November 13, 2011

St Mark Lutheran Church, Sioux City, Iowa

David E Cox, PhD

Grace, Mercy and Peace be yours this day in the name of God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

After years of prayer, reflection, and study on our gospel text for today, I come to you with a conclusion that is probably different than others you have ever heard. Rather than being an “atta boy” text for those who are good at making money with talents, this story follows the pattern of being a farce: Jesus must be engaging in a farce. It simply must be a farce!

A “farce”, according to my Thesaurus, is a word associated or akin with things such as a travesty, sham, mockery, char
ade, absurdity, and is something that accentuates the ridiculous. A farce is something that takes a subject and creates a disgrace-filled commentary in order to make a point contrary to the one that seems to be made.

I think Jesus is engaging in a farce when he speaks to us today. The farce of Jesus’ story involves the way the world sees money and economics to begin with. The economy in Jesus’ day was nothing like it is within the present day. Jesus’ story is more about the concept of what it must be like to live with and work for a hard man, who seeks to reap what they have not sown. It comes down to the painful judgment of worldly masters, and worldly powers.

This story is not about living a life of abundance with money somehow earned up, and then being praised for your abilities to make money. I can understand why some of us, living in a capitalistic society, filled with the Protestant work ethic and steeped in finding value through the material might think that God wants us all to make money. And even though many think this is the point, I do not. Jesus, though he thinks people are more important than the Law, would not make the third person of this story the fool, when in his actions he fulfills the letter of the law as to protecting the possessions of another person.

This story is not about how God is like the master in the story, or Jesus is like a worldly Lord. Indeed, if this story is a farce then Jesus and God are not able to be the master. This story, rather than being a clear word of salvation, is a riddle or parable as profound as Jesus may have ever uttered. Call up the Occupy Wall Street protesters… here is a story that might make sense for the 99 percent, not the 1 percent, of the world!

So what is the point of this tale?  As a good farce, it probably is not found by somehow treating this as a mirror image with the direct opposite being the point, left being right and right being left. We will find the points of the story have something do with the context of the story… and the vision of God’s grace which overcomes our broken world. Considering what follows this story in Matthew, the parable of the Sheep and the Goats, making money for the worldly masters is the farthest thing on Jesus mind.  One does not get the words “Well Done, good and faithful servant—enter into the joy of your Master” by having been shrewd… but by being a servant… feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoner, the sick, the lonely ones… and doing this simply as we have been guided by God’s grace.

The closest I believe I have come to an answer, or a considered point on this story in the midst of its context is the issue of indifference. Indifference, and a “Well, what did you expect?” attitude. The story of the foolish and wise virgins just before this story moves in this direction, as does the story of the Sheep and the Goats.  Indifference to others in the world; indifference to the attitudes of living a life steeped in the faithfulness of Christ, the spirit of Christ as shown in compassionate love; indifference to the whole concept of God and God’s desires for wholeness and shalom: such indifference is not received well by God.

Our first reading from the prophets we may wish to dismiss as being a word from a prophet on a very, very bad hair day.  God sounds like a crank.  But what reason is given to this word of Judgment?  Verse 12 gives us the clue:  At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm.”

Indifference toward God… it usually leads to indifference to life itself. One of C.S. Lewis’ writings, The Screwtape Letters, talks about the powers of indifference. A devil briefs his demon nephew, Wormwood, in a series of letters, on the subtleties and techniques of tempting people. In his writings, the devil says that the objective is not to make people wicked but to make them indifferent. This higher devil cautions Wormwood that he must keep the patient comfortable at all costs. If he should start thinking about anything of importance, encourage him to think about his luncheon plans and not to worry so much because it could cause indigestion. And then the devil gives this instruction to his nephew: "I, the devil, will always see to it that there are bad people. Your job, my dear Wormwood, is to provide me with people who do not care."

Indifference. Indifference is not simply a lack of passion about life…it is a lack of caring, of compassion. The great commandment of Jesus, to” love one another even as I have loved you,” is not about being indifferent to others, or to the issues of justice, loving kindness, or walking humbly with our God. Jesus would have us move toward a goal, a hope, and a vision of faith and life that is based on love. Jesus would give us, pouring into our hearts, the love of God that allows us to love, because we reflect the love we have already received from God in Christ.

Oh, how indifference plays havoc with such a love as God has for us, the love that gives life to the world. The character, Fiero, in the play Wicked, sings a song called Dancing through Life… I think many of us would love to dance through this life.   He sings, “Why invite stress in? Stop studying strife/ And learn to live "the unexamined life"/ Dancing through life/  Skimming the surface/ Gliding where turf is smooth/ Life's more painless For the brainless /Why think too hard? When it's so soothing /Dancing through life No need to tough it When you can sluff it off as I do /Nothing matters But knowing nothing matters It's just life So keep dancing through... Dancing through life Swaying and sweeping /And always keeping cool /Life is fraught less When you're thoughtless/ Those who don't try Never look foolish /Dancing through life Mindless and careless /Make sure your wear less Trouble in life /Woes are fleeting Blows are glancing When you're dancing Through life[1] ...
 

Sisters and brothers in Christ: Indifference is not the path, or the faithful journey of those called and claimed by Christ. We are not those who are called to mindlessly and heartlessly dance through life. As children of the day we are called, claimed and named as those who are graced to walk in the light, trusting God and supporting one another. That is the calling of the church in community, the church which knows that everything we have and are is a gift from Christ our Lord. Remembering we are part of the body of Christ, that interdependent community in which our joys and sorrows, successes and failures are woven together, we discover the gospel word that we have been given everything we need to live as God’s own faithful people.

This is good news for communities that worry at times about the future. Our future is in Christ. And we are in Christ, and Christ is with us. From mustard seeds come great plants. From five loaves and two fish a multitude can be fed. The God we know in Christ is one who welcomes the lost, and rejoices with us as the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, and the church welcomes everyone in need with open arms and open hearts.  Faithful realism sees more than meets the eye, and trusts that nothing, not even our failures, can separate us from the love of God. Such faith lives with open eyes, with open hearts, generously and moved by the compassion of Jesus.

And above all else, sisters and brothers, I can tell you such a living faith is not a farce—but the grace of God found in bread and wine, in the sharing of the peace, and in the hope we share in the promises of God. Amen.

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