August 25, 2013
Pentecost 14
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Luke 13:10-17
(prayer)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5)
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That’s verse five of one of the most beloved and well-know bits of scripture: the 23rd Psalm, where God is generous banquet host. The first four verses use a different image for God - the wise and compassionate shepherd - who makes sure that the sheep want for nothing. //
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
I think we can read the word ‘enemies’ very broadly here: not just those who fight against us, trying to defeat us in some way - but those who are opposed to who ‘we are’: enemies to our true and honest self - the voices that say “you’re not yet good enough”.
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Canadian Comic, Jeremy Hotz, had a routine about going to the dentist.
He quipped that (to the dental hygienist) no matter how much flossing you’ve done, “it’s never good enough for her!”
Our world can do that to us: make us feel that we have not achieved enough, done enough, look good enough, lived well enough. We are told that we don’t really “belong” the way we are. The way we are is just not going to do. And therefore we must be unhappy and long for the better life that could be. The present is always a place of “not enough’.
Coincidently, there is no shortage of peddlers wanting to sell us on the next big fix to the problem that is our under-achieving life.
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“You don’t want me as a prophet to the nations, God; I wouldn’t know what to say. And who would listen to me anyway, I’m too young.”
I’m not good enough, Jeremiah responds to his God.
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Jesus touched the woman and said, “you are free of your ailment”. And she stood up straight (without pain) for the first time in 18 years. The words she then spoke were praises to God. The other words heard that Sabbath day came from the leader of the synagogue where this all happened - “this is the holy day of rest, come see your healer on any other day not this one!”
In other words, you are not worthy of being ‘freed’ today. As Jesus pointed out: if you were a donkey who needed to be led a watering hole that would be one thing, but you’re not that important.
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A couple of weeks ago, I went and saw the new Matt Damon/Jodie Foster movie, Elysium: a futuristic action flick set in the year 2154. Apparently in 141 years, earth will be so over populated, polluted and disease riddled that a small segment of the population has moved off-world to live in an orbiting habitat called Elysium, where life is calm, green, luxurious and healthy. Homes have private medical beds that can cure any disease with as much effort as using a 21st century tanning bed. Of course this technology is only available to the citizens of Elysium: the most wealthy and privileged of people. The people of earth are at best a workforce to provide goods to meet the needs of Elysium and at worst a burden and a threat.
It’s the classic struggle between the few haves and the many have-nots, cloaked in violent CGI-ed laser gun battles, un-caring robots and powerful people going to any lengths to not lose what they have and to gain what power they don’t already possess.
In this movie, the human race had developed all of the techniques and technology to deal with the problems of disease and poverty, but the culture had decided that vast majority of people were simply not worthy of the benefits of those advancements.
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I hope that is not our future: that we don't take the conversations and cultural assumptions about worthiness to the extreme.
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A woman in pain has waited 18 years, why couldn’t she wait one more day? It’s the law after all.
Jeremiah makes a logical assumption that people won’t be able to look past his age and inexperience.
But they WERE worthy of divine support and encouragement - they didn’t need to wait until a later time when others might be ready for them to engage their best potential.
Through as story of healing, Jesus demonstrates that all people are of value and worthy of enjoying the wholeness of life. A young boy is called to speak for God, despite his young age.
To believe that God views us as worthy runs counter to the culture that tells us we are not good enough, yet.
There are so many bible stories where the underdog is vindicated, where the child is welcomed, where the outcast is given love.
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What difference might it make if we can be open to the notion that God overflows our cups with compassion and mercy?
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· Search you own history to times where you have been judged as not ready, worthy. Maybe when you have judged others.
· Be open to the promise that God is not like that.
· This assurance is our foundation: our rock, our anchor.
· Discover our gifts.
· Learn, grow, but know we are worthy of God’s love and care NOW.
· View others through God’s eyes.
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They/We are worthy of this gift! And all of the opportunities that come with it.
Let us pray:
You love us as we are, O God. Help us to have the same attitude within us. Amen.
#675VU “Will Your Anchor Hold?”
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