010: Luke 14:25-33

[4] Reverend Dr. K.C. Ptomey, Jr., A Homily on Luke 14:25-33 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 29, 2004, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN 37205

August 18, 2019 (The 10th Sunday after Pentecost)

Indian Hill Church

Cincinnati, OH

Isaiah 5:1–7

Psalm 80:1–2, 8–19

Hebrews 11:29–12:2

Luke 12:49–56

Reverend Dr. Stephen Caine

12:⁴⁹ “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! ⁵¹ Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! ⁵² From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; ⁵³ they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” ⁵⁴ He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. ⁵⁵ And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? (Luke 12:49-56, NRSV)

Let us pray: Loving God, open our ears to hear your word and draw us closer to you, that the whole world may be one with you as you are one with us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Wouldn’t it be great if following Jesus was easier? I mean he seems to get more and more difficult with each passing week. Last week it was be ready or else and now this passage, with its strong emphasis on division, even to the point of splitting families, wow! Talk about family values!

He contradicts our idyllic pictures of peace by stating that he has come not to bring peace, but to bring division: division in households, division within families. Jesus says he has come to bring fire.  This is not the Jesus we learned about in Sunday School.  What we learned in Sunday School was a very nice and pleasant Jesus.  Jesus is your friend, your buddy, your pal.  That is not this Jesus.  This is not nice and pleasant.

I don’t like conflict any more than the next person, but Jesus seems hell bent on causing trouble and division.  One of my former professors David Lose states, “One of things I’ve learned over time is that the only time there is no division in a community is when there is no vision.  Because a vision sets a course, pulls you forward, and invites – even demands – change. And that creates division.”   Jesus is sharing a vision.  A vision of the coming of the kingdom God. It’s a kingdom that stands in stark contrast to the kingdoms of the world.  Rather than valuing the strong and powerful, it values the poor and vulnerable.  Rather than prizing power, it lifts up compassion. Rather than coming by force, it comes in weakness and vulnerability.  And for all these reasons, it challenges the status quo and makes people nervous, uncomfortable, and some it even makes angry. 

Which is why Jesus causes division, because this is not the world that God wants for us.

Because the vision of the Kingdom of God is one of love.  For God so loved the world and it is love that draws the world together in sharing that love.  It’s that simple, and yet so very hard. It is that beautiful and yet so very messy.  Not easy, to be sure, but beautiful to the end.

I can remember a friend growing up who broke his nose but didn’t want to miss any football, so he waited to go to the doctor.  When the season was over, and he finally went to the doctor.  The doctor told him, that he had some good news and some bad news or not so pleasant news.  First the good news, his nose could be fixed, and the not so pleasant news was he would have to break it and reset it.  Sometimes you need to break something for it to heal and grow stronger.

This is an overview of what Jesus is saying in this passage.  It is a different message than we’re used to hearing, but it is an important one.  Jesus came into this world with a message of good news and a and a mission, that was not so pleasant.  Jesus came with the message God’s new community was coming.  And he came with a mission.  His mission was to break the power and value system of the world on end.

His message was a message of love.  Love your neighbor as you love yourself, love your enemy, love those who persecute you, and above all else love God with all your heart, soul and might.  Sounds simple, right.  But none of those are easy.   And as we all know, love can be difficult and at times even unpleasant.  So, when things get difficult or messy then we tend to quit or disengage.  Remember that the opposite of love is indifference, apathy, uncaring, uninvolved and unresponsive; which is what happened.  So then comes his mission, the whole reason we meet Jesus in the first place. 

Because the Love that God is offering is different, it is very involved, it demands, it is costly, and it is transformative.  Love will confront you with unpleasant facts about yourself, love will sometimes break you in order to heal you.  Jesus had a message of love, a message of love that disturbed communities and families because it refused to allow people to coast along in a pleasantly unhealthy and unhappy slide into death.  Jesus, the living word of God, broke into the world demanding that we get involved.  No more sitting ideally by, watching people suffer.  No more watch as others go hungry or homeless or sick.  Get off the bench and into the game. Following Jesus is not a passive event. And this will set us against our own flesh and blood.

Jesus has called us to get beyond roles and to get into relationships; real, messy, involved relationships.  And the sometimes unpleasant but ultimately good truth is – that kind of love is disruptive; it breaks what isn’t really working in order to create something new.

This is where it changes.  It is easy to feel beat up and dejected by not living up to Jesus high standards, so what if we looked at Jesus’ challenge differently?  What if we looked at how we can be a community of faith that instead of feeling bad about how we didn’t live out our faith, but rather we look at how we support each other in our faith.  What if we spent more time on Sunday mornings in worship, in adult education, and fellowship encouraging each other to not just believe in, Jesus but to really live out our faith?  How would we imagine worship, preaching, Sunday school, even coffee hour if our goal was to equip each other to enter more deeply into our faith?  So that our faith might shape our lives.  Now, I am sure I just scared many of you with that statement so hear me out…. I bet, and I don’t like to gamble that most all of us really want our faith to matter!  Why else give up a beautiful Sunday morning to come here?  I imagine that each of us want our faith to be a help, a guide, a useful aspect in our lives.  It would be awesome if our faith helped to shape the way we think about our work, our families, our politics, and especially our money. But wait a moment preacher, we don’t want to be that serious about Jesus, because we know people like that and well, we don’t want to be like them….

So, what would it be like if we saw our faith as less of an obligation and more as a way of life?  What if church became a place of encouragement and support so that we can really life out this Jesus life.  What if your faith was renewed here and you were sent to make a difference to the world?  What if your faith influenced you the next time you had to make a decision about something you bought, or some issue that was on your heart, or the next time you enter a voting booth?  Because this I do know if you let your faith in Jesus be your guide you will need support because it is hard to go counter to our culture and when you do, it creates division.

So often in our faith we get lulled into images of a gentle Jesus like a lamb – forgetting the angry and anguished Jesus of this text. The Jesus who commands that those who want to save their lives must lose them. The Jesus who tells us to take up the cross and follow. The Jesus who demands that we make a choice to follow him no matter the cost: friends, family, possessions, our lives. Such loyalty always causes divisions, and divides…and it will.  But it will also create joy. Because the one who sends us out was himself baptized by fire and is both with us and for us.  This is a life and a faith that takes courage, and isn’t that a life worth living?

Let us pray:

August 4, 2019 (The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost)

Indian Hill Church

Cincinnati, OH

Hosea 11:1-11

Psalm 107:1-9, 43

Luke 12:13-21

Reverend Dr. Stephen Caine

12:¹³ “Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” ¹⁶ Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. ¹⁷ And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:13-21, NRSV)

Let us pray: Generous God, in abundance you give us things both spiritual and physical. Help us to hold lightly the fading things of this earth and grasp tightly the lasting things of your kingdom, so that what we are and do and say may be our gifts to you through Christ, who welcomes all of us to seek the things above, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Do you ever talk to yourself?

Well our farmer in our story today certainly does.

We know he is rich but that doesn’t make him a bad guy.  He has not done anything morally wrong or criminal.  He is a farmer who knows what it Is like to work his fingers to the bone.  He knows what it is like to rise early morning to milk the cows and stay out in the fields until the sun goes down getting the crops ready.

 Clearly, I am not a farmer, but I know that the work of a farmer never ends.  There Is always more work to be done and there is always the disaster waiting to happen— too much rain, not enough rain, a hard freeze, a drought, tractor problems, you name it.  So, when this farmer has a good year, it is time to celebrate.  He grew extra and had plenty to spare.  Eat and drink and be merry he says to himself.

He is just a farmer who had a good year and who talks to himself.  But Jesus calls him a fool.

“Well I have so much, so I will save it for the future and build a big barn to house it.  Then I will be happy and peaceful.  I will be secure.”  Wrong.  It does not work that way.

Have you ever said:

• if l could just get this car paid off then everything would be fine
• if I could just have a nice house, then I would be happy
• if l can just get the kids through college then I will have made it 
• if l could just have that outfit, I would feel so much better about myself

But we are never satisfied.[1]  We always want more, we always have more debt or want new car or a nicer house or better seats or whatever it is. We are never satisfied. Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon, state “our problem as humans is not that we are full of desire, burning with unfulfillment. Our problem is that we long for that which is unfulfilling. We attempt to be content with that which never satisfies.”[2] It is like we are on a treadmill and we never reach the finish line.

Jesus does not say that this farmer is immoral or greedy or sinful.  Jesus says he is a fool.  He is a fool in his self-pride and self-satisfaction. There is no gratitude to all the people who helped with the farm, no appreciation of how the weather cooperated and he had a great year, there is no generosity with giving to others out of his blessing, there is no other person mentioned at all.  It Is all about him.  Me, myself and I.  The man is a fool because he believes that all those goods and grains in his big barns will keep his future safe, controllable, predictable.   You fool.   This very night your life is being demanded of you.  And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”  You might be dead tomorrow and what good will those grains do you then?  What does that soul of yours say now?

As I read this parable and have reflected this week, what hits home is the drive this man must secure his future.  This parable is a warning against greed and how it can take over one’s soul.  In theory this is the ultimate successful person, he has done so well he can prepare for the future, he can secure his estate for a rainy day, as a farmer, he will have food to eat when the famine comes and crops stored up for the lean years.  What is not good about prudent planning for the future?  Again, in theory, nothing is wrong with it.  As a matter of fact, it is wise, smart and as —Aristotle is quoted as saying “Saving (Money) is a guarantee that we may have what we want in the future. Though we need nothing at the moment it ensures the possibility of satisfying a new desire when it arises.”[3]  That is not this farmers problem.  His problem is his focus. He is so focused on saving for the rainy day that he has no life.  He is all alone with his stuff and no one to share it with.

His whole identity is wrapped up in his possessions.  Who he is – is defined by what he has?  He is driven to accumulate more and more stuff.   I don’t know about you, but that parable causes me to think about my basement.  And the boxes of stuff down there.  There are a few old football helmets from way back in the day, sports trophies and a computer we no longer use, an electric keyboard for a short-lived piano student and racquetball racquets we haven’t used in years, and boxes, more boxes.  To tell you the truth, I don’t even remember what is in them since I haven’t unpacked since we moved two moves ago.  I read a crazy fact this week, that in the United States we have more storage facilities than McDonalds and Starbucks combined. The self-storage industry 48,500 locations across the US and generates $24 billion in revenue.[4]

Occasionally, we catch a glimpse of our own mortality.  Maybe we go to a funeral of someone around our age and we think, “Wow, that could be me!”  Maybe we read an obituary in the morning paper.  Maybe when we go to an Ash Wednesday service and the priest puts ashes on our forehead while she says, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Maybe in those moments we get it, we get that we might not be here tomorrow or next year or whenever.  Maybe we grasp that life is truly fleeting.  But those moments pass and then we are back to our regular routines of worrying about if we have enough.  Enough to make ends meet, enough to pay the bills, enough to retire, enough to buy that beach house, enough to take that trip to Europe or whatever it is that makes us talk to ourselves.

At what cost?  This insidious drive for more robs me of the enjoyment of today and the countless blessings I already have.  My family, friends, health, home, food and clothing.  Is it enough?  Do I need to build bigger barns?  We are idolatrous about stuff: the stuff we have, the stuff we want, even the stuff we take to the dump or the resale store.

Big barns, full to overflowing garages, basements full of boxes, storage units or rooms empty of everything but those joy-producing items: We are idolatrous when it comes to material things. We spend a lot of time thinking about, acquiring, getting rid of, curating, obsessing about our stuff.   But let’s be honest, we have the luxury of this obsession. 

There are many who have no barns, no need of barns, no hope to ever own a barn. Stephanie Land in a New York Times blog, “The class politics of decluttering,” notes, “Minimalism is a virtue only when it’s a choice.”  That’s when God cries, “Fool!” That is when God interrupts our monologue and reminds us, we get in grave trouble when the only voice we listen to is our own.[5]  If we listen to God and hear God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation, one of the many themes of scripture is that we were created to be in relationship.  And as we continue in those relationships, we add to them, one by one, two by two and we are challenged to keep our eyes open to the needs of those around us.  Therefore, the farmer is called foolish because his whole identity is wrapped up in his stuff.

This whole story of the farmer started because someone came to Jesus complaining about an Inheritance. You know most of the problems in families happen around who gets what.

“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  But Jesus simply won’t go down that path.  Jesus doesn’t care who gets the inheritance.  Jesus has more important things on his mind.  So, he tells them this story instead.

He tells them a story about a man who cared more about storing up treasure for himself than he did about anyone or anything else, especially his relationship with God.

He tells a story about a man who talked to his own soul and thought that he could secure his own future.

He tells a story about a man who does not appear to have any other relationships in his life. He appears to only be concerned for his own welfare.

He tells the story of a fool.

And we too are fools if we ever fall into the trap of thinking that we can secure our own soul. No amount of money or grains or goods can do that. All our stuff is worthless in the eyes of God. God gives us everything that we have: food, clothing, talents to work, brains to think, and on and on and on. And there is nothing wrong with any of them.

There is nothing wrong with having things and money, but they are not what we are striving for. God gives us these things not so that we can protect ourselves and store us treasures, but so that we can live in relationship with one another and with God.

Christ is the one who has laid up treasure for us. Christ is the one who has already secured our soul. So, relax. Eat drink and be merry for none of us knows what tomorrow holds. Eat Christ’s body that has been broken for us. Drink Christ’s blood shed for us.

And if you must keep talking to yourself.  Talk about treasures that last. Talk to yourself the words of Jesus:

“Do not worry about your life. What you will eat or drink, or your body what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. Instead strive for the kingdom, and these things will be given to you. For where your treasure Is there your heart will be also”[6]

Today’s sermon is one that I am really preaching to myself and you get to overhear it.  This is a text that gets me deep down where it hurts, that makes me question and explore and struggle. This is a text that I need to hear, I don’t want to hear it, but I need to hear it.

The rich farmer is a fool because he believes that his barns full of goods will safeguard his future.  So, for you and for me, and that grain in our barns, or that stuff in our basements, that work we are good at, those accounts we manage – they are worthless for the purpose of securing our souls.  Absolutely worthless.   But they were never intended for that.  But know this; you, fellow fools, in the Kingdom of God, our time, our talents and our treasures will not go to waste.  Our time, our talents, our possessions – they are just what God needs to answer our neighbor’s prayer for daily bread.[7] May it be so. Amen and Amen.

Let us pray:

[1] The Reverend Dr. K.C. Ptomey, Jr., A Homily on Luke 12:13-21 and Colossians 3:1-11, August 5, 2007. Sermons Preached at Westminster Presbyterian Church 3900 West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee

[2] Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon, The Truth About God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life, (Nashville: Abington Press, 1999), 130

[3] https://www.success.com/19-wise-money-quotes

[4] https://www.curbed.com/2015/4/20/9969068/in-nation-of-hoarders-self-storage-spots-outnumber-mcdonalds

[5] Jill Duffield, Luke 12:13-21 -July 31/ 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. https://pres-outlook.org/category/ministry-resources/looking-into-the-lectionary/

[6] Matthew 6:25-34, NRSV

[7] Mary Hinkle Shore, On Securing the Soul, Luke 12:13-21, Proper 13 Pentecost 10 C July 24, 2010

July 14, 2019 (The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

Indian Hill Church

Cincinnati, OH

Amos 7:7-17

Psalm 82

Luke 10:25-37

Reverend Dr. Stephen Caine

10:²⁵ Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” ²⁷ He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37, NRSV)

Let us pray: Almighty God, you give the holy law to your people so that it will guide us and our children. Through our Lord Jesus who has fulfilled the law in every way, grant that we may love you with heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. Amen.

The parable of the good Samaritan, is like an old shoe, we know it so well that it has become comfortable, so why am I bothering to preach on it again?  This story is such a familiar tale that non-Christians know it.  On the positive side the repetition and familiarity of the parable lets us know how just how important it is to love our neighbor.  One the negative side the repetition and familiarity of the parable makes it easy to tune out and overlook.  It is a powerful story and that has it all: a lawyer, bandits, violence, conflict, questions, plot twists, unlikely protagonists, and it ends with a call to action. How we treat people matters.

The story begins with a lawyer asking Jesus some questions.  The lawyer cuts to the chase, “what do I have to do to inherit eternal life…be saved?” Jesus responds with the Shema,[1] “love God and love your neighbor.” Then the lawyer asks for clarification, “Who is my neighbor?”  Jesus responds to the lawyer’s question with this familiar parable that we know as the good Samaritan.

So often a sermon on this parable focuses on the priest and the Levite, two men who are not only religious leaders in Judaism, but they also held positions of power and privilege in Jewish society.  Remember, it is these two men who pass by on the other side of the road.  Some commentators say that the priest and the Levite were just following the rules. They had to remain ritually pure so they could not stop and help the injured man.  However, Amy-Jill (AJ) Levine, a Jewish New Testament Scholar challenges this information: “Neither [Jesus nor Luke] gives the priest or Levite an excuse.  Nor would any excuse be acceptable.”[2]  Neither the priest nor the Levite are heroes of the story, but they tell a truth that is important to hear: They had the Torah; they knew the calls to care for those in trouble; they had their own “go and do likewise,” but— for whatever reason, they chose to pass by the injured man and be on their way.  So, most sermons on this parable become a moral tale about how to love everyone and not be a hypocrite. “How we treat people matters”

I have also heard sermons on this parable that focus on the victim. The victim deserved what happened to him, because he was stupid for traveling on the dangerous road between Jerusalem and Jericho. Everyone knew that bandits and robbers were a constant threat on the Jericho road.  He got what he deserved, he was wearing provocative clothes, he was flashing his bling, he was asking for trouble.  But this parable is so much more that a cautionary tale on how to avoid trouble from bandits and thieves while traveling on the dusty roads of life.  It is also important that we don’t victim shame.  The danger and violence that he met on the way is not his fault and that is an important message for all of us to hear today. “How we treat people matters”

So, today, I would like to offer a different take on this parable, Jesus lifts the actions of the Samaritan more than shaming the choices of the others.  Notice the details of how the Samaritan cares for the victim, binding his wounds with oil and wine, he put him on his own animal, walked with them to an inn and paid the innkeeper to care for the injured man.  Jesus is telling us how to treat people!  The Samaritan is our guide.   It is a twist that those who were present when Jesus told this story would have been shocked to hear.  They would expect bad behavior from a Samari­tan, because they were clear enemies of Jews.  Like today when you hear a moral tale, you insert the worst of human life as the antagonist of the tale. Instead, he turns out to be the hero of the story—the one who provides an example of how we are to live our lives. “How we treat people matters”

So, with this surprise twist, and a shocking hero, Jesus is trying to change the narrative and to surprise them into a new realization.  Jesus could have simply said, “The greatest commandments are these: love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.”  Then we can respond, as we so often do; Great. I’m on target. Love God—check.  Love other people—check, most of the time.  Instead, this parable shows how to live out what it means to love God and our neighbor. “How we treat people matters”

The great commandment is so much more than words, it is a call to action! Love is action, not emotion. We show our love by how we treat people. It’s not enough to see our fellow human beings and think about how much we love them. We must show it by living it and doing it. “How we treat people matters”

So, here is where the rubber meets the road.  So, preacher, how do we treat people?  How do we love our neighbor?  Oh, it is really, really, hard to love others.

So, let’s start small.  We might not start out by stopping for every stranger in need that we see or giving away all our money and possessions or moving to the streets in solidarity with the homeless.  However, we ought to treat each other not on the basis of what is worst in each other but on the basis of what is best in ourselves. Kindness, gentleness, respect, and love are hard enough to come by in this tough and unbending world.  So, let’s start where we are.  Start with those close to you.  How you treat your spouse matters.  How you treat your coworkers matters.  How you treat your next-door neighbor matters.  How you treat your brother-in-law who drives you crazy matters.  How you treat the cashier in the checkout line matters.  How you treat the person at the DMV matters.  How you treat illegal immigrants matters.  How you treat LGBTQIA people matters. How we as a church treat visitors matters. “How we treat people matters”

It’s not enough, however, to only treat the people we love well— how we treat each and every person matters.  Priest, prostitute, prince, pauper, sinner or saint, how we treat each other matters.  Again, I am the first to admit that this is really hard!  It’s much harder to love those who are have behaved in horrible ways. But we must love them too.

A lawyer asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” His question is one of moral responsibility.  Regardless of politics or partisanship. What is their worth to us, to God? 

It is in the baptismal covenant of the Episcopal Church, “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

I will, with God’s help.

The question is asked; how will we respond?  Our answer is lived out every day.  We show our love for God by loving each other. “How we treat people matters”

Let us pray:

[1] The “Shema,” Jesus answered, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Listen, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” -Mark 12:29-31

[2]Amanda Brobst-Renaud, Commentary on Luke 10: 25-37, Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi (New York: Harper One, 2014), 94.

June 16, 2019 (Trinity Sunday)

Indian Hill Church

Cincinnati, OH

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Psalm 8

John 16:12-15

Reverend Dr. Stephen Caine

16:¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. For this reason, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:12-15, NRSV)

Let us pray: Gracious God of heaven and earth, before the foundation of the universe and the beginning of time you are the triune God: The Author of creation, the eternal Word of salvation, and the life-giving Spirit of wisdom. Guide us to all truth by your Spirit, that we may proclaim all that Christ revealed and rejoice in the glory he shared with us. Glory and praise to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

I continue to be surprised by what I learn from young people. You would think that after all these years of ministry that I should not be so amazed, but it happened yet again. As you know this past week Jennifer Taylor, our director of Christian Education, Amy Clark, our youth director, Jenny O’Maley, adult volunteer and 10 youth; Sarah Beck, Claire Boyard, Will Beyreis, Will Taylor, Elliott Caine, Marion Caine, James Johnson, Samuel Mota, Sophie Seuver, and Reese Whitman went to Mountain TOP, a Christian ministry program that serves families in need in the Cumberland Mountains of middle Tennessee.  I will share with you some of the things I learned this past week. I learned some new hip vocabulary lit means awesome or great…in a sentence “That pizza is lit.” Not lit…of course the opposite of lit, “That hat is not lit Reverend Dr. Caine.” Wacked means crazy in a bad way…” This board is wacked.” See how hip I am…not!  I also learned that “you can’t bat a thousand in baseball nor can you bat a 1000 in cutting siding…” that became our moto for the week.

I learned about music, the classic rock of my youth, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles is still popular with our high school boys, they also like Jackson Browne and the Who, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, so our van rides were lit. However, they also like this music genre called rap/hip-hop that is not my favorite so when they played this music our van ride was not lit. 

This past week I ate like was a teenager and I can’t do that anymore. These boys were constantly hungry, eggs and bacon, biscuits and gravy for breakfast and two hours later they were hungry again. Then multiple sandwiches with chips, carrots, celery sticks, and cookies for lunch. Then snacks in the afternoon. Dinner a few hours later and then snacks during the evening. My belt is too tight, and my waistline is not lit. 

Please know that I fully realize that I am embarrassing myself with my misuse of the current lingo with the youth, but I also love making them embarrassed as well.

 I also learned some very important things. I learned that the same kid that we may see as irresponsible and careless can show incredible compassion for others. The same young man who does not seem to listen to directions or instructions learned how to cut siding and put it up to make a woman’s dream come true. The same young person that seems to struggle with school and sports can also offer the most beautiful and heartfelt prayer that speaks to the magnitude of the moment. In a word this week was amazing for having my spirit lifted by these amazing young people.

This year was a totally different experience at Mountain Top because this year Jenny O’Maley, and I worked with the high school boys, Will Beyreis, Marion Caine, James Johnson, Samuel Mota, and Will Taylor.  It was special because these boys have been going to Mountain Top together for three and some four years. This week we were paired with Ms. Jennifer Parmeley, a woman in her second battle with breast cancer. She was in the midst of chemo treatments, so she did not visit with us every day and to make her situation even worse her mother was in declining health in the intensive care unit of a hospital two hours away.

Ms. Jennifer was building a small house for her mother so that she could care for her. Jennifer had beaten cancer years ago only to have it return shortly after she began building the house for her mother. So, we came to help her by putting siding on the house for her.  Thank goodness for Jenny O’Maley and her building skills. As my dear son, said when we got home, daddy, you know we would have been in real trouble if it wasn’t for Mrs. O’Maley. You are so right Marion; you are absolutely right!  Anyway.

We were able to finish the siding for Ms. Parmeley and it was so meaningful to give her this gift, knowing that she was in the midst of the fight of her life. She shared that it was her dream to have her mother spend at least one night in the house before she died. This was not lost on our boys. They were profoundly affected by her dire situation. One of them commented, “it puts everything into perspective, worrying about schoolwork and grades and the stuff we deal with in the bubble of school is nothing to what this woman is fighting for.”  I learned so much from our young people this week.

As I was writing this sermon, I was struck by how blessed I was to see their relationships develop over the past four years with each other, with God, with the people we served.  It was fantastic to witness these young people impact the life of another person in such a profound way.  And then for them to realize how their week of service meant so much to Ms. Parmeley, who cried as she hugged us and thanked us for all we did, for her, for her mother, more than we will ever know.

“It’s all about relationships!” I can almost hear my first supervising pastor telling me about working with youth.  It’s all about relationships.  Actually, so is much of ministry and all of life for that matter.  Relationships are central, whether you’re a manager of a baseball team, a business owner, a parent, a teacher, a church goer.

The Lutheran scholar Joseph Sittler writes: The great Christian words like God, love, sin, forgiveness; these are all relational statements.  Love is not a thing. It’s a relation. Guilt is not a thing; it’s a relation.  You can’t find a definition of love. Love becomes clear and recognizable only when you behold a relationship. The same is true about God. Our God is defined by relationships with us and all of creation.[1]

Our God is defined by relationships.  Our God is defined by extravagant giving.  Paul says in Romans that while we were weak, Christ died for us. God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been freely given to us.  God’s giving knows no end.  Then Jesus tells his disciples in the Gospel of John that ultimately nothing will be left unsaid or unrevealed.[2]  God knows us in relationship and is fully aware of our limited understanding and so God sends the Holy Spirit to be our advocate and to help us in our relationship with him.  Yes, God, who is by nature relational, longs to be in relationship with you and with me.  God, who is by nature loving, loves you with the love like that between God and Jesus; and God, who is by nature community, embraces us through our communities of faith, loving us and empowering us in our relationships with one another and with God’s world.  I learned this from our youth who shared their time and their lives to be in relationship with Ms. Parmeley and gave her a gift that changed her life.

A week like this at Mountain Top where the youth of this church, your church, God’s church, leave the comforts of home and take the love of God they have been taught in Sunday School, and confirmation and youth group, they take that love out into God’s world and form deeper relationships with one another and new relationships with one of God’s children who needed a community to help her.  It really is what we are about in this work of being followers of Christ.  Forming community, relationships, here in these walls, and out there in the world.  It is all about relationships, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, keep us steadfast in our faith and help us to build relationships with you and one another this we pray in your holy name. Amen.

[1] The Rev. Ann M. Svennungsen, Sermon for Trinity Sunday on John 16:12-15. Trinity Sunday June 06, 2004 Day1.org

[2] Rev. Jill Duffield Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 – lectionary notes for Trinity Sunday June 16, 2019 The Presbyterian Outlook