Tomorrow's Sermon
Oct. 13th, 2012 05:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chrishansenhomeI had been planning to start with an old joke about the Krebs Diamond on a woman's ring finger. The man sitting next to her enquired about it, and she told him, "This is the Krebs Diamond. It's beautiful, but carries a terrible curse with it." "What's the curse?" enquired the man. "Mr. Krebs" she replied.
But, some wonderful person on Facebook posted a sentence from George Carlin, and inspiration struck.
“What about us?”
In the name of God, the one, the Undivided Trinity. AMEN.
Much of what people consider “humour” these days is unquotable in a pulpit—which is unfortunate. There were two comedians in the United States in the 1950's who led the way in humour that was, frankly, unsuitable for broadcast before the watershed. One was Lenny Bruce, and the other was George Carlin.
Both of these men were acid-tongued commentators on public affairs and popular culture in the United States of the end of the 20th century. Carlin, in particular, often held up a mirror to his audiences. The picture they saw staring back at them was often very uncomfortable to see.
Something he once said in a stand-up sketch should make us all squirm a bit. “Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body.” Carlin went to a Roman Catholic primary school just north of Columbia University; he seems to have picked up a bit of social justice philosophy along with his reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Possessions are essential, of course, for our physical health. No one would say, for example, that having kitchen utensils is wrong, or that owning a bed, a chair, and a table make you worldly.
I have lots of books. And they are my weakness. Years ago I would hesitate to enter a bookstore, as I would be sure to emerge with a shopping bag full of books. Today, if I see a reference online to a book I think I might want to read, I order it directly through Amazon. It arrives in a couple of days, and I'm satisfied, until I see the next book. I now dread moving, as I'm likely to drag something near 50 cases of books to wherever I lay my head.
What's your weakness as far as possessions are concerned? It's something to think about as we consider today's Gospel.
The question asked of Jesus by the rich young man is one that every Christian asks at one time or another. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” These days the answers range widely from “Be good and love God and your neighbour” to “Follow all the commandments in the Bible”.
For Jesus, following the law was not enough. That would be the equivalent of pasting the commandments all over yourself in order to show that you are a holy man or woman.
God does not want us to feel that we are not properly clothed unless we have our possessions or our obedience pasted all over ourselves. I don't believe that God is saying that we must not have any possessions at all; in other parts of the Scriptures God tells us not to be anxious about where our next meal or our clothing will come from. Perhaps what God wants is for us not to be anxious about them. The rich young man was anxious about his possessions and his wealth. Instead of gaining happiness through life, and love, and the love of God, and enjoying meals with family and friends, his happiness came through how much money and possessions he had acquired.
We all have heard the explanation of the camel and the Needle's Eye: a particular gate in the city wall was too narrow to allow mounted animals to pass through.
Just think of the rich young man on his way to eternal life. He has his money and his possessions pasted to himself as he travels along the road. “I don't want to lose my money: what if I need to buy something on the way? And I will need my carriage; how can I walk all that long way without it? And what about my wonderful furniture? If I need to sit down in heaven I will need my fine marble chair.”
The young man then gets to the gate, and finds that it is just narrow enough for a man to squeeze in sideways. No wider, and yet not a barrier to those who bring only themselves. It doesn't make a person any wider to carry along memories of the love he bears for his family, his friends, and the strangers he's met on his way. We all have fine memories of meals with friends, trips we've taken to wonderful places, good deeds we have done with no throught of payment.
When we get to the Needle's Eye loaded down with those, we can pass right through into eternal life.
We are left with Peter's question. “What about us?” How typical of Peter. The apostles are sometimes examples of humanity at its worst. They continuously think, “What's in it for us?” It's a strange thing for Peter to say here, as he has just heard that those who have divested themselves of material possessions are more easily saved than those who are still carrying things around. The apostles know that they have given up everything. So why is Peter so concerned with their own salvation?
Perhaps Peter has not left all those items behind. In life, he's left his boats, his nets, his house, wife, mother-in-law, and whatever money he had in order to follow Jesus unencumbered with things that need to be cared for, dragged around, and kept ready for use.
But in his heart, he's asking, “What's in it for me?” When will I get the fine houses, the lovely furniture, the rich food, enough money to live lavishly? I'm waiting, Jesus! When?”
We must not merely give up conspicuous consumption; we need to give up wanting to consume conspicuously as well. No more sandwiches taped to our clothing. No more accumulating possessions just for the sake of having them.
The questions I'm going to ask myself are “What do I own that will keep me from eternal life? How can I get rid of them, and how can I forget that I ever had them?” The Needle's Eye will be too narrow for us unless we provide Godly answers.
Therefore to the God who makes the Needle's Eye too narrow for possessions but wide enough for us all to pass to life eternal be ascribed all might, majesty, dominion, and praise both now and evermore. AMEN.
But, some wonderful person on Facebook posted a sentence from George Carlin, and inspiration struck.
October 14, 2012 Nineteenth after Trinity
Sermon delivered at St. John the Evangelist, 10AM.
First Reading: Wisdom 7:7-11
Epistle: Hebrews 4:12-13 Gospel: Mark 10:17-30
Sermon delivered at St. John the Evangelist, 10AM.
First Reading: Wisdom 7:7-11
Epistle: Hebrews 4:12-13 Gospel: Mark 10:17-30
“What about us?”
In the name of God, the one, the Undivided Trinity. AMEN.
Much of what people consider “humour” these days is unquotable in a pulpit—which is unfortunate. There were two comedians in the United States in the 1950's who led the way in humour that was, frankly, unsuitable for broadcast before the watershed. One was Lenny Bruce, and the other was George Carlin.
Both of these men were acid-tongued commentators on public affairs and popular culture in the United States of the end of the 20th century. Carlin, in particular, often held up a mirror to his audiences. The picture they saw staring back at them was often very uncomfortable to see.
Something he once said in a stand-up sketch should make us all squirm a bit. “Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body.” Carlin went to a Roman Catholic primary school just north of Columbia University; he seems to have picked up a bit of social justice philosophy along with his reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Possessions are essential, of course, for our physical health. No one would say, for example, that having kitchen utensils is wrong, or that owning a bed, a chair, and a table make you worldly.
I have lots of books. And they are my weakness. Years ago I would hesitate to enter a bookstore, as I would be sure to emerge with a shopping bag full of books. Today, if I see a reference online to a book I think I might want to read, I order it directly through Amazon. It arrives in a couple of days, and I'm satisfied, until I see the next book. I now dread moving, as I'm likely to drag something near 50 cases of books to wherever I lay my head.
What's your weakness as far as possessions are concerned? It's something to think about as we consider today's Gospel.
The question asked of Jesus by the rich young man is one that every Christian asks at one time or another. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” These days the answers range widely from “Be good and love God and your neighbour” to “Follow all the commandments in the Bible”.
For Jesus, following the law was not enough. That would be the equivalent of pasting the commandments all over yourself in order to show that you are a holy man or woman.
God does not want us to feel that we are not properly clothed unless we have our possessions or our obedience pasted all over ourselves. I don't believe that God is saying that we must not have any possessions at all; in other parts of the Scriptures God tells us not to be anxious about where our next meal or our clothing will come from. Perhaps what God wants is for us not to be anxious about them. The rich young man was anxious about his possessions and his wealth. Instead of gaining happiness through life, and love, and the love of God, and enjoying meals with family and friends, his happiness came through how much money and possessions he had acquired.
We all have heard the explanation of the camel and the Needle's Eye: a particular gate in the city wall was too narrow to allow mounted animals to pass through.
Just think of the rich young man on his way to eternal life. He has his money and his possessions pasted to himself as he travels along the road. “I don't want to lose my money: what if I need to buy something on the way? And I will need my carriage; how can I walk all that long way without it? And what about my wonderful furniture? If I need to sit down in heaven I will need my fine marble chair.”
The young man then gets to the gate, and finds that it is just narrow enough for a man to squeeze in sideways. No wider, and yet not a barrier to those who bring only themselves. It doesn't make a person any wider to carry along memories of the love he bears for his family, his friends, and the strangers he's met on his way. We all have fine memories of meals with friends, trips we've taken to wonderful places, good deeds we have done with no throught of payment.
When we get to the Needle's Eye loaded down with those, we can pass right through into eternal life.
We are left with Peter's question. “What about us?” How typical of Peter. The apostles are sometimes examples of humanity at its worst. They continuously think, “What's in it for us?” It's a strange thing for Peter to say here, as he has just heard that those who have divested themselves of material possessions are more easily saved than those who are still carrying things around. The apostles know that they have given up everything. So why is Peter so concerned with their own salvation?
Perhaps Peter has not left all those items behind. In life, he's left his boats, his nets, his house, wife, mother-in-law, and whatever money he had in order to follow Jesus unencumbered with things that need to be cared for, dragged around, and kept ready for use.
But in his heart, he's asking, “What's in it for me?” When will I get the fine houses, the lovely furniture, the rich food, enough money to live lavishly? I'm waiting, Jesus! When?”
We must not merely give up conspicuous consumption; we need to give up wanting to consume conspicuously as well. No more sandwiches taped to our clothing. No more accumulating possessions just for the sake of having them.
The questions I'm going to ask myself are “What do I own that will keep me from eternal life? How can I get rid of them, and how can I forget that I ever had them?” The Needle's Eye will be too narrow for us unless we provide Godly answers.
Therefore to the God who makes the Needle's Eye too narrow for possessions but wide enough for us all to pass to life eternal be ascribed all might, majesty, dominion, and praise both now and evermore. AMEN.
